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Dear
Loyal Member,
Today,
March 15th, the Catholic Traditionalist Movement observes the 49th anniversary
of its public launching. It was on this
date that the Catholic Traditionalist Movement under the leader-ship of Father
De Pauw raised the flag of resistance to those using
the Second Vatican Council deliberately and diabolically to misinterpret and
falsify the decrees of that Council to destroy our Church. The public launching of the CTM took place
not by coincidence during the month of March, the month traditionally dedicated
to the patron saint of the Universal Church, St. Joseph. And if ever there was a time where we need
the intercession of this powerful saint it is certainly now, today.
As
we look back over these past 49 years, we cannot help ask ourselves how it was
possible for the Church to have fallen so low.
It is true that the majority of the fault lies with those ene-mies of the Church who used the Second Vatican Council
as their opportunity to destroy Her.
However,
a portion of the fault lies with those who sought to divide and conquer, instead
of uni-fying behind the banner of the Catholic
Traditionalist Movement when there was a chance to de-feat those enemies of the
Church. They, instead, turned out to be
false brethren or in some cases, even outright enemies. It was Our Lord Himself who said: “Every kingdom divided against itself will be
brought to desolation”. Those false
brethren used empty words to lead de-vout Catholics
astray. They were the ones who ignored
Bishop Kurz’ offering of the CTM to all those who
wished to defend the Church.
Roman
Catholics all over the country and the world who sincerely followed those false
brethren are realizing that they never really represented the True Church of
Jesus Christ. They now have the empty
feeling of betrayal and loneliness and don’t know what to do.
We
are hit daily with the news headlines from the Church establishment telling us
that things are so wonderful. Their
level of propaganda is so brazen and misleading that even the most dedicated
Goebbels henchmen would blush. If one is
to judge the success of the establishment church by the numbers of crowds who
pack St. Peter’s Square, or the World Youth Days, then yes, I guess you could
say it is successful.
I
believe it was Julius Ceasar who said: “Men willing to believe what they wish.” Once again in the coming weeks we will be
told how alive the Church is due to the large crowds in the Square for Easter
and the upcoming canonizations of Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II at the
end of April. We have gotten some
inquiries as to what our opinion is about those upcoming canoni-zations. We continue to be saddened by the continual
erosion of the once very careful process which the Roman Catholic Church had in
the past for the investigative process and the attrib-uting
of miracles obtained through the intercession of an individual being considered
for saint-hood. Today’s “cheapening” of
that process leads one to believe that other motives are in-volved,
such as political motives, economic motives or justification for certain
actions. The cheapening of the sainthood
process erodes the purpose of why we venerate saints which is to honor those
who have been especially pleasing to God by their lives of goodness and
love. This applies particularly to a
canonized saint, one to whom the Church has listed among those who have led a
holy life and who has secured miracles from God, thereby declaring them worthy
of veneration by the Church.
Additionally, in the past, popes who have been made saints of the Church
not only had their personal lives examined for qualities worthy of veneration
and imita-tion by the faithful but also their
pontificates were subject to the same scrutiny as their personal lives for
saintly characteristics. The last pope
to be made a saint was in the last century, namely St. Pius X. And it was this saint and Pope who said;
“Attempting to reconcile our Faith with the modern world mentality leads not
only to weakening of that Faith, but to its total de-struction.”
Therefore,
the question is begged, did either pontificate strengthen the Church by
remaining faithful to the words of Our Lord when He told Pontius Pilate; “My
kingdom is not of this world”, or do they fall into the category of which St.
Pius X warned us about?
None
other than Our Lord told us; “By their fruits you shall know them. A good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree
bears bad fruit.”
I
will not waste my paper or your reading time recounting all the bad fruit we
have seen coming from the Conciliarist Church
establishment over these last 49 years.
