Rev. Kramer in his commentary on the Apocalypse (which will be referred to again) on Verse 2: If Satan would contrive to hinder a papal election, the Church would suffer great travail. Commenting on verse 3 he continues: Satan knows how extensively an interregnum in the papacy would favor his success in recovering his ancient lordship over the world. He then refers us to: For the mystery of iniquity already worketh: only that he who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way. (II Thessalonians 2:7)He Who Withholdeth
"For the mystery of iniquity already worketh, only that he who now holdeth do hold, until he be taken out of the way." (II Thess. 2:7.)Concerning this quote from St. Paul, Reverend E.S. Berry writes: "The words of St. Paul to the Thessalonians may be a reference to the papacy as the obstacle to the coming of Antichrist." Reverend R.C. Fuller cites this prophecy as one of those which remain unfulfilled along with many others "...concerning the end of the world (and nature of Antichrist... .)" He adds: "It is apparently God's intention that many details shall be understood only when they have come to pass." St. John writes in this passage: "When therefore, that he had said this: 'Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.' When therefore He was risen again from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture, and the word that Jesus had said." (John 2:19-22.) If Christ's own apostles did not realize that prophecy was being fulfilled or would be fulfilled before their very eyes, it is not surprising that those of us forced to proceed on blind faith alone, have difficulty accepting and demonstrating such fulfillment today.
It is certainly not stretching the truth to say that a great many Catholics have questioned the actions of John XXIII and Paul VI since their arrival on the scene in 1958. Some have even openly questioned their legitimacy. But, because nearly all believed that the Church would always have a true head and could never be said to exist in perpetuity without one, they continued to follow them in a spirit of resignation and obedience. They felt they could do nothing else, since so few realized the extent of the obligation to study their faith, far less to defend it. Once this resignation was arrived at and the mobilization of the "people of God" set in motion after Vatican II, many Catholics succumbed to the flattery inherent in thenew roles extended to the laity and were either won over by the enthusiasm of the modernizers, or lulled into a false sense of security. Many left, never to be seen again. But had someone, ANYONE, preferably a priest or a bishop offered solid proofs and raised the alarm in a manner that could at least have been understood by the educated laity, things might have been very different, indeed.
As we have already seen, Reverend E.S. Berry believed that "he who withholdeth" could be the papacy. But as St. Paul indicates and R.C. Fuller confirms, the entire matter is "veiled." The "mystery of iniquity" is just that--a mystery.
And only after the fact can the mystery be understood. What have the saints, the popes, and others understood this withholding power to be? It may seem very strange, indeed, to say this, but an entire bull was written by one pope on this matter, and a lengthy (and suppressed) prayer was written on the same subject by another pope. Even the prophets of the Old Testament have alluded to it under different titles: "...The abomination of desolation," and "foolish shepherds." It is actually in the process of explaining the metaphorical sense of the former term "...the abomination of desolation... "that we come to understand what this withholding power truly is.
Literally, or in its proper sense, the "...abomination of desolation..." is explained by the Douay Rheims as meaning an "...idol... "set up in the sanctuary of the Jewish temple...." (Dan. 11:31, footnote.) But as we explained in Part I, passages in Holy Scripture can be seen to have more than one meaning. In this analysis, we wish to deal with the metaphorical meaning, which is arrived at by way of comparison. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, reports that some commentators treat this expression as a concrete form, "referring to a person, 'a ravager,' or even as a participial noun, 'that maketh desolate."' The Latin root of desolation means to "forsake"; and Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, defines it as: "deprived of inhabitants; laid waste; left alone, ravaged." In Volume I of A Primer of Theology, quoted in Part I (Regan, Henry and Donalan, O.P.), the example given for the metaphorical sense is: "Christ was metaphorically called a lamb, because he was meek." (p. 91.) By extension then, if the "abomination of desolation" is perceived as an individual; that individual would be a ravager, as we have already seen. In the eyes of many Catholics, John XXIII, and to a greater extent Paul VI, ravaged the Church that had remained unchangeable for 1,958 years and caused many Catholics to "forsake" the Church they had always known and loved. Could a pope BE the "abomination of desolation," standing in the holy place?"
