For the record: Bp. Schneider on Abp. Lefebvre

Some will find this offensive [Advisory: Rules 7-9]:

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf, "Bp. Schneider of Kazakhstan on Archbp. Lefebvre of the SSPX" (Fr. Z's Blog, January 25, 2018):

The best English language vaticanista today is Edward Pentin. He has an interview with Bp. Athanasius Schneider today at the National Catholic Register (that’s the good one that begins with “National”). HERE

The whole thing is worth reading. However, I want to emphasize one part which caught my eye for two reasons.

First, it is Patristic. Bp. Schneider is a student of the Fathers of the Church, as am I. We need to return to the Fathers. It is amazing how many things they treated in their day which apply to our own.

Next, because it concerns a figure I’ve long been interested in, the late Archbp. Marcel Lefebvre. He was a great churchman and missionary in Africa who went on to found the SSPX. Since I once worked for the PCED I remain interested – and hopeful – for a wonderful result.

Here is Schneider on Lefebvre:

PENTIN:

What are your views on the Society of St. Pius X? Do you have sympathy for their position?

SCHNEIDER:

Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis on various occasions spoke with understanding towards the SSPX. It was particularly at his time, as Cardinal of Buenos Aires, that Pope Francis helped the SSPX in some administrative issues. Pope Benedict XVI once said about Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre: “He was a great bishop of the Catholic Church.” Pope Francis considers the SSPX as Catholic, and has expressed this publicly several times. Therefore, he seeks a pastoral solution, and he made the generous pastoral provisions of granting to the priests of the SSPX the ordinary faculty to hear confessions and conditional faculties to celebrate canonically marriage. The more the doctrinal, moral and liturgical confusion grows in the life of the Church, the more one will understand the prophetic mission of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in an extraordinary dark time of a generalized crisis of the Church.

Maybe one day History will apply the following words of Saint Augustine to him:

“Often, too, divine providence permits even good men to be driven from the congregation of Christ by the turbulent seditions of carnal men. When for the sake of the peace of the Church they patiently endure that insult or injury, and attempt no novelties in the way of heresy or schism, they will teach men how God is to be served with a true disposition and with great and sincere charity. The intention of such men is to return when the tumult has subsided. But if that is not permitted because the storm continues or because a fiercer one might be stirred up by their return, they hold fast to their purpose to look to the good even of those responsible for the tumults and commotions that drove them out. They form no separate conventicles of their own, but defend to the death and assist by their testimony the faith which they know is preached in the Catholic Church” (De vera religione 6, 11).

Thus, St. Augustine.

Southern Poverty Law Center hate crimes

[Advisory: see Rules ##7-9]

Here Chris Ferrara interviews Michael Matt following his full-length address at a conference at which Ron Paul was the keynote speaker a few years ago. In his full-length address, Michael Matt defended Catholics against the ludicrous charge of anti-Semitism, exposing the ignorance of history, scripture and theology on the part of the Southern Poverty Law Center and other far-Left Christophobes. Watch and learn.



Related:

A nice sort of 'vocations crisis' at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska

Maybe some of you remember the tell-tale signs of burgeoning success from several years ago ... like Brian Kelly's article, "Signs for Hope: FSSP Has 75 Seminarians in US and Looking to Open Seminary in Mexico" (Catholicism.org, March 5, 2015).

Then there was the report on EWTN last year: "Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Denton, Nebraska, has a new claim to fame. It produced one of the best-selling classical albums on Amazon and i-tunes centered on Gregorian chant."

And now we have the report on the latest priestly Ordinations: May 26, 2017 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary.

But remember, the Fraternity has an international presence throughout many countries of the world beyond its seminary in Denton, Nebraska! Here are the statistics.

If you wish to donate to a growing and successful apostolate, look no further than this. In many ways, what you see here may well be the future face of the Catholic Church throughout the world. May God continue to bless their work with generous supporters!

Spadaro and Figueroa in La Civiltà Cattolica: Eeeek! The FUNDAMENTALISTS are coming!!!

But wait! Do they even know what a 'Fundamentalist' is? Of course not! And here is Frank J. Sheed to prove it in "Reading is Fundamental!" (July 21, 2017).

