Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass? Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast (Part 2)

Challenging the mainstream trad narrative…

Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass?

Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast

(Part 2 of 2)

On Jan. 27, 2023, Dr. Taylor Marshall interviewed Mr. Matthew Gaspers on the topic of whether a Pope can abolish the Traditional Latin Mass of the Roman rite.

Spoiler alert: Gaspers answered with a “definite no” and presented a total of three magisterial quotes and two quotes from Doctors of the Church he thinks prove that a Pope is not permitted to abolish the ancient Roman liturgy, and if he does, all the other members of the Church have the right and/or duty to reject such a decree as void and worthless.

On Feb. 7, we released the first of two podcast episodes — TRADCAST EXPRESS 169 — that provide a critical evaluation of the claims made by Marshall and Gaspers. It can be accessed here:

• Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass? Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast (Part 1)
  

At the time, we promised to release Part 2 to critique the remainder of the video soon. That episode, TRADCAST EXPRESS 170, has now been published:

If you prefer a downloadable audio format, please see the embed below or download here:

In this TRADCAST EXPRESS 170, we demonstrate that some of what Gaspers cites as evidence for his position actually admits of more than one interpretation, and he has not shown that his interpretation is correct — he simply believes it is. Throughout their presentation, both Marshall and Gaspers give the impression that they do not really believe that the Papacy is a divine institution, for they think it must be kept in check, in the last analysis, by the faithful themselves so it doesn’t go off the rails — an absurd idea, considering what traditional Catholic doctrine says about the Papacy as the unshakeable bulwark of Catholic truth.

One line of argumentation Gaspers pursues is the popular but quite mistaken idea that the Traditional Latin Mass was “never abrogated” by Paul VI. Although it is true that Benedict XVI himself made that claim, the historical facts reveal that it is not true. Of course the 1962 Missal was abrogated by Paul VI’s publication of the “revised” (Novus Ordo) Missal of 1969 — that’s why an indult was needed for priests who wanted to use it anyway!

In this podcast, we also delve into the reason why John Paul II and Benedict XVI ever offered concessions regarding the use of the “Old Mass” at all, and we show how it makes perfect sense now for “Pope” Francis to withdraw those concessions again.

Towards the end, Gaspers recycles some old quotes from St. Thomas Aquinas regarding fraternal correction and St. Robert Bellarmine regarding resistance to a Pope — but neither of these quotes can help the recognize-and-resist traditionalists because they only refer to the Pope sinning as a private individual, and not to the Pope teaching or legislating for the Universal Church in his official capacity as Chief Shepherd and Teacher of all Catholics.

Much of what Marshall and Gaspers assert in their broadcast does not rise above the level of mere opinion, and against this opinion, however correct it may be, there stands the authoritative legislation of the man they both insist is the Sovereign Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. They have thus checkmated themselves through their own erroneous theology.

The show notes for the episode can be found here, or just below:

• Video: Dr. Taylor Marshall and Mr. Matthew Gaspers: “Can Pope Francis ban the Latin Mass?” (Jan. 27, 2023)
• Matthew Gaspers, “WATCH: Gaspers Joins Marshall to Discuss Whether or Not a Pope Can Ban the TLM”, Catholic Family News (Jan. 30, 2023)
• Pope St. Pius X, Decree Quam Singulari (Aug. 8, 1910)
• Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Mediator Dei (Nov. 20, 1947)
• Antipope Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution Missale Romanum (Apr. 3, 1969)
• Pope St. Pius V, Apostolic Constitution Quo Primum (July 14, 1570)
• Abp. Amleto G. Cicognani, Canon Law (Philadelphia, PA: Dolphin Press, 1934)
• Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, et al., Short Critical Study of the New Order of Mass (“Ottaviani Intervention”, Sep. 25, 1969)
• Antipope Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum (July 7, 2007)
• Pope Leo XIII, Apostolic Letter Epistola Tua (June 17, 1885)
• Antipope Francis, Apostolic Letter Desiderio Desideravi (June 29, 2022)
• “The ‘St. Paul resisted St. Peter to his Face’ Objection”, Novus Ordo Wire (June 14, 2018)
• “St. Robert Bellarmine’s Teaching on Resisting a Pope”, Novus Ordo Wire (Apr. 11, 2018)
• St. Robert Bellarmine, On the Roman Pontiff, trans. by Ryan Grant (purchase through this Amazon link benefits Novus Ordo Watch)

If you found this podcast helpful, we have lots more content like it! You can find the TRADCAST main page here and access the complete playlists on Soundcloud:

• All TRADCAST Episodes (34 total so far)
• All TRADCAST EXPRESS Episodes (170 total so far)

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Image source: YouTube (screenshot)
License: fair use