American Catholic Traditionalism in 2021 – Part 3

Such is the ordinary life of American Traditionalism today: organizing masses; establishing chapels, parishes and schools; finally, if possible,  participating in conferences, public processions and pilgrimages, both in and outside of the United States. I had written in 2014, however,  that to continue its progress,  American Traditionalism needed to find its own saints and scholars  – just as Europe did in the age of St. Patrick, St. Benedict,  St. Boniface and so many others, when the Church converted both the disintegrating Roman world and the new barbarian nations. 

In 2021 that need is even more dire. The great number of younger people newly introduced to Traditionalism requires liturgical, theological and historical instruction. Further, Traditionalists are compelled to explain and justify (as in the apologias for Christianity in pagan Roman times) their beliefs to an often hostile outside world. Finally,  Traditionalism must develop a deeper understanding of its own origins and of how the Catholic Church got to the position it is in today. What is the intellectual and spiritual life of the Traditionalists – and what leaders have emerged? 

I should start with the active, apostolic fraternities of priests, beginning  with the Priestly Society of St. Pius X (FSSPX) founded by Archbishop  Marcel Lefebvre. The FSSPX  initiated the rebirth of the practice of Traditional Catholicism, both internationally and in the United States. The Fraternity has continued its steady progress in the last 8 years. In many respects a modus vivendi has been achieved with the Vatican, so the voices in America who continue to  denounce the alleged schismatics have receded into the background. A grand new seminary was inaugurated five years ago in the state of Virginia to accommodate the growing number of young seminarians. The Fraternity also maintains its own chapels, schools and publications.  On the other hand, the FSSPX has not taken a leading role in the debates on the Church and the world of the present day. Perhaps this more cautious public face is due to yet another recent schism within the Fraternity  – that involving Bishop Williamson, which resulted in the formation within North America of the “SSPX – Marian Corps” (aka the “Resistance” or the “Strict Observance.”). Perhaps it reflects continued fond hopes of obtaining a more regular status from the Vatican. 

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), an offspring of the FSSPX originating in resistance to Archbishop Lefebvre’s 1988 episcopal consecrations,  also continues to make steady progress. I am told that their seminary, completed only in 2010, already cannot accommodate all the candidates. The FSSP principally staffs a network of parishes throughout the United States. I have otherwise heard very little from the Fraternity recently – quite a contrast with its prominence among Traditionalists in the decade after the 1988 Indult. 

Recently, however,  the most active of these priestly societies has been the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest (ICRSS or ICKSP). It perhaps has understood best the new opportunities available to Traditionalists under SP. Noteworthy is their outward, evangelical focus and a certain – shall we say –  showmanship? The ICRSS,  for example,  pays close attention to the aesthetic details of the liturgy. It also specializes in taking over and restoring magnificent old churches abandoned by their dioceses because a loss of the congregation or the parish’s “bad neighborhood.” 

Just in the last several years the Institute has made major inroads in Connecticut. In Waterbury (Hartford archdiocese) the ICRSS assumed the administration of the grand church of St. Patrick with  enigmatic Irish-language inscriptions on the stained glass windows. In so doing,  they have built upon and continued the  celebration of the Latin Mass in that city  – a tradition that in one form or another stretches back to 2007 and before. At almost the same time,  the ICRSS took over a second church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Bridgeport (Bridgeport Diocese). An old Slovak church, Sts. Cyril and Methodius is situated in the midst of a virtual moonscape emblematic of American industrial and urban decay.  But the church had been lovingly preserved by its long-term pastor who for decades celebrated an Indult Mass there for a small congregation. The Institute, building on these foundations, has awakened the parish to vigorous new life. 

Yet perhaps the most heartening development is the resurgence of Traditionalist contemplative life.   Has not the priority given historically to action over contemplation been a glaring defect not only of American Catholicism but of post-1830 ultramontane Catholicism in general?  We might start our survey with the flourishing Clear Creek Abbey in Oklahoma (Our Lady of Clear Creek) which has been in existence since 1999 – back then I met on a transatlantic flight two monks returning to France from scouting out the location of the new monastery!   An abbey since 2010, Clear Creek now has 50 monks and is engaged in a major building campaign.  I have heard of families moving to that area in order to regularly attend the abbey’s services 

Also representative are the Carmelite “Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel” of Wyoming.  These are cloistered contemplative monks- not mendicant friars. As to their liturgy, they state:
According to the Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, and the corresponding Instruction Universae Ecclesiae, the Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel have unanimously chosen to permanently retain the Carmelite Rite as the Liturgy of their institute according to the Carmelite liturgical books in use in 1962.

This monastery is also widely known for the brand of coffee it sells to support itself!

Of the female orders, perhaps the best known are the “Benedictines of Mary, Queen of the Apostles” in Gower Missouri. In 2018  the monastery was raised to an abbey and a new abbey church was consecrated. The ceremony for the consecration of their abbess, unique up till now in the United States, attracted wide attention.  This monastery is also well known outside of just Catholic circles for its acclaimed, best-selling recordings of chant.  Mention should also be made of a number of communities of Discalced Carmelites.

But two monasteries, located outside the United States but having many American members,  have had perhaps the greatest resonance.  Silverstream Priory in Ireland was founded in 2012 by Americans and erected as an autonomous monastery in 2017. The monks are widely known for their distribution of literature  – some written by themselves.  The monks appear, however, from recent reports to be having a rocky spell with the local ecclesiastical authorities.

The Traditional monastery of San Benedetto in Monte of Norcia, Italy, has acquired world fame.  Their beer, Birra Nursia, has acquired a great reputation on these shores. Then there’s the heroic saga of the monks’ recovery, with the help of international donations, from the earthquake which destroyed their previous monastery. Their campaign to build a new monastery is ongoing. The greatest notoriety was achieved,  however by the publication of Rod Dreher’s Benedict Option in 2017. The Norcia monks appear there as a model of a Christian community cultivating the interior life and withdrawing from the world. I don’t know about that – nor do I think Mr. Dreher had any real understanding of the specific liturgical foundation (Catholic Traditionalism) of this monastery’s life. What is clear, however, is that, thanks to the power of Catholic Tradition, a monastery like Norcia can almost immediately assume spiritual leadership – even in the secular world.   

These examples illustrate the disproportionate influence of contemplative communities – among Traditionalists, other Roman Catholics and even the nonreligious. Primarily, of course it is their liturgies, prayers and chant which are transformative.  And it seems that, just as in the days of the Benedictine monks of the “Dark Ages,” a host of secular benefits seem to flow from this spiritual foundation.

Another development, largely dating from 2013 and afterward, is the readiness of distinguished members of the hierarchy to regularly speak at Traditionalist conferences, to preside at ordinations in the Traditional form and to celebrate Traditional liturgies. Bishop Athanasius Schneider and Cardinal Raymond Burke are the most prominent –  fearless defenders not just of the Traditional liturgy but of Catholic morality. Cardinal Burke and Cardinal Zen have also spoken on the tragic situation of the Church in China. We might add to this list the “underground”  statements of Archbishop Vigano on the current state of the Church. It’s an array of public ecclesiastical advocates unimaginable just ten years ago. Of course, of the above, only Cardinal Burke is an American  –  but I could add the names of several supportive bishops in the United States who have offered public support to Traditionalists. 

On the intellectual front, there have been definite gains in focus and understanding in the last eight years. In this realm, however,  most people make little distinction between Conservatives, Traditionalists and, for that matter, others not Christian at all (like the French authors M. Onfray or M. Houellebecq). And isn’t one of the best analyses of the Novus Ordo Mass Work of Human Hands by the late Fr. Anthony Cekada (a sedevacantist)?  Adherents of Traditionalism also regularly read the online publications of the Conservative Catholics that I have previously listed. Specifically Traditionalist sites of general interest  – combining news, commentary,  essays and politics –  that can be added are Rorate Caeli and Onepeterfive.

The distinction between American and foreign authors is also relatively meaningless.   It’s still a fact that American Traditionalism relies heavily on writers from Europe: Martin Mosebach, Roberto de Mattei, Aldo Maria Valli, Fr. Michael Fiedrowicz, Fr. Claude Barthe,  Prof. Luc Perrin –  to name some of the more prominent. Some of these authors’ works have been translated  – much has not. It’s still a great advantage for a Traditionalist to be able to understand a number of foreign languages: French, German, Italian and Spanish,  both in order to read the above-mentioned authors and also to follow numerous informative online publications in those languages (e.g., Le Forum Catholique)   

This is not to say that the American and other English-speaking Traditionalists  have been idle. Let me mention just a few names. Dr. Peter Kwasniewski has become a ubiquitous presence both as a speaker and a writer, primarily analyzing liturgical questions. Dr. John Lamont has written on a very scholarly level on theological, moral and philosophical issues of the past but also on the deviations of the contemporary. Church.  Prof. John Rao, of course,  has continued to explore history from a Traditionalist perspective as he has been doing for decades now.  His Lake Garda conference (which will be held on Long Island this year) has served for many years as a forum for Traditionalists. It fulfills on the intellectual level much the same role that that the Chartres pilgrimage has done on the liturgical front. Finally, to this group we must of course add the online apostolate of Fr. John Hunwicke of England. 

Let me give examples of specific topics that have received more careful consideration than had been the case in the past.  New objects of inquiry are the Mass texts themselves: the readings, the orations,  the Holy Week liturgies.  Articles analyzing the Mass texts in detail have appeared on the popular sites New Liturgical Movement and Rorate Caeli. This research makes impossible, without significant further qualification,  the former Traditionalist objective, so glibly asserted years ago, of merely restoring the “Latin Mass.” I should point out that the New Liturgical Movement (“NLM”) is now a venue where real knowledge is thoughtfully presented.  

In  similar vein, in the fields of theology and history, I might mention the growing realization that all was not well prior to 1958, that the foundations for the explosion of the Second Vatican Council were laid well before 1962. Indeed,  the entire era characterized by 19^th century ultramontanism (1846 – 1958) now appears, seen in perpective, in large part a preparation for the collapse of the 1960s.  Some analyses of the roots of the Council go back much further than that.  One again, it is no longer possible, without significant qualifications, to contrast the post-conciliar chaos with a pre-conciliar Eden. 

A third, more abstruse, even exotic, topic is integralism. I have classified this movement in Part 1 of this essay as  ”Conservative Catholic,” given its “papalist” orientation. From another point of view, however, integralism  intersects with Traditionalism.  For example, in advocating the subordination of the temporal to the spiritual power it directly clashes with the direction taken by the Second Vatican Council as well as with the neoconservative ideology of the “American experiment.” Now and then one even is reminded of Triumph magazine!    The Josias, the movement’s website, features contributions by a number of Traditionalist “greats” covering a wide range of topics from the integralist perspective.

The foregoing presentation is of necessity incomplete.– I hope I will not have offended anyone left out!   To form a complete list today of all monastic communities, Catholic intellectuals and websites would be a task greatly exceeding the scope of a short essay like this.  My intent is,  by giving representative examples known to me,  to demonstrate that Traditionalism in America has progressed far beyond the stage of being content with just celebrating the Old Mass for a circle of initiates. It has become a broader force for general Catholic reform.