Certainly St. Bernard seemed convinced that an anti-pope (a non-pope uncanonically elected) could be the abomination. Under "Antichrist," The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I, records that St. Bernard held the opinion that Antichrist would be an anti-pope. If, in his opinion, this anti-pope would wreak all the devastation that both the prophet Daniel and Apocalypse predict he will occasion, he could be called nothing more, nothing less than that "ravager" which refers to the "abomination of desolation." St. Bernard had good reason to feel as he did, for one of his life's works was to champion the true Pope, Innocent II, against the anti-Pope Pier deLeone, a Jew, who attempted to usurp the See in the year 113O. This anti-Pope "...pretended excessive piety and based his plans for reform, on that he wished to give back to the Church the purity of its first period... . (The Plot Against the Church, Maurice Pinay, p. 496.)
St. Bernard was not alone in his belief that the "abomination of desolation" referred to Antichrist proper, or an antipope. In the year 1559, Pope Paul IV wrote his famous bull "Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio." This pope, elected in 1555, was one of the fiercest reformers the Church had ever seen. His reforms did not endear him to the hierarchy or the faithful. In particular, the Jews must have despised him, for Fernand Hayward, in his "History of the Popes," tells us that it was Paul IV who, as a cardinal, prevailed upon Paul III to convene the Roman Inquisition. In his own pontificate, Paul IV attempted to set up the Inquisition in France, but the ever powerful Parliament ruled against it. Frustrated in this attempt, he drew up a catalog of forbidden books, giving special attention to the Inquisition, and placed over the entire affair the future Pope St. Pius V. In his zeal for reform, the Pope did not spare the cardinals or his own family. He ordered his nephews expelled from Rome for abusing the privileges he had granted them and imprisoned Cardinal Morone on suspicion of heresy. In Hergenrother's "History of the Popes," it is revealed that Morone was plotting to seize the papacy, and this is why Paul IV had him imprisoned. Upon the good Pope's death, Morone did, indeed, try to ascend to Peter's Chair "...but was quashed by the intervention of cardinal Ghisleri (later Pope St. Pius V), who pointedly remarked that Morone's election would be invalid owing to the question mark hanging over his orthodoxy." (This bit of wisdom will be the basis for the development of our theme in the following section.)
Mr. Paul Hallet, in his book Catholic Reformer, reports that St. Pius V "...wished to begin the process of his (Paul IV's) canonization." John Baptist Castaldo of Portugal wrote of him: "...some called him Paul, the Great... He was very holy... and famous for his zeal... He was held as another saint in St. Peter's Chair." (p. 194.)
Like St. Bernard, Paul IV must have been acutely aware of the forces which threatened to seize the Papal See. His days were not unlike ours; the Reformation was sweeping across Europe, pulling thousands of unwitting faithful along behind it. Even the hierarchy in Spain had been infiltrated by apostates who threatened to imperil the apostolic succession there. His own cardinals had been weighed and found wanting, and the Church was badly in need of reform. Certainly in the case of Morone, he feared the contagion might reach even the Chair of St. Peter. So, in the last year of his life, only six months prior to his death, he penned that bull which we will quote throughout this work, Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio. For those not familiar with the bull, the document in its sixth paragraph announces de fide (because the subject matter concerns faith and morals, and the requisite marks for an ex cathedra statement appear), that never can any bishop, archbishop, patriarch, primate or cardinal who is known to be a heretic or is held suspect of heresy, EVER VALIDLY BE ELECTED POPE. We will not examine paragraph six here, because it will be addressed in our next section. Here we are concerned only with the introductory section of Paul IV's bull, which deals with the subject of this section. We quote from paragraph one of the Bull: "...We have been weighed upon by the thought that ...error in respect of the Faith is so grave and so dangerous, that the Roman Pontiff,... who may be... judged by none in this world may, nevertheless be contradicted if he be found to have deviated from the Faith... We have been concerned lest false prophets or others ... should wretchedly ensnare the souls of the simple and drag with them into perdition, destruction, and damnation, countless peoples committed to their care and rule..and we have been concerned also, lest it may befall us, to see the "abomination of desolation," which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet in the holy place...Our desire has been to ... arrest the foxes who are occupying themselves in the destruction of the vineyard of the Lord, and to keep the wolves from the sheepfolds...."
His words are clear. He fears Morone or another will unworthily seize the papacy. Perhaps, he perceived the Reformation to be the Great Revolt spoken of by St. Paul. But certainly his aim can be seen to be the prevention of such a calamity as would occur were an evil man to ascend the papacy. He did all in his power to prevent it. And there is no question, from observing the words in their context, that he equated the abomination of desolation with an uncanonically elected pope; an anti-pope.
