Grateful for this insightful analysis via Facebook that aligns closely with many of my own experiences and diagnostics. A bishop’s remonstrance to his young priests urging they never allow the young people to see the “old Mass”, for fear they would prefer it to the new, comes to mind. The denial and concealment the enemies of the Faith used for many years is no longer possible with the collective access and common memory provided by the Internet.
A Marian Minimalism in Accordance with Mater Populi Fidelis: The Case of Cardinal Müller
A Marian Minimalism in Accordance with Mater Populi Fidelis:
The Case of Cardinal Müller
By Karen Darantière
for Rorate Caeli
The saddening doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis, promulgated a year ago by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by Leo XIV, belittles the greatness of the Blessed Virgin by denying her Coredemption — that is, her participation in the acquisition of the graces of our salvation through the merits of her Compassion — as well as her universal mediation in the dispensation of graces. No one is surprised that Cardinal Fernández denies this traditional doctrine, given the lack of doctrinal credibility and moral authority of the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, despite the holy office he holds. On the other hand, more than a few Catholics will be surprised to learn that Cardinal Müller, who in recent years has acquired a reputation as a defender of the faith for certain praiseworthy positions on other subjects, has made remarks about the Blessed Virgin that are not in keeping with the perennial teaching of the Magisterium. He has clearly declared himself against the doctrine of Mary's Coredemption, and has written ambiguous pages on the dogma of her Perpetual Virginity.
Limitations for Traditional Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Toronto, Canada
Two local readers sent reports of the recent restrictions set on Latin Mass locations in the Archdiocese of Toronto, Ontario.
One of the readers sent us the following detailed report:
As announced from the pulpit in a prepared statement, in lieu of the homily on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost: Traditionis Custodes is taking effect at Toronto Oratory parishes effective immediately, including the Modern Roman Rite Mass replacing the Sunday Traditional Latin Mass on successive Sundays once a month at each parish.
List of Latin Mass "permissions" under Traditionis Custodes for 2025
Under the cruel regime of gradual annihilation of the Traditional Roman Rite set into motion by Francis' illegitimate motu proprio Traditionis custodes, of 2021, the Dicastery for Divine Worship (DDW) has to give "permission" to some kinds of celebrations, or to extend the "permission".
The DDW has just published the Summarium Decretorum of 2025, and this is the full list of permissions officially granted last year. Here are all the "permissions" granted for celebration according to the 1962 Roman Missal (the Extraordinary Form), extracted from the document and translated:
January 16 — Prot. N. 683/24, Diocese of Kalisz (Poland)
We gladly grant, for a further two years, permission to celebrate according to the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962, in the parish church dedicated to God in honor of Saints Adalbert and Stanislaus, belonging to the Military Ordinariate of Poland, in the city of Kalisz.
January 16 — Prot. N. 10/25, Diocese of Siedlce (Poland)
We gladly grant permission to celebrate according to the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962, in the parish church dedicated to God in honor of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr, in the city of Siedlce.
January 16 — Prot. N. 15/25, Archdiocese of Taipei (Taiwan)
Leo XIV abrogates yet another Francis document
Leo XIV is not afraid to completely abrogate the measures adopted by his predecessor when he deems them unnecessary -- in this case, the reduction of stipends in the Holy See, including to Cardinals, and of pay increases, determined by this previous motu proprio.
Motu Proprio of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV
Vatican, September 1, 2026, the second year of the Pontificate
Assisted Suicide and The Despair of Our Time - by Roberto de Mattei
The Despair of Our Time
By Roberto de Mattei
Corrispondenza Romana
September 9, 2026
In recent days, news has surfaced of the approval in Veneto of a regional law regulating assisted suicide. Veneto is the fourth region to pass such legislation, but the first governed by a center-right administration. The fact therefore carries a political and cultural significance that extends well beyond regional borders: it shows how the principle of absolute self-determination has now penetrated coalitions that, at least nominally, are supposed to be committed to the defense of life, the family, and the natural order.
