Cops, Popes, and Latin Mass

As Attorney General Merrick Garland targets pro-lifers, Pope Francis takes aim at trads. The post Cops and Popes and Latin Mass appeared first on The American Conservative.

The Catholic media was abuzz earlier this year over a leaked Federal Bureau of Investigation document warning of extremism in traditional Catholic groups. The FBI was on the radar of many publications, pointing out, and targeting adherents to the traditional Latin Mass. This group has seen a rise since 2007 when Pope Benedict XVI released motu Proprio, reauthorizing the celebration of this liturgy, largely at celebrant discretion, instead of the post Vatican II “Novus Ordo”.

This coverage of the FBI crackdown has been misleading. the document contains content that is shoddily-sourced . However, the real government action is against Catholics who adhere to the traditional teachings of the Church on bioethics, and sexual morality. Only a few of the groups listed in the FBI document are actively promoting the Latin Mass as opposed to the Novus Ordo. However, all of them support traditional Catholic reproductive ethics while rejecting contraception and abortion.

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It will be difficult for those who are targeted by this document to defend their values, as traditional Catholics may soon represent the only voices still defending them in American public discourse. Mary Eberstadt’s newly reissued Adam and Eve After The Pill: Paradoxes Of The Sexual Revolution is a stark reminder of how mainline Protestantism, once a bastion for the religious right, is now in a free fall. She writes that “donations, attendance, especially of young people, is down and missionaries, a good proxy for the vibrancy of beliefs, are diminishing at a rapid pace.”

Catholics should expect a greater concentration of anger directed against those who actively support life, especially as the mainline Protestantism fades. This is particularly true when the federal government holds opposing viewpoints. Mark Houck’s January case is only one example.

Houck was eventually acquitted–but not until after a SWAT team of FBI agents a href=”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11251367/Pennsylvania-pro-life-activist-arrested-SWAT-team-assaulting-Planned-Parenthood-worker.html” rel=”noreferrer noopener” target=”_bla Houck was eventually acquitted, but not before a SWAT-team of FBI agents broke into his home in an early morning raid and traumatized his wife and 7 children.

Garland’s department has been selective in its justice, not only for neighborhood pro-lifers but also for household names. In March, Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt said, that a whistleblower had claimed the DOJ discouraged U.S. Marshals are prohibited from enforcing the law against those who illegally target Supreme Court justices with religious views against abortion.

One of the most controversial examples of government punishment of pro-life Americans is those who refused to take Covid-19 vaccines because they were against abortion. Many of the faithful objected to the inoculations, even though some Church leaders claimed that they were morally right.

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This is not to suggest that there is no antipathy towards the Latin Mass and that the anger of the public is only aimed at abortion. Latin Mass antipathy exists. Just because it doesn’t come from the government.

The message is coming directly from the hierarchy of the Church. Federal officials, even if they tried to stop it, could not do so as effectively as Pope Francis.

In a column in March, Ross Douthat described the attempt by the Pope to “strangulate Latin Mass congregations” as the publication of Traditionalis Custodes. This motoproprio is a reversal of the permissiveness that Pope Benedict extended towards the older liturgy. There have been a number of messages from Vatican officials since the release of the document, many of which indicate a bureaucratic effort to eliminate the old Mass.

As Douthat said, “There’s the two-front battle that Rome is fighting over doctrine and liturgy. It’s trying to suppress the church’s Latin Mass traditionists while gently restraint the liberal German Bishops forcing a split on Catholicism’s leftward side.”

There are still a few signs of hope in America for Catholics who prefer the centuries-old liturgy. In the background, bishops in the U.S. quietly turn a blind-eye on some of the restrictions of traditionis custodes and, in some cases even celebrate the Latin Mass at local traditional parishes.

In South Bend (Indiana), Bishop Kevin Rhoades celebrated the Latin Mass at St. Stanislaus in January. He had installed a monsignor of the Fraternity of St. Peter there to meet the growing demand for this older liturgy. In Columbus, Ohio the first Indian American bishop, Bishop Earl Fernandes joyfully celebrated Latin Mass at St. Leo’s Oratory as parishioners crowded the pews. In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Cardinal Timothy Dolan , who seems to be torn between traditionalists and liberals, bravely argued for the inclusion of “Young people” who want to feel awe and reverence, but have trouble finding a church that can meet their needs.

Shia LaBoeuf’s comments, which gained headlines in 2022 when he said, “The Latin Mass affected me deeply,” are a reminder that it will be the youth who suffer if Vatican continues to suppress tradition. It doesn’t seem like they are trying to sell me anything.

In a viral, anonymous blog post, the author called the pontificate of Pope Francis “a disaster”, pointing out that he had fueled confusion by elevating voices who flouted sexual morality, while engaging in “active persecution” against those who adhere to traditional teaching. In an anonymous post that went viral, the author called Pope Francis’ pontificate “a disaster”. He also complained that Pope Francis had caused confusion by elevating voices who flouted sexual morality and actively persecuting those who adhered to traditional teaching.

They may also understand that Latin Mass churches, and more reverent parishes in general, tend to be more racially diverse (Eberstadt has a convincing passage about the “trad” nature of African Catholicism). It is also possible that they are aware that Latin Mass parishes and reverent parishes tend to have a more diverse population (Eberstadt’s passage on the “trad” nature African Catholicism is convincing) and, at least anecdotally, boast higher seminary recruitment numbers.

In May, Pope Francis described these Catholics as symptomatic ” of a nostalgic illness.” For those who wish to find holy, orthodox and diverse priests that can provide spiritual guidance and inspire Americans who are pro-life, we hope the disease spreads.

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