To Avoid Frightening the Family – Folha de S. Paulo, October 1, 1969

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

“We, José Humberto Quintero, cardinal priest of the Holy Roman Church, by the grace of God and the Holy See, archbishop of Caracas, send greetings in the Lord to the clergy and faithful of the archdiocese.” With these words, whose noble and paternal tone offers a moment’s respite from the vulgarity and noise of progressive priests, the distinguished Venezuelan cardinal begins a recent pastoral letter about the destruction the so-called “prophetic movement” has wreaked on the Catholic Church. As we will see, with its solemn introduction, this document deserves our full attention.

Countless Brazilians from all walks of life are already familiar with the sinister attempt to atheize the Church, undertaken on a global scale by two semi-clandestine organizations, IDO-C and the “Prophetic Groups.” From north to south, caravans of TFP university students, merchants and workers sold more than 150,000 copies of the issue in which the prestigious monthly cultural magazine Catolicismo analyzed and denounced the plot being carried out by these organizations.

Although no one dared to deny the existence, power, and anti-Catholic intentions of IDO-C and the “Prophetic Groups,” some individuals told our young men here and there, along their long and victorious journey, that by denouncing the sinister plot, Catolicismo was casting many progressive priests and laypeople in a bad light and, ipso facto, causing a dangerous trauma within Catholic ranks. This objection is easy to answer. By its very nature, atheism is the Church’s greatest enemy. Catholics must be alerted if this enemy has found an effective way to sneak into the Church. To ignore this warning for fear of traumatizing Catholic opinion would be like not shouting at a thief entering a house out of fear of frightening the family.

Many Brazilian bishops do not share this trivial objection to our campaign and have expressed solidarity with our criticism of the two aforementioned organizations involved in atheist infiltration: Most Rev. Orlando Chaves, Archbishop of Cuiabá; Most Rev. Antônio de Almeida Morais Jr., Archbishop of Niteroi; and Most Rev. Antônio Mazzaroto, Bishop of Ponta Grossa. These influential voices are now joined by the Cardinal Archbishop of Caracas, who, in his Pastoral Letter of July 30 (when our campaign was halfway through), did not hesitate to upset all of Venezuela, but saw it as a great good to warn Catholics against the “Prophetic Groups.”

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What are the Prince of the Church’s rebukes against this organization? They can all be found in Catolicismo. We quote them in the order in which they appear in his Pastoral Letter:

1. Prophetic Groups’ members “say they are blessed by the Holy Spirit with the gift of prophecy and claim to present ‘the true face of the Church’ adapted to the world and the needs of a mature laity.”

2. “Prophetic Groups” accuse the institutional and hierarchical Church of being “corrupt and in need of radical transformation to be carried out by the laity since the hierarchy cannot be expected to do so.”

3. “Prophetic Groups” claim that the Church has been “becoming corrupt, ‘triumphalist,’ ‘paternalistic,’ ‘jurisdictionalist,’ and ‘clerical’ since Constantine in the fourth century.”

4. “Prophetic Groups” distort the history of the Church to make their accusations appear true.

5. They describe the Church today as “arbitrary and despotic in its use of authority and allied with the rich and powerful.”

6. They seek to transform the Church into a tool for social revolution, “even violent, if necessary.”

7. In light of this revolutionary mission, the “Prophetic Groups” assert that the Church must see “the concept of God and religion, worship, the sacraments, and moral precepts as matters of lesser importance.”

8. The “Prophetic Groups” assert that “to bear witness to poverty, the Church will need to divest itself of its cathedrals and temples. These should not be considered ‘Houses of God’ but ‘Houses of the People of God,’ and therefore also serve profane uses; of its universities, colleges, and schools, which, because they are religious in nature, are opposed to universal brotherhood; and of its charitable works, unless they are free of all religious interference.”

9. The “Prophetic Groups” aim for the church to undergo a “radical democratization,” encouraging the laity to participate in spiritual governance as much as possible.

As we mentioned, Cardinal Quintero believes that revealing this sinister conspiracy does not weaken the Church in his country but instead makes it stronger. What a well-earned lesson for those who let the thief go free, afraid of scaring the family!

This strong argument from authority, along with the testimony of respected Brazilian bishops and solid doctrinal reasons, demonstrates that the alarm raised against atheistic infiltration by the monthly cultural magazine of the esteemed bishop of Campos, Most Rev. Antônio de Castro Mayer, is highly beneficial for the Church and Brazil.