Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Abp. Cordileone praises priests for ‘clandestinely’ offering Mass during COVID lockdowns‘I know that many of you … found ways to celebrate Mass for your people, even clandestinely,’ Archbishop Cordileone said. ‘I am grateful to you for that, and proud of you for doing so.’INCOLN, Nebraska (LifeSiteNews) — San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone on Friday expressed his gratitude and appreciation for priests who found creative ways to circumvent COVID-19 lockdown orders in order to offer Mass and provide the Holy Eucharist to Catholics during the height of the pandemic response.Cordileone made the remarks during a May 26 ceremony of...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Providential support’: FSSP releases statement following death of Pope Benedict XVIThe Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) have announced that the late Pope Benedict XVI recently sent a “private letter of encouragement to the Superior of the Fraternity of Saint Peter” following the issuing of Pope Francis’ Latin Mass restrictions as contained in his motu proprio Traditiones Custodes.The revelation came in a press release Saturday, by which the FSSP marked the death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI earlier that same day. The brief statement referred to the traditional community’s “sorrow” at learning of Benedict’s death, noting that he...

Some Examples of the Many Ways of Resisting, Resisting, Resisting ‘Traditionis Custodes’ — Scenes from Francees’ — Scenes from France (Translation of Paix Liturgique Letter 910 of 29 December 2022) Since the promulgation of the motu proprio Traditionis custodes in 2021, various French bishops—in spite of the reality of dechristianization and the shortage of the faithful, as well as of clergy and financial means—have begun to hunt down their last (rather young) faithful and parish priests. The patchwork application of the motu proprio draws a map of France consisting of official, unofficial, and implicit prohibitions, among which the faithful and...

Fribourg, February 21, 2022 On Friday, February 4, 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for nearly an hour. During the very cordial meeting, they recalled the origins of the Fraternity in 1988, the Pope expressed that he was very impressed by the approach taken by its founders, their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff and their trust in the Church. He said that...

[Catholic Caucus] FSSP In Denial, “We Are Not Addressed”The application document from the Congregation for Liturgy “does not directly address the former Ecclesia Dei communities such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter who possess their own proper law”, writes the Fraternity (Fssp.com) in a December 18 statement.The members of the Fraternity remain committed to their “fidelity to the Successor of Peter” but also to “the faithful observance of the ‘liturgical and disciplinary traditions’ of the Church in accordance with the provisions of the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei of July 2, 1988.”However, the Successor of Peter has decreed that this...

Big news about sacred tradition and Traditionis Custodes emerged over the weekend. ...

[Catholic Caucus] German(FSSP) priest challenges COVID jabs and LGBT agenda, gets forced out of parishA letter to the diocese emphatically expressed ‘our indignation and horror’ at the priest over criticizing ‘the current zeitgeist’ in his monthly bulletin to the faithful attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. RECKLINGHAUSEN, Germany (LifeSiteNews) — A German priest will be transferred to the Czech Republic after the parish where he was allowed to say the Traditional Latin Mass reported him to the diocese for questioning mainstream narratives about the COVID-19 vaccine, homosexuality, and gender ideology. Fr. Michael Ramm FSSP, a member of the Priestly Fraternity...

[Catholic Caucus] Confraternity Message from Fr. Reiner, FSSPDear members of the Confraternity,The Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and its accompanying letter from Pope Francis have shocked us all. We have not yet been informed of any definitive decisions regarding the future of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and its apostolates. Even though the first reactions of various bishops have been rather reassuring and have not involved any significant restrictions, nevertheless, in the coming weeks various bishops’ conferences will discuss the matter on the occasion of this motu proprio and possibly take decisions that will be groundbreaking for us. The Roman...

[Catholic Caucus] Bloody Autumn: Crack Down on Old Rite CommunitiesThe late summer is expected to bring “more bad news of impending purges against traditional rite institutes and monasteries” – Specola writes on InfoVaticana.com (August 17).According to Specola, “the real end goal” is their suppression or destruction. This will happen through a more restrictive enforcement document for Traditionis Custodes, signed by the anti-Catholic Congregations for Religious and for the Liturgy.

Does Francis Want to Strengthen the Society of Saint Pius X?If Francis were to restrict the Roman Mass, this would be an “abuse of power,” Bishop Schneider told @CatholicHack in a July 9 video interview.Forcing priests to preside the New Rite would be for Schneider a "violation of spirituality." He doesn’t believe Benedict XVI's claim that the Roman Mass [which is of apostolic origin] and the 1970 New Rite are “two forms” of the same rite [otherwise the New Rite would not have been called "new"]. Schneider calls them “two different rites" because there are "big differences."He explains that concelebration...

