Christianity/Catholic Church Rama P. Th e defi nitive study of the diff erences between the Traditional Catholic Church Coomaraswamy The Destruction of the and the current leadership in Rome, resulting from the Second Vatican Council. Christian Tradition • Updated and revised edition; • Addendum by Dr. Coomaraswamy on Pope Benedict XVI; Updated and revised by • New Preface by Dr. Coomaraswamy; • New Foreword by Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P; Rama P. Coomaraswamy • New Introduction by Bishop Th omas C. Fouhy. “Brilliantly written and fully documented. Th e author shows clearly at what point, according to strictly traditional Catholic doctrine, obedience becomes a sin, and at what point authority, even that of a Pope, becomes null and void.” —Martin Lings, author of Th e Eleventh Hour The Christian Tradition Christian “Th e Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians orders us to expose the unfruitful works of darkness. In Th e Destruction of the Christian Tradition, Dr. Coomaraswamy does just that clearly, decisively, brilliantly and, I dare say, inspiringly; for against the Destruction ugly backdrop of the new religion, one is shocked into a greater realization of the beauty of the true Religion. Th e good doctor demonstrates in a compelling way that ours is a Catholic heritage that is truly precious. Th is book deserves to be dissemi- nated far and wide.” —Rev. Father Clarence J. Kelly, Superior, Eastern Division (U.S.A.), Society of Pius X “Th is is a really defi nitive work on the subject—a subject we have all talked about without really pinning it down.” —Mary Martinez, Vatican Correspondent and author of From Rome Urgently “Vatican II was convoked at the worst possible moment, when Western civilization was passing through particularly heady throes of revolt against established systems —spiritual, social, and political. And unlike the previous Vatican Council, which of the proclaimed a thirty-year moratorium for sober refl ection before passing on any of the decrees, the Vatican Council II rushed through its reforms while asking our indulgence in believing this haste to be the work of the Holy Spirit.” —Whitall N. Perry, compiler of A Treasury of Traditional Wisdom “Well written with great care taken in documentation and precision, this book should serve as a beacon to guide those lost in the Post-Conciliar confusion. It will also clarify the perspective and strengthen the faith of those who remain within the Traditional Church.” —Studies in Comparative Religion ISBN-13: 978-0-941532-98-3 World Wisdom ISBN-10: 0-941532-98-4 World Wisdom Foreword by Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P. $28.95 US / $37.95 CAN Introduction by Bishop Thomas C. Fouhy THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION Cover: Front cover of the Lindau Gospels, 9th century THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION Updated and Revised Rama P. Coomaraswamy, M.D. Foreword by Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P. Introduction by Bishop Th omas C. Fouhy Th e Destruction of the Christian Tradition: Updated and Revised © 2006 World Wisdom, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission, except in critical articles and reviews. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coomaraswamy, Rama P. Th e destruction of the Christian tradition / Rama P. Coomaraswamy ; foreword by Robert F. McKenna ; introduction by Th omas C. Fouhy.-- Updated and rev. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-941532-98-3 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-941532-98-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Catholic Church--Doctrines. I. Title. BX1751.3.C66 2006 282--dc22 2005029769 Printed on acid-free paper in Canada. For information address World Wisdom, Inc. P. O. Box 2682, Bloomington, Indiana 47402-2682 www.worldwisdom.com CONTENTS Publisher’s Note vii Foreword by Bishop Robert F. McKenna, O.P. ix Preface to the Second Edition by Rama P. Coomaraswamy xi Introduction by Bishop Th omas C. Fouhy xiii 1. Th e Problem: Is it the Same Church? 1 2. Th e Magisterium of the Church and Related Issues 10 3. Th e Nature of Revelation—Scripture 45 4. Just What Is Meant by the Word “Tradition”? 62 5. Th e Nature of the Catholic Faith 78 6. Th e Attitude of the Magisterium Towards Innovation 96 7. Can a Pope Depart From Unity of Faith and Worship? 