A Forgotten Hero

 This past May 22nd marked the fiftieth anniversary of the first Traditionalist Bishop to take a stand against the Modernist Vatican II sect. The name will be a surprise to many. It's not the name Lefebvre (he didn't come onto the scene until 1969), it's not Thuc (unheard of until the mid-1970s), it's not Mendez (he wouldn't be around until the late 1980s), and it's not de Castro Mayer (he fought to keep the Faith only in his diocese of Campos and would not do more until the 1980s). It was Bishop Blaise Kurz, a bishop of Faith and courage rarely ever seen, especially since the world-wide Deformation that was Vatican II.

 When the historical revisionists of the Society of St. Pius X tell us that Archbishop Lefebvre was the "first and only" bishop to fight the Modernists (with Bp. Antonio de Castro Mayer a distant second place), I can't help feeling angry. In this post, I want my readers to know the truth about a brave bishop who is rarely (if ever)  credited in the fight for "Truth and Tradition."

Who was Bishop Blaise Kurz?

 He was the only bishop from the Rhineland who was staunchly Catholic and refused to be won over by the likes of arch-Modernists Joseph Frings, and Bernard Alfrink. Blaise Kurz was born on the feast of St. Blaise, of a pious German Catholic family in the town of Sontheim in 1894. As was the case with many European Catholics, children were named after the saint's feast on which they were born (if the saint was of the other gender, the name of a saint with the same gender whose feast day was closest to the child's birthday got picked).  

 From an early age, Kurz felt called to the priesthood. On December 21, 1919, he was ordained to the holy priesthood by the great Michael Cardinal von Faulhaber of the Archdiocese of Munich. Cardinal von Faulhaber wasn't merely anti-Nazi, he wanted the restoration of a Catholic monarchy! Ironically, this brave prelate ordained two men to the priesthood who would clash directly at Vatican II---the aforementioned Blaise Kurz, and Joseph Ratzinger in 1951. The Cardinal passed in 1952. 

Fr. Kurz was ordained a Franciscan, and as a loyal son of St. Francis, he spent the next 20 years of his life as a missionary priest in China, converting the pagans to the One True Church of Christ. On July 11, 1939, the 45 year old missionary was informed that the newly elected and crowned Pope Pius XII had chosen him to be consecrated as a bishop; with the pope himself as his principal consecrator. So it was that on the feast of Christ the King, October 29, 1939, Fr. Kurz was raised to the episcopacy by His Holiness with Archbishops Celso Constantini and Henri Streicher as co-consecrators at the main altar of St. Peter's Basilica.

The young bishop was assigned by the pope to the Diocese of Kokstad, South Africa. Kokstad is a small town on the slopes of the Drakensberg Mountains, in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, overlooking South Africa’s southern coast. The bishop spent the next eight years living in a large institute for the deaf and mute. While there, he met a Franciscan missionary priest from the Belgian Congo, who came there when an inner ear infection threatened to make him deaf. This priest was Fr. Adhemar DePauw, the older brother of Fr. Gommar DePauw who would found the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in 1964. Fr. Adhemar and Bp. Kurz, both zealous for the salvation of souls, became good friends. Soon after the outbreak of World War II, the Protestant British in charge of South Africa placed German-born Bp. Kurz under arrest because "Germans can't be trusted." Apparently, not even when they are Roman Catholic bishops appointed by the pope and have been law-abiding citizens all their lives.

 Fr. Adhemar came to the rescue. Using his influence as a Belgian citizen, and with the help of his father's money, the government allowed the bishop to be bailed out and placed in Fr. Adhemar's custody. After the war, in 1948, Pope Pius XII appointed Bp. Kurz as the Ordinary of the newly created Diocese of Yungchow, China--putting him back in the country he loved and where he made many converts to the Faith. He took canonical possession of the diocese on May 21st of that year. The very next year, the Communists took over China, and Bp. Kurz was ordered back to Rome. He barely escaped with his life. As a reward for his Apostolic zeal, Pope Pius granted to Bp. Kurz the privilege of a "personal prelature" of sorts, whereby he retained Ordinary jurisdiction with all the rights of any other diocesan bishop even though his diocese was suppressed by the Communists.

In 1949, Bp. Kurz was invited by Francis Cardinal Spellman to take up residence in his Archdiocese of NYC--the Cardinal was virulently anti-Communist and thought the good bishop would like the United States. That same year, Fr. Gommar DePauw immigrated to the U.S. and was incardinated into the Archdiocese of NYC. His brother flew in from Belgium to introduce them--two anti-Communist, anti-Modernists taking up residence in the USA. Needless to say, they became good friends as well. From 1949 to 1962, Bp. Kurz spent his days much like a humble parish priest, except when asked by the Cardinal to perform a Confirmation. Fr. DePauw relates that the way he was degraded by some pastors was shameful; treating his German accent as "proof" that he was "an enemy of freedom."

