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[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Roche and the Trad View of the New MassAbove: the Catholic Church known as Die Wotrubakirche in Vienna. Photo by Stefano Perego.Cardinals Arthur Roche and Raniero Cantalamessa indirectly acknowledged (perhaps unintentionally) what critics of Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Missae have said for over fifty years: The new rite corresponds to a new theology that “represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII of the Council of Trent.”[1]On March 19, 2023, when British compatriots on BBC radio questioned the restrictions...

[Catholic Caucus] Vindicating the Allegorical Interpretation of the Mass: Abbé Claude Barthe’s “Forest of Symbols” Finally in EnglishThe name of Fr. Claude Barthe is well known to lovers of the Latin liturgical heritage. Ordained in 1979 by Marcel Lefebvre and incardinated in 2005 into the diocese of Fréjus-Toulon in France, he has taught for the seminary of the Institute of the Good Shepherd and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, and has published numerous liturgical studies and essays on current affairs (you can read some of his work at Res Novae). He also serves as chaplain of the...

[Catholic Caucus] How Important Is Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre Today?“Archbishop Lefebvre stands for a rigid conservatism which seems to have no place for the necessary development which the Council had to undertake to meet the problems of the world in ferment.” (George Patrick Dwyer, Archbishop of Birmingham, 1976)Archbishop Dwyer wrote these words in his preface to Yves Congar’s 1976 book criticizing Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Challenge to the Church: The Case of Archbishop Lefebvre. Congar was, of course, one of the most highly respected champions of Vatican II: John Paul II made him a cardinal in 1994; Benedict XVI praised him as...

Can We Call Ourselves “Traditional Catholics”?Painting: “A Mass Scene” by José Miralles Darmanin (1851–1900).Some people object to the phrase “traditional Catholic,” as if it were redundant: Aren’t Catholics by definition adherents of Catholic tradition—and thus, any Roman Catholic has as much right to be called “traditional” as he has to be called “Roman”?How sweet it would be if this were true. Alas, it is far from being the case.Let’s take up the charge of redundancy first. “Roman Catholic Christian” may seem like a triple redundancy, yet it is useful precisely because there are Protestant and Eastern Orthodox Christians, as well...

Cardinals Roche and Cantalamessa: The Mass of Paul VI Corresponds to a New Theology Cardinals Roche and Cantalamessa: The Mass of Paul VI Corresponds to a New TheologyGuest article by José Antonio UretaCardinals Arthur Roche and Raniero Cantalamessa indirectly acknowledged (perhaps unintentionally) what critics of Paul VI’s Novus Ordo Missae have said for over fifty years: the new rite corresponds to a new theology that “represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session XXII of the Council of Trent.”[1]On March 19, 2023, when...

[Catholic Caucus] Our Lord is Truly Risen, But His Church Remains Fettered by Vatican II“And if Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:14) In his commentary on St. Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, Cornelius a Lapide elaborated on the logic of St. Paul’s words about the necessary link between the Resurrection and our Faith:“It rightly follows that, if Christ has not risen, we are still in our sins; for . . . if Christ has not risen, therefore faith in risen Christ, which is the basis for...

[Catholic Caucus] “What if all these brilliant innovators were nothing more than a bunch of atrocious imbeciles?”: Msgr. Celada on the 1960sLast October 24, I published here a translation of a remarkable open letter written by Msgr. Domenico Celada in 1969. What follows is an article he published late in February 1969 in the periodical Il Tempo. Enjoy the clarity of this distinguished musicologist and — we must surely say looking back — prophet of the Lord. —PAKA “beat” Mass in Italy, from a book by Msgr. CeladaI remember having written, in the April-June 1966 issue of a music magazine,...

Montini’s Credo: Rubbish or treasure?A Canadian priest by the name of Fr. Paul Joseph Martin McDonald, who some readers may recognize for his “Ask Father” videos on the new Fatima Center’s website, recently took to Facebook to praise the so-called “Credo of the People of God” calling it:An extremely important document of Saint Pope Paul VI. A profession of Faith by the Successor of Peter of “the immortal Tradition of the holy Church of God” and in particular, of truths that were and are disputed, doubted or even rejected since the time of the Council.As I replied in comments that...

[Catholic Caucus] Does Francis’s Disastrously Flawed Vision Flow Naturally from Vatican II?After ten years of destructive attacks on the Faith, it has now become clear to all with eyes to see that Francis’s vision for the Church is an unholy nightmare. Traditional Catholics knew this from the beginning, but today many people who respected John Paul II and Paul VI also wonder how we can see Francis as Catholic, let alone pope. Significantly, though, Francis follows his predecessors in claiming to adhere to Vatican II — is he mistaken in this regard or does his failed vision actually flow naturally...

[Catholic Caucus] From Freemasonic Dreams to Francis: Why Are Catholics Talking About Married Priests? “Something has changed within the Church, and replies given by the Pope to the most urgent questions, such as priestly celibacy and birth control, are hotly debated within the Church itself; the word of the Supreme Pontiff is questioned by bishops, by priests, by the faithful. For a Freemason, a man who questions dogma is already a Freemason without an apron.” (French Freemason Jaques Mitterand, as quoted in Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s Open Letter to Confused Catholics)As much as we may dislike Paul VI and his disastrous...

