Free Republic

[Catholic Caucus] A letter to Aldo Maria Valli on the syndrome called "inclusivitis.” How it is made manifest and how to combat it.October 23rd 2025 Dear Aldo Maria, It seems that after reading the text of the Summary Document of the Synodal Path of the Churches in Italy, the ineffable World Health Organization has discovered the existence of a new terrifying epidemic triggered by the terrifying disease called syndroma inclusivitatis viralis, also generally known as Charles V syndrome or todos (todos todos) caballeros syndrome. It's an insidious syndrome, but luckily, a swab isn't needed to identify it. It primarily affects...

Undeniable Proofs That Traditional Catholicism Is the Greatest Friend of Eternal RomeThe true friends of the people [and of the Church and the Pope] are neither revolutionaries nor innovators, they are traditionalists. This is evident through the way in which Traditional Catholics differentiate themselves from most other Catholics by: following and defending Church teaching, respecting the Church’s moral teaching, and defending the foundations of the Faith.In his 1910 encyclical on the Sillon movement, Notre Charge Apostolique, St. Pius X wrote that in the midst of great turmoil in the political and spiritual realms, the real solution is to restore the...

Pope Leo XIV’s Homage to Dom Helder Câmara’s CELAMDom Helder Câmara, a priest "mentor" of Klaus Schwab (WEF), and co-author of the Vatican II document Gaudium et spes, also helped found the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) which Pope Leo XIV has referenced in recent statements. With suspicious links to Communism and Liberation Theology, Câmara is a priest at the heart of the infamous Catacombs Pact and the Synodal "Church of the Poor", two watershed events in the history of the infiltration/revolution within the Catholic Church.A few weeks after his election, Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram to Cardinal Jaime...

[Catholic Caucus] Ratzinger: "The deepest cause of the crisis that has subverted the Church is located in the effacing of the priority of God in the liturgy."The Russian edition of volume XI of the Opera Omnia of Benedict XVI Ratzinger was published this Easter (a common date this year for East and West) and Pope Benedict XVI had been asked at the beginning of the project, in 2015, to write a preface -- which he did. Corriere della Sera provided the Italian version of the Russian publication, which we now present in English: Benedict XVI [Corriere della Sera, April 15,...

Appreciating the Hidden Consolations of Traditional Catholicism as the Crisis ContinuesIf we look at all of those who call themselves Catholic, it is clear that Traditional Catholics are the only ones persecuted by Rome for trying to seriously practice the Catholic religion. Thanks be to God that we are persecuted today for keeping the Faith! If the Modernists and Liberals trying to destroy the Church considered us their allies, we would surely be on the path to hell.One of the most astounding situations in the world today is the reality that the Vatican accepts and encourages essentially every widespread set...

If You Think Leo’s Defense of Cupich and Durbin is Bad, Wait Until You Hear About Vatican II!Many of us would have applauded a statement from Pope Leo to the effect that neither Cupich nor Durbin are actually Catholic, coupled with a firm defense of Catholic teaching as being the truth given to us by God.Serious Catholics around the world have justifiably criticized Blase Cupich’s attempt to provide a Catholic award to the pro-abortion Senator Richard Durbin, as well as Pope Leo XIV’s defense of Cupich’s effort:“I’m not terribly familiar with the particular case. I think that it is very...

[Catholic Caucus] Pope Leo again champions ‘synodality’ despite controversy, says it’s about ‘openness’‘Synodality is an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand,’ Pope Leo said, presenting the concept as the hallmark of his papacy though without emphasizing doctrinal clarity.Pope Leo XIV has placed the controversial concept “synodality” at the center of his vision for the Church, describing it as an attitude of “dialogue” meant to bring together clergy and laity.His comments, released on September 18 in León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, a new biography by Crux reporter Elise Ann Allen, were accompanied by a video excerpt...

[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...