The Profanation of a Cathedral

The Church is the Mystical Body of Christ

The Second Vatican Council teaches in Lumen Gentium, its dogmatic Constitution on the Church, that the Eternal Father, in accordance with the utterly gratuitous and mysterious design of His wisdom and goodness, chose to raise up men to share in His own divine life, and that even after they had fallen in Adam He did not abandon them, but held out to them the means of salvation bestowed in consideration of Christ the Redeemer. "He determined to call together in a holy Church those who should believe in Christ."

The Council is stating here a truth that lies at the basis of the entire Christian religion. The Eternal Father not only wishes to raise men to share in His own divine life, but He has established the manner in which He wishes them to be saved. This is by their incorporation into one visible, united, divinely founded Church. This Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. Our Lord Himself is the Head of the Body, the Holy Ghost the Soul and the baptized faithful the members.

The mystery of the Church is the mystery of Christ, for in her innermost reality the Church is Christ. The Mystical Body is Christ present in the world today, an extension of the Incarnation throughout the nations and the centuries. Our Lord Jesus Christ perpetuates through His Mystical Body the mission which He received from His Father, the salvation of "the whole human race without distinction of time and place" by incorporating all men into the one visible Church which He has founded (Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum).

No distinction can be made between the visible, hierarchically governed Catholic Church, in communion with the Pope, and the Mystical Body of Christ. One cannot belong to Christ's Mystical Body without being simultaneously incorporated into the visible Catholic Church. This is taught specifically by Pope Pius XII in his encyclicals Mediator Dei, Mystici Corporis Christi, and Humani Generis. The Second Vatican Council also taught that no distinction can be made between the visible society and the Mystical Body. They form, it states, one reality, and: "this is the sole Church of Christ which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, Catholic and apostolic…"

The House of the Living God

The Church is described in the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus of the First Vatican Council (18 July 1870) as "the house of the living God (domus Dei viventis) in which "all who believe might be united." This house has been built up by none other than Our Lord Himself, "The Eternal Pastor and Bishop of our souls, in order to continue for all time the life-giving work of His Redemption." Within this holy Church, "as in the house of the Living God" all who believe are to be "united in the bond of one faith and one charity."

Unity is an essential characteristic of the Church of Christ. It was constituted by Our Lord as a united body founded upon the rock of Peter. The Church is united, has always been united, and always will be united even if it should be reduced to a mere handful of faithful Catholics remaining in communion with the Roman Pontiff. If this unity should be lost the Church would cease to be the one Our Lord had founded, which would mean that He could not be the Son of God as He had made promises which He could not fulfill: "Behold, I am with you always" (Mt. 28:20); "The gates of hell shall not prevail against her" (Mt. 16:18).

The unity of the Church is not impaired no matter how many of her members abandon her. St. Cyprian wrote:

There is one God, and one Christ; and His Church is one; and one the people, joined together in the solid unity of the body in the bond of concord. This unity cannot be broken, nor the one body divided by the separation of its constituent parts.

St. Augustine commented: "The Christian is a Catholic as long as he lives in the body; cut off from it he becomes a heretic—the life of the spirit follows not the amputated member."

The Visibility of the Church

The unity and visibility of the Church are linked indissolubly. When we speak of the visibility of the Church we do not simply mean that her members, her rites, and her ministers can be seen. What we mean is that these can be recognized to constitute the true Church of Christ; so that, in other words, we can point to a specific society and say of it: "This is the Church of Christ." There is not, there never has been, and there never can be, any organized body not in communion with the Bishop of Rome of which that statement can be made.

In his encyclical letter The Mystical Body of Christ, Pope Pius XII taught that there are three conditions for membership of the Church: (1) the reception of valid baptism; (2) the profession of the true Faith; (3) participation in the communion of the Church which involves communion with the Roman Pontiff.

