Early Day Documents of the Traditionalist Catholic Church

The Traditionalist Movement did not begin in one place or with one event. It actually sprouted in many places and then slowly developed into the movement it is today. In the mid 1960's a group of concerned parents in Oklahoma City came together to teach their children the traditional Baltimore Catechism. In the late 1960's Brother Francis Schuckardt organized the CMRI and traveled throughout the United States exposing the problems with the Novus Ordo and Vatican II. In 1970 a group of seminarians approached Archbishop Lefebvre, asking him to train them for the priesthood and soon the SSPX was born. Meanwhile Father Francis Fenton brought a couple of priests together and founded the Orthodox Roman Catholic Movement (ORCM). Another priest, Father James Dunphy was traveling throughout the United States celebrating the Tridentine Mass in various homes. These groups of people became the foundation of Mass centers throughout the United States. And there were many other people and events that led to the founding of the Traditionalist Movement. This book is not an attempt at a history of the Traditionalist Movement. Such a history should some day be written and would prove helpful to those who are attempting to sort everything out. This book is rather a collection of documents that circulated in the 1970's and 1980's before the internet came into being. Today many things are to be found on the internet, which were unavailable to Catholics in the 1960's and 1970's who were trying to sort everything out. When a document was found, it would immediately be copied and sent to friend and relatives in other cities, who would in turn copy it and send it on to their friends and relatives. Since most of these are readily available elsewhere, they are not included here. This would include Quo Primum, which was circulated in the very early 1970's. Unfortunately, key documents would not be found and circulated until much later. Cum Ex Apostolatus Officio, for instance was not circulated in English until 1982, and then did not become available to many until much later. At the same time, people would write up their own thoughts on matters and present their case to the world. This might be in the form of a letter or of a paper. These would also be copied and circulated far and wide. Unfortunately many of these early day documents have not been published until now. They languish in the dead files in a few people's offices or have been lost. And yet, some of these documents will explain much of why things are the way they are today. True, some are available, but they have not been found by many. These documents are important to understanding the Traditionalist Movement. With a few exceptions, these documents are presented without commentary. If comments are made, they are usually to put the document into context and supply a piece of information that is needed for such understanding. The documents are presented chronologically, so a document from Archbishop Lefebvre might be followed by a letter from some priest who would never have anything to do with Archbishop Lefebvre. We recommend making notes as you go through. Some of the things presented here might surprise you and may even contradict the history given by the various groups today. Take a look at the CMRI website. It gives very little of the history of the CMRI while Francis Schuckardt was in charge. “The truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32) It is hoped that these documents will expose some truths that have hitherto been buried, sometimes for decades. It is for you, the reader, to draw the conclusions.