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The Great Façade: The Regime of Novelty in the Catholic Church from Vatican II to the Francis Revolution
In this second edition of The Great Façade, co-author Christopher A. Ferrara brings the original work up to date with six new chapters addressing what Bishop Athanasius Schneider has called "the fourth great crisis" in the history of the Catholic Church. The additional chapters chronicle the attempts at ecclesial restoration by Benedict XVI and the "Francis revolution" following Benedict's mysterious resignation--including Francis's tumultuous Synod on the Family and his radical reform of the process for determining matrimonial nullity, leading to what some call "Catholic divorce" and a threat of schism on the magnitude of the Lutheran revolt of the 16th century. This new look at the 50 years following the Second Vatican Council is sure to provoke discussion and debate among Catholics concerned about the state of their Church."There is no doubt in my mind that The Great Façade has been prophetic in the broader scriptural sense of the term. Its authors saw that Catholicism was under obvious assault, that the consequences of its rout would be dreadful, and that their failure to take up arms against a sea of enemies would be a punishable dereliction of duty. Those new to the crisis in the Church as well as old soldiers seeking to recharge intellectual batteries can make use of the book's succinct outline of the modernist positions in matters of faith and morality that so swiftly rode to dominance on the back of the Second Vatican Council."--JOHN RAO, author of Black Legends and the Light of the World"One of the most important books of the post-conciliar era, The Great Façade has earned the right to share the top shelf with such masterworks as the trilogy of Michael Davies, Romano Amerio's Iota Unum and von Hildebrand's The Devastated Vineyard. As the original publisher of this magnum opus, I am delighted that Angelico Press has brought out a new edition in which Mr. Ferrara provides six additional chapters documenting the rapid advances of 'the regime of novelty' following what he calls The Benedictine Respite. With its almost literally up-to-the-minute analysis of 'the Francis Revolution,' this work is now more important than ever."--MICHAEL MATT, Editor, The Remnant"The second edition of The Great Facade tells the story of the crumbling veneer obscuring the glorious Catholic Church, updated to the very eve of its publication. This book is a necessity for anyone who senses the failure of the attempts of neo-Catholics to cover over the cracks in this crumbling edifice of post-conciliar innovation. As always, Chris Ferrara narrates his case against the viruses of novelty and their neo-Catholic apologists with painstaking documentation and a lively and witty style."--BRIAN M. MCCALL, author of To Build the City of God"God is the Most Real Being. In contrast, the note of today's Church often seems unreality--happy talk, avoiding issues, one-sided rhetoric masking self-contradiction and dubious projects. For a while it seemed that repeated disaster might be bringing back a certain sobriety, but no such luck. In such a setting, The Great Facade is more necessary than ever as a spirited brief against the fantasies of recent decades, and an appeal to Catholics and the Church to return to what they have been, in order to become what they most truly are."--JAMES KALB, author of Against Inclusiveness"This long awaited second edition documents the 'regime of novelty' up to the present moment. It contains the most comprehensive analysis of Pope Francis's tumultuous pontificate to date."--JOHN VENNARI, Editor, Catholic Family News"[S]uperb--best analysis of the present, parlous state of the Church I have read.... A marvel of clear, careful argument, and utterly persuasive.
576 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 15, 2002
146 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Christopher A. Ferrara
15 books33 followersA Roman Catholic attorney, pro-life activist, and journalist. He is the founder and current president of the American Catholic Lawyers Association. He is also a regular columnist of The Remnant, a traditionalist Catholic newspaper.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 25, 2018
Whew.
I originally started the first edition back in 2002, but dropped it - not because it was not on target, nor was it inaccurate, nor even that it was overheated. I dropped it because it was too accurate, and therefore depressing.
Little did I anticipate the Francis papacy.
So I picked up the 2nd edition which had been updated to take into account the Church from the end of Benedict XVI through the Francis regime. Good grief. It's way more depressing now, because it's so obviously true: the Roman Catholic Church was co-opted at the Council. In its place was erected a new post-conciliar church that bears little resemblance to the Church up to 1965.
That was a conclusion that I couldn't force myself to face in 2002. It's a sadder me that has to admit that Ferrara and Woods, and the rest of the "angry" Catholic traditionalists were right all along.
