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A publication of Traditional Catholics of America t Editor: Fr. Francis E. Fenton, STL t Volume VII, No. 1 t January 15, 1986
Anfi –(alhoHtism John Kenneth Weiskittel
D id you know that the mass media in the United
States (the three major TV networks, Time, Life,
Newsweek, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times,
pamphlet The Pope's Secrets, comic book collaborations
Alberto and Smokescreens by Jack Chick and Alberto
Rivera (who claims to be an ex,Jesuit and ex,bishop), and
"many other local TV and radio stations," etc.) are all Ralph Woodrow's book, Babylon Mystery Religion.
run from behind the scenes by the Roman Catholic
Church? Were you aware that the same holds true as to • The Conversion Center, a sort of Catholics Anony,
control of the FBI, the IRS, U.S. armed forces, public mous, which seeks to draw the faithful from the Church
schools, the Supreme Court, the Post Office, AT&T, or, with tracts on the order of My Passport to Freedom, a leaflet
ganized crime and subversive groups? Or that the Catha, by lapsed Catholic Jeanne Lunkowski. (She writes that,
lie Church is the world's biggest secret society, now en, had she remained in the Church, she would have been
gaged in a gigantic plot in which it is using the United on a path that "would lead me straight to hell with no
Nations and the "ecumenical" movement as tools in a stops along the way." At the end, the reader is asked to
drive to enslave humanity? pray "My Decision for Christ," wherein one vows: " … I
hereby transfer my faith from the priest, the pope and
We didn't either and, frankly, it's hard to believe that Mary to the Lord Jesus Christ … I here and now transfer
anyone in his right mind would accept such charges as my faith from the Roman Catholic Church to the word
being true. Yet, for the past two years, posters pro, of God."
claiming these "revelations" have been seen in cities
throughout the country. They are but the tip of an Now that anti,Catholicism has reared its ugly head
emerging anti,Catholic iceberg that includes: again, it would be well for us to examine not only the
basic tenets and implications of its proponents, but also
• Mission to Catholics, an evangelical organization that its role in shaping America's religious community in past
distributes literature like a pamphlet by university chan, generations. This specter appears in many guises-Ma,
cellar Bob Jones, Jr., which calls the pope the "archpriest sonry, Humanism, and other forms of "free,thought,"
of Satan, a deceiver, and an anti,Christ," and the Communism and other totalitarian systems of govern,
Church "the old harlot Church still sitting on the seven ment, Protestantism (fundamentalist and modernist),
hills of Rome, drunk with the blood of martyrs and forni!' Judaism, Islam and other religions, and even the subtle
eating with the political leaders of the world." Moral Ma, (or often not so subtle) movement to destroy the Church
jority co,founder Tim LaHaye's Scott Memorial Church from within.
funded the group until 1980, but has not repudiated its
contentions. However contradictory and incompatible these groups
may be, all can be found to have expressed hatred for the
• Films attacking Catholic teachings, such as Monsignor Catholic Church in one way or another. The subject of
and Agnes of God (starring Jane Fonda) made and shown anti,Catholicism is, then, so large that we must narrow
in our country, often to rave reviews. Imported blas, down the field a bit. Since those Protestants who are
phemy has also hit the theaters in movies like Camila theologically closest to Catholicism (that is, they believe
from Argentina and Hail Mary from France (this latter in Christ's divinity, His miracles, moral teachings, re,
distributed in the States by Coca,Cola's subsidiary, Co, deeming death and resurrection, etc.) make up the group
lumbia Pictures). The first three are broadsides against requiring the least in the way of corrections before accept,
the priesthood and religious life, while Hail Mary is a sac, ing the Church, the errors promulgated by their leaders
rilegious portrait of the Holy Family. seem a logical emphasis for this article. Further, ironical,
ly, it is this very group that has occupied a central point
• Televangelists John Osborne, Jimmy Swaggart and Her, in American anti,Catholic thought both historically and
bert W. Armstrong mesmerizing millions of weekly view, presently.
ers with shocking "exposes" on the Church. On radio,
similar messages are broadcast by preachers like Kenneth Intolerance In "The Land Of The Free"
Hagen, J. Vernon McGee and F. Kenton Beshore. And in As Catholic Americans we all cherish our ability to freely
the print medium, featured titles include Tony Alamo's practice our Faith as part of our nation's heritage of reli,
giow- tolerance. What we must regret, however, is that with the establishment a year before of a group Marty
one of the consequences of "religious freedom," as inter- says was perhaps the first U.S. "ecumenical movement"-
preted by our government through the years, is that it Association in Arms for the Defense of the Protestant
permits intolerance in the name of tolerance. With the Religion and assisting the rights of King William and
state's official blessing, any Church may declare "open Queen Mary. In 1702, the Church of England became
season" on another. And what of the targeted group's Maryland's official religion.
