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[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Mutsaerts: The Church Will Not Be Saved by Bureaucrats Who Think Everything Must Change There is a peculiar mistake common among modern people: when they discover that the Church is full of sinners, they conclude that Christianity has failed. This is rather like discovering that a hospital is full of sick people and concluding that medicine does not work.The Church has never claimed to be an association of perfect people. She has claimed something far stranger: that God has decided to entrust His perfect truth to extraordinarily imperfect people. Those who find this implausible should look at...

Dr. Kwasniewski: Worst crisis in Church history is happening right now It is manifestly the case that the modern(ist) crisis is far worse than all the earlier ones put together.On June 8, 2026, a journalist named Wouter J. Suenens published an article at The Catholic Herald entitled “The Traditional Latin Mass does not need the SSPX.” In this article he claimed that the crisis through which the Church is passing today is just one of many in her history, and not even the worst. On this basis he maintains that the Society of St. Pius X is guilty of poor...

[Catholic Caucus] Jesuit priest says he ‘hates’ Traditional Latin Mass and criticises Pope Benedict XVI Jesuit priest Fr Thomas Reese SJ has explained why he “hates” the Traditional Latin Mass and criticised Pope Benedict XVI’s approach to liturgical reformJesuit priest Fr Thomas Reese SJ has written a column entitled “Why I hate the Latin Mass”. The column takes the form of the priest pretending to go to confession. He begins by telling the imaginary confessor: “It has been a week since my last column, I mean my last confession. Since that time, I have expressed hatred toward the old Latin...

[Catholic Caucus] An Interview with Don Pietro Leone in which he discusses his latest book: Vatican II and the Eclipse of God - A Critique of the Council 'In this final version I have been forced to level the charge of atheism against the Council'.CARL HEINRICH BLOCH - THE MOCKING OF CHRIST, 1880"Our Lord is attacked; eternal life is endangered. We have seen the consequences in these postconciliar years. An entirely reprehensible spirit of insubordination has entered the Vatican, a “fertility goddess” is venerated in St. Peter's. This belongs to a context and cannot be passed over in silence."Interview with...

[Catholic Caucus] NEW BOOK: Publication of 'Vatican II and The Eclipse of God. A Critique of the Council' by Don Pietro Leone Rorate Caeli is delighted to report that “Vatican II and the Eclipse of God” ‘A Critique of the Council’ by Don Pietro Leone has finally been published. Readers will recall that Rorate had the honour of posting instalments of this very important work over a period of two years. (See note)* Since then, the author has added further analysis to the original texts. Below is the link to Loreto Publications and a short presentation of the book. Readers...

[Catholic Caucus] Unspeakable horror: lay Eucharistic Ministers and Communion in the handIf you are presently receiving Communion in the hand or serving as a Eucharistic Minister, then please prayerfully stop. Here's why...Not a great photo but if you look carefully, you’ll see the angels catching Our Lord’s Precious Blood with chalices. There’s a reason for that so please read on…Among the many moving scenes in Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ film is the scourging at the pillar. Often sugar-coated in fine art over the centuries, Gibson depicted it as it was all those centuries ago in pagan-occupied Palestine: sheer,...

[Catholic Caucus] German Bishop: Laypeople Preach in My Diocese — and I Won’t Sanction Them The Vatican's reasoning for the ban on lay preaching is "not entirely consistent," Bishop Peter Kohlgraf of Mainz told Katholisch.de on August 11."The letter from the Prefect for Liturgy states that only the priest celebrating Mass may preach. But taken to its logical conclusion, that would mean a concelebrating priest or an assisting deacon shouldn't be allowed to preach either."Lay Preaching Is No ProblemIn the Diocese of Mainz, occasional lay preaching has become an established practice and Bishop Kohlgraf has no intention of changing that.In...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Strickland asks whether Vatican II surrendered to modernism Bishop Joseph Strickland pointed out that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger once described Gaudium et Spes as a kind of ‘counter syllabus’ in opposition to Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors. Bishop Joseph Strickland questioned in a recent video address whether the Second Vatican Council compromised with the modern world.Strickland highlighted the dangers of modernism as well as Pope St. Pius X’s warnings against this “synthesis of all heresies.” The bishop pointed out that in 1910 the saintly pope required priests, bishops, and others “entrusted with teaching the Catholic faith” to...

[Catholic Caucus] Latest Book by Fr. Claude Barthe Compares & Contrasts the Traditional & New Sacramental RitesIn 1969, A Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo Missae was published with the signatures of two powerful cardinals, Bacci and Ottaviani. Nicknamed The Ottaviani Intervention, it quickly become a classic, and has never gone out of print. But... where was its companion volume? You know, the one about the other six sacraments? For, indeed, the reform of the Mass was accompanied by a profound overhaul of all the other sacraments—baptism, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, penance, and extreme unction (the last two renamed...

[Catholic Caucus] Guest Post: Daniel Graham Gives a History Lesson on the Crisis in the ChurchI'm delighted to post this article from Daniel Graham, author of Lex Orandi, a book that gives a side-by-side comparison of all the sacraments before and after the changes made in the spirit of Vatican II. Every concerned Catholic should know exactly what we've lost. I highly recommend Dan's book. Only when we understand what's been lost can we be like the woman in the parable who sweeps her house looking for her lost coin and rejoicing when she finds it. Those of us who...

