[Catholic Caucus] Latin Mass Persecutor Viola Named to Saint Peter’s - And What Happens Now in Divine Worship

Rorate Caeli ^ | October 10, 2026 | New Catholic

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[Catholic Caucus] Latin Mass Persecutor Viola Named to Saint Peter’s - And What Happens Now in Divine Worship

Liturgical shake-up today at the Vatican:

Appointment of vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter

The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Vittorio Francesco Viola, O.F.M., hitherto secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter.

 

Appointment of secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

The Holy Father has appointed Monsignor Aurelio García Marcías, under-secretary of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, as secretary of the same Dicastery. [Source: Bollettino della Santa Sede]

This… is not great news. For years, Viola has been identified  as the éminence grise (no pun intended) behind Cardinal Roche’s maneuvers against the Traditional Latin Rite. Now, he is elevated to a central position in the Vatican, and as a probable future Cardinal.

Some want to say this is better than having him as Roche’s replacement. But it is still bad news. Let’s face it: it’s bad news.

***

The other news is not necessarily bad.

Spanish Bishop Macías (not Marcías, as the Bollettino wrongly published) is his replacement, and another son of the Anselmianum liturgical line. (He holds a doctorate in liturgy from Saint Anselm in Rome.) Does this mean he is against the Old Rite? Not necessarily.

Macías served as diocesan liturgy delegate from 1997 and as seminary rector in his native Valladolid, and  it was Pope Benedict XVI (always a good sign) who made him a consultor of Divine Worship in 2010. He joined the dicastery under Cardinal Sarah (also a good sign) in 2015. Pope Francis named him undersecretary in 2021. 

Marcía's dissertation, completed in 2005, is titled "Κατ' ἐκκλησίαν πρεσβύτεροι" (Act 14,23): the theology of the presbyter in the Byzantine-Greek Χειροτονία πρεσβυτέρου and the Prex ordinationis presbyterorum of the Roman rite. It was published in 2011 by Vincential publishing house CLV as a volume of the Pontifical Liturgical Institute’s series. It is not a polemical work and says nothing on current disputes.

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Ping

[rarestia]

I talked to my pastor about this turning away from the Latin Rite. He explained that the Latin Rite is one where the priest faces away from the parish throughout the mass paying homage to the font of Christ at the head of the church as a member of Christ’s flock. The traditional modern mass is one where the priest faces the parish as the celebrant, a sort of shepherd for the flock.

Rome’s desire is to transform the mass away from Christo-centric celebration to one where the presbyter is takes the form of the celebrant. I’m torn on the two given that I grew up in the modern church, but I don’t care for forcing parishes away from the Latin Rite. That should be a decision for the parish, IMO.

[Rockingham]

I grew up with the Latin Rite mass. The theological distinctions matter, but the practical one is that the Latin mass is structured and dignified. It also roots Catholic liturgy and prayer to the classic forms of Latin and the ancient origins of Christianity.

A Latin version of an LGBTQ folk mass with the congregation warbling out Dylan's "Blowing in the Wind" would be an impossibility. And that is what the modernists and their Leftist pals cannot stand, that the Latin mass offers no room for innovations that supposedly aim to appeal to marginalized people.

In truth, the Latin mass is not an impediment to such efforts. That requires simply talking to the marginalized and to outcasts with the kindness and charity that Christ offered. What the Latin mass inhibits is the Church, Catholic doctrine, and the Catholic faithful from "blowing in the wind" according to contemporary fashion and Leftist ideology.

[Cronos]

Ebb, I’m sorry, but after you copy posted false quotes attributing them falsely to Pope Leo, the credibility of the links you post are shot.

No one can believe any of the sensationalist articles or comments you copy paste, they are in the same level of truth as Dan Brown ie zero

https://freerepublic.com/focus/religion/4398500/posts?page=18#18

[Cronos]

It is completely understandable to feel torn when hearing conflicting explanations about something as sacred as the Holy Mass, especially when you love your parish and cherish our Catholic traditions.

To help ease your mind, it might be comforting to look at a few reassuring facts about how the Church views the Mass, priestly roles, and liturgical traditions:

1. Both forms are fully valid and Catholic
First, please know that the modern Mass (the Ordinary Form) is not a "turning away" from Christ, nor was it designed to make the priest the center of attention. Both the traditional Latin Mass (usus antiquior) and the Ordinary Form belong to the one Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.

2. The meaning of Priest Orientation (Ad Orientem vs. Versus Populum)
Your pastor touched on a very real, beautiful ancient tradition: celebrating ad orientem (facing the liturgical east or toward the altar crucifix alongside the people) symbolizes that the whole community—priest and flock together—is journeying on a pilgrimage toward God.

