Traditionalists: The Greatest Cafeteria Catholics of All Time

Traditionalists are always accusing the rest of the Catholic world of picking and choosing what they want to believe and throwing out the rest.  Certainly that is true for a certain number of Catholics.  Pope Francis himself has warned us of this trap, saying that such people have one foot out the door.  

But no "Novus Ordo" Catholic can hold a candle to the Traditionalists when it comes to picking and choosing what they will believe.  Traditionalists by nature reject everything that doesn't meet their own exacting standards, and that includes almost everything in the Church post-Vatican II.  

They reject the Second Vatican Council pretty much in its entirety, believing that even if there were good things from the Council, the good is far outweighed by the bad and therefore everything must be rejected. 

Traditionalists believe no one can be truly Catholic unless they love and attend the Traditional Latin Mass.  

They have rejected every post conciliar pope to one extent or another, and of course, they have completely rejected Pope Francis as a heretic who needs to be condemned and removed from the papacy.  

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.

The Face of Schism - Michael Matt to Pope Francis: Get the Hell Out Of Our Church

Above is a clip from a video put out by Michael Matt from Remnant Newspaper in which he denounces the Amazon Synod and as you can see from this clip, he completely renounces and rejects Pope Francis, actually demanding that Pope Francis "get the hell out of our church." 

The above video is an active act of schism according to Canon Law 751:

Can. 751 Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.

Neither Michael Matt nor any other person on earth has the authority to push the Pope out of the Catholic Church.  The Church is founded on the Pope.  Jesus Christ said specifically to Peter, and to Peter alone:

And I tell you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Mat. 16:18-19

Pushing the pope out of the Church is like destroying the foundation of a building in order to make it stronger.  The only result you will get is the complete destruction of the building.

Peter is the earthly foundation of the Catholic Church.  If a Catholic separates himself from Peter, he is no longer a part of the Catholic Church.  If you do not recognize Peter as the earthly head of the Church, then you are not Catholic.  If you're not with Peter, you're not with the Church.  Where Peter is, there is the Church.

To quote St. Cyprian:

How can anyone think he keeps the faith, if he breaks the unity of the Church? The blessed Apostle Paul teaches the same sacrament of unity: “There is one body and one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God? ” [Eph. 4:4] Do they who fight and resist the Church believe that they are in the Church?

And from St. Jerome:

I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark of Noah will perish when the flood prevails

Many rad trads try to get around this problem of rejecting the Pope by claiming Pope Francis is not legitimate.  Michael Matt can't use this pathetic excuse for his actions.  He doesn't make even a pretense that he doesn't recognize Pope Francis as the legitimate Vicar of Christ.  Matt actually calls Pope Francis by the title, "Holy Father" as he denounces him.

From the video:

We say to you, Holy Father . . . for God's sake, pack up your pagan goodies, and you and your globalist pals, get the literal hell out of our church. Because we've had enough.

By standing in open defiance and opposition to the Vicar of Christ, Michael Matt, and anyone who stands with him, is in a state of schism and automatic excommunication according to both Canon Law and Matthew 16:18-19. If Michael Matt and his "pals" do not repent, they will be damned to the fires of hell for all eternity.

It is that serious.

Catholic Traditionalism: The Most Dangerous Movement In Our Time

My last post was way back in February.  I had gotten tired of all the viciousness and hate in the "catholic" blogosphere, and I didn't want to be a part of it anymore.  I felt it was a waste of time to fight those who are trying so hard to "save" the Catholic Church by trying to destroy it.  They listen only to each other and ferociously attack anyone who disagrees with them.

Jesus Christ told us to walk away from such people, shaking the dust off of our feet as we do so.  And that is just what I did.

During these past several months, I have been tempted to write on various topics, but I would always let it go.  However, I recently saw a post on onepeterfive.com which has all the hallmarks of being inspired by Satan himself, and I can no longer be silent.

Hurrah for Msgr. Charles Pope!

I have disagreed with Msgr. Charles Pope more than once.  He is a traditionalist with traditionalist points of view.  Father John Zuhlsdorf has praised him on many occasions and called him "friend", which is always a bad sign.

