The Servant of God, Father Tomas Tyn

A Conservative Progressive

The Lord’s Vineyard Invaded by Beasts

The wild boar from the forest ravages it,
and the wild beasts feed on it.
Psalm 80:14

Before the Second Vatican Council, the Church was too closed off from the world. Now, a false interpretation of the Council has made it too open. Like a house without fences, doors, or defenses, thieves and beasts enter, and the inhabitants feel uneasy and in danger. A class of self-appointed bullies has emerged, claiming to be heralds of the Council but in reality, falsifiers, who seek to dominate the Church by obstructing, manipulating, exploiting, and even limiting the Pope’s authority.

This phenomenon has been called the "dictatorship of relativism."

Father Tomas Tyn was born in Bohemia, where the Church was then oppressed by communism. He offered his life for the liberation of his homeland from this anti-Christian regime, and he was granted the grace, with the Lord accepting his sacrifice, as he died in 1990, precisely at the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Upon learning of his heroic gesture, Father Tomas initially gained fame as a national hero in his homeland. In 2006, a beatification process was even initiated, which led to him being granted the title of Servant of God by Rome. However, later on, the communists, allied with the modernists, became alarmed at how dangerous the spread of devotion to Father Tomas was for them, and in 2012, they halted the process.

But they have not succeeded, and they will not succeed, in silencing the voice and fame of this man of God, which continues to resonate within the Church and to spread wherever there are convinced, normal, and balanced Catholics in the Church—not partisan or biased, open to a legitimate choice of either traditionalist or progressive paths, but not to the schismatic traditionalism of the Lefebvrists, nor the false progressivism of the modernists.

Father Tomas, through his teachings and example, guides us in finding a way out of the destructive and unproductive conflict between traditionalists and modernists. He guides us toward a true implementation of the Council, where every Catholic is free to choose either a greater focus on tradition or a greater focus on progress, all within full communion with the Pope and the Church.

A major challenge for the Church today is balancing the protection of the deposit of faith with the continued growth in understanding it. Within the Church, two extreme factions have emerged, each opposing the other. They either attack or dismiss one another, both insisting they represent the true Church while accusing the other of being either a false Church or one that is stuck in the past.

In a Church that constantly talks about dialogue, we're facing a serious breakdown in communication within our ranks. At a time when synodality is celebrated, the Church has never been more internally divided. While we praise ecumenism, we overlook that the 'separated brethren' aren’t just Protestants and Orthodox—who aren't even considered separated anymore—but also the Catholics in the neighboring parish, the parents in our child's Catholic group, or even our next-door neighbors.

In both factions, we see a lack of charity, a failure to perceive the common good of the Church, disobedience to the Church's magisterium, arrogance, mutual contempt and mockery, the ambition to present oneself as the model of a Catholic, ignorance of what it truly means to be Catholic, insensitivity to the other's criticism, a thirst for dominance over the other, an inability to recognize one's faults, to listen to each other, and to appreciate the values of the other.

In a situation that evokes one of Dante’s circles of Inferno—where shouts clash with shouts, despair echoes in unheeded cries for help, curses fill the air, the flesh stifles the spirit, the devil torments and deceives consciences, and shepherds stand by, watching helplessly—the radiant and consoling figure of the Servant of God, Father Tomas Tyn, stands out. A true son of St. Dominic and St. Thomas, and a devoted heir to the Order's tradition, he gave himself wholly to the service of the Gospel, the salvation of souls, the spread of the faith, the defense of truth, the growth of charity, the promotion of God’s Kingdom, the healing of divisions, and the flourishing of the Church.

Conservation and progress are meant to coexist because they are the two fundamental and essential laws of life at any level of creation. Only divine life, the absolute perfection of life, does not need to progress or improve, and certainly not to correct itself, because it is the pure preservation of itself, for it is infinite good, and good needs nothing more than to be preserved, practiced, and affirmed.

We must not confuse preservation with conservatism, progress with subversion, rigidity with firmness, modernization with modernism, renewal with betrayal, or reform with distortion.

Regarding the current situation, it's important to note that the terms 'right' and 'left,' while often used in politics, can be completely harmless. It's permissible to use these terms cautiously to describe certain ecclesial currents. However, they should not be turned into criteria for determining what should be loved or hated. They must not become principles for judging good and evil. Instead, these terms should be reserved for debatable political matters, which are open to free choice. Different emphases in political action are legitimate and acceptable within the framework of democracy and the common good and are part of the normal dialectic of civil coexistence.

On the Concept of Revolution

Transform yourselves by renewing your mind
Romans 12:3

In the debate about conservation and progress, some introduce the concept of revolution. Is progress a revolution? If we understand 'revolution' as a profound transformation, then Christ calls us to undergo a revolution in our lives. This means a deep change in behavior and direction: shifting from yielding to sin to yielding to justice; from serving Satan to serving God; from the old self to the new self. This is traditionally called conversion, and St. Paul refers to it as metanoia.

