Dr Kwasniewski argued in two previous comments that the Pope’s Motu Proprio, Traditionis Custodes, is so outside his competence as Pope that no Catholic is obliged to obey his directions.
In John-Henry Weston’s discussion with Chris Ferrara, Unpacking Pope Francis’ war on Latin Mass Catholics and why it matters for everyone else, well-known Catholic lawyer Ferrara goes into the nitty-gritty of Traditionis Custodes and the just-released answers to a series of concocted ‘dubias’ to show how absurd it all is. I am in full agreement with Ferrara’s analysis. It is precisely what I think of the Motu Proprio and it is the stance I have adopted towards it.
Pope Francis and his inner cabinet are never finished sermonizing about love and mercy, especially at those he continually denounces as (pathologically) rigid, as if rigidity has been elevated to the highest echelons of sin, so grievous that it must be confessed. But like so much else, and so typical of the left, it’s okay if he does it.
Bergoglio’s recent motu proprio, Traditiones Custodes, is one of the most savage merciless political actions that I have witnessed in my lifetime. It’s brutality, its intention to absolutely crush a political opponent, leaves one gasping, bewildered that such naked political aggression could emanate from the Vatican.
But the nature of the political act and its brutality is one thing. Bergoglio’s instructions to the world’s bishops to carry out the prescribed act of liquidation is another. Does he have the authority to demand obedience to his motu proprio, personal action taken by the pope himself, and do the Catholic faithful have the duty to obey?
Dr Peter Kwasniewski gave the most powerful response yet to Pope Francis at the recent Conference of Catholic Identity, organized by The Remnant Newspaper.
Dr Peter Kwasniewski is a graduate of Thomas Aquinas College and The Catholic University of America.
He taught at the International Theological Institute in Austria, the Franciscan University fo Steubenville’s Austria Program and Wyoming Catholic College.
He writes for The New Liturgical Movement, The Remnant, LifeSite News. OnePeterFive, Rorate Caeli, The Latin Mass Magzine, and others.
