Last week, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, urged priests and bishops at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London July 5 to start celebrating Masses "ad orientem," beginning the first Sunday of Advent this year:

"Dear fathers, I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible, with prudence and with the necessary catechesis, certainly, but also with a pastor's confidence that this is something good for the church, something good for our people.

"Dear fathers, we should listen again to the lament of God proclaimed by the prophet Jeremiah: 'they have turned their back to me.' Let us turn again toward the Lord!"

This week, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. wrote to priests in the Westminster diocese discouraging them from celebrating Mass facing east.

Cardinal Nichols reminded his priests that, “the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, approved by the highest authority in the Church, states in paragraph 299 that ‘The altar should be built apart from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be celebrated at it facing the people, which is desirable wherever possible.

"The altar should, moreover, be so placed as to be truly the centre toward which the attention of the whole congregation of the faithful naturally turns. The altar is usually fixed and is dedicated.’”

And in perhaps the biggest laugher of the year, the good Cardinal Nichols also indignantly insisted that Mass was not the time for priests to “exercise personal preference or taste..."

Of course not, Eminence! Perish the thought.

In fact, here are a few of your English priests following no doubt some of your strictest liturgical guidelines:



Well, at least they're not facing East.  

REMNANT COMMENT:  Who's on first is anyone's guess. What does seem clear is that we're now witnessing the fulfillment of prophecy on a regular basis:  "The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, and bishops against other bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their Confreres. The Church and altars will be vandalized. The Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.  - THE MESSAGE OF OUR LADY OF AKITA 

Gotta love this springtime of Vatican II!
  

The report surfaced last week that Black Lives Matter leader DeRay McKesson plans to stir up a race riot at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland this July 18-21. Initially some were seeing this as a prank, but the shooting massacre in Texas that left 5 policemen dead clearly indicates the report is true. McKesson is the head of the Black Lives Matter racist group that organized the anti-white police protest in Dallas, which should prove to all that McKesson means business, and that this in fact is part of a larger plan—a plan that could envelop Cleveland and other U.S. cities.

The Black Lives Matter group is now feigning "condemnation" of the Dallas shootings to camouflage their involvement and ensure that they can get away with more of the same. Last week's report clearly shows how McKesson, Loretta Lynch, and others were secretly orchestrating this plan—with funding from billionaire George Soros—to turn the Republican Convention into a war-zone and incite martial law. Hacked messages of #BlackLivesMatter leader reveal Obama admin’s plan for ‘summer of chaos’ and martial law

The question is asked as to why black militants would pull off the shooting spree just before a convention. The answer is that it comes off as a black victory over a white American police force. This is done to embolden black militants in the anticipation of the upcoming Convention.

Already the FBI has issued an alert to Louisiana law enforcement agencies warning of violence against officers and planned riots in the aftermath of a high-profile fatal shooting of a black man by Baton Rouge Police last week. Judicial Watch It appears that the Dallas massacre was carefully timed to get the ball rolling for this "summer of chaos."

George Soros, who funded the Ferguson protests at a cost of $33,000,000.00, is also funding the anti-Trump protest at the Cleveland Convention. Election 2016, Obama's Tool For Implementing Martial Law? - Stumpin' For Trump! Following the cancellation of the March 10 rally in Chicago because of riots, which he also funded, Soros made it public that he would continue to fund mayhem at any future convention where Trump was scheduled to speak. The entire global elite will be keeping a close eye on the Cleveland convention, which promises to be like no other.

While authorities are fearful of a riot situation in Cleveland, civil liberties activists are feigning concern about the convention. "I’m really concerned all hell is going to break loose," said James L. Hardiman, vice president of the Cleveland NAACP, who noted that community members are expressing similar concerns about the convention "every other day." It is no secret that community activists are working underground to help induce the expected riot. 

