In 2004, in a dialogue with Senate President Marcello Pera, then-Cardinal Ratzinger identified as a cultural evil of our time the self-hatred of the West (in Without Roots; Europe, Relativism, Christianity, Islam, Mondadori, Milan 2004).
One expression of this hatred of the West is "Russophilia," an intellectual tendency that became an international organization on March 14, 2023, with the presentation in Moscow of the "International Movement of Russophiles." Among the 120 representatives from 46 countries, chronicles report the presence of an Italian, Princess Vicky (Vittoria) Alliata di Villafranca, known for her keen interest in the Islamic world. Another well-known figure, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, addressed a warm message to the conference participants, stating, among other things, that "the Russian Federation undeniably stands as the last bastion of civilization against barbarism." The role of the Russian Federation "will be decisive" "in an 'Antiglobalist' Alliance that returns to citizens the power that has been taken from them, and to nations the sovereignty eroded and ceded to the Davos lobby."
Like any error, Russophilia starts from a truth: the decadence of the West, which has turned its back on its history and values. The Magisterium of the Catholic Church has pointed out as responsible for this decay an enemy that, "in recent centuries has attempted to work the intellectual, moral, social disintegration of the unity of the mysterious organism of Christ" (Pius XII, Address of Oct. 12, 1952 to the men of Catholic Action). ...
Rebuilding Montecassino
From the search for God to the search for self in the observance of the Eucharistic fast
[Rorate’s special translation in honor of the Feast of Saint Benedict.]
The witnesses and documentary evidence that have come down to us state that Jesus, shortly before his death, planned an evening meal, in the course of which he took bread and wine, blessed them, and distributed them to those who were present.
This is the incontestable fact, as incontestable as it is that those who partook of the meal had not fasted beforehand, nor are there any indications that they should have fasted in any way because that supper was carefully planned in every detail (Mt. 26:17-19; Mk. 14 13-16; Lk. 22:8-13), and there is no sign that fasting was a component of it.
Very soon, however, Christians prepared for receiving the Eucharist by a fast, which in the Latin Church consisted of abstaining from food and water from midnight onward.
To understand the whys and the wherefores of the development of this particular observance is to tell a fascinating story.
In 1953, in an unprecedented decision, this practice was stifled and eradicated. It is a painful, but no less fascinating story.
I. Fasting: A mirror to the soul
Our society considers the overall wellbeing it has attained as a normal, certain and further improvable state of affairs. In the eyes of those who do not belong to this society, or are excluded from it, it emanates a glow so desirable that they risk their lives in order to obtain it.
Dear friends and readers, I will be in South Carolina next month giving three lectures: Charleston on April 20th, Columbia on April 21st, and Greer on April 22nd. All the details are in the poster. Hope to meet you if you're in the area!
On the Ten Years of Francis (2013 - 2023)
By Aldo Maria Valli
To comment on the ten years of Francis' pontificate, the words written by Demos (also known as the late Cardinal Pell) in the memorandum he wanted to distribute to all the cardinals a year ago would suffice: "A disaster in more ways than one, a catastrophe."
Bergoglio has succeeded in the fine feat, that is possible only for certain particularly gifted individuals, of destroying without rebuilding. He was elected to bring fresh air. After ten years, the air is unbreathable. And the papolatry raging these days, on the occasion of the anniversary, makes it even more noxious.
Op/Ed
by Gennaro Malgieri*
H/T: IL NUOVO ARENGARIO
March 12, 2023
.
“Beauty is a sort
of visible harmony that gently pierces the human heart”, wrote Ugo Foscolo.
But how might we define Beauty today?
On March 25, the Arlington Latin Mass Society will be holding the Second National Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage. We will process from St. Thomas More Cathedral in Arlington, VA to St. Matthew the Apostle Cathedral in Washington, D.C.-- about a two hour walk-- to show our support for the Traditional Latin Mass and bear witness to the devotion it inspires. We will carry beautiful Catholic banners, flags, and processional crosses, pray the Rosary, sing Marian hymns, and spread the truth of Christ through the streets of Arlington, VA and Washington, D.C.
