Introduction: A Fishless Friday and Episcopal Hypocrisy

A few years back, I sat down to lunch with a group of Catholics, all churchgoing, all tossing around Church gossip like it was the Sunday bulletin. It was a Friday—not Lent, just a plain old Friday. I ordered fish. They didn’t. Every plate but mine sported meat, and I sat there, fork hovering, wondering: when did we lose this?

Fish on Fridays wasn’t a diet fad; it was Catholic DNA, a shared lex orandi stitching belief across generations and around the globe across all divides. Now it’s gone, and so is our unity.

Today’s bishops, wringing their hands over polarization like they’re auditioning for a martyr’s biopic, blame MAGA zealots or modernist eggheads. National Catholic Reporter frets over “toxic polarization” as if Trump’s tweets are the Church’s kryptonite [1], while America magazine pines for “civil discourse” like it’s a Jesuit group hug [2]. They’re chasing shadows.

The real wounds fester from acts by modernist bishops, post-Vatican II, who defied popes to smash altar rails, nix Friday abstinence, and sneak in girl altar servers before they forced (Pilarczyk himself announced “he’d make the pope approve them”) Rome’s 1994 acquiscent nod. Monsignor Rudolph Bandas, a Vatican II peritus speaking at the 1966 Wanderer Forum, called it “religious vandalism,” a “false spirit” betraying the council’s valid decrees. Yet today’s mitred sycophants, who’d iron Francis’ cassock, cry “division” while standing on their forebears’ rubble. This isn’t politics—it’s liturgy’s corpse. Buckle up: we’re exposing the hypocrisy, riding Bandas’ truthful predictions from 1966 to glory.

Historical Unity: The Tapestry of Catholic Grit

Before the modernist wrecking ball swung, Catholics were a united front, from Polish babushkas to Irish barflies. Altar rails, Friday fish, male altar servers—these weren’t frills; they were the lex orandi weaving lex credendi across continents. Monsignor Bandas, a theological heavyweight at the 1966 Wanderer Forum, brandished the Ordo Missae like a liturgical Excalibur, ensuring every Mass, from Galway to Gary, sang the same sacred tune. Kneeling at the rail wasn’t just posture; it was a collective vow to the Eucharist, burning belief into souls. Rev. Michael Forrest, an Australian priest thundering at the 1966 Forum, championed Rosary and adoration, as universal as a Hail Mary. Dr. Natalie White, a literary scholar at the same conference, saw fairy tale courage in these acts—simple, sane, defiant. Rev. Frederick McGuire and Fr. Raymond Falque, speaking at the 1965–1966 Forums, hailed Friday abstinence as Catholic muscle, not meatless misery. Ethnic parishes didn’t fracture this; they flavored it, a tapestry so taut you could’ve strummed it like a banjo. Then modernist bishops, defying Paul VI, grabbed the shears, and the unraveling began.

The Fracture: Bishops Playing Pope

Vatican II was valid, a call for renewal, not a blank check. Sacrosanctum Concilium kept Latin, chant, and the Mass as sacrifice. But modernist bishops, drunk on a “spirit of the Council” Bandas called “worthless,” turned rogue, defying Paul VI’s rubrics like liturgical warlords. Bandas, at the 1966 Forum, unleashed a 20-point indictment of their vandalism, a peritus’ Molotov cocktail against episcopal mutiny:

1. Priests ditching cassocks or vestments? Not in the council’s script.
2. Chatting and grinning en route to the altar? Excluded by the Ordo Missae.
3. Demolishing altar rails, pulpits, or communion railings? “Religious vandalism,” Bandas roared, demanding restitution.
4. Yanking statues, paintings, or Stations of the Cross? The council mandated their retention.
5. Introducing ugly, deformed art? Bishops must purge it, per Sacrosanctum Concilium.
6. Swapping Gregorian chant for modern tunes? Chant gets “pride of place.”
7. Eliminating Latin? The council ordered its preservation alongside vernacular.
8. Mandating versus populum altars? Cardinal Lercaro said it’s not essential, only temporary if allowed.
9. Hiding the Blessed Sacrament in niches? Bandas likened it to Mary Magdalene’s lament: “They’ve taken my Lord!”
10. Calling genuflections feudal? That’s a nod to ancient heretics, not Vatican II.
11. Women as Mass servers or lectors? Banned by the 1965 Commission on the Liturgy.
12. Women priests? Old and New Testaments slam the door shut.
13. Scrapping celibacy? Three council decrees reinforced it.
14. Mass as a “meal”? Always a sacrifice, per the council.
15. Mandatory Communion during Mass? Desirable, not required.
16. Priests receiving Communion like laity? They’re ordained to offer sacrifice.
17. First Communion without confession? Not allowed.
18. Group absolution without private confession? Forbidden.
19. Downplaying Marian devotion? A whole council chapter exalts her.
20. Updating as regression? We’re in the 20th century, not the 3rd.

Bandas’ litany nails it: bishops defied Rome, smashing altar rails and sneaking in female servers pre-1994, spitting on the 1965 ban. The 1966 USCCB gutted Friday abstinence, killing “Fish on Fridays” faster than a fishmonger’s cleaver. Rev. Michael Forrest, at the same Forum, branded Mass-as-“holy meal” talk heresy, sending modernists to the theological woodshed. Dr. Natalie White, also speaking in 1966, mourned axed Psalms like “We go to the altar of God,” plunging liturgy into “darkness.” Walter L. Matt, Wanderer editor at the Forum, scoffed at “overly zealous liturgists” peddling “undignified” novelties, while Rev. Francis Fenton, another 1966 speaker, saw these abuses as modernist-communist sabotage. Bella Dodd’s 1966 infiltration warning and Gary MacEoin’s 1966 jab at top-down chaos cemented it: this wasn’t Vatican II—it was bishops playing pope.

Meanwhile, today, National Catholic Reporter whines about “dehumanizing language” in politics, as if words, not wrecked liturgy, split the Church [1]. America begs for “charitable discourse” via Catholic social thought, blind to the Mass’s mutilation [2]. They’re chasing political ghosts while the bishops’ liturgical crimes go unconfessed. These weren’t renewals; they were rebellions, conditioning laity to shrug at chaos. The irony? Bishops who’d now embroider Francis’ slippers defied Paul VI to sow this discord. Hypocrisy doesn’t get richer.

The Result: Liturgical Rubble, Not Political Rants

Today’s Catholic shouting matches—MAGA trads vs. guitar progressives—are shrapnel from a liturgical bomb. No altar rails? Reverence cracked. No Friday fish? Penance fizzled. No male servers? Vocations blurred. Bandas saw it in ’66: a “false spirit” birthed chaos, not Vatican II. Forrest’s “new breed” priests, trashing rosaries, mirrored bishops swapping sacrifice for “meals.” White’s despair at unprotested mutilations of the Mass screamed of laity conditioned to eat modernist mush. Matt’s “saints and heroes” and Fenton’s authority plea drowned in fractured pews: one side chants Latin, the other strums “Kumbaya.”

NCR’s “toxic polarization” sob story pins it on political “hate speech” [1], while America dreams of “overcoming polarization” with dialogue [2]. They’re chasing shadows. The split hit when bishops, playing pope, smashed rails and fish fries, defying Rome. Now they blame us? Pass the tartar sauce.

Conclusion: Rails, Fish, and Rebellion

Bandas didn’t just diagnose the heist—he drew the battle line: obey Vatican II’s decrees, not modernist fantasies. Restoring altar rails isn’t trad whining; it’s reclaiming the lex orandi binding souls to Christ. Reviving Friday fish isn’t legalism; it’s a fast knitting parishes tight. Keeping male servers isn’t sexism; it’s a vocational spark. Matt and Forrest’s cry for lay defiance, White’s truth fight, and Fenton’s authority stand scream: reject the vandals. Today’s bishops, who’d knit Francis a papal quilt, bemoan division while their kin defied Pope Paul VI to unleash this mess. NCR and America navel-gaze over political tribes, blind to the liturgical corpse [1] [2]. Ditch the MAGA hats and Marxist rants. Grab a rosary, skip the steak, demand your rail. Bandas rode this truth like a peritus paladin at the Wanderer Forum Foundation, exposing these mitred mutineers. Let’s ride it now, reweaving the Church’s tapestry and healing the wound those episcopal outlaws inflicted. Glory’s waiting—let’s snag it!

References

• [1] Paulist summit targets ‘toxic polarization’ in US Catholic Church, society | National Catholic Reporter.
• [2] How can we respond to rampant polarization? Look to Catholic social teaching. | America Magazine.

This article, Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi: Bishops, Vandals, and the Liturgical Roots of Polarization is a post from The Bellarmine Forum.
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