The Second Vatican Council instituted a number of important and modern reforms into the Roman Catholic Church - but not all Catholics were happy with those changes. Even today, there are many who object to what they regard as corruptions of the traditions of their faith, so they insist on holding themselves to pre-Vatican II standards and practicing older forms of liturgy.

As reported in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel:

What sets traditionalist Catholics apart to the average lay person is that they celebrate Mass in Latin and believe that no other language should be used during the church service. ...In the traditionalist Catholic world, there are no shades of gray in the issues of abortion and contraception, and women can't perform liturgical duties. Believing in purgatory is a must. Eating meat on Fridays is forbidden. Women must wear head coverings in church. Strumming a guitar at church or a pastor entertaining the parish with jokes are seen as silly if not sacrilegious. Also, traditionalists don't believe in reaching out to other Christian faiths and are angry the Second Vatican Council changed its official opinion of non-Catholics from "heretics" to recognizing them as "separate brethren."

Traditionalist Catholicism has been made more visible by people like Mel Gibson who actively promote it. Nevertheless, it isn't very popular among mainstream Catholics and many Catholic leaders. Traditionalists claim that the Mass said in most Catholic churches is completely invalid because, for example, the priest faces the congregation instead of the altar.

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• Roman Catholicism
• Old Catholic Movement