"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."
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.
"Et in unam, sanctam, catholicam et apostolicam Ecclesiam..." -- we proclaim our belief in the marks of the Church every Sunday in the Creed.
Minutes ago, the parliamentary assembly of German bishops and radical lay activists gathered under the name of "Synodal Way" officially approved "same-sex blessings". As reported by Jonathan Liedl:
Vote to adopt text on “blessings for couples who love each other” passes pic.twitter.com/Phh71660T8
— Jonathan Liedl (@JLLiedl) March 10, 2023
Once again, German schismatics and apostates bring the Church to a moment of collapse and crisis. WE ARE NOT IN COMMUNION WITH THIS nonsense, whatever this is. May God send fire from heaven to burn to the ground the den of iniquity that is the German "Church". This mess and this destruction of the Church are exclusively the work of Francis and his minions.
If, formally, the Rescriptum ex Audientia Ss.mi of February 21, 2023 -- an administrative act by which a department head asks for and obtains (rescriptum: "written twice") something from the Supreme Pontiff (Sanctissimi) at the end of an audience (ex Audientia) -- aims to "implement" the motu proprio Traditionis custodes of July 16, 2021, from a practical point of view, it actually alters it in its substantial structure.
The Rescript, in fact, subverts the basis on which Traditionis custodes itself is founded, whose first words, an echo of Lumen gentium No. 23 (the Second Vatican Council's dogmatic constitution on the Church) are addressed to the bishops: "Custodians of tradition," begins the preamble of Pope Francis' motu proprio amending Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, "the bishops, in communion with the Bishop of Rome, constitute the visible principle and foundation of unity in their particular Churches." But if Traditionis custodes had pointed to the diocesan bishops for a regulation of the use of liturgical forms prior to the post-conciliar reforms, the Rescript of last Feb. 21 overturns that principle by reserving to the Holy See (and thus to the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) the regulation of an entire matter which, however, would itself have been left to the discretion of individual local Ordinaries by the same measure to which the Rescript says it wants to give "implementation."
The suffering of physical privation in our Lent fasting and other means of self-denial has the purpose of securing for ourselves the higher spiritual goods. The grace of inner gladness, that of the spirit which endures beyond the limits of the flesh, is one of these.
 |
| The new edition |
It seems even the French bishops (no particular friends of the Traditional Latin Mass for the most part) have decided to deal directly with the Traditionalist faithful -- considering that all that is coming from Rome in this pontificate is anti-dialogue and hateful irrationality.
From Renaissance Catholique (via Le Salon Beige):
In the name of some faithful active in communities celebrating according to the Vetus Ordo, Mr. PHILIPPE DARANTIERE and Ms. MARIE-AMELIE BROCARD were received by Bishop VINCENT JORDY, vice-president of the French Bishops' Conference, Bishop DOMINIQUE LEBRUN, member of the Permanent Council, as well as by Ms. BERNADETTE MELOIS, director of the National Service for Liturgical and Sacramental Pastoral Care at the CEF [French Episcopal Conference] headquarters on Tuesday, February 21, 2003. They were able to express their suffering and their incomprehension regarding the decisions of the Holy Father while recognizing the attention brought by the bishops to the various situations.
It was a privilege and a pleasure to have posted in installments this exceptional book over the last two years, for which Rorate Caeli had exclusive right, prior to its official publication in a corrected and expanded version which Don Pietro hopes to publish soon. He wishes all readers a Holy Lententide in preparation for a Holy Celebration of the Resurrection of Our Thrice Blessed Lord, and imparts to them all his priestly blessing.
F.R.
