Martyrdom or suicide?

Started by Saint_Augustine, December 31, 2018, 02:32:50 PM

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Xavier

#30
Haven't you heard Bella Dodd's testimony "of all the world's religions, the Catholic Church is the one most feared by the Communists because it is its most effective opponent. In the 1930's we put 1100 men into the Priesthood, to destroy the Church from within .... right now (the 1950s), they are in the highest positions in the Church. The changes will be so great you will not recognize the Church." (From memory, you can find videos and text on youtube and fisheaters). So the Church is most certainly martyred by Communists, Freemasons and other external enemies, who made infilitration and destruction from within their policy.

The Popes, like Pius XI, said, "Communism is intrinsically wrong, and no one who would save Christian Civilization may collaborate with it in any undertaking whatsoever. Those who permit themselves to be deceived into lending their aid towards the triumph of Communism in their own country, will be the first to fall victims of their error. And the greater the antiquity and grandeur of the Christian civilization in the regions where Communism successfully penetrates, so much more devastating will be the hatred displayed by the godless." This is how the Papacy spoke while it was still (relatively) free from external influence. That is why the Communist terrorists Mother Mary warned the Church about decided that the Church must fall.

Btw, St. Augustine, are you aware that some Orthodox in Moscow regularly co-operated with Communists, including in persecuting Catholics? For this reason, the socalled "ROCOR" (Russian Orthodox Church outside Russia) broke away from the Moscow Patriarch, and others criticized him severely? Not of course for persecuting Catholics, but rather for so openly collaborating with Communism. This at the same time that the Papacy was such a glorious opponent of the Communists. Pope Pius XII instituted an excommunication.

"There was an unintended irony in Metropolitan Hilarion's address, namely his willingness to speak of Orthodox/Catholic co-suffering with nary a mention of the Russian Orthodox Church's centuries-long persecution of Greek Catholics, particularly those living in Russia and Ukraine. In countless speeches, Hilarion and other representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church have decried the "Uniates" (Greek Catholics) living in Ukraine without once apologizing for the Soviet/Russian Orthodox coordinated liquidation of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) in 1946 ... Although it is praiseworthy that the Russian Orthodox Church wishes to relieve the suffering or persecuted Christians in the Middle East, that should not excuse the fact that it continues to support the degradation of Greek Catholics while refusing unity with the Catholic Church." https://sspx.org/en/news-events/news/russian-orthodoxy-and-message-fatima-29859

Pope Leo's exorcism prayer to St. Michael expressly foretells what these people would do, "These most crafty enemies (Masons, Marxists, Modernists, Satanists) have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the Immaculate Lamb, and have laid impious hands on Her most sacred possessions. In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. Amen.'"

So has the Mother of God and the Saints prophesied it, with very specific mention of the 20th century and our times. We read of it in Our Lady's prophesies to Mother Mariana at Quito. In Ven. Fr. Bartholomew Holzhauser's commentary on the Apocalypse. He says the Latin Church will be afflicted by many heresies, trials and tribulations around the turn of the millenium. In Sr. Emmerich as well.

Saintly Sr. Catherine Emmerich, "I saw Lucifer being released from hell around 60 or 50 years before the year 2000." And she describes at length the false Church constructed by Masonry in Rome beside the true Church, to harass the Church of St. Peter's in Rome. She speaks of two Popes and the relation between them. She mentions false ecumenism.

As Lucifer was released from hell because of our sins, so also Satan was given about 100 years to afflict the Church because of our sins. I personally believe that 100 years began in 1917 with the Communist revolution, and ended in 2017 - after which efforts for Church restoration will be renewed. There will be more trials, but God will in the end raise up the Holy Pope He has promised us. Our duty is to be faitful until then.

From the SSPX site: "This is one of many reasons why Fatima remains so central today ... Whatever indirect or practical good the Russian Orthodox Church can carry out by aiding longsuffering Christian communities or resisting certain secular-liberal trends such as the spread of gender ideology and homosexualism pales in comparison to the supernatural good Our Lady can accomplish. May her Immaculate Heart triumph."

