This is a variation of the heresy of Universalism. This universalism is the opposite of "catholic"--it teaches that everyone (or almost everyone) can be saved, and belonging to the Church is unnecessary. This view of Bergoglio mirrors that of heretical Fr. Hans Urs Von Balthasar (d. 1988). Von Balthasar's 1987 book, Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved"? claimed there was no certainty that anyone is in Hell or ever will be in Hell. He stated that "the Church ... has never said anything about the damnation of any individual. Not even about that of Judas." Thus, he declared, every Christian has the "obligation" to hope that all men are saved, including Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Our Lord.
This post will discuss Universalism in its various forms, and whether or not a Traditionalist Catholic can hope for an unpopulated Hell. I begin my discussion of the problem from the place where every evil in this age of Great Apostasy comes---Vatican II.
Vatican II and Universalism
First, some definitions are in order. Today, one can distinguish six types of Universalism:
1. Apocatastasis. This teaching is defined by the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia as, A name given in the history of theology to the doctrine which teaches that a time will come when all free creatures will share in the grace of salvation; in a special way, the devils and lost souls. Hell is not eternal, but will end when all damned humans and fallen angels (Satan and his demons) are "purified" and enter into Heaven. A necessary corollary is that the Church is irrelevant.
2. Mitigated Apocatastasis. Teaches the same as above, except that Hell is eternal, but only for Satan and his demons. All human souls return to God. Some modern Protestants hold this view. Once more the Church is irrelevant.
3. Absolute Universalism. Universalism teaches that the atonement of Christ and belonging to His One True Church is not necessary. All humanity will go to Heaven after death regardless of beliefs and regardless of anything Christ did, which was not necessary. There is no belief in Hell, Satan and demons. When most people speak of Universalism, this is the view to which they usually refer.
4. "Christian" Universalism. This view holds that the atonement of Jesus is necessary, as is belief in Him as Savior. However, the Catholic Church is not necessary. Just a general acceptance of Christ as your personal Lord and Savior suffices. Many liberal Protestant sects adopt this view. There may or may not be a Hell for non-Christians (their souls will be annihilated at death if no Hell) and Satan/demons may or may not exist. Usually, any "profession of Christ" whatsoever suffices for salvation.
5. "Anonymous Christian" Universalism. This form of universalism is taken from the heretical teachings of Fr. Karl Rahner (d. 1984) who was a peritus ("theological expert") at Vatican II. False sects and their false books/teachings, merely have "gaps, insufficiencies, and errors," and yet contain "elements of goodness and grace" from the "mystery of Christ" which will "nourish and direct" the existence of their followers. According to the concept of Anonymous Christianity, the "Mystery of Christ" is contained in varying degrees in non-Catholic religions. Therefore, salvation is also available in those other (false) religions. Everyone is "Christian" whether they know it or not; even if they explicitly reject Christianity.
6. The Empty Hell. Hell is real and Satan with his demons are there. It is possible that human souls may be there, but it is possible no souls are lost.
Although Universalism has been around for centuries, it gained popular acceptance in society after Vatican II. The new ecclesiology, which is at the heart of the false sect, comes from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. In para. #8 of that damnable document, it states:
This Church [of Christ] constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic (sic) unity. (Emphasis and words in parenthesis mine).
The Church of Christ is not identical to the Roman Catholic Church. It "subsists" there in its fullness because it contains all the "elements" of the Church of Christ. However, the Church of Christ "subsists" in other sects according to how many "elements" they possess. To have all the elements is best, but just having some is just as good and "impels toward catholic (sic) unity." Maybe they would like to explain why the Eastern Schismatics and Protestants have not been "impelled" to become Catholic? The answer is easy enough: They don't need to convert because they are "in partial communion" with the Church of Christ and can be saved outside the Catholic Church. This is pure heresy.
It brought forth a false and equally heretical ecumenism, explained in Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio:
It follows that the separated Churches and Communities [false sects] as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church. (para. #3; Emphasis mine).