Activists are also feigning concern about the $50-million federal grant given to Cleveland for convention security. "We’re worried about the militarization of the Cleveland Police Department," said Freda Levenson, the legal director of the ACLU’s Ohio chapter. Cleveland has purchased 2,000 sets of police riot gear, plus several sets of ballistic protection gear, steel barriers and improvements to its surveillance systems, and who's to say that the Cleveland PD—reputed for its excessive use of force—won't be assisting the riot?

Martial Law at Republican Convention? Riot Cops “Preparing For A Siege Rather Than Political Event” - Patriot Rising

This week, the highly respected Italian journalist, Sandro Magister, no 'traddie' and certainly no 'conspiracy nut', wrote the following: "It is the unprecedented innovation that Ratzinger seems to want to put into practice. It has been announced by his secretary, Georg Gänswein. Redoubling the already abundant ambiguities of the pontificate of Francis.   

"ROME, June 17, 2016 – The revolution of Pope Francis is turning the Church upside-down. But his meek predecessor named Benedict is not to be outdone.

"The resignation of the papacy was not his last act. Already in his withdrawal from the see of Peter, in that memorable February of 2013, Joseph Ratzinger made sure to say that in his election as pope there had been something that would remain “forever.”

"In fact, he continues to wear the white tunic, continues to sign himself “Benedictus XVI, pope emeritus,” continues to live “in the enclosure of Saint Peter,” continues to have himself called “Holiness” and “Holy Father.”

"And most recently the archbishop in closest contact with him, Georg Gänswein, has told us that Benedict “has by no means abandoned the office of Peter,” but on the contrary has made it “an expanded ministry, with an active member and a contemplative member,” in “a collegial and synodal dimension, almost a shared ministry”:

"These staggering statements from Gänswein, made on May 20 in the aula magna of the Pontifical Gregorian University, have sown dismay among Ratzinger’s admirers themselves. Because no one doubts that they correspond to his thought and were authorized by him. But no one would have expected from him such an unheard-of act of rupture in the history of the papacy, totally without precedent, “a sort of exception willed by Heaven,” as Gänswein himself has called it, after a pontificate that is also “exceptional,” an “Ausnahmepontifikat.”

"The absolute innovation is not the resignation, but the sequel." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: The only explanation for why the Catholic world has so blithely accepted this ludicrous notion of two Popes in Rome is that Catholics just don't care anymore. The spirit of Vatican II has so stripped away the sensus Catholicus that Catholics -- those still bothering to tune in to "As The Vatican Turns" -- literally don't give a damn.  They have no traditions left to help keep them afloat in the veritable ocean of novelties in which they're drowning.

Who knows? Who cares! There's nothing left to play out in this act, save for a fat lady named Chastisement to take the stage. But, alas, before we conclude that Pope Benedict is the hero in this tragedy and Pope Francis the villain, perhaps we should take a moment to try to understand and explain the warm and loving expression on the face of this Bishop in White as he greets that Bishop in White:





















Really, who's kidding whom here?

Even Fox News can see there's a problem. In an article written by Adam Shaw, a Politics Reporter for FoxNews.com, the truly dire straits in which the Church finds herself under the pontificate of Pope Francis become chillingly apparent. Even mainstream news agencies are now well aware of what so many neo-Catholics refuse to admit: Pope Francis is harming the Catholic Church.

Mr. Shaw writes:

Pope Francis’s three-year-old papacy, marred by controversy from the beginning, has hit a new low.

After Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected to succeed Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, he quickly justified his reputation as an unconventional character who put himself on both sides of an argument with vaguely worded pronouncements.

From his “Who am I to judge?” statement on gay people that seemed to offer a hint at a change in church teaching, to his fumbles on contraception, to his recent claim that Donald Trump is not Christian, his off-the-cuff remarks cause headlines across the globe, often followed by some sort of “clarification” from the Holy See Press Office.

