What defines a Traditional Catholic?

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We had a discussion recently about placement of the tabernacle in our parish. It will soon be on the altar in the center of the church.

Some people believe tradition means “going back” and trying to live in the past, throwing out “the new”. Tradition takes on such a negative connotation with some people.
I made the point that reviving a tradition does not equate to going backwards. Only God lives in different time zones, we only live in the present. It is not possible to go back.

The Church is alive. We are taking one of the traditions of the Church and renewing it in our parish, making it alive again. It is a beautiful thing to live in the present. What’s important is how we present this to the parish and talk about it. We can gripe that the “traditionalists” are living in the past and are forcing us to live in the past. Or we can say that we are refreshing and renewing a tradition.

What never goes out of style is obedience. The bishop wants the tabernacle on the altar and so it will be. He is the living authority here… But some people believe that because Church documents allow for options and for the (name removed by moderator)ut of the laity, that we have a democracy here in our parish.

Authority and obedience are so misunderstood. They are almost dirty words in our culture.
American culture has been like that since the Revolution, at least. It’s one of our less endearing traits sometimes.
 
A traditional Catholic is a sinner like everyone else. If a traditional Catholic gets banned, then it just goes to show you that they do not have a free ticket to conduct unbecoming of a board member ;).
thats a sin ?
 
Not per se, but many of the things that would get you banned are sins, usually against the Fifth or Eighth Commandments.
I was thinking about this and you have a valid point that I had not seen. When people use the Internet to bash, to gossip, to ridicule, to castigate or to question another person’s integrity, such behavior is sinful.

Something else that comes to mind is the rights of the forum owners. They have put this very complicated and helpful site out there for our use and we don’t pay a penny for it. There are no fees of any kind. In reality, what we’re getting is charity. Failure to cooperate with the rules is a violation of justice. We don’t own the forum nor do we pay to use it. What right do we have over the forum?

Your post made me think. Thank you for sharing.
 
Read that post very carefully. Notice how it says “The friends of the SSPX” and not the SSPX itself? It’s referring to a chapel whose ecclesial status is completely unknown, and has no official affiliation with the SSPX. In fact, Father Z makes that exact distinction in the post where you got that document from.

So, not false.

Still True.
 
Fr. Z is mistaken here. The PCED has pretty consistently said that one does not fulfill their obligation at an SSPX Mass.
 
No they have not.

The general response has been “Legally and technically, you fulfill your Sunday obligation, but we don’t recommend you going”.
 
Fr. Z is mistaken here. The PCED has pretty consistently said that one does not fulfill their obligation at an SSPX Mass.
No they have not.

The general response has been “Legally and technically, you fulfill your Sunday obligation, but we don’t recommend you going”.
Actually, you’re both right. The letter cited above is in response to a specific person with a specific question. If one reads the letter very carefully, only those who attend mass at an SSPX chapel because they have a devotion to the EF are not culpable of sin.

Those who attend mass at the SSPX chapel because they embrace the ideology of the SSPX are objectively culpable of sin, because the SSPX’s ideology has not been justified by the Church. In fact, Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI have called it schismatic.

A simple example would be the Jones Family. Mr and Mrs Jones travel across town to the SSPX chapel. I come along and ask them why they go there. No sooner have I asked the question when they engage in a rant bashing the OF, their parish, the bishop and anything connected with the OF. As soon as they throw out “novus ordo parish” or “novus ordo church” you know they have embraced a schismatic mindset. They are creating parallel churches. the Remnant church and the Novus Ordo church or an “us vs them” situation.
 
I’m just curious. How exactly would you define a Traditional Catholic? I came up with a few criteria. Please be gentle, as I’m just learning what a Traditional Catholic is.
  • Attends the Tridentine Mass exclusively or primarily.
  • Does not use conception of any kind, including NFP.
  • Women wear skirts only.
Thank you.
No Modern Christian Pop music in mass for one. 😃
 
Around here we use a very simple ruler, if you will. Traditional or traditionalist to us always refers to Francis. Whatever was part of the Franciscan family through the ages is traditional. To be “traditionalist” is to maintain what can be maintained from that tradition. It really has nothing to do with the EF. Quite the contrary. Moving with the liturgical changes in the Church is very much part of Franciscan tradition, because unlike Dominicans, Carmelites, and Carthusians, we never had our own rite. We have always had our own liturgical calendar and certain details of the Roman Missal were never observed, such as the prayers at the foot of the altar, whispering the canon, communion could be either on the tongue or in the hand depending on which province you come from, the final prayers after the blessing and in some provinces they did not prepare the gifts at the altar, but at the cruet table. But these are details that most people never noticed, because people were not as mobile then. They had no point of reference.
 
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