Yours truly the celebrant of the Vetus Ordo Palm Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Savannah, Georgia:
In the ancient Latin Rite Mass for Palm Sunday, the priest knocks on the door of the church to symbolize the opening of the gates of Heaven. This act represents Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, where the faithful are invited to enter and celebrate the liturgy. The knocking serves as a reminder of the importance of welcoming Jesus into the community and the church itself.
The ritual emphasizes the transition from the outside world into the sacred space of worship, reinforcing the significance of the day and the upcoming events of Holy Week:
Pope appoints new Substitute, Nuncio to Italy, and Prefect of Papal Household
Pope Leo XIV makes three significant appointments: Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia, takes the place of Substitute for General Affairs Edgar Peña Parra, who becomes Apostolic Nuncio to Italy, succeeding Petar Rajič, who has been appointed Prefect of the Papal Household.
By Salvatore Cernuzio
From Colombia to the Secretariat of State, from the Secretariat of State to the Nunciature in Italy, from the Nunciature in Italy to the Prefecture of the Papal Household. Today a round of appointments were announced within the Holy See.
Pope Leo XIV has chosen Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, who will turn 56 in July, to be the new Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State, one of the most important and sensitive positions in the entire Vatican apparatus, effectively a kind of “Interior Minister” of the Vatican City State.
Ordained a priest in 1995 and incardinated in Bergamo, Archbishop Rudelli holds a degree in moral theology and has until now served as Apostolic Nuncio to Colombia. He assumed that post in 2023 following his appointment by Pope Francis, who had consecrated him Bishop in 2019 and sent him, in January 2020, as his representative to Zimbabwe.
The prelate's experience in the Holy See’s diplomatic service, however, dates back over twenty years to 2001, with assignments in the Pontifical Representations in Ecuador and Poland, and in the Section for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State.
Today, by the will of Pope Leo XIV, he becomes the head of that Section, marking the Pope's second significant appointment in the Secretariat of State, following last November’s appointment of the Assessor, the Nigerian theologian and canonist Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, previously Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
Archbishop Peña Parra becomes Nuncio to Italy
Archbishop Rudelli succeeds Venezuelan Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, whom Pope Leo XIV today appointed Apostolic Nuncio to Italy.
Pope Francis had previously appointed Archbishop Peña Parra as Substitute on 15 August 2018, transferring him from Mozambique. Since 2015, he had led the Apostolic Nunciature in that East African country and also participated in a mediation group to restore peace between the national government and an opposition political party.
Born in 1960, a seasoned diplomat with experience in Kenya, the former Yugoslavia, Honduras, and Mexico, and later serving as Pontifical Representative in Pakistan, Archbishop Peña Parra became the second Latin American to hold the post of Substitute, after the Argentine Leonardo Sandri.
Archbishop Rajič becomes Prefect of the Papal Household
Today also sees the appointment of Archbishop Petar Rajič as Prefect of the Papal Household.
The position had been vacant for more than six years, since the departure of Archbishop Georg Gänswein, now Apostolic Nuncio to the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania). Rajič himself had served as Nuncio to the same countries from 2019 before arriving in Italy in 2024.
As Prefect, the archbishop will oversee the work of the Prefecture, a Curial body responsible for the internal order and daily management of the Pope’s life.
“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
My Comment on that prayer, which should be condemned with vigor:
I think that whoever helps write the pope’s homilies
failed him in this case, not so much in the teaching but saying God does
not hear the prayers of those who…Of course He does hear them, but may
well condemn blasphemous prayers, like praying for abortion clinics and
those who provide abortions and those who wage and unjust war that kills
so many innocent civilians, euphemistically called “collateral damage.”
The just war theory, and it is only a theory, does not seem to be
applicable to this particular war and what Israel and the USA are doing
now and what Israel did to Gaza. What they are doing to Lebanon is a
crime, 1,000,000 innocent people there displaced.
The Church, meaning the pope and bishops make the determination about a "just war". None has been made in this case or what has happened in other parts of the world, like Ukraine, Gaza, etc.
