Written by Kathy Clubb
22nd November 2023
Having just spent two days in Rome at the Life Forum earlier this month, I am now faced with the task of communicating what I learned to my Catholic readership – to those who, in the face of one of the deepest crises ever to strike our beloved Church, are asking, “What can we do?” This is a question that I’ve often asked myself, and it was my desire to know the answer which led me to make the journey to Rome to gain some insights.
After listening, praying and talking with a group of outstanding Catholic activists from the four corners of the globe, it has become clear that there is very much that we can do. As could be expected, a good deal of that lies in our spiritual response. Some actions are practical and can be performed according to our individual state in life. Still other forms of necessary action are more specialised. I hope that in this article I can do justice to the profundity of our discussions and to the necessity for urgency in our response.
LifeSiteNews’ Rome Life Forum is the context for the discussions mentioned in this article. What began almost ten years ago primarily as a pro-life strategy conference has expanded to include a variety of pressing issues, not least of which is the threat of globalism. Globalism, the ideology behind a “New World Order ” or “One World Government ” is not the fringe conspiracy theory of internet extremists who wander aimlessly from one controversy to another. Rather, it is a fact that, under the guise of benevolent leadership being spontaneously formed ‘for the common good’, globalist entities are in fact preparing a totalitarian system of control from which no-one can escape.
The all-encompassing economic, scientific, social and political threat of globalism comes at a time when errors issuing from within the bosom of the Church are legion. “Synodality”, a new theology, immoral decrees issued as footnotes or exemptions and attacks on the traditional liturgy threaten to shake the foundations of the Catholic Church, and should not be viewed in isolation from globalism. The very same entities which are manipulating the world’s major institutions are also exerting a huge influence on the Church. In fact, co-opting the Catholic Church for their own globalist ends is an important task for New World Order players. For this reason, although the theme of the Rome Life Forum was “Establishing an Anti-Globalist Alliance”, much of the discussion revolved around the recently concluded first instalment of the “Synod on Synodality”.
The topic of our spiritual response was woven throughout the presentations. For a Christian, the first response to a crisis should, of course, always be prayer and indeed this is our most powerful strategy. Regular prayer is no doubt already an important part of the life of everyone who reads this article, but it is worth each of us taking the time to examine the depth of our prayer life, ensuring that we are making use of every available grace. The Life Forum’s first speaker, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, (who’s mother is Australian) impressed upon us this very thing. Leading us through the story of Emmaus, he reminded us that this is a story with an application for each of us personally, and not merely an historical account of an encounter between two anonymous disciples and the Risen Lord.
Bishop Strickland exhorted us to pray fervently for Pope Francis and to always be seeking to enter more deeply into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He explained that he has only recently begun to learn how to offer the Latin Mass and how much this form has deepened his prayer life. The Bishop explained that he spends one and a half hours daily in front of the Blessed Sacrament and attributes to this activity his ability to stand strong in the face of persecution from the hierarchy in Rome. He said that we too, “must become stronger in the presence of the Lord” and that we must never allow our attendance at Mass to become routine. While this humble man confided that he can sometimes be imprudent, he said that the prevailing imprudence in our Church is not speaking out inappropriately, but failing to speak out when it’s necessary. He said he would prefer to fail in the former way than in the latter – a good example for us.
Bishop Strickland then gave three specific actions that each of us should implement in our unique sphere of influence: we must confidently share the message that each of us is made in the image and likeness of God; we must increase our devotion to The Sacred Heart through The Immaculate Heart and proclaim it, always remembering that Our Lady’s Immaculate Heart will triumph. Finally, he recommended that we pray for good leaders and work for that, since Christ is King and we need leaders who know that and live it.
The second speaker, German Cardinal Gerhard Muller, presented a survey of the theological basis for our resistance to Modernist novelties, contrasting the truth of the Gospel with the prevailing globalist narrative. He stated that without Christ, there is no Church and that bishops who betray the Divine Order have forgotten the meaning for their existence. Cardinal Muller reminded us that St. Paul had to challenge St. Peter on his ambiguity, as found in Scripture where Paul “resisted Peter to his face.” (Gal 2:11) Cardinal Muller exhorted us to “cling faithfully to the constant teaching of the Church”, stating that there is no new revelation and, referencing the Synod on Synodality, said that the Holy Spirit will never establish His own third kingdom, which the Cardinal humorously referred to as a “third Reich”. Cardinal Muller explained that the “New World Order” is nothing other than Marxism and Leninism repackaged, with Klaus Schwab playing the part of God and Yuval Noah Harari as his prophet.
