RORATE CÆLI

The Eucharist: What is said and done around this sacrament and during its celebration

A book review by Clemens Victor Oldendorf of Urban Hannon's Thomistic Mystagogy: St. Thomas Aquinas's Commentaries on the Mass. Translated from German by Peter Kwasniewski.

Born in 1225, St. Thomas Aquinas died 750 years ago this past March 7. Those who observe the liturgical calendar that corresponds to the traditional Roman rite celebrate the feast of Aquinas on this date every year and therefore celebrated it just over a month ago.

On the occasion of such a remarkable historical commemoration, it is fitting to once again take a conscientious look at the life and teachings of the Doctor Communis, and this examination can be quite intense, because throughout the next year we will be commemorating the 800th anniversary of the birth of this authoritative theologian prince from the Dominican order. In 2024 and 2025, we will once again have a seamlessly merging double jubilee for St. Thomas Aquinas and all those who venerate him and draw on his philosophical and theological achievements.

It is often assumed that there is a deep and irreconcilable tension between allowing the continued celebration of the traditional Latin Mass and the Second Vatican Council. After all, the reform of the liturgy was itself set in motion by the Vatican II document Sacrosanctum Concilium. Thus, Pope Francis stated in his apostolic letter Desiderio Desideravi, “I do not see how it is possible to say that one recognizes the validity of the Council — though it amazes me that a Catholic might presume not to do so — and at the same time not accept the liturgical reform born out of Sacrosanctum Concilium, a document that expresses the reality of the Liturgy intimately joined to the vision of Church so admirably described in Lumen Gentium.” It was for this reason, Pope Francis explained, that he felt it “his duty” to issue his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, restricting the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass.

Last Sunday, Dr. Joseph Shaw delivered a lecture for the Arlington Latin Mass Society titled Traditionis Custodes and the Future of the Traditional Latin Mass. In it, he provides an update on the status of Latin Mass restrictions and their future, and answers audience questions. We are delighted to share this lecture at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHay2Vl0I2A.

Divine dignity alone is strictly infinite - Edward Feser, for Rorate Cæli

Edward Feser

for Rorate Cæli

Saint Thomas Aquinas, by Juan de Peñalosa

The Declaration Dignitas Infinita begins with the assertion that “every human person possesses an infinite dignity, inalienably grounded in his or her very being,” and claims also that this “is fully recognizable even by reason alone.” The second assertion is nearly as striking as the first, because the Declaration’s opening line is in fact radically counterintuitive. On any natural reading of the phrase “infinite dignity,” human beings clearly do not have it. Only God does.

(source)

Following the presentation in Rome of the Declaration on Human Dignity, Dignitas infinita, the most frequent reactions, including in so-called conservative circles, are focused on its reminder of the prohibition of abortion, surrogate motherhood, euthanasia, assisted suicide, gender theory and sex reassignment, not to mention its plea for respect for the disabled. None of this is new, nor should it be. What needs to be analyzed, however, are the arguments deployed and the principles asserted. As might be expected, the Declaration Dignitas Infinita (“infinite dignity”) is, despite many traditional assertions, in line with a naturalistic vision of man. While it quotes extensively from Vatican II, Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and—in abundance—Pope Francis, the magisterium of earlier popes is virtually absent.

The Declaration Dignitas infinita and the Mystery of the Church in our time - by Roberto de Mattei

by Roberto de Mattei

April 10, 2024

On April 8, 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, published the Declaration Dignitas infinita on Human Dignity, with the "ex audientia" approval of Pope Francis. Cardinal Fernández, dwelling in the Introduction of the Declaration on its genesis, clarifies that the first draft of the text, which dates back to 2019, is due to his predecessor, Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer.

Fontgombault Sermon for the Annunciation: "Who sows the Fiat reaps the Magnificat"

Feast of the Annunciation

Jubilee of Profession of

Dom François Convert

and Br. Louis-Marie Pavageau

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Father Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, April 8, 2024

Qui seminant in lacrimis, in exsultatione metent.