At any rate, the Pope said not that God doesn’t’t hear that prayer, He doesn’t listen and in fact rejects it. Thank you God!
The news is astounding, and an insult to Catholics worldwide: for the first time in living memory, the Latin Patriarch was prevented from entering the Holy Sepulchre.
This morning, the Israeli Police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.
The full press release of the unbelievable incident is from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem itself, in a joint statement with the Custody of the Holy Land:
"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: 'Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood' (Is 1:15)."
As Jesus walks the Way of the Cross, we place ourselves behind him, following in his footsteps. As we walk with him, we contemplate his passion for the sake of humanity, his broken heart, and his life as a gift of love.
We turn our gaze to Jesus, who reveals himself as King of Peace, even as war looms abounds him. He remains steadfast in meekness, while others are stirring up violence. He offers himself to embrace humanity, even as others raise swords and clubs. He is the light of the world, though darkness is about to engulf the earth. He came to bring life, even as plans unfold to condemn him to death.
King of Peace. Jesus’ desire is to bring the world into the Father’s arms, tearing down every barrier that separates us from God and from our neighbor, for “He is our peace” (Eph 2:14).
King of Peace. Jesus enters into Jerusalem not upon a horse, but upon a donkey, fulfilling the ancient prophecy that calls for rejoicing at the arrival of the Messiah: “Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations” (Zech 9:9–10).
King of Peace. When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him and struck the high priest’s servant, Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: “Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52).
King of Peace. While he was burdened with our sufferings and pierced for our sins, Jesus “did not open his mouth, like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent” (Is 53:7). He did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history.
Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood” (Is 1:15).
As we set our gaze upon him who was crucified for us, we can see a crucified humanity. In his wounds, we see the hurts of so many women and men today. In his last cry to the Father, we hear the weeping of those who are crushed, who have no hope, who are sick and who are alone. Above all, we hear the painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war.
Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!
In the words of the Servant of God, Bishop Tonino Bello, I would like to entrust this cry to Mary Most Holy, who stands beneath the cross of her Son and weeps also at the feet of those who are crucified today:
“Holy Mary, woman of the third day, grant us the certainty that, in spite of all, death will no longer hold sway over us; that the injustices of peoples are numbered; that the flashes of war are fading into the twilight; that the sufferings of the poor are breathing their last. And grant, finally, that the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun” (Maria, donna dei nostri giorni).
The Holy Father’s vestments to include the miter were quite beautiful, thanks be to God.
Classic Roman chasubles—commonly known as
fiddleback chasubles—are distinguished by their stiff, shield-like shape and ornate embroidery. While "full cut" is often associated with flowing Gothic styles, in a Roman context it refers to a wide-cut silhouette that provides a more regal drape than narrower, modern versions.
How Pope Leo is Reshuffling the Curia: Musical Chairs and Power Games
Randazzo named Prefect for Legislative Texts as modernists are sidelined
by Serre Verweij
This is the conclusion of a great article I just read at Rorate Caeli. Brick by brick, Pope Leo is showing the world that His Holiness in secret, though, isn’t Pope Francis II but rather Pope Benedict XVII.
This is the conclusion to the post by Rorate Caeli:
Conclusion Pope Leo XIV is finally showing his hand. Unambiguously orthodox prelates are back in fashion, and canon law has returned to its supreme position. The era of personal favoritism is over. Those who expected Leo to institutionalize the "Francis Revolution" were mistaken. The question now is which of Francis’s other policies will be reversed. Will the Curia return to the dominance it enjoyed under John Paul II? What is the future of the seminaries? These shifts suggest a papacy that is not just "conservative," but one intent on a total restoration of order.
I regret that the author calls this papacy “conservative “ a political descriptor, he should have used the religious word for it. This papacy is orthodox! You can read the full article with great insights into Pope Benedict XVII by pressing the Rorate title at the top of this post!
