The so-called Synod on Synodality — officially, the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the theme of which is, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” (Oct. 2021–Oct. 2023) — opened in Rome the weekend of Oct. 9-10, 2021 and in dioceses around the world the following Sunday. Unlike previous synods,…
I have a confession to make. It’s embarrassing to admit. I feel like less of a man because of it, if I can even call myself a man. I blame society. I blame my parents. I blame anything pre-Vatican II. Most of all, I blame being brainwashed with a non-innovative outlook. Out I come with…
Editor’s note: this is the third part of a series. Read part I here and part II here. Purchase The St. Gallen Mafia by Julia Meloni. Throughout long talks I had with him between 1980 and 1981, Don Mario Marini, not yet a Monsignor, explained to me that behind the official organization of the Vatican there was a…
Editor’s note: read part 1 of this series here. Purchase The St. Gallen Mafia by Julia Meloni. In the last months of 1980 I received an unexpected visit from a priest who was seriously concerned about the future of the Church. This priest was Don Mario Marini (not to be confused either with Archbishop Piero…
Editor’s note: in this ongoing series, Synod Watch, we will analyze the machinations of the “mafia” in the Vatican – past, present and future. Anyone who wants to understand what is behind the “Synod on Synodality” opened on October 10 by Pope Francis cannot do without the recently published book The St. Gallen Mafia (TAN,…
I am one of those “aging boomer” priests that, according to the stereotype, is supposed to cherish Saint Louis Jesuit music, liturgical dance and the like. Only I don’t and even in my exclusively Novus Ordo days never really did. I was spiritually and temperamentally prepared for my Bishop asking me to help with the…
Cardinal Martini Lives on. This is a story about the origins of the “synod on synodality.” It is a story about dreams—and déjà vu. All his life, Carlo Maria Martini (pictured above left) was a dreamer. In the Italian documentary Vedete, Sono Uno di Voi, we hear Martini’s conviction that only dreams make reality bearable.…
About a decade ago, in a Southwestern church in a run-down part of town, I saw it for the first time. From a back pew, I glimpsed something beautiful, perfect. Seeing the priest celebrate it was like being plunged into some heavenly choreography from the Book of Revelation. That first Latin Mass surpassed my understanding,…
