Paix liturgique

Many faithful Catholics, and not only those commonly labeled as traditionalists, suffer a profound unease: they can no longer grant their pastors, priests, bishops, and even the Pope the favorable presumption due to any superior, and especially to any ecclesiastical superior who is supposed to teach in the name of Christ.

In the secular sphere, unfortunately, we have become accustomed to what is, nevertheless, a symptom of a deep-seated malaise: we no longer trust, a priori, the magistrates and statesmen who govern the nation. We may or may not believe their word; we obey or disobey according to the circumstances, and if we do, it is often under duress. This abnormal situation stems, obviously, from the fact that the relationship between citizens and state leaders is altered by the "principles" of modern democracy, which fail to safeguard the common good.

But it must be acknowledged that a similar distrust is taking hold in the religious sphere. Gone are the days when the pastor’s sermon at Sunday Mass was received, quite literally, as absolute truth, as was the bishop's pastoral letter read from the pulpit, and even more so the documents published by the Pope. Today, the first inclination is to question. Instead of conveying the message to which they have received a mandate from the Lord—speaking to us of charity, sin, the virtuous life, penance, the hell we must avoid, and the salvation we must attain—they speak of migrants, ecumenism, and synodal reform. This last point, moreover, demonstrates how the clergy are ridiculously attempting to imitate modern democracy, with the consequent loss of credibility for themselves.

It is precisely this loss of credibility stemming from the imitation of the democratic model that the courageous Swiss prelate, Monsignor Martin Grichting, eminent canonist and former vicar general of the Diocese of Chur (from which he resigned due to the pastoral approach of the new bishop, the progressive Monsignor Bonnemain), addressed in an article published on kath.net on June 26, 2025: “The synodal project is, ultimately, the expression of a theological error regarding the nature of the Church. The Church is no longer believed and seen from the standpoint and having as basis the Word of God and the sacraments, but is understood in a political and representative way. In the past, theological errors have always caused tensions within the Church. Representative democracy disguised as a synod, as it is currently practiced, will also lead to conflicts.”

“Reflecting recently on the controversy surrounding the consecrations announced by the Society of Saint Pius X, Msgr. Grichting aptly warns about the destruction of trust that can result from the actions of Church leaders, in this case the Pope himself, when they overstep their bounds (Per Mariam, June 5, 2026, Trust in the Church has been ‘destroyed’ for many in recent years/La confiance dans l’Église a été « détruite » pour beaucoup ces dernières années):

“Mistrust of power,” writes Bishop Grichting, “is thus overcome in the Church by the fact that the faithful have confidence that the Pope knows himself to be bound by unconditional obedience of faith in the exercise of his power, which is in itself unlimited. This trust has been shaken in the Church; for many, it has been destroyed. Pope Francis has turned the indissolubility of marriage into a farce through “Amoris Laetitia.” […] The Vatican’s non-liturgical blessing of few seconds for same-sex and unmarried couples (“Fiducia supplicans”) represents a further departure from Christian marriage. Ambiguous gestures such as the Pachamama cult in the Vatican and the “Document on Human Fraternity” (Abu Dhabi Declaration) from 2019 have effectively denied Christian universalism of salvation. […] This situation persists under Pope Leo XIV. In the wake of “synodalism,” the Apostolic See published a document that attempts to justify the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Final Report of Study Group 5 regarding the Sacrament of Holy Orders and “potestas sacra”). Without comment—and irresponsibly—the Apostolic See has published a heretic text that relativizes Church teaching on marriage and the family (Final Report of Study Group 9 regarding “complex issues”).

Even serious liturgical abuses are ignored or downplayed by bishops and the Holy See. Yet the followers of the extraordinary form are harassed. Priests are prevented or made to find it difficult to celebrate the Eucharist in this manner. Laypeople are humiliated by being forbidden to celebrate this form of the Eucharist in parish churches. These faithful are driven underground or into the Society of St. Pius X, whose very existence is then lamented. […] The Society of St. Pius X’s announcement that it will consecrate bishops on its own initiative is an expression of a loss of trust in the Pope. And the sympathy for this act, which extends far beyond the Society’s followers, shows that for many, trust has given way to mistrust. Too much has happened, and the consequences are devastating. For more and more Catholics are realizing that Church doctrine no longer serves as the limit to the hierarchy’s actions. This is the illness from which the Church truly suffers. And it cannot be healed by exercising papal omnipotence through threats and excommunications. […] he ordination of bishops against the Pope’s will is ultimately the—undoubtedly problematic—attempt to limit papal omnipotence when its boundary no longer seems to be Church doctrine.”

It is this trust in our pastors, based on the fact that they exercise their ministry as the voice of the Good Shepherd (“Whoever listens to you listens to me,” Luke 10:16), that we wish to see restored. It is this voice of the Good Shepherd that we hope to hear in Paris, when we ask our bishop for the freedom for the liturgy of our fathers to be celebrated everywhere, praying our rosaries without ceasing, at number 10 rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, from Monday to Friday, from 13:00 to 13:30, at Saint-Georges de La Villette, 114 avenue Simon Bolivar, on Wednesdays and Fridays at 17:00, in front of Notre-Dame du Travail, on Sundays at 18:15.