4.5. If Vatican II really introduced errors, how is it possible that over a billion Catholics, including priests, bishops, and laypeople, didn’t object?
This is a very legitimate and important question—and it reflects the scandal many faithful Catholics feel when they learn about the crisis in the Church. To understand how such a dramatic and destructive transformation could occur, we need to consider both spiritual and historical factors.
1. Our Lord Warned This Would Happen
Christ and the Apostles warned repeatedly of a future time of widespread deception within the Church:
“There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of perdition, and deny the Lord…”
“If possible, even the elect would be deceived.”
“The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.”
Thus, the fact that the vast majority were deceived should not shake our faith—it was prophesied.
2. Modernism Had Already Infiltrated the Church
Pope St. Pius X warned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907) that Modernism was the "synthesis of all heresies" and had already penetrated seminaries, theological faculties, and even the episcopacy. He instituted strong anti-modernist measures—but after his death, enforcement faded. By the 1950s, many high-ranking clergy had been influenced by modernist errors and liberal theology. Vatican II was the explosion of this underground revolution.
3. False Obedience and Clericalism
Most Catholics, both clergy and laity, were formed in a mindset of absolute obedience to Church authorities—so when Pope Paul VI and the bishops imposed the new liturgy and changes in doctrine, the faithful obeyed blindly, assuming such changes must be from God. Few questioned whether the new teachings contradicted the Church’s prior infallible Magisterium. The cult of obedience overshadowed the duty to uphold eternal truth.
4. Psychological and Social Pressure
In the 1960s, global society was undergoing radical transformation (sexual revolution, political upheaval, etc.). Vatican II appeared to many as the Church "opening its windows" to the modern world. The fear of appearing "backward," along with pressure to conform, led many to embrace the reforms without understanding their danger. Those who resisted were often marginalized, ridiculed, or told they were disobedient or schismatic.
5. The Great Apostasy Is a Real and Prophesied Event
The crisis of faith we see today corresponds to the Great Apostasy foretold by Scripture and the Saints—a falling away from the true Faith (2 Thess. 2:3). Just as Judas betrayed Christ from within the Twelve, the modern betrayal has come from inside the hierarchy, under the appearance of legitimacy.
Further reading:
The Vatican II Crisis - A True Drama of Spiritual Warfare
The Permanent Instruction of the Alta Vendita - A Masonic Blueprint for the subversion of the Catholic Church
A Conspiracy against the Catholic Church? The True Popes Speaks
Former FBI Consultant Claims: U.S. Intel Docs show Cardinal Siri elected Pope Gregory XVII in 1958
Watch Papal Impostors