Turns out Walt is a Recusant!

Walt is a sometime student of Church history but still has a lot to learn. For instance, what should one call Catholics who refuse to attend the Protestantized "New Mass" which is one of the poisoned fruits of Vatican II? Some traditionalists go even farther and have abandoned the Society of St. Pius X because it uses the "transitional" Roman Missal of 1962.

But what do you call these "Ultra-traditionalists"? Pope Francis recently called them "extremists". Cardinal Bertone inveighed against "Fatimists". But there is an older term, dating back to the days of Henry VIII. Those who refused to attend the "masses" of Henry's schismatic "Church of England" came to be known as Recusants.

The faithful Catholics (and others) who refused to conform to the beliefs and practices of the new English "church" were made criminals by the Recusancy Acts. They suffered fines, confiscation of their property, imprisonment, and even capital punishment -- the death of martyrs like St. Thomas More, who happens to be Walt's patron saint.


Taking their cue from the St. Thomas and the other English martyrs, a group of clergy and laity have separated from the Society of St. Pius X, because they disagree with the desire of it's Superior-General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, to reach some sort of compromise with Rome.

The breakaway group has started a new publication aptly titled The Recusant. The raison d'être of the newsletter/website is to fight "a guerrilla war for the soul of Tradition." This is declared in a signed Letter of Entreaty dated 21 May 2013, which attacks Bishop Fellay and the SSPX for "wilfully pursuing a new direction and a new agenda, remaking the Society in their own image with reckless disregard for the souls which Divine Providence has placed in their care."

The letter charges the SSPX with "having deviated from its essential mission of fidelity to Catholic Tradition and opposition to Modernism due to the betrayal of its liberal leadership." The Recusants argue that the faithful must secede from the corrupted society, which they describe as a "sinking ship, which is beyond repair."

Walt finds the lack of unity in the forces of Tradition within the Church deeply disturbing. Still, one must cling to that which is known to be right -- to the eternal truths taught to us by Our Lord Himself and handed down to us through His Church. If that means refusing to conform to the novelties and outright heresies which was are told are necessary to adapt to the modern world, then yes, let us be "nonconformists". Let us be Recusants!

Follow-up: Reform of the reform

A survey conducted by Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate has found that American Catholics with an opinion on the subject favour the availability of the "extraordinary form of the Mass" -- i.e. the Tridentine Latin Mass -- by a two to one margin.

When asked “Do you favor as an alternative to the newer Mass, bringing back the older Latin Tridentine Mass for those who would prefer this option?” 25% favor the option, 12% oppose it.

Significantly, 63% had no opinion. Apparently nearly two-thirds of American Catholics don't care which form of Holy Mass is used. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that, since the introduction of the "ecumenical" Novus Ordo (NO) mass following Vatican II, the majority of Catholics no longer regularly attend mass on Sundays and Holy Days.

Whether a return to the traditional Latin Mass, or a reform of the NO mass would reverse this terrible trend remains to be seen.

God is good! Great news for traditional Catholics! Te Deum Laudamus!

This article will not be relevant to non-Catholics. Catholics who have embraced the "reforms" of Vatican II will be dismayed, but Catholics who hold to the traditions of Holy Mother Church will thank God and His Blessed Mother for the news that follows.

Under the heading "The 'Reform of the Reform' is in motion" Rorate Cæli has reprinted an article by Italian journalist Andrea Tornielle, writing in Il Giornale. According to Tornielli, the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship has proposed to Pope Benedict XVI a number of significant changes to the liturgical norms for the Novus Ordo (NO) mass instituted by Vatican II.

The NO mass has long been decried by traditionalists as "the victory of Protestantism" within the Church. Some go so far as to deny that it is a valid mass at all. Traditionalists welcomed the Holy Father's Motu Proprio restoring the traditional Tridentine Mass in Latin, only to be disappointed that the TLM remains an "extraordinary" rite, whose use has been resisted by many bishops, particularly in North America.

Now it appears that the CDW recognizes the numerous and scandalous abuses of the NO mass, and has a plan to restore a greater sense of the sacred to the central institution of Catholic worship.

You'll find a translation of the Il Giornale report on the Rorate Cæli website. Tornielli suggests that the CDW's proposals could be the basis for the "reform of the reform" the Holy Father has been seeking. In effect, elements of the Tridentine liturgy would be brought into the NO mass.

The CDW is reportedly advocating an end to the pernicious practice of receiving Holy Communion in the hand. Readers will remember the controversy over what Canadian Prime Minister Harper -- who, as a Protestant, shouldn't have received Communion in the first place -- did with the Host he received from the hands of the priest. If he had dropped or discarded it, that would have been a terrible sacrilege. Yet thousands of hosts -- the Body of Christ -- are dropped, trodden on or abused every week because of this Lutheran-inspired practice.

It is also suggested that after some 45 years of having the priest face the people, there should be a return to celebrating Mass ad orientem. That means facing east. Before Vatican II it was the practice to build churches facing east, so that when the priest, on behalf of the people, faced the altar, he was looking towards Jerusalem, towards the site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection, towards the place where Christ will come again. Many new churches are aligned north and south, but the symbolism of having the priest face a proper altar, rather than the Protestant table now in use, can only be welcomed.

And while they're at it, one hopes the Blessed Sacrament will be restored to Its rightful position in the sanctuary, rather than an alcove somewhere out of site. The object should be make the focus of the Holy Mass not the priest, not the people, but Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tornielli writes that the CDW report was submitted to the Pope for further discussion and study rather than as a proposal for immediate change. However, it can only be seen as an indication that the liturgical pendulum is at last swinging back towards sanity.

Deus bonus est! Te Deum laudamus!