I should not have to write about defending Tradition against Vatican II. Many faithful Catholics understandably stay away from engaging in such debates and stick to getting themselves and their families to Heaven. I get it—I really do. But we must also stick up for the faith in the face of the current grave crisis in the Church, and if you are so inclined, the tips in this essay and subsequent ones I hope to write soon may help.
My experience in secular politics, especially in the deep trenches of state level party politics, suits me well to discuss this topic. This is sad because the Church should not be about politics. I wanted to leave politics. All Catholics are supposed to be on the same team as we seek to convert the world for the salvation of souls and spread the Gospel. But you see, some folks who claim to be Catholics cannot even agree on that.
I also have 18 years of experience as a trial lawyer and administrative law judge—constructing, debunking, and analyzing arguments—with real life consequences. I know a good argument when I see one. I also have seen many bad ones.
Having said that, you and I are not going to solve the crisis in the Church ourselves. I do not claim that lay people can ultimately resolve the problem of Vatican II—that must come from proper Catholic hierarchical authority and leadership, once it is restored. For now, what we can do is make and keep Vatican II the issue. The only way a politician makes an effort to solve a problem is when he is forced to do so because it is the path of least resistance. The bishops are not going to be any different in my estimation. Unless they feel some type of political pain, effeminacy will rule the day. That is where you and I can come in. We MUST remind the bishops that Vatican II itself is the issue and traditionalists are not going to back down.
The fact that a council initially intended to be a general Council of the Church could cause so much discord, division, and confusion, now going on fifty years, is a testament to the reality that there is something seriously wrong with it.
Any yet, despite all the obvious bad fruit resulting from this disastrous council, traditional Catholics have largely failed to make any in-roads against the problems with Vatican II because they allow themselves to be sucked into the political games played by Vatican II defenders—especially the most militant ones.
The reality is that unless the problem of Vatican II is dealt with properly and in a manly way, that is with TRUTH, what most Catholics today recognize as the institutional Church will continue on its downward spiral into complete irrelevance and globalist servility.
As someone with extensive experience with political machines and who made a career as a real legalist, let me offer some tips on how to deal with the common arguments that are made when it comes to Vatican II.
Tips for Defending Tradition Against Vatican II
- Do Not Be Afraid to Question the Council. Do not fall for the trick that you have no right to question the Council. In normal times, the hierarchy should be dealing with this problem, but we are not in normal times. The hierarchy itself is part of the problem. The reality is that there are ambiguities and conflicts in the documents themselves, not to mention implementation of the ideas in the documents that were contrary to the intent of many of bishops who signed off on them. Many of the final documents were certainly contrary to the original schemas (agenda) of the Council. It is not unreasonable to question what these documents mean, where they came from, and how the Council was conducted. Remember, canon law charges all of us “to seek the truth in those things which regard God and his Church[.]” Canon 748 §1.
- Do Not Fear Being Called Names. Whenever you question the Council, its orthodoxy or motivations or whatever, expect to be called names—usually “schismatic” or “disobedient.” When you understand the real definition of schism and what obedience actually requires, you will easily see the ad hominem attacks are baseless. The reason they are made is because calling a traditional Catholic schismatic or disobedient often packs a powerful punch (because the Modernist knows traditionalists want to be obedient) and is intended to shut down the conversation—much like calling someone a “racist” instead of engaging the argument being made. Do not fall for this weak and dishonest tactic designed to make you feel guilty and shut down discussion. Ignore these attacks.
- Avoid Legalist Deconstruction Tactics. A common tactic used by Vatican II defenders is to drag the traditionalist into a battle over cherry-picked paragraphs, sentences, or even individual words in the Conciliar documents. They take these phrases and terms, often loosely or ambiguously defined, and attempt to fit them into the modernist predetermined conclusion. It’s legalism at its finest, even though many of them are not very good at being legalists! I have previously explained how legalism works in the context of Covid 19. That is not to say the text of the documents are not important. What it means is that individual sentences or even full paragraphs of any particular Vatican II document are not going to tell you the whole story. Rather, we need to stay focused on the big picture (see below).
- Avoid the Documents vs. “Spirit of Vatican II” Debate. This is such a red herring, and a favorite one of the conservative professional Catholic class. Whether or not the errors of Vatican II are explicitly stated in the Conciliar documents, or whether those documents lead others to interpret them in such a way that is contrary to the teaching of the Church, at the end of the day, it is totally irrelevant. If the documents themselves state heresy, that is a problem. If the documents themselves are worded in such a way that imply heretical ideas, that is also a problem. If the documents remain ambiguous just enough to open the door for heretical interpretations, that too is bad. And even if the documents are 98% orthodox, the other 2% that is not needs to be exposed. We are forced to deal with the current crisis in the Church either way. Attempting to ignore the problems and otherwise find ways to reinterpret each Conciliar document in a way that is faithful to Tradition is a foolhardy waste of time as experience has taught us.
- Stay Focused on the Major Themes/Problems. Most traditionalists know, and can see with their own eyes, the primary problems with Vatican II without having to read every word in every Vatican II document. The overarching problem, from which the numerous errors of Vatican II stem, comes from its acceptance and implementation of Modernist ideas purposefully designed to remove God and the supernatural from worldly affairs. Simultaneously, it stifles any effort to spread the Gospel (the real Gospel) and defend Christ’s social kingship in the secular world. This is accomplished through false ecumenism, a false understanding of the Church, and a false understanding of human liberty. Stay focused on these major themes.
- Maintain Proper Motivation. “Beating” the other side should not be our primary motivator in all of this. Our goal must be to pressure the bishops into eradicating the modernist heresy from the Church and educate the faithful on why Vatican II perpetuates this cancer of Modernism. Remember, the reason why all of this matters is because eternal souls are at stake. Vatican II has been a disaster for the Church is so many ways. But ultimately, Vatican II is a disaster for souls. Our motivation is not to defeat or destroy the enemy like in politics; our driving motivation must be to serve Christ the King and that means leading souls back into the state of grace. We should not need any more motivation than this.
My hope is to expound on these major themes/problems, particularly false ecumenism, false understanding of the Church, and false notions of human liberty in subsequent essays. Traditionalists need to know how to talk about these topics in the real world. This isn’t some game we all get to play on the internet. Real people are lost, confused, and desperately seeking out Truth for their lives.
And quite frankly, it is also time to get past the silly social media tomfoolery, the ignorance, and heresies spouted by those with malice in their hearts, and who seek to destroy the Church and replace it with a Freemasonic counterfeit. This is not a task for the faint of heart. But we are all called to be saints in these times and eternal souls depend on it. ¡Viva Cristo Rey!