Fr. Thomas Reese’s Hatred for the Traditional Mass

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Fr. Thomas Reese’s Hatred for the Traditional Mass
Fr. Thomas Reese’s Hatred for the Traditional Mass

The Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese, former editor of America Magazine, reveals his hatred for the traditional rite of the Mass in an article he wrote for the Religion News Service on August 25. The title says it all: “Why I Hate the Old Latin Mass: A Confession.”1

In a satirical style, which is intended to be jocular and ironic, Fr. Reese shows his inner thoughts, putting his ideas in the mouth of the imagined penitent. He makes his confession:

“The old Latin Mass is like a zombie. When we went from Latin into English in 1964, we thought it was dead, but it keeps coming back. We thought it would fade away, or people would be satisfied with going to a Latin version of the new liturgy. Not so.”

Hatred for the Traditional Mass, But Not the Masses with Pagan Components

It is no surprise to those who know Fr. Reese that he manifests no hatred for the “abuses” that often occur in the post-Vatican II New Mass. For example, there is a Catholic liturgy that uses the pagan rites of Candomblé,2 a kind of Brazilian voodoo. Other Masses feature pagan dances.3 The liturgy has been used to promote the homosexual movement, such as A Mass for the LGBTQ+ Community. This liturgy was celebrated in the church of St. Ignatius of the Jesuits in New York City, with dancers using homosexual symbols.4

 

In fact, his sympathy for homosexuality is notorious. For example, in 2005, Fr. Reese was interviewed by The New York Times, where he opined: “With the shortage of priests, the church can hardly dismiss gay seminarians.” In a similar vein, in a 2010 interview, he said: “I personally think the Church’s battle against the legalization of gay marriage is misplaced. The idea that gay marriage is somehow a threat to family life or heterosexual marriage doesn’t make sense.”5

He may consider such aberrations not as abuses but innovations in keeping with “ecumenism,” “religious dialogue,” and “openness to the world” that was recommended by Vatican II.

Luther’s Hatred of the Catholic Mass

The Traditional Mass, celebrated by the saints for centuries, inspired hatred among many heresiarchs. For example, Luther, in his own vulgar language, wrote about the Mass:

“Yes, I say it; all brothels, which, however much God has severely condemned, all homicides,  murders, robberies and adulteries are less harmful than the abomination of the papist mass.”6

Why this hatred of the Catholic Mass?

Because, according to his theories, Luther thought that Original Sin had completely corrupted man, so that all his acts were evil. The only exception would be the act of faith, which for him was summed up in an act of confidence that all are already saved, without any need for good works.7

Thus, Luther held that the celebration of a propitiatory sacrifice, that is, a sacrifice offered to please God to help the faithful with His grace, would be absurd. On the contrary, he advises believers to sin to prove their confidence in salvation through Christ. In 1521, Martin Luther wrote to Melanchthon with the advice, “Sin boldly. But believe even more boldly in Christ, and rejoice.”8

In the pamphlet, The Babylonian Captivity of the Church, the heresiarch presented the sacrifice of the Mass as one of the many “captivities” of the Church:

“The third captivity of this sacrament is that most wicked abuse of all, in consequence of which there is today no more generally accepted and firmly believed opinion in the Church than this—that the mass is a good work and a sacrifice.”9

For this reason, Luther “retained the first part of the Mass, but abolished the Offertory, Canon, and all the forms of sacrifice.”10

Council of Trent: Propitiatory Sacrifice

Against these errors, the Council of Trent condemned the following proposition:

“CANON III.—If any one saith, that the sacrifice of the mass is only a sacrifice of praise and of thanksgiving; or, that it is a bare commemoration of the sacrifice consummated on the cross, but not a propitiatory sacrifice; or, that it profits him only who receives; and that it ought not to be offered for the living and the dead for sins, pains, satisfactions, and other necessities; let him be anathema.”11

Did Luther’s Teaching Inspire Fr. Reese?

Does Fr. Reese’s hatred of the Traditional Mass stem from the same Lutheran hatred of the propitiatory sacrifice?

He refuses to engage in a theological analysis, and the reason he offers for his hatred is that the Mass continues to attract the faithful. He does not say it, but above all, it attracts young people.

It does not occur to Fr. Reese that love for the Traditional Mass may be a fruit of grace. His vision of the Church is political and ideological. There is little place for the supernatural. This is the result of the desacralization of the Church and religious life, carried out in the name of openness to the world.

About the New Ordo Mass see, e.g.: Arnaldo Xavier da Silveira, Two Timely Issues—The New Mass and the Possibility of a Heretical Pope, The Foundation for a Christian Civilization, Inc., Spring Grove, 2022

Monsignor Klaus Gamber, The Reform of the Roman Liturgy—Its Problems and Background, Roman Catholic Books, Fort Collins, CO, s/d; Claude Barthe, La Messe de Vatican II—Dossier Historique, Via Romana, Versailles, 2018.

First published on TFP.org.

Photo Credit:  ©  Omnia Omnibus Media– stock.adobe.com

Footnotes

  1. Thomas Reese, “Why I Hate the old Latin Mass: A Confession,” https://religionnews.com/2026/08/25/why-i-hate-the-old-latin-mass/.
  2. Mass with candomblé rites at the church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Pelourinho, Salvador—Bahia, Brazil, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xmCWNaA_Swo
  3. Pagan   Aztec dance in mass https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6HAFCn82TcU; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpJzE-7GBjU, Dancing at The Mass with Bishop-Africa, Mozambique,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ivQ8tQdysE&list=RD4ivQ8tQdysE&start_radio=1;  The Zairean Rite is a Congolese Catholic liturgy blending African traditions, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Rs3Yg3RfZFI.
  4. “All Hearts Together: A Mass for the LGBTQ+ Community December 2, 2024 @ 7:00 pm-9:00 pm Presider: Fr. Bryan Massingale, Join us for a special Mass in observance of World AIDS Day. Let’s come together in faith and solidarity, lifting up the LGBTQ+ community and all affected by HIV/AIDS. https://ignatius.nyc/event/all-hearts-together-a-mass-for-the-lgbtq-community/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lacn-Iun37A .
  5. “All Hearts Together: A Mass for the LGBTQ+ Community. December 2, 2024 @ 7:00 pm-9:00 pm.Presider: Fr. Bryan Massingale, Join us for a special Mass in observance of World AIDS Day. Let’s come together in faith and solidarity, lifting up the LGBTQ+ community and all affected by HIV/AIDS. https://ignatius.nyc/event/all-hearts-together-a-mass-for-the-lgbtq-community/; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lacn-Iun37A
  6. Werke, t. XV, p. 774, 18, apud Dictionnaires de Théologie Catholique, J. Paquier, Luther,  col. 1170.
  7. See McHugh, John. “Lutheranism.” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1910. https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09458a.htm
  8. Fred Sanders “Sin Boldly!”  https://scriptoriumdaily.com/sin-boldly/
  9. Martin Luther,  The Babylonian Captivity of the Church–A prelude, 1520, Jesus, https://www.lutherdansk.dk/Web-babylonian%20Captivitate/Martin%20Luther.htm#_Toc58730606, n. 2.37.
  10. See McHugh, Lutheranism, op. cit.
  11. General Council of Trent: Twenty-Second Session, https://www.papalencyclicals.net/councils/trent/twenty-second-session.htm