It seems ironic that the same voices that condemn collegiality among the bishops are insisting traditionalist Catholics unite under a milquetoast banner of love, in an effort to secure their Latin Masses. This tactic is flawed and will lead, in some cases, to the most tragic of consequences that can befall a Christian: the loss of his eternal soul.
Much of the current appeal to unity is based in emotion and not reason; there is little substance in the arguments which are often ad hominem (“You’re all sedes!” or “You hide behind your avatars!”) or straw men (“You say the Mass doesn’t matter!”)
Yet the most obvious weakness is the appeal to an obsolete tactic: that of tolerance in the face of an extremely devious enemy. While it may be argued that it was this approach which led to the widespread availability of the traditional Latin Mass under Pope Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum (I would posit that it did not), relying on previously-used tactics for their own sake is a great weakness for anyone engaged in a war.
The ancient military strategist, Sun Tzu, set out his approach to defeating an enemy in his treatise, The Art of War and warned against re-using a previous tactic because it worked in the past.
His advice to military commenders has been relied upon for centuries. He wrote:
Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.
Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and hastens downwards. So in war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak.
He who can modify his tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heaven-born captain.
Sun Tzu – On the Art of War, #28-31
Reassess Tactics
Sun Tzu wrote these words more than 2500 years ago and they still ring true. “Let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.” Applying this to the current crisis in the Church, we could say that during the pontificate of Pope Francis, many conservative, but Modernist prelates began to wake up to the fact that there was, in fact, a crisis and that Bergoglio was not its cause, but merely its symptom. That process, sometimes slow but at other times more rapid, of realising that something devastating happened at the Second Vatican Council was evident, as these good men began to piece together the pattern of revolutionary infiltration and indoctrination which led the Church to the sad state in which She finds Herself today.
Now that we have another Pope spouting the same heresies and errors, albeit in a more smooth and sophisticated manner, it is simply not reasonable to give the conservative Novus Ordo prelates ane more time, allowing them to gradually come to the conclusion that is evident to those with eyes to see: this is the time to declare strongly, clearly and without equivocation, the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church.
This is the time to boldly draw attention to the errors being taught by Pope Prevost and his Synodal mouthpieces with calm and simplicity.
Avoid the strong
Sun Tzu recommended that strategists “avoid what is strong and strike at what is weak.” In the case at hand, what is “strong” is the Pope’s popularity, a perceived belief that the Church is back on track and, it must be said, the universal relief that Pope Francis is dead. Thus in order to avoid “what is strong”, conservative prelates should be maintaining the state of high alert which existed under Bergoglio, exposing the reality that the Church is still in grave danger, that souls are threatened and that aesthetics do not compensate for heterdox teaching.
This obligation extends to those traditionalist commentators who, having accepted the strategy of appeasement as laid out by Cardinal Burke, are now refusing to call out Pope Leo for his errors and have taken to chastising those who do have the fortitude to expose him.
When we add our approval of the new Pope’s actions and words to that already given by the mainstream Church and the world at large, we only magnify the errors and soothe guilty consciences, putting souls at risk of eternal damnation.
Attack the weakness
The tactic of attacking an opponent’s weakness is so obvious that it should require no explanation, yet this is precisely what the group we have come to know as “Trad. Inc.” has decided to avoid doing.
The great weakness of Pope Prevost is that he is literally speaking heresy. When he says that “we have to change attitudes before we even think about changing what the Church says about any given question”, this needs to be called out as heresy.
When he says that it is “highly unlikely” rather than impossible, that doctrine on sexuality will change, this needs to be called out as heresy.
No amount of incense, lace or Latin can make up for errors like these. (For an excellent appraisal of the Pope’s disastrous Crux interview, see this video by The Catholic Esquire.)
Swallowing the Bait
Many are overjoyed that Cardinal Burke is to offer a Latin Mass in St. Peter’s during the upcoming Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage. We are told that this is a sign that God has not abandoned His Church (But who says that He has? The neo-counter-revolutionaries certainly do not.) This permission is somehow seen as a gift, an olive branch being held out to traditionalists by the new Pope, as a sign of his good will.
But what has Sun Tzu to say about such a thing? He suggests caution unless the intentions of the enemy are known.
We cannot enter into alliances until we are acquainted with the designs of our neighbours. Do not swallow bait offered by the enemy.
Sun Tzu – On the Art of War, #32-33
The permission given for the Latin Mass does indeed have the appearance of bait intended to harm the traditionalist movement and it is not only “anonymous podcasters” suggesting there is a problem. Respected priests like Fr. Isaac Mary Relyea and Fr. Murr have also expressed their disappointment and fears about the Mass. Fr. Murr even said that St. Peter’s needs to be re-consecrated due to the Pachamama incident, this need being compounded by the more recent appearance of a sodomite pilgrimage group within its walls. (Alas, I have lost the reference video for this comment by Fr. Murr. The link will be added when I track it down.)
The ancient Roman poet, Virgil, had his own warning for cases like this one: “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”. This was a reference to the Trojan Horse, a Grecian gift to the ancient city of Troy, which was filled with soldiers who then infiltrated and utterly destroyed the city and its inhabitants.
It’s worth pointing out that the term, “Greek love”, was used as a euphemism for sodomy by Classical scholars, which brings us back to one of the major themes of this pontificate and a red flag for anyone wishing to make peace with it: homosexuality. Pope Leo’s appointments and those of Pope Francis which Prevost has left in place are an ongoing source of scandal to the faithful.
St. Paul points out exactly what should be our attitude to sodomites and those who tolerate them or condone their sin:
“For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? (2 Cor 6: 14-16)
Scripture would seem to preclude offering Mass in a Church which has been defiled by pagan worship and a depraved, sacrilegious pilgrimage. It only adds to the scandal for Cardinal Burke and the Summorum Pontificum organisers to offer a TLM under such circumstances, yet we are told this is a sign that we are “winning”.
Ignorance of the enemy leads to a defeat
Hence the saying: If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.
Sun Tzu – On the Art of War, #34
There is no question that, at some point in the future, the Church will rise again and our enemies will be thwarted. It shows a lack of faith in Our Lady’s promise of Her Triumph to believe otherwise. Yet until that day comes, the Church Militant will continue to suffer and will, most probably, experience an escalation in suffering and persecution, which only by the grace of God, we will be able to endure. This could be thought of the way that Catholics “know themselves.”
To say that the rallying of Traditionalist troops around a well-meaning, but Modernist, prelate like Cardinal Burke is a sign of the coming Restoration is not only delusional, but it is dangerous. Failing to point out Leo’s errors endangers souls – perhaps not the souls of Traditionalists who are better catechised, but the souls of those countless Novus Ordo catholics – the “normies”, who trust in the pope and uncritically accept what he teaches.
Narcissistic revolutionaries thrive on the tolerance produced by misplaced charity. The silence of Trad. Inc. is a fruit of “knowing oneself but not knowing the enemy.” According to the philosophy of Sun Tzu, such a situation leads to a defeat for every victory.
It may well be that those aligned with Burke will see their Masses protected or restored, but the price of this “victory” could be enormous. Doubtful Catholics who once had the opportunity to be challenged by the Resistance movement, who were provoked to investigate Vatican II and its errors and to question mainstream Catholic narratives, are now being confirmed in their sin by the silence of Trad. Inc.
It is not only sodomites who are at risk of this: when we consider that most Catholics today live in habitual mortal sin via the use of contraception, failing to confess honestly, making sacrilegious Communions, denying dogma such as the Real Presence and extra ecclesiam nulla salus, it offends against charity to allow them to believe that doctrine can change.
Silence is tantamount to saying “to hell with the rest of the Catholic world as long as we have our Masses.” That is the defeat which will be the cost of any perceived victory: a rejection of supernatural charity which will lead to the widespread loss of souls.
Ecclesiastical Freemasonry 