Closer to our own time, we have seen another manifestation of this identification of an anti-pope as Antichrist, and; hence, the abomination. In 1884, it is said that Pope Leo had a vision during Mass. In this vision, he saw Christ conversing with Satan. Satan asked for power and time to destroy the Church, and Christ granted him 75-1OO years. Following this vision, Pope Leo penned the short St. Michael's Prayer and ordered it recited after every low mass. Four years later, he wrote a longer prayer to be used for private devotion, which appeared in the Raccolta until 1934. All Raccolta's issued from 1934 on, carry the short prayer, but omit the long prayer issued Motu Proprio by Pope Leo in 1888. This omission is particularly ominous when one considers the content of this prayer, below:
PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL
O GLORIOUS Archangel St. Michael, Prince of the heavenly host, be our defense in the terrible warfare which we carry on against principalities and Powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, spirits of evil. Come to the aid of man, whom GOD created immortal, made in his own image and likeness, and redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Fight this day the battle of the LORD, together with the holy angels, as already thou hast fought the leader of the proud angels, Lucifer, and his apostate host, who were powerless to resist thee, nor was there place for them any longer in Heaven. That cruel, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil or Satan who seduces the whole world, was cast into the abyss with his angels. Behold, this primeval enemy and slayer of men has taken courage. Transformed into an angel of light, he wanders about with all the multitude of wicked spirits, invading the earth in order to blot out the name of GOD and of his CHRIST, to seize upon, slay, and cast into eternal perdition souls destined for the crown of eternal glory. This wicked dragon pours out, as a most impure flood, the venom of his malice on men of depraved mind and corrupt heart, the spirit of lying, of impiety, of blasphemy, and the pestilent breath of impurity, and of every vice and iniquity. These most crafty enemies have filled and inebriated with gall and bitterness the Church, the spouse of the immaculate lamb, and have laid impious hands on her most sacred possessions.
In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter and the Chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered. Arise then, O invincible
Prince, bring help against the attacks of the lost spirits to the people of God, and give them the victory. They venerate thee as their protector and patron; in thee holy Church glories as her defense against the malicious power of hell; to thee has GOD entrusted the souls of men to be established in heavenly beatitude. Oh, pray to the GOD of peace that He may put Satan under our feet, so far conquered that he may no longer be able to hold men in captivity and harm the Church. Offer our prayers in the sight of the Most High, so that they may
quickly conciliate the mercies of the LORD; and beating down
the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, do
thou again make him captive in the abyss, that he may no
longer seduce the nations. Amen.
V. Behold the Cross of the LORD; be scattered ye hostile
powers.
R. The Lion of the tribe of Juda has conquered the root of
David.
V. Let thy mercies be upon us, O LORD.
R. As we have hoped in thee.
V. O LORD, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray.
O GOD, the FATHER of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, we call
upon thy holy name, and as suppliants, we implore thy cle
mency, that by the intercession of Mary, ever Virgin immacu
late and our Mother, and of the glorious Archangel St. Michael,
thou wouldst deign to help us against Satan and all other
unclean spirits, who wander about the world for the injury of
the human race and the ruin of souls. Amen."
Notice Pope Leo's use of the word "dragon," to describe Satan and his henchmen. This dragon has "taken courage"; he is "set loose" to deceive the faithful and drag them into perdition. This was the fear addressed also by Paul IV. Already he describes Satan and those "crafty enemies of the Church" as having laid hands on Her "most sacred possessions." The following lines of this prayer are most telling and of the gravest import, for they read: "In the Holy Place itself, where has been set up the See of the most holy Peter, and the chair of Truth for the light of the world, they have raised the throne of their abominable impiety, with the iniquitous design, that when the Pastor has been struck, the sheep may be scattered."
