Pope says traditionalist Catholics “gag” church reforms

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis has complained that traditionalist Catholics are “gagging” the church’s modernizing reforms and insisted that there was no turning back. Francis told a gathering of Jesuit editors in comments published Tuesday that he was convinced that some Catholics, including in the U.S., simply have never accepted the Second Vatican Council, the meetings of the 1960s that modernized the church. Traditionalists have become Francis’ fiercest critics, accusing him of heresy. Francis has taken an increasingly hard line against them, re-imposing restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass and taking action in dioceses and religious orders where traditionalists have resisted his reforms.