Vatican Conference Redefines Sainthood: A Modernist Subversion of Holiness
The VaticanNews portal (November 13, 2025) reports on a conference titled “Mysticism, Mystical Phenomena, and Holiness,” organized by the “Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.” Antipope Leo XIV addressed participants, asserting that the “complete and constant conformity to the will of God” matters most in evaluating “candidates for sainthood,” while urging “prudence” in assessing mystical phenomena. The antipope claimed extraordinary phenomena are “not indispensable conditions” for holiness but “may strengthen virtues” if “directed toward the edification of the whole Church.” This event exemplifies the neo-church’s systematic dismantling of Catholic soteriology.
Naturalistic Reduction of Sanctity
The conference promotes a radical departure from scientia sanctitatis (the science of holiness) as defined by Pope Benedict XIV in De Servorum Dei Beatificatione. By declaring mystical phenomena “secondary and non-essential,” the antipope denies the Church’s immutable teaching that extraordinary graces – such as visions, stigmata, or prophecy – serve as signa sanctitatis (signs of holiness) when verified by rigorous investigation. Pope Pius XI in Miserentissimus Redemptor (1928) emphasized that mystical phenomena manifest “the admirable commerce of Divine Wisdom with souls” when authentic. The antipope’s position reduces holiness to mere psychological conformity, stripping it of its supernatural character.
Omission of Ecclesial Authority and Dogmatic Criteria
Nowhere does the text address the Church’s infallible judgment in canonizations, a power derived from Christ’s promise to Peter (Mt 16:19). The 1917 Code of Canon Law (Canon 1999 §1) mandated that causes require “heroic virtue proven by witnesses” and miracles verified with medical certainty. The antipope’s call for “balance” in evaluating “exceptional phenomena” directly contradicts St. Robert Bellarmine’s teaching that “private revelations approved by the Church oblige the faithful to give assent” (De Controversiis, Lib. IV). By relativizing mystical signs, the conference undermines the Church’s God-given authority to authenticate divine interventions.
False Equivalence Between True and False Mysticism
The antipope’s statement that “the Magisterium… has provided criteria for distinguishing authentic spiritual phenomena from deceptive manifestations” is a demonstrable lie. Since Vatican II, the neo-church has canonized numerous individuals with dubious mystical claims while suppressing authentic Catholic mystics. Consider the “canonization” of Faustina Kowalska – whose heretical “Divine Mercy” revelations were placed on the Index by the Holy Office in 1959 – versus the marginalization of Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich, whose visions were meticulously scrutinized under Pope Pius VII. The article’s reference to St. Teresa of Avila is particularly obscene, given that her writings underwent exhaustive examination by the Spanish Inquisition – a process inconceivable in today’s “Dicastery,” which operates as a rubber-stamp factory for modernist “saints.”
Silence on the Supernatural Economy
“At the heart of mystical life lies the awareness of an intimate union of love with God,”
the antipope claims, perverting the true nature of mysticism. Authentic Catholic mysticism always centers on participatio in divinam naturam (participation in the divine nature) through sanctifying grace, as defined by the Council of Trent (Session VI, Canon 10). The article omits any mention of the necessity of:
- The state of grace (John 15:5: “Without Me you can do nothing”)
- Submission to ecclesiastical authority (Heb 13:17: “Obey your prelates”)
- The four marks of true mysticism: humility, obedience, patience, and charity (St. John of the Cross, Ascent of Mount Carmel)
Instead, it promotes a naturalistic “experience” detached from dogmatic truth, echoing Modernism’s condemnation in Lamentabili Sane (1907): “Revelation was merely man’s self-awareness of his relationship to God” (Proposition 20).
Canonizations as Instruments of Ideological Subversion
The conference’s true aim is exposed in its promotion of “St. John of the Cross” alongside Teresa of Avila – both rigorously orthodox saints now co-opted to legitimize neo-modernist heresies. Contrast this with the neo-church’s canonization of heretics like John Henry Newman (who denied papal infallibility) and martyrs like the Ulma family (who died for natural virtue, not Catholic faith). Pius XII warned in Mystici Corporis (1943) that “only those are really to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith.” By canonizing non-Catholics and virtue-signalers, the antipapal regime fabricates a false ecclesiology where holiness exists outside the Church.
The Masonic “Edification” Heresy
Most damning is the antipope’s claim that mystical phenomena are valid if “directed toward the edification of the whole Church, the mystical Body of Christ.” This inverts St. Paul’s teaching that “the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets” (1 Cor 14:32). The Codex Iuris Canonici (1917) required mystical claims to be judged by the Holy Office precisely because false mysticism destroys souls (Canon 1399). Now, “edification” means promoting the neo-church’s agenda – as seen in the “canonization” of Oscar Romero (a Marxist sympathizer) and Paul VI (architect of the Novus Ordo). This corrupt process fulfills Pius X’s warning in Pascendi that Modernists would reduce religion to “experience” devoid of objective truth.
Conclusion: Return to the True Science of Saints
As the smoke of Satan fills the Vatican, faithful Catholics must cling to the scientia sanctorum practiced for centuries. Let us reject this conference’s naturalistic pseudo-theology and heed Pope Benedict XIV’s instruction: “Three things are required for beatification – heroic virtue, miracles, and the judgment of the Church.” Until Peter’s throne is freed from usurpers, we venerate only those saints canonized before 1958, whose holiness was tried by fire – not the counterfeit “saints” manufactured to deceive the elect (Mt 24:24).
Source:
Pope: At the heart of mystical life is the union with God’s love (vaticannews.va)
Date: 13.11.2025