The Supreme Perversion

 On Friday, May 22, 2015, the formerly Roman Catholic Republic of Ireland became the first country to legalize sodomite "marriage" by national referendum. The constitutional amendment states, "Marriage may be contracted in accordance with law by two persons without distinction as to their sex."  According to Reuters, the number of Irish citizens who identify as Catholic has slowly declined to around 84 percent, and the number of people who actively practice is even lower; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin estimated that only 18 percent of his parishioners attended "mass" any given week. Welcome to the brave new world that is Vatican II.

 More disturbing is the number of Vatican II sect "priests" who supported the amendment. According to the Washington Post, "For the Rev. Pádraig Standún, a Catholic priest in western Ireland, voting 'yes' is a matter of what’s right. To another Irish priest, the Rev. Iggy O’Donovan, it’s about creating an inclusive state.To the Rev. Martin Dolan, Ireland’s upcoming referendum on same-sex marriage is deeply personal.'I’m gay myself,' he announced to his Dublin congregation in January. It was a surprise ending to Dolan’s homily, in which he urged his congregation to vote 'yes' on the referendum. But his parishioners took it in stride — they gave him a standing ovation."
 
"In a phone interview with The Washington Post, Standún said he had no qualms going public with his vote, and he doesn’t expect to face any repercussions from Church (sic) leadership, who have for the most part expressed their opposition to the amendment in measured terms. 'They haven’t really said anything besides ‘think carefully,’ which I did,' Standún said. 'It’s a free country and it’s a political choice.'"

 Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is poised to declare sodomite marriage a "constitutional right" in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. Two justices, Ruth Bader-Ginsberg and Elena Kagan, have both presided over such "marriages" and it is generally believed that Kagan is a lesbian herself. Will either one recuse herself from the case? Title 28, section 455 of the US Code states, "Any Justice or judge of the U.S. shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his/her impartiality might reasonably be questioned." It's quite obvious that Kagan and Bader-Ginsberg are NOT impartial, yet have not recused themselves. What will be done? Nothing.

 Imagine if one of those "priests" had come out in favor of restoring the pre-Vatican II Mass and ending the Novus Bogus "mass." They would have been immediately suspended by the "bishop" and probably excommunicated by Mr. Bergoglio ("Pope" Francis). Imagine if there were a case involving abortion before the Supreme Court and Justice Scalia had participated in the March for Life---the media, Obama, and the majority of the public would be screaming that he either recuse himself or be impeached. George Orwell's 1984 has arrived 31 years late, so be careful what you say.

 Assessing the Roots of the Problem

1. Separation of Church and State

  "79. Moreover, it is false that the civil liberty of every form of worship, and the full power, given to all, of overtly and publicly manifesting any opinions whatsoever and thoughts, conduce more easily to corrupt the morals and minds of the people, and to propagate the pest of indifferentism." (CONDEMNED Proposition in the Syllabus of Errors, promulgated by Pope Pius IX--1864)

With the Vatican II sect promoting this very error in Dignitatis Humanae, formerly Catholic countries allowed for all perverse sects to spread their multiple and manifest errors. This leads people to question the Truth of the Catholic Faith, and to believe that "one religion is as good as another." If one religion is as good as the next, and each have different teachings, then.....

     2. Morality is Relative

 Just as beliefs differ, so do morals. No one set of morals is superior to another.What's right for you may not be right for me. This leads to....

     3. A Warped Notion of Justice

  Justice doesn't mean every person gets the same, it means every one gets what they deserve according to their nature. Justice doesn't require distribution of wealth as in Socialism and Communism. It does require that innocent people not be put to death (abortion is prohibited because the fetus is a pre-born human by nature). Here in New York, on December 2, 2013, Steven Wise, president of the "Nonhuman Rights Project," filed suit asking the court to declare Tommy, a 26-year old chimpanzee, "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with a fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned." He argues chimps "possess complex cognitive abilities that are so strictly protected when they're found in human beings....There's no reason why they should not be protected when they're found in chimpanzees." (See Bernard Vaughan and Daniel Wiessner "New York Lawsuit Seeks 'Legal' Personhood for Chimpanzees" Reuters, 12/02/13). Since chimps don't have free will, it is OK for people to rule over them if they are not abused. Society seeks personhood for monkeys while we kill unborn babies. This leads to....

