Author: Peter Kwasniewski, PhD

How Much Can the Pope Change Our Rites, and Why Would He?
In discussions of whether or not the pope has the authority to radically change the Church’s liturgy, the claim has been made that “if he can modify the bread from leavened to unleavened and limit reception to one species—which pertain …

Clandestine Ordinations Against Church Law: Lessons from Cardinal Wojtyła and Cardinal Slipyj
One of the most remarkable episodes in the life of Karol Wojtyła—and one from which we can learn a great deal today—took place during his time as Cardinal of Kraków. It is astonishing to me that, with all the attention lavished …

The Rosary Sounds the Trumpet of the New Israel
When in your own land you go to war against an enemy that is attacking you, you shall sound the alarm on the trumpets, and the Lord, your God, will remember you and save you from your foes (Numbers 10:9). …

Angels: Fellow Worshipers in the Liturgy of Heaven
Like all ancient liturgical rites of the Church, the traditional Roman rite of Mass—especially if one includes the Asperges me and the Leonine prayer to St. Michael—is full of references and allusions to the holy angels, and more than that, …

Lights and Shadows in the Pontificate of Pius XII
Back in May, I published an article at LifeSiteNews entitled “Coincidences during the reign of Pius XII? Political background to Vatican II and liturgical changes.” The article generated a fair amount of discussion, both favorable and critical. Since the pontificate …

“Men Must Be Changed by Sacred Things, and Not Sacred Things by Men”
The title of this article is taken from the words uttered by Cardinal Egidio da Viterbo in 1512 during the inaugural oration of the Fifth Lateran Council: “Homines per sacra immutari fas est, non sacra per homines.” Against that backdrop, imagine …

The Priest Praying for Himself at Mass
What might have been “self-evident truths” once upon a time are no longer evident to many clergy, to their superiors, and to their flocks. One of these truths is staggeringly obvious, yet its implications seem to be not only ignored, …

How the Clergy’s “Distance” from the People Facilitates the Laity’s Offering
The blog Where Peter Is—a site which seems to promote a limitless ultramontanism exempt from the requirements of tradition, magisterial consistency, or reason itself—published an article by Terence Sweeney called “Pope Francis: Guardian of Tradition.” The article launches broadsides against …

When a Bishop Outlaws Private Traditional Masses
In a three-page letter dated August 20, 2021, and addressed to “Dear Brothers in Christ,” Most Reverend David A. Zubik, Bishop of Pittsburgh, apparently in an effort to show that he is more Bergoglian than Bergoglio, takes a hearty step …

Andrea Grillo: The Mind Behind the Motu Proprio
Andrea Grillo (born 1961) is a professor of Sacramental Theology and Philosophy of Religion at the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm in Rome (Sant’Anselmo) and of Liturgy in Padua at the Abbey of Santa Giustina. With the promulgation of Pope …