107 8. Th e Problem of Obedience 120 9. Th e Post-Conciliar “Popes”—Part I 132 10. Th e Post-Conciliar “Popes”—Part II 163 11. Vatican II 184 12. Th e Liturgical Revolution 230 13. Th e Novus Ordo Missae 255 14. Orders and the Destruction of the Apostolic Succession 303 15. Communism, “Ostpolitik,” and Liberation Th eology 357 16. Modernism in the Church: Th e Road to Hell Is Paved 384 With Good Intentions Conclusion 406 Addendum: Benedict XVI 436 Biographical Notes 439 PUBLISHER’S NOTE Th e spiritual person of today faces a bewildering world. More than at any other time in history, a staggering variety of possibilities present themselves: one need only look at religious book departments at the local branch of any national book “superstore” to encounter thousands of titles which recommend themselves. From India to Indiana, many diff erent forms of religious fundamentalism are on the rise, and this phenomenon— which ignores centuries of traditional teachings with profound scriptural, historical, and intellectual foundations, oft en to serve some political agenda—touches the world everywhere and fl ames the fi res of fanaticism. At the other end of the spectrum is secular fundamentalism—the religion of no religion—which denies any Absolute, except its own absolute claim that everything is relative. Th ere are also advocates of ecumenism, inter- and intra-faith dialogue, and ecological, feminist, racial, ethnic, and other special interest groups too numerous to mention. And then there is the new age movement which promises everything from spiritual realization to relief from stress. Apart from the most conservative forms of religion, most of these groups, whether their objective is the reconciliation of faith and science, world peace, equality for a minority, or a host of other goals, do so through revising Revelation and reinterpreting the teachings of the saints and sages to suit the times. Th e Reality of God is made secondary to the reality of man; and, sometimes, because it is terribly unfashionable to assert an Absolute Reality, God is altogether removed, as if He were an embarrassment of the past. Spatially speaking, by moving the Center to the periphery, those who would seek to “update” Eternal Truth cast their boats upon the sea of change and drift out ever further on the ebbing tide. Th ese few comments bring us to the remarkable book in hand. To the dilemma posed above, and in response to what has been called “the contradiction of relativism,” Fr. Dr. Rama Coomaraswamy responds with an adamantine clarity and force of reasoning. He answers directly for the Catholic faithful, and secondarily for all believers who uphold religious orthodoxy, regardless of religious affi liation. Th e Destruction of the Christian Tradition tells the story of the betrayal of the holy Catholic Church, undoubtedly one of the defi ning events of the latter half of the twentieth century. Exposing the massive secularist objectives which framed the Second Vatican Council, Fr. Dr. Coomaraswamy dismantles, brick by brick, an edifi ce of lies and theological half-truths which traded the wheat for the chaff , and he pulverizes the false gods of progressivism, evolutionism, scientism, ecumenism, secular humanism, and Marxism, all of which the vii Th e Destruction of the Christian Tradition Vatican II Church invited to hold places of honor within its inner sanctum. Outlining the descending course of events leading the Church hierarchy to turn its back upon the saving doctrines and sacraments which illuminated the lives of centuries of saints and led centuries of the faithful to salvation, these pages guide the reader through the history of degeneration of the Church through one compromise aft er another. All of these compromises were made in view of ultimately replacing the timeless Revelation of God with the ephemeral reason of man, and even worse, with the fashionable thought of the day. Faithful Catholics will fi nd in these chapters a path of return to their true Church. And all religious people should be grateful for this book because the forces of secular relativism, which Fr. Dr. Coomaraswamy so clearly exposes, undermine the basis of all religion. For faithful Catholics who have a longing for the true doctrines of the traditional Church, this book provides a map tracing a journey from the dark labyrinth of error and deception into the sunlit world of a religion which was the fountain of peace, beauty, and salvation for generations of faithful men and women during the last two thousand years. World Wisdom January 2005 viii FOREWORD It is good to see a revision of this monumental work of Dr. Rama Coomaraswamy. It was the fi rst of many studies he has since written in the last twenty-fi ve years on the changes wrought by the Second Vatican Council. He has been a leading light for Catholics refusing to accept this new Reformationem—the “Traditionalists” as they quickly became known. Th e year 2005 marks the fortieth since the close of the Council. We are well into the second generation of Catholics who have not known traditional Catholicism and live in woeful ignorance of it—if indeed they still “practice” the Faith at all. It is reckoned that about 50% have fallen away. Tradition is indeed the keynote. Doctrine and Discipline are two aspects of the Catholic religion.