Dubious wrote: ↑Sun May 11, 2025 5:16 am
For there to be a Vatican II there had to be a long period where the incongruities between church doctrine and modern sensibilities (almost opposite to what once was) had to manifest, forcing a resolution or compromise. Vatican II was an exercise in keeping itself relevant.
The largest problem with your asserted view — offered by one who is at least not unfriendly to the Catholic Church both in an abstract, ideal sense, and as a tangible institution — is that Vatican ll did not result in net positives on any level for the Church or its ‘mission’.
I will not bore you with details, however the details are there.
“Modern sensibilities” can mean just about anything. So, to actually grasp what Catholic doctrine is, requires a concerted study. It is not easy. What I can report, having done this, is that the internal logic of established doctrine is sound — and I mean at the level of metaphysical logic. True indeed, if ‘modern sensibility’ is understood to mean the will and desire of ‘mass man’, that the requirements of the metaphysical principles will demand too much and become unbearable. And also true that every concession to mass man made by Authority will debase the practices (reflected in modified liturgy) and destroy the possibility of voluntary assent to the metaphysical principles.
Effectively, this is what has happened. You have plainly stated “I have no interest in religion” and I understand. And I think it fair to mention
general contempt for Catholicism (an old prejudice which I well understand). The case I am making, however, is not so much my mere opinion, but what Traditionalists argue.
What I can report is that the Tridentine Mass is in essence incomparable to the typical Post-Vatican ll mass. You could draw a comparison like this: the typical Mass of today is like classical music
schmaltz in contrast to
veritable and respectable musical expressions.
forcing a resolution or compromise
Right there is the beginning of the unraveling. The musical example functions nicely: One either values and protects the sort of training and the adherence to principles through which a great work will come into being; or one relaxes the standards to accommodate ‘modern sensibilities’.