Pope Francis wants all Catholics to recognize that Vatican II and its reforms are not only authentic actions of the Holy Spirit but also are in continuity with the tradition of the church.

What Francis has done is to reestablish the priority of Vatican II in our liturgical life. He is saying, essentially, that no one can take an end run around it.

If only the priest would turn his back on members of the congregation, the movie’s logic goes, and recite the liturgy in a language they don’t understand, the pews would be full and the seminaries overflowing.

I am awestruck by the beauty of the Eucharist wherever I encounter it. That’s a big reason why the so-called liturgy wars bore me.

Many Catholics are now devastated to lose access to a treasured rite that has nourished their spiritual lives for decades.

It was the motu proprio heard around the Catholic world, but perhaps nowhere more loudly than in Boone, N.C.