THE POPE IS THE PASTOR OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH

A FREE TRANSLATION FROM THE FRENCH BLOG 'CREDIDIMUS-CARITATI'

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Lefebvre: The current Pope is the pastor of the universal Church

At the turn of the XIX ^th and XX ^th centuries, historians 

were wont to speak of "Two Frances." There was
 Catholic France, royalist and ultramontane on the 
one side and Republican France, anti-clerical and
 lay on the other. To say which of these two
 "Frances" we recognize is nota great mystery ...

It was for these authors to distinguish trends or rather 

the idea of movement, not to differentiate clearly defined 

structural entities. So, it would be absurd and it would

 even be a fallacy to suggest that the current president 

governs a country other than France under the pretext

 that it would be at the head of the secular France 
excluding the Catholic France.

To better help us in understanding the situation of 
the Church, Archbishop Lefebvre made a statement
 a very clear distinction between two tendencies in the Church: 
Eternal Rome, guardian of the Catholic faith on the one hand and the Rome
 of neo-modernist and neo-Protestant tendencies on the other. But we would 
use the same fallacy if it were found that distinction that the Pope is simply 
the leader of the conciliar Church,but not of the Catholic Church. 
It also leads to a situation where the Catholic Church would, in turn,
 be without a head. Which has a name: sedevacantism.

Several years after delivering his famous declaration of 1974, Archbishop Lefebvre, 
addressing his seminarians in Écône, criticized some misinterpreted words of his
 and reminded that the current pope, despite their deviations, are bishops of Rome,
 successors of Peter andpastors of the Catholic Church:

"I do not want to dramatize what is not dramatic, but I sometimes feel 
that there really is a way of interpreting things, even the things I tell myself
 here or things that are said by teachers or a Headmaster, in a way that is
 not always accurate, which is not always fair. God knows how many times
 I've had the opportunity to speak very clearly about what to think of the
 Pope, what to think of the Mass, assisting at the New Mass, how often 
I had the opportunity to talk about these things, but it seems that there 
is always some discussion of misunderstanding about these things. 
I know we are in a difficult, painful period. There is more authority, 
there is no government. The pope is not a heretic, but unfortunately
 lets heresy spread everywhere, by the favor given precisely

to this ecumenism and the atmosphere that makes you wonder 
if the faith in the Church, in the truth of the Catholic Church and
 the unity of the Catholic Church, is still entrenched in his mind
 and in his view. But, I do not think we can say that the Liberal
 popes we've had since Pope John XXIII are formal heretics. 
So I also think that we should always remember that it can not be
 any other pope than that on theseat of Peter, the Bishop of Rome. 
The Pope because he is the bishop of Rome. It is first bishop of Rome. 
Then, because he is the bishop of Rome, is the seat of Peter, he is the 
successor of Peter and then pastor of the universal Church. This is a 
very important fundamental for the Church. Even if the Pope would 
leave Rome one day, driven from Rome which was devastated by the enemy,
 well, he would still be the Bishop of Rome who is the successor of St. Peter,
 even in the diaspora, the same party, it is always that which is chosen
 by the Roman clergy, elected by the Roman clergy.

 And the Roman clergy, who are the Cardinals now, all of which have a title

 in Rome, as a parish. They are all priests of Rome. These are the priests 

of Rome who elected the Pope. Because he is the bishop of Rome he is pope. 

And that is why the Pope will always take solemn possession of the 

cathedral of his diocese, the Diocese of Rome in the Lateran,
 in a solemn manner. So we can not separate. "

(Conference seminarians of 10 January 1983)

THE EXECUTION OF ST JOHN FISHER SCENE FROM "THE TUDORS"

ST. JOHN FISHER, MARTYR [AD. 1535]
June 23
SYMBOL: CARDINAL'S HAT  

St. John Fisher was chancellor of Cambridge University and bishop of Rochester. In 1529, he opposed Henry VIII's divorce, but it was for his refusal to take the Oath of Supremacy-----by which Henry VIII placed himself at the head of the Church-----that he was beheaded, in 1535. With his friend Sir Thomas More, he was canonized four centuries later. 