They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

(Ps 125:5)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

and most especially you, who are celebrating your jubilee of profession,

Why do we head the homily of a Marian feast with this verse, a quotation taken from Psalm 125? We should recall that our two jubilarians are among the few who have had the privilege, according to some, the austere trial, according to others, to pronounce their vows of religion during Lent. They have therefore sown in tears. But God, Who orders all things in measure, and number, and weight, (Cf. Wis 11:2) grants them today to jubilate during Eastertide.

Declaration “Dignitas Infinita”, on Human Dignity - Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith

Declaration “Dignitas Infinita”

on Human Dignity

Presentation

During the Congresso of 15 March 2019, the then-Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith decided to commence “the drafting of a text highlighting the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology and illustrating the significance and beneficial implications of the concept in the social, political, and economic realms—while also taking into account the latest developments on the subject in academia and the ambivalent ways in which the concept is understood today.” An initial draft of the text was prepared with the help of some experts in 2019 but a Consulta Ristretta of the Congregation, convened on 8 October of the same year, found it to be unsatisfactory.

The Doctrinal Office then prepared another draft ex novo, based on the contribution of various experts, which was presented and discussed in a Consulta Ristretta held on 4 October 2021. In January 2022, the new draft was presented during the Plenary Session of the Congregation, during which the Members took steps to shorten and simplify the text.

Following this, on 6 February 2023, the amended version of the new draft was reviewed by a Consulta Ristretta, which proposed some additional modifications. An updated version was then submitted for the Members’ consideration during the Ordinary Session of the Dicastery (Feria IV) on 3 May 2023, where Members agreed that the document, with some adjustments, could be published. Subsequently, Pope Francis approved the deliberations of that session during the Audience granted to me on 13 November 2023. On this occasion, he also asked that the document highlight topics closely connected to the theme of dignity, such as poverty, the situation of migrants, violence against women, human trafficking, war, and other themes. To honor the Holy Father’s directions, the Doctrinal Section of the Dicastery dedicated a Congresso to an in-depth study of the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, which offers an original analysis and further consideration of the theme of human dignity “beyond all circumstances.”

The fallen Christ the Redeemer in front of Pope Francis, what does it mean? Omens and alleged mysterious signs.

A certainly unforeseen anomaly that has inevitably been juxtaposed with other signs that have occurred in recent years coinciding with major Vatican changes

by Franca Giansoldati

Il Messagero

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

[Main excerpt]

On Easter Day, during Mass at the Vatican, a gust of wind more powerful than the others caused the ancient icon of the Christ the Redeemer on the courtyard facing St. Peter's Basilica to fall ruinously to the ground. Two attendants immediately intervened to put back up the heavy support that had collapsed just a few meters from the Pope during the Easter ceremony. An anomalous and curious episode on which many have dwelt trying to identify messages, as if that fact could be a heavenly sign, capable of unveiling future events.

Fontgombault Sermon for Easter Sunday 2024: Our Mission is to belie Ecclesiastes: No, all is not in vain. After the darkness, Christ comes glorious, victor of the tomb

Easter Day

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Father Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, March 28, 2024

Salve… Dies prima.

Hail… O first day.

(Sequence, Adam of St. Victor)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

“Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity. […] What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; and there is nothing new under the sun,” wails Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes 1:2-9) André Chouraqui translates it in a vivid way, “Smoke, says Qoheleth, smoke of smokes, and all is smoke.”

Mankind’s history would thus be nothing but void, nothingness, an endless maze ineluctably going back to square one. From our first parents Adam and Eve’s disobedience, and the murder of Abel, to the last victim of the fratricidal conflicts that ceaselessly bloody the earth, all seems to be nothingness. All seems to be hatred.

Fontgombault Sermon for Easter Vigil 2024: Easter and the Sacred Heart

Easter Vigil

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Father Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, March 28, 2024

Credo,

I believe.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

“Do not be afraid; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. For He is risen, as He said.” (Mt 28:5-6). Such are the words addressed by the Resurrection angel to the women coming early to the tomb. What the Lord had promised has been accomplished. The dark and grim outlook in the heart of the women who had come to embalm their Master suddenly blazes with light. After the doubts comes a certainty. He is truly risen. Such is the core of our faith, the cornerstone of our hope.

