Team Biden and its media apologists blame you for supply shortages the White House refuses to fix

Chris Carson, Dee Eskridge trending up for Seahawks Sunday in Green Bay

Why Facebook’s Metaverse Is Dead on Arrival

The Fall of the Knights Templar

Pope praises group helping married couples overcome crisis

Points to Ponder:

[T]he discipline sanctioned by the Church must never be rejected or be branded as contrary to certain principles of natural law. It must never be called crippled, or imperfect or subject to civil authority." [Pope Gregory XVI: Encyclical Letter Mirari Vos §9 (circa August 15, 1832)] 

The Rerum Novarum Miscellaneous site has been updated with the latest five threads posting on Traditionis Custodes. This site for those who may have forgotten is on rare occasions used as [a] site for covering things I have no intention whatsoever of rehashing at Rerum Novarum.

With the inclusion of the above link there, I am finished discussing the subject of Traditionis Custodes in perpetuity unless at some point the one with the power of the keys decides to loose what has now been bound.

All things to the contrary notwithstanding.

Five Threads on Traditonis Custodes:

I compiled them all in one place for easy perusal. Without further ado...

On the Latest Traditionis Custodes Themed Traditionalist Outrage Porn (circa October 9, 2021)

Notice of Intention to Finally Respond to the Traditionis Custodes Controversy (circa October 16, 2021)

Thirty Pieces of Evidence In Support of the Decision in Traditionis Custodes (circa October 17, 2021)

On Traditionis Custodes and the Circumstances That Motivated Its Promulgation (circa October 21, 2021)

Some Further Thoughts on Traditionis Custodes and the Current State of Traditionalism (circa October 31, 2021)

BREAKING: Feds arrest Steele dossier figure

Purgatory Project Names 2021:

Richard Dunn McElhinney
Margaret Dianne McElhinney
Anna Maria McElhinney
Shawn McElhinney
Teresa Marie McElhinney
Frank D. Barone
Raffaelina Barone

Silvana Barone

Bobby Kanski

Sean Donovan

Harry Kanski
Mary Kanski
Paul McElhinney
Mildred McElhinney
Mark Usher
Virginia Usher

Joan Lucas

James Dunn McElhinney
David Kanski

Mark Cribbs

Ed Flynn
Cecilia Flynn
Hugh Dunn

Mel Denny
Hattie Denny

Sharon Colson

Ginny Riley

Steve Paul

Don Hellstrom

Leta Allen

Fr. John Rizzo
Marlene Eiden

Natalie Holderness

Gail Kanski

Ann Ripplinger

Alice Romanick

Sharon Yotter
Lisa Yotter
Bob Kanski

Jessie Kanski

Brent McElhinney 

Denise Leese

Jody McElhinney

Judy Spence

Ann Spence 

Jack Spence 

Claudia McElhinney

Jerry Usher

Larry Usher

Pat Kane

Chris DiSomma
Mic Greubel
Jim Greubel
Cindy Greubel
Kathy Hanks
Shane Rasmussen
Tim Tull
Charles Tull
Dennis Rasmussen

Alicia Chimenti

Bill Walkling

Pauley Perrette
Mike Mentzer
Ray Mentzer
Jack DeLisle
Larry Gonczy
Keith McDonald
Mona McDonald
Michelle Crawford

Melody Walkling

Yvonne Goodwin
Diana Louie Taylor
Marc Taylor
Beth Cleaver
Kender McGowan
Misha Lynn Nicastro
Miki Odendahl
Bob Klaus
Deborah Klaus
Art Sippo

Michael Lopez
F John Loughnan
Fr. Robert Taft SJ
Don Hale

Betty Hale
Linda Hale
Dave Altier
Vangie Altier
Fr. Augustine Hartmann
Fr. Christopher Hunter

Emilio Barone
Fr. Angel Sotelo

Mike Kanski

Mary Jane Kanski
Gwen Stefani
Fr. John Rizzo
Albert King
Albert Collins
Freddie King
Rick Wright

Some Further Thoughts on Traditionis Custodes and the Current State of Traditionalism:

There is not much more to say about supposed traditionalism than what I have said in recent weeks when responding to the predominant reaction from these circles to Traditionis Custodes. The responses of that nature can be read here:

Thirty Pieces of Evidence In Support of the Decision in Traditionis Custodes (circa October 17, 2021)

On Traditionis Custodes and the Circumstances That Motivated Its Promulgation (circa October 21, 2021)

