Synodality versus True Identity of the Church as
Hierarchical Communion
The New Daily Compass
International Conference “The Synodal Babel”
Teatro Ghione, Via
delle Fornaci 37, Rome
October 3, 2023
The Address of Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke which omits any
reference to Vatican Council II rational and irrational, even though Pope
Francis and the cardinals have said that the Synod is based upon Vatican
Council II ( irrational).
First of all, I would like to thank the organizers of
this conference, especially Riccardo Cascioli, and all the staff of the La
Nuova Bussola Quotidiana for giving us today the opportunity to treat
topics that are of the greatest importance for all of us because they touch
upon the most fundamental good of our common Holy Mother, the Catholic Church,
the Mystical Body of Christ who alone is the Savior of the World. I would
especially like to thank Father Gerald Murray and Professor Stefano Fontana for
the essential considerations they have presented to us today. They have just
expounded, unmasked I should say, in a very convincing manner, the
philosophical, canonical and theological errors, which are widespread today,
regarding the Synod of Bishops and its upcoming session entitled “For a synodal
Church: communion | participation | mission.”
Lionel: They have not touched upon a major philosophical issue related to Vatican Council II, ecclesiology and the Synods.
_____________________
I would like immediately to commend to your reading
the book by Julio Loredo and José Antonio Ureta, Synodal Process: A
Pandora's Box. 100 Questions and 100 Answers,[1] available in Italian and
many other languages. The serene and profound study which underlies this book
is an invaluable aid in dealing with the pervasive confusion surrounding the
session of the Synod of Bishops that will begin tomorrow.
Lionel: The writers like Roberto dei Mattei have interpreted Vatican Council II irrationally and so are politically correct with the Left.The Left supports innovation in faith and morals in the Catholic Church by citing Vatican Council II, interpreted rationally.
_________________________
Professor Fontana said: “The new synodality,
considered in its own categories of time, practice, and procedure, is the
concluding moment of a long route that has spanned all of modernity.” By
drawing our attention to the philosophical sources of so-called synodality, he
unmasks its worldliness. That is why our Lord Jesus Christ who alone is our
Savior is not at the root and center of synodality. That is why the divine
nature of the Church in its foundation and in its organic and enduring life is
neglected and, in truth, forgotten.
Lionel: Fontane has not identified Vatican Council II, rational. Neither have the other speakers informed him about it.
_______________________
The Holy Spirit is very often invoked in the perspective of the synod. The whole synod process is presented as a work of the Holy Spirit who will guide all the members of the synod, but there is not a single word about the obedience due to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit that are always consistent with the truth of the perennial doctrine and the goodness of the perennial discipline that He has inspired throughout the centuries.
Lionel: Vatican Council II is interpreted irrationally by Cardinal Burke, Fr. Gerald, Stefano Fontana and Riccardo Cascioli. This is not the teaching of the Holy Spirit.. This is not the perennial doctrine on salvation.
_________________________________
It
is unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit on the side
of some has for its purpose the advancement of an agenda that is more political
and human than ecclesial and divine. The Church's agenda is unique, namely the
pursuit of the Common Good of the Church, that is, the salvation of souls,
the salus animarum, which “in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse
debet” [“must always be the supreme law in the Church”].[2]
Lionel: Also, extra ecclesiam nulla salus, with no exceptions ( Fourth Lateran Council , 1215).
_____________________
The Synod on “synodality” pursues some perspectives
widespread in the Church today and also highlighted by the Roman Curia's recent
reconstruction by the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate
Evangelium. It mainly insists on the missionary nature and synodality
of the Church as the “characteristics” [marks], the “essential features”[3] of
ecclesial life and seems to derive the structure of the Roman Curia from this
starting point. But, as we profess in the Creed and as was taught in the
Dogmatic Constitution of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on the
Church, Lumen Gentium, Holy Mother Church is in her
characteristics, in her essential features, “one, holy, catholic and
apostolic”.[4]
Lionel: It is not one, holy, Catholic and apostolic when the Creeds, Councils and Catechisms are interpreted with a fake premise and inference. There is no comment or denial from anyone.