An Easter of War -- and the Dying West | by Roberto de Mattei

An Easter of War -- and the Dying West

by Roberto de Mattei

The flames of war, violence, and terror blaze across the world on this Easter of 2024. While Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with its hypersonic missiles, an attack strikes the heart of Moscow: the massacre is claimed by ISIS and is consumed with the same heinousness with which Hamas attacked the State of Israel on October 7. Europe, lapped by war on its borders, at the March 20-21 European Council in Brussels, reveals its inability to arm itself to defend itself. Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto, questioned by journalist Nicola Porro, admits that, faced with an attack like the one on Ukraine, Italy would capitulate immediately ("Fourth Republic," March 25, 2024).

Saint Dismas: the Good Thief -- by Roberto de Mattei

Saint Dismas the Good Thief

The Church's Latin liturgy remembers on March 25 Saint Dismas, the Good Thief, to whom Jesus said on Calvary, "Today you will be with me in Paradise." The choice of March 25 is not accidental. This date is not only that of the Annunciation and Incarnation of the Word but according to an ancient tradition it is also the day on which the Savior of Humanity consummated his supreme sacrifice. The Gospel tells us that on Calvary they crucified Jesus with two Thieves, placing one on his right and one on his left (Lk. 23:39-42). We know their names from the apocryphal Gospels: Dismas, the good Thief,and Gismas, or Gesta, the bad Thief.

The word Thief should not mislead. The term Latrones denoted street robbers, not just thieves but murderers and robbers, punished by death among all peoples of antiquity. The most dastardly of the many who filled Pilate's prisons were chosen to humiliate Jesus. Dismas was a brigand leader, probably Egyptian, who lived and grew old amid the gravest crimes, including that of fratricide. On his cross was written, Hic est Dismas latronum Dux.

Fontgombault Sermon for Palm Sunday: The Temptation to Despair is Great

Palm Sunday

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Father Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, March 24, 2024

Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram.

Thy face, O Lord, do I seek.

(Ps 26 [27]:8)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

On Palm Sunday, let us enter into the heart of the liturgical year. Let us live once again the days, the hours in which the mystery of our redemption has been carried out, through Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection. It is an opportunity to renew our presence during our communions, which are so frequent, and yet so often too material, to Christ’s redeeming Body and Blood.

More than ever, the world and men need to draw from this mystery of mercy and reconciliation. Yet, more than ever, the world and men seem to emancipate themselves from God, from His laws and His plan of salvation. Is it still worthwhile talking to a society that congratulates itself on having been able to enshrine in the marble of its Constitution the deliberate murder of the innocent child still inside the protective and nurturing precinct of the maternal womb, a society that considers this as a huge step towards freedom?

LENIN: 100 Years of the Death of one of the Greatest Criminals in History - by Roberto de Mattei

Lenin on the centenary of his death (1924-2024)

An atmosphere of penumbra enveloped the centenary of the death of Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, known by the pseudonym Lenin, one of the most criminal figures in history. He died on Jan. 21, 1924, in Moscow, of paresis; he had been born 54 years earlier in Simbirsk, on the west bank of the Volga River. The son of a school inspector, Vladimir Ulyanov was a typical product of that turn-of-the-century Russia in which, as Curzio Malaparte wrote, "petty-bourgeois fanaticism ranged from Marxist liberalism to Tolstoy's rotten Christianity" (The Good Man Lenin, Adelphi, 2018, pp. 22-23).

Closing Remarks in My Debate with Dr. John Lamont - by José A. Ureta

Closing Remarks in My Debate with Dr. John Lamont

José A. Ureta

Much of what Dr. John Lamont includes in his response[1] to my previous replies[2] repeats what has already been seen. Thus, I will limit myself to some brief remarks.

1. For Dr. Lamont, the fact that bishops have a power of ordinary jurisdiction is incompatible with the fact that this power was granted to them directly by the pope. As he sees it, if bishops were to receive their jurisdiction from the pope it would turn them into papal delegates. Grounded in this perspective of supposed incompatibility, Dr. Lamont then attributes to the defenders of the traditional theological position (from St. Thomas Aquinas to pre-conciliar theologians) a position they do not hold, namely, that bishops do not enjoy an ordinary power of jurisdiction and are mere delegates of the pope. He calls this mischaracterization of traditional thought “the strong view of papal jurisdiction.” To build up this misrepresentation, he reinterprets what defenders of the traditional position state and he also forces a translation. But he does this in good faith, declaring it candidly.