[A note to my readers: You will see the words "incardinated" and "excardinated" used in this post. When in normal times, a priest needed to be under the jurisdiction of a prelate with Ordinary jurisdiction. In most cases, this means belonging to a particular diocese. A priest is said to be incardinated when he belongs to a particular diocese or personal prelature. Excardination means the priest has been freed from the jurisdiction of his superior to be incardinated elsewhere. This was a big concern immediately after Vatican II. The situation was not fully understood. We now know that we are in a state of sedevacante, so priests and bishops can function by means of supplied jurisdiction until such time as the Church should return to Her usual mode of operation. The position of the so-called "Home Aloners," contending that you must stay "home alone" due to a lack of Ordinary jurisdiction in this time of near universal apostasy, is just pure theological ignorance many times discredited. ---Introibo]

Bp. Kurz and Vatican II

 In 1959, Angelo Roncalli ("Pope" John XXIII) called for an ecumenical council. This would be the beginning of the Great Apostasy. Bp. Kurz was entitled to attend. His Excellency called on Fr. DePauw to be his peritus (i.e., "theological expert") at the council. Father was now a canon lawyer, having obtained his doctorate in canon law (JCD) from Catholic University, Washington DC in 1955. He had been incardinated into the Archdiocese of Baltimore, where he was in charge of admissions, as well as professor of Canon Law, Moral Theology, and Latin at Mount St. Mary's Seminary. However, in December of 1961, Archbishop Francis Keough died and was replaced by "gay friendly" Lawrence Shehan from Bridgeport, Connecticut. His first act as the new Archbishop was to remove Fr. DePauw from his position in charge of admissions and appoint a Modernist priest who was "pastoral" to those who feel attracted to the same sex and think they may have a "vocation." 

 Bp. Kurz fought along side Cardinal Ottaviani and the other anti-Modernists with Fr. DePauw at his side. The bishop was told by Arch-Modernist Frings to "fall in line" with the Rhineland bishops and their heretical novelties, to which he replied he would never abandon the Catholic Faith. He even tried (in vain) to convince Leo Cardinal Suenens of Belgium to "come back to the Faith and leave those lousy traitors [i.e., the Modernists]" While most of the prelates stayed at the finest hotels in Rome, Bp. Kurz, ever mindful of the evangelical counsel of poverty, chose to stay at Villa Maria Regina, which at that time was a guest house of the Sisters of Notre Dame in Rome. 

 After the Council, Bp. Kurz was broken in spirit. Lest anyone start throwing stones, this was an unprecedented time of near universal apostasy, and he didn't know how to react. He was open to the idea of sedevacantism as his ordination of Gunther Storch to the priesthood clearly demonstrates. Storch was later consecrated a bishop by Abp. Thuc in the 1980s. On December 31, 1964,  Fr. DePauw sent his Catholic Traditionalist Manifesto to every single Catholic bishop in the world, asking them to join him in preserving the Traditional Mass and "That, while truly respecting all non-Catholics who follow their conscience into what in candid honesty we must continue to call objective errors or partial truths, our bishops, priests, religious and laity alike renew their truly ecumenical efforts to proclaim the full unadulterated doctrine of Christ's Catholic Church in a world that desperately needs it." ---a slap at heretical ecumenism! Of the nearly 2,000 bishops, only Cardinals Ottaviani, Bacci, and Bishop Kurz publicly supported it and the newly founded "Catholic Traditionalist Movement" (aka "CTM").

 When Fr. DePauw was ordered by Shehan to disband the Catholic Traditionalist Movement, Bishop Kurz intervened. With the help of Cardinal Ottaviani, Shehan signed the excardination papers for Fr. DePauw, and he was incardinated into the Diocese of Tivoli, Italy. The bishop of Tivoli then allowed Father to be incardinated under the direct episcopal jurisdiction of Bp. Kurz, who immediately ordered Fr. DePauw to continue his work with the CTM.  "Cardinal" Shehan was furious! He denied signing the excardination papers and "suspended" Fr. DePauw. Bp. Kurz went toe to toe with Shehan, and on January 17, 1966 made the following public declaration carried by the news media; it read in pertinent part:

 "I consider any attack on Father DePauw, at whatever the source or with whatever person that attack may originate, as an attack on my personal integrity as a bishop of the Catholic Church. I most solemnly declare that the statements released by Father DePauw to the media [about his being incardinated with Bp. Kurz after release by Shehan--Introibo] ...contain the truth and nothing but the truth." Then on May 22, 1966 at the Garden City Hotel in Long Island, NY, Bishop Kurz made the following historical step at a press conference when he stated to the world: "I recommend the Catholic Traditionalist Movement to all Catholics willing to defend our Church.  While the active leadership of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement will remain with Father De Pauw, I have today accepted the position offered me by that Movement's Board of Directors, and will henceforth publicly function as Bishop-Moderator of the Catholic Traditionalist Movement."

Not one bishop was willing to join him! Bishop Kurz consecrated the Ave Maria Chapel in Westbury, NY on August 10, 1968. Fr. DePauw had purchased the Chapel from an Eastern Orthodox bishop who wanted to sell and move elsewhere. In 1968, 1969, and 1970, he administered Confirmation to all members of the CTM who needed it. He returned to West Germany, where he was despised by the German Modernists. They sought to have his faculties removed by their Satanic leader, Montini ("Pope" Paul VI). That never happened, as Montini did not want to make a martyr out of a brave missionary bishop, now in his 70s. Bp. Kurz refused to say the Novus Bogus, and publicly offered only the True Mass and Sacraments for small groups of German Traditionalists.

