Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] Our Disbanded Spiritual Police IF, AND WHEN, we have another genuinely Catholic pope, he could do worse than to begin his first encyclical by quoting the opening passage of Pope Pius IX’s Quanta Cura: With how great care and pastoral vigilance the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors, fulfilling the duty and office committed to them by the Lord Christ Himself in the person of most Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles, of feeding the lambs and the sheep, have never ceased sedulously to nourish the Lord’s whole flock with words of faith and with salutary doctrine, and to guard it...

[Catholic Caucus] WHETHER IT IS LICIT FOR A CATHOLIC TO QUESTION VATICAN II? Marco TosattiDear Stilumcuriali, Giuseppe Pellegrino, whom you know not only for his work as a translator for Stilum Curiae but also for his memory of the renunciation of Benedict XVI, has sent us a reflection of contribution to the open discussion in these days on the lawfulness or otherwise of discussing Vatican Council II. Enjoy your reading. Whether it is licit for a Catholic to question Vatican II?Objection 1. It would seem that it is not licit for a Catholic to question the teaching of Vatican II. For...

[Catholic Caucus] Church scholar: Proper understanding of Mass requires Communion on tongue Fr. Lanzetta emphasized the importance of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue to bring back the rightful reverence due to the Holy Eucharist. July 16, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — As part of today’s conference on the importance of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue, a Franciscan theologian emphasized the importance of understanding theological reasons for receiving Holy Communion in this manner.  Recently, churches and bishops have requested the faithful receive Holy Communion only in the hand or, in some cases, have outright banned the reception of Holy Communion on...

50 priests, scholars, journalists thank Viganò, Schneider for raising Vatican II questions July 15, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Today, more than 50 priests, scholars, journalists, and other persons of prominence published an Open Letter to Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider, thanking these two prelates for their recent statements in which they discuss some problems of the Second Vatican Council's documents that might need a further evaluation and correction.  The signatories of this letter regard this discourse about the Council and its aftermath to be of crucial importance for the good of the Church. Among them are prominently the Italian church...

[Catholic Caucus] De Mattei: Fake news? No, historical truth The Council of Constance (1414-1418) On his blog Settimo Cielo of July 13, the Vatican reporter Sandro Magister was highly critical of Bishops Carlo Maria Viganò and Athanasius Schneider, hurling an accusation at them for spreading “fake news”. * The term “fake news” was used also in reference to Monsignor Schneider’s theses, whereby the Church, in Her history, has corrected doctrinal errors committed by precedent ecumenical councils, without, in this manner, “undermining the foundations of the Catholic faith.” Magister accuses Schneider of historical incompetence, citing, as evidence, a brief intervention by...

[Catholic Caucus] Viganò Calls Francis An "Argentinian Liquidator” Already before Vatican II, the Faith was weak, Archbishop Viganò wrote on June 24 to Italian Father Alfredo Morselli (MarcoTosatti.com, July 14).Viganò explains that many bishops at Vatican II were intellectually corrupt, since the solid preparatory documents could so easily be replaced with cheap innovation texts.For Viganò, Vatican II was a "dishonest operation" and a "scam carried out against the faithful and the clergy.”Since Vatican II, he explains, the Church went on a "slippery, unfortunate and destructive path” that finally reached "the bankruptcy of the company at the hands of its Argentinian...

A pessimistic look at (catholic) church re-openings after Covid-19 Father Illo: I think we'll be down to 5-10 percent Father Joesph Illo, pastor of Star of the Sea in San Francisco,  gave a 14-minute homily of Sunday, July 12.A 15-second excerpt:Our church leaders are hoping that when the church restrictions are lifted that people will all come back to Mass. I don’t see it , Before Covid, 75 percent of Catholics did not come to Mass every Sunday on a regular basis. How many of the 25 percent attending will return? I think we’ll be down to 5-10 percent of...

[Catholic Caucus] Catholic filmmakers to create ‘stunning’ documentary on richness, beauty of Traditional Mass 'The documentary aims to show that the beauty of our timeless traditional liturgy will begin to restore the Church.' OAKWOOD, Ohio, July 12, 2020, (LifeSiteNews) – A group of filmmakers is working to create a “stunning” documentary about the Traditional Latin Mass that will show the “beauty of our timeless traditional liturgy” with the hope that such a film will help “begin to restore the Church.” The film, called “Mass of the Ages,” will focus on the beauty and meaning of the Latin Mass as well...

When receiving Communion in the hand can be sinful July 2, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Many bishops around the world are attempting to compel Catholics, who are in the right dispositions to approach the Holy Eucharist, to receive Our Lord in the hand, contrary to their well formed consciences about the risks involved in that method and contrary to their canonical rights to receive on the tongue. I have received many questions from worried Catholics asking if the bishops really have such authority and if it is ever right for the faithful to go along with such decrees. Here, I present...