Rome Pilgrimage for Christ the King: No Mass in St. Peter's this year
The final program of the "Summorum Pontificum" Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem (Rome) was made public today.
What is noteworthy is that, unlike last year, there will not be a Pontifical Mass at the Vatican Basilica; after the pilgrimage and prayers there, the Saturday Mass will be at Saint Mary Major. Also, both pontifical Masses will be celebrated by Bishop Schneider, and not a cardinal, as in the past years.
Sign of the times?...
Schedule of the Pilgrimage
Ad Petri Sedem
which will take place in Rome from october 23 to 25, 2026
(registration is not necessary to participate in the pilgrimage)
Friday October 23, 2026
Persecution and Censorship of Conservative Priest and Professor in Austrian Catholic College
Heiligenkreuz: Theologians Welcome the Exclusion of Father Waldstein
Kathpress
September 4, 2026
[Note: Kathpress is the official news agency of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference, dominated by extreme liberals, so their characterization of Father Waldstein should be read accordingly.]
Austrian theologians have expressed relief at the suspension of Father Edmund Waldstein from his teaching position at the Philosophisch-Theologische Hochschule Benedikt XVI in Heiligenkreuz.
New Edition of Cardinal Bacci's "Meditations For Each Day"
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Arouca Press is pleased to announce that they are now accepting pre-orders for their new sewn hardcover edition of Cardinal Bacci's Meditations For Each Day.
Professor Ratzinger Criticizes the Council
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For all those who feel committed to the entire Catholic tradition, the Second Vatican Council is a difficult topic. On the one hand, we know that Vatican II could not have turned anything the Church has always taught upside down. On the other hand, we live in an environment where much seems to have been turned upside down—and we are told that this is precisely the will of the Second Vatican Council, which everyone is expected to acknowledge. And this is not being said by just anyone whose views one could easily dismiss, but by many professors of theology, almost all commentators in the Church media—and most bishops say it as well, or at least signal their tacit approval. Opposition to the “spirit of the Council” and what is passed off as such appears to be the ultimate “anathema” in a Church where one can otherwise say, doubt, or demand almost anything.
On the Legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae: A Legitimate Question? (Op-Ed)
By François Savy, for Le Salon Beige
In his article À quand la paix liturgique ? (When will there be liturgical peace?), in the July-August 2025 issue (no. 382) of La Nef, Christophe Geffroy raised a question to which the consecrations recently conferred within the Society of Saint Pius X give particular prominence. In it, he championed the equality in "value and holiness" of the two forms of the Roman rite, and reproached the "priests who refuse any celebration of the new ordo" for contesting this value and holiness "because they judge this liturgy to be 'deficient'." However, it turns out that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith specifically mentioned the "legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae" in the preamble to the procedure allowing clerics of the Society of Saint Pius X to return to full communion after the consecrations.
As far as I can judge, this notion of legitimacy applied to the liturgy is of relatively recent use. We were familiar with the classical notions of validity and liceity. It is Pope John Paul II who seems to have introduced it, through the voice of the Congregation for Divine Worship, with Quattuor abhinc annos (October 3, 1984), establishing as a condition for the faculty of using the indult:
Traditional Masses Celebrated or Attended by Archbishops this past Fortnight
This past fortnight, at least two additional diocesan bishops were involved in Traditional Mass activities.
In the new FSSP mission in San Jacinto church, in Guale, the local archbishop, Abp. Eduardo Castillo Pino, celebrated the Traditional Mass:
From Dante’s Inferno to Erasmus’s In Praise of Folly: Papal Magisterium in Support of Satire and Invective Against Popes
Writers on this site often inveigh against hyper-papalism or ultramontanism, evaluated as vices. Pre- and post-Vatican II popes agree in principle and have even taught it magisterially in a way unfortunately overlooked.
Sermon for the 14th Sunday After Pentecost: Do Not Be Anxious
by Father Richard Cipolla
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body.”
New bishop of West Virginia increases TLM locations from two to four*
By Mark Lambert via Twitter
This is genuinely encouraging news from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Bishop Evelio Menjívar has appointed Fr Timothy J. Grassi as Episcopal Delegate for Matters Concerning the Usus Antiquior explicitly “to foster greater unity among the Catholic faithful and provide for their various spiritual needs.”
US Department of Justice releases Long Report on Abuses and Persecution by Biden Administration against Traditional Catholics
The FBI, under the Biden Administration, spent unbelievable and unprecedented amounts of man-hours investigating and harassing Traditional Catholics from their office of Richmond, the capital of Virginia.
Bishop Mutsaerts: The Church Will Not Be Saved by Bureaucrats Who Think Everything Must Change
The Church Will Not Be Saved by Bureaucrats Who Think Everything Must Change
By Bishop Robert Mutsaerts
Auxiliary of 's-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands)
August 27, 2026
There is a peculiar mistake common among modern people: when they discover that the Church is full of sinners, they conclude that Christianity has failed. This is rather like discovering that a hospital is full of sick people and concluding that medicine does not work.
For the Record - Cardinal Sarah Interview: Traditionis custodes and the Mass
Cardinal Sarah: "For Priests, the Ancient Mass Is the One That Helps Them Celebrate Better"
By Nico Spuntoni
Il Giornale
August 27, 2026
The denunciation of liturgical abuses is one of the signature themes of Cardinal Robert Sarah, former Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship. The cardinal has returned to the subject in his latest book, Il Cantico dell'Agnello: Musica sacra e liturgia celeste (The Song of the Lamb: Sacred Music and the Heavenly Liturgy), co-authored with Peter Cater and published by Cantagalli.
Your Eminence, in your view, does an aversion to Latin and Gregorian chant exist in certain sectors of the Church?
How the New Lectionary Came to Be — First-ever Translation of Internal Documents of a "Consilium" Committee
Newly published, The Post-Vatican II Reform of the Lectionary: The Schemata of Group XI offers an English translation by Matthew Hazell of the Latin and French schemata of Group XI in their entirety—the first time, in fact, that the complete documentation for any of the Consilium study groups has been made available in translation. The process of the reform of the lectionary can thus be traced through the various draft orders of readings as well as the debates among the members and consultors.
Hazell's detailed and masterly introduction contextualises the reforms within the history of the 20th-century Liturgical Movement and the Second Vatican Council. The introduction alone is a major addition to the scholarly literature, followed by a comprehensive bibliography of secondary sources ranging over many languages.
An Interview with Don Pietro Leone in which he discusses his latest book: Vatican II and the Eclipse of God - A Critique of the Council
'In this final version I have been forced to level the charge of atheism against the Council'.
What’s wrong with our schools?
A guest article by Joseph Bevan, author of Two Families and Traddy Daddy.
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| School children in 1947 (source) |
How it started
My own father, who had taught in schools for over 50 years, liked to explain: “there are three essential items needed for the education of children: Kennedy’s Latin Primer, a bible and a cane.” This notion, also favoured in the 19th century by the likes of Doctor Arnold, headmaster of Rugby School and featured in Tom Brown’s School Days, was the main principle behind the foundation of the Protestant English public schools and lasted until the 1960s.
Vice-President Vance Attended the Traditional Latin Mass in Ohio this Sunday
The Vice-President of the United States, J.D. Vance, became, to our knowledge, the first sitting Catholic holder of either the Presidency or the Vice-Presidency to publicly and openly attend a Traditional Latin Mass since the death of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in November 1963.
NEW BOOK: Publication of 'Vatican II and The Eclipse of God. A Critique of the Council' by Don Pietro Leone
Rorate Caeli is delighted
to report that “Vatican II and the Eclipse of God” ‘A Critique of the Council’ by Don Pietro Leone has finally been published.
Readers will recall that Rorate had the honour of posting
instalments of this very important work over a period of two years. (See note)* Since then, the author has added further analysis to the original texts.
Below is the link to Loreto Publications and a short presentation of the book. Readers can look forward to an interview with Don Pietro Leone in which he discusses
his new book and which will be posted in
the following days.
(N.B. Please note this book is not to be confused by the release of a book with a
similar title:’The Eclipse of God’ by Dr. Erwin Lutzer in 2024).
https://loretopubs.org/eclipse-of-god-paperback.html
It is long past the time when faithful Catholics must
cease any pretense that anything good has come from Vatican II. The revolution
has done its work and has failed to produce anything but chaos and destruction,
and those of us still attentive to God’s will and not our own must begin to
pick up the pieces of a shattered civilization and endeavour to rebuild. To
that end, we at Loreto Publications offer this magnificent analysis of the
Council and its moral, theological, and philosophical failings, so that Holy
Mother Church and Our Lady’s faithful children may rise up with knowledge and
courage to build up once again, under the banner of the Immaculata, the wounded
Mystical Body of Christ in today’s world, where even the most rudimentary
knowledge of the Truth seems to be in eclipse.
The Editor
The Pope Speaks on Sacred Music
The General Audience yesterday was dedicated by Pope Leo XIV to Sacred Music — as foreseen in Vatican II, that is, not like what usually takes place in the new Mass of Paul VI.
Let us listen to his words:
Dear brothers and sisters,
"Mother Earth" Pagan Worship by Vatican Representative: Doctrine of the Faith Official makes Offering of Coca Leaves at Pachamama Ceremony during Official Church Meeting
Rorate Note: Official Vatican News covering of the event here (in Spanish); Spanish page Infovaticana adds the grotesque context.
A Pontifical Commissioner and a Bishop Deposit Coca Leaves in an "Earth Offering": Jordi Bertomeu as Offerer at a Pachamama Ceremony
Infovaticana
August 18, 2026
The Southern Macroregional Encounter "Interweaving Voices for Dignity" — presented by Vatican News as part of the preparation for Pope Leo XIV's upcoming visit to Peru — opened without any Catholic prayer whatsoever. In its place, a ritual invoking Mother Earth was performed, with the distribution of coca leaves, guided breathing exercises, and food offerings placed on the ground.
Sermon for the 12th Sunday After Pentecost
Father Richard Cipolla
Today we celebrate what one could call a triple header. For it is not only the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost but also the feast of St. Roch, more popularly known in the Italian form as San Rocco, and also the second day in the octave of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
USCCB President Abp. Coakley on the Traditional Latin Mass: "Not sure we've heard the last word from this pontificate on Traditionis Custodes."
In an interview granted yesterday to Raymond Arroyo of EWTN, the Archbishop of Oklahoma City and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Abp. Paul Coakley, had choice words on the Traditional Latin Mass and the Francis document that aimed to gradually annihilate it, Traditionis Custodes:
This is the specific part of the interview dedicated to it (our transcript):
Open Letter to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV - by Bishop Robert Mutsaerts
We have often published the great texts of Bishop Rob Mutsaerts (Auxiliary of s-Hertogenbosch /Bois-le-Duc), Netherlands. He has just published (in English and Dutch) an open letter to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the need for concern for the salvation of souls amidst the confusion of synodality and other trends.
Holy Father,
With reverence for the office entrusted to you as successor of Saint Peter, and in communion with the Church which Christ built upon the apostles, I address you with this open letter. I don't do so lightly. What leads me to speak these words publicly is a concern that ultimately transcends every other ecclesial consideration: the salvation of souls. Salus animarum suprema lex — the salvation of souls is the supreme law. My question is a simple and earnest one: does the synodal process actually help bring souls closer to Christ and to eternal salvation? That is the decisive question for me.
Take Heart, Traditional Latin Mass faithful -- a message from Cardinal Burke
Recorded for Father John Zuhlsdorf and his readers, it is a message of hope:
Ceuta and the Church
by Serre Verweij
for Rorate Cæli
The recent attempt of tens of thousands of migrants to illegally enter Spanish territory via the sea at Ceuta has caused both political upheaval and sensational commentary. It led to immense criticism of Spanish Socialist prime minister Sanchez, not just by the domestic right-wing opposition but across the EU as a whole. Even the Trump administration joined in on the attacks. Even the fact that over 50 people died while attempting this illegal mass crossing has not resulted in overly sympathetic portrayals or criticisms of strict border policy.
Two TLM Pilgrimages in 2027 Worth Knowing About – France & Holy Land
Two Thirds of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith said Medjugorje was NOT Supernatural -- Francis waved it off anyway
Vjera i djela Catholic Portal (Croatia)
August 7, 2026
Italian journalist D. Murgia recently published results of the 2016 deliberations within the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), that shed important new light on the Vatican’s handling of the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje.
Only Diocesan TLM in Diocese of Pittsburgh Abolished
The Diocese of Pittsburgh has canceled its only remaining diocesan indult Latin Mass, at St Titus in Aliquippa, about to enter its 20th consecutive year, because according to Bishop Eckman, it "was only ever meant to be temporary." (Information from the X account of the Mason-Dixon Latin Mass Society, which published the grotesque letter below):
Latest Book by Fr. Claude Barthe Compares & Contrasts the Traditional & New Sacramental Rites
In 1969, A Short Critical Study of the Novus Ordo Missae was published with the signatures of two powerful cardinals, Bacci and Ottaviani. Nicknamed The Ottaviani Intervention, it quickly become a classic, and has never gone out of print. But... where was its companion volume? You know, the one about the other six sacraments?
For, indeed, the reform of the Mass was accompanied by a profound overhaul of all the other sacraments—baptism, confirmation, marriage, holy orders, penance, and extreme unction (the last two renamed reconciliation and the anointing of the sick). And the changes to these were no less profound, no less meaningful, no less consequential.
When the Princes of the Church No Longer Speak Latin
A guest article by David Berger. (Original in German here.)
More than two-thirds of the members of the College of Cardinals are said to possess little or no working knowledge of Latin. At first glance, this may appear to be little more than a curiosity for classical scholars. In reality, however, it may reveal one of the deepest crises confronting the Catholic Church today. For when the Church loses the language in which her faith, her liturgy, and her canon law have been articulated for centuries, she inevitably begins to lose direct access to her own tradition.
Video - Reliving History: Sydney’s Historic Glagolitic High Mass
A truly monumental chapter in Sydney's religious history unfolded recently at St Michael's Parish in Belfield. On Wednesday, July 1, 2026, hundreds of faithful gathered to witness and partake in Sydney’s first-ever Solemn High Mass in the Traditional Croatian Glagolitic Rite.* Held on the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord, the atmosphere was charged with deep reverence as the community united to revive a centuries-old liturgical tradition on Australian soil. (Full video below:)
But What Is the "State of Necessity"? What about the Econe Consecrations? - by Roberto de Mattei
But What Is the "State of Necessity"?
By Roberto de Mattei
August 3, 2026
I wish to dwell on a concept that is frequently invoked in an ambiguous and contradictory manner — above all to justify the episcopal consecrations that took place at Écône on July 1, 2026: the "state of necessity."
Does the Society of Saint Pius X really espouse an Ecclesiology of Substitution?
[As always, guest pieces do not necessarily represent Rorate's position.]
Fr. Barré and the Roman policy towards the SSPX
by John Lamont
Fr. Clément Barré, of the Archdiocese of Toulouse, has criticized the ecclesiology of the SSPX in an article whose translation has been published by Rorate Caeli (The SSPX's Ecclesiology of Substitution: Part of the Whole, or a new Whole? — And the Problem with a Crisis that Never Ends).
Brezhnev Conciliarism: The Progressives Have Already Lost — And They Know It.
The Progressives Have Already Lost.
And They Know It.
Wanderer (Argentina)
August 3, 2026
One of the most historically significant events of the last century was the fall of communism. In 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. And yet the ideology sustaining Soviet communism had already collapsed under Brezhnev in the 1970s and had consolidated that collapse under Andropov beginning in 1982. By those years, no one believed in the Soviet paradise any longer — not even the apparatchiks. The machinery nonetheless kept running until 1991, operated by a committee of gerontocrats who resisted the inevitable. There were twenty years of lag between the death of legitimacy and the death of the machinery. This is a historical regularity: systems survive fifteen to twenty years beyond their own legitimacy. They advance like the light of a dead star.
Book Review: "The Once and Future Roman Rite" Throws Down the Gauntlet to the Entire Liturgical Revolution
The following essay by Wolfram Schrems (M.A. in Theology, M.A. in Philosophy), a catechist and pro-life advocate in Vienna, takes issue with the suppression of the Old Mass and the discrimination against traditional believers by the Vatican and bishops, with reference to Peter Kwasniewski’s work The Once and Future Roman Rite: Returning to the Traditional Latin Liturgy after Seventy Years of Exile (TAN Books, 2022) of which he is reviewing the German edition, Der alte und künftige Römische Ritus—Die Rückkehr der traditionellen lateinischen Messe nach 70 Jahren des Exils (St. Stephani Verlags, 2023). The original German of the review may be found here.
Ecclesiology of the Sun and the Moon: the Church’s greatness comes from God, and it cannot be diminished
by Fr. Joannes Petrus
for Rorate Cæli
“At that time, when Jesus entered into the boat, His disciples followed Him: and behold a great tempest arose in the sea, so that the boat was covered with waves.” (Matt. 8:23-27)
To reach the eternal shores of Heaven we have to cross the sea of this world. His Majesty taught us that the world will be against us. That is why the Gospel indicates that the disciples followed Him into the barque of St. Peter, which symbolizes the Church, after which a storm arose. Our journey to Heaven is very much like a sea voyage, meaning there will be moments of up and down on the high seas… times of calm and times of storm… times of hot and times of cold… enemies lurking about (even inside the barque itself) trying to sink or corrupt the ship… sharks circling in the waters… and so on.
Spaghetti and Windmills: A Reply to Brother Linus on the Canonical Status of the SSPX
Introduction
On 29 July 2026, Rorate Cæli published a lengthy guest piece on the canonical status of the Society of Saint Pius X, written under the pen name “Brother Linus Pio” and presented as the fruit of several years of research. It is offered as a monograph. It concludes that the Society is schismatic, that its sacraments are criminal and sacrilegious, that its Masses do not satisfy the Sunday precept, and that Archbishop Lefebvre taught heresy.
New Fundamental Law of the Vatican City State, fully replacing Francis' 2023 version - Full English Translation
Fundamental Law of Vatican City State
31 July 2026
LEO XIV
The need to take into account new requirements of governance and certain important normative modifications that have occurred over the course of recent years prompts the issuance of a new Fundamental Law.
The Anti-Nice Faction is Fading in Rome: Archbishop Cordileone's Interview and the Need to Restore the Rights of the Latin Mass ("I don't know how well Cardinal Roche knows the mind of the Holy Father")
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| Archbishop Cordileone Celebrating the Traditional Mass |
Good and proper American bishops are once again being recognized in Rome, and the nomination of Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone, of San Francisco, to the supreme tribunal of the Catholic Church, the Signatura Apostolica, by Pope Leo XIV last Saturday is just such an example.
The Avant-Garde Champion of Tradition: In Honor of Martin Mosebach on His 75th Birthday
The Avant-Garde Champion of Tradition:
In Honor of Martin Mosebach on His 75th Birthday
by Jan-Heiner Tück for Communio (original in German here)
The writer Martin Mosebach is a novelist of extraordinary worldly experience and descriptive skill, but also a Catholic intellectual who has made a name for himself through his public interventions. His most influential theological book, Häresie der Formlosigkeit (in English, The Heresy of Formlessness), is more than just a contribution to the liturgical debate. In it, Mosebach develops the thesis that form is not an external accessory, but rather the manifestation and vehicle of truth. The liturgy leads people into a reality greater than themselves: the mystery of the sacred. Where forms are experimented with recklessly, where sacred texts are replaced based on criteria of comprehensibility, Mosebach argues that not only the beauty of the liturgy but ultimately its theological substance is at risk of erosion.
Divine Worship Prefect Roche: “Leo will not change Traditionis or go back to Summorum.”
From his interview to British Catholic periodical “The Tablet,” the words of Cardinal Roche are peremptory:
“But no, Pope Leo is not going to change Traditionis Custodes, and he’s not going back to Summorum Pontificum.”
Meaning, the Traditional Latin Mass will remain in the Egypt of Captivity (Traditionis) and never return to the Promised Land of Liberty (Summorum).
The Last Communion of St. Jerome - a Book to be Reckoned With
by Fr. Richard Cipolla
for Rorate Cæli
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| Saint Jerome, El Greco (1590) The Frick Collection |
The Frick Museum in New York City is not too far from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. And yet the venues are radically different. The Met is a large art museum with many rooms and lofty corridors and grand staircases. But the Frick building was once a home, a large and lovely home indeed, one of the great mansions in New York City. The Frick mansion was built for the industrialist Henry Clay Frick in the mid 1920s in the Beaux Arts style. Frick built the home to house his art collection, mainly paintings, and planned for it to be an art museum after his death, which directive his wife and daughter fulfilled some years after his death. The collection is amazing, including paintings from the late medieval period through the nineteenth century. My favorite room is the Living Hall, which includes paintings by Holbein, Giovani Bellini and Titian. Above the fireplace in this room is the portrait of St. Jerome by El Greco. The artist paints St Jerome in full Cardinal’s robes. His face is somewhat gaunt, his hair and long beard are white, his cheek bones stick out, and his dark eyes gaze intently at someone or something just to his left. His face is a face of someone to be reckoned with.
The recently published book on St. Jerome, written by Dom Basil Nixen, OSB, of the monastery of San Benedetto in Monte in Norcia, Italy, certainly “reckons with” St. Jerome but in an unusual way. Its title is The Last Communion of St. Jerome.
The Canonical Status of the Society of Saint Pius X: A Theological and Canonical Assessment
[As usual, Rorate publishes different views and perspectives, in order to promote healthy debate. Publishing a guest piece does not mean editorial agreement, or disagreement, with it.]
The Canonical Status of the Society of Saint Pius X: A Theological and Canonical Assessment
by Brother Linus Pio (pen name of a Religious Brother)
Introduction
Justified, Schismatic, or Neither — The SSPX Consecrations and the Future
A guest article by James Baresel.
James Martin's Gay Priest Moment: Yet We Remember the John Jay Report that identified 81% of the Abuse Victims as Boys
He did it. At last he did it. James Martin, the "LGBT"-obsessed Jesuit, has made a true encomium of "gay priests."
They are everywhere in his newest propaganda piece: they are good, they are generous, they are kind. And, he emphasizes, they are "celibate" (God only knows how he would know that...)
Unlocking the Mysteries of the Song of Songs Through the Heart of Jesus Christ
Cardinal Fernández’s Opera Omnia (dissertationibus haud repertis): An Initial Report
A guest article by Fr. Romano Tommasi.