Fr. DePauw had built a beautiful Bishop's Residence across the street from the Chapel (which still stands unoccupied to this day) and invited Bp. Kurz to spend the rest of his days at the Chapel and not deal with the relentless heretics in his native Germany. Bishop Kurz agreed, only to fall suddenly very ill and unable to travel. When the good bishop asked Abp. Lefebvre, who started the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) in 1970, to fill in for him and Confirm at the Ave Maria Chapel, the Archbishop responded in a letter to Fr. DePauw: "As far as Confirmation is concerned, it is clear that this is a very delicate thing for me to do…I have to be very prudent in this area." He ultimately declined to help a bishop who fought by his side at Vatican II. While I respect all the Archbishop has done, please remember this when the SSPX harps on how fearless Lefebvre was and how cowardly were all other bishops.

Bp. Kurz died in West Germany on December 13, 1973, at the age of 79. He never was able to set foot in his residence at Westbury, a place fit for a bishop. He was buried in the cemetery of the Franciscan seminary where he had been ordained to the priesthood 54 years earlier. He was placed in a grave with some 20 other Franciscan missionaries bearing the simple epitaph of "Missionary Bishop of China."  No mention of his 54 years of service and suffering for the Church, and no mention of his defense of the True Faith and Church as Moderator of the CTM.(What else could be expected?) It's been said the truly great ones are the truly humble ones, so I guess it's only fitting that he was laid to rest as humbly as he lived his life, in imitation of Our Lord.

Answering "Monday Morning Quarterback" Critics

•  Didn't Bp. Kurz recognize the false post-Vatican II popes? Yes, but he was open to sedevacantism from the very start. He never obeyed their evil laws, he rejected the errors of Vatican II, and was proud of the fact that he NEVER (not even once) said the Novus Bogus bread and wine service. He offered the True Mass his whole life exclusively. He remarked that "the greatest thing I ever did was what I didn't do"--say the invalid abomination that was called a "mass" and produced by Vatican II. This was a novel situation. Had he lived longer into the Great Apostasy, I believe he would have been a sedevacantist. He called the Vatican II sect apostates (and those who claimed to be anti-Modernists but wouldn't stand up with him) "dirty rats who have for all times forfeited their right to be called Catholic bishops." It is my personal belief that Fr. DePauw was a sedevacantist since at least 1999 (he was my spiritual father, whom I knew very well). 

• Why didn't he ordain priests and consecrate bishops? He did ordain two priests from seminaries taken over by Modernists--one being the sedevacantist Bp. Gunther Storch. He died less than ten years into the Vatican II sect's creation. People are great at telling others what should have been done after the fact, and when they weren't there and privy to all the circumstances of the day. It's no different than the "armchair quarterback" who tells everyone on Monday what the losing Superbowl quarterback "should have done" to win the game yesterday. 

• How can he be said to have any real significance? A Traditionalist priest I admire and respect very much honestly said to me, "If it hadn't been for that (Fr. DePauw and Bp. Kurz), I wouldn't be a priest today." Father and the good bishop led the way for Lefebvre, Thuc, Mendez, and the others to follow. They were the first to sound the alarm and fight the good fight. Contrary to what many believe, who knows what bishops would have come forth if they had not encouraged all to follow them in open rebellion against the Modernist Vatican II sect?!

 Fifty years ago, a very brave successor of the Apostles stood up for a very brave priest in a fight for "Truth and Tradition." It's my pious belief that should the Church be restored to Her former glory with a True Pope, we will see the feast days of St. Gommar of Westbury and St. Blaise of Sontheim. If it is God's Will that this mess shall remain until Christ returns in Glory, I can't help but think that Father and His Excellency are together smiling down upon all of us Traditionalists, as we try to fight the good fight. It was God Who inspired them to start this battle just over a half century ago; a battle we continue today. I admit that I get upset when Fr. DePauw--and even to a greater degree, Bp. Kurz--get ignored for their rightful role in keeping the True Faith alive in the wake of Vatican II. However, I remember that all the heroic good deeds they did are remembered by God. In the end, isn't that all that really matters for any of us?  

  

Islam, Sodomites, And Violence

On Sunday, June 12, 2016, American-born Mohammedan Omar Mateen, 29, of Fort Pierce, Florida, gunned down 49 people at a homosexual nightclub in Orlando. Mateen called 911 during the attack to pledge allegiance to ISIS and mentioned the Boston Marathon bombers, according to a U.S. official. Orlando police shot and killed Mateen. He carried an assault rifle and a pistol into the packed Pulse club about 2 a.m. Sunday and started shooting, killing 49 people and wounding at least 53, officials said. This was the worst act of terror since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

 Of course in the media, it's seen as a act against sodomites, while claiming simultaneously (without proof) Mateen was bipolar to avoid attacking Islam. It's about mental illness, not religion; or so the left-wing secularists would like us to think. The Chief Communist of the United States, Obama, refuses to denounce Islam in any way, even by avoiding the phrase radical Islam to marginalize the threat that wicked, false religion poses. Vatican II sect "Bishop" Robert Lynch went so far as to blame "Catholicism" (sic) which "targets" and "breeds contempt for gays, lesbians, and transgender people," as one of the "causes" of the shooting. This same character is against banning Moslems from entering the U.S. saying there are "as many good, peace loving and God fearing Muslims to be found as Catholics or Methodists or Mormons, or Seventh Day Adventists." That Mr. Lynch could make such outrageous statements shows you just how far into apostasy (and stupidity) the Vatican II sect  has sunk. (The false "god," Allah, is not the same as the True Trinitarian God. Mormons are polytheistic. What "god(s)" do they fear, Mr. Lynch?).

 Truth be told, both Islam and those who practice unnatural vice are both prone to violence. The following run down of facts will never be seen in the mainstream media. Warning! Some graphic language will be used in this exposé. 

