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A Rose-Colored View: Correcting the Narrative on Pope Francis’ Pontificate

Bishop Robert Barron’s recent article, “Francis in Full”, offers an affectionate but deeply misleading portrait of Pope Francis’ papacy. While filial piety toward the Roman Pontiff is commendable, charity demands the full truth, not selective memory…

January 29, 2026 Read Article →

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The Mass

Why are people so passionate about the TLM? ▸

For many Catholics, their journey to the Traditional Latin Mass begins with a profound and unexpected discovery: the Mass they attended their entire lives is not ancient at all—in fact, it’s likely younger than their parents. The liturgy promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1969, commonly known as the Novus Ordo or “New Mass,” replaced a form of worship that had organically developed over nearly two millennia. This was the first time in Church history that an entirely new Mass was created through committee design.
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Isn’t it just nostalgia? ▸

This is perhaps the most common misunderstanding about the Traditional Latin Mass—and the evidence overwhelmingly refutes it. Many devotees are too young to remember it at all. The attachment to the Traditional Latin Mass is rooted not in sentimentality for the past, but in substantive theological, liturgical, and spiritual differences that distinguish it from the post-1969 liturgical reform.
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What about a reverent Novus Ordo? ▸

Many well-meaning Catholics assume that if the Novus Ordo were celebrated with all the traditional externals—Latin language, ad orientem posture, Gregorian chant, incense, beautiful vestments—then it would be essentially the same as the Traditional Latin Mass. This assumption, while understandable, misses the fundamental point entirely. The contention is not simply about externals. It has to do with its very core—with what the progressive reformers gutted and removed from the heart of the Mass itself.
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Why would God care what language? ▸

This is one of the most frustrating misconceptions about Traditional Catholics. The assumption goes: “Traditionalists are just nostalgic for Latin. They think God prefers one language over another.” Nothing could be further from the truth. While there is a deep love for the Latin language, a Traditional Catholic’s primary concern is not the language itself. What matters most is the liturgical substance, the content of the prayers, the reverence, and the theological richness embedded in the rite.
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If the NO is valid, why seek the TLM? ▸

Validity is the absolute minimum—the bare threshold that must be crossed for a sacrament to occur. It answers the question: “Did this happen?” But it tells us nothing about whether what happened was offered with the reverence, beauty, and theological richness that such a sacred action deserves. To settle for mere validity is to embrace a poverty of spirit entirely foreign to the Catholic tradition. It is to ask: “What is the least I can offer God?” rather than “What is the most worthy offering I can bring to the King of Kings?”
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Wasn’t the TLM created by Trent? ▸

This is one of the most persistent and damaging misconceptions. The short answer is: No. Absolutely not. The Council of Trent did not create the Traditional Latin Mass. What Trent did was codify it—that is, standardize and protect what had already existed organically for well over a thousand years. To say Trent “created” the Traditional Mass is like saying the Council of Nicaea “created” the doctrine of the Trinity.
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Why does the TLM cause tension? ▸

When progressives attack the TLM, they’re trying to eliminate the living embodiment of a Catholicism they wish to transform. This is a struggle between two irreconcilable visions of Catholicism: one rooted in immutable Tradition, the other embracing constant adaptation. The controversy isn’t about Latin or aesthetics—it’s a century-old battle for the soul of the Catholic Church between those defending unchanging Tradition and those pushing progressive “adaptation” to modernity.
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Is the TLM superior? ▸

Yes—but this needs to be properly understood. The Traditional Latin Mass is objectively superior in theological richness, liturgical integrity, spiritual fruitfulness, and continuity with Tradition. However, we are NOT saying that you cannot be saved by attending the Novus Ordo, that it’s invalid, that Catholics who attend are bad Catholics, or that God cannot work through it. He can and does.
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Different theology than the NO? ▸

Yes. And this is not a matter of opinion—it’s demonstrable through direct comparison of the prayers themselves. The two rites teach different things about what the Mass is, what it accomplishes, and what role the priest and faithful play in it. These aren’t minor variations in expression—they’re substantive theological differences that have profound implications for Catholic faith and practice.
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A Rose-Colored View: Correcting the Narrative on Pope Francis’ Pontificate

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