[Hat tip to JM]

John Vennari (1958-2017) - RIP

JOSEPH JOHN VENNARI, R.I.P.M
(February 24, 1958 - April 4, 2017)

Dear Friends,

Joseph John Vennari died on Tuesday, April 4, 2017 at 10:46 a.m. E.S.T. It is not only Passion Tuesday, but the 98th anniversary of the death of Blessed Francisco of Fatima - the first Tuesday (the day dedicated weekly to the Holy Face) in April (the month dedicated to the Holy Face).

John received the traditional Sacraments and blessings of the Church several times during the past weeks and months. On Sunday, April 2, Holy Mass was offered in his hospital room. John was able to receive Holy Viaticum one last time, as well as Extreme Unction and the Apostolic Blessing.

John died wearing the Brown Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, and the cord of St. Philomena, with the St. Benedict Crucifix (with the special 'Happy Death' indulgence attached) next to him. He died shortly after the recitation of 15 decades of the Holy Rosary and during the recitation of the 'Commendatory' prayers for the dying, and being blessed with Holy Water. He died with his wife Susan and a close family friend at his side. Immediately after his death, another Rosary was prayed for the repose of his soul.

Please keep the repose of John's soul in your Masses, Holy Communions, prayers and sacrifices. Funeral arrangements will be posted shortly. May John's soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Thank you and God bless you,
The Vennari Family

[CFN and multiple sources]

Will Pope Francis strike the deal with the SSPX that eluded both John Paul II and Benedict XVI?

Damian Thompson, "Pope Francis's Traditionalists" (Catholic Herald, February 10, 2017):

On the weekend that posters of a scowling Pope Francis were plastered over Rome by traditionalists protesting against his “bullying” tactics, news filtered through that Rome is on the verge of signing a deal with the Society of St Pius X. This year, the Lefebvrists could be fully reconciled to the Holy See. By the alleged Modernist bully on the posters. And with virtually no strings attached.

This is surreal; but then everything in Rome is surreal now. It’s as if the scriptwriters of The Young Pope have been let loose on the Bergoglio pontificate.

Relations between Francis and conservative Catholics are more toxic by the day. The Holy Father has just torn up the constitution of the Order of Malta; it’s a complicated dispute, but one that clearly pits the Pope and his allies against the super-orthodox Cardinal Burke, who is the order’s patron – for the time being....

In the eyes of traditionalists, Pope Francis’s catalogue of errors is so long that, to quote one priest in the Vatican, “a lot of us are emotionally, even if not intellectually, sedevacantists”....

The SSPX have never been sedevacantists. They accept that post-Vatican II pontiffs are real popes. But for much of their 47-year history they have behaved like a breakaway sect, albeit a well-endowed and successful one, with around 600 priests in 37 countries and a huge new seminary in Virginia....

Mainstream traditionalists are baffled. Why would the SSPX knock back an offer from Benedict, who rehabilitated their liturgy and their bishops, only to accept it from Francis, who seems to dislike everything about the pre-conciliar Church and – in the opinion of some cardinals – is beckoning adulterers to the altar rail?

Fellay’s latest interview points to a possible answer: Rome is prepared to compromise on acceptance of the Second Vatican Council. He points out that Archbishop Guido Pozzo, head of Ecclesia Dei – the Vatican department responsible for relations with the SSPX – now says that “certain texts of the Council [do] not constitute criteria for Catholicity”. Read more >>

[Hat tip to Sir. A.S.]

Related: Why Rorate Caeli, in disagreement with Roberto de Mattei's warnings [here], supports prospect of SSPX agreement with Vatican [here].

What one traditionalist is saying about Benedict XVI's theology

Msgr. Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, "Faith imperilled by reason: Benedict XVI's hermeneutics" (from La Sel de Terre, Issue 69, Summer 2009, via Biblia y Tradicion, translated by C. Wilson.

"After reading this fascinating essay," writes Peter Chojnowski in his Preface, "anyone who thought that 'reconciliation' between Catholic Tradition and Vatican II theology is right around the corner will have to think again!"

[Hat tip to Sir A.S.]

A traditional Catholic's cri de coeur over what is happening

Jimmy Fallon, Bill Murray, Sting and Bianca Jagger all lament that the Catholic Church is in all out revolution, so why is it that so many mainstream Catholics seem intent on denying that this is the case, asks Michael Matt. The Editor of the traditionalist Remnant magazine relates his experience at a recent Novus Ordo 'Gathering Rite,' and launches into a welcome rant about the appalling indifference to the Real Presence of Christ in our churches. He also asks: "What is neo-Catholicism?" and "What is the New Mass?" Hard times for Catholics who know the details of recent changes in the Church.


I bet you anything that many Catholics would find nothing at all exceptional about the 'Gathering Rite' referenced at the beginning of this video. Matt's reaction is so different because, as he says, he's never been to one of these Novus Ordo Masses. He's apprently spend his whole life in the Extraordinary Form (the Traditional Latin Mass); and his reaction is probably similar to how some of our ancestors would react in a contemporary Catholic church. What does this tell us about changes in the Church; and what should we think about this?

Bishop Schneider: "I have asked Msgr. Fellay not to delay his acceptance any longer"

From Adelante la Fe’s exclusive interview with Monsignor Schneider: "Msgr. Lefebvre would accept the canonical proposal of a personal prelature without hesitation" (Adelante la Fe, January 4, 2017, via Rorate Caeli): As Adfero remarks, "It's pretty clear even by just skimming his answers that he believes the time has come for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX):

Headlines
“There are many places where priests act more like Protestant ministers than Catholic priests”

“There are families that must travel more than 100 km (60 mi) so that they can go to a dignified Mass and hear sound doctrine”

“The faithful must ask the priests for kneelers so that they can kneel”

“We have a eucharistic-heart disease, and as long as we fail to heal it, the whole body will remain ill and will not produce fruit”

“In today’s climate, it’s a true miracle that we have vocations”

“Gender ideology is a depravity, a final form of Marxism”

“If they can, parents should withdraw their children from schools where they are taught gender ideology”

“There is a mentality of radical relativism within the Church”

“We should speak up so that the Magisterium might speak clearly”

“With moral relativism, especially concerning the reception of Communion by the divorced and remarried, we want God to do our will, and not for us to do His”

“A sacramental female diaconate contradicts the nature of the Church”

“We have to love the pope supernaturally, praying for him, not practicing a form of papolatry”

SSPX – Msgr. Lefebvre
“I am convinced that in the present circumstances, Msgr. Lefebvre would accept the canonical proposal of a personal prelature without hesitation”

“Msgr. Lefebvre is a man with a deep sensus ecclesiae”

“The episcopal ordinations were done in 1988 because in good conscience he thought that he had to do it, as an extreme act, and at the same time said that this situation should not last a long time”

“If you remain canonically autonomous for too long, you run the risk of losing a characteristic of the Catholic Church, that is, to be subject to the pope”

“We cannot make our subjection to the Vicar of Christ dependent upon the person of the pope; this would not be faith. You cannot say that “I don’t believe in this pope, I don’t submit, I am going to wait until one comes along that I like.” This is not Catholic, it is not supernatural; it is human. It is a lack of supernaturality and trust in Divine Providence, that God is the one who guides the Church. This is a danger for the SSPX.”

“I have asked Msgr. Fellay not to delay his acceptance any longer, and I trust in Providence, though it is not possible to have 100% certainty”

“It is my great wish that the SSPX might be recognized and established within the regular structure of the Church as soon as possible, and this will be for the benefit of all, for them and for us. Actually it will be a new force in this great battle for the purity of the Faith”

“I have told Msgr. Fellay: “Monsignor, we need your presence to join together with all of the good forces in the Church to achieve this union.”

TRADITIONAL MASS
“The movement to restore the traditional Mass is the work of the Holy Spirit, and is unstoppable”

“If the Fathers of Vatican II witnessed a Mass like the one we know today and a traditional Mass, the majority would say that the traditional Mass is what they want, and not the other”

The traditional liturgy is the liturgy of Vatican II, perhaps with small changes.

"Charges dropped against Founder of the Franciscan of the Immaculate"

Adfero, "Charges dropped against Founder of the Franciscan of the Immaculate" (Rorate Caeli, December 15, 2016):

The charges against Father Stefano Manelli, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate have been dropped. After about a year of investigations, the Deputy State Prosecutor at the Court of Avellino, Doctor A. Del Bene, has asked for the closing of the proceedings against the religious, whose Order is still under commissioning without a valid reason having ever been given by the Congregation for Religious....

Those close to him commented that "the outcome of the investigation has brought clarity to the “assumed allegations” restoring justice and dignity to Father Stefano Manelli who for some time has been the subject of slanderous, defamatory attacks, amplified by the media outlets."

History, in its irony, would have it that the news of the dismissal of this investigation would come precisely at the end of the year of Mercy

Read original Italian article here.

Four cardinals and a pope

[Disclaimer: Rules ##7-9] "Cardinal Sins: Resisting Pope Francis" (The Remnant Newspaper, December 2, 2016).

John Vennari undergoes cancer surgery

Here is a note he wrote recently:

This is a note to tell my friends that I have to go into surgery on Saturday morning, November 26.

Cancer is a nasty beast, and it has caused an obstruction in the GI that must be addressed immediately. Immediately.

As noted already, my case has been serious from the start, and this latest problem came to a head at the same time I returned from three weeks of cancer treatment in Mexico.

I am presently not able to update my CFN webpage (I write this note from the hospital). I was blessed to receive the Sacrament of Extreme Unction this afternoon.

Please feel free to forward and/or post this, along with the link below that provides background and info for those who wish to share prayerful and financial support. http://www.oltyn.org/vennari.htm

Thank you for all your prayers and support up until now. Please pray and ask others to pray, especially communities of religious and convents of nuns.

Am I am a little afraid of surgery? Who wouldn’t be? But I place my trust in Our and Our Lady, and take heart from all the kindness and concern I’ve received. Your outpouring of love has been astounding.

I may not be able to update for a few days.

Thank you.

John Vennari

[Hat tip to L.V.]

Remnant video calls for opposing Soros demagoguery, supporting U.S. Sovereignty

Buenos Aires letter last straw for some traditionalists

[Disclaimer: Rules ##7-9]

After recently checking some traditionalist sites, I've noticed that there has been considerable activity (just as there has been on 'conservative' Catholic sites, but far less restrained) since the revelation about Pope Francis's letter to the bishops of Buenos Aires asserting that the only correct interpretation of Amoris Laetitia is that authorizing the admission of couples in irregular (formally adulterous) 'second marriages' to the sacraments of Confession and Communion without any further intention of change of life. Here I simply list a very few of the more notable responses from traditionalist sites [Advisory: please note the 'Disclaimer' at the top of the page]:

• Michael Matt, Christopher Ferrara & John Vennari, a Joint Declaration from The Remnant and Catholic Family News, "With Burning Concern: We Accuse Pope Francis," Part I, Part II, and Part III (Catholic Family News, September 19-23, 2016)
• "Calamity" (Gloria.TV News, September 26, 2016) [a video reporting on the above-referenced Joint Declaration]
• Patrick Archbold, "Vatican: 2017 Synod on Married Priests Won't Really Be On Married Priests (wink wink nudge nudge)" (Fetzen Fliegen, October 6, 2016)
• Hilary White, "A New Schism for A New Church" (Fetzen Fliegan, October 2, 2016)

Dr. John Rao: Lake Garda Statement and Lecture: "Even Now the Devastation Is Begun"

Via Rorate Caeli (August 26, 2016): HERE. A penetrating "State of the Church."

John Vennari: stage 4 cancer, refuses chemo, requests prayer

He reports HERE that he is in good spirits, his family is making a novena to both Our Lady of Good Success and Saint Philomena, and he asks for prayer.

The Remnant defends Pope Francis. It's not what you think.

Christopher A. Ferrara, "In Defense of Pope Francis" ( The Remnant,, August 3, 2016). For the record. Advisory: Rules ##7-9.

[Hat tip to JM]

WYD 2002 - a retrospective: the World invades the Church

If any country hosting World Youth Day could possibly improve the 'performance', in the sense of conforming it more to the authentic mind of the Church, it is probably Poland. The proof, as they say, is in "the pudding." My hunch is that the sorts of concerns raised by John Vennari will be dismissed as a failure to apprehend what the 'Spirit' of the thing, whatever that is.

[Advisory: Rules ##7-9 - humor]: Living stones, or kidney stones?

EWTN now agrees with The Remnant?

[Disclaimer: Rules ## 7-9]

Someone is upset about the Cupich appointment

[Disclaimer: Rules ## 7-9]