Open Letter to Confused Catholics

This is a very well written explanation of the Catholic Church's fall from the true teachings and Glory in the years before the Second Vatican Council was called. In this book, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre just reasserts the traditional catholic doctrine and teachings on faith, moral and social issues that have always been defended by the Church. The same doctrine that he supports in this writing was defended by the likes of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Pius V, Saint Pius X, the blessed Pius IX or the venerable Pius XII. This apologia is concise and translated well into English. We can see that where the Modernist failed in the past; they were able to get a foothold within the church through the ill use of the Second Vatican Council. Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre never innovates or dissents in his writing. He only tries to preserve the faith, and for this was rebuked. If you want to understand what happened to the true Catholic Church, this is a must read book. So do not listen to hearsay, read his thoughts in his own words and understand why he was concerned for us.

Archbishop Marcel Francois Lefevbre wrote this letter as a warning and advice to Catholics around the world. A New Religion being promoted--that the Mass is not a Sacrifice but rather the celebration of the Lord's Supper! Catholic bishops and priests telling non-Catholics not to convert to the Catholic Faith! He cites many sacrileges and abominations in France that happened in parish churches. Catholic Dominican monks giving their chapels to Muslims so they can have their own mosques! He cites many terrible scandals such as using baked cookies being used as hosts at the celebration of the Mass. Archbishop Lefevbre's life span experience as a seminary professor for almost a quarter century, a Vatican Apostolic Delegate for Pope Pius XII and member of the Preparatory Commission for the Second Vatican Council for Pope John XXIII---he knew how people in the Catholic Church were changing the Church from within by introducing heresy and scandal leading to apostasy. It is a must read! Neither schismatic or heretic! It is truly Catholic---a Catholic archbishop who wants souls to be saved and not to be damned in Hell because of apostasy and Modernism.

In this book, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre doesn't sustain any doctrine that hasn't been previously defended by doctors of the Church like Saint Thomas Aquinas or popes as Saint Pius V, Saint Pius X, the blessed Pius IX or the venerable Pius XII: he just reasserts the traditional catholic doctrine and teachings on faith, moral and social issues; he never innovates or dissents. Obviously, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre wasn't a schimastic or an heretic, as many modernists - some of them even in the highest ranks of the Church - dared to label him in a unfair and infamous way. On the contrary, in a time of generalized apostasy, he just fulfilled his duties of Archbishop, refusing the changement of Catholicism in a religious syncretism, which maintaining an external catholic appearance, intends to cross and to conciliate it with heretic protestantism, masonic moral relativism and marxist political demagogy, in order to form a new (false) religion that catchs the so-called "spirit of Vatican II". Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was undoubtedly a great figure of the Catholic Church in the second half of the 20th century: thanks to his almost unique efforts, orthodox Roman Catholic doctrine and pratice didn't vanished from our world, very especially, the beautiful tridentine mass. This book should be read by every catholic concerned with his Church, in order to understand Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in his own words, full of plain common sense.

Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, a needlessly controversial figure whose crime was an unflinching obedience to the Catholic faith, whole and entire, as it existed before the Vatican II revolution (which we were also told changed nothing important...thus making the marginalization and attacks on the saintly Archbishop hard to understand), will probably be one day hymned along with other defenders of orthodoxy in the face of massive apostasy, like St.Athanasius. In this book, Archbishop Lefebvre speaks (in simple terms that everyone can understand) calmly and clearly about the real problems troubling the modern Catholic world, and addresses their source. Without doubt, he establishes in easy to understand terms (as the book was intended to be read by laymen with no special theological training), a position for sincere "traditional" Catholics to take, in the face of massive apostasy. Definatly not for the complacent. It is no wonder why people either love, or hate, this great luminary of Catholic orthodoxy.

This book is NOT, contrary to popular calumny, in any way the diatribe of sedevacantist or schismatic ramblings of an old man, left behind as the world moves on. That is what it is NOT.What it is, however, is a well constructed, well thoughout and, at times, harrowing description of the Catholic Church's descent from its strength and glory in the years immediately preceding the Second Vatican Council, when it truly shone as the Mystical Body of Christ, to the stumbling, division-ridden and at times clownish institution it has become today under the influence of reckless Modernists, thoughtless Liberals and careless Humanist theologians.Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre - a prominent player in the later days of the SVC, when it had become apparent what the European clique of bishops were up to - was ideally placed lead the Catholic "crusade" against this self-destructive bent. A lauded and popular French missionary in Africa, with the most orthodox credentials and with every prospect of 'making' Cardinal; following the SVC, he set up the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X in order preserve the traditions of Christ's faithful in the Holy Church as they had always been taught.For this effort he was rebuked, reviled, accused of heresy and schism, denounced as a dinosaur and, worst of all, of being pre-Vatican II, and finally, by a brilliant piece of liberal-Modernist footwork, declared "schismatic and excommunicated" by a curial official in 1988.Thankfully, the Archbishop knew that, with the Mercy of Christ, and the help of His Immaculate Mother Mary, as well as the prayers of all true Catholic faithful around the world - of which there were literally hundreds of thousands publicly attending the Latin masses said by the priests of the SSPX at the time of the Archbishop's death, and of which there are more now, ten years on - with all these things, Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church would win through.This is the essence of the "Open Letter" - the most easily approachable of this learned man's works, and an excellent start for ANYONE who wants to understand why this passionate defender of the faith forfeited the easy path of capitulation in the face of almost overwhelming odds.In the great tradition of all true "apologias", the "Open Letter" is concise, succinct, and, actually, very well written. It suffers little in translation from French to English.Go on - read and learn what you thought had been lost.