In PART ONE of this article, we explored how Dr. Peter Kwasniewski dared to use a secular, decidedly non-theological source to discuss the singularly Catholic and thoroughly theological subject of Ultramontanism, when he could have utilized a reference at his very fingertips that would have provided an authoritative article about it: The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Compound that with the fact that by using the secular source he was able to conceal important information to his audience that would have shown the fraudulent nature of the title of his own article, “My Journey from Ultramontanism to Catholicism”, with its unscrupulous innuendo that Ultramontanism is a heresy that stands in opposition to Catholic truth.… READ MORE
Paul VI in 1976: Vatican II is Binding, New Mass is Obligatory and Replaces the Old
Abp. Giovanni Montini played “Pope Paul VI” from 1963-78 (image credit: Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo)
If you’ve been researching Catholic Traditionalism for a while, chances are you’ve come across the argument made by recognize-and-resist apologists that “Pope” Paul VI (1963-78) himself confirmed that his Second Vatican Council (1962-65) was neither infallible nor binding.
Pope Paul VI promulgated Dignitatis humanae on 7 December 1965, and the next day he closed the Second Vatican Council and stated: “The magisterium of the Church did not wish to pronounce itself under the form of extraordinary dogmatic pronouncements” [footnote: Pope Paul VI, Discourse closing Vatican II, 7 December 1965].
Giovanni Battista Montini as “Pope Paul VI” (image credit: Keystone Press / Alamy Stock Photo)
Venerable Brothers,
Since the day on which, now more than three years ago, by the fixing of the number of Cardinal Electors, we filled the gaps created in your Sacred College, this latter has suffered the sad loss of our Brethren whom we all remember with affectionate sorrow, and on the other hand, some of its members have reached the established age at which they can no longer take part in the election of the Roman Pontiff.… READ MORE
Is the Pope an Absolute Monarch?
The Authority of the Roman Pontiff in the Catholic Church
True Vicar of Christ: His Holiness, Pope Pius XII (r. 1939-58)
(image: Sueddeutsche Zeitung Photo / Alamy Stock Photo)
We live in a post-Traditionis Custodes world. It is not surprising, therefore, that it has become more fashionable than ever now for recognize-and-resist traditionalists to try to find all sorts of ways to limit or downplay papal authority, lest they should actually have to submit loyally to the decree their extremely valid “Pope” Francis released this past July 16, which gradually phases out the Traditional Latin Mass.… READ MORE
Pope St. Pius X slams Recognize-and-Resist, says Ultimate Criterion of Orthodoxy is Obedience to Living Magisterium
There is Catholic Tradition and then there is “Catholic Tradition”.
The former is what one actually finds in the traditional (i.e. pre-Vatican II) Catholic theology books and the pronouncements of the papal magisterium, whereas the latter is a popularly-accepted caricature thereof that consists of an assortment of quasi-theological ideas cobbled together from select quotations and slogans that were once popularized by recognize-and-resist apologists like Michael Davies (1936-2004) and have been perpetuated ever since by the Lefebvrists and their theological cousins.
From Pope Pius X in Audience on May 10, 1909, to Youths attached to Catholic Universities, assembled after the second Convention in Rome
It is with genuine joy that I welcome the sentiments and expressions of devotion and reverence toward this Apostolic See which you have declared to me in your name and that of your companions. And these [sentiments] are all the more dear to me because they are expressed by young people who, dedicated to studying in order to attain the goal of true knowledge, declare themselves to be followers of Catholic doctrine and recognize the necessity of uniting in a holy union these two daughters of the same Father, reason and faith, by which we all live: these two suns, which shine in the sky of our souls; these two forces, which constitute the beginning and the end of our grandeur; these two wings which rise up to the knowledge of all truth: in a single word, reason, which is the eye of man who sees, aided by the eye of God, which is faith.… READ MORE
The Authority of the Roman Pontiff over the Sacred Liturgy
In his landmark encyclical letter on the Sacred Liturgy, Pope Pius XII taught clearly and authoritatively:
The Church has further used her right of control over liturgical observance to protect the purity of divine worship against abuse from dangerous and imprudent innovations introduced by private individuals and particular churches. Thus it came about — during the 16th century, when usages and customs of this sort had become increasingly prevalent and exaggerated, and when private initiative in matters liturgical threatened to compromise the integrity of faith and devotion, to the great advantage of heretics and further spread of their errors — that in the year 1588, Our predecessor Sixtus V of immortal memory established the Sacred Congregation of Rites, charged with the defense of the legitimate rites of the Church and with the prohibition of any spurious innovation.
