At the Altar of Saint Michael the Archangel - 4 images (click to enlarge):
September 29th 1946: Pope Pius XII addresses the Italian Worker Associations
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS PIUS XII TO THE PARTICIPANTS AT THE FIRST NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATIONS OF ITALIAN WORKERS
'Sala dello Swizzero' Pontifical Palace, Castel Gandolfo,
Sunday, September 29, 1946
The heretics of the first centuries and the Roman spirit (Roberto de Mattei)
The heretics of the first centuries and the Roman spirit
Over the centuries the Catholic Church has always fought the deformations of its moral doctrine on both extremes. On the one hand laxism, meaning the negation of moral absolutes in the name of the primacy of conscience, and on the other rigorism, meaning the tendency to create laws and precepts that Catholic morality does not provide. Today laxism results in modernist “situational morality,” while rigorism constitutes a sectarian temptation for traditionalism. It is against this latter danger that I want to caution, recalling what happened in the first centuries of the Church, with the heresies of the Montanists, the Novatians, and the Donatists.
"The Council and the Eclipse of God" by Don Pietro Leone - Part XV:The Church and the State: Religious Liberty - part 2 of Chapter 4
The present installment concerns the Council's doctrine on Religious Liberty, which represents one of its most important departures from Tradition. The Church has always taught that Religious Liberty is the liberty of a Catholic to profess the one true religion; whereas the Council teaches that it is the liberty of any-one to profess and practice the religion he chooses. The Council bases its teaching on the excellence of man's freedom to which it ascribes some sort of god-like quality; it insinuates that God respects man's use of freedom, even to the extent of acquiescing in its misuse. It claims moreover to justify this doctrine in Revelation. Don Pietro here seeks to unravel the threads of its tortuous argumentation with the same subtlety with which it tangled them together. F.R.
Can a Catholic Have “Doubts” about Vatican II? — Article by Jean-Pierre Maugendre
To doubt, according to Larousse, is both “to be uncertain about the reality of a fact” and “not to have confidence in.” It seems difficult to question the very existence of the Second Vatican Council. The question of trust is more delicate and could be formulated as follows: Is it permissible to question whether it was indeed the Holy Spirit who directed the Council? First of all, it is surprising to note that the Holy Father seems to think that the opponents of the Council are questioning the intentions of the Council Fathers. However, it is clear that the objections or reservations about the Council expressed by Archbishop Lefebvre, Bishop Schneider, Msgr. Gherardini, Jean Madiran, Roberto de Mattei, etc., concern texts and facts, not intentions, which, as we know, even if they are good, can pave the way to hell, and remain the secret of consciences.
More Francis on "Traditionis custodes": To a new visiting group of French bishops, Francis says, "Yes, I did it thinking about the USA." (And additional important information.)
To the first group of French bishops in the periodical "ad limina" visit to Rome, Francis said, "Basta!" -- enough.
This morning, Francis met a new group of French Bishops, including the Archbishops of Paris, Abp. Michel Aupetit, and of Lyon, Abp. Olivier de Germay. Famille Chrétienne reveals the details:
Several French bishops were received for a particularly long audience - two hours and twenty minutes - and were able to have a frank exchange with Pope Francis on September 23. They were from the provinces of Paris, Lyon and Clermont-Ferrand, who came to Rome for the ad limina visits ...
"What interested the Pope was to discuss with us informally," Archbishop Aupetit of Paris told reporters a few hours after the exchange. "It was our questions that fueled this dialogue, in a very simple and fraternal way." ...
The thorny motu proprio Traditionis Custodes
Washington Post: Front page Latin Mass article
Last Sunday the Washington Post printed a front page article on the traditional Latin Mass, complete with a beautiful photo of High Mass at a Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter parish. The second such major mainstream media feature on the TLM -- following the Wall Street Journal earlier this month -- the coverage has featured Catholics who attend the Latin Mass and their reasons for doing so.
Both the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal pieces were written by the papers' Rome/Vatican reporters. This is an important detail, as reporters based in Rome who cover the Vatican closely are often more knowledgeable about Catholic news and issues than U.S.-based religion reporters (although there are exceptions to this rule) at mainstream newspapers, who are usually obsessed with social issues from their leftist point of view. In this case it meant the D.C.-based religion reporters at the Washington Post were not at all involved -- definitely a good thing considering their previous articles and bias concerning just about anything traditional or religious.
Chico Harlan, of the Washington Post's Rome bureau was the sole writer for the article. He spent time in Lincoln, Nebraska, to get a sense of how TLM communicants worship. How they socialize. How they communicate. And it turned out well. He reported, pretty fairly, what he saw.
Harlan spent a considerable amount of time in Lincoln with Rorate Caeli contributor Peter Kwasniewski, who is featured prominently in the article.
