"Christianity is Essential to Europe" Pope Leo XIV in France

"To understand [the long history of Europe] one cannot omit...Saint Benedict, whom Saint Paul VI proclaimed patron saint of Europe in 1964, calling him "messenger of peace, architect of unity, teacher of civilization." Aid to the poor, the sick, and the elderly; the education of children and universities; hospitals and medicine; architecture and engineering; the development of science; law and the organization of cities and states themselves: so many areas in Europe have been profoundly influenced by Saint Benedict and his monks! Without this monastic heritage, European civilization, as we know it, would not exist. Here in Metz, thanks to the work of Saint Chrodegang, among others, a Benedictine spirit of fraternity, communion, and shared life was palpable. From here, Gregorian chant spread throughout the Carolingian territories, bringing harmony and beauty to the entire continent. One cannot speak of Europe without mentioning Christianity."

Pope Leo XIV's visit to France: A relief after the storm

1 October 2026, EL WANDERER (English translation by Google, original Spanish follows.)

Last week, Pope Leo XIV visited France. It was his second significant trip to European countries, and, as with his visit to Spain, I believe it was a great success. I said it then, and I repeat it now with even greater conviction: I believe we are witnessing a return to the style of John Paul II, with all the pros and cons that entails. And, consequently, the definitive overcoming of the Franciscan style. I know that this last point is a hotly debated topic within conservative and traditionalist circles, and I will delve into it in two articles that I will publish next week. I am not interested in addressing it here, nor in the comments section; we will do so in due course. But I am interested in honestly analyzing the papal trip to France. And I emphasize that my opinions are based on what was said during this trip, and not on his decisions or speeches delivered in Rome, or on other occasions. In other words, I am not making a sweeping judgment on the nascent pontificate of Leo XIV, but rather on a very small portion of it: his apostolic journey to France.

The first thing that struck me was the reaction of the secular and anti-Christian press. It ranged from astonishment to silence. The blog Messa in Latino recently published a brief review of these articles, which is worth revisiting. Progressive journalism, which is practically the entire press, couldn't deny the enthusiasm it generated, although it was clear in its assessment. This is an unmistakable sign that it took them by surprise. While the usually loquacious Elisabetta Piqué remained completely silent, María Laura Avignolo, Clarín 's correspondent in France, stated that "Rarely has a pontiff been so radical in his call to the spiritual imperative of conversion." She then added that in Leo XIV's words appeared: "A spirituality that the Catholic Church has always professed, but about which it has spoken much less since the Second Vatican Council . "

In France, Bernadette Sauvaget, a journalist for Libération —the newspaper founded by Sartre, a historic emblem of the French left—specializing in religion, was invited to French television to comment on the vigil for Leo XIV before 80,000 young people at the Stade de France. There, visibly uncomfortable, she said that she was terrified to see the Catholic resurgence among young French people . Not only had they not expected the massive influx of the faithful to the papal celebrations, and especially not young people rather than nostalgic old folks, but they also hadn't expected the clarity and forcefulness of the papal message. They believed that, with Francis, the reaffirmation of the Catholic faith had been definitively buried. And that has not been the case.

I decided to read all of the Pope's addresses in France, a task that took me an entire morning but was edifying. Not since I read Pope Benedict XVI's Spe salvi , well over a decade ago, had I been so edified by papal texts. I can say that, during his trip to France, Pope Leo confirmed us in the faith, which is his specific task. How else can these words , for example, be described ?

Yes, God is the Lord of history and, whatever happens, He leads it towards salvation: in Christ all evil has an end, precisely because the end becomes the beginning of a new and eternal life.

Or these others :

Yes, eternal life is a firm and sure promise that the Lord makes to us. He has already obtained it for us through his death on the cross and his resurrection, and he makes it a reality in us every day through the grace of baptism.

One of the most striking aspects is the centrality of Jesus Christ, which appears in all his words. The Lord is always at the heart of his sermons and speeches delivered in religious settings. We must remember that we come from times when the Argentine pontiff wallowed in the mire of cheap sociologism and preferred, for example, not to give the apostolic blessing so as not to offend non-Christians. The difference is enormous.

And another point in that same vein: only once in all his speeches, and then only in a very minor way, did he mention the famous synodality. He did so when he addressed the French bishops in Lourdes. Just once! Not even when he met in Paris with the “synodal assembly” of that diocese did he refer to the topic. Let us remember that until a few months ago, “synodality” was the magic word that had to appear in every speech by nuns, priests, and bishops. My impression, which I've had since the first months of his pontificate, is that Leo will slowly cool down the issue, and the synod on synodality will end up dying of starvation. We shall see.

But it's pointless to dwell on comparing the differences with the previous pontificate. They are obvious, and what is obvious needs no proof. Let's focus on other positive and striking aspects. One of them is the recurring theme in almost all of Pope Leo's addresses of the remembrance of the saints of France, who are legion. And he is not referring to contemporary and ecumenical saints of dubious quality, but to the most venerable saints of the Firstborn Daughter of the Church, those who "worship the true God." He said in his homily in the Place de la Concorde:

The living water of the Holy Spirit has been poured out in abundance and continues to bear fruit in the Church through missionaries and witnesses present in every culture and among every people. This water makes fruitful all that it touches and transforms to produce its fruit, namely, the holiness of those who worship the true God and serve their brothers and sisters with charity and generosity. In this beautiful country of France, many have been nourished by this living water throughout the centuries and have consecrated their lives entirely to good: the early martyrs such as Blandina, Pothinus, and Irenaeus; the holy founders of religious orders; the holy bishops such as Martin of Tours and Francis de Sales; the men and women with hearts sensitive to the needs of their fellow human beings, such as Vincent de Paul, Frédéric Ozanam, Jeanne Jugan, and many others.

He reminded the young people :

Look to the example of the saints: even in the face of persecution, these brothers and sisters of ours paved the way for peace. Look to those priests passionate for Christ, like Saint Eugene de Mazenod and Saint John Vianney; contemplate the mystical beauty of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux; Blessed Pauline Jaricot, fervent in charity and mission; the courage of the fifty martyrs of the apostolate during the Second World War, who served their brothers and sisters to the point of sacrificing their lives. The saints changed the course of history , leading many from suffering to hope, because they first changed their own hearts, transforming them in the light of faith.

And later, in the same speech to young people:

Furthermore, we have the saints as allies: they are friends who sustain us in trials. Dear friends, when life's decisions demand courage, turn to their intercession and imitate their example : as we have sung in the litanies, the encouragement of the saints assures us that we are never alone in prayer, never alone in the Church.

Not only that, but he proposed Saint Joan of Arc as an example of a strong woman (I don't know if Benedict XVI would have gone that far):

In this regard, the apostle gives us a third verb: to fight. Indeed, fleeing from evil and striving for good implies fighting. Yes, fighting as Saint Paul did, often depicted with a sword in his hands , a symbol of the Word of God, “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17). This verb resonates powerfully here in France, the land of Saint Joan of Arc, a young woman who knew how to fight with audacity .

Another very positive point is that he mentioned on several occasions the importance of the liturgy in the Christian life and in the conversion of catechumens, whose numbers have increased exponentially in recent years. He told the priests and consecrated persons:

To you who celebrate the Eucharist daily, I ask that you ensure that liturgical celebrations are always lived with dignity and decorum, even where smaller communities gather. Be conscious heirs of the Fathers and Saints of the Church who, throughout the centuries, have handed down to us the profound meaning and beauty of the liturgy, always bearing witness to great humility before the Mystery being celebrated. The Second Vatican Council, whose richness owes much to France, gathered and deepened this heritage in an eminent way, recognizing its central place in the life of the Church (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10). I therefore exhort all of you—bishops, priests, deacons, and consecrated persons—to cultivate a genuine love for the liturgy and to be witnesses and servants of the prophetic, priestly, and royal vocation of all the People of God.

And on another occasion :

The liturgy, in fact, cannot be considered something "subsequent" to catechesis, as if it merely put into practice what was learned during the journey. The liturgy manifests and actualizes the mystery of Christ's Paschal Mystery and, therefore, is the event capable of revealing the meaning of the Good News and communicating the very life of God . With its rhythms, its language, and its rites, it forms an integral part of the journey of conversion and preparation for the sacraments.

It wasn't these issues, which we Catholics know are the most important, that astonished progressivism, but rather those related to the temporal order, or better said, the crystal-clear way in which he addressed them, in a France that prides itself on its secularism. The Jesuit Spadaro must have been dumbfounded listening to the papal speeches because, according to his calculations, Leo XIV would only refer to these matters in Lourdes, before a small, focused audience. And he was referring to issues like abortion, euthanasia, and religious education. But that didn't happen. He addressed them in Lourdes, but he also addressed them to Macron at the Élysée Palace and to European leaders in Metz.

He stated the following:

But no human law should make us lose sight of the certainty of human dignity. On the contrary, precisely in the name of this inalienable dignity of the human person, the temptation to take life under the pretext of false compassion must be firmly rejected. It is impossible to consider ending a life normal. What is legal is not necessarily moral. No one has the right, ever, based on laboratory algorithms, to decide on the life of a particular embryo or a particular elderly person! Medicine can never become the servant of programmed death!

He expressed himself in similar terms on another occasion. Regarding religious education, he told the bishops:

I urge you to remain vigilant in defending the freedom and rights of the Church to evangelize, to educate in true freedom, and to publicly practice worship, so that charity may be visibly exercised in the name of Jesus Christ. However, Catholic education cannot, in any way, renounce its educational project, a Christ-centered project that aims at the integral development of the human person in all its dimensions: spiritual, cultural, intellectual, moral, and social. Therefore, no one should be surprised that any Catholic school offers opportunities to encounter Jesus Christ and hear his Word. And even less should any student be marginalized in their class simply for believing in Jesus.

Regarding these thorny issues, which he did not avoid but rather confronted clearly, he responded at the press conference he gave to journalists on his return trip, who objected that he had gotten involved in politics:

There may be politicians, let's say, on the left or the right, who maintain that religion should be confined solely to the private sphere; let people do what they want on their own, but as a state we must stay out of it. Actually, when I went to France, I did so primarily to preach the Gospel, to announce the Good News, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he affirms: “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” that is, to proclaim the truth that Jesus offers us. The defense of life is a subject that, as you all know, the Church teaches and in which it deeply believes. And so, on the one hand, I knew, obviously, that a law [on euthanasia] had recently been passed in France, while in other European countries and in other parts of the world issues related to end-of-life care were being debated. […] Therefore, I would say that, if this is politics, I have done it, but not to interfere in French politics. I did it to teach what the Church truly believes in.

