Free Republic

Crusade: Our Response to Traditionis CustodesIn the history of the crusading movement we can observe certain factors which contributed to success or failure, whether in the early crusades of the so-called “Byzantine Empire,” or in the Reconquista, the Eastern Crusades and the Northern Crusades of Western Christendom.[1] One of these factors is rootedness about which I spoke last week.The other critical factor is freedom from earthly attachments. In the various crusading movements, those crusaders which were truly free from worldly attachments succeeded in their war against the enemies of Holy Church. But those that fell into fighting flesh and blood,...

Iowa diocese publishes deacon’s pro-LGBT story about gender-confused son ‘Lexi’ The deacon cited his formation in the diaconate as having provided him with some of the principles that led him to accept his son’s lifestyle. Mon Jan 3, 2022 - 1:27 pm ESTMon Jan 3, 2022 - 2:29 pm EST DAVENPORT, Iowa (LifeSiteNews) – A Catholic diocesan newspaper has been promoting transgenderism in the Church. The Catholic Messenger, the newspaper for the Diocese of Davenport, Iowa, displayed the sexual transformation of a St. Petersburg, Florida deacon’s son in the second of a series of articles seeking to illustrate “A Pastoral...

Dear Cardinal Cupich: At least obey the rubrics of the Novus Ordo Mass Dear Cardinal Cupich:I write to you as a Catholic priest on the feast of St. Thomas Becket, who is commemorated in the Octave of Christmas. St. Thomas Becket was certainly a complex man, but in the end—and the end is ultimately important to us all-- how he died so violently in the Cathedral at Canterbury at the hands of assassins driven to that terrible deed by King Henry II, made him a saint, not by a proclamation from Rome, but rather because of the “common” Catholics...

Moscow Patriarchate Signs Death Certificate for Conciliar Ecumenism The number two of the Russian Orthodox Church reacted, on December 12, 2021, on the Rossiya-24 channel, to the remarks made, on December 6, by Pope Francis on the plane back from Greece to Rome.The Sovereign Pontiff then declared: “I am ready to go to Moscow… My meeting with Patriarch Kirill is on the horizon.”Without confirming or denying the prospect of a meeting at the highest level between the Successor of Peter and the head of the Russian Church - which would be the second in the current pontificate - Metropolitan...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Blase Cupich publishes policy implementing Traditionis custodesShortly after the Congregation for Divine Worship responded to questions regarding Pope Francis' Motu propio, Cardinal Cupich implements a policy that goes into effect 25 January -- an opportunity to express the unity of the Church and to offer a 'concrete manifestation of the acceptance of the Council's teaching'.by Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fspJust two days after Christmas, on the Feast of St John the Evangelist, Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago, has issued a policy governing the celebration of the pre-Vatican rites in that Archdiocese. This policy follows the 18 December...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Roche on ‘Traditionis Custodes’ and Its Guidelines: ‘The Liturgical Possibilities Are in Place’The prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments discussed the implementation of the guidelines regarding the July apostolic letter on the Traditional Latin Mass.VATICAN CITY — The promotion of the traditional liturgy has been “curtailed but does not characterize discrimination,” Archbishop Arthur Roche has said in Dec. 22 comments to the Register. “What is important to realize now is that the Holy Father has spoken,” the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments...

The Second Atomic Bomb Has Exploded: CDW Issues Directives Banning Traditional Confirmations and Ordinations, Decrees the End of Ecclesia Dei CommunitiesCFN will hold a LIVE Q&A Session on this topic tonight, December 18, at 8:00 PM Eastern Time. Join us with your questions!The predicted document of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) extending the totalitarian measures against the Traditional Latin Mass has been published. It takes the form of a letter from Archbishop Arthur Roche, the Congregation’s Prefect, and a series of responses to dubia (questions) it says are a consolidation of questions submitted by...

Pope Francis’ new foundation appears to have more in common with French Revolution than with CatholicismReferences to God, the Holy Trinity, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and His Beloved Mother are totally absent from this catalogue of the new foundation's politically correct 'values,' among which environmentalist concerns and 'fraternity between believers and non-believers are, of course, paramount. VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — A “Fratelli tutti Foundation” attached to Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome was launched on Wednesday by Pope Francis who signed a decree that officially established the new entity. It aims at encouraging “fraternity and dialogue” among pilgrims and tourists visiting...

[Catholic Caucus] Archbishop Roche and Cardinal Braz de Aviz Refuse to Be Drawn on ‘Traditionis Custodes’ Application Document o try to get authoritative confirmation on the rumoured instruction about the application of Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, today I contacted the heads of two dicasteries most likely involved in issuing the document — Archbishop Arthur Roche, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.As they both had declined to respond to questions I had...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditional Catholics Sound Alarm As Rome Suppresses Most Old Rite SacramentsThey contend the Oct. 7 pastoral instruction forbidding six of the seven sacraments celebrated according to the extraordinary form is a violation of canon law and will cause spiritual harm.ROME — Canon lawyers and experts in the traditional liturgy have warned that a pastoral instruction issued by the Diocese of Rome that bans traditional communities and priests from celebrating all the sacraments with the exception of the Eucharist according to the traditional form of the Roman Rite is unlawful and will harm souls if allowed to continue.The guidelines,...

