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Guest Article: The Crisis of Modern EcumenismThe modern ecumenical movement, particularly in its post-conciliar manifestation, has adopted a dangerous illusion: that the various Christian denominations represent equally valid paths to God, differing merely in accidental rather than essential characteristics. This irenic approach, pursued with increasing fervour since the Second Vatican Council, fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the Church established by Christ; the Catholic Church, built sub Petro et cum Petro. Pope Pius XI, in his 1928 encyclical Mortalium Animos, provided a prophetic critique of this very tendency, warning against a false irenicism that would compromise the integrity of Catholic...

[Catholic Caucus] How the Church CHANGED overnight: controversy of Vatican IIFr. Charles Murr opens up about the spiritual and institutional unraveling that followed the Second Vatican Council, recalling how ambiguity, failed leadership, and compromises with modern ideologies destabilized the Church from within. He argues the true crisis came not from the Council’s texts but from their misinterpretation and misuse by poorly formed clergy. The aftermath of Humanae Vitae, he says, marked a collapse in episcopal authority, as public dissent went unpunished and relativism infiltrated moral theology. Liturgical experimentation and the loss of sacred discipline further unmoored Catholics from tradition. Fr....

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Sarah’s upcoming book ‘2050’ offers insights on the future of the ChurchThe defender of tradition and reverence will discuss his concerns over signs of ‘the loss of faith’ as well as his 'reasons for hope’ for the Church.Cardinal Robert Sarah announced he will be releasing on March 4 a book on the future of the Church titled 2050.Co-written with French journalist Nicolas Diat, the work will discuss Cardinal Sarah’s concerns over signs of “the loss of faith” as well as his “reasons for hope,” the cardinal shared Tuesday on X.“In 25 years, will the Church still be...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Eleganti: Cardinals must address the crisis in the liturgy, origins of the Novus OrdoThe loss of sacredness, the lack of centrality of God, the one-sided emphasis on the ‘meal character’ in the Mass since the introduction of the Novus Ordo: all this must be reconsidered!(LifeSiteNews) — In an interview with Diane Montagna on January 20, 2026, Bishop Athanasius Schneider draws attention to some historical facts about the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council, which most bishops and cardinals ignore or are no longer aware of:The liturgical constitution Sacrosanctum concilium was adopted on December 4, 1963, and...

[Catholic Caucus] Dutch Bishop Mutsaerts condemns liberal theology as ‘danger from within’ the ChurchReferencing Hilaire Belloc, Bishop Mutsaerts warns the Church is being undermined by theologians who no longer believe in conversion or sin.Dutch Bishop Robert Mutsaerts has criticized liberal theology as a great “danger that comes from within” to the Catholic Church.In an article on his blog published in early January, the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of ‘s-Hertogenbosch cited Catholic author Hilaire Belloc, who wrote that he did not fear “’the barbarians at the gates,’ but rather the danger that comes from within.”“I would now like to address...

Vatican official praises Lutheran text as model for Christian unity ahead of 2030 commemorationThe 'Confessio Augustana,' written by the Protestant theologian Philip Melanchthon and presented in 1530 to Emperor Charles V, is one of the founding texts of Lutheranism.Statue of Martin LutherShutterstockThe secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Christian Unity has said one of the founding texts of Lutheranism offers a model for rediscovering common ground among Christians ahead of a planned ecumenical commemoration in 2030.On January 22, Archbishop Flavio Pace made the remarks in an interview with Vatican News published on the occasion of the Week of...

Francis-Collapse of Catholicism in Latin AmericaCatholicism has been in collapse in Latin America since the aftermath of Vatican II -- but it went into vertiginous tailspin in the pontificate of the Pope from Argentina.We have often covered this in Rorate.For instance, right after the election of Francis, in 2014, in the long post "THE COLLAPSE OF CATHOLICISM IN LATIN AMERICA:New Poll, Statistics, Tables and Graphs - Extensive Analysis", as well as in "The Latin American Exodus: Catholics become Protestants in Droves".Now, the most credible research institute on religious trends, the Pew Research Center, has released a new study specifically dealing...

Attempts to change Church governance to synodal model have failed throughout historyChanging the leadership structure of the Church to make the Pope more like a CEO has been tried several times. Each time, God's intervention prevented it from succeeding. The rumbling after the conclusion of the two-day consistory held recently at the Vatican is a warning that a storm is brewing and we should prepare for it. Pope Leo XIV called the Vatican II Council “the guiding star of the Church’s path.” That star led the consistory to “lay the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae,” to “prepare a...

The Neo-Catechumenal Way: Leo XIV Praises a Modernist CultHow a Vatican II–Spawned “Way” Became a Web of Scandals, Heresies, and Cult-Like Abuses – and Why It Should Have Been Suppressed A Sect Born of Vatican II’s SpiritThe Neo-Catechumenal Way (NCW) was born in 1964 in the wake of Vatican II, founded by layman Francisco “Kiko” Argüello and Carmen Hernández. It bills itself as an “itinerary of Christian formation” for lapsed Catholics, but it resembles a sect within the conciliar Church. Even its name – “the Way” – betrays an exclusive self-concept, as if it alone were the path to true...

[Catholic Caucus] Sunset Boulevard and Vatican IIOnce upon a time, Hollywood used to produce movies. Real movies, that is. They were like serious novels but on celluloid. They were movies that explored the depths of the human condition, with its soaring peaks and dreadful valleys. It was a time when formidable creativity was placed at the service of truth and beauty. Not to put too fine a point on it, but Hollywood was the closest thing modernity had to Quattrocento Florence. No longer. Today’s Hollywood is more a landfill for Woke ideology and degenerate carnality. This billion-dollar industry is insulated...

