How to Face the Church Crisis: Wisdom from a Trad Godfather

Dr Dietrich von Hildebrand was, indeed, a Godfather of Tradition! He was called "the twentieth-century Doctor of the Church" by Pope Pius XII

From One Peter Five

By Luke Parks

The current neo-Modernist crisis marring the Mystical Body of Christ has left many of its members disillusioned. According to Pope Paul VI, the Second Vatican Council was supposed to signal “a day of sunshine for the history of the Church.”[1] As of 2025, though, it is clear that the majority of Catholics are apostates who have abandoned Christ and set their sights on the world.

In his book The Devastated Vineyard, Dr. Dietrich von Hildebrand, the “Twentieth Century Doctor of the Church,” came to the same conclusion—in 1973. How did he respond? In this article, my goal is to share the wisdom of one of OnePeterFive’s “Trad Godfathers” to Catholics fighting for the triumph of Tradition.

In the final chapter, “How God Wants Us to Respond in the Present Crisis,” Dr. Hildebrand advises the members of the Mystical Body of Christ to avoid the adoption of the following false attitudes towards the current crisis: false acceptance of “God’s will”; resignation; and a false sense of loyalty to the hierarchy.

The first false attitude is the most dangerous one. While it correctly assesses that the heresies, errors, and ambiguous propositions promoted by Vatican II have been permitted by God, acceptance of the Divine Will does not mean that God desires His children to “go along with [the Council] in a spirit of resignation.”[2] On the contrary, Catholics have an obligation to defend themselves “against everything which is evil and offensive” to Christ and His Holy Church.[3] Thus, raising objections against postconciliar practices like the blessing of homosexual unions, the inadmissibility of the death penalty, and the organization of  prayer services between Catholics and members of false religions is not only justifiable, but desirable, as well. However, we must be careful not to take the phrase “evil and offensive” out of context. Which brings us to the next bad attitude.

This is resignation, which judges that the current crisis is irredeemable, driving Catholics to despair and to throw away “all hope of a ‘second spring’ in the vineyard of the Lord.”[4] Here, the heresy of sedevacantism provides us with an excellent example of resignation. Generally, its adherents view the successors of Venerable Pope Pius XII, the Novus Ordo Missae, and the “New Sacraments” as “evil and offensive,” denying their validity and determining that the Catholic Church no longer exists.[5] Contradicting these claims, Dr. Hildebrand explains:

Such people are in danger of being so scandalized by the unfortunate new missal and especially by the elimination of the Tridentine Mass that they think they no longer have the duty of attending Sunday Mass if it is in the Novus Ordo. But just the contrary is true. [W]hen it is a question of practical ordinances such as…the introduction of the new missal, or the rearrangement of the Church calendar, or the new rubrics for the liturgy, then our obedience (as Vatican I declares), but by no means our agreement is required. In such matters we may, while obeying an ordinance, with all due respect express opposition to it, pray for its elimination, and address many appeals to the pope (emphasis added).[6]

Granted, unlike the 1970’s, today’s Catholics have access—even if limited—to the Usus Antiquior. Regardless of one’s liturgical situation, though, it is vital to stay on the Ship. Despite the damage done at and after Vatican II, the false attitude of resignation only serves Satan’s goal to drive souls to despair. Instead, let us recognize and resist like Dr. Hildebrand did.

The final false attitude is a false sense of loyalty to the hierarchy, which ignores the current crisis and advises the lay faithful “simply to adhere with complete loyalty to whatever [their bishops say] and not to dare pass judgment” on Vatican II and its initiatives.[7] In other words, Catholics must pretend that the collapse of the Church in the twentieth century never happened. Considering OnePeterFive’s readership, this thought is the least of our concerns. Nevertheless, Dr. Hildebrand’s wisdom is worth reflecting upon:

When the pope speaks ex cathedra on faith or morals, then unconditional acceptance and submission is required of every Catholic. But it is false to extend this loyalty to encyclicals in which new theses are proposed. This is not to deny that the magisterium of the Church extends much farther [sic] than the dogmas. If an encyclical deals with a question of faith or morals and is based on the tradition of the holy Church—that is, expresses something which the Church has always taught—then we should humblyaccept its teaching (emphasis added).[8]

What, then, is the right response to the current crisis? The German philosopher concludes:

God expects us, in the present devastation of His vineyard, to respond first of all by growing in faith, hope, and love; secondly, by being especially watchful lest we be infected [by heresy] in any way; thirdly, by struggling against the devastation with all the means at our disposal; and fourthly, by not forgetting that the absolute truth of the deposit of the Catholic Faith objectively remains untouched by all the empty talk of certain theologians.

What do all the changing trends of the time really amount to? They are so much ‘sound and fury, signifying nothing’ when compared with the eternal truth and the objective glory of Jesus Christ…which glorifies God.

When we realize all this, when we consider the lives of the saints and the unadulterated teaching of the Holy Church, we cannot help seeing what real renewal consists in, and how we can awaken and give new life to our faith, to our lives as Christians.[9]

Because Dr. Hildebrand comprehended the current crisis with a clarity rivaled by few Catholics at the time, he encouraged his brethren to “be watchful, be sober, for your adversary the devil goes about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).[10] Please pray that OnePeterFive can continue to carry the torch of all our beloved Trad Godfathers with humility, piety, gratitude, and charity. In the current crisis, know that you can come to us for spiritual comfort. Join our lay sodality or the Confraternity. Remember the next verse of that passage from 1 Peter 5: “but you, grounded in the faith, must face him boldly; you know well enough that the brotherhood you belong to pays, all the world over, the same tribute of suffering” (Knox). God bless you!

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[1] Jimmy Akin, “The Smoke of Satan Homily,” Jimmy Akin, November 13, 2006, https://jimmyakin.com/2006/11/the_smoke_of_sa.html.

[2] Dietrich von Hildebrand, The Devastated Vineyard (Roman Catholic Books, 1985), 245, https://www.sjcacademy.com/uploads/4/9/5/6/49563895/dietrich_von_hildebrand_-_the_devastated_vineyard.pdf.

[3] Ibid., 245.

[4] Ibid., 245.

[5] To state that the Sacraments have been invalid since Vatican II is to deny Our Lord’s solemn vow that “the gates of hell shall not prevail” (Saint Matthew 16:18). In short, it’s another way of saying that Satan has triumphed over the Catholic Church.

[6] Hildebrand, op. Cit., 247.

[7] Ibid., 246.

[8] Ibid., 246-247.

[9] Ibid., 252.

[10] Ibid., 249.