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Pilgrims at the World Youth Day closing Mass (Photo: CNS)A friend has forwarded to me an interesting blog, dated September 28, by Fr Stephen Wang of the Westminster diocese. Entitled “Liberal, conservative, progressive, traditionalist: where is the Church going?” it throws open a debate about an article written by John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter at the conclusion to World Youth Day.In his article, Allen thinks the Church is turning towards “Evangelical Catholicism”. He defines this as having three aspects: 1. A strong defence of traditional Catholic identity, meaning attachment to classic markers of Catholic thought (doctrinal orthodoxy) and...

VATICAN CITY, 14 SEP 2011 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office released the following communique concerning the postion of the Society of St. Pius X: "On 14 September at the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the congregation and president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei'; Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer S.J., secretary of the congregation, and Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the pontifical commission, met with Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Society of St. Pius X, who was accompanied by Fr. Niklaus Pfluger...

Kobler’s Key to the CouncilBOOK REVIEW: Kobler, John F., C.P.  Vatican II, Theophany and the Phenomenon of Man: The Council's Pastoral Servant Leader Theology for the Third Millennium.  (American University Studies, Series 7, vol. 100)  New York: Peter Lang, 1991.  0820414921, 9780820414928  $51.95 by Paul Zarowny, Ph.D. Whatever its multiple shortcomings, my book on the Council is the only published attempt to provide a synthesis, at least in a seminal way, of the religious ontology shaping the sense of the Council.[1]     Passionist priest Fr. John F. Kobler’s Vatican II, Theophany and the Phenomenon of Man (1991) is a follow-up to...

Fellay Before a key meeting in Rome, the leader of the traditionalists stressed that he was not prepared to make any compromises and also revealed some interesting behind the scenes happenings… “If their aim is still to force us to accept the second Vatican Council, the discussions have been clear enough in showing that we have no intention of  doing any such thing.”  These were the decisive but prudent words of Bernard Fellay, who was adamant he would not agree to any compromise with the Vatican. On the 15 August, Fellay spoke openly about the talks between the Lefebvrians...

Seattle University, a Jesuit Catholic university, is being targeted over its relationship with Planned Parenthood. The school, which was founded in 1891, is engaging in a relationship with Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion organizations in a way that is entirely inappropriate for a Catholic institution, says Patrick Reilly of the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS). "Students are actually being referred to Planned Parenthood for so-called 'sexual health issues' which, as we know, Planned Parenthood performs nearly a third of the abortions in the United States," says Reilly. "And promoting internships with Planned Parenthood -- encouraging students to get involved with organizations...

Look up “Gregorian chant” in just about any current dictionary or encyclopedia and you will see a description that says it “is the liturgical chant of the Roman Catholic Church.” Notice that the tense of the verb “to be” is in its present form of “is.”

A bishop from Kazakstan has suggested the preparation of an authoritative document to expose major errors in the interpretation of the teachings of Vatican II. Bishop Athanasius Schneider, an auxiliary of the Karaganda diocese, argues that the Church has been damaged by inaccurate interpretations of the Council documents, which suggest “an anthropocentric, secularizing, or naturalistic shift by the Second Vatican Council” and a dramatic break from previous Church teachings. Bishop Schneider says that the teaching of the Church has been distorted because of secular influences and because too many Church leaders failed to uphold traditional teachings. The result, he says,...

Excerpt: One interpretation of rupture of lighter doctrinal weight has been manifested in the pastoralliturgical field. One might mention in this regard the decline of the sacred and sublime character of the liturgy, and the introduction of more anthropocentric elements of expression. This phenomenon can be seen in three liturgical practices that are fairly well known and widespread in almost all the parishes of the Catholic sphere: the almost complete disappearance of the use of the Latin language, the reception of the Eucharistic body of Christ directly in the hand while standing, and the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice in...

Larry, like most people, is totally misinformed about what the Catholic Church teaches about conscience. Sarah tries to straiten him out, but it's like talking to a brick. Click on the YouTube link above. Here's the link as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JgKJ46ozTY

In fact the Society of St. Pius says there are two parties in Rome: "One always has to ask, who will have the last word" -- explained the Society's Head in an Exclusive interview. [kreuz.net] Today Bishop Bernard Fellay -- the General Superior of the Priestly Society of St. Piux X -- on the occasion of the Fortieth Anniversary Jubilee of his Society. He did this in the context of an exclusive interview with French Pius-Portal 'La Porte Latine'. The Society of Pius X was recognized in 1970, November 1, by the then Bishop of Freiburg in Switzerland, Msgr Francois...

In 1999 then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger answered the objections of an old liberal Roman Liturgist. Now the letter is on the internet! [kreuz.net] On the 16th of November 1998 the old liberal Liturgist and Claretian, Father Matias Augé (74), wrote a letter to the former Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine and the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger. Father Augé is from Spain. In the late 90s he was a Professor at the Benedictine Liturgical Institute 'Sant'Anselmo' in Rome, on the theological faculty of the Papal Lateran University and advisor to the Vatican Congregation for Liturgy.

