By Mr. P.H. Omlor

A Travelogue Of Apostasy

Some fundamental Catholic principles must be recalled before we come to the gist of this present section.  It is essential that these few selected vital teachings of Catholicism, set side by side (mosaicked), become crystallized in the reader's mind, so that the realization of what has happened and is still happening today may become emblazoned upon his intellect.  What for some has thus far been mere suspicion must now be confirmed as being reality. The reality is not gladsome. But instead of becoming timorous we should perhaps reflect upon these words of the immortal patriot Patrick Henry:  "For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it." (From the speech, "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death," delivered at Richmond, Virginia, March 23, 1775).

(1) The Catholic Church is not "first among equals."  It is the UNIQUE, True, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ.  This Catholic Church, known also as the Mystical Body of Christ, is the one and only ARK OF SALVATION, outside which there is naught but spiritual shipwreck.

(2) Apostasy, which is defined as the "abandonment of the Catholic faith," automatically severs a person -- totally -- from the Church, Christ's Mystical Body, the Ark of Salvation.  St. Thomas Aquinas (Summa Th., 11-11, Q. 12, a. 3) gives this example of apostasy: "Moreover if anyone were ... to worship at the tomb of Mahomet, he would be deemed an apostate."  Concerning an apostate the Angelic Doctor remarks, "The result is that he sows discord, endeavoring to sever others from the faith even as he severed himself."

(3) Pope Pius XI deemed ecuмenism to be "tantamount to abandoning the religion revealed by God."  In his encyclical Mortalium Animos (1928), he taught authoritatively: "With this object congresses, meetings and addresses are arranged... where all without distinction ... are invited to join in the discussion.  Now, such efforts can meet with no kind of approval among Catholics.  They presume the erroneous view that all religions are more or less good and praiseworthy.  Those who hold such a view are not only in error; they distort the true idea of religion, and thus they reject it, falling gradually into naturalism and atheism.  To favor this opinion, therefore, and to encourage such undertakings is tantamount to abandoning the religion revealed by God." The last six words that were quoted constitute the precise definition of apostasy. (Italics added in the above).

In the magisterial words just cited the Sovereign Pontiff Pius XI spoke only of mere meetings with those outside the Faith for the purpose of theological discussions, since that in itself presupposes the erroneous view that false sects are "more or less good and praiseworthy"; and such ecuмenism furthermore dares to presume also that the words of Christ,  "An evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit," are false.  Man's only real and ultimate good is the possession of the Beatific Vision; no false church, or sect, or religious movement, or pagan cult can possibly lead thereto. On the contrary, such as these are but harmful impedimenta.

(4) Even more serious a crime than the ecuмenism described above -- which involves mere meetings, but is nevertheless tantamount to apostasy -- is the worshiping together with those outside the Catholic Faith.  This crime is known as "communicatio in sacris," and it is expressly condemned by CANON LAW (Canon 1258, CJC).137   As every Catholic surely knows, communicatio in sacris is mortally sinful; it is a flagrant act of apostasy.

The interpretation of CANON 1258 is expounded by the noted Jesuit authors, Bouscaren and Ellis, in Canon Law, A Text and Commentary, (Bruce, Milwaukee, 1951).  In the following comment (from p. 704) the authors are referring to merely passive presence, that is, the mere physical presence at a non-Catholic service; let alone active participation, which is what constitutes communicatio in sacris.  "It is conceivable that even merely passive presence might be accompanied by an internal intention to approve, assent to, or encourage the non-Catholic worship; if that were true it would be formal co-operation in an evil act, and forbidden by the natural law." (Emphasis added).

(5) A well know axiom, "Lex Credendi : Lex Orandi" should also be called to mind:

"What people already believe is automatically and necessarily mirrored in the very words of the prayers they recite.  This truism is one part of the principle: Lex Credendi : Lex Orandi --the law of belief is the law of prayer.  This principle works reversely also: that is to say, people can be led towards certain beliefs by means of the very prayers they are accustomed to saying (and hearing).  And that is why parents teach their small children The Hail Mary, for example, and The Apostles' Creed, even though these little ones do not yet fully understand everything they are praying. Now, whether or not these parents are familiar with the phrase, lex credendi : lex orandi, they are nevertheless putting this principle into practice, for they are teaching their children to pray those things that they will ultimately come to believe." (From pp. 97-98 QTV).

Having defined apostasy and having given some theoretical examples, such as ecuмenism and communicatio in sacris, I shall now provide a few specific examples.  From several dozen that readily come to mind I have selected the following as being good hypothetical illustrations.

EXAMPLE 1. If any Catholic (for example, one known as 'Pope') were to enter a Lutheran place of worship in Rome (let us say, just for example, on Dec. 11, 1983) in order to participate in the Lutherans' celebration of the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther's birth;

-- and if this hypothetical Catholic were to join in the Lutherans' worship, and, moreover, were even to preach a sermon eulogizing Martin Luther; then this hypothetical Catholic (or, rather, ex-Catholic) would thereby in effect be publicly proclaiming that Martin Luther was not the very incarnate personification of consummate hatred and enmity towards Catholicism which, of course, he was.  In a hypothetical situation such as the one we are describing, this ex-Catholic (for example, a pope) would have clearly and publicly demonstrated his betrayal of Jesus Christ and His Church, thus becoming an apostate, for such behavior would be "tantamount to abandoning the religion revealed by God," as the Catholic Church so forcibly teaches through the words of the Sovereign Pontiff Pius XI, cited above.

