The Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican II reform
The Vatican II reform is considered heretical by the vast majority of ultra-conservative Catholics (link one and link 2). Every day, thousands of people die and are consigned to hell; this number is rising in the modern day due to the decline in the global Catholic population. How can you save a non-Catholic soul if you are Catholic and your neighbor is Muslim?
Option One: "You are into a false religion and I don't want your children to play with mine," you declare openly when you go out to supper together. The Muslim neighbor will accept your choice and won't extend another invitation to visit his house. In the Catholic family, the majority of souls are rescued after death; in the Muslim family, this is not always the case because Jesus may offer an opportunity for repentance when we are dying. For ultra-conservative Catholics, this certainly works.
Option Two: You go out to eat and strike up a conversation about faiths. Starting from a shared understanding of God, you allow dialogue to occur based on mutual respect and differing viewpoints. In the Catholic family, the majority of souls are saved after we are all gone. The Muslim family held out hope for communication-based conversions.
Vatican II selected Option Two in light of the idea of showing kindness to one's fellow human beings. The Catholic Church's core tenets remain unchanged.
The Church can not err, especially in these sensitive times; websites do. Pope Francis clarified for us,
Jonah was stubborn because he put conditions on his faith. He is the model of those Christians who always put conditions saying, "I am a Christian on condition that things are done this way." They accuse that these changes are not Christian, they are heresies. The Pope said they are Christians who condition God, who condition the faith and the action of God...The Holy Father emphasized that "conditions" lock up many Christians in their own ideas and they take up the ugly path of ideology against the path of faith. He said such Christians are afraid of growing, of the challenges of life, of the challenges of the Lord, of the challenges of history and are attached to their first convictions and ideologies. They are Christians who continue to "prefer ideology to faith" and move away from the community, afraid to place themselves in the hands of God and prefer to judge everything from the "smallness of their hearts"...Our sins don't disgust the Lord.
Book: The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope by Austen Ivereigh
Given that people can acquire church teachings via the internet and other channels, it is nearly difficult to find salvation outside of the Catholic Church,
They are not to be let off with a lighter punishment, who altogether refused to receive Christ's love, and, as far as concerned them, wished its destruction. This excuse they may have who died before they heard of Christ's Gospel; but this will not shield them from damnation. For whoever are not saved in the Saviour, who came to seek what was lost, shall without doubt go to perdition.
Book: Catena Aurea by Saint Thomas Aquinas
The primary religion of India is Hinduism; a society that values family, philanthropy, and respect for the old (much like the Persian culture). Hindu dads opted to preserve their traditions for their boys. Tradition forces one to choose a faith. Suddenly, a Hindu coworker shared with me a fascinating factual anecdote: "It's about a dead girl in an Indian neighborhood; she appeared after death in front of a river of blood; a person in white helped her across because she did good deeds in her life; on the other side, a tribunal of demons, but the demons made a mistake and mentioned another girl's name, living a few blocks away at the time; the dead girl was brought back to life; she ran to the other girl's home, only to find out she had just passed away." Then the Hindu co-worker uttered to me in fear: "No matter what I do in this life, charity and good acts are not enough; they may help in small increments after death, but they are not enough to avoid the same fate." A confirmation that we need infinite merits, not of our own, to be saved.
