The National Catholic Register reports on a new EWTN Studios production, “Fork in the Road,” featuring actress Jessica Rey and her family as they traverse Europe, combining homeschooling with tourism. The article presents this lifestyle as an ideal of Catholic family life, emphasizing “hands-on learning” and the beauty of European churches, yet it reveals a profound spiritual emptiness and a dangerous disconnect from the supernatural realities that should define every Catholic’s existence. This superficial approach to faith and education, where the “churches are beautiful” but “most of them are empty,” is not merely an oversight; it is a symptom of a Catholicism reduced to aesthetics and sentiment, utterly silent on the state of souls, the necessity of true sacraments, and the eternal consequences of the current crisis in the Church.
A Pilgrimage Without Purpose: The Rey Family’s Touristic Faith
The article describes the Rey family’s travels through Portugal, Italy, Croatia, and Austria, ostensibly to provide their children with an “educational experience” rooted in Catholic heritage. Jessica Rey speaks of “the faith is just so alive” in these countries, pointing to “beautiful churches” and “festivals dedicated to different saints.” This is a classic example of mistaking the trappings of Catholicism for its substance. The faith is not “alive” in empty churches; it is preserved in the hearts of the faithful who profess the integral Catholic faith and seek out true sacraments, not architectural marvels. The silence on the state of these churches – are they bastions of modernist liturgy? Do they offer the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or the sacrilegious “Novus Ordo” spectacle? – is deafening. This omission reveals a blindness to the abomination of desolation that has overtaken the visible Church, where the true Mass is often suppressed or nonexistent, and the sacraments are administered by apostate clergy.
The Illusion of “Catholic” Education
Jessica Rey’s approach to homeschooling, while emphasizing family time and “hands-on learning,” lacks any discernible foundation in Catholic doctrine or the pursuit of sanctifying grace. The focus is on “food,” “piano lessons,” and “language classes,” with faith reduced to visiting historical sites and attending festivals. This is not Catholic education; it is secular education with a Catholic veneer. True Catholic education, as outlined by the Church for centuries, aims first and foremost at the salvation of souls and the formation of saints, preparing children for their eternal destiny. It is rooted in the unchanging truths of the faith, the lives of the authentic saints (not those “canonized” by antipopes), and the necessity of the sacraments administered by validly ordained and orthodox clergy. The article’s silence on the content of their “online courses” or “private lessons” is telling. Are they learning the true history of the Church, the errors of Vatican II, the necessity of the Social Reign of Christ the King? Or are they absorbing the very modernist errors that have led to the current crisis?
The quote, “Learning is not a one-size-fits-all thing,” while superficially true, is used here to justify a purely naturalistic and experiential approach, devoid of the supernatural dimension that must permeate all genuine Catholic formation. As Pope Pius XI taught in Divini Illius Magistri, “The proper and immediate end of Christian education is to cooperate with divine grace in forming the true and perfect Christian… to form Christ Himself in those regenerated by Baptism.” This requires more than just visiting churches; it demands immersion in true doctrine, the sacraments, and a life of prayer and mortification, none of which are mentioned.
The Emptiness of “Beautiful Churches”
The observation that “most of them are empty, which is very sad” is perhaps the most poignant and damning statement in the entire article. It is a factual observation of the fruit of the conciliar revolution. These churches are empty because the faith has been emptied of its substance. The “ecumenical” and “dialogue”-obsessed post-conciliar structures have driven the faithful away by offering them a watered-down, man-centered religion that bears no resemblance to the Catholicism of the saints. Yet, the article offers no diagnosis, no call to return to the true faith, no mention of the necessity of the Traditional Mass as the source and summit of Catholic life. It merely notes the emptiness as a “sad” aesthetic detail, rather than a spiritual catastrophe demanding urgent action.
The mention of “St. Rita” and “St. Veronica Giuliani’s incorrupt body” further highlights this disconnect. These saints are presented as tourist attractions, objects of curiosity, rather than intercessors and models of heroic virtue whose lives point to the necessity of true penance, contemplation, and union with God. The article fails to mention that many such relics and shrines are now under the control of the conciar sect, potentially used to promote a false ecumenism or a sentimentalized, non-supernatural devotion.
Avoiding the Crisis: The Ultimate Omission
The most glaring omission in this entire piece is any mention of the current crisis in the Church. There is no discussion of Vatican II, the new “mass,” the loss of faith, the apostasy of the hierarchy, or the necessity of seeking out true priests and sacraments. This silence is not accidental; it is a deliberate avoidance of reality. It presents a fantasy world where one can travel through “Catholic Europe” and encounter “alive” faith, while the very structures that once sustained that faith have been dismantled from within. This is the essence of modernism: to live in a world of appearances, ignoring the spiritual warfare that rages around us.
Jessica Rey’s statement, “We don’t actually have a TV, and we haven’t had one since Nathaneal was a baby… they don’t like pop culture,” while commendable in itself, rings hollow when contrasted with the complete absence of any engagement with the most critical issue facing Catholics today: the identity of the true Church and the means of salvation. Avoiding pop culture is a minor asceticism if one is simultaneously immersed in the conciliar sect’s propaganda or oblivious to its errors.
The Danger of Sentimentalism
The article’s tone is overwhelmingly sentimental, focusing on “quality time,” “family,” and “experiences.” While family life is indeed a blessing, it must be ordered towards its ultimate end: the salvation of souls and the glory of God. When “experiences” become the primary goal, and faith is reduced to a backdrop for travel and culinary adventures, we have entered the realm of dangerous sentimentalism. This is the “cult of man” condemned by the pre-conciliar Magisterium, where human feelings and experiences replace the objective truths of the faith and the demands of divine law.
The quote, “It’s really just about spending that special one-on-one time together,” while touching, misses the deeper purpose of family life as a domestic church, a place where children are formed in virtue, taught to pray, and prepared for their baptismal vows. It is not merely about “time,” but about the quality of that time, which must be saturated with Catholic truth and directed towards eternity.
A Call to True Catholic Action
The “Fork in the Road” presented by this article is not merely a choice of travel destinations, but a spiritual crossroads. Will Catholics continue to seek comfort in the empty shells of a bygone era, or will they have the courage to face the reality of the conciar apostasy and seek out the true means of salvation? The Rey family’s travels, while perhaps well-intentioned, are a distraction from the urgent task at hand: the restoration of the true Church, the propagation of the integral Catholic faith, and the salvation of souls.
Instead of touring empty churches, Catholics should be seeking out the few remaining true priests who offer the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and administer the sacraments with validity and orthodoxy. Instead of focusing on “food” and “festivals,” they should be studying the encyclicals of the true popes, the decrees of the Council of Trent, and the lives of the saints who shed their blood for the faith. This is the “hands-on learning” that truly matters: learning how to live and die as Catholics in a world that has abandoned Christ the King.
Source:
EWTN Studios’ ‘Fork in the Road’: When Homeschooling Goes International (ncregister.com)
Date: 17.06.2026