Per Mariam: Mater Dolorosa: News

Bishops consecrated in secret for Underground Church in China

Michael Haynes — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 12:29:40 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — Following the Vatican’s secret deal with China, Catholic bishops are being secretly consecrated to serve the Underground Church in the country, according to new details shared by a fellow underground bishop.

Shortly after the signing of the Vatican’s secret deal with China in 2018, Catholics in the Underground Church professed to feeling betrayed. AsiaNews – a site that regularly documents the abductions and torturing of underground Catholics – reported that “Underground Catholics bitterly suspect that the Vatican has abandoned them.”

Since then, the Chinese government’s process of Sinicization – by which China subverts religions to the control of the Communist state – has proliferated and persecution of the Underground Church loyal to Rome has also increased.

“It is the government that China’s Catholics today resist, not their fellow faithful,” said an un-named Chinese bishop as part of a detailed analysis published recently by Catholic World Report. …

The rest of this correspondent’s report, originally published on the Catholic Herald, is found at this link.

Pope Leo: Vatican II’s liturgical reform ‘necessary’ for greater participation

Michael Haynes — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:34:12 GMT

VATICAN CITY (Catholic Herald) — Pope Leo has firmly defended the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council, stating that it was deemed “necessary” in order to make the liturgy “more accessible”.

Closing his series of catechetical talks on Vatican II’s Sacrosanctum Concilium, Pope Leo tackled a chief underlying element behind the previous number of speeches – namely examining the rationale behind Vatican II’s promotion of a liturgical reform. In doing so, he drew from the Council text itself, but also from Pope Paul VI’s writings while still Cardinal Montini, along with Pope Pius XII’s reforms to the Holy Week liturgies.

In Leo’s assessment, the liturgical reform is built around Montini’s argument that the liturgy must demand more specific participation from the congregation. Quoting directly from the future Paul VI’s 1962 letter, Leo stated that Catholics “cannot and must no longer remain silent and passive. Their physical presence cannot be reconciled with their spiritual absence.”

The rest of this correspondent’s report, originally published on the Catholic Herald, is found at this link.

Timeline: Rupnik case from December 2022 until now

Michael Haynes — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:43:32 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — With the Marko Rupnik case making a return to the headlines this week, after many months of silence – even years – since any substantive update, it is perhaps useful to recall the timeline of the affair.

On Monday, Messa in Latino (MiL) wrote that reliable Vatican sources had informed them that Rupnik would soon be acquitted i…

SSPX makes canonical appeal against excommunication

Michael Haynes — Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:00:00 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — The Society of Saint Pius X has issued its formal response to the Holy See’s Decree of excommunication, thus initiating a process which results in the temporary suspension of the penalties of the Decree.

On 11 July, the Society sent a “preliminary recourse” to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF), marking its formal respo…

SSPX rejects Pope's request and consecrates four bishops

Michael Haynes — Wed, 01 Jul 2026 13:24:20 GMT

(Catholic Herald) — Four new bishops have been consecrated for the Society of Saint Pius X today, against the direct wish of Pope Leo XIV, in an action which the Holy See has warned would incur the penalty of latae sententiae excommunication.

Newly consecrated Bishop Pascal Schreiber processes through the field at Écône. ©SSPX

Before a crowd of more than …

Leo urges SSPX against consecrations: Praises their love of Tradition and promises 'dialogue'

Michael Haynes — Tue, 30 Jun 2026 10:57:43 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Pope Leo XIV has sent a personal appeal to the Society of St. Pius X, urging them to halt the planned July 1 episcopal consecrations as it would be a “sin of extreme gravity.”

Just 24-hours before the SSPX plans to consecrate four new bishops, the Pope sent his much awaited final appeal to the Society, seeking to call off the …

EXCLUSIVE: Cardinal Burke on the Consistory and SSPX consecrations

Michael Haynes — Mon, 29 Jun 2026 17:27:59 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Raymond Burke has given his assessment of the recent Extraordinary Consistory along with the upcoming episcopal consecrations of the Society of Saint Pius X, noting some remaining concerns about the consistory format, while lamenting the planned consecrations.

Speaking with Per Mariam following the recent consistory, …

Cardinal Muller: Push for lay homilies stems from denial of ‘sacramental priesthood’

Michael Haynes — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:37:38 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has added his voice to the Vatican’s in opposing a move by the German bishops to have lay people delivering homilies during Mass.

“One cannot arbitrarily divide up priestly powers and outsource them in a functionalist manner,” he warned, “unless one denies the sacramental priesthood altogether in a Prote…

Full testament of Cardinal Ruini: A key aide to Pope John Paul II

Michael Haynes — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 08:02:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The full testament of Cardinal Camillo Ruini – a key aide of Pope John Paul II – has been published, containing reflections on his long career and the three popes he served under as a prelate.

On June 16, Cdl. Ruini died in Rome at the age of 95.

Ordained in 1954, he was consecrated bishop in 1983 and made cardinal by John Paul …

Here's what will happen at next week's Vatican Consistory

Michael Haynes — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 14:39:28 GMT

UPDATED June 22: This June 17 report was updated on June 22 after the Vatican published details confirming the report below, and providing additional information about the cardinals leading the reflections in the consistory.

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Details of the upcoming consistory reveal that just around two hours are outlined for the customary fr…

Leo to visit Notre-Dame and Lourdes, during his September trip to France

Michael Haynes — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:15:11 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Details of the Pope’s September voyage to France have been issued by the French episcopate, with highlights being Leo visiting the recently restored Notre-Dame in Paris and the shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

As announced by Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline on June 9, Leo XIV will visit some of France’s most prominent Catholic sites w…

Head of Spanish bishops rejects spirit of Amoris Laetitia days before Pope's visit

Michael Haynes — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 16:20:29 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The head of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference has de facto rejected the substance of Pope Francis’ Amoris Laetitia, writing that Holy Communion is not permitted for married people now living in new relationships.

Issuing a pastoral letter on June 1, to mark the upcoming feast of Corpus Christi, Archbishop Luis Argüello outlined c…

Synod office washes hands of Study Group 9's homosexuality report

David McLoone — Fri, 15 May 2026 22:37:25 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The official Vatican body behind the Synod on Synodality has washed its hands of a controversial study group document – which included testimonies from two “married” homosexual men and implied same-sex “relationships” are not inherently sinful – while conspicuously declining to address whether the report contradicts Catholic t…

Cardinal Müller: Synod's homosexuality report leads to ‘heretical relativization’ of marriage

Michael Haynes — Fri, 08 May 2026 15:19:54 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Gerhard Müller has issued a blistering critique of the latest study group report from the Synod on Synodality and its platforming of anti-Catholic, pro-homosexual ideology.

The great welcome form LGBT advocates to the Synod Study Group 9’s recent report, is – says Cdl. Müller – greatly revealing. The report’s text hig…

Traditional Redemptorists reject validity of popes since Vatican II

Michael Haynes — Sat, 02 May 2026 10:34:20 GMT

(PerMariam) — The Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer have issued a strident statement condemning the teaching of Vatican II, and rejecting the legitimacy of the popes since the council.

The “Modernist presence within the structures and hierarchy of the official Church has gone beyond critical mass to a near saturation point.” Thus reads a portion of the new …

Synod office to provide ‘organizational support’ for Vatican's Amoris Laetitia meeting

Michael Haynes — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 21:22:12 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — The meeting of bishops convened by Pope Leo XIV to discuss Amoris Laetitia will take place from October 7 to 14, as early details begin to emerge.

Now with dates confirmed for the week-long meeting, the presidents of national bishops’ conferences will begin to plan their attendance for October’s meeting, after Leo announced it …

Human Rights Watch: Vatican-China deal has aided religious persecution

Michael Haynes — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 13:12:29 GMT

(PerMariam) — The watchdog agency Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned that the controversial 2018 deal between China and the Vatican has “helped the Chinese government to pressure underground Catholic communities to join the official church.”

According to a detailed new report issued by HRW, the Chinese state is only increasing its persecution of undergr…

EXCLUSIVE Cardinal Arinze: Manner of celebrating the liturgy ‘shows what we believe’

Michael Haynes — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:11 GMT

VATICAN CITY (PerMariam) — Cardinal Arinze has highlighted the great need for reverence in the liturgy, warning that if priests invent new or unlawful aspects of the Mass themselves then they “damage” the Church.

The Church’s liturgical life is intimately linked to the practice of the faith, as summarized by the phrase “lex orandi, lex credendi” – the la…

Bishop Schneider: ‘Only divine intervention can help’ Church crisis now

Michael Haynes — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:31:13 GMT

(PerMariam) — Referencing the “state of necessity” in the Church invoked by the Society of Saint Pius X, a prominent diocesan bishop has opined that “only divine intervention can help” in the face of the widespread internal ecclesial crisis.

The crisis in the Church is a much discussed issue, dividing many in terms of how serious they deem it to be. For …

Leo appoints Randazzo to Vatican, elevates Pegoraro in Curial reshuffle

Michael Haynes — Thu, 26 Mar 2026 11:17:25 GMT

(Pelican+) — Two curial moves announced by the Vatican today demonstrate a sense of continuity which appears so crucial to Leo’s style.

While Leo was still wrapping up his final greetings to those gathered for the General Audience, the daily press bulletin from the Holy See Press Office announced two new archbishops.

First was the naming of Bishop Anthony…