God help us.
I originally started the first edition back in 2002, but dropped it - not because it was not on target, nor was it inaccurate, nor even that it was overheated. I dropped it because it was too accurate, and therefore depressing.
Little did I anticipate the Francis papacy.
So I picked up the 2nd edition which had been updated to take into account the Church from the end of Benedict XVI through the Francis regime. Good grief. It's way more depressing now, because it's so obviously true: the Roman Catholic Church was co-opted at the Council. In its place was erected a new post-conciliar church that bears little resemblance to the Church up to 1965.
That was a conclusion that I couldn't force myself to face in 2002. It's a sadder me that has to admit that Ferrara and Woods, and the rest of the "angry" Catholic traditionalists were right all along.
God help us.
August 8, 2016
Let me say I used six highlighters for this book and it makes me sad for I cannot in good conscience give it to another, marked up as it is. Line after line was urging me to highlight it. Takes you from Vatican II up to the present (2nd edition) and the resulting collapse of orthodoxy and all that entails and the melding of church and culture/state. I wish every seminarian would read this book to see what he is up against in proclaiming the Truth. The powers that be should read this to see what they have sown...a church that seeks to proudly stand with secularists that detest the True Church of Christ and love seeing it in decline.
October 21, 2013
Although much has happened in the Church since the time this book was published in 2002, I would recommend it to anyone wanting to know more about Catholic traditionalism.
Excellently written and a brilliant exposé about the current crisis in the Church. Why it is probably the greatest crisis since the Arian heresy, and how only a true restoration to Catholic tradition will reverse the damage. I highly recommend getting a hold of this book and giving it your full attention.
Excellently written and a brilliant exposé about the current crisis in the Church. Why it is probably the greatest crisis since the Arian heresy, and how only a true restoration to Catholic tradition will reverse the damage. I highly recommend getting a hold of this book and giving it your full attention.
July 2, 2022
This is an traditionalist (ie ultra-conservative) critique of modern Roman Catholicism. The book marshals an impressive amount of research; but, in places, the conclusions seemed to go beyond what the evidence justified.
At the heart of this book is the question of papal power. The author notes that traditional theologians such as Cajetan (1534) and Suarez (1617) agreed that popes can be schismatic and act in ways that mean that they should not be obeyed (Kindle 35%). But Vatican I (1870) decreed that the pope has a universal jurisdiction of powers across the whole Church.
So, what does this mean in practice? Does the pope have the power to change the Church’s traditional liturgy, as occurred after Vatican II (1965)? Conservatives says yes, as evidenced by current Church practice. Traditionalists say no (35%).
Critics accuse traditionalists of ‘protestantism’ (preferring their own private opinion to that of the Pope) and of ‘Schism.’ The author insists traditionalists are not appealing to private opinion because traditionalists are ‘correct’ about an objectively knowable content (23% ). And traditionalists cannot be in schism because that would involve rejecting the concept of papal authority (33%). Traditionalists do not (doctrinally) reject it, they just (practically) disobey it. Is that a distinction without a difference? Once again conservatives and traditionalists disagree.
Conservatives think that the Pope (Church) should arbitrate theological differences of opinion within the Church. Traditionalists disagree as that creates a ‘positivism’ which is “ludicrous and impossible to accept” (4%) because it means that the pope can settle any issue, in any way he likes, leading to un-traditionalist conclusions which (in the author’s opinion) are thus obviously wrong.
The author, and his critics, both advance pertinent points in this disagreement. The issues seem to go beyond anything hitherto settled in Catholic Theology, so it is not clear to me that the issue of papal power can be resolved by just citing texts at each other.
As a partial justification for his position, the author points to the way that Vatican II has caused decline in the Church. But again, the issues are more complex than the author allows for.
The author insists that there is “overwhelming empirical evidence of drastic… decline” in mass attendance and vocations (5%), and this is all caused by Vatican II (7%).
The book asserts that there were rising vocations on the eve of Vatican II (38%). But Pius XII seems to have a different perspective. He said in his 1954 encyclical Sacra Virginitas that vocations were in decline. If Pius XII was correct, then how can the 1965 Vatican Council be blamed for reducing vocations?
