Catholic Family News
Religious
Indifferentism on Parade
First
Dispatch from Assisi III
By
John Vennari
To
say the latest pan-religious event of Assisi contains the promise that it will not
foster religious indifferentism is a contradiction in terms. It is like
inviting all of your friends to a swimming party with the promise that no one
will get wet.
The very nature of a swimming party guarantees that those
who take part will get wet. And the very nature of a pan-religious event with
representatives of the world, most of them pagan, is to foster religious
indifferentism and religious relativism.
Yet
in the months leading up to the third major Assisi affair, we have been told
repeatedly by Vatican officials that this latest manifestation of religious
relativism will actually be an attack on religious relativism. That this
manifestation of religious indifferentism will actually avoid religious
indifferentism. Such a promise
does not correspond to realty.
The
only way to avoid religious indifferentism in a pan-religious event is to not
hold the event.
Oct.
27: The Morning session
Assisi III takes place as I write. I am here in the town
of Saint Francis to cover the latest world parliament of religions organized by
the post-Conciliar Vatican.
The present meeting in Assisi is a bit more restrained
than that of the former gatherings under John Paul II. At Assisi 1986, various
Catholic churches were given over to non-Catholic sects to perform their pagan
ceremonies; a Buddhist placed on the altar and incensed; chickens beheaded on the altar of St. Clare according to
tribal rituals, etc. The
manifold aberrations from 1986 are now well known. Among the many things that
Pope John Paul II publicly apologized for (mostly for alleged ÔsinsÕ of his
distant predecessors), he never apologized for the desecration of Assisi
churches fostered by his own event.
This year it is a bit different. For 2011, there are three
major happenings: an event at the Vatican on of the evening of October 26. The
entire delegation of religious then board a train for Assisi, and congregates
at Saint Mary of the Angels Church, just outside of Assisi. After a series of
speeches, members of each religion are to pray on their own in various places
within the basilica. After a reportedly Òfrugal lunchÓ, the final event is to
occur in late afternoon with the delegations of the worldÕs religions gathering
at the great basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi.
The emphasis is supposedly not on joint prayer, but on
truth and pilgrimage. This too is an attempt to deflect attention from the
religious relativism endemic in such an event.
I arrived at St. MaryÕs of the Angels this morning at
about 9:30. Already a large crowd was gathered around the church, since only a
select number could get in. Giant television screens were erected outside for
people to see the ceremonies going on inside the church.
Around 10:00, delegates from the world religions, who had
just arrived by train with Pope Benedict, filed into the church. Some came in
through a side gate, others followed the Pope up the center path portioned off
by barricades. The Pope himself arrived in some sort of pope mobile and greeted
the delegates of each religion as they entered Saint MaryÕs of the Angels.
A colorful parade of religious dress was on display.
According to the press kit, the various Ònon-ChristianÓ religions represented
here at Assisi are Islam; Judaism; Hinduism; Buddhism; Taoism; Sikhism;
BahaÕism; Confucianism; Jainism; Zoroastrianism; Shintoism; Mandaeism; and
ÒTraditional ReligionsÓ such as those found in Africa, America and India.
At Assisi this year, as has been the case in the past,
Catholicism is not even mentioned as a distinct religion. The official press
package simply states that ÒChristianityÓ is represented; and this
ÒChristianityÓ is comprised of representatives of the World Council of
Churches; Schismatic Orthodox prelates; Anglicans, various Protestants; and the
Pope.
The very manner in which ÒChristianityÓ is portrayed runs
counter to the words of Pope Pius XI, who warned in his 1928 Encylical Mortalium
Animos that such
pan-Christian activity Ògives countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien
to the one Church of Christ.Ó
This Òfalse ChristianityÓ is on exhibit at Assisi, since
the one true Church established by Christ is portrayed as simply one
representative of ÒChristianityÓ along Protestants Anglicans and Schismatic
Orthodox.
Then there is the problem of religious indifferentism.
Blessed Pius IX, in line with the popes that preceded and
succeeded him, taught in his 1864 Syllabus of Errors that it is an error to believe
Òevery man is free to embrace and profess that religions which, guided by the
light of reason, he shall consider true.Ó
Sadly, Pope Benedict XVI appeared to foster this very
indifferentism condemned by Pius IX and other popes, when on January 1, 2011,
he formally invited members of various religions to Assisi Òto solemnly renew
the commitment of the faithful of religions to live their own religious
faith as a
service for the cause of peace.Ó [emphasis added]
At this morningÕs event at Saint Mary of the Angels,
Vatican Cardinal Peter Turkson
welcomed the assembly. Various others addressed the group with what were
called ÒTestimonies of PeaceÓ Speakers included Armenian Metropolitan Zakarian;
Dr. Olav Fyske, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches; Rabbi David
Rosen, International Director of Interreligous Affairs of the American Jewish
Committee; Rowan Williams, leader of the Anglican Collective; representatives
from other systems such as Islam, Native African (Yoruba); Hindu, Buddhism; and
even a non-believer.
