See the link below for the full downloadable article with footnotes.
In a 2024 study by a statistician Burge, data suggests that full adherence among Catholics to all official Catholic Church teachings is extremely low, with some studies indicating that under 1% of Catholics fully align on all key doctrines. Of these key doctrines noteworthy are Church’s doctrine on abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia. The reason for this falling away of the faith may be found in a remark made by Cardinal Wilton Gregory of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington on former President Biden, when referring to him as a “cafeteria Catholic” – a ‘cafeteria Catholic’ is someone who chooses that to believe only in that which is attractive and dismisses that which is challenging.
The data from this study reported that less than 69% of Catholics that go to Mass believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (Catholic doctrine), and only 23% attend Mass every Sunday (a mortal sin when missed deliberately, CCC 2181), and less than 50% attend Mass a few times a year. These are referred to as “CAPE Catholics” – CAPE derives from their participation at Mass four times year, i.e., on Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday and Easter.
In 2025 the Real Clear Opinion Research Poll revealed that while 70% of Catholics expressed a favourable view of the pope, only 28% accept all Church (Magisterial) teaching – with 35% adamantly opposing key Church doctrines. The poll also revealed that only 16% of Catholics go to Confession once a month, only 52% believe in the “Real Presence” of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament (Catholic doctrine), and that 43% who attend Mass weekly are less likely to vote for a pro-abortion candidate.
At a time when 75% of Catholics have fallen away from the faith, a marked upsurge in technocratic laws is favouring the unprecedented roll out of water-guzzling data centers that usurp the rights and monies of local taxpayers. I addressed this matter on the Dec. 13, 2025 Radio Maria presentation (timestamp 12:40): https://radiomaria.us/learning-to-live-in-gods-divine-will-with-fr-joseph-iannuzzi-december-13-2025/ This faith crisis among the great majority of Catholics who are non-practicing explains why among them little to no moral resistance is offered to today’s technocratic laws that are presently increasingly seizing land and its resources to advance a globalist cause from which the Christian moral law is excluded. 1 It may also explain why the government agency under the Biden administration was emboldened to target traditional Catholics who were pro-life, and why The Atlantic op-ed published an article asserting that “the rosary has acquired a militaristic meaning for radical-traditional (or ‘rad trad’) Catholics.”
Advancing this anti-Christian agenda is the secular press. Recently, the associated press and syndicated social media platforms created a false flag debate between Pope Leo XIV and President Trump, despite the pope not having mentioned the president’s name. Pope Leo remarked on April 18, 2026 that his recent speech – manipulated by the secular press – was not directed against the president, as it was “prepared two weeks ago, well before the person had ever commented on me and on the message of peace that I am promoting. And yet as it happens, it was viewed as if I was trying to debate again with the president, which is not in my interest at all.” Indeed, various secular media outlets – coordinating with each other – headlined the Pope’s comments in Cameroon as if they were directed at the US president specifically. A summary of the pope’s speech may be found on the Vatican website: https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-xiv-trump-cameroon-journey-africa-peace-united-states.html
One may recall the many occasions when the secular press deliberately misquoted Pope Francis, resulting in much ado about nothing, whilst mobilizing nefarious anti-Christian media platforms to dupe fallen away Catholics, several of which were reported to have attempted to “get rid of the pope.” As for the secular press’ pursuit of an increasingly anti-Christian agenda, it appears to be motivated by what St. Paul’s describes as “the mystery of lawlessness” that is already at work and that is held back by the “restrainer” (2 Thes. 2:7), i.e., the office of the papacy. Because I have written and spoken on this topic many times, I limit myself to the following. St. Paul states,
“The day of the Lord is at hand. Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one doomed to perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, claiming that he is a god – do you not recall that while I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed (2 Thes. 2:3-8)…
the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie, and in every wicked deceit for those who are perishing because they have not accepted the love of truth so that they may be saved. Therefore, God is sending them a deceiving power so that they may believe the lie, that all who have not believed the truth but have approved wrongdoing may be condemned. But we ought to give thanks to God for you always, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in truth” (2 Thes. 2:9-13).
