The ‘Listening Church’ Takes Shape: Synod Working Document Released

Behold the ‘Spirit’ at work!

The ‘Listening Church’ Takes Shape:
Synod Working Document Released

Get ready! The ‘Listening Church’ is coming to the Vatican in October…

On June 20, 2023, the Vatican held a press conference to introduce the long-awaited Instrumentum Laboris — the ‘working document’ which the upcoming Synod on Synodality will be using as a basis for its work. Not surprisingly, the new text is already causing controversy. But first, let’s back up for a moment.

The Vatican’s process for the Synod on Synodality, begun in 2021 and scheduled to conclude in 2024, has been a gigantic bureaucratic effort.… READ MORE

Pope Pius IX’s Encyclical Quartus Supra: The ‘Missing’ Passages

Scanning mistake led to truncated translation…

Pope Pius IX’s Encyclical Quartus Supra:
The ‘Missing’ Passages

Recently, a reader of this blog made us aware that the English translation of the encyclical letter Quartus Supra of Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-1878), to which we often link, found at the immensely useful site PapalEncyclicals.Net, is missing a number of paragraphs:

Indeed, the numbered paragraphs jump from 44 to 50, with no explanation. In addition, paragraph 44 contains this very odd sentence: “Our Constitution ensures that safer and more effective measures [***] children, We have decided in the present crisis to write all this to you to arouse your pure mind to the duty We have laid upon you.”… READ MORE

Historical Tidbit: Paul VI permitted active Catholic Participation in Eastern Orthodox Masses

Law was on the books from 1967 to at least 1983…

Historical Tidbit: ‘Pope’ Paul VI permitted active Catholic Participation in Eastern Orthodox Masses

About a month ago, we published an article demonstrating that the Catholic Church teaches that she is infallible not only in her dogmas but also in her universal laws and sacramental rites — not in the sense that these could never be changed, but rather, that they could never be in themselves impious, heretical, sacrilegious, or otherwise harmful.

In his magnificent encyclical letter on the Mystical Body of Christ, Pope Pius XII taught this explicitly:

Certainly the loving Mother [the Church] is spotless in the Sacraments, by which she gives birth to and nourishes her children; in the faith which she has always preserved inviolate; in her sacred laws imposed on all; in the evangelical counsels which she recommends; in those heavenly gifts and extraordinary graces through which, with inexhaustible fecundity she generates hosts of martyrs, virgins and confessors.

… READ MORE

The Infallibility of the Catholic Church in her Universal Laws and Sacramental Rites

The death knell for Feeneyism and Recognize-and-Resist…

The Infallibility of the Catholic Church in her Universal Laws and Sacramental Rites

In his 1943 encyclical letter on the Mystical Body of Christ, Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-1958) clarified that the Roman Catholic Church, although made up of human beings who are sinners, is nevertheless perfectly holy in those things that pertain to her divine constitution and the fulfillment of her mission — that of teaching, governing, and sanctifying souls so that they may attain the Beatific Vision. As “the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15), our Lord’s is thus “a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but … holy, and without blemish” (Eph 5:27).… READ MORE

The Divine Mercy Devotion: Condemned by the Vatican in 1959

Beware of false apparitions and suspect devotions…

The Divine Mercy Devotion:
Condemned by the Vatican in 1959

Only few people have never heard of the so-called “Divine Mercy” devotion. It has its origin in the alleged visions of a Polish nun by the name of Sr. Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), a member of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. The “Divine Mercy” devotion is extremely popular in the Vatican II Church, owing for the most part to the efforts of the apostate bishop Karol Wojtyla, first as the “Archbishop” of Cracow, then as “Pope” John Paul II.

A great number of traditional Catholics, as well, have been led to accept this devotion, which, unfortunately, is sometimes confused with the most noble and laudable devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which is based chiefly on the revelations of Our Lord to St.… READ MORE

Could Non-Infallible Papal Teaching be Heretical?