The ecumenism is manifest in every part of the sect. The Novus Bogus "Mass" is a good example of the false ecclesiology engendering ecumenism in action. To give but a few examples:
- It resembles the Protestant "Lord's Supper" with singing and hand-holding around a table
- The role of the "priest" is more or less that of a Protestant minister. "Homilies" and self-help talks is mostly all they do
- Belief in the Real Presence (which they no longer have anyway) is virtually obliterated by people standing for "communion" and putting it in their hand, while being dressed immodestly or like a slob
- The "priesthood of all believers" is seen by laymen and laywomen handing out "communion;" the laity reads the "lectionary;" and married "deacons" are doing almost everything the so-called priest does
- There is no salvation Outside the One True Church
- Islam is Satanic in origin
- Catholicism should be the State religion
- Error has no rights
The Vatican II Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, in keeping with the false and heretical ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium, teaches the salvation of all humanity. One of the key tenets of this document, Universalism was beloved by Wojtyla ("Pope" "St" John Paul II) who incorporated it in his encyclicals and the heretical 1992 Catechism of the Catholic (sic) Church.
In Gaudium et Spes, para. #22 we read, For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. By His Incarnation, Christ took on a human nature; True God and True Man. There is no Church teaching that somehow Christ "has united Himself in some fashion with each man." That is a theological novelty of Vatican II. This teaching is heretical as can be clearly seen from the "magisterial" explanation of Wojtyla:
Redemptor Hominis (1979), para. #13: Christ the Lord indicated this way especially, when, as the Council teaches, "by his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, in a certain way united himself with each man"(Emphasis in original). Continuing in the same encyclical, Wojtyla writes, Accordingly, what is in question here is man in all his truth, in his full magnitude. We are not dealing with the "abstract" man, but the real, "concrete", "historical" man. We are dealing with "each" man, for each one is included in the mystery of the Redemption and with each one Christ has united himself forever through this mystery. (Emphasis mine).
Query: If Christ has united Himself forever to each person simply by virtue of the Incarnation, how is it possible for someone to be damned? Answer: No one can ever be damned because Hell involves eternal separation from God, which is incompatible with the teaching of Gaudium et Spes and Wojtyla--- that all humans are united forever with Christ and thus all must be saved. It is Catholic truth that no one is saved unless they are within the One True Church of Christ and die in the state of sanctifying grace.
Proof: Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Cantate Domino, 1441, ex cathedra: The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives...
Pope Pius IX, The Syllabus of Errors (1864), CONDEMNED Proposition #17:
Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.
Was Judas Damned, and is Hell Really Empty?
For the most part, we do not know the fate of the departed. Other than canonized saints, we can't say for certain that any particular individual is in Heaven, without a special revelation from God. That's why we pray for the dead; if they are in Purgatory, we can help them with our prayers. Conversely, we know--from Scripture and Sacred Tradition---that there are souls in Hell. It is not empty, as Von Balthasar and Bergoglio would have it. We do not know for certain if any particular soul is damned (without a special revelation from God) --except for one, Judas Iscariot.
Proof:
The fourfold condemnation of Judas in Sacred Scripture.
Our Lord Jesus Christ: "The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." (St. Mark 14:6; Emphasis mine).
Our Lord Jesus Christ: "While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture may be fulfilled." (St. John 17:12; Emphasis mine).
Psalm 108: 2-8: "O God, be not thou silent in my praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me. They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they have compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against me without cause. Instead of making me a return of love, they detracted me: but I gave myself to prayer. And they repaid me evil for good: and hatred for my love. Set thou the sinner over him: and may the devil stand at his right hand. When he is judged, may he go out condemned; and may his prayer be turned to sin. May his days be few: and his bishopric let another take." (Emphasis mine).
St. Augustine shows in Homilies on the Gospel of John, that St. John 17:12 together with Psalm 108 (109 in some Bibles) tells of the damnation of Judas Iscariot.
7. The Son therefore goes on to say: “Those that Thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” The betrayer of Christ was called the son of perdition, as foreordained to perdition, according to the Scripture, where it is specially prophesied of him in the 109th Psalm. (See ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.cviii.html; Emphasis mine).
St. Peter, the first pope in Acts 1:20: "For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take."(Emphasis mine). Here, St. Peter applies Psalm 108 to Judas in calling for the election of someone to take the traitor's place (St. Matthias). By applying Psalm 108:8 to Judas, St. Peter also pointed to Judas's damnation, because Psalm 108:6-7 says of the very same person mentioned there: "Set thou the sinner over him: and may the devil stand at his right hand. When he is judged, may he go out condemned and may his prayer be turned to sin." Verse 7, "May his prayer be turned to sin," foretells Judas's final impenitence causing eternal damnation.
