RENDER UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S

A MESSAGE FOR THE 22nd SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

There exist in this world two perfect societies.  They are the Church and the State.

While there are many sovereign states in this world, the Church is monolithic and universal.  Until Vatican II, she recognized that her authority came directly from God to his vicar on earth, the Bishop of Rome, who in turn would delegate his authority to each diocesan bishop and religious superior.  These gave to the thousands of parish priests jurisdiction over the faithful, who were then governed in their parishes and missions with that same exact power that had trickled down, via pope and bishops, from God himself.

We often forget, in today's confusing situation, that the jurisdictional authority our priests used to have exists no longer.  Not by choice, but de facto, the priests of any traditional chapel have no authority whatsoever, except what is given to them voluntarily by the faithful of that chapel.  Traditional priests and bishops who are independent of their local diocese have no power other than the ability to confect valid sacraments, and this they do in apparent disobedience to the powers-that-be of the conciliar Church.

It is a dangerous and irregular situation in which we now exist, and we must all recognize the serious step we have taken in choosing to disregard the authority of that Church.  The motivations that drove us into this position are obvious, and the endorsement of our position can actually be found in the spirit of the laws imposed by the authority of God and his Church, namely the overriding principle that all of her laws must serve the salvation of souls. 

As Americans, we have a certain historical advantage in this respect.  The founding fathers of our nation took a similar step when they rebelled against the abuse of the God-given authority of King George III and his ministers.  However, the State is not the Church.  No state is universal, and there is no one-world government.  While the patriots of the American Revolution were able to declare themselves a new nation, we cannot proclaim ourselves to be a new Church.  Luther did that, and he was wrong.  We cannot place ourselves outside the Catholic Church, but we must place ourselves outside the conciliar Church.  It's an improbable and confusing situation, but it is what it is.  In recognizing that the Conciliar Church is not the Catholic Church, we must reject it and continue to render unto God the things that are God's.

As for the things of Caesar, as citizens of this nation, we are obliged to follow and uphold the Constitution of the United States insofar as it does not contradict the "things of God."  It is our civic duty to be patriotic and loyal to a nation that has provided us with so many material benefits and freedoms, and next week we will be reminded of the extent to which we must render unto Caesar...