In Metz, meeting with cultural figures and European leaders, Pope Leo stated :

To understand this long history, however, one cannot omit another father of Europe: Saint Benedict, whom Saint Paul VI proclaimed patron saint of Europe in 1964, calling him "messenger of peace, architect of unity, teacher of civilization." Aid to the poor, the sick, and the elderly; the education of children and universities; hospitals and medicine; architecture and engineering; the development of science; law and the organization of cities and states themselves: so many areas in Europe have been profoundly influenced by Saint Benedict and his monks! Without this monastic heritage, European civilization, as we know it, would not exist. Here in Metz, thanks to the work of Saint Chrodegang, among others, a Benedictine spirit of fraternity, communion, and shared life was palpable. From here, Gregorian chant spread throughout the Carolingian territories, bringing harmony and beauty to the entire continent. One cannot speak of Europe without mentioning Christianity .

And in that same context, he also said:

To young people I say: have the courage to live responsibly the mission of building peace—in your hearts, in your relationships, in your families, in schools and universities, in the life of your cities, your towns, and throughout Europe. Do not be afraid to start a family, to have children, to defend the dignity of every person, from the first moment in the mother's womb until their last breath.
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Finally, it was predictable that the Roman pontiff would refer to the painful wound that the episcopal consecrations of Écone inflicted on the Church, since it is in France where this movement is strongest. And he did so, as an exhortation, on two occasions. In a homily

Therefore, put communion with the Successor of Peter and with the Church before your personal sensibilities, in order to cultivate the unity of the people of God.

And in the speech to the bishops:

This unity is not mere uniformity, but rather allows all authentically Catholic sensibilities to converge naturally in a common profession of faith, through obedience to legitimate pastors and, in particular, to the Successor of Peter , “the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity of faith and communion” (LG, 18). It is a dynamic unity nourished by the Tradition of the Church—from the Fathers to the Second Vatican Council—and by the post-conciliar Magisterium.

As I said, I read all the addresses given by the Holy Father during his trip to France. Naturally, they also contain some trivial things and a few others—very few—that I didn't particularly like. But that's normal and to be expected. What I don't find normal or fair, though it is predictable, is that some maximalists or insatiable critics have begun to warn, in a condescending and admonitory tone: "Don't be fooled by Latin and solemnity!" And they pointed to a single passage from his first day of the trip, in which he speaks of the "ideals" of the French Revolution, as the reason for this warning. There is no integrity or honesty there: they disregard all the Pope's speeches to attack him for a single paragraph, a text which, moreover, they seek to interpret in the most twisted way possible.

The Holy Father said :

France has contributed genuine achievements to the world, including the recognition of the “Human Rights” inherent in the nature of the human person, particularly the right to religious freedom. This unwavering commitment to the inherent dignity of every human being is reflected in its national motto. Liberty, equality, and fraternity are not merely words inscribed on the pediments of its public buildings, but rather refer to universal ethical imperatives that also find in the Gospel message an inexhaustible source of inspiration and fulfillment.

The gravity of these statements, according to them, lies in the fact that the revolutionary motto is being based on the Gospel. But they don't read the whole sentence. The Pope doesn't say that liberty, equality, and fraternity are founded on the Gospel, as if the Sermon on the Mount were a draft of the 1789 Declaration. Rather, he says that these ethical principles also find in the Gospel message "an inexhaustible source of inspiration and fulfillment," and he anchors rights in the nature of the human person, not in the general will or Rousseau's social contract. The direction of the argument is exactly the reverse of what the maximalists criticize, since it doesn't go from the Revolution to the Gospel, but from the Gospel to words that, uprooted from their origins, wander orphaned across the facades of France. It is the old logic of grace that doesn't destroy nature but perfects it, and that also perfects, when it can, the language of humankind.

None of this is new. Saint Paul, at the Areopagus, did not begin his preaching by denouncing the idolatry of the Athenians and destroying altars, although his spirit boiled at the sight of the city full of idols; instead, he took the inscription from one of those pagan altars, Agnṓstōi theṓi , “to the unknown god,” and said to them: “What you worship without knowing, this I proclaim to you.” And to further scandalize the insatiable of that time, he quoted a Gentile poet, Aratus of Soli: “For we are also of his lineage.” Saint Justin saw in the wisdom of the Greeks scattered seeds of the Logos; Saint Augustine ordered the Egyptians to be stripped of their gold to put it at the service of Christ; And St. Gregory the Great wrote to Abbot Melito that he should not demolish the Anglo-Saxon temples, but rather purify them with holy water and consecrate them to the true God, so that the people, going to the customary places, might learn to worship the One they did not know. The Church never believed that evangelization required beginning by burning the vocabulary of the person being addressed, but always preferred to baptize them.

And all the more so when the vocabulary is, strictly speaking, stolen . Because the revolutionary triad didn't spring from nothing: there is no fraternity without a common Father, the equality of men was proclaimed by Saint Paul to the Galatians long before the National Assembly, and freedom is that for which Christ set us free. Chesterton saw it with his usual acuity: the modern world is full of old Christian virtues that have gone mad because they were separated from one another and wander about alone. Restoring their sanity is not surrendering to the Revolution, but rather reclaiming what was always ours. And anyone who thinks that a Pope cannot pronounce those words without blessing the guillotine should explain why Saint Paul could quote Aratus without incensing Zeus.

And I'll end with a question and a prophecy . What will Leo XIV's visit to Argentina be like? The French—it has to be said—far surpassed the Spanish. Everything was of higher quality in Gaul, from the liturgies to the famous vigil with the youth. But I think our Spanish brothers should rest easy: the Argentinians, this time unlike in football, will easily beat them in tackiness, vulgarity, and bad taste. That's what I fear based on some of the information that's coming in. At the vigil with the youth, for example, Abel Pinto will be singing! Luckily, the suggestion of one of the priests in charge of the organization, Father Fabrizio Maranzana (look him up and you'll know who he is), wasn't followed. He proposed that the host of the event be the model and wife of countless husbands and lovers, Pampita Ardohain. Will Flor de la V. or Lizi Tagliani replace her?

And my prophecy : The Holy Father will speak a few truths that the government will not like at all, and that's to be expected. But he will also speak a few truths that the bishops, widowed by Francis, will not like at all, bishops who, like zombies, continue to wander about, damaging and terrorizing Argentine soil.
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La visita del papa León XIV a Francia. Un alivio después de la tempestad
1 de octubre de 2026 por elwanderer

La semana pasada el Papa León XIV visitó Francia. Fue su segundo viaje relevante a países europeos y, tal como ocurrió en España, creo que fue un gran éxito. Lo dije en ese momento y lo repito ahora con más convicción: creo que estamos frente a un retorno del juanpablismo, con los pro y los contra que eso supone. Y, consecuentemente, la superación definitiva del francisquismo. Sé que esto último es un tema muy discutido en el ámbito conservador y tradicionalista, y lo profundizaré en dos artículos que publicaré la semana próxima. No me interesa tratarlo aquí ni tampoco en los comentarios: lo haremos en su momento. Pero sí me interesa analizar con honestidad el viaje papal a tierras galas. Y destaco que mis opiniones son sobre lo dicho en este viaje, y no sobre sus decisiones o discursos pronunciados en Roma, o en otras ocasiones. Es decir, no estoy emitiendo un juicio en bloque sobre el incipiente pontificado de León XIV sino sobre una porción muy reducida de él: su viaje apostólico a Francia.

Lo primero que me ha llamado mucho la atención ha sido la reacción de la prensa laica y anticristiana. Se ha movido entre la estupefacción al silencio. El blog Messa in Latino publicó hace pocos días una breve reseña de esos artículos que es interesante revisar. El periodismo progresista, que es la casi totalidad, no ha podido negar el entusiasmo provocado aunque ha sido claro en su apreciación. Signo inequívoco de que los ha tomado por sorpresa. Mientras la locuaz Elisabetta Piqué se llamó a un absoluto silencio, María Laura Avignolo, corresponsal de Clarín en Francia, afirmo que “Pocas veces un pontífice ha sido tan radical en su llamado al imperativo espiritual de la conversión”. Y luego agregó que en las palabras de León XIV aparecía: “Una espiritualidad que la Iglesia Católica siempre ha profesado. Pero de la que ha hablado mucho menos desde el Concilio Vaticano II”.

En Francia, Bernadette Sauvaget, periodista de Libération —el diario que fundó Sartre, insignia histórica de la izquierda francesa— especializada en religión, fue invitada a la television francesa para comentar la vigilia de León XIV ante 80.000 jóvenes en el Stade de France. Y allí dijo, visiblemente incómoda, que le causaba pavor ver el resurgimiento católico de los jóvenes franceses. No solamente no esperaban la afluencia masiva de fieles a las celebraciones pontificias, y sobre todo jóvenes y no ancianos nostálgicos, sino que no esperaban la claridad y contundencia del mensaje pontificio. Creían que, con Francisco, la reivindicación de la fe católica había quedado ya definitivamente sepultada. Y no ha sido así.

Decidí leer todas las alocuciones del Papa en Francia, tarea que me llevó una mañana entera pero fue edificante. Desde que leí hace mucho más de una década Spe salvi, del Papa Benedicto XVI, no había sido edificado de ese modo por los textos papales. Puedo decir que, durante su viaje a Francia, el Papa León nos confirmó en la fe, que es su tarea específica. ¿De qué otro modo pueden calificarse, por ejemplo, estas palabras?

Sí, Dios es el Señor de la historia y, pase lo que pase, la conduce hacia la salvación: en Cristo todo mal tiene un término, precisamente porque el final se convierte en el comienzo de una vida nueva y eterna.

Sí, la vida eterna es una promesa firme y segura que el Señor nos hace. Ya nos la ha alcanzado con su muerte en la cruz y su resurrección, y ya la hace realidad cada día en nosotros por la gracia del bautismo.

Uno de los aspectos que saltan rápidamente a la vista, es la centralidad de Jesucristo que aparecen en todas su palabras. El Señor aparece siempre como el núcleo de sus sermones y discursos pronunciados en ámbito religioso. Recordemos que venimos de épocas en los cuales el pontífice argentino vivía revolviendo el fango de un sociologismo barato y prefería, por ejemplo, no dar la bendición apostólica para no ofender a los no cristianos. La diferencia es abismal.

