Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Leo XIV, the Tridentine Mass, and the Supposed “Ideology” of Traditional CatholicsIt is true: Traditional Catholics are resolved to adhere to the unadulterated Catholic Faith that for almost two thousand years stood in the way of the unholy ideologies that now reign in Rome since the Second Vatican Council. May God grant Leo XIV the grace to see this clearly and the courage to act heroically to restore what has been lost for sixty years.“For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party...

The history of the Vatican and Israel has been characterized by the lack of recognition of Israel on many occasions, which was largely caused by the dispute over the status of Jerusalem and whether Christian holy places are in good condition or not. It was not until after the Oslo Accords that the Holy See recognized the State of Israel in 1993. Rather than an act of religious prohibition, this understanding amounted to the convenient acceptance of a political fact. The Vatican has since maintained diplomatic relations with Israel while advocating for Jerusalem to have a special international status to...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo says Latin Mass question ‘very complicated’'Obviously, between the Tridentine Mass and the Vatican II Mass, the Mass of Paul VI, I’m not sure where that’s going to go,' he said during his first long-form interview as Pope.Speaking directly about the traditional Latin Mass, Pope Leo XIV expressed openness to meeting with advocates, adding the topic is “very complicated.”During the first long-form interview given by the new Pope, Leo XIV conversed with Crux about a wide variety of topics, including the traditional liturgy or Latin Mass, the Sino-Vatican deal, LGBT topics, Synodality, Vatican finances and reforms, and...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo XIV says synodality is key to unity in newly released interviewPope Leo XIV has spoken at length about the role of synodality in the life of the Church in a newly released interview published by Crux on 14 September.The remarks on synodality form part of a forthcoming biography, León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, written by Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen and to be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on 18 September. English and Portuguese editions will follow in 2026.In the video excerpts, Pope Leo is shown seated against a wall...

Bishop Eleganti: Vatican II reforms were a ‘reckless,’ ‘failed’ experimentThe Catholic Church lives or dies on the basis of liturgy. Only a return to tradition can revive the Church’s worship and faith life.Editor’s note: The following article is a critical analysis of developments in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council by Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Marian Eleganti. I was born in 1955 and was an enthusiastic altar boy in my childhood. At first I served in the old rite, always a little nervous not to mess up the Latin responses, then I was retrained in the middle of the...

How the Vatican II Revolution Exchanged One Type of Sidewalk Counseling for AnotherThe world sees the Catholic Church today that is presented by the cafeteria-Catholics in the pews and the false shepherds in Rome, whose words and deeds tell the world that souls do not really need to be Catholic, let alone follow what the Church has always taught. As long as Rome allows this reality to persist, many people who hear the Catholic pro-life message will naturally (but falsely) conclude that the Church’s teaching is no more than a recommendation — if it was truly something God commanded us...

Vatican II Documents on Fr. James Martin and the LGBTQ MovementIn light of Pope Leo XIV’s recent audience with Fr. James Martin, who was in Rome for the LGBTQ Jubilee pilgrimage, many serious Catholics have understandably expressed concerns with the new pope. To better understand how this could possibly happen just twelve years after Benedict XVI announced (in his farewell address) that the true Second Vatican Council, “with all its spiritual force,” was finally emerging, we sat down with the documents of the Council for an interview. It is evident that those who take issue with Leo XIV may not...

[Catholic Caucus] Italian priest suspended after YouTube broadcast criticising Vatican IIAn Italian parish priest has been suspended from ministry after hosting an online meeting in which he declared that the reforms of the Second Vatican Council were contrary to the Catholic faith.Don Leonardo Maria Pompei, pastor of Santa Maria Assunta in Cielo at Sermoneta, in the province of Rome, was suspended a divinis on 4 September by Bishop Mariano Crociata of Latina, Terracina, Sezze and Priverno, a former Secretary of the Italian Bishops’ Conference.The measure forbids Don Pompei from exercising any priestly functions, from wearing clerical dress, and from publicly...

[Catholic Caucus] How the Sinful Pride of the Vatican II Revolution Has Wrecked Souls and Societies If we think seriously about what it means for the Catholic Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, to suffer a crisis of internal infidelities rather than external attacks, we can conclude that we are facing something almost unparalleled in salvation history. If we can measure the magnitude of the fall by the spiritual dignity of the ones falling and the degree of the harms caused, the post-Vatican II crisis is arguably worse than any in history except those caused by the fall...

Is Pope Leo XIV Committed to the False Irenism Condemned by Pope Pius XII?If serious Catholics remain unwilling to condemn the “benign heresies” promoted by Vatican II and John Paul II, then perhaps it is better for Leo XIV to sustain the most visible aspects of the crisis. In that way, we might not be deceived into thinking the cancer is cured merely because the most painful symptoms have temporarily subsided. But the far better course would be for all sincere Catholics to finally renounce the errors condemned by Pius XII that have become so prevalent today.When Robert Francis Prevost...

[Catholic Caucus] “Mass of ALL Ages”? Shiny New Lecture Series Rehashes 1970sWhenever a person writes, he always has to ask himself one question: Who is my audience? No matter his disposition or ideas, a writer writes to a certain group with their ideas (written and unwritten) and culture, which can often be very complex.I thought about this question today when I saw an ad promoting the latest work of Dr. Brant Pitre, a 32 hour, 130 dollar, 25 CD (or MP3) collection entitled Mass of All Ages which argues that actually, the Novus Ordo is the truly Traditional Mass!Now before...

