[Catholic Caucus] Spanish cardinal says post-Vatican II liturgical reforms have turned Masses into ‘parody’

LifeSite News ^ | July 25, 2026 | Antonio Cambria

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[Catholic Caucus] Spanish cardinal says post-Vatican II liturgical reforms have turned Masses into ‘parody’

Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela mentioned in an interview several examples of abuses that have reduced the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to a 'game among buddies.'

Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the archbishop emeritus of Madrid, said during an interview this week that rampant liturgical abuses since the Second Vatican Council have turned the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass into a “parody.”

While discussing the sacred liturgy and his recent call for the restoration of Summorum Pontificum during an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Debate published July 21, the 89-year-old prelate emphasized that the implementation of the Council’s “liturgical reforms” has led to widespread abuses.

Cardinal Rouco Varela further stressed that the “parody” has reached such a “profound level” that it affects “the very truth of the sacrament, the conscience of the faithful, and even the very aesthetic sensibility of humanity.”

“A liturgical reform was carried out at Vatican II, which, in many and widespread cases, turned into a parody of the liturgy,” he told the newspaper.

“And, of course, when the parody reaches such a profound level that it affects the very truth of the sacrament, the conscience of the faithful, and even the very aesthetic sensibility of humanity – in the face of the almost anarchic indiscipline of the liturgy in many cases and in many parts of the Church during the 1970s – it led groups of the faithful to return once again to the tradition that predated the Second Vatican Council reform,” he added.

READ: Spanish cardinal calls for end to Latin Mass restrictions, restoration of Summorum Pontificum

Rouco Varela expressed his belief that liturgical abuses sow division among the faithful, and some react by going to the “other extreme” and “exaggerate” the solution to the problem, possibly referring to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and sedevacantists.

The prelate then recalled several examples of abuses of Mass and the Holy Eucharist in the 1970s after the post-conciliar reforms, underscoring that these abuses have reduced the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to a “game among buddies.”

“There was all sorts of behavior, and, what was worse, in houses of formation – for men and women religious, in seminaries … Celebrating the Eucharist in the living room at a low table,” Rouco Varela said. “Sitting or squatting, bringing wine from the fridge, bread of who-knows-what, and then each person saying whatever came to mind … Almost the only thing that could be reduced to theological truth (was) the words of consecration.”

“In other words, we moved from the celebration of the Eucharist instituted by the Lord – the sacrament of his sacrificial and sacrificed presence on the cross that nourishes our souls; his flesh and blood; the presence of the Divine in the midst of your life and your history – to a sort of game among buddies or friends, nothing more. There is an infinite distance between the two,” he added.

Indeed, in addition to the egregious examples the cardinal mentioned, in recent decades, churches across the globe have celebrated sacrilegious pro-LGBT “pride Masses” openly promoting sodomy, a sin that cries to Heaven. While not always during the celebration of Mass, several churches have also allowed pagan dances and rituals to be performed inside these sacred spaces.

WATCH: Pagan Aztec war dance takes over LA Catholic cathedral sanctuary

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TOPICS: Catholic; Theology; Worship
KEYWORDS: modernists; novusordo; vcii

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Ping

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I miss the “Dominus vobiscum” days.

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[Locomotive Breath]

Tom Lehrer called it.

The Vatican Rag

This song is from the time of the Vatican II. On the album (not this version) the spoken prelude ridicules The Church for abandoning its traditions. He points out that this song is where The Church would be heading in an "attempt to sell the product".