Y otro elemento en ese mismo sentido: solamente en una ocasión en todas sus alocuciones, y de un modo muy secundario, habló de la famosa sinodalidad. Lo hizo cuando se dirigió en Lourdes a los obispos franceses. ¡Sólo una vez! Ni siquiera cuando se reunió en París con la “asamblea sinodal” de esa diócesis hizo referencia al tema. Recordemos que hasta hace algunos meses, “sinodalidad” era la palabrita mágica que debía aparecer necesariamente en cualquier discurso de monjas, curas y obispos. Mi impresión, y la tengo desde los primeros meses de su pontificado, es que León enfriará lentamente la cuestión y el sínodo de la sinodalidad terminarán muriendo de inanición. Veremos.

Pero no vale detenernos a comparar las diferencias con el pontificado anterior. Son evidentes, y lo evidente no necesita ser demostrado. Concentrémonos en otras cuestiones positivas y llamativas. Una de ellas es la recurrencia en casi todas las intervenciones del Papa León al recuerdo de los santos de Francia, que son legión. Y no hace referencia a santos contemporáneos y ecuménicos de dudosa calidad, sino a los santos más rancios de la Hija Primogénita de la Iglesia, aquellos que “adoran al Dios verdadero”. Dijo en su homilía en la Place de la Concorde:

El agua viva del Espíritu Santo se ha derramado en abundancia y sigue dando fruto en la Iglesia a través de los misioneros y los testigos presentes en todas las culturas y entre todos los pueblos. Esta agua fecunda cuanto se deja tocar y transformar por ella para producir su fruto, es decir, la santidad de quienes adoran al Dios verdadero y sirven a sus hermanos y hermanas con caridad y generosidad. En este hermoso país que es Francia, muchos se han saciado de esta agua viva a lo largo de los siglos y han consagrado totalmente su vida al bien: los primeros mártires como Blandina, Potino e Ireneo; los santos fundadores y fundadoras de órdenes religiosas, los santos obispos como Martín de Tours y Francisco de Sales; los hombres y mujeres con un corazón sensible a las necesidades de sus semejantes, como Vicente de Paúl, Federico Ozanam, Juana Jugan y muchos otros.

A los jóvenes les recordó:

Miren el ejemplo de los santos: incluso en la persecución, estos hermanos y hermanas nuestros abrieron caminos de paz. Miren a aquellos sacerdotes apasionados por Cristo, como san Eugenio de Mazenod y san Juan María Vianney; contemplen la belleza mística de santa Teresa de Lisieux; a la beata Pauline Jaricot, ferviente en la caridad y la misión; el valor de los cincuenta mártires del apostolado, en tiempos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, que sirvieron a sus hermanos y hermanas hasta el punto de sacrificar sus vidas. Los santos cambiaron el curso de la historia, haciendo que muchos pasaran del sufrimiento a la esperanza, porque primero cambiaron sus propios corazones, transformándolos a la luz de la fe.

Y más adelante, en el mismo discurso a los jóvenes:

Además, contamos con los santos como aliados: son amigos que nos sostienen en las pruebas. Queridos amigos, cuando las decisiones de la vida exijan valentía, recurran a su intercesión e imiten su ejemplo: como hemos cantado en las letanías, el aliento de los santos nos asegura que nunca estamos solos en la oración, nunca estamos solos en la Iglesia.

No sólo eso, sino que les propuso como ejemplo de mujer luchadora a Santa Juana de Arco (no sé si Benedicto XVI se habría animado a tanto):

A este respecto, el apóstol nos entrega un tercer verbo: luchar. De hecho, huir del mal y tender al bien implica luchar. Sí, luchar como lo hizo san Pablo, representado a menudo con una espada en las manos, signo de la Palabra de Dios, «la espada del Espíritu» (Ef 6,17). Este verbo resuena con fuerza aquí en Francia, tierra de santa Juana de Arco, una joven que supo luchar con audacia.

Otra cuestión muy positiva es que mencionó en varias ocasiones la importancia de la liturgia en la vida cristiana y en la conversión de los catecúmeno , que han aumentado exponencialmente en los últimos años. Dijo a los sacerdotes y consagrados:

A ustedes, que celebran diariamente la Eucaristía, les pido que velen para que las celebraciones litúrgicas se vivan siempre con dignidad y decoro, también allí donde se reúnen comunidades más pequeñas. Sean herederos conscientes de los Padres y de los Santos de la Iglesia que, a lo largo de los siglos, nos han transmitido el significado profundo y la belleza de la liturgia, dando siempre testimonio de una gran humildad ante el Misterio celebrado. El Concilio Vaticano II, cuya riqueza debe mucho a Francia, recogió y profundizó de manera eminente esta herencia, reconociendo su lugar central en la vida eclesial (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 10). Les exhorto, por tanto, a todos ustedes, obispos, sacerdotes, diáconos y consagrados, a cultivar un amor auténtico por la liturgia y a ser testigos y servidores de la vocación profética, sacerdotal y real de todo el pueblo de Dios.

Y en otra ocasión:

La liturgia, en efecto, no puede considerarse una realidad “posterior” a la catequesis, como si en ella se pusiera simplemente en práctica lo aprendido durante el itinerario. La liturgia manifiesta y actualiza el misterio de la Pascua de Cristo y, por ello, es el acontecimiento capaz de revelar el sentido de la Buena Nueva y de comunicar la vida misma de Dios. Con sus ritmos, sus lenguajes y sus ritos, forma parte integrante del propio camino de conversión y de preparación a los sacramentos.

No fueron estos temas, que a los católicos sabemos que son los más importantes, los que han producido la estupefacción del progresismo, sino los que tienen que ver con el orden temporal o, mejor dicho, con la claridad meridiana con la que se expresó sobre ellos, en una Francia que hace gala de su laicismo. El jesuita Spadaro habrá quedado patitieso cuando escuchaba los discursos pontificios porque en su cuenta de X había pronosticado que León XIV sólo haría referencia a esas cuestiones en Lourdes, frente a un público reducido y focalizado. Y se refería a cuestiones como las del aborto, eutanasia o educación religiosa. Y no fue así. Lo dijo en Lourdes, pero lo dijo también a Macron en el Eliseo y a los líderes europeos en Metz.

Afirmó al respecto:

Pero ninguna ley humana debe hacernos perder la certeza de su dignidad. Por el contrario, precisamente en nombre de esta dignidad inalienable de la persona humana debe rechazarse firmemente la tentación de quitar la vida con el pretexto de una falsa compasión. Es imposible considerar normal el hecho de poner fin a la vida. Lo que es legal no es necesariamente moral. ¡Ninguno tiene el derecho, nunca, basándose en algoritmos de laboratorio, de decidir sobre la vida de un embrión determinado o de una persona de la tercera edad determinada! ¡La medicina nunca podrá convertirse en sierva de la muerte programada!»

Y en términos similares se expresó en otra ocasión. Con respecto a la educación religiosa dijo a los obispos:

Los invito a mantenerse vigilantes para defender la libertad y los derechos de la Iglesia a evangelizar, a educar en la verdadera libertad y a practicar públicamente el culto, para que, de manera visible, se pueda ejercer la caridad en nombre de Jesucristo. Sin embargo, la enseñanza católica no puede, en modo alguno, renunciar a su proyecto educativo, un proyecto centrado en Cristo que tiene como objetivo el desarrollo integral de la persona humana en todas sus dimensiones: espiritual, cultural, intelectual, moral y social. Por lo tanto, a nadie debe sorprenderle que en cualquier centro católico se ofrezcan oportunidades para encontrarse con Jesucristo y escuchar su Palabra. Y mucho menos, ningún alumno debería verse marginado en su clase, por el hecho de creer en Jesús.

Sobre estas cuestiones espinosas que no evitó sino que afrontó con claridad, respondió en la conferencia de prensa que brindó a los periodistas en su viaje de regreso quienes le objetaron que se habría metido en política:

Puede que haya políticos, digamos, de izquierdas o de derechas, que sostengan que la religión debería limitarse únicamente a la esfera privada; dejemos que las personas hagan lo que quieran por su cuenta, pero como Estado debemos mantenernos al margen. En realidad, cuando fui a Francia, lo hice principalmente para predicar el Evangelio, para anunciar la Buena Nueva, para reafirmar lo que el propio Jesucristo dice cuando afirma: «Yo soy el camino, la verdad y la vida», es decir, para proclamar la verdad que Jesús nos ofrece. La defensa de la vida es un tema que, como todos sabéis, la Iglesia enseña y en el que cree profundamente. Y así, por un lado, sabía, obviamente, que en Francia se ha aprobado recientemente una ley [de eutanasia], mientras que en otros países europeos y en otras partes del mundo se están debatiendo cuestiones relacionadas con el final de la vida. […] Por lo tanto, diría que, si esto es política, la he hecho, pero no para entrometerme en la política francesa. Lo he hecho para enseñar aquello en lo que la Iglesia cree verdaderamente.

En Metz, reunidos con personalidades de la cultura y líderes europeos, el Papa León afirmó:

Para entender esta larga historia, sin embargo, no se puede omitir a otro padre de Europa: san Benito, que san Pablo VI proclamó patrono de Europa en 1964, llamándolo «mensajero de paz, realizador de unión, maestro de civilización». La ayuda a los pobres, a los enfermos y a los ancianos; la educación de los niños y las universidades; los hospitales y la medicina; la arquitectura y la ingeniería; el desarrollo de las ciencias; el derecho y la organización de las ciudades y de los propios estados: ¡tantos ámbitos, en Europa, han sido profundamente influenciados por san Benito y sus monjes! Sin este acervo monástico, la civilización europea, tal como la conocemos, no existiría. Aquí, en Metz, gracias a la obra, entre otras, de san Crodegango, se respiraba un espíritu benedictino de fraternidad, comunión y vida compartida. Desde aquí, el canto gregoriano se difundió en los territorios carolingios, trayendo armonía y belleza a todo el continente. No se puede hablar de Europa sin mencionar el cristianismo.