protection under the law? It must head for cover and fend
for itself the best it can, while the government tends to The two decades leading up to the War oflndependence
"more important" matters. Of all religious bodies in the saw the intolerance ease up somewhat, but never totally
U.S., none has been as persistently maligned as the Ro- vanish. Foxe's Book of Martyrs, a dishonest account of
man Catholic Church. Protestant sufferings at Catholic hands, made the
rounds, complete with a title page illustration of devils
Anti -Catholicism in the States can be traced back to the assisting at a Mass. Harvard College, during the 1770's,
pre-Revolutionary colonies. In seventeenth-century New hosted the annual Dudleian Lecture and gave the
England, colonial governments controlled by the Con- learned the opportunity "to expose the idolatry of the
gregational Church prohibited Catholics from even Romish church." (Marty) John Adams wrote to Jefferson
settling there. (Rhode Island was, for a time, an exception that Catholicism was "Hindu and cabalistic," and to his
but in 1689 it reinterpreted its 1663 charter to conform wife Abigail that a Mass he attended in Philadelphia was
with the others.) As late as 1765, John Adams (himself no a superstitious show. Meanwhile, in his Boston Gazette,
lover of the Church) could say of the situation in that the Mason Samuel Adams argued that "papery" was a
part of the country: "Roman Catholics are as scarce as a greater threat to freedom than the Stamp Act. When Ca-
comet or an earthquake." New York permitted free nadian Catholics were granted greater liberties in 177 4,
exercise of the Faith until 1691 when the "Romish reli- similar fears were expressed. Even Washington and
gion" was excluded from the tolerance afforded other Franklin, both of whom were later considered friends of
Churches. Nine years later persecution forced Catholics American Catholicism, could be counted on to let slip in
underground and in 1741 a minister namedJohn Ury was an occasional snipe at "Romanism."
mistakenly hung for being a priest. Similarly, a 1702 law
in New Jersey promised "liberty of conscience to all per- Although Catholics in Revolutionary America made up
sons, except papists." Even Pennsylvania, one of the more but one percent of its population (an estimated 25,000 in
tolerant of the colonies, at one time imposed a Test Act a total 2.5 million), their presence as a force was not over-
barring Catholics from public office. looked by George Washington. At a time when "No
Papery" banners flew in parts of New England, he used
Conditions in the southern colonies were no better. his influence to push for moderation. He ordered that
Charters of the Carolinas (1663) and Georgia (1732) ex- there be no more burning of the pope's effigy in Boston
pressly excluded "papists." Although Virginia passed a and, when he heard Benedict Arnold make anti-Catho-
Resolution assuring religious rights a few weeks before the lic remarks, counseled his officer to "look with compas-
Declaration of Independence was signed, prior to that its sion on the errors of Catholicism." The British could
record was no better than the others. Protestant historian have capitalized on the belligerence with which Catho-
Martin Marty, writing about the 1634 landing of English lics were treated in the colonies. By taking the opposite
colonists in Virginia in Pilgrims in Their Own Land: 500 approach they made a fatal mistake. Cousins writes:
Years of Religion in America, confirms as much wheft he
notes: "To this day it is not clear how the Catholics, Tory Loyalists tried to frighten their fellow Americans into
including the priests aboard, sneaked past the official giving up the fight against England by holding up the threat of
searcher who was assigned to extract from passengers the domination by the Catholic Church. "An absolute dominion
oath of allegiance that specifically rejected the pope and over you will be set up by your late protectors," a Tory pam-
Catholicism." phlet declared. "An American Bastille will be erected; the
Romish religion will be established; the maxims and proceed-
Indeed, of the 13 original colonies, it was Maryland ings . .. of the Romish inquisition will be your reward for your
during its early Catholic days that provided a model for infinite ingratitude and folly in casting off the enlightened, hu-
the others of cooperation between the various denomina- mane, and equitable authority of your rightful sovereign."
tions, but even this was short-lived. In his study "In God
We Trust": The Religious Beliefs and Ideas of the American The tactic failed, perhaps because the "threat" of the
Founding Fathers, liberal journalist Norman Cousins con- Church, no matter how real it seemed in the minds of
cedes this, writing: "Catholics wrote the early laws of many, was something distant and abstract, while the ef-
Baltimore and administered a state which for a time had fect of King George's dictates on their lives was a daily,
one of the finest records for religious freedom among the immediate concern.
colonies. But when the Protestants came to authority,
especially after 1689, Catholics felt the weight of repres- Postwar euphoria did little to divert anti-Catholics from
sive legislation." This rise to power came about in part their self-appointed task of ridding the nation of the
THE ATHANASIAN 2 JANUARY 15, 1986
sacerdotal "menace," as it came at a time when the second Set up as a political party (the American Party), "its
"Great Awakening" swept through Protestant America. members observed a masonic secrecy which they guarded
The Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 made publication of with such fidelity as to be nicknamed 'Know,Nothings."'
