Newly Published Study of Vatican II Implementation Breaks New Ground in Historical Research, Answers Crucial Questions

People today often ask questions like: “What in the world happened at the time of Vatican II, that the Church seemed in such an unholy hurry to change? Why were the changes so drastic and so sudden? What were the causes, the motives, the expectations, the assumptions about reform and its expected fruits? Who were the main actors? Was it planned out or random? Who benefited (cui bono)? How responsible were the bishops for it, versus the middle managers, versus the laity?” and so forth. It can be very hard to disentangle so many threads. 

Honorius I, Vatican II and the SSPX - Guest article by James Baresel

As is well known, Pope Honoris I stated in a letter to Patriarch Sergius of Constantinople that “we confess one will of our Lord Jesus Christ”—despite the Church’s dogmatic teaching that Christ has both a divine will and a human will—and was posthumously anathematized by the Third Council of Constantinople.

 

What is not generally known, what is, in fact, virtually unknown, is that Pope John IV taught that Christ “never had two contrary wills [his human will being perfectly subordinate to his divine will] …we fittingly say and truthfully confess [in a metaphorical sense] one will” and that, therefore, Honorius’s letter was not intrinsically heretical its precise wording—because it did not state whether “one will” was meant literally or metaphorically.

 

The Kingship of Christ and the Aporias of the Roman Church — Guest Article by Vigilius

[Editor: The following texts reflects the personal opinion of the authors.]

Prefatory note: Ever since the SSPX announced the forthcoming illicit consecrations of bishops, many aspects have been discussed. One aspect, however, which lies at the core of the SSPX’s argumentation—namely, their concept of the origin of episcopal power of governance and its theological consequences—has not yet received the attention it deserves. The subject is sensitive because it concerns the First Vatican Council. I personally consider this essay, which was first published at https://einsprueche.substack.com/, to be truly fundamental: the author’s central intention is to defend the priesthood, the sacrifice, and the rite, and he does so with great consistency. The second part will follow soon, which returns to the question of the papacy and then draws conclusions on the Society of St. Pius X. We must begin to discuss these issues with intellectual honesty and without glossing over existing contradictions. —PAK
 

The Kingship of Christ and the Aporias of the Roman Church

Vigilius

Continuity, Rupture, or Both? Vatican II and the SSPX

Continuity, Rupture or Both? Vatican II and the SSPX

Guest article by James Baresel

Twenty years ago, Pope Benedict XVI gave his well-known address on interpreting Vatican II with a “hermeneutic of continuity” rather than a “hermeneutic of rupture.” Welcome as that seemed, details were never explained, distinctions never made, ways that forms of rupture can exist beside forms of continuity ignored.

At the most obvious level, any infallible teachings promulgated by Vatican II must be in continuity with tradition. (No dogmatic definitions infallible in and of themselves were promulgated.) The continuity of non-infallible teachings must be considered probable. Were that the beginning and end of the matter, the Society of Saint Pius X’s condemnation of Vatican II as a break with tradition would constitute a simple refusal to give its teachings due submission.

But there is much more to it.

The Long Shadow of Vatican II: Ambiguity as Ecclesial Cancer

By the Canon of Shaftesbury

On February 8, Bishop Bernard Fellay of the Society of Saint Pius X delivered a sermon in which he spoke of the necessity for the Society to consecrate new bishops. The purpose of this piece is not to address the merits or challenges of that decision, but rather to focus on some of the problems he identified as plaguing the Church today and how these flow from a reading of the Second Vatican Council that has led to profound confusion—confusion that was aggravated by Pope Francis.

New Memoir Recalls Conciliar Turmoil in Parishes and Families

Downside Abbey, where many events narrated in Two Families took place

Those who move in traditional circles in the UK tell me that “everyone has heard of the Bevans.” They are a large and highly musical clan whose members have been singing for decades in liturgies and concerts. Os Justi Press is proud to have just released Joseph Bevan’s book Two Families: A Memoir of English Life During and After the Council.

In running through his eventful life, Bevan vividly describes what the practice of Catholicism was like before, during, and after the Council: he shows the strengths and weaknesses of the preconciliar routine, the confusion unleashed in the 1960s, the collapse of the liturgy and especially of sacred music “in real time,” as it was unfolding.

"Vatican II: Still Waiting to be Implemented?... -- A Comparison with the Reception of the Council of Trent" - by Côme de Prévigny

Vatican II: Fruits that will germinate, or spoiled fruits?

Côme de Prévigny

Rennaisance Catholique

Feb. 7, 2023

John XXIII wanted to "bring a little fresh air into the Church" and, sixty years ago, the most heated minds promised the Catholic world a real "springtime", an unhoped-for renewal that would undoubtedly give hope and youth back to the venerable institution. The crowds were to fill the sanctuaries while the workers were to find their way back to the baptisteries. Obviously, the decades have passed and the promises have not been kept. In the great naves, one can only breathe the odors of pigeon droppings and the mold of fungi favored by humidity. Churches have been deserted, seminaries have closed and dreams have been dashed. With the passage of time, the prophets of good omen have bent their foreheads terribly, and they mask their wrinkles to suggest every day that we wait another year to see a new dawn shine on Christendom. Until a few years ago, some well-informed observers ventured to tell us that it would take fifty years to expect to receive the fruits of the famous Council. Now we have to wait a hundred years. "It is true that it takes a century for a Council to take root. We still have forty years to make it take root", Pope Francis warned without being discouraged. What is the truth of this? Should we be patient or has the essential message of the aggiornamento been received?

