Michael Matt of The Remnant: “Our Pope has Lost the Faith”

Talk about losing the Faith…

Michael Matt of The Remnant:
“Our Pope has Lost the Faith”

Great movie set, horrible theology…

It’s a new year, and we’re ready to make a prediction: By the time Dec. 31, 2019 rolls around, “Pope” Francis will still not be a Catholic, and the semi-traditionalist publication The Remnant will, after numerous articles and videos denouncing him, still hold that he’s nevertheless the Pope of the Catholic Church.

We are quite confident in this prediction because, alas, it is not unwarranted but solidly grounded in newly-released evidence.

On Dec. 31, 2018, the editor-in-chief of The Remnant, Mr.… READ MORE

Like Sheep without a Shepherd: 60 Years of Sede Vacante

Sixty years without a Pope — how could this happen?

Like Sheep without a Shepherd:
60 Years of Sede Vacante

During last year’s Fatima Conference sponsored by the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen (CMRI) in Spokane, Washington, Mr. Mario Derksen, pictured below, delivered a lecture on the subject of 60 years of sede vacante since the death of Pope Pius XII on October 9, 1958. We are happy to be able to share the 42-minute audio recording and also a written transcript in this post.

Looking at the extreme devastation of the Catholic landscape that has been wrought in the past 60 years, Mr.… READ MORE

New SSPX Superior: ‘We are Deeply Distraught by this Pope’

Interview with Austrian newspaper

New SSPX Superior: ‘We are Deeply Distraught by this Pope’

The Dec. 15, 2018 edition of the Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten contains a brief, half-page interview with the new Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Fr. Davide Pagliarani, who succeeded Bp. Bernard Fellay as head of the Lefebvrists this past summer.

The conversation, which was conducted by Josef Bruckmoser, was published on the paper’s web site (digital subscription required), and an English translation was released on the SSPX’s news portal, where it can be accessed in full for free:

… READ MORE

Benedict XVI’s Mysterious Resignation: A Reply to Ann Barnhardt

Substantial error on Barnhardt’s part…

Benedict XVI’s Mysterious Resignation:
A Reply to Ann Barnhardt

On Nov. 17, 2018, the colorful blogger Ann Barnhardt, a Resignationist since 2016, released a video presentation in which she tries to convince her audience that “Pope” Benedict XVI’s resignation in 2013 was invalid because he is, so she argues, in “substantial error” about the Papacy, and substantial error renders a resignation invalid according to Canon 188 of the 1983 Novus Ordo Code of Canon Law (this same law is also found in the 1917 Catholic Code of Canon Law; see Canon 185). Ergo, Barnhardt reasons, the resignation was not valid and Benedict XVI is the Pope, albeit, so she says, the worst Pope in history.… READ MORE

Socci rocks Vatican with New Book: “The Secret of Benedict XVI: Why he is still Pope”

The return of Resignationism…

Antonio Socci rocks Vatican with New Book:
“The Secret of Benedict XVI: Why he is still Pope”

After over five-and-a-half years of the antics of Jorge Bergoglio as “Pope Francis”, many Novus Ordos and semi-traditionalists simply cannot take it anymore and are starting to look for ways to rid themselves of Francis, yet while still trying to avoid the Sedevacantist conclusion. Thus we are witnessing once again the “anything but Sedevacantism” dogma being put into practice.

A few years ago we had already seen a few people embrace the phenomenon we have nicknamed “Resignationism” (see all our posts on the topic here) — the idea that Benedict XVI’s resignation in 2013 was invalid and he is therefore “still” Pope — but it was not accepted by most.… READ MORE

Francis Critic “Fr.” Alessandro Minutella declared Excommunicated

Novus Ordo priest punished for “heresy and schism”…

Francis Critic “Fr.” Alessandro Minutella declared Excommunicated

The Archlayman of Palermo has announced that one of the Novus Ordo priests in his diocese, the 45-year-old “Fr.” Alessandro Minutella, has excommunicated himself for the crimes of heresy and schism. The statement put out by the Archdiocese of Palermo to that effect was quickly reported on Vatican News and in English reads as follows:

On November 13, 2018, Father Alessandro Maria Minutella was notified of the Decree of August 15, 2018 (Prot. No. 046/18) by which the Archbishop Corrado Lorefice DECLARES the excommunications latae sententiae, which the same priest has incurred for the crime of heresy and for the crime of schism, as required by canon law (cf.

… READ MORE

Missing the Forest for the Trees: ‘The Remnant’ on Schism and Sedevacantism

Reply to Jason Morgan…

Missing the Forest for the Trees:

The Remnant on Schism and Sedevacantism

The pseudo-traditionalist flagship publication The Remnant has once again graced the world with the full depth of its theological wisdom. This biweekly American newspaper promotes what is perhaps best called a “pop traditionalism”, a distortion of traditional Catholicism that emphasizes certain popular elements or emotionally satisfying aspects — such as the Latin Mass, traditional practices, and rejection of whacky Novus Ordo ideas — but without any commitment to (or even regard for) sound Catholic theology, knowledge of which would have to be acquired through laborious effort and might lead to undesirable consequences.… READ MORE

Against the “Loyal Opposition”: How Recognize-and-Resist Traditionalism neutralizes the Catholic Faith

A reality check for Burke, Schneider & Co.