Reason, logic, and documented evidence however expansive can only get you so far. The reason? Experience has shown that for those of a cultic mindset, it is akin to a conspiracy theorist insofar as like the latter, reason and logic are usually not the roads taken into such endeavours. For this reason, expecting them to take those paths out can not infrequently be disappointing. There are emotional factors at play here and when someone is guided by emotions, their reason and logic can become very foggy if non-existent. So for those kinds of folks, consider the following analogies:

---The Tridentine liturgy is akin to the plump juicy animals King Saul spared from the Amalekites to make sacrifices to God. What did God think of King Saul's actions? From the words of Samuel the prophet:

Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in heeding the voice of the Lord? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, being attentive is better than the fat of rams. Rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, arrogance like the evil of idolatry. [1 Samuel xv,22-23]

Those who think the Lord is pleased with their purported resistance to Pope Francis' restrictions on the Tridentine liturgy are no different than King Saul and in like manner, God is not pleased with them.

---The Tridentine liturgy is analogous to the Bronze Serpent, made by command of God:

The Lord sent seraph serpents among the people. They bit the people, and many of the people of Israel died. The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord so that he might save us from the serpents.” So Moses prayed for the people. The Lord said to Moses, “Make a seraph serpent and put it upon a pole. Whoever has been bitten and looks upon it will live.” [Numbers: xxi,6-8]

Even if some today would claim that the Tridentine liturgy was commanded of God{1}, so too was the Bronze Serpent. And what was the fate of the Bronze Serpent?:

Hezekiah, the son of Ahaz, the king of Judah began to reign during the third year of the reign of Hoshea, the son of Elah, the king of Israel...He eliminated the high places and he broke down the pillars. He cut down the Asherah and he broke into pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for up to those days the Israelites had burned incense to it and they called it Nehushtan. [2 Kings xviii,1;3-5]

In other words, even if Pope Francis was abolishing the Tridentine liturgy{2} and even if the Tridentine liturgical form was literally decreed by God{3} there is biblical precedent for such an action. For Pope Francis is acting similar to King Hezekiah and restricting what has become a source of literal idolatry in the traditionalist movement by a not-insignificant number of those folks. They have become like the modernists who according to Pope Pius X sought to "try in every way to diminish and weaken the authority of the ecclesiastical magisterium itself."{4} Or as St. John Henry Newman noted of the defect in faith of Protestants in one of his Discourses to Mixed Congregations not long after his conversion:

[I]n spite of so much that is good in them, in spite of their sense of duty, their tenderness of conscience on many points, their benevolence, their uprightness, their generosity, they are under the dominion (I must say it) of a proud fiend; they have this stout spirit within them, they determine to be their own masters in matters of thought, about which they know so little; they consider their own reason better than any one's else; they will not admit that any one comes from God who contradicts their own view of truth. What! is none their equal in wisdom anywhere? Is there none other whose word is to be taken on religion? Is there none to wrest from them their ultimate appeal to themselves?{5}

This is the reality of what we are seeing here: a movement that whatever value it may have had at one time is shot through with serious problems including the problem of idolatry. If it was only an issue of serenely observing the pre-reformed liturgy, then Pope Francis would not have had to do what he did. But far too often there is a discernible pattern that takes place over time amongst those of a traditionalist inclination. It starts with mere preference for the Tridentine liturgical form. From there it inexorably moves towards denigrating the revised Roman liturgy, speaking contemptuously of the Pope who promulgated it{6}, often moving onto his predecessor{7} and successors prior to Pope Francis{8} to say nothing of what they have done to Pope Francis the past eight years, running down the last ecumenical Council in various ways{9}, and not infrequently lionizing schismatics{10}, and eventually at some point along the way, imbibing forms of antisemitism.{11}

The suppression of the Tridentine liturgical form by Pope Francis{12} in other words did not happen in a vacuum. It is being done to chasten those with a superficial understanding of the faith. They are spiritual infants who whine and cry over external liturgical forms whereas those with the eyes of faith see Christ in every mass because the externals are literally the least important factor.{13} And rejection of the so-called "Novus Ordo" by those traditionalists who do so is a rejection of Jesus Christ himself{14} and that is the bottom line really.

Notes:

{1} Which it was not.

{2} Which he is not.

{3} Which it is not.

