Recent Interviews on the Undeniably Resurgent Latin Mass

Documentary filmmaker Cameron O'Hearn interviewed me at the end of June in a far-ranging conversation about various aspects of Catholic liturgical tradition. The conversation first appeared live on Facebook, and afterwards was published on YouTube:

Topics covered:

Christus Vincit: Bishop Schneider’s Powerful and Luminous New Book — And Its Presentation in Rome

Word is spreading quickly about Bishop Schneider’s recently released book-length interview Christus Vincit: Christ’s Triumph Over the Darkness of the Age (Angelico Press).

Only professional ostriches of olympic head-burying skill can deny that the Roman Catholic Church is suffering her worst crisis since the Protestant Reformation. We can see it in the escalating conflicts between a Vatican in progressive overdrive and Catholic laity and clergy striving to remain faithful to Scripture, Tradition, and the consistent teaching of the Magisterium; oscillation between anarchy and authoritarianism in governance; multiplying accusations of heresy and schism; and worldwide exposures of clerical abuse implicating bishops all the way up to the pope. 

Of those who have dared to call the problems by their name and to seek real remedies, Bishop Schneider stands out for his forthright interventions and the clarity with which he teaches the perennial doctrine of Christ and His Church, encouraging the “little ones,” admonishing the doubtful, and rebuking the relativists, secularists, and modernists who have overrun the barque of Peter.

Christus Vincit one of the most potent books written by any bishop of the Catholic Church, not just in recent years but since the time of the Second Vatican Council. It’s like The Ratzinger Report, raised to the tenth power. No wonder the book features endorsements by an impressive lineup: Cardinal Sarah and Cardinal Burke, eminent theologian Fr. Aidan Nichols, Fr. Gerald Murray of EWTN’s “Papal Posse,” and popular author Scott Hahn.

Rorate interviews Evelyn Oliver, author of an imaginative and robustly Catholic novel

Can fiction serve faith? The Egyptian Guide: From Jihad to Joy

Rorate Caeli: Yours is a book in between two rivers, the Nile and the Thames. The plot takes us alternatively to contemporary Egypt and England. The literary pattern is transit, from one bank to the opposite one, and more generally from one river to the other. Behind the eventful itinerary of your main character, Clara, could the watermark (no pun intended) be the Book of Exodus, when the Chosen People leaves the Nile and the Red Sea behind, making their (tortuous) way towards the River Jordan? 

Evelyn Oliver: I wish London were the Promised Land! But yes, the book is about journeying from sin to grace. I didn’t intend the two rivers as a literary pattern though. I was born near one and raised near another: it must have influenced me. In retrospect however, I admit that the Nile and the Thames offer a variation on the theme of crossing. Each river is an axis along which the story takes Clara successively to a busy capital city (Cairo and London), a haven (Osly in Sudan, by a ford, and Henley-on-Thames, near a lock) and a martyr’s shrine (Alexandria and Marlow). 

Is the Church Crisis Driving the Faithful to the Latin Mass? An Interview with Dr. Kwasniewski

Recently, Judy Roberts interviewed me for an article she was working on for the National Catholic Register. Parts of the interview appeared at the Register on December 16th, but the full interview is presented exclusively here at Rorate.

Judy Roberts: In your experience, are more Catholics indeed seeking out Mass in the extraordinary form during this time of turmoil in the Church? What are they telling you as to why? 

Peter Kwasniewski: Statistics, to the extent that they are available, the creation of new traditional Mass apostolates, and anecdotal evidence shared via social media point to a steadily growing base of faithful who are attending this form of the Roman liturgy. 

I’m not sure if it’s growing more owing to the current crisis, but what I have noticed is an interesting trend. The “progressives” or “liberals” are emboldened under this pontificate to show their true colors more and more openly; the “conservatives,” that is, those who would have been classified as “John Paul II Catholics” or “Ratzingerians,” are diminishing; and the “traditionalists,” who once seemed a negligible minority, have not only shown themselves more numerous than hitherto imagined, but are now occupying the intellectual and moral high ground. The serious work of Catholic restoration is happening in large part due to their efforts.

Who are these people? Are they merely older Catholics who grew up with the traditional Mass and are nostalgic for the way things used to be or does this group also include younger people and converts? 

Interview with Dr. Kwasniewski about Discovering the Old Mass, Progressive Liturgists, Common Objections, Ad Orientem, Optionitis, Antiquarianism, and More

The Croatian Catholic page Bitno.net has just published a substantial interview with our fellow contributor Dr. Peter Kwasniewski. The interview was recorded in Norcia (Nursia, Umbria, Italy) this past July, then transcribed and translated into Croatian by the journalist (which explains the conversational tone at times). His story is that of so many of us: how discovering the Traditional Mass changed his life forever, and how it all evolved from there.

The English transcript was offered to Rorate Caeli for publication. The photos are as they appear at the Croatian site.

Interview

Before we get into our questions today, Dr. Kwasniewski, tell our readers about yourself. Where did you study and where do you teach?