REPRINTED FROM FEB. 21, 2020
by Br. Alexis Bugnolo
When the world was Catholic and sane, there were no democracies, only monarchies and a few mercantile republics, where only the landed or established could vote. Power was decentralized, and a monarch was not an absolutionist, he had to hearken to the most powerful noble families of his realm and rule out of consensus.
Each noble family held a series of titles which comprises their power base and property. Though estates were owned individually and could be scattered, on account of inheritance throughout the realm and beyond.
But the nobles were few, and they could only make their land produce and protect them by entrusting them under contract to local strongmen, noblemen, or ecclesiastical institutions.
This process of entrustment by contract was known as enfeoffment. On a certain day, the one with the temporal jurisdiction over the property, or fief, would hold court and the one who was to receive care of it, or his representative, presented himself. Then placing his hands, palm against palm, within the hands of the lord, he pledged him fealty and service, loyalty and collaboration. The lord in turn conceded control and all temporal jurisdiction to him by way of a habitual delegation, which lasted until death and in many cases was renewed from generation to generation. Being that many noble families died out, those receiving these lands, or fiefs often became in turn their rightful owners.
This system was called the Feudal System, and in it the loyalty you owed to your highest Lord, the Monarch or Prince, was mediated by the loyalty owed to your immediate lord or baron. There was never a question of a conflict, because you obeyed your immediate lord or else. Recourse to the prince was unthinkable, it would be an act of treachery to your own lord, and was countenanced only in the most grave matters when one’s immediate lord was involved in treason.
The Catholic Church, however, is not a feudal society. Our obedience can never be parceled out to other superiors. Our obedience is owned wholly and entirely, totally and continually, perfectly and fully, supremely and utmostly by God alone, in the Person of the Eternal Son, Jesus Christ.
There is thus never a question of betraying a lower superior, such as the pope, the bishop or the local pastor, or religious superior (if you happen to be a monk, nun, etc.). There is never a question because you do not in the absolute sense owe them obedience. You owe them relative obedience, that is, inasmuch as they hold an office from God, confirmed by the Church and rule in accord with the will of God, Canon Law, the Faith, and the common good.
Evil men in the Church do not, however, conceive power and authority in this fashion. They believe that if they have the claim to the office you must obey them more than God Himself. Bergoglio is the perfect example of this kind of tyrant. Bishops and clergy who obey him show that they do not hold the correct notion of obedience either.
This is why they cannot even open the Code of Canon Law and read canon 332 §2 and even begin to see the problem with the Declaratio of Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 11, 2013.
We must obey God, not men! — Said Saint Peter the Apostle to the High Priests of the Temple shortly after Pentecost. These words have been cited by many sacred authors for millenia. But they are also prophetic for our own day and show us the way which is truly progressive and forward, to God and in the truth.
However, contrary to most moderns, these words do not mean that you have a right to private judgement, rather, they mean that we are always obliged to obey God as Christ taught us to and never are obliged to put the claim to obedience from any authority, even one constituted by God, in way of that.
So the next time one of your legitimate superiors in the Church demands you ignore Christ Jesus as your superior and cede to him some kind of feudal obedience, remind him that in Christ’s Kingdom there is no such thing as enfeoffment.
For Further Discussion, see the Comments on the Original Article from 2020.
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CREDITS: Count Ramón Berenguer IV receives grants a fief to his vassal the Señor de Perelada (1132).
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Thank you for the reprint, as I only discovered your site in 2022.
Very well written, Brother Alexis. This is why I am closer to Protestants who never obeyed the mandates.
Do you agree that the end times deception, the big one, is the fact that Satan managed to manipulate the church into worshiping on SUNday instead of Saturday, which is THE ONLY day BLESSED BY GOD, AT THE TIME OF CREATION, and no man had the power to change that? Therefore, the entire world has been led astray. Is it possible that all of the small individual churches that open their doors to parishoners around the world every Sunday, are essentially the “images” of the Beast? I just started going back to church again, but I only go on Saturday evenings? Also, do you think it is possible that even televisions, magazine photos, and photos of people, are essentially graven images? If you really investigate this matter, and if you’re being honest with yourself, we were never meant to be so accepting of photographs of people or anything that exists on earth or in the heavens above, or something like that. I wrote a letter, and you may have received it. There is a reason the Pope, or the Vatican, eventually enforces SUNday Law, and that will probably be due to the fact that myself and many others are waking people up to these facts, so they worship on Saturday, and because the churches are full of graven images, they will be fellowshiping with other Catholics in their home. This will infuriate the Vatican. I’m inclined to thing you believe I’m correct, but if I’m not, could you kindly explain to my why? I realize you must be so busy, and there’s a chance you may never even see this. Thank you for your time.
George, the Lord Jesus Himself established the worship of Himself, God the Father and God the Holy Spirit, on Sundays, by rising from the dead on Sunday. His Sacrifice on the Cross fulfilled all the requested observances of the Old Law and put that covenant to an end, when the curtain in the Temple was torn in two. The Apostles faithfully taught that to all His disciples and converts. When Christ died on the Cross the Old Covenant came to an end, and the New Covenant began. Worshiping on Saturday does not fulfill the obligation of worshiping on Sunday. But the obligation to worship on Sunday is not a law of the Church first, but a law established by faith in the Risen Christ. As for graven images, Christ Himself left His image in the Shroud of Turin and the veil of Veronica, and so Christian have always used images, even in Divine Worship, to remind us of God and the Saints.
In Germany and England, the Nobility held the lands of the King.Whom was the ultimate owner. They might own a farm in one shire of England, a parcel of land in another. In aggregate it was part of their title of landed Gentry. Their title was held by the grace of God through the King. Which meant nobles found guilty of a major crime like murder,outlawry, rebellion, and treason, the King would take away their title and/or expel or exile them from the realm. Just as Nobles loyal to their King or Emperor were reward like Knight promoted to Baron or a higher Noble title. Some of the most common rewards were granting of lands seized by the King/Emperor from another noble.