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We shall go into the house of the Lord (Psalm 121) As a priest of the Archdiocese of Oviedo in Asturias, Spain, I have been very blessed to have been offering the Traditional Roman Mass in my home diocese since 2008. When ordained on Pentecost 1996, my hope of being able to celebrate the Vetus Ordo, even once before taking leave of this vale of tears, was rather more wishful thinking at the time.But here I am, celebrating every Sunday and preceptive Holy-day for nearly thirteen years now. And will continue to do so, though having had to switch over...

[Catholic Caucus] Roman Rite Superiors Have Met in CourtalainThe Facebook page of the association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté which organises the annual Pilgrimage Paris-Chartres, announced that on August 31, the Superiors of the Ecclesia Dei Institutes met in Courtalain, France, where the Institute of the Good Shepherd is based, to discuss the mess created by Traditionis Custodes.The text of the post says, "Following the publication of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes , the superiors general of the main “Ecclesia Dei" communities met yesterday in Courtalain. For the defence of the traditional Mass, they will not give up on ANYTHING!"

Dr. Michael Fiedrowicz on Traditionis Custodes: “Frighteningly reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984” We publish today an English translation of a powerful piece written by Prof. Dr. Michael Fiedrowicz (b. 1957), an expert on church history and liturgy, and author of the best scholarly book on the TLM: “The Traditional Mass: History, Form, and Theology of the Classical Roman Rite” (Angelico Press, 2020). This piece appeared first in the “IK-Nachrichten” of the association Pro Sancta Ecclesia and then on August 30 at CNA-Deutsch. Professor Fiedrowicz teaches at the Faculty of Theology in Trier at the Chair of Ancient Church History,...

[Catholic Caucus] Confraternity Message from Fr. Reiner, FSSPDear members of the Confraternity,The Motu proprio Traditionis Custodes and its accompanying letter from Pope Francis have shocked us all. We have not yet been informed of any definitive decisions regarding the future of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and its apostolates. Even though the first reactions of various bishops have been rather reassuring and have not involved any significant restrictions, nevertheless, in the coming weeks various bishops’ conferences will discuss the matter on the occasion of this motu proprio and possibly take decisions that will be groundbreaking for us. The Roman...

[Catholic Caucus] French Catholics to Pope Francis: “Don’t touch our Latin Mass!”For the Freedom of the Traditional MassSeventh peaceful demonstration in front of the apostolic nunciature in FranceMore than 70 persons gathered together this Saturday August 28 in front of the apostolic nunciature in Paris, avenue du Président Wilson, from 12 to 1 p.m. Indeed, as the end of the holidays approaches, concern is growing among those who attend the traditional liturgy. It is true that the bishops of France have been preaching appeasement and, in a number of dioceses, everything should remain as it is. The Archbishop of Dijon...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditional Catholic Institutes to Discuss ‘Traditionis Custodes’ Amid Talk of VisitationsThe head of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter said the meeting would be to ‘exchange points of view and to see what we can do together’ ahead of any future possible restrictions imposed by the Vatican. Archbishop Ganswein celebrating Mass in the Extraordinary Form in Rome, 2017. (photo: Edward Pentin) Edward Pentin Vatican August 26, 2021 VATICAN CITY — Superior generals of apostolic institutes that exclusively celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass according to the traditional form of the Roman rite plan to meet next week...

[Catholic Caucus] Traditionis Custodes: Schneider Contradicts ZenTraditionis custodes is not only about regulating the Roman Mass but wants it to disappear, Cardinal Joseph Zen said in an online discussion (here and below, August 9).However, Zen doubts that Francis is “fully aware” of this, and blames “the [famous] people around him.” He believes that the initiative for TC came from the "Roman Curia," especially Cardinal Parolin. Zen would like to ask Francis what he thinks about this “big attack” on the Mass.Bishop Schneider replied to Zen in the same conference that this is a document of Francis and it is published...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Francis and the civil war in the ChurchOn August 5, the Italian newspaper Il Foglio published a letter from a group of laypeople addressed to Pope Francis. The letter, elaborating on the title of Andrea Riccardi’s latest book, “La Chiesa brucia,” wanted to highlight a profound distress that is being experienced in the Church. Transformed – say the authors of the letter – into a “field hospital” through the many injuries it has caused. The authors also denounce the failure of the outbound Church.It is a letter that recalls different situations of opposite sign: from the lack...

Auto-Referential Francis: New Record In Self-Citations The blogger Sharon Kabel analysed Francis’ most recent encyclical Fratelli Tutti regarding its quotations and their length.The result: 60% of the 288 quotations - nearly 180 - are taken from previous Francis statements followed with a large distance by quotations from Benedict XVI and John Paul II, each with about only twenty quotations.It may come in Francis' defence that the encyclical was likely not written by him, but by some of his flatterers.Ironically, a recurring Francis mantra is his warning against an "auto-referential Church."