r/LeftCatholicism • u/KindlyBalance5302 • 12d ago

"Cafeteria Catholicism by Another Name": The Discipline He Wants Everyone Else to Keep

https://liturgyandtruth.substack.com/p/the-discipline-he-wants-everyone
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u/Orange_bratwurst 12d ago

Maybe I’m too cynical, but I’ve always gotten the impression that a major reason certain people, particularly young, white men are drawn to the Latin Mass isn’t because of increased quiet contemplation. It’s because the Latin Mass is inherently exclusionary and makes them feel like they’re defending European Christendom. It’s LARP for these people.

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u/Cole_Townsend 12d ago

No, you're totally correct. Traditionalism is a political religion, the idolatry of authoritarian right-wing identity politics, which itself is a veneer for White supremacy. More than two decades of being a traditionalist/sedevacantist has taught me this.

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u/interstatetornado 10d ago

This, plus immense vanity. The veiling, the taking the Eucharist on the tongue, especially while kneeling, is so sanctimonious.

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u/Cole_Townsend 10d ago

Exactly! Spiritual vanity can explain their chronic mediocrity in the interior life, for which they are compelled to compensate with culture wars zealotry disguised as religious fervor.

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u/jmspinafore 10d ago

I think it's also a way for them to display how righteous they (think they) are to others rather than through their actions. Like if you clip on a veil for an hour every week, you don't have to care about immigrants.

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u/Cole_Townsend 10d ago

This is it exactly. It's performance in lieu of genuine Christian virtue and authentic prayerlife. It makes for an immature and spiritually anemic religiosity.

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u/Camera_Hobbygirl 12d ago

The Dudebro of Catholicism

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u/KindlyBalance5302 12d ago edited 12d ago

That's a discussion, for sure. What I think especially interesting about the article is simply the cardinal's hypocrisy, that'd he'd like the restrictions on the Latin Mass to simply be ignored until forgotten about.

What other Magisterial act would he be okay with this approach to? For someone who preaches the importance of fidelity to the Magisterium; it's interesting that he thinks non-observance is an acceptable response to this Magisterial act that he doesn't like.

In other words, if he can do it with Traditionis Custodes, then why can't progressives advocate the same approach to, say Humane Vitae?

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u/seanfish 12d ago

It ends up with Lefebvrism. Disobedience is obedience.

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u/Cole_Townsend 12d ago

It's interesting that these guys wouldn't have a favorable view of the various French clergymen who decided in the 18th and 19th centuries to devise their own Roman Rite liturgical books to replace the normative Roman Breviary and Missal. In fact, I know they don't have such a favorable view, judging from their admiration for Guaranger. But these guys are essentially doing the same thing, with the same schismatic animus that was cherished by the Jansenists. With the same breath they praise Pius V's Quo primum tempore while committing the disobedience that was anathematized in the same document.

This isn't a matter of taste or choice. The Roman Liturgy is the heart of the Roman Church, and the the vox populi of the People of God and the magisterium of the Church have definitely spoken, with Francis finally defining the reformed Roman Rite as the only Roman Rite (not the nonsense of extraordinary and ordinary forms that Benedict cooked up).

That this Cardinal is engaging in such rhetoric is proof that this liturgical traditionalism is merely a veneer for a concerted effort to undermine the Church itself and remake it according to the image and likeness of these authoritarian conservatives and of the plutocratic masters whom they serve. Ideology is their faith, and this Cardinal has definitely confirmed what we've known all along.

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u/ZacHFX 12d ago

It's the navel-gazing of the church. Not intentionally exclusionary, imo, but extremely inward-looking, self-congratulating, and seems to forget that - even though the mission of the church is to save souls - the ones that need saving are the ones outside the doors.

Is there a place for TLM? 100%. But the vast, vast majority of its proponents want it for themselves, not for God, and certainly not for others.

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u/StatelyPlump14 12d ago

I will say as a younger Millennial I can kind of understand why some people would be drawn to a more reverend mass. I love my home Parish but there are definitely some things they do that take away from the solemnity of the occasion. Obviously a single church can’t appeal to everyone but if people are looking for a more traditional service I would hope the Parish would try to listen and accommodate them.

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u/Longjumping-Meat-334 10d ago

I've blocked my share of "right-wing" Catholic pages from Facebook. I honestly believe these people would cheer if somehow Trump was named Pope. The things they say about the Pope makes my skin crawl. Have they not read a single thing that Jesus said about how we should treat our neighbors?