Mark Shea’s “Some Thoughts on Motu Proprio Mania” (Vital Signs, October) misses the point.  The Holy Father did not issue this as a counterfoil to the abuses of the Novus Ordo Mass.  He issued this decree because he wished to restore that which was summarily taken away: the unbroken tradition (up to Vatican II) of the immemorial Mass—a Mass which traces its roots back to the earliest centuries of the Church and whose organic development, divinely inspired, was codified over 1,600 years ago.

Mr. Shea makes it seem as though it is a matter of tweedledum or tweedledee, as long as the Mass is “devoutly” offered.  He could not be more wrong.  The Mass is an outward manifestation of the Faith of the Church, and, as such, should be the most sublime liturgy possible.  The prayers at the foot of the altar (eliminated in the Novus Ordo), the complete Offertory (also eliminated), the Confiteor (truncated in the New Mass), and, most of all, the Canon of the Mass are clear expressions of the penitential and sacrificial nature of the Mass.  Everyone who attends a Traditional Mass has no doubt that he is witnessing an unbloody sacrifice, and that he is being turned humbly and reverentially toward God on the altar.  There is just as much participation on the part of the laity who follow silently along with the priest, and this sort of participation reflects the Church’s opposition to the danger of immanentism, which says that God is within you, so, therefore, your liturgy should be about you.  God is also an objective Being, He is in the tabernacle, and Catholics have always reflected this truth by the holy silence, the genuflecting, the facing toward the tabernacle, the incense, the music, and the vestments of the priest.

When Cardinal Bugnini and his Protestant cohorts concocted the Novus Ordo, he was absolutely jubilant at its implementation.  Had it not been for Cardinal Ottaviani, Cardinal Castro de Meyer, and a few others, the Roman Canon would not even have been included among the four choices offered.  As Pope Paul VI lamented, “The smoke of Satan has entered the Church.”  At length, Cardinal Bugnini was “rewarded” for his treachery by being removed from the Vatican Curia and sent to Iran!

Our present Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has now affirmed for all the world the right of any priest to offer the immemorial Rite of Mass without persecution, or hindrance, even by bishops.  That is why Catholics rejoice, Mr. Shea.  Those of us who have suffered, whose families have suffered as a result of the chaos within the Church, and whose children have been subjected to the false theology stemming from Vatican II and its phony liturgy (lex orandi, lex credendi) are prayerfully hopeful that, in the future, the Mass in its entirety and in all its beauty will be completely restored.  And it is not only lay people but priests who have suffered.  We all know of cases in which priests who wanted to say the Mass were vilified, persecuted, shunned, and even removed from parishes or teaching positions.  If the New Mass is so good, why this irrational hatred of the Tridentine Mass?

Are there Traditional Catholics who strain at gnats and swallow camels?  Yes!  I wonder if this stems from the fact that many families have had to homeschool their children, making themselves the final arbiter of all things orthodox and, ultimately, becoming little popes and theologians; not having a tradition of respect for priests, they are rude and judgmental at times.  This does not apply to all Traditionalists, but there are significant numbers who go to extremes.  There are others who, after reading extremist authors, become tainted with a bit of Jansenism—everything is a sin, the candle must be in this exact place, and, if you have a glass of wine, you are surely going to Hell!

If you are happy in your “reverent” Novus Ordo, then so be it; but don’t minimize or trivialize the importance of the decree of our present Pope and what it will mean for the good of the Catholic Church.


        —Peg Fallon
Rockford, IL

Mr. Shea Replies:

The quotation marks around the word “reverent” in that last paragraph unintentionally make exactly the point that I was trying to make.  The tendency of devotees of the Tridentine Rite to suggest or say that those attending the Paul VI Rite are second-class Catholics is, combined with their strange refusal to take yes for an answer, unlikely to win more hearts and minds for the cause of Traditionalist expressions of the Faith.  I think that’s sad since, as Mrs. Fallon points out, the riches of the Faith are a glory to be celebrated.  I hope devotees of the Tridentine Rite can finally find some peace with the promulgation of the motu proprio.  At the same time, I shall continue to operate on the basic principle “If it’s good enough for the Church, it’s good enough for me” and joyfully attend the Paul VI Rite at my solidly orthodox Dominican parish.  I wish Mrs. Fallon well and hope she likewise meets our Lord in joy and gratitude in the Sacrifice of the Mass at her parish.