[Catholic Caucus] Why We Should Not Support Altar GirlsFor hundreds of years, the ability to serve at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass has brought about countless priestly vocations for the young men privileged to serve. In the words of the Archbishop of Westminster, Bernard Cardinal Griffen:“To serve at the altar, as to sing in the choir, is next to the priesthood the highest privilege which a human can enjoy. He represents the faithful and takes a most intimate part in the rich treasures of the Church’s liturgy and ceremonial. Those sacred ceremonies should be carried out with devotion, dignity,...

Don’t be afraid to doubt your faith: Pope to young peopleWe are Christians not out of duty, but out of beauty, says Pope FrancisIn Pope Francis’ last speech during his trip to Cyprus and Greece, the Holy Father addressed the concerns of young people. He responded to their testimonies, speaking on issues such as social media use, and the courage to dream in a complex world with uncertain futures.He also gave advice on what to do when doubts against faith arise, or are recurring.“I want to say to you and to everyone here: don’t be afraid of doubts, because they...

The Predictably Putrid Fruits of Francis’s Ecumenism A Pew Research Center survey of 6,485 U.S. adults from September 20-26, 2021 (Few Americans Blame God or Say Faith Has Been Shaken Amid Pandemic, Other Tragedies) yielded further evidence that the fruits of Vatican II’s ecumenical experiment have been putrid. The headline findings from the survey included the following:Catholics twice as likely as Protestants to say people who don’t believe in God can go to heaven Most Catholics, but not most Protestants, say some non-Christian religions can lead to eternal lifeDetails of the survey indicate that only 16% of Catholics surveyed...

[Catholic Caucus] As a cardinal, Pope Benedict reportedly called Marcel Lefebvre ‘the most important bishop of the 20th century’LifeSiteNews was able to obtain a written recollection of these words by the German cardinal from one of the two priests present at that meeting in the Palazzo di San Uffizio. VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — In the summer of 2003, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, reportedly told two priests in a private audience that he considered Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the founder of the priestly Society of St. Pius X, to be “the most important bishop of the 20th century...

[Catholic Caucus] Today’s day thought experiment: The Oregon TrailA friend sent this:I never played Oregon Trail, but I watched enough Westerns and studied enough history that I get the gist.Today’s day thought experiment:The wagon train is headed west. After crossing the Mississippi, things seem to go well through the plains – but then as things start to rise toward the Rockies, the going gets tougher. There are some Native attacks, the path gets more difficult. The wagon train is still largely together, but it’s showing signs of imminent trouble.The leadership calls a brief halt to discuss what’s going wrong and...

We Are Church International urges Pope Francis to make the Church participatory in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council An international group of Catholic laypeople have urged Pope Francis to replace the upcoming Synod on Synodality with an assembly of Catholics to make the Church participatory. We Are Church (WAC) International, a global coalition of national church reform groups, made the appeal as Catholics across the world participate in diocesan and regional consultations leading to the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican in October 2023. Pope Francis kicked off the two-year global consultation in Rome on Oct. 10. For...

Shepherding the Flock Out of the 1962 MissalThe time has come, says God to Moses. You must lead my people out of Egypt, out of captivity, toward the Promised Land.1 Unfortunately for the eager travelers, the journey lasts 40 years,2 and along the way the people murmur; they look back in nostalgia at the good things they once had.3 And they doubt that they will ever make it to the Promised Land. Many of them, in fact, die along the way.4 It is not easy to shepherd a people from one place to another physically; it is much harder to...

Liturgical Polarisation: a Reply to Fr Ruff Mass celebrated Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, London, on the feast of St Cecelia.The Mass was offered for the good estate of Vladimir Ashkenazy and his family:he is the sole survivor of the signatories of the 1971 Petition which prompted PopePaul VI to grant the first of the 'Indults' allowing public celebrations.Fr Anthony Ruff at the Pray, Tell blog tells us that the basic picture, in the debate about liturgy, is that either one supports Vatican II and the reformed liturgy to the exclusion of the preconciliar liturgy, or one shows greater or...

The Council and Eclipse of God- by Don Pietro Leone: Installment XX - Chapter V: The ‘Church and the World.’ This last chapter of Part I deals with the Church's relations with the World. Don Pietro shows how the Council teaching here combines the errors of Ecumenism and Religious Liberty, and has the net result of constructing a sort of notional 'Church-World', an aberrant fantasy condemned By St. Pius X over a century ago, and now being re-proposed by the contemporary global powers as the Masonic 'One World-Order.' F.R. V THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD Now Catholic Tradition divides...

[Catholic Caucus] South Carolina bishop restricts Latin Mass, bans some traditional sacraments altogetherBishop Robert E. Guglielmone expressly prohibited the traditional sacraments of confirmation and anointing of the sick. Wed Nov 24, 2021 - 6:25 am EST CHARLESTON, South Carolina (LifeSiteNews) — Charleston’s Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone has issued a letter severely restricting the Latin Mass and traditional sacraments, while attacking those he described as “relegating the ‘NOVUS ORDO’ to a lesser expression of the prayer of the Church.”Dated November 12, Guglielmone’s letter told the priests and deacons of the Charleston, South Carolina, diocese that the Second Vatican Council had “indicated...