⚖️ The Trap of False Obedience: When Resistance Becomes a Sacred Duty
In this fundamental chapter, Rama Coomaraswamy dismantles the most effective weapon used by innovators to impose the conciliar revolution on the faithful: the distorted concept of obedience. Beginning with Archbishop Lefebvre's prophetic warning that "Satan has succeeded in getting those whose duty it is to defend and propagate the Church to condemn those who are defending the Catholic Faith" (p. 120), the author establishes that the current crisis is not a conflict between rebels and legitimate authority, but between fidelity to God and submission to a hierarchy that has betrayed its mission. Obedience, far from being absolute or blind, is presented as a moral virtue subordinate to the theological virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity.The true nature of Catholic obedience is clarified through precise theological definitions. Tanquerey teaches that it is "evident that it is neither obligatory nor permissible to obey a superior who would give a command manifestly opposed to divine or ecclesiastical laws" (p. 120). The Petrine principle that "we ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29) is the cornerstone of Catholic resistance. Coomaraswamy recalls that not even St. Peter was followed blindly when he erred, being rebuked by St. Paul on the issue of circumcision, proving that primacy does not exempt the officeholder from correction when he deviates from the truth (p. 121).
Faced with the conflict between the Church's perennial teaching and the novelties of Vatican II, the author turns to the golden rule of St. Vincent of Lerins: when a new doctrine contaminates the Church, the Catholic must "adhere to antiquity," preferring the universal Faith of all time to the novelty introduced by a man or group, for innovation "pertains not to religion, but to temptation" (p. 121). Blind obedience is denounced as foreign to the Magisterium. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that "not in all things are prelates to be obeyed," but only in those that do not oppose the command of a higher Power, that is, God (p. 122). Obedience without discernment is "hollow," and irrational service is not acceptable to God.
To illustrate that disobedience to a Pope can be a sacred duty, Coomaraswamy presents striking historical examples. He cites the case of Pope St. Marcellinus, who offered incense to idols under pressure, and Pope Paschal II, who yielded to emperors on the issue of investitures, being rebuked by saintly bishops who threatened to withdraw their obedience if he did not repair his error (p. 125). The most eloquent example is that of Bishop Robert Grosseteste, who refused an unjust papal order to appoint the Pontiff's nephew, declaring: "Out of love of union with the Holy See... I disobey, I contradict, I rebel." The author highlights that, by refusing to participate in the destruction of the Church through iniquitous "provisions," Grosseteste was not in rebellion, but in perfect fidelity to Christ (p. 126).
The chapter then dives into the depths of the anti-Christian conspiracy, exposing how obedience was instrumentalized by the enemies of the Church. The author cites the "Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita" (a Masonic document seized by the Church), which details the diabolical plan not to destroy the Church from without, but to pervert it from within, waiting for a Pope who would serve the sect's purposes. The goal was to have the clergy march under the Masonic banner believing they were marching under the banner of the keys of Peter. The Masonic prophecy that "the reforms will have to be brought about in the name of obedience" (p. 128) is frighteningly fulfilled in the post-conciliar era, where the liturgical and doctrinal revolution was imposed under the pretext of submission to authority.
The present situation is analyzed in this sinister light. Catholics face a terrible dilemma: obeying the post-conciliar "Popes" means apostatizing from the Catholic Faith as it has existed since Christ; resisting them seems, in the eyes of the ignorant, a breach of unity. However, the author reiterates that obedience is a moral virtue, while Faith is theological. "To obey a command that goes against the Faith is obviously wrong" (p. 115, cross-ref). If the current occupants of the See of Peter order what is contrary to Tradition, the sacred Liturgy, and the Doctrine of all time, they lose the right to be obeyed.
The text concludes by reaffirming that true fidelity is not to the man who holds the office, but to the Christ he must represent. He cites William of Ockham to justify turning away from obedience to a "false Pope" in favor of recognized truth: "I turned away from the obedience of the false Pope... to the prejudice of the orthodox faith... For against the errors of this pseudo-Pope I have turned my face like the hardest rock... because I prefer Holy Scripture to a man unlearned in holy science" (p. 129). For the traditional Catholic, the choice is clear: it is impossible to obey conciliar authorities without disobeying God and betraying the Faith of all time. Resistance, therefore, is not rebellion, but the only authentic form of obedience to Jesus Christ and His Immortal Church.
COOMARASWAMY, Rama P. The Destruction of the Christian Tradition. Updated and Revised. Bloomington: World Wisdom, 2006.