Apostate Liturgy of a False Shepherd: Gänswein’s Heretical Veneration of Benedict XVI
The EWTN News portal (January 11, 2026) reports that “Archbishop” Georg Gänswein, former secretary to Joseph Ratzinger (“Benedict XVI”), publicly declared praying to the deceased antipope while expressing hopes for his beatification. Speaking in Vilnius, Lithuania, Gänswein nostalgically recalled collaborating with Ratzinger, framing their relationship as divinely ordained formation. The article further details a gathering featuring secular speakers discussing addiction recovery, moral education, and clown therapy in hospitals—presented as complementary to Catholic discourse.
Sacrilegious Invocation Contradicts Divine Law
Gänswein’s admission that he prays “not so much for him, but to him” constitutes latria (divine worship) directed toward a man whose theological errors and adherence to conciliar apostasy render him spiritually bankrupt. The Church infallibly teaches that “cultus duliae (veneration of saints) is permissible only after formal canonization” (Benedict XIV, De Servorum Dei Beatificatione). Pius XI’s encyclical Quas Primas condemns such inversion of worship: “Kingship belongs to Christ alone… to transfer royal privileges to creatures is the height of impiety” (1925). By encouraging devotion to an uncononized modernist, Gänswein propagates the sin of idolatry, reducing the Faith to personality cults.
Theological Modernism Disguised as “Prudence”
While Gänswein superficially acknowledges Church “prudence” in beatification causes, his demand for Ratzinger’s elevation exposes the conciliar sect’s modus operandi: manufacturing “saints” to legitimize heresy. True saints embody uncompromising doctrinal rigidity, as evidenced by St. Pius X’s condemnation: “The Modernist sustains and propagates error… he embraces all heresies” (Pascendi Dominici Gregis, 1907). Ratzinger’s tenure as “prefect” of the counterfeit “Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith” institutionalized apostasy—from ecumenism with pagans (Assisi 1986) to denying the Social Kingship of Christ. To propose his sanctity is to declare evil good.
Naturalism Masquerading as Pastoral Care
The Vilnius event’s inclusion of secularists discussing addiction, education, and hospital entertainment epitomizes the neo-church’s surrender to naturalism. Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors condemns such syncretism: “The Church ought to be separated from the State, and the State from the Church” (Err. 55). When Gänswein praises Lithuanian “faith” while sharing platforms with moral relativists, he fulfills St. Pius X’s prophecy: “Modernists place the foundation of religious philosophy in… vital immanence” (Lamentabili Sane, 1907). True Catholicism excludes dialogue with error; conciliarism celebrates it.
False Obedience to a Usurped Authority
Gänswein’s reference to his Baltic appointment as a “bonus” from the antipope “Leo XIV” confirms his adherence to the counterfeit hierarchy. Canon 188.4 of the 1917 Code declares that those publicly defecting from Catholic faith “lose office ipso facto”. Since the Vatican II antipopes promote religious liberty—condemned as “insanity” by Gregory XVI (Mirari Vos, 1832)—their “nuncios” lack all jurisdiction. Gänswein’s diplomatic role serves only the Counter-Church seeking globalist subversion.
Conclusion: Silence on Eschatological Gravity
Nowhere does Gänswein warn that receiving “communion” under conciliar rites—which desecrate the propitiatory sacrifice—incurs mortal sin. His sentimentalism about “formation of the heart” ignores the eternal fate of souls seduced by Vatican II’s false gospel. As Pope St. Pius V decreed: “Let all be anathema who deny that Mass is a true sacrifice… offered for the living and dead” (Quo Primum, 1570). The article’s omission of this truth reveals its complicity in leading souls to perdition.
Source:
Gänswein says he prays to Benedict XVI, confirms hope for beatification cause (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 11.01.2026