In paying homage to a father, no matter how solemn the act, it is only natural to dedicate part of it to recalling a few memories – especially when in a family setting! Therefore, I beg your indulgence as I reconstruct a particularly unforgettable scene from our youth. I say “our” not out of adherence to a certain writing style but because this memory of ours is possibly also yours, dear reader.
How many people, from the long-distant years of the 1960s through to the 1990s, have witnessed the following scene repeatedly played out: from the north to the south of Brazil, in main streets, avenues and city squares, from one moment to the next, a flock of red-golden banners would appear, like a mirage, emblazoned with their defiant rampant lion. They were carried aloft by young men garbed in red capes who, with a friendly appearance, self-assurance and firm voice, proclaimed slogans of defence of the Church and her morals, and of sacrifice for love of the Faith.
It was the dauntless TFP, the Brazilian Society for the Defence of Tradition, Family and Property, whose name still echoes with nostalgia in the mind of the general public who had feelings of respect, and with rancour and even fear in those of its enemies – who, alas, still endure to this day.
The TFP has not been so visibly active in Brazil for more than twenty years, but its memory lives on. It has been immortalized because people turned it into a legend, which is what they tend to do with those realities that they cannot fully grasp. Now, what was so inextricable about this entity to its contemporaries?
Selfless love. Those young people took to the streets and faced the elements – both climatic and moral – simply out of generous dedication to the Holy Catholic Church and everything that is in accordance with her. For the atheist world of the second half of the 20th century, such an attitude was a stumbling block, an absurdity or, worse yet, a miracle. Who was responsible for this remarkable saga?
The soul behind the myth
The driving soul of the robust movement, Dr. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira, bore a great love for the Holy Church, going so far as to affirm that the only accolade capable of reaching deep down into his soul was the appellation “a Catholic, apostolic and fully Roman man.”
In fact, Msgr. João often repeated for his children a memorable talk given in 1978, on the occasion of their spiritual father’s anniversary of Baptism, in which, despite his customary placidity, Dr. Plinio was moved to tears upon being reminded of the gift of belonging to the Holy Church. At that moment, after containing his emotion, he said:
Dr. Plinio bore a great love for the Holy Catholic Church; to be called “a Catholic, apostolic and fully Roman man” deeply touched his soul
“That which is loved, is loved because we have seen it; it is loved because we have understood it. It is loved, in short, because we have adhered to it with our whole soul. But in such a way that the word adhere is weak; it became entwined, it penetrated, it allowed itself to be penetrated, it established a marriage of soul, as indissoluble and complete as human weakness permits, for life and for death, for time and for eternity!
“This is our belonging to the Catholic Church, and one can say, in some way, what St. Paul said of Our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ (Gal 2:20)! We are called to bring this to realization: ‘It is no longer I who live, but the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church that lives in me.’”1
This truly sublime excerpt provides a glimpse of Dr. Plinio’s full identification with the Church. But, given that he was a simple member of the laity, was this a form of pretension? Quite the opposite.
Most faithful echo of the Church
This deep-seated union in no way upset the profound submission of Dr. Plinio to his well-beloved. In his own words, he considered himself to be nothing more than an “echo of the great bell that is the Roman Catholic Apostolic Church.”2
While many truths have been sadly muted by those who should have proclaimed them, while the “bell towers of tradition” went silent, renouncing their mission, his yearning was to have the fidelity of an echo that resounds even after the bell has ceased to ring.
Msgr. João drew in deep draughts of this spirit of love for the Holy Church, with “overtones of adoration”, modelling his mentality in the image of his spiritual father
Accordingly, his conformity with the thought of the Church is summed up in the tribute “most faithful echo”3 of the Ecclesiastical Magisterium, proffered by Cardinal Giuseppe Pizzardo, then Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Seminaries and Universities.
And it was this spirit of love for the Holy Church, with “overtones of adoration” as Dr. Plinio would say, that Msgr. João drew in deep draughts, modelling his mentality in the image of his spiritual father.
This attitude explains the harmonious consonance between the two, based on unconditional dedication to the Mystical Spouse of Christ, as well as on the role that they both carried out – one as origin and cause, and the other as a close collaborator – in building a nucleus of souls intent on following the same ideals, which rapidly came to number hundreds of members spread across the world.
It was, therefore, a movement with great strength and much potential, but due to a series of circumstances it did not enjoy canonical recognition, being formed as a civic entity of Catholic inspiration, made up entirely of practising members of the faithful.
The dream of a secular institute
In fact, as far back the 1930s, Dr. Plinio had aspired to elevate his work to an institute approved by the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, a desire that intensified over time.
