Vatican News portal (23 February 2026) reports on the Catholic Church in Indonesia’s intensified efforts against human trafficking in Flores, following the rescue of 13 young women from exploitation. The article highlights the work of Tim Relawan untuk Kemanusiaan Flores (TRUK-F), led by “Sister” Fransiska Imakulata, SSpS, and “Father” Otto Gusti Ndegong Madung, SVD, providing shelter, legal aid, and advocacy. It emphasizes structural factors like poverty and corruption, and calls for stronger enforcement of Indonesian anti-trafficking laws. The Church’s mission is framed as building a society respecting human dignity and justice, with a “preferential option for the poor.” This article, while addressing a grave evil, reveals a post-conciliar Church that has replaced the supernatural goal of salvation with naturalistic social activism, aligning with the Modernism condemned by St. Pius X. The complete absence of any reference to the sacraments, repentance, or the eternal salvation of souls exposes the theological bankruptcy of this approach.
Naturalism as the New Theology
The article presents the Church’s anti-trafficking work solely in natural terms: “providing safe accommodation, legal advocacy, trauma counseling, repatriation assistance, educational support, and economic empowerment programs.” There is no mention of the supernatural end of these actions. “Sister” Imakulata states, “In those who suffer, we see the face of Christ,” reducing Christ to a sentimental symbol of suffering rather than the King whose law must govern society. This is a stark departure from the integral Catholic faith, which teaches that all good works must be ordered to the beatific vision. Pope Pius XI, in Quas Primas, declares that the Church’s mission is to lead men to eternal happiness, not merely temporal dignity. The article’s focus on “human dignity” and “justice” as ends in themselves reflects the Modernist error of immanentism, condemned by St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici gregis. The Church, according to Pius XI, must assert full freedom and independence from secular authority to fulfill its divine mandate; here, it operates entirely within the secular framework, accepting the state’s primacy in defining justice.
The Omission of Supernatural Salvation: A Graver Crime Than Trafficking Itself
The most damning omission is the total silence on the salvation of souls. The rescued women are given psychological and legal aid, but there is no mention of confession, baptism (if needed), or instruction in the faith. “Father” Madung says the Church is “called to be a sign and instrument of God’s liberating love,” yet this “liberation” is purely social and economic. This betrays the Church’s primary duty: the salvation of souls (Pius XI, Quas Primas). The article treats human trafficking as a “crime against humanity” — a secular concept — rather than a grievous sin against the fifth and seventh commandments, requiring both restitution and sacramental reconciliation. By omitting the supernatural, the conciliar sect reduces the Church to a humanitarian NGO, aligning with the errors of the Syllabus of Errors which condemns the separation of Church and state (Error 55) and the subordination of divine law to human law (Error 42). The victims are left in their sins, and the perpetrators are not called to repentance — a dereliction of duty that is itself a mortal sin against charity and justice.
Modernist Language and the Infiltration of Liberation Theology
The article employs Modernist terminology: “preferential option for the poor” and “pastoral identity.” These phrases originate in the post-conciliar embrace of liberation theology, which Pius XII and Pius IX had already condemned in essence. The Syllabus condemns the idea that the Church should be “hostile to the well-being and interests of society” (Error 40), but here the Church adopts society’s own goals (human rights, social justice) without transcending them with divine law. “Father” Madung‘s statement that the Church must “build a society that respects human dignity and justice” echoes the modernist reduction of the Church to a mere instrument of worldly progress, directly opposing Pius XI’s teaching that Christ’s kingship must order all human institutions. The article’s silence on the necessity of public recognition of Christ’s reign (as demanded in Quas Primas) is a tacit acceptance of the secularist errors listed in the Syllabus (e.g., Error 77: “it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be held as the only religion of the State”). The language of “liberating love” is a deliberate ambiguity, masking the Church’s abdication of its supernatural mission.
The Role of Modernist Religious Orders: SSpS and SVD
The involvement of the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) and the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) is telling. These orders, post-dating the Modernist crisis, are deeply imbued with the spirit of aggiornamento and often promote naturalistic approaches to mission. Their leadership in this initiative, devoid of supernatural emphasis, demonstrates how even religious life has been corrupted. Pre-1958, religious orders were primarily oriented toward contemplation and the salvation of souls; here, they function as social workers. This aligns with the errors condemned in Lamentabili sane exitu, particularly Proposition 54: “Dogmas, sacraments, and hierarchy… are merely modes of explanation and stages in the evolution of Christian consciousness.” By reducing the Church’s mission to social evolution, the article’s protagonists embody the very Modernism Pius X sought to eradicate. The SSpS and SVD, like many post-conciliar orders, have become instruments of the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.
Silence on Christ’s Kingship and Divine Law
Pius XI’s Quas Primas is explicit: Christ’s reign extends to all nations, and rulers must “publicly honor Christ and obey Him.” The article makes no demand that Indonesia’s government enact laws based on the Ten Commandments or that the Church assert its divine right to teach and govern. Instead, it pleads for “stronger oversight” within the existing secular legal framework. This is a capitulation to the errors of the Syllabus, which condemns the notion that the Church has no temporal power (Error 24) and that civil authority can interfere in religious matters (Error 44). The conciliar sect, as shown here, has abandoned the doctrine of the social kingship of Christ, reducing the Church to a pressure group within a godless state. The article’s call for “firm legal action” and “enforcement of existing anti-trafficking laws” accepts the secular legal order as final, contrary to Catholic teaching that all law must derive from the eternal law of God.
The Gravest Omission: No Call to Conversion or Sacramental Life
The article’s most damning flaw is its failure to call anyone to repentance, faith, or the sacraments. The victims are not urged to convert if non-Catholic; the perpetrators are not told to confess their sins. This omission is not incidental but fundamental: it reveals a Church that no longer believes in the necessity of the sacraments for salvation. St. Pius X, in Lamentabili, condemns the proposition that “the sacraments merely serve to remind man of the presence of the ever-benevolent Creator” (Proposition 41). The article’s approach, by treating trafficking as a purely social problem, implicitly accepts this heretical view. The true Catholic response would demand: 1) immediate baptism for unbaptized victims, 2) confession for all involved, 3) public reparation, and 4) the preaching of the Gospel to all. Without these, the Church’s action is not Catholic but a humanitarian enterprise that starves souls of the grace necessary for eternal life. The article’s silence on the state of grace and the final judgment is the hallmark of the Modernist infection, which reduces religion to ethics and denies the supernatural order.
Conclusion: A Church of the Abomination of Desolation
The Indonesian Church’s anti-trafficking campaign, as presented, is a clear manifestation of the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place (Matt. 24:15). It uses Catholic language and symbols while emptying them of supernatural content. The focus on “human dignity” and “social justice” without reference to God’s law and the salvation of souls is the very essence of Modernism, which St. Pius X called the “synthesis of all heresies.” The article’s authors and protagonists, by omitting the primary duty of the Church, prove themselves to be agents of the conciliar apostasy. True Catholics must reject this naturalistic charade and uphold the integral faith of Pius IX, Pius X, and Pius XI, which demands that every action be ordered to the kingdom of Christ and the eternal salvation of all. The fight against human trafficking must be waged with the weapons of the Church: the sacraments, the preaching of the Gospel, and the uncompromising proclamation of Christ’s kingship over every facet of life.
Source:
Indonesian Church strengthens fight against human trafficking (vaticannews.va)
Date: 23.02.2026