A sub-category of News.
I confess, as a conservative-minded Catholic, that I read the news of Pope Francis’ most recent missive with a healthy dose of annoyance. Why does this pope, who had little but silence or scorn for American politics over the last 10 years, choose to take formal action now, with this President, over this issue? And…
The Manichees had always been eager to enlist a bright young fellow like Augustine to help spread the word. And for a period of nine years, first in Carthage, then later in Rome, he remained one of their star pupils, a brilliant aspirant in the cause of Mani, with whom he shared the same view…
Pre-Lent is here. With the traditional calendar of the Roman Rite, in the Vetus Ordo, you cannot be surprised by Lent sneaking up on you. You have no excuse. Start thinking about your Lenten discipline now. There are three Pre-Lent Sundays, Septuagesima Sunday, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima, which in Latin respectively mean “Seventieth, Sixtieth, Fiftieth”. These…
Above: the Roman theatre at Athens. In describing his conversion to Catholicism via the usus antiquior, actor Shia LaBeouf remarked “it feels like they’re not selling me a car … It feels like it’s not being done to sell me on anything.” I believe the traditional Mass is compelling because it is decidedly – one…
This week, President Donald Trump took proactive steps to broker peace between Ukraine and Russia, actions that give me cautious optimism. Of course, his bold initiative has led the warmongers and TDS-sufferers to scream, “He’s a Russian agent!” However, Trump’s moves break through decades of neocon-inspired anti-Russian propaganda to strive for a lasting peace in…
The Mass is not a dirge. But we tend to sing the common prayers as if we were at a funeral. Leading into the Gospel Acclamation, “Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia” can be stretched and slowed out of all shape. “Allllllleluuuuia, allllllleluuuuuia, alllllllleluuuuuia.” Put it in your mind that the layman on the altar has cast the…
On this day in 1969, Paul VI slapped Roman and Eastern Catholics in the face with his motu proprio Mysterii Paschalis. With all of the wisdom and foresight of a bureaucrat, Paul VI explained why the “suppression of reference to a certain number of saints who are not universally known” is required as part of…
Read part I The Coetus: Trad Godfathers at Vatican II Read part II: Lefebvre on the Eve of the Council Bishop Luigi Maria Carli is perhaps the member of the five-man steering committee of the Coetus Internationalis Patrum whom our readers know least; he certainly was not its least consequential member, however, in terms of…
Why are traditional Catholics so scrupulous? You’ve probably noticed it if you’ve spent any time around us, whether in real life or even just on the internet. (Maybe especially on the internet.) It’s a fact easily observed: traditional Catholics struggle disproportionately with scrupulosity—that is, the habit of seeing sin where there is no sin and…
On January 27, Pope Francis officially recognized the martyrdom of five Spanish Franciscan missionaries killed in September 1597 in what is now the state of Georgia. Francis labeled the martyrdom of the Venerable Servants of God Pedro de Corpa, Blas Rodríguez de Cuacos, Miguel de Añón, Antonio de Badajoz, and Francisco de Veráscola—also known as…