{4} Pope St. Pius X: Encyclical Letter Pascendi Dominici Gregis §42 (circa September 8, 1907) as Quoted in the Rerum Novarum Postings On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics (circa February 26, 2020) and On the Controversy of Amoris Laetitia Amongst The More Faithful Than Thou Crowd (circa December 5, 2019)

{5} St. John Henry Newman: Excerpt from his Discourse On Faith and Private Judgment (circa 1849)

{6} Pope St. Paul VI

{7} Pope St. John XXIII

{8} Pope St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI

{9} For example, the attempt to create a dichotomy between the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council as a "pastoral council" and other synods as "dogmatic councils." I first dealt with this false dichotomy nearly twenty years ago but it is still a tired canard trotted out by the theologically ignorant.

{10} For example, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, other clerics given prominence by movement partisans, as well as various and sundry writers for traditionalist themed websites and periodicals.

{11} I could fill a footnote with link upon link involving traditionalist groups and the obsession not a few of them have with antisemitic views, both overtly as well as covertly. Rather than take up too much time with that, I will note here only a few of many such examples which could be noted:

Italian bishop condemns “anti-Semitic regurgitations” in Church after “traditionalist” Catholic unveils blood libel painting

Saint Simon of Trent (1475)

Traditionalist SSPX leader calls Jews "enemies of the church"

The traditional Latin Mass is not the problem with traditionalist communities

Traditionalists' Expert on Pope Francis Is A Holocaust Denier

The Synthesis of All Catholic Conspiracy Theory (Part 1)

The Synthesis of All Catholic Conspiracy Theory (Part 2)

The Synthesis of All Catholic Conspiracy Theory (Part 3)

Non Possumus

{12} It is worth noting that nothing in Traditionis Custodes annuls any of the privileges that Pope Francis has granted to the SSPX. Nor does this text appear aimed at the FSSP who have long had good relationships with many of the local ordinaries.

{13} [T]hey have not realized that the least of the benefits which come from this Most Holy Sacrament is that which concerns the senses; and that the invisible part of the grace that it bestows is much greater; for, in order that they may look at it with the eyes of faith, God oftentimes withholds from them these other consolations and sweetnesses of sense. [St. John of the Cross: From The Dark Night of the Soul, Book I (circa ante-1582) as Quoted in the Rerum Novarum Note On Traditionis Custodes and the Circumstances That Motivated Its Promulgation (circa October 21, 2021)]

{14} The revised Roman Missal was promulgated by Pope Paul VI who possessed the power of binding and loosing. And that "Christ and His Vicar constitute one only Head is the solemn teaching of Our predecessor of immortal memory Boniface VIII in the Apostolic Letter Unam Sanctam; and his successors have never ceased to repeat the same" (Pope Pius XII: Mystici Corporis Christi §40), this teaching has not insignificant ramifications for the current situation. For as "Christ and His Vicar constitute only one Head", logically "[t]hey, therefore, walk in the path of dangerous error who believe that they can accept Christ as the Head of the Church, while not adhering loyally to His Vicar on earth" (Mystici Corporis Christi §41). Concretely, what Peter in the person of the Pope binds or looses is bound or loosed by Christ. So those accusing Pope Francis of immorality in issuing Traditionis Custodes are engaging in a form of blasphemy toward Christ. 

To be clear, disagreement with a decision is not an issue of course as long as that disagreement does not denote either disobedience or treating the judgment with contempt. However to those traditionalists who have spent years running down in various ways the revised Roman Missal, they run afoul of Church teaching which expressly condemns such conduct. For "the discipline sanctioned by the Church must never be rejected or be branded as contrary to certain principles of natural law. It must never be called crippled, or imperfect or subject to civil authority" (Pope Gregory XVI: Mirari Vos §9). Those who in any way try to diminish Traditionis Custodes or treat the so-called "Novus Ordo" with contempt are only treating with contempt the Vicar of Christ but Christ as well. This is why Pope Leo XIII cited with his approval the following words of St. Maximus the Confessor:

He speaks in vain who tries to persuade me of the orthodoxy of those who, like himself, refuse obedience to his Holiness the Pope of the most holy Church of Rome: that is to the Apostolic See. [Pope Leo XIII: Excerpt from the Encyclical Letter Satis Cognitum §13 (circa June 29, 1896) as Quoted in the Rerum Novarum Points to Ponder series (circa October 14, 2021)] 

High Stakes in Virginia

Dr. Thomas Sowell occasionally comes out of retirement for the occasional one off column or two. The governors race in Virginia was the occasion of his most recent appearance and as is usually the case, is worth a read.

