Twenty-five years on, more New York firefighters have died from the dust at Ground Zero than died in the towers that day. 343 FDNY members were killed on September 11, 2001. As of yesterday, 453 have since died of World Trade Center-related illness. This morning, for the first time in twenty-five years, the ceremony at Ground Zero fell silent a seventh time - a new bell, for the responders, recovery workers, residents and survivors the dust has killed since. Joe is joined today by a New York firefighter to remember the men lost that morning, the men still being buried, and every soul carried out of those towers.

Also today: Dr. Anthony Stine of Return to Tradition on the Traditional Latin Mass that will NOT be celebrated at St. Peter's Basilica this year. The pontifical Mass for the Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage - Bishop Athanasius Schneider was to be the celebrant - was refused in a letter from the Secretariat of State. It moves to St. Mary Major.

THE 9/11 NUMBERS, 25 YEARS ON

• 2,977 people were killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
• 343 of them were New York City firefighters.
• 453 FDNY members have since died of World Trade Center-related illness - as of September 10, 2026, more than died on the day itself.
• The September 11th Victim Compensation Fund has linked nearly 10,000 deaths to 9/11-related illness over 25 years, including 5,892 who died of cancer.
• Father Mychal Judge, OFM, chaplain to the FDNY, was killed in the lobby of the North Tower after anointing a fallen firefighter. His was the first body recovered and certified that day - Victim 0001.

THE ST. PETER'S DECISION - WHAT IS ACTUALLY KNOWN

• The Summorum Pontificum pilgrimage, Peregrinatio ad Petri Sedem, runs October 23 to 25, 2026.
• Permission for the pontifical Mass at St. Peter's was refused in a letter dated August 7, 2026, signed by Archbishop Paolo Rudelli, Substitute for General Affairs at the Secretariat of State.
• The letter says the Mass is not authorized "this year" - wording that leaves the door open for future years.
• The Mass moves to the high altar of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, 3:00 p.m., Saturday October 24, celebrated by Bishop Athanasius Schneider at the invitation of the archpriest, Cardinal Rolandas Makrickas.
• In 2025, Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated the same Mass at the Altar of the Chair with Pope Leo XIV's permission.
• No official reason has been given. Sources speaking to LifeSiteNews suggest last year's celebration was perceived in Rome as triumphalist. No source has reported that Bishop Schneider himself was the reason.
• This is not a ban on the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Peter's. The basilica continues to offer the traditional Mass, including solemn High Masses on request.

SCRIPTURE

• John 15:13 - "Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends."
• 2 Maccabees 12:46 - "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead."

SOURCES

• FDNY marks 25 years since 9/11 as illness deaths surpass lives lost in the attacks
  https://www.ems1.com/9-11/fdny-marks-25-years-since-9-11-as-illness-deaths-surpass-lives-lost-in-attacks
• Seventh moment of silence added at the Ground Zero ceremony
  https://www.911memorial.org/marking-25th-anniversary
• Victim 0001: The final witness of Fr Mychal Judge, The Catholic Herald
  https://thecatholicherald.com/article/victim-0001-the-final-witness-of-fr-mychal-judge
• Vatican denies Bishop Schneider Latin Mass at St. Peter's Basilica, LifeSiteNews
  https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/vatican-denies-bishop-schneider-latin-mass-at-st-peters-basilica/
• Vatican letter leaves door open for the Mass to return to St Peter's, Advaticanum
  https://advaticanum.com/article/vatican-letter-leaves-door-open-for-summorum-pontificum-mass-to-return-to-st-peters/

GUEST
Dr. Anthony Stine, Return to Tradition - https://www.youtube.com/@ReturnToTradition

Pray for the repose of the souls lost on September 11, 2001, and for those still dying of what they breathed in the days after. Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine.

#September11 #NeverForget #ACatholicTake #FDNY #Catholic #TraditionalCatholic #LatinMass #BishopSchneider #ReturnToTradition #SummorumPontificum

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