Y en ese mismo ámbito, dijo también:

A los jóvenes les digo: tengan el valor de vivir de manera responsable la misión de construir la paz, en su corazón, en sus relaciones, en su familia, en las escuelas y universidades, en la vida de sus ciudades, de sus pueblos y de toda Europa. No tengan miedo de formar una familia, de tener hijos, de defender la dignidad de cada persona, desde el primer instante en el vientre de la madre hasta su último aliento.

Finalmente, era previsible que el pontífice romano se refiriera a la dolorosa herida que las consagraciones episcopales de Êcone causaron a la Iglesia, pues es en Francia donde ese movimiento es más fuerte. Y lo hizo, como exhortación, en dos oportunidades. En una homilía

Antepongan, por tanto, la comunión con el Sucesor de Pedro y con la Iglesia a sus sensibilidades personales, para cultivar la unidad del pueblo de Dios.

Y en el discurso a los obispos:

Esta unidad no es una simple uniformidad, sino que permite que toda sensibilidad auténticamente católica converja de forma natural en una profesión de fe común, mediante la obediencia a los pastores legítimos y, en particular, al Sucesor de Pedro, «principio y fundamento, perpetuo y visible, de la unidad de fe y de comunión» (LG, 18). Se trata de una unidad dinámica que se nutre de la Tradición de la Iglesia —desde los Padres hasta el Concilio Vaticano II— y del Magisterio posconciliar.

Como dije, leí todas las alocuciones pronunciadas por el Santo Padre en su viaje a Francia. En ellas, como es lógico, aparecen también cosas intrascendentes y algunas otras—pocas— que no me gustaron mucho. Pero eso es lo normal y lo previsible. Lo que no me parece normal ni justo, aunque sí predecible, es que algunos maximalistas o insaciables, hayan comenzado a alertar, con tono condescendiente y admonitorio: «¡No se dejen engañar por los latines y las solemnidades!». Y señalaron como razón de esa alerta un único pasaje dicho en su primer día de viaje, en el que habla de los “ideales” de la Revolución Francesa. Allí no hay rectitud de intención ni honestidad: obliteran todos los discursos del Papa para atacarlo por un sólo párrafo, texto que, por lo demás, buscan interpretar del modo más torcido posible.

Dijo el Santo Padre:

Francia aportó al mundo auténticos logros; entre ellos, el reconocimiento de los “Derechos Humanos” inscritos en la naturaleza de la persona humana, en particular el de la libertad religiosa. Esta atención permanente a la dignidad inherente a toda persona humana encuentra eco en su lema nacional. La libertad, la igualdad y la fraternidad no son simples palabras grabadas en los frontones de sus edificios públicos, sino que remiten a exigencias éticas universales que encuentran también en el mensaje evangélico una fuente inagotable de inspiración y plenitud.

La gravedad de estas expresiones vendría dada, según ellos, en que se estaría fundamentando el lema revolucionario en el Evangelio. Pero no leen toda la frase. El Papa no dice que la libertad, la igualdad y la fraternidad se funden en el Evangelio, como si el Sermón de la Montaña hubiese sido un borrador de la Declaración de 1789. Dice más bien, que esos principios éticos encuentran también en el mensaje evangélico “una fuente inagotable de inspiración y plenitud”, y ancla los derechos en la naturaleza de la persona humana, no en la voluntad general ni en el contrato de Rousseau. La dirección del argumento es exactamente la inversa de la que le reprochan los maximalistas, puesto que no va de la Revolución al Evangelio, sino del Evangelio hacia unas palabras que, arrancadas de su suelo, andan huérfanas por los frontispicios de Francia. Es la vieja lógica de la gracia que no destruye la naturaleza sino que la perfecciona, y que perfecciona también, cuando puede, el lenguaje de los hombres.

Nada de esto es nuevo. San Pablo, en el Areópago, no empezó su predicación denunciando la idolatría de los atenienses y rompiendo altares, aunque le hervía el espíritu al ver la ciudad llena de ídolos; tomó en cambio la inscripción de uno de esos altares paganos, Agnṓstōi theṓi, «al dios desconocido», y les dijo: “Lo que veneráis sin conocer, eso os anuncio”. Y para mayor escándalo de los insaciables de entonces, citó a un poeta gentil, Arato de Solos: “Porque somos también de su linaje”. San Justino vio en la sabiduría de los griegos semillas dispersas del Logos; san Agustín mandó despojar a los egipcios de su oro para ponerlo al servicio de Cristo; y san Gregorio Magno escribió al abad Melito que no derribara los templos de los anglos, sino que los purificara con agua bendita y los consagrara al verdadero Dios, de modo que el pueblo, acudiendo a los lugares acostumbrados, aprendiera a adorar a quien no conocía. La Iglesia nunca creyó que para evangelizar hubiera que empezar por quemar el vocabulario del interlocutor, sino que prefirió siempre bautizarlo.

Y con más razón cuando el vocabulario es, en rigor, robado. Porque la tríada revolucionaria no salió de la nada: no hay fraternidad sin un Padre común, la igualdad de los hombres la proclamó san Pablo a los gálatas mucho antes que la Asamblea Nacional, y la libertad es aquella para la cual Cristo nos liberó. Chesterton lo vio con su agudeza habitual: el mundo moderno está lleno de viejas virtudes cristianas que se han vuelto locas, porque fueron separadas unas de otras y andan vagando solas. Devolverles el juicio no es claudicar ante la Revolución, sino que es reclamar lo que siempre fue nuestro. Y quien piense que un Papa no puede pronunciar esas palabras sin bendecir la guillotina debería explicar por qué San Pablo pudo citar a Arato sin incensar a Zeus.

Y termino con un interrogante y una profecía. ¿Cómo será la visita de León XIV a la Argentina? Los franceses -fuerza es decirlo-, superaron con creces a los españoles. Todo fue en la Galia de mejor calidad, desde las liturgias hasta la famosa vigilia con los jóvenes. Pero creo que nuestros hermanos españoles se deben tranquilizar: los argentinos, esta vez y a diferencia del fútbol, les ganaremos ampliamente en cutrerismo, vulgaridad y mal gusto. Es lo que me temo por algunos datos que van llegando. En la vigilia con los jóvenes, por ejemplo, cantará ¡Abel Pinto! Por suerte no se siguió la sugerencia de uno de los sacerdotes encargados de la organización, el P. Fabrizio Maranzana (busquen y sabrán quién es), que propuso que la conductora del encuentro fuera la modelo y mujer de enésimos maridos y amantes, Pampita Ardohain. ¿La reemplazará Flor de la V. o Lizi Tagliani?

Y mi profecía. El Santo Padre dirá unas cuantas verdades que no gustarán nada al gobierno, y es lo que corresponde. Pero dirá también unas cuantas verdades que no gustarán nada a los obispos viudos de Francisco que, como zombies, siguen vagando dañando y aterrorizando el suelo argentino.

The Rainbow-Flag Plague Reaches Cracow

“THE ‘RAINBOW SYNOD’ — The Fall of Kraków: The Leo XIV–Ryś Alliance and the Coup in Wojtyła’s Former Diocese”

October 2, 2026
(Google translation of the "InTuaIustitia" blog Italian text below)

by A.diJ.
Dear friends and readers,
while the mainstream media and European governments continue to celebrate the rhetoric of the "synodal path" as a new ecclesial spring, the reality presents us with a systematic demolition of the citadel of Faith. The analysis we offer you today, written by the Reverend Father Flawian, OFM Conv., lifts the veil on one of the most serious and painful ecclesiastical political operations of recent years: the fall of the metropolitan see of Kraków.
Through a merciless and theologically impeccable examination, the author unmasks the so-called "Ryś method" and, above all, the "proxy strategy" adopted by Pope Leo XIV. By replacing a pastor like Monsignor Jędraszewski—guilty only of defending the family and fighting the ideological plague of the century—with a cardinal firmly aligned with modernist progressivism, the Roman leadership is attempting to subdue the last great bastion of European Catholicism: Poland.
From denouncing the complicit silence of the Curia to exposing the scourge of "papolatry" by superficial conservatives, this essay is a call to Catholic resistance against the bureaucratic occupation of our curias. This is not a local issue, but the backbone of a counter-church that has occupied the palaces but lost the mandate of Christ.
Happy reading and sharing.

by O. Flawian OFM Conv.
Krakow occupied: Leo XIV's silence complicit in the "rainbow synod" in Poland.

The news is now official and has the bitter taste of a historic betrayal. Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś, appointed new Metropolitan Archbishop of Krakow by Pope Leo XIV at the end of November 2025, has formally taken possession of the chair of Saint Stanislaus. His pastoral line represents a clear and violent discontinuity with that of his predecessor, Archbishop Marek Jędraszewski. To speak of a simple discontinuity, however, is a misleading euphemism: we are witnessing a controlled demolition of the Catholic Faith on Polish soil.
Archbishop Jędraszewski embodied the last bastion of resistance. He was the man who dared to call LGBT ideology a "rainbow plague," the man who defended the natural order of the family and who in Krakow firmly barred the door to the excesses of the German Synod. Leo XIV quickly removed him with the formal excuse of having reached the age limit, without hesitation dismissing a pastor who was inconvenient for advancing the revolution.
In his place was installed Ryś, who has wasted no time: he is organizing the first "rainbow synod" in Poland. He openly preaches to Catholics that "sexual orientation excludes no one from the Church," welcomes transgender activists into working groups, and promotes a document aimed at establishing supposed "safe places of pastoral welcome," defining every orientation and gender identity as a "gift from God."
Connect the dots. We are not faced with a hiccup, but a very specific theological project.

The Ryś Method: The Synodal Church and the Proxy Strategy
This is the workings of the synodal and conciliar Church in its purest form, articulated in four mirror-image moves: Identify a diocese that symbolizes traditional Catholic resistance, like Kraków.
Remove the faithful bishop who defends the integrity of doctrine, like Jędraszewski.
Appoint in his place a man fully committed to the system, acceptable to the progressive press and theologians across the Alps, like Ryś.
Allow the executor to proclaim what the Pope cannot yet formulate in an encyclical, but which the globalist agenda demands: that moral disorder is a "gift from God."
This is the proxy strategy. Leo XIV does not need to directly expose himself with a solemn document; he simply appoints Ryś to the chair once held by Karol Wojtyła and then remains silent. In modern ecclesiology, the complicity of silence is equivalent to formal approval. The Pope abdicates the duty to teach,It promotes those who spread error and covers up subversion with the fluid concepts of "listening to the Spirit" and "dynamic unity."
The true culprit is not the perpetrator of Bologna or Krakow, but those who hold the power of the keys and use it to deliver the flock to the wolves. Leo XIV knows exactly what he is doing: he wants Poland to capitulate. As long as the nation resisted with its full churches, its processions, and its staunch rejection of gender ideology in schools, the narrative of universal consensus surrounding the synodal path was revealed as a blatant lie. Now, with Krakow conquered, even Catholic Poland is being aligned with the prevailing nihilism.

