The Paris Olympic Ceremony: Not Simply Bad Taste, but an Act of War against Christian Civilization

by Roberto de Mattei

Marie-Antoinette being taken to her Execution (1793), by William Hamilton (1794)

Among the many symbolic events of our time, the grotesque spectacle that opened the Paris Olympics on July 26, 2024, cannot simply be dismissed as a show of bad taste or a cultural provocation.  It is the latest act of war against Christian Civilization that had one of its historical peaks in the French Revolution.  

Marcel De Corte's 1970 Letter to Jean Madiran “On the New Mass” - First Translation into English - "Paul VI is a man full of contradictions"

(The following text was published in no. 140 of Itinéraires, February 1970. It was translated by Gerhard Eger for Rorate Caeli.)

I must admit to you, my dear Jean Madiran, that I have been tempted more than once to leave the Catholic Church wherein I was born. If I have not done so, I give thanks to God and to the good peasant’s common sense with which he has blessed me. The Church—I murmur to myself at this moment—is like a sack of wheat infested with weevils. However numerous the parasites are—and at first glance, they are swarming!—they have not sterilized all the kernels. Some, no matter how few, remain fertile. They will sprout and the weevils will die once they have devoured all the others. Bon appétit, gentlemen, you are eating your own death.

Meanwhile, we suffer from famine, starving for the supernatural. The number of priests who distribute the bread of the soul to us dwindles at an alarming rate. In the hierarchy, things are even worse. And at the very top, whence we might expect some solace, they are disastrous.

"The Little Red Light": New children's book by a priest teaches the Catholic tradition of the sanctuary lamp

Father Benjamin A. Garcia of the Archdiocese of Washington, who is devoted to the traditional Mass, has published a children's book which reinforces the Catholic tradition of the sanctuary lamp, the sign of the real presence of Our Lord in our Catholic churches.

New Front in the Liturgy Wars: Rome Requires Dominicans of the Holy Spirit to Hybridize Novus Ordo and TLM

Almost exactly one year ago, Rorate reported on the plight of the Dominicans of the Holy Spirit, who from their founding adhered with principled consistency to the old liturgical rites. The Vatican sent Novus Ordo apologist Fr Henry Donneaud, OP to "regularize" them in accord with the Vatican campaign against traditional religious life and traditional divine worship.

Now, there is an important update. On July 25, the community issued the following press release, which we translate here:

FOR THE RECORD: Superior of FSSP discusses Synopsis of French Bishops' TLM Survey

Fr. Paul-Joseph, interviewed below, is on the left side

Considering how the Synopsis of the French Bishops' Survey on the TLM is being weaponized against traditional Catholics, it seems fitting to present here, for the record, a translation of the interview that Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, the superior of the FSSP's French district, gave to Le Salon Beige on June 7, 2021. Recall that Fr. Paul-Joseph has met now twice with Pope Francis and may be considered to be in possession of the salient facts both at home and in Rome. - PK

Refuting the Exaggerated and Belligerent Claims of the French Bishops’ Survey: Paix Liturgique

Pope Francis with leadership of the French Bishops' Conference, December 2022

EDITOR'S NOTE

Another blog, known for its extreme adulation of Pope Francis, is currently discussing the synthesis the French Bishops' Conference put out in 2021 in response to the Summorum Pontificum Survey. They exaggerate its significance and its pertinence as a document that reflects the true opinion of the bishops. Aside from the forceful misinterpretations, sophisms, and plain exaggeration, the article also shows a desperate attempt to control the narrative on Traditionis Custodes. 

Argentine Blog: The Prohibition Document Arrived in Francis Hands -- but he decided against signing it | The petitions and letters had an influence as well

 From our friends at Argentine blog Caminante Wanderer:

July 16, the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the third anniversary of Traditionis custodes, was the date set for the release of a new document from the Holy See putting an end to the traditional Mass, which, it was said, would be reserved exclusively for the so-called “Ecclesia Dei institutes.” It was, as we called it in this blog, the final solution.

