EDITORIAL What we have received, we guard and hand on
The crisis of our age is increasingly a crisis of custody. Churches, institutions and nations inherit things they did not create, yet too often behave as though inheritance conferred ownership rather than obligation. The Catholic answer is older and sterner: what is received must be guarded, and what is guarded must be handed on.
Quod accepimus, custodimus et tradimus. What we have received, we guard and hand on. There is more than a motto here. There is an account of the Church herself. St Paul describes the pattern with characteristic simplicity: “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you.” Elsewhere he repeats it: “For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received.”¹ The Apostle is not an inventor but a recipient and transmitter. Something comes before him, is entrusted to him, and must pass faithfully through him.
Christianity begins there. We did not invent the Gospel, devise the Incarnation, manufacture the sacraments or create the apostolic ministry. Christ acted; the Apostles received; their successors received; generations received from generations. The Faith arrives before us as gift, fact and claim.
That is why recent Nuntiatoria mottoes have formed a sequence. Res sunt quod sunt insisted that reality precedes our preferences. Accipere, non fingere followed naturally: what is given must be received rather than fabricated. Depositum custodi added the obligation created by reception: what is entrusted must be guarded. Nomen manet, res deest warned that names can survive after realities have disappeared. Qui bene distinguit, bene docet insisted that fidelity requires the courage to distinguish development from contradiction, substance from appearance.² This edition adds the necessary conclusion. What is received and guarded must also be handed on.
The difficulty begins when inheritance is mistaken for ownership. A bishop receives a diocese and may begin to govern as though he possessed it. A priest receives a liturgical inheritance and may begin to treat it as material for reconstruction. A generation receives churches built through sacrifices it never made and asks principally what alternative uses might be found for them. Religious communities inherit houses formed by centuries of prayer and eventually preside over their orderly disposal. Governments inherit institutions and constitutional settlements and discover that the easiest way to alter their substance is often to leave the names intact.
No one need announce a revolution. The vocabulary may remain while the reality underneath it changes.
Sometimes change is necessary. Tradition does not mean immobilism. Disciplines alter, customs develop, buildings are restored, structures are prudently adapted. But there remains a difference between development and replacement, between stewardship and possession, between pruning something living and substituting something else while retaining the label.
This distinction is especially important in the Church because ecclesiastical authority itself is received. The Pope receives the Petrine office; he does not create it. A bishop receives episcopal authority; he does not determine its essential nature. A priest receives the priesthood; he does not decide what priesthood means. A theologian receives Revelation before explaining it. The faithful receive the Faith rather than electing it. Authority is therefore not diminished by being custodial. Its custodial character is what prevents authority from becoming ownership.
The Second Vatican Council says this plainly. The Magisterium “is not above the word of God, but serves it”, teaching what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully.³ Earlier this year Pope Leo XIV returned to the same principle when reflecting upon the depositum fidei. A deposit, he observed, creates an obligation upon the receiver to preserve what has been entrusted and transmit it intact.⁴ Reception creates responsibility.
Hence St Paul’s charge to Timothy: “Keep the good thing committed to thy trust by the Holy Ghost.”⁵ Depositum custodi. Guard the good deposit. Custody presumes that loss is possible. Things entrusted can be neglected, diluted, forgotten or surrendered. Sometimes fidelity therefore means preserving what remains; sometimes it means recovering what should never have been discarded.
That principle explains why apparently practical questions so often disclose deeper assumptions. An altar is stone, yet its removal or restoration may reveal what a generation believes about worship. A rite consists of texts, ceremonies and gestures, yet the manner in which it is treated can reveal whether Tradition is regarded as inheritance or inconvenience. A religious house is property in civil law, yet its closure can expose whether a spiritual patrimony was understood as something to be replenished and transmitted or merely administered until extinction.
Modern bureaucracy makes such questions particularly acute because profound changes need not arrive dramatically. They may come through committees, permissions, restrictions, working papers and implementation plans. Each decision appears limited. Each official may insist that he is merely responding to circumstances. Yet a succession of administrative decisions can transform an institution more thoroughly than a manifesto.
That is why memory matters. Memory is not nostalgia. Nostalgia wants the past because it is past; memory recalls what was received so that the present knows what it owes. Once memory disappears, every innovation can be presented as inevitable because few remember that things were ever otherwise. The opening of archives, the recovery of texts, the reading of minutes and correspondence are therefore not exercises in grievance. They restore agency to history. They remind us that what later appears inevitable was often once a choice.