Mass Murder and Homosexuality

The top six American male serial killers were all homosexual:

• Donald Harvey claimed 37 victims in Kentucky

• John Wayne Gacy raped and killed 33 boys in Chicago, burying them under his house and in his yard

• Patrick Kearney accounted for 32, cutting his victims into small pieces after sex and leaving them in trash bags along the Los Angeles freeways

• Bruce Davis molested and killed 27 young men and boys in Illinois

• A gay sex-murder-torture ring (Corll-Henley-Brooks) sent 27 Texas men and boys to their grave; and Juan Corona was convicted of murdering 25 migrant workers (he had sex with their corpses--"necrophilia").

The pathology of eating one’s sexual victims also characterized Milwaukee’s Jeffrey Dahmer in 1992. He not only killed 17 young men and boys, but cooked and ate their body parts. The association between serial murder and homosexuality isn’t recent. Two gays compete for the spot of “world’s worst murderer.” During the Nazi reign of terror, Auschwitz executioner Ludwig Tiene strangled, crushed, and gnawed boys and young men to death while he raped them. Though his grand total is uncertain, he often murdered as many as 100 a day. Gilles de Rais (Bluebeard) brutally destroyed the lives of 800 boys. Each lad was lured to his home, bathed and fed. Just as the poor boy thought "this is my lucky day," he was raped, then killed by being ripped or cut apart and either burned or eaten.

A study of 518 sexually-tinged mass murders in the U.S. from 1966 to 1983 determined that 350 (68%) of the victims were killed by those who practiced homosexuality and that 19 (44%) of the 43 murderers were bisexuals or homosexuals (See Cameron, Dr. Paul,  [1983] "Is homosexuality disproportionately associated with murder?" Paper presented at Midwestern Psychological Assn Chicago.) Lesbian Aileen Wuornos laid claim in 1992 to "worst female killer" with at least 7 middle-aged male victims. She single-handedly topped the lesbian nurse team of Catherine Wood and Gwen Graham, who had killed 6 convalescent patients in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Jim Warren, who worked as a counselor at the Washington State Corrections Center, did the intake interview for almost all the younger murderers (i.e., under age 36) in the state of Washington from 1971-82 (during the growth of the so-called "gay rights movement"). He was "probably the only one who examined the entirety of each of their case files." Warren testified that he was struck with how frequently homosexuality turned up in the cases (See Warren, J,  [1989] Testimony before the Law and Justice Committee of the Washington State Senate December 15).

The data supports that most violence comes from within the sodomite lifestyle and gets exported. It does not come mostly from the outside against them. Homosexuals are a danger to society, not the other way around. The FBI reported 431 hate crimes against homosexuals for the U.S. in all of 1991. Only one was "confirmed" for Washington, D.C. — yet D.C. gay activists claimed 397 incidents! When pressed, they admitted that at least 366 of these "crimes" consisted of "verbal harassment." (See Washington Blade (1993) "FBI releases stats on hate crimes." January 1, pg.1).  [Research for this section compiled by the Family Research Institute---familyresearchinst.org].

Islamic View on Homosexuality

 Mohammedans despise unnatural vice but not for the reason Christians do. According to scholar Bruce Dunn, Islamic states place a distinction between the homosexual act (which is acceptable), and the emotional attachment, which is not acceptable. "Sexual relations in Middle Eastern Societies have historically articulated social hierarchies, that is dominant and subordinate social positions: adult men on top; women, boys, and slaves below." (See Dunne, B, [Spring 1998], The Middle East Report, "Power and sexuality in the Middle East."). Sex in Islamic society is about male pleasure through domination. A Mohammedan who sodomizes another is not seen as homosexual, only the one who gets sodomized. According to The New York Times, Male prostitution has been rampant in Islamic society right up to the modern day. They are even frequented by high ranking officials. (See NYT, 6/23/02 "Iran by the Numbers") 

Please take note, if Mateen wanted to kill sodomites for their practices, why not target a "gay bathhouse" where anonymous sex and spreading disease is the name of the game? He targeted a nightclub which shows them in a more "romantic" way, consistent with what I reported above. 

Summary and Conclusion

• The attack in Orlando, Florida had nothing to do with lack of gun control or generalized concepts of "hate." It was an attack by a Moslem acting upon the violent beliefs enshrined in the Koran. 

• Homosexuality is a moral disorder which breeds violence, disease, and moral corruption as the traditional family unit is further mocked and destroyed. 

• Islam is all about violence--jihad. It brooks no peace among "infidels" and disrespects any host country that is not an Islamic state.  

• Sodomites are not "victims" and Islam is not "mostly peaceful." 

• The media will use this tragedy to engender sympathy for homosexuals and downplay the role of Islam. Anyone who states otherwise will be derided as having mental problems, i.e. "homophobia" and/or "Islamophobia."

• "We the people" makes no sense in our Constitution unless there is a people who care about the country. We have the (condemned) principle of "separation of Church and State" in our Constitution. Even so, Islam is a special case, and must be treated as the dangerous cult it is, seeking to overturn our very existence as a nation. They clamor for freedom to practice their religion while acknowledging that if and when they come into power, they will force all to submit to Islam or perish. Keep them out.

• The open practice of sodomy must be criminalized once more, and marriage defined as between one man and one woman. 

