That They May Be One (Ut Unum Sint)

“And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep them in thy name whom thou has given me; that they may be one, as we also are….That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one: I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me (John 17:11, 21-23).”

Pope Pius XI declared, “The Church possesses-a fact known to all-as one of its visible marks, impressed on it by God, that of a world-wide unity….  At the close of His mortal life, he impressed upon the Apostles in the strongest possible terms the supreme need of this unity. (John xvii, 11, 21, 22) In His last soul-stirring prayer he asked His Father for this unity and His prayer was heard: “He was heard for his reverence.” (Hebrews v, 7)” (Ecclesiam Dei, par. 1, 1923)

Our Lord prayed that His Church would be one in faith and in the Holy Trinity as witness to the world. The Catholic Church has reaffirmed many times that the Church is one in faith to the exclusion of heresy and schism by nature and Pope Pius XI declared that this prayer of unity by Christ was heard.

When Vatican 2 speaks about the unity of the Church, it’s not the Catholic and Biblical understanding. Rather, Vatican 2 teaches the Anglican and Methodist understanding of the mark of oneness, where all who profess to be Christian, despite all the doctrinal differences, are unified as the Church of Christ through baptism but divided in doctrine. [1]

John Paul II acknowledged in his document Ut Unum Sint – ‘On commitment to Ecumenism’ that the Church of Christ is divided and footnoting the source coming from the Decree of Ecumenism, Unitatis Redentegratio of Vatican 2:

How is it possible to remain divided, if we have been “buried” through Baptism in the Lord’s death, in the very act by which God, through the death of his Son, has broken down the walls of division? Division “openly contradicts the will of Christ, provides a stumbling block to the world, and inflicts damage on the most holy cause of proclaiming the Good News to every creature”.5

7. “The Lord of the Ages wisely and patiently follows out the plan of his grace on behalf of us sinners. In recent times he has begun to bestow more generously upon divided Christians remorse over their divisions and a longing for unity. Everywhere, large numbers have felt the impulse of this grace, and among our separated brethren also there increases from day to day a movement, fostered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, for the restoration of unity among all Christians. Taking part in this movement, which is called ecumenical, are those who invoke the Triune God and confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour. They join in not merely as individuals but also as members of the corporate groups in which they have heard the Gospel, and which each regards as his Church and, indeed, God’s. And yet almost everyone, though in different ways, longs that there may be one visible Church of God, a Church truly universal and sent forth to the whole world that the world may be converted to the Gospel and so be saved, to the glory of God”.6

The official interpretation of Vatican 2 by John Paul II is that the Church of Christ is divided, that it’s contrary to the will of Christ, and it’s longing for unity, which implies that it’s the permissive will of Christ that the Church is divided.  

After telling us how the Church of Christ is divided among the different Protestant and Eastern Orthodox professions, John Paul continued, “To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father’s plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ’s prayer: ‘Ut unum sint. ’”

In the same document, John Paul 2 approved the Balamand statement which declared, “The division between the Churches of the East and of the West has never quelled the desire for unity wished by Christ.”

We also saw in the Joint Declaration with the Lutherans, 1999, approved by John Paul 2, “44. We give thanks to the Lord for this decisive step forward on the way to overcoming the division of the church. We ask the Holy Spirit to lead us further toward that visible unity which is Christ’s will.”

For Vatican 2 and John Paul 2, Christ’s will and prayer “that they may be one, as we also are” is merely a wish for unity that has not yet been actualized. It means Our Lord’s prayer has utterly failed for 2000 years. What good is Our Lord’s intercessory prayer if nothing is actually accomplished from it except maybe getting men to work towards a goal? It would mean that Our Lord’s prayer is nothing more than a wish and inspiration. It has no real power or authority. It reminds me of the Jesus Seminar (group of 50 American heretics) saying the muliplication of loaves was Jesus getting men to share their food rather than miraculously multiplying it. It makes Christ out to be less than God Almighty, much like the Arian Jesus.

