Draft pastoral letter

                                          “Repent, and believe in the Gospel!”

                                         (elaborated by Bishops’ Synod of UOGCC)

Dear Catholic Christians,

on the threshold of the Lenten period I am addressing You as the successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome, with the words of our Lord and Saviour: “Change your minds, and believe in the Gospel!” The mind of a Christian in Europe as well as in other parts of the world is influenced by many negative amoral and neopagan currents. Many Christians no longer distinguish the truth from a lie, a sin from a virtue. The influence of the world upon a Christian stifles the influence of God’s Word and Church community. Unfortunately, the spirit of the world which normalizes sin, which tolerates the abomination of homosexuality, reaches its peak in these days. The European Union has given first priority to homosexuality, which de facto results in systematic destruction of Christianity. Similarly, the spirit of antichrist penetrates into the community of nations from the UN. The nations witness promotion of antilaws, amorality, totalitarianism, euthanasia. God’s laws are trampled down and done away with. This time is really the time of the coming of the spirit of antichrist. By psychological intrigue and lies even small children and youth are demoralized and demonized through perversity. The so-called juvenile justice system takes children away from parents. Legalization of same-sex marriage destroys the natural family, and consequent changes in the laws establish a homodictatorship. Bribery and psychological pressure cause one Christian nation after another to fall victim to apostasy from Christ and His Gospel. This spirit of antichrist, which is given a free rein by the UN, EU and other international organizations, and especially by the world organization of Freemasons, has in view mass apostasy from moral and spiritual values, destruction of true Christianity, a hell on earth and hell after death.

You ask who is to blame most for this mass apostasy from Christianity. Why did God allow this dire situation? The main blame for this state falls on the leadership of the Catholic Church. Why? Because they refused true repentance. Postconciliar false aggiornamento with the spirit of the world has its roots here. The main sources of internal apostasy of the Church are:

1) historical-critical theology, which denies the Divinity of Christ, His real and historical Resurrection as well as the very inspiration of the Scripture – this theology is part of compulsory education at almost all Catholic theological schools;

2) false reverence for other religions – constant mantra-like repetition of the slogan “reverence for pagan religions” with reference to the Nostra aetate declaration and to the apostatical gesture of Pope John Paul II in Assisi.

Unless bishops, religious, priests and the faithful show repentance for these two poisonous roots, the process of self-destruction of the Church will continue and the full blame for it will fall on them. In this time of crisis, the Bishops’ Synod of the Ukrainian orthodox Greek-Catholic Church appealed to nearly all Catholic bishops of the world by personal letters to confess the true faith and to renounce the spirit of heresy, to send their confession to me, and to inform the Synod of the UOGCC of doing so. I have to admit that except for one bishop who confessed the faith none of the Catholic bishops did so, for which reason they justly fell under God’s anathema in accordance with Gal 1:8-9. This concerns 4872 bishops.

Under an onerous burden I lack strength, and I also have no co-workers with whom I could stand up against this strong current of destruction both within and outside the Church. In spite of the fact that as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith I disavowed the apostatical gesture in Assisi, finally, under psychological pressure, in the first month of this year I appointed the date of beatification of John Paul II – 1 May 2011. I also scheduled a syncretistic meeting in Assisi for October 2011. You ask what the response is. Most orthodox Christians bombard me with letters and pleas, imploring me to cancel both events because they deny the very essence of the Gospel. Also, I was clearly notified by the Bishops’ Synod of the UOGCC that unless I cancel the beatification and the visit to Assisi, I will exclude myself from the Church.

Dear brothers and sisters, I am just a weak man, just like the apostle Peter who denied his Lord three times. Peter repented, and I decided to do the same at this time of Lent.

Therefore, by this pastoral letter I cancel beatification of John Paul II as well as the planned meeting in Assisi with representatives of pagan religions. Please, support my step with prayers so that when I will stand before the judgement seat of God and account for the whole Church, I can stand this judgement and be not condemned like the apostle Judas.

I hereby call upon all bishops to repent, to resign voluntarily from their offices and to give place to new bishops who will be able to carry out a true reform of the Church. I also call upon all teachers of theological schools to radically break with the spirit of historical-critical theology, with the spirit of heresy and with the spirit of the world, and to repent or else resign from their positions. I call on all religious to realize the essence of the religious life, which is the way of self-denial and imitation of the crucified Saviour. I also call on all priests to break with poisonous spiritual currents which destroy Christianity. By showing genuine repentance and receiving the Holy Spirit, become true witnesses of Christ in this difficult time, which is truly the time of the antichrist.

I call upon all believers to repent sincerely, to seek true forms of piety and to follow Christ in truth in their lives.

In particular I call upon heads of Christian states to follow my example and repent too. Perhaps God will have mercy and save mankind from self-genocide.

I have to remind that the curse that appears in the visible form of perversion and homosexuality is the fruit of unbelief and betrayal inside the Church. As representatives of states repeal antilaws and antivalues, consecrate Your nations to Jesus Christ and accept God’s laws again. Jesus Himself wants us all in this historic time to change our minds and believe in the Gospel – not in human psychologies or ideologies.

I bestow my blessing upon all Catholic Christians as well as other Christians in this historic moment, that You all may change Your minds and believe in the Gospel.

      Benedict XVI

      Supreme Pontiff

      In Rome on Ash Wednesday, 9 March 2011