Litany for the Church in Our Time

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, Divine Founder of the Church,
hear us.
Christ, Who didst warn of false prophets,
graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven,
have mercy on us.
 God, the Son, Redeemer of the World,
have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost,
have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
have mercy on us.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church, pray for us.
St. Michael, Defender in Battle, pray for us.
St. Peter, the Rock upon which Christ built His Church, pray for us.
St. Paul, Protector of the Faithful Remnant, pray for us.
St. Francis of Assist, Re-builder of the Church, pray for us.
St. Anthony, Hammer of Heretics, pray for us.
St. Pius V, Restorer of the beauty of the Sacred Liturgy, pray for us.
St. Pius X, Foe of Modernism, pray for us.
All ye Holy Angels and Archangels, pray that we may resist the snares of the Devil.
St. Catherine of Siena, pray that Christ's Vicar may oppose the spirit of the world.
St. John Fisher, pray that bishops may have the courage to combat heresy and irreverence.
St, Francis Xavier, pray that zeal for souls may be re-enkindled in the clergy.
St. Charles Borromeo, pray that seminaries may be protected from false teachings.
St. Vincent de Paul, pray that seminarians may return to a life of prayer and meditation.
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, pray that religious may rediscover their vocation of love and sacrifice.
St. Thomas More, pray that the laity may not succumb to the Great Apostasy.
St. Francis de Sales, pray that the Catholic press may again become a vehicle of Truth.
St. John Bosco, pray that our children may be protected from immoral and heretical instruction.
St. Pascal, pray that profound everence for the  Most Blessed Sacrament may be restored.
St. Dominic, pray that we may ever treasure the Holy Rosary.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God,
That we may be made worthy of the  promises of Christ.

Let Us Pray.
Jesus, our God, in these dark hours when Thy Mystical Body is undergoing its own Crucifixion, and when it would almost seem to be abandoned by God the Father, have mercy, we beg of Thee, on Thy suffering Church. Send down upon us the Divine Consoler, to enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills.

Thou, O Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived, have promised to be with Thy Church until the end of time. Give us a mighty Faith that we may not falter; help us to do Thy Holy Will always, especially during these hours of grief and uncertainty. May Thy Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate and Sorrowful Heart of Thy Holy Mother be our sure refuge in time and in eternity. Amen.

FORTNIGHT FOR FREEDOM FORTNIGHT4FREEDOM.ORG

CHRIST THE KING: 

THE SOLITARY 

SOURCE OF 

AUTHENTIC 

FREEDOM

As the August 1^st deadline for religious organizations to comply with the HHS mandate looms, Archbishop William Lori, Chairman of the USCCB’s Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, recently announced, for the second year in a row, “The Catholic bishops of the United States have called for a Fortnight for Freedom in the days leading up to the Fourth of July.”

His Excellency described the fourteen day observance as “a time when we as Catholics—people who believe in the Constitution and the freedoms guaranteed by it—can come together to pray, study, and prayerfully act in support of those freedoms, most especially the freedom of religion.”

With this in mind, please join me in respectfully proposing an alternative course of action constructed upon the solid foundation of Catholic tradition and the following unshakeable convictions:

• Our FAITH is placed not in the Constitution, but in Jesus Christ, Sovereign and Lord.

• Our HOPE for freedom is expressed not by reciting Constitutional precepts, but in teaching both individuals and States to observe all things whatsoever that Our Blessed Lord commanded.

• Our LOVE for God and country is made manifest not through acts of patriotic sentimentalism, but by proclaiming the Sovereign Rights of Christ the King to all, including those in civil authority, that they may come to heel under His sweet and saving yoke.

Please add your name, email address and diocese (none of which will be published) to the prayer pledge below. On the 5^th of July, we will forward the results to the USCCB – as a spiritual crown for Christ the King – making known our heartfelt desire for the sacred hierarchy to courageously call our civic leaders to account, not simply for their obligation to uphold the Constitution, but for the duty to honor and serve the Lord Jesus Christ to Whom all authority in heaven and on earth belongs.

