The opposing camps have today become more divided, and the “supreme crisis” has never been more evident. We know that Christ will vanquish those who oppose Him and His Church, but it seems that we need His extraordinary intervention to spare us from imminent “dire destruction.”

We would not have reached this dreadful state if the enemies of Christ had always made it clear, as Pope Pius XII wrote, that they “reject all hope of eternal happiness” and “are trying to drag men down to an abject condition.” Instead, they have employed the subtle lies about which St. Pius X and the other pre-Vatican II popes warned.

If we want to get a clear idea of these subtle lies, we can look to Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange’s 1946 article, “La nouvelle theologie où-va-t-elle?” (“Where is the New Theology Leading Us?”). As he explains, the “new conception of truth” being advanced by men like Maurice Blondel and Henri de Lubac had already been condemned by the Holy Office in 1924:

“Truth is not found in any particular act of the intellect wherein conformity with the object would be had, as the Scholastics say, but rather truth is always in a state of becoming, and consists in a progressive alignment of the understanding with life, indeed a certain perpetual process, by which the intellect strives to develop and explain that which experience presents or action requires: by which principle, moreover, as in all progression, nothing is ever determined or fixed.”

This condemned notion of truth is a masterstroke of the prince of lies. Those Catholics who believe this will not hesitate to consider as true those things which were explicitly condemned as false by previous popes.

Pope Pius XII was the last pope to exhort Catholic theologians and philosophers to be on guard against these deceptions with his 1950 encyclical, Humani Generis:

“Now Catholic theologians and philosophers, whose grave duty it is to defend natural and supernatural truth and instill it in the hearts of men, cannot afford to ignore or neglect these more or less erroneous opinions. Rather they must come to understand these same theories well, both because diseases are not properly treated unless they are rightly diagnosed, and because sometimes even in these false theories a certain amount of truth is contained, and, finally, because these theories provoke more subtle discussion and evaluation of philosophical and theological truths.”

Today we know he was correct in saying that Catholic theologians “cannot afford to ignore or neglect these more or less erroneous opinions.” The enemies were patient and persistent, knowing that they could proceed slowly and eventually find ways to introduce their toxic ideas. As they realized so well, Catholics could not indefinitely sustain the necessary levels of vigilance against more or less hidden enemies — eventually they would let down their guard.

Then, as now, a key to success for the enemies of the Church has been to go slowly enough to avoid awakening too many faithful Catholics to the dangers.

There was no official surrender on the part of guardians of Catholic truth, but we can recall the infamous moment at the Second Vatican Council in which it was clear that the rout was on, as described by Michael Davies in his Pope John’s Council:

“Perhaps the most poignant moment of the Council occurred during the debate on the Liturgy Constitution. It was an incident that epitomized the ethos of the Council; the true ‘Spirit of Vatican II’; the real nature of the new order which has taken control of the ‘renewed’ Church. . . Cardinal Ottaviani was old and partly blind; no living Catholic had served the Church with more zeal and devotion; he held his views with the deepest sincerity and, however outdated they may appear to some Catholics today, they are what most of us professed until 1962.” (p. 138)

If, as the champions of Vatican II tell us, the Council was in perfect continuity with what the Church has always taught, how should the Council Fathers have responded to this hero of Catholic orthodoxy? Surely they would have shown the utmost respect, even if they did not agree with him? Michael Davies continued his description:

“During the debate on the liturgy the Cardinal’s poor eyesight compelled him to speak without a text; he spoke from the heart about a subject that moved him deeply. . . . There was a ten minute limit on speeches. The Cardinal exceeded it and a bell was rung. Engrossed in his speech he did not hear it and carried on. ‘At a signal from Cardinal Alfrink, a technician switched off the microphone. After confirming the fact by tapping on the instrument, Cardinal Ottaviani stumbled back to his seat in humiliation. The most powerful Cardinal in the Curia had been silenced and the Council Fathers clapped with glee.’” (p. 139)

We have a Catholic hero who should have been respected; we have a villain who should have been reviled; we have an offense that ought to have been punished; but, contrary to all sense of Catholic charity, we see the Council Fathers — who were beginning their path to reshape beliefs and practices for generations of Catholics — gleefully applauding the malicious act. Here is what Cardinal Ottaviani was saying to promote such a response:

“Are we seeking to stir up wonder, or perhaps scandal among the Christian people, by introducing changes in so venerable a rite, that has been approved for so many centuries and is now so familiar? The rite of Holy Mass should not be treated as if it were a piece of cloth to be refashioned according to the whim of each generation.” (p. 139)

The spiritual carnage of the Novus Ordo Missae and associated “reforms” has validated Cardinal Ottaviani’s speech, but how is it possible that his unmistakably Catholic defense of the liturgy was not overwhelmingly applauded by the Council Fathers?