The Paulists, on life support

Ten years ago Rorate shared the news that the Paulist Fathers were selling their seminary. As we noted, according to the order's website, "The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle, known as the Paulist Fathers, is the first community of Catholic priests founded in the United States."

Fast forward a decade and "is" will soon be "was".

The Paulists announced a massive downsizing, including leaving colleges, closing offices and cutting priests at remaining Paulist locations -- including their infamous Paulist Center in Boston.

Traditional Holy Week is the highlight of the Catholic liturgical year. Unfortunately, there will be no traditional Triduum liturgies in the Washington, D.C. or Fredericksburg area this year.

Mass of the Ages Part III is showing at the Miracle Theatre in Washington, D.C. on April 9 at 7:00 PM. There will be a live Q&A afterwards with Dr. Joseph Shaw of the UK Latin Mass Society, one of the most insightful speakers and writers on traditional Catholicism active now, along with Mass of the Ages producer Cameron O'Hearn.

For Laetare Sunday, Bishop Burbidge of the Diocese of Arlington sat in choir for the 9:15 AM Traditional Latin Mass at St. Rita in Alexandria, VA, next door to Washington, D.C. As reflected in the pictures above and below, he was eager to learn, generous with his time, and gave wonderful homily. He met with TLM parishioners for over an hour after Mass.

In Defense of the Moderate Position on Papal Jurisdiction: A Reply to José Ureta

John Lamont

My article “On the Papal Deposition of Bishops,” published at Rorate Caeli, was occasioned by Mr. José A. Ureta’s article at OnePeterFive, “Why a Good Bishop Should Not Ignore but Obey his Unjust Deposition by the Pope.” There, Ureta advanced an historically standard view among Catholic theologians to the effect that because all bishops receive their jurisdiction immediately from the pope, they can be removed from their diocese at the will of the pope, regardless of the justice of this removal. His argument was a topical one, because it was applied by him to Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, who was first asked to resign from his diocese by Pope Francis and then, having refused to do so, was removed from the diocese without a just cause. I had argued that this theological position was wrong in itself and was no longer an option for Catholic theologians, because of its rejection by the Second Vatican Council. Mr Ureta endeavored to refute me in two responses, also published at Rorate Caeli (here and here).

Because of the importance of the subject, an answer to Mr. Ureta seems to be called for. At the same time, many of the arguments he advances in his response are in fact addressed in my original article; when this is the case, the reader is best advised to compare this article and Mr. Ureta’s response and decide for himself. This answer will limit itself to new questions that arise from Mr. Ureta’s response, while referring the reader to the original article to complete the exposition of the position being argued for here. The reader may find some of the necessary but detailed rebuttals of Mr. Ureta’s claims to be less than enthralling, but it is hoped that some substantial contribution to this important issue will be achieved.

Not only “blessings”: Now Francis voices approval of the need of “legal recognition” of same-sex “unions”

In yet another set of declarations, included in his “autobiography” to be published in a few days by HarperCollins.

From the excerpt made available by Italian daily “Corriere della Sera”:

A Neverending Talker and Expert on All Subjects: Pope Francis calls on Ukraine to surrender - by Roberto de Mattei

Catholic Church: Pope Francis calls on Ukraine to surrender?

In an interview with Swiss Radio & Television, anticipated by agencies on March 9, Pope Francis called on Ukraine to have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate. "I believe," he said, "that it is stronger of who sees the situation, who thinks of the people, who has the courage of the white flag, to negotiate. And today you can negotiate with the help of international powers. The word negotiate is a brave word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going forward, it is necessary to have the courage to negotiate. You are ashamed, but how many deaths will it end with? Negotiate in time, look for some countries to mediate. Today, for example in the war in Ukraine, there are many who want to mediate. Turkey has offered to do that. And others. Don't be ashamed to negotiate before it gets worse."