EXAMPLE 2. If any Catholic (for example, one known as 'Pope') were to go into a "sacred forest" of tribal animists at Lake Togo in Africa (I realize this must sound like a wholly preposterous hypothetical example, but please bear with me) on, say, August 11, 1985 (which will serve as a reasonable hypothetical date);

-- and if this hypothetical Catholic were to pray at a place in this sacred forest consecrated to the worship of false gods and then actually perform pagan rites, such as the sprinkling on the ground of a mixture of flour and water, which is a ritual of ancestor worship;

-- and if the entirely hypothetical French periodical La Croix on, say, Aug. 13, 1985, were to quote our hypothetical Catholic (for example, a pope) as saying, "The prayer meeting in the sanctuary at Lake Togo was particularly striking. There I prayed for the first time with animists.";

-- and if the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in its Italian edition of, say, August Ilth, (page 5, for example), were to report: "On John-Paul 11's arrival at the place, a sorcerer began to invoke the spirits: 'Power of water, I invoke you; Ancestors, I invoke you."'; then in such a hypothetical case as the one we're studying the hypothetical ex-Catholic, namely the entirely fictitious "John-Paul II", would be the most hideous apostate.  For such odious, atavistic behavior would be the ultimate violation of CANON 1258; unnatural worshiping with heathens is certainly "formal cooperation in an evil act, and forbidden by the natural law," as stated by the canon lawyers Bouscaren and Ellis.

EXAMPLE 3. If any Catholic (for example, one known as 'Pope') were to travel across the Tiber River from the Vatican (on, say, April 13, 1986, hypothetically) in order to visit the Jєωιѕн ѕуηαgσgυє in Rome,

-- and if (as would perhaps be reported via Reuters news service the same day -- this is all hypothetical) "he offered prayers in the ѕуηαgσgυє with Rabbi Elio Toaff during a religious service in the afternoon," then such a traitorous ex-Catholic (for example, a pope) would thereby perform an act of supreme apostasy, namely, communicatio in sacris with an anti-Christian Jєωιѕн rabbi. Such a betrayal of Jesus Christ and His Mystical Body, the Church, would be not merely "tantamount to," but brazenly abandoning the religion revealed by God.

EXAMPLE 4. If any Catholic (for example, one known as 'Pope') were personally to organize an assembly in a certain city (the Italian city famous as that of St. Francis will serve as a hypothetical location) of sundry and motley non-Catholic, anti-Catholic and pagan personages, including (hypothetically) Anglican Runcie, Greek Orthodox Methodios, Buddhist Dalai Lama, Methodist Emilio Castro, Hindus, Sikhs, Shintoists, Jainists, tribal animists from Africa, Moslems, Zoroastrians, Jєωιѕн rabbis, and the Crow Indian medicine man from Montana, Mr. John Pretty-on-Top;

-- and if this hypothetical menagerie were to be assembled on, say, Oct. 27, 1986, so that it could be hypothetically reported in the Nov. 10th edition of Time magazine that our hypothetical ex-Catholic, a most humble and unpretentious traitor, traveled to the venue in "a bus with thirty other representatives, and quietly took a place at the rear of the procession through the town's cobble-stone streets"; then the hypothetical ex-Catholic (for example, a hypothetical apostate pope) would thereby be proving -- audaciously proving -- that he is apostate par excellence!  World-wide statistics on renegade priests, fallen away Catholics, apostate nuns, decreasing numbers of priestly and religious vocations, decreasing numbers of converts to the Faith, increasing unbelief in even the most essential Catholic dogmas such as the divinity of Christ and the existence of hell, etc., --all these statistics would verify that our hypothetical apostate pope has been and is being most successful, because he would effectively confirm these words of St. Thomas, "The result is that he sows discord, endeavoring to sever others from the faith even as he severed himself."

We must move along to consider other matters, so our little travelogue must now come to an end.  In a way that is disappointing, for I have a plethora of wonderful hypothetical examples, all very interesting and instructive.  These hypothetical examples could be set in many exotic geographical locations, such as Fiji, New Delhi, Cameroon, Taizé (France), Tokyo, Seoul, Mainz (Germany), World Council of Churches Headquarters (Geneva), Canterbury Cathedral, Kinshasa (formerly Leopoldville, Belgian Congo), Bangkok, Bombay, Westminster Cathedral, Masonic Lodge of B'nai B'rith, Port Moresby, Morocco, Istanbul, Manila, Madras, etc.138

I do hope the four hypothetical examples I selected for presentation have served adequately as illustrations of apostasy; and I also hope that certain things are crystallizing in the reader's mind.