CORRECTING MIKE LEWIS, THE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE 1970’S, ABOUT POPE PAUL VI’S DESIRE FOR RECONCILIATION IN THE CHURCH IN 1974

Pope Paul VI by 1972 was decrying not traditionalists but heterodox leftists in the Church with this comment:

Mike Lewis of Where Peter Is, is incredibly wet behind the ears. He means well, but he’s way too young to understand the post-Vatican II dynamics of the 1960’s and 70’s which led to the election of Pope John Paul II in 1978.

Lewis reproduces Pope Paul’s exhortation for reconciliation in the Church as a theme of the Holy Year of 1975. That was the year I was in the last discerning stages of entering the seminary. You can read Lewis post and incredibly wrong preamble to Paul VI’s exhortation HERE.

BUT HERE IS THE LIE THAT HE TELLS WHICH IS WHY HE POSTS THIS EXHORATION—HE IS JUST TOO WET BEHIND THE EARS AND TOO YOUNG TO KNOW WHAT WAS GOING ON IN 1974. I KNOW, BECAUSE I WAS THERE!:

In this exhortation, the pope addresses divisions across the spectrum, from relativism to traditionalism. At the time, the Church was experiencing growing tension with individuals and groups — most notably Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and his followers, members and supporters of the newly-formed Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) — who rejected the Council’s teachings, especially on liturgy, ecumenism, and religious liberty. Paul VI addresses those who “profess to remain Catholic” but “are in open or implicit dissension” with the postconciliar Church. ( MY NOTE: LEFEBVRE WAS NOT AS MAJOR OF A PROBLEM IN 1974–HE BECAME A HEADACHE FOR POPE JOHN PAUL II IN THE EARLY 80’S! NOR WAS TRADITIONALISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT TODAY WHICH LEWIS SIMPLY DOESN’T GET! AT THE END OF MY POST I SUMMARIZE THE REAL REASONS FOR POPE PAUL’S 1974 EXHORTATION ON RECONCILIATION, SOMETHING LEWIS DOESN’T KNOW BEAUSE HE WASN’T THERE!)

I entered the seminary in the last full year of Pope Paul VI’s pontificate, 1976. St. Mary Seminary and University in Baltimore, was a progressive to heterodox seminary. What it was teaching was leftist theology (which Pope Francis brought to his papacy in 2013, that is why I called him so 1970’s because he taught what I was taught at St. Mary’s seminary in the 70’s) and the seminary’s liturgical abuses were abundant there but not uncommon in that period of time in the Church. It was the corruption of the 1970’s Roman Missal in the most damaging liberal ways possible. 

Conservatism was despised, the type of conservatism that Pope Paul was promoting beginning with Humanae Vitae in 1968. The majority of dissenting Catholics, meaning bishops and theologians were on the left of things not on the right and the left was completely entrenched in the major seminaries and religious orders of the time.

THE LEFT WAS THE PROBLEM IN 1974, NOT THE RIGHT! THE LEFT WERE THE ONE’S COMMITTING AND ENCOURAGING LITURGICAL ABUSE, NOT THE RIGHT.

THE RIGHT WANTED THE NEW MASS CELEBRATED WITHOUT LITURGICAL ABUSES AND BY THE BOOK, FOR THE MOST PART THEY WERE NOT ADVOCATING FOR A RETURN TO THE TRIDENTINE MASS BUT FAITHFULLY IMPLEMENTING THE NEW MASS. THEY WEREN’T EVEN CALLING FOR AD ORIENTEM IN THE NEW MASS BUT THEY DID NOT LIKE ALTAR GIRLS, WHICH WASN’T ALLOWED IN 1974, NOR DID THEY LIKE COMMUNION MINISTERS, RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION IN THE HAND AND STANDING. BUT THEY DID NOT REJECT THE NEW MASS ONLY ABUSES!

MIKE LEWIS SIMPLY DOESN’T GET IT. HE NEVER WILL, HE’S TOO ENTRENCHED IN THE PERIOD OF THE CHURCH BETWEEN 2013 AND 2025. IN OTHER WORDS, HE’S ONLY KNOWN THAT PERIOD OF THE CHURCH IN HIS ADULT LIFE, A PERIOD NOW GONE WITH THE WIND. HE IS RESISTANT TO “WHERE LEO IS” AS HE REFINES DOCTRINAL DEVELOPMENT A LA ST. JOHN HENRY NEWMAN AND REFINES EVERYTHING OF THE NOW DEFUNCT POPE FRANCIS ERA.

AI SUMMARY OF THE REASONS FOR PAUL VI’S 1974:

AI Google overview:

Pope Paul VI used the phrase "smoke of Satan" to express his concern about negative influences, particularly liturgical abuses and a spirit of dissent, that he believed were infiltrating the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. He wasn't referring to a literal presence of Satan but rather to the harmful effects of certain interpretations and practices that deviated from traditional Catholic teachings and the Council's intentions. 

Here's a more detailed explanation:

• Context:

  Pope Paul VI delivered this powerful statement in 1972, during a time of significant change and debate within the Church following the Second Vatican Council. 
• Liturgical Abuses:

  Some within the Church were interpreting the Council's call for renewal as a license to introduce arbitrary changes to liturgical practices, which Paul VI viewed as disrespectful and damaging to the sacredness of the Mass. 
• Dissent and Confusion:

  He also lamented the confusion and dissent that arose from interpretations of the Council that were seen as departures from traditional doctrine. 
• "Smoke of Satan":

  The phrase "smoke of Satan" was a symbolic way to describe the insidious, corrupting influence of these negative trends on the Church's spiritual atmosphere. 
• Not Literal Satanism:

  It's crucial to understand that Paul VI was not suggesting that literal Satanists were taking over the Church. Instead, he was using the imagery of smoke to represent the harmful, obfuscating effects of certain ideas and practices. 
• Warnings:

  His words were a warning about the dangers of straying from the true teachings of the Council and the importance of maintaining reverence and fidelity to Catholic tradition. 
• Impact:

  The phrase has resonated with many Catholics who share Paul VI's concerns about the direction of the Church in the post-conciliar era.