_________________________
The confusion about theology, morality, and even
elementary philosophy in which we live is fueled by a great lack of clarity in
the vocabulary used, and this is probably intentional on the part of some. We
witness a semantic slippage of some words or expressions, which makes the
Church's teaching on some points incomprehensible. I could mention the
expression mercy of God, for example. But sometimes new words are introduced or
exaggerated without a clear definition, as in the case of the word synodality.
In this case of confusion about the essential features of the Church there is a
risk of losing the identity of the Church, our identity as members of the
Mystical Body of Christ, as branches in the “true vine” that is Christ and of
which the eternal Father “is the vinedresser.”[5]
Lionel: We do not have unity on the Creeds, Councils and Catechisms. I interpret the baptism of desire and being saved in invincible ignorance as being hypothetical and invisible cases in 2023. So my conclusion is different from that of the speakers at this conference. We are all in the same Church. But for me, the one, holy Catholic and apostolic Church, before 1949 interpreted the baptism of desire and being saved ininvincible ignorance rationally. They were ' Feeneyite'.
___________________
The moment these concepts become central and are not
clearly defined, the door is open to anyone who wants to interpret them in a
way that breaks with the Church's constant teaching on these issues. Indeed,
Church history teaches us that the resolution of the worst crises, such as the
Arian crisis, always begins with great precision in the vocabulary and concepts
used.
Let us return to the essential features of the Church
proposed in Predicate Evangelium in order to better understand
in what direction the synod tends: missionary nature and synodality.
These are two characteristics that are in some sense known, but their elevation
to the essential features of the Church and, therefore, fundamental criteria of
the restructuring of the Roman Curia – and now, with this synod, the essential
features of the whole universal Church – leads to ambiguities and
misunderstandings that must be recognized and dispelled.
Lionel: Pope Francis interprets Vatican Council II irrationally and so the Council is Christocentric withoout also being Ecclesiocentric too. I interpret the Council rationally and so there is no rupture with Tradition Mission which was based upon their being exclusive salvation in the Church. It was ecclesiocentric. This is not the interpretation of the speakers at this conference.
___________________________
It is fair to say that the whole Church is missionary. All the faithful are called, according to their vocation and personal gifts, to bear witness to Christ in the world. But in bearing witness to Christ, the faithful need the encounter with Him living in the Church through Sacred Tradition, which is doctrinal, liturgical and disciplinary.
Lionel: This is too vague since Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke is interpreting Vatican Council II irrationally and is limited to Christology only. He cannot affirm the past ecclesiocentrism since he accepts the objective error in the 1949 Letter of the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston relative to Fr. Leonard Feeney. It confused invisible cases of the baptism of desire etc as being visible exceptions for Feeneyite EENS.
_________________________
They need good
Shepherds – the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops in communion with Him, together
with the priests, the chief coworkers of the Bishops, – who will guide them to
Christ and safeguard for them life in Christ, especially through the teaching
of sound doctrine and good morals, and, most perfectly and completely, through
the Sacred Liturgy, the worship of God “in spirit and in truth.”[6]
Indeed, it is the teaching of the truth and Divine Worship “in spirit and
in truth” that fosters the growth in the life in Christ of every believer and
of the whole Church. As St. Paul teaches us, in the Church we are no longer
“infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every
wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful
scheming,” rather “speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every
respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.”[7]
Lionel: This is vague, considering that the cardinals interpretation of Vatican Council II etc is false and liberal, like that of Pope Francis and the Synod cardinals.
___________________
According to the constant teaching of the Church, Christ instituted the Petrine office so that all Bishops and, thus, all the faithful might be united in the faith.[8]
Lionel: We cannot be united with Vatican Council II interpreted irrationally which is used to justify the present liberalism.