The Pope's statement provoked immediate critical reactions, to the point that on the same day the director of the Holy See's Press Office, Matteo Bruni, intervened to explain that the Pontiff used the term "white flag" only because the interviewer had suggested it and that in reality Francis, with this image, only meant to say "negotiate." But negotiate on what basis? If words have meaning, the expression "white flag" is unequivocal: it evokes unconditional surrender, a negotiation, if one wants to call it such, on the terms of the adversary.

"So he came with the king's mandate, bringing nothing worthy of the high priesthood, but having the fury of a cruel tyrant, and the rage of a savage beast."

2 Maccabees 4:25

***

Bad news. We knew from the instant of the announcement of the name of the elected cardinal in the 2013 Conclave that we were in for very, very bad news. For some bizarre reason, the inexplicable decision of Benedict XVI to resign the papacy (a resignation he thought he could somehow manage by having his chosen successor elected) backfired stupendously.

Never had the Jesuits been this heretical: yet, now they managed to get one of them elected pope. Never had the Latin American church been this problematic: yet, now the cardinals thought it was a good time to elect a first Latin American pope, and from the most secularized nation in that continent.

At the very moment of the announcement of the name in the loggia, we asked an Argentine friend for his comment. "The Horror" was our most read post up to that time, and it caused us immense grief, for people simply didn't want to believe the evidence. If anything, it sounds almost too positive today, when Traditional Catholics are under intense official persecution, while the greatest heretics and perverts are free to roam about to destroy souls: but, in any event, it was a highly prophetic text.

Time to recall it:

***

The Horror! A Buenos Aires journalist describes Bergoglio

Rorate Caeli

March 13, 2013

We have many friends around the world, including in the dear Argentine Republic. And we asked a cherished friend, Marcelo González, of Panorama Católico Internacional, who knows the Church of Argentina as well as the palm of his hand to send us a report on the new pope. Here it goes:

The Archbishop of Buenos Aires kneels down to receive the "blessing"
of Protestant ministers and Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa - Buenos Aires, 2006

The Horror!

Of all the unthinkable candidates, Jorge Mario Bergoglio is perhaps the worst. Not because he openly professes doctrines against the faith and morals, but because, judging from his work as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, faith and morals seem to have been irrelevant to him.

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church Statement on Francis: “ Ukrainians will continue to defend themselves. They feel they have no choice.” - Synodality in Action

Statement of the Permanent Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church In light of the interview of Pope Francis Conducted by Radio Télévision Suisse

We do not yet have a full version of the interview given by Pope Francis to the RTS (Radio Télévision Suisse) that apparently will be published only on March 20. According to the Holy See Press Office, the reference to a “white flag” in the interview is a summons to negotiations not to a surrender by Ukraine. In the conversation, the Holy Father speaks not only about the Russian war against Ukraine but also the war between Israel and Hamas. As he has done repeatedly, Pope Francis calls for negotiated settlements of armed conflicts.

Today, 750 years ago, Friar Thomas d'Aquino of the Order of Preachers breathed his last, at a Cistercian monastery in Fossanova, en route to an ecumenical council (Lyon II) that his friend and colleague, the Franciscan Bonaventure, would reach but where he, too, would die.

Before dying, Thomas received the Viaticum with tremendous devotion and submitted all his writings, especially on the Blessed Sacrament, to the judgment of the Church. The Church's judgment has been clear: for over 700 years, the magisterium has held up St Thomas Aquinas's writings as the norm and measure of studies in the Catholic Church. At the Council of Trent, alongside the Bible was placed the Summa theologiae as a trustworthy reference. And why? As the early biographers relate, Thomas heard one day the voice of Christ saying to him: "You have written well of me, Thomas. What reward would you have?" To which the friar replied: "Only yourself, Lord." This was the reward he always sought, and it was the reward given to him.

“On the Papal Deposition of Bishops”—
Second Reply to Dr. Lamont’s Study
José Antonio Ureta

Audience with Pope Francis -- Superior-General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP)

Audience with Pope Francis

Published 1 March 2024

Official communiqué of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter – Fribourg, March 1st, 2024.

