Traditionalist Catholicism

2025-11-02T01:39:25Z

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{{Short description|Catholic religious movement}}
{{about|the contemporary movement|the 19th-century theological position|Traditionalism (19th-century Catholicism)}}
[[File:Missa tridentina 002.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]] celebrated ''[[ad orientem]]'' according to the [[Tridentine Mass|Tridentine form of the Roman Rite]]. The ornate altar and priests' [[vestment]]s are characteristic of Traditionalist Catholic practice.]]
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'''Traditionalist Catholicism''' is a movement that emphasizes [[Catholic theology|beliefs]], practices, customs, traditions, [[Christian liturgy|liturgical]] forms, [[Catholic devotions|devotions]] and presentations of [[Catholic theology|teaching]] associated with the [[Catholic Church]] before the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965).<ref name="Collinge 2012">{{cite book |last=Collinge |first=William J. |year=2012 |title=Historical Dictionary of Catholicism |chapter=Traditionalism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8C3TKNdn5oC&pg=PA433 |location=[[Lanham, Maryland]] |publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]] |edition=2nd |series=Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements Series |pages=433–434 |isbn=978-0-8108-7979-9 |lccn=2011035077}}</ref><ref name="rtci" /> Traditionalist Catholics particularly emphasize the [[Tridentine Mass]], the [[Roman Rite]] liturgy largely replaced in general use by the post-Second Vatican Council [[Mass of Paul VI]].

Many traditionalist Catholics disliked the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council, and prefer to continue to practice pre-Second Vatican Council traditions and forms. Some also see present teachings on [[ecumenism]] as blurring the distinction between Catholics and other [[Christian]]s. Traditional Catholicism is often more [[Traditional Conservative|conservative]] in its philosophy and worldview, promoting a modest style of dressing and teaching a [[complementarianism|complementarian]] view of [[gender roles]].<ref name="Ochstein2017">{{cite web |last1=Ochstein |first1=Jennifer |title=A progressive, feminist evangelical considers joining the Catholic Church |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2017/09/07/progressive-feminist-evangelical-considers-joining-catholic-church |publisher=[[America Magazine]] |access-date=26 April 2021 |language=English |date=7 September 2017}}</ref>

Some traditionalist Catholics reject the current papacy of the Catholic Church and follow positions of [[sedevacantism]], [[sedeprivationism]], or [[conclavism]]. As these groups are no longer in [[Koinonia|communion]] with the [[pope]] and the [[Holy See]], they are not regarded by the Holy See to be members of the Catholic Church.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Library : Schismatic Traditionalists |url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=1056 |access-date=2023-07-12 |website=www.catholicculture.org}}</ref><ref name="rtci" /> A distinction is often made between these groups (sometimes called ''radical'' traditionalists) and those who adhere to current papal authority but prefer traditional practices.<ref name="rtci" />

== History ==
Toward the end of the Second Vatican Council, Father [[Gommar DePauw]] came into conflict with Cardinal [[Lawrence Shehan]], Archbishop of Baltimore, over the interpretation of the council's teachings, particularly on liturgical matters. In January 1965, DePauw incorporated an organization called the Catholic Traditionalist Movement in New York State, purportedly with the support of Cardinal [[Francis Spellman]], Archbishop of New York.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allitt |first=Patrick |title=Catholic intellectuals and conservative politics in America, 1950–1985 |date=1993 |publisher=Cornell Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8014-2295-9 |location=Ithaca |pages=130}}</ref>

By the late 1960s and early 1970s, conservative Catholics opposed to or uncomfortable with the theological, social and liturgical developments brought about by the [[Second Vatican Council]] began to coalesce.<ref name="Dugan1974">{{cite web |last1=Dugan |first1=George |title=Latin Mass of Old Is Luring Catholics |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/06/archives/latin-mass-of-old-is-luring-catholics-other-chapels-established.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=18 April 2021 |language=English |date=6 January 1974}}</ref> In 1973, the [[Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement]] (ORCM) was founded by two priests, Francis E. Fenton and [[Robert McKenna]], and set up chapels in many parts of North America to preserve the Tridentine Mass.<ref name="Dugan1974" /> Priests who participated in this were listed as being on a leave of absence by their bishops, who disapproved of their actions.<ref name="Dugan1974" />

In 1970, French Archbishop [[Marcel Lefebvre]] founded the [[Society of Saint Pius X]] (SSPX), made up of priests who would say only the [[Traditional Latin Mass]] and who opposed what he saw as excessive liberal influences in the Church after Vatican II. In 1988, [[Écône consecrations|Lefebvre and another bishop consecrated four men as bishops]] without papal permission, resulting in [[Excommunication in the Catholic Church|excommunication]] ''[[latae sententiae]]'' for all six men directly involved. Some members of the SSPX, unwilling to participate in what they considered [[Schism in Christianity|schism]], left and founded the [[Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter]] (FSSP), which celebrates the Tridentine Mass and is in [[full communion]] with the Holy See. In 2009, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] lifted the excommunications of the four surviving bishops, but clarified that the society had "no canonical status within the Catholic Church."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre (March 10, 2009) | BENEDICT XVI |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090310_remissione-scomunica.html |website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

The [[Istituto Mater Boni Consilii]] (IMBC) was founded in 1985. It is a [[sedeprivationist]] religious congregation of clergy who were dissatisfied with the SSPX's position on the Pope, i.e., acknowledging [[John Paul II]] as pope but disobeying him. Sedeprivationists hold that the current occupant of the papal office is a duly elected [[pope]] but lacks the authority and ability to teach or govern unless he recants the changes brought by the Second Vatican Council.<ref name="Pasulka2015" />

Some Catholics took the position of [[sedevacantism]], which teaches [[Pope John XXIII]] and his successors are heretics and therefore cannot be considered popes, and that the Catholic Church's sacraments are not [[Validity and liceity (Catholic Church)|valid]]. One sedevacantist group, the [[Society of Saint Pius V]] (SSPV), broke off from the SSPX in 1983, due to liturgical disputes. Another sedevacantist group, the [[Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen]] (CMRI), formed spontaneously among the followers of [[Francis Schuckardt]], but he was later expelled due to scandals and CMRI is now more aligned with other sedevacantist groups.

Other groups known as [[conclavism|Conclavists]] have elected their own popes in opposition to the [[Second Vatican Council|post-Vatican II]] pontiffs. They are not considered serious claimants except by their very few followers.

==Different types==
[[File:Palm-sunday-latin-mass.jpg|right|thumb|[[Tridentine Mass]] in a [[chapel]] of the [[Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston|Cathedral of the Holy Cross]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], Palm Sunday 2009]]
===Canonically regular with the Holy See===
Since the [[Second Vatican Council]], several traditionalist organizations have been started with or have subsequently obtained approval from the [[Catholic Church]]. These organizations accept the documents of the Second Vatican Council and regard the changes associated with the Council (such as the revision of the Mass) as legitimate, but celebrate the older forms with the approval of the Holy See.
* [[Priestly Fraternity of St Peter]] (FSSP)
* [[Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest]] (ICKSP, ICRSS)
* [[Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer]] (FSSR)
* [[Institute of the Good Shepherd]] (IBP)
* [[Servants of Jesus and Mary]] (SJM)
* [[Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem]] (CRNJ)
* [[Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius]] (SJC)
* [[Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra|Canons Regular of the Holy Cross]]
* [[Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer]]
* [[Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney]] (PAASJV)

There are also multiple monastic communities, including
* [[Monastery of Our Lady of the Annunciation of Clear Creek]]
* [[Monastery of St. Benedict (Norcia)|Monastery of St. Benedict in Norcia]]
* [[Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel]]
* [[Monastery of Our Lady of the Cenacle]]
* [[Le Barroux Abbey]]

See [[Communities using the Tridentine Mass]] for a more detailed list.

