A review of the Courrier de Rome n°676

A brief review of the latest Courrier de Rome n°676. It is available in French.

Père de Blignières (founder of the Society of St. Vincent Ferrer) wrote an article on the Claves website (FSSP – France) attempting to prove that the right to religious freedom, taught by the Declaration Dignitatis Humanae of the Second Vatican Council, does not oppose the Social Kingship of Christ over human societies. Fr. JM Gleize FSSPX compares the situation to what he describes as the 'lark's mirror' – a tool used by hunters to attract larks, which is actually a trap and a deception. Similarly, he argues that the article published by Fr. de Blignières gives the illusion that the post-Vatican II teachings, especially the declaration of Dignitatis Humanae, align perfectly with the teachings of Gregory XVI and Pius IX. Fr. Gleize critically analyzes how the examples provided by Fr. de Blignières are not the core issue and points out how Fr. de Blignières cunningly avoids addressing the truly problematic texts. These texts, which he once condemned, are against the social kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (Cf Courrier de Rome Feb, 2024). Had he used the correct texts, he would have come into agreement with the doctrinal position of FSSPX regarding the Dignitatis Humanae. A priest of the Society of St. Vincent Ferrer (Père Antoine-Marie De Araujo) responded to Fr. Gleize’s article on the same website, defending his founder’s argument. The latest issue of Courrier de Rome contains Abbé Gleize's response to Père Antoine-Marie De Araujo. The argument of Fr. De Araujo (in a nutshell) is that Dignitatis Humanae does not teach religious indifference ex officio.

Fr. Gleize replies that ‘While it does not directly teach religious indifference, the Declaration on religious freedom (and in the authentic sense given by John Paul II and Benedict XVI) teaches the indifference of public authorities, in the sense that they have the duty not to prevent the public exercise of religions, both true and false, by virtue of the human person's right not to be prevented from acting, privately or publicly, according to their conscience in religious matters.’ (#24). Fr. Gleize condemns this false utopian understanding of the Dignitatis Humanae. The principle of religious freedom, as preached by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis, and as the Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer would like to defend it, strictly equates to the relativism condemned by Pius IX, a relativism that takes the apparent good of freedom as a pretext: it is called liberalism!

The third article is a translated text of Pope St. Pius X in an audience to a Jewish leader, where he firmly establishes the Catholic truth regarding the Jewish religion and the new state they wanted to establish.

For English text: https://ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/primary-texts-from-the-history-of-the-relationship/herzl1904

Fr. Therasian