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Fr. Hesse, Against the Popesplainers.Part III
https://catholicfamilynews.com/blog/2024/11/25/fr-hesse-against-the-popesplainers-part-3/Editor’s note: In this final segment of the edited transcript of Father Hesse’s lecture at the Fatima 2000 Conference in Rome, he addresses the question of salvation outside the Catholic Church. This topic is particularly relevant today, given the ongoing controversy surrounding repeated Vatican statements suggesting that salvation can be found outside the Church through various paths. Father Hesse’s insights demonstrate that this issue did not originate with Pope Francis but can be traced back to the Second Vatican Council itself.
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Our next point is Lumen Gentium, number 8, where it says: Ecclesia Christi … subsistit in Ecclesia catholica, “the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church.” The word “subsists” means it is something below it. That means a Protestant Church, or a Southern Baptist or anybody, could be the Catholic Church too; could be the Church of Christ, too.
Cardinal Ratzinger was asked why Vatican II had said “subsistere” in Latin and he said, “Oh, you know ‘subsistere’ is a verb much stronger than ‘esse’.” He is saying, therefore, that the Church “subsisting” in the Catholic Church is something much stronger than if he had said that the Church of Christ is the Catholic Church. This however, is simply not true, and Cardinal Ratzinger was quoting Saint Thomas out of context. Saint Thomas said, “Substentia est nobilissima forma essendi,” “Subsistence is the most noble form of being.” Yes in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Whose divine nature is subsistent to everything that exists. But that is true for Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and nobody else, and certainly not the Church.
The Catholic Church has taught for nineteen hundred years that the Church of Christ is the Catholic Church, as I read to you before, and will read to you again, Pope Boniface VIII in his Bull, Unam Sanctam decreed ex cathedra: “We declare, say, define and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”
I do not think that Southern Baptists or Lutherans, as a matter of fact, are subject to the Roman Pontiff. I think they would state the contrary.
Perfection of the Church
Continuing with the same Lumen Gentium number 8, we next consider the statement: “Nevertheless many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside Its invisible confines. Since these are gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity.” That is twice against the Magisterium of the Church.
First of all, there is absolutely no element whatsoever of sanctification outside of the Catholic Church. The innocent child that is baptized by a Lutheran Pastor is not baptized by the efforts of the Protestant churches, but it is illicitly baptized with the Catholic sacrament of baptism.
Second, “these are gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, they are forces impelling towards Catholic unity,” is saying ipso facto by the same sentence that therefore there is no complete unity within the Church. I am holding here, right in my hand, the encyclical, Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928, of Pope Pius XI.
Sacraments, the Exclusive Property of the Church
Let us next examine Lumen Gentium, number 15. “The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized, who are honored by the name of Christian, but who do not however profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the Successor of Peter. These Christians are indeed in some real way joined to us through the Holy Spirit, for by His gifts and graces, His sanctifying power is also active within them.”
That is contrary to the Council of Trent which defines that there cannot be sanctifying grace outside the Catholic Church, not objectively. We are not talking about the poor man who does not know better, which is the usual objection to this statement (people who make such objections should look up the terms “subjective” and “objective” in the dictionary before ...).
No Christian not in union with the Roman Pontiff and the Catholic Church is in the state of sanctifying grace; it is heresy and blasphemy to say the contrary. No Christian is ever in union with the Church, if he does not agree with the primacy of the Papacy, and if he does not agree with the dogma of his infallibility (Denzinger Schonmetzer, 3050 ff.) But Lumen Gentium says that “these Christians are indeed in some real way …”
See, this is the thing with Vatican II: they say “in some real way.” That is not true. The Protestants, in some potential way, are joined with the Church. They might become members of the Church through conversion. Not dialogue. Through conversion.
The docuмent continues: “joined to us through the Holy Spirit for by His gifts and graces, His sanctifying power is also active in them.”
In truth, the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit that is active in an innocent little Protestant child is active because that innocent little Protestant child as I have said before, has received in an illicit way the sacrament that is property of the Catholic Church.
The innocent little Russian in Moscow who is baptized in the Russian Orthodox baptism has received a sacrament that the Russian Orthodox, in 1054, stole from us. It is not theirs. It is always the sacrament of Christ belonging to His only Church. And God saves that little child, if for some reason it dies, because it has received the valid sacrament of the Catholic Church. God does not condemn that child, because that child is innocent of the fact that he does not belong visibly to us.
Moslems Not Included in Plan of Salvation
Out of these errors, Vatican II then concludes in Lumen Gentium, 16: “Finally those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways … ” Mind you, “the People of God” is a term throughout Vatican II synonymous with the term “Catholic Church.” And they say: “But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the creator in the first place amongst whom are the Moslems.”
Christ has died for all on the cross in potentia; that means as far as possibilities are concerned. Potentially! He has not died for all as far as realities are concerned, because those who refuse Him and go to hell reject the cross.
And here they add, “the Moslems, [who] profess to hold the faith of Abraham and together with us they adore one merciful God …” The Latin original says, Nobiscuм Deum adorant unicuм. Not as some other wiseguy has translated, “along with us.” “Nobiscuм” does not mean “along with us.” “Nobiscuм” means “together with us.” And here Vatican II says that the Moslems pray to one merciful God together with us.
Now I will tell you something about that, and I beg the pardon of everybody present. But I am quoting the Koran, that same Koran of the Moslems who, according to this Council, are praying to the same God with us, the same ‘one merciful God.’ That same Koran says, “The very idea of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is an idea of dung.” This Koran is the “Holy Bible” of the Moslems.
Now you might object and say, “Well, some poor little Korare *1; in the Sahara Desert, who has never heard of Christ, probably prays to the same God with us.” Maybe, but that is not what we are talking about. Subjectively, maybe the child does. But here the Council says, “the Moslems.” As a matter of fact, a capital letter is used in the Latin original, “Musulmani”: “the Moslems”. These, “together with us pray to one merciful God.” That is heresy by leaving out the dogma of the Trinity, and by forgetting about the dogma of Incarnation; and it is blasphemy by putting our Lord, Father, Son and Holy Spirit of the Most Blessed Trinity, on the same level with that sick invention of “All*h.”
Saint Paul who, I believe, was orthodox all through his life, always spoke the truth. Right? Saint Paul says that the pagans adore demons. That means Allah, God of the Moslems, in Saint Paul’s opinion (I call it “teaching of the Church”) is a demon. Again, we are not talking about the [Korare] in the Sahara Desert. He doesn’t know it. Maybe I should say, “God bless him.” The poor guy has not even heard the truth. Here, however, we are talking objectively about the Moslems.
Animists in the Plan of Salvation?
And the same paragraph says: “Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God.”
It is getting better all the time. Now we have the Animists somewhere down in Africa – Lake Togo, praying to the same God. Our beloved Holy Father was quite excited about the fact that in 1986, at Lake Togo, in Cameroon, he was able to pray with Animists and perform their rites with them. That is his personal problem, but I will not believe that the Church is able to teach that these people, against what Saint Paul says, are praying to the same God with us.
And the paragraph says that even the Jews “pray to the same God with us.” Actually, Saint Paul explains that because the Jews have rejected Christ, now they cannot even see the truth of the Old Testament. He says literally, “The Jews now see even the truth of the Old Testament through a curtain.” If that is not clear, I do not know what is.
Such is Lumen Gentium, and I am just giving you the most important points because we don’t have enough time to go through everything that is problematic in Vatican II.
Conversion Necessary for
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