“Music, indeed, is part of the liturgical action and is not merely a decorative part of the celebration,” Pope Leo said at today’s general audience.
Vatican II
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo calls on priests to ‘respect’ the post-Vatican II liturgies in new letter
Pope Leo’s letter to Cardinal Roche is the latest in a series of moves he has made this summer to affirm the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
SSPX appeals Vatican decision, claiming excommunication is ‘suspended’
The Society of St. Pius X—the group that the Vatican declared to be in schism on July 2—claims that beginning the appeal process “has the effect of suspending” the execution of the Vatican decree.
Posted inNews Analysis
Analysis: SSPX excommunications show what Pope Leo means by church ‘unity’
What do these decisions tell us about Pope Leo XIV and his understanding both of the SSPX and of the church unity that is central to his papacy?
Posted inVatican Dispatch
SSPX ordains four new bishops in defiance of Pope Leo and the Vatican
The SSPX ordained four new bishops without a papal mandate in Switzerland, triggering automatic excommunication for all six bishops involved.
Posted inNews
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Catholic power broker in Italy’s culture wars, dies at 95
The late cardinal was critical of Pope Francis’ pontificate but celebrated the election of Pope Leo XIV, who Ruini hoped would “reunite the Catholic Church.”
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo speaks out on SSPX ordinations and U.S.-Iran deal
The pope spoke to journalists outside Castel Gandolfo.
Posted inCatholic Book Club
Gordon Zahn’s influence on Catholic just war teaching
Gordon Zahn’s influence on Catholic views toward state-sponsored violence, conscientious objection, pacifism and discipleship reached far beyond American shores in his long career of activism.
Posted inNews
Pope Leo on liturgy: Be open to reform, ‘respect the texts and norms’
Amid renewed tensions between the Vatican and traditionalist Catholics over the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Leo XIV defended Church reform as a legitimate process that adapts to current needs while remaining rooted in authentic tradition.
Posted inBooks
‘Father, forgive me’: James O’Toole on Confession in America
In his artful account of American participation in the sacrament of confession, ‘For I Have Sinned: The Rise and Fall of Catholic Confession in America,’ James O’Toole offers a succinct analysis of when and why American Catholics partake of the sacrament.