He will return with his immense heart, with his heart of fire, his poor man's soul
and his smile. He will return! And the Immaculate Heart of Mary will triumph!

TO THE FIRE WITH IT!

ReCAPITULATION of chapter 1

« According to the almost unanimous opinion of believers and unbelievers alike, all things on earth should be related to man as their centre and crown », the Council professes in the first sentence of this chapter entitled “the dignity of the human person” (12, 1).

At first, the Council speaks in praise of man, his faculties and his genius. Sin has left its mark on him, and many people who persist in this break with God remain marked by it. For all that, they have not lost their eminent dignity, their intelligence, their moral conscience, their freedom...; in their heart of hearts, « an eternal seed, a desire for higher life that the feeling of their “exalted dignity” » maintains in them until they are at death’s door. All of this is described with an accommodating attitude, as though all of humanity were in such a state of well-balanced, reasonable humanism that is without religion and feels no need or desire for it. The purpose of man’s life here is the exaltation of man by himself. Illness and death still foil this…

The second panel of the triptych is modern atheism. The Council continues its inquiry into contemporary man in order to emphasise massive, reinforced, impenetrable atheism. There are many reasons for tending towards atheism; the Church and Christians, it must be said, are highly responsible for the existence of atheism. What is most alarming is that this atheism pleases modern man,

1^o because it comes to crown the cult of the human person in such a manner that the fight for the liberation of man leads to rejecting God, and furthermore,

2^o because this same atheism deters one from expecting any help from religion as regards the future of the human race and building a new world. Thus the atheist sides with the most ardent and committed militants for the future of man, taking in hand his destiny.

The third panel is the connivance of the Church with Communism, the final systematisation and implementation of the cult of man. In fact, to the head-on attack of atheist Communism, the (conciliar) Church responds with an admission of inadequacies according to which the Church (of the past) lost the “working class” and the “intellectual class”. The Council remedies this following its brilliant leader, Karol Wojtyla by first dialoguing with the atheists on the compatibility of the idea of God, His infinite freedom, with the modern idea of man, which itself includes an unlimited freedom. Then the Council urges the elites and militant Christians to engage on the side of the Communists and other revolutionaries in the « building of a new world » on the ruins of the old. One can imagine the bold openings this double green light, this “carte blanche” will provide for the chapters that follow.

POISON

KAROL WOJTYLA’S GNOSis.

The Council’s work that is studied here effects a total « Copernican » revolution. It is, however, more exact to say « a new “Kantian” revolution » because Copernicus rejected geocentrism, which runs counter to the pride of man. Man believes that he is the centre of the world on his round ball, the crown and centre of everything! while Kant, in the inverse direction, makes the human mind, makes man, the principle and centre of all truth. God, if He exists – and morally He must exist! – is beyond the bounds of our knowledge. Good riddance! for God no doubt, and for us, most certainly!

Karol Wojtyla, about whose powerful mind I have not ceased to expose the almost matchless genius, not only displays speculative boldness but equally, a superior mode of using it that manages throngs of people as superbly as he handles ideas. It was Karol Wojtyla who was able to conceive and carry out this Kantian revolution, which was necessary for the Council to be able to reconcile the Church with modern man. These two pages entitled “christ, the new man” (n^o 22), which were to be followed by another: “In the Holy Spirit”, for n^os 4-5, are as equally important as the famous and baneful Introduction of the second edition of Immanuel Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason.

What does Karol Wojtyla do? Like children who play “Mecano” or other more recent games but based on the same principle, this prodigious dialectician takes apart the Catholic construction piece by piece, putting each one according to its form and dimensions into the appropriate box. Through new combinations he builds the cathedral, the Creed, the Church, the Trinity of his dreams; the price, though, is a few violent, twisting (!), even shattering manipulations, and the exclusion of a good amount of unusable residue that he hides out of sight in the waste basket so that nothing bears witness to the faulty rebuilding. This was how Luther made Christianity from beginning to end into Lutheranism with the Bible’s guarantee : « Sola scriptura »; and one might say of this short treatise signed Karol Wojtyla: Solo mecano.