 With the Vatican II sect firmly committed to the perverts and Islamic infidels, if strong measures are not taken quickly, I fear for what is coming in the not too distant future. It should be no surprise that the lies of the "gay lobby" and Islam are linked to serious acts of violence. Did not Our Lord say of Satan, " He was a murderer from the beginning, and he stood not in the truth; because truth is not in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof." (St. John 8: 44). 

 

Seeing Is Believing

 In the comments section to my post two weeks ago (5/30/16), a certain truculent reader derided Traditionalists as "delusional." This reminds me of the Communist regimes who label as "insane" anyone who doesn't agree with Marxism, consigning them to asylums. I challenged him to prove his assertion (I'm always up for a civilized debate). However, he wanted me to divulge my identity, which I refuse to do as I remain anonymous (a) so as not to expose my family and friends to repercussions from the enemies of the Faith in the world, and (b) because I have no ego--whatever good this blog may do, I give all glory to Christ, to Whom it rightfully belongs. Moreover, an argument stands or falls on its own merits. A sound, valid argument can be made by anyone, as can a fallacious argument. Therefore, my identity (and his) are of no consequence to the merits of sedevacantism.

 The one telling remark he made, so common among Vatican II sect apologists, is that I was called by God to "this important work [i.e.my blog] for the invisible Roman Catholic Church anywhere except Rome." This is the argument that without a pope actually sitting on St. Peter's Chair in Rome, the Church loses Her visibility, which means sedevacantism cannot be true. While it is correct that the pope is the visible Head of the Church, even as Christ is Her invisible Head, it is false that the Church is 'invisible" without a pope to fill the Divinely established office of the papacy.

First, some preliminary remarks about the papacy are in order. According to theologian Dorsch, "The Church therefore is a society that is essentially monarchical. But this does not prevent the Church, for a short time after the death of a pope, OR EVEN FOR MANY YEARS, from remaining deprived of her head. [vel etiam per plures annos capite suo destituta manet]. Her monarchical form also remains intact in this state.…
Thus the Church is then indeed a headless body.… Her monarchical form of government remains, though then in a different way — that is, it remains incomplete and to be completed. The ordering of the whole to submission to her Primate is present, even though actual submission is not…

For this reason, the See of Rome is rightly said to remain after the person sitting in it has died — for the See of Rome consists essentially in the rights of the Primate.

These rights are an essential and necessary element of the Church. With them, moreover, the Primacy then continues, at least morally. The perennial physical presence of the person of the head, however, [perennitas autem physica personis principis] is not so strictly necessary." (de Ecclesia 2:196–7; Emphasis mine)

 Second, according to theologian Salaverri, instead of being a "primary foundation… without which the Church could not exist," the pope is a "secondary foundation," "ministerial," who exercises his power as someone else’s (Christ’s) representative. (See De Ecclesia 1:448)

The Vatican Council (1870) On The Papacy

 The next mistake made by the defenders of the Vatican II sect is to distort the infallible teaching of the (real) Vatican Council of 1870, in its decree Pastor Aeternus which decrees:" Therefore,if anyone says that it is not by the institution of Christ the Lord Himself (that is to say, by Divine law) that blessed Peter should have perpetual successors in the primacy over the whole church; or that the Roman Pontiff is not the successor of blessed Peter in this primacy: let him be anathema."  This has been wrongly interpreted by some as follows:

"The Visibility of the Church is directly linked to the Roman Pontiff. And while during an interregnum the church is "Popeless," for a short period of time, this is not a part of the ordinary constitution of the Church and must necessarily be of short duration. The longest interregnum in the Church to date is less than three years. If the sedevacantists are right, then the present interregnum is ten times greater than that one. Thus the visibility of the Church, embodied in the person of the Roman Pontiff is non-extant. In this awful scenario, the only true Church is constituted of individual priests and bishops in their respective chapels, none of whom have valid jurisdiction, and none of whom report to anyone higher than themselves as authorities. This is not a visible Church; it is a Protestant Church." 
(Brother Andre Marie M.I.C.M--as approvingly quoted by Vatican II apologist I. Shawn McElhinney in his online "treatise" entitled  A Prescription Against Traditionalism at http://matt1618.freeyellow.com/shawn.html ) I find it supremely ironic that McElhinney quotes a Vatican II Fenneyite, Bro. Andre Marie, who gets Catholic theology wrong at every turn in defense of his thesis that sedevacantism is a "heresy" because of the Vatican Council's 1870 decree.

The (1870) Vatican Council's definition was directed against heretics who contended that (1) the Primacy was an extraordinary power Christ gave to St. Peter alone, (2) Christ did not intend it to be passed along in perpetuity to his successors, and (3) this power either died with Peter, or was passed along to the Church or episcopal college. (See Dorsch, de Ecclesia, 2:191-2) The definition therefore means, "a primacy of true jurisdiction, together with a full scope of rights and duties would continue in the Church, and this in virtue of the will of Christ or by divine law." (Dorsch, Ibid 2:191)

Moreover, there was a de facto interregnum for 51 years during the Great Western Schism from 1378 until 1429, when Pope Martin V became the universally recognized pontiff. Prior to this, there were up to three claimants to the papal throne, all with arguments for their legitimacy. Only one (or none) could be the true pope. Which one was it? Mutual excommunications, appointing bishops and cardinals; to whom do you submit? Was the Church a "three headed monster" during this time? If you chose wrongly (in an age of limited education with no Internet or daily papers) are you "schismatic" and damned to Hell? There was no discernible pope, so according to the pope= visibility theory, the Church would have defected--an impossibility. That the Church is Indefectible is a dogma of the Faith.