His papacy has been a litany of confusing statements for the faithful on the most sensitive and delicate topics. While clear on political topics dear to his heart, but where Catholics can legitimately hold differing opinions, such as immigration, economics and climate change, on matters of doctrine, Francis muddied the waters to an extent that many well-meaning Catholics feel they no longer know where the Church stands on issues of faith.

Most recently, in his latest off-the-cuff ramble on Thursday, he was asked about marriage. He said: “It’s provisional, and because of this the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say ‘yes, for the rest of my life!’ but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know.”

To say that the “great majority” of Catholic marriages are null, or invalid, is a statement that is neither true, wise, nor fair. READ ARTICLE HERE

Remnant Comment: Well, what's the use!  I've said it all before, so many times.  Let's let Fox News' Mr. Shaw conclude this by saying exactly what I have said, what The Remnant has said, and what we'll all continue to say until this nightmare comes to a merciful end:  

"Francis made things worse this year with his vague document on the family -- Amoris Laetitia -- in which he buried the hot topic of divorced and remarried Catholics in a footnote, and muddied the waters some more by saying that such couples could receive sacraments “in certain cases.”  When asked to clarify he said “I don’t remember the footnote.” Wonderful.

"Once upon a time Catholics would have been stuck with a bad pope, but since Pope Emeritus Benedict opened the door for a pope resigning when he can no longer do his job, it is time for the faithful to look at Francis and ask -- “is this man able to lead the Holy Catholic Church?”

"At this point it is clear, Bergoglio has repeatedly proven himself unable to lead, and is doing incalculable damage to the Church that will take decades to heal.

"Pope Francis should resign, and Catholics should demand it, so the Church can begin recovering from the havoc his ill-advised and arrogant papacy has wrought."

God help us, pray for Pope Francis!

Vatican Obliged to Edit Scandalous Words of Pope Francis

This just in from CNA/EWTN: Rome, Italy, Jun 16, 2016 - "Pope Francis said Thursday that the great majority of sacramental marriages today are not valid, because couples do not enter into them with a proper understanding of permanence and commitment. 'We live in a culture of the provisional,' the Pope said in impromptu remarks June 16. After addressing the Diocese of Rome’s pastoral congress, he held a question-and-answer session." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Here's some video footage of the event, followed by a comment from a good priest. It is not necessary to view the entire thing. Just watch a few moments as the pope speaks. What is he doing, exactly, with this meandering, sort of self-absorbed display? What are we looking at? What is happening to Pope Francis?

 

So, according to Pope Francis, the great majority of sacramental marriages today are not valid.   What do we do with this?   

Well the situation is so out of control that the Vatican had to edit the Pope's words in this case, after he came under a firestorm of criticism for them.  According to a Reuters report, the Vatican issued a transcript on Friday morning in which the Pope's own words had to be changed to read "some" instead of "a great majority". A Vatican spokesman said the pope's off-the-cuff remarks are sometimes edited after consulting with him or among aides..

Holy cow!  What is going on here?  It's nice that the Vatican recognized the need to edit the pope's outrageous words, but what about the ramificaitons of all this? Who is now speaking for the Pope?  Is the Pope going to be allowed to continue doing this? What about the scandal that ensued in the meantime?  As one good priest noted in a private email just this morning:

"What a dreadfully irresponsible statement!  How can the Pope possibly presume to judge the state of mind of millions of couples who are carefully prepared for marriage, and so assert (not just suspect or surmise) that "the great majority" have null and void marriages because they don't know what they are doing or promising? I would think many of the couples I've prepared for marriage would feel pretty insulted by Francis' condescending and sweeping generalization.

“Pardon me, but, er, . . . Who is he to judge? This kind of statement could well encourage liberal marriage tribunals to be ever more lax in handing out decrees of nullity. Indeed, Pope Francis ties himself in knots here by saying that plenty of "faithful" cohabiting couples are truly married in God's sight and so have the grace of matrimony! But aren't they part of that same defective culture which he says invalidates "the great majority" of church marriages?

