Traditionalist Catholic: Encyclopedia II - Traditionalist Catholic - Places of worship

Traditionalist Catholic - Places of worship

Some traditionalist Catholics attend "Tridentine" Mass within diocesan structures. The Congregation for Divine Worship's circular letter Quattuor abhinc annos of 3 October 1984 granted diocesan bishops an indult to authorize celebration of Mass according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal in favour of priests and faithful who request it and who clearly do not share the positions adopted by those who question the lawfulness and doctrinal soundness of the 1970 edition. The priests who offer these Masses may be members of priestly societies to which the Catholic Church grants recognition, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, or they may be ordinary diocesan priests or members of religious institutes. Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, himself occasionally celebrates Mass in public in accordance with the 1962 Missal, and other cardinals also have done so in recent years, though much less frequently.

The website of the traditionalist International Federation Una Voce gives a list, with addresses and other contact information, of priestly societies and religious institutes in full communion with the Holy See and the Roman Catholic Church in general that are dedicated to preserving the "Tridentine" Mass.

No such list exists of the heterogeneous associations and unattached priests who celebrate the "Tridentine" Mass in a situation of schism or separation. The best known of these is the Society of St. Pius X, which does not accept the conditions attached to the Quattuor abhinc annos indult, and so is not allowed to operate within diocesan structures. Accordingly, it offers Mass according to the 1962 Missal in its own centres, maintaining that no authorization whatever is required. It teaches that "the Indult Mass ... is not for traditional Catholics",[4] and quotes an article that concludes that "those who are only near Masses 'of Pope Paul VI' or to traditional Masses said under the 'Indult'" are excused from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass, "[f]irstly because of the danger for the faith coming either from the priests who celebrate or from the faithful who attend them; secondly, legitimization is given to the new liturgy and finally an approval more or less implicit of the work of destruction of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Tradition."[5]. With regard to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter, the Society of St Pius X declares that "a Catholic ought not to attend their Masses" because of what the Society calls the Fraternity's support for "the new religion which is being installed" and its "blanket acceptance of Vatican II's orthodoxy".[6]

Other priests too, whether belonging to sedevacantist groups such as the Society of St. Pius V and the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen or unattached to any group, offer Mass in their own centres according to various editions of the Roman Missal anterior to 1970.

Those who thus worship outside of diocesan structures justify their position on the grounds that they must do so in order to ensure they are able to administer or receive all of the Sacraments - not just the Eucharist - in the traditional way, and to be able to give or hear sermons on controversial matters (e.g., ecumenism, evangelism, liberalism, sin, Purgatory, Hell, political issues, sex scandals, etc.) without fear of reprisal from disapproving Bishops.

Though there is a certain level of dispute among these various groups at the official level, traditionalist Catholic lay people generally tend to have good relations with each other, though often with some tension between sedevacantists and those who accept the acclaimed Pope. A given traditionalist Catholic might have strong opinions for or against worshiping outside of diocesan structures, or might instead worship at more than one of the above settings without qualm.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Places of worship", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki