April 2002

Dear Friends and Benefactors,

You will remember how strongly the Society of Saint Pius X spoke out against the second Assisi meeting of the world’s religion last January, and publicly condemned this latest in 16 years of ecumenical meetings, all bringing about a greater indifferentism to the true Catholic Faith, for all religions are placed on the same level, whether true or false, whether from God or invented by man.

The authorities in Rome, in an attempt to defend this initiative, attempted to maintain that it was acceptable because there was no syncretism. By syncretism is meant the joining or merging together of different religions into one, blurring the lines of distinction between them. Syncretism, as even many modernists admit, is a denial of the Faith. Of course, there does not have to be open syncretism for such a meeting to be a sacrilegious abomination. The simple fact of placing paganism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism or Protestantism on the simple level as the true Catholic religion suffices for that.

However, it is just recently that proof of this syncretism, of the formation of a one world religion, acceptable to all believers, has emerged. It was done, in a symbolic manner, at Assisi II, by the promulgation of a religious code. We all know that the essence of the Mosaic law, that Our Lord came to restore to its original purity, is contained in the Ten Commandments, and that consequently the Ten Commandments are a distinguishing feature, in the moral order, of the true religion. And so, it would be the most logical thing in the world for somebody who wanted to establish a new world religion, to establish a new set of Ten Commandments, mark of the new religion.

Shocking though it might sound, this is precisely what happened at Assisi II, on January 24. On that day Pope John Paul II, along with 12 world religious leaders, including Jews, Muslims and Buddhists, signed a declaration entitled "The Ten Commandments of Assisi for Peace". It was only last month that this became known, for on March 4 Pope John Paul II addressed a letter to all the Heads of State and of government of the entire world, presenting them with this infamous document. In this letter, he explained how these new ten commandments flow forth from the new religion of man that was more than ever the common conviction of the participants of the Assisi meeting, and how he desires that the political and social actions of all governments be inspired by them.

These are the words with which the Pope expressed this. I invite you to go beneath the surface of these flowery words to see what he really meant: "I could see that the participants at the Assisi meeting were more than ever filled with a common conviction: humanity must chose between love and hatred. And all of us, feeling ourselves members of a same human family, were able to express this aspiration through these ten commandments, persuaded that hatred destroys and that love to the contrary builds up." Note that it is the solidarity of humanity that is the basis of these ten commandments and of the unity of all men that rise above the unimportant differences of creed and doctrine. He goes on to explain what it is about such "men of good will" that makes them the basis of religion. It is simply that they seek truth, justice, freedom and love. It is in man’s seeking (not objective finding, of course) that his dignity can be found, and this is the basis of the new integral humanism, the one world religion of man. Here are the Pope’s words: "I desire that the spirit and commitment of Assisi draw all men of good will to seek truth, justice, liberty, and love, in order that every human person might enjoy its inalienable rights, and each people might have peace."

You will of course be curious to know what are these ten commandments, given in the name of man, and not in the name of God. It will come as no surprise to hear that there is no mention of even God himself, except in passing in the first commandment, "condemning all recourse to violence and to war in the name of God or of religion". They are a series of commitments to humanity, which commitments can be summarized in the following way:

1. To proclaim our conviction that violence and terrorism are opposed to the true religious spirit

2. To promote a peaceful coexistence between different cultures, peoples and religions

3. To promote dialogue, and hence mutual comprehension

4. To defend the right of the human person to lead a life in conformity with his cultural identity

5. To dialogue, overlooking that which separates us

6. To mutually pardon errors and prejudices

7. To be at the side of those who suffer and are abandoned

8. To give humanity a real hope of justice and peace, by not accepting violence and evil

9. To promote friendship amongst peoples

10. To build, on the national and international levels a world of solidarity and of peace founded on justice

For 2,000 years the Ten Commandments of God were perfectly apt to guide the lives of Catholics. Now they are not. The Pope has made this the climax of his ecumenical Papacy. We must now embrace ten commitments to one world religion. Note that he does this in a solemn manner, but not as teaching Catholics. It is not in the form of an encyclical letter addressed to the Catholic bishops and faithful, for it is manifestly not in any way related to Catholic Faith or morality. It is a petition addressed to the world’s governments to discover a basis for social and political action that is entirely different from that of the Faith. It is an attempt to unite the world, in the name of religion if you please, in the inherent goodness and rights of mankind. It is syncretism, the formation of a new religion of man, of human experience, that will supposedly not conflict with any personal religious convictions, whether they be Catholic or not, and that transcends all the differences of each religion.

The basis of this attempt at syncretism, at uniting all the world’s religions together, was well described by Saint Pius X in 1907: "Given this doctrine of experience united with that of symbolism, every religion, even that of paganism, must be held to be true. What is to prevent such experience from being found in any religion? In fact, that they are so is maintained by not a few. On what grounds can Modernists deny the truth of an experience affirmed by a follower of Islam? Will they claim a monopoly of true experiences for Catholics alone? Indeed, Modernists do not deny, but actually maintain, some confusedly, others frankly, that all religions are true." (Pascendi, §14)

Pope Pius XI was equally explicit in his condemnation of the meetings of Catholics with various denominations of Protestants, and although he could not possibly have foreseen the gravity of the present tragic crisis, the principles that he enunciates apply perfectly well: "They suppose the erroneous view that all religions are more or less good and praiseworthy…Those who hold such a view are not only in error; they distort the true idea of religion, and thus reject it, falling gradually into naturalism and atheism". (Mortalium animos, §2). This is a very strong but true statement. The acceptance of all religions leads to the super-religion of man, a total inversion of the true purpose of religion, to submit man to the one true God. The naturalism that he describes is nothing else than humanism. The logical consequence is the abandonment of any Faith in God as a submission of the intellect to the truth, that is pure atheism.

Let not, however, the joy of this paschal season be marred by the betrayals of the modernists. Just as Our Lord was victorious over suffering and death by rising from the dead, so also will our Faith be: "Have confidence, I have overcome the world" (Jn 16:33), for "this is the victory which overcometh the world, our Faith" (Jn 5:4). Nothing can shake our confidence in the true ten commandments, in the true Church and the true Faith, entirely supernatural as it is. "Therefore, if you be risen with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God: Mind the things that are above, not the things that are upon the earth". (Col. 3:1 & 2)

Fr. Peter R. Scott

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