If you read the Catholic Candle every month, this indicates that you are among the relatively few who are trying to be faithful and informed Catholics after the Second Vatican Council.  Ever since the devil was cast into hell, his goal has been to oppose God and God’s Plan.  When Christ founded His Church, the devil planned to develop a counter-church in opposition to the True Church founded by Christ as the only means of salvation.

The devil has had some success in the past.  One success is Lutheranism.  The number of Lutherans in the world is about 80 million, a membership which far exceeds that of any other Protestant denomination.

The devil also succeeded with all of the other Protestant groups, which together claim approximately 800 million so-called-“christians” (including the Lutherans), who were led by scores of heretical leaders promoting their own novel ideas.  

After the above successful attempts at leading men astray, the devil concluded that he must corrupt Rome from the top down, and be sure to keep the name Catholic for his new church if there was to be a chance for real success.

So, the devil set out many years ago to thoroughly corrupt Rome, with the help of a group of like-minded followers, the Masons.  By 1960, he decided he had infiltrated Rome to such an extent that he could call and control a Vatican Council and launch his anti-Catholic conciliar church.

Well, by the end of the 1960s, after VC II, he had his counter-church, with all the changes (some of which are listed below) that he needed, plus keeping the Catholic name to seduce 1.3 billion Catholics into accepting his Conciliar church and into rejecting Christ's Own church.

This Conciliar church deceptively uses the name "Catholic" and has its own:

• false doctrines (e.g., the teachings of VC II)';
  
• false and sacrilegious worship (e.g., Novus Ordo mass);
  
• places for sacrileges (viz., the Conciliar churches stolen from the Catholic Church);
   
• false priesthood (with its new concept of priesthood; doubtfully valid ordinations, etc.);
  
• false laws (e.g., within the 1983 Code of Canon Law);
  
• false catechisms (e.g., the new Conciliar Catechism of the Catholic Church);
  
• false bibles (e.g., replacing the Douay Rheims Bible);
  
• new, politically-correct "Decalogue" (i.e., new 10 Commandments");
  
• new, politically-correct "beatitudes";
  
• new Mysteries of the Rosary (the so-called "luminous mysteries");
  
• new (supposed) “saints” and new canonization process (e.g., so-called “Saint” John Paul II), the first pope whom the conciliar church (supposedly) “canonized” but certainly not the last;
  
• new (supposed) “sacraments” with conciliar names and formulae: for Catholics, it’s Confession; for the conciliars, it’s “Reconciliation”, and on occasion it’s “group Reconciliation”; and
  
• new (supposed) “miracles” and “apparitions”.

It’s hard to completely comprehend the extent of the devil’s success. Think about it. Over a billion confused Catholics worldwide who reject dogmas infallibly taught by the one true Church of Christ and who accept the corrupt conciliar church which is headquartered in Rome.  And yet, the N-SSPX wants acceptance and recognition from this church.

Yes, roughly 99% of those who profess to be Catholic belong to the Conciliar church, which gives no grace, thus making it seemingly impossible for them to reverse course and to begin to profess all of the traditions of the true, uncompromising Catholic Church.  The enormity of the devil’s success is hard to believe, but it is true.  Also true, is that when people lose their Faith, they usually don’t even realize it.

Besides the interior loss of Faith and grace, when Catholics and Catholic institutions accepted the Conciliar Church, this caused the evils listed below, which occurred between 1965 to 2016:

1. 50% decrease in the number of those who are supposedly “priests” (their ordinations, though, are doubtful), compared to the number of valid priests at the end of Vatican II;
   
2. 50% decrease in the number of those “ordained” to the priesthood (these ordinations, though, are doubtful), compared to the number of valid ordinations at the end of Vatican II;

3. 74% decrease in the number of religious sisters;

4. 66% decrease in the number of religious brothers; and
   
5. 600% increase in the number of parishes without a resident priest pastor.^[1] 

Well, let’s talk about life as Catholics striving always to be faithful to the traditions of the Catholic Church.  We are fighting from the catacombs against the Conciliar church.  We have a fight on our hands, but we are not alone because God is with us, supplying extra grace to strengthen us when needed.  Plus, we have the consoling knowledge that the gates of hell shall not prevail against His Church.  

In the decades since Vatican II, very many souls have been lost.  However, the pope and the bishops of the world will consecrate Russia to Mary’s Immaculate Heart, and then the true Catholic Church show Her great glory.

---