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| What was that again, about Leo not being Francis II? |
"I didn't know Hallmark wrote homilies," tweets Anthony Stine on X. He was savaging 'Pope Leo XIV' (more accurately, Robert Prevost), for his words to educators yesterday: “True teachers educate with a smile, and their goal is to awaken smiles in the depths of their students’ souls." It does look like Hallmark's churning out the prosy prose emanating from the Vatican's conciliar, post-Bergoglian, Novus Ordo Synodal cult.
On the other hand it might come from the purple pen of Cardinal "heal me with your mouth" Fernandez, whom the Vatican preposterously deems suited to announce today that the purest of creatures, the Mother of God, is stripped of her historical title of Co-Redemptrix. In his document 'Mater Populi Fidelis' Fernandez states her title to be always 'inappropriate'.
Fernandez could be ghost-writing for Prevost: the same florid phraseology and bad ecclesiology is evident in the new apostolic exhortation on education, "Drawing New Maps of Hope.” Leo advises embattled parents who long for Catholic clarity for severely secularised, doubting teenagers that "Catholic universities and schools are places where questions are not silenced, and doubt is not banished but rather embraced".
Ah, but - in Divini Illius Magistri (1929) Pope Pius XI has stated unequivocally that the Catholic Church “possesses the whole of moral truth". And popes are divinely mandated to teach that truth.
Which explains why neither Francis/Bergoglio nor Leo/Prevost has taught that truth.
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From Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano (whose stable of impeccable sources rivals that of Ann Barnhardt), the first tip-off:
Vatican: "No" to the title of Co-redemptrix for Our Lady
We have received, from one of our sources, a brief but important excerpt from the new document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Mater Populi fidelis: Doctrinal Note on Some Marian Titles Referring to Mary's Cooperation in the Work of Salvation ," which we are publishing. It will be officially released tomorrow, November 4th.
The following passage in no. 22 seems very clear to us: " Given the need to explain Mary's subordinate role to Christ in the work of Redemption, it is always inappropriate to use the title of Co-redemptrix to define Mary's cooperation .
This title risks obscuring the unique salvific mediation of Christ and, therefore, can generate confusion and imbalance in the harmony of the truths of the Christian faith [...] When an expression requires numerous and continuous explanations, to avoid it departing from the correct meaning, it does not serve the faith of the People of God and becomes inappropriate.
Note that +Vigano charitably refrains from saying that the pot - the Vatican, with its indefatigable, over-worked popesplainers - is here calling the kettle black.
And now to Robert Morrison, writing for the Remnant Newspaper:
The entire Vatican II revolution has been evil, but God has permitted it for some good. We should fight this emasculating scourge on the Church and world with all our might so that souls will finally awaken to the reality that the Faith of Pope Pius XI remains the immutable Faith of the Catholic Church, today and always.
In his recent homily to celebrate the "Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies,” Pope Leo XIV made two statements about truth:
- “No one possesses the whole truth; we must all humbly seek it and seek it together.”
- “Being a synodal Church means recognizing that truth is not possessed, but sought together, allowing ourselves to be guided by a restless heart in love with Love.”
These statements rightly provoked criticism from several Traditional Catholics, such as the following from Matt Gaspers:“CATHOLICS MOST CERTAINLY DO POSSESS THE WHOLE TRUTH Today, on the traditional Feast of Christ the King (see Quas Primas, nn. 28-29), [the Pope] stated the following during his homily: ‘No one possesses the whole truth; we must all humbly seek it and seek it together. … Being a synodal Church means recognizing that truth is not possessed, but sought together, allowing ourselves to be guided by a restless heart in love with Love.’
This is both false and absurd. Our Lord Himself is ‘the Truth’ (John 14:6) and His Church is ‘the pillar and ground of the truth’ (1 Tim. 3:15). Christ solemnly assures us, ‘If you continue in My word, you shall be My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth: and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:31-32). . . .”