Traditional priests in France respond after bishop kicked them out under flimsy pretextThe FSSP had always presented the priests it named in the diocese to the archbishop. All these nominations were accepted — even gratefully accepted.une 21, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Following the statement by the French Archdiocese of Dijon, explaining why the Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) has suddenly been kicked out of its apostolate at the Basilica of Saint Bernard where it has offered the Traditional Latin Mass for 23 years, the FSSP published a firm response last Friday, countering the reasons given for its eviction. The Fraternity is...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Minnerath Looks for the Fly in the OintmentDijon Archbishop Roland Minnerath is denigrating the Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) to justify their unjust eviction from his archdiocese.In an unsigned June 17 statement, Minnerath recalled that the first FSSP-priest was received into Dijon Archdiocese in 1998 with the – illegal – clause that he had to co-preside “from time to time” in the New Rite so that there would be “no watertight separation” between the “two rites.” Presenting “co-presiding” as a sign of unity is inadmissible because every priest is free to co-preside or not.Minnerath who came to...

[Catholic Caucus] French Bishop Expels Latin Mass FraternityDijon purges traditionalists after bishops' contemptuous Vatican reportDIJON, France (ChurchMilitant.com) - French Catholics are expressing deep distress after the archbishop of Dijon expelled the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), robbing over 300 worshippers of a thriving Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) apostolate.FSSP French District Superior Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph FSSP superior Abbot Roch Perrel wrote to his flock Thursday, stating that Abp. Roland Minnerath had forced the fraternity to "abandon the faithful" and leave after the FSSP had spent 23 years of dedicated ministry in the Burgundy region of Dijon and Côte d'Or. "The...

FSSP: Catholics voting for Biden ‘would commit a grave sin’ The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) pointed out that 'any Catholic who supports' pro-abortion Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden 'would be in proximate cooperation with evil.' Update October 19, 2020 at 4:28 p.m. Eastern time: This article has been updated to make clear that although the article was published by the Fraternity of St. Peter, it does not necessarily reflect the view of the FSSP in general. The article the FSSP published was an opinion piece written by an anonymous FSSP priest. October 19, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — An article published by...

[Catholic Caucus] Germany: FSSP Hands Out Plate Communion (Video) During a September 13 Traditional Latin Mass celebrated by a priest of the Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) in Saarlouis, Germany, Holy Communion was distributed by means of dessert plates. The masked celebrant placed plates on the Communion rail. He then put one consecrated host on each of them, and returned to the altar where he waited from a distance while the masked faithful approached the plates from the pews to take Communion. Communion was received with the tongue from the plate. After Communion, the priest returned to the Communion rail...

Catholic Media Fails Good Priest Parishioner: 'It was a hit piece' DENVER (ChurchMilitant.com) - Catholic News Agency's (CNA's) editor-in-chief JD Flynn failed in his duty as a journalist, putting a priest's reputation at risk. JD Flynn These are sentiments of multiple people who attend or are associated with Our Lady of Mount Carmel (OLMC) parish in Littleton, Colorado. They're objecting to a CNA article published on Wednesday, Sept. 2, in which Flynn, they say, hyped off-the-cuff remarks made by Fr. Daniel Nolan that were inadvertently captured on video and posted briefly online Tuesday evening. The article, they believe, was overblown and lacked much-needed context, which unnecessarily put the priest on the radar of the...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘We Live for Christ,’ Says Priest in Viral Photo Bringing Last Rites in Horrific Wreck Above, Father John Killackey walks down Interstate 81 southbound on July 8. HARRISBURG, Pa. — A lone young priest in a cassock walked in a downpour toward the scene of a horrific wreck of tractor-trailers and cars on a Pennsylvania interstate and gave the last rites to a truck driver, the lone fatality of the crash. Unbeknownst to him, a bystander photographed the moment, which captured the imagination of social media and went viral. The priest, Father John Killackey, was identified as a...

[Catholic Caucus] Lone Priest Administers Last Rites to Driver After Deadly Car Crash Father John Killackey came to the aid of several stranded on the road after a tragic six-car pileup in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Father John Killackey walking down Interstate 81 southbound on July 8, 2020. Father John Killackey came to the aid of several stranded on the road after a tragic six-car pileup in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. A picture of a lone priest walking along Highway 81 piqued the interest of thousands of Catholics this week. Drenched with so much rain, the image appears as a Norman Rockwell work of...

Black Lives Matter activist tells rioters to protest Catholic parish for being ‘Trump supporters’ 'I would like to see if we can organize a group to protest here ASAP' St. Anne Catholic Church in San Diego, California. It is run by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter PETITION: Urge U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference to defend Catholic heritage and statues! Sign the petition here. SAN DIEGO, California, June 25, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) ― A Black Lives Matter activist used social media to call on mobs and rioters to protest a Catholic parish in San Diego, saying that the “white” parishioners did not think...

Sola Scriptura Needs Sola Fide, and How to Refute Both At the suggestion of Father Dave Nix, I recently read the short work by Joel Peters entitled “Scripture Alone? 21 Reasons to Reject Sola Scriptura.” It is a fast read and probably the most crushing blow to Protestantism I have ever read. You simply cannot argue with Peters’s logic and the historical facts he presents (it is well sourced), not to mention all of the Scripture he cites. Having been a Protestant before converting to the Catholic Church, I was not shocked by anything I read, but I was delighted...