Hi, Kevin —

In the aftermath of the implementation of Vatican II, there were many Catholics who had difficulty accepting the Novus Ordo Mass and still do to this day. Bad behavior on behalf of either:

• poorly trained priests or
• liberal priests, did not help this problem.

In addition, the Traditional Latin Mass was suppressed and did not appear to have the same prime of place within most of the Church because the Church decided that, for the most part, the Novus Ordo in the vernacular (common tongue of the people), would be the norm at parishes worldwide.

As faithful Catholics, when issues of How we worship arise, we trust the Church, because
the prime issue of faith and morals is the Mass!

The problem arises when we don't trust the Church in determining what is, and is not, a valid Mass, and basically play the dangerous game of being our own personal pope.

The addition problem of priest's changing the Novus Ordo Mass to their own liking or allowing the Mass to be celebrated in a less reverent manner didn't help things.

For some Catholics, their vehement dislike for the Novus Ordo Mass along with the strong love for the:

• Latin
• Tridentine, or
• Mass of the Extraordinary Form
  (All three are names for the same way the Mass is celebrated.)

ended up expressing itself in a general dislike of anything that was associated with Vatican II.

It appeared that Catholics within these circles concluded that only way they could obtain true Catholic teachings is by going back to the Council of Trent. From this, they concluded that the chair of Peter must have been empty ever since Vatican II or by going back further to the papacy of Pope Pius X. Those that hold this view are referred to as sedevacantists.

Sede Vacante is a period of time when the Apostolic See or a diocesan see is without a shepherd.

The only time this ever happens in the Catholic Church in a faithful sense is during the period of time between the death or resignation of a Pope and the election of a successor to the Chair of Peter. During this period the chair is vacant.

Other then those times, it never happens. When you encounter a sedevacantist you are encountering someone who doesn't believe Jesus' Promise in Matthew 16:13-19 foretold in
Isaiah 22:15-25 holds true any more. For short, God broke his promise and the gates of Hell prevailed against the Church on an issue of faith, the Mass.

Based on my personal experience, people with a disdain for the Novus Ordo Mass, Vatican II or anything related to it, like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, tend to be very religious and want to talk about the Catholic faith a lot ... but it's their version of the Faith, not the Magisterium's version.

For this reason, they always tend to be in debate mode with you. They will always be trying to convince you and others that they are Catholic because, I personally believe, they are insecure of their own Catholic identity.

For this reason, it's important to keep in mind that just because a person is religious, doesn't mean they are faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. Catholics, like these, can be very similar to Protestants in one sense:

In trying to prove their anti-Vatican II argument, they will read certain portions from pre-Vatican II council documents to show you how Vatican II is wrong and heretical, but like our Protestant brethren do, they have to take certain paragraphs out of context from the conciliar documents to make their point. A demonic move indeed!

We should all be praying that people who reject the Papacy, by rejecting what the Church considers:

• a valid Mass
• a valid Catholic Council, or
• a valid Catholic Catechism

will come back and accept everything the Church teaches, especially the Papacy!

Mike