Pope Francis's first homily of 2022 was delivered at the obligatory festal Mass of the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, which closes the Christmas octave

Not so long ago, 1 January was not a feast of the Mother of God. The Orthodox will grasp this perfectly: the Dormition of the Theotokos falls in August, her Nativity in September, the Protection of the Theotokos in October, and her Entry into the Temple in November. So what is this Solemnity of Mary in January?

In fact, 1 January was always the day of the Circumcision of the Lord, and the Orthodox Church still keeps it (on the 14th, a week after Christmas). The feast in honour of the Mother of God appeared on this date only in 1974, under Paul VI, who closed the Second Vatican Council, and that is bound up precisely with the reform that abolished the Tridentine Mass.

The Circumcision of the Lord became an obligatory feast under Pius V, in 1570, together with the promulgation of the Missal as the principal liturgical book. So are we witnessing today the continuation of the struggle of the Peronist Francis I against the church reformer Pius V, dead these 450 years?

Pius V was against careerist priests, against the plague of prostitutes, against homosexual conduct among the clergy, against reckless spending on the papal court; he declared Elizabeth I a heretic, created an anti-Turkish league and fought the Ottoman Empire with considerable success. Which of these forces, would you say, are directing the zeroing out of the legacy of Pope Pius V?

Only 10 days ago Pope Francis reinstated restrictions on the pre-reform Missal. And now, with Peronist obstinacy, he consolidates the result by making loud programmatic pronouncements on the day of what is, in essence, a new church feast.