In his book Revolution and Counter-Revolution, written in 1959, he considered the possibility of a Catholic institution being raised up that would carry on the fight against the evil in our time: “Counter-revolutionary action can be carried out, naturally, by a single person, or by combined efforts, privately. And, with due ecclesiastical approval, it can even culminate in the formation of a religious association especially dedicated to the fight against the Revolution.”4
In these words, one glimpses the same desire that was expressed in his youth, which gradually took shape in his soul until it was consolidated in the 1970s, in the effort to found a secular institute, and became a priority near the end of his days.
During a lunch, alone with the then Mr. João in 1994 – shortly before his death, therefore – Dr. Plinio said it was necessary to “face the issues of Canon Law and found an officially Catholic entity”, and reinforced: “It is necessary for us to found it immediately.”5
This canonical organization, as he explained it, would carry out the very essence of the Group’s mission, called to “exercise within the Church, internally, an apostolate through which she would tend to reach her fullest term.”6 It became clear that his intention was to transform the TFP into a private association of faithful, to employ the figure that, according to the mould of the new Code of Canon Law, would best reflect his aspiration.
It was a truly challenging goal, whose execution would require tenacious courage, and especially unwavering faith. Therefore, Msgr. João was the person chosen for the task.
Linked to the immortal Church
Unfortunately, Dr. Plinio would not see his desire fulfilled in his lifetime, as both he and his faithful disciple would encounter various obstacles, even among those who should have supported their efforts. On October 3, 1995, at the age of eighty-six, that man impassioned for the Church surrendered his soul to God, but bequeathed an ideal to his disciples and, above all, to the son whom he called his alter ego. Therefore, the fearless implementation of that ideal was called for.
Providence would not delay in sending mediators between this family of souls and the Holy See, who ably advocated the long-desired affiliation, noting that such a desire could not be held in contempt, as the finger of God clearly rested on it with gentle effectiveness.
With pontifical approval, the work begun by Dr. Plinio would now participate in a more intense way in the immortality and vitality of the Mystical Body of Christ
Before long, the founder would, from eternity, see his old aspiration come true. On February 22, 2001, the Heralds of the Gospel received pontifical approval from the hands of His Holiness John Paul II – the first such approval to be granted in the third millennium – as a private international association of the faithful.
Msgr. João’s heart rejoiced with this event, for, in addition to its significance from an institutional standpoint, this seal assured new protection for the work in the supernatural sphere. It was as if the Angels of St. Peter and St. Paul assumed it entirely, giving it new élan and firm security.
Upon being juridically admitted within the Mystical Body of Christ, the movement initiated by Dr. Plinio, which had weathered so many tempests across the decades, began to participate more intensely in its immortality and vitality.
“A column in the temple of my God”
However, the Holy Spirit inspired new audacities in Msgr. João. An irresistible supernatural desire indicated to him the need to embark on a sublime and arduous path: the founding of a priestly branch.
He understood that such a step would involve sacrifices, but this prospect did not hold him back. If such was God’s will and a clear inspiration coming from Dr. Plinio, the step had to be taken, whatever the cost.
He duly set out on the path, patiently overcoming obstacles and smoothing the roads of God, thus creating conditions for the first ordinations. An entire book could be written – a fascinating undertaking to be sure, but impossible at present – recounting the many events surrounding that occasion… yet I cannot resist narrating just one episode here that is outstanding for being symbolic.
On March 15, 2005, a solemn act took place: before receiving the first degree of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, João Scognamiglio Clá Dias made his profession of faith and his oath of fidelity to the Holy Roman Catholic Apostolic Church. The document was signed on the Altar of the Chair of St. Peter, the heart of the Vatican Basilica. On the afternoon of that same day, as he contemplated from eternity the diaconal ordination of his perfect disciple, Dr. Plinio saw the words of the Apocalypse to the Angel of Philadelphia fulfilled in him: “He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it.” (3:12).
The roots of a young and thriving work were laid in the firmest ground, and would go on to expand worldwide, bearing abundant and authentic fruits of priestly vocations for a nova militia Christi. The faith of the founder, fully Catholic, apostolic and Roman, would be the mainstay of his clerical sons amid the winds and storms that would lash the Church and the institution, as will be seen in the subsequent article.
Loving, immaculate and indefectible mother
On countless occasions Msgr. João expressed, through words and attitudes, how deeply he took the Holy Church as the love of his life.
The faith of the founder, fully Catholic, apostolic and Roman, would be the mainstay of his children amid the winds and storms that would lash the Church and the institution
First of all, he saw her as the best of mothers. In conversation with his younger sons, even before he was ordained a priest, he stated: “The figure ‘mother’, in the order of nature, represents to our eyes – which are sensitive and fond of symbols, of images – the Church. For it is the Holy Church who is truly Mother, really Mother. 7
Our founder considered the Mystical Body of Christ the “star that constantly shines, without ever flickering,”8 “the wonder of wonders, the certainty of certainties, the realization of the Kingdom of God!”9 His pride at being Catholic flowed over in a litany of praise: “Nothing like this institution has ever existed, exists or will exist in history! An invincible, unshakable, indestructible Church, an infallible, inerrant Church […]! Let us have holy pride of the Church. This is where one may rightfully be proud: proud of the Church!”10
Love expressed in holocaust
Now, as St. Thomas Aquinas indicates,11 it is characteristic of love to lead to gratuitous giving. Hence the desire expressed by Msgr. João to build temples adorned with splendour, where harmony between the marvellous and the sacred shine forth, and which are at the same time dignified podiums for the most authentic teaching and sanctuaries worthy of the Divine Sacrifice.
Hence, his equal commitment to defending the Spouse of the Lamb against the onslaughts of adversaries: “We want to be shields of the Church, we want to be pillars of the Church, we want to be children of the Church, we want to be slaves of the Church, we want to be those who give their very lives for the Church,”12 he summarized in a homily.
In 2010, Msgr. João also had the opportunity to reveal this paladin’s stance in a touching way, when, in the midst of a media storm aimed at tarnishing the immaculate face of the Holy Church in the figure of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, he felt impelled to write a vigorous article in defence of the Pope, raising aloft the banner of the indefectibility of the Mystical Body of Christ.13
Intrepid faith in the victory of the dethroned Queen
Such indefectibility shines even in our times, when the Church is enduring one of the most calamitous crises in her history. This brings to mind a poignant metaphor that Dr. Plinio used to describe the dramatic situation that, from the 1960s onwards, became especially evident. Msgr. João always kept it at heart and repeated it on several occasions. It is the image of the dethroned Queen.
Our founder’s spiritual master envisioned the Church as a sovereign whose subjects had risen violently against her. She consequently found herself surrounded by powerful and influential enemies, who bound her like a villain, and daubed her face with the gaudy paint of a debased woman, having first desecrated the throne room, torn down the canopy and contemptuously trampled the regal ornaments.
Certain of the Church’s immortality, our founder upheld, amid the contemporary tragedy, an intrepid faith in the final victory of the Immaculate Spouse of the Lamb
Continuing the description, he added: “Inside the room is a handful of faithful subjects and she turns to look at these few. Naturally! This is what the dethroned Queen would do. And, this look either does in us what the look of Jesus crowned with thorns did in St. Peter, or words fail me. Because this gaze is fixed on us, constantly and continuously.”14
Msgr. João internalized this certainty of being looked upon by the dethroned Queen, and he resolved to fight with all his strength to reinstall to the throne, with even more pomp and glory than before, her who today suffers untold humiliation due to the sins and betrayals of those who should revere her as children.
However, with the certitude of the immortality of the Church and the regenerating strength imparted to her by the Divine Holy Spirit, our founder upheld intrepid faith amid the contemporary tragedy, convinced of the final victory of the Immaculate Spouse of the Lamb. This thought guided Msgr. João: “We, with the Church, shall conquer; the Church, without us, shall conquer. Whoever is in the Church and with the Church wins; whoever is outside the Church is defeated.15 ◊
Notes
1 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Conference. São Paulo, 7/6/1978.
2 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Conference. São Paulo, 15/1/1970.
3 PIZZARDO, Giuseppe. Letter, 2/12/1964. In: CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Acordo com o regime comunista: para a Igreja, esperança ou autodemolição? 10.ed. São Paulo: Vera Cruz, 1974, p.6.
4 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Revolução e Contra-Revolução [Revolution and Counter-Revolution]. 9.ed. São Paulo, 2024, p.214.
5 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Conversation. São Paulo, 15/2/1994.
6 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Talk. São Paulo, 31/3/1993.
7 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Conversation. São Paulo, 2/9/1996.
8 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Homily. Caieiras, 4/1/2009.
9 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Homily. Mairiporã, 2/7/2006.
10 Idem, ibidem.
11 Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Summa Theologiæ. I, q.38, a.2.
12 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Homily. Caieiras, 5/3/2007.
13 Cf. CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. The Church is Immaculate and Indefectible. São Paulo: Arautos do Evangelho, 2010.
14 CORRÊA DE OLIVEIRA, Plinio. Talk. Amparo, 26/2/1996.
15 CLÁ DIAS, EP, João Scognamiglio. Homily. Caieiras, 26/11/2008.