_____________________
The Second Vatican Council, in the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, declared, “[i]n order that the same episcopate
might be one and undivided, [Jesus Christ] put Peter at the head of the other
apostles, and in him he set up a lasting and visible source and foundation of
the unity both of faith and communion.”[9] This is how the Council defines the
Petrine office: “The Roman Pontiff, as the successor of Peter, is the perpetual
and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the
whole company of the faithful.”[10]
Lionel: Too vague and confusing.
_____________________
The Roman Curia is the principal instrument of the
Roman Pontiff in his irreplaceable service to the universal Church. In the
words of the Council Fathers, “In exercising his supreme, full and immediate
authority over the universal Church the Roman Pontiff employs the various
departments of the Roman Curia, which act in his name and by his authority for
the good of the churches and in the service of the sacred pastors.”[11] The
Successor of St. Peter, through the Roman Curia, helps individual bishops to
fulfill their fundamental service, which the Council describes in these words,
“For all the bishops have the obligation of fostering and safeguarding the
unity of faith and of upholding the discipline which is common to the whole
Church; of schooling the faithful in a love of the whole Mystical Body of
Christ and, in a special way, of the poor, the suffering, and those who are
undergoing persecution for the sake of justice (cf. Mt. 5:10); finally, of
promoting all that type of active apostolate which is common to the whole
Church, especially in order that the faith may increase and the light of truth
may rise in its fullness on all men.”[12]
Lionel: There cannot be unity of faith with Vatican Council II etc interpreted with a fakse premise and which is not denied by the cardinals or the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican.
______________________
The missionary nature of the Church is the fruit of
this unity of doctrine, liturgy, and discipline; it is the fruit of the living
Christ in the Church, in the members of His Mystical Body of whom He is the
Head. It is Christ alone who is proclaimed and preached to all nations so that
many may be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit. This is the mission of the Church entrusted to her by the Lord:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to
me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of
the age.[13]
Christ's mission is prior to any missionary activity,
to any characteristic of missionary nature. In fact, the missionary nature is
only a manifestation of Christ's living presence in the Church to make
“disciples of all nations,” Christ who remains always living in the Church “to
the close of the age.”
Synodality, as an abstract term, is a neologism in the
doctrine on the Church. It is well known that the Second Vatican Council wanted
to avoid the abstract terms of conciliarity and collegiality,
which are not found in the conciliar texts. It is to be assumed that the
Council itself would have wanted to avoid an abstract term like synodality, if
it would have known it.
The canonical tradition knows the institution of the
Synod as an instrument for giving council to the sacred pastors; the Church is
not described as synodal but, instead, as hierarchical communion.[14]
It is the pastors in the communion safeguarded and fostered by the Petrine
Office, i.e., the hierarchy, who have the responsibility for the doctrinal,
liturgical, and moral guidance of the Church. The Synod is an aid offered to
the pastors so that they can fulfill their service. It never replaces and
cannot replace the pastoral office willed and instituted by Christ Himself.
Lionel : The hierarchy is not magisterial when they interpret Vatican Council II, irrationally and do not deny it.
_________________________
The Synod of Bishops is described as “a group of
bishops who ... meet together at fixed times to foster closer unity between the
Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in
the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and
strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions
pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world.”[15] Father Murray has
masterfully reminded us of the nature of the Synod of Bishops, according to the
just cited Canon 342 of the Code of Canon Law.
Lionel: The Code of Canon Law demands that a cardinal and bishop be Catholic. Here Cardinal Burke is not affirming Vatican Council II rationally like the other cardinals. How can it be Catholic to change the understanding of the Athanasius, Nicene and Apostles Creed with a false premise and inference?
