Orthodox Demand Expulsion of Moscow’s Catholic Archbishop

by Christopher A. Ferrara

        As we near the 19^th anniversary of the "consecration" of Russia in 1984, the absurdity of the neo-Catholic establishment’s claim that Russia has undergone a "miraculous transformation" is reaching insane proportions.

        Now the Russian Orthodox, who work hand in glove with Vladimir ("the Practicing Christian") Putin to persecute the Catholic Church in Russia, are demanding expulsion of Catholic Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz - the head of the "Archdiocese of the Mother of God at Moscow" - as a precondition for further utterly useless "dialogue" with Rome.

        On January 9, 2003, Zenit reported that: "The Holy See has not accepted a petition from the Russian Orthodox patriarchate to remove [Kondrusiewicz] as a condition to renew the dialogue with Rome." Yes, you read that correctly: the Russian Orthodox insist that the Vatican remove the Catholic Church’s highest ranking prelate in Russia before they will continue "dialogue" with Rome. But if the Vatican acceded to this preposterous demand, what would there be left to "dialogue" about besides still more capitulations by Rome?

        In response to this demand, Father Thomas Grysa stated that: "The bishops of the Catholic Church are appointed and replaced by the Pope of Rome and not by leaders of other churches" and that "The decisions of John Paul II to raise apostolic administrations to the rank of dioceses, the appointment of ordinary bishops, as well as the institution of the metropolitan see and the metropolitan have an irreversible character."

        Well, that’s good to know. But the question that needs to be answered now is this: What exactly does the Vatican have to show for forty years of "ecumenical dialogue" with these obdurate schismatics, who remain puppets of a civil regime that pretends to be a democracy? We know the answer, of course: nothing, and less than nothing. Less than nothing because, just as Khrushchev used the ploy of "peaceful coexistence" to neutralize his Western opposition while strengthening the Soviet position, so do the non-Catholic participants in "ecumenical dialogue" use it as a tactic to neutralize the one true Church, while hardening their own resolve never to submit to Her authority.

        Just add this latest absurd development to the pile of evidence that the "ecumenical venture" ranks as one of the greatest mistakes of human prudential judgment in the history of the Church. How long this charade will go on is anyone’s guess. But surely the end of the "ecumenical venture" is tied up with fulfillment of the Message of Fatima, and Russia’s conversion to the one true religion.