In 20 Years, 91 Monasteries Have Closed in France — None Among Those Whose Office Is Exclusively in Latin
In 20 Years, 91 Monasteries Have Closed — None Among Those Whose Office Is Exclusively in Latin
By Michel Janva
Le Salon Beige
July 22, 2026
In 2026 alone — a year not yet finished — the Grande-Trappe de Soligny (Orne), the Carmel of Compiègne (Oise), and Notre-Dame du Port du Salut (Mayenne) have all closed.
A Vatican II Moment in Mexico
1969? 1975?
No, this is the Year of Our Lord 2026, and this is still going on in the New Mass of Paul VI -- the liturgy that Francis called, "the sole expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite." (Traditionis custodes).
The July 18th Appeal of the French Faithful to the Bishops of France: Summorum Pontificum must be restored
Appeal of July 18, 2026, to the Bishops of France
Lex Orandi Union
July 15, 2026
On July 18 [recte: 16], 2021, Pope Francis published the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes. Five years later, numerous voices are calling for the revision or suppression of that document, or are pleading for the restoration of Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. The urgency of such a measure is no longer in doubt, at a time when the Society of Saint Pius X has been struck by sanctions from the Church for having proceeded with the consecration of four bishops without a pontifical mandate. In France, however, the bishops are approaching this question with great caution. The Lex Orandi Union today calls upon them to abrogate the effects of Traditionis Custodes through concrete acts.
The Challenge of a Synod That Walks Away from Christ
A guest article by the Canon of Shaftesbury. [This contribution expresses the opinions of its author and does not represent the official position of Rorate Cæli.]
Introduction
The superiors of the Society of Saint Pius X have argued that there exists a state of emergency in the Catholic Church. Those who deny this claim, who insist that all is well, that the concerns of the Society are exaggerated or unfounded, have, to employ a metaphor, buried their heads in the sand. The evidence is not obscure; it is visible in parishes, in chanceries, in synodal assembly halls, and in the documents these assemblies produce.
Facta Sunt Potentiora Verbis: Words and Deeds in the Law of the Church - Rome and the Écône Consecrations | Roberto de Mattei
By Roberto de Mattei
July 2026
It is the duty of every Christian to maintain coherence between words and deeds. But what happens when deeds contradict words? When, for example, one publicly proclaims respect for and obedience to the Roman Pontiff and then, in fact, publicly defies him before the entire Christian people — as occurred at Écône with the episcopal consecrations of July 1, 2026?
Quo Vadis, Domine? - "Lord, whither goest Thou?": Rome and the Society of Saint Pius X
by Côme de Prévigny
for Renaissance Catholique
July 16, 2026
On June 16th, Pope Leo XIV made a statement outside his residence at Castel Gandolfo concerning the Society of Saint Pius X, which was then preparing to consecrate four bishops without a pontifical mandate. The Pope affirmed that this decision grieved him, while concluding that he intended to press forward. "If they make that choice," he said, "it saddens me deeply, but we must move forward."
Move forward toward what?
Event: Pilgrimage in Manhattan With Traditional Mass Tomorrow
There will be a pontifical high at the traditional pilgrimage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem July 18th.
More details below:
Your Holiness, Tear Down This Wall ! It's time for Traditionis Custodes to fall.
Traditionis custodes, the cruel document of Francis that aimed to completely (even if gradually) annihilate the Traditional liturgy of the Latin Church, was promulgated on the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, exactly five years ago.
Some Notes on Cardinal Fernández’s Mariology: “Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ”[1]
Some Notes on Cardinal Fernández’s Mariology: “Ignorance of Scripture is Ignorance of Christ”[1]
A guest article by a priest who writes under the name Fr. Romano Tommasi.
The current prefect of the formerly known Roman Inquisition (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) has publicly highlighted his biblical studies and promoted his reputation as an academic, based upon his asserted thesis work at the Gregorian University.
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