The book cites data on mass attendance decline in France, noting that it fell from 27% in 1965 to 4.5% in 2009 (Kindle 69%). Is that decline caused by the 1965 Vatican II, or is it part of a longer trend which saw pre World War II mass attendance dropping from over 50% to its 1965 figure of 27%?
The book also cites numbers of priests dropping from a 1970 figure of 419,728 to a 2009 level of 414,313 (78%). But, again, what do those figures mean? It is a statistically significant decline?
It is notoriously difficult to prove causality with statistics like this. And the book does not advance the kinds of statistical arguments which would be needed, to justify its claims of decline. Ultimately it may be impossible to prove, or disprove the claim that Vatican II caused decline. It may be the case that the most that can be claimed is that the Council failed to stop decline. But that kind of conclusion is not strong enough to justify resistance to the pope, which the book is advocating, so it is rejected for a reality which seems more obvious to the author.
Another justification for the author’s viewpoint is the fact that Vatican II is ‘wrong.’
But the book is ambiguous about what the wrongness of Vatican II consists in. On the one hand it insists that traditionalists who reject Vatican II are not rejecting any doctrines (5%). They are just ‘dissenting’ from Vatican II’s policies (like ecumenism), which are ideas that are too confused to be capable of formulation as a specific doctrine (7%).
On the other hand, the book sometimes implies that Vatican II has changed the substance of the faith (15%), which seems to be a far more serious allegation of doctrinal error.
So, is the council wrong because it produced ambiguous documents (which can nevertheless be read and accepted doctrinally), or is it wrong because it produced heretical, doctrinally erroneous documents?
The author seems to incline mostly to the first viewpoint, which then leads him to query why traditionalist groups like the SSPX are being (unfairly) treated as schismatics and held at arms length from being in ‘full communion.’ But a glance at SSPX literature will show that there are SSPX who see doctrinal errors in Vatican II. So there are some very significant splits amongst the Traditionalists which may explain the Vatican’s current position in demanding various clarifications. This is not explored by the author and so readers can end up with a misleading impression of the Vatican’s dealings with the SSPX.
There are too many claims in the book to engage with all of them, but there are a number of assertions which seem questionable.
For example, the book seems to imply a link between liturgy and sexual abuse when it refers to the “sexual predators in the Novus Ordo” (19%). But that conveniently forgets the pre-1965 cases of sexual abuse amongst those using the old liturgy. And, of course, the contemporary allegations of sexual abuse against SSPX individuals in USA.
We also hear of the papal coronation oath which prevents the pope implementing changes to the liturgy (24%). But the author doesn’t tell readers that it is disputed whether, and to what extent, that oath was every used by popes.
We also hear that there was no demand for a General Council (like Vatican II) by anyone but the modernists (39%). But that conveniently forgets Pope Pius XI’s discussions in 1923 about the desirability of calling a Council in 1925.
In places the book is rude and potentially offensive. For example it refers to the leader of the Anglican Church and “his pro-abortion debating society of lay people in clerical costumes” (51%). There is just no excuse for that kind of derogatory language in a modern publication. In fact, it could be said that one of the prime purposes of Vatican II was to get Catholics to stop throwing insults at other Christians. What a shame that the book’s repudiation of the Council cannot even find value in its appeals for a charitable politeness towards other Christians.
The research evident throughout the book means that this had the potential to be a good book. But its polemical focus distorts the nuance and complexity of some of the issues which it is dealing with, resulting in intemporate language and conclusions which are sometimes over-stated and potentially misleading.
At the heart of this book is the question of papal power. The author notes that traditional theologians such as Cajetan (1534) and Suarez (1617) agreed that popes can be schismatic and act in ways that mean that they should not be obeyed (Kindle 35%). But Vatican I (1870) decreed that the pope has a universal jurisdiction of powers across the whole Church.
So, what does this mean in practice? Does the pope have the power to change the Church’s traditional liturgy, as occurred after Vatican II (1965)? Conservatives says yes, as evidenced by current Church practice. Traditionalists say no (35%).
