This meme is only partially true, as Pope Francis is very much a part of Benedict’s era but on a different schematic having not experienced a conversion to pre-Vatican II principles and to continuity rather than rupture, but of the very same era…
Rorate Caeli publishes a brilliant synopsis on Pope Benedict beginning with his progressive side during Vatican II, in which he played an important role, its initial implementation, of which he played an important role and his reconversion to pre-Vatican II principles beginning in 1968, although he remained committed to many Vatican II principles properly interpreted within tradition.
With his death, there is a conclusion to his way of looking at Vatican II and continuity, with the present pope full invested in the Vatican II interpretation of rupture upon rupture with everything that preceded it and an avenue given by Vatican II to pursue that road.
We’ll have to wait for the reigning pope to die in order that a younger prelate will be elected pope that will have to choose one way or the other or create a middle road that respects reform and continuity.
This is the last paragraph of this fine commentary, copied from Rorate Caeli:
As for efforts at conciliation, the answer has been given by Pope Francis himself. By asking that the traditional missal be completely abandoned in the near future, by convening a synod on synodality to make it impossible to go back, the current pontiff wants to definitively destroy the principle of the hermeneutic of continuity that broke down on the day Benedict XVI gave up. Instead of seeking such continuity, the present Pope is rooting for the phenomenon of rupture, which is becoming perceptible in all areas of the Church. Everything that is rooted in tradition is mocked, presented as sclerotic, accused of clericalism or immobilism. Yet, all changes, all upheavals are justified, not in the name of the Tradition of the Church, synonymous with perennity, but in the name of Vatican II, symbol of creativity. It is this era of tabula rasa, initiated sixty years ago, that must be interrupted. From now on, we must pray that a pope, definitively freed from the Council and the issues linked to it, will be able to write a new page of the Church, by reaffirming the eternal principles of Catholicism.
[Originally published at Renaissance catholique]
Press the title for the complete commentary:
"The Death of Benedict XVI: The Failure of the Hermeneutic of Continuity"
by Côme de Prévigny
6 comments:
Father McDonald, the Rorate Caeli article that you linked makes Pope Benedict XVI appear awful.
Rorate Caeli has insisted that Vatican II is irreconcilable to Holy Tradition. The Council is unsalvageable, if we are to believe the article.
Father Joseph Ratzinger is counted among progressives who, via the Council, had inflicted supposed massive damage upon the Church.
The article offered the narrative that from the late 1960s onward, Father Ratzinger had attempted the impossible: That is, he had tried to undo the massive damage that his ilk — the Progressives — had inflicted upon the Church.
How did Father Ratzinger attempt the impossible?
The Rorate Caeli article insisted that Father Ratzinger had concocted the following false narrative:
"So, in order to reconcile the past and the present, he developed the thesis of a betrayed council, whose intentions had been misused...which had been hijacked by the media. This is the famous explanation that he repeatedly presented to Rome."
In contradiction to Father Ratzinger's narrative in question, the Rorate Caeli article declared that "the reforms of Vatican II were implemented not by journalists but, within the dioceses, by the bishops who knew full well what they had voted for in the conciliar aula."
Father McDonald, the Rorate Caeli that you linked also blamed Pope Benedict XVI for the de-Christianization of Catholic nations.
The article claimed harshly of Pope Benedict XVI that on "the subject of the founding principles of Catholicity, he also justified the abolition of Catholic states, turning his back on the principle of Christ's social reign over societies, as it had been understood for fifteen centuries."
"And it is its abolition that has given rise to a scent of relativism marked by a generalized de-Christianization of societies and a galloping disaffection of churches."
The article also noted Father Ratzinger's/Pope Benedict XVI's unrelenting support for such Vatican II "innovations" as the ends of marriage, collegiality, religious freedom, ecumenism...Benedict XVI endorsed the reforms to the point of pursuing interreligious dialogue, not hesitating to renew the famous meeting of Assisi, though judged as one of the most questionable expressions of his predecessor's pontificate."
Finally, in opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's unrelenting defense, and promotion, of Vatican II — the "council proved to be not only meaningful, but necessary" — the article has insisted that me must pray for a Pope who will free us from Vatican II...and return us supposedly to the eternal principles of Catholicism.
