When A Pope Orders A Departure From Sacred Tradition, We Can And Must Refuse To Comply

A few days ago, we saw on LifeSite News that the Mexican Bishops' Conference, with the support of Bishop Aurelio Garcia Macias, Undersecretary of the Vatican's Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, approved an indigenous rite of Mass that would incorporate idolatrous elements of Mayan worship.  These elements include women acting as de facto deacons and polytheism (nature worship).  I would suggest reading the linked LifeSite News article carefully, as it gives a rather detailed treatment of the pagan elements that contaminate this so-called Mass.  Frankly, I would have to suspect that the idolatry might well render the Mass invalid, as matter, form and intent are compromised if not eliminated.  This is being done with the permission of Francis, if not by his order.

So we see the Traditional Latin Mass being despised by too many prelates, again at Francis' order, and this Mexican Pachamama "Mass" being prepared for usage.  How many of these "indigenous" pagan rituals will be insinuated in Catholic Churches throughout the world?  To all those who yapped and yammered that the Latin Mass was "causing disunity", what do you think of this (and future) idolatries?  Might they cause a little "disunity"?  Will you try to cajole us into sinning against the First Commandment, all in the name of a vacuous facade of "unity"?

Here's another related stunt that Francis recently pulled.  He is claiming that hell is not an actual place but some sort of "posture towards life", whatever that means.  It almost sounds like he's lost all sense of the afterlife.  Given what he's attempting to do to the Mass as outlined above, what he says is probably his fervent hope.  Of course that is not real hope at all, but a dangerous presumption and error.  Hell does indeed exist, as taught plainly by Our Lord. 

So what are we to do, if any of this slop appears in the sanctuary of our Churches?  Do we just sit there and wring our hands?  No, for any such passivity would be its own sin.  A fairly comprehensive treatment of such scenarios appears in this piece from One Peter Five entitled "Can A Catholic Ever Disobey A Pope?"  The author details how, through the centuries starting with the Apostle Paul himself, theologians, bishops, and Doctors of the Church grappled with this question - some through their own experiences.  We see that if and when Francis gives orders that are deleterious to the Faith - such as the marginalization of the Latin Mass - we cannot dignify that by our compliance.  Didn't we go through something quite similar just two years ago, when feckless bishops were ordering Churches to be closed and the bestowal of the Sacraments to be halted?  How many poor souls are in hell because they were denied the opportunity to make one last Confession?  The priests and bishops responsible will answer for those souls (unless they repent and confess those sins).

If we see pachamamas or other idolatrous objects in our church sanctuaries, we will have to not only protest, but to remove the filth ourselves.  We would recognize that placement of the idolatrous objects in the sanctuary is inherently sinful and we cannot be silent nor passive in that light.  Obedience to God and to the true teaching of the Church would demand action on the part of the laity.

Bishop Athanasius Schneider addresses these matters in the video below.  He states quite plainly the truth that the pope does not have the power nor the authority to abolish the Traditional Latin Mass.  The order of Mass is part of Sacred Tradition.  No pope can change that, just as he could not change the Sacred Scriptures.  A priest ordered to cease offering the Latin Mass could, in all good conscience, offer it in an underground fashion and we could - should attend.  Right now these questions are hypothetical, but could soon become quite relevant.  We must be prepared.