However, there are no words of praise from Zuhlsdorf for his "friend" this time.  Msgr. Pope has shown tremendous courage and integrity with a post regarding Pope Francis' change to the Church's teaching on capital punishment.  The post, entitled "Let’s Be Careful in Our Charges Regarding the New Wording of the Catechism on the Death Penalty", is a logical, cogent argument against all the charges made by conservatives and traditionalists proclaiming Pope Francis to be a heretic for changing the catechism regarding capital punishment.  Please read his entire post.

Part IV: The Papal Posse/Papal Hanging Mob Attacks Pope Francis

This is the fourth in a series of posts in which I am doing an in depth analysis of the April 12, 2018 broadcast of EWTN's World Over broadcast, specifically the "Papal Posse" discussion of Gaudete Et Exsultate , the Apostolic Exhortation released on March 19, 2018. I have renamed the "Papal Posse", which consists of Raymond Arroyo, Robert Royal and Fr. Gerald Murray, as the "Papal Hanging Mob" because the whole purpose of their "discussion" is to attack and tear down Pope Francis. You can read my first three posts HERE, HERE  and HERE. 

As I have shown in my previous posts, the Papal Hanging Mob has attacked Pope Francis with partial and inaccurate quotes from the Apostolic Exhortation and made completely false accusations against him. Although they say they love and support Pope Francis, the Papal Hanging Mob has shown nothing but disdain, coming just short of accusing the Holy Father of trying to destroy the Church. Their "discussion" is truly shameful.

Papal Posse a/k/a Papal Hanging Mob Once Again Slanders Pope Francis

We are told there are very few things that are sure in this life.  The old joke is that we can only be certain of death and taxes.

But now we can add something else to the list of certainties in life.  It is 100% guaranteed that every time Pope Francis speaks and most especially, every time he gives us a papal document, the Catholic trads/conservatives will be there to condemn the Holy Father.

The latest round of virtual papal lynching has been triggered by the release of the Apostolic Exhortation, GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE, "A Call To Holiness." One so-called Catholic website/blog after another has agreed that while there may be good parts in it, it is really just another attempt on the part of Pope Francis to condemn his critics. Gaudete Et Excultate is like a nice, juicy steak laced with arsenic, and should be treated as such.

Raymond Arroyo

The Failure of the Traditional Latin Mass

When Pope Benedict XVI made the Traditional Latin Mass freely available through Summorum Pontificum in 2007, we were told by the traditionalists that this would revitalize the Church. The Novus Ordo Mass almost destroyed the Church, but the Traditional Latin Mass will save her. The TLM will draw people like a magnet. Churches will once again fill up, people will return to the Sacraments. The future is with the Traditional Latin Mass. Save the Liturgy, Save the World. Right?

It has now been almost 11 years since the implementation of Summorum Pontificum, the Motu Proprio that allows the TLM to be celebrated at any time. Below is a chart showing the growth of the TLM in the USA through 2015. As the chart says, 92% of US dioceses have at least one TLM every week:

Father James Martin Supports Catholic Teaching: Father John Zuhlsdorf Attacks Him

The traditional/conservative Catholic blogosphere have been unrelenting in their condemnation of Father James Martin. They have attacked him over and over again because of his compassionate stance towards gay people. Father Martin has been preaching that, in accordance with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we should treat gay people with respect and dignity. The blogosphere has accused Father Martin of heresy and teaching against Church doctrine.

People like Father John Zuhlsdorf have pressured organizations to reject Father Martin and cancel his appearances. A particularly pointed attack by Father Zuhlsdorf against Father Martin resulted in the cancellation of one of Father Martin's appearances. The post is entitled, "Should a seminary headline a homosexualist activist as a speaker?" Father Z was sparing in his words, but the fact that he would label a fellow priest in good standing as a "homosexualist" is truly unconscionable. 