Answering a common misconception…

Could Non-Infallible Papal Teaching be Heretical?

A lot of people in the theological camp we call the “recognize-and-resist” position believe that whatever teaching from the Roman Pontiff is not protected by infallibility, that is, whatever papal teaching is not divinely guaranteed to be free from all error, could for that very reason be heretical.

Consequently, they infer that for a Pope to teach heresy “non-infallibly” is entirely within the purview of what is possible in the Church, and therefore Francis’ magisterial heresies cannot be used as an argument that he is not a valid Pope.… READ MORE

The Logic of Sedevacantism: Bp. Donald Sanborn disproves Recognize-and-Resist

Airtight & extremely compelling…

The Logic of Sedevacantism

Bp. Donald Sanborn disproves Recognize-and-Resist

If video won’t play, CLICK HERE to watch on YouTube

On Dec. 21, 2013, His Excellency Bp. Donald Sanborn of Most Holy Trinity Seminary (now in Reading, PA), gave an airtight presentation of the case for Sedevacantism, demonstrating with impeccable logic that the religion taught, practiced, and imposed by the apparent authorities in the Vatican is not the Roman Catholic religion founded by our Lord Jesus Christ and represented by all true Popes up until Pius XII (d. 1958).

Using easy-to-follow argumentation, Bp. Sanborn shows that Catholic principles applied to the doctrines of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) and the post-conciliar magisterium require us to conclude that the church of Vatican II is essentially different from the Catholic Church before the council, that is, the Church of Pope Pius XII and his predecessors. … READ MORE

Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass? Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast (Part 2)

Challenging the mainstream trad narrative…

Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass?


Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast

(Part 2 of 2)

On Jan. 27, 2023, Dr. Taylor Marshall interviewed Mr. Matthew Gaspers on the topic of whether a Pope can abolish the Traditional Latin Mass of the Roman rite.

Spoiler alert: Gaspers answered with a “definite no” and presented a total of three magisterial quotes and two quotes from Doctors of the Church he thinks prove that a Pope is not permitted to abolish the ancient Roman liturgy, and if he does, all the other members of the Church have the right and/or duty to reject such a decree as void and worthless.… READ MORE

Can Catholics resist the Pope because St. Paul resisted St. Peter? Lecture by Fr. Gabriel Lavery

Lecture by Fr. Gabriel Lavery, CMRI

Can Catholics resist the Pope because St. Paul resisted St. Peter?

Time and again the recognize-and-resist traditionalists — those who recognize Francis as a true Pope but resist his teachings, laws, and canonizations if they judge them not to be “in line with Tradition” — invoke the incident described in the second chapter of St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, in which the Apostle resisted Pope St. Peter “to his face”, as supposed historical precedent and divine approval for “resisting the Pope”.

In a prior blog post, we had already explained, using solid Catholic authorities, why this argument does not hold water.… READ MORE

Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass? Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast (Part 1)

Reality check for Taylor Marshall and Matt Gaspers…

Can Francis Ban the Latin Mass?


Sedevacantist Critique of a recent Taylor Marshall Podcast

(Part 1 of 2)

On Jan. 27, 2023, Dr. Taylor Marshall interviewed Mr. Matthew Gaspers on the topic of whether a Pope can abolish the Traditional Latin Mass of the Roman rite and replace it with a liturgical aberration such as the Novus Ordo Missae of ‘Saint’ Paul VI. Spoiler alert: Gaspers answered with a “definite no”.

While it is clear that a Pope indeed cannot promulgate something so horrendous as the false mass of Paul VI, since every true Pope is divinely protected from instituting for the entire Church evil, heretical, sacrilegious, or otherwise harmful disciplinary laws or sacramental rites (see Denz.… READ MORE

Against the ‘New Papacy’ of Peter Kwasniewski

Remaking the Papacy to fit Bergoglio into it…

Against the ‘New Papacy’ of Peter Kwasniewski

[This post is a follow-up to Rethinking Peter Kwasniewski: A Sedevacantist Critique of his Anti-Papal Traditionalism.]

