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[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Roche’s Unity Means SubmissionArthur Roche has spent years doing the sort of damage that only a curial functionary can do well: dressing coercion in the language of pastoral concern, dressing rupture in the language of continuity, and then acting scandalized when Catholics notice the costume slipping. In his new OSV interview, he says liturgical debates should be viewed through the lens of unity, not personal preference; he repeats that the older rite was being used against the reform of Vatican II; he calls the traditional Mass a concession still available only “by papal authority”; and then, with...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider urges traditional-minded cardinals, bishops, groups to support SSPXBp. Schneider said it's not helpful 'to attack the Society of St. Pius X, to call them schismatics, or to express threats to them that they will be excommunicated. It should be the contrary.'“I think all the traditional communities, good cardinals and bishops should make a common, united appeal to the Holy Father, ‘please grant them, in a generous gesture – exceptionally, because it is church law, it is not divine law – please grant them the permission of consecrations.” — Bishop Athanasius Schneider(LifeSiteNews) — On March 25, Michael...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Roche says liturgy meant to promote unity, not personal preferenceDebates over the liturgy should ultimately be understood through the lens of unity, not individual preference, said Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. “When we go to church, we don’t go to church to worship simply as an individual but as a family. We go together as the congregation which is called by God,” Cardinal Roche told OSV News March 17 in his office at the Vatican. “This sense of congregation goes back as far as Old Testament...

[Catholic Caucus] Irony Alert: Trads Follow Vatican II on the Liturgy Better Than the Novus Ordo World Follows ItIn the recent much-discussed letter from Cardinal Parolin to the French bishops, conveying the sentiments of Leo XIV, a certain phrase sticks out: “May the Holy Spirit suggest to you concrete solutions that would generously include those sincerely attached to the Vetus Ordo, while respecting the orientations set forth by the Second Vatican Council regarding the Liturgy.”Well, we might want to take another look at the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, promulgated December 4, 1963. Admitting that...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Eijk reflects on celebrating his first public Latin Mass in new interview'I found it a very impressive and unforgettable experience,' said Cardinal Eijk in an interview with the Italian blog Messainlatino.Cardinal Willem Eijk celebrates first public Traditional Latin Mass in Oss, Netherlands. Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk explained his reasons for celebrating a Pontifical Mass in the Tridentine Rite and described its reception among the faithful.On March 25, the Italian blog Messainlatino published an exclusive interview conducted by Father Marco Begato with Cardinal Eijk, archbishop of Utrecht and primate of the Netherlands, who celebrated his first Pontifical High...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Sends Message to French Bishops Regarding Traditional MassAn update to our latest text on the French Bishops' Conference analysis of the Latin Mass matter.The Pope sent a message, by way of his Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin which included a paragraph on the matter -- emphasis added below:Dear Brethren,His Holiness Pope Leo XIV has asked me to convey to you his best wishes for the smooth and fruitful progress of the work of your Plenary Assembly. He assures you of his fraternal prayer. He hopes that this occasion will be a renewed opportunity to strengthen the bonds...

[Catholic Caucus] PHOTOS: Dutch Cardinal Eijk celebrates first public Traditional Latin MassCardinal Eijk’s Pontifical High Mass is particularly significant because the Latin Mass is rare in the Netherlands and it comes despite Vatican officials’ hostility to the traditional liturgy.6, 2026 - 5:24 pm EDTTue Mar 17, 2026 - 7:05 am EDT Listen to this article4 minOSS, Netherlands (LifeSiteNews) — Dutch Cardinal Willem Jacobus Eijk, the metropolitan archbishop of Utrecht, celebrated his first public Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) at the historic Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception on Sunday.The packed March 15 Laetare Sunday Mass, viewable at the link...

[Catholic Caucus] Abp. Cordileone: ‘Renewal of Western civilization begins with renewal of the Mass’The American archbishop offered Pontifical High Mass at the ‘Christ is King’ conference in Croatia where he noted young people yearn for 'authentic' spiritual 'heritage.' Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, the archbishop of San Francisco, California, celebrated Croatia’s first Traditional Pontifical Mass in over half a century during the “Christ is King” conference last weekend.The March 7 Mass, celebrated at the Church of St. Blaise during the third annual “Christ is King” conference, was notably the first Pontifical High Mass celebrated in Latin in the central European country in...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo meets with professors who found Latin Mass Catholics are more orthodox, notPope Leo XIV on Thursday met in a private audience with Professors Stephen Bullivant and Stephen Cranney, two prominent sociologists who notably published a study showing that the vast majority of faithful who attend the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) accept Catholic teaching and the Second Vatican Council.Pope Leo met with Bullivant, who is a Latin Mass attendee, and Cranney during a March 5 audience, per the Vatican’s daily bulletin, though it is not known what was discussed. The professors notably co-wrote the forthcoming book, Trads:...

Brazilian Archbishop Declares Excommunication for Attending Latin Mass Outside Approved SiteArchbishop Carlos Alberto Breis Pereira, 60, of Maceió, Brazil, has warned that celebrating or attending the Mass in the Roman rite outside of his one authorized location will result in excommunication.The diocesan note was issued on February 11 on FaceBook.com (below). It reads:“The Archdiocese of Maceió informs the faithful who reside within its jurisdiction that, if they wish to participate in the so-called ‘Tridentine Masses’ or in those celebrated according to the Roman Missal of Saint Pius V, promulgated by Pope Saint Pius V in 1570, in the Latin language,...

