Posted on 12/27/2019 4:31:57 PM PST by ebb tide
ROME (ChurchMilitant) - The rise of Catholic traditionalism in Latin America, rooted in the Latin Mass, is rapidly reversing the long march of progressivism and Protestantism.
"We see that traditionally oriented churches and seminaries are increasingly full, especially with young people, while those of progressive orientation, increasingly empty," Juan Migel Montes, director of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP), Rome, told Church Militant.
"Catholic traditionalism is back in fashion," an upbeat Montes said. "This explains the defeat the Left is suffering in ballot boxes everywhere as the social, political and cultural realities linked to a traditional idea of Catholicism are multiplying everywhere."
"In Rome, as in the main South American dioceses of Rio, São Paolo, Buenos Aires, Bogota, Lima and Santiago, Masses in the Vetus Ordo [Old Rite] are mushrooming," he said. "They are teeming with boys and girls and young families. They do not come across to me as sour people or, according to a certain caricature." Montes was alluding to Pope Francis' Christmas address to the Curia, in which many believed he decried traditionalist Catholics as "rigid" and "unbalanced."
Traditionally oriented churches are increasingly full, especially with young people, while those of progressive orientation are increasingly empty.Tweet
"On the contrary, I see them as very enthusiastic and very eager to expand their range of influence among their peers. In fact, I continually see new faces in religious ceremonies. This motivates me to hope well for the future," Montes added.
The Rome bureau chief of TFP, an organization founded by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira in Brazil in 1960, attributed the leftists' political defeats and some resulting violence and unlawfulness — as has occurred in Venezuela — to the "undoubted growth of traditionalist Catholicism in South America, especially among young people."
A Tridentine rite parish in Belem, Brazil
In a frontpage article with the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Montes elaborated on the spurt in the Catholic traditionalist movement:
Right-leaning blogs are multiplying, animated by young and very young people, with millions of followers. New political and cultural groups of conservative orientation are arising. Online conferences of traditionalist orientation are gaining notoriety. Stores of modest clothing are spreading, in open contrast to today's immoral or extravagant fashions. After decades of virtual cultural monopoly of the Left, more and more books are being published and more and more conferences in the center-right area are being held. Sometimes the phenomenon can even be dazzling. For example, polls show 37% of Brazilians in favor of the restoration of the Brazilian monarchy.
Church Militant asked if the Amazon Synod might actually provoke an even greater growth of traditional Catholicism. Montes said that, ironically, the advance of progressivism in the Church — as seen in the so-called "Indian theology" that bears a marxist footprint and undergirded veneration of Pachamama idols — is serving to open the eyes of many people to the depth of the crisis in the Church.
Montes, in fact, attributes the ascendancy of Protestantism to a long history of "preaching from the pulpits, with different accents, of liberation theology. The re-emergence of traditionalism among the faithful," he said, is likely the "result of the 'unintended consequences of intentional actions,' which ordinary people mock with the expression 'the devil makes pots but not lids.'"
Montes also noted that in one of Pope Benedict XVI's trips to Brazil, the pontiff explicitly identified the sociological turn of preaching in the Catholic Church — specifically liberation theology — as the reason why countless Catholics defected to neo-Protestantism. Montes quoted TIME magazine: "The Catholic Church has made the option for the poor, and the poor have made the option for the evangelicals and the pentecostals."
This phenomenon does not occur in traditionalist Catholic circles, where evangelization adheres to the precept of Our Lord to "seek first the kingdom of Heaven and all these things shall be granted unto you," Montes explained. Despite having differing "liturgical sensitivity," he said numerous groups within the Church today "move decisively toward the search for tradition" in every field of life:
Procession with the Blessed Sacrament
[In] the life of piety they practice traditional devotions, especially the Marian one, and are not afraid of introducing themselves for what they are, conservative Catholics, even in the way they dress. In politics, they are increasingly demanding from candidates ... the non-negotiable principles preached by Benedict XVI, that is, the defense of life from conception to natural death, the family founded on the union of two people of different sex and the inviolable right of parents to choose education for their children.
Faithful Catholics can correct the drift occurring within the Church, Montes emphasized, through "forms of devotion, prayer and Catholic witness, in harmony with the traditional Magisterium of the Church — forms that were gradually abandoned and sometimes explicitly denied."
