Dozens of books have been written examining the contemporary crisis within the Church from an orthodox Catholic standpoint. Among the two or three that should definitely be owned by every Catholic who loves his faith is The Devastated Vineyard by Dietrich von Hildebrand. In this book the author lamented the terrible decline of humanity, which is nearing the point of actual dehumanization. He stated that it is the superhuman task of the holy Church to save humanity, or at least her own children, from this downfall. I was interested to note that this great book was written in 1973, and that since that date 25 million unborn children have become the victims of legalized murder in the United States alone, and this slaughter is continuing at the rate of 4,300 a day. Was not Professor von Hildebrand right to refer to what he termed "this apocalyptic decline of humanity," which is nearing the point of actual dehumanization? [7] What other word but "dehumanized" will do for a society which extends its protection to sexual perverts and withdraws it from unborn children so that they can be massacred by the million? Christ the King has indeed been dethroned, and the evil fruits of Liberalism can be seen everywhere around us.

Professor von Hildebrand warned that the Church can only help mankind to draw back from the precipice upon which it is poised "if the vineyard of the Lord blossoms anew. And therefore we must storm Heaven with the prayer that the spirit of St. Pius X might once again fill the hierarchy, that the great words anathema sit might once again ring out against all heretics, and especially against all the members of the 'fifth column' within the Church." [8] We could do no better than begin by praying that they will ring out in Connecticut.

THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of the Kingship of Christ to be observed by the whole world on the last Sunday of the month of October. The Proper of that Mass, and even more so the Breviary Office, contained frequent references to the Social Kingship of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Pope explained that the annual celebration of the Feast would remind nations that not only private individuals but also rulers and princes are bound to give public honor and obedience to Christ.

This would certainly not be the case since Vatican II, as the Mass and Office for this feast have been systematically purged of every reference to Our Lord's Social Kingship. References have either been removed completely or replaced by references to our duty to subject ourselves to Christ the King as individuals. This is an interesting example of the principle lex orandi, lex credendi, which means, roughly, that what is in the liturgical texts corresponds with what we believe. Furthermore, the Feast has been transferred from the end of October to the end of November, to the end of the liturgical year. This is a change of considerable significance. Archbishop Lefebvre explained:

  During October the liturgical year is not over and three or four Sundays remain. This signifies the reign of Our Lord over time, over peopIes, over all nations. The feast has been transferred to the end of the liturgical year. What does this signify? That Our Lord will reign ----- certainly He will, oh yes! certainly . . . He will reign ----- but at the end of time. Not now. Now, it is impossible.

I will be accused of exaggerating. No; I do not exaggerate. I am sorry to have to say this. Why? Because I heard it directly from the mouth of a papal nuncio to whom I said: "'You are in the process of suppressing all the Catholic States. You have collaborated in their suppression." Then I asked the Nuncio: "And what will you do about the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ?" He replied: "That is no longer possible today." That is what a ----- nuncio told me, the representative of our Holy Father the Pope. "The social reign of Christ the King is no longer possible today."

7.D. von Hildebrand, Trojan Horse in the City of God 
[Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press, 1973], p. 53. 
[Reprinted by the Catholic Media Apostolate, Box 255, 
Harrison, NY 10528, at $15.50 incl. postage and handling.]
8. Ibid., p. 54.