On the 12th day of TC the media said to me... .

Just when we thought things couldn't get any more complicated concerning Mass during Covidtide, Pope Francis dropped a bombshell that has many in the tradosphere gasping for air.

It's been twelve days since Pope Francis issued his awkwardly titled motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.

Breathe, breathe... take a long slow breath.

If greater unity is Pope Francis' desired outcome, that ain't likely gonna happen. If blog articles on the more radical sites are any indication, a lot of people are blazing mad and hardly disposed to complying with a letter that attempts to unify people through callous policies, even if issuing such an order is entirely with the prerogative and appropriate to the authority of the Roman Pontiff.

SSPX here they come!

One can almost see the wagons being hitched to the SSPX by Latin Mass enthusiasts. Pope Francis has been fairly sweet to the SSPX-ers. So,... if (when?) people migrate toward the Society, a group in imperfect communion with the Holy See, what's the big deal?

Well - of course that migration would be a big deal. It would strengthen schism or something close to it and render Pope Francis' intentions null for the most part.

Pon-tiffs

The temptation might be for some lay and ordained critics to act like supreme pundits in their respective neighbourhoods, while other concerned citizens do well by expressing legitimate criticism in a thoughtful and coherent manner.

Boxing up the responses:

1. Alter-magisterium.
2. Bitter rebel.
3. Loyal opposition.
4. If the motu proprio fits... .
5. Fraternal correction.

1. The new Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes is illicit on numerous grounds and should be ignored or resisted rather than accepted and implemented. - Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, NLM
2. Jorge Mario Bergoglio is without a doubt the most arrogant pope in the history of the Catholic Church. From day one, if not before, it has always been about him -- whatever the subject. Labeled "humble" by the mainstream media due to token stunts such as carrying a bag and wearing polyester vestments, Bergoglio is in reality a man of vengeance. A pope of vengeance. An angry bitter Jesuit settling scores through vengeance. What ought traditional Catholics to do in response to the latest attack on the Mass and all those who love tradition? Simply put: ignore it. Ignore its message. Ignore its motivation caused by pure hatred and vengeance. Keep calm and keep on going as if it does not even exist. - Rorate Caeli Editorial
3. The pope, who claims in his letter to be motivated in his decision by a desire for “unity” within the Church — the word is mentioned 32 times in his accompanying letter — has struck an even deeper division into the heart of the Church. This will foment schisms of various sorts, something Francis has admitted he’s comfortable with. After all, as he was reported to have said in 2016: “I might go down in history for having split the Catholic Church.” People will rebel. Priests who have had enough will continue to offer the TLM, damn the rules, and I can’t say I blame them. I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how traditionalists are, by necessity and with justification, the most rebellious segment of the Church today, but also how that kind of rebellion against authority from Rome is arguably the most anti-traditional thing going. The popes traditionalists love best would be aghast at their recalcitrance against the pope and their bishops, and we know this by statements they made about dissident thought in their own day. I simultaneously think “recognize and resist” is both necessary and completely un-traditional. It’s a paradox. - Steve Skojec, 1Peter5
4. FSSPX.NEWS stated on June 3, 2021: "We can only reaffirm what that such a restriction on the Motu Proprio of Benedict XVI, would be perfectly “abusive,” and since it would be directed against the common good of the Church, it would be “null in itself.” Although the Society of Saint Pius X may not feel concerned, “it would deeply regret such a limitation, because it would be a step back on the way back to Tradition which would delay the solution of the crisis of the Church.” However, this new persecution against the Traditional Mass gives us proof that Archbishop Lefebvre was right when he said that the Old Mass cannot coexist with the New Mass. The New Mass was made to replace the Old Mass and what it carries, that is to say the two-thousand years of Tradition of the Church. It was replaced by a completely New Mass which expresses a new faith, which is not Catholic: "lex orandi, lex credendi". - SSPX 17JULY2021
5. In his “Letter to the Bishops of the Whole World,” which accompanies the motu proprio, Pope Francis tries to explain the motives that have caused him, as the bearer of the supreme authority of the Church, to limit the liturgy in the extraordinary form. Beyond the presentation of his subjective reactions, however, a stringent and logically comprehensible theological argumentation would also have been appropriate. For papal authority does not consist in superficially demanding from the faithful mere obedience, i.e., a formal submission of the will, but, much more essentially, in enabling the faithful also to be convinced with consent of the mind. As St. Paul, courteous towards his often quite unruly Corinthians, said, “in the church I would rather speak five words with my mind, so as to instruct others also, than ten thousand words in tongues.” (1 Cor 14:19) - Gerhard Cardinal Mueller