     4. The Current State of Society

   Government must be neutral on matters of religion. Faith is personal and must not have any role in society beyond what it means for the individual. The government must do what the majority of citizens feel is correct. Anything can (and should) be considered moral as long as you don't hurt anyone. To "hurt" someone means only physically and/or materially because the idea of "sin" is both religious and disputed. Homosexuals don't hurt anyone and they have the right to love any person they choose. It is unjust for the government not to recognize "gay marriage" and deny them the justice of equal rights.

The Consequences 

•  The Government Fails To Protect Its Citizens

   The government makes us wear seat belts and even regulates what we get to drink. Here in NYC, it is illegal to sell extra large sugary drinks because people can become obese and succumb to diabetes. Cigarettes are taxed at enormous rates to discourage smoking. All of this is done to "protect the people"--ostensibly from the inability to make the proper choices for themselves. However, in the case of "gay marriage" and "gay rights," the government promotes a deadly choice.


   According to J.R. Daling, et. al, "Correlates of Homosexual Behavior and the Incidence of Anal Cancer," Journal of the American Medical Association 247, no. 14 (April 9, 1982) the risk of anal cancer soars by 4000% among those who engage in anal intercourse. Anal sex also raises the risk of rectal prolapse, perforation that can go septic, chlamydia, cryptosporidiosis, genital herpes, gonorrhea, viral hepatitis B and C, as well as syphilis. According to Dr. John Diggs in The Health Risks of Gay Sex, the probability of a 20 year-old practicing bisexual or homosexual man living to age 65 was only 38%-- as compared to 78% for heterosexual men. Engaging in activity where you lose an average of 20 years off your lifespan (both lesbians and male homosexuals) isn't considered dangerous enough to be prohibited by the government. Feelings about "the right to love whom you choose" trump health and safety. It's a truism that: "What the law doesn't prohibit, it encourages." What of all the children who will be exposed to this unnatural and dangerous behavior as "normal"? What of those children adopted by homosexuals, who will get confused about their sexuality, and therefore will be more likely to "experiment" with this dangerous perversion? There will be a looming health crisis.

• Marriage Has No Sacred Character; It's About Sex

CONDEMNED Propositions of the Syllabus of Errors (1864):
   " 65. The doctrine that Christ has raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament cannot be at all tolerated."
     "67. By the law of nature, the marriage tie is not indissoluble, and in many cases divorce properly so called may be decreed by the civil authority."

With religion banished from the State, marriage is seen as a human institution. Humans can always change things. Divorce must be permitted and not frowned upon or prohibited in any way. "No fault" divorce is best. However, at least until now, the secular State had bestowed certain privileges and rights upon the married because they are capable of procreation which is good for society. Older couples who can't procreate still show what marriage should be and reflect it in their fidelity. No more. It's not about privileges because of procreation (potential or actual), it's about "loving who you want."

 On this basis, there is no logical or legal reason not to allow "group marriage." After all, if four consenting adults all love each other and consent to be with each other, on what basis do you deny them their "rights"? Not on the basis of religion (forbidden), not on morality (subjective), not even on societal benefits, since these are no longer seen as necessary either. Justice Antonin Scalia actually wondered about this very possibility during oral arguments before the Supreme Court.

 Furthermore, why are there no "marital benefits"  bestowed  on two brothers who live together and love each other? It's because they don't commit sodomy? If marriage not about procreation, and all about "love" there's no reason not to give brothers such rights---whether celibate or incestuous.

• Your Civil Rights are Stripped Away

   In Indiana, a family-owned pizza shop refused to cater a "gay wedding" and had to close temporarily.  They refused to cater the "wedding" (but they will not refuse service to homosexuals themselves) due to their religious beliefs. Indiana tried to remedy this with a Religious Freedom Law and the backlash was so strong, the governor and legislature (all Republican) caved in to the sodomites and weakened the law. How long will it be before churches who preach against homosexuality will be fined for "civil rights' violations?

