Pope Benedict XVI Pope John Paul II St. Pope Pius V St. Pope Pius X
Who Are These Guys???
Why has The History Buff put these four fellas all in a row on this page? Just what do all four of these guys, three who are dead, have in common?? Any guesses? Going once, Going Twice?? They are ALL Vicars of Christ, aka. POPES. Yes, Popes. This particular issue concerning the Papacy and the Magesterium has become so much a dispute in traditionalist circles that for the past couple of years and in particular the past month has been a cause of much concern for this webmistress. What exactly does the traditionalist movement stand for anymore?? It seems that in the past couple of years, many in the "traditionalist" movement have done nothing but rant and rant against the Church as She is today. Is this honestly a "traditionalist" reaction? Is the requirement for being a traditionalist entail ranting against the Church, reading materials that also rant against the Church, and exhibiting an obnoxious and whiny attitude toward the Magesterium? This essay will attempt to answer some of these questions and hope to shed some light on them.
What is Traditionalism?
Traditionalism in its basic sense is the belief in all the teachings of Holy Mother Church as it has been taught by Our Lord, the Apostles, and the Magisterium for over 2,000 years. There is a certain set of dogmas that must be believed in order to be considered a Catholic in good standing. This is summed up in the Creed:
I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father; through Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. He was made flesh by the Holy Spirit from the Virgin Mary, and was made man. He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; suffered, and was buried. On the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father and the Son. Who, with the Father and the Son, is adored and glorified: Who has spoken through the Prophets. And I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. I confess one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
Since Our Lord Jesus Christ founded His Church on Peter and with the Apostles, He insured that His Church would not fail in spite of every assault on the Church. For 2,000+ years St Peter's successors, although not all of these were the best specimens of men, has ensured that the Church has remained strong. The teachings of the Church are still proclaimed. It is this unity of Faith that makes us Catholic. The heart of the Church is Our Lord Himself in the most Adorable Sacrament of the Altar: the Holy Eucharist. From the Heart of the Eucharist comes everything else that makes us Catholic: The Magisterium, the Sacraments, Our Lady, the Saints, sacramentals, and everything else. With this Truth in mind one must then come to the other essential part of being Catholic: the visible unity of the Church manifested in the person of the Successor of St. Peter, the Pope who is in union with all the Bishops, etc that makes up the Magisterium of the Church. This unity with the Successor of St. Peter is what truly separates the Church with the Orthodox churches and with other differences with the Anglicans and other protestants.
The second aspect of Traditionalism is the love for and the promotion of the 2,000+ year tradition of Holy Mother Church that is expressed in the Tridentine Mass and sacraments, the liturgical tradition of Gregorian Chant and polyphony, traditional Catholic devotions, and disciplines. These traditions have as their primary purpose the worship and glorification of God. It is for this reason that I love the old traditions and the Tridentine Mass itself. The love and promotion of the older devotions, Mass and Sacraments is a good intention and should be fostered. However, there has been some difficulties over the past 40 years to uphold the perennial tradition of Holy Mother Church. It is this struggle that I will touch upon here.
Vatican II, the Novus Ordo Missae, and Its Aftermath
I would like to first say before I continue that Vatican II is not an invalid council nor is it really the source of the problems that have been prevalent in the Church today. The only criticism that could be made for the documents was the sometimes confusing language that was used. The documents did not call for a total questioning of Church dogma nor did it want to implement a total overhaul of the liturgical traditions of the Church. The guidelines introduced in Vatican II has not been completely implemented. Pope John Paul II had for many years clarified what Vatican II meant in his encyclicals. The Catechism of the Catholic Church which came out in the early 1990's also helped to clarify the documents. I am certain that Pope Benedict XVI will do the same.
Secondly, the Novus Ordo Missae which was implemented in 1970 is a valid form of the celebration of Mass. Sadly, it is the way it has been celebrated in most parishes that have led to many of the criticisms of it. Over the past 30 years, the Mass has been infected by many, many abuses ranging from invalid matter being used for the Holy Sacrifice to banal music, vestments, buildings, and the vessels that are used for Mass. In addition to the poor celebration of the Mass there is also the lack of teaching the Holy Faith to children and adults alike. All of these problems came out during the 1960's where many upheavals in social structure was taking place. The revolutions wrought in the 1960's are still harming the Church today. This is a point that just about everyone who is concerned about the Church can agree on. So, what are we supposed to do when the Mass is full of abuses and the teachings of Holy Mother Church are not proclaimed as they should be? Are we supposed to go with the flow by accepting heretical teaching? Are we supposed to leave the Church and go to a little po dunk chapel in the middle of nowhere where there is a so called "independent" priest who will celebrate Mass in complete Tridentine style? Are we supposed to join a questionable society whose bishops and priests are excommunicated and in spite of the constant dialogue between the Vatican and this questionable society, they still can't come to an agreement and instead continue to whine about the Church and disobey the Holy Father? Are we supposed to go further than this and proclaim that the problem is that there really isn't a Pope on the Chair of Peter and that the popes from Blessed Pope John XXIII to Pope Benedict XVI are all anti-popes?