Following a request from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Pope Francis invited Fr. Andrzej Komorowski, Superior General of the FSSP, to meet with him. He received him in private audience at the Vatican on Thursday, February 29, 2024, accompanied by Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad.

Francis’s Work of Destruction Continues: Traditional Latin Easter Triduum Services in the Archdiocese of Westminster cancelled

Traditional Latin Easter Triduum Services in the Archdiocese of Westminster cancelled

The Latin Mass Society is grieved to announce that the Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols, will not give permission for the celebration of the major services of the Sacred Triduum (Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday) according to the liturgical books in use before the Second Vatican Council: the Traditional Latin liturgy or Vetus Ordo.

There has been a celebration of the Traditional Triduum in the Archdiocese, with the permission of successive Archbishops, since the 1990s: first in Corpus Christi Maiden Lane, and then in St Mary Moorfields in the City of London. In recent years these services have been attended by up to 200 people.

His Eminence places this decision in the context of his ongoing dealings with the Dicastery for Divine Worship in Rome, writing ‘My approach to these matters is to be within the parameters laid down by the Holy See while waiting for the judgment of the Holy See on which, if any, parish church may be used for the celebration of Mass according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970.’

His decision, he explains, was made ‘for the sake of the wider provision’.

Comment from the Latin Mass Society

The 2nd edition of The Liturgical Rosary: Meditations for Each Hour, Day & Season of the Liturgical Year is now available. We know many of our readers enjoyed the first edition of this modern classic that joins the beauty of the traditional liturgy and the Holy Rosary. Many have told us it has made daily recitation of the Rosary easier for those who have a hard time keeping the practice individually or in a family setting.

The new edition has some new features such as soft imitation-leather cover, "bible-like" paper, and gilded pages. It is only available at: https://aroucapress.com/the-liturgical-rosary

On Feb. 16, 2024, representatives of the main Italian Masonic lodges and a number of influential Catholic prelates gathered in Milan for a day of study. The seminar, sponsored at the Ambrosianum Foundation by the Gris (Group for Socio-Religious Research and Information), was attended by the three Grand Masters of Italian Freemasonry: Stefano Bisi for the Grand Orient of Italy (GOI), Luciano Romoli for the Grand Lodge of Italy of the ALAMs (GLDI, and Fabio Venzi (in connection) for the Grand Regular Lodge of Italy (GLRI). On the Catholic side, Archbishop Mario Delpini of Milan, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, former president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Franciscan theologian Father Zbigniew Suchecki, and Bishop Antonio Staglianò, president of the Pontifical Academy of Theology, participated in the meeting. Archbishop Delpini gave the opening address and Cardinal Coccopalmerio the closing one. The meeting was behind closed doors, but the relevance of the participants leaked its contents, which Riccardo Cascioli first brought to light in The New Daily Compass on Feb. 19.

It gives me great joy to announce, on this feast of the Chair of St. Peter, the latest book from Os Justi Press: Ultramontanism and Tradition: The Role of Papal Authority in the Catholic Faith.

A Vatican II Moment: The Chicken Dance Mass

From Germany -- of course. And during Communion...

Novus ordo in Germany. People receive Holy Communion in the hands to the tune of a chicken dance. pic.twitter.com/AhCHG1carX
— i am dust (@GTV_87) February 20, 2024

Active Participation is just so much fun! At least it isn't that horrifying "Traditional Latin Mass", no sir. (Diocese of Passau)

Possibly the best individual bishop's statement yet on Fiducia Supplicans

To Bless or Not to Bless: On the Vatican Declaration Fiducia Supplicans

Most Reverend Liam Cary, Bishop of Baker

9 February 2024

(source)

LITURGY - Pope Francis: the Master of Irony

Pope Francis: the Master of Irony

I read with great interest the remarks of Pope Francis to the members of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline before their annual plenary assembly. What particularly struck me were Pope Francis” words: “Without liturgical reform there is no reform of the Church.”

As I pondered these words I was overtaken by a sense of confusion. Was the Pope referring to the document Sacrosanctum Concilium promulgated by the Second Vatican Council and the reform of the Liturgy that occurred in the years after the Council? And if so, what is the precise meaning of the word “reform” here? How are we to understand the use of the word?

