Replies

SSPX has convinced itself that it and only it, is the real keeper of orthodoxy and that one day everyone will come running to it when the Novus Ordo falls in a heap of ashes. I doubt it.

TRADITIONALISTS HAVE GONE TOO FAR

When someone like Monsignor Marceau preaches that if there is no Tridentine Mass available, the Sunday obligation to attend Mass ceases, the Traditionalists have gone too far. When Archbishop Lefebvre refused to admit that the New Mass is a legitimate Mass, he went too far.

None of the early Church Liturgies were Tridentine or even close.

They had different Liturgies in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, Persia, and Edessa. The Liturgy of James the Apostle (Jerusalem) has a different Canon than the Liturgy of Mark, Clement, Chrysostom, Basil, and the two of Peter.

The truth is that many of the Traditionalist Masses are illegal.

Oh! Yes, they are licit, and it is the real Body of Christ. Even in the Greek Orthodox and Old Roman Catholic Churches the consecration is real because, unlike Protestants, they have Apostolic Succession. But those saying and those attending these Masses by choice are committing Sins of disobedience against the Pope, the doctrine of the Church, and the first councils of the Church, especially of Nice.

(De fide) Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma - Ott Page 278

POPE’S POWER OF LITURGICAL DISCIPLINE

Padre Pio offered the New Mass on Pope Paul VI, on a table, facing the congregation. Why? Because "it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff" (Unam Sanctam, 1302, Pope Boniface VIII). "He who obeys the whole law, yet offends in one point, is guilty in all." (James 2:10) In "Cum muta sint" Pope Saint Leo XIII, 1882, states that one is sinning who appeals to past or future popes in order to justify being disobedient to the authority of the present Pope, "since the Church is One, her Head is One, her Government is One."

OLD LATIN MASS

From Richard Salbato's own site, the very same one you quote from, NYer:

"In 1986, the Holy Father appointed a commission of nine Cardinals to examine the legal status of the traditional rite of Mass, commonly known as the "Tridentine Mass". The commission of Cardinals included Cardinals Ratzinger, Mayer, Oddi, Stickler, Casaroli, Gantin, Innocenti, Palaz-zini, and Tomko was instructed to examine two questions:

1) Did Pope Paul VI authorize the bishops to forbid the celebration of the traditional Mass?

2) Does the priest have the right to celebrate the traditional Mass in public and in private without restriction, even against the will of his bishop?

The Commission, the account stated, unanimously determined that Pope Paul VI never gave the bishops the authority to forbid priests from celebrating the traditional rite of Mass.

Regarding the second question: The Commission stated that priests cannot be obligated to celebrate the new rite of Mass; the bishops cannot forbid or place restrictions on the celebration of the traditional rite of Mass whether in public or in private."

The link to the article is here.

To be honest, the article as a whole is kind of lousy. Imho Salbato is a decent and honest person, but he doesn't always have it all together. I like the way he refers in that article to "Feenitism" and the "sedivicantists"; that's funny. But at least he admits to the above bolded text.

Salbato: just another layman. He does a good job banging on what I call the Medjugorje Schism and he gets bonus points for not liking the Legionnaire's of Christ, too. I like the guy; he'll most likely end up being a fully traditional Catholic eventually, and learn to spell on top of it. The future isn't that bleak. All in all, this is just more of your LayMagisterium stuff, though.

Here's an example of what I DO like about Salbato:

"So, please, my fellow conservatives, my fellow traditionalists, don’t leave the Church. Stay with me and fight. Maybe all these changes were allowed by God to test the elect, maybe to expose the unfaithful."

See, I agree with that statement 100%. That's exactly what we're going through. Salbato has a good general sense about what's going on, but many times when it comes to the details, he has his facts and his reasonings all goofed up.

We need people to stay and fight, but we don't need people goofing up the details taking and the long way home when it comes to putting together a case for doctrine and tradition.