Communiqué of the District of Germany on the beatification of John Paul II
It is official now: Pope Benedict XVI has signed the decree of beatification of John Paul II. His predecessor will be raised to the honor of the altars on May 1, 2011, in Rome.
What are we to think of this rapid beatification? You often hear remarks such as, “He was a great devotee of the Blessed Virgin Mary,” or even “He was very clear on questions concerning the protection of human life,” but are these sufficient to set up his work in its entirety as an example for the Church today?
His pontificate was marred by a pronounced ecumenism. John Paul will thus enter history as the pope of humanism and of fraternity among religions.
He preached a special path of salvation for the people of the Old Testament, kissed the Koran in public, and used expressions that scandalized committed Catholics to the depths of their souls, such as the wish, “May Saint John the Baptist protect Islam.”
His gathering in Assisi has become the symbol of the meeting of all religions and introduced in the minds of Christians the “values” of freethinkers, where they are now deeply rooted. One could call that “heresy by image”: All religions lead to God. This is diametrically opposed to the words of Sacred Scripture: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned” [Mark 16:16].
We must not forget the gigantic concelebrations; nor should we deny the liturgical abuses during pontifical Masses which, to a certain extent, have caused a liturgical collapse hitherto unknown and have propagated in all the local Churches abuses that cry out to Heaven!
Is that a pontificate that deserves a beatification?
To defend the Faith in all circumstances against error and thereby to unify and guide Christ’s flock—that is the Lord’s command to Saint Peter, which is still valid today.
Other major figures deserve to be raised to the honor of the altars, for example Pope Pius XII.
Society of Saint Pius X, District of Germany
Stuttgart, January 15, 2011
