The Hijacking of John XXIII’s Ecumenical Council
By David Martin
When the announcement was made in September 2013 that Pope John XXIII would be canonized, glaring eyebrows went up in the Traditionalist camp. After all, saints are usually martyr figures that are persecuted for their uncompromising fidelity to the Faith, and Pope John is generally regarded as the flaming modernist that compromised the Faith by convoking the Second Vatican Council on October 11, 1962.
There is no disputing the disaster wrought by Vatican II and how it set into motion an insidious departure from tradition that has left the Holy City “half in ruins.” Even as we recall the conciliar tempest that first convened fifty-four years ago, its gale force continues to uproot the Faith, blow apart revered Catholic practices, topple the Church’s edifice, and spread doctrinal debris throughout the Church. Why the tribute to Pope John? Should his “aggiornamento” be rewarded this way?