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Dear Friends and Benefactors,
Qui diligitis Dominum, odite malum:
“You that love the Lord, hate evil” (Ps. 96:10).
In these few inspired words
from Holy Scripture, we have a truth which is more and more foreign to the
modern world, a real condemnation of prevailing ideas. There is, indeed, a
radical opposition between good and evil, truth and error, God and Satan. These
are realities which are incompatible and irreconcilable: “Whosoever loves the
truth, hates error.” A false notion of charity has infected nearly all minds
today. We are so easily inclined to be “tolerant,” to accept the craziest
beliefs or behaviors under the false principle of religious liberty.
We have a great example in
the recent battle over the new healthcare laws. It was nice to see the bishops
of the United States of America
voice their
protest against these immoral and evil laws. We associate
ourselves with that opposition and encourage you, dear faithful, to oppose these
new laws as much as possible for the good and upright of our country.
It is sad, however, to see
this opposition done for the wrong reasons:
Since January 20, when the final, restrictive HHS Rule was first
announced, we have become certain of two things: religious freedom is under
attack, and we will not cease our struggle to protect it.... We have made it
clear in no uncertain terms to the government that we are not at peace with its
invasive attempt to curtail the religious freedom we cherish as Catholics and
Americans (Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, President of the
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops).
It is not because of
religious freedom, a principle promoted by Vatican II, that we should oppose
such a law, but because it is sinful and against the natural and Divine law. “You
that love the Lord, hate evil.”
Vatican II “declares that
the human person has always a right to religious freedom” (Dignitatis
Humanae, No. 2). To state that religious freedom is a natural right has
always been rejected by the Church. The Syllabus, for example, condemns such a
position: “Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which,
guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.” Men have no right to
embrace the religion they think is good; on the contrary, every man has the duty
and obligation to embrace Our Lord Jesus Christ and the true Church. We have
here two propositions: one condemned by Pius IX and the other stated by Vatican
II. Catholic Doctrine teaches that there is only one God, one Jesus Christ, the
only Savior, and one Church by which we are saved: the Catholic Church.
Everyone, therefore, must recognize Our Lord in their private life, but also in
their country’s constitutions and laws; not only privately but also publicly. “He
that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall
be condemned” (Mk. 16:16). “Teach ye all nations” (Mt. 28:19). The
Syllabus also solemnly condemns anyone who believes that “the Church ought to
be separated from the State, and the State from the Church.” Are we not
easily affected and corrupted by this modern world? Is it not more and more
difficult to read these condemnations of liberalism and its consequences?
It is not, therefore, because
of a false principle of religious freedom that we should fight against certain
laws, but because they are evil and opposed to God’s laws. The problem today,
especially here in America, is that these false principles are written in the
Constitution itself. The first amendment indeed prohibits the making of any law
impeding the free exercise of religion or abridging freedom of speech. This
leads to an unlimited freedom of conscience, opinion, and even of choice in
moral matters. It is not our purpose here to go into political considerations,
but it is our duty to remind you of the Catholic principles reiterated by the
Popes prior to Vatican II. Christ the King is the only Savior, and He only has a
right to reign over nations. It is because the new healthcare laws are opposed
to God’s laws that we cannot accept them and must fight them as much as we can.
Once again, dear friends of
the Society of St. Pius X, I wish to encourage you to oppose these evil laws. To
repeat the message of last year’s conference on Christ the King, it is the
responsibility of the laity to take political problems into their hands and
organize themselves to resolve them. Let us all pray for these intentions and
remain firm in the Faith, in the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I wish to take this
opportunity to invite you again to be generous in the actual Rosary Crusade.
Pray the Rosary so that the reign of the Immaculate Heart of Mary comes.
Fr. Arnaud Rostand |