Father Z later protested [HERE] that he "did NOT campaign for anything. I didn’t ask anyone to call TC. I asked some questions. Period." Oh give me a break, Father Z. Just "asking some questions" was your campaign. You are not fooling anyone except yourself and your willingly blind followers.  In that post, Father Z quoted from an article by Father Martin in which Father Martin discussed the attacks against him. Father Z made his usual sarcastic comments [Z comments in red]:

So I share with you as much as I can in the interests of transparency, which we need in our church. And to show you the outsize influence of social media sites motivated by fear, hatred and homophobia.  [Rubbish.  He is a public figure.  He defends even homosexual acts, not just homosexuals as human beings.  He is, right now, a lightning rod.]

So we have Father Z accusing Father James Martin of defending "even homosexual acts, not just homosexuals as human beings." Father Martin has said repeatedly that right now all he is trying to do is lead the Church in treating the gay community with love, respect and dignity, as we should treat all people. Father Martin has repeatedly said that we can't even begin to come together until we learn respect for one another. Father Z seems unwilling to learn this lesson.

Well, Father Martin has finally bowed to the pressure from the Catholic blogosphere, and has published his defense of Catholic teaching. Yes, you read that right - Father James Martin has published a defense of Catholic teaching. You can read his article HERE. These are some of the main points in the article.

The Ongoing Story of Catholic Traditionalist Hypocrisy

The conservative/traditional Catholic blogosphere has devoted massive amounts of cyber ink to condemning homosexuality,  especially whenever it is found in the Catholic Church.  They also have no use for anyone who shows the least compassion for those who struggle with same sex attraction, as witnessed by their unrelenting attacks upon Father James Martin.

Msgr. Charles Pope: Love Without Kindness?

As I have written many times on this blog, the great division in the Church is between the law-and-order traditionalists, who believe that showing people their sins and judging them is the most important duty of the Church, and Pope Francis, who believes that the true mission of the church is bringing people to salvation in Christ by preaching the mercy and love of Our Lord without condemnation.  Pope Francis believes Our Lord's statement as recorded in John 3:17:  "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." The traditionalists, by their words and actions, have shown that they reject this teaching.  They believe their job is to condemn the world, and that this condemnation will somehow save the world.

This attitude was shown clearly in a recent post by Msgr. Charles Pope, a traditionalist who has often criticized Pope Francis and other members of the Church hierarchy.  In his recent post, Msgr. Pope tells us that "Kindness Is Not Love."

Filial Correction: The Traditionalists Could Not Be More Wrong

There is a definite war between the conservative, traditional factions of the Catholic Church and the Church's Magesterium.  This has never been made more clear than in the Filial Correction signed by a growing number of traditionalists.  And yes, they are all hardcore traditionalists.

The signatories to this document include such hardcore radical traditionalists as:

• Dr. John Rao (history professor) who has completly denounced Vatican II and the *Novus Ordo* Mass; 
• Chris Ferrara (lawyer, secular not canon) who makes his living bashing the contemporary Church and publicly denouncing Pope Francis; 
• Bishop Bernard Fellay, the head of the SSPX, a group that refuses to recognize the validity of Vatican II and the *Novus Ordo" Mass; 
• Roberto de Mattei, an Italian journalist who has been described as "a renowned apologist for ultra-traditional Catholicism"
• Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society;
• Deacon Nick Donnelly, whose blog was shut down by the bishop of his diocese of Lancaster, England.  Deacon Donnelly now contributes to OnePeterFive, a radical traditionalist blog which is in constant conflict with the message of Pope Francis;
• Father Claude Barthe, a radical traditionalist priest and foe of the Second Vatican Council.

Father John Zuhlsdorf Again Proves He Is A Danger To The Faithful

Last year I reported that Father John Zuhlsdorf banned me from his blog.  I wasn't banned from just being able to comment.  He actually banned me from even viewing his blog.  When I would try to call up his blog on my home IP address, all I got was the following:

The reason he banned me was because I dared to disagree with a post he wrote in which he said the Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form of the Mass were not two separate forms, as the Church declares them to be, but are actually two separate rites.  When I tried to correct him and pointed out that Pope Benedict had plainly written in his letter to the bishops that "[i]t is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were 'two Rites'.   Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite", Father Z had a "spittle flecked nutty", called me nasty and banned me.  And he not only banned my home IP address, he also banned my work IP address.