Who's Really To Blame?

    The answer is easy: The Vatican II sect and the horrors they unleashed on the world. With the supernatural Grace of God from the Mass and the Sacraments replaced with invalid services, and the True Faith and Morals replaced with Modernist heresy, we are now reaping what Vatican II sowed beginning in 1964.  "Pope" Francis claims "who am I to judge" homosexuals while allowing his own clergy to advocate for them without censure. In so doing, he has already judged one of the "Four Sins That Cry to Heaven for Vengeance" to be acceptable. Now he can concentrate on what really matters--climate change! Even I can't help but think, "Can the end be that far off?"

 

Attempting A Naturalistic Solution To A Supernatural Problem

 "Less Government, More Responsibility, and ---With God's Help---A Better World." This is the motto of the John Birch Society (JBS) founded in 1958 by Robert Welch. Many Traditionalists are members of the JBS, or have strong sympathies for the organization. Society of St. Pius V (SSPV) General Superior, Bp. Clarence Kelly, is a former member. The JBS is attractive to Traditionalists because it is a conservative political and educational organization committed to expose the evils of Communism. After Vatican II, the sect that emerged claiming to be the Roman Catholic Church has done nothing against Communism and the host of evils afflicting the world. Hence, the JBS seems to hold some promise to fight those battles which the Vatican II sect won't.

 Unfortunately, their membership is being led astray into a naturalistic spirit without even realizing it. The main error of the JBS is seeking to defeat Communism and other social ills on a purely natural and materialistic plane through education and politics, while completely ignoring the absolute necessity of supernatural and spiritual means to achieve this goal. John F. McManus, the current president of the JBS, has been rumored to be a Traditionalist, yet rather than working to educate people on the evils of Vatican II and convert them to the One True Church, the JBS officially respects the beliefs of all religions (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Moslem, etc.) as if they're all on the same level. This is the heresy of indifferentism also called egalitarianism. I will set forth the basic problems of the JBS below.

1. The First Stated Purpose: Fight Communism

     The official handbook of the JBS is entitled the Blue Book (hereinafter "BB") which is a written account of the founding of the Society based on a seminar given December 8 and 9, 1958 by Robert Welch, a businessman who made candy. He believed there was a Communist conspiracy to enslave the world and is reported to have stated that the American people consisted of four groups: "Communists, communist dupes or sympathizers, the uninformed who have yet to be awakened to the communist danger, and the ignorant." His organization is named after a Baptist minister who was murdered by Communists; John Birch. In the Foreword to the Second Edition of the BB, Welch states, "We are fighting Communists--nobody else." Later on, in the 1970s, Mr. Welch began to teach that the Communist Conspiracy was an arm of a much larger conspiracy which he called the "Master Conspiracy." This Master Conspiracy involves bankers, the media, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the United Nations.

  The real conspiracy is that of Satan to destroy the One True Church. Our main enemies are not merely Communists, but Freemasons, Moslems, and all who, in an organized manner, are trying to destroy the True Faith. The Vatican II sect is enemy #1 as it consists of Modernists, Masons, Communists, and perverts. On this the JBS is silent. Mr. Welch and the JBS strongly advocate for unrestricted capitalism (aka "free enterprise") which is the result of Protestant heresy in economics. Calvinism teaches that "the elect" will be favored by God in this life. Hence, to ascertain if you are in the elect, work very hard to get rich since this will prove God's favor is upon you. This is the so-called "Protestant work ethic."

       2. The Second Stated Purpose: To Make A Better World With America Leading The Way

 The U.S. Constitution was founded by men who were Masons and rationalists. The Constitution never mentions Jesus Christ, except in boilerplate language of the date "Anno Domini" (i.e. "The Year of Our Lord" --used by those who did and did not believe in the Divinity of Christ). The idea of "separation of Church and State" enshrined in the First Amendment of the Constitution was condemned by the Church: "The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church" (CONDEMNED proposition #55 of Pope Pius IX's Syllabus of Errors --1864).

