Free Republic

In Uncertain Times, House Chapels ProliferateIn Western history, house chapels are a phenomenon associated mostly with aristocrats who lived on large estates and could afford to employ a resident chaplain. In times of persecution, these chapels often became important places of refuge, since their remoteness, together with the status of the family owners, introduced a kind of safety buffer between the outside world and the services that took place within. This safety was not always enough, alas, to prevent priests from being surprised and captured by hostile state forces.While some house chapels of the aforementioned sort are still in existence...

A Letter to Catholics throughout the WorldDear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,We have been deeply saddened to learn of Pope Francis’ decision to revoke the main provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI on July 7, 2007. After decades of division and quarrels, Summorum Pontificum was a source of peace and reconciliation for all Catholics.Rome has violated Pope Benedict XVI’s solemn word in a brutal and rigid manner that is a far cry from the fraternal welcome that is nowadays so widely proclaimed.Pope Francis’ explicit intent, as expressed in the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes of...

[Catholic Caucus] On the moves against the Traditional Mass, “It’s all about the Violence”: “Why would anyone pretending to be of Christ’s Church lash out at the lambs?” (by Archbishop Thomas E. Gullickson)In the wake of the cancellation of the Pontifical Mass in the National Shrine of the United States that he was going to celebrate on August 14, 2021, Archbishop Thomas Edward Gullickson, former ambassador (Nuncio) of the Holy See before several nations— most recently, Switzerland, until last year — wrote the following two notes in his personal blog:July 28:The Paulus Institute made a measured declaration about their disappointment...