“Non Habemus Papem”

By Very Rev. Fr. Casimir Puskorius, CMRI

Soon after Joseph Ratzinger was elected by his fellow Modernist cardinals and took the name of Benedict XVI, there was a flurry of hope among conservative Catholics that maybe, just maybe, he would start to stem the tide of heresy which had flooded the ecclesiastical landscape since Vatican II. Maybe, just maybe, the liturgical disasters would stop. Maybe, just maybe, the changes of Vatican II would start being undone. And maybe, just maybe, the pendulum would swing back in the opposite direction. After all, hadn’t Cardinal Ratzinger been for many years John Paul II’s “doctrinal watchdog” as head of the “Congregation for the Deposit of Faith”? And didn’t he clearly condemn the evil of relativism in a sermon to the cardinals at the recent conclave?

Some wondered if the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen would adopt a “wait and see” attitude about Benedict XVI’s legitimacy as pope. To the disappointment of only a few, CMRI did not hold this expectation. We knew already that Joseph Ratzinger was one of the theological experts or periti, at the disaster of Vatican II. We knew that he was a Modernist comrade of John Paul II; he would never have risen as high in the Vatican otherwise. We knew that he regularly offered the Novus Ordo Missae. We also knew of heretical teachings that he had given in the past. So we knew that he could not be any more of a legitimate successor of St. Peter than were John Paul II and his Vatican II predecessors.

The very next day after being elected by his fellow Modernists, he reinforced what we already knew. Let’s consider a few points from his address to the cardinals on April 20, 2005, as reported by ZENIT International News Agency (www.zenit.org); emphasis is mine:

Beloved, this profound gratitude for a gift of the divine mercy prevails in my heart despite everything. And I consider it in fact as a special grace obtained for me by my venerable Predecessor, John Paul II. I seem to feel his strong hand gripping mine; I seem to see his smiling eyes and to hear his words, addressed at this moment particularly to me: “Be not afraid!”

We can say it: John Paul II’s funeral rites were a truly extraordinary experience in which in some way the power of God was perceived that, through his Church, desires to make of all peoples a great family, through the unifying force of Truth and Love (cf. Lumen Gentium, No. 1). At the hour of death, conformed to his Teacher and Lord, John Paul II crowned his long and fruitful pontificate, confirming the Christian people in the faith, gathering them around himself and making the entire human family feel more united. How can we not feel supported by this testimony? How can we not perceive the encouragement that comes from this event of grace?

Surpassing all my expectations, Divine Providence, through the vote of the venerable Cardinal Fathers, has called me to succeed this great Pope....

Far from seeing the disasters of John Paul II’s pontificate, Benedict XVI praises him to high heaven. Apparently, we are not supposed to mind that heresy is rampant, that vocations are dying out, that liturgical sacrileges abound, that the cardinals and bishops are hirelings, that “Catholic” politicians publicly and unremittingly support abortion and birth control and homosexual rights, and that the clerical sexual abuse scandals are bankrupting one diocese after another. Just what was it, anyway, that made John Paul II so “great,” one wonders? The praise continues:

I have before me, in particular, the testimony of John Paul II. He has left a more courageous, free and young Church. A Church that, according to his teaching and example, looks with serenity to the past and has no fear of the future. She was led into the new millennium with the Great Jubilee, carrying in her hands the Gospel, applied to the present world through the authoritative rereading of the Second Vatican Council. Pope John Paul II indicated the Council precisely as a ‘compass’ with which to orient oneself in the vast ocean of the third millennium (cf. apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, Nos. 57-58). In his spiritual testament he noted: “I am convinced that the new generations will still be able to draw for a long time from the riches that this council of the 20th century has lavished on us” (17.III.2000).