Ratzinger-Schülerkreis Discusses the Outcome of the Second Vatican Council Editor: the Zenit article doesn't mention Cardinal Schönborn's participation, although the following article does. It will be interesting to discover what Cardinal Koch's paper discloses and how it is received. It would be interesting as well to know what, if any, bearing the current talks with the SSPX have on the talks. Castel Ganndolfo: Archbishop Kurt Koch will speak as the main contributor about the Second Vatican Council and the Liturgical Reform -- even Cardinal Schönborn will take part. Castel Gandolfo (kath.net/KAP) The new Vatican Minister of Ecumenism, Archbishop Kurt Koch...

Washington D.C., Jun 16, 2010 / 09:01 am (CNA).- Incoming Catholic University of America (CUA) president John H. Garvey has defended the freedom of Catholic adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples. However, he also holds that the Pledge of Allegiance is unconstitutional and may violate Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Freedom. Garvey, presently the Dean of Boston College Law School, made his comments on the Pledge in the Spring / Summer 2007 issue of BC Law Magazine. The issue featured a symposium on the late Fr. Robert Drinan, S.J., a Georgetown University law professor and Democratic...

Perhaps, amid all the press and hubbub of Easter, you might have noticed, with the Sovereign Pontiff at S Peter's, the 85-year old but sprightly figure of Mgr Canon Brunero Gherardini ... whose many distinctions include that of being a consultor of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and a professorship in the Pontifical Lateran University. Monsignore published last year Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano II: Un discorso da fare. This has now appeared in an English Translation as The Ecumenical Vatican Council II A MUCH NEEDED DISCUSSION. It is published by the Casa Mariana Editrice, who offer not an ISBN...

Two Ignatius Press authors have an engaging conversation in the pages of The Catholic Herald about that question; the conversation has been going on with an exchange of letters going back to last summer (see links below).  The two authors are Moyra Doorly, who wrote No Place For God: The Denial of the Transcendent in Modern Church Architecture (Ignatius Press, 2007), and prolific author and theologian Aidan Nichols, O.P., whose books include Looking at the Liturgy (1996), Hopkins: Theologian's Poet (2006), Lovely Like Jerusalem: The Fulfillment of the Old Testament in Christ and the Church (2007), and Rome and the...

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- A Muslim scholar whose visa to teach at the University of Notre Dame was revoked shortly before the start of the school year has roused the support of Christians and Muslims who say he would add a valuable voice to religious understanding. Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss Islamic theologian, was to have started work at the Catholic university in Indiana in August. In February, he was issued an H-1B visa, a category reserved for professionals. In late July, after his family had already shipped their belongings to Indiana, the State Department revoked the visa and told Ramadan he...

  Last week, I chronicled something of the bafflement that ensued as I was confronted with the weirdly malleable term "neo-Catholic." Judging from the combox discussion that followed, many readers share the tremendous confusion surrounding the term. Did it denote converts or those who loathe converts? Was it code for "neocon" or for non-neocon? Was it meant to denote a political or theological group? Was it a floor cleaner or a dessert topping? So many questions!   In response to my bafflement over the meaning of the term, one of my readers finally replied:   In the past, when...

Prior to the opening of formal conversations between officials of the Holy See and leaders of the Lefebvrist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), which began on Oct. 26, the mainstream media frequently misrepresented these discussions as a negotiation aimed at achieving a compromise that both sides can live with. That was to be expected from reporters and commentators for whom everything is politics and everything is thus negotiable. Alas, similar misrepresentations came from “Vatican insiders” who suggested that the teaching of the Second Vatican Council was under joint review by the Holy See and the SSPX, which only made...

Following their exchange in July, author Moyra Doorly and Aidan Nichols discuss the merits of post-Vatican II liturgical reform Dear Fr Aidan, In your kind reply to my first letter you made the point that I was drawing "unnecessarily sharp" contrasts between a theology of "propitiation and supplication" on one hand, and teachings on the "fruits of Communion" on the other. But what I was trying to demonstrate is that the pre-Conciliar sources give ample teaching on both, whereas the documents of Vatican II ignore the theology of propitiation and supplication. Now, to me this represents a doctrinal discontinuity of...

The evil Vatican II; what is one to do? Every morning I walk into church—two days a week it's every evening—to prepare for the Divine Liturgy, I thank my lucky stars I'm in an Eastern Church; for Vatican II told us to return to our traditions. Apparently it told the Latins to turn away from them; and they've been trying to pick up the pieces ever since. Here at Priestly Pugilist, we've chronicled some of the more noteworthy attempts, primarily because, while Vatican II was clear about the equality of the Churches, practically speaking that message has fallen on deaf...