WHAT HAPPENED AT THE 2015 SYNOD? PART L

An Urgent and Disturbing Aside (Continued)

The material we considered in the last instalment of these comments/reflections came from The Fatima Crusader movement about which we should be informed because comments like the ones contained in the e-mail about my homily come from Catholics on the right who know little about the Church’s Social Teaching, especially regarding Social Justice matters, but get many elements of their Catholicism from rightist groups like the Fatima Crusaders. What we saw in Doctor Salza’s article in The Fatima Crusader was also echoed in other articles. Below please allow me to walk you quickly through a few other illustrations.

One comes from an article title “The Message of Fatima Imposes An Obligation on the Church” by Father Nicholas Gruner, S.T.L., S.T.D. (Cand [=Candidate]), R.I.P., who founded the Fatima Crusade movement. The article deals with the Risen Lord’s message to Saint Margaret Mary for the King of France, a message the king did not heed. “Saint Margaret Mary certainly had a reputation in her lifetime as a saint … France was in its glory days and Louis XIV was the most powerful and, shall we say, the most glorious of the French kings in his power and so they did not listen. One hundred years later, as we know, the French king was stripped of his power by the masonic infiltration of his country and the Masonic lodges took away the king’s right to rule and make legislation – causing the French Revolution … It is interesting how Our Lord makes that some reference [in speaking to Lucia in 1931 about the need to consecrate Russia] when He tells us that what happened to the kings of France – by the same enemies – will happen to the Pope and bishops. Today, of course, they don’t see it, but the signs are there if you’re willing to look at them. My point here is that Our Lord, Himself, says that they will be punished; they will follow the King of France into misfortune for one reason – for not obeying His command [to consecrate Russia].” (Father Nicholas Gruner, “The Message of Fatima Imposes An Obligation on the Church,” The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 4 – 12) In another article (“Testimonial to Father Gruner”), we read the following. “On Thursday [September 24, 2015], the Holy Father will address a joint session of Congress [in the United States]. In his speech, the Pope may well touch on some of the issues that bedevil the people of the United States and world. He may even propose certain ideas to address those issues. Father Gruner wanted us to be here [Washington, D.C.] because we know that only one idea will work. We know that only Mary can help us. We know that the crisis in the world and the Church [note!] is too far gone for human solutions. We know that the only thing that will turn the tide against Satan and his legions is the to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” (Miriam Gruner, “Testimonial to Father Gruner,” The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 37-39) Or again consider the following. “Certainly that element of the Secret that predicts an unparalleled crisis in the Church – I mean the text the Vatican has withheld, wherein the Blessed Virgin explains the meaning of the obscure vision published in 2000 – would have been clearer in 1960. In that year revolution was beginning in both the Church with the calling of the Second Vatican Council, and the world at large, which underwent an accelerated descent into total depravity. [Strong words!] (Anyone who is old enough to remember those days will recall that the Sixties were a time in which it seemed that both the Church and society had crossed over a threshold into a state of affairs the once Christian West had never seen before. “Today, so many large pieces of the puzzle have fallen into place that even the smallest pieces are now readily fitted into the picture. For example, the Synod on the Family, where we see precisely