The details of their talks are not the focus here and may
be spotlighted at a later date. Mostly, they spoke of the need for peace; the
call for commitment to an undefined ÒjusticeÓ; and of course, lots of
celebratory praise for John Paul II who gave us the first Assisi in 1986. A
speech by Pope Benedict closed the session.
So far, the music was dignified: either choral or
classical. Though on the way back to the Franciscan basilica, I saw the
rehearsal of a pop ensemble singing about peace, love and togetherness. I guess
thatÕs whatÕs in store this evening.
The
ÒLethal System of Religious IndifferentismÓ
A good pastor told me years ago that the priest has the
duty to not only avoid scandal, but to avoid even the appearance of scandal.
This necessarily applies to Assisi. The error of religious
indifferentism – the belief
that any religion is good enough for salvation – which is the central
error of our age, is of such magnitude that nothing should be done to foster it
in any way whatsoever.
The Popes throughout the centuries, and especially since
the time of the French Revolution, condemned any activity that places the
Catholic Church on equal footing with false religions.
Religious indifferentism is one of the many reasons for
the Papal condemnations of Freemasonry, since Masonry places all religions on
the same plain. Pope Leo XII taught in his inaugural Encyclical, Ubi Primum:
ÒA certain sect, certainly known to you, [Freemasonry] and
wrongfully arrogating the name of philosophy for itself has stirred up from the
ashes the disorganized collections of almost all the errors. ... it teaches
that ample liberty has been granted by God to every man to join any sect or to
adopt any opinion which may be pleasing to him according to his own private
judgment, without any danger to his salvation ... it would be really impossible
for the completely truthful God, who is Sovereign Truth itself, the best and
most wise Provider, and Rewarder of the good, to approve of all sects that are
teaching dogmas that are false and frequently opposed and contradictory to one
another and to bestow eternal rewards upon the men who join these sects ...Ó
Pope
Pius VIII forcefully condemned this error in the encyclical Traditi humilati
nostrae:
ÒAnd this is the lethal system of religious
indifferentism, which is repudiated by the light of natural reason itself. In
this light we are warned that, among many religions which disagree with one
another, when one is true, that there can be no association with light and
darkness. Against these repeaters of ancient errors, the people must be
assured, Venerable Brethren, that the profession of the Catholic Faith is alone
the true one, since the Apostle tells us that there is one Lord and one
baptism. As Jerome says, the man who eats the Lamb outside of this house is
profane, and the man who is not in the ark of Noah is going to perish in the
deluge. Neither is there any other name apart from the Name of Jesus given to
men by which we must be saved. He who believes will be saved, and he who shall
not have believed will be condemned.Ó
Yet
due to the new pan-religious orientation from Vatican II, and now on display at
Assisi III, Catholics never hear these crucial magisterial statements. As the
eminent theologian Father Edward Hanahoe warned in 1962, the ecumenical
approach blankets with
Òsignificance silenceÓ any Catholic teaching that stands in the way of
the new pan-religious orientation.
It
is now to the point where pan-religious activity is regarded as a truly
Catholic enterprise. The Catholic taxi driver who drove me from the train
station into Assisi was overjoyed that the meeting was about to take place in
his town. A Catholic woman said to me on Wednesday, ÒTomorrow the Pope is
coming here to Assisi with all the other religions. Beautiful!Ó
The
end result is that most modern Catholics recoil in horror when any one of us reiterates
the true papal doctrine against religions indifferentism. Thanks to the new
orientation, the Catholic language of the centuries is now a foreign tongue to
the average Catholic.
The latest Assisi gathering only perpetuates this
disorientation. The press, television and Internet media are now broadcasting
the images of this event throughout the world.
And as anyone
in media knows, it is the image that sells. It is the image that tells the story. It is the image that has the impact. It is the image that sends the message.
And
the image
broadcast the world over is that of the ChristÕs one true Catholic Church
placed on the same level as false creeds. No matter what verbal caveats may
show up in one or two of the speeches, it is religious indifferentism on
parade.
If
the duty of the priest is to avoid not only scandal, but also the appearance of
scandal, then Catholics have a right to insist that our highest Church leaders
must avoid the appearance of scandal and religious indifferentism that the Assisi
gatherings televise throughout the globe.
As noted earlier, the only way to avoid religious
indifferentism in a pan-religious event is to not hold the event.
I
hope to post more news from Assisi later, along with what other Popes solemnly
taught against the Òlethal system of religious indifferentismÓ; and how this
indifferentism does not bring upon the blessings of God, but punishment.*
Meanwhile
Our Lady of FatimaÕs true peace plan is ignored. It is eclipsed by the Assisi
counterfeit. This too will be discussed later.
Posted by J. Vennari
– Catholic Family News
Second Dispatch from Assisi III
Video - Assisi: The Hippies' Dream Come
True
Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xgcgdmorcw&feature=player_embedded
* This, the contrast with
Fatima (and more) will actually be contained in the final report on Assisi III
scheduled to appear in the December 2011 print edition of Catholic Family
News -