Bishop Athanasius Schneider remarks on burning issues, Vatican II, SSPX.

Posted on 19 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is an informative piece at Infovaticana, wherein Bishop Athanasius Schneider remarks on some burning issues.

Highlights…

  • The Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith says the texts of the Second Vatican Council “cannot be modified”.  Schneider maintains that only the Word of God is immutable in the strict sense.  Fernández’s formulation would be “completely erroneous” if applied without distinction to the conciliar texts.
  • John XXIII, when convening the Second Vatican Council, made it clear that it was not about defining new dogmas or resolving doctrinal issues definitively. It had a purpose adapted to the language of the time.
  • Paul VI reiterated that the council was “primarily pastoral.” Therefore, pastoral formulations—since they do not constitute dogmatic definitions—could be improved or corrected.
  • Dogmas cited by Vatican II cannot be modified.
  • The Fourth Lateran Council (1215) imposed at that time on Jews to wear distinctive signs in Christian cities, describing that provision as a form of discrimination.  If revising pastoral formulations from previous councils is admitted, the same applies to Vatican II.
  • The bishop then emphasizes the need to honestly examine what he considers “evident and undeniable ambiguities” in some conciliar texts, and maintains that other ecumenical councils have undergone adjustments in their pastoral declarations.
  • Schneider referred to the situation of the FSSPX by proposing that they first be granted canonical regularization and that doctrinal dialogue continue afterward.  The SSPX could help clarify debated aspects and benefit the entire Church.
  • The Holy See has shown “harsh” and “imprudent” behavior toward the SSPX.

I entirely agree with B. Schneider about canonically regularizing the SSPX and then including them in a discussion about V2 formulations.  It would also resolve the issue of bishops.

If Fr. Leonard Feeney could be reconciled after excommunication without having to completely abjure his position about a really hard issue to understand, why cannot the SSPX be reconciled without having to completely abjure their positions on really hard to understand passages of Vatican II?    Does that make sense?

Meanwhile…

So… now what?

Posted in SSPX, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged
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Appropriate for Fridays during Lent: Can we eat alligator?

Posted on 19 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I spotted this on Twitter/X and it reminded me of an old post, appropriate for Fridays during Lent

I have posted on this in the past, but repetita iuvant as we say in Latin.

ORIGINAL POST from long ago and far away….

Someone sent me a copy of a letter written by the Archbishop of New Orleans to a member of his flock about eating alligator during Lent.  The answer is “yes”.  You may eat alligator during Lent.

This is old news to readers of this blog, of course.  Last year I posted this, a question in Latin from a reader about alligator, which ought to have settled the whole thing:

QUAERITUR: Abstinentia de carne lacertina aut crocodrillina

Ex lectoris e-pistulis extractum:

Reverendo patro Ioanni Zuhlsdorf discipulus C. salutem et commemorationem in precibus suis. Gratias meas, sivis, ob opum tuam tibi agere volo. [Acceptae.] Mihi, catholico iuveni et discipulo in collegio liberalum artis et liberalum (aut impudicarum) mentum, scripturae tuae magnam auxilium fuerunt. Mox Ludovicianam meabo. Quaeritur: Sineturne corpus alligatoris feria VI in Quadregesima sine violando abstinentiam Quadragesimae edere?

Corrigendis ignotis…

Ossificatus manualista impoenitens respondeo de paginis Compendii Theologiae Moralis (Sabetti-Barrett) n. 331, :

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Nomine carnis veniunt omnia animalia in terra viventia ac respirantia, ut communiter admittunt theologi ex regula tradita a S. Thoma vel, ut S. Alphonsus innuit, n. 1011, animalia quae sanguinem habent calidum; vel illud quod consuetudo regionis ut carnem habet; vel, si nec consuetudo praesto sit, dubium solvi potest considerando mentem Ecclesiae in sanciendo delectu ciborum, ut comprimendae ac minuendae carnis concupiscentiae per salutarem abstinetiam consuleret; examinetur, an huiusmodi animal simile sit aut dissimile iis quorum esus interdictus est et an illius carnes humano corpori validius nutriendo et roborando idoneae dignoscantur; et si ita appareat, ista caro inter vetitas est ponenda. Benedict XIV., De syn. dioec., lib.11, c. 5, n. 12. Haec quatuor multum deservient omni dubitationi solvendae.

Ergo, crocodrilli et lacertae inter reptilia sunt et amphibia.

Edi ergo possunt feriis sextis et tempore Quadragesimae.

Omnibus tamen diebus ab eis edimur!

So, there you have it.

You can eat alligator and crocodile on Fridays of Lent.

ADDENDUM:

Speaking of fasting and abstinence, during Lent I get all sorts of questions about what can be eaten and how much of the what. Old manuals of moral theology help me out with most of the things people throw at me.

