From left to right: Fr. Josef Bisig, FSSP; Archbishop Alexander Sample; Fr. Gregory Pendergraft, FSSP

WASHINGTON, DC, April 28, 2018 (The Remnant Press) -- A Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the Extraordinary Form was celebrated today at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Pontifical Mass was organized by the Paulus Institute for the Propagation of Sacred Liturgy in honor of the tenth anniversary of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, issued by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in July, 2007. Although the tenth Anniversary of Summorum Pontificum was in July, 2017, the Pontifical Mass was delayed until the completion of the Trinity Dome over the transept of the basilica.

A Remnant Special Report...

Photo cred. Katie Ward

On Wednesday, April 25th, 2018, The Institute for Human Ecology and The Catholic University of America hosted a panel discussion with media experts on the pontificate of Pope Francis, on the anniversary of the fifth year of his papacy. Dr. Joseph Capizzi, the executive director of The Institute for Human Ecology, moderated the discussion. The media representatives were John L. Allen Jr., the editor of Crux and a specialist in coverage of the Vatican; Ross Douthat, an Op-Ed Columnist for the New York Times; Adelaide Mena, a freelance journalist and consultant based in Washington, DC and currently working for Catholic News Agency (CNA/EWTN); and E.J. Dionne, a columnist for the Washington Post, professor at the University of Georgetown, and author of the book One Nation After Trump: A Guide for the Perplexed, the Disillusioned, the Desperate, and the Not-Yet Deported.

The panelists discussed from the standpoint of journalism and the media several issues relevant to the Church and the papacy of Pope Francis. The major topics which the panelists tackled were the difficulties facing Catholic journalists writing about their own Church, the so-called “Francis Effect” upon mass attendance, ordinations, conversions and the like, and the hotly-debated issue of divorce and remarriage.