However, the term "revolution" is not entirely free from connotations or overtones that might not be agreeable to Christians, such as sedition, insurrection, violence, and disorder. Therefore, Christians must use it with caution and a degree of suspicion, even though in some contexts it might have an innocent meaning, such as when discussing "revolution" in the fields of technology, art, or customs.

Father Tomas had a particular aversion to the French Revolution; he struggled to see any trace of Christianity and true humanity in it beyond the famous triad, which has undeniable immediate evangelical resonance and attracted many honest but naïve minds. But Father Tomas knew well that this triad stemmed from a Masonic backdrop of vague deism (bold added by editor), ultimately not based on God but on itself.

The defense of human rights is a sacred matter, and Father Tomas knew this well and did not disdain the democratic system founded on them. However, he recognized the modernist deception of interpreting the Church's social doctrine in a secularistic, relativistic, and horizontal key, close to the call to transcendence.

The idea of revolution, which implies a change in principles, does not represent Christian metanoia, which instead is based on solid and immutable principles.

The idea of destroying everything to rebuild from scratch traces back to Cartesian thought. It reemerges in Hegel's philosophy with the identification of being with nothingness and finds a radically subversive political application in 19th-century Russia, where it manifests in the revolution known as Russian nihilism.

It is necessary to distinguish this nihilism of action, which currently attracts very few due to its evident and repugnant cruelty, from metaphysical nihilism, which continues to seduce many and is discussed by Heidegger and Severino both appropriately and inappropriately.

In Catholic circles, there is some support for the so-called "counter-revolution," a theory promoted by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira. This theory adopts a wholly negative view of revolution, condemning the anti-Christian nature of the 18th and 19th-century revolutions, but it appears to overlook the significance of the reforms introduced by the Second Vatican Council. Father Tyn did not align with this perspective (bold added by editor), which often seems antagonistic toward modernism, because he recognized and valued the positive contributions of the Council.

For the Christian conception, it is not the principles that need to be revolutionized but the Christian's conduct based on those principles. This was precisely Father Tomas's perspective. While he was firm on the principles, he was fully aware of the profound transformation required in our lives in moving from sin to grace, from vices to virtues, from submission to Satan to submission to God.

If by revolution we mean insurrection against a tyrannical regime, this concept, which has so captivated minds over the past three centuries, now seems to evoke less interest than before, even among Marxists, given how significant Marx considered revolution to be.

Due to historical failures, Marxists have realized that the Marxian revolutionary perspective of violently overthrowing an oppressing class by the oppressed class, with the idea that this will produce free and liberated humanity, is a simplistic, utopian, unachievable, and counterproductive project.

One might say that the idea of revolution as radical palingenesis has remained within Christian apocalypticism. However, here it is not man who liberates himself but God who liberates man. Therefore, for Father Tyn, the perspective is not the assertion of man as the absolute but the continuation of the tradition of Dominican Saints who fought for the faith and advocated for the ordination of man to God.

Father Tomas was very sensitive to the agonistic aspect of Christian life. While he abhorred the Marxist idea of revolution, he deeply appreciated the good fight that St. Paul speaks of against the world, the flesh, and Satan. He had taken as his model the great Saints of the Dominican tradition who fought for the faith.

The Misuse of Mercy

The Church’s current tilt towards a misunderstood practice of mercy—which is nothing more than a hypocritical loophole for those who wish to sin without fearing punishment, indeed with the certainty of salvation (which salvation, anyway?)—has been evident to all normal Catholics and even to honest non-Christians for decades.

Aside from the inviolable doctrines of the Council, it is increasingly clear that the overly lenient and excessively indulgent pastoral approach initiated by the Council needs a course correction. This does not mean returning to the style of the Counter-Reformation, but it does mean recovering the right kind of severity that ensures authentic mercy and prevents it from becoming a cover for bullies, hedonists, and relativists.

Father Tomas recognized that the so-called “merciful” individual presented himself as progressive and loyal to the Council. But in reality, he is a modernist. He masks a fundamentally harsh, cruel, despotic, tyrannical, and violent nature with a veneer of benevolence, kindness, sweetness, tolerance, good humor, cheerfulness, indulgence, amiability, understanding, tenderness, openness to dialogue, and compassion for the poor and suffering. Those who claim that forgiving mercy must be accompanied and alternated with punitive justice are met with the mercilessness and cruelty of the so-called merciful person.

In the end, the true merciful person, following the example of God Himself, is precisely one who reminds us that alongside mercy, when circumstances demand it, the requirements of punitive justice must be fulfilled.

