Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 17, 2025 Column Father De Celles
NEWS STORIES. This week we had a couple of huge news stories that you may not have heard about, but that will have a substantial impact on the Church.
Did Pope Francis…Mislead Us? Last week respected veteran reporter Diane Montagna disclosed that Pope Francis seemed to at least misrepresent his reasons for substantially suppressing the Extraordinary Mass and deriding its devotees. Here is an excerpt from her article. Much more available on the internet.
“New evidence has come to light that exposes major cracks in the foundation of Traditionis Custodes, Pope Francis’ 2021 decree that restricted the traditional Roman liturgy.
“This journalist has obtained the Vatican’s overall assessment of the consultation of bishops that was said to have ‘prompted’ Pope Francis to revoke Summorum Pontificum, Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter liberalizing…[the use of] the ‘Traditional Latin Mass’ and sacraments.
“….The overall assessment directly contradicts….the stated rationale for imposing Traditionis Custodes and raises serious questions about its credibility.
“When, on July 16, 2021, Pope Francis promulgated Traditionis Custodes, he said the responses to the questionnaire ‘reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me and persuades me of the need to intervene.’…
“He told the bishops that he was ‘constrained’ by their ‘requests’ to revoke not only Summorum Pontificum but ‘all the norms, instructions, permissions and customs’ that preceded his new decree.
“However, what the Vatican’s overall assessment reveals is that the ‘gaps’, ‘divergences’, and ‘disagreements’ stem more from a level of nescience, prejudice and resistance of a minority of bishops to Summorum Pontificum than from any problems originating from adherents to the traditional Roman liturgy.
“Conversely, the official CDF report states that ‘the majority of bishops who responded to the questionnaire, and who have generously and intelligently implemented Summorum Pontificum, ultimately express satisfaction with it.’ It adds that ‘in places where the clergy have closely cooperated with the bishop, the situation has become completely pacified.’
“…Furthermore, the text clearly shows that Traditionis Custodes disregarded and withheld what the report said about the peace Summorum Pontificum had restored, and turned a blind eye to a ‘constant observation made by the bishops’— that younger people were being drawn into the Catholic Church through this older form of the liturgy.
“….The task of preparing the official report was entrusted to the Fourth Section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. ….the Fourth Section possessed a breadth of experience and expertise with which to view and analyze the survey results.
“In the Spring of 2020, a questionnaire was sent …to the presidents of episcopal conferences worldwide, for distribution to diocesan bishops; responses were received by the CDF until January 2021. The body of material….was processed, analyzed, and incorporated by the Fourth Section into its findings.
“…Pope Francis stated in Traditionis Custodes that he ‘considered the wishes expressed by the episcopate and heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.’ The overall assessment is precisely the part of the report that synthesizes and interprets the survey results, offering an evaluative conclusion drawn from the evidence.….
“Pope Francis not only had the report, but according to reliable sources, literally snatched a working copy out of Cardinal Ladaria’s hands during an audience, telling him he wanted it immediately because he was curious about it.…[T]he Vatican has never released the contents of the official report…
“The Overall Assessment: 7 Key Takeaways
“1. Lack of liturgical peace and unity is due more to minority of bishops than to adherents of the traditional Roman liturgy.…
“2. Majority of bishops who implemented Summorum Pontificum expressed satisfaction with it….
“3. Bishops are grateful for the competence of the CDF Fourth Section ….
‘The report stressed the importance of stable groups and communities having a ‘competent interlocutor’ at the institutional level, i.e., at the Holy See…
“4. Report confirmed attraction of young people to the older form of liturgy. …It notes: ‘A constant observation made by the bishops is that it is young people who are discovering and choosing this older form of the liturgy. The majority of the stable groups present in the Catholic world are composed of young people, often converts to the Catholic faith or those returning after a time away from the Church and the sacraments. They are drawn by the sacredness, seriousness, and solemnity of the liturgy. What strikes them most, also amid a society that is excessively noisy and verbose, is the rediscovery of silence within sacred actions, the restrained and essential words, preaching that is faithful to the Church’s doctrine, the beauty of liturgical chant, and the dignity of the celebration: a seamless whole that is deeply attractive.’
“5. Report highlighted growth of vocations in Ex-Ecclesia Dei communities since Summorum Pontificum. …’Many young men…are choosing to enter the Ecclesia Dei institutes for their priestly or religious formation rather than diocesan seminaries, to the manifest regret of some bishops…’
“6. Report recommended studying both forms of Roman Rite as part of seminary formation.
“7. Report recommended: ‘Let the people be free to choose.’”
The IRS Admits It Suppressed Religion. In a huge announcement, the IRS has completely reversed of its position draconian policy restricting much of the potential “political speech” from Church pulpits. For 70 years the American Bishops quaked in their boots about losing our tax-exempt status because of this the prior IRS position, which was, as every tax professional or constitutional scholar knows, was absolutely wrong.
But there’s a downside to this: I’m not all excited about making candidate endorsements, and I know I don’t want some of my more politically naïve, if well meaning, brother priests making endorsements.
Here’s what Catholic News Agency reported:
“The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this week backed off a decades-old rule first established during the Eisenhower administration, declaring for the first time since the 1950s that churches and other nonprofits can openly endorse political candidates without risking their tax-exempt status.
“The order resolves a lawsuit launched in August 2024 by a coalition of religious broadcasters, one that challenged the 1954 Johnson Amendment, which says that 501(c)(3) nonprofits may not ‘participate in or intervene in’ political campaigns…..
“In a filing on Monday with the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas, the IRS agreed with the religious broadcasters in that ‘communications internal to a house of worship, between the house of worship and its congregation, in connection with religious services’ do not run afoul of the amendment’s prohibition on ‘participating in’ campaigns.
“The rule ‘imposes a substantial burden on plaintiffs’ free exercise of religion,’ the filing states.
“The document points to numerous nonprofits that are allowed to opine on political candidacies even as churches remain barred from doing so. The Johnson Amendment is ‘not a neutral rule of general applicability,’ it says.
“Religious entities ‘cannot fulfill their spiritual duties to teach the full counsel of the Word of God if they fail to address such issues and to inform their listeners how the views of various political candidates compare to the Bible’s position on such matters,’ it states.
“The Monday filing asked the court to accept the agreement, which will bar the IRS from enforcing the rule. The court accepted the decision shortly after its filing….”
Oremus pro invicem. Fr. De Celles