In the ecclesially approved True Life in God prophetic revelations Jesus addresses the ‘restrainer’ that is holding back the mystery of lawlessness:
“I will continue to pour out My Holy Spirit on you all and display the greatness of My Love; have you not read: ‘when new wine is found in a bunch of grapes people say: do not destroy it, it contains a blessing’ [Is. 65:8]; I shall do the same for the sake of those who serve Me in righteousness and are obedient to the one [the Pope] who holds back this Rebellion in My House;
I refuse to destroy the whole; but trouble for the bloodstained hands! and you, you who have taken the position of sentry to prohibit My Holy Spirit from entering in His territory, I will send the most barbarous of the nations to surround you; I shall drop in your desert a fire of fury, with a cloud that will cover your cities: thus your dark epoch will come to an end…” (TLIG, Dec. 1, 1994).
“I have been saying to all of you that your generation has apostatised and that this apostasy would creep into the heart of My Sanctuary affecting priests, bishops and cardinals; you see, daughter, I am talking about those apostates who are betraying My Church and are opposing My chosen one, the Vicar of My Church, who holds their rebellion back; but it was said that Satan will set to work in your times to destroy all that is good and will spring in pursuit of those whom I am sending you with My Merciful calls, that could have saved you; My calls and My signs from Heaven have not been grasped by those apostates but are rejected; yet everything evil that can lead their soul into further darkness and destruction will be welcomed by them instead; they would welcome the Lie and reject the Truth; it has been said2 that, for a time, two times, and a half time,3 My people would be under their persecution and the dominion of the beast;4 it has been said that they will, with the help of this beast, consider changing the Traditions and My Law and are planning to remove the Perpetual Sacrifice, trample it underfoot and crush it and in its place erect the disastrous abomination, a lifeless image… and every saint I am sending you in your generation will be put into their power; today you are all watching how these prophecies are being fulfilled; influenced by the beast, these apostates5 are making war on every saint I am sending you, proving today to be the stronger,6 and as for those7 who reject My calls of today with no reason at all, in My Day they will make this confession:8
‘O Lord, we have been blind and we have sinned, we have indeed wronged You and we have betrayed your commandments and your Law; we have refused to listen to your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your Name to all the world; Lord, we have not listened to Your Merciful Calls nor taken any counsel; God, we paid no attention to Your manifest signs, we have been ridiculing all of them because we have sinned against you; we flouted Scriptures, had we not, we would have accepted Your Sign in heaven9 and the gifts of your Holy Spirit, but we turned our eyes away not to see lest we see and get converted; and the curse and imprecation written in Scriptures will come pouring down on us now – because we have indeed sinned against You; and now, now that the Holy Sacrifice has been abolished to whom can we turn to? on what can we feed our souls? how could we quench our thirst? how could we obtain Life now? all the desolation of the abomination You predicted, but kept secret, has now come true; our distress is unparalleled since we first came into existence’”10 (TLIG, Dec. 20, 1993).
Another reason for the anti-Christian press is articulated by Pope Pius XI in Divini Redemptoris, who warned mankind of “a world organization that has one common center from which in a conspiracy of silence with the media that shrouds its identity, and favoured by occult forces, seeks to for the overthrow of the Christian Social Order”.11
If Pope Pius XI refrains from mentioning the identity of the world organization that has one common center, Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich refers to it as a secret society.12 In her mystical visions Blessed Emmerich beheld this world organization and describes it in a work, entitled, The Life and Revelations of Anne Catherine Emmerich:
“I see new martyrs, not of the present but of the future… I saw the secret society undermining the great Church and near them a horrible beast that arose out of the sea… I saw many good, pious people, especially ecclesiastics, harassed, imprisoned and oppressed, and I felt that at some future day, they would be martyred”13
“I always see these ‘Illuminati’ in a certain connection with the coming of antichrist… For, by their secrets, by their injustice, they forward the accomplishment of the mystery of iniquity.”
While the Church affirms that “before Christ’s second coming the Church must pass through the final trial that will shake the faith of many believers,”14 she also states that loyalty to Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament and to his vicar earth, the pope, will sustain the faith of believers. This is especially so in these End Times. This sustenance is extended through the Magisterial teaching office of the papacy and through worthy reception and adoration of the Eucharist.
Today’s faith crisis among Catholics and the events we are witnessing are a reminder of the importance of remaining united to Christ and to the Church for which he shed his most precious Blood, and of which he is the head (1 Eph. 22-23). He guaranteed that the gates of hell will never prevail against the Church (Mt. 16.18), for she as the pillar of truth (1 Tim. 3:15), and is guided by the Holy Spirit of truth (Jn. 16.12-13).
With respect to the office of the papacy, Jesus declared: “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly father. And I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it” (Mt. 16.17-18).