Chapter 12
CONCLUSION OF THE BOOK
We here offer:
A. The Conclusions to the Individual Chapters
B. The Conclusion to the Book as a Whole
Today a brief rescriptum ex audiencia Sanctissimi became known. This type of document is a decision of the Roman Pontiff communicated orally to some ecclesiastic of the Roman Curia received in audience, who then leaves a written record of that oral resolution (the so-called oraculum vivae vocis), so that it is considered valid for evidentiary purposes and is also effective before third parties. In short, it is the document of least hierarchy within the complex arsenal at the disposal of the Roman Pontiff, and which can be modified tomorrow by himself or by whoever succeeds him.
by Father Pierre Laliberté, JCL
Upon reading the rescriptum ex audientia of +Arthur Cardinal Roche dated 21 February 2023, several brief reflections come to mind:
1) Despite the Curial reforms issued in Praedicate Evangelium, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments still does not possess legislative authority. To "exercise the authority of the Holy See" in these matters, as described in Traditionis Custodes art. 7, is unclear. Therefore, the very notion that this rescript is a legal text is highly questionable, as it only rests on the authority of the prefect of this dicastery who signed it. Some have even remarked that such tactics are tantamount to "canonical gaslighting", as this is merely a weaponization of hierarchical authority against a perennially-valid, never abrogated liturgical rite which expresses the perennial faith of the Roman Catholic Church.
2) Those parish churches already offering the Traditional Latin Mass should be guided by the perennial principle of the law: "pacta servanda sunt", that agreements are to be kept. As a matter of justice, they should be understood as being "grandfathered" in. The power of the bishop to dispense is ordinary executive power. Those matters that the Holy See reserves to itself must be interpreted strictly, while the diocesan bishop's power to dispense is to be interpreted broadly.
On Tuesday 21st February the Holy See Press Office published a Rescript confirming, for the Dicastery for Divine Worship, certain legal points in relation to the interpretation of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Traditionis Custodes.
The key point is that from now on permission for the use of a parish church for celebrations of the 1962 Missal may only be granted by the Dicastery. The Rescript makes reference to Canon 87.1 which states that bishops may lift the obligations of universal law for the good of souls in their diocese: this no longer applies, as the matter is ‘reserved to the Holy See’.
The effect of this ruling will depend on the degree to which current provision for the celebration of the 1962 Missal depends on the use of parish churches in a particular locality; the willingness of bishops to seek permission from the Dicastery for celebrations in such churches to continue; and the response of the Dicastery to these requests.
If bishops all over the world seek permission for all the celebrations of the 1962 Mass taking place in parish churches in their dioceses, the Dicastery will be faced with many hundreds of cases to consider, raising the question of the practicability of them discharging their role.
The Latin Mass Society and the FIUV would like to express its dismay that authority over a matter of such pastoral sensitivity has been centralised in this way.
Serious pastoral harm will follow if permission is not granted where alternative places of worship are not readily available for the use of communities attached to the older form of the Mass.
Instead of integrating them into parish life, the restriction on the use of parish churches will marginalise and push to the peripheries faithful Catholics who wish only to worship, in communion with their bishops, with a form of the liturgy permitted by the Church. This desire was described as a ‘rightful aspiration’ by Pope John Paul II, and this liturgy was described as representing ‘riches’ by Pope Benedict XVI.
We call upon all Catholics of good will to offer prayer and penances this Lent for the resolution of this issue and the liberty of the ancient Latin Mass.
RESCRIPTUM EX AUDIENTIA SS.MI, 21.02.2023
The Holy Father, at the Audience granted on Feb. 20 to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, confirmed the following about the implementation of his Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes of July 16, 2021.
These are dispensations reserved in a special way to the Apostolic See (cf. C.I.C. can. 87 §1):
- the use of a parish church or the erection of a personal parish for the celebration of the Eucharist using the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 3 §2);
- the granting of license to presbyters ordained after the publication of Motu proprio Traditionis custodes to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962 (cf. Traditionis custodes art. 4).
As stipulated in Article 7 of Motu proprio Traditionis custodes, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments exercises the authority of the Holy See in the above-mentioned cases, supervising the observance of the provisions.
Should a diocesan bishop grant dispensations in the two cases mentioned above, he is obliged to inform the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which will evaluate the individual cases.