From one Principality to another, Pope Leo, recovering the rich trappings of the Principality of the Vatican,from the coat of arms on His Holiness' papal sash, to the mozzetta and ornate papal stole even for greeting kings and princes and other political figures.
The only principality smaller than Monaco is Vatican City. How kool for Pope Leo to visit the second smallest principality and like Vatican City where the state religion is Catholicism, so too is the state religion of Monaco Catholicsm!
Many, especially the heterodox left, are flummoxed by Pope Leo visiting the extremely rich and monarchical Principality of Monaco, the playground for the filthy rich and famous.
It is no secret that in the previous papacy the filthy rich and famous felt that Pope Francis looked down his nose at them and preferred the materially poor to them. Due to this perception, right or wrong, the rich who support the Church’s missionary activities and outreach to the materially poor did not give as much. And the materially poor suffered and so has the Vatican’s coffers.
The filthy rich, though, helped Pope Francis create the Church he asked for, a poor Church for the poor, but in this case a financially poor Church can’t always be there for the materially poor.
Pope Leo, thanks be to God, has recovered the treasures and riches of papal protocol as well as its own “Principality” and monarchical trappings. In fact His Holiness looks more like Pope Benedict XVI than Pope Francis. This indicates that His Holiness is not really Pope Francis II in secret but rather in His Holiness heart, Pope Benedict XVII.
“How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom (Principality) of God!…But with God, all things are possible, thus the rich can enter the Kingdom of God but only by God’s grace and by the Church’s ministry to not only the materially poor, many who are rich in faith, but to the materially rich, many who are impoverished in faith and morals, but certainly not all as not all materially poor are rich in faith either, but God can save them too!
Pope Leo understands what it means to be “a poor Church for the poor!”
Pope Leo XIV expressed his major concern this week that Traditionis Custodis had opened “a painful wound within the Church regarding the celebration of the Mass, which should be the very sacrament of unity.”
If the Church is a mother who cares for her children, Pope Leo said she must heal wounds and learn to look upon others “with renewed understanding and greater sensitivity” which TC does not offer.
In my most humble opinion, Pope Leo has no other choice than to suppress Traditionis Custodis to the dustbin of a sad history and reinstate Summorum Pontificum with irreversible authority.
This is an artificial intelligence summary of the factual inaccuracies of TC:
The question of whether
Traditionis Custodescontains "untrue" statements is a subject of significant debate within the Catholic Church, primarily centering on thefactual accuracy of the premisesPope Francis used to justify the document.
While the document is a legal act (a motu proprio), its accompanying letter to bishops makes several claims that critics—including theologians, historians, and canon lawyers—have challenged as factually incorrect or misleading.
Key Disputed Claims
The primary criticisms regarding the "truth" of the document's contents include:
The Intent of Previous Popes: Pope Francis claims that the "generosity" of John Paul II and Benedict XVI in allowing the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) was "exploited" by groups to oppose the Second Vatican Council and the Mass of Paul VI.
The Counter-Argument: Critics argue this is a generalization. They point out that many TLM communities are fully supportive of the Council and simply prefer the older liturgy for spiritual reasons, rather than as a tool for division.
The Result of the 2020 Bishop Consultation: The Vatican conducted a survey of bishops worldwide regarding the implementation of Summorum Pontificum (Benedict XVI's 2007 decree). Pope Francis stated that the results of this survey revealed "a situation that preoccupies and saddens me" and necessitated the new restrictions.
The Counter-Argument: Some reports and leaks from various dioceses suggested that many bishops' responses were actually neutral or positive toward the TLM, leading to accusations that the survey results were misrepresented to justify the crackdown.
The "Unique Expression" of the Lex Orandi: The document states that the liturgical books promulgated by Paul VI and John Paul II are the "unique expression of the lex orandi (law of prayer) of the Roman Rite."
The Counter-Argument: Scholars argue this is historically and theologically inaccurate. They contend that the Roman Rite has always had multiple "expressions" or "uses" (such as the Dominican, Ambrosian and Ordinariate rites) and that the TLM cannot simply cease to be an expression of the Church's prayer by decree.