Catholic Star Wars: The SSPX Excommunication as You’ve Never Seen ItOne of the year's biggest Catholic controversies in a witty, self-deprecating parody (think exiles, empires, liturgical battles, etc.). Whether you agree or disagree, this take explores why so many faithful Catholics feel like they're the rebels in their own Church. A fortnight ago, I attended the illicit episcopal consecrations in Écône to bid farewell to the SSPX as newly separated brethren (again). I did so because I was in the neighbourhood and I could; more so as an observer than participant, because I was loth to incur the wrath and...

[Catholic Caucus] Benedict XVI and Vatican II Condemn Leo XIV’s Synodal RevolutionBenedict XVI's own words dismantle the Vatican's case against the SSPX. Read his statements alongside Leo XIV's current treatment of Tradition, Vatican II, and Synodality, and you'll notice that Benedict's criticism applies more to today's Vatican than to Archbishop Lefebvre.As Leo XIV stated prior to the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) proceeding with the episcopal consecrations without his approval, he believes that the real problem with the SSPX is that it does not accept certain teachings of Vatican II:“Certainly, division among Christians is always a painful matter. But...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop attacks Latin Mass, says ‘only’ Novus Ordo is compatible with Synodal ChurchAccording to Bishop Tomáš Holub, it is the Novus Ordo that allows the integration of synodality in the liturgy, whereas this would be ‘very difficult’ with the Traditional Latin Mass.The bishop of the Diocese of Pilsen in the Czech Republic stated in a recent article that the Synodal Church needs an adequate liturgy that can “only” be the Novus Ordo Missae.Tomáš Holub, a heterodox bishop who has endorsed Amoris Laetitia and announced that he would give Holy Communion to the divorced and remarried, shared his vision...

[Catholic Caucus] Did Pope St. John XXIII Disobey Fatima?On the Third Part of the Secret of Fatima, part 4: Order Given, Order Thwarted?Between 1956 and 1957, there was an order from the Vatican for copies of all Lúcia’s writings to be sent to the Vatican. Of course, the issue of the third part of the Secret had arisen. It was not 1960 and the text was still within the sealed envelopes. When the matter of the third part was brought to Bishop da Silva, he ordered that the original, not a copy, be sent to Rome. To make a copy,...

Rome’s Punishment of the SSPX Reveals Vatican II’s God ProblemRome insists the SSPX deserves punishment, but what if that judgment reveals more about modern Rome than it does about the Society itself? The real issue isn't canonical penalties, but whether today's Vatican still measures religion according to God's unchanging truth... or according to the priorities of the Vatican II revolution. In our everyday lives, it is possible to evaluate many things without explicitly thinking about how God sees them. For example, when considering the best type of vehicle, the most reliable appliances, or the healthiest foods, we seldom ask ourselves...

[Catholic Caucus] Liturgical Reform Case Study: the Catholic City of BaltimoreCarefully written histories can serve as antidotes to grand narratives pushing particular agendas. As the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details,” suggesting that pesky facts can undermine self-congratulatory stories of progress. Hanael Bianchi’s A Liberal Revolution: The Implementation of Vatican II in the Archdiocese of Baltimore (Os Justi Press, 2026) raises numerous points to challenge the heroic narrative of Vatican II and in the process, poses timely questions for American Catholics still living in a Church that often seems teetering on the brink of collapse. Advocates of...

[Catholic Caucus] Spanish cardinal says post-Vatican II liturgical reforms have turned Masses into ‘parody’Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela mentioned in an interview several examples of abuses that have reduced the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to a 'game among buddies.'Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela, the archbishop emeritus of Madrid, said during an interview this week that rampant liturgical abuses since the Second Vatican Council have turned the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass into a “parody.”While discussing the sacred liturgy and his recent call for the restoration of Summorum Pontificum during an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Debate published July...

Quo Vadis, Domine? - "Lord, whither goest Thou?": Rome and the Society of Saint Pius XOn June 16th, Pope Leo XIV made a statement outside his residence at Castel Gandolfo concerning the Society of Saint Pius X, which was then preparing to consecrate four bishops without a pontifical mandate. The Pope affirmed that this decision grieved him, while concluding that he intended to press forward. "If they make that choice," he said, "it saddens me deeply, but we must move forward."Move forward toward what?A question immediately arises: in what direction do the Roman authorities wish to lead Catholics as they...

The Challenge of a Synod That Walks Away from Christ Introduction The superiors of the Society of Saint Pius X have argued that there exists a state of emergency in the Catholic Church. Those who deny this claim, who insist that all is well, that the concerns of the Society are exaggerated or unfounded, have, to employ a metaphor, buried their heads in the sand. The evidence is not obscure; it is visible in parishes, in chanceries, in synodal assembly halls, and in the documents these assemblies produce.The crisis assailing the Church is not just a liturgical matter, though the...

Suicide is Canonized, Another Latin Mass is Banned, and an Openly “Gay” Priest Gives Lectures on “Living Queer.” Meanwhile the SSPX is in “Schism.”A suicide memorial, Lutheran worship in a Catholic sanctuary, a suppressed Latin Mass, and the boundaries of Leo XIV’s open-door ChurchChicago’s Pastoral CanonizationOn June 26, the Archdiocese of Chicago dedicated a memorial called At Peace near the main entrance of Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Hillside, Illinois. The memorial offers families affected by suicide a place for prayer, remembrance, and mourning. Bishop Lawrence Sullivan described it as a visible sign that grieving families remain within God’s loving...