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[Catholic Caucus] Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: Clandestine Ordinations in a Time of Ecclesial ConfusionAustralian-born Dom Alcuin Reid is the founding Prior of the Monastère Saint-Benoît in the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, in Provence in Southern France. The Monastère Saint-Benoît is an international English-speaking community which lives a classical monastic observance of prayer and work according to the Benedictine tradition and which celebrates the traditional Roman and monastic liturgy exclusively. In April 2022, Dom Alcuin, along with another monk, were ordained to the priesthood and to the diaconate respectively by an anonymous senior prelate, after the Bishop of Fréjus-Toulon was unable to...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Pope Francis defends restrictions on Latin Mass – ‘Read the motu proprio’In new comments to LifeSiteNews, Pope Francis said that his reasons for suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass are all contained within his 2021 document 'Traditionis Custodes.'In new comments to LifeSiteNews, Pope Francis said that his reasons for suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass are all contained within his 2021 document 'Traditionis Custodes.' The motu proprio in question is the July 2021 text Traditionis Custodes, by which Francis ushered in sweeping restrictions on the traditional liturgy – also known as the Latin Mass, or the Extraordinary Form –...

[Catholic Caucus] Fighting for the TLM: From Paris to D.C.118TH WEEK: THE SENTINELS CONTINUE THEIR PRAYERS FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE TRADITIONAL MASSIN FRONT OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF PARISDear friends,How much it would have pleased me to rejoice with you this Christmas at the establishment of a sort of truce through the good will of our pastors. Unfortunately, the tightening of screws following Traditionis Custodes continues everywhere in France. In Paris, no mass at Notre-Dame du Tavail, where it would be so easy to re-establish it, neither is there any perspective of masses elsewhere in the south of the capital...

[Catholic Caucus] “Francis wants to erase Benedict XVI’s legacy”—Explosive interview with Peter SeewaldThe following interview was conducted by Nico Spuntoni for The Daily Compass (here). NS: Is it fair to say that the relationship between Benedict XVI and Francis was “very close”, as Francis recently declared? PS: Good question. We all remember the warm words that Cardinal Ratzinger spoke at the requiem for John Paul II. Words that touched the heart, that spoke of Christian love, of respect. But no one remembers Bergoglio’s words at the requiem for Benedict XVI. They were as cold as the whole ceremony, which had...

[Catholic Caucus] When “Inclusive Accompaniment” Means Police BrutalityProbably everyone reading this knows by now that Pope Francis has been very tough on Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, removing him from his see without due canonical process. The main reason, it seems, is that Strickland has outspokenly criticized the constant stream of doctrinal and disciplinary novelties that have marked the present pontificate. And if you read on, you’ll see here that this intolerant crackdown is now extending even to the bishop’s supporters.Is there a touch of paranoia here? The incident described below I think reveals the depth of the enmity...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis: How much lower can we sink?Text of a talk given to the Latin Mass Society in London on November 24th, 2023. Mr. Sire’s audio of this talk can be heard here.When Joseph Shaw proposed this talk to me in early September, I suggested the title “Pope Francis: how much lower can we sink?”, but the fact is that since then we have been overtaken by events. Over the past eleven years we have all seen Pope Francis’s pontificate in a trajectory of accelerating descent into more and more overt betrayal of Catholic doctrine, but I must...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Bishop Strickland barred from saying Mass in Diocese of Tyler, TexasAt a recent staff meeting, employees were reportedly informed that while Strickland cannot offer Mass in the diocese, he may do so elsewhere. The source is known to LifeSiteNews.LifeSiteNews has learned that Bishop Joseph Strickland has been barred from saying Mass in the Diocese of Tyler, Texas. At a recent staff meeting, employees were reportedly informed that while Strickland cannot offer Mass in the diocese, he may do so elsewhere. The source is known to LifeSiteNews. LifeSite has also learned that Bishop Strickland is currently on retreat...

[Catholic Caucus] Brazilian priest accused of schism faces canonical proceedingsA Brazilian priest is facing canonical proceedings after his archdiocese said he had made schismatic statements and ignored restrictions on the use of pre-conciliar liturgical rubrics.The Archdiocese of São Paulo announced Nov. 29 that it would open a preliminary investigation into the priest’s alleged schismatic activity, and at the same time, remove Fr. Fábio Fernandes from Our Lady of Sorrows church in the Barra Funda district of the city of São Paulo, where he serves as pastor.A Nov. 23 decree signed by Cardinal Odilo Scherer, the Archbishop of São Paulo, said...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke notified of Vatican apartment changesCardinal Raymond Burke received notice Friday that he must soon begin paying market rate rent on his Vatican apartment, or vacate the residence in early 2024.The Pillar has confirmed that on Dec. 1, Burke received a letter from the Apostolic See dated Nov. 24, which explained that he is expected to begin paying market rate rents for his Vatican apartment, effective Dec. 1, or — if Burke is unable to do so — to surrender the apartment by Feb. 29, 2024. The letter did not indicate what the market rate rent on...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic journalists detained outside Vatican, banner supporting Bishop Strickland confiscatedAnna Kulanová joins me on this episode of The John-Henry Westen Show. She and her husband were detained by Italian police after attempting to enter St. Peter's Square with a banner supporting the deposed Bishop Joseph Strickland.Imagine if there was a group of Slovak journalists who sought to go into St. Peter’s Square with a banner supporting Bishop Joseph Strickland following his removal by Pope Francis. Then imagine if the Italian police confiscated their banner and detained two of the journalists for hours after admitting that it was because...