Cardinal Muller’s wonderful theological mind made a huge contrast to the superficial sentimentality that has become an unfortunate hallmark of “synodality.” There was so much richness in the Cardinal’s presentation – so many profound insights into our faith that lack of space does not allow them to be reproduced here. I will offer only two more of his thoughts. Firstly; the Truth is a person – Jesus Christ – and salvation is the work of Christ. We are living in the newness of Jesus Christ and we cannot be more modern than Jesus Christ. He is always modern, He is always “up to date”: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. This is why the church is continually sanctified by Christ and can never go out of date. Secondly; the German “Synodal Way” presents itself as a model for the universal church and a way to the future. However, Jesus recommends a narrow way that leads to life and which very few find – not the wide and spacious way (a la the German synodal way).
Michael Matt of the Remnant Newspaper was the next speaker to challenge us. He reminded us of our obligation before God to hand down the Faith to our sons and daughters as it was given to us. He said that our motivation for doing this is love of the Church, stating that although revolutionary voices have been proposing to “accompany” us, the Church has already been accompanying us all our lives. Mr Matt said that we have to be like the “ten just men of Sodom” (Gen 18:32) and trust that God will defend us. He exhorted us to love the Church enough to stand with Her and to be ready to suffer for Her, reminding us that the sacrifices of the first twelve Apostles gave birth to the greatest civilisation the world has ever seen.
Mr Matt also explained a highly significant connection between the problems which arose at Vatican II and the so-called “Pact of the Catacombs,” This Pact was a product of Marxist liberation theology and while its signatories promised to work for a “Church of the Poor,” in reality they were pledging to implement a programme of horizontal egalitarianism to replace the Church’s vertical and hierarchical nature. During the Synod on Synodality, attendees were given a copy of the Pact and taken to the Domitilla Catacombs as a means of strengthening this programme of levelling the very structure of the Church.
Chris Ferrara of the Fatima Centre, presented another dimension to the global struggle, situating the Church’s crisis within the message of Fatima. He decried the fact that the twin crises in church and state would not have eventuated had Russia been consecrated to the Immaculate Heart, as Our Lady requested at Fatima. Mr Ferrara demonstrated that, although there have been by his count, fourteen attempted Consecrations, not one of them has perfectly fulfilled the requests of Our Lady. This means that, while heaven may bestow some graces due to these efforts, the ultimate graces – the conversion of Russia followed by the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart – have not materialised. Rather, since the most recent attempted Consecration by Pope Francis, violence and strife have escalated to the point where the world appears to be on the brink of World War Three.
Mr Ferrara, who for years has studied closely the message of Fatima, argued that the true meaning behind the so-called “Third Secret of Fatima” has never been revealed publicly. He believes an interpretation given by Cardinal Sodano in the year 2000 was not a full interpretation, as given by Our Lady to Sr Lucia.
As well as presentations by invited speakers, attendees at the Forum were permitted time to make interventions. One such intervention showed how ordinary Catholics can make a huge difference in their communities by simply working at the local level. Daniel Potvin, a father of six and self-confessed “simple lumberjack”, has implemented a powerful strategy in his parish and the idea is quickly spreading throughout the Catholic world. Daniel’s idea involves groups of Catholic men committing to covering their local area with public prayer, while enlisting the help of the choirs of angels. The effectiveness of working locally can be demonstrated by looking at the way our opponents operate: the heterodox German Bishops have had great success in implementing their “synodal Way” on the local diocesan or parish level.
The final speaker at the Life Forum was Reggie Littlejohn, founder of Women’s Rights Without Frontiers, an immensely successful apostolate dedicated to ending forced abortion in China. Her familiarity with the methods of the Chinese Communist Party made Ms Littlejohn aware of the nefarious motives behind attempts by the globalists to implement a One World Government. She noted that this would entail enslaving humanity with a global social credit system like the one operating in China.
Ms Littlejohn painted an alarming picture of the world’s “elites” moving along with their draconian plans for a “Great Reset” at breakneck speed. Unashamedly revealing their plans for humanity, these powerful men and women are rolling out their programmes while many of the world’s citizens remain unaware of the end-game. Plans for the creation of “transhuman” human-machine hybrids, as desired by Huval Noah Harare; for subjecting mankind to an endless array of vaccines, as being pushed by Bill Gates who clearly has a major conflict of interest in this regard; and for enslaving us through the elimination of cash and creation of a digital currency, make it clear that we are being herded into a technocratic “Beast” system at a terrifying rate.
While acknowledging that Our Lady will triumph “in the end”, Ms Littlejohn has called for Christians to work together worldwide to combat the threats of global totalitarianism. To this end, she has launched an Anti-Globalist Alliance under the patronage of St Joan of Arc. Individuals and organisations are invited to sign the Anti-Globalist Manifesto and also to sign up to the email list: https://www.antiglobalist.net/. FLI is proud to be part of this alliance and will keep our readers informed of developments.
So, despite the magnitude of the crises surrounding us, we must never lose hope. We should take comfort in the knowledge that whatever we do to resist the programme of the globalists and the errors being promulgated by the human element of the Church is helpful. Not even the smallest contribution will go unnoticed by heaven in this battle against the forces of evil.