Therefore, the teaching of Sacred Scripture in St. Mark 14:6, St. John 17:12, Psalm 108, and Acts 1:20, make it clear that Judas is in Hell.
Theologians teach Judas is in Hell
St. Thomas Aquinas (Doctor of the Church) in De Veritate:
Now, in the case of Judas, the abuse of grace was the reason for his reprobation[damnation],since he was made reprobate because he died without grace.
St. Ambrose (Church Father) declared that Judas suffered eternal punishment because he died without being forgiven. In Concerning Repentance he wrote: For I suppose that even Judas might through the exceeding mercy of God not have been shut out from forgiveness, if he had expressed his sorrow not before the Jews but before Christ.
St. Augustine (Church Father) in The City of God, Bk. I, ch. 17:
For Judas, when he killed himself, killed a wicked man, and passed from this life chargeable not only with the death of Christ, but also with his own: for though he killed himself on account of his crime, his killing himself was another crime. (Emphasis mine).
The Sacred Liturgy teaches the damnation of Judas
The Collect for Maundy Thursday:
O God, from whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt, and the thief the reward of his confession: grant unto us the full fruit of Thy clemency; that even as in His Passion our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each retribution according to his merits, so having cleared away our former guilt, he may bestow on us the grace of His resurrection: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth (Emphasis mine).
The Church is infallible in Her universal disciplinary laws. According to theologian Van Noort, The Church's infallibility extends to the general discipline of the Church...By the term "general discipline of the Church" are meant those ecclesiastical laws passed for the direction of Christian worship and Christian living. (See Dogmatic Theology, 2: 114-115; Emphasis mine).
It is infallibly certain Judas is in Hell.
The Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches Judas is in Hell
It is such as these that our Savior describes as hirelings, who, in the words of Ezechiel, feed themselves and not the sheep, and whose baseness and dishonesty have not only brought great disgrace on the ecclesiastical state, so much so that hardly anything is now more vile and contemptible in the eyes of the faithful, but also end in this, that they derive no other fruit from their priesthood than was derived by Judas from the Apostleship, which only brought him everlasting destruction. (Emphasis mine).
The idea of an "empty Hell" is thereby refuted. There is one person known to us who is there for eternity. The theory of Von Balthasar (and the "thing" that "pleases" Bergoglio) is not based on the teaching of Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the teachings of the approved theologians, the liturgy, or the pre-Vatican II catechisms. Some "Empty Hell" proponents might balk, "OK, but we can hope that Judas is the ONLY human soul in Hell." Is that proposition tenable? In a word: NO.
Universalism Stands Condemned
His Holiness Pope Pius II, in his decree Cum Sicut, of November 14, 1459 CONDEMNED the following proposition of Zanini de Solcia:
That all Christians are to be saved.
It is therefore true that some Christians will be damned, not merely Judas Iscariot. The objection will be heard that "God wills all to be saved." This is true, but it is not incompatible with souls going to Hell. God willed Judas to be saved as long as Judas cooperated with His grace by his own free will.
Conclusion
Universalism, in all its forms, is heretical. Satan wants you to think Hell isn't real, or that no one goes there, so you will have no need to "work out thy salvation in fear and trembling" (See Philippians 2:12-13). Hell is well-populated, even if there should prove to be more saved than damned. (I will not include private revelations to prove or disprove the number of the saved/damned, as no one is required to believe private revelations--even those approved by the Church).
We must remain ever vigilant to be saved during this time of Great Apostasy. No one can be certain of having the greatest grace; Final Perseverance. To die in the state of sanctifying grace is to achieve Heaven. We cannot earn it, but the theologians teach that God will not turn away someone who prays for it unceasingly. Even that, however, does not guarantee it; no one can be certain if they are among the saved except by special revelation from Almighty God.
However, do not despair. There are signs that salvation is probable, and gives rise to great hope. As noted by theologian Tanquerey, most theologians teach there are eight (8) signs a soul is probably among the saved:
- a conscience that fears danger
- contempt for the things of the world
- patience in adversity
- zeal for the salvation of souls
- constant practice of the Eight Beatitudes
- devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
- devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary (and her Rosary)
- frequent and fervent Holy Communion
Bergoglio and the V2 sect are Satan's best allies in damning souls. In addition to the heresies they preach, there are all the abominable practices in the churches and now, the blessings of sodomite unions. I suppose they'll also allow female (or transgender) ordinations and abortion under certain conditions. If people, and even R&R, can't see that this entity is not the Catholic Church but a deception of Satan, then it is indeed a satanic deception. It has been foretold and is being fulfilled. The devil is on the rampage because he knows he has only a short time before the return of Christ. Even if we are tempted on all sides, we must remain vigilant.