All those who are baptized are, in fact, baptized into the Catholic Church. Children baptized within heretical or schismatic bodies cease to be Catholic when they reach the age of reason and voluntarily embrace the tenets of their particular denomination. Such an adherence is almost invariably the result of invincible ignorance and incurs no guilt. If they remain in this state of invincible ignorance throughout their lives, but show by the manner in which they live a sincere desire to conform their own will to the will of God, then they are by no means excluded from salvation. The same is true of those who adhere to non-Christian religions in good faith. The late Cardinal Bourne of Westminster explained:

There are millions, even at this day the vast majority of mankind, who are still unreached or unaffected by the message of Christianity in any shape or form…there are millions who accept some fashion of Christian teaching who …have no thought that they are obliged in conscience to accept the teaching and to submit to the authority of the Catholic Church. All such, whether separated wholly from acceptance of Christ and His teaching, or accepting that teaching only to the extent that they have perceived it, will be judged on their own merits…they are bound at all cost to enter within the unity of the Church so soon as they realize that that obligation is incumbent upon them….But this is certain, that no man of really good will is ever rejected by His Maker, and that to every soul is offered real opportunity of salvation.

Non-Catholics can be saved in their own religions, but not through those religions. They are, as Pope Pius XII explained in The Mystical Body of Christ, "related to the Mystical Body of the Redeemer by some unconscious yearning and desire." They are thus saved through this unconscious relationship to the Mystical Body, although outside the visible membership of the Church. It is thus perfectly true that there is "no salvation outside the Church."

The Correct Attitude to Non-Catholics

The attitude of Catholics to those outside the Church must be governed by the nature and mandate of the Church, the mandate to go forth and teach all nations. This mandate has been entrusted to the Catholic Church and to the Catholic Church alone. It is the only body in the world which has a divine mandate to preach the Gospel and to offer public worship to the Blessed Trinity. It is the will of God that men shall be saved by incorporation into the unique visible Church founded by Our Lord. Charity to non-Catholics, whether Christian or non-Christian, demands above all that we present no obstacle or stumbling block to their conversion to the one true Church of Jesus Christ. There can be no greater obstacle to this end than the appearance of religious indifferentism on the part of Catholics. This is why communicatio in sacris, sharing in the worship of non-Catholic religions, has always been strictly prohibited by the Church. This has been a constant tradition for her entire history. The very idea of taking part in non-Catholic worship was regarded with horror. It was considered unthinkable and was condemned unequivocally in the former Code of Canon Law. The indifferentism fostered by common worship can affect Catholics as well as non-Catholics, in both instances it can give the impression that one religion is as good as another.

The Catholic position was clearly explained in a Catholic Truth Society pamphlet which was still being published in the nineteen-sixties. It did not simply explain that common worship was forbidden but why it was forbidden. The reasons it provided are as valid now as they were then. It explained:

It is absolutely forbidden for a Catholic, whatever his social standing may be, to take part in or even be merely present at the religious rites of non-Catholics whilst at the same time giving internal voluntary approval to such rites. The fundamental reason behind this prohibition is that for a Catholic to take part in, or even be present at, the religious rites of non-Catholics, whilst at the same time giving internal voluntary approval, would be tantamount to denying that the Catholic religion is the only true religion, the only form of religious belief and practice which as a religion has been revealed and is here and now willed by God. At the same time one cannot deny that owing to an invincibly erroneous conscience many non-Catholics may be in good faith about their true position, and Catholics must have a genuine regard for the sincerity of those who are striving to worship God according to their conscience and will be rewarded by God for their good will. But whatever allowance is made in all charity for our separated brethren, it can never be lawful for Catholics to compromise religious truth by joining with non-Catholics in an act of worship which they know to be false.

The Church has tolerated the presence of Catholics at such functions as weddings and funerals of relatives or close friends as an act of courtesy or mark of respect.

Judgment of an Archbishop of Westminster

Cardinal Bourne, the Archbishop of Westminster and Primate of England, explained the Catholic teaching in very clear terms in 1928. His words would have been endorsed by all his predecessors from the establishment of Catholicism in England up to and including Cardinal Heenan. Referring to Catholic teaching on the unity of the Church, the Cardinal wrote:

It is this conception of unity which also explains why the Catholic Church, in accordance with the tradition of Christianity from the beginning, declines to participate in the worship of those who do not accept her teaching and authority, and refuses to admit them to her Sacraments. To act otherwise would, in her judgment, be disloyalty to her Founder and to the truth which He has given into her care. Worship, to be acceptable, must be sincere and based on truth. Convinced that she possesses divinely revealed truth, she would be acting disloyally and insincerely were she, by participation in her worship, to seem to admit that those who think that this divinely revealed truth is uncertain and still awaiting discovery and proof are, perhaps, after all in the right, while she has been deceived. She is fully persuaded that in her worship of God she is dealing with truth, reality, and fact. She is essentially unable to regard Divine Worship as a matter of opinion, sentiment or uncertainty. Thus Catholics while respecting the religious convictions of others and acknowledging their sincerity and good faith, are precluded from any action that would appear to call into question the objective truth of the revelation delivered to her by Jesus Christ Our Lord. She must ever be, as she has been from the beginning, an exclusive Church both in her teaching and her worship.