  Welch imagines the advent of a world marked by great temporal prosperity and spiritual ennoblement effecting a harmony among people regardless of their religious belief. However, as Pope St. Pius X stated, "for there is no true civilization without a moral civilization, and no true moral civilization without the true religion: it is a proven truth, a historical fact." (See Notre Charge Apostolique, August 15, 1910). 

      3. Unwittingly Following Freemasonic Ideals In A Circle

  On page 155 of the BB we read, "Far from founding a religion, we are merely urging Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Moslems to be better Christians, better Jews, and better Moslems, in accordance with the deepest and most humanitarian promptings of their own religious beliefs." Here the idea that "one religion is as good as another" couldn't be more clear. The BB then continues, "And we are simply trying to draw a 'circle of faith' in God's power and purpose, and of man's relationship to both, which is broad and inclusive enough to take each man's specific faith 'into that circle' without violation."

 The "circle of faith" is a Masonic ideal. Freemasons teach that all religions ultimately worship the same "God," under different names. God is to be identified with the power of the universe, and is called "The Great Architect of The Universe," who has manifested Himself in various ways through different "religious leaders" such as Mohammed, Buddha, and Jesus Christ. They teach contradictory doctrines which are of human origin. Therefore, all religions should set aside their differences, focusing only on those doctrines  they hold in common and work together for the spiritual and material advancement of humanity. Isn't this exactly what the JBS teaches? 

 Freemasonry has been condemned numerous times by the Church, most notably:

• Pope Clement XII - In eminenti apostolatus - 1738
• Pope Benedict XIV - Providas Romanorum - 1751
• Pope Pius VII - Ecclesiam a Jesu Christo - 1821
• Pope Leo XII - Quo graviora - 1826
• Pope Pius VIII - Traditi humilitati - 1829
• Pope Gregory XVI - Mirari vos - 1832
• Pope Leo XIII-Humanum Genus-1884
• Canon 2335 of the 1917 Code of Canon Law promulgated by Pope Benedict XV                 

 Also note the following propositions CONDEMNED by Pope Pius IX in his Syllabus of Errors (1864):


77. In the present day it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State, to the exclusion of all other forms of worship.

78. Hence it has been wisely decided by law, in some Catholic countries, that persons coming to reside therein shall enjoy the public exercise of their own peculiar worship.

79. Moreover, it is false that the civil liberty of every form of worship, and the full power, given to all, of overtly and publicly manifesting any opinions whatsoever and thoughts, conduce more easily to corrupt the morals and minds of the people, and to propagate the pest of indifferentism.

80. The Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization.

4. Other Pertinent Problems With The JBS

By focusing its members energies on politics, Traditionalists are kept from serving the Church. The official publication of the JBS, The New American, is laudable insofar as it is unabashedly pro-life and anti-sodomite. Nevertheless, it is totally devoid of Traditional Catholic principles and teaching, so that a proper understanding of these issues becomes impossible.

 The constant harping on conspiracies give many members an unhealthy suspicious mentality whereby they see Communist plots behind every door. It also makes one susceptible to other whacky conspiracy ideas not   endorsed by the JBS, such as vaccinations being used by the government for mind control, the Queen of England controls the world, and I even knew one man who for a time lost the True Faith having been convinced that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ was a Jewish conspiracy to weaken the Roman Empire with teaching love of enemies!

Communism is not the greatest evil in the world. The greatest evil is mortal sin, and the rejection of Jesus Christ and His One True Church.

5. Conclusion: Stay Away From The JBS and Concentrate On Propagating The True Church

 In a time of near universal apostasy, what we need are men and women to help rebuild the Church. Know and spread the True Faith. Expose the evils of the Vatican II sect. Hasten the day when an imperfect general council can get us a True pope to succeed Pope Pius XII. It's been said Mr. Welch converted to Catholicism on his deathbed. Some even claim it was a conversion to Traditionalism, not the Vatican II sect. I hope so, and pray that Mr. Welch is enjoying the Beatific Vision in Heaven. However, his society is seriously flawed, and Traditionalists should stay away. If Mr. McManus is indeed a member of the True Church, ask him to be bold and make it a Traditionalist Catholic organization.

