The crisis within the Roman Catholic Church is not new. The fight to protect the True Faith against modernist novelties and heresy began about 30 seconds after the end of the Second Vatican Council (aka Vatican II).
The Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), at the centre of the latest controversy (WWW passim) was founded on 1 November 1970, in Écône, Switzerland, by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. It was established to preserve traditional Catholic theology and the Latin Mass, so to resist the "reforms" of Vatican II.
Some 10 years later, William F. Buckley Jr., a traditional Catholic (and leading political conservative), invited Michael Davies, Joseph Champlin, and Malachi Martin onto Firing Line, his popular TV show, to discuss the issues and the future of Holy Mother Church.
Their thoughts resonate clearly today, as the destruction of Holy Mother Church by Her enemies within looms on the horizon. Listen up.
Now would be a very good time to pray to "St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defencc against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen."
Mr Matt, like the rest of us traditional Catholics, is waiting for Pope Leo's slipper to drop. Will he blink, or will he drop the excrement-mallet on all those who dare to be Catholic? Stay tuned!!!
Traditional Catholics like YVT are on the edge of their seats [on their knees in prayer, surely. Ed.] waiting to see if Pope Leo XIV will make good on the threat delivered by his minion, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, to excommunicate all the bishops, priests, and religious of the Society of St. Pius X, as well as the faithful who attend SSPX Masses, if the Society goes ahead with the consecration of four new bishops without the approval of the Vatican.
The SSPX is doing this because the Catholic Church -- the church established by Our Lord Jesus Christ while He was here on Earth -- is in crisis. To understand the nature of the crisis, and why this consecration must be done, watch this Remnant Underground video, with Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper and author of the open letter which we received today and publish below.
Michael Matt writes:
The night before the SSPX has long-since planned to consecrate bishops and the very day that they have welcomed 30,000 faithful to Econe to witness the liturgical ceremony, Pope Leo – who has evidently refused to meet with the Superior General of the SSPX, despite multiple filial requests – is NOW suggesting he’s "open to dialogue".
Pope Leo’s letter reads in part: "I beg and implore you with all my heart: turn back! I urge you to carefully consider the spiritual good of the faithful, for the schismatic act you would commit would deprive them of the lawful -- and in some cases even valid -- reception of the sacraments they love and seek for their own sanctification. The Church is open to a path of dialogue and understanding that the Holy Spirit can make possible and fruitful. I pray for you, for tearing the seamless Tunic of Christ is a sin of the utmost gravity."
This is a wonderful example of pre-emptive damage control and papal hubris. But what about the Vatican's role in tearing the "seamless tunic" to shreds by throwing us out of our churches, depriving our children of the only Mass they've ever known, leaving the Catholic schools in such chaos that we are obliged to educate our children at home?
What about the clerical sex scandals that have rocked the Church ever since our children can remember? What has the Holy See actually done about that? Father Rupnick's "artwork" is still disfiguring the facades of cathedrals all over Europe, as if to announce that, once again, the Vatican cares nothing about the victims of priestly sexual abuse.
What about the liturgical insanity that first forced faithful Catholics to drive for hours on Sunday mornings in search of something that looks vaguely Catholic, and then ultimately led to empty pews and churches closing everywhere?
What about the millions of young people who have simply walked out of the Church forever, so tired are they of a largely homosexualized priesthood and a completely emasculated liturgy?
The nuns are mostly gone.
The schools are mostly closed.
The churches that are still open are mostly celebrating gay pride.
And the crisis in the Church is so serious that even Pope John Paul called it the "silent apostasy". Surely, the Holy Father can't be serious that WE are to blame for the abuse we've endured at the hands of our spiritual fathers.
How badly does His Holiness think we're suffering from Stockholm Syndrome that just a couple of years after Traditionis Custodes – when the Vatican ruthlessly ripped the Latin Mass out of our lives and in effect told our kids to go to hell – we'd now be ready to hear a papal lecture about how the SSPX is responsible for tearing the seamless garment by establishing scattered oases of Catholic water and life in the middle of the spiritual desert that the Vatican has made out of our beloved Catholic Church?
