“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood: but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

    Yesterday, my colleague Matt Gaspers and I had the great privilege of interviewing Fr. Chad Ripperger, a priest who has become very well known in recent years for his work as an exorcist (he has become an expert on the subject — see here for a talk he gave in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City earlier this year).

    Ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) in 1997, Fr. Ripperger spent several years as a seminary professor and also doing parish work before being asked by the local bishop to undertake the ministry of exorcism. In 2012, he founded the Society of the Most Sorrowful Mother (Doloran Fathers), a semi-contemplative community of priests, in order to devote himself fully to the ministry of exorcism. He currently resides in the Archdiocese of Denver, where he and his community enjoy the blessing and support of Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila.

    During our interview, Fr. Ripperger shared a little about his ministry as an exorcist, but our primary focus was on his book, The Limits of Papal Authority Over the Liturgy (2023), which he researched and wrote following the release of Traditionis Custodes in 2021. As he explains in the book’s Introduction:

    “With the advent of Traditionis Custodes and the subsequent documents, there is a renewed interest in the question of whether a pope can suppress a rite, and if so, under what conditions. This also brings to the fore the discussion of what authority, if any, does the pope have over the liturgy. … The goal of this book is not to settle the question in all of its facets. Such an endeavor would require a much more extensive work. The goal of this book is to bring the discussion into focus by basing the conclusions on solid Catholic principles derived from the official teaching of the Church, the popes, the saints, and theologians throughout the history of the Church.”

    If you were not able to join us live, I hope you will watch the recording and perhaps share it with your family and friends (see below).

    I also hope you will join our Locals community, where we continued the discussion with Fr. Ripperger exclusively for our community members (see below for information on how to join). We will be offering more exclusive content there in the weeks and months to come, so we hope you will join our community and we look forward to connecting with you there.

Click below to watch our interview with Fr. Ripperger about his book, The Limits of Papal Authority Over the Liturgy (2023), which is available for purchase here.

And remember, our discussion with Fr. Ripperger continued on Locals (click here for a preview). To access the full video, become a member of our Locals community here (it’s free to join).

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God bless you and we hope to see you on Locals!

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