“What must I do to be saved?”Since we have the Vicar of Christ, Pope Pius XIII, on earth today the question is asked:
“What must I do to be (and remain) a Catholic?”
Until the death of Pope Pius XII and the entering into this world of Ecumenism and syncretism the above question was never asked. Why? It is because men knew the answer to that question from the practice of nearly all men on earth. All Catholics belonged to a parish, and that was, by law, the parish where they lived, whether they liked other parishes better or not.
When a non-Catholic was ready for conversion he was received into a Catholic parish where he lived. There was no such a thing as “living a good Catholic life all alone.” You could with a good deal of certainty say that there was not one single person on earth who thought himself to be a Catholic unless he, like Catholics the world-over, belonged to a Catholic parish. The Catholics knew very well that they were under the pastor, the bishop of the diocese and finally the Pope. No questions were asked in that regard.
After the death of Pope Pius XII a spiritual atomic bomb blew up the minds of the people. All at once faithful Catholics discovered that their parishes were no longer Catholic, and they instinctively looked for a parish that was still Catholic. When they found that there were no parishes in the world that were Catholic they just hung onto their faith and remained at home. That was a great scandal for growing children. That, (being good Catholics at home), seemed to them as being Catholic, while in fact it was just a waiting position until the true parishes returned.
The Parish
As this is being written (November 24, 1998), there is only one parish on earth, and only one pastor on earth. The newly elected Pope, Pope Pius XIII, has the whole world as his parish, and he is the sole pastor. All those who know of this election are bound by God to join this parish and remain in it until the Pope divides up the world into dioceses under Bishops which in turn are divided into parishes. It is the Church that tells the individuals if they are Catholic or not. Pagans, apostates, heretics, schismatics and those expelled from the Church by Church laws and competent superiors, all are non-Catholics, no matter how holy their lives may appear. It is by being subject to the juridical order in the Church that one becomes a Catholic.The question arises: “How can I be joined to the Pope today?” Except for the problem of distance, the method never changes. The sheep must know their shepherd, and the shepherd must know his sheep. All those in possession of this letter have the address of the Pope. They can write to him, and he will recognize those with the Catholic faith and loyal submission to himself, as the Vicar of Christ.
The hand Encyclical
In the early Church, that is, when Catholics were few and far between, the pastors gave a letter of credibility to their subjects, especially when they had to travel in out-of-the-way places. A pastor would give a small document with the name of the Catholic on it plus his own name and parish under a diocese which in turn was under the Pope. Generally the pastor wrote some articles of faith on the document, and gradually it became known as an Encyclical. Pope Pius XIII has developed an “hand Encyclical” which he will give out to all the adult Catholics that he knows. As soon as there are divisions of areas in the world the local bishops and pastors will have charge of handling this matter.There is no serious problem in giving out the “hand Encyclical” to those he already knows and serves. For unknown persons to get the “hand Encyclical” there will have to be help from well-known Catholics in the areas. The marks of a Catholic are:
- he has a valid sacrament of baptism of water,
- he believes everything that God teaches through His Church, and
- he is subject to the Roman Pontiff (not excommunicated, etc.).
FROM THE PAPAL OFFICE
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