in Vatican II: Excerpts
The Destruction of Catholic Faith
Through Changes in Catholic Worship
by Michael Davies
TAN BOOKS
Published on the Web with Permission of the Author.
Protestantism and the Mass
The Traditional Mass would appear to be the one thing in the way of life of so many Catholic peoples around the world, that is so "bound up with superstition and error" that almost all bishops consider that it cannot be admitted to the liturgy. This has historically been the unanimous view of every Protestant sect-----but some now take a very different view where the "reformed liturgy" is concerned.
The ultra-evangelical Church of the Confession of Augsburg/Alsace-Lorraine issued a statement after the meeting of its Superior Consistory on December 8, 1973, permitting its members to receive Holy Communion in Catholic churches: "We attach great importance to the use of the new prayers [of the Catholic liturgy], with which we feel at home, and which have the advantage of giving a different interpretation to the theology of sacrifice than we were accustomed to attribute to Catholicism. These prayers invite us to recognize an evangelical theology of sacrifice." [L'Eglise en Alsace, January 1974.] Dr. M. G. Siegvalt, a professor of dogmatic theology in the Protestant faculty at the University of Strasbourg, testified that "Nothing in the renewed Mass need really trouble an evangelical protestant." [Le Monde, November 22, 1969.] The Protestant theologian Roger Mehl wrote in the September 10, 1970 issue of Le Monde:
If one takes account of the decisive evolution in the Eucharistic liturgy of the Catholic Church, of the option of substituting other Eucharistic prayers for the Canon of the Mass, of the expunging of the idea that the Mass is a sacrifice, and of the possibility of receiving Communion under both kinds, then there is no further justification for the Reformed Churches' forbidding their members to assist at the Eucharist in a Catholic Church. [Emphasis in red added by the Web Master.]
Catholic Mass and a Protestant Communion Service:
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1. The Catholic Mass-----Latin. Protestant Communion Service-----vernacular.
2. Catholic-----much of the liturgy inaudible. Protestant-----the entire service audible.
3. Catholic-----only two readings. Protestant-----generally three readings.
4. Catholic-----no lay readers. Protestant-----lay readers used.
5. Catholic-----clearly performing solemn rites upon an altar facing the East. Protestant-----a meal served upon a table, often facing the congregation. (The celebration of Mass facing the people is a pure innovation and a complete break with Catholic tradition in both the Roman and Eastern Rites. It is not mandated, recommended or even mentioned in Vatican II's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. See The Catholic Sanctuary and the Second Vatican Council.)
6. Catholic-----kneeling throughout long periods of the service, particularly for the reception of Communion. Protestant-----little kneeling; Communion often received standing.
7. Catholic-----the people receive Holy Communion on the tongue. Protestant-----Communion given in the hand.
8. Catholic-----Communion received only under one kind. Protestant-----Communion received under both kinds.
9. Catholic-----frequent liturgical reference to the doctrines of sacrifice and Real Presence. Protestant-----no reference whatsoever to the offering of any sacrifice beyond that of the congregation offering itself. Some references to the Body and Blood of Christ which could give the impression of belief in the Real Presence. [Emphasis in bold added by the Web Master.]
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