Most of young Robert Prevost's (today’s Leo XIV) Catholic formation took place when the truth expressed by Pius XI had already been overshadowed by the post-Conciliar mindset expressed so well by Hélder Câmara.
Mr. Gaspers is certainly correct as it relates to matters of faith and morals. One of the clearest statements of this truth comes from Pope Pius XI’s 1929 encyclical on Catholic education, Divini Illius Magistri:
“It is worthy of note how a layman, an excellent writer and at the same time a profound and conscientious thinker, has been able to understand well and express exactly this fundamental Catholic doctrine: The Church does not say that morality belongs purely, in the sense of exclusively, to her; but that it belongs wholly to her.
She has never maintained that outside her fold and apart from her teaching, man cannot arrive at any moral truth; she has on the contrary more than once condemned this opinion because it has appeared under more forms than one.
She does however say, has said, and will ever say, that because of her institution by Jesus Christ, because of the Holy Ghost sent her in His name by the Father, she alone possesses what she has had immediately from God and can never lose, the whole of moral truth, omnem veritatem, in which all individual moral truths are included, as well those which man may learn by the help of reason, as those which form part of revelation or which may be deduced from it.”
The Catholic Church “possesses the whole of moral truth.” Anyone disagreeing with this is in error, and any purported shepherd of the Church who tries to convince others that the Church is merely seeking the truth along with everyone else is working against God. In fairness to Leo XIV, though, his words are consistent with these words from Vatican II’s pastoral constitution on the Church in modern world, Gaudium et Spes:
“In fidelity to conscience, Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth, and for the genuine solution to the numerous problems which arise in the life of individuals from social relationships.” (Vatican II’s Gaudium et Spes, 16)
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The young Robert Prevost (today’s Leo XIV) was only ten years old when these words were published, so most of his Catholic formation took place when the truth expressed by Pius XI above had already been overshadowed by the post-Conciliar mindset expressed so well by Hélder Câmara:
“It would shock many people if the Church came along giving the impression that I am the solution to every problem — I have the solution to every problem. No, we come only to try to collaborate with the world, not by throwing our weight around but by shedding a bit of light here and there” (Archbishop Hélder Câmara, quoted in the Archbishop Lefebvre Documentary, 39:00)
As offensive as these words are to Catholic ears, we can easily imagine them coming from many of the highest ranking members in the Vatican today. Indeed, it would be surprising to hear something closer to what Pius XI expressed above from Divini Illius Magistri.
Leo XIV seems to be relying on the “marketplace of ideas” as a proving ground for truth, but if the Church encourages souls to entertain and embrace their doubts about faith and morals, then it appears to forfeit its God-given role as truth-teller.
With this in mind, we can consider Leo XIV’s new apostolic exhortation on education, "Drawing New Maps of Hope.” To do so, it is illuminating to compare passages from Leo XIV’s new document on education with those of Pius XI’s encyclical from 1929.
Insistence on Sound Doctrine
Pius XI made it clear at the beginning of his encyclical that sound doctrine is essential in Christian education:
“And so, in the spirit of the Divine Master, We have directed a helpful word, now of admonition, now of exhortation, now of direction, to youths and to their educators, to fathers and mothers, on various points of Christian education, with that solicitude which becomes the common Father of all the Faithful, with an insistence in season and out of season, demanded by our pastoral office and inculcated by the Apostle: ‘Be instant in season, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine.’ Such insistence is called for in these our times, when, alas, there is so great and deplorable an absence of clear and sound principles, even regarding problems the most fundamental.”
Pius XI quoted St. Paul’s admonition that pastors must “reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine.” This is especially the case when the threats against inexperienced youth are so prevalent.
Conversely, Leo XIV wrote that Catholic schools must be places where “questions are not silenced, and doubt is not banished but rather embraced”:
“We must emerge from the shallows (did he perhaps mean 'shadows'? - ed) by recovering an empathetic and open vision, increasingly understanding how humanity understands itself today, in order to develop and deepen our teaching.
"Therefore, we must not separate desire and heart from knowledge: that would mean breaking the person. Catholic universities and schools are places where questions are not silenced, and doubt is not banished but rather embraced. Heart, there, dialogues with heart, and the method is one of listening, recognizing the other as a good, not a threat.”
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| Pope Pius XII was set to declare Our Lady as “co-redemptrix”, but had died before the work could be completed |
Leo XIV seems to be relying on the “marketplace of ideas” as a proving ground for truth, but he apparently fails to grasp that the Catholic Church is the guardian of truth. If the Church encourages souls to entertain and embrace their doubts about faith and morals, then it appears to forfeit its God-given role as truth-teller. When this happens, Satan and his minions eagerly fill the void.
While we see little in Leo XIV’s letter that suggests that Faith is necessary for the purpose of bringing souls to God, he endorses Catholicism as useful in generating reciprocity, overcoming reductionism, and promoting an integral humanism.
God at the Center
As we would expect, Pius XI insisted that men must fix their eyes on God rather than themselves:
“[M]en, created by God to His image and likeness and destined for Him Who is infinite perfection realize today more than ever amid the most exuberant material progress, the insufficiency of earthly goods to produce true happiness either for the individual or for the nations. And hence they feel more keenly in themselves the impulse towards a perfection that is higher, which impulse is implanted in their rational nature by the Creator Himself.
This perfection they seek to acquire by means of education. But many of them with, it would seem, too great insistence on the etymological meaning of the word, pretend to draw education out of human nature itself and evolve it by its own unaided powers.
Such easily fall into error, because, instead of fixing their gaze on God, first principle and last end of the whole universe, they fall back upon themselves, becoming attached exclusively to passing things of earth; and thus their restlessness will never cease till they direct their attention and their efforts to God, the goal of all perfection, according to the profound saying of Saint Augustine: ‘Thou didst create us, O Lord, for Thyself, and our heart is restless till it rest in Thee.’”
The Catholic Church must always remind us to direct all of our attention and efforts to knowing, loving, and serving God.
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| Harrisburg Pen Catholic grade school’s Halloween parade float resembled the entrance of Auschwitz, including the slogan “Arbeit Macht Frei” |
Conversely, Leo XIV directs Catholic educators to place the person at the center:
“Putting the person at the centre means educating with Abraham's long-term vision (Gen 15:5): helping people discover the meaning of life, inalienable dignity, responsibility towards others. Education is not just the transmission of content, but an apprenticeship in virtue. It forms citizens capable of serving and believers capable of witnessing, freer men and women, no longer alone.”
Surely this does not mean that Leo XIV disdains the things of God, and it would be irresponsible to argue that he truly places man above God. However, there is still a shift in emphasis and perspective such that the focus is primarily on self and others rather than God. Throughout his apostolic letter, the theme is that education can bring about harmony with other men rather than union with God:
“Forming the ‘whole’ person means avoiding watertight compartments. Faith, when it is true, is not added ‘matter,’ but a breath that oxygenates every other matter. Thus, Catholic education becomes leaven in the human community: it generates reciprocity, overcomes reductionism, opens to social responsibility. The task today is to pursue an integral humanism that addresses the questions of our time without losing its source.”
Thus, while we see little in Leo XIV’s letter that suggests that Faith is necessary for the purpose of bringing souls to God, he endorses Catholicism as useful in generating reciprocity, overcoming reductionism, and promoting an integral humanism. If Pius XI had read these words in the 1920s, he presumably would have concluded that they could not possibly have been written by an educated Catholic.
In this view, the Church is not mother “by supremacy, but by service.” The meaning of the dichotomy is clear from the context of the entire letter: the Church does not have all the answers and can only be one mother among many others in society.
Role of the Church as Mother
Pius XI described the Church as the supernatural mother:
“The second title is the supernatural motherhood, in virtue of which the Church, spotless spouse of Christ, generates, nurtures and educates souls in the divine life of grace, with her Sacraments and her doctrine. With good reason then does St. Augustine maintain: ‘He has not God for Father who refuses to have the Church as mother.’”