__________________
I would only add that, in a similar vein, the Diocesan
Synod is describe as “a group of selected priests and other members of the
Christian faithful of a particular church who offer assistance to the diocesan
bishop for the good of the whole diocesan community.”[16] Synod as a canonical
institute refers to a solemn way among several ways by which all the faithful,
by their vocation and their talents, assist their sacred pastors to fulfill
their responsibilities as true teachers of the faith. Canon 212 of the Code of
Canon Law, having its original source in the Lord’s teaching on fraternal
correction[17] provides the norms governing the relationship between sacred
pastors and the faithful in the hierarchical communion of the Church. The
institution of the synod, among these ways, is extraordinary, requiring long
and adequate preparation, and a well-disciplined celebration to avoid the
misunderstandings that can easily, especially in a totally secularized and
worldly culture, make the synodal process harmful to the Church.
Lionel: But they are all, laity and religious ,interpreting Vatican Council II irrationally.
____________________________________
I would now like to share with you some reflections
that I expounded to the other venerable confreres of the College of Cardinals
at the meeting of Cardinals a little over a year ago. They concern more
directly the structure of the Roman Curia, but they are very closely related to
our topic.
Missionary nature and synodality as
qualities, not “attributes” or “essential features” [marks] of ecclesial life
do not change the nature of the Petrine Office or the service provided by the
Roman Curia to the Successor of Peter as “a lasting and visible source and
foundation of the unity both of faith and communion.” Indeed, they presuppose
the Petrine Office assisted by the Roman Curia. In light of this, some
observations follow.
First. The Apostolic Constitution insists that the
Roman Curia “is at the service of the Pope, the successor of Peter, and of the
Bishops, successors of the Apostles.”[18] But the service of the Roman Curia is
to the Successor of St. Peter. By serving the Roman Pontiff, the Roman Curia
also serves the Bishops in their relationship with the Pope. It is unrealistic
to demand that the Roman Curia serves all the Bishops. In fact, they have their
own Curias to help them in the fulfillment of their responsibilities as true
pastors. In this, the distinct service of the Successor of St. Peter must be
kept clear.
Lionel: The Roman Curia and the pontiff are interpreting Vatican Council II irrationally and creating new false doctrines. I avoid this. One of us has to be wrong. No one has pointed out where I am wrong.
I begin with a philosophical observation: there are no objective cases in 2023 of non Catholics saved outside the Church.
I conclude with the traditional theology : outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation, since there are no practical exceptions to contradict the dogma EENS or Ad Gentes 7, which says all need faith and baptism for salvation.
______________________
At the same time, to define the Roman Curia as serving
individual Bishops would risk a mundane view of the Church in
which the particular Churches would be branches or subsidiaries of the Church
in Rome, all served by the same Roman Curia. It would be a distortion of the
relationship of the Successor of Peter with the Bishops.
Second. The term dicastery, as a generic
secular term, taken from Roman Law, for the various offices of different
natures in the Roman Curia does not sufficiently express the aspect of
hierarchical communion involved in dealing with doctrinal, liturgical,
educational, missionary, etc. matters, and does not express the real
difference, not of rank (all dicasteries are juridically equal), but of subject
matter and competence.
Third. It seems right to restore in some form, at
least in the next phase of the implementation of the Apostolic Constitution,
the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the first place among all the
Congregations of the Roman Curia by virtue of its task of assisting “the Roman
Pontiff and the Bishops to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world by
promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic teaching on faith and
morals. It does this by drawing upon the deposit of faith and seeking an ever
deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions.”[19]
Fourth. It would be important among the required
qualities of Officials and Consultors to put in the first place sound doctrine
and consistency with sound Church discipline[20].
It does not seem to me necessary to go into detail to
understand that the synod that will open tomorrow is nothing more than a direct
extension of what has already been highlighted by the Apostolic Constitution Predicate
Evangelium. It is therefore at least odd to say that we do not know in
what direction the synod will go, when it is so clear that the will is to
profoundly change the hierarchical constitution of the Church. A similar
process has been employed in the Church in Germany to achieve the same so
harmful purpose.