The fallacy of papolatry and the true meaning of the papacy.
Faced with manifest heresy and the blasphemy that attributes the origin of sexual confusion to God, Leo XIV remains silent. In the Church of old, the Pope's silence in the face of error was simply unthinkable: the Vicar of Christ intervened, corrected, deposed, and excommunicated in defense of the deposit of Faith (depositum fidei). Today, however, silence is the green light for demolition.
In this scenario, the modernist exults, claiming that the Pope can change doctrine, while the conservative Catholic "papolatrist" blindly submits, justifying every abuse of power in the name of false obedience. They are two sides of the same heresy, since both have placed the figure of man in the place of Christ.
The Catholic Church has never been papolatrist: it has always been papal. Being papal means recognizing the Pontiff as the Vicar of Christ only and exclusively when he preserves and transmits the received Tradition. Obedience is subordinate to the Truth.
Being papolatrist means considering the Pope infallible in every political act or pastoral preference, going so far as to justify the dismissal of orthodox pastors and the promotion of heretical hierarchs in the name of careerism or bureaucratic quietism.
Conservatives who wave the Rosary, celebrate the ancient Mass granted as a reward for good behavior, and keep a photo of Leo XIV in the sacristy, yet remain silent in the face of Krakow's doctrinal profanation, behave like the whitewashed tombs of the Gospel. They are rotten inside, having traded their testimony to the Truth to keep a place at the table and avoid the contempt of the secularist world.

Conclusion: resist the bureaucratic occupation.
To Polish Catholic faithful, we firmly say: do not be fooled. The cathedra of Krakow has been temporarily occupied, but the counter-church born of the Council, while possessing the sacred buildings, has lost the Catholic Faith. The true Church remains the one that faithfully repeats the evangelical command "Go and sin no more," not the synodal structure that legitimizes vice by calling it a divine gift.
Krakow is not just any diocese. It is one of the oldest and most symbolic local churches in all of Poland. Founded in the year 1000 by Bolesław the Brave, it is the Church of Saint Stanislaus the Martyr—the bishop who preferred to be hacked to pieces by the king rather than betray Catholic morality. Attacking Krakow is not a simple administrative change: it represents a fatal blow to the beating heart of Catholic Poland. It is the equivalent of what Armagh symbolizes in Ireland, Toledo in Spain, or Lyon in France.
The synodal revolution is perfectly aware of these dynamics: subversive movements do not limit themselves to occupying the peripheries, but directly strike at the symbols of identity. Monsignor Marek Jędraszewski understood this fully. For this reason, he defended the diocese like a besieged fortress, knowing that Krakow's capitulation would send a devastating message to all Polish faithful: if even the Chair of Saint Stanislaus surrenders to the rainbow agenda, then resistance is over.
Leo XIV made his strategic choice: he chose the applause of the globalist elites over fidelity to Our Lord Jesus Christ. Church history will judge this appointment as the day the spiritual capital of Poland was invaded. This time, it wasn't the Soviet tanks of 1939, but the synod bureaucrats, infinitely more dangerous because they corrupt the soul rather than destroy the body. But the blood of the martyrs who defended the Faith against all tyranny continues to cry out for justice before the throne of the Almighty.

__

di A.diJ.
Carissimi amici e lettori,
mentre i media mainstream e le cancellerie europee continuano a celebrare la retorica del "cammino sinodale" come una nuova primavera ecclesiale, la realtà dei fatti ci mette davanti a uno scenario di sistematica demolizione della cittadella della Fede. L'analisi che vi proponiamo oggi, firmata dal reverendo padre Flawian O.F.M. Conv., solleva il velo su una delle operazioni di politica ecclesiastica più gravi e dolorose degli ultimi anni: la caduta della cattedra metropolitana di Cracovia.
Attraverso una disamina spietata e teologicamente ineccepibile, l'autore smaschera il cosiddetto "metodo Ryś" e, soprattutto, la "strategia del proxy" adottata da Papa Leone XIV. Sostituendo un pastore come monsignor Jędraszewski — colpevole solo di aver difeso la famiglia e combattuto la peste ideologica del secolo — con un cardinale ben allineato al progressismo modernista, i vertici romani tentano di far capitolare l'ultimo grande bastione del cattolicesimo europeo: la Polonia.
Dalla denuncia del silenzio complice della Curia fino allo smascheramento della piaga della "papolatria" dei conservatori di facciata, questo scritto è una chiamata alla resistenza cattolica contro l'occupazione burocratica delle nostre curie. Non si tratta di una questione locale, ma dell'asse portante di una contro-chiesa che ha occupato i palazzi ma ha smarrito il mandato di Cristo.
Buona lettura e condivisione.

di O. Flawian O.F.M. Conv.
Cracovia occupata: il silenzio di Leone XIV complice del "sinodo arcobaleno" in Polonia

La notizia è ormai ufficiale e possiede il sapore amaro di un tradimento storico. Il cardinale Grzegorz Ryś, nominato nuovo arcivescovo metropolita di Cracovia da Papa Leone XIV alla fine di novembre del 2025, ha preso formale possesso della cattedra di San Stanislao. La sua linea pastorale rappresenta una netta e violenta discontinuità rispetto a quella del suo predecessore, monsignor Marek Jędraszewski. Parlare di semplice discontinuità, tuttavia, è un eufemismo ingannevole: siamo di fronte a un'operazione di demolizione controllata della Fede cattolica in terra polacca.
Monsignor Jędraszewski incarnava l'ultimo baluardo della resistenza. Era l'uomo che aveva osato definire l'ideologia LGBT una "peste arcobaleno", l'uomo che aveva difeso l'ordine naturale della famiglia e che a Cracovia sbarrava fermamente la porta alle derive del sinodo tedesco. Leone XIV lo ha rimosso rapidamente con la scusa formale dei raggiunti limiti d'età, liquidando senza esitazione un pastore scomodo per far avanzare la rivoluzione.
Al suo posto è stato insediato Ryś, il quale non ha perso un solo istante: sta organizzando il primo "sinodo arcobaleno" in Polonia. Costui predica apertamente ai cattolici che «l'orientamento sessuale non esclude nessuno dalla Chiesa», accoglie attivisti transessuali nei gruppi di lavoro e promuove un documento volto a istituire presunti "luoghi safe di accoglienza pastorale", definendo ogni orientamento e identità di genere come un "dono di Dio".
Unite i puntini. Non ci troviamo dinanzi a un incidente di percorso, ma a un progetto teologico ben preciso.

Il metodo Ryś: la chiesa sinodale e la strategia proxy
Questo è il funzionamento della Chiesa sinodale e conciliare allo stato puro, articolato in quattro mosse speculari:Identificare una diocesi simbolo della resistenza cattolica tradizionale, come Cracovia.
Rimuovere il vescovo fedele che difende l'integrità della dottrina, come Jędraszewski.
Nominare al suo posto un uomo pienamente organico al sistema, gradito alla stampa progressista e ai teologi d'Oltralpe, come Ryś.
Lasciare che sia l'esecutore a proclamare ciò che il Papa non può ancora formulare in un'enciclica, ma che l'agenda globalista esige: che il disordine morale sia un "dono di Dio".
È la strategia del proxy. Leone XIV non ha bisogno di esporsi direttamente con un documento solenne; gli basta nominare Ryś nella cattedra che fu di Karol Wojtyła e poi tacere. Nella ecclesiologia moderna, la complicità del silenzio equivale a un'approvazione formale. Il Papa abdica al dovere di insegnare, promuove chi diffonde l'errore e copre la sovversione con i concetti fluidi di "ascolto dello Spirito" e "unità dinamica".
Il vero responsabile non è l'esecutore di Bologna o di Cracovia, ma chi detiene il potere delle chiavi e lo usa per consegnare il gregge ai lupi. Leone XIV sa perfettamente cosa sta facendo: vuole far capitolare la Polonia. Finché la nazione resisteva con le sue chiese piene, le sue processioni e il fermo rifiuto dell'ideologia gender nelle scuole, la narrazione del consenso universale attorno al cammino sinodale si svelava come una menzogna evidente. Ora, espugnata Cracovia, anche la cattolica Polonia viene allineata al nichilismo imperante.

La fallacia della papolatria e il vero senso del papato
Davanti all'eresia manifesta e alla bestemmia che attribuisce a Dio l'origine della confusione sessuale, Leone XIV tace. Nella Chiesa di sempre, il silenzio del Pontefice di fronte all'errore era semplicemente impensabile: il Vicario di Cristo interveniva, correggeva, deponeva e scomunicava a difesa del deposito della Fede (depositum fidei). Oggi, invece, il silenzio è il via libera alla demolizione.
In questo scenario, il modernista esulta sostenendo che il Papa può mutare la dottrina, mentre il cattolico conservatore "papolatra" si sottomette ciecamente, giustificando ogni abuso di potere in nome di una falsa obbedienza. Sono due facce della medesima eresia, poiché entrambe hanno collocato la figura dell'uomo al posto di Cristo.
La Chiesa cattolica di sempre non è mai stata papolatra: è sempre stata papale.Essere papale significa riconoscere nel Pontefice il Vicario di Cristo solo ed esclusivamente quando egli custodisce e trasmette la Tradizione ricevuta. L'obbedienza è subordinata alla Verità.
Essere papolatra significa ritenere il Papa infallibile in ogni suo atto politico o preferenza pastorale, arrivando a giustificare la destituzione di pastori ortodossi e la promozione di gerarchi eretici in nome del carrierismo o del quietismo burocratico.
I conservatori che sventolano il Rosario, celebrano la Messa antica concessa come premio di buona condotta e tengono la foto di Leone XIV in sacrestia, ma poi tacciono davanti alla profanazione dottrinale di Cracovia, si comportano come i sepolcri imbiancati del Vangelo. Sono marci dentro, perché hanno barattato la testimonianza della Verità per conservare un posto a tavola e non subire il disprezzo del mondo laicista.