Our Lady has Her own wonderful plan, filled at once with hope and a call to Catholic Action, for Peace to Triumph and for the safe return of the separated Churches to Unity with the Catholic Church, and I choose to believe Her: "That is why the Holy Father and all the Bishops must make this Consecration in a public way and must specifically mention Russia. The Russian people must know the source of the gift. This is also why I wait and wait, even though the Holy Father delays. I must have the Holy Father act in the name of the Catholic Church so the Russian people know that the Catholic Church has released this gift. In this way, they will desire and bring about union with the Catholic Church.

I unfold these revelations so all the world, especially the Church, can see what I intend and why I ask what I do." http://locutions-forever.org/locutions/show/2014-08-17/2-the-stirring-in-russian-hearts
Bible verses on walking blamelessly with God, after being forgiven from our former sins. Some verses here: https://dailyverses.net/blameless

"[2] He that walketh without blemish, and worketh justice:[3] He that speaketh truth in his heart, who hath not used deceit in his tongue: Nor hath done evil to his neighbour: nor taken up a reproach against his neighbours.(Psalm 14)

"[2] For in many things we all offend. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man."(James 3)

"[14] And do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations; [15] That you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world." (Phil 2:14-15)

Philip G.

#31
As I see it, there are three solutions for one who believes that canonizations are fallible.  And, I certainly entertain the idea.  But, it is a very serious matter. 

The first it seems would be that similar to the liturgy, where no pope is strictly bound to a previous pope, no pope is strictly bound to a canonization if past papacy is the sole determining factor.  And, a papacy becomes the sole determining factor when the cult of devotion is not there.  Which, is what we see in tradition.  There is no cult of devotion to Paul VI and these other v2 saints.  Likewise, there is no devotion to the Novus Ordo mass, which we pray will be changed when we get a traditional pope again.  Being that canonizations are not a part of the deposit of the faith, it seems it is not strictly a matter of faith, but instead a matter of discipline, which is a matter that can be taken, just not too lightly.   

The second option it seems would be that canonizations are less dependent on the papacy, and more dependent on the church itself in the form of cultus/devotion.  Similar to the St. Pius V 200 years of use requirement for a liturgy to be considered ancient enough, perhaps the church needs to have 200 years of cultus/devotion before such person can be considered a saint.  Traditionally speaking, in the past 1000 years, on average, it probably was about 200 years after a saints death before they were canonized.  So, there is this comparable type of precedent concerning papal discipline, but there is another way I think it should be looked at.  The church is 2000 years old; that is a lot of cultus and it varies substantially.  To compare with the liturgy, a popes ability(V2 popes), and as our current situation reveals, a bishop ability(+Lefebvre) to change the liturgy is not limited by 200 years anymore.  So, take the 200 years as more a figurative estimate, and not entirely literal.  However, I think it can be safely said that it should be at least 200 years, being that the modernists have erred in the opposite direction with their new canonization process.  If we have 2000 years of church history, in my opinion, the last 1000 years should be open to papal alteration regarding canonizations.  This is based on theory that I will not explain.

The third option it seems is that no canonization is infallible.  I have read Butlers original 4 volume lives of the saints, and there are many saints in the first 1000 years of the church that are dubious according to the editors themselves.   Many stories of saints are duplicates, and some even seem like fantasies.  It was a large number that seemed suspect, easily 15 percent.  Take into account, that this is coming from one(me) who loves and prefers to read lives of saints from the first 1000 years of the church.  So, there is really no negative bias to what I say.  The early church and lives of saints is my favorite.  Some of this is probably why 1000 years ago before the pope took the process over, the claim was not infallible as it is today.  It was a permission, not a requirement.  It was a local matter.  There was not the "solemnity of the ceremony", nor the "universal liturgical element" so favored as an argument by those who favor infallibility today. 

The solution that I like is a combination of all three.  I like the idea that a pope(and even a bishop like what we see occurring with +Lefebvre/tradition) can reverse problematic canonizations.  I like the idea that cultus be the determining factor.  And, thirdly, as a result of this, I prefer the idea that canonization be a local matter, traditionally speaking.  I do not like the papal process of the past 1000 years that leap-frogs from local devotion being merely permissible in the process to required universal devotion as an ultimate outcome, all of which is apparently supposed to indicate infallibility; it kind of reminds me of the talmudic proverb, "if you are going to tell a lie, tell a big lie".  I say that not because canonization is not infallible, and therefor a lie.  I say it because if I were processing a claim of sanctity, I would do the exact opposite the older popes did.  I would begin with having local devotion as a requirement and condition, and proceed from there to universal permission as a final outcome.  But, the suzerain papacy has not done that.  I cannot recall all the details, but I liked the canonization process before it landed solely into the hands of the can-do-no-wrong popes.  And, strangely enough, that was about 1000 years ago.
For the stone shall cry out of the wall; and the timber that is between the joints of the building, shall answer.  Woe to him that buildeth a town with blood, and prepareth a city by iniquity. - Habacuc 2,11-12

awkwardcustomer

Quote from: Non Nobis on January 05, 2019, 04:52:34 PM
I really don't know about Sedevacantism.  It seems monstrous that a (supposed) Pope should falsely canonize a (supposed) saint, or teach (even privately or ambiguously) heresy.  But it also seems monstrous that Christ would appear to abandon the Church to false popes for decades.  What does this mean for simple people who can know the simple teachings of the Church, but can't understand the extensive arguments for sedevacantism (and its varieties) that require an understanding of Papal history, etc.? I leave it to God to understand why He permits either monstrosity......

...... Not trusting recent Popes does not MEAN not trusting all past Popes: we can recognize that there has been a terrible change and things are not the same. God wants us to see that much, because we should know our faith in a simple way that does not correspond to what is taught now.

Surely, though, you must admit that referring to a position as "monstrous" suggests that you also view those who hold that position as "monstrous".

And not trusting "recent Popes" in matters of faith and liturgy DOES mean not trusting all past Popes, because true Popes cannot teach error when it comes to faith and liturgy and if "recent Popes" have taught error in faith and liturgy, then all Popes can.

And why does it seem monstrous for Christ to have abandoned His Church to false 'pope's' for decades?  Would the simple folks you refer to have so many problems with this if there wasn't such a cohort of hysterics screaming relentlessly against Sedevacantism and hurling insults at anyone who holds that position?

Besides, St Paul said this would happen. (2Thess 2)

Quote
1] And we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of our gathering together unto him: [2] That you be not easily moved from your sense, nor be terrified, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by epistle, as sent from us, as if the day of the Lord were at hand. [3] Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, [4] Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God. [5] Remember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
[6] And now you know what withholdeth, that he may be revealed in his time. [7] For the mystery of iniquity already worketh; only that he who now holdeth, do hold, until he be taken out of the way. [8] And then that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth; and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming, him, [9] Whose coming is according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, [10] And in all seduction of iniquity to them that perish; because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying:

There's really no mystery.  Vatican II is the 'revolt, and the Pope, who is 'he who now holdeth', has been taken out of the way, ergo Sedevacante.

Simple, isn't it.

Vatican II is the 'revolt' warned about by St Paul.  And the Pope is the 'one who holds' (the Keys), who has been taken out of the way, which is why the seat is currently vacant.  I suppose the hard part is realising that if St Paul's warnings have come true, then it's all over because it means the Antichrist is about to appear.

Pehaps that explains the hysteria against the position. 
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.  
St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15, para 9.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
WB Yeats, 'The Second Coming'.

awkwardcustomer

The irony is that if Vatican II is the 'revolt', and the current state of Sedevacante is the result of the 'one who holds' having been taken out of the way, then the all the claims that the Church has defected, or that the Saints aren't really Saints, or that Popes can teach error, can be thrown out.

If Vatican II is the revolt warned about by St Paul, then Vatican II does not undermine but instead confirms the claims of Catholicism.

And ditto for the current empty Chair.   
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.  
St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15, para 9.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
WB Yeats, 'The Second Coming'.

Sempronius

Quote from: awkwardcustomer on January 06, 2019, 05:10:46 AM
The irony is that if Vatican II is the 'revolt', and the current state of Sedevacante is the result of the 'one who holds' having been taken out of the way, then the all the claims that the Church has defected, or that the Saints aren't really Saints, or that Popes can teach error, can be thrown out.