Traditionis Custodis and others have stated that the TLM or Vetus Ordo needed to be and must be suppressed because Vetus Ordo goers reject Vatican II and the Bugnini Ordo.
We really don’t know how many would be in align with the SSPX or even Sedevacanists, but they are a small minority, although perhaps the majority of Vetus Ordo goers question or reject some of the pastoral positions put forward by Vatican II while certainly accepting all the dogmas and defined doctrines of the Church of all her ecumenical councils.
But let’s talk about attitudes and beliefs of Vetus Ordo goers and Bugnini Ordo goers. Keep in mind that there are far more Bugnini Mass goers than Vetus Ordo goers:
Vetus Ordo goers:
1. They believe the Mass as Sacrifice and that the Bread and Wine become truly the Real Presence of the Crucified and Risen Lord. They accept the dogma of Transubstantiation
2. They believe you need to be in a state of grace to receive Holy Communion and they go the Confession frequently, perhaps even weekly.
3. They are pro-life from conception through death, but make exceptions for the use of the death penalty for heinous crimes.
4. They don’t like ecumenism, a pastoral position of Vatican II
5. They don’t like how priests manipulate and distort and commit liturgical abuses with the Bugnini Ordo of the Mass—most appreciate a well celebrated Bugnini Mass but with the propers and following the relaxed rubrics scrupulously
6. They scrupulously believe in the all male priesthood and that marriage is between one man and one woman for a lifetime when valid.
7. They wholeheartedly accept Humanae Vitae, a post Vatican II encylical by St. Pope Paul VI
8. They don’t believe same sex couples or those in invalid marriages should be blessed as a couple because they believe in the sexual moral teachings of the Church and the call to chastity, thus they reject Fiducia Supplicans
9. they hate, absolutely hate, Traditionis Custodis and had a disdain for Pope Francis who they believe canceled Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI
10. They want to be a part of the inclusivity that Pope Francis proclaimed, todas, todas, todas
Bugnini Ordo goers:
1. They don’t believe the Mass is a sacrifice but rather a convivial meal, a kumbaya approach emphasizing the horizontal (fellowship) rather than the vertical (God).
2. They believe that Holy Communion is a symbol of Christ, thus they reject transubstantiation
3.They don’t go to Confession regularly if ever and receive Holy Communion no matter what kinds of mortal sins they have committed, even if they are living in sin every time they attend Mass even if once or twice a year
4. They are pro-choice but dead set against the death penalty
5. They want women or whatever gender is claimed, to be ordained to Holy Orders and all three degrees, bishop, priest and deacon. They pray that a woman will become pope one day and see the lady Archbishop of Canterbury as a sign of the future for the Roman Church
6. They want to change the anthropology of the Church and her sacraments to allow for the Sacrament of Marriage and Holy Orders to embrace all kinds of configurations and claimed genders, even polygamy of whatever kind. They fully endorse all that the Democrat Party believes, teaches and proclaims to be revealed by God including Abortion as a sacrament on demand and all that the LGBTQ+++ ideologues promote
7.They glory in liturgical abuses, creativity and manipulation of the Bugnini Mass and hate the pre-Vatican II Church and Mass, hate it!
8. They love ecumenism and interfaith relations and want anyone no matter what religion, baptized or not, to be included in any Mass they attend and receive Holy Communion
9. It doesn’t matter what religion you are and even as a Catholic they will receive Communion in Protestant sects and see no problem with Catholics joining any sects, especially the non-denominationals.
10. They reject Humanae Vitae and most of the papal magisteriums of St. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict
So many Bugnini Ordo goers want to cancel Vetus Ordo goers because they perceive them as rejecting the Bugnini Mass and all that is liberal and progressive in the Church. But in reality it is the Bugnini Mass goers that pose the greatest threat to the Church in terms of orthodoxy in kind and number.
