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[Catholic Caucus] Vatican document leak reignites Latin Mass debateDocuments have emerged, in what appears a leak at the Vatican, which indicate that the majority of Catholic bishops did not support the move by Pope Francis to restrict the Latin Mass.The texts from the Vatican’s doctrine office were posted online on Tuesday by the Vatican correspondent Diane Montagna, who has followed the Latin Mass dispute since Traditionis Custodes, the apostolic letter issued motu proprio by Pope Francis in 2021 that restricted the celebration of the Tridentine Mass of the Roman Rite.It reversed Pope Benedict XVI's previous permission for the Latin Mass...

[Catholic Caucus] Why Did Pope Francis Restrict the Latin Mass?Without basis, without charity, Pope Francis and his advisors stripped that venerable gem away from Catholics almost entirely.Many of the actions of the late Pope Francis, no matter their intention, caused division, confusion, and pain amongst Catholics, especially those most immersed in the traditional teachings and customs of the Catholic Church. One of the most glaring examples of this division, confusion, and pain came in the form of Traditionis custodes. In 2021, Pope Francis issued a motu proprio heavily restricting the celebration of the vetus ordo — the form of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider calls on Pope Leo to ‘free the Latin Mass’Bishop Schneider urged Pope Leo XIV to ‘protect’ the lay faithful who are being ‘persecuted’ by the suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass.Bishop Athanasius Schneider has decried the suppression of Traditional Latin Masses (TLM) around the world as an “injustice” and called upon Pope Leo XIV to “free” the TLM.In a Sunday interview with the bishop, Christopher Wendt of the Confraternity of Our Lady of Fatima brought up the TLM crackdown prompted by Pope Francis’ document Traditionis Custodes, which triggered a cascade of TLM closures continuing even into...

[Catholic Caucus] Mad Hatter Francis "Liturgist" Andrea Grillo: The Bishops Were All Wrong, I'm Right -- plus a major assessment by Sandro Magister of the Lies on which Traditionis custodes were basedWeeks after mocking soon to be canonized Carlo Acutis for having faith in the Blessed Sacrament -- a public statement that was so shocking that his own university disowned him -- the Mad Hatter of the liturgical world, Andrea Grillo, is again showing his colors. He, who was the man behind Francis document Traditionis custodes, establishing a gradual extinction of the Traditional Latin Mass, now does not deny (as...

[Catholic/Orthodox Caucus] An Interview with Monsignor Bux: "The Bishops weren't responsible for launching the War Against Tradition."Right after the explosive news on the actual positive nature of the global bishops' report on Summorum Pontificum was published last week, Monsignor Nicola Bux, one of the great liturgical names of our times and a major advisor under Benedict XVI, released a book with more details on the event. We now know that Vatican insiders close to Francis lied about it, and Francis himself did not tell the truth about it (on paper, in Traditionis custodes, the restrictions document).Monsignor Bux spoke at length...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes: The Narrative Is All LiesWe must thank God today. Many secret documents in the Vatican will never see the light of day for many years, decades, or even centuries. Think about the following:The papers against Cardinal Rampolla as a member of the OTO, which caused him to be vetoed as Pope in 1903The 1978 dossier of Cardinal Gagnon, which documented the Masonic corruption of the Vatican and possibly caused the murder of John Paul IThe 2013 dossier which documented Vatican corruption which, Pope Francis admitted, was given to him by Pope Emeritus BenedictAlmost four years ago...

[Catholic Caucus] The Shifting Sands of Traditionis custodesFollowing Diane Montagna’s bombshell revelation of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's summary of the Bishops opinion on Summorum Pontificum, it was wondered by many how the defenders of Traditionis custodes would respond. While the first 24 hours saw a flurry of defenses call into question her reporting (none of them very compelling), defenders have received their talking points and have settled upon a defense. What they do not realize is this defense puts them into an even more precarious position.As a quick refresher, Montagna was given what could be described...

[Catholic Caucus] Official Vatican Report Dismantles Traditionis CustodesA major exposé on Traditionis Custodes leaked a confidential Vatican document summarizing the 2020 global survey of bishops—a document that allegedly influenced Pope Francis’s controversial decision to restrict the Traditional Latin Mass. According to the leaked findings, the majority of bishops did not support limiting the Latin Mass and even warned that such restrictions could worsen tensions within the Catholic Church.Journalist Diane Montagna recently published the report prepared by the Vatican following the questionnaire that, in 2020, the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had sent to the presidents of episcopal...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes "failed": The leak could have been "strategic."The leak could be strategic: For years, only the very negative feedback from the French Bishops' Conference on the survey by the then Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the “Old Mass” was known - completely in line with Francis. Now that a new pope is in office, who has repeatedly revived traditions abandoned by his predecessor - from the Corpus Christi procession and the handing over of the pallia to new archbishops to the traditional vacation spot - a new picture is being painted.Francis had justified his...

