Summorum Pontificum Abrogated: Quo Vadis?

Well, the Pope has done it – abrogated Benedict XVI’s Summorum Pontificum, (July 7, 2007) and even John Paul II’s Ecclesia Dei (July 2, 1988) – with today’s Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes. It’s not long, and you can read it through in a few minutes (scroll past the Italian for the English) – which may seem an agonizingly longer time for some. There is also an accompanying letter, urging bishops to join Francis in limiting the ‘Latin Mass’ of Pius V. Ironic that the title is about safeguarding tradition…

I won’t provide much commentary here; perhaps later, when this has sifted further. For now, I will point out two historical coincidences:

This is the date of the beginning of the formal schism between East and West, when in 1054 Cardinal Humbert and two legates of Pope Leo IX presented a bull of excommunication to the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, in the hall of Hagia Sophia. The Patriarch in turn excommunicated them and the Pope (these mutual excommunications were ‘cast into oblivion’ with Paul VI’s meeting with Patriarch Athenagoras in 1964). Pope Francis purportedly admitted that he might end up splitting the Church. Whatever he might have meant by that – and I am neither a prophet, nor the son of a prophet – the times are certainly ominous. This will cause a crisis of conscience for many, for obedience is oft not a simple thing, and in milieu, it seems less simple than ever.

Yet this is also the date of the last apparition of Our Lady to Saint Bernadette at Lourdes. We should have hope that as Mother of the Church, she is helping to guide this all to the good. And we must not forget Saint Joseph, Protector of that same Church, whose year it is.

There is a third thing, that this is the anniversary of the detonation of the first nuclear bomb in history, in 1945 on the plains of Alamogordo, New Mexico, code-named, curiously, ‘Trinity’. (It was Robert Oppenheimer, who was Jewish and did not therefore believe in whole ‘Three Persons, One God’ truth, who bestowed the name, claiming it just came to him, from a poem by John Donne) Whether that pertains or not, I’ve yet to decide, even if there are no real coincidences in God’s providence. What I do know is that the Holy Mass has much more power than an atomic bomb, and we should treat it accordingly – with great care.

I may have more to say on the possible options before us as this all unfolds. For now, know that God will lead us and bring good out of this, one way or another. We must pray, trust and, as much as we might, not worry.

A Closed, Unsustainable, Descending Loop

As a follow-up to my thoughts on Payette’s payout, here be a stark image of where are here in Canada. As the graph shows in, well, graphic terms, since 2025, the public sector has contributed to 95.5% of economic growth. The private sector – which funds the public sector, or is supposed to – has[…]Continue reading→

Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk

(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→

Presidential Pardon of Weronika Krawczyk

As a good news, follow-up to our story from Poland, of the persecution of Weronika Krawczyk for her pro-life views, we heard that she has been granted a presidential pardon. One might still wonder why one needs a presidential pardon for simply holding the long-held belief that the child within the womb is a child,[…]Continue reading→

Pope Leo and a Rosary for Peace

Pope Leo XIV has asked Catholics across the world to join him in a Rosary for peace today, at 18:00 Rome time (6 pm), which would be noon from where I write (EST). If you are able, whether at that time or another, and in whatever way you pray, to join in intercession with the[…]Continue reading→

Payette’s Payout

I was glancing through some headlines, and noticed a mention of Julie Payette – engineer and astronaut and sometime the Queen’s representative in Canada – which brought back vague memories. She was appointed Governor-General by Justin Trudeau in 2017. Ms. Payette resigned in 2021, amidst claims that she created a ‘toxic work environment’, with allegations[…]Continue reading→

Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów

We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→

Weronika Krawczyk and Injustice in Poland

Catholic Action in Poland has issued a formal statement appealing to the President of the Republic of Poland to pardon Weronika Krawczyk—convicted for warning other women against an abortion-performing gynaecologist. Catholic Action (AK) emphasizes that no apology is owed to a doctor who has performed numerous abortions and proposed others; furthermore, the organization considers the[…]Continue reading→

Three Easter Musical Gems: Bach, Palestrina and Byrd

A very blessed and glorious Easter! Christus surrexit vere, alleluia! As we begin this Easter Octave with the great Solemnity of Easter, music to lift the soul would be one of Bach’s Easter cantatas, composed during his time at Leipzig in the early 1700’s, for the six Sundays of this festive season, leading up to[…]Continue reading→

Saint Isidore of Seville, the Internet and Industriousness

Today, April 4th, muted this year by Holy Saturday, is the commemoration of Saint Isidore of Seville (560-636) a bishop and doctor of the Church during a tumultuous age, when civilization was crumbling, coming apart at its very seams, which may sound sort of au courant. Then again, the form of this world has always[…]Continue reading→

An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday

The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→