Yet custodimus cannot be the last word. A treasure perfectly preserved but never transmitted becomes a museum piece. The purpose of preserving a liturgy is that men should worship with it. The purpose of guarding doctrine is that men should believe it. The purpose of maintaining churches is that prayer and sacrifice should continue within them. The purpose of preserving a religious charism is that another generation should answer the same call.
So we come to tradimus. We hand on. The word itself contains a warning, for tradere can mean to deliver or hand over, and Christian history remembers the traditores who handed over the sacred books during persecution. Every generation will hand something over. The question is whether we hand the inheritance on to those who follow us, or hand it over to those who will dismantle it.
There is no neutral option. If parents cease transmitting the Faith, another catechesis will fill the silence. If priests cease preaching difficult truths, the culture will preach easier ones. If communities cease producing successors, their property will serve somebody else. If Catholics cease understanding their liturgy, they will scarcely recognise what has been lost when it changes.
This is why numbers matter, though not always in the way institutions count them. A church may be solvent and dying. A community may possess property and no future. Conversely, something numerically small may be alive if it can reproduce itself. A family teaching the Faith to its children, a convert being instructed, a young man discerning priesthood, a young woman discovering religious life, a congregation willing to sacrifice for the worship it has inherited — these matter because something is crossing the boundary between generations.
That is also why fidelity cannot become nostalgia or factional possession. Traditional Catholics are no more owners of Tradition than anyone else. The old Mass, Catholic doctrine, sacred music, inherited devotions and Christian culture are not trophies proving that we were right about the crisis. They are goods received for worship, sanctification and mission. If we preserve them without transmitting them, we have failed almost as surely as those who discarded them.
We stand, then, between those who handed the inheritance to us and those who will receive whatever remains after our stewardship. Behind us are people who built churches they would never see completed, preserved books through persecution, maintained worship through poverty and handed down doctrine through struggles whose cost we scarcely remember. Before us are people not yet born who will live with what we preserve, restore, neglect or surrender.
That is the moral weight of inheritance. What we have received is not ours simply because it happens to be in our hands. The next generation has a claim upon our fidelity, just as we had a claim upon those who came before.
The deepest question beneath this edition is therefore not whether old things are always better than new ones. It is more fundamental: do we understand ourselves as owners or custodians? Owners may dispose of what belongs to them. Custodians must give an account of what was entrusted to them.
We have received much: a Faith we did not devise, sacraments we did not institute, Scriptures we did not compose, a liturgical inheritance we did not invent, churches we did not build and doctrine clarified through battles we did not fight. Gratitude for such an inheritance must become fidelity, and fidelity must possess a future tense.
The child must receive it. The convert must receive it. The seminarian must receive it. The generation after ours must inherit something more substantial than photographs of what Catholics once believed and memories of how Catholics once worshipped.
When our custody ends, the inheritance must not end with us.
Quod accepimus, custodimus et tradimus. What we have received, we guard and hand on.
¹ Douay-Rheims Bible, 1 Corinthians 11:23; Douay-Rheims Bible, 1 Corinthians 15:3.
² Nuntiatoria: Res Sunt Quod Sunt; Accipere, non Fingere; Depositum Custodi; Nomen Manet, Res Deest; Qui Bene Distinguit, Bene Docet.
³ Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, §10.
⁴ Pope Leo XIV, A Single Sacred Deposit: The Relationship between Scripture and Tradition, General Audience, 28 January 2026.
⁵ Douay-Rheims Bible, 2 Timothy 1:14.