By the way, the justification for the eating of alligator was that they are cold-blooded.  I think Benedict XIV was unaware of the existence of the endothermic (warm-blooded) Moonfish.  But I digress…

Yes, you may fry your fish and chips in liquefied beef fat. We can also eat gelatin from meat but not peptonized beef.  (I had to look that up.) I believe, according to local custom, in some parts of South America capybara is allowed.

NB: Muskrat can be eaten on Fridays in some parts of Michigan. I’m told it tastes of dirty dishrag and has the consistency of very old, thick asparagus.

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“SSPX? I stand with Rome!” – “Oh, really? What does that mean?” Terrific video from Fr. Robert McTeigue, SJ.

Posted on 19 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Terrific video from Fr. Robert McTeigue, SJ.

YouTube thumbnailYouTube icon

Posted in HONORED GUESTS, Our Catholic Identity, SSPX, The Drill |
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LENTCAzT 2026 – 02: Thursday after Ash Wednesday – Is your heart ready?

Posted on 19 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A 5 minute daily podcast to help you in your Lenten discipline.

We hear from St. John Henry Newman about Lent and then there is a stirring reflection from Fr. Troadec: “If we were to die this night, would we be ready?”

Yesterday’s podcast HERE

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PODCAzT 190 – Voices of the Fathers 05 – St. Jerome’s wide open spaces

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I recently rediscovered a slim volume entitled The Osterley Selection from the Latin Fathers, published in 1950. The preface praises the great classical authors—Caesar, Cicero, Livy, Virgil—yet insists that Christian also worthy. The collection includes brief selections from Fathers of the Church. It occurred to me that I might offer a podcast of the readings with an English translation, comments and the Latin original.

Today we hear from St. Jerome (+420) in Letter 14 to his friend Heliodorus.  It is an impassioned plea to his friend who had left Jerome’s group of penitents, to shun the worldly and once again live an ascetic Christian life.  The Latin is gorgeous.

The last Voices of the Fathers from Egeria’s experience of Holy Thursday in ancient Jerusalem HERE

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A Fr. Z “fervorino” for Ash Wednesday – “Sursum corda!”

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the 1st Reading for Holy Mass in the Vetus Ordo….

Return to Me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the Lord, your God.  – Joel 2

When we “rend” something, we radically “wrench” it from its place and open it. To “rend” is to tear, and wrench even violently.   The Hebrew word is kawrah, meaning a range of violent acts, like what wild animals do, what a knife does.  This is what God wants us to do with our hearts.

God doesn’t desire anything for us except that which is good.  Even in the bad things that He permits to happen in our lives, God can cause good things to result.

But why would “rending” our hearts be good for us?

One good reason for rending our hearts, is that it would please God who in His mercy asks us to.

Going farther and taking us back to the question of “Why?”, when you rend something, you can see inside it, the interior is laid bare to view, it contents are no longer a secret.

During the blessing of the ashes, holy Church prays for those who will accuse themselves of sins, weep for them and hold them up to the view of divine mercy.

When we rend our hearts we can see what to hold up to God.

Remember that God already sees it.  As St. Augustine describes in his Confessions, when we go looking inside ourselves, He is already there, He is closer to us than we are to ourselves.

After the ashes are blessed, they are distributed.  The choir sings…

“Emendemus in melius…  Let us amend for the better in those things in which we have sinned through ignorance: lest suddenly overtaken by the day of death, we seek space for penance, and are not able to find it. Hear O Lord, and have mercy: for we have sinned against thee.”

One of the projects that we undertake during Lent is to bring light into the darkness corners of our minds and hearts, to dispel ignorance about who we truly are, what we have truly been, how, in truth, we have sinned by commission or omission, where we have failed, in what ways we have placed something on the thrones of our lives where God alone must reign.

The Gospel from Matthew 6 also speaks of the heart….

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,.. says Our Savior… For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

If our hearts are in the wrong place, then we need to wrench our hearts and rend our hearts, look inside and clean them out and then place them on high, offering them to God, raising them to Heaven.

Follow your heart, common adage says.

If your heart is below, that’s where you’ll go.

If your heart is on high, your thoughts, words and deeds will follow.

Sursum corda!

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The Blessing of Ashes – Novus Ordo v. Vetus Ordo – Could there be differences?

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the Vetus Ordo, Usus Antiquior, there are four prayers for the blessing of ashes.

In the Novus Ordo there is one, split into one of two … yes… options (aka a defining characteristic of the Novus Ordo).

The business of blessing ashes, which come into physical contact with the people present, is a serious affair. It is of such importance that the first thing the priest does is invoke the help of an angel!  Moreover, at the end, he prays against evil spirits.   In the TLM, at least.

Here are the prayers of the TLM and NO side by side.  Have a good look, maybe even reading them aloud so that you can compare them more easily.

