On the 125th Anniversary of the Birth of Fr. Dennis Fahey
By Patricius Anthony
TRADITIO Traditional Roman Catholic Internet Site
E-mail: traditio@traditio.com, Web: http://www.traditio.com
Copyright 2008 P. Anthony. Reproduction prohibited without authorization.
On July 3, 1883, the man whom many consider the 20th century's Apostle for the Social Reign of Christ the King came into the world, Fr. Denis Fahey. Throughout his life Fr. Fahey tirelessly fought for the rights of his Divine Master during an era that had grown increasingly "godless." Despite Western man's rejection of both the Being and the Church that had once inspired his greatness, Fr. Fahey continued his own personal war against those who were plunging not only Ireland, but the entire Western world more and more deeply into the abyss of secularism.
Although Fr. Fahey's name continues to be smeared, his legacy has grown, mainly because of his courageous efforts to expose the individuals and groups that were well on the way to undermining what was left of Christian morality and values. He continued his work despite hostility from the world at large and a growing resistance within the Church.
Besides his priestly duties, professorship, and writing, Fr. Fahey was engaged in a considerable amount of "activism." He founded Maria Duce ["With Mary as Our Leader"], an organization of like-minded clerics and laity whose purpose was to combat the cultural Marxism that was beginning to infiltrate and corrupt Irish life. Detested by Modernists even today, Maria Duce was more than merely a discussion group, but took concrete action to organize protests, petition politicians, and distribute written materials. Its hard-hitting periodical, Fiat, named names and kept records of those who sought to pollute and break down traditional Irish life.
Maria Duce's primary political goal was to persuade politicians to amend Article 44 of the Irish Constitution to state explicitly that the Catholic Church had more than a "special position" within the Republic, but was divinely established and not a man-made religion. Can anyone imagine a "Catholic" clergyman or politician of the Newchurch of the New Order proposing such a measure today?
Critics of Fr. Fahey, both then and now, have tried to portray his involvement with Maria Duce and his other public activities as “reactionary” or “intolerant.” Such words are never used when prominent Leftists engage in "social causes." Instead, terms such as "caring," "enlightened," or "altruistic" are used. This liberalistic bias has been particularly true of "scholarly" treatments of the priest's life and those of Maria Duce.
Such criticism, however, did little to stop Fr. Fahey. He continued leading Maria Duce until his death, even as some Irish ecclesiastics began to frown on the group's activities. The change in attitude toward Fr. Fahey’s work is another demonstration that Neo-modernism was well on its triumphal march, culminating in the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the radical innovations that came in its wake.
Sadly, it was some of the very same churchmen that opposed Maria Duce who later quashed the gatherings of family, friends, and admirers that began to venerate Fr. Fahey's grave right after his death. The New Order could not tolerate pilgrimages to one who held beliefs running counter to those of the New Order Religion that they were concocting and about to impose on the Faithful.
Because of his books Fr. Fahey gained an international following, especially in America, where his work received notoriety through his association with the "radio priest" Fr. Charles Coughlin. Fr. Coughlin often quoted passages from Fr. Fahey's books on his broadcasts and in the pages of his publication, Social Justice.
Although Fr. Coughlin ended his popular radio program in 1942 (the same year, coincidently, that Fr. Fahey started Maria Duce), mostly because of pressure from Church authorities because of his criticism of the Roosevelt Administration and his supposed "anti-Semitism," Fr. Fahey continued his activities despite a growing coolness by Irish ecclesiastics to his endeavors.
Fr. Fahey understood better than most how the media of film, television, radio, music, and the print industry were being used by the enemies of Christ the King to subvert society. Through Maria Duce he sought to challenge and oppose these media. One instance came in the early 1950s, when the group organized a protest against a Hollywood film that starred the known Leftist agitator, Danny Kaye (David Daniel Kaminsky). Compared to the filth and garbage that pervades the movies and television today, the films of the 1940s and 50s were relatively mild. Yet, many of the "stars" who were in them led scandalous lives and, for the most part, supported Leftist causes.
It would be almost impossible to deny that the cultural revolution sweeping the Western world during the 1960s was brought about, in large measure, by the forces that controlled the mass media. These media by the mid 20th century would be just as important in the formation of public opinion, values, and mores as schools, churches, academia, or governments. Yet it was lights like Fr. Fahey and the pre-Vatican II popes who understood what was taking place in their own time and combated it. Unfortunately, that fight went out of the hearts and minds of many Westerners as they left their society defenseless against the onslaught of the cultural Marxists.
What, therefore, can traditional Catholics learn from the life of Fr. Fahey? While the effeminate Conciliar Church erroneously portrays Christ as "milquetoast," Sacred Scripture often shows a combative figure. He was a fighter Who pulled no punches or took any grief, especially when it came from the then Church authorities.
Like his Divine Master, Fr. Fahey was also a battler. While the world and even, in the end, the Church opposed his work, he continued the struggle. To him, the idea of compromise or capitulation. no matter what allurement may have been offered, was anathema.
Fr. Fahey understood that if Christ was not King of the hearts, minds, and societies that man created, mankind would eventually be doomed. Fr. Fahey grieved over his beloved Ireland as it drifted further and further from the ancient Faith, and he warned that if a spiritual reversal did not come about, his kinsmen would be swept away by the cultural upheavals to come. The sorry state of Catholicism today in the Emerald Island demonstrates just how right the priest was.
In his Apologia Pro Vita Mea, Fr. Fahey promised the Prince of the Apostles that he would devote his life, as the first pope had done, to fighting for the rights of the Eternal King, hoping to make clear not only to his countrymen, but to the world at large Almighty God's plan for order and thus its path to salvation:
When in Rome, I began to realize more fully the real significance of the history of the world as the account of the acceptance and rejection of Our Lord's program for order. I used to ask permission to remain at the Confession of St. Peter while the other scholastics went sightseeing around the Basilica. I spent the time there going over the history of the world, and I repeatedly promised St. Peter that if I ever got the chance, I would teach the truth about his Master in the way he and his successors, the Roman pontiffs, wanted it done. That is what I have striven to do and am doing.
Today, those who hope once again to make the ideal of Christ the King the governing ethos of society must take on the mindset of the indefatigable Fr. Fahey. However, for Christ to be King, He must be worshipped, honored and adored through the Church that He created. Such a situation will occur only if those who oppose the Conciliar Church remain steadfast in their opposition to the novelties and false teachings of Newrome, no matter what the position of power offered, money promised, or praise falsely given.
The social restoration of Christ the King will, most likely, take place only after the spillage of blood. The Conciliar Revolutionaries have no intention of peacefully abdicating their power. As the deterioration of their sect continues, they will seek out those who they believe are responsible for its collapse. As Fr. Fahey was throughout his life, traditional Catholics will be vilified, targeted, and eventually persecuted. When that day comes, the true followers of Christ should look to the example of Fr. Denis Fahey in his courageous, lifelong struggle for the restoration of Christ the King.