IN THIS EDITION
- THE SALERA DOSSIER
Bishop Daniele Salera’s tenure in the Diocese of Ivrea is marked by significant controversies that challenge the effectiveness of Francis-era synodality. These conflicts question whether a Church focused on listening can embrace unsolicited participation, acknowledge differing viewpoints, and accept potential corrections to authority rather than merely seeking compliance from parishioners. - Sermon for Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
In the Gospel for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Jesus heals a paralysed man and announces the forgiveness of his sins, asserting his authority as the Son of Man. This proclamation foreshadows the new covenant and challenges the perceptions of the scribes. Jesus positions himself as the definitive revealer of God’s will, offering salvation through his death and resurrection, distinguishing Christianity from other faiths. - Sermon for Blessed Virgin Mary of Ransom
Today, we commemorate the feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Ransom, which honours the Mercedarians, a religious order founded in 1218 to free Christian captives from the Moors in Spain. Their mission persists today, highlighting the ongoing relevance of ransoming captives amidst contemporary persecution, combining spiritual redemption with social responsibility. - OUR LADY OF RANSOM: THE MOTHER OF THE REDEEMER AND THE BREAKING OF CHAINS
The Feast of Our Lady of Ransom, celebrated on 24 September, commemorates the Mercedarian Order’s mission to redeem Christian captives, embodying the concept of liberation from sin through Christ’s sacrifice. This day’s significance links historical devotion with England’s Catholic restoration, connecting the feast to both the Incarnation and personal spiritual freedom. - Archbishop Viganò’s “Schism of the Head”: A True Diagnosis That Risks a False Ecclesiology
Archbishop ✠Carlo Maria Viganò correctly identifies the limits of papal authority and the modernist practice of eroding doctrine through pastoral processes. His theory of a “schism of the head”, however, risks replacing papal maximalism with a private judgement that makes each resister the judge of whether the Pope remains united to the Church. - MOUNT MELLERAY REOPENS: People Before Profit’s “MAGA beachhead” meets Catholic reality
People Before Profit warned that Ave Maria University’s arrival at Mount Melleray would create a “MAGA beachhead” and has now demanded confiscatory taxation of Catholic property transactions. Yet the abbey has reopened with students, prayer, education and public worship. Behind the political rhetoric lies a more important question: when Ireland’s old religious communities can no longer sustain their foundations, must their patrimony inevitably be secularised? - Cardinal Hollerich: Synodality is “irreversible” while Church decline is “healing”
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich asserts that the synodal process initiated by Pope Francis is “irreversible”, viewing the decline in Catholic practice as a potential healing process. However, he warns against equating decline with justification. Evidence from France and Germany highlights the significant downturn in sacramental practice, urging a need for genuine evaluation of pastoral methods to ensure faithful transmission of the Faith. - Cardinal Arborelius Faces New Evidence of Failure to Implement Vatican Decree
New documentary evidence intensifies questions over the Diocese of Stockholm’s response to a Vatican decree declaring Fr Tobias Unnerstål’s suspension invalid. The affair has become a test not simply of one priest’s treatment, but of a more fundamental Catholic principle: whether canon law binds those exercising ecclesiastical authority as surely as those subject to it. - Sermon for St. Thomas of Villanova
St. Thomas of Villanova, born in 1488 in Spain, became an influential Augustinian priest known for his charity and social reform. He served in various roles, including prior and later Archbishop of Valencia. His ministry focused on aiding the poor, embodying the Augustinian commitment to address both spiritual and physical needs in the world. - THE DATA YOU OUTSOURCE IS STILL YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
The RNLI’s exposure through the Beacon CRM cyberattack illustrates a problem far wider than one charity. Organisations can outsource their databases, hosting and technical security, but they cannot outsource responsibility for the information they choose to collect. Data minimisation, supplier scrutiny and controlled access are not merely GDPR exercises: they are duties of custodianship. - “THAT THE WORLD MAY HAVE LIFE”: LEO XIV GOES TO FRANCE
Pope Leo XIV arrives in France five weeks after its assisted-dying law came into force and two years after guaranteed access to abortion was written into the Constitution. His first encyclical calls life from conception to natural death the first human right. At the Élysée, Notre-Dame and Lourdes, the question is now how explicitly he will apply that doctrine to France. - Sermon for St. Matthew
Today, we honour St. Matthew, a tax collector called by Jesus to discipleship. Despite their notorious reputation, tax collectors were essential to Jesus’ ministry of redemption. St. Matthew’s Gospel, aimed at a Jewish audience, emphasises Jesus as the fulfilment of prophecy and outlines Christ’s teachings, including the Sermon on the Mount. - ST MATTHEW, APOSTLE AND EVANGELIST: “FOLLOW ME”
The traditional feast of St Matthew on 21 September presents much more than the conversion of a tax collector. Its Vigil, apostolic Office and Mass Os justi show divine grace transforming the publican into Apostle, Evangelist and witness. From the Fathers and St Thomas Aquinas to the Roman hagiographical tradition and the living cult of his relics at Salerno, the feast returns to the same decisive fact: Christ called, and Matthew rose and followed Him. - FRANCE BEFORE LEO XIV: THE NUMBERS ROME MUST FACE
In the week before Pope Leo XIV’s visit to France, alarming statistics underscore significant declines in French Catholicism: 68% fewer priests, 72% fewer parishes, 64% fewer baptisms, and 81% fewer marriages since 1980. Despite a rise in adult baptisms, the Church faces challenges in transmitting faith while navigating a diminished sacramental culture. - A GOOD HABIT — BUT FOR WHOM?