The quotation from St. Augustine is especially important here — those who seek to have God as their Father must have the Church as their mother. And the Church’s role in education is empty without reference to its role in educating “souls in the divine life of grace, with her Sacraments and her doctrine.” Only the Catholic Church can do this.
Leo XIV also used the image of the Church as mother:
“The history of Catholic education is the history of the Spirit at work. The Church is ‘mother and teacher’ not by supremacy, but by service: she generates faith and accompanies growth in freedom, taking on the mission of the Divine Master so that all ‘may have life and have it abundantly’ (Jn 10:10).
The educational styles that have followed one another show a vision of man as the image of God, called to truth and goodness, and a pluralism of methods at the service of this calling. Educational charisms are not rigid formulas: they are original responses to the needs of every era.”
In this view, the Church is not mother “by supremacy, but by service.” The meaning of the dichotomy is clear from the context of the entire letter: the Church does not have all the answers and can only be one mother among many others in society.
Things of the Earth
Pius XI did not dedicate much space in his encyclical to the things of the earth, but he did make it clear that any such considerations were inferior to considerations of supernatural realities:
“This truth is clearly set forth by Pius X of saintly memory: Whatever a Christian does even in the order of things of earth, he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed he must, according to the teaching of Christian wisdom, direct all things towards the supreme good as to his last end; all his actions, besides, in so far as good or evil in the order of morality, that is, in keeping or not with natural and divine law, fall under the judgment and jurisdiction of the Church.’”
None of this comes as a surprise, for Leo XIV is a son of Vatican II. But God allows for us to learn valuable lessons from the fact that Leo XIV’s letter on education operates as an attack on true Catholic education.
Everything must be directed to the supreme good, as all the saints would tell us. While Leo XIV would perhaps agree with this, we also see in his new letter an orientation entirely missing from Pius XI’s encyclical:
“Forgetting our common humanity has generated divisions and violence; and when the earth suffers, the poor suffer even more. Catholic education cannot remain silent: it must unite social and environmental justice, promote moderation and sustainable lifestyles, and form consciences capable of choosing not only what is convenient but also what is right. Every small gesture—avoiding waste, choosing responsibly, defending the common good—is cultural and moral literacy.”
When the earth suffers, Leo tells us, the poor suffer even more. As Pius XI and the saints would tell us, though, one of the worst possible sins against the poor is for the apparent leaders of the Church to pretend that moral literacy depends less upon defending the unadulterated Catholic Faith than upon moderate use of air conditioning.
None of this comes as a surprise, for Leo XIV is a son of Vatican II. But God allows for us to learn valuable lessons from the fact that Leo XIV’s letter on education operates as an attack on true Catholic education. In God’s Providence, it is possible that Leo XIV’s continuation of the Vatican II revolution may ultimately arouse Catholics of good will to strengthen their Faith. Pius XI explained how this may happen in his 1925 encyclical on the Feast of Christ the King, Quas Primas:
“We may well admire in this the admirable wisdom of the Providence of God, who, ever bringing good out of evil, has from time to time suffered the faith and piety of men to grow weak, and allowed Catholic truth to be attacked by false doctrines, but always with the result that truth has afterwards shone out with greater splendor, and that men's faith, aroused from its lethargy, has shown itself more vigorous than before.”
The entire Vatican II revolution has been evil, but God has permitted it for some good. Those Catholics who refuse to admit that the false doctrines of religious liberty, false ecumenism, and doctrinal evolution are to blame for the ongoing crisis are opposing the good that God wants to bring from evil.
We should fight this emasculating scourge on the Church and world with all our might so that souls will finally awaken to the reality that the Faith of Pope Pius XI remains the immutable Faith of the Catholic Church, today and always. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
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| Our Lady of Sorrows |
Mary, Co-Redemptrix, Mother of the Church, pray for us
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