The greatest apostasy of Vatican II

In Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate, we see a grave dissention from truth of Sacred Scripture as well as that which has been infallibly proclaimed by the Church. This document pulls away from the truth that there is only one God to serve and not only recognizes, but urges Christians, to accept and encourage adherence to aspects of other religions which do not serve Christ or recognize Jesus as the Messiah, Lord, or God Incarnate.

“Throughout history even to the present day, there is found among different peoples a certain awareness of a hidden power, which lies behind the course of nature and the events of human life. At times there is present even a recognition of a supreme being, or still more of a Father. This awareness and recognition results in a way of life that is imbued with a deep religious sense…..Thus, in Hinduism men explore the divine mystery and express it both in the limitless riches of myth and the accurately defined insights of philosophy. They seek release from the trials of the present life by ascetical practices, profound meditation and recourse to God in confidence and love. Buddhism in its various forms testifies to the essential inadequacy of this changing world. It proposes a way of life by which men can, with confidence and trust, attain a state of perfect liberation and reach supreme illumination either through their own efforts or by the aid of divine help. So, too, other religions which are found throughout the world attempt in their own ways to calm the hearts of men by outlining a program of life covering doctrine, moral precepts and sacred rites.

The Catholic Church rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for the manner of life and conduct, the precepts and doctrines which, although differing in any ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of truth which enlightens all men……The Church has also a high regard for the Muslims. They worship God, who is one, living, and subsistent, merciful, and almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has also spoken to men. They strive to submit themselves without reserve to the hidden decrees of God, just as Abraham submitted himself to God’s plan, to whose faith Muslims eagerly link their own. Although not acknowledging him as God, they venerate Jesus as a prophet, his virgin Mother they also honor, and even at times devoutly invoke….For this reason they highly esteem an upright life and worship God, especially by way of prayer, alms-deeds, and fasting.” (Nostra Aetate)

Here is the problem. Non-Catholic religions of the world reject the truth of Divine Revelation. Even Christian churches such as Protestantism reject the totality of truth and revelation. Sacred Scripture is clear when it comes to adhering to all of truth and, particularly, obeying and honoring the one, true, supreme, and sovereign God. There is only one church, one truth, and one unity, as proclaimed throughout Scripture and the Magisterium.

The Second Vatican Council continues in going deeper to dissent from truth and says, in Nostra Aetate, “Let Christians, while witnessing to their own faith and way of life, acknowledge, preserve and encourage the spiritual and moral truths found among non-Christians, also their social life and culture.”

This is a clear violation of the commands Christ gave in Matthew 28 when he says, “all power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

I don’t know about you, but that does not leave much room for giving acceptance and encouragement to faiths that do not line up with the Church and faith Christ taught. Giving credence to a faith such as Islam, which rejects the Trinity, is in direct conflict with that which Christ says to do in Matthew 28. You cannot baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit if you do not believe in the Son. You cannot believe in the true God revealed in Scripture if you reject part of the Trinity.

In his encyclical Satis Cognitum (1896), Pope Leo XIII wrote: “There is clear and abundant proof in Sacred Scripture that there is one genuine Church of Jesus Christ…According to factual history, then, Jesus Christ did not plan and establish a Church made up of a number of organizations that were genetically similar, yet separate and without those bonds of unity which make the Church one and indivisible as we profess in the Creed, ‘I believe in one Church’…When Jesus Christ spoke of this mystical structure, he spoke of one Church only which he called his own: ‘I will build my Church’ (Matt. 16:18). Since no other church besides this one was founded by Jesus Christ, no other church which could be imagined can be the true Church of Christ.”

If you want to know something even more clear, in 1854 Pope Pius IX warned against following the beliefs and objectives of man as opposed to God in relation to the way of salvation.

“We want your episcopal care and vigilance to be on the alert to keep away from men’s minds, with all possible effort, that opinion which is as unholy as it is deadly. We mean the opinion that a way of eternal salvation can be found in any religion whatever, with all the learning and ingenuity that is yours, teach the people entrusted to your care that the dogmas of the Catholic faith are not in the slightest opposed to the mercy and justice of God.”

He also taught, in that same encyclical (Singulari Quadam): “It must, of course, be held as a matter of faith that outside the apostolic Roman Church no one can be saved, that the Church is the only ark of salvation, and that whoever does not enter it will perish in the flood.”

If we want to continue a journey through our Church’s history then we would find Pope Pius IX condemned the concepts of every man is free to embrace whatever religion they choose, men can find a way of salvation in any religion, and Protestantism is just a different form of the same religion. He strongly condemned such beliefs and concepts in his 1864 Syllabus of Errors.

It is clear that in this one, single, yet diametrically opposed to truth belief that is promulgated within the documents of the Second Vatican Council, is a dissent from the truth of Christ, Sacred Scripture, and presents an eternal danger to the salvation of countless souls.

The First Commandment we are given by God is “you shall have no other gods before me.” (Exodus 20:3) To proclaim that it is acceptable to believe anything other than what has been Divinely Revealed to the Church as Truth by God is to be opposed to the truth of that same Divine Revelation.

If we break this down in the simplest way: Hinduism is pantheistic and polytheistic. Hindus worship animals as gods. Buddhism teachings nothing about God and emphasizes all beings are essentially equal and that mankind is no different from any animal. It also teaches metempsychosis, which essentially says that when one dies their soul is reincarnated as an animal or maybe even another person.

Islam denies the true Divinity of Christ, as even recognized in Nostra Aetate. Jesus proclaimed Himself the Son of God and suffered for our sins. There is no way the sacrifice of Christ on the cross at Calvary would have been sufficient to pave the path for our forgiveness of sins if He were not perfect and spotless in every way. There is no way his sacrifice would have been enough for our salvation without Him being the Messiah. Muslims, by their very belief of denying the divinity of Christ, deny the Trinity.

The results of Vatican II have been devastating to many Catholics. It has caused dissention, disagreements, division, and even many to fall away from the faith. It is apostasy at its best.  Yet, we stand fast that Christ will protect His church. He promised St. Peter the church will withstand and just as she has for many decades and through many apostasies, she will withstand the damage of Vatican II.