A “more courageous, free, and young Church”? Only a complete Modernist could view the devastated landscape and call it something good! A few days after John Paul II died, a USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll caught my eye that shows just how bad things are in this “more courageous, free, and young Church.” Though the poll was done in the U.S. (and has its own margin of error), I’m sure it’s fairly indicative of the rest of the world. Here’s a sampling of what Novus Ordo “Catholics” believe:

In other words, nearly 8 out of 10 approve of the mortal sin of birth control, nearly 2 out of 3 deny the necessary celibacy of the priesthood, nearly 6 out of 10 implicitly approve of abortion and using the stem cells of the murdered babies for research, more than half deny that Christ confined the priesthood to the male gender, and nearly half deny the indissolubility of marriage decreed by the Creator Himself. Don’t think for a moment that Benedict XVI is ignorant of these facts! And yet he has the gall to say that things are better than they were before....

Therefore, in preparing myself also for the service that is proper to the Successor of Peter, I wish to affirm strongly my determination to continue the commitment to implement the Second Vatican Council, in the footsteps of my Predecessors and in faithful continuity with the 2000-year tradition of the Church. This year in fact will be the 40th anniversary of the conclusion of the conciliar sessions (Dec. 8, 1965). With the passing of the years, the conciliar documents have not lost their current importance; on the contrary, their teachings reveal themselves particularly pertinent in relation to the new needs of the Church and of the present globalized society. [Emphasis supplied.]

Benedict XVI’s blindness is palpable: he simply cannot accept that Vatican II was an unmitigated disaster. Like the liberal who always sees more liberalism as the solution, he pounds the drum for more of the same — the mess of Vatican II! Astutely enough, he makes mention of the “2000-year tradition of the Church,” perhaps to appease the conservatives who are listening, but don’t be deceived! Modernists often use the same terms as true believers do, but with often entirely different meanings attached to them. As Pope St. Pius X pointed out in his encyclical letter Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), evolution of doctrine is an integral part of the Modernists’ understandings of dogma. They acknowledge the existence of tradition, but not in the sense of stable, unvarying dogma. To them, it is simply the path of change.

Benedict XVI continues with references to the Eucharist:

How very significant it is that my pontificate begins while the Church is living the special Year dedicated to the Eucharist. How can one not perceive in this providential coincidence an element that must characterize the ministry to which I have been called? The Eucharist, heart of Christian life and source of the evangelizing mission of the Church, cannot but constitute the permanent center and the source of the Petrine service that has been entrusted to me...

In this year, therefore, the solemnity of Corpus Domini must be celebrated with particular prominence. The Eucharist will be at the center, in August, of the World Youth Day in Cologne and, in October, of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will focus on the theme: “The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.” I ask all to intensify over the next months their love and devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and to express in a courageous and clear way their faith in the Lord’s real presence, above all through the solemnity and correctness of the celebrations.

What is missing completely here, of course, is an admission that the New Mass is invalid, made so by the change of Christ’s (from “many” to “all” in the vernacular translations of the consecration of the wine), by the wholesale rewriting of the Mass, and by the exclusion of propitiation from the intention. What good is it to talk about the Eucharist when it has been destroyed? Benedict may talk about solemnity and correctness all he wishes, but without the essentials for a valid sacrament — correct matter, form, and intention, and validly-ordained priests — the best his church will ever have is a reverent, invalid rite. And this would be the exception, moreover, because sacrilegious liturgies are the rule in Novus Ordo churches: eucharistic ministers in shorts and other immodest dress, communion in the hand, standing for communion, dancing girls, guitar Masses, clown Masses, kiddie Masses, “inculturated” liturgies, communion given to non-Catholics, hosts being found in missalette pages, worship in common with other religions — the list goes on ad nauseam... Things are so far gone, in other words, that all Benedict XVI can bring himself to do is “ask” for solemn and correct celebrations. If he cracked down in any way, he would probably have open rebellion on his hands.

Far from setting the course for any change, then, Benedict XVI is reiterating what John Paul II did. He’s not changing a thing, and these, his first words after election, offer all the proof we will ever need.
One more point: Will there be any abandonment of the false ecumenism that characterized John Paul II?

