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The Reign of Mary, Issue No. 157, Winter 2015

° Letter from the Editor

° Is Francis a Valid Pope?
Why It Does Matter
From NovusOrdoWatch.org
In a blog post published on October 25, 2014, by The Remnant, pseudonymous author “Megaera Erinyes” tries a new approach to the issue of Sedevacantism, the question of whether Francis is in fact a valid Pope or an illicit usurper: She says it doesn’t matter. Now that’s just rich for a publication that has spent considerable amounts of ink opposing Sedevacantism over the decades. What is going on here? In what follows, we will look at some salient points made in the Erinyes article and contrast them with traditional Catholic teaching to explain why it really does matter if Francis is the Pope:

° There He Goes Again...
Bergoglio shocks Catholics with his cavalier treatment of marriage
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
By now you have all likely heard or read of the bombshell that “Pope” Francis dropped during a press conference in January. While on an airplane during his return trip to Rome from Manila, he spoke of “responsible parenthood” and said that Catholics should not breed “like rabbits.” And yes, you read that correctly. This calls to mind similarly shocking expressions that have come from his mouth over the past two years. Yet this one comes close to vying with the infamous sound bite heard ’round the world: “Who am I to judge?”

° Monsignor Moisés Carmona Rivera, Pillar of Traditionalism in Mexico
Part IV: Part IV: Fr. Carmona’s Firm Decision to Remain in the Traditional Catholic Church
by Rev. Fr. Daniel A. Perez Gomez
As we have seen in the previous section, the last news Fr. Carmona himself tells us about his ministry is dated 1965, when Bishop Quezada declared the church of the Divine Providence as the Expiatory Temple of Acapulco, the one to which Fr. Carmona had been assigned since 1959. The immediate post-conciliar years could be considered of equal or even greater significance than the Council itself, because of the vertiginous speed in which the changes were accomplished (some of them even without the consent of the hierarchy). This revolution, fostered by what was amiably called the “Conciliar spirit,” made the Catholic faithful tremble and caused much damage to the conscience of many people...
 

° St. Joseph and the Rosary
The Patron Saint for Everyone
A Sermon Preached by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
Tomorrow is the feast of Saint Joseph, the great patron of the universal Church. St. Joseph is a powerful saint, but he is also a hidden saint. You don’t find St. Joseph speaking anywhere in the Gospels; we have no recorded words that he spoke. This does not mean that he never spoke, but it does convey two things: first, that he spoke seldom, weighing his words carefully, as Our Lady revealed to St. Bridget. It also conveys that his role was a hidden one. He did not have a public role as did St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Our Lord, nor as the twelve apostles, who spread the faith as the first bishops of the Church....

° The Sacred Liturgy
Part IX: Holy Water
by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI
It is within our power to bypass Purgatory entirely and go staight to heaven. To many, this sounds presumptuous. They think that it is practically impossible to avoid Purgatory and that all of us must inevitably pass through that realm of purifying pain and punishment. But this is not necessarily so, for this would be at variance with the all-merciful and all-loving plan of our Blessed Savior...

° Respice Stellam, Voca Mariam
Am I Not Here, Who Am Your Mother? (Part 2)
by Rev. Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI
The beautiful words Our Lady spoke to Juan Diego were not meant for him alone; they constitute the special gift, the signal grace of the Guadalupan apparitions. Here on Tepeyac Hill, to all her bewildered and troubled children, to all her children who are trying so hard to do what is right and yet meet with nothing but opposition, failure and cross upon cross, Our Lady does not open up the ground and display the horrors of hell. She does not predict famine, war or the annihilation of nations. She isn’t going to warn Juan Diego of what will happen to him unless he amends his life. We have heard all these things at Fatima, Lourdes and La Salette. But here at Guadalupe, our Blessed Mother tells us what we need to hear when we feel we just can’t go on any more and when everything seems at its worst....

° Servus Mariae
Sanctifying the Moment
by Rev. Fr. Dominic Radecki, CMRI
We are living in a time which may be described as one of “quiet desperation.” Many people today are worried, neurotic, fearful and frustrated. Many frustrations result from failure that has already occurred; others are the result of ones which might occur because of the immensity of the problems they face in relation to the feebleness of their resources for solving them....

° World Watch (short news stories compiled by The Reign of Mary staff):
Conciliar Catholicism: The New Communism?
Catholic Bishop Congratulates Church of England’s First Woman Bishop
Francis’s Highest Priorities: To Change the Laws on Divorce and Priestly Celibacy
Woman Banned by Gym for Gender-identity Complaint
Cardinal Burke: Be Ready to Face Martyrdom in Defense of Marriage
Francis Plans Encyclical on Climate Change
Knights of Columbus Caves to Gays
Historic Levels of Persecution of Christians, but the Worst is Yet to Come
Archbishop Under Fire for Requiring Teachers to Uphold Morals
Woman Drives Off Cliff, Survives, Climbs Back Up
Vatican Gives Gays VIP Seats at Papal Audience
Conservative Conciliar Catholics Beg Francis to be Catholic
Mysterious Voice Baffles Police in Baby’s Rescue
More US Nuns Over 90 Than Under 60
Irish Prime Minister Calls for “Yes” Vote on Gay Marriage