What the Traditional Mass Did With Me

Father Dickson whose Blog 'Catholic Collar and Tie' I read on a regular basis writes on his experience with the traditional Mass:

FRIDAY, 21 JUNE 2013

What the Traditional Mass Did With Me

Having converted to the Faith some 33 years ago all I ever knew was theNovus Ordo. I had been well instructed, so I knew the Mass to be the Sacrifice of Calvary re-present-ed, and I knew the Holy Eucharist to be the Lord Himself, but I had never even heard of another form of Mass until a lady in our congregation asked me to go with her to a local hotel where the ‘old Low Mass’ was being celebrated in conjunction with the SSPX. It was certainly different and was more demanding: we were not led by the hand via constant dialogue. Not until I entered seminary did I discover the liturgy (and therefore the Mass) was used as a kind of flag-waving exercise (surely an odious attitude). I discovered it only having been allocated my ‘group’ (seminarians from each year being placed in ‘groups’ led by a faculty member). Each of these groups took it in turns to arrange and serve the liturgy for one week, some taking the opportunity to use Missa De Angelis; others to sing ditties. In this the liturgy became a kind of political focus rather than a purely spiritual event.

From first year onwards until my after ordination I was given the opportunity to work with the Day Pilgrim service in Lourdes. While there I saw the kind of ‘Youth Mass’ that was planned like a performance and which turned me off doing anything outside the rubrics. Of course I had to celebrate school Masses where they played pop songs or skits performed for the Gospel. I was never at ease with such things but thought that as a curate (assistant priest) I had no real say in what would be done. When I was appointed a Parish Priest (Pastor) for the first time some 12 years ago I ensured that we engaged the youngsters by having them introduce the Mass, proclaim the readings, lead the General Intercessions and provide the music. We kept mimes and pop music until Mass had ended or for paraliturgies.

Then, about ten years ago now, a priest friend asked me to celebrate his Traditional Mass while he was away on holiday. I worked hard over two weeks to study the rubrics (I still made mistakes the first few times) and discovered the Mass a-new. I was aware that this was the Rite known to St Dominic, St Francis, St Ignatius, St Alphonsus, St Gregory and to my favourite Popes, St Pius X and Pius XII. I suddenly felt a deep need to be personally holy in order to celebrate such a venerable Rite.

Now it is not that the Holy Sacrifice is less holy or requires less reverence in the Novus Ordo, but that I did not experience that requirement since it was celebrated it with folk-style music, laughter, applause etc. Beneath these the sense of the sacred seemed all but lost. We were trying to engage the people it is true, but we were doing so by mere activity rather than active contemplation (I thus became very uncomfortable with concelebrated Masses because I never knew with what I would be presented). A major awakening occurred for me when I came to celebrate the Traditional Rite: we weresinging the Mass, not singing at Mass, and it was not the kind of music I would hear on the radio. The chant had an altogether different, even ethereal quality, and was sung in a language that united all people in every land at every time in one common voice of praise. From its very opening, the Traditional Rite did not seem open to a loss of the sense of the sacred: I was, even before approaching the altar, asking God ‘who gives joy to my youth’ to send forth His light and His truth; I was encouraging myself:  ‘why groan within’; ‘hope in Him, my Saviour and my God’; I was asking Him ‘have mercy’, to ‘grant absolution and remission of our sin’. It occurred to me that in the Novus Ordo I approach the altar as if by right rather than by grace. It also occurred to me that I could ‘rest’ in the Traditional Rite -I no longer had to be careful of facial expressions or tone of voice, for I was facing the Lord and ‘whispering the sacred words into his ear’. I was learning here that I could not only reverence the Eucharist Itself, but the liturgy; the clothing with dressed and presented.

The most profound effect of learning the Traditional Rite was not that it brought me to offer every Mass well, which it did, but that knowing this was the Rite loved by the saints of the centuries, defended by the martyrs and hallowed by time, it seem to require me to seek a new depth of holiness which, though I daily fail, I yet strive to achieve by making gains in patience, humility, generosity, industry and courage.

