From Calvinist Error to Conciliar Apostasy: A Modernist “Conversion” Narrative
Catholic News Agency reports on John Bergsma’s purported conversion from Calvinism to the post-conciliar sect, framing his acceptance of the Novus Ordo “Mass” and conciliar ecclesiology as authentic Catholicism. The article, dated January 2, 2026, details Bergsma’s transition from rejecting the Catholic Mass as “idolatry” to embracing the Vatican II sect’s doctrines, particularly its distorted view of the Eucharist. The narrative celebrates his theological compromise as a revival of tradition while omitting the apostate nature of the structure he joined.
Naturalism Masquerading as Supernatural Faith
Bergsma’s conversion hinges on subjective experience rather than doctrinal fidelity. His account emphasizes a “sense of peace and the presence of the Holy Spirit” during Protestant evangelization—a sentimentalism condemned by Pope St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907) as characteristic of Modernism’s “vital immanence.” The article’s focus on emotional resonance (“testimony resonated with the conference’s young adult audience”) reveals the conciliar sect’s reduction of faith to psychological comfort, abandoning the Church’s mission to “make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded” (Matthew 28:19-20).
Sola Fide’s Collapse: A Trojan Horse for Syncretism
Bergsma rejects sola fide not due to its incompatibility with Catholic soteriology—which requires fides formata caritate (faith formed by charity)—but because of its ethical incoherence. The article quotes him agreeing with a woman who doubted eternal security for unrepentant sinners, yet fails to condemn Protestantism’s core heresy: justification without sanctification. This omission aligns with the conciliar sect’s false ecumenism, which treats heresy as a “separated brethren” issue rather than a soul-destroying error. As Pius IX decreed in the Syllabus of Errors (1864): “Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ” (Proposition 17) is condemned.
Scripture and Apostolic Tradition: A Modernist Distortion
The article claims Bergsma’s study of “Scripture, Protestant confessions, and the Catholic catechism” led him to Catholicism. This falsely equates the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)—a modernist document permitting religious liberty (CCC 2108)—with the immutable Roman Catechism (1566). His appeal to St. Ignatius of Antioch’s Eucharistic theology ignores the saint’s insistence on episcopal authority, which Bergsma now submits to modernist usurpers. St. Ignatius wrote: “Be subject to the bishop as to the Lord… Let no man do anything pertaining to the Church without the bishop” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8:1)—an obedience impossible under antipopes who deny the Social Kingship of Christ.
The Eucharistic Abomination: From Idolatry to Desecration
Bergsma’s alleged discovery of the Eucharist occurs within the Novus Ordo ritual, which Pope Pius XII’s Sacramentum Ordinis (1947) indirectly condemns through its strict sacramental form requirements. The Novus Ordo’s General Instruction (1969) reduces the Mass to a “supper” and eliminates propitiatory sacrifice—making Bergsma’s “conversion” a transition from Calvinist idolatry to conciliar desecration. Quoting Pius XI’s Quas Primas (1925): “The empire of our Redeemer embraces all men. […] It would be a grave error […] to exclude Christ […] from the legislation of the Commonwealth” (§18), the conciliar sect’s Eucharist, celebrated in defiance of this kingship, becomes a sacrilegious parody.
Exploiting Youthful Disillusionment
The article applauds Bergsma’s appeal to youth seeking “something solid” amid “cultural chaos.” This manipulates legitimate despair to promote the conciliar sect’s false stability. True Catholic tradition—the Mass of Ages, integrally preserved by sedevacantist clergy—is erased, replaced with a “revival of interest in tradition” that means guitar-liturgies and Eucharistic processions alongside Pachamama rituals. As the Syllabus condemns: “The Roman pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (Proposition 80) is an abomination.
Conclusion: Sheep Led to the Wolf
Bergsma’s journey epitomizes the conciliar sect’s diabolical inversion: souls fleeing Protestant subjectivism are captured by a counterfeit church that sacralizes modernity. His current role at the St. Paul Center—a bastion of faux-biblical scholarship promoting the “hermeneutic of continuity”—completes the tragedy. As Our Lord warned: “If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:23). The true Church remains only where the immutable Faith, Sacraments, and Gregorian liturgy endure—outside the occupied Vatican’s synthetic structures.
Source:
From ‘idolatry’ to the Eucharist, John Bergsma recounts his path to the Church (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 02.01.2026