jimmy:
My understanding is that Vatican II did not disallow the TLM. I have heard that it was a later date that disallowed the public saying of it. Then Pope John Paul II allowed the bishops to make the decision. When was it officially disallowed?
This is a highly simplified version of the events as I remember them. There are a lot of web sites that specialize in this particular argument from both sides.
I don’t think it was ever officially disallowed. Between around 1965 or so and 1970, the Church celebrated what could best be described as an English Language version of the Traditional Mass. The changes that were reccomended by Vatican II were not really introduced until around 1970. A new Missal came then that was the forerunner of todays missal. More changes were made in the ongoing years and continue to be made to this day.
In 1984 Pope John Paul II wanted to find out how the Mass was being accepted and practiced by the faithful. As a result of his inquiry he granted the indult. Many say this was a token gesture to try to get the numerous schismatic groups back into the church. It is also widely believed that the Church granted the indult primarily so that older people would be more comfortable and that as they died out so would the desire for the Traditional Mass. It was never, according to them, supposed to go on for very long. Many in both the Vatican and the laity were apparently quite surprised at the explosive growth of the Traditional Mass and its supporters.
Around 1986 the Holy Father wanted to find out if the Traditional Mass had ever been officially suppressed. The results from that inquiry are contradictory, to say the least, but tend to be of the general opinion that the Traditional Mass had never officially been disallowed The Novus Ordo Mass is seen as an organic development of the Traditional Mass instead of a entirely new mass. As you may have guessed this view is not accepted by many people on either side of the argument.
So the basic argument usually has been, if the Traditional Mass was never officially suppressed, why is an indult necessary at all??
That argument continues to rage today with both groups presenting very reasonable arguments and claims for their view. Only time will tell I guess.
I know there are those on this forum with a much more extensive knowledge of this subject than me. Hopefully some of them will step up.