A couple of months ago, for some unknown reason, he lifted the ban on my home so that I can now view his blog (I'm not about to try to comment), but my work IP address is still banned.

I occasionally check in on his blog, but for the most part I cannot stomach his ultra right views either theologically or politically.   Just as he attacked me for daring to disagree with him, he attacks anyone with whom he does not agree.  I find his style very combative and in your face.

Pope Francis and Sharing the Eucharist with Non-Catholics: A Lesson in Evangelization

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It seems hardly a day goes by that the Catholic blogosphere is not in an uproar over some statement or action by someone whom they feel is threatening to destroy the Church. The offender is more than likely a member of the Church hierarchy - priest, bishop, cardinal. Of course the ranting and raving really starts when the guilty party is Pope Francis. A standard prayer of Catholic bloggers seems to be that Pope Francis be permanently silenced - not that they wish him any harm!

One of the latest items of contention is the Holy Father's answer to a Lutheran woman married to a Catholic. The question, as translated by Edward Pentin from Italian into English, was as follows:

My name is Anke de Bernardinis and, like many people in our community, I'm married to an Italian, who is a Roman Catholic Christian. We’ve lived happily together for many years, sharing joys and sorrows. And so we greatly regret being divided in faith and not being able to participate in the Lord's Supper together. What can we do to achieve, finally, communion on this point?

Before I get to the "offensive" response by Pope Francis, it is important to take a closer look at this question.  Here is a Lutheran woman who has been happily married to a Catholic man for many years.  As she relates, it is a great sadness to her and her husband that they do not share the same faith, and more specifically, that they cannot participate in the "Lord's Supper" together.  She is asking the earthly head of the Catholic Church how they can achieve this unity.

Nearly every Catholic blogger has said the answer is simple: become a Catholic! And certainly that is true. But look again at the question. The woman has been married to a Catholic for many years. We can safely assume that she and her husband have discussed this division between them, and her husband, and many others no doubt, told her that only members in good standing in the Church can participate in the Sacraments. But she has not, as far as we can tell, made any moves to become Catholic. The fact that she is talking with the Pope and asking him questions shows that she has respect for the Catholic Church. But up this point, that has not been enough to give her the courage to walk away from her own faith and become a Catholic. She wants to know how she and her husband get over this seemingly insurmountable barrier between them.

Pope Francis obviously took all of this into account when he answered her. His goal - as should be the goal of all of us - is to bring people into the church, not set up roadblocks that will keep them out. The Holy Father could have taken the easy way out and given the technically correct answer that she had no doubt heard many times before. Pope Francis wanted to do something that would make her take that step she has feared for so many years:  to think outside her own personal box and to approach the problem in a different way, since obviously what she has been doing has not been working.

Responding to a Traditionalist

This post is in response to Jayne, a traditionalist who has commented that I am not being fair to traditionalists by painting them all with the same brush.  We have gone back and forth on a prior post [HERE].  I was ready to end our debate, but Jayne wants to continue, so here goes.  

Rebelling Against the Magesterium: Right or Wrong?

This post is in reply to Laramie Hirsch, who has written a post on his blog, "The Hirsch Files" in response to this blog. Laramie's post is entitled, "St. Catherine of Siena Does NOT Warn Traditionalist Catholics."

My debate with Laramie started when he read a couple of my blog posts. Laramie is a Catholic traditionalist who, not surprisingly, does not agree with my opinion that Catholics should not judge the Magesterium of the Church. Laramie has given very reasoned and well thought-out responses, not just hit-and-run attacks that I so often receive from traditionalists. He has given a very detailed response on his blog, and I direct the rest of this post to him.

Is Cardinal Burke Thumbing His Nose at Pope Francis?

"Yes, I am a fundamentalist," says Cardinal Burke

Source

As I recently blogged [HERE], one of the topics covered by Pope Francis in his speech before the Joint Session of Congress was the the dangers of fundamentalism. As the Holy Father stated, much of the conflict and violence in the world is the result of both political and religious fundamentalism:

All of us are quite aware of, and deeply worried by, the disturbing social and political situation of the world today. Our world is increasingly a place of violent conflict, hatred and brutal atrocities, committed even in the name of God and of religion. We know that no religion is immune from forms of individual delusion or ideological extremism. This means that we must be especially attentive to every type of fundamentalism, whether religious or of any other kind. 

A delicate balance is required to combat violence perpetrated in the name of a religion, an ideology or an economic system, while also safeguarding religious freedom, intellectual freedom and individual freedoms. But there is another temptation which we must especially guard against: the simplistic reductionism which sees only good or evil; or, if you will, the righteous and sinners.

Source

There's Something About Francis

Cover of New York Post

I recently received a comment from a Catholic who asked that I list some positive accomplishments of Pope Francis. It's kind of a surprising request as the majority of Catholics have a very positive opinion of Pope Francis. It is true that in the United States, his positive numbers have slipped slightly, as seen in the most recent poll released by Pew Research, HERE. According to the most recent poll, released on October 7, 2015,

Among the 97 Catholics interviewed who say they attend Mass at least once a week, 84% have a favorable view of Pope Francis – down since February, when fully 95% of regular Mass-attending Catholics expressed a favorable view of the pontiff. Mass-attending Catholics have not become significantly more likely to express unfavorable views of Pope Francis; rather, they are now more likely to say they have no opinion.

As seen in this poll, the vast majority of American Catholics have no problem with Pope Francis. But, of course, when it comes to Catholic traditionalists, most view Pope Francis as basically their enemy. That is not surprising because, like all good fundamentalists, they label anyone who does not share their views as a heretic. In the case of Catholic traditionalists, the litmus test is believing that the Traditional Latin Mass is the only thing that will save the Church and the world. According to traditionalists, if you don't believe that, you're most likely going to burn in hell.

The Rebellious Children of Israel and the Catholic Blogosphere: Two of a Kind

A fight scene from "Deadwood"
Source

I recently heard a priest describe the Catholic blogosphere as the Wild West where anything goes. Anyone who has watched "Deadwood" on HBO has a good idea of just how lawless and violent the Wild West was.  The Catholic blogosphere goes even further as their motto seems to be "Shoot first and don't bother to ask questions before or after you shoot."  A vast majority of Catholic blogs engage in cyber lynching on a regular basis.  And the saddest part is, they think they do God a service (John 16:2).

One thing I find amazing is the simplicity of thought among these bloggers.  They march in lock step with one another, all covering the exact same topics with the exact same point of view and opinion.  None of them seem to have an original thought.  They read each other's blogs and take their cues from one another.  They are all agreed on who the enemy is - Pope Francis, the bishops, the priests and any Catholic who does not fully and completely embrace the Traditional Latin Mass as the only REAL Mass.  Their comrades in arms are any bishop, priest or laity who rejects Vatican II and the "Novus Ordo" Mass and thinks the Traditional Latin Mass and Catholic Tradition in general is the savior of the Church.  

Father Z Rants: Defending Michael Voris, Bristling at Positive Pope Coverage, Lamenting the Synod

As I previously reported, Father John Zuhlsdorf - whom many view as a great Catholic priest and Internet evangelizer - has tried very hard to ban me from his ministry, going so far as to block my home IP address so that I cannot view his blog.  He has now extended that ban to my IP address at work where I occasionally viewed his blog.  He has made it quite clear that he has no concern for my soul or any other souls using my IP addresses.  I dared to disagree with him, and now I, and anyone else using the same IP addresses. can go to hell as far as he is concerned.

But. alas, much to the chagrin of Father Z, he cannot follow me around and block every IP address to which I have access.  As a result, I still have ways to access his blog and read his diatribes against the establishment Catholic Church.  And it has not been pretty.

First up is Father Z's defense of Michael Voris.  Yes, Father Z is defending the same Michael Voris who makes his living criticizing and condemning Catholic Church hierarchy.  In fact, Father Z feels that Voris "clearly loves the Church"!  It is interesting to note that Father Z bans me - someone who consistently supports the hierarchy of the Catholic Church - and promotes Michael Voris, whose bishop prohibits him from even using the word "Catholic" to describe his organization.