Faithful Catholics have been put in a very difficult situation by the latest official papal document published by the Vatican: Traditionis Custodes, a motu proprio aimed at eliminating the Mass of All Ages.
Much can – and needs to be – said about this atrocious document; but in this brief article I limit myself to just one point. I find this to be an extremely important point, yet it has not received as much ‘press coverage’ as I think it ought.
This document is yet another instance, of an ever growing list,[1] that COMPELS Catholics to disobey papal authority. Yes, you read that right: Catholics are being forced to disobey papal authority. You see, without our willing it, every single Catholic faces the terrible dilemma of having to go against a papal teaching. Part of the problem is that many Catholics are unaware of this dilemma since they don’t sufficiently study Church history. Let me explain.
QUO PRIMUM
I strongly encourage you to read Quo Primum, a papal bull issued by St. Pius V in 1570. He promulgated it as part of the great Catholic reform ushered in by the Council of Trent to resist the heresy of Protestantism. The influence of Protestantism among academics and noblemen had grown strong and had even begun to creep into the minds of some high-ranking churchmen.
Already at this time rumors were circulating that some churchmen wanted to “reform” the Sacred Mass – to adapt it to Protestant ideas. For example, the notion that the Mass is not really a sacrifice (but more of a celebratory memorial meal), that the Roman Canon of the Mass (known today in the New Rite of Mass as “Eucharistic Prayer” I, II, III, IV, or one of the many other varieties) ought to be changed, or that the vernacular should be preferred to Latin. Don’t take it from me, look up the infallible canons[2] from the 22nd session of Trent and you’ll see that these ideas had to be anathematized because they were posing a real threat to Christ and His divinely-revealed Catholic Faith, outside of which there is no salvation.
By his supreme authority, St. Pius V therefore issued an edict to preserve the Roman Rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and prevent it from being corrupted. As I read this document, it seems obvious to me that it is an infallible pronouncement. It has all the requirements listed in Vatican I[3] for papal infallibility: It is clearly a matter of faith (lex orandi, lex credendi), and the Pope issued it with his supreme authority as teacher of all Christians. He issued it for everyone, everywhere and for all time, and he clearly expected everyone to obey it, even issuing severe punishments for those who would dare go against it.
Nevertheless, I know there are plenty of people who make the argument that Quo Primum is not infallible. This is not the place for that discussion, because dear reader, you can see for yourself that irrespective of it being infallible or not, it was issued with the highest levels of papal authority.
Read for yourself what St. Pius V decreed. It is a short document and a simple read. This document, which codified the centuries-old Roman Rite of the Mass, had to be printed at the start of every Missale Romanum (the book used by the priest to offer Mass). Note well, this was the same Mass which had been celebrated for centuries, since long before St. Gregory VII (+1070) and well before Gregory the Great (+604), with some of the prayers going all the way back to St. Peter himself! In fact, St. Pius V abrogated any rites which were too young – that is, less than 200 years old. Various abuses and excesses had crept into the liturgy in various regions and the Pope knew such ‘varieties’ would make the Mass more susceptible to a Protestant attack. (What would he say about the New Rite, an egregious experiment that is only 60 years old?)
In part, Quo Primum states [emphasis added]:
We gladly turned our mind and energies and directed all our thoughts to those matters which concerned the preservation of a pure liturgy…
Let all everywhere adopt and observe what has been handed down by the Holy Roman Church, the Mother and Teacher of the other churches, and let Masses not be sung or read according to any other formula than that of this Missal published by Us. This ordinance applies henceforth, now, and forever, throughout all the provinces of the Christian world…
We order them in virtue of holy obedience to chant or to read the Mass according to the rite and manner and norm herewith laid down by Us…
[I]n virtue of Our Apostolic authority, We grant and concede in perpetuity that, for the chanting or reading of the Mass in any church whatsoever, this Missal is hereafter to be followed absolutely, without any scruple of conscience or fear of incurring any penalty, judgment, or censure, and may freely and lawfully be used…
We likewise declare and ordain that no one whosoever is forced or coerced to alter this Missal, and that this present document cannot be revoked or modified, but remains always valid and retains its full force notwithstanding the previous constitutions and decrees of the Holy See…
Therefore, no one whosoever is permitted to alter this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, precept, grant, indult, declaration, will, decree, and prohibition. Would anyone, however, presume to commit such an act, he should know that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
HARD CHOICES MUST BE MADE
Now that is a document written by someone who knows he is the Vicar of Christ and has the responsibility of feeding the sheep by preserving, guarding, and handing-on Sacred Tradition – and acts in accordance with it. That is a document written with all the authority of Saint Peter, with the Keys of binding and loosing in Heaven and on earth. That is clearly a document written with far greater authority than the recent motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes (16 July 2021).
And here lies the conundrum for every single Catholic. If you obey Quo Primum, which was upheld explicitly or implicitly by all 255 Popes prior to 30 November 1969 (when the Novus Ordo of Paul VI came into effect), then you disobey Traditiones Custodes. If you obey Traditiones Custodes, then you are disobeying Quo Primum. In that case, not only are you disobeying a saintly pontiff – who promoted the Holy Rosary, helped save Christendom from the Muslim infidels at the Battle of Lepanto, and led the Church in the great Catholic Reform of the 16th century – but you are also incurring upon yourself the wrath of Ss. Peter and Paul and Almighty God.