Let's not forget the Great Apostasy foretold in the Bible, and taught by the Church. According to theologian Berry, "The prophesies of the Apocalypse show that Satan will imitate the Church of Christ to deceive mankind; he will set up a church of Satan in opposition of the Church of Christ. Antichrist will assume the role of Messias; his prophet will act the part of pope, and there will be imitations of the Sacraments of the Church. There will also be lying wonders in imitation of the miracles wrought in the Church." (See Berry,  The Church of Christ: An Apologetic and Dogmatic Treatise , [1927], pg.119; Emphasis in original) This is not incompatible with the visibility of the Church even though there most likely will be no real pope in hiding.

 The real nail in the coffin was delivered by theologian Fr. Edmund James O'Reilly, one of the most orthodox and erudite theologians of the 19th century. He wrote a book in 1882 (a scant twelve years after the Vatican Council), entitled The Relations of the Church to Society — Theological Essays. On page 287, he writes in reference to the Great Western Schism:

"There had been anti-popes before from time to time, but never for such a continuance... nor ever with such a following...
The great schism of the West suggests to me a reflection which I take the liberty of expressing here. If this schism had not occurred, the hypothesis of such a thing happening would appear to many chimerical. They would say it could not be; God would not permit the Church to come into so unhappy a situation. Heresies might spring up and spread and last painfully long, through the fault and to the perdition of their authors and abettors, to the great distress too of the faithful, increased by actual persecution in many places where the heretics were dominant. But that the true Church should remain between thirty and forty years without a thoroughly ascertained Head, and representative of Christ on earth, this would not be. Yet it has been; and we have no guarantee that it will not be again, though we may fervently hope otherwise. What I would infer is, that we must not be too ready to pronounce on what God may permit. We know with absolute certainty that He will fulfill His promises; not allow anything to occur at variance with them; that He will sustain His Church and enable her to triumph over all enemies and difficulties; that He will give to each of the faithful those graces which are needed for each one’s service of Him and attainment of salvation, as He did during the great schism we have been considering, and in all the sufferings and trials which the Church has passed through from the beginning. We may also trust He will do a great deal more than what He has bound Himself to by His promises. We may look forward with a cheering probability to exemption for the future from some of the troubles and misfortunes that have befallen in the past. But we, or our successors in future generations of Christians, shall perhaps see stranger evils than have yet been experienced, even before the immediate approach of that great winding up of all things on earth that will precede the day of judgment. I am not setting up for a prophet, nor pretending to see unhappy wonders, of which I have no knowledge whatever. All I mean to convey is that contingencies regarding the Church, not excluded by the Divine promises, cannot be regarded as practically impossible, just because they would be terrible and distressing in a very high degree." (Emphasis mine).

Summary and Conclusion

• The visibility of the Church is not bound to an actual, living pope on the throne of St. Peter.

• The Vatican Council's 1870 decree on the papacy has been misconstrued. The institution of the papacy is perpetual; there is no need nor guarantee of actual men to fill that See.

• The Great Western Schism sets historical precedent for a de facto interregnum of 51 years. 

• The teaching of the theologians clearly shows a vacancy of the Holy See lasting for an extended period of time. Such a vacancy cannot be pronounced to be incompatible with the promises of Christ as to the Indefectibility of the Church. 

• It is also taught by the theologians that it would be exceedingly rash to set any prejudged limits as to what God will be prepared to allow to happen to the Holy See, except for that which would be contrary to Divine Law (such as an "heretical pope"--an oxymoron)

My pugnacious antagonist in the comments section of 5/30/16 is like many members of the Vatican II sect whom wrongfully think the Mystical Body of Christ must have an actual pope to fill the See of Peter or the Church is "invisible." In the words of Bro. Andre Marie, if  the Church is not visible by having a true and recognizable pope the True Church is really "a Protestant Church (sic)." What's really invisible to them is the Truth. "Do you have such hard hearts? ‘Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?’...(Our Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in St. Mark 8: 17-18)

Conjuring Up Evil For Profit

 This coming Friday, June 10, 2016, a movie entitled The Conjuring 2 will premiere in theaters across the country. It is a horror sequel to the 2013 blockbuster movie based on the exploits of Ed and Lorraine Warren. I didn't see the original motion picture, and I won't be seeing the sequel. I strongly urge my readers to stay away from anything to do with either film for several serious reasons that kept me away. Of course, the Vatican II sect is saying nothing, so I feel the duty to sound the alarm in this post.

Who are Ed and Lorraine Warren?

 To keep it terse, they are frauds and occultists posing as "Catholics." Edward "Ed" Warren Miney was born September 7, 1926, and died at age 79 on August 23, 2006. He married Lorraine Rita Moran (b. 1927) in the True Church prior to Vatican II. Both were born in the True Faith, but neither really held it. From the time Ed was  5 to 12 years old, he lived in a Connecticut house in which he allegedly experienced supernatural events. "My father, who was a police officer at the time would often say, 'Ed, there's a logical reason for everything that happens in this house.' But he never came up with that logical reason," Ed said in an interview on the Warrens’ website. (See www.warrens.net)

The family heard pounding, rapping and footsteps, he said. "My family would all go to bed and just around 2 to 3 o'clock in the morning, many times I would hear the closet door beginning to open up. At first I'd look into that closet and see only shapeless darkness, then slowly I'd start to see a light beginning to form and it would morph into like a ball shape, sort of like a basketball and then I'd begin to see a face in that ball."  Ed said it was the face of an old woman. Ed Warren became a self-described "demonologist" as a result of his experience in the "haunted house" in which he grew up. He met Lorraine, soon to become his wife, and a self-described "medium/clairvoyant" through whom spirits are drawn "like a moth to a flame."