JUNE 21 FEAST OF ST ALOYSIUS GONZAGA

Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

  June 21

1568-91

The oldest son of Marquis Ferrante of Castiglione, who was in the service of Philip II of Spain, he was born on March 9 at the family castle in Lombardy. He was destined for the military by his father, but early in his childhood decided on a religious life. He was sent to Florence to be educated in 1577, joined the court of the Duke of Mantua, who had appointed his father governor of Montserrat two years later, suffered a kidney attack that was to leave him with digestive trouble the rest of his life, and began to practice great austerities and to devote himself to religious practices and teaching catechism to the poor of Castiglione. While at the court of Prince Diego of the Asturias in Spain, he desired to enter the Jesuits, was refused permission by his father, and on their return to Italy in 1584 renewed his plea. He finally broke down his father, joined the Jesuits in Rome in 1585, and was sent to Milan to study. Because of his poor health he was recalled to Rome, made his vows in 1587, and when a plague struck the city in 1587, served in a hospital opened by the Jesuits.

Aloysius' health was so poor that he received Holy Viaticum and Extreme Unction on several occasions. It was revealed to him that he would pass on the Octave of Corpus Christi, and though he appeared much better in the days preceeding the Feast, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga did in fact turn and die on the Octave of Corpus Christi, June 21st, 1591.

He caught the plague while ministering to its victims and died after he received the last rites from St. Robert Bellarmine. Aloysius Gonzaga was canonized in 1726, was declared protector of young students by Pope Benedict XIII and patron of Catholic youth by Pope Pius XI. 

PRAYER TO COMMEND OURSELVES TO OUR LADY BY ST ALOYSIUS GONZAGA:

O holy Mary, my Mistress, into thy blessed trust and special blessing, into the bosom of thy tender mercy, this day, every day of my life and at the hour of my death, I commend my soul and body; to thee I entrust all my hopes and consolations, all my trials and miseries, my life and the end of my life, that through thy most holy intercession and thy merits, all my actions may be ordered and disposed according to thy will and that of thy divine Son. Amen.

AN OLD ARTICLE FROM SEATTLE CATHOLIC ON "MUTUAL ENRICHMENT" OF LITURGY...

Interview with Fr. Louis Demornex

Seattle Catholic (SC): Father Demornex, Traditional Catholics throughout the world first came to know of you in 2000 A.D., when you stopped saying the New Mass and returned to the Traditional Catholic Mass in your parishes. For those who are not familiar with the general circumstances, can you tell me something about your parish of Fontanaradina and the Diocese of Sessa Aurunca, Italy?

Fr. Louis Demornex (LD): My Diocese is situated between Rome and Naples, near Monte Cassino. It is a small Diocese of about 50 small towns and villages, about 55 parish priests and religious. Fontanaradina, which has about 170 inhabitants, is situated on the side of Monte Santa Croce, and has a beautiful view of the Tyrrhenian Sea. I came to the parish on October 24, 1978, because I wanted to live in solitude, silence and poverty. You know how the small villages of South Italy are: there were still livestock (sheep, goats, cows) living with people in the same house. Now it has all changed: all of them go to school and follow popular fashions; no more livestock, nor tilling of the earth; now they only cultivate fruit trees (olives, peaches, apples, and so on). The elderly still retain a traditional outlook, but the youth here are being shaped by national television with its consumerist advertising to live like those in the cities. The religious outlook of the youth is similarly changing.

As for the Mass, I must say that I never celebrated the New Rite according to the New Missal. Even if I said the Roman Canon in Italian, I always said the Tridentine offertory while the choir sang, because for me, it is not so much a question of language, but of content — so I think my Mass was valid, even if it was a kind of wrong, illicit creation of mine own.

About the year 1997, my Bishop ordered me to say the New Mass facing the people. Since from the beginning it was my intention was to stay with my congregation so as to teach them the Catechism of St. Pius X and continue to preach the Catholic faith pure and simple, I accepted and said Mass — my version of the Mass, facing the people. After two years (and then only on Sundays), I could no longer endure the position I had taken. I felt like I was spiritually suffocating, suffering from a kind of allergy, a total refusal of my inner being, a violent repulsion, to such a point that I told my bishop to do with me what he would, but I could not obey this directive anymore. He told me that obedience must be enthusiastic and joyful. I answered that I spent 13 million lira (about $7,000) of my own money to modify the churches and I thought it was true obedience.

So, after that experience, on the first Friday of February 2000, I began to say the Tridentine Mass because it was no longer possible for me to try to follow such a "Church" which changed every day and imposed with severity all its whims.

Then, in May 2000, my Bishop sent me a letter in which he accused me sowing a widespread discontent among the people of my parishes, by means of my personal approach to pastoral care. It was not true — but I had to leave my three parishes. At once, all young people started going about in cars, gathering signatures; they met the Bishop, and for a whole week they demanded that he make me return. A week later, I returned and all was quiet until September 2001.

Then the bishop sent a priest to ask me to stop offering the Tridentine Mass, because this Mass was forbidden and it would die with me. After two months, on December 2, 2001, the Bishop took the pastoral care of the parish of Fontanaradina from me, but strangely, even until now has left me Corigliano and Aulpi.

SC: What was your experience as a Pastor with the New Mass and the reforms of the Second Vatican Council; were they beneficial to your congregation?

LD: As I always celebrated "versus Deum" (except 1997-1999, on Sundays), with Gregorian chant, my congregation did not notice much change in parish life. They were satisfied that they could understand Mass and that I restored all traditions about processions and devotions. As for the Second Vatican Council, I must admit that I ignored it totally, as I saw in it an event without identity, and only a heap of confusion, anarchy and destruction. While its implementation continued to evolve more and more away from the Catholic Faith, I went on with the traditional practices of a parish priest.

SC: How is that you came to the decision to stop saying the New Mass and start saying the Traditional Latin Mass?

LD: When I saw that in spite of my efforts, I could no more agree with the "New Church" in its many continuous novelties and evolutions (e. g. imposition of the Holy Communion in the hand, against the wishes even of the many bishops who wanted liberty in this matter, Communion distributed by girls and women in spite of the fact that biblical and ecclesiastical tradition entirely forbid the liturgical action of women). In many places nowadays, the actual way of treating the Eucharist is a continuous sacrilege. It reminds me of abortion, and so I could not agree any more with this kind of Church.

SC: What was the response of your congregation to the Traditional Latin Mass?

LD: There was little reaction, as here in southern Italy, it is the custom to accept all the decisions of one's parish priest. Very few of them understood; others made comparisons with other parishes and accepted it. I can say that the same people attend the Traditional Mass as attended the "New."

SC: What was the response of your bishop, the Most Reverend Antonio Napoletano?

LD: He called me in during May of 2002 to give him an explanation of my decision. For two hours I expressed my point of view on the present so-called "conciliar Church": a demolition company, as it were, within the Catholic Church, like a cancer in a healthy body. At the end, as I told him that it was absolutely ridiculous that a Mass made by Popes was forbidden while a Mass made by a Vatican Commission, and afterwards "interpreted" by translators and modified by the parish priest and his staff of ignorant, materialist "unfaithful," could be compulsory. He told me he could not let me continue as a parish priest, but he would allow the traditional rite if enough people signed a request. I told him that two years before, 927 people signed a petition requesting that I return as pastor to say that Mass. Since this meeting, I have not received any response from my Bishop.

SC: How did your people respond to the Bishop's decision to send you away?

LD: At the end of my last Mass, I told them that the Bishop reproached me for fomenting a widespread discontent among them; I begged pardon for my incompetence and promised that in the afternoon I would leave the parishes. To my great amazement, they burst into tears, above all the young people; they ran into the sacristy to ask me what happened. After a short explanation they took their cars and started gathering signatures. To obey my Bishop, I had to leave my parishes, but only at about 10 p.m. that night. Throughout the day my people came to me to embrace me with so much weeping — even old people, coming from farms far out in the country side. I did not expect such manifestations. People made so much noise every day at the Bishop's palace, making continuous visits and protests, that after a week he told them that he did not decide to send me away. They phoned me to tell me the news, and the day after I returned.

SC: What sacrifices and blessings came about as a result of returning to Tradition in your parish?