And if Our Lord’s prayer failed at the close of His mortal life when it counts most, what’s that say about our prayers? Did Christ have less faith than a mustard seed? That’s the implication of Vatican 2 and John Paul II’s butchering of Scripture, which is absolute blasphemy and a blatant rejection of Pope Pius XI’s teaching (and Heb. 5:7) that Christ’s prayer was heard and actualized in a undivided Church of Christ.

 

 

Footnote:

[1]  Vatican 2 theologian: Fr. Edward Schillebeeckx, one of the main drafters of Vatican II documents, stated: “It is difficult to say that the Catholic Church is still one, Catholic, apostolic, when one says that the others (other Christian communities) are equally one, Catholic and apostolic, albeit to a lesser degree. —- at Vatican Council II, the Roman Catholic Church officially abandoned its monopoly over the Christian religion.” story110305.pdf (novusordowatch.org)

Lumen Gentium, Ch. 2, The people of God:

15. “For several reasons the Church recognizes that it is joined to those who, though baptized and so honored with the Christian name, do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve communion under the successor of St. Peter.”

Unitatis Redintegratio (Decree on Ecumenism)

1.“Yet almost all, though in different ways, long for the one visible Church of God, that truly universal Church.”

3. “significant elements and endowments which together go to build up and give life to the Church itself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church: the written word of God; the life of grace…separated churches and communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation.”

4. “Nevertheless, the divisions among Christians prevent the Church from realizing in practice the fullness of Catholicity proper to her, in those of her sons and daughters who, though attached to her by baptism, are yet separated from full communion with her.  Furthermore, the Church herself finds it more difficult to express in actual life her full Catholicity in all its bearings.”

Unitatis Redintegratio, Ch. 3, Churches and ecclesial communities separated from the Roman apostolic see:

13-15. “We now turn our attention to the two chief types of division as they affect the seamless robe of Christ. The first division occurred in the east, when the dogmatic formulas of the councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon were challenged, and later when ecclesiastical communion between the eastern patriarchates and the Roman See was dissolved… Everyone knows with what great love the Christians of the east celebrate the sacred liturgy… Hence, through the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in each of these Churches, the Church of God is built up and grows, and through concelebration their communion with one another is made manifest.”

Besides Vatican 2 and Ut Unum Sint, there’s the Balamand Statement, 1993, 7. The division between the Churches of the East and of the West has never quelled the desire for unity wished by Christ. Rather this situation, which is contrary to the nature of the Church, has often been for many the occasion to become more deeply conscious of the need to achieve this unity, so as to be faithful to the Lord’s commandment.

14. It is in this perspective that the Catholic Churches and the Orthodox Churches recognize each other as Sister Churches, responsible together for maintaining the Church of God in fidelity to the divine purpose, most especially in what concerns unity. According to the words of Pope John Paul II, the ecumenical endeavour of the Sister Churches of East and West, grounded in dialogue and prayer, is the search for perfect and total communion which is neither absorption nor fusion but a meeting in truth and love (cf. Slavorum Apostoli, n. 27).

On May 25, 1995, John Paul II, in Ut Unum Sint, n. 59, approved the Balamand declaration.

JOINT DECLARATION ON THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church, Nov. 1, 1999

44. We give thanks to the Lord for this decisive step forward on the way to overcoming the division of the church. We ask the Holy Spirit to lead us further toward that visible unity which is Christ’s will.

Here we see the document saying Lutherans are part of the Body of Christ the Church, and that the Church of Christ is not even visibly unified. John Paul II approved and blessed the Joint Declaration.

In a Jan. 22, 2013 L’Osservatore Romano article titled: The divisions among Christians disfigure the face of the Church, it was written that Benedict XVI said, “One of the gravest sins ‘that disfigure the Church’s face’ is the sin ‘against her visible unity’, and, in particular, ‘the historical divisions which separated Christians and which have not yet been surmounted’”.

