Wars and rumors of wars on the TLM and Summorum Pontificum”?

https://www.breitbart.com/faith/2022/05/08/pope-francis-decries-pushback-to-his-ban-on-traditional-latin-mass/

Pope Francis Decries Pushback to His Ban on Traditional Latin Mass
Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.8 May 2022

AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantinonone
7:00

ROME — Pope Francis accused those resisting his sweeping restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass as sowers of diabolical division in the Church.

Liturgical life “must lead to greater ecclesial unity, not to division,” the pontiff told faculty and students of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute Saturday. “When liturgical life is something of a banner of division, there is the odor of the devil, the deceiver.”

“It is not possible to worship God and at the same time make the liturgy a battlefield for issues that are not essential, indeed, for outdated issues and to take a stand, starting with the liturgy, with ideologies that divide the Church,” he insisted.

Changes in the Church’s practice “scandalize closed minds,” Francis said.

“Indeed, these closed mindsets use liturgical schemes to defend their point of view,” he said, and this is “the drama we are experiencing in ecclesial groups that move away from the Church, they question the Council and the authority of the bishops to preserve the tradition.”


Monsignor Ignacio Barreiro Carambula celebrates the Latin Tridentine Mass in St. Giuseppe a Capo le Case Church in Rome, Italy, in July 2007. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)

In July 2021, Francis repealed inclusive measures by his predecessors, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, that allowed for greater flexibility and diversity in the Catholic liturgy.

In his apostolic letter titled Traditionis Custodes (“Guardians of Tradition”), the pope banned the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass — sometimes called the “Tridentine” Mass, in reference to the 16th-century Council of Trent — in Catholic parishes and lifted existing accommodations to priests who want to use the extraordinary form of the Catholic liturgy.

The letter reversed measures to relax restrictions on the use of the traditional form by Pope Benedict XVI, who, in 2007, noted that many of the faithful have continued to be attached with “love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms which had deeply shaped their culture and spirit.”

In recognition of this diversity, Pope John Paul II had sought greater inclusiveness by granting the faculty of using the older form and “exhorted bishops to make broad and generous use of this faculty on behalf of all the faithful who sought it,” Benedict wrote.

Benedict established that the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI “is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi (rule of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite,” whereas the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V “is nonetheless to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honored for its venerable and ancient usage.”

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful,” Benedict explained. “It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.”

For his part, Francis declared that the 1970 Roman Missal is not the “ordinary expression” but rather “the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite” (emphasis added). The new, exclusive ruling seems to eliminate the older form of the Mass as a legitimate expression of the lex orandi of the Church, despite its venerable tradition.

Pope Benedict had granted broad faculties to Catholic priests who wished to say Masses in private using the Roman Missal published in 1962, declaring that to do so, “the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary.”


Pope Benedict XVI, also known as Pope Emeritus, poses for a picture at the airport in Munich, Germany, in 2020. Benedict relaxed restrictions on the use of the Traditional Latin Mass in 2007. (SVEN HOPPE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

According to Francis’ restrictions, priests who wish to celebrate using the Roman Missal of 1962 “should submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.”

The Vatican’s own website declaresthat “according to present norms, the Latin language still holds primacy of place as that language which, based on principle, the Church prefers, even though she recognizes that the vernacular can be useful for the faithful.”

The Vatican goes on to note that “Latin should be safeguarded as a precious inheritance of the Western liturgical tradition.”

The Code of Canon Law, which governs Church activity and liturgy, similarly stipulates: “The eucharistic celebration is to be carried out in the Latin language or in another language provided that the liturgical texts have been legitimately approved.”

Saint John Paul II urged the continued use of Latin in the Church to maintain ties with its own history and traditions.

“The Roman Church has special obligations towards Latin, the splendid language of ancient Rome,” he wrote, adding that “she must manifest them whenever the occasion presents itself.”

Pope Francis justified the reversal of the more inclusive approach of his predecessors by insisting that their pastoral kindness “was exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division.”

The pope’s suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass was hailed by progressives and vocally opposed by conservatives, including at least three prominent cardinals.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, for instance, the former chief of the Vatican’s doctrinal office (CDF), chided Pope Francis for his selective clampdown on the Traditional Latin Mass while allowing progressives to reject basic tenets of the faith with impunity.

Pope Francis has “drastically restricted” the celebration of the Latin Mass with the clear intent to “condemn the Extraordinary Form to extinction in the long run,” Müller observed.

By punishing the conservative peripheries, Francis “ignores the religious feelings of the (often young) participants in the Masses according to the Missal of John XXIII” without the “slightest empathy,” he wrote.

“Instead of appreciating the smell of the sheep, the shepherd here hits them hard with his crook,” Müller declared, with an allusion to one of Francis’ favorite sayings.

The formidable Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former bishop of Hong Kong, insisted that the measures were unreasonably harsh and hurt “the hearts of many good people.”

The pope’s letter “considers the very existence of a parallel rite to be an evil,” Zen declared, and reflects wishes “for the death of the [traditional] groups.”


A celebrating priest leads a Latin Mass at Rome’s ancient Pantheon Basilica in Rome, Italy, Friday, October 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Cardinal Raymond Burke, the former head of the Vatican’s highest court, also published an essay lamenting the pope’s attack on conservative Catholics.

Those who are attached to the Traditional Latin Mass “are deeply disheartened by the severity of the discipline” imposed by Pope Francis in his letter and “offended by the language it employs to describe them, their attitudes and their conduct,” Burke wrote.

“It is apparent from the severity of the document,” Burke said, that Pope Francis issued it “to address what he perceives to be a grave evil threatening the unity of the Church.”

The pope’s message to the “devout faithful who have a deep appreciation and attachment” to the Traditional Latin Mass is that “they suffer from an aberration which can be tolerated for a time but must ultimately be eradicated,” Burke declared.



