Creating a culture of dissent.
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Or, how do you know if you are amongst the chosen?
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I think you have to repudiate just about everything Vatican II stands for and every one who holds to the idea that it was a valid Council. Likewise you need to espouse the belief (and practice) that the only true Mass is the Extraordinary Form, or the Traditional Latin Mass. Although, even that may not be enough. The latest litmus test may be that one must be against the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Or so it seems.
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I rarely read The Wanderer - not that I think it's a bad newspaper - I don't. I guess it is a fine publication, although sometimes I think the publishers could be more charitable. On the other hand, The Remnant, published by relatives of those who publish The Wanderer, often doesn't even pretend to have charity. (Consider that my personal opinion.)
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That said, Wanderer columnist John Dejak, in writing about Remnant columnist Robert Sungenis seems to confirm my intuition regarding those who consider themselves as The exclusive Roman Catholic remnant, and/or chosen. I usually do not pay much attention to these trad fights, but I suspect we will be coming across more and more vitriol from a remnant of traditional Catholic faithful as we get closer to the beatification of the Holy Father this May 1 - a day otherwise known as May Day as some have already noted.
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The real object of Sungenis’ polemics is not John Paul II; it is Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning.
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I thought of these things as I recently read some of the tendentious offerings of Robert Sungenis regarding the beatification of John Paul II. In what is a seeming crusade to stop the beatification of the late Pontiff, Sungenis seems to set himself up as the arbiter of Catholic orthodoxy and right judgment with regard to the last Pontificate and even the person of the Pope himself. With characteristic humility, he describes himself as a “ Jeremiah,” thus assigning himself the role of prophet to those of us whom he terms “papal idolaters.” His articles inThe Remnant and on his web site apparently are meant to be atour de forceof the supposed evils of John Paul II and his Pontificate. Indeed, the last few months have seen a plethora of commentary in The Remnant challenging the papal decision to beatify John Paul II. Yet this is not the place to address each of Sungenis’ and others’ contentious views; rather, I wish to focus on one of the false prophets that St. Paul warned us about — specifically,Sungenis. Sungenis has an interesting history which, while not dispositive of his current position, may explain some of his oddities. He rejected the Catholic faith of his youth to become a Protestant pastor and teacher for a number of years. He returned to the faith and for a time became an outstanding apologist. Yet, as so often attends to the brilliant of intellect where humility seems to be lacking, he began to espouse positions contrary to common sense and the faith of the Church. He became selective in his appeals to magisterial teaching, and, seemingly having never put-off the old man of his Protestantism, he has become fundamentalist in his approach to Scripture and his eccentric championing of such causes as geocentrism — an issue which, whether true or not, does not impact the truth of the faith and should be put in the “Who the Hell Cares” file.
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The real object of Sungenis’ polemics is not John Paul II; it is Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning. In crusading against the beatification of John Paul II, Sungenis is challenging the Magisterium of the current Pontiff. He is charging Benedict with imprudence and deception. As a self- proclaimed prophet, he is presuming to assess a situation of which he has very little, if no, knowledge. Rather than placing his intelligence at the service of the Church, he has staked out a position that recent papacies are hopelessly infected with modernism. Instead of, in humility and faith, practicing the Catholic principle of religious submission of intellect and will to the decisions of the Supreme Pontiff, he has chosen rather to maintain his Protestantism and decide for himself what is worthy of assent. He and his fellow writers inThe Remnant and those others who would approve of their crusade against the beatification of John Paul II are: 1) challenging the authority of the current Roman Pontiff, 2) creating confusion among the faithful, and 3) like their Call-to-Action-type liberal counterparts, creating a culture of dissent. - Wanderer
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The real object of their polemics is not John Paul II; it is Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning.
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It isn't just Sungenis either. Pope Benedict has many enemies within and without the Church. Not a few are traditional Catholics who pick apart just about every thing the Holy Father says or does. Not just his defense of Vatican II, but his writings, such as his 'personal' Jesus of Nazareth, the beatification of JP II, claims he is not doing enough to reform the liturgy, the curia, or to call in some of the wild cards in the college of Cardinals. Such spokesmen make Michael Voris look like a little lamb in comparison. Dejak continues:
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One’s devotion or non-devotion to a particular saint does not make or break the Catholic faith. Yet what is required of all believers is the religious submission of intellect and will to the decisions of the Magisterium and, in particular, the Holy Father.
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Again, Sungenis and the arbiters of papal prudence at The Remnant need not have devotion to John Paul II. In fact, they are free to privately debate the decision of the Pope to beatify him. Nevertheless, they must reverence the Magisterium of Benedict XVI and sincerely adhere to his judgments according to his manifest mind and will; and they must acknowledge and honor John Paul II as befits a beatus of the Holy Roman Church.
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Sungenis and his fellow travelers would do well to recall these words of the First Vatican Council: “ We teach,… We declare that the Roman Church by the Providence of God holds the primacy of ordinary power over all others, and that this power of jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff, which is truly episcopal, is immediate. Toward it, the pastors and the faithful of whatever rite and dignity, both individually and collectively, are bound by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, not only in matters which pertain to faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the Church spread throughout the whole world, in such a way that once the unity of communion and the profession of the same faith has been preserved with the Roman Pontiff, there is one flock of the Church of Christ under one supreme shepherd. This is the teaching of the Catholic truth from which no one can depart without loss of faith and salvation” - Wanderer
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Art: Duccio, di Buoninsegna