Blackfriars Oxford’s Good Habit café creatively meets community needs while providing revenue but lacks explicit support for the poor. Inspired by St Dominic’s legacy of charity, the café could incorporate pay-it-forward schemes to invite those in need to share the space, ensuring hospitality extends to all, not just paying customers. - SLAVERY, REPARATIONS AND THE MISSING DEFENDANTS
Caribbean governments are moving towards possible legal action against Britain over slavery. Britain’s responsibility is real, but so are African participation in supplying the Atlantic trade, Britain’s later international campaign to suppress it, the liberation of some 150,000 Africans by the Royal Navy and the deaths of approximately 2,000 British personnel during suppression. Any coherent doctrine of reparations must explain how historical liability is inherited and why the same principle applies to some successor states but not others. - IVREA: WHEN SYNODALITY MEETS A CLOSED DOOR
In the Diocese of Ivrea, disparate grievances have emerged among various communities regarding liturgical restrictions, clerical transfers, and financial transparency, leading to a crisis in confidence. The fundamental issue is whether Bishop ✠Salera’s authority translates into the listening and reconciliation he advocates, as congregations increasingly feel unheard and overlooked. - Sermon for St. Eustacius/ Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The feast of St. Eustacius, celebrated on the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, commemorates early Christian martyrs who refused to renounce their faith. Despite limited historical knowledge of St. Eustacius, his story embodies the courage of many Christians who, facing persecution from the Roman Empire, chose martyrdom over idolatry, ultimately shaping the Church’s foundation. - 20.09.26 Nuntiatoria CXXIV: QUOD ACCEPIMUS, CUSTODIMUS ET TRADIMUS
The editorial emphasises the importance of understanding our inheritance as custodians rather than owners. It highlights the obligation to preserve and transmit the Christian Faith, sacraments, and traditions to future generations. Through gratitude and fidelity, those who receive must ensure that what has been entrusted does not end with them. - ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAPTISM: The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost
The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost emphasises the love of God and neighbour, rooted in divine justice. The Mass articulates the necessity of one faith and baptism, ensuring charity is not sentimental but deeply theological. The Gospel challenges believers to recognise Christ’s dual nature as both David’s son and Lord, reinforcing true Christian charity. - THE VISIONS HAVE NOT STOPPED
The Diocese of Aachen is conducting an investigation into the ongoing alleged apparitions at Sievernich under new Vatican guidelines. The inquiry faces challenges due to continuous reports of messages attributed to Christ and saints, complicating discernment between spiritual validity and supernatural claims while ensuring past findings do not endorse future revelations uncritically. - CHICLAYO: THE FILE ROME MUST NOW OPEN
The allegations regarding Robert Prevost’s management of clerical abuse cases in Chiclayo raise significant concerns about potential inadequacies in the investigation process. Critically, a recent Church investigator described prior inquiries as severely deficient. While Prevost is not directly accused of cover-up, questions persist about transparency, procedural integrity, and the necessity for an independent review. - THE CHILDREN IRELAND NO LONGER BAPTISES
Catholic baptisms in Ireland have declined by nearly 30% over the last decade, influenced by reduced births and a growing disaffiliation from Catholicism among younger generations. While the cultural significance of Catholic practices remains, a new trend shows some young adults are beginning to reconnect with their faith, suggesting a complex religious landscape. - THE BILL IS HERE. THE PROTESTANT SETTLEMENT REMAINS.
