In 2019 I was being deployed to Bellevue. Significant portions of Nebraska and Iowa were underwater following a devastating storm, and I was to head up Operations. As I’ve done in anticipation of other disaster response deployments, I looked for local churches that might still be open. I found Immaculate Conception in Omaha, an FSSP…
In response to Traditionis Custodes, TLM communities around the world are being asked to participate in a worldwide consecration fo the Immaculate Heart of Mary on August 15, 2021. The Holy Catholic Church is in an unprecedented world wide crisis. The only hope for the Faithful is a Divine intervention, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart…
(Editor’s Note: This is Part II of a three-part series: “Leading a Traditional Catholic Life in a Time of Civil War.” Part I can be found here, and Part III here.) In the first part of this series, I spoke of some of the temptations facing traditional Catholics in the era of Traditionis Custodes, and…
It was August 1940. Churchill was fighting the Battle of Britain. Half of Europe was under the Nazi boot. The Catholic Church in Germany was being persecuted, and the German bishops were gathered for their annual conference. To what grave matters might they have devoted their energies at such a momentous time? Being German bishops some could…
When Traditionis Custodes is carefully considered, it’s clear that it’s not just an indictment against the celebration of the ‘Old Mass’, but instead an attempt to squash the traditionalist revival in the Church. In fact, some commentators have gone as far as calling the motu proprio a declaration of total war against traditionalists everywhere. It’s…
“Destroy the Four Olds.” This slogan was central to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, launched in Beijing in 1966. What were the Four Olds? Old Ideas, Old Culture, Old Habits and Old Customs. The destruction began simply, with the renaming of streets, stores, and even people, who exchanged their traditional Chinese names for revolutionary ones like “Determined Red.”…
(Editor’s Note: This is Part I of a three-part series: “Leading a Traditional Catholic Life in a Time of Civil War.” Part II can be found here, and Part III here.) The past two weeks have been highly emotional for many Catholics. We felt anger, and justifiably so. We talked incessantly about what had happened,…
Seven years ago, near the beginning of the current pontificate, OnePeterFive was born. Increasingly concerned by the words and actions of Pope Francis as well as the massive apostasy within the Catholic Church, Steve Skojec sought to resist these troubling trends and fight back. OnePeterFive was the result, and its stated purpose was to “rebuild…
For the past couple of years, many readers and friends have expressed their concern, telling me, “You need to take a long break from all of this.” And by “all of this,” they meant covering the crisis in the Church. It was hurting me, and they could see it. My response was always, “I know.…
It has become a cliché with a slightly dark comedic undertone: the perfect family Christmas card photo, with artfully mis-matched clothing, a beach or forest background, and everyone gazing at the same imaginary point in the middle distance. What hides behind the slightly stressed smiles and too-casual-for-comfort poses? The accompanying yearly letter probably won’t mention…
“Ground zero.” Such haunting words. They bring to mind, of course, the hideous images from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Unforgettable in their horror. And, ever since, the words “Ground Zero” have become embedded in our collective vocabulary. The words “Ground Zero” became embedded in another generation’s vocabulary as well. Almost eight decades…
