EWTN News reports that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) discussed their engagement with the “Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena” at their spring plenary session in Orlando, Florida, on June 11, 2026. This novena, called for by the antipope Francis in 2022, anticipates the 500th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2031. The article details a multi-phase plan for pastoral activity, including the distribution of replica “tilmas” to be treated as third-class relics and integrated into various “missionary” and “Eucharistic” events. The entire initiative, steeped in the language of “inculturation,” “missionary activity,” and “dialogue,” is a textbook example of how the conciliar sect co-opts authentic Catholic devotion to serve its modernist agenda of religious indifferentism and social activism, completely devoid of any call for conversion or the salvation of souls.
The Guadalupan Novena: A Case Study in Conciliar Apostasy and the Hijacking of Marian Devotion
The Thesis of Modernist Inculturation: Replacing Divine Pedagogy with Sociological Methodology
The article’s central premise, as articulated by Bishop Oscar Cantu, is the need to “take the methodology that Mary used 500 years ago and adapt it to our own needs in the culture … in the 21st century here in the United States.” This statement is a profound betrayal of Catholic theology and a clear manifestation of the modernist heresy condemned by St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici gregis. The Blessed Virgin Mary is not a “methodologist” or a “model for inculturation.” She is the Mother of God, the Mediatrix of all graces, whose sole purpose is to lead souls to her Divine Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the one true Church He founded. To reduce her role to a “lesson in divine pedagogy on the inculturation of saving truth,” as the article quotes the antipope Leo, is to engage in the very “evolution of dogmas” that the Church has always condemned. The “methodology” of Our Lady of Guadalupe was not a sociological strategy; it was a supernatural intervention by God to convert millions of pagans to the Catholic Faith, to crush idolatry, and to establish the reign of Christ the King in the Americas. This modernist reinterpretation, focusing on “inculturation” and “adaptation to culture,” is a direct assault on the supernatural character of revelation and the Church’s mission, which is not to adapt to the world but to convert it.
The Omission of Conversion and the Salvation of Souls: The Gravest Accusation
The most glaring and damning omission in the entire article is the complete absence of any mention of conversion, repentance, or the salvation of souls. The bishops’ plan is entirely focused on “missionary activity,” “pastoral activity,” “Eucharistic congresses,” and “pilgrimages.” These are all external, horizontal, and naturalistic activities. There is no mention of the necessity of baptism, the sacrament of confession, the reality of sin, the danger of hell, or the absolute necessity of the Catholic Faith for salvation. The “message” of Our Lady of Guadalupe, as understood by the faithful for centuries, was a call to conversion, a warning against idolatry, and a promise of her maternal protection for those who turn to her Son. This message is completely erased and replaced with a program of social and cultural engagement. This silence about supernatural matters is the gravest accusation against this initiative. It reveals the true nature of the conciliar sect: a humanistic, naturalistic organization concerned only with temporal affairs and the “well-being” of man in this world, completely indifferent to his eternal destiny. As Pope Pius IX declared in the Syllabus of Errors, “The teaching of the Catholic Church is hostile to the well-being and interests of society” (Proposition 40) from the world’s perspective, because the Church’s primary concern is the salvation of souls, not social progress.
The Scandal of “Third-Class Relics” and the Commercialization of Devotion
The proposal to distribute “exact replica” tilmas, “touched to the original” to become “third-class relics,” is a profound scandal and a dangerous slide into superstition. The Catholic Church has always had a rigorous and sacred process for the authentication and veneration of relics. The idea of mass-producing replicas and “consecrating” them by touching them to an original relic for the purpose of “missionary presence” and “journeying from parish to parish” is a commercialization and trivialization of sacred objects. It treats relics as talismans or good luck charms, rather than as sacred memorials of the saints. This practice, far from promoting true devotion, encourages a superstitious mentality that is antithetical to the Catholic Faith. It is a classic tactic of the modernist church to replace authentic piety with external rituals and emotional experiences, thereby keeping the faithful distracted from the true doctrines of the Faith. The focus on the “tilma” as a physical object, rather than on the spiritual message it conveys, is a symptom of the materialism and sensuality that pervades the conciliar sect.
