Rites and Wrongs

By the 1970s, the traditional Latin Mass barely existed anywhere except in memory. Even a decade after Pope John Paul II's landmark 1988 document Ecclesia Dei in which he asked bishops throughout the Church to respect the "rightful aspirations" of those requesting the Latin Mass, the majority of American Catholics either didn't know about it or could do nothing to move their inflexible pastors.

David Sonnier, a 1981 West Point graduate, loved the Army and worked to be a model soldier. A bend in his career path brought him into contact for the first time with the traditional Mass. His life, with that of his family, was changed forever. Sonnier began to work within the system to obtain access to the old rite for servicemembers and their families. He watched in disbelief as, over the course of six years of respectful petitioning, military Catholic chaplains repeatedly lied and dissembled, pulling every possible string to ensure that the Latin Mass would never be said on any military base so long as they had breath. Indeed, these chaplains vituperated anyone even remotely interested in any aspect of Catholic tradition and, as Sonnier discovered, worked to undermine the authority of the Catholic Church from within the ranks. At a certain point, it was no longer possible for Lt. Col. Sonnier to continue serving in an army in which Wicca and voodoo were supported by the 97-percent-Christian military chaplains while the Mass of the Ages was strictly forbidden.

A true story from a dark period, Rites and Wrongs ranges through the world of the Colombian Army, Special Operations, Fort Bragg, NATO, and the Vatican. It lifts a curtain on the offices of generals from the 1990s such as Jack Keane, Peter Schoomaker, David Weisman, and Earnie Callender. It shares internal memoranda that have to be seen to be believed. It includes sound advice from Michael Davies for those suffering under hostile bishops and ends with recommendations for improving the lives of Catholics serving in the U.S. military. For people who are new to the traditional Mass or enjoy ready access to it, Sonnier's memoir serves as a reminder of just how incredibly bad things used to be (and sadly, in some places, still are). For those who are veterans in the old-rite campaign, it adds a new chapter to the history of the battle in which they have long been engaged.