George Weigel, writing for the National Catholic Register, offers a personal reflection on the 75th anniversary of his baptism, focusing on the “communion of saints” as a “great cloud of witnesses” encountered through various individuals in his life. While superficially touching on Catholic themes, the article reveals a profoundly naturalistic and modernist understanding of sanctity and the Church, conspicuously omitting any mention of the supernatural means of grace, the necessity of the true Church for salvation, the reality of original sin’s remission, or the ultimate purpose of baptism – eternal life with God through the merits of Christ’s sacrifice. Instead, Weigel presents a sentimentalized, human-centric view where “sanctity” is equated with admirable human qualities or experiences, reducing the profound mystery of incorporation into Christ to a mere sociological or emotional connection with exemplary figures, many of whom are products of or aligned with the conciliar revolution.
The Naturalization of Sanctity: A Modernist Anthropocentrism
Weigel’s reflection, while ostensibly about the “communion of saints,” quickly devolves into a celebration of human virtue and experience, detached from the supernatural reality of grace and the Church as the sole ark of salvation. His definition of sanctity is alarmingly vague and subjective: “for which there is no single template.” This stands in stark contrast to the immutable Catholic teaching that sanctity is the perfection of charity, a participation in the divine life, achieved through the sacraments, prayer, and the observance of God’s commandments, all within the true Church. The Catechism of the Council of Trent unequivocally states that sanctity is “the perfection of Christian life,” a state of being “consecrated to God,” and that “the means of attaining it are the sacraments, prayer, and good works.”
Weigel’s examples of “sanctity” are telling in their naturalism. He cites his parents’ “sacrificial love,” his teachers, his piano instructor, and his choirmaster, even attributing his “religious experiences” to music. While these are commendable human qualities, they are not, in themselves, sanctity in the theological sense. This reduction of the supernatural to the natural is a hallmark of Modernism, which, as St. Pius X condemned in *Pascendi Dominici Gregis*, “explains the phenomena of religion by the laws of psychology and sociology, and denies the intervention of God in the world.” Weigel’s “sanctity” is a human achievement, a product of admirable character or talent, rather than a divine gift infused through grace.
The Omission of Original Sin and the True Purpose of Baptism
Perhaps the most glaring omission in Weigel’s reflection is any mention of the primary purpose of Holy Baptism: the remission of original sin and the infusion of sanctifying grace. The Council of Trent, in Session V, Decree on Original Sin, teaches that “by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the guilt of original sin is remitted.” Baptism is not merely an “incorporation into the Church” in a sociological sense, but a spiritual rebirth, a washing away of the stain of Adam’s sin, making the soul a temple of the Holy Ghost and an heir to heaven. Weigel’s focus on “new life in Christ” remains entirely at the level of human experience, completely bypassing the profound theological reality of regeneration and the supernatural transformation of the soul.
Furthermore, Weigel’s understanding of the “communion of saints” is presented without the crucial context of the Church as the *una sancta, catholica, et apostolica* – the one true Church outside of which there is no salvation. His “great cloud of witnesses” seems to encompass anyone he deems “saintly,” regardless of their communion with the true Church or their adherence to her infallible teaching. This is a direct contradiction of the Church’s constant teaching, as articulated by Pope Boniface VIII in *Unam Sanctam*: “We declare, we proclaim, we define that it is absolutely necessary for salvation that every human creature be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Weigel’s inclusive, almost pantheistic, view of “sanctity” ignores the necessity of visible communion with the true Church for participation in the communion of saints.
The “Saintly Popes” of the Conciliar Sect: A Scandalous Affirmation
Weigel’s explicit mention of “two saintly popes, John Paul II and Benedict XVI” is not merely an error but a profound scandal and a clear indicator of his modernist alignment. These figures, far from being “radically converted Christian disciples” who took their baptism “with utmost seriousness,” were the architects and chief propagators of the conciliar revolution, which systematically dismantled Catholic doctrine, liturgy, and discipline. Their “greatness of work and teaching” was, in reality, the “greatness” of their apostasy, leading countless souls astray with their modernist innovations.
John Paul II, whose “canonization” by the conciliar sect is null and void, was a notorious heretic and apostate, promoting false ecumenism, religious liberty, and the theology of the body, all condemned by the pre-conciliar Magisterium. His “sainthood” is a fabrication of the very system he helped to corrupt. Benedict XVI, while perhaps more subtle, was equally complicit in the modernist agenda, particularly through his role in the liturgical “reform” and his ambiguous statements on religious liberty. To call these men “saintly” is to blaspheme true sanctity and to legitimize the conciliar abomination. As the *Defense of Sedevacantism* file argues, a manifest heretic cannot be Pope, and these individuals, by their public and persistent heresies, ceased to be true members of the Church, let alone its head.
The “Communion of Saints” Without the True Church: A Modernist Fantasy
Weigel’s entire reflection on the “communion of saints” is built upon a foundation of sand, as it ignores the indispensable role of the true Church as the sole dispenser of grace and the necessary context for this communion. The “communion of saints” is not a vague spiritual bond among all “good people,” but a supernatural reality uniting the faithful on earth (Church Militant), the souls in Purgatory (Church Suffering), and the blessed in Heaven (Church Triumphant), all in virtue of their communion with the true Church and her sacraments.
By omitting any mention of the necessity of the true Church, the reality of the conciliar apostasy, and the invalidity of the post-conciliar “sacraments,” Weigel presents a “communion of saints” that is a mere humanistic ideal, a collection of admirable individuals, rather than a supernatural reality rooted in the Mystical Body of Christ. This is a direct consequence of the modernist error, which, as *Lamentabili Sane Exitu* condemns, denies the divine origin and immutable nature of the Church and her dogmas, reducing them to “modes of explanation and stages in the evolution of Christian consciousness.”
Conclusion: A Baptismal Reflection Stripped of Supernatural Reality
George Weigel’s commentary on his baptismal anniversary is a prime example of modernist thought masquerading as Catholic reflection. It reduces the profound supernatural mystery of baptism and the communion of saints to a sentimentalized, human-centric experience, devoid of the essential theological content. By omitting the remission of original sin, the necessity of the true Church, and the reality of the conciliar apostasy, and by praising the “saintly” antipopes of the new regime, Weigel demonstrates a complete disconnect from the integral Catholic faith. His “thanksgiving” is not for the divine gift of grace, but for a naturalistic “communion” that ultimately leads away from the true Church and her immutable teachings. Such reflections, far from edifying, serve to further entrench the faithful in the errors of Modernism, blinding them to the spiritual ruin wrought by the conciliar revolution and the urgent need to return to the unadulterated Tradition of the Church.
Source:
In Thanksgiving for the Gift of Baptism (ncregister.com)
Date: 29.04.2026