Paix liturgique

I must return to the sort of prohibition imposed on the *Summorum Pontificum* people on Saturday, October 24, who were not permitted to enter as a group St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, the Pope’s own basilica. Not only was the celebration of the Traditional Mass denied, but even entry into the basilica as a procession was refused, according to a letter dated September 30 and signed by Msgr. Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State—the third figure in the Church, after the Pope and the Secretary of State.

“It is a mistake—a grave mistake!” remarked a Roman prelate. In fact, all manner of Catholic pilgrimages are allowed entry and welcomed at St. Peter’s as organized groups — even some that could hardly be classified as such, as is the case of the so-called “LGBT Catholic” groups. Even the SSPX (Society of St. Pius X), prior to the announcement of its episcopal consecrations, was able to enter the basilica solemnly during its third Roman Jubilee on August 21, 2025. Yet, for the international pilgrimage dedicated to the traditional liturgy, the doors of the common Father’s house remained closed.

Reactions across various media outlets—including those outside traditionalist circles—as well as on social media, reflected the shock caused by this development. On October 24, *Il Messaggero* ran the headline: “Vatican: Traditionalists of the Latin Mass denied entry to St. Peter’s; tension surrounds the procession.” *La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana* noted: “Not only is the Mass prevented from being celebrated at St. Peter’s; this year, *Summorum Pontificum* pilgrims will also be denied access to the basilica to pray at the conclusion of the procession.”

There were also reactions from the episcopate, for instance, from Bishop Marian Eleganti, auxiliary bishop emeritus of Chur (Switzerland), who, on October 29, published a commentary on the traditionalist Catholic English-language website *Per Mariam* (https://www.permariam.com/p/bishop-eleganti-the-vatican-is-putting) titled “The Vatican is putting on a bad show,” in which he defended the traditionalist pilgrims and criticized the prohibitions and strict restrictions imposed upon them.

Furthermore, in an interview with Michael Matt (for *The Remnant*) on October 26—broadcast by *LifeSiteNews* on October 28—Bishop Mutsaerts also pointed out that, regardless of whether the decision originated from the Pope’s inner circle or the Curia, ultimately it is the Pope who remains primarily responsible for what happened.

The *Sostituto* (Substitute), Rudelli, offered no justification whatsoever for such a highly vexatious decision. This prompted a number of comments pointing in different directions. In *Correspondance Romaine* (in the article “Considerations *sine ira et studio* on the Pilgrimage *Ad Petri Sedem*” by Roberto de Mattei), Roberto de Mattei argued that the Holy See authorities had taken a significant risk by sanctioning traditionalists who are not affiliated with the SSPX: “Cardinal Parolin and his collaborators should reflect on the potential ‘boomerang effect’ of their decisions, at a time when the number of priests and faithful turning to the SSPX is increasing, not decreasing.” » But, in a veiled way, he also attempted to teach a lesson: citing "the central role attributed by the *Cœtus Internationalis* to Bishop Athanasius Schneider", who supported the SSPX following the consecrations in July, which, according to him, had in some sense provided the ammunition for the pilgrimage to be attacked; something that "should have led the organizers to reflect on the advisability of maintaining that choice." I would say that would not be in keeping with the ways of our house.

Nevertheless, I believe the connection to the SSPX issue is undeniable. The extreme severity shown by Rome—with Cardinal Fernández intending the excommunication of some 800 SSPX priests, as if firing a Kalashnikov burst—caused a trauma in public opinion. This gave rise to criticisms of such way of handling the matter, which, in turn, irritated the Curia of Pope Leo.

In fact, the Rome of today tends to view the request for freedom for the traditional liturgy as a manifestation of a latent schism concerning the Second Vatican Council and the subsequent magisterium. In explaining the decision to issue *Traditionis custodes* in his letter to the bishops dated July 16, 2021, Pope Francis stated that he was "saddened that the instrumental use of Missale Romanum of 1962 is often characterized by a rejection not only of the liturgical reform, but of the Vatican Council II itself." The celebration of the traditional liturgy is thus interpreted as a rejection of the Mass of the Council and, at times, of the Council itself. There is some truth to this, but the intellectual freedom that John Paul II and Benedict XVI tolerated ceased to be permitted from the beginning of Pope Francis’s pontificate. And, as Msgr. Eleganti—who copresided over the pilgrimage of 2025 —very aptly points out, if Rome speaks only of synodality, it is a highly selective synodality that excludes arbitrarily, and fails to respect its own, constantly proclaimed, principles of inclusion. For those who defend the freedom of the traditional liturgy, there is no listening, no dialogue, and no explanation whatsoever.

In the video program *Les Hommes en noir* (“The Men in Black”)—hosted by Philippe Maxence, editor of *L’Homme nouveau*, and broadcasted on November 6—in which I discussed this topic alongside Fr. Claude Barthe, the pilgrimage’s chaplain, the latter posed the following question: “Perhaps we smell bad, morally speaking?” This may, in fact, be the real reason. Pope Francis, who urged pastors to recognize the “smell of the sheep,” expanded on this metaphor by distinguishing between a good and a bad scent: “That is how we run the risk of shutting ourselves in the pen, where there won’t be the odour of the sheep but the stench of enclosure!... We must not be closed in or we will smell like stale things” (general audience, May 4, 2016). There are good sheep and bad sheep; sheep that give off a pleasant scent and sheep that give off an unpleasant one—a “stale” smell of “closed things”!

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, dear Parisian Sentinels. Blessed are you when you, too, are regarded as “bad sheep”—as “bad Catholics” who carry the smell of “closed things”, you who pray the Rosary relentlessly, out in the open and under the storm, for the freedom of the traditional liturgy, at 10 Rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, Monday through Friday, from 1:00 PM to 1:30 PM; at Saint-Georges de La Villette, 114 Avenue Simon Bolivar, on Wednesdays and Fridays at 5:00 PM; and in front of the church of Notre-Dame du Travail, on Sundays at 6:15 PM.