 In 1952, the couple started the New England Center for Psychic Research in Connecticut in 1952 with the goal of investigating hauntings. Around 1965, the Warrens went into a home where it was alleged that the spirit of a little girl named Cynthia who, speaking through a medium, said she was looking for her mother. The Warrens expanded the mission of their center to "help earth-bound spirits move on." According to the first movie (2013), and literature they published years prior to it, they were the "only laypeople authorized by the Vatican to perform exorcisms." How do laymen "perform exorcisms"? According to their website, "We work with any clergy that their religion teaches love of God and love of your fellow man. We are not stupid enough to think that because we are Catholics that we are the only religion saved—that's what the problem is with Ireland today—and a lot of other places. We work with all people of all faiths."

They operate an occult museum. According to their website, "See the Shadow doll that can come to you in your dreams, and stop your heart! See the Satanic Idol found in the deep woods of Connecticut, the Conjuring mirror used for summoning spirit, the Vampire’s coffin used by a modern day vampire, Bare witness to a Ragedy-Ann doll which is responsible for a death of a young man, and multiple attacks on those who once mockingly came in contact, See Masks used as a Topa for Diabolical projection,  Child Tomb stones that were used as Satanic Alters (sic), a Famous Organ that plays by itself. You will also see Psychic Photography, Pictures that would combust, and Crucifixes that were malevolently thrown from walls and desecrated, Egyptian, and African cursed items, Death curses, a Shrunken head,   Possessed toys and animals, Voodoo, Fertility and other Killer dolls!"

Some of the Famous "Hauntings" with which the Warrens are Associated

•  The Warrens are probably best known for their involvement in the 1976 "Amityville Horror" case in which Long Island, NY couple George and Kathy Lutz claimed that their house was haunted by a violent, demonic presence so intense that it eventually drove them out of their home. The story has been largely discredited. In 2012, son Christopher Lutz, admitted that almost all events were elaborate hoaxes to make money with book and movie deals. (The story did spawn many films and a novel). Christopher tried to make money on his version of the events, claiming his step-father brought evil into the home through occult practices. 

• In 1971, the Warrens claimed that the Harrisville, Rhode Island, home of the Perron family was haunted by a witch who lived there in the early 19th century. According to the Warrens, Bathsheba Sherman cursed the land so that whoever lived there somehow died. It was the basis of the first Conjuring movie. 

• The Warren's investigated an alleged poltergeist in an Enfield, North London council house. The people included were Peggy Hodgson, her 13 year old daughter Margaret, her 11 year old daughter Janet, her 10 year old son Johnny, and her 9 year old son Billy. This is the basis for the upcoming Conjuring movie.

• Jack and Janet Smurl reported their Pennsylvania home was disturbed by numerous supernatural phenomena, including sounds, smells and apparitions. The Warrens became involved and claimed that the Smurl home was occupied by three "minor spirits" and also a demon that allegedly "raped" Jack Smurl. 

• The Warrens claimed the help of Traditionalist Bishop Robert McKenna in some exorcisms.

The Serious Problems with it All

•  There is not one shred of evidence that the Vatican (pre or post Vatican II) ever gave the Warrens permission to do exorcisms. While the Modernist Vatican might do anything, they still show no evidence. As far as the True Church under Pope Pius XII, no such permission would ever be given. Under the 1917 Code of Canon Law, only "priests marked by piety, prudence, and integrity" may perform exorcisms (See Canon 1151; See also Canonists Abbo and Hannon, The Sacred Canons 2:143). It is a task for the ordained.

• Ed Warren had no theological or other qualifications to be a "demonologist" (whatever that means). He simply gave himself a title. 

• Lorraine Warren claims to be a "trance medium." Such is condemned by both the Bible and Church teaching. "Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD; because of these same detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you." (See Deuteronomy 18:10-12; Emphasis mine.) According to theologian Jone, "Spiritism claims to be able to communicate with the spirit world and endeavors to establish such commerce with it. Although spiritism is for the most part fraud, still the intention alone to enter into communication with spirits is gravely sinful. Therefore, it is mortally sinful to conduct a spiritistic seance or to act as a medium." (See Moral Theology, pg. 100; Emphasis mine). 

• They openly deny that the Catholic Church is the One True Church outside of which there is no salvation, and work with any "clergy" that teach "love of God...and your fellow man." People who believe in the dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus are derided as "stupid."

• There are no "spirits" needing "help to move on." Angels are in Heaven, demons are in Hell, and the souls of the deceased are in Heaven, Hell or Purgatory, not walking around houses making things go "bump in the night." True, demons can do harm on Earth, but they are not in need of any "help" to "move on."

• Who in their right mind would keep an "occult museum"?   It can be construed as a shrine to evil. Who would want to look at such wicked things (even if they are a hoax)? Can you imagine the Apostles taking one of the demon-possessed pigs which jumped off a cliff and putting it on display? (See St. Mark 5:2-13) This is just a sick and malevolent way to get attention and make money. (The Warrens "passed the torch" to their son-in-law, Tony Spera). 

