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July 14, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – In the recent weeks, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and the Italian theologian Father Alfredo Morselli have been conducting a friendly exchange of thoughts in the wake of the Italian archbishop's interventions concerning the Second Vatican Council (full correspondence see below). And today, though without mention any names, Father Morselli is adding further thoughts to the debate, in a statement sent to LifeSite. 

In his initial letter, Father Morselli, while supportive and respectful toward Archbishop Viganò,  disagrees with him on some points. In this first exchanges of letters that have already been published in Italian, Morselli described the Second Vatican Council as a sort of “detonator” –  and thus a destructive event – but he holds that there must have been a corruption prior to the Council that made these developments possible.

Describing the situation of the Church “prior to the Council,” this priest and theologian wrote: “The thermometer of a good part of the clergy and Catholic intelligentsia indicated moral corruption, tepidity, fear, pride, careerism, a desire to break away from the Cross and come to terms with the world. The pot uncovered by Viganò had been boiling for a long time.”

Speaking in commercial terms, Father Morselli added that “if the market was not ready, the product would not have been launched.”

Father Morselli went on to describe the growing corruption in the Catholic Church after the death of Saint Pope Pius X who tried to fight Modernists within the Church: “After the death of Saint Pius X men continued to sin, the battle against Modernism was quickly forgotten, Modernism grew back to such an extent that Pius XII, Garrigou Lagrange and Mariano Cordovani did not succeed in even scratching the surface of the Nouvelle Theologie that occupied all the university chairs. Masonry placed the most impure blackmailable people in key positions, and the good (who in reality were not truly good) were just so many Don Abbondios.”

(Don Abbondio is a protagonist in the famous Italian novel The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni who is a coward and does not resist an evil local overlord.)

In his June 24 response to Father Morselli, Archbishop Viganò said that he is “in agreement” with him “on the fact that the Second Vatican Council cannot be considered as a sort of subject in itself, endowed with its own will.” “Authoritative studies have demonstrated,” he continued, “that the preparatory schemae prepared by the Holy Office were meant to confirm the image of a rock-solid Church that in reality, especially far from Rome, was showing signs of a dangerous breakdown.”

Therefore, Viganò agrees that the Catholic Faith was already weakened in different aspects before the Second Vatican Council. Further commenting on the initial schemae of the Council, he wrote: “If it was so simple to replace them with new schemae that had been prepared in the cliques of German, French, Swiss, and Dutch innovators, evidently many members of the episcopate (with their court of self-styled theologians, the majority of whom were already the object of canonical censures) were corrupt in both intellect and will.”

Archbishop Viganò pointed to the manipulative character of some of the changes at the Council and added that the “Council was in fact a dishonest operation, a scam carried out against the faithful and the clergy.” He sees a continuation to today's situation under Pope Francis. Comments the archbishop:

“Proceeding along this slippery, unfortunate and destructive path, we have finally arrived at the bankruptcy of the company at the hands of its Argentinian liquidator, ready to deliver the Church of Mercy Co. into the hands of the New World Order. Bergoglio is probably confident that, in this new structure, he will be given some sort of managerial role, if only out of recognition for the work he has accomplished.”

In a new statement that Father Morselli kindly sent to LifeSite (see full text below), the theologian further expounds on this topic of the Second Vatican Council. Here, he does not address particularly a person, but points to substantive matters that are related to the general discussion on the Second Vatican Council.
It is clear that Father Morselli wishes to contribute to a friendly, polite, and charitable discourse among well-meaning friends and experts where disagreements will naturally arise.

In his set of points made in this new statement, Father Morselli presents arguments that should each be further expounded upon and could be an additional invitation to further discourse and debate in Catholic ecclesial and intellectual circles, for the sake of a clarification of the roots of our current crisis and its best resolution.

For example, Morselli states that in his view, most of the problems that have been caused by ambiguous formulations in the conciliar documents have subsequently been clarified by the Magisterium. He says: “Almost all the problems of the conciliar texts have been solved – unfortunately only theoretically – by the following documents: in particular the CCC [Catechism of the Catholic Church], Veritatis splendor, Dominus Jesus, Fides et Ratio, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Redemptoris Missio, the CDF's response on the 'subsistit' issue.” He also insists that it is up to the Magisterium to make authoritative clarifications, and that it is not correct to present the Council as the sole cause of the current evil in the Church.

Finally, Father Morselli states that there is no simple turning back to the 1960s: “The prospect that he hypothesized as a way out: “we will reset the last 60 years and start again from Pius XII”, is not Catholic and is a pious illusion.”

As can be seen in these few points made by Father Morselli, what lies ahead is a longer discourse, and sometimes a painful one. But we can trust that God would surely help those great Catholics minds to come to good and helpful conclusions that at some point in the future might serve the Catholic Magisterium to make needed decisions and clarifications.

***
Please see here first the correspondence between Viganò and Morselli, and second, a new statement by Morselli published on LifeSite today.

Exchange of letters between Don Alfredo Maria Morselli and Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò on Vatican II

Don Alfredo Morselli wrote in the form of a letter (text below) the considerations that were subsequently published on the blog messainlatino.it

Ave Maria! I would like to better explain why I do not place all of the blame for the present crisis at the feet of Vatican II, while not denying its function as a detonator (which cannot do anything in itself without explosives). Marketing strategies are divided into push and pull strategies; that is, a company that is trying to sell a product can seek to create a need for it and push something for which there is no real need. Or else it can, after investigating the market, understand that there is an ample pool of potential clients who feel the need for a certain product. The two strategies often work together. 

What is the “commercial” analysis of the situation prior to the Council? The thermometer of a good part of the clergy and Catholic intelligentsia indicated moral corruption, tepidity, fear, pride, careerism, a desire to break away from the Cross and come to terms with the world. The pot uncovered by Viganò had been boiling for a long time. 

Saint Paul said that times would come in which men would be surrounded by teachers according to their own desires, teachers who would have support and make possible calling good evil and vice-versa (Cf. 2 Tim 4:3).

The teachers according to the desires of the world have understood that the moment has come to present themselves to the world and sell their product in a good market. What I am saying is that if the market was not ready, the product would not have been launched. 

After the death of Saint Pius X men continued to sin, the battle against Modernism was quickly forgotten, Modernism grew back to such an extent that Pius XII, Garrigou Lagrange and Mariano Cordovani did not succeed in even scratching the surface of the Nouvelle Theologie that occupied all the university chairs. Masonry placed the most impure blackmailable people in key positions, and the good (who in reality were not truly good) were just so many Don Abbondios. 

The tumor spread metastases everywhere, and the most recent popes Paul VI, Saint John Paul II, Benedict XVI, could only administer palliatives. Some also criticize the aforementioned popes, but perhaps it was the best our Eternal Father could do. Or else he mysteriously allowed a providential “evil of punishment” to form. And in the meantime the “test tube” with an ad hoc in vitro pontiff was kept in the laboratories of the Modernists. 

Now the patient is in hospice, hanging on the double thread of the “non praevalebunt” and the promises of Fatima. And also on the great quantity of Blood in the third part of the secret. 

In Corde Matris,

Father Alfredo M. Morselli

***

Response of Archbishop Viganò

Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

24 June 2020

Dear and Reverend Father Morselli,

I thank you for your email, in which I see confirmed your supernatural vision of the events that afflict Holy Mother Church. 

I am in agreement with you on the fact that the Second Vatican Council cannot be considered as a sort of subject in itself, endowed with its own will. Authoritative studies have demonstrated that the preparatory schemae prepared by the Holy Office were meant to confirm the image of a rock-solid Church that in reality, especially far from Rome, was showing signs of a dangerous breakdown. And if it was so simple to replace them with new schemae that had been prepared in the cliques of German, French, Swiss, and Dutch innovators, evidently many members of the episcopate (with their court of self-styled theologians, the majority of whom were already the object of canonical censures) were corrupt in both intellect and will. 

What you identify with the most common marketing strategies and that you rightly see as having been realized in the Council was in fact a dishonest operation, a scam carried out against the faithful and the clergy: in order to increase business, the product and the corporate image were changed, promoting it with publicity campaigns and discounts. The “warehouse leftovers” were liquidated or sent to the pulping mill. But the Church of Christ is not a corporation, it has no commercial purposes, and its ministers are not managers. This sensational error, or rather this true and proper fraud, was conceived by people who with this human and mercantile vision of spiritual things demonstrated not only their own inadequacy but also their unworthiness for the role they held. And yet it was precisely that mentality that officially marked the rupture with Tradition: transforming the Church into a corporation meant placing it into an absurd competition with competing sects and false religions, imposing an adaptation of the “product” to meet the alleged needs of the customers, and at the same time also imposing the need to arouse in potential buyers the need for new, alternative “goods and services” which they did not even feel a need for. And thus we were given the communitarian emphasis of the Liturgy, the “do-it-yourself” approach to Scripture, the “throw it all out” approach to Doctrine and Morals, the new staff uniforms, etc…. 

I believe that, if we want to continue with the comparison that you have suggested, it cannot be denied that precisely in order to eliminate the presence of a product that does not have many competitors, it was necessary not only to make it less exclusive but sooner or later to reach the point of absorbing the company that produces it by a more powerful and widespread one: initially the best product is kept as the “first line” for a more demanding clientele, then it is removed from production and finally even the brand itself disappears. Proceeding along this slippery, unfortunate and destructive path, we have finally arrived at the bankruptcy of the company at the hands of its Argentinian liquidator, ready to deliver the Church of Mercy Co. into the hands of the New World Order. Bergoglio is probably confident that, in this new structure, he will be given some sort of managerial role, if only out of recognition for the work he has accomplished. 

There is no one who cannot see that this commercial vision has nothing Catholic about it, above all since the Church belongs to Christ, who delegates her government to His vicars. Transforming the Church into what it is not and never can be takes shape as a very grave sin and an unheard of crime, both against God and against the flock that He has ordered to graze in very well-defined pastures, not to be dispersed in crevasses and brambles. And if the ones responsible for this enormous ruin are the unfaithful administrators who falsified the statutes and balance sheets and defrauded the customers, they will have to be asked for an account: redde rationem villicationis tuae [give an account of your management] (Lk 16:2). 

Cum benedictione

+ Carlo Maria Viganò, Archbishop

Official translation by Giuseppe Pellegrino

***

New intervention by Father Morselli – published on LifeSite July 14

The recent externations of Vatican II by some Pastors, which I also consider Masters, and whose teaching I shared everything up to now, I do not entirely agree. I would like, with great respect towards them, to intervene in the debate and clarify some concepts that I consider essential.

I also specify that I do not intend to attribute directly to anyone in particular the errors that I denounce below, but I would just like to highlight the dangers that we could be run, in the due common holy opposition to the neo-modernist crisis.

Thesis on the Council

1) The current crisis is of unprecedented proportions and is substantially neo-modernist, and far more serious in quality than the modernist crisis of the early 1900s.

 2) There is no simple cause-effect relationship between the Council and the current crisis.

 2.1) Preparation for the crisis began long before 1960.

 2.2) Without a suitable terrain (a large corruption of customs with consequent obscuration of the intellect, even among Pastors and theologians) neo-modernism would not have taken root.  [A sort of parable of the sower on the contrary: the seed of error germinates only on bad soil]

 2.3) The current pontificate was theorized and prepared well before the work of the so-called “Mafia of St. Gallen”.

 3) A distinction must be made between the conciliar documents and what happened next.

 3.1) The fact that many deviations from the truth have been made in the name of the Council, does not imply that the direct causal relationship is true, moreover invoked by those who perpetrated the aforementioned unfortunate innovations

 3.2) It is not Catholic to deny the assistance of the Holy Spirit even during the last Council, as if there was nothing good in it.

 4) The Council texts themselves contain some phrases formulated in an ambiguous way, which provide the neo-modernists with a foothold to interpret them in the worst way.

 5) Almost all the problems of the conciliar texts have been solved – unfortunately only theoretically – by the following documents: in particular the CCC [Catechism of the Catholic Church], Veritatis splendor, Dominus Jesus, Fides et Ratio, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Redemptoris Missio, the CDF's response on the “subsistit” issue.

 6) The troubles are derived, rather than from the single badly formulated sentences, from the choice to express themselves in a non-definitive way, unfortunate way when the crisis situation would have required the most explicit and firm clarity.

 7) Nor should we forget the tragic omission of the explicit and formal condemnation of communism.

 8) The fact that the Council has been called “pastoral” does not imply that consent should not be given to individual statements, of widely diversified quality, each interpreted and accepted in different degrees, according to the objective rules of hermeneutics of the magisterium.

 9) The opposition to part of the conciliar text can only be made by remaining in the wake of the Catholic theology proper to the “De fide” treaty:

 9.1) Faith includes “Credere Deo”, that is, it has as its object a truth proposed and accepted, and not chosen.

 9.2) The Magisterium remains the proximate norm of faith, and adherence to it is the “primum”, in order of execution, of the act of faith.

 9.3) Like the Holy Scripture, the Magisterium is not subject to “private interpretation”, but only the Magisterium can interpret itself in an authentic and authoritative way.

 9.4) It follows that the errors that a single document (of a certain quality of the required assent) may contain, can be opposed with the “Dubia” method, that is, exemplifying, saying: “Madam Master, I do not understand how there is no contradiction between what has been proposed to believe so far and the latter statement. “

 The “pietas” in the formulation of the “dubia” does not imply the absence of fortitude and decision.

 Conclusions

The prospect that looks at Vatican II “simpliciter” as the cause of all evils is a historically incorrect simplification.

The prospect that he hypothesized as a way out: “we will reset the last 60 years and start again from Pius XII”, is not Catholic and is a pious illusion.

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Dr. Maike Hickson was born and raised in Germany. She holds a PhD from the University of Hannover, Germany, after having written in Switzerland her doctoral dissertation on the history of Swiss intellectuals before and during World War II. She now lives in the U.S. and is married to Dr. Robert Hickson, and they have been blessed with two beautiful children. She is a happy housewife who likes to write articles when time permits.

Dr. Hickson published in 2014 a Festschrift, a collection of some thirty essays written by thoughtful authors in honor of her husband upon his 70th birthday, which is entitled A Catholic Witness in Our Time.

Hickson has closely followed the papacy of Pope Francis and the developments in the Catholic Church in Germany, and she has been writing articles on religion and politics for U.S. and European publications and websites such as LifeSiteNews, OnePeterFive, The Wanderer, Rorate Caeli, Catholicism.org, Catholic Family News, Christian Order, Notizie Pro-Vita, Corrispondenza Romana, Katholisches.info, Der Dreizehnte,  Zeit-Fragen, and Westfalen-Blatt.