The Profanation of Westminster Cathedral

Cardinal Herbert Vaughan who built Westminster Cathedral had not the least doubt as to its purpose. It was to be a sacrarium, a holy place, to promote the glory of God and the cause of His Kingdom on earth. It was primarily to be a splendid and fitting shrine for the sacred liturgy, where the Trinity would be offered solemn worship according to the rites of the Catholic Church, the only body divinely mandated to offer public worship.

Had Cardinal Vaughan been informed that on October 17, 1987, one of his successors, Cardinal Basil Hume, would hand Westminster Cathedral over for a service involving not only Protestants but a wide selection of non-Christian religions, he would have laughed in disbelief, as indeed, would all of his successors including Cardinal Heenan. It is with no intention of disrespect to the non-Catholics taking part in this service, whose sincerity must be presumed, that it must be termed a profanation of a cathedral, and an affront to those who built it and have worshipped there throughout this century. It is a repudiation of the principles for which the Martyrs of England and Wales died. They thought death preferable to participation in Protestant services. What would their reaction have been to the suggestion of worshipping with non-Christians in a Catholic cathedral with the approval of a Cardinal Archbishop?

In its Decree on Ecumenism, the Second Vatican Council did concede that common worship with non-Catholic Christians could sometimes be commendable, but "the expression of unity generally forbids common worship." This limited concession has been made the excuse for virtually unrestricted common worship in many countries, England being a notable example. This is something the Fathers of the Council could not have envisaged, and, like Cardinal Vaughan, they would certainly have laughed at any suggestion that a Catholic cathedral could ever be handed over for an act of worship involving non-Catholics.

It is true that the present Holy Father has taken part in such services himself on occasions. It is in no way being disloyal to express the opinion that this has been a grave error of judgment on his part, and has certainly fostered the atmosphere of indifferentism infecting the Church in the West today, an atmosphere which is responsible for an unprecedented collapse of Catholic life in England and Wales. The catastrophic nature of this collapse can be proved by examining the figures for every aspect of Catholic life subject to statistical verification. The alleged post-Vatican II renewal is a myth.

Cardinal Ratzinger has observed that the period following the Council has definitely been unfavorable for the Church. It is not part of Catholic belief that the Pope must always be correct in his prudential decisions, a fact which is verified by the history of the papacy. It is worth noting that some Catholic weeklies sold in Westminster Cathedral each Sunday with the approval of Cardinal Hume have criticized the moral and doctrinal teaching of the present Pope and his predecessors, which is a very grave matter and in a totally different category from a respectful expression of regret at prudential decisions of the Holy Father.

While the Catholic Church remained, as Cardinal Bourne expressed it, "exclusive in both her teaching and her worship," she flourished in England and Wales. Now that her leaders have lost their nerve and jumped on the ecumenical bandwagon, she has been caught up in the precipitous decline affecting all the mainstream Protestant denominations.

In his encyclical Mortalium Animos, Pope Pius XI passed a judgment which could have been formulated specifically to condemn the profanation of Westminster Cathedral on October 17th. It requires no comment. Pope Pius wrote:

Congresses, meeting, and addresses are arranged attended by a large concourse of hearers, where all without distinction, unbelievers of every kind as well as Christians, even those who have unhappily rejected Christ and denied His divine nature or mission, are invited to join in die discussion. Now, such efforts can meet with no approval among Catholics. They presuppose the erroneous view that all religions are more or less good and praiseworthy, inasmuch as all give expression, under various forms, to that innate sense which leads men to God and to the obedient acknowledgement of His rule. Those who hold such a view are not only in error; they distort the idea of religion, and thus reject it, falling gradually into naturalism and atheism. To favor this opinion, therefore, and to encourage such undertakings is tantamount to abandoning the religion revealed by God.