Return to The Reign of Mary No. 145
The Reign of Mary
Vol. XLIII, No. 145: Letter from the Editor
February 22, 2012
Ash Wednesday
Dear friends in Our Lady,
Praised be Jesus and Mary. This year of 2012 marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, an event which will undoubtedly go down in history as one of the greatest tragedies affecting the souls of men. Countless millions of Catholics lost their faith as a result of the Council and the changes it engendered. Yet, the hierarchy of the Conciliar Church still celebrate its memory, planning events to mark the anniversary.
Ironically, in the face of the upcoming commemoration, a group of 50 prominent Italian clergy and theologians have petitioned Benedict XVI to demonstrate clearly the much boasted “hermeneutic of continuity” between Vatican II and the pre-Conciliar teachings of the Catholic Church. Despite claims to the contrary, every fair-minded Catholic is bound to admit that the Council represents nothing less than a rupture, a departure from the faith of the previous 20 centuries.
Can you imagine a situation after, say, the Council of Trent, in which theologians were scrambling to try to explain how the council’s teachings squared with previous Church teaching? Such a notion is absurd. And yet, that is the very absurdity of the situation today, in which the proponents of Vatican II are still unable to explain how its teachings on religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality, etc. are a continuation of traditional Catholic teaching. Here’s a suggestion: just admit that the council inaugurated a new religion with new teachings and new sacraments. That would be much easier than trying to reconcile Vatican II with Catholicism.
On the home front, the news media have been abuzz over the past month with the announcement in mid-January by Kathleen Sebelius, the ultra-liberal and nominally-Catholic Secretary of Health and Human Services, that the Obama administration would require all institutions, including Catholic hospitals, schools and social services, to provide in their insurance for employees, free contraceptives, sterilizations and abortifacients (e.g. “morning-after” pills). The American Conciliar bishops expressed outrage. After all, Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, in a private White House meeting with Obama in November, had been assured by the president in what he described as an “extraordinarily friendly” meeting, that the administration would not institute any policy requiring the Church to violate any of its principles.
But what did the bishops expect? If you play with fire, you will get burned. After all, these same bishops endorsed “Obamacare” during the debate before its approval by Congress. The Conciliar Church also embraced Obama with his well-publicized visits to Catholic institutions such as Notre Dame University and Georgetown University, despite the fact that as a senator he had the most “pro-abortion” record in the senate.
This attempt by the Obama administration to force its will is a notorious example of federal government overreach and is an attempt to undermine the Bill of Rights’ guarantee of freedom of religion. (The fact that Obama has slightly modified his decision in order to placate the bishops and Catholic voters does not in the least detract from his intentions or his record.) Nevertheless, as much as the bishops are right to protest, their outrage rings hollow. Recall, for example, an article in a previous issue of this magazine (No. 136, p. 11) on the fact that millions of dollars have been given to pro-abortion and other leftist groups by the National Conference of “Catholic” bishops. Further, reflect on the utter failure of these same prelates to preach the Church’s moral teaching “in season and out of season” and to enforce these same teachings.
A heavy responsibility falls on the shoulders of these bishops. Let them live up to what they say they believe. And let us all pray earnestly for the conversion of America.
In the service of Jesus and Mary
Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
(Email Father)