Moreover, the Holy Father, confirms - having already expressed his assent in the audience of November 18, 2021 - what was established in the Responsa ad dubia with the attached Explanatory Notes of December 4, 2021.
The Holy Father also ordered that this Rescript be published in L'Osservatore Romano and subsequently in the official commentary of the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
From the Vatican, February 20, 2023
Arthur Card. Roche
Prefect
***
[Our comment? The whole logic of Traditionis custodes is that the bishops are supposedly the “guardians of Tradition,” and, therefore, of all things related to the Sacred Liturgy. Except when they deviate from the current Vatican radical liberal ideology, in which case they have no rights. It’s a clown document, from a clown cardinal, in a clown pontificate. Nothing serious, it’s all a sick joke -- and one day it will come to an end. | Our struggle is for eternity, and for centuries and generations to come.]
***
[Original Italian text:]
This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience:
- His Eminence Cardinal Arthur Roche, prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
John XXIII wanted to "bring a little fresh air into the Church" and, sixty years ago, the most heated minds promised the Catholic world a real "springtime", an unhoped-for renewal that would undoubtedly give hope and youth back to the venerable institution. The crowds were to fill the sanctuaries while the workers were to find their way back to the baptisteries. Obviously, the decades have passed and the promises have not been kept. In the great naves, one can only breathe the odors of pigeon droppings and the mold of fungi favored by humidity. Churches have been deserted, seminaries have closed and dreams have been dashed. With the passage of time, the prophets of good omen have bent their foreheads terribly, and they mask their wrinkles to suggest every day that we wait another year to see a new dawn shine on Christendom. Until a few years ago, some well-informed observers ventured to tell us that it would take fifty years to expect to receive the fruits of the famous Council. Now we have to wait a hundred years. "It is true that it takes a century for a Council to take root. We still have forty years to make it take root", Pope Francis warned without being discouraged. What is the truth of this? Should we be patient or has the essential message of the aggiornamento been received?
The comparison with the Council of Trent
Roberto de Mattei
February 16, 2023
The attraction in Italy and abroad of some political and religious circles to the Moscow Patriarchate is accompanied by a profound ignorance of its history. We aim to briefly fill this gap.
The fundamental starting point is the 17th Ecumenical Council of the Church, which took place in Florence in 1439 under Pope Eugene IV. The large assembly was attended by a large group of about 700 people from Constantinople, under the leadership of Emperor John VIII Palaeologus and Patriarch Joseph II with his clergy. Also with them was the Greek monk Isidore (1385-1463), metropolitan of Kyiv and all of Rus' (Russia). The metropolitan of Kyiv, who did not have the title of Patriarch, was appointed by Constantinople and on him depended the city of Moscow, which, until the 15th century, had no relevant part in Russian religious history.
In this section we consider
the effect of antirealist subjectivism in its theological form of self-deifying
atheism. Clearly the most notable effect of this sacrilege consists in
chastisement. We consequently here investigate:
Appeal for prayers and penances
for
the Liberty of the Traditional Mass in Lent
From Una Voce International and others
Una Voce International and other organisations, groups
and individuals concerned with the Traditional Latin Mass would like to appeal
to all Catholics of good will to offer prayers and penances during the season
of Lent, particularly for the intention: the liberty of the Traditional Mass.
We do not know how credible rumours of further documents from the Holy See on this subject may be, but the rumours themselves point to a situation of doubt, conflict, and apprehension, which is severely harmful to the mission of the Church. We appeal to our Lord, through His Blessed Mother, to restore to all Catholics the right and opportunity to worship according to the Church’s own venerable liturgical traditions, in perfect unity with the Holy Father and the bishops of the whole Church.
Una Voce International (Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce, FIUV,) https://fiuv.org
‘[…]subjectivism has additionally been seen in the fantasy at play in the Council’s entire construct of a brave, new Catholic Church, Faith, and Religion.’
6. The Holy Mass