=== Society of Saint Pius X ===
The [[Society of Saint Pius X]] (SSPX) was founded in 1970, with the authorization of the bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg|Lausanne, Geneva and Fribourg]], by Archbishop [[Marcel Lefebvre]]. Lefebvre was [[Ecclesia Dei|declared to have incurred automatic excommunication]] in 1988, after [[Écône consecrations|illicit consecrations]]. In January 2009 the Prefect of the [[Congregation for Bishops]] remitted the excommunications the Congregation had declared to have been incurred by the Society's bishops in 1988.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900355.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131153433/http://www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0900355.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 31, 2009 |title=Pope lifts excommunications of Lefebvrite bishops |publisher=Catholicnews.com |date=27 January 2009|access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref>

More recently, the Vatican has granted SSPX priests the authority to hear [[Confession in the Catholic Church|confessions]] and has authorized local [[Ordinary (church officer)|ordinaries]], in certain circumstances, to grant delegation to SSPX priests to act as the qualified witness required for [[Validity and liceity (Catholic Church)|valid]] celebration of [[Marriage in the Catholic Church|marriage]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/04/04/new_pastoral_provisions_for_sacrament_of_marriage_for_sspx/1303274|title=New pastoral provisions for Sacrament of Marriage for SSPX|access-date=2 November 2017}}</ref> The Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in [[Silver City, New Mexico]], which is affiliated with the SSPX, is seeking Vatican approval through the society.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Villagran |first1=Lauren |title=Men come to monastery 'to seek God' |url=https://www.abqjournal.com/326264/spiritual-quest-draws-men-to-monastery.html |access-date=26 April 2023 |work=[[Albuquerque Journal]] |date=25 December 2013}}</ref>

In 2017, a statement from the Holy See said the SSPX had an irregular canonical status "for the time being".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lamb |first=Christopher |date=2017-04-05 |title=Francis grants SSPX right to celebrate marriage in sign of reconciliation |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6940/francis-grants-sspx-right-to-celebrate-marriage-in-sign-of-reconciliation- |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=The Tablet |language=en}}</ref>

===Sedeprivationists===
{{Main|Sedeprivationism}}
Sedeprivationists hold the view that the current occupant of the papal office is a duly elected [[pope]] but lacks the authority and ability to teach or govern unless he recants the changes brought by the [[Second Vatican Council]]. Sedeprivationists teach that the popes from [[Pope John XXIII]] onward fall into this category.<ref name="Pasulka2015">{{cite book |last1=Pasulka |first1=Diana Walsh |title=Heaven Can Wait: Purgatory in Catholic Devotional and Popular Culture |date=2015 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-538202-0 |page=180 |language=English}}</ref> Sedeprivationism is currently endorsed by two groups:

* [[Istituto Mater Boni Consilii]] (IMBC), led by Superior General Fr. Francesco Ricossa;
* Roman Catholic Institute (RCI), led by Bishop [[Donald Sanborn]].

===Sedevacantists===
{{Main|Sedevacantism}}
[[Sedevacantists]] hold the view that the Vatican II popes have forfeited their position through their acceptance of [[heresy|heretical teachings]] connected with the Second Vatican Council and consequently there is at present no true pope.<ref name="HDC">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L8C3TKNdn5oC&pg=PA399 |title=Historical Dictionary of Catholicism|isbn=9780810879799|access-date=15 February 2015|last1=Collinge|first1=William J.|date=23 February 2012|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}</ref> This constitutes an act of [[Schism in Christianity|schism]] and is an offense which can result in [[Excommunication in the Catholic Church|excommunication]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Horn |first=Trent |title=Answering Sedevacantism (with Michael Lofton) |url=https://www.catholic.com/audio/cot/answering-sedevacantism-with-michael-lofton |access-date=2025-04-09 |website=Catholic Answers}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2006-09-25 |title=Schism And Mortal Sin – Jimmy Akin |url=https://jimmyakin.com/2006/09/schism_and_mort.html |access-date=2025-04-09 |language=en-US}}</ref> They conclude, on the basis of their rejection of the revised rite of Mass and of certain aspects of postconciliar Church teaching as false, that the popes involved are also false.<ref name="IUP">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yUqp1_31B-MC&pg=PA257 |title=Being Right|isbn=0253329221|access-date=15 February 2015|last1=Weaver|first1=Mary Jo|last2=Scott Appleby|first2=R.|year=1995|publisher=Indiana University Press }}</ref> This is a minority position among traditionalist Catholics<ref name=HDC/><ref name="UCP">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qd5yzP5hdiEC&pg=PA88 |title=Fundamentalisms Observed|date=July 1994|publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226508788|access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref> and a highly divisive one,<ref name=IUP/><ref name=UCP/> so that many who hold it prefer to say nothing of their view,<ref name=IUP/> while other sedevacantists have accepted episcopal [[holy orders|ordination]] from sources such as Archbishop [[Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục]].<ref name=UCP/>

The terms ''sedevacantist'' and ''sedevacantism'' derive from the Latin phrase ''[[sede vacante]]'' ("while the chair/[[episcopal see|see]] [of [[Saint Peter]]] is vacant").<ref name=HDC/> Sedevacantist groups include:

* [[Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen]] (CMRI), formed in 1967. It operates in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia; is based in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], United States; and is headed by Bishop [[Mark Pivarunas]].
* [[Society of Saint Pius V]] (SSPV), formed in 1983 when nine American priests of the [[Society of Saint Pius X]] split from the organization over a number of issues including using the liturgical reforms implemented under Pope [[John XXIII]].<ref>A more comprehensive list of objections can be found at {{citation |title=Letter of 'the Nine' to Abp. Marcel Lefebvre |date=May 1983 |url=http://www.traditionalmass.org/articles/article.php?id=48&catname=12 |newspaper=The Roman Catholic |publisher=Traditional mass}}</ref> It operates in North America, is based in [[Oyster Bay Cove, New York]], United States, and was headed by Bishop [[Clarence Kelly]] until his death in December 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Obituary of The Most Reverend Clarence J. Kelly {{!}} Dufresne & Cavanaugh Funeral Home |url=https://dufresneandcavanaugh.com/tribute/details/1824/The-Most-Reverend-Bishop-Clarence-Kelly/obituary.html |access-date=2023-12-11 |website=dufresneandcavanaugh.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{lang|pt|Sociedad Sacerdotal Trento}} (Priestly Society of Trent; SST), formed in 1993 by the priests of the deceased Bishop [[Moisés Carmona]]. Its bishop is Bishop Martín Dávila Gandara.

===Conclavists===
{{Main|Conclavism}}
[[Conclavism]] is the belief and practice of some who, claiming that all recent occupants of the [[Holy See|papal see]] are not true popes, elect someone else and propose him as the true pope to whom the allegiance of Catholics is due.