No, Holy Father, we beg YOU – do not do this! Do not expel one of the few orders of faithful heterosexual priests left – priests who have remained true to the Faith of our fathers and who are far more concerned about the souls of our children than about celebrating LGBT outreach here in the Month of the Sacred Heart.
We have been abused by the Vatican long enough, Holy Father. We have had enough of Vatican abuse and apostasy scandalizing our children. Please, for God's sake and the sake of our children, stop this madness!
Traditional Catholics have been waiting (and praying) since May for Pope Leo XIV to do something to end the "liturgy wars" being waged by the Vatican on those who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass -- the Mass of All Time, established by Pope St. Pius V following the Council of Trent.
In his latest commentary on the crisis in the Roman Catholic Church, Dr Taylor Marshall explores three possibilities for whether Pope Leo XIV will "unleash" the TLM:
1) Leo overturns Traditiones Custodes;
2) Leo gives the decision to bishops; or
3) Leo continues the strict measures of Pope Francis.
This is a long video, and probably of interest only to Catholics, but you'll hear some interesting things, including the latest on Vatican reporter Diane Montagna's revelation that Francis lied about his reasons for issuing Traditiones Custodes.
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will guide and direct Pope Leo to do the right thing, and protect Holy Mother Church from Her enemies without... and within... And let us pray to Saint Michael the Archangel:
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.
Walt is pleased to forward the following e-mail, received last night from Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant newspaper.
Hello James,
It's all a lie. The Bishop of Charlotte, NC, is perpetuating a bald-faced lie – that the Latin Mass is divisive and needs to be canceled in the name of unity. In the new Underground (below), I offer 40 years' worth of evidence-based PROOF that the Latin Mass is, in fact, a great unifier in any diocese.
Four of the Bishop’s own priests have sent him a letter, begging him to reconsider his ban on the thriving Latin Mass centers in Charlotte. Thousands of his own faithful have done the same. But the cries of the sheep have fallen on the deaf ears of the angry shepherd.
So much for Synodality, right Bishop Michael Martin?
This coming weekend, ironically, another bishop – Mgr. Philippe Christory, Bishop of Chartres, France – will open the doors of his iconic cathedral to 25,000 traditional Catholics for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass on Pentecost Monday. In this tale of two bishops, the American is obviously an embarrassment to Catholics all across the country.
The "listening Church?" Yeah, right!
Such hateful intolerance of faithful Catholics is unacceptable, and we call upon Pope Leo XIV to replace the Bishop of Charlotte with someone more akin to the Bishop of Chartres, who though not a Traditionalist, is nevertheless a pastor who is willing to listen to and accompany all of his sheep. . . even those who love the Latin Mass.
For the very best arguments against the Bishop of Charlotte’s pathetic witch hunt – including vintage Michael Davies on who is actually disobeying Vatican II (hint: it’s not the traditionalists) – please watch and share this with everyone you know.
Enough is enough already!
Writing after the first of Pope Bergoglio's apologies to the indigenous people's of Canada, I thought we should wait to see what Francis would do or say next. Could it possibly get worse? Sadly, it did. In this, the latest Remnant Underground, Mr Matt characterizes "Wild Pope Francis"'s "pilgrimage of repentance" as a "Great Apostasy". Even if you're not Catholic, you need to watch this!
The fallout from indigenous and Catholic Canadians alike has not been favourable for Prime Minister Blackie McBlackface and the Vatican‘s plan. So much did it fall short that Mr Socks has already called for Francis to "do more", and, even while he was flying back to Rome, Francis said he is now ready to resign.
To make matters worse (Mr Matt says), while Pope Bergoglio participates in a pagan smudging ceremony in Canada, and talks about the need to preserve the traditions and language of the indigenous people, he is committing liturgicide against his own church. Several dioceses in the USA, in blind obedience to Francis, have now cancelled the Traditional Latin Mass.