[Catholic Caucus] Worldwide Spiritual Bouquet for the Pope and the TLMWith the coming months set to prove pivotal for the Traditional Latin Mass and the cause of Catholic Tradition within the Church, Missae pro Missa hereby announces a new worldwide spiritual bouquet beginning Feb. 22, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter and First Sunday of Lent, to conclude on June 29, Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, which follows the next Consistory of Cardinals called by Pope Leo XIV. The intention of this latest campaign is straightforward: for the Pope to recognize the full freedom of the TLM.As with...

[Catholic Caucus] SSPX to Tucho: No Thanks! We’ll Stay CatholicPagliarani’s letter to Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández turns Rome’s “dialogue” offer inside out and exposes the real price of “full communion”A letter that smiles while it draws blood The first thing that hits you is how calm it is.Hiraeth In Exile is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a paid subscriber.Upgrade to paidIt is a courtly, Roman-style thank you note with a blade hidden in the fold. Pagliarani opens by praising “perfect transparency,” then immediately reframes the entire encounter as something the Society proposed...

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV To Schneider: "Young People Told Me They Converted Thanks to the Traditional Latin MassBishop Athanasius Schneider told Robert Moynihan on February 16 about the 30 minutes private audience with Pope Leo XIV on December 18.He described the tone as open and cordial: “The Pope was very kind, attentively listening to me, very, very fraternal and simple.”Two drafts for Leo XIVBishop Schneider handed Pope Leo XIV two drafts during the audience.1) A solemn Profession of FaithHe proposed a solemn Profession of Faith, modeled on Paul VI’s 1968 Credo of the People of God. Schneider emphasized that such...

[Catholic Caucus] ‘Embarrassing in the extreme’: Liturgy scholar demolishes Cardinal Roche’s document on Latin Mass'That this document bears the name of the Prefect of the Dicastery of Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments renders it nothing less than a scandal,' Fr. Dom Alcuin Reid said.A Benedictine priest and liturgical scholar ripped as “embarrassing,” even “in the extreme,” points made by Cardinal Arthur Roche in his recent document on the liturgy distributed at the extraordinary consistory convened by Pope Leo XIV.Dom Alcuin Reid, a Benedictine monk, priest, and liturgical scholar, broke down Roche’s document defending Traditionis Custodes and the suppression...

[Catholic/Anglican Caucus] Pope Leo told Anglicans ‘we are already one.’ So what about Latin Mass Catholics?Is claiming 'unity' when embracing external differences while punishing internal fidelity true Catholic unity?Recently, Pope Leo XIV told Anglicans at an ecumenical prayer service at the Vatican that “we are already one.” This statement, if taken seriously, is not a mere courteous or diplomatic remark. It is a theological claim with concrete theological implications.Words spoken by a pope imply principles about the nature of Christian unity, the Church, and the relationship between truth, worship, and communion. If ecclesial unity is affirmed with Anglicans – who...

[Catholic Caucus] Latin Mass groups respond to SSPX consecration plans, appeal to Pope Leo, bishops for TLM accessUna Voce and the Latin Mass Society stressed to Pope Leo and the bishops that depriving the faithful of the traditional Mass can increase sympathy toward the SSPX’s arguments. Una Voce International (FIUV) and the Latin Mass Society of England and Wales issued a joint statement this week urging the Church hierarchy to end the restrictions on the Traditional Latin Mass for the benefit of the faithful in light of the Society of St. Pius X’s (SSPX) plans to consecrate new bishops without...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Schneider Severely Criticizes Cardinal Roche's ReportInterviewed by Diane Montagna, Bishop Schneider challenges the historical assumptions and theological premises underlying Cardinal Arthur Roche's document. He maintains that the report does not reflect an impartial and thorough analysis, but rather an ideological approach marked by what he calls "rigid clericalism." Bishop Schneider argues that the Mass most faithful to the Council was the Ordo Missae of 1965, and that the form later promulgated by Pope Paul VI—the Novus Ordo Missae—was substantially rejected by the first Synod of Bishops after the Council in 1967. He disputes the interpretation of the...

[Catholic Caucus] The Question of the Traditional Mass in Pope Leo XIV’s PontificateWe find ourselves in the early days of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, and there are reasons for cautious optimism. Several signs suggest that the Holy Father wishes to address some of the more pressing challenges inherited from his predecessor.Among these is the thorny question of access to the Traditional Latin Mass (what was once called the Extraordinary Form or Tridentine Mass) and the restrictions imposed by Traditiones Custodes.I approach this question with the disposition we ought to have toward any successor of Peter: giving the benefit of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Chicago Cardinal Escalates Against Roman Rite: "There Must Be Only One Rite"Ongoing reform is central to the liturgy because it has cultural elements that change over time and across places, pro-homosexual Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago - an ardent enemy of the Roman Rite and a good friend of Leo XIV - wrote on ChicagoCatholic.com (January 21).He repeated the historical misrepresentations which Cardinal Arthur Roche used at the January 7–8 consistory to polemise against the Mass of all ages.For Cupich, “with the passage of time and changes in the culture, there is always a need to reform the...

[Catholic Caucus] TLM Sunday 2026: "Introibo ad altare Dei"The author preparing to offer private Mass during the snow and ice storm of January 25, 2026.The priest when he is alone, with angels and saints surrounding and united with him, to pray the Mass will naturally choose that worship which he holds most dear in this age commonly described as one of options, if nothing else. And the option of the Tradition, as Pope Benedict made so clear in Summorum Pontificum, remains as sacred today for all of us it was for the Catholics of the two millennia that preceded our...