There is a very good interview with Dr. Alice von Hildebrand, re-published last Friday an Rorate Caeli by our own Peter Kwasniewski. It’s an old one — from 2001 — but I found that reading it again brought new points to light, and it was very worthwhile.
Not least among the considerations she brings forward is the reality of conspiracies that happen within and against the Church:
I can only tell you what I know. It is a matter of public record, for instance, that Bella Dodd, the ex-Communist who reconverted to the Church, openly spoke of the Communist Party’s deliberate infiltration of agents into the seminaries. She told my husband and me that when she was an active party member, she had dealt with no fewer than four cardinals within the Vatican “who were working for us.”Many a time I have heard Americans say that Europeans “smell conspiracy wherever they go.” But from the beginning, the Evil One has “conspired” against the Church – and has always aimed in particular at destroying the Mass and sapping belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. That some people are tempted to blow this undeniable fact out of proportion is no reason for denying its reality. On the other hand, I, European born, am tempted to say that many Americans are naïve; living in a country that has been blessed by peace, and knowing little about history, they are more likely than Europeans (whose history is a tumultuous one) to fall prey to illusions.Rousseau has had an enormous influence in the United States. When Christ said to His apostles at the Last Supper that “one of you will betray Me,” the apostles were stunned. Judas had played his hand so artfully that no one suspected him, for a cunning conspirator knows how to cover his tracks with a show of orthodoxy.
I’ve always been very impressed with von Hildebrand, since the first time I met her at a taping of EWTN’s Franciscan University Presents, which I served as the Floor Manager for while in college. Her her small stature and demure appearance belied her conviction, her clarity, and the force of her personality. When she spoke, she dominated the panel, and I recall being moved by her perfect balance between critical thought and docility to Holy Mother Church.
The more I learn about Bl. Paul VI, the more I am deeply troubled.
The so called ‘miracle’ for beatification was suspect. No matter. Those with the power to do so were determined to ramrod through this cause. Msgr. Luigi Villa warned but the warning was not heeded. Paul VI was a weak pope and terrible things happened on his watch. Sorry.
It is my understanding that Beatifications [vs. Canonizations] are not infallible. Perhaps this will be corrected in the future.
As Saint Vincent of Lerins teaches, a true lover and worshipper of God shuns novelties and, obviously, the reverse is true.
Any attempt to change ecclesiastical tradition and Catholic truth by the mendacious machinations of these modern men only illustrates just how very little they love and worship God.
There is nothing to be gained by gainsaying the reality we see daily before us; these men do not love Jesus anywhere near as much as the men they castigate, mock, and marginalise as pharisaical.
What they desire to do I desire they do quickly and be done with it.
This entire exercise is excruciating, mendacious, and fetid; it is evil bullshit.
The “bad guys” seem to have had the initiative of continuous first attacks for a long time now. They have been spreading evil bs for years now. Maybe during this Fall season, a counter-attack will be launched during the Synod on the Family, Part Two. Praying with humility that the Holy Spirit of God strengthen those prelates and their allies who are on the counter-attack.
Here’s the scary part: The ‘bad guys’ are now significant in number. If you remember back, the mid term ‘relatio’ in the 2014 Synod did not of course garner 2/3 vote on that dissenting paragraph, but it DID receive a yes vote on over half of our Cardinals in attendance.. That fact alone should be a real eye opener for Catholics. We seem to be at least at equal numbers of good and bad Cardinals at this point in time.
Yes, Cardinals like Burke are not invited now. But infamous ones, known to faithful Catholics for their dissent are invited.
I have read the entire interview, and for the first time in my life (70 years) the puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together. Pope Francis is only playing out his role of a script that was written a long time ago. Our hope lies only in the Holy Spirit who will somehow save the bride of Christ. Also, I can now appreciate the photo of John Paul II and Cardinal Mendzienty.
I can now appreciate the photo of John Paul II and Cardinal Mendzienty. What about the photo and any link to it?
Great minds think alike. Or at least some of us try. I was going to reprint that too. I missed the recent Rorate reprint. I think I first saw this four or five years ago. And the thing I always remember is Mrs. Hilderbrandt’s description of her husband in his last years, uncharacteristically depressed and saying over and over, “they have desecrated the Holy Bride Bride of Christ.”
Conspiracies? Alice’s husband wrote ‘The Trojan Horse in the City of God’ and ‘The Devastated Vineyard’. Neither of these are in print. Availability of Amazon is extremely limited to a few volumes and are dearly priced. If these books were reissued I think the audience would be large. Wonder why this hasn’t been done?
The Hildebrand Project is launching the Hildebrand Press. They are the organization dedicated to preserving von Hildebrand’s legacy and thought. They are slowly translating many of Dietrich von Hildebrand’s books and writings over the coming months and years:
http://www.hildebrandproject.org/
It’s interesting that the Hildebrand Project still does not mention “The Trojan Horse in the City of God” or “The Devastated Vineyard.”
Beware the person who, when presented with the facts of a real conspiracy, automatically pooh-pooh it as ‘conspiracy theory.’
While some conspiracies, may indeed be unfounded, too many are very real and dangerous indeed.