Free Republic

[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 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] 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...

Leo Praises Liberty While He Puts Écône in ChainsAs Leo praised freedom of worship, Rome branded the SSPX, threatened the faithful, and tolerated a conciliar world where sanctuaries become playgrounds and Christendom becomes a punchline.Liberty for Everyone Except TraditionOn July 3, Leo XIV accepted the Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center and spoke like a man defending freedom of conscience.He praised the American founders’ appeal to nature and nature’s God. He spoke of human dignity as something that precedes the State. He described authentic freedom as the capacity to know the truth and adhere to the good, even at...

[Catholic Caucus] Response to the Abbot of Solesmes concerning insertion of a changed traditional liturgy into the new Missal: we already have an “altered Mass”; it’s called the novus OrdoThe addiction to constant change is a feature and not a bug of the Vatican II mentality, legitimized however subversively by reference to a certain “spirit” with loose reference to the documents of said council.The Church is in need not of change, whether or not for its own sake. We have suffered spiritually under the tyranny of nothing but constant change for over sixty years with concomitant chaos and confusion. The...

Novus Ordo, the "Only Form of the Roman Rite" -- now with the "Queer Mass" broadcast live on German TV (video) German public broadcaster ZDF has for decades presented Sunday "divine services": Evangelical and Catholic. This past Sunday, for the first time, the Catholic "mass" was a "Queer Divine Service." We take the opportunity to remind all that Traditionis custodes, the document that attempted to abolish the Traditional Rite of the Latin Church, had the illegitimate audacity of stating: "The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council...

[Catholic Caucus] A TLM Girl in a Novus Ordo WorldI was living my best Catholic life. Thanks to a powerful encounter with the Lord, I went from a “check-the-box faith” to an all-in, sign me up, on-fire disciple of Jesus. From Catechist to VBS, I gave my “yes” to everything, but my church involvement peaked when I introduced a women’s Bible study to our parish. The program was wildly successful, and for the first time in a long time, I felt a profound sense of belonging. I had found my people, I knew my purpose, and the church felt like...

[Catholic Caucus] Cradle Catholics Are Leaving the Church. Why?How to stop the massive leakage of Catholics out of the faith? Devout practice, the most lasting testament to the truth of the Faith.The Catholic Church in the U.S. is hemorrhaging Catholics at an increasingly alarming rate, according to a new study. The University of Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal recently published an article entitled “Religious Transmission: A Solution to the Church’s Biggest Problem,” which determined that nearly 90 percent of “cradle Catholics” have left the Catholic Church. Most of those ex-Catholics become religiously unaffiliated.When Catholicism has been under threat throughout the...

'Amazon' Eucharist 'Approved' for MexicoThe retired bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, México, Felipe Arizmendi, 84, announced on 13 November on Exaudi.org that the Dicastery for the Novus Ordo Liturgy had "finally" approved some "liturgical adaptations" for the Eucharist in the Tseltal, Tsotsil, Ch'ol, Tojolabal and Zoque ethnic groups of his former diocese.Arizmendi is responsible for the doctrine of the faith at the Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM) and appears also to be a Cardinal. San Cristóbal de Las Casas has 1.6 million Catholics and 135 priests.The prelate writes that "ritual dances" have been approved at the offertory, in the...

Deforming the ClergyDoes the Novus Ordo Mass by its nature alter the nature of the priest from one who performs a sacrifice to one who is in charge of a ceremony?It happened again a while ago. The Mass was honoring a former member of the parish who had just professed final vows. Visiting clergy were present. After the procession, when all were assembled on the altar, the pastor made the sign of the cross, looked at the packed house, gave a big smile, and said, “Yep, just another ordinary Mass at St. ‘X’.” A laughter of good will broke out....

A Real Threat: Rocky Horror Cupich ShowThe Maundy Thursday Eucharist at notorious St Sabina Parish in Chicago Archdiocese was a kind of Protestant service with some "words of consecration".Being Novus Ordo, the performance had no altar but a banquet table around which sat twelve men and women dressed as vice presidents of the banquet - as if a banquet needed a president.It included choreographed dances, purple lighting effects, disco ball strobe lights, brutal noise with crashing cymbals and yelling and tinkly piano music.During the show, Father Michael Pfleger celebrated his own person.Chicago's Cardinal Cupich who supposedly cares about Catholic doctrine...

[Catholic Caucus] Reposting: A most important historical document: the 1969 Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani (the original GIRM) - "The Lord's Supper, or Mass, is the sacred meeting or congregation of the people of God assembled, the priest presiding, to celebrate the memorial of the Lord..."Eleven years ago, in 2011, we in RORATE were proud to be the first to make available online, for the first time, a document that had then become extremely rare: the very first GIRM (General Instruction of the Roman Missal), published together with the 1969 Novus Ordo Missae.From our post:***7. Cena dominica sive Missa est sacra...

"This man needs to stop going after every single Catholic publicly that he disagrees with. It is bad decorum and does not make the Church look good."

Cardinal Cupich takes the lead after Vatican's dubia by issuing major restrictions on TLM and sacraments. ...

It seems some traditions are more cherished than others. Pagan Aztec dance ritual recently performed in St Mary of the Lake church in Chicago’s Uptown. ...

Big news about sacred tradition and Traditionis Custodes emerged over the weekend. ...

In this blistering segment of a TV panel discussion, the great Spanish traditionalist Miguel Ayuso expresses, more succinctly than one will find it anywhere else, the basic difficulties thoughtful Catholics have with the last Council in its origins, execution, and results. ...

The Mass of Paul VI “Well Celebrated”—a Myth! (Guest Article by Cyril Farret d’Astiès) Rorate Caeli is pleased to offer a translation of Paix Liturgique newsletter 833 of November 15, 2021, with permission of the editor Christian Marquant. Cyril Farret d’Astiès’s article is preceded and succeeded by remarks from Paix Liturgique.INTRODUCTIONA few weeks ago, a group of priests, religious and lay people, led by our friend Denis Crouan of the association “Pro Liturgia,” seized the opportunity of the publication by Francis of his motu proprio Traditionis custodes to launch a plea to our pastors to “finally” implement the Novus...

We must give up our firmly held beliefs. What does that even mean?

[Catholic Caucus] Revenge of the Rigid: On Rejecting Grillo, Primitivism, and the Electric SlideI often like to imagine how the radical liturgical reforms after Vatican II would have proceeded in the internet age. Certainly the quick availability of information and the means by which to network globally in seeking answers would have made the position of the extreme wing of reformers more precarious, and certainly the analog “fog of war” which the Bugniniites hid behind would have been more easily penetrated. A great example of what things may have looked like come from our own Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, who has...