==Positions==

[[Pope Benedict XVI]] contrasted the "hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture" that some apply to the Council (an interpretation adopted both by certain traditionalists and by certain "progressives")<ref>{{cite web |title=CatholicHerald.co.uk » Prefect of the CDF says seeing Vatican II as a 'rupture' is heresy |work=Catholic Herald |date=30 November 2012 |url=http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2012/11/30/prefect-of-the-cdf-says-seeing-vatican-ii-as-a-rupture-is-heresy/ |access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref> with the "hermeneutic of reform, as it was presented first by Pope [[John XXIII]] in his Speech inaugurating the Council on 11 October 1962 and later by Pope [[Paul VI]] in his Discourse for the Council's conclusion on 7 December 1965."<ref name="Christmas2">{{cite web |title=Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI to the Roman Curia offering them his Christmas greetings |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2005/december/documents/hf_ben_xvi_spe_20051222_roman-curia_en.html |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Vatican.va}}</ref> He made a similar point in a speech to the bishops of Chile in 1988, when he was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger:<blockquote>[[Marcel Lefebvre|Archbishop Lefebvre]] declared that he has finally understood that the agreement he signed aimed only at integrating his foundation into the "Conciliar Church". The Catholic Church in union with the Pope is, according to him, the 'Conciliar Church' which has broken with its own past. It seems indeed that he is no longer able to see that we are dealing with the Catholic Church in the totality of its Tradition, and that Vatican II belongs to that.<ref name="Ratzinger:Chile">{{cite web |title=Cardinal Ratzinger's Address to Bishops of Chile |url=http://www.unavoce.org/cardinal_ratzinger_chile.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070715080331/http://www.unavoce.org/cardinal_ratzinger_chile.htm |archive-date=15 July 2007 |access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref></blockquote>Responding to a comment that some consider tradition in a rigid way, [[Pope Francis]] remarked in 2016, "there's a traditionalism that is a rigid fundamentalism; this is not good. Fidelity on the other hand implies growth. In transmitting the deposit of faith from one epoch to another, tradition grows and consolidates itself with the passing of time, as St [[Vincent of Lérins]] said [...] 'The dogma of the Christian religion too must follow these laws. It progresses, consolidates itself with the years, developing itself with time, deepening itself with age'."<ref>{{Cite web |last=O'Connell |first=Gerard |date=December 6, 2016 |title=Pope Francis: There will be no 'reform of the reform' of the liturgy. |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2016/12/06/pope-francis-there-will-be-no-reform-reform-liturgy |website=[[America (magazine)|America]]}}</ref>

===Radical Traditionalists' assessment of Vatican II===
Radical Traditionalists' claims that substantive changes have taken place in Catholic teaching and practice since the Council often crystallize around the following specific alleged examples:

* Sedevacantist [[Donald J. Sanborn]] rejects an [[ecclesiology]] that he claims fails to recognize the Catholic Church as the one true church established by Jesus Christ, and instead holds that the Roman Catholic Church is some subset of the church Christ founded. He sees some of the confusion as stemming from an unclear understanding of the phrase "[[Subsistit in|subsists in]]" which appears in the Vatican II document ''[[Lumen gentium]]'', and which the Church has declared applies uniquely to the Catholic Church and means the "perduring, historical continuity and permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth". He claims that this "new ecclesiology" contradicts [[Pope Pius XII]]'s ''[[Mystici corporis Christi]]'' and other papal documents.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sanborn |first=Donald J. |url=http://www.traditionalmass.org/images/articles/CommunArt.pdf |title=Communion: Ratzinger's New Ecclesiology |year=1992}}</ref>

* The [[SSPX]] denounces a teaching on [[Collegiality (Catholic Church)|collegiality]] that attributes to the bishops of the world a share, with the Pope, of responsibility for the Church's governance in a way that it claims is destructive of papal authority and encourages a "national" church mentality that undermines the primacy of the [[Holy See]]. It also claims that national [[Episcopal conference|bishops' conferences]], whose influence greatly increased following the Council, "diminish the personal responsibility of bishop[s]" within their [[dioceses]].<ref>{{Citation | last = Wrighton | first = Basil | title = Collegiality: error of Vatican II | date = 16 January 2014 | publisher = Society of Saint Pius X | url = http://sspx.org/en/collegiality-error-vatican-ii-2 | access-date = 3 March 2015 }}</ref>

=== Criticism of the Radical Traditionalists' positions ===
Those who in response to these criticisms by certain traditionalists defend the decisions of the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent changes made by the Holy See make the following counterclaims:
* The criticisms are false, exaggerated, or lacking appreciation of the organic character of Tradition, traditionalist criticisms that ''[[Dignitatis humanae]]'' contradicts the Church's earlier teaching on religious liberty are an example.<ref>Fr. Brian W. Harrison, O.S. [https://web.archive.org/web/20060719043403/http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Dossier/00MarApr/continuity.html Vatican II and Religious Liberty: Contradiction or Continuity?] catholic.net</ref>
* Traditionalists who claim that there has been a break from and discontinuity with the Church's traditional teaching are displaying a Protestant attitude of "private judgment" on matters of doctrine instead of accepting the guidance of the Magisterium of the Church.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/articles.cfm?id=345 |title=On Waffling, Tradition and the Magisterium |publisher=Catholicculture.org |access-date=30 June 2011}}</ref>
* Traditionalists fail to distinguish properly between changeable pastoral practices (such as the liturgy of the Mass) and the unchangeable principles of the Catholic faith (such as the dogmas surrounding the Mass).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schluenderfritz |first=Malcolm |date=2022-03-30 |title=Is it so different? |url=https://wherepeteris.com/is-it-so-different/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Where Peter Is |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Traditionalists of this kind treat papal authority in much the same way as the dissident, [[Cafeteria Catholic|liberal Catholics]]. While liberals believe that, on sexual matters, "the Pope can teach whatever he wants... but whether or not he should be listened to is very much an open question", the stance of certain traditionalists on the reform of the Mass liturgy and contemporary teachings on ecumenism and religious liberty amounts to the view that, on these issues, "faithful Catholics are always free to resist [the Pope's] folly. [...] As theories of religious dissent go, Catholic liberals couldn't ask for anything more."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=8OL9tyvN5YcC Michael W. Cuneo, The Smoke of Satan: Conservative and Traditionalist Dissent in Contemporary American Catholicism (JHU Press, 1999] {{ISBN|0-8018-6265-5}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8018-6265-6}}), p. 119</ref>
* Traditionalists claim that the Second Vatican Council was pastoral (and not infallible), but Paul VI subsequently emphasized the authoritative nature of the Council's teachings.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Likoudis |first1=James |title=The Pope, the Council, and the Mass: answers to the questions the "traditionalists" are asking |last2=Whitehead |first2=Kenneth D. |date=1982 |publisher=Christopher Publ. House |isbn=978-0-8158-0400-0 |edition=41 |location=W. Hanover, Mass}}</ref>

===Reception===
[[Integrism]] is traditionalist Catholicism that integrates social and political contexts. Kay Chadwick described Catholic integrism as a holding "[[Anti-Masonry|anti-Masonic]], [[Anti-liberalism|anti-liberal]] and [[Anti-communism|anti-Communist]]" political objectives. She also noted its alignment with the [[Right-wing politics|right-wing]] press and an annual Parisian [[Joan of Arc]] procession with participation by both integrists and [[National Front (France)|National Front]] supporters. A Tridentine Mass was celebrated before the annual [[National Front (France)|National Front party]] meeting. Lefebvre was fined in France for "racial defamation" and "[[incitement to racial hatred]]" for proposing the removal of immigrants – particularly [[Muslim]]s – from Europe. Lefebvre also supported Latin American dictatorships, [[Charles Maurras]], [[Philippe Pétain]], and the continued occupation of [[French Algeria]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTG7g11GGzIC&pg=PA272 |title=Catholicism, Politics and Society in Twentieth-century France|isbn=9780853239741|access-date=15 February 2015|last1=Chadwick|first1=Kay|year=2000|publisher=Liverpool University Press }}</ref>

