A good point was brought up that the dissension against catholic teaching was already in full swing while the Tridentine Mass was still being offered.
Pope John XXIII opened the council on October 11, 1962
Pope Paul VI closed it on December 8, 1965.
The intern Roman Missal published in the vernacular 1965.
The New Mass (Novus Ordo) of Pope Paul VI was promugated Nov. 30, 1969.
These dates may seem boring, but are very necessary to keep in mind as we unravel the events in catholic history and analyze how we have come to the chaos each one of us has experienced and is presently experiencing in the catholic church today.
Pope Pius XII dies Oct. 9, 1958
Pope John XXIII is elected on Oct. 28, 1958
Announcement of the Council Jan. 25, 1959
Ante-preparatory Period May 1959 to Nov. 1960
Preparatory Period Nov. 1960 to July 1962
First Session Oct. 11, 1962 to Dec. 8, 1962
Second Session Sept. 29, 1963 to Dec. 4, 1963
Third Session Sept. 14, 1964 to Nov. 21, 1964
Fourth Session Sept. 14, 1965 to Dec. 8, 1965
Pope Paul VI dies Aug. 6, 1978
Pope John Paul I elected Aug. 26, 1978 Pope John Paul I dies Sept. 28, 1978
Pope John Paul II elected Oct. 16, 1978 Pope John Paul II dies April 2, 2005
Pope Benedict XVI elected April 16, 2005 Pope Benedict resigns Feb. 28, 2013
Pope Francis elected Mar. 13, 2013
In the opening address to the Council, Pope John XXIII stated: “What is needed at the present time is a new enthusiasm, a new joy and serenity of mind in the unreserved acceptance by all the entire Christian faith, without forfeiting that accuracy and precision in its presentation which characterized the proceedings of the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council. What is needed, and what everyone imbued with a truly Christian, Catholic and apostolic spirit craves today, is that this doctrine shall be more widely known, more deeply understood, and more penetrating in its effects on men’s moral lives. What is need is that this certain and immutable doctrine, to which the faithful owe obedience, be studied afresh and reformulated in contemporary terms. For this deposit of faith, of truths which are contained in our time-honored teaching is one thing; the manner in which these truths are set forth (with their meaning preserved intact) is something else.”
So there were great hopes at the beginning of Vatican II. But you already see in this address the dangers of reformulating immutable doctrine. And that is what I feel has caused all the confusion and problems since then. I also believe that people took advantage of this “reformulating” to introduce “modernist” concepts as the Council tried to “contermporize” catholicism.
With the confusion of “new” terms, theologians and bishops began to modernize the church on their own. So this is the blossoming of dissension rooted in the reformulated and modernized teachings of the church. Long before the Council, there were plans to “modernize” the rites of the church. Now with the Vatican II vague documents, came dissension and experimentation with the rites, like the mass, way before the Novus Ordo was promulgated.
So when the Mass of All Ages was taken away, a further disorientation took place among the catholic faithful. And we, who are concerned about our church’s health, worry. So did Pope Paul VI three years after the close of the Council.
On December 7, 1968 at Lombard Seminary in Rome, Pope Paul VI said: “The church finds herself in an hour of anxiety, a disturbed period of self-criticism, or what would even better be called self-destruction. It is an interior upheaval, acute and complicated, which nobody expected after the Council. It is almost as if the church were attacking herself. We looked forward to a flowering, a serene expansion of conceptions which matured in the great sessions of the Council. But …. one must notice above all the sorrowful aspect. It is as if the Church were destroying herself.
On June 29, 1972 in the sermon of Saints Peter and Paul, Pope Paul VI stated: “We have the impression that through some cracks in the wall the smoke of satan has entered the temple of God: it is doubt, uncertainty, questioning, dissatisfaction, confrontation …. We thought that after the Council a day of sunshine would have dawned for the history of the Church. What dawned, instead, was a day of clouds and storms, of darkness, of searching and uncertainties.”
I have also read that before Pope Paul VI said these things, Pope John XXIII was also very concerned about the way the Council was going. I will do research of these comments and report later.
If the popes involved in the Council itself had concerns, why are we such heretics to call into question what happened before, during and after Vatican II. We are only trying out of love to stop what is destroying our beloved catholic church.
Probably Pope Paul VI was sharply criticized for his remarks stated above. But as pope, he saw it first hand. Why can we not wake up and be honest about the shambles the House of God has become.
I contend that the documents themselves have vague and incorrect statements. Just very recently Bishop Athanasius Schneider stated various errors contained in the documents of Vatican II. But he said all they need to do is add on a correction to the documents as was done previously by one of the popes. He is also asking for a syllabus of errors for the documents.
Let us traditionalist continue to lovingly ask for an honest evaluation of the church and the problems with changed church teachings. We are so fortunate to be traditional catholics.
The original author of this blog passed away in July of 2016. RIP Father Carota.