From Pius XII to Paul VI to Cardinal Roche: The Difference One Word Can Make - Article by Paolo Pasqualucci

The current Catholic hierarchy, starting with the Pope, often refers to the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) as the basis for the “reforms” it continues to carry out in the constitution of the Church (with synodality), in doctrine (with the ecumenical Declaration of Abu Dhabi), in Christian morality (with unprecedented concessions - liturgical and otherwise - to irregular couples of all kinds) and to justify its constant fight against the ancient rite of the Mass, also known as the “traditional Mass”, whose total disappearance it obviously wishes, so numerous are the restrictions and prohibitions now applied to its celebration.

The Wages of Vatican II in Italy: Without priests or faithful, the Diocese left behind by the enemy of the Latin Mass, Abp. Viola, is crumbling

Rorate Note: The diocese left behind by the arch-persecutor of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Vatican, Archbishop Vittorio Viola, is crumbling. He left nothing behind when he left the Diocese of Tortona to torture traditionalists worldwide.

Report from Italian daily Il Foglio:

Manila Alfano

Il Foglio

July 02, 2024

[Glorious, but empty, churches]

From Tortona to Milan, dioceses are grappling with contemporary challenges. Between inventiveness and realism, Ratzinger's prophecy is halfway through

Tortona also yields. Reorganization is the buzzword that from the hallways of the chancery crossed the threshold and quickly spread among the parishes: 313, most in Oltrepo, the others in the Tortona, Piacenza and Genoa areas, four different regions involved. Reorganization, they say, which means getting rid of the superfluous, of everything that is not essential, because the numbers do not add up and you trudge on. People are giving up, starting with the management of residences for the elderly and daycare centers, and sacrificing smaller and less attended churches. There is a shortage of priests and a shortage of worshippers. “This is certainly nothing new, and in the valleys then it is a disaster, and Covid has only accelerated a process that was already under way,” explains the pro vicar general of the Diocese of Tortona, Fr. Francesco Larocca. And so here is the reality: so many churches, chapels, parishes, oratories scattered over a vast territory and only one priest forced to go from one village to another. How can it be done?

Tradition and Traditionalism: Let us not be "men of little faith" - by Father Richard Cipolla

Father Richard Cipolla

In that by now well -read article posted at Messa in Latino just a few weeks ago in which a representative of that web site engaged in a conversation with Andrea Grillo, the famous (or infamous) professor of Sacramental Theology at the Pontifical University of Sant’Anselmo in Rome, I was of course, struck by Professor Grillo’s  un-Catholic statement that “Tradition is the future”.  The image that sprang to my mind is the Mad Hatter’s tea party in Alice in Wonderland.  Or perhaps Professor Grillo has watched the film Back to the Future too many times. That statement is not only a contradiction of the Catholic Church’s understanding of Tradition but also makes nonsense of the very word in Latin traditio, which comes from the Latin verb tradere meaning “to pass on”. (Lest a super-Latin scholar object that this verb can also mean to surrender, I do know that, but in Catholic thought the meaning of handing down or passing on is clear). 

Benedictines of Norcia in today's New York Times

A lovely news article appears on page A4 of today's New York Times, online here, featuring the Benedictines of Norcia and their resilience following a magnitude-6.5 earthquake in 2016.

Elizabeth Povoledo, based in the Times' Rome bureau, wrote the feature article, with photos by Alessandro Penso. Abbot Benedict Nivakoff, OSB, discussed the delicious beer brewed there and how a percentage of the restoration effort has been aided by sales of Birra Nursia.

Fortescue’s Classic Work on Eastern Orthodoxy Republished in a New Edition

As booklovers know from oft-repeated experience, acquiring a long out-of-print classic can be a chore. Old copies, if they are not prohibitively costly, are beaten up and even malodorous; and newer "reprint" companies seem to take no pains either with their facsimiles or with their OCR'd products.

Update: The TLM Suppression Document Remains Unsigned

Our sources assure us that the draft of the document of almost total suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass is ready, and has been for some time - but it that it "remains unsigned." 