The Church Appointments Bill aims to repeal restrictions preventing Catholics and Jews from advising the Crown on Anglican appointments, highlighting existing disparities affecting only these religions compared to others. This controversy reflects broader issues of constitutional relevance in a largely post-Christian society, as well as the complexities surrounding practising and cultural identities within Catholicism. - PUTTING IT ALL BACK
The Oxford Oratory is constructing a new High Altar for St Aloysius, returning it to its original position after the previous altar was dismantled in 1966. This restoration highlights the distinction between Vatican II’s directives and the subsequent cultural shifts in liturgy. Sixty years later, another generation seeks to recover the sanctuary’s architectural and theological integrity. - THE REVOLUTION HAD AN OFFICE
Hanael Bianchi’s A Liberal Revolution offers a detailed archival study of post-conciliar changes in Baltimore, revealing that the supposed “spirit of Vatican II” was fundamentally a clerical-driven revolution. Examined by Dr John Pepino, the book underscores how distinct clerical actors and bureaucratic structures have perpetuated these transformations, challenging previous narratives of organic reform. - TORONTO: ROME GAVE TWO YEARS — WHO ORDERED THE MONTHLY RESTRICTIONS?
On 5 December 2025, the Vatican authorised the Archdiocese of Toronto to celebrate Traditional Mass at four parishes for two years. Subsequently, reports emerged that this provision is being curtailed, leading to significant ambiguity about whether these changes originated in Rome or were implemented locally, creating confusion amongst the faithful. - KRAKÓW’S SYNOD HAS A DOCTRINE PROBLEM
Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś asserts that sexual orientation does not exclude anyone from the Church while emphasising traditional Catholic teachings on sexual morality. However, the Kraków synod’s proposal for “safe pastoral havens,” inspired by the organisation Faith and Rainbow, raises questions about the compatibility of contemporary LGBTQ+ affirmations with Catholic doctrine. - AN AWARD IS NOT A MEETING
Lambeth Palace has withdrawn the Hubert Walter Award given to Hafiz Tahir Ashrafi for reconciliation, citing previously unknown controversial comments. This raised questions about the vetting process prior to the award. While Ashrafi has defended his record of protecting minority rights, the Palace must clarify why such issues were overlooked initially. - TRUTH MUST BE CONFESSED; PERSONS MUST BE LOVED
The Vatican calls for a “new ethic of dialogue” sixty years after Nostra aetate, emphasising collaboration with other religions while maintaining the necessity of Christian witness. It highlights the theological distinction between loving individuals and affirming their beliefs, cautioning against confusing cooperation for the common good with theological partnership, as faith remains centred on Christ. - SUPERVISION IS NO LONGER AN EXEMPTION
Since 1 September 2026, supervision no longer exempts regular child-facing roles from being classified as regulated activity in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. This significant reform enhances access to the Children’s Barred List but underscores the imperative for institutions to actively respond to safeguarding information to protect children effectively. - Canada’s Military Chaplains, State Neutrality and the Name of God
Canada’s Armed Forces now require military chaplains to represent the state rather than their faith traditions during certain official ceremonies. This raises fundamental questions about the role of chaplains and the effectiveness of non-confessional expressions in reflecting spiritual needs. The policy challenges the separation of religious and governmental capacities inherent in military chaplaincy. - NEVERS: WAS RENEWAL EVER TRIED?
The Visitandines of Nevers, established in 1620, are set to close due to dwindling numbers, despite having been affiliated with the larger Paray-le-Monial monastery in 2024. This affiliation was intended to explore possibilities for renewal, raising questions about whether sufficient efforts were made to revive the historical community before its impending extinction. - THE POPE, THE PRESIDENT AND THE SOUL OF FRANCE
President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to accompany Pope Leo XIV through Notre-Dame were rejected by the Vatican, highlighting tensions between the Catholic Church and the French state. The Pope’s upcoming visit addresses significant issues, including France’s euthanasia law, reflecting a broader conflict between cultural heritage and spiritual values in modern France. - THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND THE COST OF SELF-PRESERVATION
An investigation into the Christian Brothers highlights a troubling intersection of financial liabilities and institutional self-preservation in Australia, mirroring issues in Ireland. The core concern transcends legalities, focusing instead on the moral obligation of Catholic institutions to prioritise justice and the mission over their own survival in light of historical abuse. - ORDO w/c 20.09.26
The week opens with the martyrdom of St Eustace and his Companions overriding the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, passes through the apostolic feast of St Matthew and the Marian Feast of Our Lady of Ransom, and closes with the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, upon which SS. Cosmas and Damian are commemorated. Martyrdom, apostolic conversion, episcopal charity, deliverance and healing provide the spiritual thread of the week.
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