{"id":96454,"date":"2026-01-30T16:27:43","date_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=96454"},"modified":"2026-01-30T16:27:43","modified_gmt":"2026-01-30T20:27:43","slug":"foreword-ignorance-of-things-divine-andrew-mioni","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2026\/01\/foreword-ignorance-of-things-divine-andrew-mioni.html","title":{"rendered":"Foreword: “Ignorance of Things Divine” (Andrew Mioni)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Photo credit<\/strong>: cover of the book from its publisher\u2019s page at En Route Media and Books.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Published by En Route Books and Media, January 2026. This is my Foreword, written on 8 August 2025.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Andrew Mioni is currently one of the most brilliant orthodox Catholic analysts of the ongoing controversies regarding the \u201ctraditionalist\u201d wing of the Catholic Church and its troublesome radical offshoots, and the \u201croots\u201d behind the current, very real crisis in the Church: one that no one denies. His superb book, Altar Against Altar: An Analysis of Catholic Traditionalism<\/em> (En Route Books & Media, June 2024) was filled to the brim with helpful insights and hopeful solutions.<\/p>\n

In this volume, he specifically refutes the simplistic and rather absurd allegation that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was the primary cause of various serious difficulties and problems in the Catholic Church today. Historical causation (especially in matters of theology) is, however, always far more complex than that. Mioni notes Pope St. Pius X\u2019s warning over a century ago that Modernism was \u201cpresent almost in the very veins and heart of the Church\u201d (Pascendi Dominici Gregis<\/em>, 1907). This was not merely dissent from the Catholic Church outside<\/em> her fold. It was already a serious problem inside<\/em> the Church, indeed in her very \u201cheart\u201d according to this saint-pope and scourge of Modernism, particularly beloved by traditionalists and more radical reactionary Catholics.<\/p>\n

In light of statements of that sort, we must go much further back and deeper into history to properly understand the destructive phenomenon that confronts us today, and Mioni conveniently provides the resources and framework to do this necessary work. In his Introduction he stresses the obvious but so often neglected starting-point of any such analysis: \u201cI consulted the writings of the Magisterium and listened to what Holy Mother Church had said in her wisdom.\u201d Amen! Back to basics . . .<\/p>\n

The 18th century was a time of growing theological liberalism and rejection of existing Catholic tradition. Hence, Mioni cites Pope Pius VI\u2019s 1775 encyclical Inscrutabile<\/em>, where he stated that it was \u201ca time when many plots are laid against orthodox religion\u201d and that \u201cconfusion is spread wide by men maddened by a monstrous desire of innovation.\u201d That<\/em> has a familiar ring, doesn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n

It sounds like our own time because there have always<\/em> been problems of heterodoxy and possible schism in the Church, from the beginning<\/em>, as proven by St. Paul\u2019s many scathing condemnations of divisiveness and lack of theological unity among the earliest Christians, in his epistles. Jesus thought it important enough to pray during the Last Supper for His disciples, and by extension, all<\/em> of His followers throughout history, \u201cthat they may be one even as we are one<\/em>, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one<\/em>, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me\u201d (Jn 17:22-23, RSV). At every turn, then, we find these problems, and this is what the book addresses, concentrating on more recent centuries. Mioni hits the nail on the head in his Chapter Three:<\/p>\n

Thus it is clear that Modernism is rooted in the same errors that had been infecting the world; namely, a denial of revelation and an exclusion of God to make way for human reason. Naturally, the Modernist\u2019s doctrines support the concept of religious indifferentism as well. As Pius X further wrote, \u201cIndeed Modernists do not deny but actually admit, some confusedly, others in the most open manner, that all religions are true<\/em>. . . .\u201d . . .<\/p>\n

These are compelling words from Pope Pius X, and should demonstrate beyond any doubt that this crisis of faith had already taken deep root in the world many years before Vatican II. [his italics; citation from Pascendi Dominici Gregis<\/em>]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We mustn\u2019t neglect the role of social media, either, in spreading morally and spiritually harmful material and false notions. Like all technologies and media, it can be used for great good (I have sought to do that, myself, these past 28 years) or great evil. Mioni cites Venerable Pope Pius XII in his encyclical Miranda Prorsus<\/em> from 1957, where he virtually predicted the Internet and its huge ramifications in society:<\/p>\n

Today the mounting technological advances in communicating pictures, sounds, and ideas must be subjected to the sweet yoke of the law of Christ if they are not to become a source of countless evils . . . here the issue is not real freedom, . . . but unchecked license to express oneself without regard for prudence, even though this be contrary to sound morals and liable to result in serious danger for souls.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Andrew Mioni helpfully documents from many popes, things that we foolishly think are either confined solely<\/em> to our own age, or worse<\/em> at present than they have ever been. \u00a0Pope Leo XIII in Sapientiae Christianae<\/em> (1890) referred to \u201cthe inertness and internal dissensions of Catholics\u201d that \u201chave contributed to the present condition of things.\u201d In his encyclical, Octobri Mense<\/em> (1891), he also lamented \u201cthat so many Catholics should be such in name only, and should pay to religion no honor or worship.\u201d And Pope Pius XI echoed this opinion in Divini Redemptoris<\/em> (1937): \u201cEven in Catholic countries there are still too many who are Catholics hardly more than in name. . . . We know how much Our Divine Savior detested this empty pharisaic show . . .\u201d<\/p>\n