• Ed Warren claims that pets have immortal souls, contrary to Church teaching.

• The so-called "Smurl Haunting" involves a man being "raped" by a demon, and the presence of "minor spirits" (whatever that means). How can a demon (a spiritual entity) "rape" a physical body? Some may quote Genesis 6:2-4, "The sons of God seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themselves wives of all which they chose. And God said: My spirit shall not remain in man for ever, because he is flesh, and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years. Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they brought forth children, these are the mighty men of old, men of renown." Some claim the "sons of God" were fallen angels producing giants with human females, sometimes called by Protestants as "Nephilim." God did not create angels with the ability to procreate with each other or with humans. God, Who knew from the beginning that He would be betrayed, established the creation of the angels in Heaven, and they would neither marry nor be given in marriage (see St. Mark 12:25).  He created them without this capability so that even when the fallen angels rebelled, nothing they could do would ever change this fact.  This is why demons can only go so far as to possess people.  If the demons could procreate, they would not waste their time possessing people, since procreation would be a more direct route of affecting and infecting humanity for their evil purposes. 

• Bishop McKenna never affiliated himself with the Warrens. The good and holy Bishop tried to help those who may be affected by demonic forces. The Warrens were sometimes there, but it is a lie to say he was affiliated with them in any way. In an interview with Michael W. Cuneo, author of American Exorcism, then Father (later Bp.) McKenna said that the Warren's "… books are sensationalized, and you just can’t take it literally. I don’t like to be publicly associated with them." Indeed, he did not want to be associated with such evil people; he was trying to help others. 

Strange Events Surrounding the Films

As to the original The Conjuring (2013):

• When the movie was shown in the Philippines, some cinemas had to hire Vatican II "priests" to bless the viewers before showing it. This is due to some viewers having reported a "Negative Presence" after watching the film. The "priests" also provided spiritual and psychological help to the viewers.

• Andrea Perron wrote a three-part book based on her experiences in the house titled 'House of Darkness, House of Light.' Experiences written about in her book also appear in the film. Perron cites the film as a "work of art" and not a work of fiction.

• James Wan, the director, was working on the script one late night. He had just adopted a new puppy, who started staring at a supposedly empty side of the room and began to growl aggressively. Wan stated that his dog's head then followed something all across the room, but he didn't see anything.

• Vera Farmiga, the actress who plays Lorraine Warren, opened her computer one day to keep reading the script. She noticed five claw marks scratched straight across her screen.

• When the directors and Lorraine Warren  would chat on the phone about the script, they kept getting cut off by weird sounds and a lot of static. Then, out of nowhere, the line would suddenly go dead.

• The mother of the Perron family claimed to have felt the same strange dark presence, similar to when she first experienced the occurrences depicted in the film. She later tripped and suffered some wounds, which put her in the hospital.

As to the sequel, The Conjuring 2:

• On the first day of shooting, a Vatican II "priest" was brought in to bless the set.

(All of the alleged strange events were compiled by the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com)).

Summary and Conclusion

• The Conjuring and its upcoming sequel, are an attempt to deceive people as a  portrayal of good vs. evil. In fact, it is evil appearing as good in order to promote evil. You have occultists promoting indifferentism, slandering a Traditionalist Bishop, lying about ties to the Vatican, promoting many false "hauntings," and having a museum dedicated as a "shrine" to evil. All this while claiming to be "Catholic" and fighting "evil"!

• The movies received an "R" rating based on intense frightful scenes alone (this is very rare). This can cause some with unhealthy psyches to experience strange events, like the ones alleged to have happened. Vatican II "priests" are not warning people about these movies and are invalidly ordained, thereby powerless to help. 

• Is it possible that some of the strange occurrences are real? Perhaps. The films are so seeped in the occult that you might open a door to malevolent spirits. Theologian Jone tells us it is sinful to attend seances even as a mere spectator because of scandal given and implying promotion of such practices.  Wouldn't this also apply to a movie which openly flaunts it as "good"? STAY AWAY!!

 Christ condemned those who wanted "signs and wonders" from God. "Jesus therefore said to him: Unless you see signs and wonders, you believe not." (St. John 4:48) We can see the proof of God and His love by the Five Ways of St. Thomas Aquinas, the historical evidence for the Resurrection of Christ, and the Intelligent Design in nature. Yet, some want to see crying statues and bleeding Hosts, or their Faith is shaken. Now, people seek signs from Satan, because if he exists, then so does God. This perverse theme was prevalent on the Warren website. 

 We can learn from my patron saint, King St. Louis IX of France. It is related that in the King's private chapel (where he would hear at least two Masses daily), a miracle took place when he was not there. When the priest consecrated the Host, it had turned into a visible Christ Child! One of his good and faithful servants ran to the King to tell him what happened, and come and see for himself before the miracle ended. The saintly King just hung his head, deep in thought. His servant couldn't understand his reaction. "Does not your Majesty wish to come and see the Infant Jesus?" He lifted his head and replied, "No, my good man. With the eyes of Faith, I see the Infant Jesus in the Host every morning at Mass. Go, and call those who do not believe to witness it. As for me, I believe He is there every morning, as the Church teaches." King St. Louis IX truly lived the words of Our Lord, "Jesus saith to him: 'Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed.'" (St. John 20:29) By the intersession of King St. Louis IX and the Blessed Mother, may Christ grant us a Faith so strong.