Michael Davies (Catholic writer)

Michael Davies
Born March 13, 1936(1936-03-13)
Yeovil, Somerset, England
Died September 25, 2004(2004-09-25) (aged 68)
Occupation Traditional Catholic writer

Michael Treharne Davies (March 13, 1936 – September 25, 2004)[1] was a British teacher, and traditionalist Catholic writer of many books about the Catholic Church following the Second Vatican Council. From 1992 to 2004 he was the President of the international Traditionalist Catholic organisation Una Voce and was responsible for the unification of the conservative Una Voce America.[2]

Contents

Biography

He was brought up in Yeovil, Somerset,[3] although he was said to be proud of his Welsh descent. He served as a regular soldier in the Somerset Light Infantry during the Malayan Emergency, the Suez Crisis, and the EOKA campaign in Cyprus.[4]

Davies was an Anglican who converted to Catholicism when a student in the 1950s.[5][6] Although an early supporter of the changes from Vatican II,[7] he later supported the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X, and declined to retract that support after Lefebvre's decision to consecrate four bishops in 1988 against the wish of Pope John Paul II.[5] William D. Dinges, Professor of Religion and Culture at The Catholic University of America, describes Davies as "[i]nternationally, one of the most prolific traditionalist apologists".[8]

Davies was also a critic of the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje, which he believed to be false.[9] He was also critical of the liturgical changes that followed Vatican II, which he argued were a result of misreadings.[10]

He died on September 25, 2004 and his funeral was in St. Mary's church, Chislehurst, Kent.[11] Upon learning of his death, Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, wrote:

I have been profoundly touched by the news of the death of Michael Davies. I had the good fortune to meet him several times and I found him as a man of deep faith and ready to embrace suffering. Ever since the Council he put all his energy into the service of the Faith and left us important publications especially about the Sacred Liturgy. Even though he suffered from the Church in many ways in his time, he always truly remained a man of the Church. He knew that the Lord founded His Church on the rock of St Peter and that the Faith can find its fullness and maturity only in union with the successor of St Peter. Therefore we can be confident that the Lord opened wide for him the gates of heaven. We commend his soul to the Lord’s mercy.[12]

Selected published works

References

  1. ^ Matt, Michael. "The Last Letter From London". The Remnant. http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/Davies/Davies%20-%20Matt.htm. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
  2. ^ Darroch, Leo (27 April 2005). "Michael Davies obituary". Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce. http://www.ifuv.org/docs/michaeldavies_01.html. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
  3. ^ Foley, Michael (November 2004). "RIP Michael Davies - The passing of a true defender of the Faith". AD2000 17 (10): p. 13. http://www.ad2000.com.au/articles/2004/nov2004p13_1785.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  4. ^ Darroch, Leo (2004). "Michael Treharne Davies". The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. http://www.latin-mass-society.org/2004/mdinitialobit.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  5. ^ a b "Lives in Brief". The Times. 9 November 2004. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1076738.ece. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  6. ^ [Bishop, John (October 2004). "Michael Davies: The Last Interview". Christian Order. http://www.christianorder.com/features/features_2004/features_dec04.html. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  7. ^ Wall, Sebastian ((archived 31 October 2007)). "Michael Davies, Ph.D". Society of St. Pius X - Southern Africa. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071031162859/http://www.sspxafrica.com/documents/2005_JanFeb/Michael_Davies.htm. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  8. ^ Dinges, William D; Martin E. Marty, R. Scott Appleby. "Roman Catholic Traditionalism". Fundamentalisms Observed. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. p. 69. ISBN 0226508781. 
  9. ^ Davies, Michael (May 2004). "Megjugorje after Twenty-One Years - The Definitive History". http://www.mdaviesonmedj.com/. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
  10. ^ Kieckhefer, Richard (2004). Theology in stone: Church architecture from Byzantium to Berkeley. Oxford University Press. p. 266. ISBN 0195154665. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=R5zrCSzFE5kC&pg=PA266. 
  11. ^ Matt, Michael (8 July 2010). "Michael Davies ~ In Memoriam". The Remnant. http://www.remnantnewspaper.com/davies%20memoriam.htm. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 
  12. ^ Darroch, Leo (February 2005). "A Very Unique Individual". The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. http://www.latin-mass-society.org/2005/michaeldavies.html. Retrieved 9 July 2010. 

External links