We admit it; it is clever, but is the result any good? Yesterday, 21 November 1996, after five hours of reading and writing the result drove me to the brink of cerebral anaemia, metaphysical despair, and definitively abandoning my fight, far too little David that I am facing this gigantic Philistine.

But today, with my screwdriver and my monkey wrench, I will take it to pieces for you in no time at all:

a) Catholic theology speaks first about God according to what God revealed about Himself and, descending step by step, it comes to speak of Creation, original sin, and the work of preparing the salvation that was promised to man. Next it speaks of the Incarnation of the Son of God, in accordance with the essential corpus of the Creed. Finally, it speaks about the sending of His Holy Spirit to His Apostles to found His one, holy Church.

b) Unfortunately, the modern world no longer wants God. Read Compte-Sponville; read Luc Ferry. It is not for want of knowing: they do not want Him, and that is all there is to it. For them it is a personal matter, as we see among so many here below in these times: « It is he or I! » For the person reduced to uttering such a threat, it is obvious that the other is already rejected, to the profit of a « me » now rid of a competitor, a rival… or a father, a spouse, an employer, or a superior spirit.

Man, the Council explains to us, wants to be glorified unabashedly, in his « exalted dignity », and the first sessions let it leak out that  the Council was full of good will and agreed to proclaim the cult of Man as the very essence of the new religion… but what is to be done with all the extra pieces of the Mecano – I mean of the Creed? And then, God! If you like, you can say, « God is dead »; you will never dare to say: « and the Council incinerated Him! »

What is the Council going to do with God the Father? with His Son, Jesus of Nazareth? with the Holy Spirit who guarantees the fidelity of the Church to Her Founder, and who maintains the Faith, virtues and sanctity through the Blessed Virgin Mary against every pollution, manipulation or persecution? Here is the answer:

A.  God does not bother Marx, according to what Karol Wojtyla says, but we understand! insofar as He is not the « Creator » of the world, and above all not the « Father » of men, and still less the main Author of Biblical Revelation, the one who intervenes in the matters of men with an overwhelming weight of authority. The entire defence of atheists that we read above with amazement prepares us to adopt this discretion in our faith in God, in our preaching on these « theophanies », on His continual miracles in favour of His People, on the excesses of His « theocracy ». Insofar as we will never see God again, celebrate His heroic deeds, or recall His commandments, then, yes! man, in establishing his public and social cult as the « centre and crown of the world », will never again clash with God, nor will he with any of God’s prophets, and there will at last be peace for all men of good will.

B. So what of Jesus, Son of David, Son of Mary, the Word of God incarnate, become the Head and sovereign King of redeemed humanity, who occupies the thoughts, the souls, and the hearts of hundreds of millions of human beings? Modern man is shocked by this personalisation of religion, this “personality cult” that runs counter to the present cult of man, without discrimination based on sex, race, religion, or culture. Here is where this odd dialectical theology is presented to us; according to it the Son of God became man and appeared among us as one of us: He shared everything of our nature, bound with all men as blood brothers. But is it not possible to uphold a reciprocity, and by means of an innermost communication of His divinity in all His attributes and perfections to His humanity (which classical theologians call communicatio idiomatum), to think that all men by virtue of the human nature that they share with Jesus of Nazareth, are in some very mysterious fashion, also related to the divinity? United by nature to Jesus Son of God, is not His divinity communicated to all His human brethren?

In this gnosis there is an unbelievable clearing of an obstacle. We oddly enough find its denunciation in a brief but very instructive scene from the Gospel. St. Luke reports: « … A woman from the crowd called out and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that carried You and the breasts at which You nursed.” He replied: “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” » (Lk 11.27-28) This states once and for all that neither a physical union nor anything of the sort can establish a communication of grace, of divine life. It can be nothing more than a symbol and sign of a union of souls, spirit, convictions, and grace. Thus the way is cut off to this attractive theory according to which with the help of His human nature and in virtue of an imaginary physical solidarity, by dint of being born Jesus would have divinised all men, His brothers,  and without requiring of them the slightest effort.

