Are You the Fourth Monkey? Are You Deaf, Dumb, Blind, and Lost Your Mind?

I get some silly comments on my blog but one of the silliest and most patently absurd is this:

"[T]he Pope, no matter how sinful he might personally be, can never mislead you spiritually."

Is Your Novus Ordo Mass the One Described by Bishop Schneider? I'm Betting Not!

I don't go to daily Mass these days. One of the things that impacted my decision was a description of a wedding a priest friend attended at a very conservative Lutheran parish. The groom, a widower and a Catholic was marrying a Lutheran woman whose branch of Lutheranism is the most conservative, even more than the Missouri Synod Lutherans. She wanted to be married in her church by her minister. They got permission from the bishop so all was in order.

Was the Survey of the Bishops a Primary Cause for Traditionis Custodes?

Some are saying that the survey of the bishops played almost no role in Pope  Francis issuing  Traditionis Custodes (TC) and the accompanying letter. Vatican correspondent, Diane Montagna, continues to investigate and posted additional evidence on her substack forum yesterday:

New Evidence Confirms CDF Report, Erodes Vatican Narrative...

Quoting Francis' own letter indicates that he used the survey to justify his draconian restrictions. As the pope of synodality, it isn't surprising to find him pretending that he acted in union with the bishops. Here's an excerpt from the letter:

"No One Wanted a War" against the Traditional Latin Mass

Msgr. Nicola Bux

The article below (Google translation from Italian) includes an interview with respected liturgist Don Nicola Bux, co-author of the recently released book (in Italian),  The Liturgy Is Not a Show: The Questionnaire to Bishops on the Old Rite — A Weapon of Mass Destruction?  

THE INTERVIEW / MGR. NICOLA BUX
War on the ancient rite, it was not the bishops who started it 

It was not the world episcopate that asked to "cage" the Mass in the ancient rite, as Pope Francis instead claimed, declaring that the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes was the response to a specific request from the bishops consulted on the matter.

Deus Vult: The Enemies of Tradition Can Never Win!

A wise philosopher once said, "Stupid is as stupid does." Read this article and take heart. When things seem dark, they are often closest to the light. You can only eclipse the sun for so long! Pray, hope, and don't worry. Deus Vult! God wills it!

The New TLM Suppression: Crisis Averted?

Remember when everybody was sure that there was a new Latin Mass suppression coming down the pike from The Dictator Pope and his mercy for the margins?

That came from a credible rumour published by our friends at Rorate back on June 17th. While that was brewing, Viganò got the axe from the Vatican, and a different report denied any existence of a new TLM suppression.

Meanwhile, the “Agatha Christie Petition 2.0” was released, along with a second petition by the same authors for the faithful to sign. A third petition was also put out (“An Open Letter from the Americas to Pope Francis”), signed by people like Trad critic Larry Chapp and endorsed by Archbishop Cordileone. [Continue....]

Will it be a train wreck for the church or for the evil men controlling her?

Better not wait to get off the tracks until the train is five feet away!

Perhaps discussing the rumoured nuke to be dropped on the TLM on the third anniversary of Traditionis Custodes (July 16th) is premature. Why not wait and see and just be silent and let the chips fall where they may? After all, isn't the best course to live in the present moment? That's certainly one approach, and I won't argue with those who choose it.

On the other hand, there is something to be said for taking measures when a disaster is likely to happen. You don't wait until the hurricane is upon you to board up the windows. You don't wait until the train is five feet away before you get off the tracks. An article at OnePeter5 recommends that Catholics get ready, especially considering the accuracy of previous "rumors" reported by Rorate Caeli. Their track record is excellent. So let's check out the article by Carina Benton:

LifeSiteNews Reports on Likely Date of TLM "Final Solution"

Reports: Vatican planning to enforce a ‘final’ ban of Traditional Latin Mass, likely on July 16

Here's a bit from the article:

Canon Lawyer, Fr. Réginald-Marie Rivoire, Eviscerates Traditionis Custodes

Edward Pentin posted a tweet a few days ago about a new book criticizing Traditionis Custodes. Despite the fact that many canon lawyers are saying the same thing as Fr. Rivoire, most bishops have all done the proverbial bootlicking, bending the knee to Francis like he bent the knee to the leaders of the Sudan. 

Here's Pentin's tweet:

To Those Who Say, "We Don't Need the SSPX Here," Yes We Do!

Want a Traditional Latin Nuptual Mass at your parish church? Sorry! No Mass for you! No diocesan parish is available for young couples who want to be married in the Latin form of the Roman rite. (Photo credit Spiering Photography)

I recently spoke to someone at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal, VA who insisted that the SSPX are not needed here. "We have four Traditional Latin Masses every Sunday; the SSPX should have gone somewhere they are needed. We don't need them here. They should leave!"

Guest Post: When the Bishop Becomes a Dictator

Traditionis Custodes threw the TLM out of our churches. The new "home" for the stepchildren is a gym or a classroom. "No church for you rigid, pharisaical tradition lovers!

By Fr. Bill Aitcheson

Recently, the Arlington Diocesan bishop warned the twenty-one priests who celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in his jurisdiction, that their celebrations of the TLM are going to be severely curtailed. Essentially, there will only be eight public locations for the TLM and most of them will not be allowed in a parish church. The TLM will only be celebrated in these eight places and the times of celebration are not to be published in the parish bulletin. The attempted suppression of the TLM is by order of Jorge Bergoglio in conformity with his shameful tome, Traditionis custodes and its interpretation found in the Congregation for Divine Worship's Responsa ad dubia.

Return to the Twilight Zone Part 2: The Overreach of the Responsa ad Dubia

Pope Francis, in an act of pontifical contempt, ignored the dubia of the four cardinals who asked for clarification of Amoris Laetitia. No responsa for you!

Yesterday, I began re-examining the documents issued by Pope Francis suppressing the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), Traditionis Custodes (TC) and his accompanying letter. [See Part 1.] Today, I'll move on to the Responsa ad Dubia (RaD). 

But before that, a clarification: 

The dubia discussed here is not, of course, that of the four Cardinals who questioned the doctrinal ambiguity of Amoris Laetitia. Those questions, relating to allowing couples in invalid marriages to receive the Body and Blood of Christ sacrilegiously, remain unanswered after more than six years. Clarifying and affirming unchanging and unchangeable doctrines does not seem to be a priority of this pontificate. Francis treats the orthodox, both clerical and laity, with a dismissive contempt. Undermining doctrine, affirming dissent, placing enemies of the Church on papal commissions, and advancing syncretism appear to be his priorities. But, I'll go silent on those aspects of this papacy for now and move on to the RaD.

Return to the Twilight Zone Part I: Traditionis Custodes and Its Accompanying Documents

Where have all the Catholics gone? Out the door to join the "nones."

I'm re-reading Traditionis Custodes (TC), the Motu Proprio that abrogated Summorum 
Pontificum and sent traditional Catholics to the reeducation camps. I'm also re-reading the papal letter that accompanied it as well as the Responsa ad Dubia (RaD). Why inflict that punishment on myself? Because it's important to understand and be able to discuss the impact of these documents on the faithful, particularly those who are seeking refuge in the SSPX. 

Is Anyone Listening to Catholics in the Pew? GIVE US THE MASS!

Newly elected Pope Francis with St. Gallen Mafia member Cardinal Danneels (seated)

Ever since Jorge Bergoglio came out on the balcony as Pope Francis (the first of that name - poor St. Francis), we've been bombarded with words like "pastoral".... "listening".... "dialogue".... "collegiality"...."synodality"....etc. ad nauseum. Like the Big Brother ministries in Orwell's 1984, the reality is the exact opposite. There is no pastoral treatment, listening, or collegiality for those who hold fast to the perennial teachings of Holy Mother Church. All the listening goes one way. Atheists, dissenting priests and bishop, abortionists, homosexuals, Muslims, idol worshipers, etc.; they all have the ear of Pope Francis. Those who stand firm and hold the ground for the teachings of the Church Fathers are treated with derision and contempt. 

Some Questions are Well Worth Asking: I'm Happy to Find a New (to me) Blog Doing It!

“Did Bishop Burbidge Violate Canon 932 in Order to Punish His Flock?”

Fr. Vander Woude encourages the Latin Mass congregation!

 

I found this video so incredibly sad. 

First of all, I have always had great respect for Fr. Tom Vander Woude who is the pastor at Holy Trinity in Gainesville. In a previous post, I mistakenly said the congregation at Holy Trinity was being abandoned because the Montessori school is in the boundaries of All Saints in Manassas. However, it is the priests of Holy Trinity who will care for that very large Latin Mass community -- at least until the next act of suppression is implemented.

We Can't Cut Bishop Burbidge Any More Slack: The Latin Mass Crackdown is Brutal and Cruel!

The new Bishop Burbidge segregation:
Latin Mass Catholics to the left, NO Catholics to the right!

Claire Chretien pegs it with an article at LifeSiteNews that is crystal clear. 

The Diocese of Arlington’s brutal Latin Mass crackdown is cruel. That’s the point!

What is happening in Arlington is, indeed, brutal, cruel, and advances an agenda that masquerades as "unity" while it segregates traditional Catholics from the parish. Is the bishop worried that traditionalists will pollute the churches and the other parishioners? 

When Will Some Courageous Shepherds Just Say NO?

The other night I watched, once again, the 1973 film, The Catholics, with Martin Sheen and Trevor Howard. The title was later changed to Conflict. 

If you want to understand where we're going, watch the movie. 

Brief synopsis: The Latin Mass has almost disappeared after Vatican IV. A group of Irish monks, however, continue to pray the Latin Mass and, to accommodate the crowds, they say it on a mountain that was once the scene of Masses during Cromwell's persecution. After a news broadcast about the Mass, pilgrims head to Ireland from all over the world to attend the Latin Mass which puts the monks on modern Rome's radar screen.

Are you getting the gist of where I'm going?

Guest Post: Pachamama, the Pope, and Persecution by Fr. Bill Aitcheson

Editor's comment: I can never forget Pope Francis welcoming the Pachamama idol to the Vatican garden on October 4, 2019.  The procession of swaying, rattle-shaking shamans and their companions danced around a blanket with the image of Mother Earth covered with idolatrous symbols. Anyone watching the event couldn't help but be "rattled" and ask, "What the hell?" (literally!) Adding to my sorrow is that it happened on Larry's and my 50th wedding anniversary. What an anniversary present! Since then the pope has dropped one bomb after another on faithful Catholics who love tradition and want to do nothing more than to worship as did so many of the saints who've gone before us. We cringe as Francis introduces more and more bizarre and evil novelties into the Church, not to mention filling the hierarchy with men made in his own deceitful and scandalous image. Pray for Holy Mother Church. Save us, Lord Jesus from the dragon and his servants!

PACHAMAMA, THE POPE, AND PERSECUTION

by Fr. Bill Aitcheson

"Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshiped so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." (2 Thess 2:3-4)

Open Letter to Bishop Michael Burbidge, Diocese of Arlington, Virginia on Access to the Traditional Latin Mass

Editor's Comment: Many bishops around the country are acting in haste to implement the illegitimate motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes, and the responsa to the dubious dubia. The shepherds have much reason to go slowly before joining a good ole boys' club (literally) to hammer the faithful for loving the holy Mass celebrated by the saints for millennia. Instead of providing a fish, many are giving us a serpent, instead of bread, a stone. They are engaged in a hopeless task, because, as Gamaliel said to the Sanhedrin, if it's from God they will find themselves fighting against God. Anyone who has ever attended a Tridentine Mass can testify to the fact that it's from God. There's no question that it gives all honor, glory, and praise to our Creator through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Please join me in letting your bishop know that you want what the English martyrs wanted, the holy Mass! Let us pray and offer Masses for our shepherds!

Most Reverend Michael Burbidge,

Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington

200 North Glebe Rd. 

Arlington, VA 22203

Your Excellency:

Fathers, You Are "Obliged to Resist" Traditionis Custodes and the Responsa ad Dubia

‘Sitting on the fence is not an option’: It is our duty to resist suppression of the traditional rites according to Dr. Peter Kwasniewski.

Okay, folks, we're not in Kansas anymore! The shockwaves of the atomic bombs of Traditionis Custodes and the Responsa Ad Dubia have thrust us head over heels into the land of Oz where the white-robed warlock of the west rules with a wooden stang given to him by Ozian youth in the name of Ozma during a synod for young people....

Well, enough of that nonsense!