Free Republic

Integrism's Facade and the Magisterium By Stephen Hand “…we are witnesses today of a new integralism [read: extreme traditionalism] that may seem to support what is strictly Catholic but in reality corrupts it to the core. It produces a passion of suspicions, the animosity of which is far from the spirit of the gospel. There is an obsession with the letter that regards the liturgy of the Church as invalid [read: not legitimate or theologically suspect] and thus puts itself outside the Church. It is forgotten here that the validity of the liturgy depends primarily, not on specific words, but...

Book review: CRUNCHY CONS How Birkenstocked Burkeans, Gun-Loving Organic Gardeners, Evangelical Free-Range Farmers, Hip Homeschooling Mamas, Right-Wing Nature Lovers, and Their Diverse Tribe of Countercultural Conservatives Plan to Save America (or at Least the Republican Party). By Rod Dreher. 259 pp. Crown Forum. $24. THE upscale natural foods grocery chain Whole Foods now stocks a brand of cereal called Ezekiel 4:9. It could pass for any other gravelly, whole-grain, flour-free concoction on the shelves, but Ezekiel's box credits its inspiration to "the Holy Scriptures." If this sounds like your kind of breakfast, you may be a crunchy con —...

Open Letter to Catholic Family News on Sedevacantism by Joseph C. Maurer August 30, 2005 OPPOSITION TO THE ANTI-SEDEVACANTISTS As a long time subscriber to Catholic Family News (CFN) I was both shocked and puzzled by the lengthy article by Christopher Ferrara in the August ’05 issue attacking sedevacantists—or, the “Enterprise”, as he calls them collectively. It is understandable that there might be differences of opinion and spirited debate on the subject of sedevacantism but I never imagined I would see an article in CFN that exhibited such a steady stream of personal disparagement, insult and mean-spirited hectoring. What ever...

THE CARDBOARD POPE… Mr. Ferrara advocates essentially the same position as the Society of St. Pius X, Fr. Nicholas Gruner, and countless others: You claim to “recognize” Paul VI, John Paul I, John Paul II and Benedict XVI as true popes. At the same time YOU decide which papal teachings, laws, sacramental rites, or commands are good, and which you’ll reject, resist or publicly denounce. Under this system, a pope no longer possesses the supreme authority to “bind and loose” on earth. A New Jersey lawyer, the Superior General of SSPX, the CEO of the Fatima Industry, the editor of...

Where Teófilo serves the Truth to another traditionalist acquaintance. Folks, I received an e-mail of yet still another Traditionalist Catholic acquaintance yesterday, which I now I share with you. When he quotes me from a previous e-mail reply, that will be in green and in italics; when I quote him from his last e-mail, his are in blue and italics. His original message was entitled Contradiction, served on the rocks, hence my witty riposte, entitled The Truth served shaken, not stirred.First, you have to understand that I'm not "SSPX" in the common usage of the term by the general Catholic...

A short review of André Frossard's Portrait of John Paul IIFolks, I've been rereading a precious little by French author André Frossard, entitled Portrait of Pope John Paul II. You may remember Monsieur Frossard as the co-author and partner in dialogue of Pope John Paul's Be Not Afraid: Pope John Paul II Speaks Out on His Life, His Beliefs, and His Inspiring Vision for Humanity and a Catholic convert from atheism with several other printed works to his credit, particularly, I have met Him: God exists, the narrative of his conversion. The Portrait of Pope John Paul II is a...

And he's right. Those are the effects of "original sin." But he didn't mean it that away. Folks, I wish to address briefly a few things that have been said at Angelqueen.org, the SSPX-sponsored discussion board about your humble servant, many of them charitably, some of them not. The discussion has been going on for over a week now, and I want to offer some last clarifications:1. I do not "support" liturgical dancing now, nor do I think I ever did. Heck, I didn't even know what it was until I saw it then, and have never seen it since....

Am I mad today... Friends, yesterday my wife received in the mail a glossy brochure from a self-proclaimed Catholic outfit called "Tradition in Action." One good look at the brochure told me who they are: people who hate the Church and who hold up an idol of the Church of the past that probably never existed, except inside their own minds.- They seem to be devoted to "Our Lady of Great Success," who supposedly revealed to an Ecuadorian mystic in the 18th. century that the Church would grow corrupt in the 20th Century and asked the mystic to suffer to...

The Neo-Catholic Dead End! by Thomas E. Woods, Jr. Ph.D. The Wanderer, a periodical that has done some good work over the years chronicling the antics of an American hierarchy almost too contemptible to be worth discussing, is attacking traditionalists again. Many readers will remember the attacks of Stephen Hand two years ago, inanely comparing traditionalists with modernists because both criticize some of the actions of the hierarchy. Chris Ferrara and I responded to each of his articles with essays of our own, and we were gratified to find that quite a few people became traditionalists as a direct result...

For those that are interested Dr. Tim Staples is hosting a discussion of traditionalism on EWTN on his show "Reasons for Faith.. I spoke with him today, although not on air.The next broadcast (repeat of today's show, now over) will be at 4am EST tomorrow (Wed 12/1). He says he'll be on the topic for "at least a couple weeks"

WASHINGTON, November 4, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) - George Bush's victory is being lauded as the victory of traditional morality over the popular liberal relativism espoused equally by John Kerry and the New York Times. Exit polls are showing that significant percentages of voters cited 'moral values,'- at 22% - as the most important issue upon which to vote. The issue garnering the most media attention, the war in Iraq, came last at 15% in a survey by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky. The campaign was fraught with controversy over the three key issues of interest to pro-lifers, abortion, stem cell research...

Catholic canon lawyer Peter Vere and I have co-authored a new book critiquing the claims and controversies of extreme traditionalism that will come out in September, published by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing. Written in a popular and accessible style, More Catholic Than the Pope provides a detailed analysis of and response to common arguments raised by extreme traditionalist Catholics (in particular, adherents of the Society of St. Pius X) against the Second Vatican Council, Pope John Paul II, the fact that the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre committed a schismatic act by illicitly ordaining four bishops in 1988, and more. Chapters...

So, the next day, Saturday, at quarter past ten, I went to Castelgandolfo, and there I really believe the Holy Angels had driven out the Vatican employees because I had come back there: there were two Swiss Guards at the entrance, and after that I encountered only Mgr X (not Mgr. Y: their names are very alike). Mgr. X, the Canadian, conducted me to the lift. Only the lift man was there, that is all, and I went up. The three of us went up to the first floor, and there, accompanied by Mgr. X, I went through all the...

This interview is reprinted with the kind permission of The Latin Mass Magazine. Interview with His EminenceCardinal Castrillion Hoyos [This interview was granted by His Eminence Cardinal Castrillion Hoyos, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy and President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" in Rome on May 5, 2004, Feast of St. Pius V.] Q: Eminence, nearly one year after the celebration in Saint Mary Major of the Mass in the Rite of Saint Pius V, what reactions have you have received from the so called "traditionalist" world, with regard to this event? A: I would say that...

<p>The sanctuary is both modern and Romanesque, a streamlined brick and glass edifice with a lofty, vaulted ceiling.</p> <p>And inside this brand new house of worship on Greenville's Eastside echoes a liturgy that is nearly as ancient as Christianity itself - the Traditional Latin Mass.</p>

Americans who want to understand conflicts between Democrats and Republicans during the election season have received precious little help from the media. While reporters usually recognize that there is some sort of problem about “values” and about “faith-based” principles, and that the Democrats and Republicans are often on opposite sides, writers and editors tend to publish news and analysis as if the situation were as follows: The Christian right, having infiltrated the Republican Party, is importing its divisive religious ideas into our public life, whereas the Democratic Party is the neutral camp of tolerant and pluralistic Americans. This way of...

THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL by Timothy Rollins, Editor and Publisher Second in a Series January 7, 2004 Back in July, I penned a column "Back in the U.S. of A..." In it, I wrote how joyous it was to be home from Canada, and that while many Canadian people were indeed first-rate like they are here at home, they had a government that's gone totally amok and is completely out of control, and like California, Canada was not going to hell in a handbasket, but had in fact already arrived there - years ago.Perhaps it was even better...

Agreeing that his confirmation reflected a profound change in Anglican teaching on homosexuality, Canon Robinson remarked, "Just simply to say that it goes against tradition and the teaching of the Church and Scripture does not necessarily make it wrong."

Christ Crucified An update on the controversy surrounding Mel Gibson’s film— Passion Mark Alessio In July of 2003, Mel Gibson traveled throughout the country giving special screenings of a rough-cut of his new film, Passion, to select small audiences. A screening in Colorado Springs for a group of prominent evangelical leaders won Passion the unqualified support of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Ted Haggard, president of the NAE described the film as "a beautiful, wonderful account of the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ....consistent with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." The attendees for a special screening...

Time to face facts: Gays gain victory The gays have won. The problem is no one will admit it. The biggest and latest news is that Canada is poised to legalize same-sex marriage. But the signs of the gay victory have been all around for us for years. The sitcom "Will and Grace" features openly gay characters who joke about their sex lives in ways that little more than a decade ago would have sparked complaints if uttered by heterosexuals, let alone homosexuals. Showtime's "Queer as Folk" depicts random gay sex in precisely the same trivial terms that HBO's "Sex...