Almighty and everlasting God, spare those who are penitent, be merciful to those who implore Thee; and vouchsafe to send Thy holy Angel from heaven, to bless + and sancti+fy these ashes, that they may be a wholesome remedy to all who humbly implore Thy holy Name, and who accuse themselves, conscious of their sins, deploring their misdeeds before Thy divine mercy, or humbly and earnestly beseeching Thy sovereign goodness: and grant through the invocation of Thy most holy Name that whosoever shall be sprinkled with them for the remission of their sins may receive both health of body and safety of soul. Through Christ our
Lord. R. Amen.		 OPTION 1

Dear brethren [or brothers and sisters], let us humbly ask God our Father that he be pleased to bless with the abundance of his grace these ashes, which we will put on our heads in penitence. O God, who are moved by acts of humility and respond with forgiveness to works of penance, lend your merciful ear to our prayers and in your kindness pour out the grace of your + blessing on your servants who are marked with these ashes, that, as
they follow the Lenten observances, they may be worthy to come with minds made pure to celebrate the Paschal Mystery of your Son. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

[“deploring their misdeeds”… like… what?  Running their air conditioners?]
O God, who desirest not the death, but the repentance of sinners, look down most graciously upon the frailty of human nature; and in Thy goodness vouchsafe to bless + these ashes which we purpose to put upon our heads in token of our lowliness and to obtain forgiveness: so that we who know that we are but ashes, and for the demerits of our wickedness are to return to dust, may deserve to obtain of Thy mercy, the pardon of all our sins, and the rewards promised to the penitent. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

 OPTION 2 [Don’t use both… just one!]

O God, who desire not the death of
sinners, but their conversion, mercifully hear our prayers and in your kindness be pleased to bless + these ashes which we intend to receive upon our heads, that we, who acknowledge we are but ashes and
shall return to dust, may, through a
steadfast observance of Lent, gain pardon for sins and newness of life after the likeness of your Risen Son. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

R. Amen.

[“forgiveness… wickedness…” I don’t feel affirmed!]
O God, who art moved by humiliation, and appeased by satisfaction: incline the ear of Thy goodness to our prayers and mercifully pour forth upon the heads of Thy servants sprinkled with these ashes the grace of Thy blessing: that Thou mayest both fill them with the spirit of compunction, and effectually grant what they have justly prayed for: and ordain that what Thou hast granted may be permanently established and remain unchanged. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

 [“humiliation? … satisfaction?… compunction?” What a downer.  Can’t have that!  Somebody, quick, play a guitar!]
Almighty and everlasting God, who didst vouchsafe Thy healing pardon to the Ninevites doing penance in sackcloth and ashes, mercifully grant that we may so imitate them in our outward attitude as to follow them in obtaining forgiveness. Through our Lord.

R. Amen.

 [“Nin… Nine… what?”]
After distribution Ummmm….
Grant us, O Lord, to begin with holy fasts the campaign of our Christian warfare: that, as we do battle with the spirits of evil, we may be protected by the help of self denial. Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. [“WARFARE?!?… SPIRITS OF EVIL?!? … SELF-DENIAL?!?”  What is this? Tolkien?]
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Daily Rome Shot 1552 – Can it really be 5 years already?

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The London Oratory Schola went to Rome and sang at The Parish on Sunday.

Today’s Wordle: 3

Beer.

So much more than just a great breakfast drink!

The wonderful Benedict XIV, Papa Lambertini, greatly admired also by the late and much missed Fr. Hunwicke.

And… 5 years already… sheesh….

And… another passage of time….

Priestly chess players, drop me a line. HERE

Mate in 4.  White to move.  HERE

Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links.  US HERE – WHY?  This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc..  At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.

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Interior Fiat

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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“Ash Wednesday” by T.S. Eliot

Posted on 18 February 2026 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Back in 2013, with a remnant of a cold, I read T. S. Eliot’s Ash Wednesday.

It’s interesting to go back to that post and see the comments.  For example, Supertradmum is no longer with us.  Say a prayer for the repose of her soul.  There are names of some commentators we haven’t see around for a while.

HERE

“Ash Wednesday” is structured in six parts. Eliot draws heavily on biblical imagery, especially Marian symbolism and allusions to Dante. The recurring figure of the Lady indicates intercession and purification. Eliot’s fragmented syntax and repetition are suggestive of the soul’s struggle toward belief. Ash-Wednesday dramatizes the arduous, grace-dependent movement from spiritual dryness toward tentative hope.

The 1930) poem marks a decisive turn in T. S. Eliot’s career, written after his reception into the Church of England in 1927. (Imagine what he would think of it now! He’d be Catholic for sure.) Unlike the desolation of The Waste Land, this poem is situated in the difficult terrain of conversion. Its voice is halting, liturgical, echoing the cadences of prayer. The famous opening, “Because I do not hope to turn again,” establishes a mood of renunciation: worldly ambition, carnal attachments, and intellectual pride are relinquished in favor of spiritual purgation.

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