The main purpose of this Newsletter and blog, called "That Your Faith May Not Fail" and "Unfailing" for short, is to help my fellow Catholics remain faithful to the true Magisterium and the true Church during the difficult times ahead. This is meant to be part encouragement and part instruction. And if I teach something that you already knew to be true, understand that reading it again, perhaps presented with a somewhat different point of view, will help to strengthen belief in that teaching. Then, if you wish to comment on the articles at Unfailing, please have the same intention, to edify your fellow Catholics, and not to argue or complain. Anyone who attacks Pope Francis, any other Pope, or any Ecumenical Council will be ejected from Unfailing. It is for supporters of the Roman Pontiffs only.
The Difficulties Ahead
Our Lady at La Salette: "Up, ye children of light, and fight! For behold, the age of ages, the end, the extremity is at hand! The Church passes into darkness. The world will be in a state of consternation, perplexity and confusion."
Those words apply more so to the second part of the tribulation, and less so to the first part of the tribulation, which begins in a few years or less. As for the immediate present, we are on the threshold of the end times. So we suffer, awaiting a time of greater suffering.
Of the difficulties of today, you are already well aware: the Covid-19 pandemic, the disputed election in the U.S., the schism in the Church and the rebellion against Pope Francis, and a teetering economy in most places, and more. Most members of the Church, on the right and on the left, have departed from the true faith. The liberals think they are faithful because they lack the errors of the conservatives, and vice versa. But just as Christ criticized both the conservative Pharisees and the liberal Sadducees, errors abound on both sides in the Church today. Things are about to get much worse.
And as things get worse, we must trust in prayer, self-denial (fasting, etc.), and works of mercy toward others. We must also trust in the Church, which can never go astray. Faith is first. When a teaching of the Church seems, to your fallen reason, to be in error, do not laugh, out of pride, and reject the teaching. Instead, accept the teaching and submit your fallen reason, your mind and your heart, to what the Church teaches. The type and degree of errors that are possible in non-infallible are limited. We will discuss this going forward, but from the outset, choose a position of faith and dig in for the difficulties ahead.
The World
In the world, the Muslim extremists have been held back from their plans by the Covid Pandemic. But they are just as determined as ever to make war against the U.S. and Europe. Iran was particularly aggressive in 2019, until the Pandemic took the wind out of their sails. But they could resume this behavior soon.
The world economy has been harmed by the pandemic, very severely, but in a way that is not evident yet. The governments, companies, and individuals are essentially running on credit. Money is just a token for work-hours by human persons which produce goods and services of real value. With the pandemic, those work-hours have plummeted, meaning the economy is in serious trouble.
Another shutdown is underway in the U.K. Then in the U.S., the number of cases of Covid-19 is on the increase, just as I predicted a couple of months ago. My predicted number of cases for September and October were each off by less than 10%. My predicted number of deaths in August was off by less than one percent.
See the latest predictions for Covid-19 cases this winter:
The number of Covid cases this winter in the U.S. alone will be in the millions each month, because Covid-19 is a seasonal disease. The high months of Dec, Jan, Feb, and March could all see more than 3 million cases, and as many as 5 million cases, per month. And already it seems that these predicted values might be still too low.
The reason that Covid-19 is seasonal is that vitamin D levels in the general population fall in the winter. In the U.S., about half the population will have a vitamin D deficiency in winter, and another 20+% will have a vitamin D insufficiency as well (Kroll 2015 PLOS One). And Covid-19 is very responsive to vitamin D levels. A nationwide vitamin D supplementation program would stop this winter wave of Covid-19 cases cold in its tracks. Failing that, the nation will be forced to rely on a severe shutdown that might wreck the economy.
To protect yourself and your family this winter from Covid-19, take vitamin D (and a few other supplements). You can find my detailed recommendations for supplements at Covid.us.org If you are not taking vitamin D, then you are unnecessarily risking your health and your life.
Another Covid-19 problem that will become worse is LongCovid. A certain percentage of persons who contract Covid-19 do not become well. As time passes, the number of persons in that condition, called LongCovid or Longhaulers, increases. This is going to be a very serious burden on our healthcare system.