Critics accuse traditionalists of ‘protestantism’ (preferring their own private opinion to that of the Pope) and of ‘Schism.’ The author insists traditionalists are not appealing to private opinion because traditionalists are ‘correct’ about an objectively knowable content (23% ). And traditionalists cannot be in schism because that would involve rejecting the concept of papal authority (33%). Traditionalists do not (doctrinally) reject it, they just (practically) disobey it. Is that a distinction without a difference? Once again conservatives and traditionalists disagree.
Conservatives think that the Pope (Church) should arbitrate theological differences of opinion within the Church. Traditionalists disagree as that creates a ‘positivism’ which is “ludicrous and impossible to accept” (4%) because it means that the pope can settle any issue, in any way he likes, leading to un-traditionalist conclusions which (in the author’s opinion) are thus obviously wrong.
The author, and his critics, both advance pertinent points in this disagreement. The issues seem to go beyond anything hitherto settled in Catholic Theology, so it is not clear to me that the issue of papal power can be resolved by just citing texts at each other.
As a partial justification for his position, the author points to the way that Vatican II has caused decline in the Church. But again, the issues are more complex than the author allows for.
The author insists that there is “overwhelming empirical evidence of drastic… decline” in mass attendance and vocations (5%), and this is all caused by Vatican II (7%).
The book asserts that there were rising vocations on the eve of Vatican II (38%). But Pius XII seems to have a different perspective. He said in his 1954 encyclical Sacra Virginitas that vocations were in decline. If Pius XII was correct, then how can the 1965 Vatican Council be blamed for reducing vocations?
The book cites data on mass attendance decline in France, noting that it fell from 27% in 1965 to 4.5% in 2009 (Kindle 69%). Is that decline caused by the 1965 Vatican II, or is it part of a longer trend which saw pre World War II mass attendance dropping from over 50% to its 1965 figure of 27%?
The book also cites numbers of priests dropping from a 1970 figure of 419,728 to a 2009 level of 414,313 (78%). But, again, what do those figures mean? It is a statistically significant decline?
It is notoriously difficult to prove causality with statistics like this. And the book does not advance the kinds of statistical arguments which would be needed, to justify its claims of decline. Ultimately it may be impossible to prove, or disprove the claim that Vatican II caused decline. It may be the case that the most that can be claimed is that the Council failed to stop decline. But that kind of conclusion is not strong enough to justify resistance to the pope, which the book is advocating, so it is rejected for a reality which seems more obvious to the author.
Another justification for the author’s viewpoint is the fact that Vatican II is ‘wrong.’
But the book is ambiguous about what the wrongness of Vatican II consists in. On the one hand it insists that traditionalists who reject Vatican II are not rejecting any doctrines (5%). They are just ‘dissenting’ from Vatican II’s policies (like ecumenism), which are ideas that are too confused to be capable of formulation as a specific doctrine (7%).
On the other hand, the book sometimes implies that Vatican II has changed the substance of the faith (15%), which seems to be a far more serious allegation of doctrinal error.
So, is the council wrong because it produced ambiguous documents (which can nevertheless be read and accepted doctrinally), or is it wrong because it produced heretical, doctrinally erroneous documents?
The author seems to incline mostly to the first viewpoint, which then leads him to query why traditionalist groups like the SSPX are being (unfairly) treated as schismatics and held at arms length from being in ‘full communion.’ But a glance at SSPX literature will show that there are SSPX who see doctrinal errors in Vatican II. So there are some very significant splits amongst the Traditionalists which may explain the Vatican’s current position in demanding various clarifications. This is not explored by the author and so readers can end up with a misleading impression of the Vatican’s dealings with the SSPX.
There are too many claims in the book to engage with all of them, but there are a number of assertions which seem questionable.
For example, the book seems to imply a link between liturgy and sexual abuse when it refers to the “sexual predators in the Novus Ordo” (19%). But that conveniently forgets the pre-1965 cases of sexual abuse amongst those using the old liturgy. And, of course, the contemporary allegations of sexual abuse against SSPX individuals in USA.
We also hear of the papal coronation oath which prevents the pope implementing changes to the liturgy (24%). But the author doesn’t tell readers that it is disputed whether, and to what extent, that oath was every used by popes.
