The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) made significant changes designed to improve relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. Several people within the Church feared that these changes would have a detrimental effect on the Church, including the encouragement of heretical acts, indifference to the customs, beliefs and practices of the Church, and that these changes weakened the status of the Church in regard to its supremacy over other religions. Traditionalist Catholics are are members of the Church who seek restoration of many or all of the customs, traditions, liturgical forms, public and private devotions, and presentations of the Church prior to the Second Vatican Council, a chief concern being a return to the Tridentine or traditional Latin form of the Mass. Several traditionalist organizations have been formed with the approval of the Vatican. These organizations accept the documents of the Second Vatican Council in principle, but celebrate the older forms with permission of the Holy See. Other traditionalist Catholics in good standing with Rome are served by priests who are willing to offer the traditional rites, while others identify as traditionalists but are unable to attend the traditional liturgy regularly because of distance, and may attend the liturgies of Eastern Orthodox Churches, if available. Catholics in good standing with the Church who attend the traditional liturgy may have differing worldviews, ranging from liberal to conservative. Other traditionalists are not in good standing with the Holy See in Rome, and practice outside of the official structures of the Roman Catholic Church. The largest of these is the Society of Saint Pius X, which was established in 1970. While the Society of Saint Pius X have not chosen to leave the Roman Catholic Church, other groups hold that the post-Vatican II popes have forfeited their positions through the acceptance of heretical teachings, and that there is no legitimate pope.
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Society of Saint Pius X/V |
Recommended Resources
This free online discussion forum is focused on the traditionalist movement within the Roman Catholic Church. Topics include, but are not limited to, Catholic living in the modern world, the Catholic liturgy, chants and prayers, Catholic art and literature, and the resistance movement within the Church. Also included is an area for Catholics under the age of twenty.
http://www.cathinfo.com/
Catholic Traditionalist Movement
The origin, general aims, charter and constitution, and future plans of the CTM are given, and its leadership introduced. An argument is made for the reinstitution of the Latin Mass, along with other informational articles. A liturgical calendar, audio and written sermons, an online Mass, a radio Mass, and an online Mass are available, with contact information and a separate area for priests.
http://www.latinmass-ctm.org/
Information is presented here for those who are converting to the Catholic faith, for Catholics who are confused and dissatisfied over recent changes to the liturgy and other traditions in the Church, and for Protestants who may be wondering what the Catholic Church teaches. An online discussion forum hosted here poses these questions and has answers, from a traditional Catholic perspective.
http://www.fisheaters.com/
Taking the position that the Catholic Church has been disembodied, her former shell removed and placed over a corrupt institution, the site takes a Traditional Catholic stance, offering several resources, such as articles on Catholic theology, the Tridentine Mass, Latin prayers, Canon law, the Papal Coronation oath, and the oath against modernization, traditionalists, infallibility and the Pope.
http://www.holyromancatholicchurch.org/
The focus of this site is on defending the Catholic faith through exposing the false post-Vatican II counter-church. Topics include the Church after Vatican II, biblical proof for Catholicism, the invalid new Mass, a discussion of the antipopes, spiritual issues such as UFO's and Padre Pio, and several other topics and discussions. Traditional Catholic audios are available for online listening.
http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/
The Society is a Traditional Catholic religious community of priests and brothers which resides at Holy Ghost Friary near Morse, Louisiana, where they offer the Traditional Latin Mass, and all sacraments according to the pre-Vatican II form. Mass schedules, a calendar of events, and an overview of its formation program. Featured is a gallery of photographs, videos, office hours and contacts.
http://www.societyoftheholyghost.org/
This is the online edition of The Remnant, a publication whose editorial policies call for it to be a voice crying out against what are viewed by many to be abusive liturgical and doctrinal aberrations stemming from the changes that have been the result of changes made by the Second Vatican Council to the Mass, and other Catholic traditions. Its history, advertising and subscription policies are stated.
http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/
Billing itself as the traditional Roman Catholic network and the independent voice of Roman Catholicism since 1994, the creators of the web site promote the fully traditional Catholic Latin Mass, sacraments, doctrine, and morality. Several books are recommended, and a photo gallery, a traditional liturgical calendar, articles, reviews, sermon series, and an encyclopedia of traditional Catholicism are included.
http://www.traditio.com/
A brief historical survey of Church teaching one hundred years prior to the Second Vatican Council is related here, including the Church under Pope Pius IX on the promotion of false doctrines and condemning current errors, the Vatican Council of 1869-1870, Pope Leo XIII on socialism, Freemasonry, and the nature of human liberty, and Pope Saint Pius X on the restoration of all things in Christ and the doctrine of the Modernists. Scripture references from the Old and New Testaments are included.
http://www.traditionalcatholic.net/
The site reflects the personal observations of a Catholic author, researcher and historian about many of the challenges facing the Roman Catholic Church, both from without and from within, are related here, with a focus on the changes that were instituted by Vatican II, and the results that are being seen in the Church, yet without supporting those who would reject the authority of the Pope.
http://tutorfidelis.wordpress.com/
Catholic sermons and talks, in the tradition of the Roman Catholic Church prior to Vatican II, can be downloaded from this site or ordered for a minimal cost. Included are sermons from Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, Bishop Robert McKenna, Bishop Mark Pivarunas, Bishop Daniel Dolan, Bishop Donald Sanborn, Father Martin Stepanich, and many others. Video is included.
http://www.traditionalcatholicsermons.org/
The traditional Latin Mass, the traditional Roman Catholic faith, vocations to the traditional Catholic priesthood, and resistance to the errors of Vatican II are among the topics that are discussed here, along with comparisons between the old and the new, key issues, various traditionalist articles and other topics, including photos of the traditional Latin Mass, a Mass simulcast, and a free information packet.
http://www.traditionalmass.org/
Traditional Roman Catholic Thoughts
In support of the Traditionalist movement in Roman Catholicism, the site has been regularly maintained since 2008, and includes several arguments in favor of the traditional Latin Mass as opposed to the Novus Ordo (post-Vatican II) Mass, as well as other positions held by Traditionalists. Other topics include the Rediscover Catholicism movement, the status of the Papacy, and other changes brought about in the Second Vatican Council.
http://trcthoughts.com/