The two references of the “Church’s face” and “Against her visible unity” is a point blank denial of the dogma that the Church is one in faith. The unity of the Church is the visible mark of the church.

Therefore, the Vatican 2 popes teach the heresy that the Church of Christ is not one or unified in faith in the Catholic sense, but rather holds to the Protestant sense.

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The Divided Religion of Bergoglio

The First Vatican Council defined that Christ established the papacy in order that “the whole Church might be saved as one” and declared “that the episcopacy itself might be one and undivided, and that the entire multitude of the faithful through priests closely connected with one another might be preserved in the unity of faith and communion, placing Peter over the other apostles He established in him the perpetual principle and visible foundation of both unities, upon whose strength the eternal temple might be erected, and the sublimity of the Church might rise in the firmness of this faith.”

Pope Leo XIII reaffirms Vatican I in Satis Cognitum that Christ established the papacy as the foundation of unity in faith of the Church in order to achieve salvation. [1]

Vatican I theologian Cardinal Franzelin taught:

“The same is to be said, by the same reasoning, for the unity of communion against a universal schism, as for the truth of the faith against heresy. For the divine law and promise of perpetual succession in the See of Peter, as the root and center of Catholic unity, remains; and to this law and promise correspond, on the part of the Church, not only the right and duty of, but also indefectibility in, legitimately procuring and receiving the succession and in keeping the unity of communion with the Petrine See even when vacant, in view of the successor who is awaited and will indefectibly come …” (Franzelin, op. cit., p. 221-223, translated by James Larrabee)

In case you missed it, that unity is in true doctrine against heresy and schism and this unity remains even when the papal office is vacant.

The Vatican 2 episcopacy is not unified in faith. They are divided over doctrine. The semi-trads reject Vatican 2 on religious liberty and other papal teachings such as the death penalty (just one of many examples). The liberals reject the teachings on artificial contraception, abortion, etc. These faith and moral doctrines/heresies are proof that the Vatican 2 religion is not united under their pope, whose very purpose is to establish unity of faith.  

We Catholics, who without a pope, are unified in faith because we are unified to the papal office and all the teachings thereof, but the Vatican 2 religion is divided WITH A POPE, which proves that we are right and the Vatican 2 religion of the fake pope Bergoglio is not the Catholic Church.  

Footnote:

[1] Satis Cognitum (June 29, 1896) | LEO XIII (vatican.va)

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The Great Saints of Armenia

The Church in Armenia is ancient. It’s claimed that both Apostles Bartholomew and Thaddeus preached and was martyred there. Modern day Armenia is a landlocked nation bordering Turkey, but much of eastern Turkey once formed ancient Armenia before the ancient kingdom divided into several different nations. It was the first Christian state with the first Christian king, Abgar V of Edessa. King Abgar was converted by Apostle Thaddeus who healed the king of leprosy with the Mandylion (believed to be the Shroud of Turin).

February has several feast days dedicated to some great Armenian saints.

Saint Blaise, physician and Bishop of Sebaste, is the patron of wool-combers, presumably, because he was martyred in A.D. 316 under the reign of Emperor Licinius by being beaten, flesh torn by iron combs, and beheaded (according to the Acta Sanctorum). He’s famous for a miraculous cure of a boy choking on a fishbone. Growing up, the blessing of St. Blaise on his Feb. 3 feast day had a profound affect on me. Two candles are held at the throat and the blessing, “Through the intercession of Saint Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness” is given by the priest. It’s one of my favorite feast days and he’s one my favorite saints.  I named my son after him. 

Saint Chrysolius is another fascinating saint. Under the persecution of Diocletian, he was sent to Gaul by Pope Marcellus I and became a bishop. Roman soldiers cut off the top of his skull, which broke into 3 pieces. Miraculous springs welled up from the skull fractures. He continued journeying across the Deule River without the top of head before dying. The spring waters are believed to cure ailments of the throats and eyes. A church is built in his honor. His feast day is Feb. 7.

