Pope Paul VI: A Great Pope

Liberals dislike him because Paul VI prophetically [and I am not using that adverb in a merely metaphorical sense] reaffirmed the Church's rejection of contraception. The evil of contraception is so obvious that it takes willful blindness not to see the social and personal consequences and costs of wrenching sex from its natural context of procreation: fornication is now so common that it is viewed as a sign of a healthy, outgoing personality, as part of being mature, popular, and likeable. My own personal thesis is that this contraceptive-spawned cult of fornication as normal is what has poisoned many, many marriages in ways that not even those affected are conscious of themselves. We live in a world where we do not even recognize the sickness that afflicts us.

Self-styled traditional Catholics dislike Paul VI for the post-Vatican II Mass. In contrast, I view the legitimately authorized post-Vatican II reform of the liturgy as an essential and required renewal of the Church herself so that the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass would be understood in the language of each nation, as the proclamation of the mighty works of God was understood in the language of each listener at the first Pentecost in Acts 2. The Holy Mass is a perpetual Pentecost--it must be heard and prayed in the languages of all. But, of course, we have many who claim and certainly do feel "more Catholic than the Pope" who will differ openly or more diplomatically (as their tactical self-interest requires) on this point and push for the full Latinization of the Mass; in fact I believe that many of these would like to see the Mass of the Roman Rite offered in Latin only (what other conclusion can you draw from groups, even within the Church, that adamantly and strangely refuse to celebrate the post-Vatican II Mass at all?). In my opinion, such exaggerated liturgical obsession is a blind spiritual alley marked by the lurking idolatry of aestheticism. But, as in the case of contraception and its effects noted above, many who suffer from the affliction are not even conscious of the malady.

Here is a recent summer tribute to Paul VI from Benedict XVI. August 6th was the 30th anniversary of the death of Pope Paul VI. The comments are introduced and translated by reporter John Allen (emphasis added by blogger):

Here's the full text of what Pope Benedict XVI had to say about Paul VI during his Aug. 3 [2008] Angelus addressed, delivered in Bressanone, in northern Italy, where Benedict is passing a couple of weeks of vacation. Benedict spoke in Italian; the following is my translation.

"Now, dear friends, I invite you to foster together with me a devoted and filial memory of the Servant of God Pope Paul VI, since, three days from now, we will recall the 30th anniversary of his death. It was in fact the evening of August 6, 1978, when he rendered his spirit to God; that evening was the feast of the Transfiguration of Jesus, the mystery of divine light that always exercised a singular fascination upon his soul. Such a supreme Pastor of the Church, Paul VI guided the People of God toward the contemplation of the face of Christ, Redeemer of humanity and Lord of history. It was precisely the loving orientation of the mind and heart towards Christ which was one of the cardinal points of the Second Vatican Council, a fundamental attitude which my venerated predecessor John Paul II inherited and re-launched in the Great Jubilee of 2000. Christ is always at the center of everything; at the center of Sacred Scripture and tradition, at the heart of the church, of the world and of the entire universe."

"Divine Providence called Giovanni Battista Montini from the Chair of Milan to that of Rome in the most delicate moment of the Council -- when the intuition of Blessed John XXIII was at risk of not taking form. How can we not give thanks to the Lord for his fertile and courageous pastoral activity? Bit by bit, as our view of the past expands and our understanding deepens, the merit of Paul VI in presiding over the Council, leading it happily to its conclusion, and then governing the turbulent post-conciliar phase, appears ever greater -- indeed, I would say, almost super-human. We can truly say, with the apostle Paul, that in him the grace of God 'was not in vain' (1 Cor 15:10); it made the most of his obvious gifts of intelligence and his passionate love for the church and for humanity. As we give thanks to God for the gift of this great pope, let us commit ourselves to treasuring his teachings."

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Pope Benedict XVI does not share the view of recent Church history that is in the bloodstream of so many self-styled traditional, conservative Catholics. As I understand it, Bishop Fellay of the schismatic Society of Saint Pius X recently called Benedict XVI a "perfect liberal." Of course, that is an absurd characterization by Fellay; but the absurd rhetoric confirms that Benedict XVI is a far bigger and far more expansive personality and thinker than many, who are much smaller, are able to handle. Benedict is bigger than even what many of his self-proclaimed fans can handle. But that should be no surprise for those who have long realized that St. Thomas Aquinas is far bigger than so many self-proclaimed Thomists.