These bishops beseeched God’s mercy for the LGBT+ pilgrimage in St. Peter’s last month. They humbly bent their knees at the feet of Our Lady of Fatima, beckoning the faithful to meditate well on the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary and the salutary value of doing penance. This very public and solemn act reminded me that these bishops were not simply onstage to “rebel” and “resist” the Vatican for the sake of it, but they felt that they had to speak out in defense of the teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ, particularly in ambiguous and confusing times like ours, when even our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV appeared to many as defending Cardinal Cupich in presenting an award to pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin.
In some sense, the 2025 Catholic Identity Conference (CIC) organized by The Remnant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from October 3-5 2025 was a milestone event.
While it was (as it had always been since its inception) an annual conference rallying traditional Catholics from across the United States (US) and beyond to address the torrents of confusion plaguing the Catholic Church from within and without, this year’s conference stood out in that it was the very first conference during the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, who was elected as pope in May 8 this year.
Moreover, five bishops of the Catholic Church, namely Bishop Athanasius Schneider, Bishop Joseph Strickland, Bishop Marian Eleganti, Bishop Robert Mutsaerts, as well as Chorbishop Anthony Spinosa, graced the 3-day event in a historic first, leading participants in earnest moments of prayer (such as the International Act of Reparation in response to the scandalous “LGBTQ+ Pilgrimage” of September 6th in Rome), displaying courageous episcopal leadership, as well as providing passionate testimonies about their love for the Catholic Faith and the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).
With his classic approach to recollecting his childhood living under Soviet rule, Bishop Schneider exhorted all attendees to persevere in living out the Catholic Faith even in difficult times.
When I first arrived at the event venue, I could feel a sense of anticipation and excitement among attendees—clergy, laypeople (some alone, others with their families in tow), with many return attendees from previous years. What stood out for me as a first-time attendee was the collective desire to spiritually resist and make public reparation following the recent LGBT+ “pilgrimage” at St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a disreputable and sacrilegious episode that garnered a lot of media attention and widespread conservative Catholic backlash.
As in years past, Michael Matt, editor of The Remnant, acted as the event emcee, combining astute commentaries with outspoken advocacy in defense of perennial Catholic teaching. Matt’s statements throughout the weekend event sought to reinforce the #UniteTheClans initiative, urging all faithful Catholics (despite differing opinions regarding non-essentials) to create a unified resistance to prevent anti-Catholic forces from debilitating true Catholic doctrine and pious liturgical worship. I was also pleasantly delighted to once again meet Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, chaplain of this year’s CIC, since we last parted ways in June this year after the Chartres pilgrimage with Remnant Tours. Fr Pendergraft celebrated Holy Masses throughout the weekend for all participants, calling on everyone to live out their lives as faithful Catholics in an uncertain world.
Furthermore, Bishop Joseph Strickland, former bishop of Tyler, Texas, had found a seat near where I was during the morning’s First Saturday Mass on October 4, Feast of St. Francis of Assisi. While I had lived in the Galveston-Houston (Texas) area in the past, I did not have the opportunity back then to meet Bishop Strickland (who was a few hours’ drive from where I was). Hence, I was elated to see the bishop in person, with his eyes closed and hands clasped in prayer during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. To boot, I was blessed to have received Our Lord Jesus Christ that very day from Bishop Strickland’s consecrated hands, making the very celebration of St. Francis’s heavenly birthday even more memorable.
Strikingly, the keynote addresses by the bishops present set an assertive but deeply prayerful tone for this year’s CIC.
With his classic approach to recollecting his childhood living under Soviet rule, Bishop Schneider exhorted all attendees to persevere in living out the Catholic Faith even in difficult times.
Bishop Eleganti delivered a critique of Vatican bureaucracy—using sharp humor to showcase the disconnect between Church officialdom (with countless documents and synodal sessions) and genuine Catholic faith.
Additionally, having lived in rural Thailand and materialistic Japan for some time, I can relate to Bishop Mutsaerts’ situation of being one of the very few conservative Catholic voices in his native country the Netherlands, a country plagued by prevalent progressivism and the “culture of death”. Bishop Mutsaerts’ speech highlighted the global nature of filial Catholic resistance to the torrents of progressivism that have seeped into the very bosom of Holy Mother Church, encouraging us lay Catholics that we are not the only ones feeling alienated in our dioceses, for some of the princes of the Church are facing similar circumstances too.
