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[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...

[Catholic Caucus] Florida bishop preserves thriving Latin Mass community by establishing shrineBishop Gregory Parkes said the new Latin Mass shrine in Tampa Bay will be a ‘place of pilgrimage for those throughout the Diocese devoted to the liturgical fruits of the antecedent liturgy.’A Florida bishop has announced that a growing parish with a strong devotion to the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) will become a diocesan shrine and be placed under the pastoral care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP).Bishop Gregory Parkes of the Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida, announced on March 25 that the Epiphany of...

[Catholic Caucus] The Rule of Law and the Francis Pontificate>h2>The problem for the Church’s life, and for the application of justice, comes when the Pope appears to convey disregard or indifference for the uniform application of the law—even laws he has written—choosing to ignore them or apply them to some while reserving different treatment for others. Pope Francis greets then-Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik during a private audience at the Vatican in this Jan. 3, 2022, file photoThe rule of law is never subject to the slightest exception, even in times of crisis. The reason is that the rule of law...

[Catholic Caucus] More Synodality (cringe)! Pope Francis’ 3-year plan to Revolutionize the ChurchPope Francis just announced a new plan for the synodal process. The hospitalized Pope has approved a three-year process to consider reforms for the global Catholic Church. Need we remind him: The Church was not established to be governed by popular opinion.Joshua McElwee with Reuters informed us on Saturday, March 15, 2025, in his article "Pope Francis, showing plans to stay on, starts new Catholic reform process," that the hospitalized Pope has approved a new three-year process to consider reforms for the global Catholic Church. This latest initiative,...

[Catholic Caucus] THE FUTURE OF TRADITIONIS CUSTODES -- AND OF THE TRADITIONAL MASSTraditionis custodes is back in the news. Following DDW Prefect Arthur Cardinal Roche’s interview with The Catholic Herald, even non-traditionalist commentators are wondering: does Traditionis custodes have a future? (One of the individuals interviewed was RC contributor Joseph Shaw.) In considering this question, I would like to take a slightly different approach, and also directly answer one of the stated justifications for it in the article.The Zone is FloodedOne of the biggest threats to the survival of Traditionis has been the ability of traditionalists to dominate the discourse...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholics thank Bishop Strickland with billboards, newspaper adA digital billboard reading ‘Thank you Bishop Strickland!’ appeared in the city of Tyler, Texas, this month, and a full-page ad saying the same has been published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph.TYLER, Texas (LifeSiteNews) — A group of Catholics are honoring Bishop Joseph Strickland in a very public way.A digital billboard reading “Thank you Bishop Strickland!” appeared in the city of Tyler, Texas, this month, and a full-page ad saying the same has been published in the Tyler Morning Telegraph. Another billboard thanking the former ordinary of the Diocese of Tyler...

[Catholic Caucus] Poor Clare abbess criticizes Vatican order to close convents with fewer than 5 nunsThe Poor Clare abbess of the Monastery of Santo Cristo de Balaguer in Lérida province in northeast Spain is criticizing a 2018 rule established by Pope Francis that dissolves communities of women religious with fewer than five nuns, a rule that does not apply to male communities.Sister María Victoria Triviño, OSC, made her critique in an article published by the magazine Catalunya Cristiana regarding the recent closure of the Monastery of Santa María de Pedralbes in Barcelona that had been in existence for 700 years.Asked...

[Catholic Caucus] Father Cusick’s Statement on Withdrawal of Spiritual Assistance for Homeless Souls Migrating to HeavenA few years, the Holy Father wrote to the bishops of the United States giving them permission to starve thriving parishes and families by arbitrarily and illegally banning the immemorial Roman rite of Holy Mass in their church buildings. Some gleefully worked on behalf of this cruel and senseless edict of shame by, in some cases, kicking up to 90% of a parish population out of their spiritual home. Spiritual homelessness and starvation have as a result reached new heights, placing countless souls in eternal...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditional Catholicism: Religion for the Mentally IllRemarks by the Pope in his latest book about the mental capacity of Traditional Catholics really came as no surprise to anyone. He has been spouting similar opinions for years, and backing them up by his disrespectful behaviour including acts like prying apart the hands of a pious altar boy or swatting away the faithful who want to kiss his papal ring.Apart from an unhealthy obsession with Traditionalists which borders on, well .... mental illness, his comments show a complete lack of concern for his flock, many of whom do suffer from...

[Catholic Caucus] The Inspector Arrives: FSSP Starts a NovenaThe Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) is renewing its novena and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in the midst of the Vatican's Apostolic Visitation.In a January 18 press release, the Superior General Father John Berg called on Catholics to pray with them, beginning on February 2 through the eve of the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.Three years ago, the FSSP invoked the Immaculate Heart of Mary "in a moment of deep uncertainty" because of Francis' 'Traditionis Custodes' and is now repeating that prayer during the visitation.Copies of the...