On Traditionis Custodes and the Circumstances That Motivated Its Promulgation:

(Musings of your humble servant at Rerum Novarum)

You will find that many of these persons are very insistent with their spiritual masters to be granted that which they desire, extracting it from them almost by force; if they be refused it they become as peevish as children and go about in great displeasure,  thinking that they are not serving God when they are not allowed to do that which they would.

For they go about clinging to their own will and pleasure, which they treat as though it came from God; and immediately their directors take it from them, and try to subject them to the will of God, they become peevish, grow faint-hearted and fall away. These persons think that their own satisfaction and pleasure are the satisfaction and service of God. 

This is to judge God very unworthily; they have not realized that the least of the benefits which come from this Most Holy Sacrament is that which concerns the senses; and that the invisible part of the grace that it bestows is much greater; for, in order that they may look at it with the eyes of faith, God oftentimes withholds from them these other consolations and sweetnesses of sense. [St. John of the Cross: From The Dark Night of the Soul, Book I (circa ante-1582)]

I have a few thoughts on the July 16, 2021 motu proprio Traditonis Custodes and the stated reasons for it in the accompanying letter to the bishops to follow on the brief ones mentioned some time ago. Some of what I say in this thread could very well anger many people including a few longtime friends. I am also aware that not everything I say here will apply to everyone who in some form or another identifies with the movement that calls themselves traditionalist. 

There are reasons it took some time to finish drafting a response. Life in general has its ways of imposing on our available time for one. But I also have mixed emotions about this. It really bothers me that some very good people are going to be hurt by this. But unfortunately, for reasons I will detail in this text, this action was in a certain sense inevitable based on how things had been going for quite some time, particularly in recent years.

To begin our exposition on the aforementioned apostolic letter, it was made clear in an accompanying letter that a major reason for Traditionis Custodes was that the generosity of Pope St. John Paul II and particularly of Pope Benedict XVI was badly abused:

Regrettably, the pastoral objective of my Predecessors, who had intended "to do everything possible to ensure that all those who truly possessed the desire for unity would find it possible to remain in this unity or to rediscover it anew," has often been seriously disregarded. An opportunity offered by St. John Paul II and, with even greater magnanimity, by Benedict XVI, intended to recover the unity of an ecclesial body with diverse liturgical sensibilities, was exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path, and expose her to the peril of division.

This is unfortunately quite on point. For those observing these matters over the years, a cottage industry developed around Summorum Pontificum which rather than being useful for promoting ecclesial unity was instead regularly showing "neglect of and even contempt for the Teaching Authority of the Church itself"{1} instead of "due reverence and submission."{2} Its contributors trafficked in doctrinally defective idiocy that ran the gauntlet from questioning the integrity of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and the recent pontificates to a kind of yellow journalism that took relish in painting in the worst possible way various papal teachings and directives. 

With the pontificate of Pope Francis, these folks were particularly similar to "sounding brass or tinkling cymbals" (cf. 1 Cor xiii,1). In fact, the entirety of that biblical chapter is quite germane to this matter because it highlights the core flaw of so many in the traditionalist cottage industry: the absolute and fundamental lack of charity. This can be seen in particular over the past seven plus years where these folks have treated the Successor of Peter with contempt at every turn. You can see this not only in the numerous articles cranked out by the Traditionalist Outrage Porn contingent but also from those who both comment on said pieces in comments boxes as well as circulate them to others.

These sorts of people were described in a rather prophetic way in an allocation of Pope St. Pius X over one hundred years ago: 

Do not allow yourselves to be deceived by the cunning statements of those who persistently claim to wish to be with the Church, to love the Church, to fight so that people do not leave Her...But judge them by their works. If they despise the shepherds of the Church and even the Pope, if they attempt all means of evading their authority in order to elude their directives and judgments..., then about which Church do these men mean to speak? Certainly not about that established on the foundations of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone (Eph. 2:20)." [Pope St. Pius X: Allocution (circa May 10, 1909)]

This quote precisely encapsulates the attitudes of the lions share of vocal traditionalists and conservatives over the current pontificate. And these once problematic (but somewhat containable) matters have unfortunately gotten much worse since Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio was promulgated. What was intended to be a healing action and a magnanimous gesture was instead horribly abused. And as of July 16, 2021 these graceless brats used up the last of the papal goodwill:

In defense of the unity of the Body of Christ, I am constrained to revoke the faculty granted by my Predecessors. The distorted use that has been made of this faculty is contrary to the intentions that led to granting the freedom to celebrate the Mass with the Missale Romanum of 1962. Because "liturgical celebrations are not private actions, but celebrations of the Church, which is the sacrament of unity," they must be carried out in communion with the Church. Vatican Council II, while it reaffirmed the external bonds of incorporation in the Church — the profession of faith, the sacraments, of communion — affirmed with St. Augustine that to remain in the Church not only "with the body" but also "with the heart" is a condition for salvation.

It is very sad that a liturgical form that used to be a source of unity now is the domain of those who regularly foster division. It could not have been Pope Benedict XVI's intent to facilitate the growth of groups that to varying degrees are schismatic, heretical, and refuse obedience at every turn. The very same More Moral Than Thou sorts who with Pope Francis' recent decision "when they heard this, they were cut to the quick" (cf. Acts vii,54) are in the end generally not going to act differently than they have in the past seven plus years. That is why it is perfectly justifiable with Traditionis Custodes for the Supreme Pontiff to "cut them in pieces and assign them a place with the other hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (cf. Matthew xxiv,51).

My personal view on this as I said earlier is complicated. There are folks who will be hurt by this who are legitimately innocent bystanders. But the smug, self righteous, phylactery-widening, tassel-lengthening Pharisees who brought this on themselves{3} are another story altogether.

For those who are hurt and angry about this, if they are of goodwill, they will seek in this difficulty consolation in the writings of the spiritual masters of the Catholic tradition. And I believe all of goodwill should be both sensitive to these folks' difficulties as well as seek to help them in navigating the waters that lay ahead.

However, of those other folks who have without shame or repentance trafficked in detraction, slander, calumny, sacrilege, idolatry, and written scandalous manifestos against the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and the popes who have confirmed said synod, they deserve only contempt. Most of them are not going to stop now that they have squandered Summorum Pontificum. But hopefully, their influence can be effectively exorcised from the Church and a genuine renewal can take place.

[I]t is to give proof of a submission which is far from sincere to set up some kind of opposition between one Pontiff and another. Those who, faced with two differing directives, reject the present one to hold to the past, are not giving proof of obedience to the authority which has the right and duty to guide them and in some ways they resemble those who, on receiving a condemnation, would wish to appeal to a future council, or to a Pope who is better informed.

On this point what must be remembered is that in the government of the Church, except for the essential duties imposed on all Pontiffs by their apostolic office, each of them can adopt the attitude which he judges best according to times and circumstances. Of this he alone is the judge. [Pope Leo XIII: Apostolic Letter Epistola Tua (circa June 17, 1885)]

 

Notes:

{1} Pope Pius XII: Excerpt from his Encyclical Letter Humani Generis §18 (circa August 12, 1950)

{2} Cf. Humani Generis §42.

{3} In the event that some of The Usual Suspects doubt my veracity, it bears noting that is at least one priest within the traditionalist movement (with whom I have had past disagreements) has to his credit outlined these problems in pretty good detail for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

I Saw Two Gospels

This is very much on point and considering a subject we are going over on this site at the moment, rather timely.

Though I noted last week in preparing to publish a multiple post response to Traditionis Custodes that the texts in question were given a final review on October 5, 2021, subsequent to that posting, I made some minor adjustments to the second and third threads in that sequence. The second thread to be published tomorrow is now in final form, the third is likely to have some modifications made to it before it is finalized for publication at some point before the end of the month.

Points to Ponder:

When a wise person debates with a fool, the fool rages and laughs, and there is no peace and quiet.[Proverbs xxix,9] 

Beverage in hand

On my way to the water

Maduro musings

Points to Ponder:

(On Charity)

Always be ready and willing to excuse the faults of your neighbour, and never put an unfavourable interpretation upon his actions. The same action, says St. Francis de Sales, may be looked upon under many different aspects: a charitable person will ever suppose the best, an uncharitable person will just as certainly choose the worst. [RP Quadrupani: From Light and Peace (circa 1795)]

Thirty Pieces of Evidence Pertaining to the Decision in Traditionis Custodes:
(A Rerum Novarum Recapitulation Posting) 

I published a note of explanation yesterday as to why I have decided to start a formal response on the apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes. The thread before you is the first of what will be three planned installments. 

This thread is not of an expository nature. Instead, it comprises content spanning roughly 2.5 years out from the issuance of Pope Francis' motu proprio. So in order from oldest to newest and without further ado, here are thirty pieces of evidence pertaining to the motu proprio of July 16, 2021:

Remembering John and Bill (circa January 7, 2019)

Points to Ponder on the Pope From Cardinal Giuseppe Sarto (circa February 6, 2019)

On Papal Dissent, Argumentation Fallacies, Etc. (circa February 9, 2019)

More on Popes, Heresy, Theology, Church History, Etc. (circa February 11, 2019)

Revisiting the Controversial Dubia -A Lenten Reflection (circa March 21, 2019)

On Certain Pharisee Parallels Amongst the "More Faithful Than Thou" Crowd -A Lenten Reflection (circa March 24, 2019)

On the Subject of Conscience and Sacramental Reception -A Lenten Reflection (circa April 4, 2020)

On Rash Judgments -A Lenten Reflection (circa April 6, 2019)

To Address the So-Called "Fraternal Correction" and its Signatories (circa April 14, 2019)

On the Malta Dioceses Application of the Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia (circa April 16, 2019)

On Correcting the So-Called "Correctio Filialis", Addressing Its Accusations, Etc. (circa April 18, 2019)

On Correcting the Pretentious "Open Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church", Addressing its Accusations, Etc. (circa May 14, 2019)

Points To Ponder On Obedience From Pope Paul VI's Ecclesiam Suam (circa November 14, 2019)

On the Controversy of Amoris Laetitia Amongst The More Faithful Than Thou Crowd (circa December 5, 2019)

On Magisterial Interpretation (circa January 4, 2020)

On Amoris Laetitia, Argumentation Fallacies, The Eye Beams of Some More Faithful Than Thou Folks, Etc. (circa February 4, 2020)

On the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, Obedience, and the Requirements of Faithful Catholics (circa February 26, 2020)

On Clarifying and Retracting Some Prior Statements on the Magisterium (circa March 8, 2020)

Points to Ponder on Obedience From St. Catherine of Siena (circa March 10, 2020)

Briefly on Pope Francis and Traditional Spiritual Instruction (circa June 20, 2020)

On the Inexorable Path of the Intransigent Traditionalist (circa July 10, 2020)

Briefly on "Traditionalist Critiques" (circa July 11, 2020)

On "Traditionalism", the Catholic Spiritual Tradition, and How To Approach Ecclesial Problems (circa July 18, 2020)

More on Magisterial Interpretation (circa October 23, 2020)

On Dogmatic Facts and Pope Francis' Election as Pope (circa December 4, 2020)

On St. Peter's, Private Masses, Traditionalist Complaining, Etc. (circa March 13, 2021)

Points to Ponder on Obedience, the Reverence Due To Bad Priests, and God's View--Part I (circa June 19, 2021)

Points to Ponder on Obedience, the Reverence Due To Bad Priests, and God's View--Part II (circa June 22, 2021)

Points to Ponder on Obedience, the Reverence Due To Bad Priests, and God's View--Part III (circa June 26, 2021)

Points to Ponder on Correcting Or Accusing the Roman Pontiff (circa July 14, 2021)

The reason for this thread compilation will be evident very soon... 

As I have finally decided to respond to the issue of Pope Francis' apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes (TC), the purpose of this posting is to explain in part my reluctance to do so up to this point.

When the news of this event first came out, I knew with the absence of context, this move would be ripe for misinterpretation. So before I did anything else, I carefully read the texts involved. I then compiled on July 18, 2021 a list of threads from this site going back 2.5 years prior to TC to point out a longstanding and undeniable pattern of actions and behaviour by various folks both lay as well as clerical claiming to be traditionalists. That list was compiled within days of the motu proprio's publication. 

At that point, an examination of the apostolic letter itself along with the accompanying text was appropriate so a text was drafted in preliminary form on July 23, 2021 and after additional prayer and reflection, extensively revised on August 6, 2021. Finally, I came up with the idea for a third piece to complete the subject and drafted the initial text August 6, 2021. A reread of all three texts took place on August 13, 2021 with modifications being made to all of them at that time, most notably in the introduction of the main response. 

I was considering a late August-early September 2021 publication of the threads but was really demoralized by the fall of Kabul and to be honest, the motivation to finish and publish the texts at that point subsided. I also was hoping that after an initial furor from the Usual Suspects that things would more or less die down and publication of the threads could be put off indefinitely. That unfortunately has not happened.

I have been seeing in the past couple of months not only nothing from the so-called traditionalists and their allies of a truly Traditional attitude on the matter in question, but in general completely tone deaf responses oblivious to the objective reality involved. Therefore, I have decided that there is no point in sitting on these texts any longer. They were given a final review on October 5, 2021 and as nothing of substance was deemed in need of changing, the three texts will be published in sequential order starting tomorrow.