[Catholic Caucus] "Nostalgic" Proposals on Liturgy Not Helpful – Cardinal SpenglerAsked about the Mass in the Roman rite, Cardinal Jaime Spengler of Porto Alegre, Brazil, said that “the river doesn’t flow backwards.” He spoke with VidaNuevaDigital.com on January 16. The cardinal is president of the bishops’ conferences of Brazil and Latin America (CELAM). His main statement echoes the historically weak ideas promoted by Cardinal Roche at the consistory on January 7-8. Cardinal Spengler said, “Throughout history, the liturgy has undergone various reforms. The Second Vatican Council represents an enormous effort to recover fundamental elements of Catholic liturgical celebration. Nostalgic proposals...

[Catholic/Anglican] Why Today’s Men Are Repulsed By the Mainstream Catholic ChurchOne of the most devastating realities about the Catholic Church today is that men are generally repulsed by what they see, beginning in their local parishes and all the way up to the Vatican.Merely looking at some of the prominent aspects of the “mainstream church” today, we can understand why this is: flamboyant priests like Fr. James Martin are rewarded by the Vatican while good men like Bishop Joseph Strickland are banished; rather than finding the firm and immutable religion of the saints, we find an amorphous set of nice...

[Catholic Caucus] Roche’s Consistory Manifesto: The Liturgical Revolution Still Demands Its VictimsEvery few months the postconciliar machine produces another document that pretends to be calm, pastoral, historically informed, even reverent toward “Tradition.” Then the mask slips. The target is always the same. The old Mass must not merely be regulated, not merely “balanced,” not merely “integrated.” It must be starved, shamed, and finally buried.Cardinal Arthur Roche’s consistory report is that pattern distilled. It is written for cardinals, packaged as a neutral overview, and built around the same three moves the regime has used for decades. First, a selective timeline where...

[Catholic Caucus] Open letter to Pope Leo XIV: The heresy of Modernism lives on through Vatican IILegal scholar Raymond Marcin has urged the Pope to reject Vatican II’s path, calling it a covert revival of what St. Pius X condemned as the ‘synthesis of all heresies.’Editor’s note: Below follows the full text of an Open Letter to Pope Leo XIV by Emeritus Professor of Law at the Catholic University of America Raymond B. Marcin.(LifeSiteNews) — Your Holiness, The purpose of this letter is to express a concern regarding the path that our Catholic Church has been following for six decades...

[Catholic Caucus] Una Voce responds to Roche Consistory Report against the Traditional MassDuring the recent consistory, the meeting of cardinals in Rome, Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, handed out a two-sided piece of paper containing some reflections on the liturgy to those present: this has been made available by Diane Montagna here. The liturgy had been among the four topics originally proposed for discussion at the meeting, but the cardinals decided to focus on just two, leaving the liturgy out. Cardinal Roche’s document was accordingly handed out without being formally discussed.Versions were available in Italian...

Conciliar Catechesis Watch: IntroductionOn Wednesday, Leo launched a new initiative with an Introduction to his planned General Audience series consisting of catechesis on the documents of Vatican II. For how long this weekly series will go on is anyone’s guess, but it seems likely to go on up to and perhaps beyond Lent.In any case, beginning today, the akaCatholic Podcast will respond to each of Leo’s weekly catechetic sessions with a closer look at what he had to say and how it compares and contrasts with what the Church has always taught.Beneath the video, a transcript will be provided for...

Pope Leo calls Second Vatican Council the ‘guiding star’ of the Church’s pathLeo’s description of the Second Vatican Council as the ‘guiding star’ of the Church’s path suggests he sees this council as surpassing in importance every other council of the Church.Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday said the Second Vatican Council is the “guiding star” of the Church’s path in his strongest statement to date in support of the controversial council.“It is the Magisterium (of the Second Vatican Council) that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey,” Pope Leo said during his Wednesday general audience, Vatican News reported....

Pope Leo begins a new catechism series dedicated to Vatican IIPope Leo on Wednesday praised the ‘liturgical reform’ launched by Vatican II that laid the groundwork for the revolutionary Novus Ordo Missae, the new Mass.Sculpture on St Peter's basilica door: Vatican IIVATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV announced Wednesday that he is beginning a catechesis series to “closely” study the Second Vatican Council, which many priests and scholars have affirmed to be in need of correction.“We are beginning a new catechesis series dedicated to the Second Vatican Council and to a fresh reading of its Documents,” Leo wrote in...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope at Audience: Second Vatican Council still guiding star of Church’s journeyPope Leo XIV begins a new catechesis series on the Second Vatican Council and its documents, emphasizing that the Council's teaching still serves as the guiding star of the Church’s journey."It is the Magisterium [of the Second Vatican Council] that still constitutes the guiding star of the Church’s journey today."Pope Leo XIV expressed this during his Wednesday General Audience, on January 7, in the Vatican, as he began a new catechesis series, which is dedicated to Vatican Council II and a rereading of its Documents, following the...

[Catholic Caucus] Bishop Barron criticizes ‘synodality’ and ‘Spirit of Vatican II’ in new statementBp. Barron cautioned that turning ‘synodality' into an ongoing state of the Church risks endless ‘suspense’ and undermines her essential mission of worship, evangelization, and service. Bishop Robert Barron has said that synodality, which questions settled doctrine, must not become a “permanent feature of the Church.”In a statement published on January 6 on X, the bishop of Winona-Rochester in southern Minnesota said, “I understand that one of the topics under consideration at the Consistory of Cardinals is synodality. I’m speaking as a bishop who was an elected...