TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, urged the faithful to pray for Pope Francis in the hopes he will reverse his continued assault against the Traditional Latin Mass.
On December 30, Strickland tweeted a quote from Pope Pius XII, warning against the alteration of the traditional liturgy and theology of the Catholic Church. Stickland implored the faithful to pray for Pope Francis in light of his relentless attacks on the Latin Mass and the traditional sacraments in his July 2021 motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and the Vatican’s December 2021 Responsa to questions regarding the Traditional Mass.
Pray for Pope Francis to resist these same forces that his predecessor fought 70+ years ago. “Come Lord Jesus, fill the hearts of your faithful and renew the face of the earth.” pic.twitter.com/MUv4r7xaP1
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) December 30, 2021
“I am worried by the Blessed Virgin’s messages to Lucy of Fatima,” Pius XII had said, according to Strickland. “This persistence of Mary about the dangers which menace the Church is a Divine warning against the suicide of altering the Faith, in Her liturgy, Her theology and Her soul. I hear all around me innovators who wish to dismantle the Sacred Chapel, destroy the universal flame of the true Faith of the Church, reject Her ornaments and make Her feel remorse for Her historical past.”
“Pray for Pope Francis to resist these same forces that his predecessor fought 70+ years ago. ‘Come Lord Jesus, fill the hearts of your faithful and renew the face of the earth,’” added the bishop.
The bishop’s statements come after a further clarification of Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes was released by the Vatican last month, which many saw as an indication that the goal of his pontificate is to eradicate the Traditional Latin Mass and require adherence to the Novus Ordo promulgated by Pope Paul VI following the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI had released his own motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which clarified that the Traditional Mass was not only acceptable, but that all priests have the right to celebrate the Mass in the old form. Francis’ motu proprio, released in the middle of last year, was essentially a reversal of his predecessor’s declaration.
To make matters worse, just last month the Vatican released Responsa clarifying some of the ambiguities found in Traditionis Custodes, doubling down the suppression of the Mass of the Ages.
Included in the measures is denying priests the ability to administer the sacraments in the traditional form, only allowing the Old Mass in parish churches under limited circumstances, disallowing priests to offer both the New Mass and the Old Mass on the same day, as well as eerily hinting to an end to the Traditional Mass entirely.