Saint Isaac of Armenia (Catholicos or Patriarch of Armenia (388-439), also known as Isaac the Great was the son of Armenian St. Narses and descended from the family of the Armenian patron saint Gregory the Illuminator. During his lifetime, Armenians were forbidden to use of the Syriac language except for the Divine Liturgy. Therefore, Greek was substituted. In the Persian districts, Greek was prohibited, and Syriac was used. Armenians were losing their national identity and unity. St. Isaac, with St. Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet and translated the Bible and the Liturgy of St. Basil of Caesarea. He lived to the ripe old age of 110. Feb. 10 is one of the several feast days attributed to him.

Saint Mesrop Mashtot (d. A.D. 441) is one of the greatest figures in Armenian history. He was a priest, linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist.  He invented the Armenian, Caucasian Albanian, and Georgian alphabets. He practiced extreme asceticism and lived a holy life. He’s listed in the Roman Martyrology and his feast day is Feb. 17.

Saint Leontius (d. A.D. 337) was a 4^th century Father of the Council of Nicea. He was the Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia. St. Athanasius praised him and the Greeks described him as “an Angel of Peace.” He was childhood friends with St. Gregory the Illuminator and later consecrated Gregory to become the patriarch of the Armenians. St. Leontius lived to a ripe old age and his body was found incorrupt after 300 years. His feast day is Jan 13, but the Apostolic Armenian Church celebrates it on Feb. 18.

Saint Lazarus Zographos (A.D. 810-867) was a holy priest and monk who practiced asceticism. He became renowned as a fresco painter in Constantinople during the reign of Theophilos (A.D. 829-842), one of the Iconoclast Emperors. St. Lazarus worked tirelessly at restoring art destroyed by heretics, but was thrown into prison by Theophilos and then tortured. His hands were burned to the bone and his right hand burned off. Miraculously, his hand was restored and the Empress Theodora helped him escape to the monastery of St. John the Baptist on the shore of Bosporus. Miracles are attributed to one of his frescos of St. John the Baptist at the monastery. St. Lazarus was twice sent as an emissary to Pope Benedict III by Emperor Michael III but died on his second visit. His feast day is Feb. 23. [1]

Other great Armenian saints are found throughout the liturgical calendar and I encourage you to look them up and read about them as well. Every saint of our Holy Faith is a light of the world (Matt. 5:14) and we all are called to be saints like them.

“Again therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life (John 8:12).”

Other Armenian Saints:

Saint Emilianus of Trevi

Saint Minias of Florence

Saint Simeon of Mantua

Saint Nerses I

Saint Nerses of Lambron

Saint Parthenius

Saint Peter of Sebaste

 

Footnote

[1] The Book of saints : a dictionary of servants of God canonized by the Catholic Church : (archive.org)

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Vigano’s Perverted Papacy

“Archbishop” Vigano

Archbishop Vigano has recently published an Open Letter to Confused Priests, but only compounds the confusion with more heresy.

Vigano writes, “we can nevertheless recognize a Pope as a heretic, and as such refuse, on a case-by-case basis, to show him the obedience to which he would otherwise be entitled. We do not judge him, because we do not have the authority to do so, but we recognize him for who he is, waiting for Providence to arouse those who can pronounce it definitively and authoritatively.”

Vigano flatly denies Vatican I’s definition of a pope and rejects the same council’s teaching on obedience to be given a pope.