On Jan. 4, 2023, the American philosopher Dr. Peter Kwasniewski published an article on One Peter Five entitled “Abandoning the Church Has No Appeal for Traditionalists”, and in this post we will respond to it. By “Traditionalists” he means the people in the Vatican II Church who recognize Francis as the legitimate Pope but resist him in whatever they personally decide is “not in accordance with Tradition”.

We prefer to call such souls — many of whom are genuinely devout and good people who love our Lord beyond measure — “semi-traditionalists”, because, whether intended or not, their adherence to Catholic Tradition is partial only: For one thing, they do not admit the traditional teaching regarding the Papacy and the Church, which is irreconcilable with the idea that the public apostate Jorge Bergoglio (“Pope Francis”) could be the successor of St.… READ MORE

Rethinking Peter Kwasniewski: A Sedevacantist Critique of his Anti-Papal Traditionalism

Enough of the nonsense!

Rethinking Peter Kwasniewski: A Sedevacantist Critique of his Anti-Papal Traditionalism


No Traditionalist when it comes to the Papacy: Philosopher Peter A. Kwasniewski, Ph.D.

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski has been busy “rethinking the Papacy”, and the results are not surprising.

Ever since he first identified, back in 2019, what he calls the “spirit of Vatican I” (that’s Vatican One, referring to the Vatican Council of 1870) as the fundamental problem in the church today “which it will take a mighty exorcism to drive away”, he has not ceased to attack the traditional Catholic teaching on the Papacy in one way or another.… READ MORE

Four Novus Ordo Bishops accuse Francis of HERESY

Regarding worthy reception of Holy Communion…

Four Novus Ordo Bishops accuse Francis of HERESY


The apostate Jorge Bergoglio in Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 30, 2014
(image: Shutterstock/Alexandros Michailidis/cropped)

Five years ago today, on Sep. 24, 2017, a number of conservative and traditionalist adherents of the religious establishment headed by Jorge Bergoglio (“Pope Francis”) made public a long letter (dated Aug. 11, 2017) in which they accused their incredibly valid ‘Vicar of Christ’ of heresy, that is, of denying defined Catholic dogma.

Named Correctio Filialis (“Filial Correction”), the document did not merely contradict Francis’ errors, it de facto purported to overrule (“correct”) them.… READ MORE

The Vatican and the Ecumenical Movement: From Stern Condemnation to Enthusiastic Approval

“Hermeneutic of Continuity” Update…

The Vatican and the Ecumenical Movement:
From Stern Condemnation to Enthusiastic Approval


The Second Vatican Council in session (image: manhai/Flickr/CC BY 2.0; cropped)

The Second Vatican Council (1962-65) is the Modernist robber synod that was presided over by Angelo Roncalli (“Pope John XXIII”) and Giovanni Battista Montini (“Pope Paul VI”) to usher in the new religion that has since replaced Catholicism not only in the Vatican but also in all dioceses and religious orders under its jurisdiction.

To this very day there are still people who claim that the documents released by this fateful assembly, typically abbreviated as “Vatican II”, do not represent a genuine rupture in Catholic doctrine compared to the prior magisterium of 1,900 years.… READ MORE

No Jekyll-and-Hyde Magisterium: Against the Theological Sophistry of Peter Kwasniewski

Powerful refutation of semi-trad star apologist

No Jekyll-and-Hyde Magisterium: Against the Theological Sophistry of Peter Kwasniewski

On May 26, 2022, One Peter Five published another article by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, the retired philosophy professor who is currently “rethinking the Papacy” in an effort to fit the square peg of Jorge Bergoglio (“Pope Francis”) into the round hole of the Petrine primacy:

The article’s chief contention is that the nature and role of the Church’s magisterium, specifically that of the Pope, has been unduly exaggerated by some to the detriment of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.… READ MORE