Letter addressed to His Holiness

[MCVDK 2854]

[!] THE CONTENTS OF THIS LETTER ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND INTENDED SOLELY FOR THE RECIPIENT (@Nectorist) AND ANY PARTIES EXPRESSLY SHOWN IN ROLEPLAY [!]

 

LETTER ADDRESSED TO HIS HOLINESS, CAIUS SECUNDUS.

 

To His Holiness, Caius the Second, 

Vicar of God and Servant of the Scrolls,

 

Holy Father, 

 

Permit me first to offer my sincere and filial congratulation upon your election. I write to you private and directly, not as a public disputant nor as a voice among many, but as a priest who desires the steadiness of the Church and the right ordering of her governance. Your elevation by the Priestly Synod bears significance beyond the filling of a vacancy. It signals a deliberate return to ordered principle at a moment when such return was necessary. 

 

In my earlier writing concerning the Rite of Universality and the order of the Church, I argued that in times of necessity the Synod must act, for the authority of priests gathered in common is not novelty but natural ordinance. I wrote then that the Synod holds authority in such moments, and that without recourse to Canon Law the Church must return to the law laid out by God himself in natural ordinance, wherein all ordained priests hold equal voice and duty in electing rightful leadership. Your election has embodied that conviction. Authority was not imposed; it was discerned. You were not installed by pressure, but received through deliberation. That distinction matters deeply for the conscience of the Church. 

 

Yet, Holy Father, I must also confess that the very principles I once articulated now stand before you as caution. When I wrote that the Scrolls alone are the measure of the Church’s governance and that all other decrees are secondary, I intended to defend the Church against corruption and deviation. Those words must now be applied not against others but inwardly, to every office including the highest. The Pontificate must remain transparently measured by  the Scrolls, lest the defence of order become indistinguishable from the consolidation of control. 

 

The Scroll of Spirit reminds us of the source of all authority in language that no ruler can safely ignore: “God is able to do all things. For His power is not parted among his many servants, but imitated, and in His multitude of ways, He is above them all” (Spirit 5:18–19). If power is imitated and not possessed, then the Pontificate must constantly guard against mistaking participation for ownership. The same epistle asks, “What breath among all heavens is so sacred?” and answers, “There is none truly alike to Him” (Spirit 5:6–7). Those words, once written as theological affirmation, become in governance a safeguard against subtle absolutism. 

 

In the Declarations I warned that the Church must resist the temptation to act as a temporal empire. That warning was not directed toward a single era or person. It was written because the temptation is perennial. The more fragile the world becomes, the more attractive imperial stability appears. Yet the shepherd governs differently from the prince. If ecclesial authority adopts the reflexes of political dominion, it will preserve structure at the cost of spirit. Likewise, I wrote that clerical offices exist as burdens rather than honors. Those words were not meant as rhetoric. They were meant as discipline. The Pontificate must remain conscious of its weight. When office becomes ornament, its spiritual gravity diminishes. When it is borne as burden, its authority deepens. 

 

Even humility must be vigilantly guarded. The Scroll of Virtue declares, “You shall not judge your own virtue, be it great or small, for all fall short of Me.” (Virtue 7:8). I cited that line often in critique of complacency amongst clergy. It applies equally to the Pontiff and to the theologian who writes to him. Self-assurance in governance can slowly transform into self-justification. Once justification replaces examination, insulation follows. 

 

When I urged that Canonists must learn the Scrolls themselves, I intended to strengthen the Church through disciplined understanding. That principle must remain active. A Pontificate that welcomes ordered thought and theological inquiry strengthens its own foundations. Authority that suppresses scrutiny will gradually hollow itself. 

 

I also wrote that suffering endured for the sake of Virtue is a sign of grace and not abandonment. If resistance arises as you restore order, it may well confirm rather than contradict the necessity of that work. Reform that costs nothing often changes nothing. 

 

Holy Father, I write these things not to burden you unnecessarily, but because the principles I once set to parchment now stand as measures by which your governance and mine must be tested. The election by Synod has restored visible order. That restoration must now be preserved by humility, restraint, and unwavering submission to the Scrolls. 

 

Be assured of my prayers, and of my loyalty to the Church whose unity you now guard. May your office reflect the Breath rather than presume it, and may the principles we have defended in writing be sustained in practice.  

 

In steady hope and obedience to His Word,

Father Lüdiger.

[Nectorist 12871]

To Father Lüdiger,

 

In Our conversation with Sister Solene on the prior Saint's Day, talk turned to the nature of priesthood, of the inherent responsibilities that are conferred upon ordination. Duty compels one to serve the flock, yes, which we traditionally define as the whole of the Faithful, but this definition does little to serve the clergy's understanding of their responsibilities. Wherein lies the actionable authority of the Church? Where do its borders, both practical and metaphorical, extend? What may we compel one to do, when we find it necessary to compel action of the Faithful?

 

In the analogy of the shepherd and the flock, it is mistakenly believed that the shepherd, as the source of authority and knowledge over many critical matters, such as where the grass grows well, or how to defend his lambs from wolves, is the equivalent of a lord, where his commands are iron-clad and are dutifully followed by the aimless, naive, simple creatures that he commands. Were one to spend any amount of time with a shepherd, they would know that this interpretation of the analogy does not reflect the true work that they do. Not all sheep are alike, neither by look or by temperament, nor are they mindless creatures. When poor weather approaches from the distance, far beyond the eye of any clear-sighted man, sheep are known to huddle together in preparation, forewarning the shepherd of what is to come. At times, the flock may be docile and agreeable, and at other times chaotic and unruly. The role of the shepherd is not to strike them, not to slaughter them, not to scream at them, but to lead them to the green pastures, and take heed when ill-portents arise.

 

It has been the downfall of many of Our office to try and exercise greater control over the flock than even their temporal authorities. Thoughts, words, beliefs, are not challenged, they are not addressed, but rather they are suppressed, bludgeoned with the hammer of censorship and, on the worst occasions, answered with harm done to the expressive party. The Church, once a place of learning, of debate, of the applied virtue of argument and study, has traveled the long road of decline, wherein the brightest minds have shirked the temple halls for the confines of political organizations, debate clubs, and councils. Even if they do not possess beliefs which may be deemed heretical, the mere fear of reprisal for a thought out of alignment with dogma, even if it is the offspring of sound logic and good reason, which is the greatest whetstone for our own understanding and interpretation of the Word and Will of God, will convince them of the futility of a life within the Church.

 

We shall endeavor to make manifest two of the highest pursuits of the priesthood:

 

I) The celebration of debate, within acceptable confines, and the rigor of argument, so that the Church may once again blossom as a place where theology and philosophy, the greatest of the guiding forces of the mind, are studied and subjected to testing within the cauldron of ideas.

 

II) The emphasis on the priest's role to their parish, and those within, so that they may serve as the instructors of Virtue, of the Faith, and of other spiritual matters as deemed necessary by the community, as to not be oppositional forces against the 'sinful', for we all are by nature sinful, but gentle, guiding hands for those who seek to rid themselves of sin.

 

We are currently in a period of great upheaval within the Church, forcing Our response to be truncated, but it is Our hope that you understand that your concerns are to be addressed. 

 

HIS HOLINESS, CAIUS II

 

High Priest of the Temple of the True Faith, Successor of Clement and Evaristus, High Pontiff of the Church of True Faith, Servant of the Servants of Heaven, Servant of the Holy Flame, Apostle of Saint Lucien, Envoy of Aeldin, High Servant to the Prophet’s Testaments, Humble Servant of the Faithful and Vicar of GOD