Much has been said about the liturgy and the many changes made in the spirit of Vatican II. Many rightly observe that Vatican II did not call for the radical changes that followed. However there are problems with the Decree on the Liturgy.
In the Constitution on the Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium Promulgated December 4, 1963) we read: “For this purpose the rites are to be simplified, due care being taken to preserve their substance; elements which, with the passage of time, came to be duplicated, or were added with but little advantage, are now to be discarded; other elements which have suffered injury through accidents of history are now to be restored to the vigor they had in the days of the holy Fathers, as may seem useful or necessary.”
In the infallible Constitution Autorem Fidei, on August 28, 1794, Pope Pius VI condemned the following proposition (DZ1533): “The proposition of the synod (of Pistoia) by which it shows itself eager to remove the cause through which, in part, there has been induced a forgetfulness of the principles of the order of the liturgy, ‘by recalling it (the liturgy) to a greater simplicity of rites, by expressing it in the vernacular language, by uttering it in a loud voice:’ as if the present order of the liturgy received and approved by the Church, had emanated in some part from the forgetfulness of the principles by which it should be regulated,- (we condemn this proposition as) rash, offensive to pious ears, insulting to the Church, favorable to the charges of heretics against it.”
Further pious ears are offended in the same Constitution of Vatican II by the following decree: “The rites should be distinguished by a noble simplicity; they should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetions; they should be within the people’s power of comprehension, and normally should not require much explanation.”
Also we are further offended by the following proposition: “…, the necessary experiments over a determined period of time among certain groups suited for the purpose. … and necessary experiments…” The liturgy is the worship of God, not a science class, where one experiments and tries things out. The worship of God was minutely ordered in the Old Testament, and equally well ordered by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, through the regulations of the Church in the rubrics. Finally in his encyclical Mediator Dei Pope Pius XII condemns these errors most emphatically, “Let everything be done with due order and dignity, and let no one, not even a priest, make use of the sacred edifices according to his whim to try out experiments.”
Pious ears are further offended even before the Vatican II Council, when we read the following ruling of the Sacred Congregation of Rites dated February 14, 1961: “In preparing or revising the historical lessons of feasts of whatever class, the following should be observed: … c/ the commonplace should be avoided; false or inappropriate passages should be deleted or corrected; if historical data be entirely or almost entirely lacking, lessons from the Common should be assigned, or some other more appropriate text from the Fathers should be chosen.”
Read this closely, and you will see that in 1961, this Congregation thought that it was possible for the Church to lie to us through the Sacred Liturgy! In his encyclical Mediator Dei Pope Pius XII condemns these errors most emphatically: “48 For this reason, whenever there was a question of defining a truth revealed by God, the Sovereign Pontiff and the Councils in their recourse to the ‘theological sources’, as they are called, have not seldom drawn many an argument from the sacred science of the Liturgy. For an example in point, Our Predecessor of immortal memory, Pius IX, so argued when he proclaimed the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. Similarly during the discussion of a doubtful or controversial truth, the Church and the Holy Fathers have not failed to look to the age-old and age-honored sacred rites for enlightenment. Hence the well-known and venerable maxim: ‘Legem credendi lex statuit supplicandi’- let the rule for prayer determine the rule of belief. The sacred Liturgy, consequently, does not decide or determine independently and of itself what is of Catholic faith. More properly, since the Liturgy is also a profession of eternal truths, and subject, as such, to the Supreme Teaching Authority of the Church, it can supply proofs and testimony, quite clearly of no little values, towards the determination of a particular point of Christian doctrine.”
In the Constitution on the Liturgy, Vatican II confirms the heresy quoted above: “As regards the readings, the following shall be observed: … c/ The accounts of martyrdom or the lives of the saints are to accord with the facts of history. … Historical truth should be attended not only in the lessons but also in the antiphons, hymns, and other parts of the Office, if there are any such proper parts; otherwise those parts should be taken from the common.” Further it exacerbates this heresy by accusing the Church of teaching myths! “To whatever extent may seem desirable, the hymns are to be restored to their original form, and whatever smacks of mythology or ill accords with Christian piety is to be removed or changed.”
On December 4, 1963, the 400th anniversary of the closing of the Council of Trent, Giovanni Baptiste Montini (Paul VI) promulgated the heretical decree Sacrosanctum Concilium on the liturgy, which had been approved by the council fathers 2,174 to 4.