Francis seems to hesitate. Maybe Viola - who is a true fanatic - has been trying too hard, and this is making Francis doubtful… Francis has been hearing alternative viewpoints from the hierarchy, and messages from Catholics and non-Catholics. And we always have our prayers...

Cardinal Parolin, Secretary of State, is reportedly also very strongly in favor of the suppression.

Reflections on Pia Fraus in the Church: We must always be disciples of Truth and not of Lies!

Reflections on Pia Fraus in the Church

by Gustave Thibon

(Translated by Gerhard Eger)

[Rorate Note: Gustave Thibon was a French Traditional Catholic writer (1903–2001), and a prolific author, and wrote many essays for Itinéraires. He was known as a "peasant" philosopher. This essay appeared in the June 1970 issue of Itinéraires (Catholic periodical founded by Jean Madiran.]

Louis Salleron has recently put forward valuable insights into the issue of lying within the Church. Without any pretence of exhausting or resolving the debate, I should like to highlight some new points for discussion. I shall do this within the framework of what is nowadays called “interrogative philosophy.” [Note 1]

First question: to what degree can an institution that affirms it is divine in origin and end as well as necessary for the salvation of men fulfil its mission, insofar as it is a human and sociological phenomenon, without resorting to lying?

A pattern on TLM indults being denied and approved

There is an interesting pattern beginning to develop.

Two U.S. dioceses (Baltimore and Richmond) that have the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in them, with personal parishes, will no longer have any diocesan parish traditional Latin Masses offered, despite the noble attempt by the local bishops for renewals of existing two-year parish indults. In the Archdiocese of Baltimore and Diocese of Richmond, no diocesan clergy at diocesan parishes may licitly offer TLMs.

On the other hand, two U.S. dioceses (San Antonio and Arlington, Virginia) that do NOT have the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, or any other TLM personal parishes, have been granted two-year indult renewals, this week, for their existing diocesan parish TLMs offered by diocesan priests.

The Fifth Annual Festival of St. Louis (Missouri), August 23-25, 2024 -- All Dates, Times, Events

The Fifth Annual Festival of St. Louis (Missouri) has announced its schedule. All information in the posters below. It's going to be a fantastic time so if you are anywhere near St. Louis, or even if you're not but can get there for it, it will be well worth your while. I am not aware of any other American city that celebrates its patron with comparable liturgical, processional, cultural, devotional splendor.

Cardinal Sandoval Sends Letter to Pope in defense of Traditional Latin Mass

 

Letter from Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez to Pope Francis, advocating for the Mass of Saint Pius V, and International Endorsement by Personalities. 

 

On July 6, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, Archbishop Emeritus of Guadalajara, penned a letter to Pope Francis, which he dispatched on Monday, July 8. In the letter, he urged that, amidst persistent rumors of an impending global restriction on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass, the Tridentine Mass which has been celebrated for four centuries according to the rite of Saint Pius V, not be suppressed or suspended.

Diverse Catholic associations and news/internet platforms, among them Una Voce México, have called on personalities from around the world to endorse this petition launched by Cardinal Sandoval.

Below is a free translation of the letter sent by Cardinal Sandoval:

"To God Who Giveth Joy To My Youth": Thoughts on the Growing Revolutionary Threat to the Traditional Latin Mass

 by Leo Darroch

John XXIII celebrating Low Mass in his private chapel

One of the marks of revolutionaries is a complete lack of respect or tolerance for anyone who has an opposing point of view. Once they have formulated their opinions then nothing and nobody will come between them and the course of action they intend to follow.  To the revolutionaries, anyone who is not singing their tune must be suppressed and removed as quickly as possible. A current example is the contemptuous way in which the sacred liturgy and its adherents, both clerical and lay, have been treated in recent years, especially from Rome.  There is intrigue on a grand scale and at the highest levels in the Church, and the opinions of the laity, for example, are of no interest to those driving forward their agenda. Examples from history show that the revolution never ends until the revolutionaries are faced down and defeated.

Sign the Petition "Stop the Ban on the Traditional Latin Mass"

You are now able to join the names who wrote the newest "Agatha Christie Letter" petitioning for the Traditional Latin Mass.

