Inciting Schism is not Building the Kingdom!

Painting of Jan Hus in Council of Constance by Václav Brožík - ΑΩ institut, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5671078
I read this yesterday http://twoheartspress.com/prepare-for-the-fallout-the-great-schism/ and I found it very unsettling.

Now we all know the internet is full of misinformation (I even mention the proliferation of misinformation on my blog profile) but for some reason, some of the content of this blog resonated with me as truth, even though much of it is dodgy. Particularly (for example):
The Church is being plunged into darkness. Its leadership is applauding the god of social justice and human rights at the expense of conversion and salvation.
As I mentioned here, the Congregations for Divine Worship and Clergy have seen significant changes under Pope Francis. A dozen officials have been replaced in the former and 10 in the latter. It’s not unusual for popes to put their favored officials in Curial positions, but Vatican sources stress that the majority removed were known for their orthodoxy and sound doctrine.

Many of the replacements are not experts in theology or canon law, but in such disciplines as sociology or psychology. One official told the Register this is aimed at making the Curia more “human,” but the newcomers’ way of looking at the life of faith “is more natural rather than supernatural.” This worries me because I worry that this secularises the Church in some way, divorcing the supernatural dimension of our search for the truth and looking inward at the person for answers to questions which need to be considered always in the context of our relationship with God as revealed through Jesus Christ.
This new twisted version of the Word will disguise many heresies. Know this, only the astute will recognize these untruths, for they will be carefully hidden within a false doctrine, which will be seen to be a breath of fresh air.
I do discern this is going on, perhaps it always has been going on. Many seek "progress" and see it as something desireable and better than what has gone before. But this is not always the truth. It is important to remember the Church has a millennial view of human history within a supernatural context. The truths she holds and teaches are complex, inter-connected and ancient. The foundations of Catholicism are Apostolic in nature and we must be careful not to allow hubris to distract us from these realities.

I am frustrated when I hear that "only the astute will recognise these untruths", this smacks of Gnosticism, not the God who Jesus revealed like this:
“I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants..." 

But talk of "fresh-air" and the over-emphasis of mercy as the defining characteristic of God (it's not, love is the defining characteristic of God) is just heresy and makes me cross and sad. Why? Because such talk certainly confuses the laity and leads them to the sort of dangerous ideas (primacy of conscience, etc) which has emptied the Churches and stopped people coming to the Sacraments.
Satan is tempting God’s children to deny their Faith. A terrible darkness has descended over the world. Never have so many of God’s children lost their faith. This apostasy in the world causes confusion about the existence of sin. The liars are convincing us of the need to change the Truth and to glorify sin.
Wolves in sheep’s clothing are drawing others by saying all the things they want to hear. Cleverly camouflaged in holy speak, which hide their terrible lies, they are defiling the Word and bringing disarray into the Church. The Scriptures are being declared to be out of touch with the needs of mankind and desires of people living in the twenty-first Century.
Heresies are now springing from within the Church and are brought about by rationalism and human interference with the Word, spread by scholars who are not filled with the spirit of Truth but who are, instead, stuffed with self-righteousness, fueled by pride. So well versed do they believe they are in interpreting the Church’s Teachings that they are adding in new codicils and adjusting what Christ taught to suit their own selfish needs.
I do think this holds some important, if uncomfortable truths. We have to retain our sense of the supernatural and be aware that we are undoubtedly engaged in spiritual warfare. I have experienced this in a very tangible way in my own life. Turning away from God may appear to present some sort of solution to us, but ultimately leads to isolation and confusion, where we are easily convinced of terrible life threatening error. Our salvation lies in our reception of the Sacraments and our proximity to Christ.

My greatest worry over the Kasperite conspiracy is that it directly contradicts the words of Christ in Sacred Scripture. This is a fact and cannot be circumnavigated or cleverly disguised by sophistry. You can see Cardinal Kasper try to do this for yourself, in two parts, here and then here. Judge for yourself whether his argument are logical, consistent or even coherent. 
Pray for priests, who, lukewarm in their faith, are being easily seduced and drawn into the arms of the deceiver, whose charismatic appearance has been difficult to resist. His plan is to deceive the world’s clergy. We must pray that he will be identified for who he is, seeing through his demeanor and facade, seeing his attention-seeking agenda, seeing the way heretical bishops and priests drop in awe at his feet and do his every bidding, seeing how his humility is false, seeing his mischievous intentions, and seeing that the love he exudes is really all about himself, with his subtle acts and sly gestures, always displaying at every opportunity his seemingly saintly attributes. We must pray that priests will see that while he is portrayed as innovative, dynamic – a breath of fresh air – in his quick and unexplainable rise to prominence, he is really a fooler of the faithful, rotten to the core (according to prophecy) who is misleading many through manipulated lies and the spread of confusion as he tries to convince the priests that what they have known to be true, up to now, is no longer the case.
This paragraph really hit home for me. I know it is difficult to be a leader, to know what to do, but bishops only have to uphold the teaching of the Church and ensure that anything that contradicts that teaching is rejected in their jurisdiction. This in and of itself constitutes strong leadership in an environment where it is so rare. We have a few who do it, but just look at what can happen when you really believe and take some strong steps in leading the faithful

We are part of a reality which exists here and now, but also on a metaphysical level that transcends time and space. To be Catholic is to acknowledge and live within this supernatural reality: the democracy of the dead. But in reality, how many priests seek to please the people by ignoring the teachings of Jesus some consider "difficult" or "challenging"? How many seek to subvert the faith, to make it more palatable or "modern" by capitulating to the zeitgeists like homosexuality, pornography or abortion? How many believe in the supernatural reality of hell or the devil, let alone arm their people to deal with his attacks? 

We must encourage our good & faithful priests. We must empower them to stand up and be icons of Christ, with our prayers and with our loving encouragement and support. We must cling to what the Church holds and teaches, but not preach fear, doubt and schism as the author of this article, Dr. Bowring does here. We do not cling to a physical institution alone, but one which was found by Christ, and one which the gates of Hades will not prevail! We do not follow any man, but we follow the God-Man, Jesus Christ.

I hadn’t heard of Dr Kelly Bowring before, but should you Google him you will discover that the Two Hearts Press seems to be his own publishing house and he has his own website. He is into Mejugorje in a big way and has been writing about “The Great Crisis” for the last ten years or more.

See: http://www.amazon.com/Kelly-Bowring/e/B001JSC8HA

He does have a doctorate from The Angelicum, but I think he is on the wrong track here in many ways. Of course Pope Francis has given him a lot more ammunition to use and like a clock that doesn’t work but still tells the right time twice a day, there are elements of truth in what Bowring says.

However, Canon Law states that anyone guilty of heresy cannot celebrate the sacraments or receive them – and cannot exercise authority in the Church. That is why Pope Francis will NOT issue a heretical document.

Sure he says a lot of daft things on aeroplanes. But they are not acts of the Magisterium. The reports on the Synod were reports of a discussion with no holds barred. They were not acts of the Magisterium either. In addition, Cardinal Mueller will not let Pope Francis issue a heretical document.

And neither will Pope Benedict.

To sum up, division is basically a bad thing, but we cannot sacrifice truth for the sake of unity. Our unity is born of our common profession, this is the essential qualifying factor and if someone says something is Catholic that is not, we need people to stand up and condemn it. If our priests and bishops won't do it, then it falls down to us. But we must not give way to scandal and speculation, but always try our best to hold to fact and truth and always discuss this with charity.


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