Revolution: A Beast with No Master
Revolutions succeed by violence. When an impasse is reached between the old order and the emergent new one, violence follows. Discussion, compromise and reform are deemed impossible: the differences represented by both sides are too radical. Destruction of the enemy is then seen as the only path to resolution.
Both Western society and the Catholic Church are now far advanced into what can only be described as revolution. In society, this revolution increasingly erupts in physical violence; in the Church, it is carried on by relentless verbal assaults. This demonization of the opposition has for its purpose the incitement of contempt. The enemies of the revolution are not to be reasoned with, but destroyed.
Pope Francis has made it plain that, for him, Tradition represents the enemy. The teaching of the Church has to be re-interpreted in the light of the revolution he is promoting. Those things which were once reviled and suppressed — doctrinal dissent and moral relativism — are now to be honored as glimmers of light in the once prevailing darkness of dogmatism. Those who wish to respect the Church’s past and insist upon the integrity of defined doctrine are dispensed with by insult: rigorists, legalists, hypocrites, Pharisees, etc. A campaign of verbal violence is being waged daily by the Pope and his allies. The historical Church is to be razed and a new structure put in its place.
We often only realize the importance and direction of events long after they have occurred. It is as though most of us can only see clearly in retrospect, once the dust of the day has settled and the battle has been won or lost. What is taking place now, in civil society and in the Catholic Church, is the shaping of the future of Western civilization; that is, if that civilization, such as it now exists, is to have a future.
The American Revolution of 1776 advanced the radical idea that society was to be ruled by representatives of the people, not by hereditary monarchs. The American Revolution was soon followed by the French Revolution. Throughout the 19th Century, Europe experienced a series of social upheavals that culminated in World War I, often seen as the final demise of monarchy. The Catholic Austro-Hungarian Empire was dismantled and the world was at long last “made safe for democracy,” as the Great War’s apologists declared in solemn triumph. But democracy was not safe for everyone, as Czar Alexander and his murdered family soon learned. And the war to end all wars was soon followed by an even more terrible war.
Monarchy was once thought to mirror the Divine government: the king was God’s representative on Earth, the font of justice and protector of the moral and social orders. The king was anointed, not elected, signifying that his commission was from above, not from below. With the overthrow of monarchy, social and moral order was seen, not as settled by the Creator, but as subject to change by consensus. So long as the Christian ethos exercised a unifying effect upon culture, consensus changed very little. But the Christian ethos, divorced from doctrine, was running on inertia. That inertia is now exhausted.
The Popes have stood as the last monarchs in the West who exercise real power. They have, until the advent of Vatican II, used that power to oppose the secular liberal establishment that rules the nations and that is intent on building a global government. This new government is modeled after the Catholic Church in that it prescribes a universal faith and moral doctrine for its subjects. But it can only succeed to the extent that the Church fails.
The suspicion with which Catholics were once regarded in America was based on the belief that their first loyalty was to Pope and Faith, not to the state and its constitution. It was justified, from its own perspective, but rested on the assumption that Catholics were wholly committed to the practice of their religion, even in the public square. That assumption was eventually seen as unfounded.
Few now fear that Catholics have loyalties that oppose and supersede secular values. Some may welcome this as a sign of social acceptance: Catholics have become part of the body politic, but at what expense? Anyone who had the misfortune of seeing the televised 2016 Al Smith Dinner in New York, presided over by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, had visual and verbal testimony that the Church in America has no genuine quarrel with politicians who promote abortion, contraception, divorce, homosexual marriage, stem-cell research, etc. The Church advertised its fundamental lack of moral seriousness in a spectacular way.
So what does the Church stand for now? It appears to have aligned itself with the Democrat (abortion) Party in the United States and like-minded factions in every other Western nation. That the Pope is hailed as the new leader of the Global Left, which despises the Catholic Faith, reveals how far the Church has departed from its doctrine and mission.
The inertia of Christendom ground to a halt some time ago. Its caretakers, realizing they no longer represent a vital social force, hope to find a place in the new order by making the old religion an adjunct to secular liberalism. If globalism wants open borders and Muslims pouring into Europe and North America, so do the churches, especially the Catholic Church. Pope Francis never stops lecturing the West on its duty to accept Muslim “refugees” without let or hindrance and insists that this duty is fundamental to Christianity.
