As we have seen, the Revolution was born from an explosion of disorderly passions that is leading to the total destruction of temporal society, the complete subversion of the moral order, and the denial of God. The great target of the Revolution is, then, the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, the infallible teacher of the Truth, the guardian of Natural Law, and, therefore, the ultimate foundation of temporal order itself.
Accordingly, we must examine the relation between the Divine institution that the Revolution wants to destroy and the Counter-Revolution.
1. The Church Is Much Higher And Far Broader Than The Revolution And The Counter-Revolution
The Revolution and the Counter-Revolution are extremely important episodes in the history of the Church, for they constitute the very drama of the apostasy and the conversion of the Christian West. Even so, they are mere episodes.
The mission of the Church does not lie only in the West, nor is it bound by time to the length of the revolutionary process. Amid the storms through which she passes today, she could proudly and tranquilly say: "Alios ego vidi ventos; alias prospexi animo procellas"("I have already seen other winds, I have already beheld other storms")61 The Church has fought in other lands, against adversaries from among other peoples, and she will undoubted continue to face problems and enemies quite different from those of today until the end of time.
The Church´s objective is to exercise her direct spiritual power and her indirect temporal power for the salvation of souls. The Revolution is an obstacle that arose to prevent the accomplishment of this mission. For the Church, the struggle against this specific obstacle (among so many others) is no more than a means limited to the dimensions of the obstacle - most important means, of course, but, nevertheless, only a means. Thus, even if the Revolution did not exist, the Church would still do everything she does for the salvation of souls.
We might make the matter clearer if we compare the position of the Church in face of the Revolution and the Counter-Revolution with that of a nation at war. When Hannibal was at the gates of Rome, all the forces of the Republic had to be marshaled and directed against him. This was a vital reaction against a most powerful and nearly victorious foe. Did it make Rome a mere reaction to Hannibal? Could anyone believe such a thing?
It would be just as absurd to imagine that the Church is only the Counter-Revolution.
In this regard, it should be made clear that the Counter-Revolution is not destined to save the Spouse of Christ. Supported as she is on the promise of her Founder, she does not need men to survive. On the contrary, it is the Church that gives life to the Counter-Revolution, which, without her, is neither feasible nor even conceivable.
The Counter-Revolution wants to contribute to the salvation of the many souls threatened by the Revolution and to the prevention of the catastrophes that menace temporal society. To do this, it must rely on the Church and humbly serve her, instead of vainly imagining that it is saving her.
2. The Church Has The Greatest Interest In Crushing The Revolution
If the Revolution does exist, if it is what it is, then the crushing of the Revolution is within the mission of the Church, it is in the interest of the salvation of souls, and it is of special importance for the greater glory of God.
3. The Church Is A Fundamentally Counter-Revolutionary Force
Considering the term Revolution in the sense employed herein, the words of this heading are the obvious conclusion to what we have said above. To state the contrary would be to say that the Church is failing in her mission.
4. The Church Is The Greatest Counter-Revolutionary Force
The primacy of the Church among counter-revolutionary forces is obvious if we consider the number of Catholics, their unity, and their influence in the world. But this legitimate consideration of natural resources has a very secondary importance. The real strength of the Church lies in her being the Mystical Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
5. The Church Is The Soul Of The Counter-Revolution
If the Counter-Revolution is the struggle to extinguish the Revolution and to build the new Christendom, resplendent with faith, humble with hierarchical spirit, and spotless in purity, clearly this will be achieved, above all, by a profound action in the hearts of men. This action is proper to the Church, which teaches Catholic doctrine and leads men to love and practice it. Therefore, the Church is the very soul of the Counter-Revolution.
6. The Ideal Of The Counter-Revolution is To Exalt The Church
This is an evident proposition. If the Revolution is the opposite of the Church, it is impossible to hate the Revolution (considered in its entirety and not just in some isolated aspect) and to combat it without ipso facto having the ideal of exalting the Church.
7. In A Way, The Purview Of The Counter-Revolution Is Broader Than The Ecclesiastical Ambit
The foregoing serves to show that the action of the Counter-Revolution involves a reorganization of all temporal society. "There is a whole world to be rebuilt from its very foundations,"62 said Pius XII at the sight of the ruins with which the Revolution had covered the whole earth.
Now, while this task of a fundamental counter-revolutionary reorganization of temporal society must, on the one hand, be wholly inspired by the doctrine of the Church, it involves, on the other hand, innumerable concrete and practical aspects that are properly in the civil order. And in this respect, the Counter-Revolution goes beyond the ecclesiastical ambit, though always intimately bound to the Church in every matter that has to do with her Magisterium and indirect power.