Conclusione: resistere all'occupazione burocratica
Ai fedeli cattolici polacchi diciamo con fermezza: non vi lasciate ingannare. La cattedra di Cracovia è stata temporaneamente occupata, ma la contro-chiesa nata dal Concilio, pur possedendo i palazzi sacri, ha smarrito la Fede cattolica. La vera Chiesa rimane quella che fedelmente ripete il comando evangelico «Va' e non peccare più», non la struttura sinodale che legittima il vizio definendolo un dono divino.
Cracovia non è una diocesi qualsiasi. È una delle Chiese locali più antiche e simboliche dell'intera Polonia. Fondata nell'anno 1000 da Boleslao il Coraggioso, è la Chiesa di San Stanislao martire – il vescovo che preferì farsi tagliare a pezzi dal re piuttosto che tradire la morale cattolica. Colpire Cracovia non costituisce un semplice avvicendamento amministrativo: rappresenta un colpo fatale al cuore pulsante della Polonia cattolica. È il corrispettivo di ciò che simboleggiano Armagh in Irlanda, Toledo in Spagna o Lione in Francia.
La rivoluzione sinodale conosce perfettamente queste dinamiche: i movimenti sovversivi non si limitano a occupare le periferie, ma colpiscono direttamente i simboli identitari. Monsignor Marek Jędraszewski lo aveva compreso appieno. Per questo motivo ha difeso la diocesi come una fortezza assediata, consapevole che la capitolazione di Cracovia avrebbe lanciato un messaggio devastante a tutti i fedeli polacchi: se persino la cattedra di San Stanislao si arrende all'agenda arcobaleno, allora la resistenza è finita.
Leone XIV ha compiuto la sua scelta strategica: ha preferito l'applauso delle élite globaliste alla fedeltà a Nostro Signore Gesù Cristo. La storia della Chiesa giudicherà questa nomina come il giorno in cui la capitale spirituale polacca è stata invasa. Questa volta non si è trattato dei carri armati sovietici del 1939, ma dei burocrati del sinodo, infinitamente più pericolosi poiché corrompono l'anima anziché distruggere il corpo. Ma il sangue dei martiri che hanno difeso la Fede contro ogni tirannia continua a gridare giustizia davanti al trono dell'Altissimo.

Roundly Rejecting the Pocket "Phone"

I don't have the ubiquitous pocket phone, because I don't need it, and because I don't want to need it.

Technology's number one objective is to make you need it. Hate it! Hate the dependence on all else but the living and true God, Yahweh, and Jesus Christ Who is He, in the Flesh. "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will live forever!"

If it were just a phone... But it is The Boggeyman! It will get you to bow down and worship it. It is Jewry (every manner of anti-Christian blasphemy), Usury (the worship of money), Faggotry (every manner of perversion) and Self-Worship (at best, a big waste of time and effort, vanity of vanities!) wrapped-up and synchronized for you in one convenient gadget.

Why I have no Pocket-Phone

Stop Googling. Let’s Talk.

Teenage Daughter with a Phone Is Itself Child Molestation

Fences/Boundaries and Reform

“In the matter of reforming things, as distinct from deforming them, there is one plain and simple principle; a principle which will probably be called a paradox. There exists in such a case a certain institution or law; let us say, for the sake of simplicity, a fence or gate erected across a road. The more modern type of reformer goes gaily up to it and says, ‘I don’t see the use of this; let us clear it away.’ To which the more intelligent type of reformer will do well to answer: ‘If you don’t see the use of it, I certainly won’t let you clear it away. Go away and think. Then, when you can come back and tell me that you do see the use of it, I may allow you to destroy it.’”

- G.K. Chesterton, from The Thing: Why I am Catholic

The "Legitimacy" of the Novus Ordo: A Legitimate Question

Par Michel Janva le 26 août 2026

By François Savy

In his article [When Will There Be Liturgical Peace?], published in the July–August 2025 issue (No. 382) of La Nef, Christophe Geffroy posed a question that has taken on particular significance in light of the recent episcopal consecrations within the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X. He argued there for the equality in “value and holiness” of the two forms of the Roman Rite, and reproached “priests who refuse any celebration of the novus ordo” for challenging this value and holiness “because they consider this liturgy ‘deficient.’” Now, it happens that the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith has expressly mentioned the “legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae” in the preamble to the procedure allowing clergy of the Society of St. Pius X to return to full communion after the consecrations.

As far as I can judge, this notion of legitimacy when applied to the liturgy is of relatively recent usage. We were familiar with the classical notions of validity and liceity. It was Pope John Paul II who appears to have introduced it, through the Congregation for Divine Worship, with Quattuor abhinc annos (October 3, 1984), which made the following a condition for granting the indult:


“that it be made quite clear that these priests and faithful have nothing whatsoever to do with those who question the legitimacy and doctrinal rectitude of the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and that their position be without any ambiguity and publicly recognized.”

One must conclude that these conditions were not so easy to fulfill, since Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre made the following commitments in the [Protocol of Agreement of May 5, 1988]:


“3. Concerning certain points taught by the Second Vatican Council or concerning the subsequent reforms of the liturgy and of canon law, which seem to us difficult to reconcile with Tradition, we commit ourselves to having a positive attitude of study and communication with the Apostolic See, avoiding all polemics.We furthermore declare that we recognize the validity of the Sacrifice of the Mass and of the Sacraments celebrated with the intention of doing what the Church wishes and according to the rites indicated in the typical editions of the Missal and of the Rituals of the Sacraments promulgated by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II.”

In these commitments, there is no trace of any legitimacy that would have to be recognized as belonging to the Novus Ordo Missae. Yet this Protocol of Agreement was the foundation upon which the relationship between the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and Rome was established from the beginning. The commitments made by Archbishop Lefebvre, and accepted on behalf of the Holy Father by Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, constitute the common foundation of the societies of apostolic life or Ecclesia Dei communities—at least of the three “historic” ones, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, the Fraternity of St. Vincent Ferrer, and the Abbey of Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux—in their relationship with Rome. In simple justice, one should require of them only recognition of the validity of the Sacrifice of the Mass according to the new liturgy, and even then, only according to the typical editions.

What Josef Ratzinger, Cardinal of the Holy Roman Church, had accepted in 1988, Pope Benedict XVI could not subsequently call into question. Thus it was not the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (July 7, 2007) that would bring the question of legitimacy back onto the table, but rather the instruction implementing the motu proprio, dated April 30, 2011, in Article 19:


“The faithful who ask for the celebration of the extraordinary form must never assist or belong to groups that deny the validity or legitimacy of the Holy Mass or of the Sacraments celebrated according to the ordinary form […]”

Thus, with the instruction implementing the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, the question of the legitimacy of the new liturgy returned after an eclipse of twenty-three years. Obviously, Article 19 could not fail to raise questions about what meaning should be assigned to “legitimacy,” and therefore questions in the form of dubia addressed to the Commission. [The response of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, dated May 23, 2012 (ref. Prot. 156/2009)], consisted in affirming that legitimacy was to be understood as strictly equivalent to liceity. This was obviously a minimalist response, and the most conciliatory solution—the one that avoided casting into outer darkness all the troublesome people of my ilk who, despite all their efforts and all their good will, using their senses and their intelligence, could not bring themselves to follow the leveling demands.

It is therefore quite logically and unsurprisingly that the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, taking up the question of legitimacy in Article 3, drove the point home on July 16, 2021:


“The bishop, in dioceses where until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970 […] is to ascertain that these groups do not deny the validity and legitimacy of the liturgical reform, the decrees of the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs.”

It is not imputing a motive to Pope Francis to imagine that he had in mind a definition of legitimacy much less pacifying than that of simple liceity, to which the Commission had claimed to equate it in 2012: the general tenor of the document, its tone, reveal a much more restrictive understanding, and paradoxically a more traditional one, despite its serious weaknesses—the injustice of the intention that presided over its drafting, its partial inapplicability resulting from its inconsistencies, and its legal irrationality.

And if he had then affirmed that the legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae, far beyond mere liceity, ought to be judged according to its conformity to the objective Common Good of the Holy Church, well, we would have been in complete agreement with him, particularly with regard to the Lex Credendi—he deserves credit for recalling this connection between the law of prayer and the law of Faith. It is equally certain that with Traditionis Custodes, those who resist of my sort once again ran the risk, after years of relative impunity, of being cast out.

The Protocol of Agreement of 1988 shows us, if this were necessary, that the two signatories—and, one imagines, John Paul II himself—either admitted at least the possibility of a deficiency in the new rite, or did not regard it as inappropriate or absurd to debate the matter. Apparently, neither signatory saw this as an attack upon the dogma of the indefectibility of the Church.

That the Novus Ordo Missae presents “deficiencies in its liturgical being,” to use a phrase dear to a certain Father of Chémeré-le-Roi, can be demonstrated, and it is reasonable to maintain. Others, much more eminent, beginning with Cardinals Ottaviani and Bacci, have undertaken to do so, and there is no need to return to the matter here. Let us retain the Offertory, degraded into a mere presentation of the gifts; the substitution of numerous and unequal Eucharistic Prayers for a sacrificial prayer (the Canon); and the modification of the words of the consecration (words and ritual context). All these elements objectively contribute to obscuring nothing less than the dogma of the Real Presence of Christ, the oblation and immolation of His redemptive (propitiatory) sacrifice, and finally the sacramental ministerial power of the priest, or even to suggesting an erroneous understanding of them. The consequences? The Novus Ordo Missae disposes souls less well to receive all the fruits of the divine sacrifice; it diminishes the witness of Faith and the manifestation of the glory of God required by every liturgical action, while leaving the door open to a Protestant interpretation. Anthropocentric, and centered upon the presence of the faithful, it expresses less clearly the sacrificial, propitiatory, and cultic dimensions of the Mass and the adoration of God to whom the sacrifice is offered—to restrict ourselves to the case of the minister celebrating according to the typical editions. A very concrete illustration of the effects of this deficiency and ambiguity was provided by an American study on belief in the Real Presence.

