A Response to Prof. de Mattei on the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage and the Role of Bishop Schneider — by Stuart Chessman

Tacitus and Aristotle

First published at The Society of St. Hugh of Cluny Blog, reprinted here with permission.

No sooner had I put my pen – or my keyboard – down then I saw this post on Rorate Caeli from Professor Roberto de Mattei.[1] I believed I had already said all that I had to say on the subject of the Rome pilgrimage. But when Prof. de Mattei’s article was quoted with apparent approval by other traditionalist sites, I felt obliged to respond.

Prof. de Mattei presents his article as the product of dispassionate, objective reflection, sine ira et studio. But as Heinrich von Treitschke sagaciously remarked: “How much misuse is made today of the saying sine ira et studio – a maxim which its author was the last person to follow.” [2]

The same can be said of Prof. de Mattei’s post, which is anything but impartial.

The Latin America Leo XIV will meet: Francis-Collapse of Catholicism

 Leo XIV arrives in Uruguay today for a 12-day visit to the region, including his predecessor's Argentina and his own former mission nation of Peru.

It will be the first papal visit to Argentina since John Paul II. For some secret personal reason that has never been made clear, Francis was the first pope in centuries not to visit his own homeland (all the Italians before John Paul II obviously were in it, and John Paul II and Benedict XVI both included their nations among their first apostolic voyages). Leo XIV himself, a naturalized Peruvian, will already in this trip visit one of his homelands, and it should not take long for him to be back in his native United States.

In the decades following the last papal visits to Uruguay and Argentina, both nations have secularized so much they become pioneers of abortion in South America.

For this trip, we repost our text from earlier this year on the collapse of Catholicism in Latin America during the Bergoglio Pontificate:

Cardinal Ranjith in Major Interview: The West Needs to Return to its Liturgical Roots:

 

TRIBUNE CHRÉTIENNE: Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith: "Young People Want to Change the Way Europe Views Christianity"

Interview by Philippe Marie 

Tribune Chrétienne

November 6, 2026

In a lengthy exclusive interview granted to Tribune Chrétienne, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith offers a reflection on the dechristianization of Europe and the challenges facing the Church. Faced with the rise of political Islam, he calls on Catholics to rediscover their own spiritual identity rather than favor confrontation. He sees in the exceptional mobilization of young people during Pope Leo XIV's journeys to France and Spain a sign of hope for the renewal of Christianity. He also addresses the traditional liturgy, doctrinal controversies, the Islamist attacks of Easter 2019 in Sri Lanka, and relations between the Holy See and China.

Tribune Chrétienne: France and much of Europe are undergoing a profound dechristianization. Viewed from Asia, how do you explain this decline?

The Latin Mass and the Struggle for Power in the Vatican

by Serre Verweij

When Pope Leo was elected, many traditionalists were initially cautious or did not know what to expect. Then, in his first real interview (with Crux), Pope Leo declined to stand behind Traditionis Custodes; next, his nuncio in the United Kingdom told bishops that they could request exemptions from Traditionis Custodes and that these would be granted automatically, while the persecution of traditionalist religious communities and of bishops who refused to enforce Custodes fizzled out.

Considerations on the Traditional Pilgrimage to Rome -- by Roberto de Mattei

Considerations Sine Ira et Studio on the Ad Petri Sedem Pilgrimage

Roberto de Mattei

Now that the polemics that arose in the heat of the moment have settled, let us attempt to offer some dispassionate considerations, sine ira et studio, as the Romans used to say, on the fifteenth Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem, held in Rome from October 23 to 25, 2026.

Traditional Ordination in the Cistercian Monastery of Vyšší Brod, Czech Republic

 

13 years ago, Rorate reported on the choice made by the Cistercian monastery of Vyšší Brod, in the Czech Republic, for a more Traditional form of liturgy.

Sermon for All Saints

The Feast of All Saints 2026

Fr. Richard Cipolla

Carmelite Convent - Danbury, Connecticut 

After this I saw a great multitude which no man cold number, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes and with palms in their hands: and they cried out with a loud voice saying: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb”.

A Bad Look for the Vatican - On the Blocking of Saint Peter’s to Traditional Pilgrims - by Bishop Marian Eleganti

A Bad Look for the Vatican

by Bishop Marian Eleganti, OSB

Auxiliary Emeritus of Chur, Switzerland 

This year's ban on the traditionally minded "Ad Petri Sedem" pilgrims entering Saint Peter's Basilica on October 24, 2026 borders on hostility toward Catholics who are loyal to the Pope and orthodox in their faith. It has nothing to do with concern for unity in the Church or with operational difficulties in organizing liturgical celebrations in Saint Peter's.

Threatening Like a Bully - Cardinal Roche and the Traditional Roman Liturgy - by Bishop Mutsaerts

 

Cardinal Roche's Threatening Language: Do Not Attend the TLM! But Why? The Church Need Not Forbid Its Past to Secure Its Future.

By Bishop Robert Mutsaerts

Auxiliary of ‘s-Hertogenbosch

October 24, 2026

The Catholic Church prides itself on its universality, cherishes an impressive diversity of liturgical traditions, and regards that diversity as an expression of its riches. A Catholic may attend the divine liturgy according to the Byzantine tradition, the Maronite tradition, the Armenian tradition, or the Chaldean tradition. No one finds this in itself a threat to ecclesial unity. But the moment a Catholic wishes to attend Mass as it was celebrated for centuries in Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, and virtually the entire Latin Church, certain ecclesial authorities in Rome begin to grow uneasy.

Discovering the Delightful, Trenchant, Spiritually Profound Writings of Leonardo Castellani

A prolific author of about fifty books and a thousand articles, Leonardo Castellani (1899–1981) is widely revered as one of the greatest modern Argentine writers in multiple genres.

So Much for Unity: Many Months before Traditionalists were Blocked at Saint Peter's, Prevost's Election was Decided in Burke's Apartment

 
The Behind-the-Scenes Story: Those Conservative Dinners at Cardinal Burke's Home Where They Chose Prevost and Rejected Parolin

By Francesco Capozza

 Il Tempo

Friday, August 21, 2026

As everyone knows, the most absolute and sacred secrecy surrounds the election of the Roman Pontiff. Not only are the cardinal electors, but also the masters of ceremonies, the cooks, and the various craftsmen locked within the Conclave's precincts, all obliged to swear on the Gospels to reveal nothing of what they have seen, heard, or even simply overheard.

The Lepers: Letter from the Secretariat of State blocking entry of Traditional Pilgrims to Saint Peter’s Basilica

Three weeks before the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, which is in its 15th year and has always ended on the last Sunday in October, Father Claude Barthe, chaplain of the pilgrimage, received the denial.

Diane Montagna reports (main excerpt):

A letter from the Vatican Secretariat of State to the organizers of the annual Ad Petri Sedem pilgrimage, obtained by this journalist, confirms reports that the pilgrims were barred from entering St. Peter’s Basilica in procession to pray at the tomb of the Apostle.

“There was no room for them in the inn.” — Traditional Pilgrims blocked by Vatican from Entering the Holy See

 Michael Haynes reports from Rome at this very instant:

NEW: The group was stopped at the obelisk in St Peter’s Square, by order of the Vatican, at the edge of Italian jurisdiction 

TRADITIONALISTS, THE LAST PARIAHS - Never Before: Traditional Pilgrims Blocked from Entering Saint Peter's

Traditional Catholic Pilgrims (mind you, plain diocesan priests and faithful) have been banned from entering Saint Peter's Basilica during this weekend's Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage.

The move was announced to Christian Marquant (of Paix Liturgique), during the liturgical conference that precedes the pilgrimage every year. 

From our friends at Messa in Latino:

New DDF Document Praises Contemplation and Tradition in the Liturgy

Romano Guardini visited the basilica of Monreale in Sicily in 1929 and wrote about his experience in his account titled Voyage in Sicily (Sizilianische Reise). In the famous passage, Guardini expressed deep amazement and reflection on the liturgical gaze of the faithful in the majestic setting of a Mass in the Basilica.

A Letter from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts on the SSPX? We have not seen it yet

 A few days ago, French website Renaissance Catholique published a text (translation below) stating that a "response" from the Dicastery for Legislative Texts existed implying the documents of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith regarding the canonical status of marriages celebrated and confessions heard by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X were not applicable.

What we can say so far is that this is the only source we have seen mentioning this so far, and no one seems to have this letter. We are not saying that the document is not true or does not exist, but, unlike basically all such letters in the past, we have not seen a single image of the document, and all our sources affirm they have not seen it either. If such a document exists, we will publish it here immediately.

Severe but Imprecise Condemnations of the Society of Saint Pius X

What Are We to Think of the New Composition of the International Theological Commission?

 The International Theological Commission: A Reboot - Is It a Compromise Between Pope Leo and Cardinal Fernández?

by Serre Verweij

The International Theological Commission, an important auxiliary body linked to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, has undergone its customary membership renewal, which occurs every five years. This time, however, it does so while Cardinal Fernández remains officially its Prefect.

Aleksandr Dugin's Idea of Russia and the World: Not for Catholics

(The Massacre of Ruthenian Catholics
by the Russian Army in Drelow, Poland - 1874)

by John Lamont

[An earlier version of the article was printed in the European Conservative. This journal has now disappeared, as a result of being nationalized and then suppressed by the new Hungarian government. The earlier version of the article disappeared with the journal. The article’s contents are still pertinent, so I offer it to readers in this venue.] 

Some conservative circles in the West, including Catholic ones,  have expressed sympathy for the Russians in their attack on Ukraine. 

Denver Archbishop Orders Fr. Ripperger to Fast — from Speaking

Father Chad Ripperger, formerly of the FSSP, who became a kind of celebrity online due to his statements and interviews, was ordered by his current bishop, the Archbishop of Denver, to go silent. 

This is the archdiocesan statement:

A Problematic New Composition at the Pontifical Theological Commission

 by Le Salon Beige

October 19, 2026

[Excerpts:]

Pope Leo has today appointed more than 20 members to the International Theological Commission (ITC), an advisory body to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF). ...

Although membership in the ITC does not entail a leading executive role, it affords its members considerable influence over the theological work of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and, consequently, over the work of the Holy See. The appointment of theologians whose views diverge from Catholic teaching on certain questions is therefore noteworthy.

Back in Print: Ferdinando Antonelli's Revealing Diaries During the Liturgical Reform

Based on the diaries and notes of Ferdinando Cardinal Antonelli, a pivotal figure in the Catholic Church's liturgical reform movement for over twenty years, Nicola Giampietro's The Development of the Liturgical Reform reveals many important details about the forceful personalities that drove the process from Pius XII to Paul VI, the systems and methods by which decisions were made, and the competing principles invoked, with at times chaotic results.

Like his collaboratores Fr. Louis Bouyer and Fr. Boniface Luykx, Antonelli had an insider's grasp of the personnel, dynamics, and designs. He witnessed firsthand the good, the bad, and the ugly. For example:

“[The Consilium] is merely an assembly of people, many of them incompetent, and others of them well advanced on the road to novelty. The discussions are extremely hurried. Discussions are based on impressions and the voting is chaotic. What is most displeasing is that the expositive Promemorias and the relative questions are drawn up in advanced terms and often in a very suggestive form. The direction is weak." (166-67) "Many of those who have influenced the reform... have no love and no veneration of that which has been handed down to us. They begin by despising everything that is actually there. This negative mentality is unjust and pernicious, and unfortunately, Paul VI tends a little to this side. They have all the best intentions, but with this mentality they have only been able to demolish and not to restore." (192)

"While I would like to be mistaken, I can say that [Bugnini's] greatest lacuna was his lack of any theological training or sensibility. This was a grave defect and lacuna because in the liturgy, every word and every gesture expresses a theological idea. I have the impression that much has been conceded to the Protestant mentality, especially in matters regarding the sacraments." (196)

It's this kind of information that the conservatives and progressives don't want you to see: the admissions, from within, of all that went wrong. No wonder we are still suffering the consequences decades later.

In the interests of transparency, I should mention that this is not really a "sensationalistic" book. It's pretty technical and detailed, a sort of blow-by-blow account of various stages of reform, and Antonelli in the end was not an outspoken critic of the Novus Ordo. But it does contain a lot of valuable information for those who are serious students of the liturgy. Originally published in 2009 by Roman Catholic Books and out of print for some time, Os Justi Press is pleased to add this new edition of Giampietro to its growing Studies in Liturgical History and Reform series, where it joins Le Brun des Marettes, Guéranger, and Hazell.

Available in paperback and hardcover from the publisher or from any Amazon outlet. I talk about the book in a video:

"Mystic Rose in God's Fair Garden Growing": Dr. Kwasniewski's New Book on the Blessed Virgin Mary

In this month of the Most Holy Rosary, I am delighted to announce my new book: Mystic Rose in God's Fair Garden Growing: Our Lady on Prayer, the Mass, and Union with Christ, published by Arouca Press.

The Blessed Virgin Mary is the authoritative guide to living the Christian faith—above all, when it comes to its pulsing heart, the Holy Mass. Mystic Rose weaves together theological, liturgical, and devotional insights into Our Lady, drawing out the subtle splendors of the Holy Rosary and its intimate kinship with the Latin Mass, discovering unsuspected riches in the familiar Leonine prayers, unfolding the meaning of select Marian feasts and apparitions, and specifying the obligations a Catholic has toward approved private revelations.

The Convalescent Pope: October 13th and the Healing of Our Wounds

October 13th and the Healing of Our Wounds

By Roberto de Mattei

Corrispondenza Romana

October 2026

The historian who, fifty or a hundred years from now, wished to capture in a single image the day of October 13, 2026 — the hundred and ninth anniversary of the final apparition of Our Lady at Fatima — would find before him the following picture.

It's Cancer: Pray for the Pope

 The Holy Father had the lower lobe of his right lung completely removed today, and the doctors diagnosed adenocarcinoma.

From the Holy See Press Office:

Interview with Cardinal Roche: the Pope is not going back on Traditionis Custodes, Summorum Pontificum will not return

 

Cardinal Roche, the English head of the Dicastery for Divine Worship, granted an extensive interview to website Ad Vaticanum as he nears the end of his term.

We provide below the excerpts that concern Traditional Catholics, the entire interview deals with several other matters.

...

 

This year will mark five years since the implementation of Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio from Pope Francis’s pontificate, which adjusted a previous motu proprio from Pope Benedict’s pontificate. Do you think, in view of these changes from pontificate to pontificate, we are likely to see Pope Leo give his own guidance – particularly as much of the Catholic revival amongst young people seems at least to have a focus on the 1962 Mass? Or do you see something coming from Pope Leo?

AR: No, I do not. He is not going to change Traditionis Custodes. He is not going to go back to Summorum Pontificum.

SSPX General House: The appeal against the decree of excommunication is ongoing in Rome

 Communiqué published today:

Further to the communiqué issued by the General House on 13 July 2026, announcing the submission of a preliminary request to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X wishes to make known that it has since pursued the avenues of recourse provided for by canon law, in accordance with the deadlines and procedures established by law.

A Series of Catastrophic Misfortunes. A Certain Traditionalism and Leo XIV

We publish the following essay from Caminante/Wanderer (original in Spanish here, published Sept. 28) not because we agree with all of it—indeed, it overstates its case, for what it describes is by no means characteristic of traditionalists in general, only of a small yet noisy online subset—but because it expresses an entirely valid criticism of the cottage industry of “naysayers,” self-appointed spokesmen for tradition, who seem to have nothing to do all day but complain about or find fault with Pope Leo XIV and thus squander the energies and weaken the reputation of the traditionalist movement. Indeed, these doomsday writers regularly turn against other trads just as frequently as they turn against conservatives and progressives, because they cannot abide anyone who does not embrace their simplistic pessimism. The author essentially argues that the enormous capital fund that trads raised under Francis are being squandered by them under Leo. To whatever extent the following essay rings true, let us take it to heart and act accordingly. –PAK

Breaking: Pope to undergo surgery to remove lung nodule

Pope Leo XIV announced today that his doctors have identified a pulmonary nodule, and he will undergo a procedure to have it removed. He did not say it, but presumably this might alter the timing of his planned voyage to South America.

From Vatican News:

Latin Mass Persecutor Viola Named to Saint Peter’s - And What Happens Now in Divine Worship

 

Liturgical shake-up today at the Vatican:

Appointment of vicar general of His Holiness for Vatican City, archpriest of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican and president of the Fabric of Saint Peter

Dr. Kwasniewski's Lectures in Netherlands, Belgium, and England, October 24–31, 2026

I will be giving the following four public talks in Europe between Oct. 24 and Oct. 31, and hope to meet many Rorate readers!

Catholicism in the American Experiment - Conference in Portland, OR, November 13-14, 2026

Catholicism in the American Experiment

By guest writer Mark Rose

The American Experiment falters under the weight of an unprecedented moral and philosophical collapse, facing a fundamental crisis unless Catholicism takes its proper place. Within this current secularized landscape, the Catholic faithful encounter an urgent question: Can you be American and Catholic? Guided by a robust sensus fidelium, a steadfast remnant has maintained and insists that the understanding and appreciation of the profound ontological, theological, and historical depth of the usus antiquior and all that it implies is essential to answering this question.

The Theology of History in the Message of Fatima - by Roberto de Mattei

The Theology of History in the Message of Fatima

Roberto de Mattei 

De Maria numquam satis Conference

Augustinianum (Rome), October 8, 2026

 

Christian Theology of History

 

There is no better place and time than this: the hall of the Augustinianum, under the pontificate of an Augustinian Pope, to speak about the theology of history, placing our words under the patronage of the one who was the first and greatest representative of Christian theology of history: Saint Augustine of Hippo.

The Deceptive Tactics of the Silent Revolution Engulfing the Church - by Bishop Robert Mutsaerts

 The Deceptive Tactics of the Silent Revolution

By Bishop Robert Mutsaerts

Aux. Bishop of the Diocese of 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands

The Catholic Church has experienced, over two thousand years, virtually everything that can befall an institution: bad popes, corrupt bishops, heresies, schisms, revolutions, persecutions, decadent monasteries, dissolute clergy, and theologians so determined to be original that ultimately only they themselves understood what they meant.

Gambetti Removed from the Vatican Basilica

 Confirming what had been rumored for weeks, the Holy Father today removed Cardinal Gambetti from his Vatican offices, sending him packing to be Archbishop of Chieti-Vasto.

All For Nothing: Euthanasia for Disabled Minors Returns to Europe: Woe to mankind!

 

1938: "This person who suffers a hereditary disease has a
lifelong cost of 60,000 Reichsmarks to the National Community.
Fellow German, that is your money as well."

And so it has come to pass once again. Euthanasia, that starts with "consenting" adults (though God only knows how much this "consent" is fabricated each time by family members unwilling to help their relatives to the end), ends up swallowing everything. 

The first case in the Netherlands after the approval of the extension of the law happened this week:

Leo XIV and the Place de la Concorde - by Roberto de Mattei

 

Corrispondenza Romana

September 30, 2026

Pope Leo XIV's apostolic journey to France, from September 25 to 28, 2026, proved to be a popular triumph that surprised even the Pontiff himself. France is one of the European nations in which an aggressive secularism manifests itself most visibly. 

Pope Leo XIV's Journey to France - A Compte-Rendu

by Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

Pope Leo XIV has just concluded his apostolic journey to the eldest daughter of the Church. It has instantly become a clear and self-evident success for all to see. The secular Macron had hoped to accompany Leo and was turned down; enormous crowds turned out; young and old were united in a new passion for the faith. A country that has had aggressive secularism as state dogma for over a century — and that is currently confronting the problems of imported radical Islam — suddenly looked as devout as Ireland half a century ago.

Michaelmas TLM in the Vatican - and a Sermon

 

A Traditional Latin Mass was celebrated at
the St. Michael Altar of St. Peter’s Basilica today

***

Sermon for the Feast

by Father Richard Cipolla

Connecticut 

 

 

From the book of Revelation:

Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought,butthey weredefeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 

 

 

It is always an occasion of joy for me to celebrate this Mass of St. Michael the Archangel.  

"I went to France to preach the Gospel -- the Defense of Life is something that the Church believes very deeply"

Leo XIV answered a few questions from journalists in the customary airplane interview on his return to Rome -- below, his most important point.

[Question:] Your Holiness, good evening. First of all, I would like to thank you for your Apostolic Journey to France. For four days, our country was swept up in the widespread enthusiasm sparked by your visit—which, in France, is quite a feat. Thank you, Your Holiness. I will continue with my question in English. The motto of your Apostolic Journey was that the world may have life. The topic of end-of-life care came up repeatedly in your speeches. Actually, I think you mentioned it in more than half of your speeches in France. I'm thinking in particular of the one in the Élysée Palace and yesterday in Lourdes when you say that what is legal is not necessarily moral, which was a clear reference to the recent legalisation of euthanasia in France. In France, we also have this principle of "laicité," which is a separation between religion and politics. Do you think that when it's important, when the stakes are high, this border, this line should be crossed in the name of the primacy of conscience? And if so, did you cross that line?

France: Pope Lays Down the Law on Euthanasia

 

Dear brothers and sisters,

Dear friends who are sick,

It is a joy for me to be with you here in Lourdes, where, for more than a hundred and fifty years, pilgrims from every corner of the world have come to entrust their physical, psychological and spiritual sufferings to Jesus through Mary.  Indeed, fragility is not hidden here; instead it becomes the place of a sacred encounter.