8. Whether Every Catholic Should Be Counter-Revolutionary
In so far as he is an apostle, the Catholic is a counter-revolutionary. But he can be one in different ways.
A. The Implicit Counter-Revolutionary
He may be one implicitly and, as it were, unconsciously. This is the case of a Sister of Charity at a hospital. Her direct action is aimed at the cure of bodies and, above all, the good of souls. She can perform this action without speaking of the Revolution and the Counter-Revolution. She may even live in such special conditions that she is unaware of the phenomenon Revolution and Counter-Revolution. Nevertheless, to the degree that she really benefits souls, she will be diminishing the influence of the Revolution upon them. This is implicitly waging Counter-Revolution.
B. The Modernity of a Counter-Revolutionary Explicitness
Given that our times are immersed in the phenomenon Revolution and Counter-Revolution, it seems to us a condition for wholesome modernity that it be deeply understood and faced up to perspicaciously and energetically as circumstances dictate.
Thus, we believe it is most desirable that all present day apostolate, whenever it be the case, have an explicitly counter-revolutionary intention and tone.
In other words, we believe that - regardless of the field in which he works - the truly modem apostle will greatly add to the effectiveness of his labors if he discerns the Revolution within his field and exerts a corresponding counter-revolutionary influence in all his actions.
C. The Explicit Counter-Revolutionary
No one may deny that it is licit for certain persons to take upon themselves the task of developing a specifically counter-revolutionary apostolate in Catholic and non-Catholic circles. This they will do by proclaiming the existence of the Revolution, describing its spirit, method, and doctrines, and urging everyone to counter-revolutionary action.
In so doing, they will be putting their activities at the service of a specialized apostolate as natural and meritorious as (and certainly more profound than) the apostolate of those who specialize in the struggle against other enemies of the Church, such as spiritism and Protestantism.
To influence the numerous Catholic and non-Catholic circles in order to alert souls against, say, the evils of Protestantism is undoubtedly legitimate, and necessary for an intelligent and efficacious anti-Protestant action. The Catholics who devote themselves to the apostolate of the Counter-Revolution will proceed in an analogous manner.
Possible excesses in this apostolate - which may happen as in any other - do not invalidate the principle we established. After all, "abusus non tollit usum" ("abuse does not abolish use").
D. Counter-Revolutionary Action That Does Not Constitute an Apostolate
Finally, there are counter-revolutionaries who do not practice an apostolate in the strict sense, for they devote themselves to the struggle in certain fields such as specifically partisan politics or economic undertakings to combat the Revolution. Undoubtedly, these activities are highly relevant and can only be looked upon with approval.
9. Catholic Action And Counter-Revolution
If we employ the expression Catholic Action in the legitimate sense that Pius XII gave it (that is, a group of associations that, under the direction of the Hierarchy, collaborate with its apostolate), then in our view, the Counter-Revolution in its religious and moral aspects is a most important part of the program of a soundly modern Catholic Action.
Naturally, counter-revolutionary action can be pursued by one individual working alone or by several working together in a private capacity. With due ecclesiastical approval, this action can even culminate in the formation of a religious association especially dedicated to fighting the Revolution.
Obviously, counter-revolutionary action in the strictly partisan or economic terrain is not part of the goals of Catholic Action.
10. The Counter-Revolution And Non-Catholics
May the Counter-Revolution accept the cooperation of non-Catholics? Are there counter-revolutionary Protestants, Moslems, and others? The answer must be carefully nuanced. There is no authentic Counter-Revolution outside the Church.63 But it is conceivable that certain Protestants or Moslems, for instance, are in a state of soul in which they begin to perceive all the wickedness of the Revolution and to take a stand against it. Such persons can be expected to form obstacles, at times even great ones, against the Revolution. If they respond to grace, they can become excellent Catholics and, therefore, efficient counter-revolutionaries. Until then, they at least oppose the Revolution to some degree and can even force it back. In the full and true sense of the word, they are not counter-revolutionaries. But their cooperation may and even should be accepted, with the care that the directives of the Church demand.
Catholics ought to be particularly mindful of the dangers inherent in interdenominational associations, as Saint Pius X wisely warned:
Indeed, without mentioning other points, the dangers to which - because of associations of this sort - our people expose or certainly can expose both the integrity of their faith and the just obedience to the laws and precepts of the Catholic Church are incontestably grave.64
Among non-Catholics, our best apostolate should focus on those who have counter-revolutionary tendencies.
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