Pope Leo XIII definitively and authoritatively pronounced in Satis cognitum that in the future that if anyone holds to a single heresy, he is not Catholic and is thus cut off from the Catholic Church. He declared, “heresies may spring up, to a single one of which, should any one give his assent, he is by the very fact cut off from Catholic unity. ‘No one who merely disbelieves in all (these heresies) can for that reason regard himself as a Catholic or call himself one. For there may be or may arise some other heresies, which are not set out in this work of ours, and, if any one holds to one single one of these he is not a Catholic… In this wise, all cause for doubting being removed, can it be lawful for anyone to reject any one of those truths without by the very fact falling into heresy? without separating himself from the Church? – without repudiating in one sweeping act the whole of Christian teaching? For such is the nature of faith that nothing can be more absurd than to accept some things and reject others…”

Vigano has a heretic for a pope because he has a perverted understanding of the papacy. The only way to defend the Vatican 2 popes is by denying the Catholic faith and the semi-trads are masters at the art. 

 

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The First Vatican Council and the Pope

Karl Benzinger – 1873 book on Pope Pius IX

Vatican I declared,

“‘For the fathers of the Fourth Council of Constantinople, following closely in the footsteps of their predecessors, made this solemn profession: ‘The first condition of salvation is to keep the norm of the true Faith. For it is impossible that the words of our Lord Jesus Christ Who said, ‘Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’ (Matt. 16:18), should not be verified. And their truth has been proved by the course of history, for in the Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been kept unsullied, and its teaching kept holy.’ …for they fully realized that this See of St. Peter always remains unimpaired by any error, according to the divine promise of our Lord and Savior made to the prince of his disciples, ‘I have prayed for thee, that thy faith may not fail; and do thou, when once thou has turned again, strengthen thy brethren’ (Luke 22:32)

“‘So, this gift of truth and a never failing faith was divinely conferred upon Peter and his successors in this chair, that they might administer their high duty for the salvation of all; that the entire flock of Christ, turned away by them from the poisonous food of error, might be nourished on the sustenance of heavenly doctrine, that with the occasion of schism removed the whole Church might be saved as one, and relying on her foundation might stay firm against the gates of hell.”

Questions:

1. Has Francis kept the Catholic religion unsullied and teaching holy, remained unimpaired by any error, have unfailing faith from Christ’s prayer, strengthen his brethren with the Catholic Faith, turned the poisonous food of error away from the flock of Christ, nourished the Catholic flock with heavenly doctrine, removed all occasion of schism that the Church might be saved as one, and stayed firm against the gates of hell?

2 If the answer is yes, why would he need to be deposed or declared so for heresy, and if the answer is no, how is he the pope, without violating the infallible Vatican I declaration?

Whatever past theologian used to justify Bergoglio as pope, such as John of St. Thomas, can no longer apply with the teaching of the First Vatican Council. 

Vatican I is not only referring to ex cathedra statements concerning obedience.

The First Vatican Council also declared:

Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collectively, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world….

Since the Roman Pontiff, by the divine right of the apostolic primacy, governs the whole Church, we likewise teach and declare that he is the supreme judge of the faithful [52], and that in all cases which fall under ecclesiastical jurisdiction recourse may be had to his judgment [53]. The sentence of the Apostolic See (than which there is no higher authority) is not subject to revision by anyone, nor may anyone lawfully pass judgment thereupon [54]. And so they stray from the genuine path of truth who maintain that it is lawful to appeal from the judgments of the Roman pontiffs to an ecumenical council as if this were an authority superior to the Roman Pontiff….

So, then, if anyone says that the Roman Pontiff has merely an office of supervision and guidance, and not the full and supreme power of jurisdiction over the whole Church, and this not only in matters of faith and morals, but also in those which concern the discipline and government of the Church dispersed throughout the whole world; or that he has only the principal part, but not the absolute fullness, of this supreme power; or that this power of his is not ordinary and immediate both over all and each of the Churches and over all and each of the pastors and faithful: let him be anathema.

In Summary

If Bergoglio fulfills Vatican I’s definition of pope, why would he need to be deposed? The only possible reason is that he doesn’t fulfill the definition, but then Vatican I would be false. Therefore, he either doesn’t need to be deposed or he’s not pope. Otherwise, it can’t be argued that he needs to be deposed. Vatican I ends the debate.

 

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