The comparison with the Council of Trent

“Innumerable miracles”, reduced to none: Saint Nicholas in the Traditional and Modern Roman Missals

Today is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, and his collect in the traditional Roman Missal alludes to his Greek title of "wonderworker", and the "innumerable miracles" he worked during his life: 

Deus, qui beátum Nicoláum Pontíficem,

innúmeris decorásti miráculis:

tríbue, quǽsumus;

ut eius méritis et précibus

a gehénnæ incéndiis liberémur. (CO 1463)

O God, who made the holy Bishop Nicholas

renowned for innumerable miracles,

grant, we beseech you,

that by his merits and prayers

we may be saved from the fires of hell.

Intentions Abandoned and Ignored: Cardinal Montini at Vatican II, Sixty Years Ago Today

The 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council (11th October 1962) has recently passed, accompanied with the usual panegyrics and plaudits, this time round with the addition of so-called "synodality". Indeed, we should, so the Pope says, "return to the Council's pure sources of love... rediscover the Council's passion and renew our own passion for the Council."

On the 60th Anniversary of the Opening of Vatican II... let's talk about more pleasant things (with beautiful pictures)

The "prophets of doom" mocked by John XXIII in his opening speech were right. Of course they were. Those who warn of the disastrous results of revolutionary projects are always right. They were right when they warned Louis XVI against calling the Estates-General. They were right when they warned Franz Joseph not to declare war on Serbia after the ultimatum had been basically all accepted or when they warned Nicholas II not to decree "partial mobilization" in 1914. 

Anyway, many good things are still going on despite the noxious fumes coming from the Vatican still now with the nonsensical Satan Synod ("Synod on Synodality") as this completely bankrupt pontificate unravels.

This past Saturday, for instance, hundreds of faithful, mostly young people, attended the Pontifical Mass celebrated at the Church of Saint Roch, Paris, for the 40th Anniversary of the association that promotes the yearly Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage (Notre-Dame de Chrétienté). The Mass was celebrated by the Abbot of St. Madeleine of Le Barroux. 

“Poetry is perhaps a little too much for our rather practical spirit”: Saint Alphonsus and the odore suavitatis

Today in the traditional calendar of the Roman Rite is the feast of Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, the founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists), and Doctor of the Church. [1] In the Secret prayer for Saint Alphonsus (addressed to the Son), one will notice a lovely poetic echo of the offertory prayers from just a few moments before in the Mass (addressed to the Father): [2]

Order of Mass: Offérimus tibi, Dómine, cálicem salutáris, tuam deprecántes cleméntiam: ut in conspéctu divínæ maiestátis tuæ, pro nostra et totíus mundi salúte, cum odóre suavitátis ascéndat. Amen.

Guest article: “The Old Liturgy and the New Despisers of the Council”

The following article was written by an anonymous diocesan priest in Germany and published under the title "Die alte Liturgie und die neuen Konzilsverächter: Als Kardinal Frings fassungslos war" at Katholisches.info. It partly draws its content from my article at OnePeterFive, "Daringly Balanced on One Point: The New Papal Letter on Liturgy" of June 29, with much additional valuable content. It has been translated for Rorate.--PAK

Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi: An Admission of Failure

Contemporary results of liturgical formation in the Novus Ordo, February 2022 (Holy Family, Inverness, Archdiocese of Chicago, USA) 

 

I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council — though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so — and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium... (Desiderio desideravi, 31)

So writes Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter Desiderio desideravi, released today, on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, which acts as yet another indicator - if any more were needed! - that the generous, forward-looking vision of Benedict XVI has been replaced with a miserly and insular ignorance masquerading as "listening, dialogue and participation." Remarkably, on the same day he reaffirms Traditionis custodes, the Pope had this to say in his morning homily: 

“Why Latin Is the Right Language for Roman Catholic Worship” — Full Text of Dr. Kwasniewski’s Cleveland Lecture

The following talk was given on June 4, 2022, in Independence, OH (a suburb of Cleveland) at the invitation of Una Voce Greater Cleveland. As the talk fell on the Vigil of Pentecost, it includes frequent reference to the great mystery celebrated by this feast. The video of the lecture, with Q&A, is included at the end of the post.

Why Latin Is the Right Language for Roman Catholic Worship

Peter A. Kwasniewski

Cleveland, Ohio

June 4, 2022

Modernism, Not Ultramontanism, Is the “Synthesis of All Heresies” — A Response to Stuart Chessman

The following article was submitted to Rorate Caeli by José Antonio Ureta, co-founder of Fundación Roma (Chile) and advisor of its pro-life and pro-family project Acción Familia, a senior researcher at Société Française pour la Défense de la Tradition, Famille et Propriété (Paris), and author of Pope Francis’s Paradigm Shift: Continuity or Rupture in the Mission of the Church? (Spring Grove, PA, 2018). We publish it in the interests of open discussion of topics of grave importance in the Church.