Mr. Gentili, born in Argentina (where else?) in 1972,
was celebrated as a "puta"(whore) and "travesti" (transvestite),
and also as a haloed "blessed" "mother" in a
funeral novus ordo service held this week
in Saint Patrick's Cathedral, New York

Perhaps no accusation against the rite of the Latin Church for over 17 centuries (the naturally developing Traditional Latin Mass), in its various local and order-specific rites and uses, is more ridiculous than that it is “ideological”, or that the people who attend it are “ideologically motivated”.

No, they are just people who want to worship Almighty God as He had been worshiped in the West basically since Mass started being celebrated in Latin. They are the very opposite of ideological: they are humble enough to want to be part of a very long line of Catholics.

The committee-created pseudo-liturgical concoction known as the “New Order of the Mass”: now THAT is something else, something clearly motivated by a man-centered ideology, falsified history, and a myriad of modernist causes.

And it reached its inevitable end game in the most symbolic Catholic building in what still is the most powerful country in the world, the city that is the headquarters of the very United Nations whose existence filled with a false hope for a “better future” the conciliar fathers of Vatican II.

In the Cathedral of this “capital city of the modern world”, the venerable Saint Patrick’s on Fifth Avenue, the epitome of Vatican II and the Novus Ordo: the Whore Service ("Funeral de las Putas"). The New York Times had a good summary of the event:

Putin, the United States elections, and the upcoming Conclave - by Roberto de Mattei

[Rorate Note: Hours after the original Italian article was published by Professor de Mattei, Washington was abuzz with the news that there is a severe, though not imminent, national security threat posed by Russia regarding nuclear developments in space, in defiance of standing treaties. House Republican leadership has urged the White House to make as much information available as possible on this grave matter.]

***

PUTIN, THE UNITED STATES ELECTIONS, AND THE UPCOMING CONCLAVE

Roberto de Mattei

February 14, 2024

A mantle of concern looms these weeks over the decision-making centers of the Western world. On Jan. 24, General Patrick Sanders, chief of staff of His Majesty's Army, said that British nationals may be called upon in the not-too-distant future to fight against Russia (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68086188). For Dutch Admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee, it is also necessary to prepare for an imminent conflict (https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/russia-war-nato-military-exercise-admiral-rob-bauer-brussels-cold-war-b1133399.html). In the same days, the Swedish Minister of Civil Defense, Carl-Oskar Bohlin, said that everyone must prepare for the worst-case scenario, such as a war with Russia, before it is too late (https://www.anews.com.tr/world/2024/01/19/could-russia-go-to-war-with-sweden).

On December 18, 2023, the same day that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith released Fiducia supplicans, Dr. John Lamont published a study “On the Papal Deposition of Bishops” at Rorate Coeli.[1] It was an attempt to refute my article titled “Why a Good Bishop Should Not Ignore but Obey His Unjust Deposition by a Pope,”[2] about Bishop Joseph Strickland’s removal from the Tyler, Texas diocese. The Christmas and New Year festivities and the follow-up to the debate surrounding Cardinal Fernandez’s bombshell document explain the relative lateness of this rejoinder.

Fontgombault Sermon for Ash Wednesday 2024: Let us go through the lessons of each Sunday in Lent

Sermon of the Right Reverend Dom Jean Pateau

Father Abbot of Our Lady of Fontgombault

Fontgombault, February 14, 2024

Miserere mei, Deus.

Have mercy on me, O God.

(Ps 56:2)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

My dearly beloved Sons,

The habit does not make the monk. St. Benedict was well aware of that fact when he wrote in his Rule:

The life of a monk ought always to be a Lenten observance. However, since such virtue is that of few, we advise that during these holy days of Lent he guard his life with all purity and at the same time wash away during these holy days all the shortcomings of other times. (Rule, ch. 49, “On the Keeping of Lent”)

“On the Papal Deposition of Bishops”—Second Reply to Dr. Lamont’s StudyJosé Antonio Ureta

“On the Papal Deposition of Bishops”—
Second Reply to Dr. Lamont’s Study
José Antonio Ureta