The [[Southern Poverty Law Center]] (SPLC) used the term ''radical traditionalist Catholics'' to refer to those who "may make up the largest single group of serious [[Antisemitism|anti-Semites]] in America, subscribe to an ideology that is rejected by the [[Holy See|Vatican]] and some 70 million mainstream American Catholics. Many of their leaders have been condemned and even [[excommunicate]]d by the official church."<ref name="rtci">[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/radical-traditional-catholicism "Radical Traditional Catholicism"], ''[[Intelligence Files]]'', Southern Poverty Law Center, 2011</ref> The SPLC claims that adherents of radical traditional Catholicism "routinely pillory Jews as 'the perpetual enemy of Christ'",<ref name=rtci/><ref>[http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-report/browse-all-issues/2006/winter/the-new-crusaders "Radical Traditionalist Catholics Spew Anti-Semitic Hate, Commit Violence Against Jews"], Southern Poverty Law Center, 2006</ref> reject the [[ecumenism|ecumenical]] efforts of the Vatican, and sometimes assert that all recent Popes are illegitimate.<ref name=rtci/> The SPLC says that adherents are "incensed by the liberalizing reforms" of the [[Second Vatican Council]] (1962–1965) which condemned [[Antisemitism in Christianity|hatred for Jewish people]] and "rejected the [[Jewish deicide|accusation that Jews are collectively responsible for deicide]] in the form of the [[Crucifixion of Jesus|crucifixion of Christ]]"<ref name=rtci/> and that "Radical traditional Catholics" also embrace "extremely [[Social conservatism|conservative social ideals]] with respect to women."<ref name=rtci/>

The SPLC clarifies: "Radical traditionalist Catholics differ from traditionalist Catholics. The latter embrace the traditions and practices of the preconciliar church while rejecting the ''[[Mass of Paul VI|Novus Ordo Missae]]'', which updated the Catholic Mass by, among other changes, replacing Latin with vernacular languages. Though they may be critical of the Vatican, the organizations listed here do not represent all those Catholics who call themselves “traditionalists” or prefer the Latin Mass"<ref name="rtci"/>

== Criticism by U.S. Authorities and Advocacy Groups ==
In the early 2020s, individuals and organizations associated with the Traditionalist Catholic movement came under scrutiny from U.S. law enforcement and advocacy groups. This attention centered on alleged extremist rhetoric and of traditionalist groups that reject the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.<ref name="SPLC">{{Cite web |title=Radical Traditional Catholicism |url=https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/radical-traditional-catholicism/ |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=Southern Poverty Law Center |language=en-US}}</ref> Advocacy organizations monitoring extremism, including the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), had identified a number of groups they describe as promoting antisemitic or conspiratorial views. The FBI cited reports from the SPLC that often employed the label “''radical-traditionalist Catholic'',” though the majority of Traditionalist Catholic communities are not linked to extremist activity.<ref name="SPLC" />

=== Catholic and Secular responses ===
Catholic leaders, including the [[United States Conference of Catholic Bishops|U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops]], criticized the leaked Richmond memorandum, arguing that it was questionably-sourced and risked religious profiling of Catholics.<ref name="USCCB">{{Cite web |title=U.S. Bishops' Religious Liberty Chairman Comments on Leaked FBI Memorandum {{!}} USCCB |url=https://www.usccb.org/news/2023/us-bishops-religious-liberty-chairman-comments-leaked-fbi-memorandum |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=www.usccb.org |language=en}}</ref> Legal analyses have distinguished between targeted law enforcement investigations and broader claims of deliberate discrimination. Commentators generally concluded that while the Richmond memo contained methodological flaws and raised legitimate questions about terminology, records do not show evidence of a coordinated program directed against Traditionalist Catholics as a whole.<ref name="DOJ-OIG">{{Cite news |date=2024-04-19 |title=No Bias Found in F.B.I. Report on Catholic Extremists (Published 2024) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/us/politics/catholic-extremists-fbi.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250826094809/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/us/politics/catholic-extremists-fbi.html |archive-date=2025-08-26 |access-date=2025-10-03 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Internal review of anti-Catholic bias ===
In January 2023, the FBI’s Richmond Field Office circulated an internal memorandum noting that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists had expressed interest in “''radical-traditionalist Catholic''” ideology. The document was withdrawn after it became public.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-01-23 |title=FBI Richmond assesses the increasingly observed interest of RMVEs in radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology |url=https://judiciary.house.gov/... |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=U.S. House Judiciary Committee}}</ref> A subsequent review by the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General concluded that the memo did not meet "analytic tradecraft standards" and reflected "errors in professional judgment". The report also stated it found no evidence of malicious intent or of a policy to investigate Catholics on the basis of religion alone.<ref name="DOJ-OIG" />

Congressional Republicans disputed those findings, arguing that the incident pointed to broader problems within the Bureau’s internal products. Staff reports from the House Judiciary Committee and correspondence from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee criticized the Richmond memo as evidence of inadequate safeguards on religious liberty.<ref name="HouseReport">U.S. House Judiciary Committee (Republican Staff), ''[https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/2023-12-04-the-fbis-breach-of-religious-freedom-the-weaponization-of-law-enforcement-against-catholic-americans.pdf The FBI’s Breach of Religious Freedom: The Weaponization of Law Enforcement Against Catholic Americans],'' Interim Staff Report, December 4, 2023.</ref><ref name="Grassley">Sen. Charles Grassley, "[https://www.grassley.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/grassley_to_fbi_-_richmond_memo_productions.pdf Letters and Document Productions Concerning FBI Richmond Memo]," June 2, 2025 (released via Senate Judiciary Committee).</ref> FBI Director Christopher Wray later confirmed that employees had been disciplined or terminated in relation to the memo’s creation.<ref name="CNA">{{Cite web |last=CNA |title=FBI director: There have been 'terminations' related to 2023 anti-Catholic memo |url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/266635/fbi-director-there-have-been-terminations-related-to-2023-anti-catholic-memo |access-date=2025-10-03 |website=Catholic News Agency |language=en}}</ref> In October 2025, the FBI ended its formal relationship with the SPLC and the Anti-Defamation League, following a reassessment of the Bureau’s reliance on external advocacy groups under FBI Director Kash Patel.<ref name="Reuters-FBI">{{Cite news |last=Ax |first=Joseph |date=2025-10-03 |title=FBI cuts ties with civil rights group Southern Poverty Law Center |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi-cuts-ties-with-civil-rights-group-southern-poverty-law-center-2025-10-03/ |access-date=2025-10-03 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref>

==Practices==
Traditionalist Catholicism has been described as "a self-conscious revival of the liturgies, practices, and trappings of an earlier time in the Catholic Church" and this manifests in a number of ways.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phillips |first=Maggie |date=12 July 2022 |title=Back to the Land |url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/back-to-the-land-catholic-land-movement |access-date=26 July 2023 |website=Tablet Magazine}}</ref>

===Rite of Mass===
[[File:Santa Cecilia.jpg|thumb|Altar of [[Santa Cecilia in Trastevere]], erected in 1700 and still used today. It faces both east and ''versus populum'' (towards the people).]]

The best-known and most visible sign of Catholic traditionalism is an attachment to the form that the [[Roman Rite]] liturgy of the [[Mass in the Catholic Church|Mass]] had before the [[Mass of Paul VI|liturgical reform of 1969–1970]], in the various editions of the [[Roman Missal]] published between 1570 and 1962. This form is generally known as the [[Tridentine Mass]], though traditionalists usually prefer to call it the ''Traditional Mass''. Many refer to it as the ''Latin Mass'', though [[Latin]] is the language also of the official text of the [[Mass of Paul VI|post-Vatican II Mass]], to which vernacular translations are obliged to conform, and [[Canon law of the Catholic Church|canon law]] states that "the eucharistic celebration is to be carried out ''in the Latin language'' or in another language provided that the liturgical texts have been legitimately approved."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib4-cann879-958_en.html#Art._3 Code of Canon Law, canon 928] (emphasis added)</ref> In his 2007 [[motu proprio]] ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]'' [[Pope Benedict XVI]] relaxed the regulations on use of the {{Interlanguage link|1962 Missel|fr|Missel de 1962}}, designating it "an" extraordinary form of the [[Roman Rite]], as opposed to "the" ordinary or normal form, as revised successively by [[Pope Paul VI]] and [[Pope John Paul II]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_ben-xvi_motu-proprio_20070707_summorum-pontificum.html|title=Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the "Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970" (July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20070707_lettera-vescovi.html|title=Letter to the Bishops that accompanies the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" Summorum Pontificum on the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970 (July 7, 2007) | BENEDICT XVI|website=www.vatican.va}}</ref>