It is an invention that, according to the ancient religion, is heretical, but it passed into the Council, then into the encyclicals. It has spread enough to be able to contribute to the rapprochement of Catholics, Communists, and those in similar categories: « Christ » thus remodelled has « divinised » all human beings. It is a positive advance towards the global, humanist religion. This is all that was asked of it. It is now easy to speak about any man as « another Christ » and thus to make them all objects of respect, cult… worship. And Jesus of Nazareth, who thus has given everything in one stroke, disappears, to the benefit of His depersonalised mask of « Christ », who is spread in everyone and worshipped in everyone.

C. For the transfer from the « God made man », Jesus Christ, « to man who makes himself God », by a simple application of pressure on global public opinion in this direction, our Author joined to his first exercise of theological acrobatics another more simple one that is accessible to everyone and, for this reason, more pernicious. We have already mentioned it in our commentary on the second paragraph of the brief theological treatise that constitutes number 22: Christ, the New Man (He is Risen, n^o 70).

I recall it briefly since it is simple: Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice for all sinful men. His sacrifice as Son of God and as an innocent man with perfect virtues earned men the remission of their crimes and the gift of grace here below, which is a prelude to the eternal life of Heaven. All of this is true. Ancient theology enlightened this mystery with an obvious and inescapable distinction: By right, all men are saved. But in practice, they must be prepared to receive the heritage, the treasure of salvation, namely « to hear the word of God and submit to it », as Jesus said to this woman who envied His Mother… Yes, Jesus replied in a riddle, envy My Mother for Her spiritual and moral attachment to which She owes Her salvation, and not for her physical maternity.

Here also the modern interpretation does not stand up to scrutiny, but it ruins our entire religion in a single stroke. On the day of His death, Jesus saved all men. Then He returned to Heaven, and it is finished with Jesus. We no longer need to pray, to seek forgiveness, grace, resurrection, and eternal life. It was won, once and for all! It is a terrible blow to our souls: Jesus disappears from our everyday life. Mass no longer has any use, or even any reality. Our soul’s intimacy with Jesus and Mary, the unremitting exchange of prayers of petition and responses that are superabundant in graces calling for unending gratitude no longer exists. This makes secular society more homogenous; in such a society it is no longer a question of devotion ever. The Church conforms to the line of Freemasonry.

D. But, before disappearing, before having « ascended into Heaven », Jesus performed another fine, definitive, decisive work, after which at last humanity will really no longer have any need for anything other than itself, its activity and creative ingenuity, without any further religious or moral discrimination. « Ah! If the old Catholic Church had been faithful and open to this message, and to the two preceding ones, the religious state of the world would be a thousand times better! » It is first stated in an enigmatic way: « By suffering for us […] Jesus blazed a trail, and if we follow it, life and death are made holy and take on a new meaning. » (GS 22, 3) That announces still unknown marvels, possibilities of victories that have never been exploited; they are stated in paragraphs 4 and 5.

Here our Author performs a magician’s trick; one might say a trick characteristic of an absolutely unworthy fortune-teller. Let us denounce it first, and then show the advantage that he obtains from it.

The dishonesty consists in speaking in exact and very enthusiastic terms about the extraordinary graces from which we benefit, we Christians, (and even so, it would be necessary to specify: the faithful of the Catholic Church) since the Son (Jesus Christ) sent the Holy Spirit. And... pay attention to the sorcerer’s hands, do not take your eyes off them! He writes: « The Christian man received “the first-fruits of the Spirit” »...; on the following line he still holds the pen, and we can read: « Through this Spirit the whole man is renewed from within... » We do not lose our heads when we see the passage from « Christian man » to « man », for it is supposedly a question of the Christian. The words of St Paul that follow are going in the same way, celebrating, for the Christian faithful of Rome, « the Spirit who dwells in you, who will give life to your mortal bodies also » as « the one who raised Jesus Christ from the dead ».