Thus, to put it cautiously, it is defensible to say that the Novus Ordo contributes less powerfully and less surely than the usus antiquior or other venerable rites, such as the Dominican Rite, to the Common Good of the Church (which is ordered toward the Glory of God and the sanctification of souls). It is equally defensible to say that the Novus Ordo is not the result of an organic development, but rather the product of the work of scholars and experts, the fruit of an anti-liturgical process: if the manner in which a rite is developed were made a criterion of its legitimacy, the Novus Ordo would fail the test. As the future Benedict XVI wrote:


“the new missal was published as a work revised by professors and not as a moment of continuous growth. Nothing like this had ever happened […]”

At this point, we must face this reality: contrary to the view of Christophe Geffroy, Father Spriet, or Dom Pateau, it is reasonable and defensible to maintain an inequality in value and holiness between the two Roman rites, the old and the new. It is reasonable and defensible to regard the Novus Ordo as deficient, and even ambiguous in its liturgical being, without for a second contesting its validity—which, if taken to its logical conclusion, would lead to denying the indefectibility of the Church. It is reasonable and defensible for a priest to absolutely refuse to celebrate it—and even to concelebrate—and to argue accordingly. Those who enjoy the canonical protection of the proper charism of their society of apostolic life or institute of membership should remember that this protection was obtained by their founders on the theological basis of a critique of the liturgical deficiencies of the Novus Ordo; and it is reasonable and prudent that, where appropriate, they argue the case on these grounds. It is reasonable and defensible for an ordinary member of the faithful to habitually refrain from attending a Novus Ordo Mass.

This position is legitimate. For my part, I shall maintain it.

François Savy

Español

__

Here is the original French article.

De François Savy :

Dans son article À quand la paix liturgique ?, dans la livraison de juillet-août 2025 (n°382) de La Nef, Christophe Geffroy posait une question à laquelle les sacres récemment conférés au sein de la Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pie X donnent un relief particulier. Il s’y faisait l’avocat de l’égalité en « valeur et sainteté » des deux formes du rite romain, et y reprochait aux « prêtres qui refusent toute célébration du nouvel ordo » de contester cette valeur et cette sainteté « parce qu’ils jugent cette liturgie ‘’déficiente’’ ». Or, il se trouve que le Dicastère pour la Doctrine de la Foi a précisément mentionné la « légitimité du Novus Ordo Missae » en préambule de la procédure permettant aux clercs de la Fraternité Saint-Pie X de revenir à la pleine communion après les sacres (2026-07-02-Prassiriconciliazione.pdf).

Autant que je puisse en juger, cette notion de légitimité appliquée à la liturgie est d’un usage relativement récent. On connaissait les notions classiques de validité et de licéité. C’est le pape Jean-Paul II qui semble l’avoir introduite, par la voix de la Congrégation pour le Culte divin, avec Quattuor abhinc annos (3 octobre 1984), posant comme condition à la faculté d’user de l’indult


« qu’il soit bien clair que ces prêtres et ces fidèles n’ont rien à voir avec ceux qui mettent en doute la légitimité et la rectitude doctrinale du Missel Romain promulgué par le Pape Paul VI en 1970 et que leur position soit sans aucune ambiguïté et publiquement reconnue. »

Il faut croire que ces conditions n’étaient pas si simples à remplir, puisque Monseigneur Marcel Lefebvre prenait ces engagements dans le protocole d’accord du 5 mai 1988 :


« 3. A propos de certains points enseignés par le Concile Vatican II ou concernant les réformes postérieures de la liturgie et du droit, et qui nous paraissent difficilement conciliables avec la Tradition, nous nous engageons à avoir une attitude positive d’étude et de communication avec le Siège Apostolique, en évitant toute polémique.

4. Nous déclarons en outre reconnaître la validité du Sacrifice de la Messe et des Sacrements célébrés avec l’intention de faire ce que veut l’Eglise et selon les rites indiqués dans les éditions typiques du Missel et des Rituels des Sacrements promulgués par les Papes Paul VI et Jean-Paul II. »

Dans ces engagements, il n’y a point de trace d’une quelconque légitimité qu’il faudrait reconnaître au Novus Ordo Missae. Or, ce protocole d’accord est le fondement sur lequel s’est établi dès l’origine la relation entre la Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pierre et Rome. Ces engagements pris par Monseigneur Lefebvre, et acceptés au nom du Saint Père par le cardinal Josef Ratzinger constituent le socle commun des sociétés de vie apostolique ou communautés Ecclesia Dei, aux moins des trois « historiques », Fraternité Sacerdotale Saint-Pierre, Fraternité Saint-Vincent Ferrier, abbaye Sainte-Madeleine du Barroux, dans leur rapport avec Rome. En bonne justice, on ne devrait exiger d’elles que la reconnaissance de la validité du Sacrifice de la Messe selon la liturgie nouvelle, et encore, uniquement selon les éditions typiques.

Ce que Josef Ratzinger, cardinal de la Sainte Église romaine avait accepté en 1988, le Saint Père Benoît XVI ne pouvait le remettre en cause. Ce n’est donc pas le motu proprio Summorum Pontificum (7 juillet 2007) qui va remettre sur la table la question de la légitimité, mais bien l’instruction d’application du motu proprio en date du 30 avril 2011 en son article 19 :


« Les fidèles qui demandent la célébration de la forme extraordinaire ne doivent jamais venir en aide ou appartenir à des groupes qui nient la validité ou la légitimité de la Sainte Messe ou des sacrements célébrés selon la forme ordinaire […] ».

Ainsi, avec l’instruction d’application du motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, la question de la légitimité de la liturgie nouvelle faisait son retour après une éclipse de 23 ans. Évidemment, cet article 19 ne pouvait pas manquer de susciter des interrogations sur le sens à donner à « légitimité », et donc des questions en forme de dubia adressée à la Commission. La réponse de la CPED, en date du 23 mai 2012 (ref. Prot. 156/2009), a consisté à affirmer que la légitimité était à comprendre comme strictement équivalente à la licéité. C’était évidemment une réponse minimaliste et la solution la plus conciliante, celle qui évitait de rejeter dans les ténèbres extérieures tous les fâcheux de mon acabit qui, malgré tous leurs efforts et toute leur bonne volonté, usant de leurs sens et de leur intelligence, ne pouvaient se résoudre à suivre les injonctions égalisatrices.

C’est assez logiquement et sans surprise que le motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, reprenant la question de la légitimité à son compte en son article 3, enfonçait donc le clou le 16 juillet 2021 :


L’évêque, dans les diocèses où jusqu’à présent se trouvent un ou plusieurs groupes qui célèbrent avec le Missel antérieur à la réforme de 1970 […] doit veiller à ce que ces groupes n’excluent pas la validité et la légitimité de la réforme liturgique, des écrits du concile Vatican II et du Magistère pontifical ;

Ce n’est pas faire un procès d’intention au pape François que d’imaginer qu’il avait en tête une définition beaucoup moins pacificatrice de la légitimité que celle de la simple licéité, à laquelle la Commission avait prétendu l’assimiler en 2012 : la teneur générale du document, son ton, laissent transparaître une compréhension beaucoup plus restrictive, et paradoxalement plus traditionnelle, en dépit de ses graves faiblesses – injustice de l’intention qui a présidé à sa rédaction, inapplicabilité partielle résultant de ses incohérences, irrationnalité juridique (cf. Le motu proprio Traditionis Custodes à l’épreuve de la rationalité juridique – Réginald-Marie Rivoire).

Et, s’il avait alors affirmé que la légitimité du Novus Ordo Missae, bien au-delà de la simple licéité, devait être jugée à l’aune de son adéquation au Bien Commun objectif de la Sainte Église, eh bien, nous aurions été en plein accord avec lui, notamment au regard de la Lex Credendi – il a eu ce mérite de rappeler ce lien entre la loi de la prière et la loi de la Foi. Il est tout aussi certain qu’avec Traditionis Custodes, les réfractaires de mon espèce couraient à nouveau, après des années de relative impunité, le risque d’être mis au ban.

Le protocole d’accord de 1988 nous montre, s’il en était besoin, que les deux signataires, et, on l’imagine, Jean-Paul II lui-même, soit admettaient ne serait-ce que la possibilité d’une déficience du rite nouveau, soit ne considéraient pas comme inconvenant et absurde d’en débattre. Aucun des signataires n’y voyait, apparemment, d’atteinte au dogme de l’indéfectibilité de l’Église.

Que le Novus Ordo Missae présente des « déficiences dans l’être liturgique », pour utiliser une formule chère à un certain père de Chémeré-le-Roi, il est possible de le montrer, et raisonnable de le soutenir. D’autres, bien plus éminents, à commencer par les cardinaux Ottaviani et Bacci (on pourra également lire ceci avec profit, repris de LA PENSÉE CATHOLIQUE N°122 du 4ème trimestre 1969), s’y sont employés, et il n’est pas besoin d’y revenir. Retenons l’offertoire, dégradé en simple présentation des dons, la substitution de – nombreuses et inégales – prières dites eucharistiques à une prière sacrificielle (le canon), la modification des paroles de la consécration (mots et contexte rituel). Tous ces éléments contribuent objectivement à estomper rien de moins que le dogme de la présence réelle du Christ, l’oblation et l’immolation de son sacrifice rédempteur (propitiatoire), et enfin le pouvoir sacramentel ministériel du prêtre, voire à en insinuer une compréhension erronée. Les conséquences ? Le Novus Ordo Missae dispose moins bien les âmes à recevoir tous les fruits du sacrifice divin, il diminue le témoignage de la Foi et la manifestation de la gloire de Dieu requis par toute action liturgique, en laissant la porte ouverte à une interprétation protestante. Anthropocentré, axé sur la présence des fidèles, il exprime moins les dimensions sacrificielle, propitiatoire et cultuelle de la messe et l’adoration de Dieu à qui le sacrifice est offert – pour s’en tenir au cas du ministre célébrant selon les éditions typiques. Une illustration très concrète des effets de cette déficience et de cette équivocité en a été fournie par une étude américaine sur la croyance en la Présence Réelle.

Ainsi, pour le dire prudemment, il est soutenable de dire que le Novus Ordo contribue moins puissamment et moins sûrement que l’usus antiquior ou d’autres rites vénérables, tel le rite dominicain, au Bien Commun de l’Église (ordonné à la Gloire de Dieu et à la sanctification des âmes). Et il l’est tout autant de dire que le Novus Ordo n’est pas le résultat d’un développement organique, mais bien le produit d’un travail de savants et d’experts, le fruit d’un processus anti-liturgique : si l’on faisait du mode d’élaboration d’un rite un critère de sa légitimité, le Novus Ordo échouerait à passer le test. Comme l’écrit le futur Benoît XVI,


« le nouveau missel a été édité comme un ouvrage revu par des professeurs et non comme le moment d’une croissance continue. Jamais rien de pareil ne s’était produit […] » (in Théologie de la liturgie – Parole et silence, p. 556).