We all sadly see the news and read the papers. But there are a couple of items worth
mentioning of just how bad the fruit is from today’s church establishment and
how low respect for it has sunk. Last
month, the first results of the Papal surveys sent by Pope Francis to all the
dioceses throughout the world started to be made public. The first one brought to our attention was
from the survey conducted in dioceses of Germany. In that survey it was reported that between
90 to 100 percent of all young Catholics are ignoring the Church’s teachings on
morality both before and after marriage.
That includes practicing Catholics!
Most certainly it includes some of whom have packed St. Peter’s Square
shouting “Viva il Papa” or “Francicso”
and certainly some who have attended the World Youth Days.
Then
there was this news item in February.
After all the praise which the Vatican has given to the United Nations
and after making it a must stop for all papal visits to the U.S. since Pope
Paul VI first honored it in October of 1965, the Vatican got the proverbial
“kick in the behind” from that institution it hails as a center of
“peace”. On February 5th, the U.N.
Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the Vatican for not doing enough
to prevent clerical sexual abuse of children and said that for the good of
children, the Vatican has to change its teaching on abortion, contraception and
homosexuality. Instead of the Vatican
telling this committee to “get lost” because it is the Church that has the
responsibility for the moral order given to Her by Her Founder, Our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ, it lowered itself to answering these charges both orally
and in writing on January 16th at a meeting held in Geneva. But that U.N. committee was not satisfied
with those answers and sort to further embarrass the Holy See with its Febru-ary 5th report.
In answer, the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi said,
according to the Vatican Information Service, that the Vatican will follow the
procedures foreseen by the treaty “with openness to justified criticisms but
the Holy See will do so with courage and deter-mination,
without fear.” Adding that the com-mittee’s comments went; “beyond its powers and interfere in
the very moral and doctrinal positions of the Catholic Church.”
Father
De Pauw always said that the Holy See should never
have a delegation in that institution.
Rather it should have someone like his brother was, one who observed the
goings on and whom everyone knew they could go to if they wanted something to
reach the Pope’s ears. Once a delegation
is seated, it is then subject to that institution’s undertakings.
The
last item I wish to call your attention to is this coming October’s Synod on
the Family. It is now certain that in
that Synod there will be a discussion about giving Communion to divorced and
remarried Catholics. One of the newest
cardinals who was just elevated this past February 22nd, Lorenzo Baldisseri, has said, according to an interview published
in the February issue of “Inside the Vatican”, that “We will discuss it without
taboos.” In that same article they
mention that German Cardinal Walter Kasper has said that the Church’s position
will be changed. And because they are
having a hard time with the very clear and unequivocal words of Our Lord; “What
God has joined together, let no man put asunder,” we are now told that though
they have to remain faithful to the words of Our Lord, those words have to be
“nuanced”. I don’t think Our Lord had
that in mind when He said; “He who is not with Me, is
against Me” and “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass
away”.
Unfortunately,
the Pope’s address to the two day Extraordinary Consistory on the Pastoral Care
of the Family held in February, did little to clarify the situation even though
he strongly defended the importance of the family as the “fundamental cell of
society” and the importance that mar-riage has in
creating that fundamental cell.
The
solution that is now being considered is a version of an Eastern Rite ritual
where in some cases second marriages are permitted, but call what they do at
the second marriage, only a blessing.
The only consolation to this sad development is that what they still
call Communion is nothing more than a piece of blessed bread!
“BY
THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM”
Instead
of focusing on the bad fruit from the bad tree I wish to give an answer to
those sincere Roman Catholics who now turn to us and ask what do we do
now? Those Catholics who feel so alone
and isolated and are starving for wholesome spiritual food but like the crowd
in the Gospel for Laetare Sunday find themselves with
“nothing to eat”. In answer I like to
use the words tak-en from various sermons from Father
De Pauw. These
words tell us that numbers don’t make right, numbers don’t make the truth.
If
there is one lesson that history teaches us it is this one: Every accomplishment, whether for good or for
bad, has always been the work, not of large majorities, but of a small but
active mi-nority.
