Why did you decide to set up the St. Boniface Institute (SBI)?
The SBI was founded immediately after we had thrown the Pachamama statues into the Tiber, with the aim of creating a network of all those Catholics and traditionalist individuals and groups who care about the well-being of the Church. A few months after it was founded, major political changes affecting our everyday lives were implemented. In March 2020, we lost our freedom to travel and so we had to restructure our work. Initially, we focused more on the situation in Austria and consolidating our organisation in Vienna. We organised Holy Masses and in May 2020, we began to hold rosary processions through Vienna every two weeks. We are still doing that. In the summer, we decided to expand the institute’s work to include political issues. Our vision was and always has been that the SBI should contribute to an increase in faith. So we don’t want to exclude anything that could affect the life of a Catholic.
What topics does the SBI focus on?
Our main focus has always been and always will be the Church. We also fight to protect unborn life and the family, because without intact families, there can be no fight against the evil of abortion. We also deal with international politics, especially with so-called NGOs and other international associations and institutions, as these influence the national politics of our home countries to an ever increasing extent. We have also decided to study the big questions of Islam and immigration, because our Christian or formerly Christian societies are undergoing profound changes as a result of these influences.
Why does a Catholic Institute pay so much attention to secular politics?
As Catholics, we are called upon to live in the world, so it would be completely absurd to try and ignore what is going on. We also firmly believe that working for the faith always means working for the common good. It is very important to look at all these developments in the light of our faith, because it is only in this light that we can recognise and understand the real, underlying problems, which are often masked and obscured by the way things are reported in the news.
How do you think the world is likely to develop over the next few years?
The legalisation of abortion, the legalisation of so-called “gay marriage”, the utter moral depravity of large parts of the world’s population and many other problems have all led to the world in which we live today. Without a profound conversion of large segments of the population, the situation will probably continue to deteriorate, and we will slide into a dictatorship without a face, in which opaque, international structures will rule our lives. There is a lot of talk by organisations like the WEF about a world where no one will own private property any more, a world where there will be no disease, a world in which every step will be digitally monitored. But such a world would be dystopian and inhumane. Of course, since any political system can only be set up and run by humans, all these fantasies are ultimately doomed to failure, but a huge price in human lives and suffering will have to be paid first.
What can we do?
First of all, we must not lose faith. Our goal is heaven and if we look more closely at the past millennia, we will see that terrible and cruel times have come and gone. It was always the believers who were able to hold on to joy and hope in those times, to provide a light in such times of darkness to their friends and relatives. God never lets us down and always gives us everything we need to lead a life according to His will. So let us see this time as a test and never lose hope. We at the St. Boniface Institute will definitely do everything we can, using the means at our disposal, to survive in this struggle and to help create the conditions for the reestablishment of a society that is pleasing in the sight of God.
