(LifeSiteNews) — Imagine lying on the ground, knowing you’re about to die.
The train you took home in the evening derailed, throwing you and everyone else against the wall of the carriage. All around you, people are moaning in pain. Some of them are already dead. Others – like you – know that they will be dead soon too.
And imagine you can hear a conversation taking place, just outside the train.
“We need to get in,” you hear a man say. “We need to get to the dying.”
“You can’t, Father,” comes a reply. “This is an emergency health and rescue situation. We can’t let you in there to interfere.”
“Interfere?!” you hear another man say. “We are priests of Jesus Christ. We have to get the last rites to anyone still alive.”
“Father, I’m in charge of this scene. I can’t let you in. You might jeopardize a future investigation.”
“Souls are at stake!” the first priest’s voice comes back. “Captain, I demand that you let us in.”
“Father!” you try to call. But your words don’t come out. You’re ebbing away.
“Padré, this is a public order issue,” the captain says. “You need to go home. We’ll take care of things here.”
But you… you were planning on going to confession on Saturday, weren’t you? You had that one mortal sin on your soul, committed in a moment of weakness, but committed freely. And there will be no Saturday for you, now.
But just out there, not far away at all, is a priest with the power to absolve you – and with the will to enter a dangerous situation to do so. But he is being prevented from doing so, because “just public order,” as decided by the emergency services, must be observed.
Now friends, this is not just some melodrama.
Just a few days ago, on January 18, a passenger train derailed in Adamuz, Spain. Soon after it, another train crashed into it and derailed itself too.
According to the Spanish outlet Voz Populi, 45 people died. Other sources estimate that 292 were injured, and 15 were left in a critical condition.
This was the worst railway catastrophe in Spain since 2013.
And yes: it’s come to light that more than one priest from the Córdoba diocese rushed to the scene to bring the life-giving sacraments of Jesus Christ to the dying – and that the authorities prevented them from reaching the victims.
Spanish law contains provisions for citizens “to receive religions assistance” in a hospital or health center – but in circumstances like this, Voz Populi reports, “there is an absolute priority for health and rescue assistance,” and “religious assistance cannot ‘interfere’ with ‘rescue’ work.”
“Ridiculous!” I can hear some of you saying. “Isn’t the soul more important than the body? The Church should have the right to carry out her mission, nothing can be allowed to get in the way of that.”
Indeed, you are correct. This is the teaching of the Church – but… it is not the teaching, I’m afraid to say, of Vatican II.
Now, bear with me. This is not about scoring cheap points on the back of a tragedy. This is deadly serious.
Before Vatican II, the Church taught that, as the true Church of Jesus Christ, she had a right to absolute immunity from the state in the carrying out of her mission. She taught that the civil authority had a duty to help her carry out her mission.
The Catholic states – like Spain, I might add – recognized all this.
A priest would unquestionably be allowed in to administer to the dying. Any exceptions to this were just that – exceptions.
The immunity of the Church from the state, and her liberty in carrying out her mission, and the state’s duty to assist her in this: this is what is meant by the phrase “Christ is King” – even if those who throw it around as a slogan don’t really realize it.
But that all changed at Vatican II. Dignitatis Humanae is the most controversial document of that council, and it’s the document that attempted to redefine the Church’s teaching on religious liberty.
And because now the Vatican was advocating for all religions, rather than only the one true faith, they had to suggest that such religious liberties be qualified with “due limits.” The new teaching was that everyone had a right to religious freedom: to the free exercise of their own religion, unless – and I quote – “just public order” required otherwise.
But once you’ve made that change, something important happens in practice: you give the civil authority the power to decide what those due limits are, and what constitutes just public order. You can’t claim that the Church still has the right to determine that: you’ve already given the power to do so away.
It’s true that the Vatican document says that the civil authority cannot “inhibit acts that are religious.” But the text is clear: religious acts can indeed be inhibited if “public order” requires it. And as I said, it’s not the Church who will be deciding what “public order” requires.
And that’s exactly what happens. It’s what happened in Spain, where the emergency services get to decide that the “due limits” of “just public order” mean that priests can’t enter a disaster zone and help prepare the dying for their judgment.
It’s what happened during COVID, when the governments of the world decided that “due limits” of “just public order” required churches to be closed, and the holy sacrifice of the Mass was to be suspended – while liquor and pot stores were still allowed to be open.
It’s what happened in England, when the Catholic Member of Parliament Sir David Amess was stabbed to death by an Islamist in 2021. A priest arrived on the scene to administer the last sacraments, but he was not allowed in by the police.
It’s no use complaining about the Spanish police, suggesting that they are anti-Catholic, or lack a proper appreciation of the sacraments and the supernatural order. It was Vatican II that put them in the position of making these decisions and practically – if not in principle – subjecting the Church to the state.
So what can we take home from this?
- The novelties of Vatican II are not harmless. They affected David Amess, the victims in Spain, and all of us during COVID. And they could affect any of us again, too, if we find ourselves in a disaster like this, or victims of a terrorist attack, or any other terrible circumstances.
- Stay in a state of grace. “You know not the day or the hour,” said Our Lord. One mortal sin merits an eternity in Hell. Do not commit mortal sin, and do not presume on the mercy of God or the ease of going to confession. As St Augustine famously said: God has promised us mercy, but he has not promised us tomorrow. And habits of venial sin incline us to mortal sin – so we must fight against them too.
- Understand what to do if you are in a disaster situation. You need to try to make an act of perfect contrition. Calling upon the help of God, picture Our Lord on the cross before you – look at his hands and his feet, his side, and his head. Look at his wounds from the scourging, and think of his terrible suffering. Ask yourself what he is doing there: he is dying. What is he dying for? To bring glory to God and to save mankind. Why does mankind need saving? Because of sin – our sin – your sin and my sin. Our sins are what nailed him to the cross, and he was nailed there willingly and full of love. He loves us, and longs to save us. Make acts of faith, hope and charity – and the best act of contrition you can, as slowly and with as much love for God as you can muster. As well as this, know how to administer an emergency baptism, and be ready to help and encourage those around you to faith in Christ, love for him, and sorrow for their sins.
Let’s pray for the souls of those who died in this crash, and for their loved ones – and pray, every day, for a good death ourselves. As the Litany of the Saints says: “From a sudden and unprovided for death, deliver us, O Lord.”