Clearly Leo perceives the "Holy Place" spoken of by Daniel, the prophet, to be the Vatican itself, or remotely, Rome. But Rome would not hold Her (the Church's) most sacred possessions; only the Vatican would hold them, for there is located Peter's chair, the catacombs, the Vatican archives, the Sistine Chapel, etc. Pope Leo uses the language of Daniel (Holy Place, abominable) and St. Paul (iniquitous). He is describing the infiltration into the Vatican by the agents of Antichrist, who already had begun their drive to capture the papacy. We know that Cardinal Mariano Rampolla was later discovered by Pope St. Pius X to have been a freemason. Rampolla was Leo's secretary, and had undoubtedly shown his hand in some way. Pope Leo tried to warn the faithful, but to no avail; his prayer was suppressed at the very time it most needed to be recognized and recited--at the height of the Modernist's drive against the Church. Were the freemasons actively attempting to infiltrate the Vatican as early as the 19th century? Monsignor George Dillon, in his work Grand Orient Freemasonry Unmasked, quotes the instructions of the "Alta Vendita," the highest lodge of the Italian Carbonari who ruled "...the blackest freemasonry of France, Germany and England," in support of this plan to seize the papacy. He quotes from the masonic documents: "We do not mean to win the popes to our cause, to make them neophytes of our principles... . That which we ought to demand ... is a pope according to our wants... . It is to the youth we must go ... it is necessary to fashion for that Pope, a generation worthy of the reign of which we dream... . In a few years, the young clergy
will ...govern, administer and judge... . They will be called upon to choose the Pontiff who will reign... . You wish to establish the reign of the elect upon the throne of the prostitute of Babylon? Let the clergy march under your banner, in the belief always that they march under the banner of the Apostolic Keys... . Lay your nets... in the depth of sacristies, seminaries, and convents... our plans will succeed one day above even our most improbable calculations." (pp. 5O-56.) These words were written in the 19th century. Already, by the end of that century they had begun to realize their goal. Notice the veiled reference here to the "pope of their wants" reigning on the "throne of the prostitute of Babylon." This in itself indicates their intention to capture the See, which Leo warns they are about to do.
What is this reference in the last line of Leo's prayer to the Pastor being struck and the sheep scattered? We find these words first uttered by the prophet, Zacharias (13:7) and later by Christ (Matt. 26:3O) at the beginning of His passion. In Dom Bernard Orchard's "A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture," S. Bullough, O.P., refers us to Zacharias' mention earlier of the "foolish shepherds," who would forsake the flock, and the shepherd who would be struck, is said to be one of these foolish shepherds. Bullough explains that this shepherd would be both King Antiochus IV (in Zacharias' day) and Antichrist in the latter days. Leo's intention seems to be that a true pope would be removed or was about to be removed, in order that a foolish shepherd might be installed. This is the sense that Christ intended in quoting Zacharias, since He could not have been referring to Himself as an "evil" or "foolish" shepherd. This, once again indicates that the abomination would be an anti-pope ruling as a true Pope. St. Paul foretold that this reign of Antichrist could not come "...unless there come a revolt first...." (II Thess. 11:3.) The sheep would first need to be scattered. In Daniel 12:7, we read of "...the scattering of the band of the holy people... ." We read from the documents of the first Vatican Council: "We judge it to be necessary for the protection, safety, and increase of the Catholic flock ... to set forth the doctrine on the ...nature of the Sacred Apostolic Primacy, in which the strength and solidarity of the whole Church consist... ." (DZ 1821.)
The pope is the center of all unity. If he be taken away, the flock can then be scattered. Surely then, "he who withholdeth" can only be the pope, the "Pastor," the "Good Shep-
herd's vicar," who rules from the Holy See. Thus have two popes understood the term, since the entire thrust of Paul IV's Bull was to ensure that no anti-pope could ever be considered a valid successor of St. Peter. And if "he who withholdeth" is Christ's true vicar, then when he "is taken out of the way," the "man of sin" will be revealed. Thus does the obstacle and its removal signify the rule of the "abomination of desolation." The two are tied inextricably together, since only the falling away of the withholding power can usher in the desolation. Whatever opinions have been entertained in the past on this mysterious passage, it would seem they have been laid to rest by Paul IV, the Vatican Council and Leo XIII, and borne out by the pertinent passages of Scripture quoted here:
1. The revolt or apostasy described by St. Paul is a general falling away.
2. Such a falling away cannot happen as long as a true pope reigns, since the pope is the center of all unity.
3. Therefore, the pope must be "taken out of the way" before the "scattering of the band of holy people" could be completed and the "flock dispersed."
Michael Fighting
"Michael…who standeth for…thy people," — Dan. 12:1-12