Moreover, the Washington Post hired a freelance photographer, Madeline Cass, to take numerous photos during Mass and of various scenes in Lincoln. Her work is simply amazing, adding beautiful images to Harlan's piece. In addition to the photo of the Mass on the front page, several other photos ran inside the paper and online.
This is not to say the article is perfect -- remember, we are talking about a major mainstream newspaper. But for a front page Sunday story, this is a positive snapshot of a TLM community.
The Washington Post article, like the Wall Street Journal's, is behind a paywall, so we cannot copy and paste the entire piece. But here are some excerpts:
Op-Ed: "Traditionis Custodes: Vatican II at the Throes of Death"
The non-reception of the Second Vatican Council has focused in a concrete way on the refusal of the liturgical reform, even if a certain number of practitioners of the old Mass affirm their adherence to the "well interpreted" conciliar intuitions. In any case, the existence of the traditional liturgy is a persistent and even growing phenomenon of non-reception. Marginal? Pope Bergoglio, who wants to be the pope of the full realization of Vatican II, has come to be convinced that the phenomenon is sufficiently important that he must work to eradicate it. With the consequence that the possibly marginal has certainly become central: the Tridentine Mass is elevated as the evil to be destroyed; the seminaries training priests to say it, as cankers to be eliminated. And this is business as usual.
A return to the original violence of the liturgical reform
Time for Worldwide Sacrifice: Ember Week in September
We all need it -- the Church needs it.
May you all have a fruitful week of sacrifice.
A Center of Catholic resistance: the great "Minoritenkirche" in Vienna now belongs to the SSPX -- by Roberto de Mattei
A center of Catholic resistance:
the Minoritenkirche in Vienna
The SSPX (Society of Saint Pius X) has announced that it has become the owner of the Minoritenkirche, in Vienna's inner city. The Society will be able to take possession of this church, officially named Italienische Nationalkirche Maria Schnee (Italian National Church of Mary of the Snows) on June 3, 2022, the anniversary of its donation to the Italian congregation by Emperor Joseph II on June 3, 1784.
The significance of this news does not escape a Catholic historian. The Minoritenkirche is not only one of the most beautiful and oldest churches in Vienna, but, between 1780 and 1815, it represented the heart of Catholic resistance against revolutionary ideas. At that time, Jansenism, Gallicanism, the Enlightenment, different and heterogeneous forces, but united by their hatred of the Church of Rome, intertwined their efforts, in the shadow of the Masonic lodges, to destroy the Christian religious and social order. Father Nikolaus Albert von Diessbach (1732-1798), a former Swiss officer who had belonged to the Society of Jesus before its suppression (1773), between 1779 and 1780 founded in Turin, under the name of Amicizia Cristiana, an organization that aimed to resist this subversive project by fighting it with its own weapons: the dissemination of books and the secrecy that surrounded the members of the association (see Roberto de Mattei, La Biblioteca delle "Amicizie" : repertorio critico della cultura cattolica 1770-1830, Bibliopolis 2005).
Adventures in the Lex Orandi #3: Comparing the Old and New Orations for Our Lady of Sorrows
O God, at Whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of sorrow pierced the most sweet soul of the glorious Virgin and Mother Mary: mercifully grant, that we who with veneration ponder her sorrows may obtain the happy fruit of Thy Passion: Who livest and reignest with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end, Amen.
The Living Center of Catholic Tradition: Sermon for Pentecost XVI
He said: Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fall into a pit, and will not immediately draw him up on the Sabbath? And they could give Him no answer to these things. (Luke 14:5)
In my fantasy, what is needed at precisely this point in the scene in today’s gospel is for Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof to bring down the house with his rendition of Tradition. Tradishuun! Tradishuun! How many bad but endearing productions have we seen of this endearing musical in high school performances where a blond blue eyed lacrosse player takes the part of a peasant Russian Jew and belts out “Tradition”? But there is a conflict between Tevye and his children: and the basis of the conflict is Tradition with a capital T.
And that is the conflict in today’s gospel between Jesus and the Pharisees. That Jesus chooses to eat with the Pharisees, he goes to their houses and invites himself to dinner to me is a striking example of his authenticity, because it is so unreligious, so unpietistical to do so.
The clash here, which is a foretaste of the ultimate clash that leads to the Cross, is between the understanding of Tradition, again, with a capital T. We all know that this clash has nothing to do with Christmas trees and turkey on Thanksgiving and something borrowed, something blue—all traditions—not to be scoffed at, but in the end, just traditions. The Pharisees have a corner on the Tradition of Judaism, or so they think. For they identify the Tradition with the Law, especially the complex everyday application of the Law. And Jesus comes into this situation, not as an outsider, but as a Jew who has invited himself to this dinner, and by his very person and presence challenges the Pharisees’ understanding of Tradition.