LD: This is very difficult to answer. But I can remark that they trust me for what I represent. I myself found interior peace, joy, patience and a gentleness of one who is at least at rest because he has done God's will and has taken a firm stance in harmony with his priestly identity. And that kind of peace is so much appreciated by tormented souls living in this agitated world. Other priests told me I represent a kind of column and a symbol, so I must stay here. These are the fruits of the true Mass.

SC: Today you are the pastor of Corigliano and Aulpi, and their churches of San Lorenzo and San Antonino: do you attribute your reassignment to the TLM?

LD: I am rather mysteriously endured, and cannot explain to myself how it is that I am still alone among so many of my peers who have wholeheartedly embraced the "conciliar Church."

SC: What do you see as the principle obstacles, both objective and subjective, to pastors following your example in their own dioceses? And what advice or encouragement would you give them if they asked?

LD: There are many obstacles: obedience, formalism, sluggishness, cowardice, the love of quiet, careerism, the fear of loneliness, the lack of knowledge about the old rite, and, above all, that many priests do not see any problem nor the difference between the two rites and so they do not understand my position. According to them, I am an eccentric anachronism who exaggeratedly likes Latin and old things. They also think that the old rite is absolutely forbidden, that people do not understand Latin and so it is ridiculous to go on using it; that the Church went forward and made much progress, while people like me have remained behind.

We know a tree by its fruits. Together with the Mass, theology, exegesis and morals are in full and continuous evolution; the "conciliar Church" is a total confusion and impostiture of the Catholic Church. For these people the Roman Catholic Church is only a fragment of the "Catholic One," the Universal Church that will contain all religions, and this is the true aim of ecumenism. For them all is a human plan from which God and revelation are absent. For example: the Inquisition is no longer the guardian of Revealed Truth, but as the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith it has become an international centre of theological research, that is, a guide for the self-admitted official evolution of the Faith.

So, it is my intention to get far from this monstrous, artificial new construction and remain a faithful member of the Mystical Body of the Church which has remained the same throughout the centuries, begging from our Lord the grace and strength to serve the True Church and seek always the salvation of the souls. I think it is sufficient to look around us today to perceive the apostasy, the disorder, the fantasy, the sacrilege, the disobedience, and the anarchy the "conciliar Church" has brought about. Where are God and Truth in all this confusion? Doing what the Catholic Church has always done, we are assured of doing God's will, of walking in the right path.

The Traditional Latin Mass has held the Church upright for centuries in spite of the clergy, poor sinners then as well as now, and She shall endure. This Mass is the source of theology and morals, of the authentic spirituality of the Cross for the expiation of sins and of the authentic spirit of penance as an effective preparation to everlasting life. The abolition of this Mass has unleashed Satan on the earth and in the Church.

Anyone can choose his own way: the short paradise of conformism and its peace on earth, or the eternal Paradise of Heaven after a persecution on earth.

SC: The status of the Traditional Catholic Movement in Southern Italy is not well known in the English speaking world. Can you tell the readers of Seattle Catholic something about the present situation and what is needed?

LD: I personally do not know any priest in Southern Italy who celebrates the Traditional Latin Mass. There are only some small groups of traditional laymen who are assisted by the Fraternity of St. Pius X.

SC: What do you see as the chief obstacles toward the restoration of ecclesiastical tradition in the Catholic Church worldwide?

LD: Since the time of the Council, every bishop in the world has been chosen among priests open to the world — that is, priests who pleased the people, who walked arm-in-arm with the evolution of society, more attentive to read the signs of the time than to the dictates of Heaven. As a result we have this continual evolution in search of adaptation, so as not to lose "contact" with people. In this way, the clergy have lost contact with the absolute and definitive Truth, and have gone about in search of the 'politically correct' way of teaching a Doctrine that the world never has accepted ("in propria venit et sui eum non receperunt"). The only way to restore ecclesiastical tradition would be to dismiss all the pro-evolutionary Bishops and consecrate as new Bishops men full of integral faith, heroism, and the love of God and souls. I wish many priests of the Fraternity of St. Pius X were consecrated bishops, because they are learned in theology, morals and spirituality. I say this in all seriousness. I do not see elsewhere such a breeding ground of an authentic Catholic spirit. They are the Noah's ark of the Church, which flows on the muddy waters of apostasy, heresy and immorality.