[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...

Time to stop making excuses for Vatican II and the New Mass Many good authors have told the tragic story well. Now it is time for clergy and laity both to do something about it. Editor’s note: The following article comes from an anonymous priest. June 30, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — In several recent statements, culminating in an interview with Philip Lawler, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has traced the evils that afflict the Church today back to their root within the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the New Order of the Mass (1969). In this he has rendered a service to...

Archbishop Viganò to Phil Lawler: Council Fathers “Were the Object of a Sensational Deception” In response to questions from Phil Lawler, book author and news director of CatholicCulture.org, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has issued yet another statement (see full text below) clarifying his position concerning the Second Vatican Council, some of whose teachings have recently been critically examined – especially in light of Pope Francis’ February 4, 2019 Abu Dhabi statement – by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.Archbishop Viganò, who says publicly he has been inspired by Bishop Schneider’s critique of certain aspects of the teachings of Vatican II (1962-1965), now describes...

[Catholic Caucus] (Archbishop Vigano's) Interview with Phil Lawler Lawler: First, what are you saying about Vatican II? That things have gone downhill fast since then is certainly true. But if the whole Council is a problem, how did that happen? How do we reconcile that with what we believe about the inerrancy of the magisterium? How were all the Council fathers deceived? Even if only some parts of the Council (e.g. Nostra Aetate, Dignitatis Humanae) are problematical, we still face the same questions. Many of us have been saying for years that the “spirit of Vatican II” is in error....

[Catholic Caucus] Why the Latin Mass Matters in the Real World: A Review of Dr. Kwasniewski’s Powerful New Book (A guest review by Fr. William Slattery) In writing this review, I am seeking to pay off a debt I owe to Dr. Kwasniewski. It was largely due to his first Angelico book, Resurgent in the Midst of Crisis (2014), that I converted to the Traditional Latin Mass. As a priest ordained by Pope John Paul II in 1991, my entire liturgical life before and after priesthood had been the Novus Ordo. During my years in Rome, while studying for my...

ROSARIO, Argentina – Three Spanish-born cardinals on Wednesday offered up their “red hats and cardinal rings” to any woman who wants to be a member of the Catholic Church’s most exclusive club. Yet, there’s a catch: they argue that there’s a need to rediscover the priesthood as Jesus perceived it, saying “it’s about service, not power.” “Women, like men, have to rediscover baptism and the dignity of being children of God that the baptism gives us,” said Cardinal Cristobal Lopez, archbishop of Rabat. “Our joy is not in being bishops or cardinals, ordained or not. Our joy must come from...

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist Luke 1:57-66, 80 Friends, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. From time immemorial, God has sent messengers, prophets, and spokespersons. Think of that whole line of prophets and the patriarchs of Israel. John the Baptist sums up all of these figures. In the Gospel of John, the Baptist identifies himself as "the voice of one crying out in the desert, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’" The point John makes is that Jesus is not just one more biblical figure. He’s something altogether...

Why “What are the bishops doing about it?” is the wrong question A vandalized statue of St. Junipero Serra in San Francisco is seen June 19, 2020. Recently, the bishops of California made a statement regarding the attacks on the statues of St. Junipero Serra in San Francisco, Ventura, and Los Angeles. While acknowledging that there are legitimate concerns about racism both historical and contemporary, we insisted that the characterization of Serra as the moral equivalent of Hitler and the missions he founded as tantamount to death camps is simply unconscionable. I put a link to this statement on my...

55 YEARS LATER: Bishop Athanasius Schneider’s Appraisal of Vatican II Bishop Schneider’s reflections, based in great part on his book-length interview Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age, expand on certain points of its discussion of Vatican II, in light of recent debate. Originally published by Angelico Press in October 2019, Christus Vincit is set to be released this week in German and Portuguese.His Excellency has kindly given the official English text exclusively to The Remnant, the Italian and Spanish to Corrispondenza Romana, and the French to the Blog of Jeanne Smits. All rights reserved.Some reflections on...

French priest and liturgist: Abp. Viganò can help other prelates talk about ‘defective points of Vatican II’ There has been an ongoing discussion between Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò and Bishop Athanasius Schneider about the Second Vatican Council. June 22, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – Abbé Claude Barthe, a French diocesan priest who lives in Paris and who is a liturgy expert, author, and editor, has responded to the recent interventions of Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò concerning the Second Vatican Council and its problems. In an intervention published by our Italian colleague Marco Tosatti (see full text below), the French priest says now...

First One Archbishop, Now Another: The Council is the Problem “Return, O ye revolting children, saith the Lord: for I am your husband: and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a kindred, and will bring you into Sion. And I will give you pastors according to My own Heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.” – Jeremias 3:14-15On November 21, 1974, a certain French archbishop and founder of a priestly society penned what came to be known as his Declaration. He wrote it in response to scandalous comments made by two apostolic...