“In other words, incredibly, we have a Successor of Peter insinuating that you're more likely to be truly married if you're a couple who've never made any marriage vows, and so don't even consider yourselves married, than if you are married in the Church and have made marriage vows! I'm sorry, but with all due respect to the Holy Father, this is craziness."

With all due respect, and speaking only for myself, it may well be time to consider the possibility that Pope Francis is entering his dotage, and is no longer in complete control of his mental faculties. For me the alternative is much worse, that he is intentionally attempting to confuse and disorient the entire Catholic world.  I hope, for his sake, that he is merely suffering the initial stages of dementia.  He's still a modernist always and forever, of course, but now we're moving into complete La La Land.  

St. Dymphna, pray for Pope Francis.

This just in from LifeSiteNews.com: "In a recent article for the Italian news platform “Corrispondenza Romana”, renowned Catholic philosopher Josef Seifert strongly criticizes Pope Francis for statements in his recent Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia.Seifert, a longtime ordinary member of the Pontifical Academy for Life and a close associate of St. John Paul II, explains that he criticizes the document because instead of invoking joy – as stated in the exhortation title – the papal document would actually make Jesus and his mother cry.

"Many of the passages which seem merciful turn the teachings of the Church on their heads, according to Seifert. “In my opinion, they risk an avalanche of consequences which would be very harmful to the Church and to souls." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Pope Francis is fast running out of defenders anywhere outside of the liberal Left, the Hollwood elite, the Democratic Party and the radical progressivists inside the Church. Anyone claiming to be Catholic and still making excuses for this disastrous pontificate is either malicious or downright stupid.

Says Seifert: “How can Jesus and His most holy Mother read and link these words of the Pope with those of Jesus Himself and of His Church without crying?"

Indeed, if you love the Church you must weep with Jesus over what is happening now, and recognize the fundamental responsibility of all faithful Catholics to oppose Pope Franics and to, like Dr. Seifert, publicly resist his myriad errors and his public scandal.  

On Saturday, 4 June 2016, in a historic ceremony sponsored by the Knights of Columbus Woodlawn Council 2161, the City of Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was solemnly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The consecration was performed by the pastors of the three Catholic parishes located in Aliquippa, and the mayor. READ FULL REPORT HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Most Sacred Heart of Jesus,have mercy on us. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

Viva Cristo Rey!

This just in from our friends at CFN regarding the semon preached at the SSPX ordinations in Winona last week: "Bishop de Galarreta alluded to today’s gestures of the Ecclesia Dei Commission concerning normalization of the SSPX wherein the Fraternity is supposedly no longer expected to accept those points of the Council the SSPX has always resisted, such as religious liberty, ecumenism and the New Mass. This new framework for normalization is what Msgr. Pozzo, head of the Ecclesia Dei commission, had related to Bishop Fellay.

"But, according to Bishop de Galarrata, 'Francis corrected Pozzo.'

"This is the first I heard of any such correction, and various priests I subsequently questioned were not aware of it either (I did not see Bishop de Galarreta after the ordination ceremony). Perhaps the bishop was referring to Pope Francis’ interview with La Croix wherein Francis said regarding the establishment of a Personal Prelature for SSPX: “That would be a possible solution but beforehand it will be necessary to establish a fundamental agreement with them. The Second Vatican Council has its value. We will advance slowly and patiently.”

"Bishop de Galarrata then commented on recent remarks from Ludwig Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (who is the hierarchical superior of Mgr. Pozzo) wherein the Cardinal indicated that he expects the SSPX to accept Vatican II in its totality. "READ JOHN VENNARI'S ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Is the Bishop suggesting that the normalization of the SSPX may not be quite as imminent as it had appeared to be some weeks ago? We look forward to reading the entire transcript, once it is released by the SSPX.  