The helplessness of the West in the face of Muslim immigration and its accompanying bloodshed and terror is a symptom of its exhausted culture. Even if Muslims wished to assimilate, what culture has the West left to offer them? Consumerism is hardly a culture: it is mere appetite. As barbarous and cruel as was the jihadi who butchered the children in Manchester, he at least had an ideal he was willing to die for. What can be said of those who died to see Ariana Grande in concert? The poor children of the West have little to inspire them. Is it any wonder that the new conquerors of Europe, the Islamists, are finding converts among the conquered?
There is little in what is left of Christendom that attracts and inspires. And that little is now reviled by the Pope, who wants a clean sweep of the past. Whenever the Traditional Faith raises its head, the Pope is ready to apply his bludgeon. But when those loyal to the Faith of their Fathers have been driven away, who will be left?
Cheering crowds at World Youth Days and giant beach parties in Rio are passing events, not abiding commitments to live the Faith. To look to such events as signs of vitality in the Church is to indulge in self-deception. The Faith is dying out everywhere. It has been almost erased in parts of the Middle East where the “religion of peace,” whose adherents the Pope wants us to welcome into our homelands, has killed or enslaved Christians and destroyed or desecrated churches. Some puzzle about the enthusiasm of the Left for Muslim immigration. After all, Islam regards women as property, mutilates young girls, executes homosexuals by throwing them off the tops of buildings and speaks glowingly of those who kill the infidels. Many Muslims favor Sharia Law, whose cruel punishments include dismemberment. The Left champions feminism and “gay marriage,” and regards criminals as victims of inequality striking back at their oppressors. The Left would seem to be the natural opponent of Islam. But it is not so. Why?
The old saying, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” applies here. Islam hates the West, which means it hates whatever remains of Christian culture. Its leaders still refer to Westerners as “Crusaders.” We are hardly that, but when a group of Westerners are slaughtered at a rock concert or a Christmas market or a mall, to the cry of “allahu akbar,” the victims are seen by jihadis as the descendants of Richard the Lion Hearted.
The rather meek response of our leaders shows how far removed we are from our Crusader ancestors. The fact is, in one major respect, the Left wants the same thing as the jihadis: the final destruction of Christendom. This explains why Western leaders welcome Muslim immigration. It is seen as the final solution for what they regard as the problematic remnant of Christendom. But what will they do with their Muslim allies once Western culture, based on family and Faith, has been destroyed?
Revolutions are never far-sighted. The very violence they entail creates clouds of confusion. Destruction is the first item of business. Once the old order has been abolished and consigned to its ignominious position in the newly revised history, then the revolution will set things right, or so it is believed. It seldom happens that way.
The abolition of borders, of nationalism, of what remains of cultural identity in the West is envisioned as a prerequisite for Global Government. Islam may be a currently useful weapon in this campaign, but Islam has also demonstrated its intractability: Muslims do not assimilate in large numbers. Rome thought it could use the Germanic tribes to subdue its enemies, but ended by being conquered by those once useful servants. It seems the barbarians did not want to become Romans. Muslims may not want to become globalists.
Meanwhile, Pope Francis is following the lead of the globalists in the apparent belief that the Church can be redefined and re-purposed. His help is welcomed, so long as he does not become too Catholic. There appears to be little chance of that. The Pope continues to demean the historical Church and its doctrines. Anyone who stands in his way does so at his own peril.
Never have Catholics faced a situation quite like the present one. Using the Pope’s heterodox teaching, bishops have turned against bishops. In one diocese, the divorced and remarried can receive Holy Communion while continuing to live in adultery. Not so in the next diocese. The breakdown of doctrine and discipline in the Church is much like the breakdown in borders and culture in secular society. Confusion is fomented as a precursor to the imposition of a new order. But how much control do the masters of the revolution have over the forces they have let loose? We are sadly destined soon to find out.
The situation seems rather hopeless so long as we look to our leaders. That is why we must look to Our Lady. She told us She is our only hope at this time. Can anyone doubt it any longer? Only obedience to Our Lady of Fatima can save us from the gathering darkness. May it come soon.
