The Vatican’s humiliation of Traditionalists still seeking permission to be Catholic continued this past weekend, as the heavily restricted 2026 Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage suffered more blows at the hands of the tyrants in Rome.
Participants at this year’s event, which was held from October 23 to 25, had previously been prohibited from celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Instead, organizers were informed that Bishop Athanasius Schneider could celebrate Mass at St. Mary Major.
Yet, even the crumbs that were initially given to the pilgrims were snatched away. News broke on social media just days ago they were physically barred from entering St. Peter’s to pray. While some have alleged that a Pontifical Mass at St. Mary Major had to be reduced to a Low Mass, Joseph Shaw, the President of the Una Voce Federation, claimed on Monday that this was not the case, per reporter Niwa Limbu.
A pilgrimage born of false hope
Established in 2012, the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage traces its origins to Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which liberated the traditional liturgy — what it called the “Extraordinary Form” of the Mass — for a brief period.
For many Catholics, the pilgrimage embodied the optimistic conviction that the ancient Roman liturgy could flourish within the post-conciliar ecclesiastical establishment. Then came Francis in 2021 with Traditionis Custodes. The so-called liturgy wars that resulted effectively reduced traditionalist leaning Catholics to pariahs within the Modernist Church.
Eventually, even the pilgrimage fell victim to Traditionis Custodes, with its principal Mass excluded from St Peter’s Basilica in both 2023 and 2024.
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In 2025, Cardinal Raymond Burke’s celebration of a Pontifical Mass in St. Peter’s offered renewed hope, leading many to proclaim that Traditional Catholicism “was so back.” Seemingly, that irritated the Vatican, which reportedly saw the move as a provocation.
While many imagined that Leo XIV might reverse his predecessor’s policies, his reign thus far has demonstrated exactly the opposite, with this weekend’s fiasco merely the latest example of the conciliar fist coming down hard on the delusional faux-trad contingent.
Delusional indignation from complaining conservatives
Sadly, a quick trawl through social media reveals that — once again — sanity, reason, and logic have been subordinated to spectacular mental gymnastics and a stubborn refusal to confront reality.
One of the many leaders of this movement, Dr Peter Kwasniewski, described the decisions of Vatican personnel as the “most petty and vindictive I have ever seen.”
In the same post on X, he complained further that
Such absurd and offensive steps have predictable consequences: they make the Vatican look desperate and out of touch; they alienate and radicalize traditionalists; they rhetorically strengthen the SSPX’s case. If the Vatican’s desire is to create further division, polarization, and resentment while fueling the traditionalist fire, they have done a brilliant job.
The Dispatch
While this tirade might excite his many disciples, it remains a vain attempt to obscure a reality that Dr. Kwasniewski stubbornly refuses to accept: that the conciliar institution responsible for suffocating this weekend’s pilgrimage is demonstrably not the Catholic Church. Simply complaining about being ill-treated isn’t accomplishing a whole lot.
Traditional Catholic commentator The Catholic Esquire diplomatically pointed out as much in a reply to Dr. Kwasniewski’s post. “Even if what Dr. K says is 100% true, the Vatican and Leo do NOT care,” he said. “They have no real interest or incentive to accommodate Trads. They control the Vatican, the Catholic name, and property … They’re trying to destroy traditionalism, not help it.”
Mr. Circular Firing Squad himself, Michael Matt, per usual capitalized on the situation with his trademark brand of I-just-can’t-believe-what-is-going-on outrage. 60 years into the crisis and the incredulity is just as strong as ever. “Why were traditional Catholic pilgrims denied entry to St. Peter’s Basilica? And what does this say about the Vatican’s calls for inclusion, unity, and pastoral solicitude,” he performatively asked on X. This sort of trad “outrage slop” really needs to end.
Another peddler of denial, Mark Lambert, responded to one of Matt’s many posts with his own theatrical display of disbelief: “I feel sick that this happened. It makes no sense. Absolutely no sense.”
Clearly mocking those who embarrassingly refuse to acknowledge the inconvenient truth, Mario Derksen of Novus Ordo Watch snidely, but correctly suggested on X, “Perhaps if the participants in the Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage wave a bunch of transgender flags and rainbow pride banners around, they will be permitted to enter St. Peter’s Basilica?” The reference being to an LGBT pilgrimage that Leo allowed to take place last year at the Vatican.
Neglecting the root cause of the crisis yet again
Beyond the humiliation inflicted in this specific incident, the synodal-trad complex has once again managed to ignore the fundamental problem of the entire premise upon which the pilgrimage operates.
Decades of respectful petitions, demonstrations of loyalty, and occasional ceremonial concessions have failed miserably to alter Rome’s relentless march towards apostasy. Yet the usual suspects persist in pretending that another open letter, another pilgrimage, or another carefully negotiated concession might somehow change the trajectory of an institution fundamentally hostile to Catholic Tradition.
At some point, even the most committed practitioner of ecclesiastical self-deception must recognize that negotiating with these spiritual terrorists is not an option.
Ultimately, the ever-dwindling number of permitted Traditional Latin Masses, events such as the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, the concessions granted to the SSPX before the excommunications, and prelates such as Fr. Chad Ripperger only deepen the ecclesiastical schizophrenia. They serve to legitimize an apostate institution while posing a grave threat to the souls of those deceived into believing that Catholic Tradition can somehow coexist indefinitely with the very machinery determined to extinguish it.
Permissions and concessions from an institution that has formalized its liturgical, doctrinal, and ecclesiological enmity towards Catholicism mean absolutely nothing. Instead of endlessly expressing outrage over what this institution is doing, Dr. Kwasniewski and his Trad Inc. colleagues ought to question, denounce, and reject the operation responsible for suppressing Catholicism in the first place.
Every pilgrimage denied, every priest cancelled, and every fraternity excommunicated by the Synodal Church should be celebrated by the faithful, for each new act of repression further exposes its true anti-Catholic nature. After nearly fifteen years, the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage has exhausted its purpose — assuming, of course, it ever had a legitimate one in the first place. Abandoning this charade should not be regarded as a defeat for Traditional Catholicism, but rather as a long-overdue refusal to continue participating in its own managed marginalization at the hands of an institution utterly devoid of legitimacy.
The pilgrimage has become nothing more than an embarrassing farce, a recurring spectacle in which Catholics voluntarily submit themselves to humiliation while desperately hoping that their persecutors might reward their obedience with a few more crumbs. It is time these Catholics stopped embarrassing themselves by begging permission from an apostate institution to practice the faith Christ gave us.