And lest Bishop de Galarrata's words should be deemed overly harsh by some, we would point out that they put us in mind of sentiments expressed by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre nearly three decades ago, when the situation in Rome was not nearly as dire as it is today:

“The proposal of Cardinal Ratzinger even if you conceded to us a Bishop, even some autonomy for the bishops, even if you concede us the whole liturgy of 1962, even if you allow us to continue the seminary and the Fraternity as it is working now, we will not collaborate. It’s impossible, impossible because we work in the diametrically opposite directions. You work to the de-Christianization of society and the Church and of the human person. We work for Christianization. And so it is illogical. Rome has lost the Faith, my dear friend. Rome is in Apostasy. I do not speak empty works, only that I tell you the truth. Rome is in apostasy. You cannot have confidence in them. Rome has left the Church; they have left the Church. It’s sure, it is certain.”Listen to

The question many concerned friends of the SSPX are asking now is: What has changed since 1987 when these words were spoken, other than that that situation in Rome has become so much worse. Was Archbishop Lefebvre perhaps hasty in in 1988 and lacking in due prudence and patience, or was he right not to trust Rome farther than he could throw Rome? That is the question, I suppose, on the minds of tens of thousands just now. Please pray for Bishops de Galarrata, Fellay and the entire Society of St. Pius X which just now if faced with potentially history-changing decisions.

This just in from our friends at CFN, regarding the sermon preached at the SSPX ordinations in Winona last week: "Bishop de Galarreta alluded to today’s gestures of the Ecclesia Dei Commission concerning normalization of the SSPX wherein the Fraternity is supposedly no longer expected to accept those points of the Council the SSPX has always resisted, such as religious liberty, ecumenism and the New Mass. This new framework for normalization is what Msgr. Pozzo, head of the Ecclesia Dei commission, had related to Bishop Fellay.

"But, according to Bishop de Galarrata, 'Francis corrected Pozzo.'

"This is the first I heard of any such correction, and various priests I subsequently questioned were not aware of it either (I did not see Bishop de Galarreta after the ordination ceremony). Perhaps the bishop was referring to Pope Francis’ interview with La Croix wherein Francis said regarding the establishment of a Personal Prelature for SSPX: “That would be a possible solution but beforehand it will be necessary to establish a fundamental agreement with them. The Second Vatican Council has its value. We will advance slowly and patiently.”

"Bishop de Galarrata then commented on recent remarks from Ludwig Cardinal Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (who is the hierarchical superior of Mgr. Pozzo) wherein the Cardinal indicated that he expects the SSPX to accept Vatican II in its totality. " READ JOHN VENNARI'S ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Is the Bishop suggesting that the normalization of the SSPX may not be quite as imminent as it had appeared to be some weeks ago? We look forward to reading the entire transcript, once it is released by the SSPX.  And lest Bishop de Galarrata's words should be deemed overly harsh by some, we would point out that they put us in mind of sentiments expressed by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre nearly three decades ago, when the situation in Rome was not nearly as dire as it is today:

“The proposal of Cardinal Ratzinger even if you conceded to us a Bishop, even some autonomy for the bishops, even if you concede us the whole liturgy of 1962, even if you allow us to continue the seminary and the Fraternity as it is working now, we will not collaborate. It’s impossible, impossible because we work in the diametrically opposite directions. You work to the de-Christianization of society and the Church and of the human person. We work for Christianization. And so it is illogical. Rome has lost the Faith, my dear friend. Rome is in Apostasy. I do not speak empty works, only that I tell you the truth. Rome is in apostasy. You cannot have confidence in them. Rome has left the Church; they have left the Church. It’s sure, it is certain.” Listen to

The question many concerned friends of the SSPX are asking now is: What has changed since 1987 when these words were spoken, other than that the situation in Rome has become much worse? Was Archbishop Lefebvre hasty in 1988, perhaps lacking in due prudence and patience? Or was he right not to trust Rome farther than he could throw Rome?

