The Voice of One Crying in the Desert

Pope Francis speaking at the
50th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops

In his recent address commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis expounded upon the meaning of "synodality" as a "walking together" of the prelature and the laity - a laity which, as Pope Francis repeatedly underscored, is "infallible in matters of faith." That such infallibility is actually predicated upon "acceptance of the Church's teaching on matters of faith and morals, a willingness to follow the commands of God, and courage both to correct one's brothers and sisters, and also to accept correction oneself" went unmentioned by the Holy Father. I suppose mentioning these vital dispositions would automatically render a great deal of the flock voiceless. How many progressives and revolutionaries in the Church actually uphold every de fide doctrine in its true and proper sense? I've yet to meet one. But I digress.

As many of you know, numerous laypersons have been invited by the Synod Fathers to speak as representatives of the "infallible laity" in order to facilitate the "dynamic of listening" (?) so vital to our Catholic Synodal Church. Quite a few of them turned out to be - quelle surprise! - advocates for changing Church discipline regarding the reception of Holy Communion. One presentation, however, stands out as a brilliant example of what an authentic sensus fidei compels any God-fearing Catholic to say in the face of this potentially catastrophic Synod: that of Dr. Anca-Maria Cernea, President of the Association of Catholic Doctors of Bucharest, Romania. She made the following presentation to Pope Francis and the gathered Synod Fathers this past Friday, which I highly recommend to all my readers:

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Dr. Anca-Maria Cernea

Your Holiness, Synod Fathers, Brothers and Sisters, I represent the Association of Catholic Doctors from Bucharest.

I am from the Romanian Greek Catholic Church. My father was a Christian political leader, who was imprisoned by the communists for 17 years. My parents were engaged to marry, but their wedding took place 17 years later. My mother waited all those years for my father, although she didn't even know if he was still alive. They have been heroically faithful to God and to their engagement. Their example shows that God's grace can overcame terrible social circumstances and material poverty.

We, as Catholic doctors, defending life and family, can see this is, first of all, a spiritual battle. Material poverty and consumerism are not the primary cause of the family crisis. The primary cause of the sexual and cultural revolution is ideological.

Our Lady of Fatima has said that Russia’s errors would spread all over the world. It was first done under a violent form, classical Marxism, by killing tens of millions. Now it’s being done mostly by cultural Marxism. There is continuity from Lenin's sex revolution, through Gramsci and the Frankfurt school, to the current-day gay-rights and gender ideology.

Classical Marxism pretended to redesign society, through violent take-over of property. Now the revolution goes deeper; it pretends to redefine family, sex identity and human nature.

This ideology calls itself progressive. But it is nothing else than the ancient serpent’s offer, for man to take control, to replace God, to arrange salvation here, in this world. It's an error of religious nature, it's Gnosticism. It's the task of the shepherds to recognize it, and warn the flock against this danger.

Seek ye therefore first the Kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.

The Church's mission is to save souls. Evil, in this world, comes from sin. Not from income disparity or "climate change". The solution is: Evangelization. Conversion. Not an ever increasing government control. Not a world government. These are nowadays the main agents imposing cultural Marxism to our nations, under the form of population control, reproductive health, gay rights, gender education, and so on. What the world needs nowadays is not limitation of freedom, but real freedom, liberation from sin. Salvation.

Our Church was suppressed by the soviet occupation. But none of our 12 bishops betrayed their communion with the Holy Father. Our Church survived thanks to our bishops’ determination and example in resisting prisons and terror. Our bishops asked the community not to follow the world. Not to cooperate with the communists.

Now we need Rome to tell the world: "Repent of your sins and turn to God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near".

Not only us, the Catholic laity, but also many Christian Orthodox are anxiously praying for this Synod. Because, as they say, if the Catholic Church gives in to the spirit of this world, it is going to be very difficult for all the other Christians to resist it.