The
same holds true for the history of Salvation, whether we look in the Old
Testament or in the New Testament. The
Old Testament deals with the special protection which God granted to the Jews
as the people chosen to keep the faith in the One True God alive among the idol
worship-pers of the old pagan world before the coming
of the Messiah. Yet we are told in the
Scriptures that “with most of them God was not well pleased.” In fact, only 2 adults who left Egypt reached
the Promised Land.
The
New Testament deals with the special protection God grants the followers of
Jesus Christ as the newly chosen people, chosen to keep the faith in the living
Gold-man Jesus Christ and His Church alive among the idol worshippers of the
present pagan world before the second coming of the Messiah.
Right
from the very beginning under the Cross of Christ, while a mob, the majority
was appar-ently having its way while shouting Crucify
Him! Crucify Him!,
true history was being written and true victory was being obtained by the small
minority of only 4 people standing steadfast under that Cross. His mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mary
Magdalen the public sinner who could not forget His compassionate mercy that
had forgiven her everything, St. John the one priest who stood up to be counted
while his fellow apostles either betrayed or denied their Mas-ter, and the Roman Centurion who first stood under that
Cross as a man who had a job to do, but ended up as a believer publicly
proclaiming: “This Man, indeed, was the
Son of God!”
Then
in the 4th century, when every Catholic bishop fell into heresy of Arianism and
Pope Liberi-us did not know, or did not want to see
what was going on, one lonely man refused to follow the rest who were using the
falsehood of blind obedience. And when
that man was reminded that he was fighting the entire world, he gave that
immortal answer: “If the whole world
goes against the truth, then Athanasius will go against the whole world.” And he also gave us that other im-mortal saying; “Catholics who remain faithful to the
traditions, even if they are reduced to but a handful, they are the true Church
of Jesus Christ.” Today not one of those
bishops who fell into heresy is remembered, but he is remembered as SAINT Athanasius.
The
month of March has four important saints I wish to mention who give us
important lessons through their saintly lives in order that we may continue the
fight to preserve the Faith of our forefathers.
On
March 17th, we observe the feast of St. Patrick. While most of our fellow Catholics only see
it as a day to get drunk, we proudly observe it as the day we honor the 5th
century missionary bishop who changed a pagan land into an “Island of Saints.”
The
lesson we learn from this great Saint and the reason why Pope Pius IX in 1859
made it a feast day of the universal Catholic Church, is that true convictions
cannot be destroyed by even the fiercest enemies and persecutions.
On
March 18th, we observe the feast of St. Cyril of Jerusalem listed in the Roman Martyrology as Bishop, Confessor and Doctor. He was the 4th century saint who was bishop
for 35 years. He was a theologian whose
doctrine was both profound and simple.
His work formed the basis of many a theology book. The lesson we learn from St. Cyril is that
the doctrines of Christ’s true Church remain the same today as they were
yesterday. God and human nature do not
change. “Christus
Heri, Hodie et
Semper.” Christ yesterday, today, and
forever.
March
21st is the feast of St. Benedict, Abbott.
He was the 6th century nobleman who became a priest and whose
uncompromising loyalty to the ideals of his priesthood were so annoying and
embarrassing to his fellow priests that they tried to poison him. And the lesson we learn from this saint is
that sometimes your very own are your worst enemies and that while a priest
can-not escape living in this world, they must not be of this world.
On
March 19th, we observe the feast of St. Joseph.
And for us who hold onto the True Church, we know that the entire month
is dedicated to the spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Foster Fa-ther of the Eternal God Incarnate, patron
Saint of the Universal Church. St Joseph
was a just man. Justice is the virtue by
which human beings keep the right relations with both God and their fellow
human beings. St Joseph was innocent and
pure, he was gentle and tender, he was prudent and a lover of silence, but
above all he was faithful and obedient to the Divine will.
