You have to remember that when JPII first came to power, there was a lot of hope in Trad circles that he would reverse course from Paul VI's disastrous and openly hostile attitude towards Tradition. If you read Davies' trilogy on ABL, you'll see that ABL was hopeful for a new start and his first meeting with JPII went well. A lot better than with Paul VI. In fact ABL told JPII he wanted to say the TLM. JPII said, I don't see the big deal and was ready to sign the papers right there to give it to him. Then, the infamous Cardinal Seper stepped in and said, "But Holy Father, they make a banner out of this Mass!" JPII then hesitated and told ABL to start discussions with Cardinal Seper. Aaaand it went downhill from there. Seper acted as bad cop just as Muller is doing now.
JPII started with promise, apologizing to the faithful for the horrible liturgies and eucharistic abuses. He wrote of the Real Presence, male priesthood, forbade altar girls, scolded a liberation theology priest. Then as the mid-eighties approached, he did decree the '84 "indult", but the conservatism faded. Later he kept issuing encyclicals as the bad episcopal appointments multiplied and the Church at the diocese and parish levels went straight to Hell. Yet he kept up his World Youth Days which got progressively more and more ridiculous but he kept drawing huge crowds and visiting every place under the sun. ABL started getting disillusioned until Assisi when he knew it was all over for good.
This video was shot in 1980 or 81, I believe. That was when JPII was in conservative mode and there was hope, naive or not, amongst many Trads including ABL, not just Davies, that JPII would be much better than Paul VI.
(Bold portion, above) This is a glaring example of a JPII stage play in action.
Remember, his first love was acting, on stage, as an "actor." He was in his element
acting a part in a live play. This actually defines him to a "T" better than anything
else. The rehearsal would have gone something like this:
JPII to Card. Seper (C.S.) ~ "Lefebvre will then ask for some special
accommodation for his Society to use that old liturgy, and I will bring out these
papers here, giving him the impression that I'm going to sign them. Be sure you
allow me to give him that impression, that is, wait for Lefebvre's reaction showing
his enthusiasm and anticipation of having my signature on the papers! Okay?"
C.S. ~ "Yes, I understand. I must wait to see L. show his anticipation and excited
expression, even if it is just wide open eyes and a big smile, but some words
would be preferred, like 'Oh, yes,' or 'Please do, Holy Father,' or the like."
JPII ~ "That's right. Words would be much better. L. is not a man of silence, so I
expect we can anticipate that he will have some manner of ejaculation for this
moment of joy he cannot contain: it is his nature. But then, just as I put these
papers down on the table, and pick up the pen, that is your cue! Do not wait
for me to so much as even LOOK at you! You must not fail me on this important
scene of our performance! (with a stern look) There can be severe
consequences for such inexcusable shortcomings!"
C.S. ~ "Yes, Your Holiness, my cue is L.'s response and your holding of the pen."
JPII ~ "Correct. At that moment, you are to step forward and say, firmly, but
without a loudness or a confidence that would make it seem to be planned, you
see? You must say, 'But Holy Father, they make a banner out of this Mass!' Do
you understand?"
C.S. ~ "I do understand, Your Holiness. Rest assured I will not fail to take my cue
from his words of anticipation, or if none, then even his smile - but in any case, it
is finally your picking up the pen, and BEFORE you move it toward the papers
that I will step forward and say, 'But Holy Father, they make a banner out of this
Mass!' I see."
That's the rehearsal.
Stevus,
Thanks for that information. Having not been a Catholic in those days, I couldn't possibly have known about those things, of course. But I had really good friends who were Catholics in those years. I remember my best friends parents talking about how excited they were for the Church to be moving in a new direction and I remember her grandmother insisting that Pope John Paul II was going to set things right.
And that's the general impression I got from the video, as well. People had faith in JPII and they watched him become more and more liberal and modern as his pontificate dragged on. So I don't believe they considered themselves "sedevacantists" or him not the pope or even a heretic.
Strangely, I believe that this is what a lot of people thought about Pope Benedict, perhaps they still do. I think they believe he is trying to set things right and that's why they often accuse traditional Catholics who are leery of him of being sedes.
Interesting.
Remember the technique of the Modernists, "Two steps forward, one step back."
The pontificate of Paul VI was two steps forward, perhaps even three. The one
step back he may have taken was
Humanae Vitae. Therefore, the first phase
of JPII's new tenure was "one step back," giving trads false hopes. And to be
absolutely sure it was effective, he would employ the leadership of their General,
Archbishop Lefebvre, to draw them in. For when ABL comes away saying that
there is hope, all the trads of the world will believe there is hope.
I remember that time. All of the traditionally-minded Catholics I knew were
most enthusiastic that a great calm was arriving after the 'storm' of Paul VI.
This 'genius' of 8 or 9 languages was about to usher in a new season of hope
and positive growth. He was the Marian Pope - "Why, there is a big "M" on his
coat of arms!" All the visitors to the Vatican were bestowed with his gift - I got
3 of them: a plastic pouch with that emblem on it, containing a rosary made
of pearlescent beads, silver tone chain, trademark bent crucifix, and center-
piece of his own profile on one side and that coat of arms on the other, with
the "M." Many thousands of those rosaries were distributed for many years.
Topic: Video: Bill Buckley, Michael Davies Malachi Martin Discuss Tradition! (Read 5462 times)