All below is what Novus Ordo Watch says:
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MICHAEL DAVIES — AN EVALUATION
by John S. Daly

A Devastating Dossier First Published in 1989


It took a lot of effort, but we are now finally able to make available to you this extremely hard-to-find work exposing and refuting the errors, fallacies, dangers, false theology and sloppy scholarship of English author Mr. Michael Davies (1936-2004), one of the most prominent and influential writers of the traditionalist movement in the Vatican II Church.

In a devastating dossier of over 460 pages entitled Michael Davies — An Evaluation, the author, Englishman John S. Daly, thoroughly dismantles the star apologist for Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and the Society of St. Pius X. No individual has written more prolifically than Michael Davies on traditionalist issues, and no single layman, with the possible exception of Dietrich von Hildebrand, has enjoyed wider prominence, credibility, and trustworthiness than him. But is this respect Mr. Davies has enjoyed really well-founded?

There is no doubt, of course, that Davies has done considerable good and provided excellent analysis and refutation of many errors promoted by the Vatican II religion. His work as a whole is certainly responsible for opening the eyes of a great many people to the dangers and heresies of the Novus Ordo Sect (which he, alas, identified with the Catholic Church), and has (re)kindled in countless souls a love for the Holy Catholic Mass offered in the traditional Roman rite.

Daly’s exposé does not mean to detract from the good which has admittedly been accomplished by Davies over the years. However, this good must be weighed against the considerable damage he has done, and harm to souls he has caused, as demonstrated throughout this book. A glass may be filled 80% with nutritious juice, but if the remaining 20% are poison, the entire glass will be contaminated, and death or severe injury will result. Pointing out that 80% of the contents were good, will not help to undo or minimize the damage of the 20%. It would also be quite irresponsible and dishonest to focus only on the healthful content and pretend the poison does not exist.

The work Michael Davies — An Evaluation is written in a tone the author now very much regrets. He has, in fact, withdrawn the book from publication, and has noted informally that some of the things he argued then — now over 25 years ago — he no longer stands behind. We present an electronic copy of this work, not as an endorsement of every idea or argument then advanced by Mr. Daly, or in order to spur hatred of Mr. Davies, but rather, to make known, for the good of souls, the many dangerous errors, fallacies, and problems in the research and argumentation of Michael Davies, upon whom so many, quite unjustifiedly, have relied in their understanding of traditionalist Catholic issues over the years.

We are in a terrible battle, and it is a battle for truth, which is an essential part of the battle for the salvation of souls, our own as well as those of others. It is therefore imperative for people to see falsehood exposed for what it is, and to realize that Michael Davies, whom many consider a weighty authority on the pressing issues or our times, was in fact a dangerous charlatan, even if he was right on many points.

Daly explains his motives for exposing Davies in the introduction to his dossier:

(i) To refute the gravely erroneous positions of Mr. Davies ... in which his assertions have been responsible for leading many souls astray in matters upon which salvation may depend.

(ii) To show by careful analysis that Mr. Davies is a completely unreliable author whose theological statements should never be accepted without verification from genuine Catholic authorities.

(iii) To set out in a single docuмent the main points of disagreement among those commonly referred to - and referring to themselves - as “traditionalists”, allowing both sides to state their case, and showing by rigorous demonstration in each case where the truth lies.

(J.S. Daly, Michael Davies — An Evaluation [London: Britons Catholic Library, 1989], p. iv)


Davies was a very interesting speaker, and his writing was usually quite pleasant to read. His English accent and delightful humor contributed to his affable personality. We have already conceded that much of his research and argumentation was valid and good. However, this cannot exonerate him from the many erroneous arguments he advanced and the inadequate or selective research he engaged in, often with regard to issues impacting Sedevacantism (case in point: his widely-repeated but false thesis that St. Athanasius was excommunicated by Pope Liberius).

To give you a snapshot of the valuable information contained in Michael Davies — An Evaluation, we are reproducing here its TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Introduction

Chapter 1: Davies’ attitude to authority

Chapter 2: The shockingly slipshod scholarship of Michael Davies

Chapter 3: The vacancy of the Holy See

Chapter 4: Dishonesty, arrogance, inanity, etc.

Chapter 5: Which side is Michael Davies on?

Chapter 6: A miscellaneous collection of Michael Davies’s heresies

Chapter 7: The Society of St. Pius X

Chapter 8: Davies as an anarchist

Chapter 9: Errors concerning sacramental theology

Chapter 9(A): The validity of the Orders of Marcel Lefebvre

Chapter 9(B): The validity of the 1968 New Rite of Ordination

Chapter 9(C): The theory of sacramental validity and “Significatio ex Adjunctis”

Chapter 9(D): The validity of the Novus Ordo Missae

Chapter 9(E): Odds and ends

Chapter 10: The alleged fall of Pope Liberius, his alleged excommunication of St. Athanasius, and other anti-papal libels

Chapter 11: Scandal

Chapter 12: Salvation outside the Church and the question of doctrinal development

Chapter 13: Open letter to Mr. Michael Davies


You can download for free an electronic copy of this book (fully searchable through optical character recognition) at the link below:

http://novusordowatch.org/michael-davies-an-evaluation.pdf