That is the question, I suppose, on the minds of tens of thousands. Please pray for Bishops de Galarrata, Fellay and the entire Society of St. Pius X which just now is faced with potentially history-changing decisions. May God guide them all.
 

This from mlive.com, "With actress Melissa Gilbert withdrawing from Michigan's 8th Congressional race, Democrats are out a candidate just months before the election and face an even tougher uphill climb in what's been a solidly Republican district.

"Late Tuesday evening, Gilbert said head and neck injuries from two accidents in 2012 forced her to drop out of the race against incumbent Rep. Mike Bishop, R-Rochester. Democratic sources said Michigan's Democratic congressional delegation met Tuesday to talk about replacement candidates." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: Gee, that's too bad, Half Pint!

Maybe next time Melissa Gilbert (who played Laura on Little House) will think twice before putting her liberal loser tripe up against a pro-life, pro-family, pro-marriage conservative who actually cares about the common good and the lives of the unborn.

U.S. Rep. Mike Bishop, Gilbert's Republican opponent, is 100% pro-life and with no exceptions.  Melissa "Half Pint" Gilbert, on the other hand, is a radical abortion rights activist whose short-lived political run was supported by some of the fiercest abortion advocates in America.

According to LifeSiteNews, Gilbert even “consulted with radical abortion advocate EMILY's List, which supports only pro-abortion candidates. EMILY's List is infamous for going even farther than most abortion activists by actually advocating for the infanticide procedure known as partial-birth abortion."

It seems like anything and everything Hollywood touches eventually comes to embrace the dark side. ‘Little House on the Prairie’, leaving aside the schmaltz on steroids, was as pro-family as American primetime TV ever got.  It’ll be a cold day in hell, in fact, before we'll ever see the likes of it again. 

But now it seems that even that fleeting spark of televised innocence is under demonic assault, 30 years after Michael Landon blew up Walnut Grove—with its cute little child star now running around advocating for the slaughter of unborn (and partial-born) babies in and out of their mothers’ wombs.

How twisted, demented and sad our 'enlightened' society has become. God help us, what a mess!   

This from i09.gizmodo.com: "Thousands of people last week discovered that Amazon had quietly removed electronic copies of George Orwell's 1984 from their Kindle e-book readers. In the process, Amazon revealed how easy censorship will be in the Kindle age.

"In this case, the mass e-book removals were motivated by copyright . A company called MobileReference, who did not own the copyrights to the books 1984 and Animal Farm, uploaded both books to the Kindle store and started selling them. When the rights owner heard about this, they contacted Amazon and asked that the e-books be removed. And Amazon decided to erase them not just from the store, but from all the Kindles where they'd been downloaded. Amazon operators used the Kindle wireless network, called WhisperNet, to quietly delete the books from people's devices and refund them the money they'd paid.

"An uproar followed, with outraged customers pointing out the irony that Amazon was deleting copies of a novel about a fascist media state that constantly alters history by changing digital records of what has happened." READ ARTICLE HERE

REMNANT COMMENT: This story was sent to us by a Remnant subscriber who attached the simple note: "Michael: Please keep The Remnant on paper."  Indeed, maintaining The Remnant's print-edition is an extremely costly and time-consuming endeavor. In fact, it is hands down the most expensive arm of our apostolate, and makes little sense from a modern business model point of view.

But, as we see it, The Remnant needs to do two things: Take into account those who as a matter of principle avoid the Internet (especially older readers who prefer newsprint), and also anticipate an uncertain future on the Internet in which all things Christian may well become illegal hate speech. We have no intention of placing our ability to communicate with the worldwide remnant and to defend the Christian family and the Kingship of Christ entirely in the hands of the lords of the Internet, whoever or whatever they might be now or in the future.

Please pray for us, that we will be able to maintain The Remnant in both its print- and e-edition.  And if you have not yet subscribed to The Remnant, please help us by doing so today: