Catholicism and Alcoholism

A guest article by Joseph Bevan.

What is an alcoholic?

Oscar Wilde once said: ‘everything in moderation, including moderation!’ Now, just because I haven’t touched alcohol for 25 years doesn't mean that I am a puritan or a killjoy. In my drinking days I suppose I classed myself as a greedy drinker as the lure of the bottle occupied much of my time, and I was either consuming or planning to consume. I am not against alcohol at all and hope the visitors to my house can rely on being suitably refreshed. I belong to a society called the ‘Pioneers’ and it seems, judging from their annual magazine, that many of their members are Irish Catholic priests! Members of this group make a permanent or temporary promise to the Sacred Heart of Jesus to refrain from all alcoholic beverages so as to atone for the sins of drinkers. The truth is that many sins are alcohol fuelled. The other point made by the Pioneers is that most people who drink alcohol, drink far too much. In order to persevere with permanent or partial abstinence one is encouraged to repeat a daily prayer.

Response to the Abbot of Solesmes concerning insertion of a changed traditional liturgy into the new Missal: we already have an “altered Mass”; it’s called the novus Ordo

The addiction to constant change is a feature and not a bug of the Vatican II mentality, legitimized however subversively by reference to a certain "spirit" operating as a hermeneutic with loose mooring to the documents of said council.

The Church is in need not of change, whether or not for its own sake. We have suffered spiritually under the tyranny of nothing but constant change for over sixty years with concomitant chaos and confusion. The Church has need of stability. Souls are at stake.

The Abbot of Solesmes proposes changing the traditional Mass to effect its insertion into the missal, together with the Mass of Vatican II unchanged. This is an oxymoron: the Vatican II liturgy is defined most precisely by its constant state of evolution, never being any one thing but under a constant process of permutation.

The only reality left in the public life of the Church which is not subject to the evolution of revolution is the perennial traditional Latin Mass. It is defined most perfectly as that which does not change.

With due regard for the venerable scholarship of the good abbot, the most simple and unlearned of souls can perceive the value of the traditional liturgy as flowing from its perennial history: something precious which is handed down, organic and not manufactured. Something treasured because not subject to personal whim or the machinations of power.

Leave the holy Mass of tradition alone. It is nearly the only stable Catholic treasure we have left in this confused and rootless age of disbelief and sacrilege.

- A Simple Priest

The Abbot of Solesmes Sends a Letter to the Pope on the Integration of the Old Rite -- Followed by Interview with the Abbot

Dom Geoffroy Kemlin, Abbot of Saint Peter of Solesmes, the venerable abbey founded by Dom Prosper Guéranger, and the major site responsible for the renewal of the Traditional Liturgy and the revival of Gregorian Chant before Vatican II, sent a letter to the Pope with a proposal regarding the Traditional Latin Rite. The Abbey adopted the New Rite of Paul VI, but a branch of its daughter-houses, headed by Our Lady of Fontgombault, have kept the Traditional Rite. Dom Kemlin is also the head of the Congregation of Solesmes of the Benedictines, which includes Fontgombault and its daughter-houses.

The contents of the letter are translated by us below, followed by a translation of the full interview granted by Dom Kemlin to the local news radio. (At the end, you will find the original images of the letter in French.)

+ PAX. ABBAYE
SAINT-PIERRE
DE SOLESMES

Dear Father,

I write to you in Lent, a season not only of penitence but also a season of reflection, reflection certainly on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but also a time of personal reflection on one’s life. For me that reflection this Lent focuses on my priesthood of forty- two years. The two adjectives that come to mind at this time to describe my priesthood are “difficult” and “glorious”. To have been ordained a priest in the 1980s and to try to be a priest, as traditionally understood, was quite difficult. It was a time when I was stripped of much that I love, but that stripping away was necessary to understand the glory of the priesthood that has made me the happy man that I am today.

Theological and Canonical Challenges Posed by Appointing Lay Persons to Positions of Governance in the Church — Guest Article

The following article was written for the fourth anniversary of Praedicate Evangelium by the Canon of Shaftesbury, a judicial vicar in a major archdiocese.