What was particularly moving for me was how these bishops beseeched God’s mercy for the unbecoming LGBT+ pilgrimage in St. Peter’s last month. Notwithstanding differences in nationality, cultural upbringing and even scholarly erudition, these fortitudinous princes of the Church humbly bent their knees at the feet of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, the Mother of God, beckoning the faithful to meditate well on the mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary and the salutary value of doing penance. This very public and solemn act reminded me that these bishops were not simply onstage to “rebel” and “resist” the Vatican for the sake of it, but they felt that they had to speak out in defense of the teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ, particularly in ambiguous and confusing times like ours, when even our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV appeared to many as defending Cardinal Cupich in presenting an award to pro-abortion Senator Dick Durbin.
Regardless of what the Holy Father’s intentions actually were (let’s leave it to God to judge) when he made those media comments about Senator Durbin, Catholics have to sadly admit that the Vatican’s lack of clarification following his public comments were palpable. (On a side note: Contrast the Vatican’s silence amidst the conservative Catholic and pro-life outrage at Pope Leo XIV”s remark with the prompt Vatican response to Diane Montagna’s bombshell report that most of the bishops who responded to the Vatican’s 2020 CDF questionnaire declared that making legislative changes to Summorum Pontificum and restricting the TLM would “cause more harm than good.”)
Montagna’s report that many bishops around the world did not believe that the TLM would do more damage in their dioceses found its ally in the lived experiences of priest and global TLM missionary Padre João Silveira, a prelate whom I respect and whom I had briefly come across in the past, such as during the 2024 Pilgrimage of Nuestra Señora de la Cristiandad to the Marian shrine of the Virgin Mary of Covadonga.
Just like Padre Silveira, I had had the blessing of meeting the devout Japanese TLM priest Fr. Thomas Onoda (of the Society of St. Pius X) in East Asia (when I was a student in Tokyo, Japan). And just like Padre Silveira, I was very inspired by Fr. Onoda’s missionary zeal and tireless love of the TLM. (During the years I was in Japan, Fr. Onoda flew around twice a month from Manila to Tokyo to celebrate Holy Mass and to administer the Sacraments to faithful Catholics in Japan – and sometimes even as far as South Korea!) Before my experiences with Fr. Onoda in Japan for a good period of almost three years, I was more of a lukewarm Catholic (despite having been raised in the TLM). However, it was my experiences with Fr. Onoda and the SSPX Japanese community in Tokyo that truly transformed my outlook and my approach towards the Faith of my ancestors as well as my own Catholic heritage!
Funnily enough, I bumped into George Farmer, the husband of political commentator Candace Owens, just as he came out of the washroom in the lobby before his own inspiring talk on how to integrate technology in a Godly way into our daily lives as Catholics. Due to time constraints, we exchanged a few pleasantries. Upon finding out that I currently live in his native England, Farmer seemed excited to know that I am a regular TLM attendee at London’s Brompton Oratory on Sundays.
Given my general sanguine and sociable nature, apart from the engaging speakers at this year’s CIC conference, I also learned a lot from many of the Catholic vendors who set up stall at the CIC, including meeting some friends whom I had known for some time (Monique Krawecki of The Fatima Center, as well as the Vera family of the Martin Parenting App and Oremus Studios), and making new ones (shout out to Matt Lorens of Traditio Designs, and David John of iCatholic Mobile).
To quell what naysayers have said about the yearly CIC, I must admit that despite some more outspoken voices critical of the recent LGBT+ “pilgrimage” at the Vatican and confusing Vatican policy in general at the CIC, the overall tone set by both speakers and participants of the CIC was that of unrelenting hope in God, in the Blessed Virgin Mary, as well as in the power of prayer and the Sacraments (through the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM).
As already mentioned, I was inspired by many at the CIC whom I had met in the conference to further promote Catholic teaching, contest errors, and live out an authentic sacramental life. For those who still are not convinced about the filial and prayerful tone adopted by The Remnant and all CIC speakers vis-a-vis the Vatican, I would like to invite them to next year’s CIC to get a first-hand experience about what this entire #UnitetheClans project is all about.
The 2025 CIC did not offer definite solutions to the myriad of problems beleaguering Holy Mother Church (nor did it promise to). Rather, it provided a crucial space for spiritual reflection, enhancing true Catholic friendship grounded in Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Virgin Mary, and the saints, as well as keeping and transmitting the Catholic Faith unadulterated to others, regardless of the cost.
After firm handshakes and unwilling goodbyes at the end of this year’s conference, I found myself very hesitant to part ways with old and newfound friends. As I plonked myself on the plane seat back to England, a country currently under the yoke of an increasingly draconian Marxist regime, I found myself not merely informed, but transformed by the reassurance that I was not alone in this fight to re-establish the reign of Christ the King. With God’s grace and the intercession of the Holy Virgin Mary, we can – and shall – win this battle against the enemies of our holy Catholic religion.
Watch it happen: “LGBTQ+” SCANDAL in ST. PETER’S: Bishops Launch Act of Global Reparation