But let not guess, let Jesus Himself explain his judgement to Saint Bridget of Sweden (1360),
I am the Creator of all things. I was born of the Father before Lucifer. I am inseparably in the Father and the Father in me and one Spirit in us both. Accordingly, there is one God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and not three gods. I am the one who promised the eternal inheritance to Abraham and led my people out of Egypt through Moses. I am the one who spoke through the prophets. The Father sent me to the womb of the Virgin without separating himself from me but remaining inseparably with me so that mankind, who had abandoned God, would return to God through my love. But now, in your presence, my heavenly host, although you see and know all things in me, yet for the sake of the knowledge and teaching of my bride standing here, who cannot understand spiritual things except through a corporal parable, I make a complaint before you over these five men who are standing here, for they provoke me to wrath in many ways. Just as I, once, in the Law, with the name of Israel, signified the whole Israelite nation, so now by these five men I signify every man in the world. The first man signifies the leader of the Church and his priests; the second, the evil laity; the third, the Jews; the fourth, the heathens; and the fifth, my friends. But from you, Jew, I exclude all the Jews who are Christians in secret and who serve me secretly in a pure love, a right faith, and a perfect deed. And from you, heathen, I exclude all those who would gladly walk in the way of my commandments, if they only knew and were taught how they should walk and live, and who with their deeds do as much as they know and are able. These shall by no means be judged with you. I now complain over you, o head of my Church, who sit on my seat which I gave to Peter and his successors to sit on with a threefold dignity and power: First, so that they would have the power of binding and loosing souls from their sins. Second, so that they would open Heaven for the penitent. Third, so that that they would close Heaven to the damned and to those who despise my Law. But you, who should be healing souls and presenting them to me, you are in truth a murderer of souls. I appointed Peter as shepherd and guardian of my sheep. But you, however, scatter and wound them. You are worse than Lucifer. For he was envious of me and desired to kill none but me so that he could rule in my place. But you are so much worse, for you do not only kill me by driving me off from yourself by your bad deeds, but you also kill souls by your bad example. I redeemed the souls with my blood and entrusted them to you as to a faithful friend, but you deliver them back again to the enemy from whom I redeemed them. You are more unrighteous than Pilate. He judged no one else but me to death, but you not only judge me as if I were a powerless lord and worthy of no good thing, no, you also judge and condemn the souls of the innocent and let the guilty go free without any rebuke. You are more cruel than Judas who only sold me, but you not only sell me, but also the souls of my chosen men for your own shameful profit and vain name's sake. You are more despicable than the Jews, for they only crucified my body, but you crucify and torture the souls of my chosen men for whom your malice and your sins are more bitter than from any wound from a sword. And so, since you are like Lucifer and more unrighteous than Pilate and more cruel than Judas and more despicable than the Jews, I complain over you with justice. To the second man, that is, to the laity, our Lord said: "I created all things for your benefit. You gave your consent to me and I to you. You gave me your faith and promised by oath that you would serve me. But now, you have deserted me like a man who does not know his God. You hold my words for a lie and my deeds as vanity, and you say that my will and my commandments are too heavy. You have violated the faith you promised me. You have broken your oath and abandoned my name. You have separated yourself from the number of my saints and have come to belong to the number of the devils and you have become their friend. You think that no one is worthy of praise and honor but yourself. Everything that belongs to me and that you are bound to do for me appears heavy and bitter for you, but the things that please yourself are very easy for you. Therefore, I complain over you with right, for you have broken the faith you gave me in baptism and later; and for the love I have shown you in word and deed, you mock me and call me a liar, and for my suffering you call me a fool. To the third man, that is, to the Jews, he said: "I began my deed of love with you and I chose you as my people. I led you out of slavery, I gave you my Law, I brought you into the land I had promised your fathers, and I sent you prophets to console you. Thereafter, I chose a virgin for myself from among you from which I assumed Manhood. But now I complain over you since you do not want not believe in me, but say: 'The Christ has not yet come; he is still to be expected.' " Our Lord said to the fourth man, that is, to the heathens: "I created and redeemed you like the Christian man, and I created all good things for your sake. But you are like a man out of his senses, because you do not know what you are doing. You are also like a blind man, because you do not see where you are going. You honor and worship the created things instead of the Creator, and the false instead of the true, and you bend your knee before things that have less worth than yourself. That is why I complain about you." To the fifth man, he said: "My friend, come closer!" And he directly said to the heavenly host: "My beloved friends, I have a friend with which I signify and mean many friends. He is like a man trapped among evil people and harshly shackled in captivity. If he speaks the truth, they beat his mouth with stones. If he does something good, they thrust a spear into his breast. Alas, my friends and saints, how long shall I endure such men, and how long shall I tolerate such contempt?" ... for my chosen men see all goodness and righteousness in me, and even the evil spirits see it in their own conscience but not in the light. Just like a man placed in a dark prison,... I am also like a sword that separates things into two parts. In this way I give each and every person what they deserve."