Neo-Church’s Liturgical Theater Masks Apostasy
The EWTN News portal (January 20, 2026) reports that “Pope” Leo XIV will celebrate the Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, ending a 12-year hiatus under his predecessor Francis. Monsignor Giovanni Falbo, a canon of the Lateran, claims this “restores a long-standing Roman tradition,” framing Francis’s prison liturgies as an “exception” motivated by “predilection for the poor.” The article applauds Leo XIV’s decision as evidence he intends to “behave as bishop of Rome,” citing his May 2025 possession of the Lateran chair. Historical context is provided on the foot-washing rite, noting Francis’s innovation of washing women’s and non-Christians’ feet, which Falbo dismisses as “privatization” of the liturgy.