Below is the notice of the ritual in the current parish bulletin. N.B.: St. Mary’s, New Haven is NOT traditionalist.

The second phase of Pope Francis’ war of annihilation against Catholic Traditionalism, unleashed by Traditionis Custodes,  was launched Saturday by the Congregation for Divine Worship.  The “Responses to the Dubia” of the prefect Arthur Roche aim to reduce the practice of the traditional liturgy to a bare, temporary minimum. In most cases only the Mass will be permitted. The ministry of traditionalist priests is to be surrounded with restrictions intended to maximize their difficulties.  The traditionalist faithful are to be separated from the rest of Catholic life and be officially reduced to second-class Catholics. In parishes they are to be segregated; their masses are not to be listed in bulletins. The Responses reach the level of outright lunacy in prohibiting the preparation of “lectionaries” (missals?) with translations of the readings of the traditional rite! (One wonders who the target of this measure is or how it is to be enforced.)  

It is difficult to adequately express the unprecedented monstrousness of these papal actions.  An entire section of the Catholic faithful – families, priests, schools,  seminarians, monasteries, parishes –  is to be suppressed, to be forcefully deprived of their traditions and sacraments. And these Catholics were not operating unofficially or in a legal gray area, but pursuant to repeated explicit and solemn papal authorizations and encouragement (including actions for the benefit of the FSSPX faithful). Indeed, the FSSP and the IBP, among others, were specifically created as papal initiatives. These communities have been active and growing for more than 30 years.  Now all these promises and commitments, these rights and this history are supposed to be summarily abolished simply by the declaration of Francis. 

Certainly the Ecclesia Dei communities are an obvious target of the new measures, as was the case of the Responses’ “trial  balloon,” the October 7 decree of the Vicariate of Rome. For if new ordinations in the traditional rite are prohibited,  as is the ministry of most of the sacraments , what is the sense of having a community of Traditionalist priests? In particular  this is so if, as we have read,  these communities are shortly going to be placed under a “commissariat” regime that will require declarations of adherence to Vatican II, the celebration of the Novus Ordo etc. The first reaction to the Responses is from the FSSP, which has declared it inapplicable to their community in view of the rights granted on their foundation in 1988. 1) 

“As pastors we must not lend ourselves to sterile polemics, capable only of creating division, in which the ritual itself is often exploited by ideological viewpoints.” 2) Thus, those who unleash a war hypocritically warn against division. And following Pope Francis, the Responses insinuate “ideological”  motives to traditionalist Catholics. But did not Soloviev say that someone who mocks another man’s prayer sins against the Holy Ghost?  “There is no intention in these provisions to marginalize the faithful who are rooted in the previous form of celebration; they are only meant to remind them that this is a concession to provide for their good….” 3) So the traditionalist Catholics are going to be manipulated and “converted” by brute force. This,  in the name of a Council that prattled on about the freedom of man. And all in a document released the week before Christmas. Rarely has the contempt of the institutional Roman Catholic Church for its adherents been so clearly exhibited.

But Pope Francis’s war against the liturgical tradition of the Church does not take place in a vacuum. In this year alone,  he has intervened directly to clarify that a Catholic politician can actively seek to advance unlimited abortion rights and remain in the best of standing with the Church. He has directly endorsed a homosexual rights organization that had been repeatedly subject to various ecclesiastical censures and made their materials a resource for a synod he is organizing. And in Italy he has launched an aggressive campaign to force implementation of an expedited annulment procedure – virtually a Catholic “no fault divorce” – which he had promulgated in the wake of Amoris Laetitia.   In doing these things, Pope Francis has, de facto or de jure,  repeatedly and directly contradicted the statements and acts of his predecessors (not to mention Holy Scripture). Thus, Traditionis Custodes and the Responses form part of an overall campaign to overturn Catholic tradition.  

What should be the response to the “Responses”? In a sane (or moral)world I would expect the hierarchies to completely ignore them. After all, wasn’t this the fate in most dioceses of the indults of John Paul II, of Summorum Pontificum and of its implementing regulations? Does not the Catholic Church in Germany provide much more recent examples? Just in the last year in Germany, Vatican documents on the merger of parishes, same-sex marriages and blessings, and lay leadership of parishes have been publicly denounced and ignored. And the German church has reiterated it will continue down its synodal path regardless of anything “Rome“ may say about it. Pope Francis has accepted all this and to some extent even adopted these positions as his own.