Parvenu à ce point, il faut se rendre à cete évidence : contre l’avis de Christophe Geffroy, de l’Abbé Spriet ou encore de Dom Pateau, il est raisonnable et défendable de tenir l’inégalité en valeur et en sainteté des deux rites romains, l’ancien et le nouveau. Il est raisonnable et défendable de tenir le Novus Ordo pour déficient, et même équivoque dans son être liturgique, sans contester une seconde sa validité – ce qui, en tirant le fil, conduirait à nier l’indéfectibilité de l’Église. Il est raisonnable et défendable, pour un prêtre, de refuser absolument de le célébrer – et même de concélébrer – et d’argumenter en ce sens. Ceux qui bénéficient de l’abri canonique du charisme propre de leur société de vie apostolique ou institut d’appartenance doivent se souvenir qu’il a été obtenu par leurs fondateurs sur la base théologique d’une critique des déficiences liturgiques du Novus Ordo ; et il est raisonnable et prudent qu’ils argumentent le cas échéant en ce sens. Il est raisonnable et défendable, pour un simple fidèle, d’écarter de manière habituelle l’assistance à une messe Novus Ordo. Cette position est légitime. Pour ma part, je la tiendrai.

François Savy

Honor is the Lord's: 16 Sunday Post-Pentecost: Luke 14:11

Every one that exalteth himself, shall be humbled; and he that humbleth himself, shall be exalted. Luke 14:11

Plinthos question today to ChatGPT

Give me citations where Aquinas best explains the real value of worldly honors in the Aristotelean sense.

ChatGPT answer (with some minor Plinthos editing)

Regarding Aquinas's nuanced position that honor is genuinely a good—and indeed the greatest of external goods—but is still radically subordinate to virtue, the good of reason, and, above all, to God, to Jesus Christ Who is God!, there are several exceptionally good passages.

The Thomistic hierarchy of goods

Aquinas's position can be represented approximately like this:

God (Jesus Christ)/ ultimate beatitude
↓
Virtue and the good of reason
↓
Great virtuous action
↓
Honor as the fitting human recognition/reward of virtue
↓
Nobility, power, wealth, reputation, position, etc.
↓
Pleasure and other lesser external goods

The crucial point is that honor sits at the top of the external hierarchy. It is not merely another worldly bauble.

And yet:

honor < virtue

because honor is valuable precisely insofar as it testifies to excellence, while virtue is the excellence itself.

That distinction is absolutely central to Aquinas.

The three passages I'd put at the top of your reading list

1. Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 129, a. 1 — What is magnanimity concerned with?
   → Honor is the greatest of external goods.
2. Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 129, a. 8 — Does good fortune contribute to magnanimity?
   → Wealth, power, friends, etc. are instruments of virtuous action.
3. Aquinas, Commentary on Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics IV, lect. 8, §§742–756
   → Probably the fullest and clearest statement of the Aristotelian-Thomistic understanding of honor, dignity, wealth, power, and social esteem.

If you are interested specifically in worldly rank—nobility, titles, offices, reputation, social precedence, political power, and the honor due to distinguished men, the Ethics commentary §§752–756 is especially rich: Aquinas explains why these things have real objective value without becoming the measure of a man's true worth.

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The single best place for the Thomist position is Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 129, on magnanimity, especially Articles 1, 2, and 3.

1. Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 129, a. 1 — Honor is the greatest external good

Aquinas gives the Aristotelian position almost verbatim:

“Honor autem est in se quoddam bonum, et maximum inter exteriora bona.”
“Honor is in itself a certain good, and the greatest among external goods.”

He then explains why honor has this exceptional status: it is connected with virtue, is offered to God and to the excellent, and is something for which men will sacrifice other external goods.

More fully, Aquinas says:

“Honor est praemium virtutis.”
“Honor is the reward of virtue.”

And he explicitly cites Aristotle's Ethics I and VIII for this proposition.

This is important: Aquinas does not Christianize Aristotle by simply dismissing worldly honor as vanity. He accepts the Aristotelian judgment that honor has a real objective value.

---

2. II-II, q. 129, a. 3 — The crucial distinction: honor is good, but virtue is greater

This is probably the most important passage for your question.

Aquinas asks whether the magnanimous person is concerned with honors. His answer is that honor is indeed the matter of magnanimity, but the magnanimous man does not treat honor as his supreme good.

He writes:

“The things which come into man's use are external things, and among these honor is the greatest simply.”

Why?

“because it is the most akin to virtue, since it is an attestation to a person's virtue.”

And:

“in order to obtain honor even as to avoid shame, men set aside all other things.”

That is a very Aristotelian observation: honor is objectively important because it is society's recognition of excellence.

But then Aquinas makes the hierarchy unmistakable:

“man cannot sufficiently honor virtue which deserves to be honored by God.”

Thus even the greatest human honor cannot adequately recompense genuine virtue.

---

3. II-II, q. 129, a. 3, ad 3 — The perfect attitude toward honor

This is perhaps the best short passage if you're interested in the proper psychological attitude toward worldly distinction.

Aquinas says that the magnanimous man:

“is not uplifted by great honors, because he does not deem them above him; rather does he despise them”

and is likewise

“not cast down by dishonor.”

Notice the subtlety. He doesn't say:

“Honor is worthless.”

Rather:

Honor is genuinely valuable, but it is not valuable enough to dominate the soul.

That is the Aristotelian mean elevated into Aquinas's Christian moral theology.

---

4. II-II, q. 129, a. 2 — Honor is connected with great deeds

Aquinas explains that magnanimity concerns great honor because it concerns great virtue:

“as honor is due to virtue, so great honor is due to a great deed of virtue.”

Consequently:

“the magnanimous is intent on doing great deeds in every virtue”

precisely insofar as he aims at what is worthy of great honor.

This is extremely Aristotelian. The desire for honor is not intrinsically corrupt. The problem is whether one desires honor in accordance with reality—that is, in proportion to one's actual excellence.

---

5. Aquinas's Commentary on Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics IV, lect. 8, §§742–757

This is actually the most explicit exposition of the Aristotelian doctrine, because Aquinas is commenting directly on Aristotle rather than integrating the doctrine into the Summa.

The key statement is:

“Huiusmodi autem est honor… Unde manifestum est quod honor est optimum inter omnia exteriora bona.”

Literally:

“Such is honor … Hence it is manifest that honor is the best among all external goods.”

Aquinas gives three reasons implicit in Aristotle's argument:

1. honor is given to God (in Jesus Christ, Who is He);
2. honor is especially sought by people in positions of dignity;
3. honor is the reward of virtuous actions.

Therefore honor is the summum of external goods, while nevertheless remaining an external good.

This is the passage I would recommend most strongly if you are studying Aquinas's Aristotelian conception of worldly dignity, rank, reputation, and honor.

---

6. The really fascinating passage: external goods actually help virtue

Aquinas goes farther than merely saying that worldly goods are permissible.

In his commentary on Ethics IV, he writes:

“Ipsa etiam bona fortunae organice deserviunt ad operationes virtutum.”

That is:

“The goods of fortune themselves serve organically/instrumentally for the operations of virtue.”

And he specifically identifies nobility, power, and wealth as goods which can contribute to magnanimity.

Why?

Because these things can make a person genuinely capable of performing great actions.

Aquinas therefore distinguishes:

external excellence → genuine instrument for virtue

from:

external excellence → substitute for virtue.

The first is legitimate; the second is a corruption.

He puts it very sharply:

“Sed secundum rei veritatem solus bonus, idest virtuosus, est honorandus.”

“But according to the truth of the matter, only the good man, that is, the virtuous man, ought to be honored.”

That sentence gives you Aquinas's entire hierarchy in miniature.

---

7. II-II, q. 129, a. 8 — External goods are instruments

This is another exceptionally important text. Aquinas asks whether goods of fortune—wealth, power, friends, etc.—contribute to magnanimity.

His answer:

“goods of fortune conduce to magnanimity.”

And his reason is twofold:

• they increase the honor a person receives;
• they are “useful organs or instruments of virtuous deeds.”

Aquinas gives the concrete examples of:

“riches, power and friends.”

Then comes the crucial qualification:

“Virtue is said to be sufficient for itself, because it can be without even these external goods; yet it needs them in order to act more expeditiously.”

That is an extraordinarily useful Thomistic formulation.

Virtue does not need worldly goods in order to be virtue.
But virtue can make better use of worldly goods when they are available.

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8. Aquinas's treatment of ambition — II-II, q. 131, a. 1

This question is particularly useful because it prevents us from interpreting Aquinas's magnanimity as simple indifference to public recognition.

Aquinas begins the question on ambition by presenting the objection:

“Honor autem de se quoddam bonum est, et maximum inter exteriora bona.”

“Honor in itself is a certain good, and the greatest among external goods.”

And therefore, he says, those who do not care about honor at all can themselves be reproved.

That's a very important Aristotelian point.

The Thomistic ideal is not aphilotimia—a pathological inability to value honor.

Nor is it ambitio—an excessive appetite for honor.

It is magnanimitas: the correct estimation and use of great honor.

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9. One particularly beautiful Aristotelian passage: honor vs. virtue

In Aquinas's commentary on Ethics IV, lect. 8, §744, he explains that no human honor is actually sufficient to repay virtue:

“The good of reason, for which virtue is praised, exceeds all external goods.”

Yet the virtuous man doesn't reject honor because it is worthless. Rather, he accepts whatever honor is given because:

“men have nothing better to give him.”

That is probably the most elegant expression of the entire doctrine.

Human honor is real, appropriate, and worthy of desire in its proper order—but it remains an inadequate earthly recompense for virtue.

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If you are interested specifically in worldly rank—nobility, titles, offices, reputation, social precedence, political power, and the honor due to distinguished men, the Ethics commentary §§752–756 is especially rich: Aquinas explains why these things have real objective value without becoming the measure of a man's true worth.

P.S. The image is due to the Summer showers we had here today, during the sermon, at the Academy where I preach. The sermon message is that every man is simply an aqueduct for every good thing God gives him. All of the honor and glory to the Lord! He drenches us with every good thing, natural and supernatural, for His glory, the glory of Jesus Christ our God!