As King Solomon observed almost 3,000 years ago in Ecclesiastes 1:9: \u201cwhat has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun.\u201d Philosopher George Santayana expressed a somewhat similar notion in his famous words from 1905, \u201cThose who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.\u201d There were, indeed, relative \u201cgolden ages\u201d in Church history, but assuredly they were never totally free of problems much like the ones we are plagued with today. The Catholic Church has always been in need of reform at all times (ecclesia semper reformanda est<\/em> \u2013 as we say in Latin).<\/p>\n

In his Chapter Seven, \u201cThe True Source of the Crisis,\u201d Mioni documents how Pope Leo XII identified \u201cthe true source of all the evils\u201d as \u201ca dogged contempt for the Church\u2019s authority\u201d (Ubi Primum<\/em>, 1824). Likewise, Pope Leo XIII believed that \u201cthe source of these evils lies chiefly . . . in this, that the holy and venerable authority of the Church, . . . has been despised and set aside\u201d (Inscrutabili Deo Consilio<\/em>, 1878). One might argue \u2013 and Mioni does \u2013 that this, along with a rejection of the full inspiration of the Bible, lies at the root of the premises behind Modernism and theological liberalism.<\/p>\n

I fully agree with what Mioni asserted in the same chapter: \u201cIt is not that Vatican II caused<\/em> the crisis, but that it revealed<\/em> a crisis which had been simmering for centuries, . . . the popes had been warning the world for many years about it.\u201d And also, \u201cThe fact that these evils came to light after<\/em> the Council does not mean they came because<\/em> of the Council.\u201d The old logical fallacy, post hoc, ergo propter hoc<\/em> (Latin for \u201cafter this, therefore because of this\u201d) is as profoundly relevant today as it has always been. Making Vatican II the big bad boogeyman for every bad thing is a classic case of this type of illogical, shoddy thinking.<\/p>\n

We see, clearly, then, that problems supposedly solely or primarily brought about by Vatican II are simply those that have always been present in the Church and in human hearts and souls, and are essentially identical to the sins and prominent strains of philosophical or nominal unbelief and lack of piety and virtue that run through all societies and religious groups and virtually all human beings at all times. Andrew Mioni\u2019s book is crucial reading that will help any reader \u2013 particularly Catholic ones \u2013 become aware of what popes have authoritatively stated about these matters, and to have a much better grasp of the sources and background of present-day difficulties within the Catholic Church and by extension, the wider world.<\/p>\n

Dave Armstrong<\/p>\n

Author of Reflections on Radical Catholic Reactionaries<\/em> (2002; rev. 2013 and 2023) and Mass Movements: Radical Catholic Reactionaries, the New Mass, and Ecumenism<\/em> (2012)<\/p>\n

Purchase<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Hardcover ($19.95)<\/a><\/p>\n

Paperback ($14.95)<\/a><\/p>\n

eBook ($9.99)<\/a><\/p>\n

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Photo credit<\/strong>: cover of the book from its<\/span> publisher\u2019s page at En Route Media and Books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Summary<\/em>: Andrew Mioni\u2019s book, \u201cIgnorance of Things Divine\u201d is a very helpful & needed critique of the traditionalist Catholic antipathy towards Vatican II as the supposed \u201ccause of all evils.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 Published by En Route Books and Media, January 2026. This is my Foreword, written on 8 August 2025. ***** Andrew Mioni is currently one of the most brilliant orthodox Catholic analysts of the ongoing controversies regarding the \u201ctraditionalist\u201d wing of the Catholic Church and its troublesome radical offshoots, and the \u201croots\u201d behind the current, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":96457,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[130],"tags":[1445,74,73,606,1442,133],"class_list":["post-96454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-traditionalism-vs-radical-catholic-reactionaries","tag-quasi-schismatic","tag-radical-catholic-reactionaries","tag-traditionalism","tag-traditionalists","tag-ultratraditionalists","tag-vatican-ii"],"yoast_head":"\nForeword: "Ignorance of Things Divine" (Andrew Mioni)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Andrew 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Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \\\"Catholic Answers Live\\\" (twice), \\\"Faith and Family Live\\\" (Steve Wood), \\\"Kresta in the Afternoon,\\\" \\\"Son Rise Morning Show,\\\" \\\"Catholic Connection\\\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \\\"The Catholics Next Door.\\\" His large and popular website, \\\"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\\\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \\\"Envoy Magazine.\\\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \\\"index\\\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96457"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=96454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}