However, celebrating versus populum (facing the people) is also deeply rooted in Christian history, dating back to ancient Roman basilicas where the altar was structured . Neither orientation changes the core reality of the Mass: Christ is the true Priest and One-Time sacrifice, offering Himself to the Father.

It is a wonderful thing that you care so deeply about reverence, beauty, and tradition in the liturgy. We don't need to feel anxious or torn between loyalty to the modern Church and love for our history. The Holy Spirit guides Christ's Church through every era. Whether you attend Mass facing the altar or facing the congregation, when the priest consecrates the bread and wine, heaven touches earth, and Jesus is truly, fully present for you.

Rest in the peace of Christ—you are right at home in His Church.

[Cronos]

The reason for the shift from Latin mass was not per se to reach out to the marginalized but to ensure the laity understood what was happening during the Eucharist etc.

Now that I know and understand Latin pretty well I can follow the beauty during a Latin mass. At the age of 14 I could not

[Rockingham]

During the era of the Latin mass, the missals had Latin and English side by side. There was no confusion.

[Cronos]

That is very true, Rockingham—side-by-side missals made the traditional Latin Mass deeply accessible and prayerful.

Loving that reverence and stability is a wonderful thing, Christ promised to remain with His Mystical Body through every era—even when the governance is messy or liturgical styles vary.

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The quotes are real, Cronos. I read them both when the articles came out. Just because the synodal "church" has cleaned it's filthy house, doesn't make them false.

As far a this article and more to come, you can pound sand it you want to cry like a baby and and use your lies to discredit them.

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The reason for the shift from Latin mass was not per se to reach out to the marginalized but to ensure the laity understood what was happening during the Eucharist etc.

That's a lie. The reason the modernists created a new mass "out of whole cloth" was to make it less Catholic and more appealing to non-Catholic christians.

[ebb tide]

The reason for the shift from Latin mass was not per se to reach out to the marginalized but to ensure the laity understood what was happening during the Eucharist etc.

That's a lie. The reason the modernists created a new mass "out of whole cloth" was to make it less Catholic and more appealing to non-Catholic christians.

[Rockingham]

As in our individual lives, for the Church, the guidance of the Holy Spirit often draws us through pain, trials, and confusion. And Leftism takes a heavy toll.

[Cronos]

Those quotes did not happen.

You posted falsified quotes

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“After the Council…in the place of the liturgy as a fruit of organic development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries and replaced it—as in a manufacturing process—with a fabrication, a banal on-the-spot product.”.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI.

[Oystir]

You are not trying to imply, or directly state, that Pope Benedict repudiated Vatican II are you, ebby? Pope Benedict never repudiated Vatican II or the new Missal: “As far as its content is concerned (apart from a few criticisms), I am very grateful for the new Missal…”

[Cronos]

“After the Council…in the place of the liturgy as a fruit of organic development came fabricated liturgy. We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries and replaced it—as in a manufacturing process—with a fabrication, a banal on-the-spot product.”.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI

As I have pointed out before -

When Cardinal Ratzinger wrote those words in his introduction to Alcuin Reid’s book “The Organic Development of the Liturgy”, he was offering a sharp critique of liturgical abuses—the careless, on-the-spot improvisations and banality introduced by some priests after the Council.

He was NOT declaring the Ordinary Form of the Mass invalid, nor was he saying the Church had manufactured a “false church.”

The ultimate proof that Ratzinger did not view the post-conciliar Mass as an invalid “fabrication” that broke the Church is that he promulgated the Ordinary Form himself for decades as a priest, bishop, cardinal, and finally as Pope Benedict XVI. Furthermore, in Summorum Pontificum, he explicitly stated that both forms are “two usages of the one Roman Rite.”

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When Cardinal Ratzinger wrote those words in his introduction to Alcuin Reid’s book “The Organic Development of the Liturgy”, he was offering a sharp critique of liturgical abuses—the careless, on-the-spot improvisations and banality introduced by some priests after the Council.

Which is exactly what the Novus Ordo Mass has become since it was first mandated in 1969.

Back in 1969, the Novus Ordo Mass did not have lay readers, eucharistic ministers of Holy Communion, Communion while standing, Communion in the paw, altar girls, permanent deacons, etc.

Shall I go on, Cronos?

[ebb tide]

Now you making up stuff again, Cronos.

Ratzinger’s quote never mentioned “invalid” or “false church”.

You are a deceptive poster.

[ebb tide]

Cardinal Ratzinger was also speaking in the first person plural:

We abandoned the organic, living process of growth and development over centuries and replaced it—as in a manufacturing process—with a fabrication, a banal on-the-spot product.”.

He did not blame wayward priests as you falsely claim.

Like the Vatican Press office, your lies are easily exposed.