The answer to all these questions is: NO. We are Catholics. Not Orthodox. Not Anglicans. Not protestants. The Church has stood for over 2,000 plus years! She has had to endure the Roman Empire, many heresies, bad and pathetic popes, bad and pathetic bishops, bad and pathetic priests. She has endured the protestant revolt in all its gory consequences. She is still here although She is being abused and battered. Look--Our Mother is bleeding, is swollen, is in pain. Her own children beat Her and Her enemies lie in wait for Her, hoping for Her death. We are Her children. Will we stand by and allow Holy Mother Church whom our Lord and King, Jesus Christ died for to be abused? Now, more than ever we must pray. Go before Our King and Lord in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Go to Holy Mass. Pray the Rosary, ask Our Lady, Mary Most Holy to intercede for us. Ask the saints to do the same. Now is not the time to give up. Now is not the time to despair, to leave Holy Mother Church. For some reason, I felt a renewed Call to Arms on the afternoon of April 19th, when Pope Benedict XVI appeared on the Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. Be hopeful. Our Lord is with us and so is Our Lady. Just trust in God.
Reaction from So-called "Traditionalist" Groups and some Disturbing Trends
There are a couple of websites whose main goal it seems to be to discredit the Church. These sites claim to be Catholic. They delight in claiming that this or that Pope has committing some heresy or another. Such sites like Traditio, True Catholic, Novus Ordo Watch, and others like it all have claimed that Pope Benedict XVI is not a real Pope and that he is a heretic. They have proven themselves to be no different from the protestants that they accuse the Church of becoming. I will not link them to my site which is why I don't give the site addresses. Their venom is dangerous. These sites claim that there hasn't been a validly elected Pope since Pope Pius XII. Its truly pathetic of them. They claim that they know truly what Catholic teaching is and that they can arrogantly identify who is a heretic and who isn't. It is true that one can tell this if in fact the person in question has rejected Catholic teaching. However, in the case of the Popes there has never been any Pope who has committed heresy in the time that they had sat on the Chair of St. Peter. This remains true today as it has been for 2,000 plus years. The unfortunate part of these sites is that they also love the Tridentine Mass and sacraments. They also have books and videos on what we have lost and the great facade. Look at any list of "traditionalist" books and most of them are rants against the Church. They give us who also love the older Mass and devotions a bad name. I am not a disloyal daughter of the Church nor will I go into one of these wacko groups who have a growing hatred of the Church.
Sadly, there are also other groups, who although claim that they acknowledge Pope Benedict XVI as the Pope, they don't listen to him or they think he, like his predecessor Pope John Paul II must be infected by modernist/heretical thinking. These are groups like the SSPX and to an extent the folks who run Catholic Family News and the Remnant. These groups are just as dangerous. Many of them are already excommunicated (as it is the case with the SSPX) and others might as well be. I can't read the Catholic Family News nor the Remnant for this reason. They are full of vitriol on the situation in the Church. Granted, there are definite problems to deal with but ranting against the Church isn't a solution. The most disturbing aspect of these groups in particular and other so-called "traditionalist" groups is the growing anti-Semitism. It seems that they have the conspiracy theory bug and claim that there is a Masonic/Jewish plot to take over the Church. Honestly, don't they know Church History? Don't they know that Our Lord, Our Lady, St. Peter, St. Paul, all the Apostles, etc were all Jewish? Don't they further know that the Mass has been adapted from ancient Jewish ritual? This growing hatred and paranoia on the part of some "traditionalist" groups is very disturbing. We have for the past 50-60 years been dealing with the problem of hatred of others since the world saw just how nasty and how evil one can be when they hate. People die. Millions die. Hasn't two World Wars, Vietnam, the Killing Fields, and basically the whole 20th century taught us anything? This isn't traditionalism. Anyone claiming to be a traditionalist and then spewing out hatred toward Jews, toward the Church, especially the Pope isn't a traditionalist.
I can definitely understand why so many Bishops and priests are leery of the Traditionalist movement and why it is that in several cases they have refused to allow a Tridentine Mass to be celebrated in their dioceses. It is sad really. I know that in the case of some of them, they just don't like the Mass which is also sad. But I do believe it is because of the sort of "traditionalists" out there who are not loyal to the Church. They claim that all they are offering is constructive criticism but it has gone beyond that to just sheer hatred of the Pope and the Magesterium. This is especially true on the site called "Novus Ordo Watch" which is run by a former friend of mine. It has been painful for me to see him go so low. The only thing I can do for him is pray.
Closing Thoughts
Many of these so-called traditionalists love quoting Pope St. Pius V and Pope St. Pius X among others. This is why I have placed them on this page. These groups have no problem believing that these two men are popes but they have a hard time believing that Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI are. Basically what this comes down to is a refusal to serve. They despaired in what they saw around them at their own parish and then left, going to a Tridentine Mass parish that is not in communion with the Church. As a result they too fell out of communion with the Church as well. This is Protestantism at its worst. They protested and left. Just as Luther, Calvin, and others did. This isn't what true traditionalism stands for. We true traditionalists are loyal to Holy Mother Church and loyal to the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. He needs our prayers, not our ranting and our complaining. These are some prayers for the Holy Father that are very good to pray:
V. Let us pray for Benedict XVI our Pope.
R. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]
Pray the Our Father and Hail Mary
O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict XVI, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, have mercy upon Thy servant Benedict XVI, our Supreme Pontiff, and direct him according to Thy loving kindness in the way of eternal salvation; that, of Thy gift, he may ever desire that which is pleasing unto Thee and may accomplish it with all his might. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
I have decided to link my own page on the Tridentine Mass on here. There are good links to sites that are traditionalist but are loyal to Holy Mother Church and the Holy Father: The Traditional (tridentine) Mass