LETTER TO MICHAEL VORIS
IN DEFENCE OF CATHOLIC TRADITION
25 January 2011
Dear Mr. Voris
I would like to take the time to thank you for your most important work in defense
of our faith. I have recently returned from my third (combat tour) in Afghanistan
and now living in (the northern NJ area) where I am employed as a Sergeant for (a
large urban Police Department). Over the last few years I have had the opportunity
to study our faith in depth and be mentored by an array of traditionally minded and
Holy Priests from many orders and parishes. Coming from a Catholic family and a
traditional ethnic parish I was very fortunate to have a solid base that has allowed
me to find my way back to the one true Church.
As you well know the history, philosophy, tradition and culture of Catholicism is
one of the most exciting things on earth when presented in its proper form. Having
been a member of a small select military unit I can tell you that my peers, even the
staunchest protestants and pagans, become extremely interested and curious when
presented with traditional orthodox Catholicism. Many, even the Catholics I know,
have no idea what the Church and the Catholic faith REALLY is. I have for some
time been looking for a way to present it to them that would really peak their
interest and curiosity. As you know, and as GK Chesterton writes, to be presented
with the true faith is all that is needed and logic will do the rest.
I have found realcatholictv and St Michaels Media extremely helpful and have
been able to spread your excellent lectures throughout my military and law
enforcement community. Having said that, I would also like to discuss with you
some areas of concerns. Like you discuss in many of your lectures there is no
doubt that a counter Catholic element operating within the Church coupled with
the most despicable of cowardly and heretical Bishops have had a devastating
effect on the faith. As you acknowledge, Vatican II has been at the root of this
rupture and has given the liberals and heretics their mandate under their most ever
common war cry "the spirit of Vatican II". I believe part of this is a
misinterpretation of the council documents, which their ambiguity allows for if not
encourages. But most troubling is some of the documents themselves, especially as
they relate to collegiality, ecumenism and religious liberty. Having studied the
encyclicals of Saintly Popes such as Leo XIII, Pius IX, Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius
XII, there is no doubt that many of the Post-Conciliar Popes are somewhat in
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conflict with and at times directly contradict their predecessors in these important
areas.
I am very thankful for all the positive things that Pope Benedict has done and
attempted to do during his pontificate. I continue to support and pray for him. But I
cannot help but see many inconstancies and slight touches of a dangerous element
of modernism in some of the positions he has taken. He is a great supporter of the
Traditional Mass but will not say one publically. He makes an example of giving
communion kneeling and on the tongue but allows other Priests at his Mass to
continue to distribute the Eucharist in the hand. He Allows Altar girls at some of
his Mass's and was recently photographed giving the Queen of Spain Communion
standing and in the hand. He is supposedly attempting the reform of the reform but
allows such outlandish and heretical orders such as the Neo-Catechumenists to
flourish. The latest inconsistency is his proposed trip to Assisi in October, which
for any true Catholic, can been seen as nothing less than scandalous. I know the
great challenges the Pope faces and I applaud the courage he has shown and I will
continue to pray for him but souls are at stake and I feel he needs to do much more.
Facts are facts and I feel the best way to support him is with truth.
Also of concern is the question of the liturgy. I do not dispute the validity of the
Novus Ordo Missal but as you probably well know it is none the less a
protestanized version of the Catholic Mass easily open to abuse and dangerous to
the Faith. You of course know the history and details behind all this so there is no
need to expound upon this subject. To me it is about the theology behind the two
Mass's and one does not have to be a Church Theologian to see the stark
difference. The new English liturgy is an improvement but the celebrant still faces
the people and the beautiful truly Catholic offertory prayers of the old missal are
still missing. When it comes to our Faith I am not interested in half measures.
Other then the question of the vernacular I feel the new liturgy does not go as far as
it should in providing for the MOST fitting of sacrifices for our divine King.
I now possess a constant thirst for the truth and defense of our faith and the more I
read. The more time I give to the study of past and current events within the
Church the more I cannot help but admire the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
and the Priests of SSPX. Although I attend Mass at the Chapels of The Fraternity
of St Peter, the Society of Christ the King, and my local parish, which offers the
traditional Mass, all of whom are greatly contributing to the hopeful restoration, I
cannot help but feel the greatest admiration for SSPX. They refuse to be relegated
to a side show within the Church and give a sense of truth and stability in a time of
constant inconsistency. Most importantly they back up their concerns and positions
by relying strictly on the 2000 year magisterium of the Church and the teachings of
the Popes prior to the Council. Like Saint Pius X, they combat such modernist
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views such as indifferentism and relativism by promoting Thomas Aquinas and
Thomism, as did Leo XIII. I believe that history has well proven that SSPX has
been the catalyst for the revival of the traditional Mass and a closer look at how
Vatican II effects the orthodoxy of our faith. To date the clearest account of the
real issues we face and the most profound book I have ever read on the subject is
"Open Letter to Confused Catholics" By Archbishop Lefebvre. The Bishop and
SSPX in the past and to this day continue to suffer persecution and are often
misunderstood. There are so many truly heretical and dangerous sects within the
church but it seems they are the only ones suppressed. In spite of this they have not
wavered and I believe that Pope Benedict himself is using the Society to help in the
reform of the modern Church.
I ask you to please continue your great work which is much needed. I also ask that
you please look closely at the true root of the problem. As Saint Pius X stressed in
his great encyclical Pascendi, modernism is the synthesis of all heresy's and by far
the most dangerous. By mixing truth with error it attacks the very root of the tree
by denying immutable truth exists. Please continue to support our Holy Father with
your clear and resonating message but also continue to challenge what is not of our
faith and support those like SSPX who, although vastly unpopular, refuse to
compromise on important issues of our faith and demand clarity. The traditional
Society's like the Fraternity of Saint Peter, are a great source of comfort for many
of the faithful. Like SSPX, they provide good and Holy Priests and present the
liturgy in its greatest form, but at the same time they are not able or willing to
challenging the serious issues still occurring in the Church. Nor do they have
Bishops of their own to support the future of these movements in favor of
Tradition.
To me it is simply astounding that you can attend two different Catholic Church's
in the same town and witness two different religions being presented. How are we
to convince our friends and family of where they need to be with examples like this
being permitted by the Bishops and in the end by the Vatican itself? In my unit,
which deals with the choices of life and death on a daily basis, all that does or does
not happen is the responsibility of the leader in charge. There are no excuses and in
the end the responsibility is all on the leader. The Crusaders and Martyrs literally
died for the faith why should we expect less from our current leaders in this time of
great crisis in the Church.
I will continue to spread your great work and message and willing to assist you in
any way I can.
A Cruce Salus
Francesco Nicholas Gaetano Rossi