SC: What advice would you give the laity, especially parents raising a family today, on how to practice the Catholic faith amid the growing Modernist Crisis in the Church?

LD: First of all, they should be good catechists, using every kinds of book faithful to traditional teaching, faith, spirituality and devotion. They should keep their children from television so as to teach them the true spirit of the Cross, which is separation from this world, and which looks towards Heaven. Then be ready to make all possible sacrifices so as to reach a traditional centre with the Mass and all the Sacraments. The best weapon is the love of God fortified with much courage, conscious that salvation is very difficult amidst that corrupted world.

***

Abbe Claude Barthe: "Criticism of the reform"

Abbe Claude Barthe: "Criticism of the reform"

Submitted by Moderator on Wed, 10/06/2010 - 13:20.

• Society of St. Pius X
 
• The Crisis of the Church
 
• News

Father Claude Barthe has given an interview to journalist Daniel Hamiche. It was translated into English by an Anglican priest, Anthony Chadwick. We present our translation of the English version. Abbe Barthe has just published a small "bomb" called "La Messe à l'endroit". In 1955, author Paul Claudel wrote a remarkable article "Mass in reverse", to stigmatize what at the time were only liturgical experiments. Now Father Barthe wants to "Mass in the right direction." Create support for a whole school of thought, described by the Church as "the reform of the reform". 

*

Your most recent book (Claude Barthe, "La Messe à l'endroit. A liturgical Nouveau mouvement") took us by surprise, because you are known as a defender of the traditional Mass and now you are dealing with the so-called Mass of Paul VI. Why is your interest in it?

rather than defending I'm interested in the transformation of the other, ie, that of Paul VI. In 1997, ten years before the Motu Proprio, I published a book of interviews, "Rebuilding the Liturgy". Interviews all about the state of the liturgy in parishes. It is the same theme in this book. Sure the Motu Proprio of 2007 gave new life to these ideas. The basic idea is that the two lines of criticism to changes under Paul VI - ie frontal criticism that seeks to promote the wide dissemination of the previous Liturgy of St. Pius V, and criticism of reform, which calls for a "reform of the reform" and looking for a change in the liturgy of Paul VI - are increasingly connected. The "reform of the reform" proposal can not be achieved without the support of a celebration as widespread as possible of the traditional Mass.The traditional liturgy can not wait to be rehabilitated massively in parishes without recreating a live setting, this would be the work of the "reform of the reform".

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The Extraordinary Form traditionalists believe that the Missal of Paul VI cannot be saved and would have to be discarded. Now, you think it can be reformed and even "enriched". How?

First, I think it is unrealistic to believe that we can use a magic wand and make that all the Masses are celebrated according to the old form in every parish in the world. However, I note - with many others, some of them in very high positions - that the Missal of Paul VI contains an almost infinite number of options, adaptations and interpretations, and that a progressive and systematic choice (or consistently progressive) of the traditional possibilities traditional makes it possible for a "re-traditionalization" in parishes, and this legally (according to the letter of the law and its spirit). It is a simple fact: the many pastors (I've compiled a quick list in France, which obviously I should not post, but it is impressive) who are practicing, often step by step, this "reform of the reform", most of them celebrate the Traditional Mass also. To answer your question, I would say that I think the Roman liturgy can be saved, and this is already happening in practice through a double action: make more and more known the rite of St. Pius V, along with the "reform of reform ". This will enable, quoting a famous speech of Paul VI, reform removing everything that is old and obsolete, because it is not traditional. We'll see what is saved after this operation ...

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You make us discover a lot of relatively unknown liturgical history of the last forty years. While supporters of the old Mass are not interested in a reform of the new Missal, its' "moderate" followers, a small minority, continuously promote reform. Could you briefly explain this position?

