Everyone has been talking about it: Mel Gibson’s appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast earlier this month. As of the publication of this post, the YouTube version of the episode has 8.7 million views; and that’s not counting the audio-only version on Spotify, where the podcast has its home.
Smoke Signals:
The White Conclave Smoke of Oct. 26, 1958
We realize we’ve brought this up a few times before, and we don’t want to beat the topic to death, but there are probably a lot of new readers of our site out there now who may not be aware of what happened 58 years ago today at the conclave that was taking place in Rome to elect a successor to Pope Pius XII.
As happens after the death of every Pope, so too in 1958 the cardinals gathered in the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City to determine who would succeed the late Pius XII, who had died on Oct.… READ MORE
Former FBI Consultant Claims: U.S. Intel Docs show Cardinal Siri elected Pope Gregory XVII in 1958
Former FBI consultant Paul L. Williams cites declassified U.S. intelligence documents allegedly showing that Cardinal Giuseppe Siri was elected Pope Gregory XVII at the conclave that, two days later, produced John XXIII
In 2003, former FBI consultant Paul L. Williams published a book called The Vatican Exposed: Money, Murder, and the Mafia (Prometheus Books). Although the book deals with alleged Vatican corruption in terms of money and power and has a decidedly liberal flavor, Williams also — almost as a side note — includes some straightforward, objective information on the papal conclave of 1958.… READ MORE
Looks like the annual washing of prisoners' feet has ended: Leo XIV restores Holy Thursday 'Mass of the Lord's Supper' to Cathedral of St. John Lateran - https://www.silerenonpossum.com/en/fine-delle-trasferte-leone-xiv-riordina-settimana-santa-ed-esercizi-della-curia/
Truth in advertising? Michael Lofton categorizes his 'Reason & Theology' account on X as "Entertainment & Recreation". https://x.com/NovusOrdoWatch/status/2011920320580456879/photo/1
A Very Different Church: Leo XIV and the ‘Week of Prayer for Christian Unity’ - https://novusordowatch.org/2026/01/different-church-leo14-week-prayer-christian-unity/ https://x.com/NovusOrdoWatch/status/2011908750383423553/photo/1
Semi-trads love to quote Benedict XVI from his letter accompanying the release of Summorum Pontificum: "What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful." Do they not
@StephenKokx It seems to me that the semi-trads' criticism of the "controlled nature" of the consistory is essentially the same objection the progressivists had at the very beginning of Vatican II with regard to the drafts prepared by the commissions.
Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, never shy to let everyone else know what they should be doing and thinking, is very impressed with his own opinions, so in his latest he clarifies: "...I see no inherent reason why Church authority may not permit something that is evil; I mean, we saw it https://x.com/NovusOrdoWatch/status/2011849539150336310/photo/1
Leo XIV tries to console relatives of victims of New Year's Eve party fire in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, by suggesting they're all on their way to Heaven - https://dianemontagna.substack.com/p/pope-leo-xiv-meets-parents-and-families
But of course! Prevost sends his best wishes on anniversary of leftist rag 'La Repubblica' - https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-01/pope-press-freedom-la-repubblica-50th-anniversary.html
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