In these words, Christ does not tell Peter to build his church, but that He himself will build his own Church, thereby implying that through Peter (who represents all future Pontiffs) Christ accomplishes his Divine Will within his Church by the power of the Holy Spirit whom he promised to send his Apostles to “lead them to all the truth” (Jn. 16:13). It is precisely this promised Holy Spirit who continues to inspire each Roman Pontiff to guide the Church in every generation. The Catholic Catechism relates as much with respect to papal infallibility which guides the Pope’s definitions: “Therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly held irreformable, for they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, as assistance promised to him in the person of blessed Peter himself”.15
The 5th Lateran Council (1512-1517) sums it up as follows:
“The eternal Father, who will never abandon his flock up to the close of the age, so loved obedience… that… when he [his beloved Son] was about to depart from this world to the Father, he established Peter and his successors as his own representatives on the firmness of a rock. It is necessary to obey them, as the book of the Kings testifies, so that whoever does not obey, incurs death.”16
The 1st Vatican Council (1869-1870) sums it up in similar fashion:
“That which our Blessed Lord… established in the blessed Apostle Peter, for the continual salvation and permanent benefit of the Church, must of necessity remain forever, by Christ’s authority, in the Church which, founded as it is upon a rock, will stand firm until the end of time… Blessed Peter… received the keys of the kingdom from our Lord Jesus Christ… to this day and forever he (Christ) lives and presides and exercises judgment in his successors… whoever succeeds to the chair of Peter obtains… the primacy of Peter over the whole Church. So that what the truth has ordained stands firm, and blessed Peter perseveres in the rock-like strength he was granted, and does not abandon the guidance of the Church which he once received…
To him (the Roman Pontiff), in blessed Peter, full power has been given by our Lord Jesus Christ to tend, to rule and govern the universal Church… Both clergy and faithful, of whatever rite and dignity, both singly and collective, are bound to submit to this power by the duty of hierarchical subordination and true obedience, and this not only in matters concerning faith and morals, but also in those which regard the discipline and government of the Church throughout the world… he is the supreme judge of the faithful…
The Roman Pontiff possesses… the supreme power of teaching… that saying of our Lord Jesus Christ, ‘You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church’, cannot fail of its effect… the Catholic religion has always been preserved unblemished…”17
Picking up the thread of the 5th Lateran and 1st Vatican Councils, the 2nd Vatican Council (1962-1965) declares:
“The bishops, when they are teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to the divine and catholic truth… The religious assent of the will and intellect is to be given in a special way to the authentic teaching authority of the Pontiff even when he is not speaking ex cathedra.18
With respect to Jesus in the Eucharist, the Vatican II Council affirms that the Eucharist is “the summit and source of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium, 11) that provides to those who partake thereof “help and comfort,” “a constant outpouring of divine life; it contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, and bestows eternal life (Lumen Gentium, 3).
To Luisa Jesus underscores the importance of receiving the Eucharist as often as the Church permits in order to advance and remain in his Divine Will. He tells Luisa that he received the Eucharist in order to “do complete acts that would glorify the Father” (L. Piccarreta, volume 11, February 24, 1917); “in” the Eucharist is found the “complete fruit” of his sacramental life (Ibid.); “in” the Eucharist is contained “everything” souls need “to glorify his heavenly Father” and that all the divine acts souls all called to do (Ibid.); the soul must possess Jesus’ sacramental life in the Eucharist in order to possess his “works” (L. Piccarreta, volume 31, November 13, 1932). He also reveals to Luisa that whenever she receives the Eucharist, she receives all the acts of his humanity, those of his Blessed Mother and those of all souls who live in his Will; these acts surround each Sacramental Host (Ibid.). Such acts are “inseparable” from him, are “incorporated” in him and are “part of his own life” (Ibid.). As in heaven the angels and saints surround the throne of God and glorify the Most Holy Trinity, so on earth said divine acts surround and glorify God in the Most Holy Eucharist. He tells Luisa that she must receive the Eucharist in his Divine Will in order to “unite it to his humanity” and, by this means, “enclose everything” and contain “the reparations of everyone, the compensation of everyone, and his own satisfaction” (L. Piccarreta, volume 11, November 13, 1915). And he adds that the soul who does his Divine Will “is with him in the Tabernacle, and shares in his pains on account of the indifference, the irreverence and all else that souls in his Sacramental Presence do” (Ibid., volume 12, July 4, 1917).
Nos cum prole pia, benedicat Virgo Maria
+ Rev. J.L. Iannuzzi, STL, S.Th.D.