malicious writings against the U.S. Government a crimi, (Father Eberhardt) That the Masonic Lodge was the
nal offense but it also sought to protect "native Ameri, model is made clear in this excerpt from Sydney E.
cans" (White Anglo,Saxon Protestants) from the first Ahlstrom's A Religious History of the American People:
waves of Irish Catholic immigrants. This Nativism, "Upon initiation the member was introduced to all the
which, as we shall see, would grow into a major move, glories of a secret lodge: grand titles, special handclasps,
ment, found a rallying cry in the "Winning of the West." distress signals, and other types of mumbo,jumbo." The
Westward expansion began yet another round of anti, party constitution was pledged "to resist the insidious
Catholic hysteria by the Rev. Lyman Beecher and Home policy of the Church of Rome," but the Know, Nothing
Missionary with the warning in 1839 that the battle for the Almanac was even more vicious, adding "Anti,Roman,
West was one fought "between Christianity and the com, ism … Anti,Pope's Toeism, Anti,Nunneryism, Anti,
bined forces of Infidelity and Papery." Such fears were Winking Virginism, Anti,Jesuitism and Anti,the,Whole,
agitated by the publication earlier in the decade of Priest, Sacerdotal, Hierarchism with all its humbugging mum,
craft Unmasked, and A Foreign Conspiracy Against the Lib, meries" as articles of its Anti,Creed. Membership was
erties of the United States, penned by the inventor Samuel open only to native,born Protestants without Catholic
F. B. Morse, which disclosed an alleged Vatican plot. A wives or parents. An oath was taken that the member
series of convent "horror" stories also contributed to the would never vote for a Catholic or foreign,born candi,
mood: Nun told of the escape of a Turin heiress from a date. Mob activity was condoned by party officials, and
convent dungeon; Six Months in a Convent related how a voters who could not give the party password were
greedy bishop imposed sadistic penances on Ursulines; threatened. On August 5, 1855-"Bloody Monday"-in
and Maria Monk's Awful Disclosures, writes Father Louisville, Kentucky, violence kept Catholics from cast,
Newman Eberhardt in Summary of A Catholic History, "as, ing votes. Despite such a record the Know,Nothings had·
cribed immoral conduct and smothered infants to a a million members, 75 of which they sent to Congress.
Montreal convent." Despite the fact that Protestant edi, Fortunately, the party was short,lived; the tensions lead,
tor William L. Stone investigated Maria Monk's claims ing the U.S. into the Civil War and a general apathy of
and found that the authoress was "an out,and,out im, party members spelled doom for the Know,Nothings be,
pastor," that she was of loose character who died in jail fore they could achieve their goal: control of the national
for pickpocketing in 1849, and that her book could only government. As with all anti,Catholicism, the Know,
be found in pornographic bookshops-despite all this, Nothings exploited people's ignorance of the Church. It
some, determined to believe any and all literature against "failed most completely in the Old Northwest, where
the Church, hold it to be a true account. (Like Maria immigrants and Roman Catholics were more familiar to
Monk, a nun's smothered infant is part of the plot of the native Protestant Americans because they mingled
Agnes of God. Coincidence?) on equal terms and in about equal numbers." (Ahlstrom)
Morse intensified nativist paranoia by founding the After the war, however, the bigots started up again. (The
American Protestant Union in 1841. This group, with its Vatican was behind the plot to kill Lincoln according to
official opposition to the "subjugation of our country to one of their rumors.) A new nativist secret group, the Ku
the control of the Pope of Rome, and his adherents," Klux Klan, made Catholics one of their objects of hate,
helped fan the fires of violence set by writings like thoser even burning a cross on the lawn of the Benedictine con,
mentioned above. Already in 1834, "a mob, aroused vent in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1893, another new outfit,
by … Dr. Beecher, attacked and bu~ned the Ursuline con, the American Protective Association, also a secret so,
vent in Boston on pretext of rescuing a novice." (Father ciety, told the credulous that Pope Leo XIII had issued an
Eberhardt) The perpetrators of the crime were never order for American Catholics to "exterminate all heretics
brought to justice, which opened the door to other out, found within the jurisdiction of the United States of
breaks. The worst of these was a three,day riot in Phil, America," and it published a false encyclical to that
adelphia in May, 1844. The attack, provoked by Bishop effect.
