The Popes Against Modern Errors, Episode 10: Mortalium Animos (Part 1)
Ecumenism has certainly become one of the catchphrases of the post-Vatican II era. Being portrayed as a Christian ‘virtue’ and a necessity of the times we live in, ecumenism has permeated the very essence of the new religion of Vatican II. Fortunately, in the year 1928, decades before the catastrophe of Vatican II unfolded, Pope Pius XI penned Mortalium Animos: a sharp-as-a-knife condemnation of false ecumenism that was to become the cornerstone of the Novus Ordo religion. Episode 10 of “Popes Against the Modern Errors,” hosted by Matthew Gaskin, gives you a thorough and tongue-in-cheek analysis of Pope Pius XI’s encyclical On Religious Unity, provided by the episode’s guest, His Lordship, Bishop Donald Sanborn of the Most Holy Trinity Seminary.
New labels, old errors
One would be sorely mistaken to think that this ‘get-together’ movement is just a product of the hippie 60s revolution in the Church. Apart from the unceasing and obviously futile search for ‘unity’ between various Protestant denominations, some ecumenical attempts have been made between Protestants and Catholics as early as the second half of the 19th century. These, naturally, were duly condemned by the Holy See. However, the unprecedented tragedy of World War I and its aftermath gave rise to a rekindling of one-world sentiments. In politics, there could be observed a turning towards Naturalism and Humanism, intended to become the uniting force for the nations of the world. In religious circles, a movement called pan-Christianity was gaining supporters; their goal was to unite those professing their faith in Jesus Christ on the basis of the lowest common denominator, putting doctrinal differences aside. A prominent post-war figure in the spirit of such false Christian ‘unity’ was Cardinal Mercier, Archbishop of Mechelen (Belgium), who would initiate ecumenical disputes with the Church of England.
Pope Pius XI was well aware of the political climate of the post-war period, and the fact that the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended World War I, was a source of so great an upheaval and dissatisfaction (especially in Germany), that another war would actually break as a consequence. In such socio-political circumstances, pan-Christianity (or simply ecumenism) seemed like a peaceful solution for the divided world. Pius XI, however, would not be meek and mild when it came to dealing with those ‘peace-loving’ ecumenists. His impetuous temper shows through in this encyclical as he leaves no stone unturned in his strict condemnation of what was to become the core of Vatican II’s heresies.
Dead on arrival
Upon reading Paragraph two of Mortalium Animos, it becomes clear that the infamous inter-religious meeting that took place in Assisi in 1986, and resulted in a series of such abominations perpetrated by the Novus Ordo, had already been condemned by the Supreme Pontiff in the given encyclical. The definition of a pan-Christian assembly, as presented by Pope Pius XI, bears striking resemblance to the ecumenical meetings that have been convoked here and there under the auspices of the Vatican (including their full consent and cooperation). Interestingly, the Modernists of today have taken ecumenism one step further, since their first major dialoguing service in Assisi included not only members of various Christian sects, but also such unlikely participants as outward polytheists and witch doctors; this surely would have been unthinkable in the times of Pope Pius XI.
Modernists and the bashing of dogma
Ideas have consequences. Since the Catholic notion of dogma is totally incompatible with the precepts of ecumenism, the proponents of the latter necessarily had to come up with a different understanding of dogma so as to push their modernist agenda. The irreconcilable discrepancies between the Catholic vs. the modernist definition of dogma have been aptly demonstrated by Bishop Sanborn in this episode. When one thinks of the heresy of Modernism, the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis of Pope St. Pius X seems the obvious go-to document of the Magisterium. Nonetheless, as argued by Bishop Sanborn, Pius XI is even more outright and fierce in his condemnation of certain aspects of Modernism than his holy predecessor!
The Catholic answer
Since the propagators of ecumenism disregard the unchanging truths of the Faith and place different religions on a basically equal footing, it follows that they should seek to ‘unite’ human beings on a purely naturalistic level; hence the never-ceasing calls for such temporal matters like fraternity and world peace. Such an attitude, however, stands in direct opposition to the one and only purpose of human existence, which is the glory of God. The far-reaching consequences of this simple truth are devastating to the entire concept of ecumenism. The fact that there can be only one true religion that is pleasing to God renders the equality of all religions false. Much to the chagrin of ecumenists, who would lament over alleged ‘deficiencies’ of the Church of Christ, Pius XI does not fail to set forth the characteristics of the True Church of Christ and utterly destroys their fallacious argument.
A fitness-obsessed nun, Bergoglio’s naturalistic gospel, his disdain for the papacy, and Ratzinger’s theology: all of these things fit in the ecumenical picture of the post-Vatican II landscape. If you are interested in finding out just how an encyclical issued by a true Pontiff more than 90 years ago is still a thorn in the side of the modernists of today, listen to Episode 10 of “Popes Against the Modern Errors” .
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