It is frequently said that the insistence on the
synodality of the Church is nothing more than reclaiming an ecclesial
characteristic always saved by the Eastern Church. I have regular contact with
Eastern bishops and priests, both Catholic and Orthodox, all of whom have told
me that the way the current synod is organized has nothing to do with Eastern
synods. This applies not only to the place of the laity in these assemblies,
but also more generally to the way they operate and even to the issues they
address. There is confusion around the term synodality, which
people artificially try to link to an Eastern practice, but which in reality
has all the characteristics of a recent invention, especially with regard to
the laity.
Such a change in the Church's self-understanding has
as a further consequence a weakening of teaching on morality as well as
discipline in the Church. I do not linger long on these points, dramatically
known by all: moral theology has lost all its points of reference. It is urgent
to consider the moral act in its totality, and not only in its subjective
aspect. The upcoming anniversary of the publication of Veritatis
Splendor can help us in this. I welcome and encourage the initiatives
I have seen on this issue. The commandments of the Decalogue are valid and will
remain valid as they have always been in every age, simply because they are
inherent in human nature.
Given all that I have observed and that we are delving
into by our meeting today, I, together with four other cardinals, Their
Eminences Card. Walter Brandmüller, Card. Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Card. Robert
Sarah and Card. Joseph Zen, each from different continents, presented dubia to
the Sovereign Pontiff over the summer to clarify a number of fundamental points
pertainining to the Deposit of Faith which are being questioned today,
especially in the pursuit of so-called synodality. Many brothers in the
episcopate and also in the College of Cardinals support this initiative, even
though they are not on the official list of signatories.
Lionel : The dubbia cardinals need to clarify their position on Vatican Council II. Do they interpret LG 8, LG 14, LG 15, LG 16, UR 3, NA 2, GS 22 etc, rationally, like me?
_____________________
An article appeared today in Il Giornale by
Vatican reporter Fabio Marchese Ragona on the dubia submitted
to Pope Francis. At the end of the article, he quotes comments on the dubia by
“two synod fathers” he interviewed. I quote the commentary:
We are very sorry, the times of the Church are not
those of these brethren! They cannot dictate the agenda to the Pope, moreover
causing wounds and undermining unity in the Church. But we are used to it by
now: they just want to strike Francis.[21]
Lionel: He is referring to the superiority of their theological position which comes with Vatican Council II interpreted irrationally by the liberals and traditionalists.
____________________
These comments reveal the state of confusion, error,
and division that permeates the session of the Synod of Bishops that will begin
tomorrow. The five dubia deal exclusively with the perennial
doctrine and discipline of the Church, not an agenda of the Pope. They do not
deal with past “times.” The language is very revealing of the worldliness of
the vision. Then, they do not deal with the person of the Holy Father. In fact,
by their nature they are an expression of due veneration for the Petrine Office
and the Successor of St. Peter.
Lionel : They are referring to the superiority of their position which comes with Vatican Council II , irrational.
________________________
These comments seem to reflect a fundamental error
recently expressed by the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the
Faith in an interview he gave to Edward Pentin of the National Catholic
Register. During the interview he stated that beyond the Deposit of Faith,
the Roman Pontiff has a "living and active gift" that results in what
he calls "the doctrine of the Holy Father."[22] In addition, he
accuses of heresy and schism those who make criticism of this "doctrine of
the Holy Father."[23]
Lionel : The Holy Father is still interpreting Vatican Council II irrationally and not rationally, even after possessing the alleged 'charisma'.
_________________________________
But the Church has never taught that the Roman Pontiff
has a special gift to constitute his own doctrine. The Holy Father is the first
teacher of the Deposit of Faith which is in itself always alive and dynamic. Thus
teaches the Dogmatic Constitution de Divina Revelatione Dei verbum of
the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council:
Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture make up a single
sacred deposit of the Word of God, which is entrusted to the Church. By
adhering to it the entire holy people, united to its pastors, remains always
faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking
of bread and the prayers (cf. Acts 2: 42, Greek). So, in maintaining,
practicing and professing the faith that has been handed on there should be a
remarkable harmony between the bishops and the faithful.[24]
One must reflect on the gravity of the ecclesial
situation when the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
accuses of heresy and schism those who ask the Holy Father to exercise the
Petrine Office to safeguard and promote the Depositum Fidei.