If Vatican II is the revolt warned about by St Paul, then Vatican II does not undermine but instead confirms the claims of Catholicism.

And ditto for the current empty Chair.

Shouldnt that mean that no true masses will be celebrated? All the sacraments should be gone, except for baptism..

But sede priests are still keeping the faith alive (according to sedes)

awkwardcustomer

#35
Quote from: Sempronius on January 06, 2019, 06:12:44 AM
Quote from: awkwardcustomer on January 06, 2019, 05:10:46 AM
The irony is that if Vatican II is the 'revolt', and the current state of Sedevacante is the result of the 'one who holds' having been taken out of the way, then the all the claims that the Church has defected, or that the Saints aren't really Saints, or that Popes can teach error, can be thrown out.

If Vatican II is the revolt warned about by St Paul, then Vatican II does not undermine but instead confirms the claims of Catholicism.

And ditto for the current empty Chair.

Shouldnt that mean that no true masses will be celebrated? All the sacraments should be gone, except for baptism..

But sede priests are still keeping the faith alive (according to sedes)

After the Antichrist has come, not before. 

St Paul's gives the signs that precede the coming of the Man of Perdition.  A revolt and the taking out of the way of the one who holds.  Once the Antichrist has been embraced by the world and installed in the 'temple of God', that's when no true masses will be celebrated. 

Meanwhile, if Vatican II is the revolt and our current state of Sedevacante refers to the one who holds having been taken out of the way, then we can start cheering up and dropping all the nonsense about a defecting Church, and Saints who aren't Saints, and Popes teaching error being possible.

And we can also ignore the siren calls of the Eastern Orthodox and the Protestants, who've already had their revolt!

Vatican II and the current state of Sedevacante prove the unique claims of Catholicism and the Papacy if the above argument is true.

See how crucial the Pope is!  He's the one who has to be taken out of the way before the Antichrist comes!
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.  
St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15, para 9.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
WB Yeats, 'The Second Coming'.

Sempronius

But there are plenty of SSPX and sede priests that will still celebrate true masses? So how will we get to that state where there is not a single mass to participate in?

awkwardcustomer

Quote from: Sempronius on January 06, 2019, 09:37:41 AM
But there are plenty of SSPX and sede priests that will still celebrate true masses? So how will we get to that state where there is not a single mass to participate in?

I can't predict exactly how the Antichrist will silence the probably less than a thousand priests worldwide who say the true Mass.

But if the disappearance of the true Mass is a Scripturally prophesied feature of the reign of the Antichrist, then this suggests he will achieve it somehow, most likely by the tried and tested means of simply killing priests who do say the true Mass. This could be achieved easily and quickly, I'm sorry to say.
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.  
St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15, para 9.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
WB Yeats, 'The Second Coming'.

Michael Wilson

How about this far fetched plan, which, bear with me, I know is really way out there: How about if the enemies of the Church manage to somehow elect a Cardinal that has such progressive ideas, that he decides to reform all the rites of the Church in the West; the reform is so complete that the new sacramental rites of orders, are either doubtful or invalid, so that only a tiny fraction of priest and bishops are still validly ordained, and therefore, still offer a true Mass. That would be essentially the same as the abolition of the Mass, for most of the Catholic world. Crazy idea, huh! Nah! Never happen.
"The World Must Conform to Our Lord and not He to it." Rev. Dennis Fahey CSSP

"My brothers, all of you, if you are condemned to see the triumph of evil, never applaud it. Never say to evil: you are good; to decadence: you are progess; to death: you are life. Sanctify yourselves in the times wherein God has placed you; bewail the evils and the disorders which God tolerates; oppose them with the energy of your works and your efforts, your life uncontaminated by error, free from being led astray, in such a way that having lived here below, united with the Spirit of the Lord, you will be admitted to be made but one with Him forever and ever: But he who is joined to the Lord is one in spirit." Cardinal Pie of Potiers

awkwardcustomer

Quote from: Michael Wilson on January 06, 2019, 11:23:31 AM
How about this far fetched plan, which, bear with me, I know is really way out there: How about if the enemies of the Church manage to somehow elect a Cardinal that has such progressive ideas, that he decides to reform all the rites of the Church in the West; the reform is so complete that the new sacramental rites of orders, are either doubtful or invalid, so that only a tiny fraction of priest and bishops are still validly ordained, and therefore, still offer a true Mass. That would be essentially the same as the abolition of the Mass, for most of the Catholic world. Crazy idea, huh! Nah! Never happen.