[Catholic Caucus] Even the German Conference news website concedes: Francis liedIn a piece on the explosive revelation of the generally positive response of the world's bishops to Summorum Pontificum, the news website of the German Bishops' Conference uses the most diplomatic of languages:Pope Francis appears to have ignored the advice of the bishops previously consulted worldwide when he restricted the Traditional Latin Mass. According to documents that have now become public, the responses to a survey conducted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the implementation of the rules for the pre-conciliar liturgy put in place by...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Official Vatican Report Exposes Major Cracks in Foundation of Traditionis CustodesPreviously undisclosed documents raise serious questions about the stated rationale for Pope Francis’ 2021 decree restricting the Traditional Latin Mass.A Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated at the tomb of St. Catherine of Siena at the Basilica of Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome, Sept. 15, 2017 (Photo: Edward PentinVATICAN CITY, July 1, 2025 — New evidence has come to light that exposes major cracks in the foundation of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ 2021 decree that restricted the traditional Roman liturgy.This journalist has obtained the Vatican’s overall assessment of...

[Catholic Caucus] Journalist Obtains Exclusive Access to World Report on Summorum Pontificum: Francis' Restrictions Based on LiesAmerican journalist Diane Montagna, who has long covered the Vatican, has obtained a explosive exclusive document: the original summary and report of the Global Assessment of the Application of Summorum Pontificum, the 2007 document by Pope Benedict XVI that freed the Traditional Latin Mass and Liturgy.Summorum Pontificum itself foresaw a report, in order to adjust any issues with implementation -- and the report now obtained was generally positive. As Montagna reports:The previously undisclosed text, which forms a crucial part of the official report by...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV Faces an Early Challenge: How to Deal With Pope Francis’ Restrictions on the Latin MassA significant early challenge for Pope Leo XIV will be how he chooses to handle the restrictions that Pope Francis placed on the traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Since Pope Francis issued his apostolic letter Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition) in July 2021, the freedom to celebrate the pre-1970 Mass has been curtailed — severely in some cases — with the long-term aim of allowing only the new Mass. Cardinals, bishops, priests and many of the laity, including some who do not...

[Catholic Caucus] $30 million? The price of Pope Francis’ performative humilityFrancis’ decision to live in the Casa Santa Marta guesthouse instead of the traditional papal apartments added €200,000 per month to the Vatican’s bills amid a spiralling financial crisis. Recent investigations have revealed that one of Pope Francis’ most notable and purportedly “humble” decisions actually cost the Vatican around €200,000 a month.For the past 12 years, secular pundits and close allies of Pope Francis have relentlessly pushed the message that his humility is striking. One of the earliest and most prominent examples cited to support this argument was Francis’ decision...

[Catholic Caucus] Santa Marta is too expensive: Pope Leo returns to the Apostolic PalaceThe first steps taken by Pope Leo XIV at the helm of the Church are largely satisfying the expectations of the cardinals who elected him. The eminent prelates were looking for a good shepherd, but even more so they trusted that the new pontiff would be able to restore balance to a form of government that, under Pope Francis, had taken on authoritarian tendencies and destabilized the clergy and the faithful with numerous acts considered overly bold.Leone has first of all reestablished—with kindness but firmness—the dignity proper...

[Catholic Caucus] Our Long Collective Nightmare is OverEarlier today, another sign that, no matter what happens, at least a sense of Catholic normalcy is returning to the Vatican.After each of the past conclaves, one of the first meetings of the elected Roman Pontiff is a salutation to the men and women of the media who covered the interregnum and conclave. In 2013, at the end of his rambling, Francis refused (simply refused) to impart the traditional blessing, just remaining in silence for a while and saying he was giving a "silent blessing" out of "respect" for "non-believers." Today, Leo XIV...

[Catholic Caucus] On Silence about the Papal Tyrant"He who does not bellow the truth when he knows the truth makes himself the accomplice of liars and forgers." ~Charles PeguyNow we learn. For a dozen long miserable years, they all kept their mouths shut about Bergoglio. They all covered up the chaotic madness of this man, yet whispering and gossiping and cowering in the halls of Casa Santa Marta about the man in white. They breathed not a word about the man, who subjected the Catholic Church to 12 years of brutal tyranny, blatant material heresy, vindictive psychopathy, and rampant predator...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope in a poncho, symbol of Bergolio’s pontificatePope Francis’ recent appearance in St Peter's, which stunned the world, is the latest and most striking demonstration of how, in complete contrast to his predecessor, he has lived his pontificate at the service of his own ideas. A systematic deconstruction of the papacy.The image of Jorge Mario Bergoglio in a wheelchair, wearing a white long-sleeved vest half covered by a striped poncho, his hair dishevelled and black trousers, is perhaps the most eloquent expression of how he - and his entourage - have understood the papacy, and the umpteenth, perhaps...

[Catholic Caucus] The Scapegoat in the Pit: A Girardian Reflection on the Suppression of the Latin MassAbove: Joseph’s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob by Diego Velázquez, 1630I Am the ProblemWe are familiar with the famous story of G.K. Chesterton, who was once asked to write an essay answering the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” His ‘essay’ reply for publication was disarmingly simple. Two words: “I am.” These two words, juxtaposed with God’s eternal “I AM,” underscore the paradox of our existence. Where God’s “I AM” is the fullness of truth and life, our own “I am” is often the...

Bishop Strickland: Novus Ordo Mass, priestly formation have led to problems in the ChurchBishop Joseph Strickland said the ‘more comfortable’ Novus Ordo Mass has shifted priests toward acting like ‘social workers’ and declared that the Latin Mass ‘will stay with us’ in a recent interview.Bishop Joseph Strickland said that the shift to the Novus Ordo Mass from the Traditional Latin Mass has led to a decline in the priesthood and called out the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) for pushing bishops to “forget that they’re successors of the Apostles.” The former bishop of Tyler, Texas, who was removed...