De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

 Some great news from the FSSP: Fribourg, February 21, 2022 On Friday, February 4, 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for nearly an hour. During the very cordial meeting, they recalled the origins of the Fraternity in 1988, the Pope expressed that he was very impressed by the approach taken by its founders, their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff and their trust in the Church. He said that this gesture should be “preserved, protected and encouraged”. In the course of the audience, the Pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St. Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the Motu Proprio  Traditionis Custodes , since the use of the ancient liturgical books was at the origin of their existence and is provided for in t...

I love the FSSP, I love them simply because they appear to be a last bastion of true supernatural faith. That's not to say that there is real faith in other places, but simply to say, in my experience, the priests of the FSSP live a day-to-day metaphysical reality which I find deeply inspiring and deeply lacking in many places. The FSSP stands in stark contradiction to the kind of wordly priests who seem to abound these days; those that do everything they can to explain away Church teaching as something out of touch, old fashioned, or more complex than the plain truth it "seems" to proclaim. Fr Armand de Malleray heads the FSSP here in the UK. He is genial, approachable but also someone it is easy to look up to. He is a born leader (at least in my estimation) and carries himself in a way which shows he is at ease with this responsibility. Father Armand addressed the state-encouraged adulation of the NHS in his Good Shepherd Sunday homily at St. Mary’s Shrine in War...

I thought this was a really good film. It is specifically promoting the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, but it speaks to me of the whole of the faith and Mass especially: As Msgr Charles Pope writes ; Many Catholics do not know of the rich heritage that has to some degree been denied them by modernity. The TLM is the form of the Mass that most of the saints knew. With only minor variations and additions, this form of the liturgy has existed for well over a thousand years. The, Latin, the chants, the eastward orientation, the often-deep silence—all of these reach across the centuries like treasures. A lot of things come and go, but the TLM has stood the test of time; it is a heritage that belongs to us. Moving accounts of discovery of the treasure of Catholic inheritance; something counter cultural- something beautiful - something different - something transcendent. What comes across is the desire to do something beautiful to worship & praise God. The community fosters...

This is far from "news" at this point, but my mind has been else where the last few days so I have not had the presence of mind to post it here. That being said I think it is great news, encouraging and very positive, and so worth sharing with my readers. A press release from Lancaster Diocese announces that, following hard on the heels of a second church ( English Martyrs ) in Preston being given over to the care of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest , the Diocese of Lancaster and the Institute announce that the Sisters Adorers of the Royal Heart of Jesus Christ Sovereign Priest , the female branch of the Institute, have accepted Bishop Michael Campbell’s invitation to establish a House in Preston in the Diocese of Lancaster! The arrival date for the contemplative (but not enclosed) Sisters has yet to be determined, but it is hoped that the Sisters will arrive as soon as possible to set up their first UK foundation at St Augustine’s Presbytery, Avenh...

Since first experiencing the Extraordinary Form of the Mass a few years ago, I have developed a sort of a craving for it. It's a bit of an itch that's hard to scratch, because provision is not great. We have the EF once a month in my own Parish and our 11:30 Novus Ordo is beautiful liturgy, so it's not a huge issue. However, I do feel really drawn to the beauty and transcendence of the EF and will go whenever I can. This love affair drew me to St. James', Spanish Place a few weeks ago as I reported here  for a first Mass of a newly ordained FSSP priest, Fr. Ian Verrier. It was heavenly liturgy; stupefyingly beautiful music, a Mass in which I felt I could really raise my heart and mind to God. But the homily by Fr. Armand de Malleray was the really electrifying and extraordinarily different experience for me. It really sparked my interest in the FSSP. I spotted this interesting interview in the Catholic World Report  from last month. There is a lot of current ...

St. Mary's, Warrington, The grandest Roman Catholic church in Warrington and a major work by E.W. and P.P. Pugin Great news from the Archdiocese of Liverpool where the recently appointed Archbishop, the Rt Reverend Malcolm McMahon has announced a new apostolate entrusted to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (the FSSP): From St Mary's website, Warrington : ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE ARCHBISHOP REGARDING THE FUTURE OF ST MARY’S “I have invited the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to come to the archdiocese and to have responsibility for St Mary’s Church, Warrington. In due course this will become a centre for the celebration of the extraordinary form of Mass and the sacraments. The priests of this fraternity will not, however, assume pastoral responsibility for St Mary’s parish, which will be the responsibility of Fr David Heywood from September.” The FSSP have responded: We are grateful to Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, O.P. for his invitation in the Liverpool Archdioces...

On Saturday morning, Mike & I jumped on a train and headed into London to attend the first Mass of Fr. Ian Verrier FSSP . I asked Mike a couple of days ago if he fancied joining me and he jumped at the chance. Will had another commitment & Louise & I decided it would probably be more sensible to leave her back at the ranch with John & Mary. Mike was Confirmed in St. James' by Archbishop George Stack, about five years ago and he hasn't been back since. He loves the EF and was eager to have an opportunity to be at Mass and in a place with some history for him. Father Ian is a newly ordained Priest of the Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri — The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter. They are a Clerical Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical right, that is, a community of Roman Catholic priests who do not take religious vows, but who work together for a common mission in the world. The mission of the Fraternity is two-fold: first, the formation and...

Bishop Mark O'Toole with Abbot David Charlesworth & Cardinal Pell In huge contrast to yesterday's worrying and nasty blog subject, today I am pleased to bring you something very encouraging! Bishop Mark O'Toole, recently Ordained to Plymouth Diocese, continues to delight and impress with his Catholicity (it seems incredible that I even have to say that of a Catholic bishop really doesn't it?) When I received the LMS Magazine at the weekend, I was delighted to read an interview with Bishop Mark which is available here . In it he articulates a clear plan of action which seems to follow on naturally from his recent excellent Pastoral Letter on Vocation . In that letter, he stated his belief that the challenge faced by the Church today is not a lack of vocations, but rather a lack of responses. The solution to this problem seems obvious to me, and I'm no bishop! Mark O'Toole is, and thankfully he seems to see it clearly. Young men will not answer the ca...