Almost three months into the papacy of Robert Prevost, aka Pope Leo XIV, it would be useful to review the changing landscape taking shape in Catholicism, more specifically within the Traditional Catholic space.
One needs to bear in mind the current Catholic milieu: Apart from the garden variety Novus Ordo and Conservative Catholics, Traditional Catholics, also called ‘Trads’, are highly diverse in their outlook, and range from Semi Trads, Rad Trads, SSPX only Trads, Sedes (Sedevacantist and Sedeprivationists), & some who hold to a ‘Benevacantist’ position (that Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation was invalid, and therefore Francis wasn’t a valid Pope).
Apart from me, others have also observed a shift in the online discourse and commentary after the election of Leo. It was almost as though most traditional Catholics forgot the tyranny of the pontificate of Pope Francis from the moment Pope Leo XIV walked onto the logia attired in a traditional garb. His Latin hymns, prayers, & liturgical posturing made headlines. His smiling demeanour and calm personality added more credibility to the halo that was being placed on his head by many Catholics. The vibe shift was real. Most Traditional Catholics were jubilant. There was hope. Finally. After 12 long years of a ghastly regime. In their minds, most conservative and semi traditional Catholics were already returning to a stable pontiff who exemplified the aura of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI – the two Popes who, in their opinion, were doctrinally clear, uncontroversial, and who provided the Traditional Latin Mass the freedom through allowances in documents such as Ecclesia Dei and Summorum Pontificum respectively.
I could tell from my interactions with some of the notable Trad voices on Twitter (X) that they had changed, stating that they wanted to give Leo some time before assessing him. This was a fair ask.
But the problem was twofold. Firstly, there was a curious tendency to sensationalize Leo, as though he was the greatest thing since sliced bread, a silver bullet to end all the travails of Catholicism. If Leo prayed in Latin, the Trad world rejoiced. When Rupnik’s artwork was taken down, Catholic influencers ran & made a splash about it attributing it to Leo’s (Prevost) likely intervention. Anything positive within the Vatican, was immediately attributed to Leo.
The second problem was that there was a silence & shift among the Trad voices in calling out Leo for some of his noted complicity & continuation of Francis’ policies, for example in some of his appointments (example: the Australian bishop Mackinlay who was made Archbishop by Leo).
The implication among these Trads was therefore that Francis was an aberration, a fluke that wasn’t supposed to have happened to Catholicism. With Leo they now seemed to have found inner peace. Great. It’s good to be at peace. But at what cost?
These subdued and AWOL Trad (influential) voices gained the moniker of ‘Trad Inc’ (I highly recommend a few Substack blogs written by Chris Jackson, Stephen Kokx & Fr. David Nix on this subject – click here, here and here ).
Just as an aside example, I was more than surprised when a couple of interactions I had on Twitter (now X) with notable voices such as Dr. Taylor Marshall and Christine Niles implied that they were no longer interested in the war; they seemed to have won the battle with the election of an American Pope, and now all was well back at the homestead ranch. This is with all due respect to both Dr. Marshall (whose book “Infiltration” is indispensable and a great service to Catholicism in understanding the current crisis) & Niles, journalist and investigator par excellence, whose work in exposing much of the darker underbelly of the Catholic Church through the now defunct ‘Church Militant’ was always outstanding & praiseworthy. What surprised me was that they seemed to have forgotten the root of the issue: Pope Francis wasn’t the real problem; He was the first fruit of the problem. Like me, many of the newer voices were realizing how Trad Inc were tapping out of the battle.
Stephen Kokx, a journalist with LifeSite News (LSN), and John Henry Westen, the founder and face of LSN recently found out about the changed imperatives of Trad Inc. the hard way. Both were given marching orders by the board.
The factors that led to this fiasco, as stated by co-founder Steve Jalsevac in a now deleted tweet, was the criticism of Pope Leo’s papacy, apart from their ‘Latin Mass Catholic evangelizing’, & more importantly, their adherence to the ‘teachings of the Council of Trent’ (contrasted against the implicit non-adherence to the teachings of Vatican II).
Such was the American Pope’s effect among Trad Inc. They were starting to eat their own.
Writing later on Substack, Stephen Kokx said:
“It seems that many have forgotten that the Second Vatican Council is the cause of the crisis”
He quoted The Catholic Esquire – who did an excellent job in pointing out the unspoken word-play in the injustice meted out to Westen and Kokx;
(above video is part of the video shared on the Catholic Esquire’s YouTube channel. click here to watch the entire video)
Vatican II was thus becoming a stick to beat Kokx and Westen (among other Catholics). The writing was on the wall: Vatican II should not be questioned, let alone criticized. And this despite the latest analysis even by secular sources, showing that Vatican II “triggered a decline in worldwide Catholic Mass attendance”:
An NBER “working paper, Looking Backward: Long-Term Religious Service Attendance in 66 countries, reports that: “Vatican II, in 1962-1965, triggered a decline in worldwide Catholic attendance relative to that in other denominations.”
Note that Catholicism fared much worse than other denominations of Christians after Vatican II. Also, note that as Phil Lawler rightly points out, the analysts of the above economic research paper were not some sentimental Trads desperate for a high Mass with fancy lace-chasuble-maniple attired priests and the ‘smells & bells’ associated with such masses, as he states:
“This working paper is a product of economic research, prepared by experts analyzing statistical data…They don’t have a dog in that fight.”
Vatican II is thus clearly a debacle, a loose and uncontained wrecking ball of sorts & it is clear to most honest Catholics that this is true. Now the secular world is also chiming in confirming this.
But “You cannot question Vatican II because it was guided by the Holy Spirit”, they will say.
Comprende padre. But are you saying that the Holy Spirit doesn’t want people to attend Mass? Because that is what analysts are saying happened after Vatican II.
One can also sense within the Vatican, a methodology which is akin to how communist regimes behave. Meaning, the silencing of people and the curbing of free speech, by not allowing criticism about their key agenda(s) (example: Vatican II). Isn’t all of this against the very idea of having a healthy debate? Where are the dialogue, and listening encounters we are told about ad nauseam by the Vatican bureaucrats?
There is also another element. Remember that Francis ‘the reformer’ Pope saw himself as the ‘Custodian’ of Vatican II reforms which he believed to be incomplete. (reference: “Historians tell us that it takes 100 years for a council to be applied. We are halfway there.”) Therefore, any criticism of Francis is seen as synonymous with criticism of Vatican II. Esteemed conservative theologians Dr. Ralph Martin, Dr. Eduardo Echeverria, and Dr. Edward Peters found out the hard way after getting cancelled at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit. They were taken down by a Bergoglio-Prevost installed sharpshooter, Bishop Weisenburger. More silencing for loyal and faithful Catholics who stand for truth will come.
Meanwhile, the Trad world that united against the acts of Francis, now stands divided with Leo. How will Pope Leo, whose inaugural sermon called for unity, act?
I suspect that the standard answer to such questions by the Vatican is pie-in-the-sky concepts: listening, dialogue, pastoral-ness, & synodality. The unity that Leo & Francis pursue is an external unity among the ‘people of God’ (the Orthodox, Jews, etc.) Therefore, internal Catholic problems are not a priority to the Vatican currently. Hence the Trad world will have to wait a little longer for internal unity.
With Leo, there is also the element of subtlety. Unlike Francis who was more of a blunt, bulldozing, alpha male in his interactions, Leo is a milder, nicer, kinder, well mannered, and more placating personality (albeit a smarter &, I opine, a shrewder man). This will make unity more difficult. Emotions will tend to cloud people’s perception. I suspect this will psychologically impair people to think clearly & see the problems for what they are as Leo chugs along on the Synodal train. Therefore, there is a sense of a deepening divergence among Trad Inc. & the rest of the Trad world likely over the medium to long term.
May God grant us the grace to be united in the True & unchanging Catholic Faith. Mary our Mother, destroyer of all heresies, pray for us.
Ave Maria