The Pope ruled that priests of the [[Latin Church]] can freely choose between the 1962 Roman Missal and the [[Mass of Paul VI|later edition]] "in Masses celebrated without the people".<ref>{{cite web |title=''Summorum Pontificum'', art. 2 |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010043928/http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |archive-date=10 October 2012 |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Sanctamissa.org}}</ref> Such celebrations may be attended by those who spontaneously ask to be allowed.<ref>{{cite web |title=''Summorum Pontificum'', art. 4 |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010043928/http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |archive-date=10 October 2012 |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Sanctamissa.org}}</ref> Priests in charge of churches can permit stable groups of laypeople attached to the earlier form to have Mass celebrated for them in that form, provided that the celebrating priest is "qualified to [celebrate] and not juridically impeded".<ref>{{cite web |title=''Summorum Pontificum'', art. 5 |url=http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010043928/http://www.sanctamissa.org/en/resources/summorum-pontificum.html |archive-date=10 October 2012 |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Sanctamissa.org}}</ref> The [[Society of Saint Pius X]] welcomed the document, but referred to "difficulties that still remain", including "disputed doctrinal issues" and the notice of excommunication that still affected its bishops.<ref>{{cite web |date=17 June 2011 |title=Press Release from the General Superior of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, 7 July 2007 |url=http://www.fsspx.org/eng/index.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090219085433/http://fsspx.org/eng/index.html |archive-date=19 February 2009 |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Fsspx.org}}</ref>

In 2021, Pope Francis promulgated ''[[Traditionis custodes]]'', amending and abrogating parts of ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Allen|first=Elise Ann|date=16 July 2021|title=Francis reverses Benedict's liberalization of use of older Latin Mass|newspaper=[[Crux (online newspaper)|Crux]]|url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2021/07/francis-reverses-benedicts-liberalization-of-use-of-older-latin-mass/|accessdate=16 July 2021}}</ref>

===Individual and private devotions===
Some traditionalist Catholics stress on following customs prevailing immediately before the Second Vatican Council, such as the following:
* '''Fasting from Midnight until the reception of [[Eucharist|Holy Communion]]'''. The traditional Catholic rule of fasting from midnight until the reception of Holy Communion (this Eucharistic Fast is from both food and liquids), which is required by the [[1917 Code of Canon Law|1917 ''Code of Canon Law'']], was shortened in 1953 by Pope Pius XII to a 3-hour fast.<ref>{{cite web |title=Motu proprio ''Sacram communionem'' |url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/P12FAST.HTM |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Ewtn.com}}</ref> In 1966, Pope Paul VI reduced the fast further to one hour, a rule included in the 1983 ''Code of Canon Law''.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 May 2007 |title=Canon 919 |url=http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P38.HTM |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Intratext.com}}</ref> Some traditional Catholic groups require fasting from midnight until they receive Holy Communion at Mass, while others will keep a Eucharistic fast for at least three hours.<ref>{{cite web |date=6 September 2016 |title=Lesson 28 — Holy Communion |url=https://cmri.org/baltimore-catechism-no-2/baltimore-catechism-no-2-lessons-21-30/ |access-date=2 March 2021 |publisher=[[Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen]] |language=English |quote=3. All Catholics may receive Holy Communion after fasting three hours from food and alcoholic drinks and one hour from non-alcoholic drinks. This rule applies to Holy Communion at midnight Mass as well as at Masses celebrated in the morning, afternoon or evening. A priest’s permission is not needed. 4. Catholics are urged to observe the eucharistic fast from midnight as formerly, and also to compensate for the use of the new privileges by works of charity and penance, but these practices are not obligatory.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mater Dei Latin Mass Parish |date=2017-02-23 |title=Fasting and Abstinence - Current and Traditional Practices |url=https://materdeiparish.com/2017/02/fasting-abstinence-current-traditional-practices/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Mater Dei Catholic Parish |language=en-US}}</ref>
* '''Kneeling to receive Communion directly upon the tongue''', under the Host species alone, and from the hand of a cleric rather than a layperson. The SSPX regards the practice of receiving communion in the hand (though ancient<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=d_HP1iaiCcgC&hl=en Anscar J. Chupungco, Handbook for Liturgical Studies: The Eucharist] (Liturgical Press, 1999 {{ISBN|0-8146-6163-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-8146-6163-5}}) p. 307</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5ZcAJHpwA_IC&hl=en Michael Kunzler, The Church's Liturgy] (LIT Verlag Berlin-Hamburg-Münster, 2001 {{ISBN|3-8258-4854-X}}, 9783825848545), p. 241</ref> and authorised by the [[Holy See]]<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/expert/answers/communion_in_hand.htm Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter "En réponse a la demande" to presidents of those conferences of bishops petitioning the indult for communion in the hand, 29 May 1969] published also in [[Acta Apostolicae Sedis]], 61 (1969) 546–547</ref>) as an abuse.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060214004527/http://sspx.org/SSPX_FAQs/q5_novusordo.htm Why should Catholics have nothing to do with the Novus Ordo Missae?]. sspx.org</ref>
* '''Women wearing a [[Christian Headcovering|headcovering]] when praying at home and when worshipping inside a church''' which is discussed in [[1 Corinthians 11]] and required by the 1917 ''Code of Canon Law''. Many Traditionalist Catholic women wear a veil, a hat, or a headscarf when praying at home and when worshipping inside a church.<ref name="Fisher2019"/><ref name="Cieslik 2021">{{cite web |last1=Cieslik |first1=Emma |title="Smells and Bells": Catholic Material Religion in Twenty-First-Century America |url=https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/catholic-material-religion-modern-america |publisher=[[Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage|Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage]] |access-date=11 October 2024 |language=English |date=4 October 2021}}</ref>

===Clothing and lifestyle===
Traditional Catholics, with respect to male and female gender roles, often adhere to the doctrine of [[complementarianism]].<ref>Schar, Amanda. "Feminism and Faith: How Women Find Empowerment in the Roman Catholic Church" (2019). ''Celebration of Learning''.</ref>

The standards of clothing among Traditional Catholics, based on instructions given by [[Pope Pius XI]] and consequently promoted by the Purity Crusade of [[Mary, mother of Jesus|Mary]] Immaculate, is referred to as "Mary-like Modesty", which includes for women, wearing sleeves "extending at least to the elbows" and "skirts reaching below the knees", as well as having a neckline no more than two inches with the rest of the bodice fully covered.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Moczar |first1=Diane |title=The Church Under Attack: Five Hundred Years that Split the Church and Scattered the Flock |date=2013 |publisher=Sophia Institute Press |isbn=978-1-933184-93-7 |page=202 |language=English}}</ref><ref name="Evans2012">{{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=Rachel Held |title=A Year of Biblical Womanhood |date=2012 |publisher=[[Thomas Nelson (publisher)|Thomas Nelson]] |isbn=978-1-59555-367-6 |page=126 |language=en}}</ref>

It is commonplace for women who identify as traditionalist Catholics to wear a [[Christian headcovering|head covering]] (veil) while praying at home and attending celebrations of the [[Mass (liturgy)|Mass]].<ref name="Fisher2019">{{cite web |last1=Fisher |first1=Simcha |title=The types of women who veil at Mass |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/12/03/types-women-who-veil-mass |publisher=[[America Magazine]] |access-date=15 November 2020 |language=en |date=3 December 2019}}</ref>

==In the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church==
Since the Second Vatican Council, various [[Eastern Catholic Churches]] have removed some practices and emphases that were derived from those of the [[Latin Church]]. Opposition to this has been given relatively high publicity with regard to the [[Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]] (UGCC).

