07-07-2026, 08:47 AM
V. Catholics and Catholics — Protestants and Protestants.
— "Things of the same sort are not alike" (il y a fagots et fagots), quoth the woodman in the play. It is even so in this question: let us make further distinction.
Catholics are not all alike. We must distinguish between Catholic and Catholic: the genuine Catholic and the contraband Catholic. There is the earnest Catholic, who can give an account of his religion, follow its dictates with his whole heart, fulfil the duties of prayer and self-denial, be assiduous in works of charity, and seek a close union with our Lord. Again, there are Catholics only in name, who are indifferent about their religion, never pray, never approach the sacraments, neglect the service of God. Be on your guard, lest you confound the two together; never take a bad Catholic as the type of Catholics in general.
Nor are Protestants all alike. Some Protestants are ardent, ever ready for a fight against the Church, prompted by motives of sect and propagandism. Others among them are Protestants because they were born such: they care very little for what their ministers say, and, in fact, cannot even tell to which of the thousand and one Protestant sects they belong. Let us not confound these two classes together. The former are sectarians and sworn enemies; in their blind zeal they will disguise themselves in every possible way to attain their mischievous purpose; and it becomes necessary to tear the mask from them and challenge them. The latter are simply in a dormant state; they are neither friendly nor hostile to the truth; they need only to be roused and bring the truth to glare on their eyes.
To the former class belong all those for whom Protestantism is a position, if not a profession. With them we must class also a small number of Protestants, especially those who are enthusiastic, who pay their agents largely, and look upon prices as a party concern.
The latter class reckons among its number, with few exceptions, a crowd of mechanics, merchants, and good-natured people, who are Protestants because their parents were such before them. Their religion is that of honest people; and in that they are very much like bad Catholics.
Without establishing this twofold distinction, we could not pave our way for our Plain Talk.
— "Things of the same sort are not alike" (il y a fagots et fagots), quoth the woodman in the play. It is even so in this question: let us make further distinction.
Catholics are not all alike. We must distinguish between Catholic and Catholic: the genuine Catholic and the contraband Catholic. There is the earnest Catholic, who can give an account of his religion, follow its dictates with his whole heart, fulfil the duties of prayer and self-denial, be assiduous in works of charity, and seek a close union with our Lord. Again, there are Catholics only in name, who are indifferent about their religion, never pray, never approach the sacraments, neglect the service of God. Be on your guard, lest you confound the two together; never take a bad Catholic as the type of Catholics in general.
Nor are Protestants all alike. Some Protestants are ardent, ever ready for a fight against the Church, prompted by motives of sect and propagandism. Others among them are Protestants because they were born such: they care very little for what their ministers say, and, in fact, cannot even tell to which of the thousand and one Protestant sects they belong. Let us not confound these two classes together. The former are sectarians and sworn enemies; in their blind zeal they will disguise themselves in every possible way to attain their mischievous purpose; and it becomes necessary to tear the mask from them and challenge them. The latter are simply in a dormant state; they are neither friendly nor hostile to the truth; they need only to be roused and bring the truth to glare on their eyes.
To the former class belong all those for whom Protestantism is a position, if not a profession. With them we must class also a small number of Protestants, especially those who are enthusiastic, who pay their agents largely, and look upon prices as a party concern.
The latter class reckons among its number, with few exceptions, a crowd of mechanics, merchants, and good-natured people, who are Protestants because their parents were such before them. Their religion is that of honest people; and in that they are very much like bad Catholics.
Without establishing this twofold distinction, we could not pave our way for our Plain Talk.
"So let us be confident, let us not be unprepared, let us not be outflanked, let us be wise, vigilant, fighting against those who are trying to tear the faith out of our souls and morality out of our hearts, so that we may remain Catholics, remain united to the Blessed Virgin Mary, remain united to the Roman Catholic Church, remain faithful children of the Church."- Abp. Lefebvre