SSPX View of the New Mass

[ProVobis]

Any time I start to read it, I get confused about the intellectual honesty

Apparently there was a lot of confusion at the time:

From Gamber’s book:

“Apparently the designation of the Mass in the first edition of the Novus Ordo as ‘the Lord’s Supper or the the holy gathering or assembly of the people of God, as they come together, into one [body], with the priest as presider and taking on the persona of Christ, to celebrate the memorial of the Lord,’ has its source in the Protestant theology of the Abendmahl rite, the commemorative meal. The fact that this particular definition of the Mass appears in a document** bearing the signature of Pope Paul VI**, and that it became necessary later to correct it, is a painfully obvious indication of how confused things are in our Church today.” Gamber, The Reform of the Roman Liturgy, Una Voce Press, 1993

 

[Warrenton]

I may be going out on a limb, but I do not think most of the people who implemented the changes during Vatican II knew clearly what would occur. The really liberal ones probably did not think through all of the implications of what they did - they were focused on the reforms that they thought would help. They did not foresee either the weakening of the faith the followed among many or the backlash against their changes.

The conservative bishops and scholars thought that the changes would not be too jarring, or they hoped that the changes would be implemented with a view to tradition, and they relied on the tradition of obedience among the faithful. Even Arb. Levebve did not see it all clearly at the time - that is why he signed off on a number of the provisions, as did the mainly very conservative bishops of Latin America.

The history of the Church is replete with instances when the leaders failed to gauge correctly all the ramifications of new ideas. Look how long the “filioque” debate went back and forth. Many of the heresies of the early Church were generated by great churchmen and it took councils, doctors of the Church, and the faithful to resolve the problems.