=== Background ===
Even before the Second Vatican Council, the [[Holy See]] declared it important to guard and preserve whole and entire forever the customs and distinct forms for administering the sacraments in use in the Eastern Catholic Churches ([[Pope Leo XIII]], encyclical ''[[Orientalium Dignitas]]'').<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Leo13/l13orient.htm|author=Pope Leo XIIl|title=Orientalium dignitas|date=30 November 1894|access-date=15 February 2015}}</ref> Leo's successor [[Pope Pius X]] said that the priests of the newly created [[Russian Catholic Church]] should offer the [[Divine Liturgy]] ''Nec Plus, Nec Minus, Nec Aliter'' ("No more, No Less, No Different") than priests of the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and the [[Old Believers]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250135379|title=Eastern Catholic Churches and the Question of 'Uniatism'|website=ResearchGate}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=George Thomas Kurian|author2=Mark A. Lamport|title=Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=73xfDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1724|date=10 November 2016|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=978-1-4422-4432-0|page=1724}}</ref>

In the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, [[Liturgical latinisation|liturgical de-latinization]] began with the 1930s corrections of the liturgical books by Metropolitan [[Andrey Sheptytsky]]. According to his biographer {{Interlanguage link|Cyril Korolevsky|fr|Cyrille Korolevskij}}, Metropolitan Andrey opposed use of coercion against those who remained attached to Latin liturgical practices, fearing that any attempt to do so would lead to a Greek Catholic equivalent of the [[Raskol|1666 Schism]] within the [[Russian Orthodox Church]].<ref>Cyril Korolevsky, ''Metropolitan Andrew (1868–1944)'', Translated and Edited by Fr. Serge Keleher. Stauropegion Brotherhood, Lviv, 1993.</ref>

De-latinization in the UGCC gained further momentum with the 1964 decree ''[[Orientalium Ecclesiarum]]'' of the [[Second Vatican Council]]) and several subsequent documents. Latinizations were discarded within the [[Ukrainian diaspora]], while among Byzantine Catholics in Western Ukraine, forced into a clandestine existence following the Soviet ban on the UGCC, the latinizations remained, "an important component of their underground practices".<ref> Stéphanie Mahieu and Vlad Naumescu (2008), ''Churches In-between: Greek Catholic Churches in Postsocialist Europe'', Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia. Page 162, Footnote 10.</ref> In response, some priests, nuns, and candidates for the priesthood found themselves, "forced towards the periphery of the church since 1989 because of their wish to 'keep the tradition'." In some eparchies, particularly those of [[Ivano-Frankivsk]] and [[Ternopil]]-[[Zboriv]], the bishops would immediately suspend any priest who, "displayed his inclination toward 'traditionalist' practices".<ref> Stéphanie Mahieu and Vlad Naumescu (2008), ''Churches In-between: Greek Catholic Churches in Postsocialist Europe'', Halle Studies in the Anthropology of Eurasia. Pages 164–165.</ref>

Vlad Naumescu reports that an article in the February 2003 issue of ''[[Patriayarkhat]]'', the official journal of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, written by a student of the [[Ukrainian Catholic University]], which since its 1994 foundation has been, "the strongest progressive voice within the Church". The article named priests and parishes in every [[eparchy]] in Ukraine as being involved in "a well-organized movement" and who described themselves as "traditionalists". According to the article, they constituted "a parallel structure" with connections with the [[Society of St. Pius X]] and with a charismatic leader in Fr. [[Basil Kovpak]], the Pastor of St. Peter and Paul's Church in the [[suburb]] of [[Lviv]]-Riasne.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/1809806/Continuities_and_Ruptures_of_a_Religious_Tradition_Making_Orthodoxyin_the_Ukrainian_Greek_Catholic_Church Vlad Naumescu, "Continuities and Ruptures of a Religious Tradition: Making ‘Orthodoxy’ in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church]" in Stephanie Mahieu, Vlad Naumescu (editors), ''Churches In-between: Greek Catholic Churches in Postsocialist Europe'' (LIT Verlag Münster 2008), pp. 161–162, {{ISBN|978-3-8258-9910-3}}</ref>

According to Vlad Naumescu, "Religious life in a traditionalist parish followed the model of the 'underground church.' Devotions were more intense, with each priest promoting his parish as a 'place of pilgrimage' for the neighboring areas, thus drawing larger crowds on Sunday than his local parish could provide. On Sundays and feast days, religious services took place three times a day (in Riasne), and the Sunday liturgy lasted for two and a half to three hours. The main religious celebrations took place outside the church in the middle of the neighborhood, and on every occasion traditionalists organized long processions through the entire locality. The community was strongly united by its common opponent, re-enacting the model of the 'defender of faith' common to times of repression. This model, which presupposes clear-cut attitudes and a firm moral stance, mobilized the community and reproduced the former determination of the 'underground' believers."<ref> Stephanie Mahieu, Vlad Naumescu (editors), ''Churches In-between: Greek Catholic Churches in Postsocialist Europe'' (LIT Verlag Münster 2008), page 164. {{ISBN|978-3-8258-9910-3}}</ref>

=== Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat ===
The [[Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat]] (SSJK), which operates a seminary, [[Basilian monks|Basilian]] convent, and numerous parishes, receives priestly orders from the bishops of the SSPX. Its superior, Father [[Basil Kovpak]], has accused the UGCC hierarchy of using intense psychological pressure against priests who are reluctant or unwilling to de-Latinise.

In 2003, Cardinal [[Liubomyr Huzar]], Major Archbishops of Kyiv-Galicia, excommunicated Father Kovpak, but this act was later declared null and void by the [[Roman Rota]] due to lack of canonical form.

On 22 November 2006, [[Bishop]] [[Richard Williamson (bishop)|Richard Williamson]], who was then a member of the [[Society of St. Pius X]] (SSPX), ordained two priests and seven deacons in [[Warsaw]], Poland, for the SSJK. Fr. John Jenkins, an SSPX priest who was present, later remarked, "We were all very edified by their piety, and I myself was astonished by the resemblance of the atmosphere amongst the seminarians with that which I knew in the seminary – this in spite of the difference of language, nationality and even rite."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.laportelatine.org/accueil/entret/2006/jenkins/versionanglaise/anglais2006.php |title=La Porte Latine - Jenkins anglais |access-date=2006-08-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060823133035/http://www.laportelatine.org/accueil/entret/2006/jenkins/versionanglaise/anglais2006.php |archive-date=23 August 2006 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Archeparch [[Ihor Vozniak]] of Lviv, the Archeparchy in which the PSSJ is most active, denounced the ordinations as a "criminal act", and condemned Fr. Kovpak's participation in the ceremony. He stressed that the two priests whom Bishop Williamson had ordained would not receive faculties within the Archeparchy.<ref>The Holy See likewise declared SSPX priests "suspended from exercising their priestly functions" ([http://www.unavoce.org/articles/2003/perl-011803.htm Letter of Monsignor Camille Perl], Secretary of the [[Ecclesia Dei]] Commission {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030202034019/http://www.unavoce.org/articles/2003/perl-011803.htm |date=2 February 2003 }}). A minority of them - ordained before 1976 by archbishop [[Marcel Lefebvre]] for the SSPX - remain incardinated in several European dioceses. They are thus in the same position as excommunicated Kovpak, who is incardinated in the Ukrainian Archdiocese of Lviv. The newly ordained clergy, however, are not incardinated into any Ukrainian Catholic diocese, and thus are not clergy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church.</ref> Officials of the Lviv archdiocese said that Kovpak could face [[excommunication]], and that ''"'he deceives the church by declaring that he is a Greek (Byzantine) Catholic priest,' while supporting a group ''[SSPX]'' that uses the old Latin liturgy exclusively, eschewing the Byzantine tradition, and does not maintain allegiance to the Holy See."''<ref>[http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=47961 Catholic World News: Byzantine Catholics decry Lefebvrite inroads into Ukraine] The accusation of "eschewing the Byzantine tradition" refers to Father Kovpak's championing of Latinising elements which were followed by Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since the 17th century, but forcibly purged following the Second Vatican Council.</ref>