[Catholic Caucus] Cradle Catholics Are Leaving the Church. Why?How to stop the massive leakage of Catholics out of the faith? Devout practice, the most lasting testament to the truth of the Faith.The Catholic Church in the U.S. is hemorrhaging Catholics at an increasingly alarming rate, according to a new study. The University of Notre Dame’s Church Life Journal recently published an article entitled “Religious Transmission: A Solution to the Church’s Biggest Problem,” which determined that nearly 90 percent of “cradle Catholics” have left the Catholic Church. Most of those ex-Catholics become religiously unaffiliated.When Catholicism has been under threat throughout the...

[Catholic Caucus] Does Third Secret of Fatima warn of apostasy? Expert weighs in Joining me on this episode of The John-Henry Westen Show is LifeSite journalist Dr. Maike Hickson. We discussed the Third Secret of Fatima, hints that the true secret may have revealed apostasy in the Church and warned of the Second Vatican Council, liturgical abuses, and more. I opened the episode by asking Hickson about some of her latest findings on the Third Secret. She first noted Cardinal Raymond Burke’s recent homily for a Mass commemorating the 108th anniversary of Our Lady’s third apparition at Fatima in which...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke criticizes Mass changes after Vatican II, says continuity with Latin Mass is ‘so strained’Cardinal Burke said massive changes to the Mass after Vatican II were an ‘abuse’ of the council and stressed that proper worship is essential for morality in an interview with Raymond Arroyo.ardinal Raymond Burke said that the Holy Mass was “radically reduced” after Vatican II with the “stripping away” of “beautiful elements” in the Traditional Latin Mass and praised the “transcendence” of the older rite in an interview with EWTN host Raymond Arroyo.Cardinal Burke, a renowned canon lawyer and former prefect of the...

[Catholic Caucus] Cardinal Burke Critiques Novus Ordo: "Radically Reduced," ...Young Catholics are flocking to the Mass in the Roman rite because of its beauty, Cardinal Burke told journalist Raymond Arroyo on his Youtube.com-channel (August 8). Main quotes:- This more ancient form of the Roman Rite was celebrated from Gregory the Great (+604) until Vatican II (1962-1965).- The reforms after the Council of Trent (1545-1563) were to address some elements, but the form of the rite was maintained and in continuity for more than 15 centuries. Whereas after the Second Vatican Council - not due to the teaching of the Council,...

[Catholic Caucus] EXCLUSIVE Bishop Strickland: on Pope Leo XIV, the Latin Mass and Archbishop LefebvreBishop Joseph Strickland is a well-known and well-loved prelate for many conservative Catholics.Ordained for the Diocese of Dallas in 1985 and appointed Bishop of Tyler, Texas, by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012, he has in recent years become a vocal critic of certain Vatican policies which he believes go against “the truth of the Gospel.” He was removed as Bishop of Tyler in 2023 after a Vatican investigation concluded that “the continuation in office of Bishop Strickland was not feasible.”In this exclusive interview, he discusses his...

How Liberals Gaslighted Traditional Catholics 50 Years AgoSo many putative leaders of the Catholic Church have no problems with the Synod on Synodality, Fiducia Supplicans, or widespread cafeteria-Catholicism but are wholly supportive of Rome’s persecution of Traditional Catholics through Traditionis Custodes and other measures. This, of itself, tells us that many influential figures promoting the Vatican II revolution are gaslighting us.In his August 2, 1975 letter to Libre Belgique, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre sought to defend himself against certain criticisms related to his adherence to what the Catholic Church taught and practiced prior to Vatican II:“The repeated attacks in your columns...

New secular study finds Vatican II triggered a decline in Catholic Mass attendance worldwideA newly published secular study found that Vatican II “triggered a decline” in worldwide Catholic Mass attendance relative to religious service attendance of other religions, including Protestant Christianity.By examining the religious service attendance rates for 66 countries as far back as 1920, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) found that “compared to other countries, Catholic countries experienced a steady decline in the monthly adult religious service attendance rate starting immediately after Vatican II” in 1965, the final year of the council.Catholic countries were defined as those...

[Catholic Caucus] Modernism is a SinAbove: Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Liesing, Austria.On his first day in office, in addition to signing a flurry of executive orders, President Joe Biden led a virtual swearing-in ceremony for “Day One Presidential Appointees,” that is, administrative staff for the White House and various governmental agencies.A few minutes into his remarks, Biden told his new subordinates that “we owe your families, we owe your families, because those of you working in the White House, [and] those who will be working in other agencies, you’re gonna work like the devil [an interesting choice...

Pope Leo XIV and the Cruel Reality of the Vatican II RevolutionAs grateful as we may be to Leo XIV for this pious exhortation, we are left to wonder what the new pontiff intends to do to address one of the most wicked cruelties in the world today: the Vatican’s continued attacks on the unadulterated Catholic Faith and its persecution of those souls who want nothing more than to practice our religion as faithfully as possible.In his July 27th Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV spoke of our need to avoid cruelty to others if we want to be able call...