1 that ‘the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from enemies outside, but arises from sin in the Church.’ Thus it is no surprise that in the message of Akita, which Pope Benedict (then Cardinal Ratzinger) confirmed is ‘an extension of Fatima’ such that ‘these two messages are essentially the same,’ we read what can only be a foretelling of the very thing we see at work in the Synod [the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Akita, Japan, to Sister Agnes Sasagawa took place after the Fatima apparitions and it is to these that the following material is related]: …The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church. One will see Cardinals opposing other Cardinals … and bishops confronting other bishops. The priests who venerate Me will be scorned and condemned by their confreres; churches and altars will be sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will tempt many priests and religious to leave the service of the Lord.” (“They Fired Bullets and Arrows at Him,” Christopher A. Ferrara, The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 45-48) And “where the Third Secret is concerned, we have long since passed the point where the major pieces of the puzzle reveal the big picture: that the Secret foretells a divine chastisement of both the Church and the world, following an internal attack on the Church by her enemies within. That piece of the puzzle which pertains to the internal enemies of the Church was revealed by Pope Benedict XVI during his pilgrimage to Fatima in May of 2010, when he declared that in the Secret: ‘are indicated future realities of the Church which are little by little developing and revealing themselves … As for the novelty that we can discover today in this message, it is that attacks on the Pope and the Church do not come from the outside, but the sufferings of the Church come precisely from within the Church, from sins that exist in the Church. This has always been known, but today we see it in a really terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from enemies outside, but arises from sin in the Church.’” (ibid.) And the only solution for the Fatima Crusaders is to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary so that Our Lady can use Russia to bless all other nations, bringing peace to all the world. But why is this not being done? “My only conclusion is that some people actually oppose these great benefits. Everyone may want peace, but not on Our Lady’s terms. Peace means different things to different people. The Communists used to say that peace will come when all the world is Communist. All real enemies of the Church want peace on their own terms, not on Our Lady’s. Others want peace, but not yet … or peace but not until … Another reason people might hesitate to accept Our Lady’s peace plan is the fear of returning to a Catholic world. Spoiled by the greater freedom offered by liberalism, some might dread the thought of regressing to a world of obedience, sacrifice, expiation, and self-control.” (“New Light on the Consecration of Russia,” (Suzanne Pearson, The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 40-44)

The castigation of today’s Church and Its Synods at times is hysterical and so biased that one’s credulity is taxed to the limits! “Even more disturbing [than pushing for environmentalism, homosexuality, and feminism by our secular world], is that certain members of the present-day Vatican, in their Modernist [the heresy that subjugates Faith to modern thought] thrust to allegedly ‘dialogue’ with the world, give the appearance of espousing the same evils promoted by the enemies of Christ. “Documents emanating from Synod 2014, as well as the preparatory documents for the 2015 Synod, unbelievable as it sounds, say we should look for ‘positive elements’ of co-habitation. [The footnote here states ‘See Paragraph 106 in the Instrumentum Laboris, the 2015 Synod Working Document released June 23, 2015; as well as the superb analysis of the Working Document by Voice of the Family, page 10.’] “The 2014 Synod mid-term document spoke of the ‘positive aspects’ of homosexuality. [The footnote here states ‘The October 13, 2014 mid-term report, which scandalized Catholics worldwide, contained this section: “The question of homosexuality was then addressed, with a call to serious 2 reflection. The Synod Fathers noted that homosexual persons have gifts and talents to offer the Christian community and that pastoral outreach to them is an important educative challenge.” This is a far cry from the correct teaching found even in the New Catechism, which is nowhere found in the Synod documents. “Sacred Scripture … presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity (cf. Genesis 19:1-29; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:10). Tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’ They are contrary to natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from genuine and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (Catechism of the , Number 2357)’ “We see Cardinals speaking of the alleged ‘positive aspects’ of ‘stable’ homosexual relationships. [The footnote here states ‘Stable gay relationship is better than a “temporary” one, says Cardinal Schönborn,’ Catholic Herald, September 11, 2015.’] These same men who propound these scandalous proposals maintain their influence of power in the 2015 Synod now underway. “And sad to say, the push for environmentalism in the present pontificate [especially in the encyclical Laudato Siˊ] not only reflects the plan called for by the enemies of Christ and Christian civilization, but also has nothing to do with the competence and duties of the papal office. What we have in this case is religion at the service of humanity [!], religion at the service of ecology. [Just think of the person’s reaction to my homily mentioned in the last edition of these materials!] It is a man- centered disorientation caused by a reckless sentimentality, and by the spirit of Modernism.” (“The Momentary Triumph of Christ’s Enemies,” John Vennari, The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 28-34) It is so obvious that a person like the preceding author has not read Francis’ encyclical on caring for the Earth/environment. And do note there that the author calls the Pope a heretic (i.e., a Modernist). No one who knows what is illustrated here in these comments/reflection will be surprised that Father Gruner and the Fatima Crusade movement were often banned from coming to work in many dioceses and archdioceses!