... It is true justice that the first man who sits upon your seat, while having the deeds of Lucifer, should shamefully lose the seat he dared to sit on and become a partaker in the torment of Lucifer. The right judgment of the second man is that he, who has fallen away from your faith, should fall down to hell with his head down and feet up, for he loved himself and despised you who should have been his head. The right judgment of the third man is that he will not see your face and that he should be tormented for his malice and greed, since unbelievers do not deserve to see your glory and beauty. The right judgment of the fourth is that he should be locked up like a man out of his senses and banished to the city of darkness. The right judgment of the fifth is that help should be sent to him." Then our Lord said to the first of these five men: "The sword of my severity will go into your body; it shall enter at the top of your head and penetrate you so deeply and violently that it can never be drawn out. Your chair will sink like a heavy stone and never stop before it comes to the lowest of depths. Your fingers, that is, your assistants and advisers, will burn in the inextinguishable sulfurous fire. Your arms, that is, your office-holders, who should have reached out for the help and benefit of souls but instead reached out for worldly honor and profit, will be judged to the torment and suffering of which David speaks: 'His sons shall be fatherless and his wife a widow and others shall take his property.' Who is 'his wife' if not the soul which shall be excluded from the glory of Heaven and be widowed and lose God? 'His sons', that is, the virtues they appeared to have, and my simple and humble men who were under them, shall be separated from them. Their honor and property will be given to others, and they will inherit eternal shame instead of their dignity and glory. Their headgear will sink down into the filth of hell, and they will never be able to get up out of it. Just as they rose above others through their honor and pride, so in hell they will sink so much deeper than others so that it will be impossible for them to ever stand up again. Their limbs, that is, all the priests who followed and helped them in wickedness, will be cut off from them and severed just like the wall that is torn down where not a single stone is left upon another stone and the cement no longer adheres to the stones. No mercy will come to them, for my love will never warm them nor restore or build them up into an eternal house in Heaven, but instead they shall be excluded from all good and endlessly tormented with their headmen and leaders. But to the second I say: Since you do not want to keep the faith you promised me and have love toward me, I shall send an animal to you that will rise from the surging torrent, and it shall swallow you. Like the torrent always flows downward, so this animal will drag you down to the lowest hell, and just like it is impossible for you to travel upstream against the surging torrent, it will be just as hard for you to ever ascend from hell. To the third I say: Since you, Jew, do not want to believe that I have come, you will see me when I come on judgment day, but not in my glory but in your conscience, and you will come to know that all the things I said were true. Then there is nothing left for you but to be tormented as you deserve. To the fourth I say: Since you do not care to believe and do not want to know me, your darkness will become light for you, and your heart will be enlightened so that you may know that my judgments are true, but you will still not come to the light. To the fifth I say: I shall do three things to you. First, I shall fill you inwardly with my fervor. Second, I shall make your mouth harder and firmer than any stone, so that the stones turn back to the ones throwing them at you. Third, I shall arm you with my weapons so well that no spear will harm you but instead everything will melt before you like wax in the heat of the fire. Be therefore made strong and stand like a man. For just like a knight in battle who hopes for help of his lord and continues fighting as long as he still has some life-force in him, so may you too stand firm and fight like a man; for the Lord, your God, whom none are able to withstand, will give you help. And since your number is small, I will honor you and multiply you greatly. Behold, my friends, you see these things and know them in me, and in this way they stand before me. The words I have now spoken will be fulfilled. But these other men shall never enter my kingdom, as long as I am King, unless they better themselves. For Heaven will only be given to those who humble themselves and to those who mourn over their sins with penance." Then all the host answered: "Praise be to you, Lord God, who are without beginning and without end."
Book: The Prophecies and Revelations of Saint Bridget (Birgitta) of Sweden: Volume 1 by Saint Bridget
I can explain the foregoing only by speaking from personal experience. Even eight years after my conversion—despite participating in pilgrimages and extensive theological reading—no priest has engaged me in sustained conversation about my personal spiritual life. In sincere and humble attempts to speak about my devotion to Mary and to Jesus, I often felt dismissed rather than accompanied.