Quite the contrary, as we note further in his address:

Nourished and sustained by the Eucharist, Catholics cannot but feel stimulated to tend to that full unity that Christ so ardently desired in the Cenacle. The Successor of Peter knows that he must take charge in an altogether particular way, of this supreme longing of the divine Teacher. To him in fact has been entrusted the task of confirming the brethren (cf. Luke 22:32). Fully conscious, therefore, at the beginning of his ministry in the Church of Rome, which Peter bathed with his blood, his present Successor aims, as a primary commitment, to work without sparing energies for the reconstitution of the full and visible unity of all the followers of Christ. This is his ambition, this is his imperative duty. He is aware that for this, manifestations of good sentiments are not enough. There must be concrete gestures that penetrate spirits and move consciences, leading each one to that interior conversion that is the presupposition of all progress on the path of ecumenism.

For 27 years, John Paul II scandalized traditional-minded Catholics with his ecumenical “concrete gestures.” Pope Pius XI had pointed out in his encyclical Mortalium Animos (1928) that such ecumenical gestures, where the religions acknowledge themselves as equals, distort the true idea of religion and amount to “abandoning the religion revealed by God.” In direct contradiction to this teaching, the popes of Vatican II have taught and acted otherwise. Notice how Benedict XVI makes no distinction between the Catholic Church, which has the entire truth taught by Christ, and those religions which have only varying degrees of that truth. Consequently, by saying that all need interior conversion he implies an equal footing to whatever religion they belong. Is not this, and what follows, a black-and-white contradiction to Mortalium Animos?

Theological dialogue is necessary... The present Successor of Peter lets himself be challenged in the first person by this request and is prepared to do all that is in his power to promote the fundamental cause of ecumenism... Conscious of this, I turn to all, also to those who follow other religions or who simply seek an answer to the fundamental questions of life and have not yet found it. I turn to all with simplicity and affection, to assure them that the Church wishes to continue to engage with them in an open and sincere dialogue, in search of the true good of man and of society.
Benedict XVI’s “Inauguration” ceremony a few days later exhibited more of the same. Many non-Catholic clergy were in places of honor during the event. Though they may not have directly participated, the message was clear: they and their respective religions were being acknowledged and honored.

The Religious Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen cannot, as you can see, accept Benedict XVI as a true successor of St. Peter. Because of the heresies he uttered before and after his election, we are forced to conclude that he lacks membership in the true Catholic Church. As the formula of Pope St. Hormisdas solemnly declared, and to which the Fathers of the Fourth Council of Constantinople subscribed: “The first condition of salvation is to keep the norm of the true faith and in no way to deviate from the established doctrine of the Fathers.” Moreover, Pope Paul IV’s solemn Papal Bull Cum Ex Apostolatus (1559), which is still binding ecclesiastical law, declared Benedict XVI in advance to be incapable of assuming the office of the papacy: “If ever it should appear that any bishop..., or cardinal of the Roman Church..., or even the Roman Pontiff (whether prior to his promotion to cardinal, or prior to his election as Roman Pontiff) has beforehand deviated from the Catholic Faith or fallen into any heresy, we enact, determine, and define: such promotion or election in and of itself, even with the agreement and unanimous consent of all the cardinals, shall be null, legally invalid, and void.”

Furthermore, because Benedict XVI was elected by many a fellow Modernist heretic (just think of the likes of Jean Lustiger, Walter Kaspar, Roger Mahoney, et al.), his election is suspect by that very fact. By the divine law itself, these men who do not have the faith are debarred from exercising any juridical activity within the Catholic Church.

By reinforcing his commitment to the heretical teachings of Vatican Council II and by upholding the invalid and/or sacrilegious liturgical rites of the sacraments, Benedict XVI has shown that he lacks the charism of infallibility whereby a true Roman Pontiff is prevented from issuing heretical teaching or legislation in his official capacity. Just one more reason why he cannot be considered a true Roman Pontiff.

Our next issue will contain an overview of Benedict XVI’s heresies prior to his so-called election, but in the meantime we are entirely assured that the Chair of Peter still stands vacant. We pray that Our Lord will rectify this in His good time. May the Adorable and All-Knowing Will of God be done...

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