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre gave us the explanation in his Open Letter to Confused Catholics:

“How have all these bishops been able to metamorphose themselves in this manner? I can see only one explanation: they were always in France and they let themselves become gradually infected. In Africa I was protected.  I came back the year of the Council, when the harm had already been done. Vatican II only opened the gates which were holding back the devastating flood. In no time at all, even before the end of the fourth session, it was catastrophic. Everything, almost, was to be swept away; prayer first of all.”

The bishops were infected with the subtle errors about which Pope Pius XII and his predecessors had warned. They let down their defenses, and perhaps even became apathetic about the dangers. Whether they realized it or not, they had accepted the erroneous conception of truth described by Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, which was condemned by the Holy Office in 1924.

Now we all suffer the consequences. The Catholic Church is the guardian of truth, so once its apparent hierarchy becomes infected with the idea that truth can change over time everything will eventually collapse.

Then, as now, a key to success for the enemies of the Church has been to go slowly enough to avoid awakening too many faithful Catholics to the dangers. It should be clear that the Council Fathers at Vatican II would never have endorsed the outrageously anti-Catholic nonsense emerging from the Synod on Synodality. And yet, by accepting the lethal lie that immutable Catholic truth can evolve to become something contrary to what it has always been, the Council Fathers put the Conciliar Church at the disposal of the enemies of Christ.

Now we all suffer the consequences. The Catholic Church is the guardian of truth, so once its apparent hierarchy becomes infected with the idea that truth can change over time everything will eventually collapse. All of the evils Michael Matt denounced in the recent Remnant Underground — from the Orwellian “blackwhite” to the burgeoning transgender insanity — flow inexorably from the failure of Catholics to uphold the truth.

Going back to Pope Pius XII’s words from 1951:

“The human race is involved today in a supreme crisis, which will issue in its salvation by Christ, or in its dire destruction.”

We are nearer than ever to dire destruction and it appears that all is lost. And yet we can find some hope and direction from Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange’s final words in his 1946 article:

“[S]ince Providence only permits evil for a good reason, and since we see all about us an  excellent reaction against the errors we have emphasized herein, we can then hope that these deviations shall be the occasion of a true doctrinal renewal . . . .”

God has permitted everything to fall apart in such a visible manner for a good reason. It should be obvious to faithful Catholics that we have reached this catastrophic moment not through random chance but through the failure of Catholics to defend the immutable Catholic Faith. As such, the first step to recovery involves a counterattack on the lies and those who promote them, as St. Thomas Aquinas wrote:

“[I]f the faith were endangered, a subject ought to rebuke his prelate even publicly. Hence Paul, who was Peter's subject, rebuked him in public, on account of the imminent danger of scandal concerning faith, and, as the gloss of Augustine says on Galatians 2:11, ‘Peter gave an example to superiors, that if at any time they should happen to stray from the straight path, they should not disdain to be reproved by their subjects.’”

There can be no compromise with error, even if that compromise is presented to us as a condition for continued access to the Traditional Latin Mass. Perhaps one might have been able to trade silence for the Mass in good conscience years ago, but today it is far too clear that the silence has been used against the Mystical Body of Christ and the entire world.

We overcome lies with truth, and we overcome spiritual lethargy with a pursuit of holiness. Yes, we need a real pope to properly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but those of us who are not the pope have no control over that. Our job is to try to become saints.

Beyond the forceful defense of the immutable Catholic Faith, it now appears essential for Catholics to pursue holiness as though our survival depended upon it. We need to petition God’s graces, not only for ourselves but for the entire Mystical Body of Christ. As Sister Lucia told Fr. Agustin Fuentes in a 1957 interview, we cannot wait for an appeal from our shepherds: 

“Father, we should not wait for an appeal to the world to come from Rome on the part of the Holy Father, to do penance. Nor should we wait for the call to penance to come from our bishops in our diocese, nor from the religious congregations. No! Our Lord has already very often used these means and the world has not paid attention. That is why now, it is necessary for each one of us to begin to reform himself spiritually. Each person must not only save his own soul but also the souls that God has placed in our path . . . The devil does all in his power to distract us and to take away from us the love for prayer; we shall be saved together or we shall be damned together” (Sister Lucy to Father A Fuentes).

We overcome lies with truth, and we overcome spiritual lethargy with a pursuit of holiness. Yes, we need a real pope to properly consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, but those of us who are not the pope have no control over that. Our job is to try to become saints.

Those Catholics who think we should pursue other solutions that do not involve so much dependence upon God should ask themselves why God would be permitting this great crisis. Is it not the case that the abandonment of immutable Catholic truth by the majority of Catholic clergy and faithful was not only suicidal but also infinitely offensive to God? In all of salvation history, we never find God forgiving His people if they obstinately refuse to turn to Him — why would it be any different now?

We are in a dire situation that will only get worse until faithful Catholics do what they know they should do. Rather than waiting for our enemies to ship us off to the gulags, now is the acceptable time to put on the armor of God and fight our enemies with the spiritual weapons, which are the only ones they cannot possibly withstand. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!

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