Michael Matt closes with a stirring and inspirational message to the Traditional Catholics who are being wounded by these recent Latin Mass cancellations. He says the traditional Catholic counterrevolution is stronger, more unified, and more poised for a major victory right now than it was when he was a boy in the early 1970s.
I wish to add here my own personal message to faithful Catholics, particularly good and faitheful priests, who are wavering, torn between the teaching that we must pray for the pope and his intentions, and obey his orders, and the evidence which they can see for themselves that what Francis is doing is wrong! This "pope", if such he be, is leading us into apostasy. He must be resisted! As Mr Matt says, "We have not yet begun to fight!"
Further viewing: "Pope Francis invoking 'sacred circle of spirits' and Western Grandmother", with Dr Taylor Marshall. "Francis the Destroyer" and several cardinals and bishops participated in a pagan rite. According to Canon Law, Catholics who do that are automatically excommuicated. Period. "People! This is demonic!"
I know that some of our non-Catholic readers [and some Catholic readers too. Ed.] are wondering why traditional Catholics are so upset by Pope Bergoglio's recent attempt to suppress the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), the Mass of All Time. See "Catholics outraged: 'Pope Francis' nukes Traditional Latin Mass", WWW 17/7/21.
One of my own friends, a well-meaning and religious person (but not Catholic) said to me, "It's all the same isn't it? Aren't you just clining to something which doesn't have any meaning in the 21st century?" Well no, I answered, the Novus Ordo (literally: new order) mass is not the same as the Mass of All Time.
There are those who argue that the "New Mass" -- one of the poisoned fruits of the Second Vatican Council -- is not a Catholic Mass at all! I won't go that far, but will say that there are much greater differences than the use of the vulgar language (literally: language of the people) instead of the Latin adopted by the Universal Church in the 5th Century A.D.
There are 1000s of articles and videos explaining the differences between the Novus Ordo and the Traditional Latin Mass, 100s of them written in the last two weeks in response to Francis' tirade. But it's been difficult to find something which outlines, clearly and concisely, why the differences matter to the faith.
The best we've seen so far is this short video from John-Henry Westen, editor of LifeSite News. Mr Westen points out that the changes that the Novus Ordo brought to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass shortly after Vatican II, have led to the "greatest abandonment of the faith in human history." We urge you -- Catholic or not -- to listen carefully and understand our dismay and anger.
"Why Does Francis Hate the Latin Mass?" Michael Matt, editor the Remnant newspaper, reveals the reasons why the Pope is treating traditional Catholics like lepers.
Yesterday, the man who calls himself "Pope Francis" said, in effect, "Wanna bet?!"
Following up my earlier post, "Catholics outraged: 'Pope Francis' nukes Traditional Latin Mass", here's a look at how the man who calls himself "Pope Francis" is trying to extinguish forever the Traditional Latin Mass in his latest Motu Proprio, Traditionis Custodes. In the video, Dr Taylor Marshall calls this "the most radical thing Pope Francis" has done in the eight years of his papacy."
Commentators like Dr Marshall and Dr Peter Kwasniewski (see link at end of this post) are shocked by the extremism and autocracy of the Pope Bergoglio's lateset attack on the traditions of the Church. Dr Kwasniewski says it "doesn't make sense unless you're an ideologue." Dr Marshall calls it simply "a punch in the gut". Here's what's going to happen....
Item: Pope Bergoglio has declared that the Novus Ordo (New Order) Mass of 1969 is the "unique" (read: only) liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church. What Pope Benedict XVI* called the "extraordinary" rite is not recognized, except temporarily by exception.
Item: Only the diocesan bishop has "exclusive" power to authorize the Latin Mass, and that only within the even narrower confines of whatever restrictions the Vatican -- Pope Bergoglio and those surrounding him (Hello, "Peter the Roman"!) -- feel like imposing on any given day. A bishop may say OK, but not unless Rome says OK!
