Pope Francis Takes Back The Church From Traditionalists

Pope Francis released a Motu Proprio entitled TRADITIONIS CUSTODES ("Guardians of Tradition") (and accompanying letter) on July 16, 2021 which has, for all intents and purposes, nuked the Traditionalist movement within the Catholic Church. Pope Francis has identified a cancer in the Church and he is taking drastic measures to excise it.

Pope Francis has completely abrogated Summorum Pontificum released by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, as can be seen in the above quote.  SP established two forms of the Mass:  Ordinary Form (the Mass promulgated by Pope St. Paul VI in 1970) and Extraordinary Form (given to the Church by Pope St. Pius X at the time of the Reformation and revised by Pope St. John XXIII in 1962).  Pope Francis has now decreed that there in only one form of the Mass.  The Traditional Latin Mass is no longer considered a form of the Roman Rite: 

Art. I. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

SP also gave total freedom to anyone who wished to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass anywhere, anytime.  Now, all priests must obtain permission of their bishop to celebrate, and newly ordained priests from this point on must go to their bishop who then must obtain permission from the Apostolic See:

Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.

Art. 5. Priests who already celebrate according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 should request from the diocesan Bishop the authorization to continue to enjoy this faculty.

Pope Francis has now decreed that Traditional groups within a diocese will first be investigated by the bishop to ensure that they do not deny any of the teachings of the Church, specifically Vatican II, and that they recognize the authority of the Magesterium.  These groups will no longer be permitted to use diocesan parishes.  The bishop will designate a place to celebrate the TLM, but not in a parochial parish.  Further, the bishops will determine the days on which the Mass may be celebrated and a priest will be appointed to oversee and supervise them to ensure they are properly caring for the faithful.  

Lastly, along with no new Traditional parishes, no new Traditional groups will be allowed to form:

Art. 3. The bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970:

§ 1. is to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs;

§ 2. is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes);

§ 3. to establish at the designated locations the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962. In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences;

§ 4. to appoint a priest who, as delegate of the bishop, is entrusted with these celebrations and with the pastoral care of these groups of the faithful. This priest should be suited for this responsibility, skilled in the use of the Missale Romanum antecedent to the reform of 1970, possess a knowledge of the Latin language sufficient for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts, and be animated by a lively pastoral charity and by a sense of ecclesial communion. This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful;

§ 5. to proceed suitably to verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them;

§ 6. to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.

Consecrated groups such as Institute of Christ the King and Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will now be under the authority of The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.  

Pope Francis has made it clear that the eventual goal is to bring the Traditionalists into celebrating the  Roman Rite as the rest of the Church does, as the Holy Father writes in the Letter to the Bishops:

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. This unity I intend to re-establish throughout the Church of the Roman Rite.  

"A single and identical prayer."  Pope Francis could not make his intentions any clearer. 

Pope Francis knows he is in a war with the Trads.  They are the ones who declared this war decades ago. Popes since then have tried to appease them, with the view that if they get their Latin Mass, they will be happy and live in peace with the rest of the Church.  But they have proven that appeasing them only gives them more fuel with which to fight and divide the Church.  

Pope Francis sees clearly what he is up against, and he realizes how dangerous the Trads are to the unity of the Church.

Trads do not just worship AT the Latin Mass.  They worship the Latin Mass itself as almost a god.  Many say they returned or joined the Church after attending a Latin Mass, claiming the TLM gave them their faith.  They look at the Latin Mass as the savior of not only the Church, but the entire world.  They view the "Novus Ordo" Mass with scorn and contempt, seeing it as a total heresy, not even a real Mass,  and most will not attend a "Novus Ordo" Mass.    

Following the implementation of the 2007 Motu Proprio, the Trads, doing their thing with almost no supervision on the part of the Church, became more and more rebellious and antagonistic towards anyone who disagreed with them.  They have fought any and all reforms and changes in the Church.  They see mercy, such as shown towards homosexuals or divorced and remarried, as heresy.  There is little doubt they would condemn Our Lord for pardoning the woman taken in the act of adultery,

They were and are convinced of their own righteousness and view anyone who disagrees with them as an avowed enemy, including, and most especially, Pope Francis.  They have called for Pope Francis to be condemned as a heretic on more than one occasion.  

One example of the hate and vitriol emanating from the Trads can be seen in this video from Michael Matt of The Remnant, where he tells Pope Francis, "Get The Hell Out of our Church":

The Trads have been at war with the Church since Vatican II.   They went into high gear at the implementation of the New Mass in 1970.  We have seen many schismatics and sedevacantists, all Traditionalists, break off from the Church in the intervening decades, the most high profile being Archbishop LeFebvre and the SSPX.  LeFebvre was excommunicated when he deliberately disobeyed Pope John Paul II and ordained four bishops in the SSPX.  LeFebvre died in a state of excommunication.  

LeFebvre is a hero among the Trads. So also is Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, who called for Pope Francis' resignation in 2018.  Vigano has been in hiding since then, but occasionally surfaces to call out the Pope or support Donald Trump.  Trads hang on every word he says, never questioning anything that comes out of his mouth.  Of course, the Trads criticize and condemn every word that comes from Pope Francis.  

I speak not as one observing them from the outside.  I was a Rad Trad for seven years, in complete agreement with them.  I looked down my nose at the "Novus Ordo" Mass.  I condemned bishops for being heretics.  I looked at mainstream Catholics as barely Catholic, if at all.  

As the years went on, I became more and more aware of the hate that was generated among the Trads and that I had been infected with it, and I separated from them.

Sadly, I have not regretted my decision.  The more I have seen of the Trads, the more I realize how dangerous they are.  Our Lord said we would know them by their fruits.  The fruits of Traditionalism, are division, disunity and hate.  Trads feel they are the only real Catholics, that this is their Church, and everyone who does not agree with that should leave.  And of course, they especially want to get rid of Pope Francis.  

From Pope Francis:

A final reason for my decision is this: ever more plain in the words and attitudes of many is the close connection between the choice of celebrations according to the liturgical books prior to Vatican Council II and the rejection of the Church and her institutions in the name of what is called the “true Church.” One is dealing here with comportment that contradicts communion and nurtures the divisive tendency — “I belong to Paul; I belong instead to Apollo; I belong to Cephas; I belong to Christ” — against which the Apostle Paul so vigorously reacted. 

In defense of the unity of the Body of Christ, I am constrained to revoke the faculty granted by my Predecessors. The distorted use that has been made of this faculty is contrary to the intentions that led to granting the freedom to celebrate the Mass with the Missale Romanum of 1962. Because “liturgical celebrations are not private actions, but celebrations of the Church, which is the sacrament of unity”, they must be carried out in communion with the Church. 

Vatican Council II, while it reaffirmed the external bonds of incorporation in the Church — the profession of faith, the sacraments, of communion — affirmed with St. Augustine that to remain in the Church not only “with the body” but also “with the heart” is a condition for salvation.

If the Trads could see beyond their hate, they would tremble at the words of Pope Francis: "to remain in the Church not only 'with the body' but also 'with the heart' is a condition for salvation."  Pope Francis is warning the Trads that they are playing with their eternal salvation.  They could lose it all in their hubris.  But their anger and hate is blinding them to everything.

No one is scarier than one who is convinced he has God is on his side.  The Traditionalists will not go quietly into the night.  They will continue to fight and will throw everything they have at Pope Francis and all who oppose them.  This will be a terrible chapter in the history of the Church.  Please pray for Pope Francis.