Easter Evening Distorted: Modernist Reduction of Paschal Mystery

The cited article from the *National Catholic Register* (April 5, 2026) presents a commentary by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza on Pope Leo XIV’s first Urbi et Orbi address. It argues for the liturgical and theological centrality of Easter Sunday evening, focusing on the Emmaus narrative as the “first Mass” and the Upper Room appearance as the “first ordination” and institution of Confession. The piece promotes a naturalistic, historical-critical interpretation of Scripture, reduces the Mass to a memorial meal, and fundamentally misrepresents the nature of the priesthood and sacraments. This analysis exposes the article’s profound departure from integral Catholic theology, revealing it as a fruit of the conciliar apostasy.