After Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, Catholics worldwide are asking: Who will be the next Pope?
This is a reverent and filial petition to the next Pope:
Holy Father, were it not for the promise of Our Lord Jesus Christ that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” against the Church (Matt. 16:18), we could affirm, with sorrow in our hearts, that throughout history, never has the Barque of Peter been tossed around in such a dramatic and universal storm as today’s.
Indeed, the “silent apostasy” of millions within the Church is obvious — as a recent Synod of Bishops verified.
Fundamental truths of the faith such as the resurrection of Christ, the virginity of Mary, the real presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, the existence of Hell, etc. are frivolously challenged even by high-ranking members of the Church hierarchy.
Basic moral principles such as the indissolubility of marriage (and the consequent unlawfulness of remarriage for divorcees), the grave moral deformity of homosexual acts, the monstrous crime of abortion, the stunning cruelty of euthanasia, the immorality of contraceptive devices, etc. are all deemed passé, with many clamoring for their review in light of the new social customs.
The gravity of this picture is compounded by the crisis in the clergy and religious congregations and their vertiginous drop in vocations. This crisis was accentuated by the rebellion of Austrian parish priests — which echoed among priests the world over — and the scandalous revolt of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (U.S.A.) against a just and necessary intervention by Vatican authorities.
To the drama of this internal crisis must be added the aggressions of external enemies. First, the spread of the “secularist tsunami” in Western nations, inducing governments to force the Church and Catholic institutions to become accomplices in countless violations of the Law of God, under the pretext that the State recognizes no law above the people’s sovereignty.
Second, the merciless persecution of Christians in numerous Muslim countries and in those still groaning under Communism, such as China, Vietnam, North Korea and Cuba.
In face of this total opposition to God and His Law in public and private life, can anyone imagine what the world will be like in 20 or 30 years? It will probably be more tragic than the state of mankind at the end of the Roman Empire.
But, just as in the middle of those ruins, a Saint Gregory and a Saint Leo the Great were able to convert the barbarians and lay the foundations for the most beautiful and refined civilization ever known in history — Christian civilization — Your Holiness too can victoriously confront the present and dramatic religious, moral, and social crisis, with the charisma proper to the Vicar of Christ and with the help of Heaven.
That heavenly help and the final victory have already been announced by Our Lady at Fatima when she warned that the world would suffer great punishments and Holy Church would undergo much persecution, while promising that “Finally, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.”
Kneeling before Your Holiness, we implore: Do not become enmeshed in the snares of atheist or agnostic secularism. Fight them with confidence in Divine assistance, and millions upon millions of souls will be led back to the right path! Say but a word with your authority as Successor of Saint Peter and the smoke of Satan will be banished from the world and from within Holy Church, as Our Lady promised!
This is the appeal that we, the undersigned Roman Catholic faithful, make to Your Holiness, our still unknown Holy Father, kneeling in spirit before You as our sweet Christ on earth.
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A Reverent and Filial Petition to the Next Pope
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