by Neil McKay
“In times of great crisis there are two types of men: those who are overwhelmed by the crisis and those who resist the trend of events and so change the course of history.”—Prof. Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira
“REFORM THE CHURCH!”
“MARRIED PRIESTS NEEDED!”
“70% OF CATHOLICS DENY REAL PRESENCE!”
“SECRET LIVES OF PRIESTS!”
“SCANDAL IN THE VATICAN!”
“BISHOPS DISSENT FROM PAPAL AUTHORITY!”
“UPDATING CATHOLICISM!”
Are these the headlines that every 21st century Catholic has become accustomed to reading? Do they fill our hearts with sorrow and despair, as they would if it were our own mothers being maligned? Well, you may be surprised to discover that these same sensationalized headlines would be equally familiar—and heart rending—to any 16th century Catholic. Then, as now, the Bride of Christ was being tested in the fires of scandal and dissension, blasphemy and outright revolt. It was from such confusion and perplexity that God chose to raise up the hero of our story, Saint John Ogilvie, born in the year of Our Lord 1579 on the windswept highlands of Scotland.
Our story begins with the Papal Schism (1378 to 1417) which the Scottish Crown took advantage of to gain control of ecclesiastical appointments within the kingdom. Right away, the State’s usurpation of Church authority should sound familiar to the reader’s ears. This led to the placement of clients and relatives of the king in key positions, including James IV’s illegitimate son Alexander, who was nominated as Archbishop of Saint Andrews at the age of 11, increasing royal influence and also opening the Church to accusations of bribery and favoritism.
In a similar way, laymen with no vocation were given charge of monasteries, and the revenue that came with it. These bishops and abbots in turn appointed clients, friends, and their own sons, born to secret wives, to offices in the church, none of whom had any desire to spiritually feed the flock which materially fed them. As a result, when the Protestant Reformation happened in 1517, sparked by the posting of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, only two of the eleven Scottish bishops were considered “papists,” five were indifferent, and four supported the pseudo reformation. A large proportion of priests who denied Rome’s authority became protestant ministers. Being “reformed,” they could now openly live with their secret wives, living in the same house and working in the same church in which they had formally been priests.
The better informed of the lay people and priests fled to the continent, or practiced their faith in secret. Many lay people, while children of the Church through baptism, had been abandoned through lack of apostolic care, and had also been victim to years of lying propaganda financed largely by Protestant England. Courage however comes from conviction, and being uneducated by the Church, they lacked the knowledge that forms convictions. An example of this lack of conviction was reported by the Jesuit priest, Fr. John Leslie, in 1628: “At the time of the change of religion. . . few Catholics had the courage to confess themselves openly. . . it became customary with Catholics to attend heretical worship on stated days; and once a year, though they did not actually receive what is called the Lord’s Supper, they pretended to do so. . . lifting the bread to their lips, they secretly let it fall to the ground. . . and they did not feel that in doing this, they were doing anything wrong. . . taking advantage of some of the remissiveness of some of the priests, who did not reprove this detestable insincerity and impiety as they should have done.” We might say that these poor souls represent those in our opening quotation “who are overwhelmed by the crisis.” This was the Scotland that Saint John Ogilvie was born into.
A map showing the U.K. in green with Scotland in dark green. Credit-Alphathon
Saint John Ogilvie—Early Life
His father was a wealthy Calvinist laird, the Scottish term for “landowner” or “lord.” His mother was a faithful Catholic whose two brothers had joined the Jesuits one year before his birth. She died when John was three years old. His father remarried a woman named Mary Douglas. Though she was a Calvinist, she did not have the fanatical hatred of the “old faith” which many of her co-religionists had. She heard the tales about how good the Protestant Reformation was, born in opposition to the abuses of the Catholic hierarchy and priests. . . and yet, and yet. . . the silent witness of those lovely ruins, the noble schools and hospitals spoke to her soul. . . they spoke of men who loved their neighbor as themselves. . . and how many Protestants now possessed one-time church property, their new faith and prosperity inextricably mixed! O what confusing times!