The Two Forms of Disobedience to the Pope

As we know, disobedience to the Pope and schism go hand in hand. Traditionalists are officially excommunicated. Modernists are de facto schismatic and even heretical, yet they are not officially excommunicated. Why? Because the Pope, while not willing to accept the open rebellion of traditionalists, is willing to accept and tolerate the false obedience and devotion of modernists, due to their substantial numbers and influential party, which includes individuals with commendable qualities whom the Pope can utilize in the governance of the Church.

Although the Pope may not confront them directly, following his daily teachings alongside those of the Council and tradition reveals a clear dissonance between their heresies and the Church’s Magisterium—heresies that the Church has already condemned.

However, in their cunning, they do not fail to demonstrate authentic human and Christian values, which the Pope utilizes, also because true Catholics do not always distinguish themselves by their intellectual and organizational abilities. It then falls to the Catholic, under the guidance of good teachers, to keep an eye on these impostors, uncover their traps, and practice diligent obedience to the Pope. An excellent guide in this precious work of discernment is Father Tyn.

Father Tomas as a Model of True Implementation of the Council

Father Tomas’s exemplary nature lies in his demonstration of how to appreciate and practice the synthesis between traditionalism and progressivism, between conserving and advancing. He showed us how, within the boundaries of true faith and ecclesial communion, it is permissible for the faithful to feel more strongly the demands of tradition and preservation or to feel more strongly the demands of progress, improvement, overcoming, updating, modernization, research, advancement, and reform.

The Servant of God distinguished between a healthy and beneficial traditionalism for the Church, which was his own choice, and the Lefebvrist, schismatic traditionalism, which misunderstood the innovations of the Council, believing them to be Lutheranism, modernism, and liberalism.

Father Tomas understood that steadfastness in principles does not imply halting progress toward the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, he knew that progressing and advancing does not mean, under the pretext of “methodical doubt,” destroying all known truths to start anew with falsehood, but rather increasing and improving what is already possessed.

He was fully aware that when a theologian proposes a new doctrine that may initially unsettle or scandalize, it is necessary to carefully examine it in light of Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium to determine if the novelty is in continuity with the revealed and traditional deposit. Does it clarify or contradict it? If it builds on and clarifies what came before, then it constitutes true progress. If not, it is subversion, betrayal, infidelity, deceit, or modernism.

In the field of liturgy, Father Tomas held a special esteem for the Vetus Ordo Mass. Acting on a commission from the Provincial Father, who in turn responded to a request from Cardinal Biffi, the Archbishop of Bologna, he celebrated it weekly in private for a group of faithful. However, he had no difficulty in regularly celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass. In fact, for 14 years, he served a parish in Bologna with a touch of modernism, but his kindness, openness of mind mixed with frankness earned him the respect of the parish priest and the parishioners. He regularly celebrated the Mass of St. Paul VI.

Father Tomas practiced his prudent and wise traditionalism by dedicating himself, especially to recovering and revisiting doctrinal and moral values that the post-conciliar climate, influenced by modernism, had abandoned, forgotten, or set aside, perhaps considering them outdated. In particular, following the best Dominican tradition, he carefully attended to the purity of doctrine based on his extraordinary Thomistic preparation, and with critical acumen, he focused on identifying and correcting errors, practicing charity, and with pastoral wisdom, he knew how to enlighten, warn, or admonish the faithful.

Father Tomas, who was not deterred by the communists—who would have imprisoned him had he returned to his homeland under the regime—was even less intimidated by the modernists, whom he openly criticized and refuted, particularly the errors of Rahner, whom he had recognized even as a simple theology student in Germany, to the extent of writing a book to refute his existentialist ethics [1].

It is then understandable how the modernists, certainly supported by the communists—who were enraged that Father Tomas had offered his life for the liberation of his homeland from communism—slandered the Servant of God by spreading lies about him, portraying him as a medieval inquisitor and a reactionary right-wing enemy of the Council.

Father Tomas’s traditionalism does have certain aspects that might make him seem aligned with the Lefebvrians. They tried to lay claim to him, damaging his reputation for sanctity and promoting modernist slanders, until in 2012 they managed to halt the Cause, which remains stalled, although there are signs of revival.

But their shameful opposition will certainly not make lies triumph, given that, as Father Vito Gomez, the then General Postulator of the Dominican Order, expressed, Father Tyn’s Cause is a “work of God,” and no one can stop the works of God.

Fr. Giovanni Cavalcoli OP

Fontanellato, July 22, 2024

source:

https://padrecavalcoli.blogspot.com/p/il-servo-di-dio-padre-tomas-tyn-un.html

Acknowledgment:

[1] Saggio sull’etica esistenziale formale di Karl Rahner, Edizioni Fede&Cultura,Verona 2012.