[Catholic Caucus] Cdl. Roche says Latin Mass needs to be restricted because the ‘theology of the Church has changed’Cardinal Arthur Roche's latest claim to defend the restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass runs in opposition to the teaching of popes throughout history.VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Defending the increasing restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass, Cardinal Arthur Roche – who leads the Vatican’s Congregation (now Dicastery) for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments – stated that “the theology of the Church has changed.”Speaking on BBC Radio 4 for a program aired March 19, Roche defended the restrictions on the Traditional...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis praises modernistic sacred architecture at awards presentationThe pope described the award-winning chapel and church as 'an intervention of liturgical renovation and adaptation.'New St. Thomas Church in Pontedera, ItalyIn a March 14 message to the Pontifical Academies on the occasion of their 26th public session, Pope Francis congratulated the recipients of two awards given by the Academies for work in sacred architecture.The public session, organized by the Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi at the Pantheon, was dedicated to sacred architecture. The gold medal was awarded to the OPPS Architecture studio in Florence...

[Catholic Caucus] Ten Years of Francis: Destruction without Reconstruction in a Vatican that feels like North Korea -- by Aldo Maria Valli On the Ten Years of Francis (2013 - 2023)You have been redeemed at great cost; do not become slaves of men.1 Corinthians 7:23By Aldo Maria ValliTo comment on the ten years of Francis' pontificate, the words written by Demos (also known as the late Cardinal Pell) in the memorandum he wanted to distribute to all the cardinals a year ago would suffice: "A disaster in more ways than one, a catastrophe."Bergoglio has succeeded in the fine feat,...

[Catholic Caucus] The Fruits of “Francis” Yes I realize that the title sounds a bit odd. By fruits I am certainly not referring to the myriad sodomite priests, dykenuns, and assorted hangers-on that openly prance about the proverbial halls of the Church writ-large over the past decade. No, these fruits are legitimate and, if I may, quite beautiful – lush, fragrant, and ripe. Like many of you, my inbox has been filled up lately with articles sent to me by other trads marking the tenth anniversary of the throne squatting of Jorge Bergoglio. One in particular was sent to me...

[Catholic Caucus] Rome’s Persecution of the Traditional Latin Mass is the Most Important Sign in the World TodayAs Michael Matt highlighted in his recent Remnant Underground, tyrannical governments have occasionally banned the Traditional Latin Mass because they have hated the immutable Catholic Faith it embodies. The Church has always presented for our imitation the saintly examples of those Catholics who have risked their liberty, and even lives, to preserve the Mass in the face of such persecution. Today, however, those purporting to be the Catholic hierarchy in Rome have given us an unmistakable sign of the diabolically disoriented times: they...

“Continuous ‘Aggiornamento’” and Revolution World without End?After months of “listening to the People of God” and reviewing reports prepared by dioceses and episcopal conferences around the globe, the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops in Rome has produced a “Working Document for the Continental Stage” (DCS), the next phase of the three-year Synod on Synodality (Oct. 2021—Oct. 2024).[1]The 49-page text, released last fall on Oct. 27, 2022 via a Vatican press conference, consists of four chapters and centers around a theme drawn from Scripture: “Enlarge the space of your tent” (Isa. 54:2). “This image and narrative,” the document states,...

Reflecting on Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s 1977 Sermon on Real and Apparent Disobedience “We hold fast, with all our heart and with all our soul, to Catholic Rome, Guardian of the Catholic Faith and of the traditions necessary to preserve this faith, to Eternal Rome, Mistress of wisdom and truth. We refuse, on the other hand, and have always refused to follow the Rome of neo-Modernist and neo-Protestant tendencies which were clearly evident in the Second Vatican Council and, after the Council, in all the reforms which issued from it.” (1974 Declaration of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre)Almost fifty years after he wrote...

[Catholic Caucus] Marcel Lefebvre and the Passion of the ChurchKnowing Reality When You See ItMuch ink has been spilled on the topic of the Society of Saint Pius X and Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and I imagine much more will be written as history continues.Are they schismatic? Was Lefebvre a renegade? Was he a rebel? Was Pope John Paul II correct to do what he did? And so on.No matter how many arguments are made, no matter how many documents are promulgated, and no matter how many debates are won and lost, there are those who see the truth about the...

Five Risks and Three Urgent Countermeasures. The Alarm of a Great Canonist on the Plan for a Synodal ChurchRight at the conclusion of the continental synods that are leading into the world synod on synodality scheduled in Rome for October of this year and then again next year, on February 24 bookstores in Italy will be offering an essay by a distinguished canonist who reveals, with a rare level of skill, both the ambitions and the limitations and risks of this capital project of Francis’s pontificate.The essay, published by Marcianum Press, is entitled: “Metamorphosis of synodality. From Vatican II to...

"Vatican II: Still Waiting to be Implemented?... -- A Comparison with the Reception of the Council of Trent" - by Côme de Prévigny Vatican II: Fruits that will germinate, or spoiled fruits?Côme de PrévignyRennaisance CatholiqueFeb. 7, 2023John XXIII wanted to "bring a little fresh air into the Church" and, sixty years ago, the most heated minds promised the Catholic world a real "springtime", an unhoped-for renewal that would undoubtedly give hope and youth back to the venerable institution. The crowds were to fill the sanctuaries while the workers were to find their way back to the baptisteries. Obviously, the...