Since the question of our relationship with people of the Muslim/Islamic faith came up in the last instalment of these materials/reflections, let us take a quick look at what the Fatima Crusade says about them. Only one example will be used here for the sake of brevity. “We Will Conquer Your , Break Your Crosses, Enslave Your Women”… ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and Syria = the Islamic State Caliphate]. Consider first a recent article in the ISIS magazine Dabiq, quoting a fanatical Imam who ‘prophesies’ as follows: ‘We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah, the Exalted [the Supreme God of Islam].” [Thus, Muslims in general are to be scorned and even hated because they want to destroy us Christians – sounds like something Donald Trump would say!] “Consider also a recent article in the Italian daily Il Giornale, which may well provide one of those precise historical clues that clarify a prophecy as its fulfilment nears (like the ripening fig tree that heralds the coming of Spring, to use Our Lord’s parable of the advent of the Last Days). “The article reports on an ‘e-book’ being distributed to Muslim militants that provides instructions to prepare for the conquest of Rome by learning to use various weapons including ‘home- made bows and arrows.’ The idea is to stockpile weapons whose possession is not currently illegal so that they can be employed in urban guerrilla warfare. As the instruction manual states: ‘The advent of the war for the conquest of Rome will consist primarily of the urban guerrilla in the cities and streets of Europe.’ “Suddenly the reference to a Pope of the future being slain by bullets and arrows falls into place in the grand puzzle that is being completed before our eyes [regarding the third Secret of Fatima]. Can we be certain this is so? Without the Virgin’s own explanation of the vision – for which the Vatican has substituted the ludicrous ‘interpretation’ of the Vatican Secretary of State [Cardinal Bertone] – we obviously cannot be. Then again, it is always prudent to examine the signs of the times [a Vatican II concept!] when Heaven itself has given us a warning of impending disaster – a 3 disaster to which nearly the entire hierarchy remains oblivious as they persevere in the ruinous course of the past fifty years of drift and decay in the Church and in the world.” (Christopher A. Ferrara, “‘They Fired Bullets and Arrows at Him,’” The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, pages 45-48)

The Fatima Crusaders see Father Nicholas Gruner as a heroic priest who was persecuted like the prophets of old. “As a direct result of his dedication to the Message of Fatima, Father Gruner was scorned, ridiculed, and maligned by the modernists in the [episcopal] hierarchy as well as many of the misguided laity. When one considers the vicious attacks, the calumny, and detraction he endured throughout his priesthood, they cannot help but recall the words of Our Lady of Akita: ‘The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres.’ Many heroic priests have suffered for the faith during the post-conciliar [Vatican II] era, but few have endured the degree of ridicule and calumny Father Gruner suffered – all due to his unwavering devotion to the Message of Fatima. He was a voice crying in the wilderness and, like the prophets of old, was persecuted for justice’s sake.” (Robert Siscoe, “Tribute to Father Gruner,” The Fatima Crusader, Summer 2015, pages 44-46) (Practically the whole of this Summer issue was dedicated to paying tribute to Father Gruner.)

What you have been exposed to here from The Fatima Crusaders is what they call the true faith: the “worldwide experts on Fatima and the Faith will continue updating you with the things you need to know – what’s going on in the world, what’s going on in the Church, and the consolation and inspiration you need to hold onto the Faith ‘whole and entire’” (Coralie Graham, editor of The Fatima Crusader magazine, “Proclaim the Truth of Fatima in the Faith,” The Fatima Crusader, Winter 2015, page 2). What we have here is the phenomenon of what some theological commentators call “the self-appointment of guardians of orthodoxy.” Finally, as I write these comments and reflections, I am a Roman Catholic priest trying to find the Gospel Truths for today’s Church but I am certain that I, and many others like me, would be classified by the Fatima Crusaders as “the confreres who oppose the priests who venerate Our Lady.” The reply? Not at all – we oppose those who oppose the Pope and the needed reformation of the Church by Francis!

TO BE CONTINUED

Father Fred Scinto, C.R., Resurrection Ministries, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. ([email protected]) (519-885-4370 or toll free 1-877-242-7935)

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