On this feast of All Saints, and basking in the afterglow of the feast of Christ our King, I am very pleased to announce the publication by Angelico Press of a major collection of essays and articles by prelates and pastors, theologians and canonists, philosophers and cultural figures, in response to the pope’s July 16th motu proprio:
From Benedict’s Peace to Francis’s War. And a potent anthology it is: 70 responses to
Traditionis Custodes from 45 authors in 12 countries—5 cardinals, 5 bishops, 8 priests, 2 religious, and 27 laymen. It is, you might say, the literary equivalent of the large bands of pilgrims of many nations, ranks, and states in life who gathered in Rome this past weekend to remind the Vatican that the
usus antiquior is never going to disappear from the Church, ever.
The contributors, by category:
Cardinals
Cardinal Walter Brandmüller, Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, Cardinal Gerhard Müller, Cardinal Robert Sarah, Cardinal Joseph Zen
Bishops
Archbishop Héctor Aguer, Archbishop Thomas E. Gullickson, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, Bishop Rob Mutsaerts, Bishop Athanasius Schneider
Priests
A Catholic Priest, Abbé Claude Barthe, Abbé Christian Gouyaud, Dr. Michael Fiedrowicz, Dr. Martin Grichting, Fr. John Hunwicke, Msgr. Charles Pope, Dr. Gero P. Weishaupt
Religious
Dom Alcuin Reid, Cristiana de Magistris (pen name)
Laymen
Christopher Altieri, Phillip Campbell, David Deavel, Tomasz Dekert, Pietro de Marco, Juan Manuel de Prada, Michael Brendan Dougherty, Ross Douthat, Douglas Farrow, Edward Feser, Christophe Geffroy, Peter Kwasniewski, Phil Lawler, Jean-Pierre Maugendre, Daniel McGlone, Leila Miller, John A. Monaco, Sebastian Morello, Martin Mosebach, George Neumayr, Michel Onfray, Rubén Peretó Rivas, Matthew Schmitz, Joseph Shaw, Tim Stanley, José Antonio Ureta, Massimo Viglione
Most of these pieces were published already in dozens of places online between July 16 and September 20. The primary purpose of the book is to gather them all conveniently into one volume, with errata corrected, some editorial notes added, and the whole beautifully typeset. (N.B. The book does, however, contain several pieces that have not appeared anywhere else yet, either simply, or in English translation: Jean-Pierre Maugendre’s “Francis: The Pope of Exclusion” and “Divide and Conquer?”; Juan Manuel de Prada’s “Substance and Form”; two substantial lectures by Joseph Shaw, “Is the Missal of Paul VI the
Unum Necessarium?” and “We Will Persevere, and with God’s Help We Will Prevail”; Christophe Geffroy and Abbé Christian Gouyaud’s “After the Shock, the Analysis.” It also has fresh and better translations of Michel Onfray’s “Ite Missa Est” and Abbé Claude Barthe’s “The Council's Last Stand?”)
The table of contents may be viewed in this composite and cropped image (click to enlarge):
Some interior photos to give a sense of the layout:
Already on July 16, 2021, the reactions to Pope Francis’s severe restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass in
Traditionis Custodes were like a river in full flood: articles, essays, interviews, podcasts—everywhere and from every point of view. An emotional, spiritual, intellectual dam had broken and the waters of discourse poured forth across the world. The sheer volume of writing occasioned by
Traditionis Custodes is unlike anything seen in the history of papal documents—testimony to a neuralgic subject on which arguments proliferate and passions run high.
The two-month period following the release of the motu proprio gave proof that the traditionalist movement was no fringe phenomenon, but something that had gained significant strength and sympathy during the relatively peaceful years from 2007 to 2021 (the “Pax Benedictina” to which the book’s title refers). The purpose of this volume is to gather in one convenient place some of the finest and most appreciated essays and articles published in the period from mid-July through September of this fateful year, 2021—not only from America and England (although these predominate), but also from other nations: France, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Poland, Kazakhstan, and China.
This book is not, and makes no pretense of being, a presentation of “both sides of the argument.” It offers a variety of critiques of this profoundly unwise and unpastoral decree, which suffers from incoherent doctrinal foundations, grave moral and juridical defects, and impossible ecclesiological implications.
Angelico Press is profoundly grateful for the many prominent authors the world over who have permitted us to publish their contributions. We wish to underline that the inclusion of any contribution does not imply the author’s approval of the opinions of others published in the book, or of the editorial decisions made by Angelico Press, including the title, which remain the responsibility of Angelico Press alone.To Order:
From Benedict’s Peace to Francis’s War: Catholics Respond to the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes on the Latin Mass. Edited by Peter A. Kwasniewski. Brooklyn, NY: Angelico Press, 2021. 406 pp. | Paperback: $22.95 | Hardcover: $32 | (Kindle forthcoming)
Available at
Amazon and
Barnes & Noble—or request it from your local bookseller.