The world is in such bad shape only a miracle, not political action, can save us. Let our motto be: "Less Sin, More Good Works, And---With The Grace of Jesus Christ Through His One True Church--A Traditional Catholic World Leading Souls To Heaven."

The Gospel According To Lucas

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death."--Proverbs 14:12

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize sodomite "marriages" and killing innocent people via euthanasia. As far back as 1966, the so-called Dutch Catechism authored by Modernist arch-heretics Frs. Edward Schillebeeckx and Piet Schoonenberg informed people:"Openness to the (ecumenical) movement comes through prayer, through constant reform and renewal, through studying the sources of faith and each other's traditions, through readiness to abandon our well loved forms, through honest and patient dialogue, …and this openness brings with it the tranquility and joy, which is of the good Spirit."

 With all of this evil, and the millions of souls being lead to eternal damnation, one would think that the solution would lie in having recourse to prayer (especially the Rosary), the Mass, the sacraments, and an attempt to convert people with sound doctrine. Think again. There is a Vatican II sect "priest" who has realized the answer to all these ills is...Star Wars! "Fr." Roderick Vonhogen is a Vatican II sect "priest" from Amersfoort, Utrecht in the Netherlands who works as a "new media broadcaster" and television presenter of programming related to Modernism (which he calls "Catholicism") and pop culture.

According to his website fatherroderick.com: "As a priest and a life-long Star Wars fan, I have often thought about the almost universal appeal of these movies thanks to their integration of fundamental moral and religious themes. Friendship, sacrifice, fall, redemption, forgiveness, salvation: all these themes make Star Wars what it is." Mr. Vonhogen then informs us that each chapter in his book would link some event in the six (soon to be seven) movies with an event in the history of Christianity, such as the Virgin Birth of Christ. Vonhogen is certainly not the first person to think the movies of George Lucas which started in 1977 contain religious themes. Unfortunately, it does promote religion--a faith with a diabolical origin.

1. Star Wars Presents The Elements Of Religion

 Belief in "The Force" is Religious
The Jedi Knights in this "galaxy far, far away" have practices that the first movie (now with the prequels it's renumbered the fourth movie; "A New Hope") that are directly referred to as "religion" no less than three times. A character named Tarkin states to Darth Vader, "The Jedi are extinct...you, my friend, are all that's left of their religion."

The Force is an impersonal and universal energy field that permeates all things in the universe. It is neither good nor evil in itself, but it can be used for either purpose. While not omnipotent, it is the source of great power to perform feats that defy natural laws, such as gravity. All religions have an Ultimate of some kind. The Force is an omnipresent, supernatural power that surrounds all things and to which all things return. The Force is therefore the equivalent of God or a Supreme Being.

By means of the Force (always capitalized, like the word God) the Jedi disciple can perform miracles such as levitating a sunken ship, knowing when someone is nearby, guiding your physical movements, allowing you to see without using your eyes, etc. Religions have moral codes. The Jedi religion teaches you must use "the good side of the Force" and avoid "the Dark (evil) side" by getting rid of anger and hatred which lead to the Dark side.

The movies clearly portray life after death. At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, we see the deceased Ben Kenobi, Yoda, and the former Darth Vader (as Anakin Skywalker) as spirits in a state of happiness. Ben Kenobi willingly dies at the hands of Darth Vader so he can guide Luke Skywalker as he "returns to the Force." It is implied there will be an absorption and end of personal existence at some point after death.

Faith in the Force is the means of salvation. It is the source of deliverance in the universe. However, belief in absolutes is evil and "Only a sith (evil character) speaks in absolutes," says Yoda. (However, that statement is also absolute, which would make Yoda a sith too, but logic is not the strong suit of George Lucas. Even the religious benediction "May The Force Be With You" is a blasphemous deviation of "The Lord be with you."