ReplyDeleteSimon,
DeleteI agree. The Vatican II sect is the root of all evil in the world today. Remain vigilant, indeed!
God Bless,
---Introibo
Hi Introibo
ReplyDeleteLast week in the comments section several spoke of marriage.
What advice would you give to a middle aged man who would like to be married but has given up due to being hurt several times over the last few years by Church women. I did not know how nasty women can be along with their parents . I am a clean ,decent ,kind man in a professional job who goes the extra mile with my Catholic Faith and often attend daily Mass . Thank you
@anon7:11
DeleteMy advice is to keep trying, unless you feel God has called you to be in the single vocation. Being hurt is, unfortunately, part of life--especially for a Traditionalist. I was hurt plenty of times before I met the woman who is now my wife. There are many fakes. Just because a man or woman has their body in Church, doesn't mean their heart is in it too. I'll be praying for you!
God Bless,
---Introibo
Why do most folk look down upon us men who are single . I have even heard them say staying in this state of life is not a vocation. There must be something wrong why we are not married.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above comment there are many fakes . I too am in a professional job and I am very serious with my Faith .
Introibo , why do some women fall for losers when a decent man is interested in them .
God bless
@anon10:52
DeleteThere is an unfair stigma attached to being single, for certain. It's always been that way, and it probably always will. The single life is a state in life that God wants certain people to follow.
To answer your question, "why do some women fall for losers when a decent man is interested in them"? I have only speculation. Some women (like some men) are mentally ill. I knew a woman who broke up with a successful Traditionalist (a friend of mine) and decided to marry a man with bipolar disorder who nearly killed her. What was she thinking? A good question for which I have no good answer.
For some it's a lack of self-esteem (it won't last, so I'll go for someone else). My wife had her share of bad apples before we met. All we can do is pray to discern God's Will, and and follow it, my friend.
See my post on the single vocation:
https://introiboadaltaredei2.blogspot.com/2020/12/single-minded-devotion.html
God Bless,
---Introibo
Self-esteem? I think the word self-confidence would be more appropiate
Delete@anon8:33
DeleteI agree!
God Bless,
---Introibo
Thank you, Introibo, for your post.
ReplyDelete“They claim it is repugnant to think the Kingdom of Satan will be more populous, and thereby larger, than the Kingdom of God.” Well, looking around the world today, and considering human nature after the Fall, I have to wonder if it isn’t possible. I can’t remember the saints, but I think I read a couple accounts of visions mentioning only a few out of tens of thousands of souls that died on a particular day making it into heaven. Of course, that isn’t proof of anything, but still. Perhaps those visions were given to help drive home point number one above, regarding a healthy fear of Hell.
Also, I read a book (again, I know it doesn’t prove anything) regarding angels, and from what I remember, the number of angels is vast, so perhaps considering the number of angels, heaven is much larger… just thoughts.
This was a timely post for me, as I am listening to a ten year old interview with Bp. Sanborn, recently sponsored by Novus Ordo Watch, which covers some of the heretical documents of Vatican II, so thank you for the great summaries of some of those documents. Bp. Sanborn had a good analogy of false sects being a means of salvation and a plane with crucial missing parts being a safe means of traveling across a great distance.
I will try and keep those eight signs of probable salvation in mind. God Bless!
-Seeking Truth
Seeking Truth,
DeleteThank you, my friend! Actually, your argument about angels has been used by theologians who teach that more souls in the world are damned than saved. Some speculate that there will be as many people saved so as to replace the number of the one-third of angels who fell to become Satan and his demons. The good angels plus the saved humans together will be more populous than the damned, even though the greater part of humanity is lost.
God Bless,
---Introibo
The V2 types like Bergoglio seem to forget the second death, and the hell prepared for "the devil and his angels"
ReplyDeleteCairsahr__stjoseph,
DeleteWell, I'd say they "reject" or "deny"--not "forget"--but that's what you meant, my friend, I'm sure!
God Bless,
---Introibo