I've wondered about this.  If the NO liturgy, including the reformed rite for the Consecration of Bishops, is invalid due to not being Catholic, then the true Mass has already disappeared from the vast majority of the altars of the Church.

Therefore no-one should be suprised when Bergoglio places beach balls on the altar.  It isn't the Mass and he knows it.  He's daring his audience to realise this. 
And formerly the heretics were manifest; but now the Church is filled with heretics in disguise.  
St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15, para 9.

And what rough beast, it's hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?
WB Yeats, 'The Second Coming'.

christulsa

#40
The human element has largely abandoned us, be it Novus Ordo, Traddom, or the schismatic-heretical false churches.  We're all like hermits banished to the desert.  We are alone with God, and even He has allowed visual signs of His existence in our world to become so rare that to really believe in Him until we die would be heroically virtuous (ie what makes a saint).  Solution?  Keep going to work, bear the darkness, keep believing, pray. Soon we will all be dead anyway.

Conclusion: no, going Eastern Orthodox isn't a safe haven during this dark age in Christian history.

Vetus Ordo

Quote from: Michael Wilson on December 31, 2018, 05:05:42 PM
The Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore your conclusion that the Church has failed, is impossible.

The Church of Rome cannot defect. It is de fide.

So either she has or she hasn't.

Traditional Catholicism hinges upon this paradox. Rome cannot lose the faith and yet she has.
DISPOSE OUR DAYS IN THY PEACE, AND COMMAND US TO BE DELIVERED FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION, AND TO BE NUMBERED IN THE FLOCK OF THINE ELECT.

Stubborn

Quote from: Vetus Ordo on January 11, 2019, 08:40:26 AM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on December 31, 2018, 05:05:42 PM
The Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore your conclusion that the Church has failed, is impossible.

The Church of Rome cannot defect. It is de fide.

So either she has or she hasn't.

Traditional Catholicism hinges upon this paradox. Rome cannot lose the faith and yet she has.

Yes, it is de fide that the Church cannot defect, but why is that? It is because the Church is Christ, as such, Christ cannot defect from Himself. The Church is Christ, His Mystical Body and Catholics are members of His Body, which is what we mean when we say that Catholics are members of the Church. We are not Christ, nor are we His Mystical Body, we are members of His Mystical Body.

Some members whither away or cut themselves right off, this happens without regard to the members' standing, importance or rank. It is the members who are always perfectly capable of defecting, indeed, no matter who we are, the real challenge is to remain a member, because due to our inclination toward evil, it is always much easier to defect than remain a member.

So when we say "Rome has lost the faith", we are actually talking about members of the Church who have defected from the Church, not a slab of land in Italy - and certainly not the Church itself, for that is impossible.
Even after a long life of sin, if the Christian receives the Sacrament of the dying with the appropriate dispositions, he will go straight to heaven without having to go to purgatory. - Fr. M. Philipon; This sacrament prepares man for glory immediately, since it is given to those who are departing from this life. - St. Thomas Aquinas; It washes away the sins that remain to be atoned, and the vestiges of sin; it comforts and strengthens the soul of the sick person, arousing in him a great trust and confidence in the divine mercy. Thus strengthened, he bears the hardships and struggles of his illness more easily and resists the temptation of the devil and the heel of the deceiver more readily; and if it be advantageous to the welfare of his soul, he sometimes regains his bodily health. - Council of Trent

Vetus Ordo

#43
Quote from: Stubborn on January 11, 2019, 09:20:11 AM
Quote from: Vetus Ordo on January 11, 2019, 08:40:26 AM
Quote from: Michael Wilson on December 31, 2018, 05:05:42 PM
The Catholic Church is the one true Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ, therefore your conclusion that the Church has failed, is impossible.