If you have LongCovid or know someone who has it, read what Dr. Yo says on Twitter (@YoDoctorYo). He is working with Dr. Bruce Patterson of incellDx.com on a new diagnosis and treatment program. The treatments are readily available prescription medications. The diagnosis is done by working with your local primary care physician. See Dr. Yo on Twitter for more information. And here's the YouTube video by Dr. Yo.
Be prepared for a possible long Shutdown in the U.S. and other nations this winter. If Covid-19 follows the vitamin D pattern like other seasonal viruses, the pandemic will not subside until May to September of 2021. And this winter will be very bad. There may also be civil unrest due to economic problems and controversy over the election. Make certain you have sufficient resources in your home and family for various possible situations.
The Church
It is not our place to judge each teaching of a Pope or an Ecumenical Council. We are the lambs, not the shepherds. We are called by Christ into His fold, which is the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Notice that the true Church can be recognized by these marks. There is only one Church, She is catholic, meaning universal, and she can never go astray, because She is holy. And then the one true Church is only that institution, which is both human and divine, like Her Savior, only that one institution led by the successors to the Apostles, by the Roman Pontiff, who is the successor to Peter, and by the body of Bishops, who are the successors to the other Apostles.
Those who accuse Pope Francis of grave errors in his teachings, of apostasy, or heresy, or idolatry, have committed at least three grave sins. They commit the sin of schism, as they reject the teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff. The commit the sin of heresy, as it is a dogma of the ordinary universal Magisterium (proven by the many times the Magisterium has taught the same doctrine across many centuries) that the Pope cannot err gravely in his teachings and that his faith cannot fail (per Lk 22:32). And then that same dogma was taught by the First Vatican Council, as the charism of truth and of never failing faith of the Roman Pontiffs.
Then, in addition to schism and heresy, they add the sin of grave scandal, as they cause confusion and distress among the weak in faith, making them think that the Pope has gone astray or is leading us astray -- two things that can never happen in the Church, due to the promises of Christ. The confusion in the Church is not caused by the Roman Pontiff, but by those who fight against him.
Do not let the papal accusers worry you. The grace of God keeps the Church always indefectible. And the Pope, as the head of the Church, is also indefectible. He can never teach grave error, nor fail in faith by apostasy, or heresy or idolatry. A non-infallible teaching of the Pope can possibly err only to a limited extent, such as in the evaluation of temporal circumstances. But since no grave errors are possible in a papal teaching, if there seems to be error, we should submit our minds and hearts to the teaching of Christ through the Pope. We should not demand that an explanation be given, to the satisfaction of our fallen reason, before we will believe. For we do not live by reason alone, but by faith and reason, with faith being the greater of the two.
Those who accuse the Pope, have lost their faith. They do not believe any teachings except those that accord with their own reason. In this way, they live only by reason, and their faith is a sham. Those only have faith who believe the teachings of the Church even when it is contrary to their own understanding. Trust the Lord out of Love for Him. Trust His Church, His grace, and His Roman Pontiff.
Sacred Scripture
Everything asserted to be true by the Bible is certainly true, on every subject about which the Bible makes an assertion: history, physical science, faith, morals, salvation, and any other subject. The Bible is a history book, it is the history of salvation of the human race.
Now if an assertion in Scripture seems to be in error or seems to contradict another assertion, we must have faith that there is no error or contradiction, but only apparent ones. For Scripture is the Word of God. Similarly, if a Pope or Council teaches what seems to be error, we must lead with our faith. We must first believe that it is truth from divine revelation. And subsequently we can seek an understanding of that truth.
That Sacred Scripture is entirely inspired and therefore entirely inerrant is a well-established dogma. To say otherwise is heresy. Do not be weak in faith. Believe what the Sacred Scriptures teach. Here are the teachings of the Church on the inerrancy of Scripture: Seven Words On Inerrancy
The Schism will Worsen
Roman Pontiffs do not back down. They are not impressed with the number of signatures on a petition, or with the credentials of the signatories. Pope Francis is not going to change his teaching, and he will continue to teach on various subjects, contrary to the poor understanding of the Faith found among his opponents. I was surprised that Fratelli Tutti received little criticism, and yet there was a large reaction to some comments he made years ago, which turned up in a movie. It is uncertain how exactly this will play out. But in the end, the papal accusers will be forced to leave the Church. They will no longer be able to go to Mass, not even to a Catholic Latin Mass. They will not be able to be members of even the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, which is the far end of orthodox conservative Catholicism. They will become sedevacantists. They will claim that Pope Francis is not the valid Pope.