According to George Lucas biographer Dale Pollock, "The message of Star Wars is religious: God isn't dead, he's (sic) really there if you want him (sic) to be. 'The laws really are in yourself,' Lucas is fond of saying; the Force dwells within." (See Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas, NY: Ballentine Books, (1983), pg. 139)

2. The Religion of the Force is Incompatible With Christianity and Cannot Be A Christian Allegory

The Star Wars saga is based on the Eastern philosophy of pantheism, where the universe is "God." (I'll have more to say about that later in this post). Here are the striking and irreconcilable differences between the religion of Star Wars and Christianity:

a) The Force is impersonal, God is personal

b) One is a cosmic force, the Other is a loving Heavenly Father.

c) The Force is not omnipotent, God is all-powerful

d) Lucas's Force has a good and evil side, God is omni-benevolent with no taint of evil whatsoever

e) The Force is a power to be felt but not to be thought; God is a Person to be known by reason and loved with all your heart (See St. Matthew 22: 36-37)

f) The Force is an energy field permeating all things; God is a Personal being that transcends the universe he created and upholds its very existence

g) The Force is generated by all living things, but God is the Creator of all things both living and non-living

h) The Force has no consciousness; God is omniscient

i) The Force fatalistically determines the future; God controls the future, but does not negate human free will

j) Lucas tells us that after death one is absorbed into the larger Force; God has willed all people to retain their personal identity, either with Him in Heaven, or (God forbid) without Him in Hell

3. The Satanic Connection

his morning, on Star Wars Day (May 4, 2015), I had an idea for a new book. Since this is the year of the release of the first new Star Wars Movie since Revenge of the Sith, I would like to write down my thoughts about the religious elements George Lucas used in his Saga.
As a priest and a life-long Star Wars fan, I have often thought about the almost universal appeal of these movies thanks to their integration of fundamental moral and religious themes. Friendship, sacrifice, fall, redemption, forgiveness, salvation: all these themes make Star Wars what it is.
- See more at: http://www.fatherroderick.com/2015/05/04/an-idea-for-a-new-book/#sthash.XTP6oJk2.dpuf

his morning, on Star Wars Day (May 4, 2015), I had an idea for a new book. Since this is the year of the release of the first new Star Wars Movie since Revenge of the Sith, I would like to write down my thoughts about the religious elements George Lucas used in his Saga.
As a priest and a life-long Star Wars fan, I have often thought about the almost universal appeal of these movies thanks to their integration of fundamental moral and religious themes. Friendship, sacrifice, fall, redemption, forgiveness, salvation: all these themes make Star Wars what it is.
- See more at: http://www.fatherroderick.com/2015/05/04/an-idea-for-a-new-book/#sthash.XTP6oJk2.dpuf

Where did Lucas get his idea for Star Wars?  According to his aforementioned biographer, Dale Pollock, "Lucas's concept of The Force was heavily influenced by Carlos Castaneda's Tales of Power. This is an account of a Mexican Indian sorcerer, Don Juan, who uses the phrase 'life force.'" Kenneth Minogue, Professor of Political Science at the University of London states, "Castaneda's is entirely in the occultist tradition."  Lucas's biographer concludes: "Yoda's philosophy is entirely Buddhist--he tells Luke that the Force requires him to be calm, at peace, and passive; it should be used for knowledge and defense, not greed and aggression." (pg. 140) Star Wars parallels with Eastern religion and occultist views of pantheism, the view that God is everything, and everything is God. "God" is within. Pollack writes, "...when people die their life spirit is drained from them and incorporated in a huge energy force...joining the ethereal oneness of the Force." (pgs. 140 & 204)

 Our Vatican II "priest," Mr. Vonhogen, wants to peddle Eastern and occult pantheism on people as a "Christian allegory," allegedly to bring people to Christ. He seems blissfully unaware that you can't use a "Force from Hell" to accomplish this goal. People will look for Christ in a forum where, ironically, He is excluded. And what of the countless people who will get caught up in this pantheistic frenzy known as Star Wars? In the words of Han Solo, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Playing The Role of "Martyr"

"It's not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr."
--St. Augustine 

 According to the the National Catholic Reporter, "Pope" Francis has once again called any Christian who is killed a "martyr," regardless of whether they belong to the True Church or just a sect. NCR writes:"Pope Francis has often referred to an 'ecumenism of blood', saying that persecution is uniting Christians. 'They are witnesses to Jesus Christ,' he said in January.'They are persecuted and killed because they are Christians. Those who persecute them make no distinction between the religious communities to which they belong. They are Christians and for that they are persecuted. This, brothers and sisters, is the ecumenism of blood.'"

 Just as disturbing is the fact that, as reported by Religious News Service, Frankie officially declared (on February 3) that "Archbishop" Oscar Romero, assassinated by a right-wing death squad in 1980 while celebrating the Novus Bogus bread and wine service in El Salvador, was a "martyr for the faith", clearing the way for his "beatification." This man was--for all intents and purposes---a Communist in religious garb who was killed because of his political views which he disseminated from the pulpit every chance he had.

 I wish to set forth the traditional Church teaching on what makes a man or a woman a true martyr, and neither Romero nor some strange idea of "ecumenism of blood" qualify for the title. The following points I condensed from Fr. Ronald Knox's wonderful treatise The Theology of Martyrdom (B. Herder Book Co., St. Louis, Missouri, (1929)).

1. The word "martyr" means "witness." It means you give witness to the True Faith by your death. Martyrdom implies, not simply losing your life, but giving up your life. Your life is prematurely cut short in the interests of something greater than yourself. Suffering by itself, nor suffering followed by death is martyrdom properly so called.

2. The Church does not bestow the title of martyr upon those heroic priests, nuns, and layman who have persistently attended to the suffering in times of pestilence. St. Aloysius, whose death was brought on by such a labor was not canonized a martyr. These deaths were not the result of the assertion of religious truth against the enemies of religious truth. They laid down their lives for Christ's sake, but not for Christ's quarrel.

3. The faith one dies for can only be the unadulterated, Integral Catholic Faith; the One True Religion. To those who object that non-Catholics can receive Baptism of Desire, and it is therefore hypocritical to deny Protestants who, in good faith, die for a false belief the title of martyrs, it can be demonstrated their argument is without merit.  Baptism of Desire does not deny the objectivity of Truth, as this argument presupposes. The world tells us "Be good and you will go to Heaven, if such a place exists." A martyr is not someone who dies for what they believe, it is someone who dies for the Truth. Thomas Crammer died because he disbelieved in the papacy and the Mass. St. Thomas More died because he believed in the papacy and the Mass. Both cannot be true, so to make martyrs of both means either objective truth doesn't matter or doesn't exist.

4. As an adult, you must have the intention to die as a witness for the Truth. If a Traditionalist is killed in his sleep (unaware he was in any danger) by someone who is an enemy of the Faith, he does not qualify as a martyr. The Church means, by martyrdom, death undergone at the hands of those who hate the True Catholic Faith, for the sake of the True Catholic Faith; and undergone, in the case of adults, deliberately. Infants, killed for the sake of the True Faith, by those who hate the True Faith, die as martyrs without any intention necessary. They receive Baptism of Blood (if unbaptized) and their salvation is assured. (e.g. The Holy Innocents).

5. On the part of the enemies of Christ, a certain odium fidei ("hatred of the Faith") is necessary. A wholesale abandonment of the Faith, or hatred of all beliefs, is not necessary. To hate any article of True Faith/Morals because it is taught by the Church will suffice. Therefore, Henry VIII did not have to abandon every belief of the Church. Denying divorce and remarriage is adultery and hating that belief because the Church teaches it as true, was sufficient without more, to establish an odium fidei.

6. A soldier who takes up arms to fight a just war is not to be considered a martyr if he dies. Hence, the one who dies must not be guilty of provocation---that he died because he didn't kill the other man first. The exception is with captured soldiers who, now unarmed, are given the option of death or apostasy.

7. Notice how different this is from the Moslem conception of committing suicide while killing others (e.g. 9/11 attacks) as "martyrdom"!

Oscar Romero was killed for political reasons. The innocent people killed by the Moslem terrorist group ISIS did not profess the Integral Catholic Faith. Hence, neither qualify as "martyrs." In perpetrating a new definition of martyrdom, Bergoglio has cheapened both the True Faith and its true martyrs. By accepting "ecumenism of blood," you accept moral relativism and  religious indifferentism--the very foundations of the Vatican II sect.