1. The changes following the Second Vatican Council have proven so
damaging to the Roman Catholic Religion and so detrimental to the
sanctification of souls that one can easily discern that `an enemy
has done this.' This Council marked the culmination of the first
phase of a liberal and modernist intrusion into the Roman Catholic
Church, which intrusion had already begun in the nineteenth century
and to which St. Pius X alerted the Church in 1907. In his Encyclical
`Pascendi' he states:
`The partisans of error are to be sought not only among the Church's
open enemies; but, what is to be most dreaded and deplored, in her
very bosom, and are�thoroughly imbued with the poisonous doctrines
taught by the enemies of the Church, and lost to all sense of
modesty, put themselves forward as reformers of the Church.' This
intrusion was made possible because men influenced by modernist
ideas gained positions of authority, thereby permitting confirmed
heretics and enemies of the Church to overtake our Catholic
institutions.
2. The aforesaid intruders have embraced and promoted the modernist
and liberal program of the reform of the Church, condemned by the
Roman Pontiffs, particularly by Pius VI, Gregory XVI, Pius IX, Leo
XIII, St. Pius X, Pius XI and Pius XII.
3. These intruders have attempted to promulgate, in the name of
the Roman Catholic Church, abominable novelties in every aspect of
her life, i.e., in the areas of doctrine, morals, liturgy, canon
law, pastoral practices, seminary education and religious life.
4. The intrusion of the liberals and modernists into positions of
control has caused the wide-spread destruction of Catholic Faith,
morals and worship and the creation of a new religion - the so-called
conciliar religion which is not the Catholic Religion. It should
be apparent to all that this new religion is not the Catholic
Religion because since its introduction into our Catholic institutions,
these institutions no longer manifest the four marks of the true
Church, the marks of unity, holiness, catholicity, apostolicity.
Thus, those who promote the doctrines and reforms of the conciliar
religion do not represent the Roman Catholic Church, which is
absolutely and exclusively identified with the Mystical Body of
Christ and which is known by its four marks.
5. The Catholic Church was established by Our Lord Jesus Christ
for the purpose of teaching, ruling and sanctifying the faithful
in His name. The members of its hierarchy are true successors of
the Apostles, and the Pope, who as the head of the Catholic hierarchy,
is the successor of Saint Peter and the Vicar of Christ on earth.
A Roman Pontiff consequently has universal and immediate jurisdiction
over all the faithful.
6. To this Catholic hierarchy throughout the ages have been addressed
the words of Christ to the Apostles: `As the Father hath sent me,
I also send you.' (John 20:21). By virtue of its divine institution,
therefore, the hierarchy, by its very nature, exercises an authority
over the faithful which is the very authority of Christ.
7. To exercise authority over the Church one must externally be a
member of the Church. To be a member of the Church one must profess
the Catholic Faith. Public abandonment of the Faith severs one
from the Church and causes one to lose any position of authority
one may have had. For this reason, theologians of all time have
held and taught, and Canon Law confirms in Canon 1325, no. 2, that
anyone who publicly and notoriously defects from the Faith by
obstinately denying or doubting any article of Divine and Catholic
Faith is a heretic. It is evident that such a person could not
possibly rule the faithful, for by analogy to a physical body, it
would be impossible to be the head of a body of which one is not
even a member.
8. Thus Canon Law equally provides for the tacit resignation from
positions of authority of those who defect publicly from the Catholic
Faith (Canon 188, no. 4).
9. But those who presently are thought to be occupying hierarchical
positions in the Catholic Church are acting, for the most part, as
though they do not have the Faith, according to all human means of
judging.
10. Among Catholics who are presently adhering to tradition, bishops,
priests, and laity alike, we observe a marked difference of opinion
concerning the legitimacy of the present hierarchy. We hold that
there is certain and sufficient evidence to assert, as a legitimate
theological opinion, that anyone who publicly professes the conciliar
religion does not legitimately hold any position of authority in
the Catholic Church for the reasons stated in paragraph seven.
While we do not claim the authority to settle this question
definitively, we believe that the legitimacy of this theological
opinion is dictated by logic and a correct application of Catholic
theological principles. We recognize that the definitive and
authoritative resolution to such theological questions rests
ultimately with the magisterium of the Church. We thus deplore
the attempt of some to settle this question by acting as though
they had the authority to bind the consciences of the faithful in
matters which have not been definitively settled by the Church.
11. The secondary object of the infallibility of the Church is her
rites and disciplines. Because of this secondary infallibility,
it is impossible for her to prescribe for the Universal Church a
law which is harmful or evil. But the modernists have promulgated,
purportedly in the name of the Church, rites and disciplines which
are poisonous, evil, and harmful to souls. It is, therefore,
certain that these rites and disciplines do not come from the Roman
Catholic Church.
THE SACRAMENTS
12. Since the Second Vatican Council, the sacraments of the Catholic
Church have been radically altered by the modernists. These
alterations contain substantial changes with regard to the ceremonies
of the sacraments. In addition, they have effected changes in the
very matter and form of the sacraments, thus rendering some of them
doubtful and invalid.
13. In any case, therefore, in which the form or matter of the
sacraments has been altered, we hold them thereby to be invalid if
the change is substantial, or doubtfully valid where the matter or
form is not certain, depending on the nature of the alteration
effected. A clear example of such an alteration is the approval
of grape juice as the matter for the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist
by the modernists operating in the Congregation for Divine Worship.
14. Sacraments in the new religion are further rendered doubtful
or invalid (1) by a defect of intention on the part of the minister
in certain cases and (2) by the deviations, undertaken by the
ministers, in individual cases which corrupt form and/or matter.
15. In the practical order, in the course of our pastoral activity,
the Church obliges us to require the reiteration according to the
traditional rites, either conditionally or absolutely, as the case
may be, of any sacrament conferred in a doubtful or invalid manner.
We refer the final determination of the validity or invalidity of
the doubtful sacraments to the judgment of the Church when a normal
state of affairs shall be restored.
THE SACRED LITURGY
16. The modernists have destroyed the sacred liturgy of the Roman
Catholic Church in nearly all of her holy places. The process
which brought about this destruction was begun well before the
Second Vatican Council and achieved its ultimate expression in the
impious New Order of the Mass promulgated by Paul VI in 1969. This
destruction was effected by applying to the liturgy the principle
of conforming the Church to the modern world. The end result was
the New Mass and the many liturgical aberrations produced by it,
thereby changing the liturgy from a treasury of Catholic doctrine
and piety into a cesspool of Protestantism, modernism, ecumenism,
pantheism, and virtually every error condemned by the Roman Catholic
Church.
17. We consequently reject this New Mass as an evil ceremony, since
it is a purveyor of sacrilege, error, and heresy rather than the
beacon of Catholic light and truth. We equally reject all the
sacramental rites and ceremonies reformed in accordance with the
modernist principles. In the light of the foregoing, we must
conclude that it is objectively a mortal sin to take active part
in the New Mass.
18. Since the very authors of the New Mass admit themselves that
their destructive activity began before the Second Vatican Council,
we logically reject the first steps before the Council which led
to the general reform of Vatican II, particularly those produced
by Annibale Bugnini in his work as Secretary of the Commission for
Liturgical Reform. We do not presume to bind others to this
rejection of all the pre-conciliar reforms, but we believe it is
both right and expedient for the good of the Church to adhere to
the Missal of Saint Pius V, reformed by Clement VIII, Urban VIII,
and Saint Pius X. While it is possible that there could be differences
of opinion concerning the acceptability of the pre-Conciliar reforms,
the principle remains the same: that we should follow a determined
set of rules used by the Church at some time before the Council.
THE NEW CODE OF CANON LAW
19. We utterly reject and condemn the New Code of Canon Law for
the sole reason that it is a legal expression of the modernist
distortion of the Roman Catholic Church. Its non-Catholic nature
is recognizable by the blasphemous, sacrilegious, and impious
practices which it condones and mandates concerning the Holy
Eucharist, whereby it sanction the giving of the Body and Blood of
Christ to heretics and schismatics, and the receiving of Communion
from heretical and schismatic sects.
20. Since the Second Vatican Council, the modernists have been
granting, purportedly in the name of the Church, annulments to
married couples for reasons which have no foundation either in the
traditional Canon Law of the Church or in the Roman Catholic doctrine
concerning matrimony.
21. We consequently deplore this contempt for the Holy Sacrament
of Matrimony commonly found among the modernists operating the
diocesan marriage tribunals and the Rota itself. In the practical
order, therefore, we refuse to recognize any annulments coming
forth from the aforesaid courts unless it can be demonstrated beyond
any reasonable doubt that the marriage did not exist in the first
place. For, according to Canon 1014 of the Code of Canon Law:
`Marriage enjoys the favor of the law, consequently, in doubt, the
validity of the marriage must be maintained until the contrary is
proved.
CONCLUSION
22. In the light of the foregoing, we see no other practical course
to follow than (1) to adhere with the certitude of the Faith to
all of the doctrine and moral teaching of the Roman Catholic Church;
(2) to continue the work of the Church for the salvation of souls,
and fulfill our duties as priests by providing the Catholic faithful
with integral Catholic doctrine and unquestionably valid sacraments,
using the faculties which the Church provides for such critical
situations, for `jurisdiction is not granted a man for his own
benefit, but for the good of the people and for the glory of God.'
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement, Q.8, A.5)
Therefore, `since necessity knows no law, in cases of necessity
the ordinance of the Church does not hinder.' (ibid Q.8, A.6); (3)
to reject the destructive modernist alteration of the Catholic
liturgy and discipline; (4) to condemn, reprove and reject the
poisonous errors of the modernists, refusing the Catholic name to
their tenets, worship, and discipline and thereby rejecting ecclesial
communion with them.
Mindful of the words of Saint Ephraem, Doctor of the Church, bidding
us `not to sit with heretics nor associate with apostates,' and
that `it would be better to teach demons than to try to convince
heretics,' we deplore every initiative that would seek to make
compatible, in one Church, Roman Catholicism and modernism.
23. These things we declare, mindful of St. Paul's injunction to
the Ephesians to `have not fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness' and in fulfillment of his command to `reprove them.'
(5:11) These things we do in the firm certitude of adhering to the
indestructible and supernatural unity of the Roman Catholic Church,
which extends, unaltered and pure, from her foundation by Our Lord
Jesus Christ to His Second Coming, from one end of the earth to
the other, from the Church Triumphant in heaven, to the Church
Militant on earth, to the Church Suffering in Purgatory, as one
unadulterated Church and Faith.
