The National Catholic Register, citing EWTN and ACI Prensa, reports on the ordination of 10 men to the priesthood by the usurper Leo XIV on April 26, 2026, in St. Peter’s Basilica. The central theme of his homily was the exhortation to new “priests” to be “channels, not filters,” keeping the doors of the “Church” open to all, welcoming rather than excluding. He urged them to engage with “culture, people and life,” marveling at what God grows “without our having sown them.” Later, at the Regina Caeli, Leo XIV warned against “thieves” who rob freedom, dignity, and peace, citing various societal ills and consumeristic lifestyles, and also marked the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. This entire spectacle, far from being a call to authentic Catholic priesthood, is a quintessential manifestation of the conciliar revolution’s naturalistic humanism and its systematic dismantling of the Church’s supernatural mission, reducing the sacred ministry to a facilitator of worldly “encounters” and “social friendship.”
The “Open Door” Heresy: A Perversion of the Church’s Mission
The exhortation to be a “channel, not a filter” and to “keep the door open” is a direct echo of the conciliar agenda’s fundamental error: the inversion of the Church’s mission from sanctification and salvation to mere worldly accommodation. The true Church, founded by Christ, is a perfect society, endowed with all necessary means to lead souls to eternal salvation. Its doors are open, indeed, but only to those who enter through the one true Gate, Jesus Christ, and who submit to her teachings and sacraments for the sake of their eternal salvation. The Church does not exist to “welcome” the world on its own terms, but to convert the world to Christ’s terms.
Pius XI, in his encyclical Quas Primas, unequivocally states that the Church “demands for itself by a right belonging to it, which it cannot renounce, full freedom and independence from secular authority, and that in fulfilling the mission entrusted to it by God – to teach, govern, and lead all to eternal happiness, those who belong to the Kingdom of Christ – it cannot depend on anyone’s will.” The “open door” rhetoric of Leo XIV is a betrayal of this divine mandate, transforming the Church from a beacon of truth into a passive receptacle of worldly currents. It is the very antithesis of the Church’s prophetic role, which is to confront the world with the unchanging demands of the Gospel, not to be shaped by its shifting sands.
Priesthood Redefined: From Alter Christus to Social Worker
The description of the “priest” as a “channel” rather than a “filter” is a subtle but profound denial of the priest’s primary role as alter Christus (another Christ), particularly in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the administration of the sacraments. A true priest acts in persona Christi, filtering the world through the lens of divine truth, offering the unblemished sacrifice, and dispensing the graces necessary for salvation. He is a guardian of orthodoxy, a dispenser of the mysteries of God, not merely a facilitator of human “encounters” or “social friendship.”
Leo XIV’s call to “go out and discover culture, people and life! Marvel at the things that God makes grow without our having sown them” is a dangerous invitation to naturalism. It suggests that truth and grace can be found independently of the Church’s explicit mission, her sacraments, and her divinely appointed ministers. This is a direct contradiction of the Catholic principle Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (Outside the Church there is no salvation). While God’s common grace may be perceived in creation, the primary means of salvation are the Church and her sacraments. The priest’s role is to sow the seeds of the Gospel, not merely to marvel at what grows without his supernatural labor. This statement implicitly diminishes the necessity of evangelization and the Church’s unique mediatory role, aligning perfectly with the modernist error condemned by St. Pius X in Lamentabili sane exitu, which rejected the idea that “the Church is an enemy of the progress of natural and theological sciences” (Proposition 57) and that “truth changes with man, because it develops with him, in him, and through him” (Proposition 58).
The “Good Shepherd” Distortion: A False Image of Christ
The usurper’s repeated invocation of the “Good Shepherd” image, while superficially biblical, is stripped of its supernatural and sacrificial meaning. When Leo XIV states, “Jesus does not come as a thief to take away our life and our freedom, but to lead us along the paths of righteousness… He does not come to taint our earthly joys, but to open them to a fuller and more lasting happiness,” he presents a Christ who is merely a moral guide or a facilitator of worldly well-being. This is a far cry from the Christ who demands self-denial, the carrying of one’s cross, and the renunciation of the world for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
The true Good Shepherd lays down His life for His sheep (John 10:11). He is the Gate through which one must enter to be saved (John 10:9). His “paths of righteousness” often lead through suffering and persecution, not merely to “fuller and more lasting happiness” in a worldly sense. The conciliar “Good Shepherd” is a domesticated deity, tailored to modern sensibilities, who poses no threat to earthly comforts or personal autonomy. This distortion is a direct consequence of the modernist tendency to reduce Christ to a mere man, whose teachings are subject to the evolution of human consciousness, as condemned by St. Pius X in Lamentabili sane exitu (Propositions 27-38).
“Thieves” and the Omission of the True Enemy
Leo XIV’s warning against “thieves” who “suppress our freedom or fail to respect our dignity,” “beliefs and biases,” “mistaken ideas,” “superficial and consumeristic lifestyles,” and those who “pillage the earth’s resources, waging blood-thirsty wars, or fueling evil in any form” is a masterclass in modernist ambiguity and omission. While these are indeed societal ills, the complete absence of any mention of sin, Satan, heresy, apostasy, or the enemies within the Church is glaring and deliberate.
The true “thieves” are those who rob souls of their faith, lead them into error, and obscure the path to salvation. The greatest “thief” is Satan himself, whose primary aim is to deceive humanity and lead it away from God. The most dangerous “thieves” are the modernist infiltrators within the Church, who, as St. Pius X warned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis, are “the most dangerous enemies of the Church” because they work from within to corrupt the faith. By focusing solely on external, worldly threats, Leo XIV diverts attention from the spiritual battle and the true sources of humanity’s ruin: sin and the rejection of God’s law. This aligns with the “False Fatima Apparitions” analysis, which notes how the message focuses on external threats (communism) while omitting the main danger: modernist apostasy within the Church.
Celibacy and “Social Friendship”: A Naturalistic Reduction
The comparison of priestly celibacy to “the love of spouses” and the call for “honest, helpful citizens, builders of peace and social friendship” further underscores the naturalistic reduction of the priesthood. While priestly celibacy is indeed a sacrifice, its primary purpose is not merely to foster “social friendship” but to consecrate oneself entirely to God and to the service of His altar, enabling a more perfect imitation of Christ’s own chastity and a more undivided devotion to the things of God (1 Cor. 7:32-35). The emphasis on “social friendship” and “building peace” in a purely human sense, detached from the supernatural order and the Church’s divine mission, transforms the priest into a secular community organizer, rather than a minister of God’s mysteries.
The Chernobyl Anniversary: A Missed Opportunity for Supernatural Reflection
The mention of the 40th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, while acknowledging a tragic event, is presented purely in terms of “discernment and responsibility” for “atomic energy… placed at the service of life and peace.” This is a purely naturalistic and humanistic interpretation, devoid of any supernatural context. A true Pope would have seen in such disasters a potential manifestation of divine chastisement for humanity’s sins, a call to repentance, and a reminder of the transient nature of earthly existence compared to eternity. Instead, Leo XIV offers a secular prayer for “God’s mercy” without any call to conversion or acknowledgment of divine justice, further illustrating the conciliar tendency to view the world solely through a humanistic lens.
Conclusion: The Abomination of Desolation Continues
The entire discourse of Leo XIV, from the ordination homily to the Regina Caeli, is a seamless continuation of the conciliar revolution’s program. It is a program that systematically empties the Catholic faith of its supernatural content, reduces the Church to a humanitarian organization, and transforms the priesthood into a facilitator of worldly “encounters.” The “open door” is not to the Kingdom of Heaven, but to the spirit of the world. The “channel” is not for divine grace, but for humanistic ideologies. This is not the voice of the Vicar of Christ, but the echo of the Antichrist, whose “abomination of desolation” continues to profane the holy place, leading countless souls astray under the guise of “welcome” and “openness.” The faithful must reject this modernist charade and cling to the immutable truths of the integral Catholic faith, recognizing that true freedom and peace are found only in humble submission to Christ the King and His true Church, not in the deceptive “openness” of the conciliar sect.
Source:
Pope Leo XIV Tells New Priests: ‘You Are a Channel, Not a Filter’ (ncregister.com)
Date: 26.04.2026