Kendrick's condemning of Protestant Bible lessons in the
public schools, led to the burning of two churches and a Anti,Catholicism in the twentieth century has tended to
seminary, the plundering of dozens of Irish Catholic be more toned down than in the past (though the above
homes, 13 deaths and 50 wounded. Masses were sus, mentioned cross,burning took place in its early years).
pended until state troops restored order. When it ap, Normally, Woodrow Wilson wouldn't be thought of in
peared New York City churches would also be assailed, such company, but in his public papers we read: "Our
Bishop John Hughes had armed men stationed around liberties are safe until … legislators have resigned their
them to stave off further tragedy. functions to ecclesiastical powers and their prerogative?
to priests." The reason many may be surprised at such a
Nativists formed a nationwide anti,Catholic secret socie, quote is that they overlook what historian Peter Viereck
ty in the 1850's called the Order of United Americans. saw so clearly: "Catholic,baiting is the anti,Semitism of
THE ATHANASIAN 3 JANUARY 15, 1986
the liberals." One such leftist organization was Protes- Roman Empire to the Roman Church, of religious ele-
tants and Other Americans United for Separation of ments," and quotes Cardinal Newman on the use of vest-
Church and State (POAU), founded in 1947 with the ments, tonsure and the ring in marriage to prove its case.
pro-Communist Methodist Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam Devotion to Mary is equated with the worship of Ishtar
as its first president. Two years later it published American and other pagan goddesses. But this overlooks the fact
Freedom and Catholic Power by Paul Blanchard, a work that the Church only has made Christian certain exter-
still cited by anti-Catholics in which the author painted a nals of paganism; she has never appropriated its doctrines.
familiar scene, "an international dictatorship emanating To suggest such a paganizing plays into the hands of both
from Rome, scarcely less menacing than the Communism atheists and Masons, for the former holds that Christian-
of the Kremlin." (Father Eberhardt, A Survey of American ity is merely an offshoot of the mystery religions of the
Church History.) Later, POAU changed its name to the Roman Empire and the latter holds that paganism and
present Americans United for Separation of Church and Christianity can be thrown together into a religious melt-
State. There is reason to believe it is a Masonic front for it ing pot.
shares an address with the Masonic Service Association.
Clearly, anti-Catholic sentiment is a permanent, if Atrocities
loathsome, fixture of our national culture. On this subject, scholarship takes a vacation. Catholicism
is unmistakably of Satan because it supposedly has mur-
Sins of Commission and Omission dered the true followers of Christ. We're told that count-
In the past 30 years or so a spate of books and tracts has less innocent men, women and children were murdered
appeared purporting to uncover scandals at every level of "under the dripping blades of Catholic authorities and in
Church life, from the parish to the Sacred College of Car- the flames of priestly fires." Qohn Wilder, The Other Side of
dinals. Typical of these are such titles as People's Padre; Is Rome.) How many were there? Well, that depends on
Roman Catholicism a Cult?; The Other Side of Rome; The which "authority" you consult. Wilder first cites the
Missing Dimension in World Affairs; The Secret History of apostate priest (if, indeed, he was ever a priest) Walter
Jesuits and The Vatican-Moscow-Washington Alliance, to Montana's figure of 50 million deaths during the Inquisi-
name a few. Certain Protestant denominations make tion, and then the nineteenth-century Protestant leader
anti-Catholicism a central part of their teachings. We've Alexander Campbell's estimate of upwards to 68 million.
all heard the criticisms: the Mass is magic; Purgatory is an But the body count is free-floating with the controversial-
invention by which priests are "extorting money from be- ists. Ed and Jody Mitchell in The Mystery of Babylon Re-
lieving, trusting and unsuspecting people" 0. Lunkowski); vealed hazard a guess of 95 million. On his international
Mary is worshiped; Catholic countries are poor, back- TV ministry, Prophecy Countdown, Seventh Day Adventist
ward and superstitious because of the Church, etc. But John Osborne escalates the total to between 100 million
these and other objections to the Church are always and 150 million. As you can see, the sky's the limit. Not
based on either distorting or neglecting evidence. The even the lowest of these figures approaches the truth.
Mass (more specifically the Consecration of the Mass) is (Osborne's figure would be almost a quarter of Europe's
no more magic than Christ's changing water into wine. current population.) A more sober view by a non-Catho-
Stipends given to priests for Masses offered do not pay for lic can be found in Will Durant's The Reformation. Al-
Masses. Veneration is not worship. Mere culture and though a critic of the Inquisition, which he calls one of the
material affluence do not make a nation godly. "expressions of an age afflicted with homocidal certainty
in theology," he doesn't even pretend that there were
In the final analysis, what many conservative Protestants hundreds of thousands of victims, much less millions. For
believe is that the Catholic Church is in league with tte example, concerning the Spanish Inquisition-universally
devil. Some, by calling the Church a cult or a false reli- acknowledged as the most severe-he gives one estimate
gion, will merely insinuate it. Others, more bold, will for the years 1480-1808 at about 32,000 deaths and almost
turn to Scriptural prophecies to "prove" that the Pope is 300,000 "heavily penanced," but then notes that these
the anti-Christ and the Church the Whore of Babylon. It "guesses … are now generally rejected by Protestant
may be worth our while to take a short look at the genesis historians as extreme exaggerations." And nowhere do
of this most vicious slander, since many seem willing to people like Wilder and Osborne talk about Protestant
accept it. Let's look at several aspects that go into this atrocities; it is as though they never occurred. Nor do they
thinking, one at a time. admit that some of those executed in the Inquisition were
political revolutionaries or practitioners of the black arts.
Paganism
A supposed historical basis upon which to identify the The Little Horn
Church as Beast, anti-Christ, Whore of Babylon, etc., is "Judge" Rutherford of the Jehovah's Witnessess said that
that at an early period of Church history the larger por- the Catholic Church is "the Devil's chief representative
tion of the Church and its leaders became infected with on the earth." Chick and Rivera say "we believe at Chick
paganism and apostatized. A Seventh Day Adventist Publications that the Whore of Babylon is the Roman
book, Bible Readings for the Home, teaches that "there is a Continued on page 8
genuine line of inheritance, from Babylon through the
THE ATHANASIAN 4 JANUARY 15, 1986
] ill Wiesner
M any Americans, distressed by the shocking im-
morality they face at every turn, wonder how
the youth of today will ever resist such an onslaught. The
face … I recognized in him a soul made wholly according
to the spirit of God, and I was not a little astonished to
see the marvels that grace had already wrought in one so
temptations they face are so numerous and they are, after young."
all, so young. To help them in the all-important battle
for their souls is the example of a saint canonized just On October 29, 1854, Dominic left home to begin school
over thirty years ago, a saint who was "an adolescent at Don Bosco's "Oratory," a long, renovated old house
who preserved his baptismal innocence to the very last." surrounded by a low, tiled wall. The one hundred boys
Saint Dominic Savio, whose death came a month before who lived there rose for Mass each morning, after which
his fifteenth birthday, is "a true model for the youth of they ate a meal consisting of bread and soup or stew.
our times." After the meal, the boys gathered around Don Bosco's
chair and talked to him. Their trust in him was complete.
Born in the village of Murialdo, Italy, on April 2, 1842, His selfless concern for them was tempered with wisdom.
Dominic was from the start a cheerful considerate child.
He did, however, have a quick temper which he fought All of the boys at the Oratory were either apprentices or
to keep under control. He was not always successful. A students. Dominic was placed in the latter category. His
classmate named Vaschetti (later Monsignor Vaschetti), professors were delighted with him, praising "his knowl-
who was punched in the head by Dominic during a edge and piety" as well as his "pleasant ways and general
childhood argument, reported that Dominic "was quick- ability." His characteristic modesty and friendliness won
tempered, sometimes even violent. He held stubbornly to the hearts of his schoolmates and Dominic was, from the
his own opinions. Afterward, however, he would always beginning, a general favorite among the boys. Don
feel very sorry for it." Bosco's mother, Mama Margaret, who helped her son at
the Oratory, said that Dominic "always seems to be in
Dominic's sense of mission was evident at an early age. the presence of God."
To obtain an education, he willingly walked six miles a
day, winter and summer, on a road often frequented by For all of his excellent qualities, Dominic was, after all, a
bandits. When he was ten, his family moved to the town normal boy, as was attested to by Michael Rua, an older
of Mondonio where he started school under Father boy who was one of the Oratory's "superiors." In a class
Cugliero. During class one day, Dominic was accused of which he was teaching, he was forced to reprimand
a prank which another boy had pulled. He did not de- Dominic for laughing out loud. As he turned to continue
fend himself and quietly accepted the punishment, which his lecture, Dominic burst out laughing again. One of the
was to kneel in the center of the classroom for the rest of other boys was being silly behind Rua's back and he fi-
the classes that day. nally had Dominic laughing so hard he couldn't stop. As
a result, Dominic was required to spend the remainder of
Father Cugliero later discovered that Dominic was inno- the class period on his knees.
cent and asked him why he had said nothing. Dominic
told him, "the one who did it was already on his last On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX defined the doctrine
chance … It would have only been my first chance an~ I of the Immaculate Conception. In honor of the occasion,
knew you'd let me off with something lighter. Besides, I Dominic consecrated himself completely to the service of
thought of our Lord when He was unjustly accused. He the Mother of God for the rest of his life. Don Bosco
didn't say a word either." wrote that, "From this moment began that exemplary
kind of life, that exactness in the performance of his
A short time later, Father Cugliero paid a visit to Father duty, beyond which it is difficult to go." Dominic Savio
John Bosco who had begun an outstanding school for was twelve and a half years old.
boys in Turin. He asked Father Bosco to consider
Dominic Savio for his school because, said Father One of the things Dominic worked hardest at was con-
Cugliero, "you may have a number of excellent boys here trolling his eyes. He once told Don Bosco that, when he
as you say, Don Bosco, but I don't think you could possi- first came to Turin, avoiding certain sights required such
bly have any better than young Savio. Try him out and an effort that his head would ache. But he persevered.
see if you don't find in him another St. Aloysius." According to Don Bosco:
It was arranged for the priest to meet the boy on the Those who admired Dominic's outward calm and self-control
Feast of the ·Most Holy Rosary in Becchi. In his book, found it so natural to him that they might hm 1e been inclined
The Life of Dominic Savio, Don Bosco described Dominic to attribute this to the fact that he was made that way by his
at that meeting as "a cheerful youngster with a smiling Creator. But those who understood him better, or had charge
THE ATHANASIAN 5 JANUARY 15, 1986
of his education, knew that it was the result of his own great Severe stomach pains caused him to eat less and less, but
efforts, assisted by the grace of God. he consistently refused any special treatment. Finally, at
the advice of the doctors, Don Bosco ordered Do~inic to
Often, when returning from the city, the boys would ask go home for a rest. Dominic sighed heavily when told,
Dominic his opinion of something they had seen along and said, "This time, ifl go, it will be to return no more."
the way. He would apologize, saying that he had not seen
it. When asked what he had eyes for anyway, he would The evening before his departure, Saturday, February 28,
answer, "I have eyes to look on the Mother of God, if and 1857, the boys said their usual prayers, "The Exercise of a
when I get to heaven." Happy Death." In the prayers "for the one among us who
will be the first to die," those near him heard Dominic
Dominic's increasing attempts at penance and mortifica- insert his own name.
tion were softened by Don Bosco, who told him to "suffer
patiently any insult or injury that may come your way … The next morning after Mass, he stopped one of the boys
suffer with resignation the heat, the cold, the rain, sick- and returned to him a small amount of money he had
ness, fatigue and all the other ills that God will be pleased borrowed, telling him, "I don't want to be embarrassed
to send you." with debts in front of our Lord." His friend Cagliero said
that, as his father arrived to take him home, "I saw him
The boy followed faithfully the guidelines of the priest, with that same old smile. Knowing what it was costing
quietly including such additional mortifications as walk- him to leave us, I said to myself: 'What a great little saint
ing slowly through the snow in order to feel the bite of the he must be!'"
cold, keeping his hands off the bench when kneeling in
church and keeping his hands out of his pockets when In a few days, Dominic's appearance improved and the
embarrassed. color returned to his cheeks. The doctor told his parents
the danger had passed and his worried family sighed with
But he never had a sad face or sour temper. As he told a relief. His father, however, asked Dominic what he
new arrival, "you know that in the Oratory we become thought.
saints by being very cheerful about it … Don Bosco always
tells us to serve God with a smile." "I think it is now time to receive Viaticum before I die,"
he said quietly.
As Dominic progressed toward sanctity, he was often
filled with what he called "distractions." "When I am at The following morning, the doctor assured Dominic that
prayers," he said, "a distraction comes. Then I lose the they had beaten the illness and, "All we have to do now is
thread of my thoughts and the hours fly by like minutes." take it nice and easy."
He became acutely embarrassed when questioned too
deeply about these "distractions" by Don Bosco, so the "We've beaten the world, Doctor," Dominic smiled. "All
priest did not press him. On one occasion, Dominic was we have to do now is prepare to appear before God."
absent from breakfast as well as all his classes and lunch.
Don Bosco looked for him in St. Francis Church, where Two days later, on March 9, he suffered a relapse. Dom-
he found the boy lost in contemplation. Though Don inic's father kept vigil at his son's bedside. Toward eve-
Bosco called him several times, he did not hear and had ning, Dominic stirred. His face alight with joy, he seemed
to be shaken by the shoulder. Dominic turned anew unaware of all around him. He cried out to his father,
looked up vacantly. "Is Mass over already?" he asked. His "Look! Can't you see the wonderful … the beautiful … "
"distraction" had lasted seven hours. He reached out toward something, then gently fell back
onto the pillows, lifeless.
Dominic's health had always been precarious, and the
winter of 1856 was particularly hard on all at the Ora- On December 6, 1876, Don Bosco had a vi_sion, which
tory. In addition to the aggravated poverty and suffering the Holy Father later made him write down. In the vis-
endured by the people of Turin as a result of the Crimean ion, Dominic appeared to him and offered him a bouquet
War, the weather was unusually cold and severe. Mama of flowers. Dominic explained that they represented "the
Margaret, Don Bosco's mother, was stricken with pneu- virtues we must practice to please God. Roses for charity,
monia and, despite the best medical care, died on violets for humility, sunflowers for obedience, gentians
November 25. for penance, ears of wheat for frequent Holy Commu-
nion, lilies for purity. The evergreens … represent perse-
Dominic's health also began to decline. He became more verance." Asked what gave him the greatest consolation
quiet and, at times, almost withdrawn. One of his friends at the hour of death, Dominic replied, "the assistance at
asked if he didn't like to talk to them anymore. "Oh yes!" death of the Mother of God. Tell that to the boys, Father.