But I would expect much more from bishops. I would expect them to raise their voices and join with the FSSP to expressly reject the injustice of these rules as they apply to the Ecclesia Dei communities and beyond that to Catholics in general. There come times when all of us – and especially those in positions of authority – are required to speak out “loud and bold.” For to be silent in the face of manifest injustice is to endorse it.  St. Augustine teaches that in this world the good men will be punished with the wicked:  “because they loved the sweetness of this life, they neglected to be bitter to the wicked.” A Christian cannot  “ignore the duty of teaching and admonishing and sometimes even of rebuking and correcting sinners.” 4) The first reaction of the FSSP to the responses, however, indicates that the Ecclesia Dei communities may be taking a more forceful stance than their timid response to Traditionis Custodes had led many to believe.

As for the traditionalist laity and priests – it is for me a sorrowful experience to see these younger people reliving once again what the Catholics of the 1960’s underwent: denigration of their beliefs, abolition of their traditions and lecturing by a conceited and contemptuous clergy attempting to “force (them) to be free.”  I expect, though, that the traditionalists of today are better equipped to face this adversity. After all,  most traditionalists have come around to that way of life not by absorbing the practices of a surrounding milieu but by a conscious process of understanding and development. ( how very conciliar! ) Many have made a long series of sacrifices to attend the traditional  mass and to give their children a Christian upbringing. The same holds true for the many priests who have come to traditionalism against the will of their seminaries and bishops. Moreover, the persecuting side is a shadow of its 1965 predecessor. The Catholic cults of the papacy and of blind obedience to authority lost their grip on most traditionalists long ago – the actions of the current Pope have dramatically accelerated that process.  

Regardless of the actions of the hierarchy, however, traditionalists should begin to plan now to assure the holy sacrifice of the mass, the availability of the other sacraments and the support of traditionalist priests. What form these actions take will be dictated by the intensity of Pope Francis’s war and the reaction of the bishops. In at least one diocese so far, negotiations have been initiated by local Catholic laity with the FSSPX.

Yes, because of the actions of Pope Francis, this Christmas will be unhappy for many. But the many beautiful dawn masses we are experiencing about us this month should give us hope. The greatly increased attendance at tradionalist masses I have seen everywhere also is a sure sign that the persecutors have only drawn attention to the truth and beauty of the traditional faith. And as the Christmas holy day itself teaches us, the greatest Light arises out of midst of darkness. I do not know how long this war will last, or what the casualties will be. I do know the result of the struggle: truth  – the constant tradition of the Church – in the end will triumph. 

1. https://fssp.com/statement-dec-18/
2. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/12/18/0860/01814.html#ing
3. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/12/18/0860/01814.html#ing
4. St. Augustine, The City of God against the Pagans (R.W. Dyson, editor and translator) at 13-14 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998 (2017 reprint))

From the report of the Polish bishops of their ad limina visit:

 On the one hand, the congregation admitted that the matter was resolved too harshly and that instead of serving unity, in individual cases, it could lead to someone leaving the Church because his needs were not met. On the other hand, the will to interpret the motu proprio broadly was expressed – more in spirit than in the letter of the issued law.

Today Pope Francis in no uncertain terms indicates what is the spirit of Traditionis Custodes and, for that matter, that of the current regime in the Roman Catholic Church. What follows are excerpts from his address at the general audience of 10/27/2021 – at which, so the Vatican reports, a significant number of American groups were present.

Saint Paul’s preaching is completely centred on Jesus and his Paschal Mystery. In fact, the Apostle presents himself as a witness of Christ, and Christ crucified (cfr. 1 Cor 2:2). He reminds the Galatians, tempted to base their religiosity on the observance of precepts and traditions, that the centre of salvation and faith is the death and resurrection of the Lord.

Today, there are many who still seek religious security rather than the living and true God, focusing on rituals and precepts instead of embracing God’s love with their whole being. And this is the temptation of the new fundamentalists, isn’t it? Of those who seem to be afraid to make progress, and who regress because they feel more secure: they seek the security of God and not the God of our security…. This is why Paul asks the Galatians to return to what is essential – to return to God, to the essential, not to the securities of God: to the essential – to the God who gives us life in Christ crucified.

And those who seek security, the small group, the things that were clear as they were back then, they live “as it was back then”, they distance themselves from the Spirit, they do not permit the freedom of the Spirit to enter into them.

 Sometimes, those who approach the Church get the impression that they are dealing with a dense mass of rules and regulations: but no, this is not the Church! This can be whatever association. But, in reality, the beauty of faith in Jesus Christ cannot be grasped on the basis of so many commandments or of a moral vision developed in many layers which can make us forget the original fruitfulness of love nourished by prayer from which peace and joyful witness flow.

General Audience of 10/27/2021.

I could write at length about these calumnies – since when in the post-Vatican II world has choosing to follow the traditional rites achieved “security” under any definition for any Catholic? Certainly not institutional security: traditionalists have neither job prospects in the bureaucracy of the Church nor any assurance that any of their congregations has permanent status! But more importantly, I believe the Pope is clearly asserting that “fundamentalists” (a code word, like, in the past, “integralist,” often used by the Vatican and the European Catholic churches for traditionalists) are not even Christians. 1) It establishes a fearful hermeneutic for Traditionis Custodes.

1. It is also most significant, given the presence of American pilgrims at this audience, that one of Pope Francis’s sycophants, Antonio Spadaro SJ, has for several years repeatedly linked (and denounced) Evangelical “fundamentalists” and Catholic “integralists” with specific reference to the political situation in the United States.

A report from the ad limina visit of the Polish bishops. In discussions with the “Congregation for the Liturgy” (presumably the Congegation for Divine Worship), it was conceded that “the affair (of Traditionis Custodes) had been handled too harshly” and could lead to individuals exiting the Church. They were told to interpret TC “generously” (or “loosely”) and “more according to the spirit than to the letter.” According to this report, the pope has not said no categorically to the “Tridentine liturgy “ as such.

SOURCE (from the website of the German Catholic Church)

UPDATE:

Below is a translation of the original Polish report (Thanks to Christine Watkins)

Tridentine liturgy

The Tridentine liturgy was discussed in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The bishops asked questions, especially related to parish churches, in which the liturgy could possibly be continued, as well as extending the possibility of celebrating it, in accordance with the motu proprio “Traditionis custodes”, should such a need arise in Poland in the future. On the one hand, the congregation admitted that the matter was resolved too harshly and that instead of serving unity, in individual cases, it could lead to someone leaving the Church because his needs were not met. On the other hand, the will to interpret the motu proprio broadly was expressed – more in spirit than in the letter of the issued law.

“The general rule is that priests who under Benedict XVI had permits to celebrate the Tridentine liturgy should have them. On the other hand, new, young priests who would like to celebrate this liturgy must apply to the Holy See with a written request for permission to be biritual [celebrating the liturgy in two rites – KAI]. The Holy See wants this matter under control. He does not say ‘no’ to the Tridentine liturgy as such, but is cautious due to the fact that in some countries of the world it is associated with an anti-Vatican II ideology that rejects the Second Vatican Council, ‘said Cardinal Nycz.

1 November 2021
Solemnity of All Saints

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

In these troubled times of recovery from two severe hurricanes, a three-day ice storm in January, and a natural disaster of flooding in May, all in the space of nine months, I am writing to address the implementation of Traditionis custodes.

Thousands in our diocese remain displaced, living in temporary housing. The Federal Government has not been forthcoming with assistance, as in the past. To further compound our difficulties, we are dealing with the pandemic, burying our deceased, and addressing the controversies over vaccinations, quarantines, and masking. Given these burdens and the emphasis on mercy exhibited by our Holy Father, I am prompted to address this implementation, where appropriate, in a spirit of epikeia and with the application of Canon 87.

I am issuing this Decree for the implementation of Traditionis custodes in compliance with its prescriptions. As a pastor and a bishop, I am aware of the needs of the flock and address them. We do so liturgically for numerous groups that require special attention, such as our University students, the Hispanic community, and the hearing impaired. Our pastoral concern extends as well to those who worship in the usus antiquior, that is with the Roman Missal of 1962, and who have done so since the establishment of the Diocese. I am unaware of anyone in this community who has expressed opposition to the Second Vatican Council, much less denied its legitimacy. As well, those who have chosen to discuss with me their devotion to the usus antiquior have insisted upon the validity of the reformed liturgy. With this in mind, I would be grossly negligent, if not callous, to implement any restrictive law while at the same time ignoring these realities.

In my many years of having the privilege of celebrating the Sacraments in the Diocese of Lake Charles, I have been continually struck by the tender devotion of the faithful. I am also aware, as well as can be, of the needs of the people as they have expressed them to me. Whether at Masses in newer or older rites, I know the people with their concerns. There are those with terminal illnesses, genetic diseases, and psychological problems that make all else pale by comparison. There are many burdened by financial difficulties, unemployment, and estrangement in marriage. They have lost loved ones to a virus whose origins and nature they do not understand. They strive amidst great trials to protect and provide for their spouses and children. They suffer quietly, not advertising their problems, seeking some solace in the rites of the Church, whether in the vernacular or in Latin. If we, as pastors, do not acknowledge these realities and instead continue to engage in arguments that the faithful find incomprehensible, then we truly risk becoming a “resounding gong and clashing cymbal” ( cf. I Corinthians 13: 1) and just as irrelevant.

In offering this preface to my Decree, I ask your prayers for the Church. As She journeys cautiously over these troubled waters, pray that God will guide Her as He promised and that the gates of Hell shall not prevail ( cf. Matthew 16: 18).

As I remain with prayers for you and your families, be assured of my blessings for all in need.

Sincerely yours in our Lord,

Glen John Provost

Bishop of Lake Charles

A much more generous application of TC than elsewhere! And some complimentary and encouraging language for traditionalists. Perhaps the Bishop’s experience with the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, led by a priest well-known to us in the New York area, had something to do with it:

Address from Archbishop Blair dated October 21, 2021 https://archdioceseofhartford.org/announcement-from-archbishop-blair-regarding-new-haven-churches/

To the Catholic Faithful of New Haven,
 
“To those who love God all things work together unto good” (Romans 8:28). These words of St. Paul have given strength and encouragement to the Church through the centuries. Today we are confronted with a number of challenges, as are many other religious bodies, posed in particular by the diminishing practice of the Faith and of church attendance by any number of Catholics, which is matched by the ever diminishing numbers of priests to serve our parishes, many of which were established in the heyday of Catholic practice and housing expansion in Connecticut. This was evident before the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic and will require close monitoring post-COVID.
 
It is with this in mind that in recent years the Archdiocese of Hartford has embarked on a process of Pastoral Planning. The goal is to take an honest look at the situations and structures of the Catholic population of the Archdiocese in order to begin making changes that will assist in re-organizing the local Church not just for today but also into the future. Sometimes this has involved difficult choices – reconfiguration, mergers, closings – but these changes have already led to rejuvenation in a number of our parishes, cities, and towns.
 
While the churches in the city of New Haven experienced some alteration during the first wave of Pastoral Planning in 2017, the plan now is to initiate an even more substantial change to support its Catholic population. Instead of simply closing or merging weakening or failing parishes, the goal is to bring the priests, churches, ministries, and resources of the city together, uniting them in the hopes of creating a stronger, more vibrant Catholic community and culture. Thus the Archdiocese will now be implementing a new, united “municipal model” for the city of New Haven. The several parishes in New Haven will be brought together into a single new entity, still keeping a number of existing church buildings and serving thousands of diverse parishioners.
 
To begin this process, effective December 1, 2021, St. Mary Parish will have a new Pastor appointed who eventually will serve as what Church law calls a priest “moderator” (CIC 517.1), a “first among equals” collaborating with some of the current Pastors and other soon to be named clergy, as together they take up the various pastoral ministries of New Haven. All will be united together in their efforts to minister in a comprehensive way. The Vincentian and Dominican Fathers who have served New Haven were offered the opportunity to participate in this new configuration but for various reasons they declined. The Dominicans in particular were presented with several options which would have provided a house for them in the Archdiocese and even in the City of New Haven. However they determined that these alternatives were not feasible for them at this time. I am happy to say, however, that some of these Religious will remain in ministry in the Archdiocese.
 
The St. Mary’s Church campus was chosen to be the center of the new plan after extensive study because it is perfectly situated to be the geographical and spiritual focal point of a municipal model for New Haven. With its centralized location and functional rectory space, so much of what needs to be done to serve the Faithful can be most effectively coordinated from the St. Mary’s facilities. The church also houses the tomb of Blessed Michael McGivney, a priest of the Archdiocese of Hartford on a path to canonization, God willing. We earnestly seek his intercession as we embark on this new plan to revitalize the Faith in our Archdiocese.
 
As noted earlier, there was a time when New Haven, like many cities, was teeming with immigrant Catholics. In the 1930’s New Haven was home to over 70,000 Catholics. Today that number is approximately 10,000.  While St. Aedan, St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Rose, St. Michael, St. Stanislaus, St. Bernadette, St. Martin de Porres, St. Joseph, and St. Mary’s Churches all remain open in various pastoral configurations, a substantial number, including Sacred Heart, St. Brendan, St. Boniface, St. Casimir, St. Donato, St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, St. Louis, St. Patrick, and St. Peter Churches, all once proud churches of New Haven, have closed out of necessity. Likewise, 20 parochial schools have closed as well.
 
With regard to the Catholic presence in the city of New Haven, there is no doubt that besides the configuration of parishes, account must also be taken of institutions like the Knights of Columbus with their international headquarters, Yale University with the Saint Thomas More Catholic Chapel and Center, Albertus Magnus College, All Saints Catholic Academy located on Ferry Street, and the privately run St. Martin de Porres Academy.
 
All of this requires a diversity of pastoral care for ministry to Spanish-speakers and various Hispanic/Latino cultures, as well as Black Catholics; ministry to traditional ethnic groups, including the strong Polish and Italian communities; ministry to the young adult and university students; assistance to the Knights of Columbus; and service to the people of the broader Archdiocese of Hartford. This is what the municipal model in New Haven must supply, and it will require a collection of motivated and very capable diocesan priests to provide this array of ministries.
 
Change is not easy and transitions are challenging, but I am confident that just as linkages and mergers elsewhere in the Archdiocese have been successful, they can also be successful in New Haven. I ask you to join me in praying for a return to participation in the life of our parishes by our many non-practicing Catholics and for a great increase in priestly ordinations for our Archdiocese, and please know of my appreciation and prayers for all of you.
 
           
                                                                        Sincerely yours in Christ,
                                                                        Most Reverend Leonard P. Blair
                                                                        Archbishop of Hartford

The Dominican and Vincentian religious priests are removed from their parishes. We have received a preliminary report that the 2:00 PM Latin Mass at St. Stanislaus (sponsored by the St. Gregory Society) will be terminated at the end of the year. That Mass has been celebrated in New Haven at one church or another since at least 1988. We will try to obtain further information regarding this Mass as it becomes available.

On Saturday, October 16th the 16th successive demonstration “for the defense of the Traditional Mass” will be held before the Vatican’s embassy in Paris. Other demonstrations are multiplying in France – both in Paris and elsewhere. But we would of course expect, given their long history, that French traditionalists would be in the forefront of the resistance!

Rosaries also are being recited at the churches where traditional masses have been cancelled by the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Aupetit. Numerous such rosaries are being organized or supported by the society Juventus Traditionis. In addition to protests and prayer, the Paris traditionalists have been trying (with little or no suceess) to initiate a dialogue with Msgr. Aupetit (who amazingly claims he has done nothing to restrict the traditional Mass!) and his auxiliary bishops.

For a summary, in French, of the most recent traditionalist activity and the stand-off with the archdiocese of Paris, see the post La Situation à Paris on the Juventus Traditionis website. See also the site Riposte Catholique for reports on these developments.

UPDATE:

Communiqué of 10/16/2013 from:

communique@oremus.plus

On Saturday 16 October, we were more than 100 demonstrators in front of the Apostolic Nunciature.

The refusal of dialogue is now confirmed: at Saint-Eugène, on Sunday 3 October, Mgr Thibaud Verny, auxiliary bishop, had run off, sneaking away to avoid meeting the faithful of the parish who wanted to talk to him about the restrictions imposed upon the traditional celebrations in Paris, including in their own parish, because of the ban on “exclusivist” priests celebrating in the diocese. And at Saint-Dominique, on Sunday 10 October, the dialogue between Mgr Aupetit and the parishioners of Notre-Dame-du-Travail was limited to the reiteration of the archbishop’s diktat, who used the classic “Nuremberg defence”: he obeys the Pope. Strange “guardian of tradition”…

The parish priest of Saint-François-Xavier, Mgr Lefèvre-Pontalis, was touched by the emotion aroused by the disappearance of the youth mass on Wednesdays. But the diocese has contented itself with a sort of “barrier or confinement gesture” by re-establishing this mass, not at Saint-François-Xavier, but at Notre-Dame-du-Lys, in order to stick to the diocesan rule: to limit the “contagion” of the traditional mass.

But the most serious thing is that traditional catechesis are being banned in Le Havre, Grenoble and Tours. This goes beyond the application of the text of the Pope’s motu proprio: there is now a “spirit of the motu proprio”, as there is a “spirit of the Council”. It is above all the missionary aspect of these catechisms that is targeted: in fact, they bring together not only children from families who attend the traditional Mass, but also children from families who practice according to the NOM and who are frightened by the lack of catechesis in their parishes. Here again, the order is to limit the “contagion”.

In the diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, Bishop Mark L. Bartchak 1) has reportedly limited the celebration of the Traditional Mass to Sundays and limited or prohibited the celebration of other sacraments in the traditional form. (NB: I cannot find on the diocesan website the letter, referred to in the press, that sets forth these rules.) In response, the Traditionalist faithful have opened discussions with the FSSPX. From the local press:

The new outcry over the loss of Latin services comes after Bishop Mark L. Bartchak limited “old rite” Masses to Sundays and instructed clergy to administer sacraments, including baptisms and funerals in English.

Local Traditionalists denounced these restrictions – but, more positively, have initiated meetings with representatives of the FSSPX to preserve access to the Mass and sacraments in the Traditional forms:

The visit by Father Richard Boyle of the Society of St. Pius X priory of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Warners, N.Y., is being sponsored by several local Latin Mass societies, including those in Spring Cove, Johnstown, State College, University Park, and from as far away as Indiana and Venango counties and Allegany County in Maryland. 

Boyle will spend his two-day visit to Centre and Blair counties offering pastoral support and providing information. 

The first meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday at The Graduate Hotel in State College. There, Boyle will offer a presentation on the SSPX and a public question and answer session as well as private sacramental confessions and private spiritual conversations, according to Ryan Carey, president of the State College Latin Mass Society.

At 6 p.m. Wednesday, at the Altoona Grand Hotel, Boyle will celebrate a sung Mass in the Traditional Latin Rite and hear sacramental confessions.

(Aaron) Clouse (23) said he hopes the meetings encourage the bishop to “return things to the way things were (prior to July) and he doesn’t try to suppress us.”

Members of the Latin Mass societies, Carey said, requested the visit “to secure their access to the traditional rites and sacraments of the Catholic Church (and) is in response to the rigid, unjust, unpastoral and spiteful cancellation of all Old Rite sacraments in the diocese and the arbitrary limiting and suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass,” according to a letter inviting the faithful to attend the gatherings.

Carey said the public meetings are in response to failed efforts to speak with Bartchak about their concerns.

“Options sought for Mass in Latin:Catholic group seeks greater access to traditional woship forms,” Altoona Mirror 10/11/2021

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The restrictions imposed in the Altoona diocese apparently are not contained in a single document but are the sum of directives by the bishop to his clergy. For a concrete example of the operation of Traditionis Custodes in this diocese see the moving report of an abruptly cancelled Requiem Mass and the refusal of Bishop Bartchak to “dialogue” about his decision. Fuentes, Victor, The Bishop Cancelled the Memorial Requiem for my Mother, OnePeterFive 9/21/2021. See also the facebook page of the State College Latin Mass Society. (Penn State is located in the Altoona diocese)

1. Bishop Bartchak also voted to postpone discussion among the bishops of “eucharistic worthiness.”

…in “traditional classical albums“: FSSP Seminarians from Wigratzbad, Germany! Title of the album is Sancta Nox: Christmas Matins from Bavaria. You can get it HERE among other sources.

Is a clarification appended, for the benefit of listeners, that Pope Francis and his bishops are taking restrictive actions against the FSSP and the other Ecclesia Dei institutes – potentially, their complete suppression? Do we need to make clear, accordingly, that the Catholic culture presented here is not endorsed by the Roman Catholic hierarchy? Or do we have just one more piece of evidence of the growing vitality of the Catholic Traditionalist movement and the culture it works to preserve and even revive?

Nantes, where last year the Gothic cathedral was burned out by a “refugee” employee of the church (who went on to kill a priest this year), has issued restrictive guidelines on TC – with hints of more to come. But it’s one of the few cases – al least in France – where a bishop has deigned to speak with a delegation of the lay faithful affected by TC.. What follows is a report of that meeting.

Dear Friends,

Accordingly, Monseigneur PERCEROU met some thirty parishioners of Saint Clément attached to the multi-age rite, while he never met the demands of Faith and Tradition. He therefore shows that he considers the parishioners of Saint Clément to be the only ones concerned by Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes and his decree of September 19 This is very unfortunate. However, Faith and Tradition was present, represented by members of this office but also because almost all the faithful present are members. Monseigneur PERCEROU started this meeting with a reminder of the decisions of the Popes since the promulgation of the so-called Paul VI Mass. His address, without any words of kindness, compassion, fatherly love for the Catholics who have suffered since July 16th and even more so since the publication of the Decree of September 19th, was intended to serve as a legal justification for the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes and the strict application he intended to establish in the Diocese of Nantes. We were stunned. The charity of Saint John Paul II, the goodness of Benedict XVI, all of this does not exist anymore…

Opportunity to speak was then given to the faithful present, well representative of the “traditionalist” Catholics (we put this word in quotes because we will not be (such) ). Dear friends, it was with real emotion that we listened to you. All of you have manifested your incomprehension, your pain – very vivid for some – and, very often, your anger. To these cries of the heart, Monseigneur PERCEROU systematically answered by the law. It was trying. We particularly think of a young woman, crying out because of her immense suffering, to this emotional family man talking about his children, to the slightly older faithful who asked why they were being punished… Have they been heard?

The president of Faith and Tradition also spoke. He respectfully, but firmly, recalled the decisions of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI by taking a contrasting look at those popes who welcomed us with open arms and recognized our legitimate aspirations. He regretted the broken confidence and offered to rebuild it together. Finally, on behalf of all of you, our president has officially asked Monseigneur PERCEROU to withdraw his decree, to accept a meeting so together we can work for the good of the faithful and in faithfulness to the Church.

Dear friends, we have a duty to present to you the points raised by Monseigneur PERCEROU during this evening:

Monseigneur PERCEROU intends to apply what is requested of him (by the Pope – SC) scrupulously. Even though we know that any bishop can adjust the disciplinary rules of the Church for the sake of souls. Monseigneur PERCEROU only wants the Tridentine rite in the church of Saint Clément de Nantes. All others are suppressed. The faithful of Fr. JIMENEZ no longer exist. The faithful of the coast who benefited from Mass in the summer months are no longer a stable group…For weddings, baptisms and funerals, even if you desire your childhood village church, you will not be allowed because you will not be a parishioner of that church. For schools, Monseigneur PERCEROU had very disturbing words. Indeed, he asked whether it was normal for children to be raised in the Tridentine rite alone. His whispered response was that he didn’t believe it. Finally, we were crushed by the clear threats against the traditional institutes. “They will have to choose“…. they will have to decide if they remain in the Church…. All this said very coldly.

You will have understood that the times are serious, very serious. So we will once again ask for an appointment with our bishop and very soon turn to you because we must show our resolve, unity and alas, our number. Meanwhile, we beg you to pray to the Blessed Virgin for the future of the rite we love and for our priests. They baptized us, have forgiven us, married us. They buried our parents and sometimes our children. They also showed us the path of Heaven and always called to faithfulness to the Church. Believe in our dedication and willingness to do everything we can to stop the injustice that has struck us.

From Foi et Tradition; their translation from the Foi et Tradition Facebook page. (slightly edited for clarity)