Total Liturgical Madness

TRANSCRIPT

When looking back on 10 years of Pope Francis, it's impossible to overlook his relationship with the only group in the Church he's refused to accompany. 

In tonight's In-Depth Report, Church Militant's Nick Wylie discusses the pope's relationship with those who prefer the Latin Mass.

Pope Francis: "Beware of the rigidity they propose to you. Be careful. Because behind every rigidity, there is something bad, which is not the Spirit of God."

In April 2020, Church Militant reported a Vatican survey sent to bishops regarding the use of the Traditional Latin Mass, and traditional Catholics were instantly concerned that the liturgical form was in danger.

On July 16, 2021, Pope Francis dropped a bomb on those concerned Catholics when he released his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes. 

Within the text of the document, Francis claimed the results of the 2020 survey were considered in its creation, but critics were skeptical.

Vatican journalist Diane Montagna reported, "Only 30% of bishops responded & 50%+ of these had a 'neutral or favorable' response to SP [Summorum Pontificum]."

Cdl. Arthur Roche, prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship: "This is the direction that the Church has set, and this is the direction in which we are moving."

After many bishops deemed changes did not need to be made to the TLM in their dioceses, on Feb. 21, Cdl. Arthur Roche issued a rescript of Traditionis Custodes, effectively stripping bishops of the authority restored to them by Vatican II. 

This even after studies have shown Catholics attending TLM are much more likely to attend Mass and agree with Church teachings.

Fr. Donald Kloster, diocese of Bridgeport, Conn.: "Fifty-one percent of the Novus Ordo attendees approve of abortion in some sense. Only 1% of Latin Massers approve. Eighty-nine percent of the Novus Ordo approve of some form of contraception — but only 2% of the Latin Massers."

Pope Francis has a history of being unpastoral to traditional-leaning religious communities, in addition to Catholics in the pews. 

Jules Gomes, Rome correspondent, Church Militant: "Since 2016, when Pope Francis first issued his apostolic declaration Vultum Dei Quaerere, a number of monasteries — particularly cloistered and contemplative orders, as well as those who say the Traditional Latin Mass — have been bulldozed." 

In 2018, Francis dissolved the Fraternity of the Holy Apostles in Belgium, a flourishing religious order in a country in the midst of a vocations crisis.

The failure to dialogue with faithful Catholics has been one of the biggest stains on the pontiff's legacy.

While Francis has attacked the Latin Mass in the name of "unity," he's neglected to correct abuses in the Novus Ordo.