A new Motu Proprio has been issued by our Holy Father, Pope Francis. It is accompanied by an explanatory letter in which the Pope tells us the aim of the Motu Proprio which is to guide the bishops and faithful from henceforth regarding the Traditional Mass, and its relation to the new Rite of Pope Paul VI. For many Catholics, this document will come as a rude awakening. It is clearly meant to hinder the spread of the ancient Rite as well to as to insist that the new Rite is the sole expression of that "Lex Credendi" that has guided the Church throughout the centuries. It is indeed unfortunate for those who have tried to keep the Old Rite while living in peace with the apostles of the new Rite and its new religion. But those times are at an end. The allowance for the Old Rite is simply a temporary one so that Catholics will be brought gently to the awaiting arms of the new religion and its new form of worship. In this sense, this Motu Proprio is a blessing. The deliberately seductive words of the Motu Proprio of Benedict XVI, in which greater freedom to embrace the Old Rite was mixed with the idea that both old and new are both equally Catholic, and that one cannot refuse in principle to celebrate the new Rite if one is a priest, have been replaced by the harsh reality that has guided the hierarchy as a whole since the Mass of Paul VI was first promulgated. The Council and its new Mass are the only reality; these are the stars that have guided the mariners on the Barque of Saint Peter since the woeful days of Vatican II.
In response to this latest clarification, I for one, wish to make my own the immortal words of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in his declaration of 1974:
"We hold fast, with all our heart and with all our soul, to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to preserve this faith, to Eternal Rome, Mistress of wisdom and truth.
We refuse, on the other hand, and have always refused to follow the Rome of neo-Modernist and neo-Protestant tendencies which were clearly evident in the Second Vatican Council and, after the Council, in all the reforms which issued from it.
All these reforms, indeed, have contributed and are still contributing to the destruction of the Church, to the ruin of the priesthood, to the abolition of the Sacrifice of the Mass and of the sacraments, to the disappearance of religious life, to a naturalist and Teilhardian teaching in universities, seminaries and catechectics; a teaching derived from Liberalism and Protestantism, many times condemned by the solemn Magisterium of the Church.
No authority, not even the highest in the hierarchy, can force us to abandon or diminish our Catholic Faith, so clearly expressed and professed by the Church’s Magisterium for nineteen centuries.
“But though we,” says St. Paul, “or an angel from heaven preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal. 1:8).
Is it not this that the Holy Father is repeating to us today? And if we can discern a certain contradiction in his words and deeds, as well as in those of the dicasteries, well we choose what was always taught and we turn a deaf ear to the novelties destroying the Church.
It is impossible to modify profoundly the lex orandi without modifying the lex credendi. To the Novus Ordo Missae correspond a new catechism, a new priesthood, new seminaries, a charismatic Pentecostal Church—all things opposed to orthodoxy and the perennial teaching of the Church.
This Reformation, born of Liberalism and Modernism, is poisoned through and through; it derives from heresy and ends in heresy, even if all its acts are not formally heretical. It is therefore impossible for any conscientious and faithful Catholic to espouse this Reformation or to submit to it in any way whatsoever.
The only attitude of faithfulness to the Church and Catholic doctrine, in view of our salvation, is a categorical refusal to accept this Reformation.
That is why, without any spirit of rebellion, bitterness or resentment, we pursue our work of forming priests, with the timeless Magisterium as our guide. We are persuaded that we can render no greater service to the Holy Catholic Church, to the Sovereign Pontiff and to posterity.
That is why we hold fast to all that has been believed and practiced in the faith, morals, liturgy, teaching of the catechism, formation of the priest and institution of the Church, by the Church of all time; to all these things as codified in those books which saw day before the Modernist influence of the Council. This we shall do until such time that the true light of Tradition dissipates the darkness obscuring the sky of Eternal Rome.
By doing this, with the grace of God and the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and that of St. Joseph and St. Pius X, we are assured of remaining faithful to the Roman Catholic Church and to all the successors of Peter, and of being the fideles dispensatores mysteriorum Domini Nostri Jesu Christi in Spiritu Sancto. Amen.
November 21, 1974
Econe, Switzerland"
To this declaration, I would add the determination which here I express openly and by which I hope to strengthen the resolve of the faithful in this trial visited upon us, that I will never say the reformed rite of Mass foisted upon the Church by Paul VI, a rite that has led to a massive loss of Faith seen in every diocese within the Catholic Church, a rite which opens itself by nature to every kind of experimentation and inculturation, not to mention sacrilege. Likewise, I refuse to embrace the false claims of the Second Vatican Council regarding Ecumenism, Religious Liberty, and Collegiality but instead profess my belief that the Catholic Church- one, holy, Catholic, apostolic, and Roman- is the sole Church founded by Christ, outside of which no one can be saved; that man is free to embrace the Faith taught by her, and that faith only, that man is not free morally to embrace any other religion, since all other religions have the devil as their author, and that the Church is not ruled by synods, Councils or any other bodies, but is monarchical in nature, having the Roman Pontiff alone as its supreme head on earth under the Headship of Jesus Christ. To the new religion, I will not assent or give credence, though I appreciate the efforts of those within the Church who are presently confused, bishops, priests, and laity, to ensure the triumph of Christ and His religion, even if they do not see clearly the truth due to the instinct, normally a Catholic one, to follow the shepherds come what may.
I will continue to offer up the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the ancient rite of the Roman Church, whether with permission or without. I refuse, as every Catholic must, this attempt of the authorities to suppress Catholicism under the pretext of liturgical unity, as there cannot be true unity if the truth is compromised or suppressed by those wishing the destruction of the Church, whether consciously or not.
