De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

  The SSPX crisis cannot be understood through caricature. Many Catholics instinctively recognise the reality of the collapse in catechesis, liturgy and ecclesial confidence which the Society of Saint Pius X has spent decades warning about. That is precisely why this present moment is so dangerous. In my latest article I argue that the deepest problem posed by the SSPX is not that everything they say is false. It is that much of what they say contains enough truth to persuade serious Catholics. But has permanent resistance now begun evolving into something more troubling? Is a movement originally formed to preserve Catholic Tradition gradually drifting toward a parallel ecclesial mentality in which the visible Church herself is increasingly viewed with suspicion? I explore: • the growing crisis of trust in ecclesial authority • the “state of necessity” argument • the dangerous rhetoric now emerging around the consecrations • Donatist parallels and remnant ecclesiology • why the exi...

Then Bishop Arthur Roche presents the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI with the new Roman Missal Arthur Roche (born 6 March 1950) is an English Archbishop of the Catholic Church. On 26 June 2012, he was named by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, at which time he was raised to his current rank. Roche had served as the ninth Bishop of Leeds, having served previously as Coadjutor Bishop of Leeds and, before that, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster. It seems to have fallen to Archbishop Roche to be the latest person to have to try and interpret and explain Pope Francis. During a recent interview reported on CNA , the Archbishop spoke on the significance of the Latin Rite Mass, explaining that the Mass nourishes us, and that the special rite brings us together in a unique way. “It’s a common language, as it were, that brings us together, that holds us together, the Latin M...

This has really had me thinking over the weekend. On Saturday, I read on Rorate Caeli that Pope Francis had commented to Czech Bishops on their ad limina visit that the growing call for the old Mass throughout the world was nothing more than a fad: Yesterday (Friday, Feb. 14), Pope Francis held an audience with the Bishops of the Czech Republic who came to Rome for their ad limina visit. In the visit, as it usually happens in such cases, other than the formal address, the Pope heard the questions and comments of the bishops. Archbishop Jan Graubner, of Olomouc, told the Czech section of Vatican Radio what the Pope told him: [Abp. Jan Graubner speaks:] When we were discussing those who are fond of the ancient liturgy and wish to return to it, it was evident that the Pope speaks with great affection, attention, and sensitivity for all in order not to hurt anyone. However, he made a quite strong statement when he said that he understands when the old generation returns to what i...

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos I was very pleased to read in Catholic World News , a report that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, former prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, has recently received assurances from Pope Francis that he has no problem with Traditionalist Catholics or the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Meeting with The General Assembly of the International Una Voce Federation ( FIUV ), he said: “I met Pope Francis very recently and he told me that he has no problem with the old rite, and neither does he have any problem with lay groups and associations like yours that promote it,” This has been confirmed by His Excellency Bishop Rifan, of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Vianney, Campos, who recently wrote to The President of the FIUV, and the Chairman of the Latin Mass Society thus: Dear friends of LMS and UNAVOCE, I send you the photos of my last visit to the Pope Francis, may 22th 2013. I introduced myself saying who I am, explaining...