Against the “Loyal Opposition”:

How Recognize-and-Resist Traditionalism
neutralizes the Catholic Faith

by Francis del Sarto

On May 18, 2018, during his Rome Life Forum keynote address at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (the Angelicum) in Rome, “Cardinal” Raymond Burke declared: “We cannot fail to observe that the situation which Pope Pius XI described in 1925 has only grown worse in our time, and attempts ever more to infiltrate the life of the Church herself and to corrupt the Bride of Christ by an apostasy from the Apostolic Faith” (see video recording, 12:51ff.… READ MORE

Francis Watch, Episode 37: Sex Abuse Crisis, Ecumenism, and ‘Pope Emeritus’

Listen free to this fun & informative podcast

FRANCIS WATCH
Episode 37

Sex Abuse Crisis, Ecumenism, and the “Pope Emeritus”

Listen on demand at any time — free!

It is time again for another episode: Novus Ordo Watch is pleased to sponsor for our readers and listeners — and anyone else who may be interested — the phenomenal podcast program Francis Watch, in which host Stephen Heiner of True Restoration analyses with his sedevacantist guests, Bishop Donald J. Sanborn and Fr. Anthony Cekada, the latest chaos perpetrated by Jorge Bergoglio, otherwise known as “Pope Francis.” The “Pope Emeritus”, Benedict XVI, also makes an appearance this time, along with “Cardinal” Albino Luciani, the future John Paul I.… READ MORE

The Limits to Invoking “Papal Lapses” as a Justification for the Recognize-and-Resist Position

Rejoinder to recent arguments…

The Limits to Invoking “Papal Lapses” as a Justification for the Recognize-and-Resist Position:

A Response to Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

by Francis del Sarto

“Lessons from Church History: A Brief Review of Papal Lapses” is an article by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski that was published on August 6, 2018, by the OnePeterFive website. An editor’s note informs the reader that it is an update of an article that first appeared in October 2015. The author is identified as “a Thomistic theologian, liturgical scholar, and choral composer…”, who has taught at Novus Ordo colleges in Austria and the United States, written six books, and is a regular contributor on “Catholic blogs”.… READ MORE

The Absurdity of the Recognize-and-Resist Position demonstrated in two Memes

Everything in the Vatican II Church is false – except the “Pope”?

The Absurdity of the Recognize-and-Resist Position demonstrated in two easy-to-understand Memes

Some things are easier to grasp in simple memes than in pages upon pages of text. We have produced the following two memes to illustrate the folly of the pseudo-traditionalist “recognize-and-resist” position, according to which one must recognize the papal claimants after Pius XII as valid Popes but resist them in whatever they teach, legislate, etc., that appears to one contrary to the pre-Vatican II Magisterium.

Depsite its inherent absurdity and anti-Catholic nature, this position is very popular, perhaps because it promises “the best of both worlds”, so to speak: One gets all the comfort and convenience of having a Pope and a hierarchy, all the while being exempt from the pesky problems associated with submitting to Modernists.… READ MORE

No, a True Pope CANNOT be Deposed: Reply to Br. Alexis Bugnolo

An old heresy rears its ugly head again…

No, a True Pope CANNOT be Deposed:
Reply to Br. Alexis Bugnolo

As the heresies and scandals of “Pope” Francis are reaching a fever pitch, people are once again scrambling for ways to rid themselves of the man but without having to accept the sedevacantist position, which is that he was never a true Pope to begin with because, for one thing, he is quite simply a public non-Catholic and thus unable to be the head of the Catholic Church. Refusing the only possible position — that Francis has been an impostor from the beginning — they are looking for ways to depose a Pope, by which they typically mean remove him from office against his will.… READ MORE

Want Catholic Advice? Don’t Ask Father Albert

Trust the Fatima Center at your own risk…

Want Catholic Advice? Don’t Ask Father Albert

Until the sudden death of “Fr.” Nicholas Gruner in 2015, the Fatima Center had a TV program called Your Questions Answered by Father Gruner. After his passing, a new, similar broadcast was begun, entitled Ask Father. It is hosted by Fr. Albert Kallio, O.P., who is a member of the Fatima Center‘s Advisory Council of Priests. His biographical blurb provided by the Center reads as follows:

Fr. Albert Kallio, O.P., is a professor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Monastery in Silver City, New Mexico.

… READ MORE

Vatican permits Coptic Orthodox Mass in Catholic Basilica

Heretics worship at St. Paul’s-Outside-the-Walls in Rome…

Vatican permits Coptic Orthodox Mass in Catholic Basilica

Heretical-schismatic bishop Tawadros II enthroned in a Catholic basilica
(click image to enlarge)

[UPDATE 21-JUL-2018 06:37 UTC: Some say that the Copts have renounced their Monophysitism, pointing to an alleged 1988 common declaration with the Novus Ordo Sect. Apparently they claim to be “Miaphysites” instead. We apologize if we have unwittingly distorted precisely what Copts believe, but the main point of this article remains valid: The Vatican has permitted a heretical-schismatic sect to conduct its public worship in a Catholic basilica, and that is a grave affront to Almighty God and a scandal to souls.… READ MORE

The Case of Robert Grosseteste: Historical Precedent for Recognize-and-Resist?

Response to a popular argument…

The Case of Robert Grosseteste:
Historical Precedent for Recognize-and-Resist?

A large amount of traditionalist recognize-and-resist theology goes back to the research and argumentation of one man: the British writer Michael Treharne Davies (1936-2004). It is propagated chiefly by the Lefebvrist Society of St. Pius X, whose main lay apologist he was for decades, by the Fatima Center, by Catholic Family News, by The Remnant, and by similar organizations or publications.

Unable to use genuine traditional Catholic theology to back up their recognize-and-resist position, these false traditionalists — we like to call them semi-trads or neo-trads — attempt time and again to find some kind of precedent in Church history that they can point to and say, “See, we’re simply doing what was done back then.”… READ MORE