Dominic immediately replied. "It isn't that. It's only that Tell them never to forget to pray to her all the days of
when I speak at all, I feel two knives cut right through their lives."
both my temples." Continued on page 8
THE ATHANASIAN 6 JANUARY 15, 1986
Fr. Francis E. Fenton
W ith the appearance of this issue (the forty-ninth)
we begin the seventh year of the publication of
this newsletter. While we have always worked long and
quence of this, they are morally bound not merely to
know and to keep and to live the Faith themselves but to
do all they reasonably can to bring that Faith to their
hard to make The Athanasian a publication which would fellowmen. In other words, by the very fact that they are
reflect favorably upon traditional Catholicism, what suc- Roman Catholics, they are morally obligated to be
cess our efforts may have had is difficult to determine. In- activists, to be convert-conscious, to be apostolic. In this
sofar as I am able to judge, our impact has been at best the record appears to be a rather sad one. Despite the fact
but a modest one to date. While we have the spiritual and that never before in Christian history has there been a
financial support of many and while we receive a consid- more desperate need for zealous, dedicated, apostolic
erable amount of commendation and encouragement, we Catholics than there is in this our day, where, pray tell,
do not seem to have a great deal to show for our endeavor are individuals of this caliber to be found in the ranks of
in terms of concrete accomplishments for the cause of tra- traditional Catholicism? Yes, there are some but they are
ditional Catholicism. Well, it's always a consolation to very much the exception. Our God-given Faith and our
realize that good intentions and persistent effort are what beloved Church and our moral standards are being more
count in the sight of God. And so we will keep on doing and more openly maligned and ridiculed and defamed all
the best we can. around us. At what point do we stand up and fight? At
what point do we shed our apathy and become at long
The fact that this issue of The Athanasian marks the be- last what we are supposed to be-the Church Militant?
ginning of another year of its publication is, in itself, of
little significance but it seems an appropriate time to When the traditional Roman Catholic apostolate began,
make a few observations on the traditional Roman Cath- I envisioned that it would become a sort of crusade whose
olic apostolate. It had no formal origin and so no specific members would, in truth, be warriors who would not
date can be cited to indicate when it began. Since, how- only fight for the Faith but, if need be, give their lives in
ever, the infamous Vatican Council II concluded in 1965 its defense. After all, were not these people the remnant
and since the traditional apostolate was, at least in large who, blessed by God to have perceived the satanic sub-
part, a reaction to that Council, perhaps it is fairly accu- version of the Church, had committed themselves to re-
rate to say that the traditional effort came visibly into main loyal to their beloved Faith and, by the grace of
being around that time, say, in 1966. God, to do all in their power to preserve and to advance
and to defend it, whatever the sacrifice required? Much to
That was 20 years ago. And what have traditional my surprise and disappointment, I gradually learned that
Roman Catholics accomplished over that span of time? the reality was something else indeed. However much
The obvious answer is the preservation of the Roman may be favorably said for the typical traditional Catholic,
Catholic Faith-and that is a major accomplishment in- a crusader, a warrior he definitely is not!
deed. Nowhere else is divine Truth found today in its
purity and totality except in traditional Catholicism. As In the interest of fairness to the traditionalist cause it
has been stated in these pages from time to time over t;he should be noted, of course, that it labors under many dif
past several years-but it demands constant repeti- ficulties and obstacles. The one true Church, the Roman
tion-the one true Church, the Church of the Apostles Catholic Church (traditional Catholicism) is all but a
and saints and martyrs, the historic Roman Catholic nonentity in the eyes of both the "liberal" and conserva-
Church of nineteen and a half centuries is here and now tive (The Wanderer, The Remnant and the like) branches of
traditional Catholicism. How any "Catholic" can deny the Conciliar Church as well as in the eyes of the secular,
this and remain a part of the Conciliar Church is beyond amoral, decadent world of this our day.
my comprehension-but millions do.
If traditional Catholicism is not here and now the Roman
But it is the duty of every authentic Roman Catholic not Catholic Church, then that Church no longer exists. It's
only to preserve the Faith but to promote, to advance, to as simple as that. Will this year 1986 witness any change
propagate it as well-by prayer, example, instruction, for the better for us traditional Roman Catholics? Will we
Catholic Action. And how is the traditionalist apostolate continue to remain an ignored remnant or will we, at
faring in that respect? From my observation, very poorly. long last, begin to make at least some slight impact upon
Traditional Catholics possess the most precious treasure the American scene? In good part because of the deplor-
in all the world, the Roman Catholic Faith. They are able and, to my mind, incomprehensible lack of any sig-
members of the Roman Catholic Church, the one society nificant number of apostolic, militant, truly dedicated
or organization on the face of the earth established by the Catholics in our ranks, the prospects are dim. There must
Son of God for the salvation of all men. As the conse- be a substantial increase in our membership of Catholics
THE ATHANASIAN 7 JANUARY 15, 1986
of such caliber-crusaders, fighters, warriors for the feel they can deal it a deathblow. For our part, we must
Faith. We traditional Catholics have the greatest thing in let the world know that the Church Militant is alive and
all the world, our Roman Catholic Faith. How long unwilling to compromise God's Word one iota. Other-
more, pray tell, are we going to keep it a secret from the wise, we'll have a great deal of explaining to do in the not-
world? too-distant future when called to render an account of
our stewardship before the judgment seat of Almighty
"Even if Catholics faithful to tradition are reduced to a God.t
handful, they are the ones who are the true Church of
Jesus Christ." (St. Athanasius) t Reprint Orders Increase
In the previous issue of this newsletter I bemoaned
"Anti-Catholicism" continued from page 4 the poor response from our subscribers for addi-
Catholic Institution." Ditto F. Kenyon Beshore, Bob tional copies of the excellent article on Freemasonry
Jones, Jr., and John Osborne. Just where in the Bible does which appeared as a supplement to the October 15,
it so identify the Church? Well, according to these "ex- 1985 issue of The Atlianasian. It is gratifying to
perts" the answers are all right there in front of us in the report a significant increase in recent weeks in the
books of Daniel and The Apocalypse of St. John. In the number of orders for that article ("The USA, Past
Seventh Day Adventist Bible Readings we're told that the and Present-Christian or Masonic?"). Thus far,
"little horn" mentioned in Dan. 7:8 is a title of the anti- 1, 135 copies have been ordered. The April 15, 1985
Christ, that is, the Catholic Church. (A drawing in an newsletter issue contained the article, "Masonry's
Adventist magazine shows the pope rising from a beast's War Against the Roman Catholic Church." To
head.) date, 1,704 copies have been purchased. The price
scale for bulk orders of each article is found in the
All said, there is nothing original about these attacks on issues indicated above.
the Church. Jack Chick proudly recalls that Knox, Cal- -Fr. F. Fenton
vin and Luther all taught the Church was the Whore of
Babylon, as well as such "respected" nineteenth-century
Protestant evangelists as England's Charles Spurgeon and "Saint Dominic" continued from page 6
America's Dwight Moody. (Incidentally, John Osborne On June 12, 1954, Dominic Savio was canonized by Pope
calls the idea of a "rapture" of Christians at the second Pius XII, who declared Dominic to be a "timely model for
coming a theory "invented by a Jesuit priest, Francesco the youth of the world." Pope Pius XI before him stated:
Ribera, in order to discredit those Reformers … who were
attacking the papacy.") When we consider the conditions in which young people of the
whole world find themselves today, the dangers and evil arts
"And you sliall be "hated by all men for my name's sake". tliat threaten their Purity; the education to violence, to respect
(Matt. 10:22) So Christ told His disciples. He had no for nothing and nobody, we have every reason to thank God for
sooner spoken these words when He reminded them that having raised in our midst this edifying figure … We have in
He had been called Beelzebub. (Matt. 10:25) Even Saint Dominic Savio a providential gift for our own time.
John Eudes, whose whole ministry was centered in a god-
ly tenderness, could write: "I received some very fine epi- For all the evils which threaten the youth of today,
thets. Some called me the precursor of the anti-Christ; Dominic Savio is the remedy. Against every temptation
others said I was the anti-Christ himself. Some character- and snare, he offered his love for God. Armed with the
ized me as a seducer, a devil who must not be believed; intention that "the passion of our Lord be always in my
and others condemned me as a sorcerer enticing everyone mind and heart and on my lips," and shielded by the
in his wake." Mother of God, this fourteen-year-old hero was victori-
ous in the battle against sin. May the youth of today take
Such is a part of the cross we must bear as members of up his armor and shield and, through his intercession,
Christ's Mystical Body. It should propel us to a deeper may they be equally victorious. t
study of our Faith and a more vigorous defense of the
Church. No doubt the weakness of the Conciliar "Cath- .Pray
olic" Church has sparked this new wave of anti-Catholic the Rosary
activity by those who mistake it for the true Church and lan]g
THE ATHANASIAN
Published by Traditional Catholics of America
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