Dec. 26, 2013
Feast of St. Stephen the Protomartyr
Dear N.,
I am puzzled by the fact that you can somehow view a man like "Francis" as the Vicar of Christ. He has proven himself to be an arch-heretic and destroyer not just of morals, but of the very foundation of morals which is conscience and the objective nature of right and wrong. And now he has blasphemed our Immaculate Queen, making Her out to be nothing more than the prototypical "Jewish mother" who wanted her Son to succeed in establishing an earthly kingdom. What an insult!
I would like to fill you in on a little-known secret. Regarding the antipopes seen since the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, other than their heresies concerning Christ and His Church, and the disastrous fruits of their wickedness in the souls of the faithful, the best way, in my humble opinion, to tell that they are not true Popes is their insults toward the Blessed Mother. Until now the standout insults have been the refusal of Vatican II to proclaim Her as Mediatrix of All Graces, and the "addition" of 5 mysteries to the Rosary by John Paul II, as if he could improve upon a prayer authored and delivered by the Blessed Virgin Mary herself! And now She has been publicly blasphemed by the one whom the world calls the Pope. Well, the secret is this: It has never been known in the history of the Papacy, right back to St. Peter, that any Pope has publicly insulted, let alone blasphemed, Our Lady. And why is this? Precisely because all true Popes, as well as all true Catholics, are what Holy Scriptures calls the "sons of [the Lord's] handmaid". In the preparatory prayers prescribed for priests before Mass, two Psalms in a row contain the phrase "son of thy handmaid".
"Give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid." (Ps. 85:16)
"O Lord, for I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid." (Ps. 115:16)
And just who is the "handmaid of the Lord"? This phrase is found only one time in Holy Scripture; it is, of course, Lk. 1:38, where Our Lady gave Her blessed fiat. Hence it is necessary for any priest who wishes to remain in Catholic communion to be a "son of the handmaid", that is, by at least being completely orthodox regarding the Mother of God (though it would greatly fructify his soul and apostolate by being positively devoted to Her).
So tell me: Is "Francis" a son of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the handmaid of the Lord? Clearly he is not. Now don't get me wrong, any validly ordained priest may (God forbid) fall into heresy or even spout blasphemy regarding Our Lady; Nestorius is a prime example. But while this does not vitiate their sacramental power, it does completely nullify their authority over Catholics. Remember what that courageous priest said on that Christmas morning in the cathedral, just after Nestorius first publicly spewed his heresy: "An emperor we have, but no bishop." He instantly recognized, by the sensus Catholicus within him, that Nestorius had just lost his office and jurisdiction in the Church.
And speaking of valid priests, there is a most singular anomaly with the claim of "Francis" to the Papacy. He was "ordained" in the "new rite of Ordination" which is objectively invalid because the "new form" of Ordination, the very words which confect that Sacrament, omits the single most important word, sacrifice. According to Catholic Sacramental theology, and the repeated infallible teachings of the true Popes, and reiterated three times in the last century alone, no Pope has any authority, power, or possibility of altering the substance of the Sacraments, which includes the form (words). Therefore, not only is this "Francis" not the Vicar of Christ, he is not even a valid priest! It is utter insanity for any Catholic to believe that a man can be made a priest by words which do not even mention the offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass!
What is necessary for any priest is most especially necessary for the Vicar of Christ. The recent statement of "Francis" regarding Our Lady at the foot of the Cross is not only heresy but blasphemy. He therefore cannot be a true Pope because he simply is not a Catholic. It is really that simple.
I pray that some day you will see this truth. But does it really matter? I think it does, for no matter what your intention (and I believe it to be sincere), recognizing a heretic and blasphemer as the Vicar of Christ associates your work with his, and moreover removes you from the ranks of those who are truly suffering and laboring for the restoration of the Church, the first step of which is to reject any claims of a heretic to be the Pope. As proof of this, I ask: What has been the fruit of the "recognize-and-resist" movement? Have the "Popes" come "closer to Tradition"? That very notion is itself blasphemy, for I can think of no other more ridiculous notion than to pray for the Pope to become a Catholic!!!
Finally, I think what mostly hinders leaders of the "recognize-and-resist" movement (such as yourself) is that they have a reputation to keep. Perhaps you think, "what will others think of me?". But rest assured that any "scandal" given by those who follow the truth is merely pharisaic. This is about you, not about what others think of you. How true it is in our day that, as St. Paul said, Christ was crucified outside the camp; let us therefore go without the camp, bearing His reproach. I hope that someday you can join those who are truly bearing His reproach in our day. And this may sound callous, but in the end no one really cares what your position is. We all have our own souls to save. You must not think that you are making some kind of huge public jump from one camp to another, or that you are merely becoming a sedevacantist, as if that were an epithet and not a sound, objective, and sane position. No; this is about simply being Catholic; this is about your own conscience and how you will answer for the gross and non-Catholic mental gymnastics entailed in the claim there can be such a thing as a Pope whom Catholics are free to disobey when it suits their whims. Just think of it: When Christ asks you, "was Francis my Vicar", and you answer yes, then He will say then why didn't you obey him as such? Believe me, the silence which will ensue will be just the beginning of your confusion.
I will pray for your dear soul. Have a truly blessed Christmas and a spiritually profitable New Year.
Tim Duff
P.S. A little about me. I have attended the traditional Latin Mass since 1986 and have read the Mystical City of God daily for over 30 years. Since there are many errors of translation in the first (and only) English edition, I have been moved by Our Lady to work on and publish a New English Edition, which I hope to publish in the spring. I have specifically worked on this project daily for over 5 years. I would very much like to send you a copy when it is published, along with an Editor's Note as to why a NEE is necessary and the work I have done regarding it. And above all, I recommend that you renew your devotion to Our Lady by studying and defending the City of God, for in our day can truly be lamented: How doth the city [of God] sit solitary that was full of people! How is the Mistress of the Gentiles become as a widow; the princes of provinces made tributary! Weeping She hath wept in the night, and her tears are on her cheeks [Our Lady of LaSallette]; there is none to comfort Her among all them that were dear to Her; all her friends have despised Her, and are become her enemies. (Lam. 1:1-2)