We also hear that there was no demand for a General Council (like Vatican II) by anyone but the modernists (39%). But that conveniently forgets Pope Pius XI’s discussions in 1923 about the desirability of calling a Council in 1925.
In places the book is rude and potentially offensive. For example it refers to the leader of the Anglican Church and “his pro-abortion debating society of lay people in clerical costumes” (51%). There is just no excuse for that kind of derogatory language in a modern publication. In fact, it could be said that one of the prime purposes of Vatican II was to get Catholics to stop throwing insults at other Christians. What a shame that the book’s repudiation of the Council cannot even find value in its appeals for a charitable politeness towards other Christians.
The research evident throughout the book means that this had the potential to be a good book. But its polemical focus distorts the nuance and complexity of some of the issues which it is dealing with, resulting in intemporate language and conclusions which are sometimes over-stated and potentially misleading.
November 30, 2018
Keen analysis of post Vatican Ii
Very thorough and well written historical analysis of the downfall of the Catholic Church since Vatican II. I highlighted almost every paragraph. I especially liked the insightful reporting on Pope Francis.
Very thorough and well written historical analysis of the downfall of the Catholic Church since Vatican II. I highlighted almost every paragraph. I especially liked the insightful reporting on Pope Francis.
November 20, 2023
"The Great Facade" posits the notion that the Catholic Church has gone downhill due to the invasion of the church by liberalism hastened by Vatican II. The authors Christopher Ferrara and Thomas Woods are two "traditionalists" who make their case very powerfully but unevenly. This review is based on the first edition of this book which was published in 2002....the same year that the Boston Globe revealed the depth of the sexual abuse problems within the church. While none of the scandal is mentioned in the first edition of this book it is implied that all such systemic problems of the church can be traced back to the "regime of novelty" unleashed by Vatican II.
The target audience for this book are Catholics who feel that the Church has lost its way ...not because the Church is too conservative but because it is not conservative enough with the goal of mustering enough support to influence the Vatican into a reversion back to the pre-Vatican II traditions.
The book is broken down into three sections: first section consists of three chapters discussing the scope of the problem by defining terms, discussing the problem of "novelty" within the context of post Vatican II changes and comparing the liberal changes within the church with viruses that invade the "body" of the institution thereby causing harm to its adherents.
The second section "Accusation and Defense" goes into more details on specific changes that the authors do not approve of from altar girls, to interfaith "integrism" to the abandonment of the use of Latin during the Mass and any more along these lines. The authors delight in pointing out all the contradictions between pre and post Vatican 2 teachings and sees no rational explanation for how these changes cane be reconciled into a coherent consistent message. Its this inconsistency that (in the opinion of the authors) has led to not only the drop in Church attendance but a wearing away of the notion that the Catholic Church is THE ONLY path to salvation.
The third section of the book looks toward a solution as to how the Church may "return to the status and health she enjoyed not too long ago" The prose is quite clear and very well written. The tone is urgent and a bit sharp as the authors betray a sense of resentful irony that the "revisionists" and "neo Catholics" are praised by the Church while "traditionalists" like themselves are considered more as heretics than reformers. Again the sense of resentfulness over this is palatable in the prose.
Having said that, the points raised are clearly and effectively communicated. The book helped me understand the debates that have taken place within the Church which are not given nearly as much press as the debates between those inside and outside the Church.
While the thesis is compelling there are a few weaknesses....does the drop in Church attendance correlate with the new regime post Vatican 2? Causation correlation? Would churches be packed every Sunday if the service was said in Latin as they used to be? Would there be more converts to Catholicism if the Church reverted back to its more insular form of interfaith dialogue? And the great unasked question....did Vatican II hasten the horde of sexually deviant individuals into the priesthood which would lead to so much pain for victims and wasting away of the credibility of the Church? Perhaps future editions tackle this question more directly.
Ultimately the thesis while thought provoking and eloquently stated isn't all the way convincing. This book could be a starting point further research and even more importantly some soul searching for the Catholic of today.
The target audience for this book are Catholics who feel that the Church has lost its way ...not because the Church is too conservative but because it is not conservative enough with the goal of mustering enough support to influence the Vatican into a reversion back to the pre-Vatican II traditions.
