Am I Obligated to attend the New Mass and Sacraments?
Taken and adapted from the Traditio Website
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Frequently Catholics who are troubled by the New (Novus Ordo) Mass of Pope Paul VI ask whether they are required to attend this Mass and the new Sacraments, e.g., the Rite of Reconciliation (Penance). If Sacred Tradition of almost 2000 years weren't enough substantiation of every Catholics' inalienable right to the Traditional Latin Mass, Pope St. Pius V, in his solemn Papal Bull Quo Primum confirmed this Sacred Tradition when he decreed (Quo Primum, confirmed by all popes after Pius V until Paul VI, was never officially abrogated, and it must be, before another document can take precedent. Also, Quo Primum, based on the teachings of the Council of Trent, was just an affirmation of tradition and the abrogation of Quo Primum would be an abrogation of tradition):
"And in perpetuity We grant and permit that they may by all means use this Missal in singing or reciting Mass in any church whatsoever without any scruple of conscience, without incurring any penalties, sentences, or censures; in order that they may be able to do this and be able to use this Missal freely and lawfully, We, by virtue of Our Apostolic Office and by virtue of the present document, grant and permit this forever. "
Thus, the Traditional Latin Mass has been dogmatically defined as the principal rite of the Church, the Roman Rite of the Apostolic See. The new mass has no such authority as Pope Paul VI himself declared, when promulgating the New Mass:
"The rite [of the New Mass] by itself is NOT a dogmatic definition" (Apostolic Constitution, " Missale Romanum," November 19, 1969).
Further, when Pope Paul VI was asked by Cardinal Heenan of England if he was abrogating or prohibiting the Tridentine Mass, answered:
"It is not our intention to prohibit absolutely the Tridentine Mass."
Moreover, there are several providential canons in the New (Novus Ordo) Code of Canon Law (1983) protect traditional Catholics in their practice of the Traditional Roman Catholic Mass, Sacraments, and Faith. Even though Traditional Catholics do not generally accept the new code, but instead observe the essence of the traditional code (issued in 1917 by Pope Benedict XV), from the perspective of the Novus Ordo apparatus, these new canons protect such Catholics against being molested by dioceses. In fact, these dioceses unjustly and without canonic authority frequently ignore, with prejudice, the provisions of these canons, just as they frequently ignore so many other canons.
Canon 214. Admits the "right" of Catholics to worship God according to the prescriptions of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church. The rite of Traditional Catholics, the Traditional Roman Rite, was certainly approved by "legitimate pastors of the Church," from the earliest times to the present, most especially by Pope St. Pius V in Quo Primum (1570). The teachings of the Church come from the deposit of Faith and are composed of the constant and consistent teachings the Popes, and approved Councils, since St. Peter, in other words, tradition. It is important to not confuse the legal laws of the Church with the teachings of the Church, this canon specifically specifies.
Canon 214: The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the prescriptions of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church, and to follow their own form of spiritual life consonant with the teachings of the Church.
Canon 844.2. Makes it lawful for any Catholic out of "necessity" or "genuine spiritual advantage" to seek out and attend (or celebrate in the case of a priest) the Traditional Latin Mass and other traditional Sacraments in churches or chapels that are not "recognized" by the diocese.
Canon 844.2: Whenever necessity requires or genuine spiritual advantage suggests, and provided that the danger of error or indifferentism is avoided, it is lawful for the faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister, to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose churches these sacraments are valid.
Canon 1248.1. Allows the Mass obligation to be satisfied "by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite." Note that the location in this canon is not narrowly specified as it is elsewhere, e.g., "in an episcopally-approved church or oratory," but is left quite general: "anywhere." The Traditional Latin Mass is certainly a "Catholic rite," canonized by Sacred Tradition, as well as by many popes and councils.
Canon 1248 - 1: The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day.
Canon 1248.2. For "grave cause," e.g., the moral impossibility that many Traditional Catholics have in conscience against attending a Novus Ordo service, this canon even recommends that one may fulfill their Sunday Mass obligation by praying at home, "personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families."
Canon 1248 -2: If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration f the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the liturgy of the word if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families.
Canon 1323. A Catholic cannot be penalized for violating a law or precept (even when only apparent) if that person acted "out of grave fear, or only relatively grave, or out of necessity or out of serious inconvenience." Thus, Traditional Catholics who with certain conscience [canon 748: All persons are bound to seek the truth in matters concerning God and God’s Church; by divine law they also are obliged and have the right to embrace and to observe that truth which they have recognized] find it a serious inconvenience, that is, a moral impossibility, to attend a Novus Ordo service, are not validly subject to a penalty. If a pope, bishop, or other hierarch should attempt to penalize a person, the penalty would be null and void.
Canon 1323: The following are not subject to penalties when they have violated a law or precept: #4: a person who acted out of grave fear, even if only relatively grave, or out of necessity or out of serious inconvenience unless the act is intrinsically evil or verges on harm to souls.
In response to the question whether there is an obligation to attend the New Mass, a consulting canon lawyer wrote the following in the house organ of a conservative (not traditional) foundation specializing in the Novus Ordo (1983) canon law:
Canonical Basics What's the law? What's the teaching? The Question: I am wondering when the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and other holydays is no longer binding. I am a Catholic of the Roman rite, and I live in the USA. As you must be aware, there is a lot of diversity across this nation in liturgical practices, much of it illegitimate, and in my opinion most of it is unwise. I am trying to clarify where the line is that if a priest crosses it, I am not obliged to attend Mass.... How do I know when the "service" in question is a Mass that I must attend? I'm not trying to get out of attending Mass — I'm glad to go. Nor am I asking how to know if a Mass is valid.... Must I attend a valid, but disrespectful Mass? Must I attend a valid Mass that is done in a way that contradicts Catholic doctrine...? I also don't understand why it is required to attend such Masses where the priest (and apparently much of the parish) is only formally in union with Rome, but materially appears to believe, act, and worship as Protestants in many ways, and yet it is wrong to attend a [non- diocesan] Mass in which the priest is offering Mass in a worthy manner.... I understand the importance of attending a Mass offered by a priest in union with Rome. But, when you see some of these Masses, you wonder who is in closer union with Rome — the technically "Catholic" priest, or the [non-diocesan] priest. I'm very worried about my children, though.... Sure, I can tell them what to believe, but there's more to it than just intellectual belief — I think proper worship of God needs to be experienced, and I don't know how to replicate that experience of reverence and awe at home. What they're experiencing is not what they would experience if we had reverent Masses, or if they would attend Mass at a [non-diocesan] church. This can't help but affect their faith.
The Answer (by Our Consulting Canon Lawyer) According to Moral Theology, there are various "types" of impossibilities that inhibit a person from acting. One of these is called "moral impossibility" [incommodum grave]. Without begging the point, a moral impossibility exists when a person's conscience is so compromised by the situation that the person believes it wrong to act in that situation. To reach this impossibility, one must carefully weigh the consequences against the obligations. Primarily, a big question is: when is one's salvation at stake? Phrased in another way: when does the situation begin to be an occasion of sin for the person morally compromised?... The answer to this question is difficult and varies form individual to individual. Christi fideles, Lent 1997 (Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 3) [For the Traditional Catholic, it is hard to imagine any diocesan church in the USA (or elsewhere for that matter) that doesn't fit the description of the questioner. It is equally hard to imagine that the conscience of the traditional Catholic would not be so compromised by the New Mass that he would feel obliged to absent himself from that Mass and attend only the Traditional Latin Mass.]