Michael Treharne Davies (13 March 1936 – 25 September 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 Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce and was responsible for the unification of Una Voce America.[2]
Davies was a Baptist who converted to Catholicism while still a student in the 1950s.[5][6] While initially a supporter of the Second Vatican Council,[7] Davies became critical of the liturgical changes that followed in its wake, which he argued were a result of distortions and misreadings of the Council's mandates for liturgical reform.[8]
Davies later supported the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, founder of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), writing a three-volume series titled Apologia Pro Marcel Lefebvre in which he defended Lefebvre against accusations of disobedience and schism for refusing to celebrate the Mass of Paul VI.[9] Although Davies opposed Lefebvre's canonically-illicit consecration of four SSPX bishops in 1988 against the wishes of Pope John Paul II, he continued to support Lefebvre's defence of the Tridentine Mass and traditional Church teachings publicly.
William D. Dinges, Professor of Religion and Culture at The Catholic University of America, described Davies as "[i]nternationally, one of the most prolific traditionalist apologists".[10]
Davies died on 25 September 2004, aged 68, following a battle with cancer and was buried in the churchyard of St. Mary's, Chislehurst, Kent. He was survived by his wife, Marija, one daughter and two sons,[12] one of whom is the barrister Adrian Davies.
Selected published works
The Liturgical Revolution (Vol. I: Cranmer's Godly Order Roman Catholic Books, vol. II Pope John's Council & vol III Pope Paul's New Mass: Angelus Press) ISBN978-0912141244
^Darroch, Leo (27 April 2005). "Michael Davies obituary". Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce. Archived from the original on 17 July 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2010.
^Darroch, Leo (2004). "Michael Treharne Davies". The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
^"Michael Davies, PhD". Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), Society of St. Pius X – Southern Africa
^Dinges, William D.; Martin E. Marty; R. Scott Appleby. "Roman Catholic Traditionalism". Fundamentalisms Observed. American Academy of Arts and Sciences. p. 69. ISBN0-226-50878-1.