The book is broken down into three sections: first section consists of three chapters discussing the scope of the problem by defining terms, discussing the problem of "novelty" within the context of post Vatican II changes and comparing the liberal changes within the church with viruses that invade the "body" of the institution thereby causing harm to its adherents.
The second section "Accusation and Defense" goes into more details on specific changes that the authors do not approve of from altar girls, to interfaith "integrism" to the abandonment of the use of Latin during the Mass and any more along these lines. The authors delight in pointing out all the contradictions between pre and post Vatican 2 teachings and sees no rational explanation for how these changes cane be reconciled into a coherent consistent message. Its this inconsistency that (in the opinion of the authors) has led to not only the drop in Church attendance but a wearing away of the notion that the Catholic Church is THE ONLY path to salvation.
The third section of the book looks toward a solution as to how the Church may "return to the status and health she enjoyed not too long ago" The prose is quite clear and very well written. The tone is urgent and a bit sharp as the authors betray a sense of resentful irony that the "revisionists" and "neo Catholics" are praised by the Church while "traditionalists" like themselves are considered more as heretics than reformers. Again the sense of resentfulness over this is palatable in the prose.
Having said that, the points raised are clearly and effectively communicated. The book helped me understand the debates that have taken place within the Church which are not given nearly as much press as the debates between those inside and outside the Church.
While the thesis is compelling there are a few weaknesses....does the drop in Church attendance correlate with the new regime post Vatican 2? Causation correlation? Would churches be packed every Sunday if the service was said in Latin as they used to be? Would there be more converts to Catholicism if the Church reverted back to its more insular form of interfaith dialogue? And the great unasked question....did Vatican II hasten the horde of sexually deviant individuals into the priesthood which would lead to so much pain for victims and wasting away of the credibility of the Church? Perhaps future editions tackle this question more directly.
Ultimately the thesis while thought provoking and eloquently stated isn't all the way convincing. This book could be a starting point further research and even more importantly some soul searching for the Catholic of today.
March 17, 2021
Coming from an outsider (Evangelical) perspective, this book was a wealth of information on the evolution of the Catholic Church in the last century. Previously, I had heard a few comments here and there on the internet about the diabolical nature of Vatican II, and always dismissed such commentators as a small faction of curmudgeons. Having read The Great Façade, I now find myself in sympathy with these types, as they have witnessed their cherished and time-honored customs get flushed down the toilet of "renewal" and the cancerous "dialogue" that is nothing more than religious indifferentism. I find my own sympathy somewhat ironic as a bystander who rejects some of the primary credos of Roman Catholicism, yet this perhaps stems from my perception of a common enemy in the Zeitgeist of liberalism that has invaded the Church across all denominations.
This book contains a goldmine of quotations which bring out the sharp contrast of Catholic practices between the pre- and post-conciliar eras. Though the book at times feels like a rant (the book even admits this in the introduction as the result of "prophetic exasperation"), their case is well-made and leaves no room for ambiguities (which are the hallmark of the post-conciliar era in the Church). I was especially fascinated with the many quotations of the 4 Popes Pius (IX, X, XI, and XII), which seem so adverse to current leadership trends that one can hardly believe they are part of the same establishment. The updated chapters on the Benedictine Respite and the Francis Revolution were also an illuminating contrast.
This book contains a goldmine of quotations which bring out the sharp contrast of Catholic practices between the pre- and post-conciliar eras. Though the book at times feels like a rant (the book even admits this in the introduction as the result of "prophetic exasperation"), their case is well-made and leaves no room for ambiguities (which are the hallmark of the post-conciliar era in the Church). I was especially fascinated with the many quotations of the 4 Popes Pius (IX, X, XI, and XII), which seem so adverse to current leadership trends that one can hardly believe they are part of the same establishment. The updated chapters on the Benedictine Respite and the Francis Revolution were also an illuminating contrast.
July 6, 2020
Outstanding
This book was very informative concerning the Modernist crisis in the Church. I have lots to think about now being presented with this information. God bless the authors.
This book was very informative concerning the Modernist crisis in the Church. I have lots to think about now being presented with this information. God bless the authors.
February 11, 2019
Important information, accessible, but sometimes too wordy.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews