The Kingship of Christ and the Aporias of the Roman Church — Guest Article by Vigilius

[Editor: The following texts reflects the personal opinion of the authors.]

Prefatory note: Ever since the SSPX announced the forthcoming illicit consecrations of bishops, many aspects have been discussed. One aspect, however, which lies at the core of the SSPX’s argumentation—namely, their concept of the origin of episcopal power of governance and its theological consequences—has not yet received the attention it deserves. The subject is sensitive because it concerns the First Vatican Council. I personally consider this essay, which was first published at https://einsprueche.substack.com/, to be truly fundamental: the author’s central intention is to defend the priesthood, the sacrifice, and the rite, and he does so with great consistency. The second part will follow soon, which returns to the question of the papacy and then draws conclusions on the Society of St. Pius X. We must begin to discuss these issues with intellectual honesty and without glossing over existing contradictions. —PAK
 

The Kingship of Christ and the Aporias of the Roman Church

Vigilius

¡Viva Cristo Rey! — Two New Books in Honor of Christ the King: “The Cristero Counterrevolution” and “His Reign Shall Never End”

The centenary of Pius XI's great 1925 encyclical Quas Primas on the divine-human, individual-social Kingship of Jesus Christ has seen the release of two new books of considerable interest to tradition-loving Catholics.

A Sacrificial and Royal Liturgy

A Sacrificial and Royal Liturgy

Paix Liturgique

Letter 986

December 15, 2023

From December 1 to 3, 2023, 600 seminarians from all French dioceses gathered in Paris. On the occasion of this gathering, Mgr de Moulins-Beaufort answered the questions they freely put to him. One of them asked: "Does the Church in France have a problem with traditionalists?" Mgr de Moulins-Beaufort replied: "Yes, no doubt because of our turbulent history since the Revolution. If there's a central question, it's one of political theology and our relationship with the world. Vatican II's decree on religious freedom is very clear. Christ didn't come to build Catholic nations; he came to found the Church. It's not the same thing. By dint of harboring nostalgia for a Catholic state, we lose our energy for evangelization."

“The Old Mass is Good for Catholic Social Teaching”—Article by Stefano Fontana

The Old Mass is Good for Catholic Social Teaching

by Stefano Fontana

La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana, July 21
translated by Zachary Thomas

Summorum pontificum gave hope to many who are committed to Catholic Social Teaching [CST] who nevertheless continue to regularly attend the Mass of Paul VI. CST is not unrelated to the liturgy. The old Mass stresses the centrality of God, including his social kingship, more than the Novus Ordo does. Francis’ latest motu proprio moves us in the direction of a “new” CST where the divine recedes and the primacy of the Church over the world is obscured.

Francis’s motu proprio Traditionis custodes has many aspects that can be considered imprudent. Some are still emerging, others will only become clear with time. Meanwhile, I would like to point out one that relates to Catholic Social Teaching.

Conservative Fragility: Integralism on Review

I had been hoping to find time to write a detailed review of the excellent new book Integralism: A Manual of Political Philosophy by Fr. Thomas Crean, O.P., and Alan Fimister, published by Editiones Scholasticae. It is a compact, well-written, deftly argued, and remarkably comprehensive manual presenting, without embarrassment or attenuation, the traditional political philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church, with the social kingship of Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth, at its core, and Christendom as its natural flowering and exemplar. Twelve chapters discuss: 1. Societies and the perfect society; 2. The common good and authority; 3. The family; 4. Servitude; 5. Temporal authority (1): its origin; 6. Temporal authority (2): its scope; 7. Law; 8. Forms of policy; 9. Political economy; 10. International relations; 11. The two swords; 12. The two cities.

Event: Saturday, April 4 — Free Online Conference about the Social Kingship of Christ — Stellar lineup of faculty

First Saturday, April 4, in a web browser near you: https://Crusade.Live

You suggest: Help restore the Shrine of Christ the King Novena starting December 17

From our friends at the Institute of Christ the King:

Emmanuel :  God is with us.

As we approach the great feast of Christmas, join the Institute of Christ the King in the Infant King Novena to prepare for the birthday of our God, the Eternal Word made flesh.  Venite adoremus!

Join us during these final days of Advent in the Infant King Novena as we prepare to celebrate the mystery of our redemption, the Mystery of the Incarnation.  From December 17 through Christmas Day, let us meditate and reflect on the greatest gift the world has ever received and our appreciation of this Eternal Gift in our daily lives.

Sermon for Christ the King: Catholic Paralysis following Vatican II Threatens Very Foundation of the Church

by Fr. Richard Cipolla

St. Mary's

Norwalk, Connecticut

Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.”
(John 18:37-38)

The Feast of Christ the King was added to the Roman Calendar in Pope Pius XI’s Encyclical Quas Primas  on December 11, 1925.   This was the time of a most troubling interlude between the two World  Wars that devastated two generations.  It was also a troubled time for the Catholic Church.  This time was the beginning of the rise of the understanding of an ideal government as purely secular.  This was also the time when the so called Roman question had not been resolved, the question being the dispute regarding the temporal power of the popes as rulers of a civil territory in the context of the Italian Risorgimento. It ended with the Lateran Pacts between King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Pope Pius XI in 1929.

The Pope was quite explicit in why he thought it necessary and salutary to institute this feast for the whole Church. The date, the last Sunday in October, was chosen because it was the Sunday before All Saints Day, when the manifestation of the kingdom of Christ is seen in the glorious holiness of the saints in heaven; also because it was near the end of the liturgical year, and finally,  because that Sunday had been traditionally observed as Reformation Sunday by Protestants.

Event: Bishop Schneider to visit Kansas City

We have been metering out the public schedule of His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider, who will visit the United States this month for numerous Masses and events, including in Connecticut, Washington, D.C., and Wisconsin. On 28-29 October, he will be in Missouri for a pontifical High Mass for the feast of Christ the King, with the Institute of Christ the King, and a conference on Blessed Karl.

Event: The Pilgrimage for Restoration, Sept. 29-Oct. 1

The Pilgrimage for Restoration,  a traditional walking pilgrimage, is set to take place this year September 29-October 1. The pilgrimage route goes from the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament at Lake George Village, NY, to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs at Auriesville, NY.

In its twenty-second year, the annual pilgrimage is a journey of the faithful to the place in “New France” where Saints Isaac Jogues, René Goupîl, John LaLande and numerous Native American Converts were martyred more than 375 years ago. It is conducted in honor of Christ Our King, for the restoration of new Christendom, and in reparation for sins against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

All writings of a major exponent of traditional Catholic social teaching now available online, with guide

Perhaps some readers are already aware of the Thomas Storck website, but for those who have not yet visited, there is a particular good reason to do so now. 

Thomas Storck is well known as one of the English-speaking world's most prolific writers on Catholic Social Teaching in all of its aspects, especially those that are countercultural or unwelcome to the humanistic democratic secularism and exploitative forms of capitalism prevalent in the Western world today. His lucidly reasoned critiques of contemporary assumptions and his persuasive defenses of traditional Catholic doctrine on social matters deserve to be known far and wide. Storck has also written eloquently on many philosophical and theological subjects, including aesthetics, poetry, literary revivals, the meaning of 'nature', modern science, postmodernity, biblical exegesis, and sacraments.

Liturgy as the Court Ritual of the Heavenly Kingdom

(cross-posted from New Liturgical Movement)

Fr. Anthony Ruff, O.S.B., regnant spirit of PrayTell and heir to Collegeville’s long line of liturgical iconoclasts and modernizers, has this to say about the “paradigm shifts” inaugurated by the Second Vatican Council:

The Council fathers didn’t get into all the specifics of the reform of the liturgy. They left most of that to a future commission under the pope. The fathers approved a major paradigm shift — from liturgy as Carolingian clerical drama to liturgy as act of all the people — and then left open what the implications of that shift would be. No doubt some or many of the fathers didn’t yet have in mind all the possible implications of the paradigm shift. Nor did they need to.

You suggest: Devotion to the Infant King, and rebuilding His Shrine in Chicago

The following was given to us by the ICR's Shrine of Christ the King:

Veni Veni, Emmanuel!

Join us, the Institute's Shrine of Christ the King, this Holy Advent season as we embark on a powerful and spiritual pilgrimage to Bethlehem through the deeply rooted Christmas novena to the Infant King. As we prepare for the coming of Our Savior, let us meditate upon His Holy birth, God’s giving of His Only Son, and how we can pay homage and adoration to our Earthly and Heavenly King. 

Now that the historic Infant King statue has been newly restored after last year’s devastating fire and has returned to His home in Chicago, please joyfully and spiritually join the Shrine of Christ the King by participating in the monthly novena to the Infant King from December 17^th to December 25^th. Through appreciative and jubilant prayers, help us rebuild and restore a glorious home for the Infant King! The Christ Child has promised us, “The more you honor Me, the more I will bless you.”   

It's official: Christ, the King of Poland!

By Fr. Paul McDonald

Special to Rorate Caeli

The Lord Jesus Christ Recognized as the King of Poland

Radio Maryja (@RadioMaryja) reports that the Bishops of Poland have enthroned, or, to use the bishops' more sober expression, "recognized" Christ as the King of Poland. This was done in the official presence of the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda. Many pilgrims were present in Poland for this event. Today the act will be repeated in all the Polish cathedrals and parishes. This took place yesterday, Saturday, at the Church of Divine Mercy in Krakow .

The providential and proximate origin of the act is to be found in revelations received, or said to be received, by the Servant of God Rosalia Zelkova. The Lord -- she said -- demanded that He be enthroned as King by the Polish Nation as such, and not just in the hearts of the Poles, in a particular manner, and this would have saved Poland in the war that was coming.

At first, especially after Vatican II, the idea did not find much support among the bishops. One may think that the shadow of Dignitatis Humanae was a factor, especially since the theme of the social right to religious liberty was so strong in the teaching of Pope Saint John Paul II. Another factor would have been the proximate origin, spoken of above. The same factor afflicts the Fatima Message. Under the diffused influence of theological modernism there is a diffidence even about the possibility of communications from Heaven.

But the social kingship of our Divine Lord is absolutely founded in necessary and dogmatic truths about Christ. It is not merely an element of private revelation. St. Gregory the Great said that they were heretics who denied that Christ is the King of and over everything.

Sermon for the Feast of Christ the King 2016: We are being purified

Father Richard G. Cipolla

Parish of Saint Mary

Norwalk, Connecticut

From the gospel of John:  “Jesus responded to Pilate: ‘My kingdom is not of this world’”

Dr. Kwasniewski’s Lecture at Steubenville: “The Old Mass and the New Evangelization: Beyond the Long Winter of Rationalism”

On Monday, September 7, 2015, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski (one of our contributors and well known to lovers of the traditional liturgy) delivered a lecture at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. The event was well attended by students, faculty, and staff. Rorate is pleased to be able to publish the text in full -- an exclusive publication, for which we are very grateful.

***

The Old Mass and the New Evangelization:
Beyond the Long Winter of Rationalism

Peter A. Kwasniewski [*]

Gentile Gallery of the J. C. Williams Center

The Franciscan University of Steubenville

September 7, 2015

It is an honor and a joy for me to be here this evening. I am grateful to Dr. Michael Sirilla for the invitation to speak at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, which, for so many years, has maintained the reputation of a school where Our Lord Jesus Christ is “the king and center of all hearts” and where the Catholic Faith is taught, practiced, and loved. On a more personal note, I have the feeling of “coming full circle,” since I taught for the Austrian Program at the Kartause in Gaming, and at that time mingled with many wonderful people from the university—but never had a chance to visit the home campus.

As I was working on this talk, I came to see that my title, “The Old Mass and the New Evangelization,” really deserves to be a book, not a lecture. I decided to limit myself to an aspect that seemed especially fruitful—“Beyond the Long Winter of Rationalism”—even though one could approach the topic from so many angles.[1]

Rediscovering the Ancient Mass

Obergefell, the Treason of Catholics, and the Social Kingship of Christ

Destruction of Catholic images in Zurich, 1524

The superb Lake Garda Statement on the Ecclesial and Civilizational Crisis got me thinking about the broad lines of the story in which we find ourselves, characters in a divine drama of light and darkness.

Even though they may have seen it coming, many Catholics are still in a state of shock after Obergefell. How did this happen so quickly? How did we end up in the top-down legitimation of sins that cry out to heaven for vengeance, perversions that make a mockery of nature, disorders that unravel the fabric of human society? The world is clearly a mess—hardly Christian even in those lands once favored by widespread allegiance to the one true faith. It is no fairy tale: once upon a time, the Western world was permeated with Christianity through and through; governments, laws, economies, the arts and sciences, were Catholic. What happened? 

The story of modernity is inherently bound up with the politics and economics of rebellion, revolution, the false messianism of secularization and secularism. “The kings of the earth stood up, and the princes met together, against the Lord and against his Christ. Let us break their bonds asunder: and let us cast away their yoke from us” (Ps 2:2-3). Thanks to the naïve “opening to the world” of the Second Vatican Council, a move that eviscerated the Church’s otherworldly interior, a vast number of Catholics today view history, culture, politics, and economics as foreign to, or outside of, theology and faith, as if the Church had nothing to say about human nature and life in this world. 

Such a narrow mentality, an obvious exhibition of the vices of individualism and spiritualism, is explicitly rejected by a long line of modern Popes who saw clearly into our age. Just as no man is an island, Catholicism is not an atomistic thing but a social reality; it has always had and, where truly believed, will always have ramifications in the social order, the life and culture, the laws and structures, of peoples. Due to the fall of Adam, those very structures can become what Pope John Paul II called “structures of sin,” preventing people from hearing the Gospel or at least making it more difficult for them to live according to it.

"Non habetis, propter quod non postulatis": Why overhaul of Rite was so destructive to Church at large

 "Petite, et dabitur vobis: quaerite, et invenietis: pulsate, et aperietur vobis. Omnis enim qui petit, accipit: et qui quaerit, invenit: et pulsanti aperietur." [Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.] (Mt. 7:7-8) / "Litigatis, et belligeratis, et non habetis, propter quod non postulatis. Petitis, et non accipitis: eo quod male petatis." [You contend and war, and you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not; because you ask amiss.] (James 4:2-3)

Considering the doctrine of prayer of Our Lord and of His apostle and kinsman St. James the Lesser will help us to understand how and why last century's overhaul of the liturgy of the Roman Rite proved so corrosive and destructive. For the Roman liturgy is nothing less than the corporate, public prayer of the Roman Church and the predominant rite of prayer of the Catholic Church. Prayer is so powerful, so fundamental to life, that the Church literally cannot perform the least of God's commands and counsels without prayer.

If, then, the Lord affirms that everyone who asks, receives, then it follows, as St. James reminds us, that those who do not ask do not obtain, and those who ask amiss shall not receive. In these basic principles of prayer we find the key to understanding the origin of the maladies afflicting the Church today, as well as their remedy.

In illustration of that point, we may highlight innumerable examples. However, because, as the Lake Garda Statement on the Ecclesial and Civilizational Crisis explains, the effective elision from Catholic life of the doctrine of the Social Kingship of Christ is both a cause and consequence of the Church's troubles, we may begin with a consideration of the liturgy of the Feast of Christ the King. (Within the past few days, Father John Hunwicke has explored this very aspect of the liturgy, while Peter Kwasniewski treated the subject here last year.)

The Lake Garda Statement

Lake Garda from Above

This year’s Summer Symposium of The Roman Forum in Gardone Riviera, on the shores of Lake Garda (See previous reports: here and here), concluded with a strong statement on the crisis in the Church and the world, and the necessity of returning to the fulness of Catholic Social Teaching in order to meet the crisis. It calls for an end to the policy of “opening to the world,” and for an end to the “fruitless collaboration with the Church’s implacable opponents” that this opening has meant, and calls for “a recovery of the Church’s traditional teaching on the Social Reign of Christ the King.” The statement is being simultaneously published on several websites. We are pleased to publish this important document in full here on Rorate Cæli. (Printable version). 

The Lake Garda Statement

On the Ecclesial and Civilizational Crisis

Preamble

Among the Catholic faithful the conviction grows that the ongoing crisis in the Church and the drastic moral decline of our civilization have entered a critical new phase which represents a turning point in the history of the world. 

In the Church, a Synod on the Family has devolved into a battle to defend the indissolubility of marriage from an attack within, pitting cardinal against cardinal and bishop against bishop. The Synod has produced a midterm relatio, approved by the Pope himself, which calls for the admission of divorced and remarried Catholics to Holy Communion on a “case by case” basis without any renunciation of adulterous relations, contrary to the explicit teaching of Pope John Paul II in line with the perennial discipline of the Church.[1] The same document speaks of “valuing” the “homosexual orientation” while recognizing the “precious support for the life of the partners” supposedly provided by “homosexual unions.”[2] Bishop Athanasius Schneider rightly observes that “[t]his is the first time in Church History that such a heterodox text was actually published as a document of an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a pope, even though the text only had a preliminary character.”[3]

The Manifestation of the King of Kings

The doctrine of the Kingship of Christ has been relegated almost entirely to a claim about the private commitment of individual believers to live according to the Gospel, and surely, while this is where our Lord's kingship must always begin, it cannot be where it ends. As Pope Pius XI's encyclical Mortalium Animos warns against a relativistic conception of ecumenism, so does the same Pope's encyclical Quas Primas warn against a narrow subjective conception of the reign of Jesus Christ, who is, in fact, whether we acknowledge it or not, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Judge of the living and the dead, the One who can and should reign in the social, cultural, political and economic spheres. He has reigned thus before; and if He does not now reign, that is not to our credit, but to our shame.

All this has been on my mind as I ponder the magnificent Gregorian propers for the feast of the Epiphany -- chants that bring the exceptionlessly comprehensive Kingship of Christ very much to the fore, to be pondered, loved, and longed for. Of course, most Catholics no longer hear these or any songs that convey the traditional doctrine, but -- blessed be God! -- Catholics who attend the usus antiquior Mass today, the Twelfth Day of Christmas, will hear these propers spoken or sung. They are always used in the classical Roman Rite because the Church of Rome always believes and professes one and the same doctrine.