As a result, a new face of “unity” was obtained, which is not rooted in the organic totality of the traditional ritual – this is practically non-existent in the reformed liturgy – but which is based on trust and obedience to the ecclesiastical authority (especially the Pope) and the post-conciliar liturgical order introduced by it. ... Opposition does not simply arise from disobedience, ... but from a different understanding of the fundamental principle of unity itself. And the fact that there has been a radical change in this area and the controversy it sparked was not caused by “traditionalists,” but by the post-conciliar reform itself. ...
Traditionis Custodes consciously operates within the strictly narrowed framework of the above-mentioned new face of “unity,” which it elevates to the rank of absolute, central value. The projects of the “post-conciliar” Church and liturgy, precisely because of their foundation in acts of power, are understood here as a reality without alternative – ultimately (“in due time”, as Francis puts it in his letter to the bishops), one who will not accept them ... has no right to be in the Church and call himself Catholic – even if he or she was baptized, believes in all dogmas, leads a full prayer life and sacramental life, tries to do works of mercy and live the gospel.
In fact, Tc is more consistent with other theories of authority in the post-VII Church. See, for example, Dekert's article referenced above which locates the drive to concentrate power in the need to prop up VII due to its weak Traditional foundation.[C]ontrolling or attempting to control the reception, interpretation, and implementation ecumenical councils is a pivotal way (perhaps the pivotal way) in which the early modern and modern papacy has asserted its supremacy within the Catholic Church.
When the philosopher Jean Guitton asked Pope Paul why he did not grant the use of the preconciliar Mass to SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and his followers, the pope replied:
Never. This Mass . . . becomes the symbol of the condemnation of the council. I will not accept, under any circumstances, the condemnation of the council through a symbol. Should this exception to the liturgy of Vatican II have its way, the entire council would be shaken. And, as a consequence, the apostolic authority of the council would be shaken.[10]
Just as I highlighted Francis’s evocation of the adage cum Petro et sub Petro, I think the key to understanding Pope Paul’s statement here lies in his concern that “apostolic authority” not be “shaken.” Lefebvre’s resistance was a direct challenge to the pope, and Paul VI feared that the pre-conciliar Mass had become or would become a shibboleth for the rejection not just of the authority of Vatican II, but that of the popes who sanctioned it.
Since Pope Francis issued Traditionis custodes, I have been grieved by certain disrespectful responses; some have even included slanderous attacks on the Pontiff. I support Pope Francis, and his concern that those who are drawn to more traditional forms of Catholic worship also affirm the validity of the Novus Ordo form of the Mass and, indeed, of the Second Vatican Council itself. As the visible head of the Church, the Pope has a global vision of Church life and can perceive things that we cannot from our more local perspective.
Statement of Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Regarding the Celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in St. Mary’s Cathedral and the Archdiocese of San Francisco
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