Well, by critical acclaim and positive feedback as of late, I, yours truly, the infamous Okie Traditionalist blogger, am decidedly back to blogging. All for the greater Glory of God.
So regarding the new Motu Proprio on the Latin Mass, frank commentators are calling out the Elephant in the Room, what this draconian (truth be told, invalid) law is really all about.
Francis-Bergoglio is clamping down on traditionalists in all camps for inherently opposing on some level Vatican II and the New Mass. That is, the Conciliar Reform Revolution. He knows we have opted out on what he considers the True, Mandatory Version of Catholicism of the 21st Century. His clearly written aim is to bring us all to the reformed 1970 missal and post-conciliar changes.
However, consider this. When you attend the TLM long enough, when you immerse yourself in the life of Pre-Vatican II Catholicism long enough, you know we are clearly dealing with two different versions of the Catholic Mass and Catholic Faith.
You cannot help but see that one way represents the True Religion, and the other way a false religion.
We have a right and duty to be angry about this. To not be angry when the pope issues a universal dictate to effectively end the Traditional Catholic, Latin Mass resistance movement, would be to commit a sin.
The sin of Quietism comes to mind.
When a nuclear bomb is dropped on you, that is not the moment for quiet, passive reflection and happy thoughts about the future, but rather a kind of call to arms--spiritually--a time to stand up publicly and declare "Okay, we accept Francis-Church's declaration of war!" We are ready to fight and be persecuted on all fronts, in defense of God and His Church.
Truth be told, this crux of the matter--the problem of accepting the Council/Liturgical reform--has become ever more obvious to the old, modernist Francis-Church bureaucrats in the Vatican, gathered around Bergoglio, who detect from online Catholic blogs that many, many Catholics now, both young and old, laity and priests alike (and some bishops)--since Summorum Pontificum was released in 2007-- now question the wisdom and certain texts of Vatican II and the Liturgical Revolution.
Summorum Pontificum ultimately did not result in what the modernists wanted--an SSPX regularization based on a TOTAL acceptance of the Council/New Mass. So now is time to reverse that experiment, and bring down the hammer on traditionalists once and for all.
Truth be told, Summorum Pontificum backfired on the modernist plan. What we have now is a global movement of traditional Catholics--now also within the approved structures--who now see the counter-revolutionary fight of Archbishop Lefebvre as vindicated and justified.
And something to be continued on several fronts.
And to a large extent, the Catholic blogosphere/internet world, despite its obvious underbelly, has brought Catholic Tradition, the Latin Mass, and the Catholic Counter-Revolution into people's homes, minds, and hearts.
And by extension into the pew, parish hall, and the church parking lot.
Pope Benedict predicted this kind of situation in his book Salt of the Earth. He predicted that in a sense, those professed Catholics who truly believe the Catholic Faith, and live it, will be reduced to a small, "remnant Church" within the boundaries of the institutional Church.
Now is not the time for a Pollyanna false optimism, predicting that the Bishops as a whole will mostly resist Francis on the motu proprio, that all will be well, that the Latin Mass will continue as we have it in our dioceses. That if they aren't re-approved, you can just drive, however far, to the nearest SSPX chapel.
Let's get real.
Look at what Bishop Taylor did two days after the motu proprio was released in the Diocese of Little Rock just east of me--he ended two Latin Mass groups in parochial churches that had both existed for nearly 20 years, both I have personally attended, not to mention a third. Look at the Nazi-like Shutdown in Costa Rica, the Philippines, Italy, etc.
Folks, recall that the majority of bishops basically turned a blind eye to implementing Summorum Pontificum when priests and laity tried to exercise their right to the Traditional Mass.
IF history repeats itself--and if one thing we know from history itself to be true, history does in fact repeat itself--THEN we can expect MOST of those same bishops, through the vice of blind obedience, if not antipathy to the Mass of the Ages, to fall in line with what the Dictator Pope is commanding.
That would be, no Latin Masses in "parochial churches."
Either already existing ones, or new ones.
No more Latin Mass "groups," period.
A new FSSP parish in any diocese, for example, would be a "new group."
That would bring the Latin Mass Movement to a halt in many dioceses, if not the majority.
And, here is the elephant in the room:
Per the Motu Proprio, the Bishop is to determine that you, that all of you attending approved Latin Masses, give TOTAL acceptance to the legitimacy of Vatican II and the New Mass. It is not just a matter of signing a piece of paper, but conforming to VII/NO.
There are in fact already bishops distributing these questionnaires inquisition tests to Latin Mass attendees, per the new motu proprio.
The expected result would be many approved Latin Masses shut down simply on the grounds that too many congregants have reservations about certain aspects of VII and the New Mass, while admitting their validity.
As for myself, I will not sign anything that agrees to a TOTAL acceptance, come what may. I accept the Council/New Mass as valid, but something bad for the Church, to not be followed or conformed to. And, since the Vatican has not demonstrated HOW the novel teachings (5% of VII, by the way) on religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality, etc can be reconciled with Tradition (they can't), then it is dishonest for us to accept them as true, when they clearly contradict what the Church has always taught.
The Law of Non-Contradiction demands we cannot positively affirm these 5% of conciliar texts which clearly contradict Tradition, while also affirming the same Tradition.
When Popes and Councils have always said "1+1 = 2", and then suddenly after nearly 2000 years a new Pope/novel pastoral Council says in pastoral statements "1+1 = 3," it is dishonest to accept both as true based on blind obedience, a kind of ecclesiastical cognitive dissonance. Just so I can have Mass in Latin facing East.
No human being has a right to choose a false religion, as VII taught. Catholics have never been permitted by Church moral teaching, to actively participate in the heretical, illicit rites of heretics, as VII allows. The college of bishops DO NOT have an equal authority to that of the Supreme Pontiff, also taught by VII, making the Church into a democracy instead of a monarchy as Christ established it. And, the Mass is primarily a Propitiatory Sacrifice to save souls, not mainly a narrative memorial sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, which the Canon of the Novus Ordo Missae clearly presents.
Those are errors we must reject. Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, priests, and theologians, for 50 years, have written volumes to explain this. If you don't care to take a little time to study what they teach, what the traditional doctrine actually is which is being contradicted, then going to the Latin Mass on its own does not make you a faithful, traditional Catholic.
That would make you at best a conservative Novus Ordo Catholic, who simply prefers smells and bells and parish life rallied around political conservatism. You may as well start a new parish under the bishop with a traditional-style Novus Ordo in Latin, conforming parish life to the conciliar and liturgical reform, if you really accept VII/NO as something good to be followed.
What the Bishops need to consider is, IF they side with the Dictator Pope, shut down diocesan TLMs "in parochial churches," forbid any future TLMs in "parochial churches," or any kind of new "Latin Mass groups," or if they should ever require us in writing to give a TOTAL acceptance of everything in VII/NO, in order to continue the TLM, then for many that may mean being unjustly forced outside of the parochial structure to start new, local, independent traditional Catholic communities. The kind that rose up in the 1970's and 1980's, that were often affiliated with the SSPX.
In fact one reader who wrote me last week in support, has already started an active private Latin Mass chapel, as a refuge for "cancelled priests." Their friend also started a private Chapel as well in another state, as a refuge for these ousted faithful priests. I predict we will see more like this going forward.
All praise be Jesus Christ.