Back to 1970

One does one wonder why so many of the generation that came to maturity in the 1960s and 1970s looks back to that era as the origin of a new civilization. As I'm fond of pointing out to friends, past eras are like neighborhoods; one doesn't have to live in one if one doesn't want to. Some persons plagued by a crippling nostalgia may have good reason to remain stuck in the past, however, and such need not be sinful. For instance, nothing is wrong or objectionable per se with having a cello and harpsichord in one's drawing room, especially if one prefers the sound of two skeletons tap dancing on a tin roof to the excessive emotionalism of contemporary art and Celine Dion.

The latest move on the part of Pope Francis, however, to force us all to move back to 1970 by, in effect, abolishing the historic Latin Mass is unacceptable, because it is unjust. Qua unjust, it cannot have the force of law. The abuse is prima facie absurd, because it is motivated by the urge for that which it superficially seeks to prevent, disunity and schism. The praiseworthy efforts of saintly men, like Archbishop Lafebvre, and numerous others to resist such papal abuses must be our guiding light in these dark times. Their partial success proves that resistance in the end can and shall prove fruitful.

The clergy, as ever, have their work cut out for them. Get to it. For us layfolk the question of what we should do does not have a complete and ready answer. I, at any rate, have begun doing my part partly by exchanging emails on the current situation with friends from abroad. Holy Church, as the Ordinariate Missal teaches, is, after all, "the blessed company of all faithful people," and as such, includes all those from the rising of the sun unto the setting thereof who offer a pure sacrifice unto the Lord, our God (cf. Mal. 1:11). If my emails involve bits of French and some Latin with rhythm, so much the better! Two such exchanges may be of interest to the EF's readers:

(1) To a Frenchman

Subject: Welcome back to 1970

Bienvenue en enfer! 

Haven't you heard? The Catholic Faith began in 1963!

Response:

Onward, no matter the challenge, with a spring in our step and a smile on our face!

So the Pope and the bishops prefer not to condemn James Martin and Joe Biden, obstruct those who would like to, and are marginalizing all non-Novus-Ordoists into the rad-trad bucket. They too were once young boys and young men; maybe they came from households bereft of strong, wise, and good examples of virility, masculinity and self-sacrifice. Well, that’s the world we live in; let’s make it different by becoming those things.

 My response:

I’m sure you know what you will find if you look up the word jesuitical in an English dictionary. Protestants can be nasty, but when they gave that word its usual meaning, they unfortunately knew what they were doing.

Here’s what we can expect next: The Pope, in light of his experience as Ordinary of the Faithful of the Eastern Rites in Argentina (1998–2013), will declare that to show their unswerving fidelity to the Chair of Peter, the faithful of the Eastern Rites should likewise enthusiastically embrace the Novus Ordo as their own.

As I have stressed, absolute monarchy is an eighteenth-century invention with no basis in medieval history. Nevertheless, the allure of une foi, une loi, un roi surely has its appeal. How to translate such sentiment into Latin in our own day? Una missa, una liturgia, Rex unus Papa. Plures homines, plures religiones, plures opiniones. Error ubique.

(2) From a Canadian Anglican

Subject: What's the deal with Traditionis custodes?

My Response:

The last gasp of the foul, diabolical, tacky spirit of Vatican II (not the same as the Spirit of God) has belched forth its GODLESS vomit into the sanctuary. The 1970s prove that resistance shall prove fruitful. Jesuit, Marxist, Fascist, King, Emperor, and (unfortunately) Pope. He’s doing this now because he knows he’ll be dead before the year’s out. The Wrath of Almighty God is upon us all. Repent ye, for the Kingdom of God draweth nigh!

But I haven't answered your question: Francis seeks to gain the alienation of his opponents. If he were a bit more open to capitalism, he would realize that this is pure lunacy, because thereby he is alienating the majority of the Church’s (note the capital C) most committed members, which is always bad for business. In other words, he seeks to ignite the schism he wants.