Two Patrons of The Lumen Fidei Institute are amongst the signatories to a new ‘Declaration of the truths relating to some of the most common errors in the life of the Church of our time’. Cardinal Raymond Burke, a regular visitor to Ireland and the keynote speaker at many Catholic Voice conferences, including this year’s conference which will be held in the Limerick Strand Hotel on Saturday 23rd November, is a Patron of our Institute.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider, another signatory to the newly released declaration is also a Patron of The Lumen Fidei Institute. We are proud to be associated with these champions of the Truths of the Catholic Faith at a time when many souls are placed in grave danger of losing their eternal salvation, on account of the widespread errors which are being promoted by many within the Catholic Church.
The declaration comes with an explanatory note which begins:
“In our time the Church is experiencing one of the greatest spiritual epidemics, that is, an almost universal doctrinal confusion and disorientation, which is a seriously contagious danger for spiritual health and eternal salvation for many souls. At the same time one has to recognize a widespread lethargy in the exercise of the Magisterium on different levels of the Church’s hierarchy in our days. This is largely caused by the non-compliance with the Apostolic duty – as stated also by the Second Vatican Council – to “vigilantly ward off any errors that threaten the flock” (Lumen gentium, 25).”
You can read the full text of the explanatory note here.
Explanatory Note to the Declaration of Truths
The Declaration, which can be read in full here – Declaration of Truths… is divided into four sections.
1 The Fundamentals of Faith:
This section briefly explains Catholic teaching on Doctrine, pointing out that whilst doctrine can develop over time, it can never develop in such a way as to contradict previous understandings and Church teaching.
2 The Creed:
There are nine statements confirming particular truths in this section. It deals with the existence of Hell, with false ecumenism, showing that non-Christians do not give to God the same worship as faithful Catholics, with the fact that the only religion willed positively by God is the Catholic Church. God wills all men to become Catholic.
3 The Law of God:
The commandments of God and how they enjoin man to behave in a moral way are outlined in the eighteen points relating to the Law of God. This section shows how the now famous ‘Dubia’ of the four Cardinals should have been answered. It deals with marriage, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, contraception, adultery, divorce, same-sex attraction, and the limits of the civil state as regards marriage.
It points out that the commandments can never be impossible to follow and it corrects the erroneously written paragraph 303 of ‘Amoris Laetitia’ which seems to suggest that sometimes God wills people to remain in their sins because they are incapable of avoiding them.
4 The Sacraments:
The main focus of the last section of the declaration is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the priesthood. It reaffirms Catholic teaching on transubstantiation, on clerical celibacy, on confession and the inviolability of the seal of the confessional and on the Priesthood and Diaconate being reserved to men. It also re-states Catholic teaching that certain persons are not to be admitted to Holy Eucharist on account of a public state of objectively grave sin or on account of adherence to a heretical or schismatic community.
I recommend taking the time to study these two documents and I encourage you to share them far and wide for the greater Honour and Glory of God.
