Don't Exit the Train of Truth!

by Matt Abbott

Picture this: The Train of Truth is slowly approaching its destination. But along the way, it makes several unexpected stops. At one stop, a considerable number of passengers exit the train to the left. At a later stop, a smaller -- but still numerically significant -- group of passengers exits the train to the right. And so it goes, as the Train of Truth continues to slowly roll into the sunset toward its final destination.

This, metaphorically speaking, is the situation within Holy Mother Church today. The "Train of Truth" (the Catholic Church) slowly approaches its final "destination" (the end of time and the Second Coming of Christ), but along the way, many of its "passengers" (members of the Church) exit the train to the left (the liberal dissenters) or to the "right" (the schismatic traditionalists). A sad situation, indeed.

Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I., the archbishop of Chicago, has said that "in the Church, there is no liberal or conservative; there is only truth." Thus, it really is a shame that we must speak about the crisis in the Church by using this political lingo. Yet, it is simply unavoidable, for there is no other way of illustrating how the hierarchy -- and especially the Holy Father -- is repeatedly being attacked from both ends of the spectrum.

Certainly the "dissident left" has been the most noticeable problem of the Church here in the United States and Canada. Groups like Catholics for a Free Choice (pro-abortion), Dignity (pro-homosexual lifestyle), New Ways Ministry (also pro-homosexual lifestyle), and Call to Action (pro-every kind of dissent!) have caused -- and are still causing -- considerable damage to Christ's Church by their outright rejection of her most fundamental doctrinal and moral teachings: the male-only priesthood and the objective evil and sinfulness of contraception, homosexual acts, fornication, masturbation, adultery, and abortion.

These modernist dissenters desire a "democratic" church in which they can elect their leaders and in which they can formulate their own teachings. (In other words, they wish to follow their own brand of Catholicism.) And even though they completely reject the true faith, the liberal dissenters desire to remain "in" the Church so they can undermine the Magisterium and thus sow confusion among the faithful.

Wreaking havoc on the other end of the spectrum, we have what I call the "schismatic right": the Lefebvrites (adherents of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre's Society of St. Pius X), the Feeneyites (followers of the late Fr. Leonard Feeney and his erroneous interpretation of "No salvation outside the Church") and the sedevacantists (who believe that there has been no authentic Pope since Vatican II).

The funny thing about the groups on the "schismatic right" is that none of them actually think they are in schism. They claim to follow Tradition (as they define it, of course) and consider us followers of the "Vatican II" Church to be modernist heretics.

Schismatic traditionalists will attend only the Tridentine Mass because they consider the Novus Ordo Mass to be illicit and an "insult" to our Lord Jesus Christ. They also reject Vatican II altogether and vociferously ridicule John Paul II for his ecumenical efforts and his "heretical" teachings.

So what is the solution to all this? Well, it's really quite simple: Let God be God!

All faithful Catholics can do at this point in time is to remain steadfastly loyal to the Magisterium, continue to learn about and evangelize the true faith to others, and continue to flood Heaven with prayers (especially the holy rosary!). God, in His own time, will intervene in a profound way and correct what so desperately needs to be corrected.

Of course, we have the promise from Christ Himself that the gates of Hell will never prevail against His Church (Matt. 16:18), so rest assured: This train will never stop rolling until it reaches its final -- and glorious -- destination!

(This article originally appeared in The Wanderer.)