By BRIAN CLOWES
(Editor’s Note: Brian Clowes has been director of research and training at Human Life International since 1995. For an electronic copy of the book Call to Action or Call to Apostasy, consisting of a detailed description of the current forms of dissent and how to fight them, e-mail him at bclowes@hli.org.)
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“Further, none is more skillful, none more astute than they, in the employment of a thousand noxious devices; for they play the double part of rationalist and Catholic, and this so craftily that they easily lead the unwary into error; and as audacity is their chief characteristic, there is no conclusion of any kind from which they shrink or which they do not thrust forward with pertinacity and assurance….The Modernist sustains and includes within himself a manifold personality; he is a philosopher, a believer, a theologian, a historian, a critic, an apologist, a reformer” — Pope St. Pius X, encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (“On the Doctrine of the Modernists”), September 8, 1907, 3,5.
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Dissent cripples the apostolic mission of the Catholic Church, translating directly into the loss of many souls. As we have seen, the favorite tactic the Devil uses against the Culture of Life — and especially against the Church — is division (Mark 3:25). The more energy we spend squabbling among ourselves over settled questions, the more we are distracted from our vital life-saving and soul-saving work and divided against one another.
And this, of course, is exactly the mission of dissenting groups. They are mere front groups for the Culture of Death, and their purpose is to divide and confuse us. They fan the flames of division and deceit in the hopes of paralyzing and sidelining the Church, the mightiest foe of the Culture of Death.
Every faithful Catholic is deeply concerned about what is happening in the Catholic Church today. She is under siege by those who would undermine or even destroy her most basic dogma and teachings.
However, this has been the situation since the founding of the Church at the original Pentecost, and it will be this way until our Lord returns again. The traitors will always be with us, stamped from the same mold as their spiritual father, Judas Iscariot.
Many faithful Catholics feel helpless and anxious about the situation, but concern alone will not safeguard the faith. Decisive action by a large number of priests and lay people is also required if the Church is to persevere. It is no exaggeration to say that, by fighting dissent in your parish or diocese, you are contributing to the perseverance of the Church and thereby assisting in the salvation of many Catholics who might otherwise be lukewarm or lost altogether.
There are many things an individual Catholic can do to defend the One True Faith, and these actions fall into two general categories. You can either confront the dissenters directly, or, if for some reason you cannot do this, you can support those who are battling on the front lines.
The next several articles include a number of suggestions for fulfilling your role as a member of the Church Militant. These proposals are only a starting point; anything you can do to get rid of the baleful influence of the modernist dissenters is precious in the eyes of God and Holy Mother Church.
How the Dissenters Operate. All dissenting organizations operate primarily by stealth. They employ a tactic called “infiltration and subversion,” which means that they present themselves as harmless Catholic scholars who preach and teach about social justice, freedom, inclusiveness, and toleration. Meanwhile, they actively work to conceal their extremist beliefs, goals, and activities.
When the local diocese or parish accepts the dissenters’ facade and begins to cooperate with them in any capacity, the group has successfully infiltrated it, or gained a foothold. Once established, the dissenters do their real work, which is the subversion, or undermining, of authentic Catholic teaching regarding sexual ethics.
How does a group of “ordinary” Catholics fight such expert and experienced deception and treachery?
Faithful Catholics often feel helpless and anxious as they see what dissenters are doing to Holy Mother Church, and the almost universal indifference toward the systematic subversion of Church teachings. They know that, if they attempt to take action against the dissenters, they will be stonewalled, stereotyped, and ridiculed.
This leads to a kind of paralysis among orthodox Catholics and a resulting unwillingness to take action against heresy. They think “What’s the use? If I raise my head and protest, I’ll simply be labeled a fanatic. Nobody will listen to me then and that will be the end of it.”
Experienced dissent busters have heard this plaintive story from bewildered Catholics many times, and know that it springs from a feeling of helplessness and anxiety.
A feeling of helplessness is caused by a lack of power, and a lack of power is caused by disorganization. Anxiety is caused by uncertainty, and uncertainty is caused by lack of knowledge.
Knowledge dispels anxiety and gives us confidence.
Organization eliminates helplessness and gives us power.
Before we can defeat the dissenters and their agenda, we must look upon ourselves as members of the Church Militant who have enlisted as Soldiers of Christ (miles Jesu). Next, we need to study the dissenters in order to learn exactly what kind of people we are dealing with and what their beliefs are. Then we must examine their tactics and their arguments and learn how to defeat them. Finally, we must take concerted and organized action against them, while realizing that it is Satan, not the dissenters themselves, who is the real enemy.
Over the years, experienced dissent fighters have developed a very effective method for fighting the hundreds of dissenting groups that lead so many souls astray.
This general procedure is summarized by the acronym “POPE” — Pray, Organize, Plan, and Expose.
The First Step: Pray.
General Intentions: If you feel called to fight the dissenters, you must first of all pray.
Every true Catholic must pray for Holy Mother Church and her faithful priests and religious. The battle between the Culture of Life and the Culture of Death is like an iceberg; the part of the struggle that is visible to us is only a small portion of the conflict. The vast majority takes place in the invisible supernatural sphere. Prayer for the general intentions of the Church and the Holy Father is essential to the success of our temporal efforts, and prayer for specific intentions regarding the defense of the faith is also most efficacious.
In particular, we should remember that the most powerful enemy of Satan and his minions is the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy. Our prayers to Mary never go unanswered.
Keep in mind that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most powerful prayer of all. If you can, try to attend at least one extra weekday Mass a week and offer intentions for the conversion of specific dissenters.
Specific Intentions. Eventually, you will have to determine your specific role in fighting dissent. Ask God for guidance, and ask Him to make your course of action abundantly clear. Listen to what He has to say with a willing heart and an open mind. If He has a mission for you, He will make it clear to you. But you have to faithfully listen in order to hear.
You must recognize that you will be facing an implacable enemy that represents a direct and immediate threat to the Catholic faith. This enemy, unwittingly inspired and directed by Satan, naturally uses all of the Devil’s tools, including lies, deception, and the most vicious of personal attacks.
If you become effective at fighting dissent — and you must set out to become effective — the dissenters will relentlessly attack you. You must assess your own personal situation and that of your family, and ensure that both can hold up under the additional stress you will inevitably have to endure.
Keep in mind that this is no abstract or hypothetical war. Every Catholic is called to defend the faith. Throughout the ages, the Catholic Church has been in continuous danger because she has been under constant attack by the Devil, who roams throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls. As terrible as attacks from the outside can be, they pale in comparison to attacks from within by people who represent themselves as Catholics while actively undermining the faith.
We must stress once again that many souls are at stake. Those who believe the dissenters are being deceived by Satan; those who hold fast to the Truth will be saved. When you fight error and heresy, you are contributing directly to the salvation of souls and following in the footsteps of a long line of saints who have done exactly the same thing.
Remember that fighting for the faith requires sacrifice. It can be a difficult and even dangerous task at times. You will be reviled and mocked; you will feel alone and abandoned; and you will feel like giving up and quitting the field of battle at times.
But if you endure, our Lord will reward you richly with something that all human beings long for: Perfect peace and joy, the likes of which you can find no place else on Earth! You will be able to confidently proclaim with St. Paul: “I am filled with comfort. With all our affliction, I am overjoyed” (2 Cor. 7:4).
No reward could possibly be greater.
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