I wrote yesterday’s post as an intro to today’s. Recently, I was shocked to see a bishop enforcing Communion in the hand and insulting his sheep who want the normative and unitive way of receiving Holy Communion. It makes me think Monsignor Bandas’ “spirit” of the new church, as he said in 1966 at our Forum, is actually the spirit of Judas, and Anne Catherine Emmerich’s vision is playing out in front of us. In Akita’s stigmata, Our Lady’s hand bled in protest of Eucharistic irreverence. In Emmerich’s prophecy, men built a church without God or angels, a counterfeit born of human pride. Today, from Cardinal Bernardin’s Judas-like fraud to Archbishop Bruno Forte’s Judas-like inversion, that counterfeit rises by razing the Eucharist’s reverence. But Fatima’s First Saturday devotion arms us to fight back.
The Foundation: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi
Yesterday, we explored how lex orandi, lex credendi—the law of prayer is the law of belief—binds Catholics through “little common things” like receiving Communion on the tongue, and kneeling before the Real Presence. Fr. John A. Hardon, S.J., argued this practice, rooted in Apostolic tradition, reinforces belief in Christ’s Body and Blood (Father Hardon: Stop Communion in the Hand Now!). For centuries, it unified the faithful, a sacred rhythm of worship that shaped their faith. Bandas warned in our 1966 Wanderer Forum that “religious vandalism” would strip these practices, leaving a “new church” devoid of the sacred. Hardon saw this vandalism in Communion in the hand, a practice he said no pope ever voluntarily approved, pushed by marauders who ignored Vatican II’s call for reverence (Sacrosanctum Concilium).
The Original Judas: Bernardin’s Betrayal
Enter Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, a Judas in red. In 1978, as president of the U.S. bishops’ conference, he rigged a vote to secure an indult for Communion in the hand, despite two-thirds of bishops initially opposing it (Communion in the Hand is “Perfectly” Legal?). Hardon exposed the fraud: Bernardin solicited votes from retired and dying bishops, bypassing a motion to verify the practice’s prevalence—a condition of Paul VI’s Memoriale Domini (1969). This wasn’t just Chicago politics; it was a betrayal of Christ in the Eucharist. Paul VI, under duress, granted the indult but set strict conditions: robust catechesis on the Real Presence, no irreverence or profanation, and preserving the option for tongue reception. Bernardin’s marauders ignored them all, forcing hand reception and tearing out altar rails. Hardon called it a “deliberate weakening” of faith, citing surveys like the 2010 National Catholic Reporter, where 54% of Catholics doubt the Real Presence, and the 2017 Hartford Courant, noting a 69% Catholic loss since 1969. This was the spirit of Judas, razing a “little common thing” to pave the way for Emmerich’s false church.
The Modern Inversion: Forte’s Judas-Like Folly
Fast-forward to 2025, and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, carries the torch. LifeSiteNews (April 28, 2025) reports Forte berated three faithful for receiving Communion on the tongue, calling it “pride” and mandating hand reception (LifeSiteNews). No doubt Forte believes he’s doing right, fostering unity under a “new church” idea—perhaps the synodal fantasy of modernist cliques like the St. Gallen Mafia. But here’s the tragic irony: pressured by this human-centric vision, he’s enforcing an inversion of truth. Kneeling for the Eucharist, as Pope Benedict XVI modeled, is humility before the King of kings; Forte calls it pride, flipping reverence on its head. This is Emmerich’s prophecy in action: men acting without God or angels, blind to the divine correction of Akita’s stigmata or Redemptionis Sacramentum (2004), which guarantees the right to receive on the tongue. Forte’s not Judas, but his actions are Judas-like, echoing Bernardin’s sedition by defying Church law and razing Eucharistic reverence.
Prophetic Fulfillment: Akita and the Battle Line
Akita’s 1973 warnings, approved by Bishop John Shojiro Ito in 1984 and detailed in Francis Fukushima’s book, mark Communion in the hand as a “battle line” (Akita: The Battle Line). Sister Sasagawa’s stigmata, a bleeding cross wound on the hand used for Communion, signaled Our Lady’s pain at this irreverence, a message echoed in Fatima’s call for Eucharistic reparation. Akita’s prophecy of “cardinals opposing cardinals” is fulfilled in Bernardin’s fraud and Forte’s inversion, sowing discord where lex orandi demands unity. Hardon warned this practice fuels disbelief, and the numbers don’t lie: only 1 in 10 Catholics likely hold firm to the Real Presence, per Hardon’s estimate from attendance trends. This isn’t just liturgical quibbling; it’s a crisis foretold by prophets, from Emmerich’s false church to Akita’s bleeding hand.
The Counterfeit Church: Bandas’ Warning Realized
Bandas saw the “new church” as a spirit of vandalism, stripping the sacred for a hollow shell. Communion in the hand, forced by Bernardin’s Judas act and Forte’s Judas-like folly, creates the vacuum Emmerich envisioned. Without the unifying practice of tongue reception, modernist ideologies—like the “symbol of community” jargon I’ve so often decried—fill the void, building a church that looks Catholic but serves human agendas. The St. Gallen Mafia’s (and the others’) synodal dreams, pushing inclusivity over reverence, are the blueprint. This counterfeit thrives where lex orandi is gutted, leaving a faithless shell where belief (lex credendi) withers. Paul VI’s ignored conditions—catechesis, reverence, tradition—prove the marauders never intended unity, only subversion. And like Forte, they accuse us of polarization and pride!
Call to Action: Fight with Fatima’s First Saturdays
The spirit of Judas demands a response—not despair, but defiance. Our Lady of Fatima gave us the First Saturday devotion to repair outrages against the Eucharist and her Immaculate Heart. For five consecutive Saturdays, go to Confession, receive Communion on the tongue (the Church’s norm, not pride), pray five decades of the Rosary, and meditate 15 minutes on its mysteries. The angel of Fatima taught reparation for “sacrileges and indifference” against the Blessed Sacrament—precisely the irreverence Bernardin’s fraud and Forte’s inversion have unleashed. Hardon said, “Whatever you can do to stop communion in the hand will be blessed by God.” Start here: receive reverently, pray fervently, and resist Emmerich’s false new church. Akita’s stigmata bleed for this cause; Fatima’s call arms us for battle. This isn’t just devotion—it’s a rejection of the marauders’ “morphine dreams,” a return to Vatican II’s true call for reverence, and a brick in rebuilding God’s Church.
This article, The Spirit of Judas: How Communion in the Hand Builds Emmerich’s False Church is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
https://bellarmineforum.org/the-spirit-of-judas-how-communion-in-the-hand-builds-emmerichs-false-church/
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