Father Kovpak's excommunication process was restarted by the hierarchy of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and was confirmed by the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] on 23 November 2007.<ref name="Ukrainian priest excommunicated">[http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=54919 Ukrainian priest excommunicated] Catholic World News, 21 November 2007</ref>

=== Sedevacantism and Conclavism in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ===
{{main|Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church}}

In March 2008 a group of [[Order of Saint Basil the Great|Basilian]] priests in [[Pidhirtsi]], Ukraine, announced that four of them had been consecrated as bishops in order to save the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) from heresy and apostasy and in August 2009, they announced the formation of the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church]].<ref>[http://uogcc.org.ua/en/church/article/?article=783 Decree of Establishment of the UOGCC]. Uogcc.org.ua (11 August 2009). Retrieved on 2013-07-04.</ref> Having elected [[Czech people|Czech]] Basilian priest Fr. Anthony Elias Dohnal as "Patriarch Elijah", they declared [[Sedevacantism|that the Holy See was vacant]], establishing the [[Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church]] (UOGCC).<ref>[http://uogcc.org.ua/en/actual/article/?article=4554 Declaration of an excommunication upon Pope Benedict XVI and John Paul II]. Uogcc.org.ua. Retrieved on 4 July 2013.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uogcc.org.ua/res/download/pastoral_letter_for_the_catholic_church.doc|title=Pastoral letter for the Catholic Church}}</ref>

The group was promptly excommunicated by the UGCC,<ref>{{Cite web |title=UOGCC / English / About Church |url=http://uogcc.org.ua/en/church/article/?article=4581 |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=uogcc.org.ua}}</ref> an act that was later confirmed by the [[Apostolic Signatura]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-04-02 |title=Vatican Says Excommunication of "Pidhirtsi Fathers" Final |url=http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;26027 |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=risu.org.ua|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402003907/http://old.risu.org.ua/eng/news/article;26027 |archive-date=2012-04-02 }}</ref> and the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=NULL |date=2012-03-29 |title=Dichiarazione della Santa Sede sui "sedicenti vescovi greco-cattolici di Pidhirci" |url=https://it.zenit.org/2012/03/29/dichiarazione-della-santa-sede-sui-sedicenti-vescovi-greco-cattolici-di-pidhirci/ |access-date=2023-10-09 |website=ZENIT - Italiano |language=it-IT}}</ref>

The UOGCC later [[Conclavism|"elected" a new Pope]], Archbishop [[Carlo Maria Viganò]] the former [[Apostolic Nunciature to the United States|Apostolic Nuncio to the United States]], in October 2019. Whether Viganò accepted this "election" is unclear.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Habemus papam {{!}} |url=http://vkpatriarhat.org/en/?p=16979 |access-date=2023-10-09 |language=en}}</ref>

There have been allegations in both ''[[The New York Times]]'' and the Lviv-based newspaper ''[[Expres]]'' that the church leadership is linked to the [[Foreign Intelligence Service (Russia)|Russian intelligence services]].<ref> Andrew Higgins (June 21, 2014). [https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/22/world/europe/ukrainian-church-faces-obscure-pro-russia-revolt-in-its-own-ranks.html "Ukrainian Church Faces Obscure Pro-Russia Revolt In Its Own Ranks""]. ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

== Relations with the Holy See ==
The Holy See recognises as fully legitimate the preference that many Catholics have for the earlier forms of worship. This was stated in Pope [[John Paul II]]'s 1988 apostolic letter ''[[Ecclesia Dei]]'' and Pope [[Benedict XVI]]'s 2007 [[motu proprio]] ''[[Summorum Pontificum]]''. The Holy See does not extend its approval to those who oppose the present-day Church leadership, which is reiterated in ''[[Traditionis Custodes]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Weinandy |first1=Thomas |last2=Cavadini |first2=John |last3=Healy |first3=Mary |date=2022-12-01 |title=A Synoptic Look at the Failures and Successes of Post-Vatican II Liturgical Reforms |url=https://churchlifejournal.nd.edu/articles/a-synoptic-look-at-the-failures-and-successes-of-post-vatican-ii-liturgical-reforms/ |access-date=2023-05-30 |website=Church Life Journal |language=en}}</ref>

=== ''Ecclesia Dei'' Commission ===
The [[Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei]] was founded in July 1988 in the wake of John Paul II's apostolic letter ''[[Ecclesia Dei]]''. Benedict XVI was a member of the Commission during his tenure as Cardinal Prefect of the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]]. Speaking on 16 May 2007 to the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, Cardinal Castrillón, the current head of the Commission, said his department had been founded for the care of those "traditionalist Catholics" who, while discontented with the liturgical reform of the [[Second Vatican Council]], had broken with Archbishop [[Marcel Lefebvre]] "because they disagreed with his schismatic action in ordaining Bishops without the required papal mandate". He added that at present the Commission's activity is not limited to the service of those Catholics, nor to "the efforts undertaken to end the regrettable schismatic situation and secure the return of those brethren belonging to the [[Society of St. Pius X|Fraternity of Saint Pius X]] to [[full communion]]." It extends also, he said, to "satisfying the just aspirations of people, unrelated to the two aforementioned groups, who, because of their specific sensitiveness, wish to keep alive the earlier [[Latin liturgical rites|Latin liturgy]] in the celebration of the [[Eucharist]] and the other [[sacrament]]s."<ref>The text of Cardinal Castrillón's speech, in the language in which he gave it, can be consulted at [http://www.celam.info/content/view/277/332/ Intervención sobre Ecclesia Dei-16 de mayo de 2007] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525080327/http://www.celam.info/content/view/277/332/ |date=25 May 2007 }} (Retrieved 17 May 2007) or at [http://qien.free.fr/2007/200705/20070514_hoyos.htm Intervención sobre Ecclesia Dei – Card. Darío Castrillón Hoyos, Presidente Ecclesia Dei]{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} (Retrieved 7 December 2008). English translations may be consulted at [http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2007/05/aparecida-notes-urgent-news-castrilln.html Rorate Caeli] (Retrieved 7 December 2008), and extracts are given in English at [http://www.adoremus.org/0607NewsViews.html Adoremus Bulletin] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304185942/http://www.adoremus.org/0607NewsViews.html |date=2016-03-04 }}(Retrieved 7 December 2008).</ref>

In 2019, [[Pope Francis]] suppressed this commission and transferred its responsibilities directly to the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tornielli |first1=Andrea |title=Ecclesia Dei, exceptional nature ends |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2019-01/editorial-ecclesia-dei-exceptional-nature-ends.html |website=Vatican News |date=19 January 2019 |access-date=14 February 2024}}</ref>

==Validity of holy orders==

According to the Catholic Church, the conferring of [[Holy orders in the Catholic Church|holy orders]] may be [[valid but illicit]].<ref>See especially Canons [http://www.intratext.com/IXT/ENG0017/_P3N.HTM 1012–1023]</ref> The Catholic Church considers the orders of traditionalist clergy who are in good standing with the Holy See, such as the clergy of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter or the [[Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest]], to be both valid and licit. It sees as valid but illicit the orders of the bishops and priests of the [[Society of Saint Pius X]], and accordingly considers them to be forbidden by law to exercise priestly offices, but still technically priests.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090310_remissione-scomunica_en.html Letter of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre] by [[Pope Benedict XVI]] concerning his remission of the excommunication of the four bishops of the Society of St Pius X</ref>