In September, Bp. José Luis Azcona, bishop emeritus of the Marajó Prelature in the Amazon area of Belém do Pará, Brazil, sounded the alarm: "The Amazon, at least the Brazilian part of it, is no longer Catholic," because it has a Pentecostal majority that, in some regions, "reaches 80%."
"Under the pretext of 'intercultural dialogue,' Catholic missionaries no longer evangelize or baptize," he lamented. "However, evangelicals do evangelize and work very hard indeed. While Catholic missionaries talk to Indians about 'deforestation,' 'climate change' and 'integral ecology,' Protestant pastors visit their communities with Bible in hand."
Gabriel Klautau Miléo, creator of the Salve Roma website, confirms the recoveries made by Catholic traditionalism. On Twitter, he posts pictures of Latin Mass churches filled with young people.
"All the photos ... were taken in Belém do Pará, one of the main urban centers of the Amazon region," he writes. "Several friends of mine and their families have returned to Catholicism by [re-]discovering the traditional rite of the Church."
"This is what the Amazon really needs," he notes. "We already have the apostolate of the Tridentine Mass in the two main urban centers of the Brazilian Amazon [Belém and Manaus] and in a city in the interior of the state of Pará [Santarém]."
Archbishop Alberto Taveira Correa, who heads the archdiocese of Belém do Pará, confirms that in his 10 years as archbishop, he can testify to the "growth in vocations" in his own diocese and others.
The Amazon, at least the Brazilian part of it, is no longer Catholic because it has a Pentecostal majority that, in some regions, reaches 80%. Tweet
Brazil's traditionalist Catholic Instituto Bom Pastor (Good Shepherd Institute) is also reporting a boom in vocations, as its "members want to exercise the priesthood in the doctrinal and liturgical Tradition of the Holy Roman Catholic Church, faithful to the infallible Magisterium of the Church with the exclusive use of the Gregorian liturgy in the worthy celebration of the Holy Mysteries."
Montes agrees it is impossible to predict the immediate future. "However, the rise of a mighty movement in traditional Catholic public opinion allows us to have many hopes," he affirms. "These hopes are also based on the promises of Our Lady who, in Fatima, proclaimed the triumph of her Immaculate Heart, after a period of tribulation."
John 6:28-29
But as I pointed out already, these same people take their day of rest on Sunday, which is a practice put in place by the Catholic Church; there is no authority found in Scripture for this practice.
We read as well in the New Testament how the Church, exercising its teaching authority in the form of the Magisterium (one of the other two pillars of authority) declares that circumcision is no longer necessary and that certain meats were no longer considered unclean. (This teaching authority is demonstrated to you in the Scripture you rely on and you won't concede it.)
Vernal equinox, eh?
When do the Jews say Passover is each year?
But now it IS written
And Rome FAILED to include a Lot of important ‘other’ doctrine into it
You would have to ask them; I don’t know.
The Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan, which typically falls in March or April of the Gregorian calendar. The 15th day begins in the evening, after the 14th day, and the seder meal is eaten that evening. Passover is a spring festival, so the 15th day of Nisan typically begins on the night of a full moon after the northern vernal equinox.[34] However, due to leap months falling after the vernal equinox, Passover sometimes starts on the second full moon after vernal equinox, as in 2016.
If your celebration of the Resurrection is aligned with the Jewish celebration of Passover, then you would be adhering to “Sola Scriptura”. If you are celebrating it with us Catholics, then you have stepped off the grid of Scripture and are acknowledging that pillar of authority known as the Magisterium, which has declared when Easter is to be celebrated.
LOL. You've just described the total modus operandus of Protestants on this forum. You either did or did not graduate from a Protestant seminary.
By your answer, I assume you did...which means you learned and know NOTHING about what Catholics actually believe and teach.
My call is.......not gonna waste more time with you....BYE.
I’ve told you before.....buzz off!
For what reason does God ever perform a miracle? Everything He does is done for one reason: to glorify His Son. It is ALL about Jesus Christ and His FINISHED WORK for our salvation. If it doesn’t reflect that or lead to that, then God did not perform that miracle. If that miracle does NOT lead to the chains of religiosity being broken and the simplicity that is “For by GRACE are you saved through faith; and that not of yourself; it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast”, WHY would God perform it? To keep people chained to a religious system of false teachings, false doctrines, superstitution, fear? If it keeps you chained to apostacy, how can it possibly be of God???????
I'll bid "adieu" here.
I did answer your question. You just did not care for my answer. Test the spirits, whether they be of God. If they lead to the simplicity that is Christ, and reconciliation with God through Christ’s FINISHED work, then it is from God. If it keeps a person chained to a perverted gospel of works for salvation, then it is NOT from God.
So simple yet SO much a stumbling block for many.
Is there anyone else besides the Almighty who can work a miracle?
You’re joking, right?
If you ever rustle up a fact or two to discuss, ping me.
So far you have none.
You wrote...
But as I pointed out already, these same people take their day of rest on Sunday, which is a practice put in place by the Catholic Church; there is no authority found in Scripture for this practice.
This is simply not true.
Early in the history of the Christian church,Christians had made the transition to worshiping on SUNDAY because of what Scripture revealed about practice of celebrating Sundays (Lord's Day) and because of the significance of other important events to Christianity that occurred on Sundays.
Among these events and practices:
Christ rose on the FIRST DAY (Sunday):
The Apostle Paul gave Christians instructions about setting aside money to giveJohn 20:1 - Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
1 Corinthians 16:1-2 ESV - Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
Pentecost itself was on a Sunday
Christ was crucified on a Friday, was inside the tomb on the Passover Sabbath, and then rose on Sunday, beginning the count to the 50th day (Pentecost), which would be a Sunday. This 50th day was a Sunday, the very first day of the 8th week.
Christ fulfilled the Law, including the Sabbath (Saturday).
Matthew 5:17 -“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
Finally, for my post, I note that out of the 10 commandments, only keeping the Sabbath (Saturday) is not repeated in the NT as a requirement for Christians.
..............
To argue that Christians today only worship on Sunday because Rome "proclaimed it" is not a convincing argument.
And while Christians are commanded to:
Hebrews 10:25 - "not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near."
Christians are not commanded to specifically choose Sunday.
As such, no additional authority is ever needed.
.....
You also wrote the following...
We read as well in the New Testament how the Church, exercising its teaching authority in the form of the Magisterium (one of the other two pillars of authority) declares that circumcision is no longer necessary and that certain meats were no longer considered unclean.
Christians obey the Scriptures - all written by Apostles.
Today, every church has the spiritual gift of "teachers" given to the church. They are to be obeyed, so long as they do not violate Scripture.
There are however, no more Apostles, who were a foundation for the Church.
Consequently, I also find this argument of yours to be false.
In closing, I wish you every blessing in 2020.
May God reelect President Trump in a landslide.
You wrote...
But as I pointed out already, these same people take their day of rest on Sunday, which is a practice put in place by the Catholic Church; there is no authority found in Scripture for this practice.
This is simply not true.
But it is.
Despite the fact that the followers of Christ would gather to pray on Sunday, they still kept the Jewish Sabbath. (It's the reason they were getting thrown out of the synagogues.)
There's simply no instruction anywhere in the New Testament that allowed anyone to work on the Jewish Sabbath and to take their day of rest on Sunday; this was put into place by the Catholic Church.
It isn't just the Catholics who disagree with your interpretation of Scripture. Say what you will about the Seventh Day Adventists, but they are consistent about "Sola Scriptura". (They don't recognize the acts of the Magisterium in declaring foods to be clean or in declaring the day of rest to be the first and not the seventh day of the week.)
Nor is an instruction needed.
There is absolutely no NT Scripture reason for believers to worship on a particular day of the week - other than the ones I mention, foremost being that it is the Day Christ rose from the dead.
It doesn't displease God to worship on every day or one day.
No authority nor permission is needed - other than the freedom of the believer and the command to assemble together.
That later in history the Roman church institutionalized Sunday for itself is irrelevant to believers in Christ, who are not bound by anything Rome declares or believes.
Who recognizes any authority of Rome, other than romans??
As such, your argument carries no weight, except to those under the power of Rome.
I think you're being disingenuous. (Because it seems to me that you can arrive at your own conclusions and then cherry pick those parts of Scripture that seem to support them.)
Christ Himself kept the Jewish Sabbath; He had multiple run-ins with the Scribes and Pharisees on this day, who took issue with His performing miracles on that day. Despite having had ample opportunity, He never once stated that the Sabbath was no longer binding.
If our interpretation of Scripture allows us to reach a conclusion by considering what it doesn't say, we could all read the Bible and come up with a million different understandings of what it actually meant.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.