Lionel: The Prefect is interpreting Vatican Council II heretically and schismatically. There is a break, for example with the Magisterium and missionaries of the 16th century.
_______________________________
We are told that the Church we profess, in communion
with our ancestors in faith since the time of the Apostles, to be one, holy,
catholic, and apostolic, must now be defined by synodality, a term that has no
history in Church doctrine and for which there is no reasonable definition. It
is obviously an artificial construction, more like a human construction than
the Church built on the rock that is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10, 4). The Instrumentum
Laboris of the upcoming session of the Synod of Bishops certainly
contains statements that depart strikingly and gravely from the perennial
teaching of the Church. First of all, we must publicly reaffirm our faith. In
this, Bishops have a duty to confirm their brothers. Today's Bishops and
Cardinals need a great deal of courage to confront the grave errors coming from
within the Church itself. The sheep depend on the courage of the shepherds who
must protect them from the poison of confusion, error and division.
Lionel: The dubbia cardinals are not interpreting Vatican Council II rationally. They let down the sheep, many of whom are informed and know the truth about the Council, which was not known to Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
________________
But I would like to conclude by urging you to pray to
implore Heaven's help against all powers, human and preternatural, that dream
of the destruction of the Church. Non prevalebunt![25] We know that
good is always held in esteem in God's eyes and will be justly rewarded, just
as evil will be punished. Many young people are aware of this and seek to live,
with the support of the Sacraments, an authentic life of Faith, Hope and
Charity, that is, a life ever more fully in Christ with a heart ever more
given, together with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to His Most Sacred Heart.
This is clearly the true future of the Church, the only one that will truly
bear fruit (cf. Mt 7, 15-17).
Today good Christians must be prepared to suffer the
white martyrdom of misunderstanding, rejection, and persecution, and sometimes
the red martyrdom of the shedding of blood, in order to be faithful witnesses
of Christ, His “fellow workers in the truth.”[26] Although the current
confusion is particularly great, even historically significant not to say
unprecedented, we cannot believe that the situation is irreversible. As I have
just mentioned, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. The Lord
has promised to remain with us in the Church " to the close of the
age."[27] He does not lie. He is always faithful to His promises. We can
always trust the Lord living for us in the Church. And certainly we must never
forsake the Lord but remain with Him in the Church which is His Mystical Body.
We must always remain branches surely inserted into the Vine which is the Lord.
However, we are forced to see that many souls take the road to perdition
because of this confusion, so we must pray much and act to dispel it as soon as
possible.
Lionel : '...and sometimes the red martyrdom of the shedding of blood, in order to be faithful witnesses of Christ, His “fellow workers in the truth.'!
Let us invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary, especially her
Immaculate Heart, St. Joseph Protector of Holy Church, the Holy Apostles Peter
and Paul, and all the saints, that each of us may remain faithful to Christ and
to His Church, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, the Holy Roman Church; and
that the Church herself, without stain or wrinkle, may emerge as soon as
possible from the present state of confusion and division to shorten these
times in which the risk of the loss of souls is great. Salus animarum
"in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse debet."
Thank you for your attention. May God bless you and
your homes always, and may the Virgin Mother of God, St. Joseph, Saints Peter
and Paul, and all the Saints guide you and safeguard Your way.
Raymond Leo Cardinal
Burke
Lionel: Another dubbia has been issued which does not say that Vatican Council II has the hermeneutic of continuity with the dogma EENS.It is Feeneyite. Since the ecclesiology of the post Conciliar Church has not changed with Vatican Council II , there can be no liberalism in the name of the Council , anymore.-Lionel Andrades
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