The Church of Rome cannot defect. It is de fide.

So either she has or she hasn't.

Traditional Catholicism hinges upon this paradox. Rome cannot lose the faith and yet she has.

Yes, it is de fide that the Church cannot defect, but why is that? It is because the Church is Christ, as such, Christ cannot defect from Himself. The Church is Christ, His Mystical Body and Catholics are members of His Body, which is what we mean when we say that Catholics are members of the Church. We are not Christ, nor are we His Mystical Body, we are members of His Mystical Body.

Some members whither away or cut themselves right off, this happens without regard to the members' standing, importance or rank. It is the members who are always perfectly capable of defecting, indeed, no matter who we are, the real challenge is to remain a member, because due to our inclination toward evil, it is always much easier to defect than remain a member.

So when we say "Rome has lost the faith", we are actually talking about members of the Church who have defected from the Church, not a slab of land in Italy - and certainly not the Church itself, for that is impossible.

It is de fide that the Church of Rome cannot defect.

That is to say, the diocese of Rome with the Pope at its head. Every other member of the Church can defect (dioceses of Greece, Egypt, Spain, Germany, England, the United States, etc.) except its head, the diocese of Rome. Why? Because if the head defects, the body dies.

The question then is this: has the Roman Church defected by presiding over and approving Vatican II, all its documents, liturgical reforms and all its ecumenical teachings for the past 50 years?

Certainly, it seems she has defected the faith as presented and taught up until 1962. So the point may very well be this: was the counter-reformed and anti-liberal faith of the past 4 centuries in need of reform? Or was it integrally genuine? If it needed no reform, then there were no real divine guarantees that it would be preserved as it was thought it had to be preserved. If it needed reform, then traditionalism as it stands is false and the whole point is moot.

Unless the solution is sedevacantism. But that's another can of worms that, similarly to the "recognize and resist" stance, cannot sustain the test of time. If we have another few decades of what we've been having for the past 50 years and there will be no more real sedevacantism or R&R to speak of.
DISPOSE OUR DAYS IN THY PEACE, AND COMMAND US TO BE DELIVERED FROM ETERNAL DAMNATION, AND TO BE NUMBERED IN THE FLOCK OF THINE ELECT.

Stubborn

#44
Quote from: Vetus Ordo on January 11, 2019, 10:34:33 AM

It is de fide that the Church of Rome cannot defect.

That is to say, the diocese of Rome with the Pope at its head. Every other member of the Church can defect (dioceses of Greece, Egypt, Spain, Germany, England, the United States, etc.) except its head, the diocese of Rome. Why? Because if the head defects, the body dies.......

The Church, which is Christ, remains Christ throughout the world both in time and in eternity, even in Rome. That is the reason it's de fide that the Church in Rome or anywhere else you want to name, cannot defect. Indeed, even suggesting such a thing is to suggest that Christ can defect from Himself, which is absurd. The pope is not the head of the Church, Christ is. The pope is only the Church's visible head on earth, and is perfectly able to cut himself off if that's what he wants to do, just the same as any other member who wants to cut themselves off, and no matter who or how many choose to cut themselves off, the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ will live on, and will never die.

For our part, we must remain members of the Church, which is Christ, even if it's visible head chooses to cut himself off. Christ is the one who really is in charge and it is to Him, the Church, which we must remain firmly attached.


Even after a long life of sin, if the Christian receives the Sacrament of the dying with the appropriate dispositions, he will go straight to heaven without having to go to purgatory. - Fr. M. Philipon; This sacrament prepares man for glory immediately, since it is given to those who are departing from this life. - St. Thomas Aquinas; It washes away the sins that remain to be atoned, and the vestiges of sin; it comforts and strengthens the soul of the sick person, arousing in him a great trust and confidence in the divine mercy. Thus strengthened, he bears the hardships and struggles of his illness more easily and resists the temptation of the devil and the heel of the deceiver more readily; and if it be advantageous to the welfare of his soul, he sometimes regains his bodily health. - Council of Trent