It appears obvious to me that the years of “delirious” doctrine, liturgical experimentation, and pastoral recklessness are coming to an end, thanks be to God. Far away now are those dark days when a South American bishop was lighting his cigarettes during the Mass while explaining, with mitre on his head and cross in his hand, that the Mass is just a meal. Such scandals have become passé as Tradition rises up. The Holy Father’s continual call that the shepherds return to defend the sheep appears to be bearing fruit. Clergy, young families, the youth—they are more traditional than their fathers and mothers. But it is necessary to take care not to shout victory just yet, as if the crisis which shook the Church is over. It is not. The abandonment during the past 40 years of authentic Catholic Philosophy and Theology deeply rooted in the Church will continue to leave deep and disastrous traces for many years to come. Every single day, it is necessary to raise the walls of the City of God and even if the “darkest hours of our history” are behind us, nothing would be more disastrous than for us to believe the Church is at peace with the modern world. Every man must, said the Pope, “find his place in the Church”. We are still very far from the restoration of Christianity.
- Fr. Philippe Laguérie of the Institute of the Good Shepherd
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