Seeking spiritual support within the Church, I encountered silence; outside the Church, there was little more. During my years involved in ministry to the sick, I witnessed profound human suffering. Yet no one took the time to sit with me, even informally, to reflect on these experiences. When assisting elderly parishioners in receiving the Eucharist, I observed their deep desire for the Rosary and for personal conversation and presence. Through these encounters, I came to recognize a vocation to the diaconate as a response to those unmet pastoral needs.
After eventually stepping away from ministry, I was later denied entry into the diaconate. My knowledge of long-term care and the unmet needs of those within it has since become a source of deep sorrow. Equally painful has been the marginalization I observed within parish life: the Legion of Mary largely ignored, Marian statues left unattended, and a rich Marian theological and devotional tradition effectively neglected.
My experiences with the Sacrament of Reconciliation were often difficult and pastorally challenging. On more than one occasion, interactions in the confessional felt adversarial rather than healing; one priest insisted that I make promises to God under pressure. I chose instead to refrain from absolution in that moment, seek another parish, and approach the sacrament freely rather than under duress.
The annulment process proved to be another arduous and costly experience. Despite a lifelong pattern of continuous service to others—often involving significant personal, financial, and emotional risk undertaken for the benefit of those in need—I have frequently borne lasting consequences as a result. These experiences have humbled me profoundly, shaping both my faith and my understanding of service.
This disposition is now often perceived as weakness, even though, in Christ, I do not fear any circumstance. At the same time, those who project self-sufficiency—marked by material success and outwardly ideal family lives—are frequently upheld as exemplars of strength and admiration. Within the Church itself, my wife and I have faced sustained opposition from members of the believing laity, in numbers too great to recount.
Many of my most humble and faithful friends have since passed away. Several asked me to carry their coffins at their funerals, some attended by hundreds. One was baptized only hours before death; another sought my counsel near the end of life. Pope Francis himself responded to a letter I wrote—an acknowledgment I received as recognition of a life spent in costly service to others, often at great personal sacrifice. Too often, that service has been repaid with further hardship.
The tradition that only a small remnant will be saved—articulated in the writings attributed to St. Bridget—has taken on new significance for me. On a Friday morning, a passage reflecting this teaching was read; that same afternoon, I received by email formal notification denying my admission to diaconate formation. That weekend, I grieved deeply for the elderly in long-term care and for the near absence of the Legion of Mary. In light of these events, the timing of that letter no longer felt coincidental.
I remain grateful to Christ for the clarity that emerges through suffering. I strive to remain vigilant, to draw strength from the sacraments, and to keep my gaze fixed upon the Holy Cross and upon His Mother, Mary. I also wish to express my gratitude to Yessica, Willy, Thiago, Sanjeev, Rossy, Mayte, Luz, Lena, Laura, Judith, Franco, Franclin, Estefany, Emmanuela, Elphas, Dylan, Angel, Andriy, and Abril—my sponsored Catholic children throughout the world. Their letters sustain my hope, and their prayers rise before God like incense, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
A pattern of alienation is often perceived—marked by an air of superiority, minimal engagement with the personal lives of the laity, and limited involvement in the broader community. Ministry can appear superficial and detached, focused primarily on ensuring that the liturgy is completed, even when pews remain empty, as was evident during the pandemic. The implicit hierarchy seems to be God first, liturgy second, and all else rendered peripheral to that goal.
The recurring invitation to “Come Home” stands in tension with this reality. Christ’s own mission, however, is directed toward souls—drawing them in through His net, the Church—not as perfected individuals, but as repentant sinners met with mercy and welcome. Authentic love for Jesus necessarily gives rise to a love for people; He instills in His followers a thirst for souls that makes personal presence, accompaniment, and guidance toward Him a central priority.
Young people, in particular, are keenly aware of the impact of disengagement and superficiality within the Church. The absence of genuine involvement carries significant consequences, and the present condition of an aging and declining laity can, in part, be seen as the culmination of this disengagement.
The Holy Spirit seems to be indicating to me that this situation is a by-product of a Church culture long accustomed to self-satisfaction and comfort—trends that began decades ago and now must be confronted and purified in order to rebuild the Church, much as Moses spent years in the desert preparing for his mission. One is left to wonder whether young people today would be willing to engage deeply with the faith, reading tens of thousands of pages of religious material to begin to grasp the depth and coherence of Catholic doctrine and its infallibility. I doubt they would, and if they do, they now have to deal with a wounded, overtired Church that, at this current time, is just trying to survive the harsh desert and purge itself of a wicked generation that has also fallen deeper into bureaucracy as a means of alienation.
This is a disservice to the humanity of Jesus, and that is why Vatican II is the hope of rebuilding the Church, and anyone that is against Vatican II or our current Pope must be shunned, as they are profiting monetarily from a well-off opposing side that refuses to meet the poor in Christ and prefers focusing their resources on their own families. As an example, Jose Antonio Ureta, who is on the board of directors of a Canadian Catholic charity,
He wrote this book,
The Catholic article, "Conservative Critics of the Synod and Francis are embarrassing themselves", explains how the author "distinguished itself for opposition to Vatican II and affinity for right-wing juntas." The same Canadian charity sends rosaries and Catholic calendars by mail for a donation, they seem to be fighting for Mary, but ignorant Canadian Catholics may be funding an anti-Vatican II and Holy See movement.
Anti–Vatican II Catholics are often recognizable by certain patterns of behavior. They may demonstrate limited charity, tend to judge others according to socio-economic status, and prioritize bureaucratic tasks over direct acts of service. Their prayers for others can appear transactional, offered for minor gains while abundance surrounds them. Theology is sometimes employed to highlight personal vanity—overriding established feast days or reinterpreting religious history in ways that confuse rather than clarify. Much of their daily activity may focus on personal advancement, material security, or self-gratification, with acts of charity serving more to earn praise than to reflect genuine love.
God is not to be mocked, and His judgment inspires both awe and fear. In the midst of this, I find solace in the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, while remaining deeply concerned about the many overlooked sins and failings in the world around me.
Young people crave love; addiction is their way to cope with this world, so let's not add another burden with distrust, disinterest, and fear-mongering (end-of-times hogwash). God is the judge; we should only provide a service, and when discipline is needed, let's do it with love and an honest interest in the person's progress by name, eager and happy to see him getting closer to God. Everything else is the opposite of love. “When the Church does not go out, it becomes sick with the many evils we have in the Church. And why are these illnesses in the Church? Because she does not go out,” said Pope Francis during his Sunday Angelus (Sept-20-2020). Also, "there is a very strong, organized, reactionary attitude" in the U.S. church, which Pope Francis called "backward." Pope Francis went on to warn that such an attitude leads to a climate of closure. "In this way, the true tradition is lost and you turn to ideologies for support. In other words, ideologies replace faith," Pope Francis said.
Book: Lay Members of Christ Faithful People by Christifideles Laici
Follow the Holy Father, he represents the mind of God, a man of compassion,
In conclusion, 'The American Church has become the church that stands between Francis and his vision of Catholicism. That vision is dedicated to the poor, determined to go to the world's margins, and devoted to the God of "nearness, proximity."' (New Yorker article, Sep 2023) Unwillingness to change and not following the vow of obedience to the Holy See because of pre-set ideologies and then appeasing themselves by finding people with the same ideology is like an alcoholic finding friends at a local bar to avoid facing his vice. If we are unwilling to meet the poor at their level with no condescension, then we are choosing to meet God with condescension (one-third of angels have tried it, and hell is their new home). Opposition to Pope Francis is rooted in a rejection of Vatican II.
As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Pope Francis dealt with the military Dirty War. He would convene with top officials in an effort to stop human rights violations, saving countless lives. He dealt with evil then, and now God has assigned him the task, as a Pope, of dealing with the same evil globally. The nefarious opposition against Pope Francis in the news is obvious. For example, the news said: "Pope Francis signals openness to blessings for same-sex couples" when Pope Francis clearly stated: "Pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or more persons, that do not convey a mistaken concept of marriage (only between a man and a woman, naturally open to procreation). For when a blessing is requested, it is expressing a plea to God for help, a supplication to live better, trust in a Father who can help us live better."
Deceptions are happening. For example, in the Mission of Divine Mercy(Texas), God's messages are supposedly received in Spanish by Sister Amapola. In February 2024, God supposedly said, "You have allowed the usurper to sit on the chair of My Peter—he who is carrying out the Great Treason that will leave My Church desolate." The receiver's desires, insinuated by satan is to blame for this deception (once posted you can't detract the damage done to the Church,“Words once uttered cannot be recalled”). Satan is certainly extatic the sister posted the unapproved locution against the pope so quickly in YouTube. Things get even worse. In the news: "On Pope Francis' birthday, Sunday, December 17, 2023, lightning struck and removed the key and halo of the statue of Saint Peter, located on the facade of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolas, north of Buenos Aires, Argentina", where Pope Francis used to be cardinal bishop. Some Catholics went bananas with pleasure at this news. Luckily, I can easily read Spanish news, and having lived in Argentina I can affirm that the metal halo was stolen in 2018 (shown below), and that the metal key was probably stolen in December; not a sign from God. Argentina's economic crisis is pushing people to petty crime.
Some American Catholics are certainly doubling down on Pope Francis,
[Mary speaks] To those who say that the pope is not the true pope... answer those heretics in this way: 'You have turned the backs of your heads to God, and thus you do not see him. Turn therefore to him your faces, and then you will be able to see him... yes, all those who assert such errors are puffed up with the spirit of the devil in hell... a pope who is without heresy is... full authority and complete power to bind and loose souls. He possesses this authority through blessed Peter and has acquired it from God... there were many supreme pontiffs who are now in hell... judgments that they made in the world are standing and approved in God's sight. [S.Bridget,1360]
"Clericalism is a thorn, it is a scourge, it is a form of worldliness that defiles and damages the face of the Lord's bride [the church]; it enslaves the holy, faithful people of God.", Pope Francis said in October 2023. For some of the clergy, separateness and even a sense of superiority are what matter most. Are we back in the first century? "They do all their deeds to be seen by others, for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets." (Matthew 23). I am shocked as I write about this subject from a layman's point of view and experiences on how Pope Francis keeps agreeing with my point of view, feeding me on this subject and making me add to it. One thing is for sure: Pope Francis is a living saint. But Catholics seem more focused on debating about the ban of the Latin Mass. It's like after a 9-magnitude earthquake hits our home, and knowing we are insured, we are more concerned about the drapes not matching the carpet than helping the people outside dying from their wounds. May the merits that Pope Francis is accumulating by fighting hardened and blind hearts in the church propel him into the highest heaven next to Peter. I pray for priests' souls; their future judgment is a constant storm of sorrow in my heart. I've been cast aside, experience and all, not by choice, and am now a low man on the totem pole, invisible in silence and in penance, knowing that I have scourged with my own hands the back of the one I love the most, and thus deserving eternal hell for the pain I've caused Him.
Obedience to the pope even without understanding decisions and affection for his mandate would suffice. Having the grotto of Mary in tiptop shape and showing affection to our queen over everything else, save God, would suffice. Having churches open for people passing by (as Jesus mentioned in messages) to allow them to follow their impulses to see God would suffice (if vandalized, rebuild). Jesus showed angels His suffering and physical wounds on the cross; keeping His physical wounds present on the cross to understand the human sacrifice paid for sin would suffice. Attach yourself to Jesus' wounded Heart and to His Mother Mary's sorrowful Immaculate Heart, and sin will become clear and evident in every aspect of your life. An absent photo of the pope at the entrance of a church is an expression of a disappointing view of the current papacy. A dilapidated grotto of Mary outside a church is an expression of some jealousy of the saints. A modern untrue cross in a church is expressing precedence of the world over Jesus' teachings. A locked church is a denial of a cup of water to the poor. All disquieting tendencies diminish faith on our way to salvation... on the only narrow path that leads to it. Like thorns on a path that deter us from continuing, we are to bless God for these thorns as a way to increase our merits and our final reward.