The appointment of lay persons, and particularly laywomen, to positions of governance within the Catholic Church traditionally associated with the Sacrament of Holy Orders presents one of the most significant and unresolved theological and canonical tensions of the post-conciliar period. This study examines the classical teaching that the power of governance (potestas regiminis) is intrinsically linked to sacred orders, the canonical framework encoded in the 1983 Code, and the structural rupture introduced by the 2022 Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium of Pope Francis.

Pope Convenes Episcopal Conferences in Rome in October 2026 to Address Urgent Needs of Families

A gathering of the Presidents of all Conferences of Bishops is convened for this next October in Rome, in order to address the urgent needs of families -- made today, on the Feast of Saint Joseph:

Message of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of the Tenth Anniversary of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris laetitia (19 March 2026)

Leo XIV, the Serene Pope, Brings the Hammer Down on the Chaldeans: A Blueprint for Future Action?

A Decisive intervention in the Chaldean Catholic Church?

by Serre Verweij

Pope Leo has accepted the resignation of both Cardinal Sako and Bishop Emanuel Shaleta on the same day. The former the head of the Chaldean Catholic Church and the latter a bishop of the same rite who is in charge of all Catholics in the Western part of the USA and who has been charged with financial crimes (though he has pled not guilty). He is also accused of having frequented a brothel connected to human trafficking.

Days ago, the news came out of another resounding post-Vatican II success: the venerable Abbey of La Trappe (OCSO - Trappists), house of origin of the order to which it gave its name, is to close (probably) in 2028, due to lack of vocations.

The name Apostolic "Palace" leads to many mistaken assumptions: one is that the pope lives like a king, which is not the case at all. In the huge bureaucratic apparatus and artistic treasures that occupy the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican, the small papal apartment is a modest home.

SSPX Holy Thursday Mass- Credit Latin Mass Photographer

by James Baresel

Despite it being clear for some time that Society of Saint Pius X would consecrate new bishops sooner rather than later, its recent decision has perplexed many. Granting—even if only for the sake of the argument—that sufficiently grave reasons can justify episcopal consecrations in positive opposition to the supreme pontiff, why less than a year into a new pontificate, why under a pope seemingly open to wider use of the Tridentine Mass? Those wishing to do more than hurl deprecations must understanding the Society’s reasoning.

by Serre Verweij

Pope Leo has appointed Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia (68 years old) as the new apostolic nuncio for the USA. He will be replacing Cardinal Christophe Pierre who recently turned 80 and had served in the post since 2016. This change of guard comes at a time that the USA has become embroiled in controversial international conflicts, while the American episcopacy will see a significant turnover that will reshape the church for years, if not decades. After nearly ten years of Pierre, what change in era can we expect under Caccia?

In honor of the feast of St. Thomas Aquinas (his dies natalis, March 7, as observed in the traditional calendar), Os Justi Press has released two major Thomistic publications.

Cardinal Zen on the SSPX Affair: Trust Leo

Friday of the 2nd Week of Lent

Cardinal Joseph Zen

The SSPX Affair

Faced with the SSPX situation, it seems that even traditionalists are divided. This is very understandable — there are two things to consider. A) A schism must be avoided at all costs, because it will cause serious and lasting damage to the Church; but on the other hand, B) one must also respect a serious matter of conscience: "How can anyone be compelled to follow teachings that clearly deny the Holy Tradition of the Church?"

After this the Lord brought to my mind the longing that I had to Him afore. And I saw that nothing letted me but sin. And so I looked, generally, upon us all, and methought: "If sin had not been, we should all have been clean and like to our Lord, as He made us."

The Church and the Cross: Bishop Varden's Words for Pope Leo XIV's Lenten Retreat -- In One Page

We thought it would be convenient to have all texts of the words of Bishop Erik Varden, OCSO, of Trondheim, Norway, for the Pope's Lenten Retreat in one page, for future historical reference.

They all come from the Bishop's own page (in eleven separate installments) and no words have been altered or edited; links have all been kept active.

***

[1.] Entering Lent

22 February 2026

This past Thursday, a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in New York City. The Mass was celebrated for the repose of the soul of Alexander Klucik, tragically killed in an accident in 2010 at the age of 19.

Ordo Hebdomadae Maioris & Memoriale Rituum: Useful Books for the Pre-55 Holy Week

Saint Anthony Press, established with the mission of publishing rare or otherwise “lost” Catholic liturgical and devotional books, has reprinted the Ordo Hebdomadae Maioris (Order of Holy Week) containing the Holy Week liturgies and Order of Mass with seasonal Prefaces according to the 1920 typical edition of the Roman Missal (in use until 1955), restoring the ancient and venerable liturgies replaced by the 1956 Ordo Hebdomadae Sanctae Instauratus (and later incorporated into the 1962 Roman Missal).

Incoming Vatican Changes - Francis' Favorite Peña Parra to be removed

Finances and loyalists: Leo's risk

by Nico Spuntone

Il Giornale

February 26, 2026

"In the sacred chambers, the silence of the Curia's spiritual exercises contrasts with the noise of rumors about upcoming appointments. Leo XIV is getting closer and closer to the end of his first year as pope. With the heavy task of concluding a Jubilee begun by his predecessor behind him, the sporty pope intends to start shaping his team. However, his will be a soft revolution because he aims to avoid any signs of a total break with the recent past. In this, he is helped by the natural expiry of some important appointments. The finance sector has become one of the most important for the government of the Holy See, and it is on this front that the Pontiff will pursue one of the most obvious changes. We can anticipate, in fact, that Carmelo Barbagallo, president of the Financial Supervision and Information Authority (ASIF) since 2019, will be leaving. On February 28, he will blow out 70 candles, a fateful milestone for the departure of lay people in power in the Curia. The Pope has not planned an extension for him. The succession “at home” sees Federico Antellini Russo in the lead, who has been director with the function of vice president since the end of 2024.

Those who are blessed with access to Holy Week in the Tridentine Rite, that is, the rite celebrated for a thousand years and more prior to Pius XII's changes in the mid-1950s, may find helpful a resource published by Os Justi Press: The Masses of Holy Week & Tenebrae, which contains the liturgy (in Latin with English translation) for Palm Sunday, the Triduum Masses, and the Office of Tenebrae, including complete Gregorian chants. Summary rubrics are indicated. No page turning is required. The book features many medieval illustrations as well.

This second edition features a new cover and, for the first time, full-color printing throughout, which dramatically enhances the beauty of the illuminations found within. Additionally, some typographical errors discovered in the first printing have been corrected.

The Mother of God and salvation - an article on the Vatican Document on the Blessed Virgin

The Mother of God and salvation

by John Lamont

Faithful Catholics have rightly been outraged by the doctrinal note Mater Populi Fidelis published on November 4, 2025 by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. The document was signed by Cardinal Victor Fernández, the Prefect of the Dicastery, and its publication was ordered by Pope Leo XIV. In his address to the Dicastery on January 29th 2026, Pope Leo praised and endorsed the document, describing it as 'the doctrinal Note Mater Populi fidelis, on certain Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation (4 November 2025), which encourages popular Marian devotion, deepening its biblical and theological foundations, while offering precise and important clarifications for Mariology'.

With the coming months set to prove pivotal for the Traditional Latin Mass and the cause of Catholic Tradition within the Church, Missae pro Missa hereby announces a new worldwide spiritual bouquet beginning Feb. 22, Feast of the Chair of St. Peter and First Sunday of Lent, to conclude on June 29, Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul, which follows the next Consistory of Cardinals called by Pope Leo XIV.

The intention of this latest campaign is straightforward: for the Pope to recognize the full freedom of the TLM.

As with our earlier campaigns, we invite all Catholics to participate in four ways:

1. Request Masses to be said for this intention (e.g., through a parish, religious order, or another group). Or if you're a priest, celebrate Masses for this intention.

2. Offer your own hearings of Mass for this intention.

3. Pray rosaries (or undertake other prayers/sacrifices) for this intention.

4. Share this initiative with others.

Please submit your spiritual offerings via the website form. The worldwide totals will be updated daily and displayed on our home page.

Our goal is to have 10,000 Masses requested and 100,000 rosaries prayed for the above-stated intention throughout these next four months (Feb. 22 - June 29). A Mass intention "for Pope Leo XIV," "for the freedom of the TLM," or for your personal intentions is sufficient--God knows the rest.

We believe the timing of this campaign is providential, falling between two major feasts linked to the Papacy and leading up to the Consistory of Cardinals, during which the liturgy will likely be discussed. Adding importance--and urgency--to the situation is the Society of St. Pius X's announcement of episcopal consecrations for July 1, and talks between the SSPX and the Vatican in the meantime. In short, in the upcoming months the Pope will undoubtedly be faced with the question of the TLM and the place of Tradition within the Church.

Amidst the complexities and uncertainty of the situation, we do not presume to know which specific outcomes will bring about the most good for the Church, for the TLM and Tradition, and ultimately for souls. But we do not need to know. We simply need to trust that God does know the optimal solution, and that He has the power to bring it about--often in His own mysterious way. We just need to ask, and there is no more powerful way to unite our intentions with His than in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

To participate in the spiritual bouquet, please visit: https://www.missaepromissa.com/

False Normality and Its Consequences

By James Baresel

“Catholics come to church with certain expectations not widely held by earlier generations when it comes to participation in the Church’s rituals. That is largely the result of the Liturgical Movement of the 20th century, which precipitated a major overhaul of the public worship that the Church offers to God.”

Communiqué from the General House: the Society’s response to Rome (SSPX) - Consecrations to go ahead

Communiqué regarding the response of the General Council of the Society of Saint Pius X to the proposal of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in Munich

Corrispondenza Romana

February 18, 2026

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, attending the Security Conference held on February 14 at the Bayerischer Hof Hotel in Munich, delivered a broad and detailed speech in which he reaffirmed that the United States and Europe belong to a single civilization and must unite their forces to combat common enemies, both internal and external. And yet, for many conservatives and traditionally-oriented Catholics, the United States represents a kind of new "Evil Empire."

If you please, this Lent, place among your intentions a special personal intention of the editor of Rorate Caeli.

Thank you so much for your readership and kindness.

Meeting between Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Superior-General of the SSPX: Official Communiqué

DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

COMMUNIQUÉ

Regarding the meeting between the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Superior General of the FSSPX

On February 12, 2026, a cordial and sincere meeting took place at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith between the Prefect, His Eminence Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, and the Superior General of the FSSPX (Society of Saint Pius X), the Reverend Don Davide Pagliarani, with the approval of the Holy Father Leo XIV.

The Long Shadow of Vatican II: Ambiguity as Ecclesial Cancer

By the Canon of Shaftesbury

On February 8, Bishop Bernard Fellay of the Society of Saint Pius X delivered a sermon in which he spoke of the necessity for the Society to consecrate new bishops. The purpose of this piece is not to address the merits or challenges of that decision, but rather to focus on some of the problems he identified as plaguing the Church today and how these flow from a reading of the Second Vatican Council that has led to profound confusion—confusion that was aggravated by Pope Francis.

Letter of the Holy Father to the Presbytery of the Archdiocese of Madrid on the occasion of the Presbyteral Assembly “Convivium”

Dear sons,

I am happy to address this letter to you on the occasion of your Presbyteral Assembly and to do so with a sincere desire for fraternity and unity. I thank your Archbishop and, from my heart, each one of you for your willingness to gather as a presbyterate, not only to discuss common issues, but also to support one another in the mission you share.

Op-Ed: Will the SSPX Reach an Agreement with Pope Leo XIV?

by Jan Filip Libicki

The announcement of new episcopal consecrations within the Society of Saint Pius X, followed by a swift reaction from the Vatican, raises a question that has been returning for nearly four decades: can the "Lefebvrists" and the Pope reach a lasting agreement? This time, however, the context is entirely different from that of 1988—both doctrinally and ecclesially.

Bishop J. Donald Doherty was chuckling at the large map of his diocese that covered most of his desk, its parish churches marked by bright blue crosses, the parish boundaries by dotted blue lines, their schools and the diocesan high school by (of course) little red schoolhouses, the cemeteries by bright green crosses. Near the northern edge of his fief lay a lonely blue cross, circled by him, a moment ago, in heavy black ink. He pressed the intercom button on his phone.

Papal Prejudice

Auberon Waugh

The Spectator

7 August, 1976

Not much excitement has been apparent in Britain after the Pope's decision, announced on 25 July, to suspend Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre from all priestly duties under pain of excommunication. Few newspapers even bothered to mention it. The Archbishop, after all, resides in Switzerland, if of French origin, a former Archbishop of Dakar; and the internal squabbles of a foreign organisation like the Roman Catholic Church can scarcely expect much precedence. So it may be—I only say it 'may' be—that the early stages of what will later develop into one of the great ironies of history have passed more or less unnoticed.

Short Note: The Francis Credibility Problem (SSPX) - Who can trust any deal now?

Rorate will eventually weigh in on the probable consecrations of the Society of Saint Pius X. What we know at the moment is very limited, especially from the Holy See, which has remained very circumspect.

After not having made any consecrations during the Francis years, the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) should, one would hope, display more patience towards Leo XIV. He is relatively young, and has arrived not long ago.

But Francis left one extremely difficulty legacy to his successor: the collapse of Vatican credibility.

Interview of the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X on the Consecrations

From the SSPX news website:

“Suprema lex, salus animarum”

Urgent - SSPX Superior General going back to Rome for Talks

Communique of the General House of the

Society of Saint Pius X:

Following the announcement on February 2nd of future episcopal consecrations for the Society of Saint Pius X, His Eminence Cardinal Fernández wrote to the Superior General to propose a meeting in Rome. The Superior General accepted this proposal. The meeting will take place on Thursday, February 12th.

International Una Voce Federation (FIUV) on Future SSPX Consecrations

FIUV is the largest international association of diocesan Catholics attached to the Traditional Mass.

This is their statement on current events:

Una Voce International and the Latin Mass Society have heard with concern the announcement by the Superior General of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX), Fr Davide Pagliarani, that the SSPX will carry out Episcopal consecrations on 1st July this year.

Urgent - SSPX Consecrations - Full Sermon of the Superior-General of the SSPX, Fr. Davide Pagliarani

[For the earlier news, read here; the news was delivered by Fr. Pagliarani in the seminary of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, in a Mass for Candlemas; translation from the original French -- apologies for any mistake made in rush.]

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear confreres, dear seminarians, dear sisters and dear faithful, what a joy to be able to bless the habit of the 22 new seminarians.

A news item of the SSPX; full communique at the bottom:

On this February 2, 2026, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin, Father Davide Pagliarani, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, during the ceremony of the imposition of the cassocks, which he presided over at the International Seminary of Saint-Curé-d’Ars, in Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, France, publicly announced his decision to entrust to the bishops of the Fraternity the task of proceeding with new episcopal consecrations, on July 1st next.

Septuagesimatide begins today. The lessons for Matins introduce the theme of the penitential pre-lenten season of Septuagesima: Creation and Fall, and Original Sin; and God's intervention in History to purify mankind through a remnant in an ark (Sexagesima week) and to choose a People for himself; and the will of the unfathomable Divinity to reveal himself through his chosen people of Israel; and the Mystery of the Incarnation, through which the promise to Abraham ("in thee shall all the kindred of the earth be blessed", First Lesson in the Matins for Quinquagesima Sunday) would be fulfilled by the Divine Son of the Blessed Virgin ("I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel", Third Lesson in the Matins for Wednesday in Septuagesima week).

The reality of Original Sin ("I am the Immaculate Conception") and the great need for penitence in our times ("Penance! Penance! Penance!") were also the messages of the memorable events which began on February 11, 1858: