Rome stinks and everyone knows it. Don’t get me wrong, some are still thoroughly confused and practicing a form of denial since the reality is too scary (many neocatholics fall into this category). Others frankly love the smell permeating from rotting Rome (such as those boot-licking papalolaters on Twitter who support the pope’s progressive agenda). Regardless, the revolution in Rome is beyond disputing at this point, and the question becomes, “What now?”

First, however, let us sincerely thank God for the train wreck otherwise known as the Francis papacy. Without the boldness of this pope and his cohorts most Catholics would still be oblivious to the severity of the ecclesial crisis we are in. Many of the faithful have been red pilled as a result of Francis and for this we must thank Divine Providence.

In addition, these dark times have helped to shine a light on this generation of complicit, conservative, bishops. We have realized that what many of them seek to conserve is simply the modernist achievements of the post-Vatican 2 church and their own positions of authority. They are shepherds unwilling to protect their sheep, incapable of calling out evil by its name, and complicit in their silence as strategic ambiguity succeeds in creating the confusion that was always intended. Corrupt bishops complicit with clergy abuse cover-ups aren’t looking to be martyrs in defense of truth and orthodoxy.

So what now? What do we do knowing what we know?

One thing we shouldn’t do is excuse the seriousness of these events by simply saying, “Don’t worry folks; the Church has been through far worse than this in its 2,000 year history.”

Good doesn’t defeat evil by downplaying it. On the contrary, evil has to be confronted, condemned, and then crushed. And this is another illustration of just how rotten Rome is, and how this crisis dates back well before Bergoglio.

For nearly 2,000 years the Catholic Church has battled heresy and corrected error. Every council until Vatican 2 had that as its very purpose. Papal bulls, encyclicals, and conciliar canons and decrees condemned heresy in the clearest language and strongest terms.

When is the last time you’ve seen a magisterial document actually condemning heresy? In an age when all of the perennial errors and evils are being repackaged and presented anew by society, Rome has intentionally abdicated its authority.

But why wouldn’t it? Modernism, the great threat facing the Church in the second half of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th, the great heresy we were warned about by every pope for over 75 years, was never defeated. To the contrary, it ascended to the highest levels and even resulted in a revolution in the rituals and sacraments themselves.

Now we are truly seeing the fruit of this revolution. Authentic Catholicism has been abandoned at the highest levels and by the vast majority of prelates worldwide.

Put simply, what is presented as Catholicism today would be completely unrecognizable to a Catholic who lived before the 1960’s. Let that sink in.

A 14th century Catholic would feel at home in 16th century Catholicism (both in their understanding and practicing of the faith). This would also be true for the 17th century Catholic living in the 19th century. The 21st century Catholic, however, is firmly planted in post revolution Catholicism.

And this is why Rome has convened a ridiculous synod regarding a regional matter. It is obviously a vehicle for the revolutionaries, the destroyers, who have no desire to fulfill their apostolic commission to spread the authentic gospel and immutable truth, to defend it against error, or to pass it on to the next generation.

Rome is rotten, not because there is confusion (as some like to say these days), but because there is evil at work. The salvation of souls is the reason why Our Lord founded His Church. The loss of souls because of false teachers spreading paganism, modernism, and secularism is evil. Period.

Some have suggested that Francis can’t be a valid pope because of the depth of this crisis and the wicked men he surrounds himself with. Others contend that he is simply a bad pope. Regardless of which one it is, how would it look any different? And that more than anything points to the rot.

So what do we do now? At a personal level we can choose to reject all of the nonsense to the best of our ability. All of the innovation, all of the modernism.

When and where possible ground yourself in a Catholicism recognizable to past generations. From the liturgy to catechesis, choose to live your faith in a manner which precedes the revolution. Pray, believe, and live like Catholics have for centuries, not as the false shepherds would have you do.

Ultimately, though, it is up to the bishops to stand up to this rot in Rome. Neither your soul nor mine will suffer eternal hell fires for not protecting the deposit of faith against the attacks from the highest levels. It is the bishops who have that responsibility.

For the laity, we must defend the faith within our families, within our parish, passing it along to our children as Our Lord, through His Church, gave it to us. Authenticity, tradition, truth, and beauty must always be our guideposts, most especially when the barque of Peter is lost.