Item: Existing Latin Mass "groups"-- that's the word used -- like the Institute of Christ the Kind and the Fraternity of Saint Peter must undergo a loyalty test to ensure that they accept fully the Novus Ordo Mass of 1969. And they cannot have any hesitation to accepting fully the heresies of Vatican II, out of which came the "New Mass."
Item: Latin Masses, if allowed, must be moved outside of regular parishes. Dr Kwasniewski says thosse who want to celebrate the TLM are being treated like lepers, shunted off to disused churches and meeting rooms where they can't "contaminate" ignorant "mainstream Catholics".
Item: Even though a traditional Mass may be ["must be"! Ed.] celebrated in Latin, the Epistle and Gospel must not be proclaimed in Latin, only in the vernacular. tongues. This was one of the goals of the Modernist liturgical movement in the 1950s and of the Protestants and Freemasons who helped draft the Novus Ordo Mass approved by Vactican II.
Item: There to be no "new groups" centred around the Latin Mass. Not even bishops can allow the formation of such a group. That's for the Vatican alone. One wonders what will become of the existing "groups", like those mentioned above and the Society of St Pius X, the latter not being recognized by the Vatican in the first place. Goodbye to any hope of reconciliation!
Item: Pope Bergoglio has taken "the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions, and customs" that precede Traditionis Custodes. Previous "indults" for the TLM are abolished. So as of yesterday, the celebration of the Latin Mass is forbidden, pending new permissions granted by the bishops (which really means the Vatican -- see above).
In the accompanying letter of instruction to the world's bishops (which is longer than the document itself), Pope Bergoglio slams down his dictatorial hand even harder! This Motu Proprio, he says, was necessitated by the bishops' responses to a skewed 2020 questionnaire that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent out. He doesn't give any details of what the bishops said, but obviously it didn't conform to the Bergoglio's New Age/New World Order/ agenda.
He goes on to blame traditional Catholic priests and laymen for using the Latin Mass "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." In other words, those who want the TLM are nothing more or less than a bunch of narrow-minded schismatics -- the same charge leveled against Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the SSPX.
In effect, Francis has hit the reset button. He orders the Church to return to "a unitary form" of celebration. But he doesn't mean the united form of the Mass of All Time, the Roman Mass of Saints Peter and Paul, the Fathers and Popes of the Church, canonized by Pope St Pius V. He means the quasi-Protestant New Mass, the validity of which is questioned by more and more faithful Catholics, as more is learned about how the New Mass was inflicted on us by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II.
Does Pope Bergoglio really think he can get away with this? Does he think he can, with the stroke of a pen, obliterate the memory of and devotion to the Mass of All Time, which faithful Catholics have handed won for sixteen centuries? Does he think he can put the genie -- the demand for a return to the Traditional Latin Mass -- back in the bottle?
Popes can say and write what they like, but unless they declare their utterances to be dogma, to be matters of Faith, Catholics may follow their precepts... or not! I predict that Traditionis Custodes will be honoured as much in the breach as in the observance. And when Jorge Bergoglio has shuffled off this mortal coil, his successor may very well abrogate this latest diktat, just as Francis now purports to abrogate Summorum Pontificium. Please, God, let it be so.
Enough from me. Here are the thoughts of Dr Taylor Marshall.
Further viewing: "Did Pope Francis Just Ban the Latin Mass? Reaction to 'Traditionis Custodes'" - Dr. Peter Kwasniewksi and Cameron O'Hearn discuss what this "ecclesiastical atom bomb", this "historical slap in the face", means for the future of the Traditional Latin Mass and the future of Holy Mother Church.
* Footnote: Pope Benedict XVI is still alive, as far as we know. Some believe that his purported resignation is invalid, and that the election of Jorge Bergoglio as Pope is therefore canonically illegal and invalid. In other words, Pope Francis is not the Pope! Others say that's right, because a real pope wouldn't, couldn't say and do the things that Francis says and does. QED.