This is what we might call "criticism of the reform" of the new Missal. In short, and to speak only of France, we  are reminded of theologians such as Louis Bouyer, who actively participated in the conciliar reform but quickly came into conflict with some aspects (the meaning of the celebration, for example). The Abbey of Solesmes, and to varying degrees some of the houses that depend on it, have accepted the reform, but entirely in Latin and Gregorian chant. The community of St Martin, Bishop Guerin, also opted for the Missal of Paul VI, but in a very traditional interpretation. Bishop Maxime Charles, rector of the Basilica of Montmartre, and then Father Michel Gitton, former pastor of Saint Germain l'Auxerrois in Paris, have worked to preserve what could be saved from the ruin. And, more importantly, is the phenomenon of Ratzinger.

Already in 1966 Joseph Ratzinger had reacted too harshly at the Bamberg Katholikentag about the reform that was underway. The fight against what he believes is a "false spirit of the Council" has been substantial he who was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981, and later became Pope in 2005. In matters relating to the liturgy, Joseph Ratzinger was much farther ahead than the other reformers. Now we know that he organized a meeting of cardinals in Rome on November 16, 1982, "about liturgical matters", and made all the prefects of the Congregations who participated in the meeting affirm that the "old" Roman Missal should be " accepted by the Holy See in the whole Church for Masses celebrated in Latin. " It was 1982, exactly a quarter century before the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

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Your book is subtitled "A new liturgical movement". Is it a desire or an event - that about Benedict, who seems to be leading this "reform of the reform" there is gathering a group of influential prelates and priests who try to promote it for good?

Indeed, based on the works of Joseph Ratzinger ("Ratzinger Report," "My Life," "The Spirit of the Liturgy", "A new song to the Lord", "The Feast of Faith"), he has built a new generation of theologians, historians of worship, senior officers. Now form a circle of thinkers of the "reform of the reform" - a new liturgical movement as he calls the Pope - and support the Motu Proprio. None of them - and especially the first one, the Pope, either - try to promote "reform of the reform" with texts, decrees, or a new Missal that united the two rites, one Missal of Benedict XVI is hereby added to missals of St. Pius V and Paul VI.

No, they want to proceed by example, exhortation, education, and more importantly still, evoking the theme of the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans, causing a "healthy tension" between the form now known as "ordinary" and form known as "extraordinary". This is the goal of restoration of Ratzinger since 1985, seeking to influence the course of events of the council, but in a hortatory, not coercive way. The "reform of the reform" already exists in many parishes. Enough to encourage, expand and, especially, to reach the diocesan level. It Would be more appropriate, rather than by the priests and the Pope, for the bishops work this out. Imagine the wonderful effect of restoration, not only liturgical but everything that comes with the Liturgy: vocations, doctrine, catechesis, religious practice, all this produced by a bishop, then two, then three, and so on., Which might carry the shrine to the back of the cathedrals, restoration of the communion rails, reintroduction of Latin and Gregorian chant, and to offer the Traditional Mass regularly. Again I emphasize the same: this "reform of the reform" can not be achieved without a wider celebration of the Mass according to the traditional Missal. And, conversely, that the traditional liturgy in ordinary parishes there, you need a return to traditional sources, represented by the "reform of the reform".

Important officers who are in favor of this new liturgical movement also encourage the reduction of the concelebrants and concelebrations, reducing the number of the Eucharistic prayers, the reintroduction of elements of the traditional Mass in the many "holes" of the Form of Paul VI (genuflections, kissing  the altar, ancient signs of the cross during the Canon), the replacement of the Masses with huge number of attendees - in which the cult is transformed into a show - by Holy Hours, blessing with the Blessed Sacrament, and the restoration of peace sign as a sacred act, not as a sign of social courtesy, etc..

This book also brought me many positive reactions of priests. Every idea is useful corrective if put in practice and is not a mere pious wish. Most come from priests who celebrate both the old and the new form of the Mass. 40 years after this unprecedented upheaval in the history of the Roman Rite represented by the reform of Paul VI, and in the ruins of secularization in the Catholic world that the amendment - at least - not prevented, it is clear that there is a climate of "return" in a minority, but that is expected to grow. Of course, the Liturgy is just one of these aspects, but given the nature of the liturgy, it is a very significant aspect. Source: Inglés Catholic Translation: The Attic Jerome