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https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/pope-francis-says-traditionalism-is-infidelity-to-the-catholic-church-and-vatican-ii/

Pope Francis says ‘traditionalism’ is ‘infidelity’ to the Catholic Church and Vatican II
LifeSiteWed Oct 12, 2022 - 12:14 pm EDT

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) – Marking the 60th anniversary of the start of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis attacked “traditionalism” as being “evidence … of infidelity” to the Catholic Church.

The Argentinian Pontiff made his remarks in his homily during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on October 10, marking the 60th anniversary of the opening of the ecumenical Second Vatican Council.

Using a passage from St. John’s Gospel – “Do you love me? Feed my sheep” – Francis launched his attack on the traditionalist movement.

Stating that “we are always tempted to start from ourselves rather than from God, to put our own agendas before the Gospel,” he decried those who wished to “retrace our steps.”

“Yet let us be careful,” he said, “both the ‘progressivism’ that lines up behind the world and the ‘traditionalism’ – or ‘looking backwards’ – that longs for a bygone world are not evidence of love, but of infidelity.”

Francis styled both “traditionalism” and “progressivism” as “forms of a Pelagian selfishness that puts our own tastes and plans above the love that pleases God, the simple, humble and faithful love that Jesus asked of Peter.”

Praising the Council for its actions, Francis stated that it “rediscovered the living river of Tradition without remaining mired in traditions.”

He told the assembled congregation not to be concerned with being “on the climb” towards heaven, or with attempts to “shepherd yourselves.” Rather, Francis urged a rejection of everything in the service of fraternity.

How often, in the wake of the Council, did Christians prefer to choose sides in the Church, not realizing that they were breaking their Mother’s heart! How many times did they prefer to cheer on their own party rather than being servants of all? To be progressive or conservative rather than being brothers and sisters? To be on the “right” or “left,” rather than with Jesus?

Francis opposes Latin Mass but warns of ‘polarization’
In promoting Vatican II, Francis’ homily was flush with ironic phraseology. While his 2021 restrictions on the traditional Mass were entitled Traditionis custodes (guardians of Tradition), Francis yesterday attacked those who “present themselves as ‘guardians of the truth’ or ‘pioneers of innovation’ rather than seeing themselves as humble and grateful children of Holy Mother Church.”

READ: Abp Viganò on the ‘roots of deviation’ of Vatican II and how Francis was chosen to revolutionize the Church

His restrictions on the ancient liturgy, pronounced in the name of Vatican II, have since decimated parishes and communities, yet Francis said that the Church should “leave aside the ‘isms,’ for God’s people do not like polarization.”

“How timely the Council remains,” he argued. “It helps us reject the temptation to enclose ourselves within the confines of our own comforts and convictions. The Council helps us imitate God’s approach, which the prophet Ezekiel has described to us today: ‘Seek the lost sheep and lead back to the fold the stray, bind up the injured and strengthen the weak’ (cf. Ezek 34:16).”

The Pontiff closed by repeating his call to “let us overcome all polarization and preserve our communion.”

However, some pointed to Francis’ own record on “polarization,” warning that his homily was a promotion of his assault on the Church’s Tradition. “This is Bergoglian speak for ending the Traditional Latin Mass,” wrote catechist Deacon Nick Donnelly.

“Let us overcome all polarization and preserve our communion!” said – (pope) Bergoglio during his homily on the 60th anniversary of Vatican II

This is Bergoglian speak for ending the Traditional Latin Mass

He plans to enforce the Novus Ordo as the only expression of communion

— Nick Donnelly (@ProtecttheFaith) October 11, 2022

Donnelly added that Francis has “relentlessly attacked ‘the living river of Tradition’ since the beginning of his pontificate.”

Vatican II underpinning current pontificate
Francis and his close advisors have continually cited Vatican II in their recent moves against the Church’s Tradition, including in Traditionis custodes and the current Synod on Synodality. Indeed, the latter has been described as “an extension” of Vatican II since the process was announced last year.

READ: ‘A different Church’: Pope calls for synod on synodality to usher in ‘change’

Speaking to LifeSiteNews last year, Matt Gaspers – managing editor of Catholic Family News – said that the Synod: “calls to mind what Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò wrote in his first major intervention regarding the Council (June 9, 2020), namely, ‘that from Vatican II onwards a parallel church was built, superimposed over and diametrically opposed to the true Church of Christ. This parallel church progressively obscured the divine institution founded by Our Lord in order to replace it with a spurious entity, corresponding to the desired universal religion that was first theorized by Masonry’.”

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Vatican II intended as ‘pastoral’ not ‘doctrinal’
While the Second Vatican Council is regularly and overwhelmingly referenced in the modern day Vatican and current pontificate, both Popes of the Council — John XXIII and Paul VI — and Vatican II itself clearly stated that, unlike all previous Councils, it had neither the aim nor the intention to propose its own doctrine in a definitive and infallible way.

RELATED: EWTN host blasts Pope Francis’ supporters who ‘blindly hate’ conservative Catholics

In his address at the solemn opening of the Council, Pope John XXIII said: “The main purpose of this Council is not, therefore, the discussion of one or another theme of the fundamental doctrine of the Church.” He added that the character of the Council’s magisterium would be “predominantly pastoral” (October 11, 1962).

Meanwhile Pope Paul VI said in his address at the last public session of the Council, that Vatican II “made its program” from “the pastoral character” (7 December 1965). Furthermore, as Bishop Athanasius Schneider has recalled, a November 16, 1964, note by the Council’s Secretary-General reads: “Taking conciliar custom into consideration and also the pastoral purpose of the present Council, the sacred Council defines as binding on the Church only those things in matters of faith and morals which it shall openly declare to be binding.”

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