[Catholic Caucus] BREAKING: Papal biographer confirms Pope Francis will remove Cardinal Burke’s flat, salaryMainstream media and heterodox Catholic outlets have consistently vilified Cardinal Burke, due to his pronouncement of Catholic teaching which is often placed in juxtaposition with the statements of Pope Francis.Pope Francis’ favored biographer, Austen Ivereigh, has stated the Pope personally confirmed the reports that he intends to strip Raymond Cardinal Burke of his flat and salary, though denied calling the cardinal his “enemy.”In a report published November 29 on the heterodox site Where Peter Is, Ivereigh wrote that he had met with the Argentine pontiff on Monday,...

[Catholic Caucus] The Pope Cannot Depose Bishops Without Grave CauseEditor’s note: in light of the recent news that the Holy Father, after deposing Bishop Strickland, now allegedly intends to move against Cardinal Burke (again), we present this study in conjunction with Fr. Murray’s recent analysis of the Strickland case. Father Gerald Murray has excellently analyzed the canonical side of Bp. Strickland’s removal. He has demonstrated that the guarantee of due process has been violated. Canon 196 and other related canons were masterfully explained. I myself published a different article that I wrote before having read Father Murray’s analysis. I saw...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE: Strickland sacking signals ‘internal persecution of faithful Catholics’An “internal persecution” of faithful Catholics is under way in the Church, a bishop has said.Bishop Athanasius Schneider said the sacking of the Rt Rev. Joseph Strickland as Bishop of Tyler, Texas, represented a particularly unjust exercise of authority against a faithful and conscientious Church leader.“This will go down in history as a great injustice against a bishop who did only his task in a time of confusion,” said Bishop Schneider in an exclusive interview with the Catholic Herald in Cambridge.“Now it is silenced, this voice,” the bishop said. “That...

[Catholic Caucus] "Slandered Priests, Canceled Priests" - by Abp. Héctor Agüer: Why Does Francis Hate Good Priests?Slandered Priests, Canceled PriestsAbp. Héctor AgüerEmeritus of La Plata, ArgentinaBuenos Aires, November 28, 2023Several priests who follow the teachings of Pope Francis with attention have expressed to me their dismay and sorrow because they have recorded how often His Holiness denigrates priests. He has called them "bitter (cod-faced), spinsters, sacramental clerks, ambitious, gossipers, climbers...," and other denigrating epithets. A lack of justice and charity.There are thousands of priests in the world; among them there are some to whom some of the epithets that Francis'...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland: My refusal to cancel the Latin Mass is one of the reasons I was removedIn an open letter to the faithful, Bishop Strickland spoke about his removal from the Diocese of Tyler and urged Catholics to 'stand resolutely at the cross' while the Church 'undergoes her Passion.'Bishop Joseph Strickland issued an open letter to the faithful on Monday, November 27, 2023. Below is the full text.An Open Letter to the Faithful from Bishop Joseph E. Strickland:As I am sure you have heard by now, I have been removed as Bishop of the Diocese of Tyler. I...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis set to remove his ‘enemy’ Cardinal Burke’s ‘flat and salary’: reportPope Francis recently announced his intention to evict Cardinal Burke from his lodgings in Rome and declared the prelate his ‘enemy,’ according to a report by the New Daily Compass. Pope Francis is reportedly working to evict Cardinal Raymond Burke from his apartment in Rome and remove his salary, according to Vatican sources cited in a new report.Published in three languages on November 27, the New Daily Compass (NDC) reported that Pope Francis had announced his intention to evict the prominent American cardinal from his lodgings...

[Catholic Caucus] Francis Puts Pro-Tradition Bishop on Tight LeashPope will order French prelate to minister under new coadjutor bishopIn a move that some argue is designed to impede an incumbent's episcopal autonomy, Pope Francis will appoint a coadjutor bishop to the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon to monitor pro-traditionalist Bp. Dominique Rey. The 58-year-old Bp. François Touvet, currently bishop of Châlons in Champagne, will work alongside 71-year-old Bp. Rey and succeed him when Rey retires in the next four years, Le Figaro reported on Thursday. The unprecedented appointment follows the imposition of severe restrictions on Rey in September 2022, after the prelate...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland responds to accusations of diocesan mismanagement that led to his removalOn this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland tells his side of the story in response to the accusations of mismanagement surrounding his dismissal as bishop of Tyler, Texas.On this week’s episode of The Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland addresses the allegations of mismanagement surrounding his dismissal as bishop of Tyler, Texas, discusses the concept of reverence, and offers brief commentary on the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) meeting in Baltimore that took place earlier this month. Strickland begins...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope’s warning about German ‘Synodal Council’ has nothing to do with sexual morals, correcting heresyThe pope’s criticism has nothing to do with the Synodal Way’s attack on Catholic moral teaching, but rather with undermining the authority of the bishops via the 'Synodal Council' the German bishops are trying to set up. Pope Francis has expressed his “concern” that the Church in Germany is moving away from the Universal Church, but he failed once again to correct the Synodal Way’s heretical teachings on sexuality. The German Newspaper WELT published a letter written by Pope Francis addressed to four women,...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis’ removal of Bishop Strickland reveals a Church in serious crisisJoin Jack Maxey, Father Charles Murr, John-Henry Westen, and Liz Yore on this special episode of Faith & Reason coming from Baltimore. Jack Maxey, Father Charles Murr, John-Henry Westen and Liz Yore return for this week’s episode of Faith & Reason, where they discuss Bishop Joseph Strickland’s dismissal, the death of Indi Gregory, the Vatican’s China deal, and more. Last weekend, Pope Francis deposed Bishop Joseph Strickland as bishop of Tyler, Texas, a post he held for 11 years. While Strickland told Westen hours after his removal...