(Yes, this is another Miles Special, and is pretty heavy-going, but definitely worth it – Day Admin)

Bare with me colleagues.

Those who oppose the new order (the norvus order) of the mass promulgated after Vatican 2. Not a usual subject for a nom but please crave my indulgence if I can use that word in connection with Catholicism.

I now see Moriarty as my deadly spiritual foe. That was his name ____Moriarty.. He used to send me emails with reams and reams of documents attached to convince me that Vatican 2 was not a legitimate Council and the new mass was ‘defective’.

Yup wading through Papal Bulls, Encyclicals to get to the truth. A very depressing time in my life.

The ‘missa de angelis’ that is the exquisite music associated with the Latin Mass. I started to put it up on YouTube. Then I started to think I had lived through ‘the spirit’ of Vatican 2. Yes when many churches were stripped of statues and paintings and the mass became more relaxed and the priest even making jokes.

Terrible examples of ‘Clown masses’ I read about but never witnessed. But it was a very big change. Now we used the vernacular and the priest faced forward. All the old dignity and decorum was gone for many. It killed Evelyn Waugh you could argue.

Anyway I got caught up in this way of thinking for of a time. What were the conspiracies? According to Moriarty Pope Paul the VI was an imposter. Freemasons had infiltrated the Council. The focus on ‘Ecumenism’ was in reality only about ushering a world religion for the NWO. Loads and loads of stuff like that. What happened next?

You know the fanatics shout the loudest. Fractious, always fighting- talk mode, schismatic or schismatically-minded they are. I just got sick of it I think. Still played the old music on YouTube but I just left it. Or rather it left me. I never go on their websites because I know what they are going to say. (As an aside here isn’t that the one characteristic shared by all Conspiracy Theorists they repeat and repeat and repeat the same things?)

Anyway Pope Francis has just dropped a bombshell. You might have read about his motu proprio ‘traditionosis custodes’ basically making it very very difficult to celebrate the old latin mass. The traditionalists are up in arms of course.. I can see years and years of vicious infighting ahead

But Francis is right. It is like a church within a church. It has become terribly divisive. And the Council Fathers were right to update the mass. And use vernacular language so the people could understand what was going on.

Yesterday Gavin Williamson said he wanted Latin to be taught more in schools and has set aside funding for it. Which made me smile.

Nominated by: Miles Plastic

(More info here – Day Admin Traditionalist Catholicism )