I think the bringing up of Nazis was aimed at Pope Benedict . . . he just didn't quite have the nerve to call the Pope a Nazi.
Undoubtedly saving it for the next installment. BTW, Fr. Z has a later installment of "Fr. Pat's" piece that I hadn't seen in previous postings (wonder how long he intends to keep this up!):
Continuing with reflections on the Motu Proprio on the use of Latin.11. I fear that one of the reasons the church has done so poorly in Europe is because the renewal of the Liturgy never took place. It did here, though! It has been one of the reasons that the American Church has thrived and even now grows greatly by new members joining from other Christian churches. When exposed to the liturgy and sacraments of the Church, they are overjoyed at the theology, the content and faith they portray and feel they have found their true home. Latin would make even the Holy Spirit stumble.
12. Latin is not a "sacred" language (as would be Hebrew or Greek (and Aramaic), the languages the bible was originally written in. But even they would be a hindrance to true worship and sacrament. Can it be that the people who want Latin really don’t want to be challenged by the gospel and be called to be thoughtful of others and be willing to sacrifice an external like Latin for the sake of the whole?
13. The choice to do a Latin Mass or sacraments according to the Pope’s document would rest with the priest, not with the people and not with the Bishop.
14. There is an insinuation in the Motu Proprio and certainly with the people who want Latin, that the changes of Vatican II were unnecessary, that the liturgy was in a good state and returning to some of the ancient practices of a better time were wrong. They would suggest there was no need for a renewal or an awakening of the faithful to the liturgy of Mass and sacraments. This attitude is unacceptable. The liturgy was in deplorable state, not only the language was unintelligible but the accretions of meaningless practices and legalistic attitudes of rubricism were a hindrance to meaningful celebration. In those days Catholic spirituality was in a bad state. Holy Communion was rarely taken by the faithful (a law had to be made to force them to take communion at least once a year) and Mass was viewed as something magical and superstitious. The true understanding of the theology of Mass and sacrament was rare.
15. The Gregorian chant although beautiful when sung correctly was almost never done with skill and beauty outside monasteries. Singing in the Catholic world of the United States was a poor at best and monotonous - with a few hymns making up the entire parish repertory, the exception being at Christmas where there were plenty of English language songs to be sung.
16. The unity of our rite or worship would be seriously jeopardized. If we are going to develop a variety of rites that a catechumen or candidate would choose from, we would confront them with confusion.
We can perhaps reflect on the wonderful gifts from God that we call Sacraments!