Compiling a list of Suppressed Traditional Latin Masses
Dear readers,
If your mass (Sunday or weekday) has been suppressed following the advent of the new letter by Francis that reverted Summorum Pontificum, please let us know -- either by direct message on Twitter or by e-mail (newcatholic@gmail.com).
Thank you, and God have mercy!
[Update: Many readers have sent us news: we are updating them in this Twitter thread that starts with the tweet below (click for more updates). Please, keep sending us your information of suppression in your area, thank you!]
All 4 TLM Masses outside the Personal Parish of St John Henry Newman have been cancelled in the Archdiocese of Melbourne
— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) July 18, 2021
[Second Update: Originally published July 18, 2021, 6 p.m. UTC; the latest inclusions of suppressions and limitations were made today, Sep. 11, 2021: Atlanta and Paris. Regarding the very first item in the Twitter thread, we have learned that all TLMs previously taking place in the Melbourne Archdiocese have been restored, after Aug. 28.]
Francis to Bishops of France in "Ad Limina" visit, regarding Traditionis Custodes: "They must accept Vatican II, and BASTA!"
Basta! - Enough!
That was the tone of Francis to the bishops of France -- the first group to proceed to the periodical Ad Limina Visit to Rome met with him earlier today (it was the group of the bishops of the South of France and Eastern Catholics).
French Catholic weekly Famille Chrétienne has a summary of the visit, including this paragraph on Traditionis custodes:
Motu proprio: "It is necessary to establish a limit, and basta."
Regarding the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes, the pope, "insisted on the fact that it must be avoided that the celebration of the ancient rite be a pretext to refuse Vatican II." "A limit must be established, and basta," he insisted before the French prelates, so that a liturgical attachment will not be the façade for an ideological position. At the same time, the successor of Peter encouraged them to adopt a "paternal attitude" towards the faithful.
***
A short video of the visit below, from the Twitter account of the French Episcopal Conference:
For the record: highlights from an Interview by La Verità newspaper to Aldo Maria Valli re: the Pope’s illness, rumours of a conclave and the war against the Old Mass
The
interview was conducted by Alessandro Rico and published in La Verità on September 6, 2021.
Aldo Maria Valli, historian and highly-esteemed Vatican expert for the RAI (Italian Radio and TV), runs the blog Duc in Altum from which he has been courageously criticizing the ambiguity and the confusion of Pope Francis’ papacy for years now. We ask his informed opinion on the recent rumours about Pope Francis’s’ possible imminent abdication. Pope Francis has denied this (“I have no intention of resigning”), but declared that as soon as the health of a Pope deteriorates, there is feeling “that a conclave is in the air”.
Wall Street Journal: "The Power of the Latin Mass"
The Wall Street Journal's Rome reporter, Francis X. Rocca, published a piece online today that will run in Saturday's paper, looking at what the traditional Latin Mass means to those who attend it.
It is an honest, opinion-free report of Catholics, young and old, who prefer the TLM. Rocca has consistently written articles for the WSJ that feature a diversity of views and people -- the opposite of other mainstream media, such as the New York Times or Reuters, which rely on the same tired sources. Seriously, look at most other mainstream news articles on Catholic issues and you will likely find John Carr, Thomas Reese, John Gehring, Massimo Faggioli or James Martin in just about every article. Mainstream media are notorious for either an obvious slant or one-sided perspective from this small group of men who feed lazy reporters by completing their preconstructed narrative concerning traditional Catholics.
Those in Lincoln, Nebraska, know the Washington Post was on the ground there recently for an upcoming article. Hopefully the Post matches the WSJ's fair treatment of Catholics who attend and love the traditional Latin Mass.
The Statement of the Superiors General (and Taylor Marshall)
Cross-posted on LMSChairman.org
The Superiors General of the Fraternity of St Peter, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, the Institute of the Good Shepherd, and a number of other Superiors General of priestly institutes and religious communities attached to the Traditional Mass (including three communities of women), have issued a joint letter in response to Traditionis Custodes. Here it is, on the FSSP website. It is addressed to the Bishops of France, not, as some have assumed, to the Holy See.
Fontgombault Sermon for the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary: "Mary, Mother of Him Who is the Wisdom, offers Him to the world."
Nativity of Our Lady & Perpetual Promise of an Oblate
My dearly beloved Sons,
And most especially you, who are going to pronounce your perpetual promise of regular oblate,
The London Eucharistic Octave: Christ in the Blessed Sacrament on the move in London (Sep. 11-19, 2021)
Open Letter of Traditional Lay Faithful to the Catholic Faithful of the Whole World - Francis, time to revoke Traditionis Custodes: WE WILL NOT DEPRIVE OUR CHILDREN
LETTER OF THE FAITHFUL ATTACHED TO THE TRADITIONAL MASS
TO THE CATHOLICS OF THE WHOLE WORLD
What father, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? (Mt 7, 9)
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It is with great sadness that we learned of Pope Francis' decision to abrogate the main provisions of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, promulgated by Pope Benedict XVI on July 7, 2007. After decades of divisions and quarrels, that Motu Proprio was, for all the Catholic faithful, a work of peace and reconciliation.
