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– 1 – Charles M. de Nunzio: Variations on a Theme, Op. 45 [CC&AC Draft Edition II-1b (1998)] Variations on a Theme: INTRODUCTION T HE END OF THE SECOND MILLENNIUM is a time of grave distress for Catholics who value the truths, precepts, and traditions of the only Church founded by our Lord, Jesus Christ. Time and again, they have been forced to suffer on account of developments occasioned by the Second Vatican Council and its aftermath. The litany of horrors is all too familiar: sacrilegious and even invalid Masses, the unabashed promotion of heretical ideas, the toleration and even...

Rev. Paul Wickens, Latin Mass advocate Saturday, July 10, 2004 BY GEORGE BERKIN Star-Ledger Staff ....Rev. Wickens, who defied the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church to return to the traditional Latin Mass that was practiced before the changes ordered by the Second Vatican Council, died Thursday. He was 74.... ....The church hierarchy was less enthusiastic. In a 1997 interview, a spokesman for then-Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick said Rev. Wickens' chapel was not a legitimate Roman Catholic entity. "He had no authorization to build it, to say Mass, to hear confessions or to preach. Those faculties were suspended in 1983...

Who can any longer be surprised by the absurdity going on within the establishment that is (and has been for 40 years now) masquerading as the Catholic Church? On the one hand, we have some seriously hopeful priests, helplessly insistent on remaining entombed in the quagmire that is the modern church, who are aware of the fatal crisis asphyxiating the faithful, but remain seemingly powerless to do anything about it. An excellent and touching example is the essay by Fr. Joseph F. Wilson, "The Communion Controversy: Almost Beside the Point." On the other hand, we have a couple of bishops,...

From the SSPX website: Question 10: Can we attend the Indult Mass? The Society of Saint Pius X could never profit by Rome’s Indult (the traditional Latin Mass as allowed by Quattuor Abhinc Annos, 1984 and Ecclesia Dei Afflicta, 1988): first because of the conditions attached to it, and, in particular, that of acknowledging the “doctrinal and juridical” value of the Novus Ordo Missae which is impossible (cf. QUESTION 5); and second, but more fundamentally, because such acceptance of the Indult would amount to saying that the Church had lawfully suppressed the traditional Latin Mass, which is certainly not the...

Vatican Cardinal Enters Fray Over Mel Gibson Film Thu September 18, 2003 10:46 AM ET By Philip Pullella VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A top Vatican cardinal entered the fray over Mel Gibson's controversial film "The Passion" on Thursday, praising it as "a triumph of art" and rejecting fears it could spark a wave of anti-Semitism. "I would gladly trade some of the homilies that I have given about the passion of Christ for even a few of the scenes of his film," said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Vatican department in charge of priests. Castrillon Hoyos, who saw...

Q. Since you are the first French priest ordained for the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, were you close to Archbishop Lefebvre? How did he inspire you? A. Yes, I was close to Archbishop Lefebvre. I knew him well and I strongly appreciated him. He was so cordial, pleasant, a great prelate, but humble, simple, thoughtful for those who surrounded him. He had heart. It was difficult to not love him. He had a magnetic per- Fr. Aulagnier meets with Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos and Bishop Rifan. sonality. I knew him while during my seminary days at Santa Chiara, the...

<p>Cynthia Hummon, left, and Cassie Hamilton recite the stations of the cross during a retreat at St. Aloysius Retreat Center.</p> <p>Tucked away in the hills of Los Gatos is a conservative Catholic retreat where much of modernity is rejected: Priests wear ankle-length black cassocks, children's play structures look like ancient castles, and Mass is celebrated in Latin.</p>

The official website of the Society of St. Pius X contains this odd assertion: “The Society of Saint Pius X professes filial devotion and loyalty to Pope John Paul II, the Successor of Saint Peter and the Vicar of Christ. . . .” It’s odd because it clashes so dramatically with their actions and rhetoric. While it’s good to know that the pope and the bishops in communion with him are being prayed for at SSPX Masses, it’s disturbing to see the strange disconnect that exists in the minds of the SSPX adherents. On one hand they profess “filial devotion...

In the past week or two, even some of the most hardened traditionalists I know have complained about SSPX Bishop Williamson's latest monthly letter, in which he appears to take a very firm stand against the possibility of an SSPX reconciliation. Here's an excerpt: Even if these Romans were to speak exactly the same language as the SSPX still, by their modernist religion, they would not be meaninq the same things. Therefore the "reconciliation" would be verbal, not real, and the SSPX would have lost the protection of its present marginalization. This does not appear to be much different than...

HOLLYWOOD -- Mel Gibson's upcoming film "The Passion" is being questioned by scholars who worry that the film -- which they have not yet seen -- might fan religious animosity and misunderstanding. The movie, which depicts the last 12 hours in the life of Jesus, features actors speaking only in Latin and Aramaic. The controversy swirling around Gibson, his film and even his personal religious beliefs is built largely on conjecture. It is based on the few comments Gibson has made about the movie, which he claims will be historically accurate. It also is based on a magazine article about...

If there is one element which unites the liturgical atmosphere of the Western Church at this present time, it is unfortunately that of conflict. More unfortunate is that this conflict is not absent amongst those who could be allies by reason of their mutual love of the Church and her traditions. Although both the Reform of the Reform and the Ecclesia Dei movement express concern over the present state of Catholic liturgy in the West, in the past much misunderstanding has arisen between these two schools of liturgical thought which has contributed to tensions between them. However, this need not...