This is already the position of that popular papal accuser: Carlo Vigano. He has made it very clear that he does not believe Pope Francis is the valid Pope. He thinks Pope Francis is an antipope leading an anti-Church. He does not submit to the authority of Pope Francis, nor of Vatican II. And his position is increasingly becoming adopted by the Francis critics.
Who will lead the papal accusers, after they publicly denounce Pope Francis, and claim that he is not the valid Pope? I think Vigano is a likely candidate. He is already speaking as if he were an antipope. He speaks as if Francis were not the real Pope. He speaks to the whole body of the faithful and to all the Bishops as well. It is already as if he were a false clamant to the papacy.
What will cause this final break in the current Schism? It may be that Pope Francis will allow women deacons, and then begin ordaining women and begin placing them in parishes. This would absolutely force the Francis accusers out of the Church, as they would not be able to go to Mass in any parish, as they are entirely intolerant of those who disagree with them. And they would not therefore sit quietly while a woman acts as Deacon at a Mass. The schism would very rapidly worsen in that case. This type of change, women deacons, would also cause many conservatives who have not criticized the Pope much so far, to break away suddenly and join the papal accusers. So this seems to me the most likely cause of the final schismatic controversy.
Of course, the Magisterium has the authority to decide the limits of every Sacrament. Peter holds the keys. If he admits women to the deaconate, then they are admitted. He cannot err gravely on doctrine or discipline, so he cannot be mistaken on this subject. Women cannot be priests or Bishops because the Church lacks the authority to ordain women to the priesthood (and a bishop is a kind of priest). But after Christ returns, that could be changed by Christ. So be careful not to assume too much regarding what the Church can and cannot do.
As faithful disciples of Christ, we have to stop judging every word and deed of every Pope, and stop condemning or criticizing or disagreeing with whatever differs from our own thoughts. Do we worship Christ, or do we inwardly worship ourselves? Sinful secular society has taught us to exalt our own understanding above that of authority, and to distrust those who are in authority. But that is not what Christ teaches. We must be faithful disciples and accept whatever the Magisterium teaches.
Whom Do You Follow?
Some of what I teach is simply the dogmas of the Catholic Faith; other teachings have been taught only non-infallibly by the Magisterium. And then I also at time present my own speculative theology. I am entirely capable of misunderstanding, a dogma, a non-infallible doctrine, or a question of speculative theology. Always adhere to what the Popes and Councils teach, to what the Bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome teach, over what I say.
By the same principle, to remain faithful to Christ and His Church, we must all be on guard against following any particular author, speaker, priest, or bishop in contradiction to the Popes, the Councils, and the body of Bishops. Similarly, we must not follow any culture, whether it is secular culture, the liberal subculture, traditionalism, the conservative subculture, a culture built around a particular national-religious point of view or built around a claimed private revelation, or anything else above the Church.
I suppose the greatest danger is in following our own understanding, our own mind and heart, above what the Church or the Pope says. Pride is easy and humility is difficult. If you think the Pope is wrong, please always remember that if a Roman Pontiff, who has the charism of assistance from the Holy Spirit whenever he teaches, even when he is teaching non-infallibly or deciding a matter of discipline, can err (to a limited extent), then certainly you and I can err to a greater extent. He has charisms (divinely-conferred gifts) that are only given to the Roman Pontiff; and he has the charisms given to every Bishop. And only Bishops and the Pope can exercise the Magisterium at all. So his non-infallible teachings are better than our opinions.
Then, when the Pope has a mere private theological opinion, it is still arrogance for any of us to assume that our private theological opinion is better. I often read people commenting that a particular statement by the Pope was only his opinion, not a magisterial teaching. Fine. But his theological opinions have much greater weight than any of the priests or theologians or bloggers or video bloggers who are arrogantly assuming that they must be right, and the Pope must be wrong, at every turn, merely because it is a matter of opinion. It is not possible for their opinions to be wrong? They speak as if they cannot possibly err on any matter, and then they loudly proclaim that the Pope could be wrong because he's not speaking ex cathedra. This is hypocrisy.
