Free Republic

[Barf Alert] Vatican Council II: A seed that continues to grow A great grace, a true prophecy for the life of the Church, a new Pentecost: these are some of the expressions used by Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI to describe the most recent Council – a small seed that has become a tree and continues to bear fruit through the working of the Holy Spirit. By Sergio CentofantiThis year 8 December will mark the 55th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council. It is an important moment in this period since a new debate...

If the Second Vatican Council Had Never Happened, Would We Still Have a “New Mass?” … Quite Possibly By: Msgr. Charles PopeOne of the unfortunate couplings with those who lament the loss of the “pre-Conciliar” Mass (a.k.a. Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), Extraordinary Form, 1962 Missal, etc.) is the linking of the “New Mass” (a.k.a. Ordinary Form) wholly with the Second Vatican Council. This connection, while understandable given the emergence of the Ordinary Form just after the Council, is too simplistic and is unhelpful for a number of reasons. Without the Second Vatican Council, would the Ordinary Form of the Mass be...

The Liturgical Movement How the traditional Roman Rite, over one thousand years old, was destroyed Michael Davies REMNANT COLUMNIST, London During the first session of the Second Vatican Council, in the debate on the Liturgy Constitution, Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani asked: “Are these Fathers planning a revolution?” The Cardinal was old and partly blind. He spoke from the heart without a text about a subject which moved him deeply, and continued: "Are we seeking to stir up wonder, or perhaps scandal among the Christian people, by introducing changes in so venerable a rite, that has been approved for so many centuries...

Cardinal Alfons Stickler is prefect emeritus of the Vatican library and archives. He served as a specialist, a peritus, on the Liturgy Commission of the Second Vatican Council. He was elevated to the college of cardinals by Pope John Paul II in 1985. This essay originally appeared in Franz Breid, ed., Die heilige Liturgie (Steyr, Austria: Ennsthaler Verlag, 1997). His Eminence asked us to publish an English version; the essay was translated by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. My position at the Council-pardon me, please, if I begin with some personal background; it is necessary in order to understand what I...

Translation from Original Spanish from today's article: 'The Pope Recognizes That Pederasty is a "Crime" ' The Vatican summons an extraordinary meeting to treat the sexual scandals carried out by several priests about the U.S.A. The Pope recognizes that pederasty (pederastia) is a "crime" AGENCIES | City of the Vatican With the presence of the Pope, thirteen cardinals of the U.S.A., seven of the Bar and four archbishops will tomorrow look for during today and in the Vatican an exit to the pederasty scandals in which they have been themselves involved American bishops and priests. The Pontiff has been...