Return to the Twilight Zone Part I: Traditionis Custodes and Its Accompanying Documents

Where have all the Catholics gone? Out the door to join the "nones."

I'm re-reading Traditionis Custodes (TC), the Motu Proprio that abrogated Summorum 
Pontificum and sent traditional Catholics to the reeducation camps. I'm also re-reading the papal letter that accompanied it as well as the Responsa ad Dubia (RaD). Why inflict that punishment on myself? Because it's important to understand and be able to discuss the impact of these documents on the faithful, particularly those who are seeking refuge in the SSPX. 

The longing for the TLM is not simply a "preference." It is a desire for the sacrifice of Abel, a sacrifice pleasing to God by offering the spotless lamb rather than the "fruit of the vine and the work of human hands." While the Novus Ordo (NO) is valid, its development was motivated by the desire to create a liturgy acceptable to Protestants in the false hope they would flock to the Church. It hasn't turned out that way. In fact, just the opposite. Countless Catholics went out the exit door and have not returned. In many ways that makes perfect sense. The NO inverted the Mass from a God-centered sacrifice with the priest leading the people and teaching them by word and example to a man-centered celebration where the people and the "presider" engage in a dialogue and a ritual meal. It's really that simple. 

What exactly, then, do these documents mean? How authoritative are they? Can the pope, who has often called himself the bishop of Rome, one among equals, act like a tyrant and compel all the bishops of the world to adopt his opinion about something as central to the faith as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass?

I think those are all valid questions to ask while studying the Apostolic Letter (Motu Proprio) and considering the opposing sensus fidelium of the faithful who are seeking refuge in the SSPX. It's unfathomable in my mind that so many bishops immediately caved, under a false obedience, to the unjust and uncharitable suppression of the Mass of the Ages that gave us so many saints, many of whom were martyred for continuing to embrace what Francis has abrogated.

The first thing I noticed as I re-immersed myself in the documents was this from TC :

Art. 2. It belongs to the diocesan bishop, as moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole liturgical life of the particular Church entrusted to him, to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese. Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese, according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See.

Hmm...that seems pretty clear. The Apostolic See can provide "guidelines," but it is the "exclusive competence" of the bishop "to regulate the liturgical celebrations."

But wait! The document then goes on to take the right "to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese" completely out of the hands of local bishops and give it to the "Apostolic See." Traditionis Custodes instructs the bishops:

• that the Epistle and Gospel readings of the traditional Latin Mass (TLM) must be recited in the vernacular rather than in Latin;

• that the liturgy can't be done in the parochial churches and that "no new parishes" may be erected (i.e., FSSP presumably or any other congregation that celebrates the TLM);

• All this is "to be observed in all its parts, anything else to the contrary notwithstanding, even if worthy of particular mention, and I establish that it be promulgated by way of publication in 'L’Osservatore Romano', entering immediately in force."

So much for the authority of the "diocesan bishop...to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese." The bishops are not even given the consideration of a little time to consider how to introduce the tyrannical decree to their dioceses. JUST DO IT!

The letter to the bishops of the world accompanying TC claimed that the survey of the bishops was the impetus for the pope's decision. That the Holy See (an ironic title these days) lied about the survey results has been amply demonstrated by Vatican journalist Diane Montagna. Here's a portion of the pope's letter that illustrates the spin put on the survey results which were never released. Releasing them would have put to the lie the interpretation reflected in this paragraph:

Responding to your requests [Release the results or don't expect the faithful to believe this!] I take the firm decision to abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions and customs that precede the present Motu proprio, and declare that the liturgical books promulgated by the saintly Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, constitute the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite. [Keep in mind that there are many rites in the Catholic Church. Have you ever been to a Byzantine Mass? How about a Melkite or a Maronite service? I'll pause here to offer the Melkite. You don't need to watch the entire service to see how different it is including the bells.

All of the dozens of various rites are Catholic and each is very different. The Church has always had great diversity in worship! So why must the TLM be suppressed?] I take comfort in this decision from the fact that, after the Council of Trent, St. Pius V also abrogated all the rites that could not claim a proven antiquity, establishing for the whole Latin Church a single Missale Romanum. [Is this true? Pius V standardized the missal. What he abrogated were novelties, particularly those creeping in because of the Protestant revolt.] For four centuries this Missale Romanum, promulgated by St. Pius V was thus the principal expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite, and functioned to maintain the unity of the Church. Without denying the dignity and grandeur of this Rite, the Bishops gathered in ecumenical council asked that it be reformed [The bishops did not ask for the Novus Ordo. It was put together after the Council by a committee that included a number of Protestants.]; their intention was that “the faithful would not assist as strangers and silent spectators in the mystery of faith, but, with a full understanding of the rites and prayers, would participate in the sacred action consciously, piously, and actively”. [28] [The faithful are actively involved in the TLM bringing and joining our personal offerings to the gifts on the altar. Silence does not make one a spectator any more than the string section of an orchestra become mere spectators when they are not playing.]  and St. Paul VI, recalling that the work of adaptation of the Roman Missal had already been initiated by Pius XII, declared that the revision of the Roman Missal, carried out in the light of ancient liturgical sources, had the goal of permitting the Church to raise up, in the variety of languages, “a single and identical prayer,” that expressed her unity. [29]This unity I intend to re-establish throughout the Church of the Roman Rite. [This is almost laughable. There are so many options in the Novus Ordo, from the penitential rite onwards, that it's possible that no two NO masses on the planet are the same. Throw in the ad libs and you have the equivalent of the Tower of Babel.]

Going back to the survey that supposedly demanded all this, Professor Brian McCall, editor of Catholic Family News, saw the leaked 2020 letter initiating the survey and wrote, in what now seems like a prophetic warning:

A common technique of revolutionary dictatorships is to gather data and then selectively use it to justify repression. It is therefore possible that this survey will be revealed to be a prelude to rescinding or severely restricting the legal guarantees of Summorum Pontificum. We know from public statements that Pope Francis bears no love for the Traditional Mass and the millions of laity and clergy attached to it. (Source)

Sure enough, the Vatican spin was that the bishops of the world asked for suppression of the TLM, a Mass that Pope Benedict said was never abrogated and, in fact, could not be! The letter reiterated the point that the bishops are in charge in their dioceses...but not really. Their job is to walk lockstep with the pope in whatever his latest whim proves to be.

So now we move from a questionable document which overthrows centuries of liturgical celebration and the letter accompanying it to the Responsa which is longer than the original document, about three times as long in fact. The RaD imposes a number of novelties not mentioned in TC to the point of being ridiculous. 

Visit tomorrow for Part II when we look at the Responsa ad Dubia, another document from the Twilight Zone.