Modernism,  Not Ultramontanism, Is the “Synthesis of All Heresies”

José A. Ureta

‘The Council and the Eclipse of God’ Installment XIX: The Council’s Failure to Condemn the Moral Evil of Communism - by Don Pietro Leone

 

A.   The Council’s Failure to Condemn the Moral Evil of Communism [1]

 

 

John XXIII with Vitalij Borovoj and Vladimir Kotjarov. the two observers of the Russian Orthodox Church who partcipated at the Second Vatican Council.

Historical Sketch

An Unwanted “Gift” from Cardinal Cupich

The blog PrayTell has recently published an article from Blase Cardinal Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, in which His Eminence makes some rather strange and bizarre claims in order to justify what he sees as the "The Gift of Traditionis Custodes". Firstly, the Cardinal makes the following rather odd analogy:

The Prayers for Saint Luke in the Traditional and Reformed Roman Missals

As today is the feast of St Luke the Evangelist in both the traditional and reformed Roman calendars, it seemed worthwhile to compare the prayers assigned to St Luke in the traditional Missal with those of the post-Vatican II Missal. One might have thought, given the very long-standing veneration given to the Evangelists, that their prayers would not have been changed in the course of the liturgical reform, but unfortunately this is very far from the case.

Firstly, it should be noted that the collect, secret and postcommunion assigned for St Luke in the traditional Roman Rite have a long history of being used together: the Corpus orationum (CO) [1] tells us that thirty-five extant liturgical manuscripts, ranging from the 8th to 16th centuries, keep these orations together as a set. Of course, the reformed Roman Rite not only splits up this Mass formulary, but discards one prayer entirely and only keeps the other two in an edited fashion (one minor, one major).

Miniature of Saint Luke from the Grandes Heures of Anne of Brittany
(1503–1508) by Jean Bourdichon

"All the Elements of the Roman Rite"? Dispelling the Myths of the Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms

Over the last decade in particular, the figure of 17% has been quoted as the proportion of prayers that survived intact from the traditional Roman Missal into the novus ordo of Paul VI. [1] However, in the wake of Traditionis custodes, with renewed attention being given to the comparison of ‘forms’ of the Roman Rite as well as the canonical and theological controversy over what counts as its lex orandi, [2] it seemed opportune to build on some of my previous efforts and revisit this percentage through a careful and exhaustive analysis of all the orations. By doing this, not only can we arrive at a definitive number, but we can also now have all the relevant data freely and easily accessible in the public domain, so that everyone can see which prayers were preserved, edited or discarded. [3]

The result of this work not only vindicates the labours of those such as the late Rev Fr Anthony Cekada, but it also shows the figure to be too generous. For the actual number, unbelievably, is only 13%.

The Orations of the Traditional Roman Rite in the Reformed Roman Rite:

Lists and Texts of the Identical and Edited Prayers (PDF download)

Yes, a mere 13% (165) of the 1,273 prayers of the usus antiquior [4] found their way unchanged into the reformed Missal of Paul VI. Another 24.1% (307) were edited in some way before their inclusion. A further 16.2% (206) were centonised with other prayers - effectively combining parts of multiple prayers together into a new oration. Fully 52.6% (669) of the prayers in the traditional Roman Rite have been excised from the modern liturgy, memory-holed by the Consilium ad exsequendam. [5] How has this happened? And how did so few notice at the time?

Figure 1: Orations of the 1951/1962 Missal in the 1970/2008 Missal
(duplicates excluded)

Can a Catholic Have “Doubts” about Vatican II? — Article by Jean-Pierre Maugendre

Can a Catholic Have “Doubts” about Vatican II?†

Jean-Pierre Maugendre

Renaissance Catholique

September 20, 2021

“To doubt the Council is to doubt the intentions of those very Fathers who exercised their collegial power in a solemn manner cum Petro et sub Petro in an ecumenical council, and, in the final analysis, to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.” This is the fundamental reason Pope Francis gives in the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes for the ultimate abolition of the celebration of the Mass according to the traditional form of the Roman Rite. The supporters of these celebrations supposedly doubt the Council and thus call into question the Holy Spirit’s assistance to the Church.

To doubt, according to Larousse, is both “to be uncertain about the reality of a fact” and “not to have confidence in.” It seems difficult to question the very existence of the Second Vatican Council. The question of trust is more delicate and could be formulated as follows: Is it permissible to question whether it was indeed the Holy Spirit who directed the Council? First of all, it is surprising to note that the Holy Father seems to think that the opponents of the Council are questioning the intentions of the Council Fathers. However, it is clear that the objections or reservations about the Council expressed by Archbishop Lefebvre, Bishop Schneider, Msgr. Gherardini, Jean Madiran, Roberto de Mattei, etc., concern texts and facts, not intentions, which, as we know, even if they are good, can pave the way to hell, and remain the secret of consciences.