Does the next paragraph give us to understand – as we are fully discovering this free strength of the Spirit in us Christians – that for us there would doubtlessly be something better to do than practice the “Imitation of Jesus Christ”? « Pressing upon the Christian to be sure (pay attention to the: yes, but...), are the need and the duty to battle against evil through manifold tribulations and even to suffer death. But, [...] he will hasten forward to resurrection. » This is a trivial sentence: it is hard for everyone to die but when we know that we go with Christ « forward to resurrection », it is enough to gain strength and to be delighted.

Here is the killer line: « All this holds true not only for Christians, but for all men (we = you = all, men) of good will (who is not so?) in whose hearts grace works in an unseen way. » The recapitulative and conclusive proof of the short treatise is polished off in three lines: « For (because through His Incarnation, Christ has physically united Himself with us in some fashion), since Christ died for all men, and since the ultimate vocation of (every) man is in fact one, and divine, we ought to believe (is it a dogmatic assertion?!) that the Holy Spirit in a manner known only to God (well! God is aware of what the Holy Spirit is doing invisibly) offers to every man the possibility of being associated with this paschal mystery. »

Here is the third and final crushing blow on my Catholic theologian head. I should indeed want God to be aware. Yet here He is extremely distant from our earthly affairs, in particular from the clandestine rivalry that this quite autonomous Holy Spirit carries out against the official Holy Spirit, who draws souls to the Church, gives Himself to these souls who are converted by Baptism, Confirmation and the other Sacraments. As for « Christ », the Founder of this Church, He is outmoded. Contrary to His declarations and formal orders, neither Baptism nor the Eucharist are necessary for eternal salvation.

Let us stop laughing. At the Second Vatican Council the religion of the other Spirit was born, and even if from force of habit he is called « Holy Spirit », this other Spirit does everything that the Holy Spirit who was sent by Jesus Christ would be unable to do, namely, creating another Church in which Man, occupied with himself, with his earthly career, dedicates to himself an exclusive cult with total assurance, since the Council guarantees him, as it does to « us » Christians, the same gifts and privileges that had to be won in the past through faith and the Cross.

Thus God was persuaded to remain above in His Heaven. Jesus died and ascended on high to His Father; fortunately He handed His divinity on to us with the assurance of our eternal salvation through forgiveness in advance of all our sins. We at last become acquainted, thanks to the Council, with a new Spirit who is totally emancipated from religions or convictions, a friend of Man, who lives in everyone without quibbling about their opinions. Thus the Council would not end without proclaiming a solemn reconciliation and agreement between the Church and the world under the wings of this Spirit about whom we know neither where he came from nor where he is going… we know at least that he does not come from either the Father or the Son, and that he does not lead the world to them, no! He is, rather, the Spirit of the Prince of this world, who is intent on bringing about the ruin of the Church with the aim of constructing the Temple of Satan.

Providentially, the monastic Divine Office had us listen to a homily that delighted me as a response to my fear, to the shock experienced by my « sensus fidei », my “sense of the Faith”, which was received at Baptism as a supernatural reason and conscience. It is incapable under normal circumstances of discovering anything new and still less of teaching it, but it is capable of being filled with enthusiasm for the words of a member of the Teaching Church, distraught to see that all the mysteries of our Catholic Faith were in distress in the hands of our modern Gnostics… This fear was dismissed by the simple antidote of this Catholic synthesis concerning the essential of « Christ, the new man ».

Here it is in full (see our insert below).

I could not say any better with such lyricism the secrets of the inner mysteries of grace, love and engenderment that our Catholic Faith reveals and our Church knows, the Church of whom we are the children, true sons of God by her ministry of virginal maternity.

Wojtyla’s gnosis, which became Vatican II’s oracle, is not in the slightest a similar Way, Truth and Life, but a clash of unreal, inert words; thus, they are sterile but also antichrist. We doom them to the auto-da-fe, without hesitation or regrets. To the fire with them!

Abbé Georges de Nantes.