the Petrine Cross

Letter from a reader (anonymous) - "As someone who has left the church... is it that you found the use of the inverted cross as disturbing as I do? I'm looking at leaving to become a traditional Catholic and the more I look into it, the freakier the Roman Catholic church has become. There are inverted cross symbols everywhere. How do people not notice?!"

Thank you for your email. For others who would like to ask questions, please feel free to email me at traditionalcatholicamen@gmail.com. Again, I am not a Catholic Apologist or theological expert by any means, but I'll answer to the best of my abilities. Please be patient as well. I do not always have time to maintain this page as much as I would like.

To the question at hand.

1. I did not leave the church. There are many misunderstandings about Traditional Catholics. Believe it or not, this is a little more complicated to explain compared to the inverted cross in your question.

a. We did not leave the church nor did we become schismatic. Vatican II abandoned traditions. We merely chose to remain the same and follow the traditions of the Catholic faith that was set forth before Vatican II's modernization, the faith that closely resembles what Christ had laid out for those who follow him, unlike Vatican II's more protestantized form of Mass. We are still the true church. We still follow biblical teachings, traditions and Dogma passed down from age to age.

b. Most of us are not sedevacantists. Most of us believe in the Papacy and look to St. Peter as the first pope, and each pope, his successor. Most of us reject the Vatican II popes as many have taught heresy not found in Apostolic Tradition nor the bible... (such as: belief in Christ is not the only way to salvation. That is a common theme among false prophets, fake visionaries and anti-popes. Christ himself said "I am the way, the Truth and the Light, no one goes to the Father but through Me.") However, we believe in the papacy, and we believe there will one day be a legitimate successor to Peter again.

Christ called Simon, "Peter" which means "rock" and said that on that Rock he would build his church... he ordained Peter to be the first pope (leader) of the church.

2. The "inverted cross" is actually called the Petrine cross and it does belong on the throne of Peter.

When Christ rose from the dead and appeared to the Apostles, he had a conversation with Peter that is recounted by St. John. Jesus gives Peter 3 chances to proclaim his love for Christ (which erased the 3 times he denied Him.) After this, Christ then told Peter: "In all truth I tell you, when you were young you put on your own belt and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt round you and take you where you would rather not go."

This is believed to have been the premonition of the way Peter would by Martyred for Christ. he would be led to his place of Crucifixion and he would stretch out his hands on the cross.

Peter was Martyred in Rome, for preaching the word of Christ, and because he felt unworthy to be crucified as Christ was crucified... he asked that he be crucified upside down. Now, while Christ telling Peter how he would be martyred does appear in the Gospel of John... the way in which Peter dies is not written in the bible. However, testimony of his martyrdom is extensive, including Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, St. Clement I of Rome, St. Ignatius, and St. Irenaeus.

It is believed Peter was Crucified not far from where Vatican City now exists, and was buried where the Vatican's St Peter's Basilica now stands. In the 1950s, bones under the basilica were unearthed. They were examined at great lengths in the 60's and found to be remains of an adult male. They are believed to be the actual remains of The Rock, Peter, on whom Christ's church was built.

Because of this ancient tradition of Peter's Martyrdom by upside down Crucifixion, because we look at him as our first Legitimate Pope, and because each legitimate pope is suppose to be his successor, it is not at all a surprise, or unusual, to find the pope wearing the Petrine cross or for there to be Petrine Crosses in Vatican City.

The Petrine Cross has been bastardized and used for malevolent purposes by those who try to mock that which is holy... Some may not even realize how holy it truly is. Especially to Christ.

So there is nothing Satanic about the Petrine Cross. They only want you to believe that.

The Upside down cross is actually a holy symbol of St. Peter's burning love for God... his obedience to Christ... his humility and humbleness as a servant of Christ. He was our Leader, but by being crucified upside down, he made the distinction that he wasn't our Savior, he wasn't to be worshiped as God the Holy Trinity (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) he was only there to give us Christ's words, laws, and love.

So if you want to hang your hat on the appearance of the Petrine Cross in the Vatican, the home of the successor of St. Peter... the symbol of the martyrdom of St. Peter... then you're hanging your hat on a very loose nail which will eventually fall... because there is nothing unholy about the Petrine Cross.