Composer Sir James MacMillan has started the Petition here: join it now.

Fifty Reasons Why the Dicastery for Divine Worship Prohibited the Traditional Mass at Covadonga

The following article by Luis López Valpuesta appeared in Spanish on July 12, 2024 at Infovaticana.

Father John Berg Elected as Fraternity of Saint Peter Superior General

 For a new term of six years, bringing with him his past accomplished experience as Superior General.

FSSP communiqué:

Election of the Superior General of the Fraternity

 

Published 11 July 2024

 

Communiqué of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Wednesday, July 10, 2024, Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary, Denton, Nebraska, USA

Guest Article: “The Great Loss: Or, the Pontificate of Jorge Bergoglio”

The following analysis, originally in German (here) and submitted to Rorate Caeli in an authorized English translation, is the finest synopsis of the pontificate and the theology of Pope Francis that I have yet seen. We are very pleased to present it here. ~ PAK

The "Abrahamic Family House" promoted by Pope Francis

The Great Loss: Or, the Pontificate of Jorge Bergoglio

By Vigilius[1]

Thousands of Spanish Pilgrims to Be Denied Traditional Latin Mass at the Shrine of Covadonga

The Dicastery of Divine Worship notified the Archdiocese of Oviedo that the pilgrims of Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad are forbidden, at the end of their pilgrimage, to celebrate the TLM in the great historic shrine of Covadonga, as they have peacefully and fervently done the past three years. Here are a couple of photos from last year, showing the large numbers, and the poster for 2024:

Spiritual Bouquet Participants Share Why They Love the TLM

Responses have come pouring in from around the world since last month’s announcement of the second Missae pro Missa worldwide campaign for the preservation of the Traditional Latin Mass.

An “Agatha Christie” Petition for Our Age: Great Names of Public Life and Culture sign Open Letter in Defense of the Latin Mass

The great news is brought by Damian Thompson, who reports on Twitter/X on the open letter to be published tomorrow at The Times (London):

Thread: Famous names including Bianca Jagger, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Princess Michael of Kent, Sir Andras Schiff, Tom Holland, Lady Antonia Fraser and many others appeal to the Vatican to save the Traditional Latin Mass in a letter to the Times tomorrow.

 

Letter implores the Holy See not to impose further 'unnecessary and insensitive' restrictions on the TLM. Other signatories: Sir Nicholas Coleridge, Sir Stephen Hough, Sir Paul Smith, Dame Mitsuko Uchida and one of the letter's organisers, Sir James MacMillan.

 

Full list of signatories asking Rome to save the Traditional Latin Mass:

New Collection of Insightful Interviews with Bishop Schneider

Over the years, Bishop Athanasius Schneider has granted many illuminating interviews that offer guidance, challenge, and comfort to the storm-tossed faithful.

This new volume — A Shepherd Solicitous for the Whole Church: Bishop Athanasius Schneider in Conversation with Dániel Fülep & Others — collects seven of them for the first time in one place: two substantial interviews conducted with His Excellency by the Hungarian theologian Dániel Fülep, plus five others, shorter but no less potent.

In wide-ranging exchanges, we hear Bishop Schneider reflecting on versus populum • the validity of the new sacramental rites • celibacy • patriarchy • women’s ordination • papal elections • papolatry • Amoris Laetitia La Salette • the conversion of Russia • the European Union • migration • Islam • the conversion of the Jews • Freemasonry • modernism • aggiornamento • the SSPX • the Neocatechumenal Way • praying the Rosary during Mass • Pius X’s reform of the breviary • episcopal conferences • and much else besides.

Why is the Traditional Latin Mass So Hated? - Op-Ed

by Father Enda*

Vision of Tuy

Amongst all women one alone was chosen to be His Mother, who is The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mediatrix of All Graces. No other. Chosen from amongst all other holy Virgins.

Amongst all instruments one alone was chosen to be His Katechon, ("what witholdeth" (2 Thess. 2:6-7 -singular), which is the Latin Rite Mass of the Ages. No other. Chosen from amongst all other holy rites.