The more one examines the text of Vatican II, the more of a farce both it and the counterfeit church that it birthed appear to be.
This can happen in one of two ways. The most common occurs when one uses the complete conciliar text as a glossary in order to define precisely what the Council is truly trying to convey when it employs familiar sounding Catholic words and phrases. This is what I call the hermeneutic of cohesion approach.
In the process, one often finds that expressions that may initially appear defensible, once understood in conciliar terms, are revealed as foreign to Catholic tradition.
Far less common are those occasions when one discovers that the Latin normative text – the text that was debated, voted upon by the bishops, and confirmed by Paul the Pathetic – isn’t quite as scandalous as the official English translation provided by the Unholy See.
I recently came upon an example of the latter while re-examining the text of the Decree on Ecumenism, specifically, as it relates to the following:
The brethren divided from us also use many liturgical actions of the Christian religion. These most certainly can truly engender a life of grace in ways that vary according to the condition of each Church or Community. These liturgical actions must be regarded as capable of giving access to the community of salvation.
What comes to mind when one considers the “liturgical actions” that take place in the Protestant communities?
For many, that phrase conjures up images of heretics with hands held high while “praying in the spirit,” or swaying to the praise and worship music emanating from the eight-piece band positioned directly under the empty Cross, or men, women and children lined up to receive their portion of Wonder Bread and grape juice.
With this in mind, it’s obvious why the Council’s reference to heretical “liturgical actions” as that which engender grace and serve as an avenue of salvation is highly problematic.
But guess what?
The Council didn’t actually say anything about Protestant “liturgical actions” in that text, which reads in Latin:
Non paucae etiam christianae religionis actiones sacrae apud fratres a nobis seiunctos peraguntur, quae variis modis secundum diversam condicionem uniuscuiusque Ecclesiae vel Communitatis procul dubio vitam gratiae reapse generare possunt atque aptae dicendae sunt quae ingressum in salutis communionem pandant.
Not mentioned at all in the above, much less twice, are any liturgical actions of the Christian religion, rather, it actually states that “not a few sacred Christian religious activities are also carried out among our separated brothers.”
Big deal, what’s the difference?
I would argue that there’s considerable difference between certain religious activities that may be carried out by a particular heretic (like reading the Bible, admonishing a sinner, praying for the sick, etc.) and a Protestant Sunday service. The former concerns an individual person, while the latter speaks to the nature of a community.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not attempting to defend the Council. What I intend to point out is that the revolutionaries that have been running the show in the Occupied Vatican for 60+ years didn’t just make an honest translation error. Rather, they deliberately chose to emphasize the alleged salvific value of Protestant worship services, despite the absence of Apostolic succession, a priesthood, a true sacrifice, etc.
That said, it’s all academic in the end given that the same article from the Decree on Ecumenism – in both Latin and English – goes on to say that “the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using [the heretical and schismatic communities] as means of salvation.”
As I write, “traditional” Catholic social media is in an understandable tailspin over Leo and the Occupied Vatican rolling out the red carpet for the Anglican Archlaylady of Canterbury (about which I will have more to say later.)
I get it, but what else would one expect given the above, i.e., it’s just one more of countless symptoms that attest to the disease that permeates the false religion that was born at Vatican II.