Rome violates the word given by Pope Benedict XVI with brutality and intransigence, far from the much vaunted fraternal welcoming.
Reminder: Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society
In Defense of Preserving Readings in Latin
In light of Pope Francis’s frivolous and offensive remark about how doing the readings at Mass in Latin would be “like laughing at the Word of God,” it seemed opportune to republish here at Rorate an article first published eight years ago in The Latin Mass magazine (Summer 2013), with slight revisions. Although my thinking on all of these points has developed and deepened, it has done so in precisely the same direction. Those who, moreover, think that Francis’s July 16 motu proprio requires replacing Latin readings with vernacular ones should read two articles that argue the contrary, here and here.—PAK
In Defense of Preserving Readings in Latin
COMMUNIQUÉ of the Superiors-General of the "Ecclesia Dei" Communities [on Traditionis Custodes]
"The mercy of the Lord is upon all flesh."
(Sirach 18, 13)
The signatory Institutes want, above all, to reiterate their love for the Church and their fidelity to the Holy Father. This filial love is tinged with great suffering today. We feel suspected, marginalized, banished. However, we do not recognize ourselves in the description given in the accompanying letter of the Motu Proprio Traditionis custodes, of July 16, 2021.
"If we say we have no sin ..." (I John 1, 8)
We do not see ourselves as the "true Church" in any way. On the contrary, we see in the Catholic Church our Mother in whom we find salvation and faith. We are loyally subject to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff and that of the diocesan bishops, as demonstrated by the good relations in the dioceses (and the functions of Presbyteral Councillor, Archivist, Chancellor, or Official which have been entrusted to our members), and the result of canonical or apostolic visits of recent years. We reaffirm our adherence to the magisterium (including that of Vatican II and what follows), according to the Catholic doctrine of the assent due to it (cf. in particular Lumen Gentium, n ° 25, and Catechism of the Catholic Church , n ° 891 and 892), as evidenced by the numerous studies and doctoral theses carried out by several of us over the past 33 years.
Have any mistakes been made? We are ready, as every Christian is, to ask forgiveness if some excess of language or mistrust of authority may have crept into any of our members. We are ready to convert if party spirit or pride has polluted our hearts.
"Fulfill your vows unto the Most High" (Psalm 49:14)
We beg for a humane, personal, trusting dialogue, far from ideologies or the coldness of administrative decrees. We would like to be able to meet a person who will be for us the face of the Motherhood of the Church. We would like to be able to tell him about the suffering, the tragedies, the sadness of so many lay faithful around the world, but also of priests, men and women religious who gave their lives trusting on the word of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
Houston, We Have A Problem: The Latin Mass
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in Texas is the fifth largest diocese in the U.S., a result of the explosive growth around the City of Houston -- the fourth largest city in the U.S. -- and its surrounding counties. It has a massive priest shortage, with just 150 active archdiocesan priests of the 435 priests serving, retired or residing in the 146-parish archdiocese. There are 411 "permanent deacons" in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
Why we should pray to St. Joseph Freinademetz and for the Church in China - by Roberto de Mattei
Few know about and pray to St. Joseph Freinademetz, a missionary saint who deserves our devotion in the present hour.
Joseph was born in Oies, in Val Badia, a village in the meadows and woods at the foot of high mountains, on April 15 1852, into a family of peasants of deep faith. He was a Tyrolean, or more precisely a Ladin, a subject of Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria-Hungary. The Ladins are a linguistic community spread through several valleys of the Dolomites and served by the diocese of Bressanone. It was in this small town in South Tyrol that Joseph was ordained a priest on July 25 1875. He made the choice to become a missionary and entered the Society of the Divine Word founded a few years earlier by Saint Arnold Janssen (1837-1909).
“Tradition Devoured by the Magisterium”
Tradition Devoured by the Magisterium
Francis, in interview: Actually, the Traditional Mass was not abolished, I just wanted a “constructive reordering” of Summorum Pontificum…
From an interview granted by Francis to Spanish Catholic radio COPE:
[Q.] I don’t know if Pope Francis is a man who likes to bang his fist on the table. Would it be possible that the last blow on the table has been the pontifical document limiting the celebration of the ‘Tridentine Masses’? And I also ask you to explain to my audience what the ‘Tridentine Mass’ is, what is it about the Tridentine Mass that is not mandatory.