The “Eucharistic Congress” and the Perversion of the Most Holy Sacrifice
The integration of the Guadalupan novena with the “National Eucharistic Congress” is a further indication of the conciliar sect’s perversion of Catholic worship. The modernist “Eucharistic Congress” is not a solemn act of adoration of the Real Presence of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. It is a spectacle, a festival of modernist liturgy, ecumenical dialogue, and social activism. The “Eucharist” as understood by the conciliar sect is not the propitiatory sacrifice of Calvary re-enacted on the altar, but a “memorial meal” of the “People of God.” To link the Guadalupan novena with such an event is to drag Our Lady of Guadalupe into the abyss of modernist sacrilege. The Blessed Virgin Mary, who offered her Son on Calvary and who is the Mother of the true Church, would never be associated with a “Eucharistic” celebration that denies the sacrificial nature of the Mass and promotes religious indifferentism. This is a clear example of how the conciliar sect uses the name of Our Lord and His Blessed Mother to legitimize its own apostate agenda.
The Usurpation of Papal Authority and the Scandal of “Pope” Leo
The article mentions that “Pope Leo addressed the Theological Congress a few months ago in Mexico City,” and that he has been invited to participate in the 2031 celebrations. This is a further scandal. The conciliar sect, having usurped the Chair of St. Peter, continues to use the title of “Pope” to lend legitimacy to its apostate activities. The true Pope, the successor of St. Peter, would never participate in an event that promotes religious indifferentism, modernist “inculturation,” and the perversion of Marian devotion. The fact that the bishops are planning their activities around the whims and pronouncements of an antipope is a clear indication of their own apostasy. They are not the true bishops of the Catholic Church, but servants of the conciliar sect, which is, as Pope Pius IX declared, part of the “synagogue of Satan” that gathers its troops against the Church of Christ.
The Symptomatic Nature of the Initiative: A Fruit of the Conciliar Revolution
This entire initiative is not an isolated incident but a symptomatic fruit of the conciliar revolution that began with the antipope John XXIII and the Vatican II council. The errors condemned in the Syllabus of Errors, Lamentabili sane exitu, and Pascendi Dominici gregis have now become the official doctrine and practice of the conciliar sect. The “inculturation” of the Faith, the “dialogue” with the world, the “adaptation” to modern culture, the “social gospel” – all these modernist heresies are now fully integrated into the “pastoral plans” of the “bishops.” The Guadalupan novena is simply another tool in the arsenal of the conciliar sect to advance its agenda of destroying the Catholic Faith and replacing it with a naturalistic, humanistic religion that is acceptable to the world. The fact that this initiative is being promoted by the USCCB, an organization that has been a hotbed of modernist heresy and scandal for decades, is further proof of its apostate nature.
Conclusion: A Call to Reject the Conciliar Sect and Return to Tradition
The Guadalupan novena, as presented in this article, is not a true Catholic devotion but a modernist operation designed to advance the agenda of the conciliar sect. It is a perversion of the message of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a trivialization of sacred relics, and a perversion of the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The faithful must reject this initiative and all similar activities promoted by the conciliar sect. They must return to the true Catholic Faith, the Faith of the Church Fathers, the ecumenical councils, and the pre-conciliar Magisterium. They must seek out true priests who offer the Traditional Latin Mass, the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary, and who preach the fullness of Catholic doctrine without compromise. The “peace” offered by the conciliar sect is not the peace of Christ, but the peace of the world, which is enmity with God. As Our Lord Himself said, “Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth: I came not to send peace, but the sword” (Matthew 10:34). The sword of truth must be wielded against the errors of the conciliar sect, and the faithful must choose sides: either with Christ and His true Church, or with the world and the synagogue of Satan.
Source:
U.S. bishops discuss engagement with Intercontinental Guadalupan Novena (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 11.06.2026