FATIMA AND DISOBEDIENCE
I would be remiss if I did not mention that Quo Primum has in fact been disobeyed since 1969. We are therefore living in a time when the Church at large is incurring the divine wrath of God for the hierarchy’s disobedience. We are living in “Fatima Time” and suffering the chastisements which Our Lady predicted on account of our disobedience. Readers of our Fatima literature are well aware that in the Third Secret Our Lady warned – words which remain undisclosed to this day – against changing the Mass and that there would be “an evil Council” in the Church.[4]
Yet, Traditionis Custodes is raising that disobedience to an even more diabolical level. Paul VI did not dare issue a document that attempted to abrogate the Mass of All Ages – though it was suggested to him. To get around Quo Primum, Paul VI opted to create and issue an entirely new order for the Roman Rite (Novus Ordo) and sought to leave the ancient one unaltered.[5] In practice, he de facto prohibited the Ancient Mass, and then many tried to claim it had been abrogated. Yet, Pope Benedict XVI emphatically dispelled that deception, stating:[6]
“I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted…. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.” (‘Letter to the Bishops’ accompanying Summorum Pontificum, 7 July 2007)
THE PASSION AND THE CROSS
It seems clear to me that one dimension of the Cross which every faithful Catholic must bear today is disobeying a papal decree. Simply ‘being obedient’ is no longer a viable option. This is even against our own choosing – the Cross usually is. Modern Popes have chosen to contradict their predecessors on the Papal Throne, leaving each of us in this terrible dilemma.
This is the Passion which the Church is enduring today. This is the realization of predictions made by Our Lady at Fatima (and at Akita and other Marian apparitions). This is part of the divine chastisements which mankind’s disobedience has incurred. And these chastisements will only worsen until we obey Our Lady!
It is predicted that at some point there will be no public celebration of the Mass. Only hidden private Masses will be available. Given recent world events – with the cancellation of Masses and so many Sacraments, with the virus and the vaccine, with the New World Order and its Global Reset – it seems we are very close to such a dreadful event. The past two years now make it clear that such an abolition of the Mass may not come from the State but from those within the Church. Remember, it was Judas who betrayed Our Lord – not Caesar Augustus.
Let us do everything we can to obey Our Lady. Pray the Rosary every day. Wear your Brown Scapular. Offer Our Lady’s requested reparation on the First Saturday of every month. Pray for the conversion of sinners. Do penance. Pray for the Pope. Only after we collectively gain sufficient merit will God grant the necessary graces for the Pope, in union with all the Catholic bishops of the world, to consecrate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Only then will the Immaculate Heart reign over a period of world peace, where the Mass of All Ages will be celebrated everywhere. May it happen SOON!
Our Lady of Fatima, ora pro nobis!
END NOTES
[1] That list is extensive. Here are but a few examples of Church teachings that are being contradicted by papal authority. The Catholic belief that Mary’s faith is perfect and She never doubted. All the Church Fathers and Doctors holding that Judas lost his soul after betraying Our Lord and taking his own life; this is even taught by St. Peter (cf. Acts 1:18). The infallible doctrine that Holy Communion may only be received by those in the state of grace; it is a grave sacrilege for one who remains in public sin to receive Our Lord. The truth that homosexuality is an intrinsic evil. The fact that marriage is a union between one man and one woman which endures until death; adultery, divorce and fornication being forbidden in all circumstances. The reality that since God is Truth, He has only revealed the True Religion; He wills that all men belong to His One, Holy, Catholic Church. The Church’s constant teaching that the death penalty is morally permissible.
[2] Here are a few canons from that session:
Canon I.–If any one saith, that in the Mass a true and proper sacrifice is not offered to God; or, that to be offered is nothing else but that Christ is given us to eat; let him be anathema.
Canon VI.–If any one saith, that the canon of the Mass contains errors, and is therefore to be abrogated; let him be anathema.
Canon IX.–If any one saith, that the rite of the Roman Church, according to which a part of the canon and the words of consecration are pronounced in a low tone, is to be condemned; or, that the Mass ought to be celebrated in the vulgar tongue only; … let him be anathema.
[3] See Chapter 9 of Pastor Aeternus (18 July 1870) which states: “We teach and define as a divinely revealed dogma that when the Roman pontiff speaks ex cathedra, that is, when, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and teacher of all Christians, in virtue of his supreme apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Church, he possesses, by the divine assistance promised to him in blessed Peter, that infallibility which the divine Redeemer willed his Church to enjoy in defining doctrine concerning faith or morals. Therefore, such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves, and not by the consent of the Church, irreformable.”
[4] Father Ingo Döllinger, a personal friend of Pope Benedict XVI, is the source of this knowledge (see “The Secret Warned Against Vatican Council II and the New Mass,” The Fatima Crusader, Issue 92, May 2009, pp. 10-11).
[5] Such an act was utterly unheard of in the history of the Church. No one, not even a Pope, has the authority to simply “fabricate a rite.” No Pope has ever dared to do this – until Paul VI. Every rite in the Catholic Church – other than the Novus Ordo – has credible claims of apostolic authority and has its origins in antiquity.
[6] Note as well that if one chooses to obey Francis’ Traditionis Custodes (2021) then one disobeys Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum (2007). Since these two documents directly contradict each other – written by two men who are both still alive and wearing the papal white – then it is impossible to not disobey one of them.