A Traditionalism for the People: The Changing Landscape

Whether something must change is always a different question for how that change could take place.  The former relies on necessity, the latter conditions.  If, as I previously suggested, the John Paul II era of Catholicism (from his pontificate up until 2017) was ultimately a failed proposition, that does not mean it did not have a substantial impact on the layout of the Church, as well as substantial ramifications for what a traditionalism for the people should be.

1.)  The Halo of Authority is GONE

Since arguably the time of Pius IX (and maybe before that in certain embryonic forms), the clerical authorities in the Latin Church have taken on a seeming impeccability, not just infallibility in limited cases.  No longer did was it simply accepted the Holy Spirit prevented Popes (and councils) from doctrinal error in certain circumstances.  Now, whatever those Popes, bishops and priests did was the will of God itself.  The choosing of the Pope was an act actively guided by the Holy Spirit.  "Religious submission of mind and will" (a general deference to the understanding those in authority have a wide berth normally when it is exercised) became a requirement to agree not only that what they were doing was right, but that there was no other possible way to look at the issue.  From this, a certain quasi-divine cult of personality arose around the hierarchal Church, especially the papacy.  Far from discouraging this, the John Paul II era used it as an integral tool in attempting to solve the crisis.

It was under the charisma (and constant visibility thanks to technology) of John Paul II that Catholics began to view the Bishop of Rome as the model for Christian activity.  This was a reminder that far from being someone who betrayed the revolution at Vatican II, John Paul II viewed himself its implementer, using a very post-concilliar understanding of the papacy to dramatically increase his power and perceptibility.

The biggest problem with this approach is, even under the best of circumstances, it was never sustainable.  John Paul could have been succeeded by the two greatest popes in history, and this perception of authority would never be sustainable.  We could be free from scandals, and eventually that personality cult would fade, and the papacies ability to personally mold and shape the faith of a billion souls would wane.  Instead, we got two popes who were at best average (and that's being very generous with the present), and we got a lot of scandals, having a visibility in the Church they just didn't have, even during the time of John Paul II.

As a result of this, that previous understanding of authority is gone.  The moral legitimacy of Church authorities rises below the sewer.  They have the hardest of difficulties even asking for basic funds to keep the Church operating, so convinced many are it will be spent either to settle abuse lawsuits, or used for wasteful (if not criminal) ends.  Far from being a source of unity, Church authorities are a source of deep division.  If you are hoping for some white knight to ascend the papal throne and fix everything, or for everyone to rally around this or that courageous bishop/cardinal, I've got news for you: its not happening.

2.)  The Rise of the Ecclesial Warlord

When I took an extended break in 2014, I warned of a rising trend in the blogosphere, that of the Catholic Warlord:

This tendency towards warlordism is especially tempting for the blogosphere. Most Catholics don't read blogs. The ones who read blogs are normally hyper-educated individuals with a lot of free time. The people who write blogs are normally hyper-educated individuals with a lot of free time. When hyper educated individual is praised by hyper educated individuals as someone being used by God to shine light into darkness, there's a real chance a feedback loop will occur. That feedback loop is really hard to kick. If there's one thing warlordism enforces, it's that you don't go outside unless you are being kicked out of the enclave.

Seven years later, the blogosphere is mostly dead.  Yet this tendency has rapidly accelerated, especially as the central authority of the Church has collapsed under the pontificate of Francis.  To the extent people "follow" Pope Francis, they actually don't follow him.  You follow your favorite interpreter of Pope Francis, whether that be the guys at Where Peter Is, Massimo Faggioli or Austen Ivereigh.  Or maybe you understand the Pope through the prism of Taylor Marshall, One Peter Five, Michael Voris, or someone else.  You trust the likes of bishops such as Cardinal Cupich, Cardinal Burke, Athanasius Schneider, or your favorite internet priest to look at Pope Francis and get through the misunderstanding and present things as they are, for good or ill.  Yet to be blunt:  nobody cares what the Pope actually thinks or says, unless they can use him as a weapon against those they don't like.  (Weapons can be used defensively as well)

These bishops aren't your bishop of old either.  They have global footprints in social media, and often not only have top notch communications teams, their communications teams are far savvier than those in Rome.  Even those who are friendly (or at least neutral) to the Pope have been able to carve out (intentionally or not) a very devoted presence.  None of them have an ability to command as much theoretical respect or authority as a John Paul II, but thanks to today's factionalized landscape, they don't need to be.  It's a lot easier to have an army of 500 facing multiple armies of 1,000 (whose loyalty to each other is quite dubious) than it is to be that 500 facing one single army of 50,000.

Until we have a central authority who can exercise effective control or governance among a large swath of the Church, this situation is not likely to change.  This is the landscape we find ourselves in, even if it is one we do not want.  We have to be able to speak to these smaller forces, form coalitions, work to achieve small goals, etc.  

3.)  This Landscape Favors Traditionalists

With the collapse of central authority (and a central identity) during the pontificate of Francis, everyone in the Roman Rite is trying to figure out how to adjust to this new reality.  Everyone but traditionalists.  Even with our divisions and nuances, we've been playing this game since the mid 1980's, and we've gotten increasingly better at it. Traditionalists have been able to build coalitions with as diverse of groups as Eastern Catholics and the Charismatic Renewal.  Stuebenville, Ohio and Ann Arbor, Michigan, both historically charismatic hotbeds, also have (or are near to) large and highly organized traditionalists communities, and there is a ton of overlap between them.  (We would jokingly refer to "the charismatic delegation" from Christ the King in Ann Arbor coming to visit the Latin Mass in downtown Detroit during feast days.)

As time went on, those connections and coalitions began to form, and ultimately paid big dividends.  For better or worse, a lot of Catholics no longer felt the Pope was a common source of unity and shared identity.  Even if they had generally fond feelings of him, they found they could no longer use his example the way they could in the days of John Paul, and to a lesser extent, Benedict.  That gave traditionalists a pretty good opportunity to use those previous connections and relationships as a way to either win converts, or (just as important), allies who would rally with us in common cause.  We speak to an audience that is often not one that sees eye to eye with us on everything.

To be blunt, who is Where Peter Is and their clerical allies speaking to?  They are speaking mostly to those who are already in total agreement with them.  If you get them unguarded, they'll even admit that, in lamenting how successful traditionalists have been in having a large influence beyond their small numbers.  They have their small enclave, and they've left us a wide playing field, and that reality was why so many Bishops felt fine mostly ignoring a directive from Rome to crush the Latin Mass.

This is the landscape of 2021.  It is pointless to spend time debating over if this is what Christ would have wanted.  It obviously is not, but it is the reality that exists.  Everyone, from the Pope to the pewsitter, helped create this environment.  If we want out of it, we must use this landscape to our advantage:  to show as many people as possible (most who will not become traditionalists) that God wants us to play a part in what is to come, and this part can be very appealing to everyone, not just the Latin Mass attendee.