The Holy See declared devoid of canonical effect the consecration ceremony conducted by Archbishop [[Pierre Martin Ngô Đình Thục]] for the [[Palmarian Catholic Church|Carmelite Order of the Holy Face]] group on December 31,1975, while expressly refraining from pronouncing on its validity. It made the same statement with regard also to any later ordinations that those bishops might confer, saying that: <blockquote>as for those who have already thus unlawfully received ordination or any who may yet accept ordination from these, whatever may be the validity of the orders (''quidquid sit de ordinum validitate''), the Church does not and will not recognise their ordination (''ipsorum ordinationem''), and will consider them, for all legal effects, as still in the state in which they were before, except that the [...] penalties remain until they repent.<ref>Sacred [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]], Decree ''Episcopi qui alios'' of 17 September 1976 – ''Acta Apostolicae Sedis'' 1976, page 623.</ref></blockquote>

==Demographics==
{{See also|Preconciliar rites after the Second Vatican Council#Demography}}
In 2005, [[Catholic World News]] reported that "the Vatican" estimated the number of those served by the Fraternity of St Peter, the [[Society of St Pius X]] and similar groups at "close to 1 million".<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCaffrey |first1=Roger A. |last2=Woods Jr. |first2=Thomas E. |date=May 2005 |title=Catholic World News : "All We Ask is for the Mass" |url=http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=37861 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202233825/http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=37861 |archive-date=2 February 2006 |access-date=30 June 2011 |publisher=Cwnews.com}}</ref>

==List of groups==
{{Main|Communities using the Tridentine Mass}}
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2021}}

This is a list of notable traditionalist Catholic groups. Some are in full communion with the [[Holy See]]; some have irregular status according to doctrines and disciplines of the Catholic Church.

As of 2023, largest priestly communities described as traditionalist are [[Society of Saint Pius X|Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX)]] with 707 priests, [[Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter|Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP)]] with 368 priests, [[Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest|Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP)]] with 147 priests and [[Institute of the Good Shepherd|Institute of the Good Shepherd (IBP)]] with 61 priests.

===Canonically regular traditionalist groups===
* [[Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius]]
* [[Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem]]
* [[Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce]]
* [[Juventutem|Fœderatio Internationalis Juventutem]]
* [[Fraternity of Saint Vincent Ferrer]]
* [[Heralds of the Gospel]]
* [[Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest]]
* [[Institute of the Good Shepherd]]
* [[Latin Mass Society of England and Wales]]
* [[Militia Templi|Militia Templi; The Poor Knights of Christ]] also called the ''Order of the Poor Knights of Christ''
* [[Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney]]
* [[Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter]]
* [[Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary]] (Still River, MA group only)
* [[Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer]]

===Canonically irregular traditionalist groups===
* [[Society of Saint Pius X]]
* [[Fraternite Notre Dame]]
* [[Servants of the Holy Family]]
* [[Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat]]
* [[Missionaries of St. John the Baptist]] in [[Park Hills, Kentucky|Park Hills]], Kentucky

===Sedevacantist groups===
* [[Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen]]
*[[Most Holy Family Monastery]]
* [[Society of Saint Pius V]]

===Sedeprivationist groups===
* [[Istituto Mater Boni Consilii]]
* [[Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement]]

===Conclavist groups===
* [[Palmarian Christian Church]]
* [[Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church]]
* [[Rogelio del Rosario Martinez|Vatican in Exile under Pope Michael II]]

==See also==
===Doctrinal and liturgical issues===
* [[Cafeteria Catholicism]]
* ''[[Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus]]''
* [[Feeneyism]]
* [[Second Vatican Council]]
* [[Mass of Paul VI]]
* [[Sedevacantism]]
* [[Tridentine Mass]]
* [[Christian fundamentalism#Catholic fundamentalism|Catholic fundamentalism]]

===Comparable phenomena in other churches===
* [[Old Believers]], a comparable phenomenon in the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] which dates back to the 17th century
* [[True Orthodoxy]], [[Old Calendarism]] and the [[Catacomb Church]]—comparable phenomena in the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] that date to the 1920s
* [[Continuing Anglican movement]], a comparable phenomenon in the [[Anglican Communion]]
* [[Confessing Movement]], a similar movement in [[Mainline Protestant]] denominations

===Other===
* [[Old Catholicism]], which started in comparable circumstances surrounding [[papal infallibility]] and the [[First Vatican Council]]
* [[Independent Catholicism]]
* [[Freedom of religion in Germany#Censorship|Freedom of religion in Germany § Censorship]], for a discussion about a traditionalist Catholic news service which was shut down
* [[The Remnant (newspaper)|''The Remnant'']] – an American newspaper dedicated to traditionalist themes
* [[Cardinal Newman Society]], American group focused on traditional education
* [[Land O'Lakes Statement]] 1967 manifesto that angered traditionalists
* [[Toryism]]

=== Media ===

* [[Mass of the Ages (film series)]], an American documentary film series highlighting the Tridentine Mass for exposure and advocacy

==References==
{{reflist|35em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|last=Hull|first=Geoffrey|title=The Banished Heart: Origins of Heteropraxis in the Catholic Church|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3Jp0QwAACAAJ|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|year=2010|location=London, UK|isbn=9780567442208}}
* {{cite book|first=Edward|last=Jarvis|author-link=Edward Jarvis (author)|title=Sede Vacante: The Life and Legacy of Archbishop Thuc|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ID0GwgEACAAJ|access-date=29 August 2019|publisher=The Apocryphile Press|year=2018|location=Berkeley, CA|isbn=9781949643022}}
* {{cite book|last=Jungmann|first=Joseph|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ns7zQEACAAJ|title=The Mass Of The Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development (Missarum Sollemnia)|volume=1|location=Allen, TX|publisher=Christian Classics|year=1986|isbn=0870611666}}
* {{cite book|last=Manning|first=Christel|title=God Gave Us the Right: Conservative Catholic, Evangelical Protestant, and Orthodox Jewish Women Grapple with Feminism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vNsQ97AE0zwC|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=1999|isbn=0813525993}}
* {{cite encyclopedia|last=Margry|first=Peter Jan|editor-last=Maunder|editor-first=Chris|year=2019|title=The Global Network of Deviant Revelatory Marian Movements|encyclopedia=The Oxford Handbook of Mary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NgulDwAAQBAJ|location=NY|publisher=Oxford University Press|pages=662–683|isbn=9780198792550}}
* {{cite book|last=Perry|first=Mark|title=Uprooting the Vineyard: The Fate of the Catholic Church After Vatican II|publisher=World Wisdom Books|location=Bloomington, IN|isbn=9781936597802|year=2025}}
* {{cite book|last=Radecki, CMRI|first=Frs. Francisco and Dominic|title=Tumultuous Times|publisher=St.Joseph's Media|location=Wayne, MI / Newhall, CA|isbn=0971506108|year=2004}}
* {{cite book|last=Sinke Guimarães|first=Atila|title=In the Murky Waters of Vatican II|publisher=MAETA|location=Metairie|isbn=1889168068|year=1997}}
* {{cite book|first1=Mary Jo|last1=Weaver|first2=R. Scott|last2=Appleby|title=Being Right: Conservative Catholics in America|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W1KFNeoVo-UC|year=1995|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington|isbn=9780253209993|access-date=28 November 2020}}

{{Traditionalist Catholicism|state=collapsed}}
{{Second Vatican Council}}
{{SSPX}}
{{Palmarian Church}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Traditionalist Catholicism| ]]

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Traditionalist Catholicism