All faithful Catholics throughout the world face right now the situation that, in human terms, there is rather little hope for the faithful missionary future of the Catholic Church, as well as for the world – given its blinding illusions and its permeating weaknesses in the face of pressures both from the permeating Muslim threat as well as from the Western gender ideology (as Roberto de Mattei pointed out last year). In spite of the fact that Pope Francis has now been publicly challenged by well-respected and learned theologians and philosophers throughout the world for several objectively subversive, if not heretical, statements in his apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia, he remains still obdurately silent and does not publicly rescind, or even discuss, these statements that are offending God.
What are we simpler folk then to do? We certainly have to turn to the Blessed Mother for help. She promised us nearly a hundred years ago that, “in the end, My Immaculate Heart will win,” but seemingly, and disloyally, only after a grave delay in obeying the merciful orders of Heaven to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to honor the Immaculate Heart of Mary herself throughout the world.
These are, therefore, the two major prayer intentions of the renewed and resumed Rosary Crusade of the Society of Saint Pius X, which will start on yesterday’s Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Mother, and which will end over a year later, on 22 August 2017. The stated goal is to collect 12 million Rosaries (combined with 50 million personal daily sacrifices) for the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and for the Consecration of Russia to Her Immaculate Heart.
Since there is seemingly no other organization right now that offers such an initiative – with its added awareness of the full ecclesiastical and secular crisis – and one that itself has one million of its own members – I consider this SSPX initiative to be more than worthy to be supported in these sustained prayers, and thus I would like to ask as many Catholics possible in the world to join them.
The Church’s situation – especially since the established papacy of Francis – has now more obviously undergone a profound set of changes. But, I would even tend to call it Providential. Several conflicts that existed for many years and made it almost impossible to promote the sustained collaboration of many well-meaning Catholics seem now to be helpfully mollified. I name a few:
- the Fatima discussion, as just mentioned, has moved also into the center of the Church, and is now accented by other groups, in addition to the more traditional circles;
- the SSPX discussion has been immensely aided and encouraged by the recent comments of Archbishop Guido Pozzo; but, before that, by the very supportive comments of Bishop Athanasius Schneider, saying: “To my knowledge there are no weighty reasons in order to deny the clergy and faithful of the SSPX the official canonical recognition, meanwhile they should be accepted as they are”;
- at the same time – and going along with it – there has been a realization among many well-meaning conservative Catholics, who were always very cautious to criticize a pope publicly, that there are, sometimes, grave reasons for speaking out publicly against a gravely misleading papal statement. This is a new development and might give these Catholics a growing understanding of why some Catholics spoke up earlier when it was about the question of the doctrinal and ecclesiastical place of Mary, the New Mass, ecumenism, religious liberty, the indispensable importance of Divine Grace, the concept and reality of the Social Kingship of Christ, to name a few examples.
- since Pope Francis now gives support to and even leads some of these recent novelties – such as visiting Synagogues, Mosques and Protestant churches and praying together with representatives of all kinds of religions, as if we all somehow worship the same God – unto its logical conclusion of religious indifferentism by saying that “there is no Catholic God,” it cannot anymore be so easily denied that some of the previous popes also committed grave public faults by implementing some of these novelties, which even sacrificed to ecumenism the Blessed Mother herself or at least diminished her unique theological importance.
- even Pope Benedict, whom many Catholics honor for his attempt to restore, in parts, Catholicity within the Church, has come now under critique for his silent and implicit – and sometimes even explicit – support of the Francis papacy that has done already so much damage.
We see that there is not much organized human help available to address the current crisis in the Church and in the world. We especially need to turn to Mary, once again. (Let us remember here Our Lady of Lepanto and the Miracle on the Vistula!)
Thus, why not form a connected legion of well-meaning Catholics throughout the world and beyond individual groups and organizations, working together for the Greater Glory of God, the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and thus for the restoration of the Catholic Faith and for the purifying chastening and restored sanity of the world?
In 2009, I had spontaneously undertaken a similar step, when, together with Joe Sobran, we made a petition to support the SSPX’s Rosary Crusade for the Consecration of Russia. Now that Joe Sobran has died and is not any more here with us, I invite others to sign this new petition, also in his honor. Joe Sobran was one of the greatest defenders of human life of the 20th century – a man of the stature of G.K. Chesterton – who addressed already all the major moral issues that we are dealing with today. We wish he were still with us and beside us robustly today.