Still Lost in Blunderland: Refuting Peter Kwasniewski’s Latest Specious Attack on Ultramontanism
(PART ONE)
by Francis del Sarto
“Ultramontane (Lat., ultra, beyond; montes, mountains; beyond the Alps, viz., Italy, and particularly Rome as the home of the pope), name given to Catholics who agreed with the pope on matters of doctrine, discipline, and policy. It came into vogue after the Vatican Council. Cisalpine (this side of the Alps) was the name adopted by those who differed.–C.E., V, 125.” (The New Catholic Dictionary [1929], p. 979)
What is going on over at the Catholic Family News (CFN) editorial department?… READ MORE
In case you missed our initial announcement on May 1: We have published another full-length episode of our popular TRADCAST podcast program. As always, it is loaded with real traditional Catholicism, insightful commentary, hard-hitting refutations of various errors, and razor-sharp analysis. Our content is typically challenging but is always delivered with a relieving touch of humor, so necessary in our chaotic and bizarre times.
Segment 1: Francis’ latest heresy: Is Jesus Christ a “Divine-Human Person”? / Why the new book Defending the Faith Against Present Heresies, directed at Francis, is guaranteed to fail / Answering objections to the sedevacantist position: (a) If the Catholic Church was so strong before Vatican II, how could the council do so much damage? – excursion on Ecumenism; (b) If Sedevacantism is true, why are there Eucharistic miracles in the Novus Ordo Church?
Segment 2: A false church with a true Pope? / Vatican I’s teaching about St. Peter’s perpetual successors and the indefectibility of the Church / Interlude: world’s first anti-Vatican II song / “Abp.”
Pope Pius IX condemns Anti-Christian Civilization: Exclusive English Translation of Allocution Iamdudum Cernimus (1861)
The Supreme Pontiff Pius IX (reigned 1846-1878)
Virtually everyone who considers himself a traditional Roman Catholic has heard of Pope Pius IX’s famous Syllabus of Errors. It is a list of some of the chief philosophical, theological, and socio-political errors of the 19th century. A total of 80 condemned theses, the list was appended to the encyclical Quanta Cura and released together with it on Dec. 8, 1864.
The commission [for the creation of the Syllabus] took the wording of the errors to be condemned from the official declarations of Pius IX and appended to each of the eighty theses a reference indicating its content, so as to determine the true meaning and the theological value of the subjects treated.
The Battle for the Catholic Ethos:
Peter Kwasniewski tries to save Recognize-and-Resist
On Mar. 26, 2021, the well-known semi-traditionalist lecturer and retired theology professor Dr. Peter Kwasniewski posted a message on Facebook that attempts to salvage the theologically-embattled recognize-and-resist position. The entire post reads as follows:
Is “Recognize and Resist” antithetical to the Catholic ethos? Can quotations from Leo XIII of [sic] other popes of the last 150 years rule it out?
Obviously one should not ever want to be in a position of resisting a wayward pope, who is ventilating his private and dubious theological opinions from his chair, or who, while strenuously avoiding the requisites of infallibility, sows confusion and error.
In a Nutshell:
The Roman Catholic Church vs. the Vatican II Church
It just doesn’t fit: the Vatican II religion isn’t Catholicism
This past Sunday was Low Sunday, on which Holy Mother Church in the Roman rite reads the Gospel of the doubting St. Thomas, to whom our Blessed Lord replied: “Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed” (Jn 20:29).
Deadly Defection: New Book by Eric Sammons claims Catholic Church has “lost her Mission”
In a few weeks’ time, Sophia Institute Press will release another book under its Crisis Publications imprint.
The new book that is about to be published was written by Eric Sammons and bears the title Deadly Indifference: How the Church lost her Mission and how we can reclaim it. The book, which naturally includes the obligatory foreword by “Bishop” Athanasius Schneider, is an exposé about how the Vatican II Church has abandoned the Divine Commission to convert the entire world to Christ, His Gospel, and His Church (see Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15-16).… READ MORE
Vaticanist Aldo Maria Valli: “Rome is without a Pope”
(image credit for Francis silhouette shot: REUTERS/Alamy Stock Photo)
Aldo Maria Valli is a conservative Novus Ordo Italian journalist specializing in the affairs of the Vatican. He has authored a great many books, including Il Caso Viganò, Le Due Chiese, and 266: Jorge Mario Bergoglio Franciscus P.P.
Valli publishes the blog Duc in Altum, mostly in Italian. Although he has been critical of Jorge Bergoglio (“Pope Francis”) for a few years now, it was not until Feb. 21, 2021, that he released the following monograph in English (the Italian original came a day earlier):