I quote the article's conclusion:
"From now on, we must pray that a pope, definitively freed from the Council and the issues linked to it, will be able to write a new page of the Church, by reaffirming the eternal principles of Catholicism."
The article's conclusion is in total opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's teaching that the Church must, and will, move forward with the Holy Ghost-inspired Vatican II as Her guide.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
The article in question has continued Rorate Caeli's war against Vatican II...as well as the Council's defenders, and promoters.
From 1962 A.D., to date, even posthumously, nobody has done more than Father Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI to defend, and promote, Vatican II.
In that regard, I am not certain as to the article's lowest point in which Pope Benedict XVI had been attacked. But the following is in the running in regard to that.
In disgraceful fashion, the Rorate Caeli article claimed that Pope Benedict XVI had de-Christianized Catholic nations.
The article insisted that Pope Benedict XVI turned his back upon the principle of Jesus Christ's Social reign over nations. That, in turn, had de-Christianized nations, according to the article.
I quote the article:
Pope Benedict XVI on "the subject of the founding principles of Catholicity, he also justified the abolition of Catholic states, turning his back on the principle of Christ's social reign over societies, as it had been understood for fifteen centuries."
"And it is its abolition that has given rise to a scent of relativism marked by a generalized de-Christianization of societies and a galloping disaffection of churches."
Pax.
Mark Thomas
Pope Benedict, like you Father McDonald, matured over the course of your priesthood, while others have not
"In the future, the Roman Church should have only one rite; the existence of two rites is difficult for bishops and priests to manage. The Roman rite of the future should be a single rite, celebrated in Latin or in a popular language, but based entirely in the tradition of the ancient rite." It remains a mystery, however, why the pontiff never bothered to celebrate the traditional Mass as pope, which would have confirmed such intentions.
I added a closed quote where I believe it should have been placed. I've often wondered, and I in part believe, that what Benedict XVI was trying to achieve would have gotten some tangible "teeth" had he done the above prior to his resignation. Whether enough "wolves" prevented this from ever happening, we'll never know.
By asking that the traditional missal be completely abandoned in the near future, by convening a synod on synodality to make it impossible to go back, the current pontiff wants to definitively destroy the principle of the hermeneutic of continuity that broke down on the day Benedict XVI gave up. Instead of seeking such continuity, the present Pope is rooting for the phenomenon of rupture, which is becoming perceptible in all areas of the Church. Everything that is rooted in tradition is mocked, presented as sclerotic, accused of clericalism or immobilism.
The above is what scares me, scares me for the TLM, scares me for the Roman Church that could finally go over a cliff and scares me for the Church at-large. If Rome implodes, what does that mean for the rest of us that aren't Roman? I suppose, in my case, a potential next step might be returning to the Orthodox Church from which my ancestors came. It's perhaps not quite as obvious for others, particularly those who choose to "swim the Tiber" (e.g. the Anglican Ordinariate).
I thought I commented on this, perhaps I didn't hit "publish".
"In the future, the Roman Church should have only one rite; the existence of two rites is difficult for bishops and priests to manage. The Roman rite of the future should be a single rite, celebrated in Latin or in a popular language, but based entirely in the tradition of the ancient rite. It remains a mystery, however, why the pontiff never bothered to celebrate the traditional Mass as pope, which would have confirmed such intentions.
-The close quote is missing, not sure to which sentence it belongs. This has always puzzled me. Why didn't Benedict XVI give some teeth to that which he believed and availed himself of his own MP?
As for efforts at conciliation, the answer has been given by Pope Francis himself. By asking that the traditional missal be completely abandoned in the near future, by convening a synod on synodality to make it impossible to go back, the current pontiff wants to definitively destroy the principle of the hermeneutic of continuity that broke down on the day Benedict XVI gave up. Instead of seeking such continuity, the present Pope is rooting for the phenomenon of rupture, which is becoming perceptible in all areas of the Church.
-This paragraph speaks for itself. Nothing to add, shaking my head in agreement.
And just so folks don't think it's all peaches and cream in the East, this bombshell airs out a bit of what smells on our side of the fence. To me, this is a bombshell, perhaps a small/minor one as I have no recollection of someone articulating with such precision what many think privately:
http://byztex.blogspot.com/2023/01/moscow-accused-of-making-imaginary.html
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