We should all first proclaim that we can each be wrong. And it does not confirm our opinion that the majority view of the conservative Catholic subculture is the same. That subculture was never imbued by God with the ability to teach infallibly. It has been given no special charisms, the way that the Pope and the Bishops have charisms to teach the faithful.
And when individual Bishops, like Burke, Vigano, Schneider and a few others oppose the Pope at every turn, openly refuse submission to his teachings, and make grave accusations against the Pope and the Bishops in communion with him, they have thereby lost all their authority. Their errors are that of schism and heresy. Individual Bishops do not have the role to oversee the Roman Pontiff, and to "correct" him whenever he speaks or acts contrary to their understanding of the tradition. Bishops who refuse to be taught or corrected by the Roman Pontiff are in a state of schism, and are automatically excommunicated. They have lost all their authority in the Church.
It is not fraternal correction to accuse the Roman Pontiff of teaching grave error or of failing gravely in faith, as such things cannot happen. I've explained this in my past posts and in my books, "In Defense of Pope Francis" and "The Indefectibility of the Pope". And I'll be explaining it in detail in my "Unfailing" articles. But for now, without going into great detail, it is quite certain that the First Vatican Council taught that Popes have the charism of truth and of never failing faith, which means that Popes cannot teach or commit heresy. In addition, the very same teaching has been taught by the Magisterium many times in the history of the Church. So it is an infallible teaching under the ordinary universal Magisterium and under Conciliar Infallibility.
Pope Francis has been accepted by the body of Bishops as the Roman Pontiff, therefore he must be the one valid Pope, the successor of Peter. And every valid Pope cannot teach grave error in his non-infallible teachings, and cannot err at all in his infallible teachings. Then, in matters of discipline, again, no grave errors are possible, as the Church is indefectible, and the Pope is prevented from harming that indefectibility.
Money
Many of the conservative Catholic media outlets have adopted a very critical, if not outright schismatic, attitude towards Pope Francis. Carlo Vigano and Athanasius Schneider are treated as if they were the two highest ranking prelates in the Church, almost as if they were each a type of Pope. And the Roman Pontiff is opposed at every turn. There's a theological reason for this position. These are mainly conservative media outlets. And the Pope is liberal. But there's more to it than that. This change happened more slowly in the media outlets, than on the internet in general.
It took a little while, but these outlets realized that most of their conservative readership wanted article critical of Pope Francis, very critical of him. And whichever outlets were the most negative towards the Pope, received the largest readership. More readers, means more money. There's a lot of Catholic money in treating the Roman Pontiff as an opponent of true Catholicism.
How much money can a Catholic media outlet raise, if the cause is to fight against abortion? I don't know, really. But how much money if the cause is to fight against Pope Francis? There is serious money in opposing the Roman Pontiff. Books that attack the Roman Pontiff have become very popular among Catholics. It used to be the case, during the reign of Pope Saint John Paul II, that books about the Pope, casting him in a very favorable light, as a future Saint, were popular. What a difference!
About Unfailing
On the question of money, just to be entirely upfront, "That Your Faith May Not Fail" (Unfailing), is a free Newsletter and blog, in support of Pope Francis and every Pope and Council. And its main purpose is to help strengthen the faithful during difficult times. But eventually, there will be a paid version of the Newsletter. So, those who have the free version (which is the only version right now) will continue to receive articles for free. But eventually there will be a premium paid version (perhaps $5/month) that will have some additional articles not available for free. That is only a possibility. But I wanted everyone to know upfront about that possibility.
The other possibility is that there won't be enough interest even in the free version, and it might end. I have to put my efforts where they will do the most good. So when I put time into a project, it has to have some success in spiritual terms for it to continue. I won't even attempt a paid version if there is not enough interest in the free version.
So... tell your Catholic friends.
Unfailing will publish one or two Newsletter-articles per week for now. I hope that's not too many.
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Quite true what you have written. Faith and reason, where faith is the greater of the two. And if reason is to be second then it must not itself be hampered by a bad will. Will to present your reason with something favorable to the Pope such as this. If all you ever read is papal accuser then that is what you will think. Thanks Ronald
‘I hope that is not too many’ - there cannot be too many of such a good thing! You have saved me from being led seriously astray by the blogs and podcasts of the ‘Trads’ and the Sedevacantists. I shall mention this newsletter and your blog The Reproach of Christ at every opportunity. Thank you and may the Lord bless you always.