We
Traditionalist Roman Catholics have been called many names. We have been called stub-born, snobbish, clannish and that we think we are better than the rest. Rather than object and reject those
accusations, we should pray that they are absolutely true. You might ask isn’t that being presumptuous. My answer is not at all. Because it is Our Lord who makes a clear dis-tinction telling His followers; “To you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God, but the rest in parables; that seeing, they
may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” Our Lord makes a clear distinction between
those who are worthy, deserving of hearing God’s truth and to others to whom
preaching the truth is a waste of time.
This is what He means when He says to them I will speak in parables.
Our
Lord used the parable of the farmer who sows his seed to compare to the
spreading of God’s truth. Of course the
audience, whom Our Lord was speaking, understood that the suc-cess
of planting a seed depended on the richness of the soil the seed was planted
in. So Our Lord used this parable, with
the seed representing God’s truth.
He
divides those who hear the word of God into four categories. The first category are those by the
wayside. They hear the word of God, but
have so little conviction that at the first sign of temptation by Satan, the
word of God is taken away and they stay with the one whose tempta-tions
they fell for. They are the indifferent.
The
second category are those for whom the seed fell upon the rock. They also hear the word of God and maybe even
for a while go around proudly showing off their belief for all to see. But their conviction is only skin deep. It has no root and though they believe for a
while, Our Lord says they disappear as quickly as they came.
The
third category Our Lord mentions is the group for whom the seed fell among
thorns. They hear the word of God, but
they go their own way. They are taken
with the cares, and the pleas-ures and riches of
life. Worldliness is the weakness of
those in this category. They may have
believed for a while but they are willing to give everything up for material
pleasures. They are the ones who sell
out all their principles to get ahead in a job or in life. And they are the ones who have forgotten the
words of Our Lord where He said; “What does it profit a man if he gains the
entire world but loses his soul.”
But
fortunately Our Lord gave us a fourth category and that is the one where the
seed fell upon good ground. Those are
the people who with a sincere and open heart, heard the truth and saw the light
and once they did they held onto it fast and as a result they bear fruit in
patience.
As
we look around at what is left of our Church today, we see Catholics in all
four categories. But what matters is not
in which category any given pope, cardinal, bishop or priest or fellow Catholic
lay person is in, but in which category do we find ourselves in. What matters is for us to be in the fourth
category because Our Lord was not kidding when He said; “Only those who
persevere till the end will be saved.”
We
are living in those times that Our Lord predicted that we would hear, here is
the Christ, there is the Christ and that false Christs
and false prophets would arise. But what
matters is that we recognize those false Christs in
time so that our lives will be compared to those who received the word of God
in good cooperating soil where our soul is concerned.
After
49 long hard battle scarred years, it is normal for the temptation to arise to
get discour-aged and ask ourselves if it is all worthwhile
to continue to battle day in and day out against the powers of the hour,
against the mob having its way like the one on the first Good Friday. It is then that we must remember that while
the many that were called betrayed their own Mother the Church or turned their
back while she was being attacked, we, you and I, loyal Roman Catho-lics, are the few that are chosen not only to defend
our Mother the Church, but also someday to revive her.
Father
De Pauw always said that what the Church is going through
today is her own dark Good Friday. I am
afraid that we still have many more dark Good Fridays to go through, but rest
as-sure, that just as Our Lord appeared as the sure Loser to the mobs who
shouted “Crucify Him! on Good Friday, on Easter
morning He was the sure winner.
Fellow
loyal Roman Catholics, the Church must be kept alive today for future
generations through the courage of a few, the few that were chosen to fight for
what even the many that are called know is right.
So,
let us use this 49th anniversary of the public launching of the CTM. to pray to
Our Lord for the perseverance to see this fight through to the end, asking His
Blessed Mother for her inter-cession that we may always be worthy of the
promises of Christ, and to St. Joseph, whom the litany calls, “Protector of the
Holy Church” for his special protection.
In
a few weeks we will be celebrating Our Lord’s victory over death on Easter,
some day so shall our Church!
Sincerely
yours,
Richard Cuneo
Richard
Cuneo, President
Catholic
Traditionalist Movement
