Vatican II Failed, Not the Church
Constance embodied the hopes of reformers going back half a century. But its attempt to enshrine Conciliarism in its documents nearly tore the Church apart.
Paul VI: Refounder of Catholicism
Religion Department Academics of a certain sort love to scandalize undergraduates by telling them that Jesus is a marginal figure in Church history; the real founder of the religion, they whisper, was Paul. In fact, they persist, the religion should really be called Paulianity. From the standpoint of Roman Catholicism, there is some truth to…
Post-War Catholicism in the United States
Above: the first evening Mass in the diocese of Milwaukee consecrates the diocese to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1954. Photo credit. A very interesting and provocative reprint, the first volume of Integrity will be welcomed by all those desiring to delve deeply into such topics as: the history of the consciousness of the…
300 Years of Masonic Infiltration
There was such a dramatic change in the social and theological dispositions towards Freemasonry amongst many European, Argentinian, and North American Catholics immediately following the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council in 1965, that, at minimum, should have provoked a reasonable and rational concern amongst the faithful. Some have argued that this divergence from the…
Games People Play with the Holy Spirit
Dear Dr. Kwasniewski, Watching Mass of the Ages Episode 2 and your interview with Raymond Arroyo brought up some questions I’ve been struggling with. First, doesn’t it seem like the Novus Ordo was close to what the Council Fathers intended? I say this because (a) we know that Bugnini was secretary of the committee that…
The Coetus: Trad Godfathers at Vatican II
Above: Archbishop Lefebvre with Pius XII. Lefebvre and other members of the Coetus were respected by the popes before Paul VI, including by John XXIII. There will be factions. This is the first rule of all voting assemblies, from the Roman Senate to the US House of Representatives. To believe that this rule does not…
In Defense of Manuals and Manualism
Above: engraving of Melchor Cano. Editor’s note: this article appears as a response to our article which included critical remarks about pre-Vatican II manualism, and is meant to be a balancing treatment on the period in theology. See also “The Authority of the Scholastics.” -TSF Note: This topic includes much confusion surrounding exactly the…
Vatican II and the American Deep State
Above: US government officials with Catholic president John F. Kennedy. Before he died, Robert Blair Kaiser, Time magazine reporter at the Vatican II Council, told me that the reporters were “participant-observers to influence the schemas.” This was part of a worldwide assault on Catholic doctrine, noticed years before, and Vatican II provided an opportunity for…
Paul VI Did Not Exist: A “Nostalgic” Response to George Weigel on Vatican II
Above: Pope Paul VI with one of his greatest critics, Joseph Ratzinger, whom he appointed bishop and then cardinal in 1977 before his death. When Vatican II Turned Forty Twenty years ago, a week before the fortieth anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, Mr George Weigel, a great admirer of that assembly, wrote an…
The Post-War Council Turns Sixty
Sixty years ago this month, Papa Roncalli was carried into the Second Vatican Council after an hours-long procession and delivered the speech (“Medicine of Mercy”) which opened that council. I believe that in time, historians will later call this council the “Post-War Council.” Why? Because the Council was dominated by the post-World War II context…
The Post-Vatican II Collapse of Theology
Above: the celebrated heretic, Hans Küng (1928-2021). One can only hope and pray that the celebrations for him have not continued for eternity in the fires of hell. Requiescat in pace. Ave Maria. In our last essay we discussed some of the trends of decline in theology before Vatican II. These were the aspects that produced…