OME PEOPLE can’t think for themselves. By their very nature, such “sheep” require opinion makers to tell them how they feel about something. We observe this not only in politics, but in countless other spheres. For example, some folks wait until the following morning—when they read newspaper reviews by critics—to determine whether they enjoyed the concert! Our society also contains many “contrarians” who adopt the opposite position about everything … no matter what. Contrarians (especially liturgical contrarians) can’t think for themselves.
“Schizophrenia Flaw”: Regarding liturgical reforms of the 1950s and 1960s, some have been convinced that everything undertaken by the reformers was evil—FULL STOP. That’s what they’ve been told, so they believe it (even though many can’t defend this position). That being said, serious Catholics—not “sheep”—have soberly discovered major flaws in the reforms, especially the schizophrenia flaw. On one hand, the reformers said they wanted to restore the “pristine and original” traditions of the primitive Church. On the other hand, the reformers fabricated a whole bunch of new stuff so the liturgy would become “suitable” to homo modernus and the zeitgeist. I know of no author who has attempted to reconcile, explain, or justify the (obviously contradictory) “schizophrenia flaw.”
His Own Words: An indisputable expert on the reforms was Ferdinando Cardinal Antonelli, who on 10/4/1962 was named “Secretary of the Conciliar Commission on the Liturgy.” Cardinal Antonelli wrote as follows (regarding the Holy Week reform of Pius XII): “Its object was to facilitate the participation of all the faithful in the great mysteries of our redemption.” Cardinal Antonelli also said—writing to the Holy Father—that the only people displeased with these reforms are “those who either from indolence or lack of liturgical sensibility do not want anything to change.”
Such Arrogance! Talk about worshipping the zeitgeist! Imagine condemning the ancient traditions of the Church in such a way! Imagine declaring that anyone who disagrees with your modifications is “indolent” (lazy) or “lacks liturgical sensibility!” And yet, in 1955, Cardinal Antonelli and his cadre of reformers—which was a secret committee known as the Commissio Piana—got rid of something which the faithful loved very much. I’m talking about TENEBRAE, which the 1955 reforms de facto destroyed:
* PDF Download • SUPPRESSION OF TENEBRAE
—The 1962 Holy Week seems to forbid Tenebræ.
They Knew It: The reformers knew what they were doing! For example, in one of their meetings:
“Msgr. Carinci observed that
the Matins of Tenebrae was
much beloved of the faithful, with
many of them participating at it.”
So the faithful loved it and participated in it … yet it must be destroyed? What happened to “facilitating the participation of all the faithful” (see above)? My friends, this is schizophrenia. Indeed, one of the reformers (Cardinal Anselmo Albareda) on 23 March 1954 “stressed that what was required by the principles of reform, even if at times costly, obliged that the present situation be suspended, even if everybody was attached to it.” For the record, I’m told that many churches in Rome simply ignored the suppression of Tenebræ in the 1950s.
NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
* Source of these quotations:
Father Nicola Giampietro’s Il cardinale Giuseppe Ferdinando Antonelli e gli sviluppi della riforma liturgica dal 1948 al 1970 (Pontifical Institute of Sacred Liturgy, 1996).
