Launch of Mass-book by Melbourne's Bishop Peter Elliott

Responding to the Pope’s initiative in Summorum Pontificum, the Ignatius Press has now released an Order of Mass for the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, prepared by Michael Sternbeck of the Saint Bede Studio. The Mass-book may be purchased online here. This is a completely new edition, not a reprint of previous books, published under the Imprimatur of the Archbishop of Melbourne, Australia, the Most Rev’d Denis Hart.

The new Mass-book will be made available to World Youth Day Pilgrims for use at Juventutem Liturgies in the Extraordinary Form in Melbourne and Sydney.

Well-known liturgist and auxiliary bishop of Melbourne, the Most Rev’d Peter J Elliott, recently launched the Order of Mass book at a ceremony in Melbourne.

The ceremony was preceded by a Solemn Mass celebrated in the bishop’s presence in the church of S’ Aloysius, Caulfield (Archdiocese of Melbourne). The Old Mass community of Saint Aloysius graciously made available their facilities for the launch ceremony. The bishop was welcomed on the occasion by Father Glen Tattersall, chaplain to the Old Mass community in Melbourne. Following the bishop’s speech, Michael Sternbeck made a brief reply explaining his philosophies and aspirations in preparing the Mass-book.

The Bishop's speech at the book launch may be read here.

The photograph shews the Bishop with Father Glen Tattersall and Michael Sternbeck.

3,000 Assyrians Received into the Catholic Church

The Chaldean Catholic Diocese of St. Peter and Paul has formally received into its fold, those members of the Assyrian Catholic Apostolic Diocese who, under the leadership of Mar Bawai Soro (pictured above), had asked to be reconciled with the Catholic Church last January 17, 2008.

One bishop (Mar Bawai himself), six priests, 30+ deacons and subdeacons and an estimated 3,000 faithful were received into full communion during liturgical celebrations for the Feast of Pentecost. The announcement by the Chaldean Catholic Church can be found here.

The Black Cordelias blog has an earlier article here.

Mar Bawai Soro has long advocated the Primacy of the See of Rome. On November 2, 2005, he presented to the Synod of Bishops of the Assyrian Church of the East (of which he was a bishop at that time) a paper entitled "The Position of the Church of the East Theological Tradition on the Questions of Church Unity and Full Communion " in which, among other things, he stated that

The Church of the East attributes a prominent role to Saint Peter and a
significant place for the Church of Rome in her liturgical, canonical and
Patristic thoughts. There are more than 50 liturgical, canonical and Patristic
citations that explicitly express such a conviction. The question before us
therefore is, why there must be a primacy attributed to Saint Peter in the
Church? If there is no primacy in the universal church, we shall not be able to
legitimize a primacy of all the Catholicos-Patriarchs in the other apostolic
churches. If the patriarchs of the apostolic churches have legitimate authority
over their own respective bishops it is so because there is a principle of
primacy in the universal Church. If the principle of primacy is valid for a
local Church (for example, the Assyrian Church of the East), it is so because it
is already valid for the universal church. If there is no Peter for the
universal church there could not be Peter for the local Church. If all the
apostles are equal in authority by virtue of the gift of the Spirit, and if the
bishops are the successors of the Apostles, based on what then one of these
bishops (i.e., the Catholicos-Patriarchs) has authority over the other
bishops?

The Church of the East possesses a theological, liturgical and
canonical tradition in which she clearly values the primacy of Peter among the
rest of the Apostles and their churches and the relationship Peter has with his
successors in the Church of Rome. The official organ of our Church of the East,
Mar Abdisho of Soba, the last theologian in our Church before its fall, based
himself on such an understanding when he collected his famous Nomocanon in which
he clearly states the following: “To the Great Rome [authority] was given
because the two pillars are laid [in the grave] there, Peter, I say, the head of
the Apostles, and Paul, the teacher of the nations. [Rome] is the first see and
the head of the patriarchs.” (Memra 9; Risha 1) Furthermore, Abdisho asserts “.
. . . And as the patriarch has authority to do all he wishes in a fitting manner
in such things as are beneath his authority, so the patriarch of Rome has
authority over all patriarchs, like the blessed Peter over all the community,
for he who is in Rome also keeps the office of Peter in all the church. He who
transgresses against these things the ecumenical synod places under anathema.”
(Memra 9; Risha 8). I would like to ask here the following: who among us would
dare to think that he or she is more learned than Abdisho of Soba, or that they
are more sincere to the church of our forefather than Mar Abdisho himself? This
is true especially since we the members of the Holy Synod have in 2004 affirmed
Mar Abdisho’s List of Seven Sacraments as the official list of the Assyrian
Church of the East. How much more then we ought to consider examining and
receiving Abdisho’s Synodical legislation in his Nomocanon?

Five days later, Mar Bawai was suspended by the Holy Synod of the Assyrian Church. The story behind this, as well as the full text of the paper on papal primacy that Mar Bawai had presented to the Synod, can be found here.


Following upon his suspension, Mar Bawai and the clergy and faithful who had remained loyal to him formed the Assyrian Catholic Apostolic Diocese, then proceeded to draw ever closer to the Catholic Church through the Chaldean Catholic Patriarchate. How fitting that they finally came home on Pentecost Sunday. Deo Gratias!

Building a civilization

This is a little text that I put in our parish bulletin! May the Holy Ghost inspire us so that we can continue the battle for the reign of Christ the King.

Happy Feast of Pentecost to all of you.

We will never be harmed by repeating this: the liturgy is eminently educational. It is even more than this; the liturgy civilizes societies and raises the arts and the culture. The reason is that it establishes a relation between men and God. And when men are close to God, they can only be better and perform better work. France has gained the beautiful titles of Eldest Daughter of the Church and educator of peoples and I think that the liturgy certainly had a great role to play in this matter. One of the pillars of the Carolingian dynasty was precisely the liturgy.
We can find an origin to this fact with the influence of the remote ancestor of this dynasty, who was Saint Arnoul (582-641), Bishop of Metz and forbearer of Charlemagne. One of his successors to the See of Metz also had a great influence on the building of the Carolingian empire, Saint Chrodegang (712-766). Pepin the Short appointed him as mediator between the kingdom and the papacy. He went to Rome where he discovered the Old Roman chant which he brought back to Austrasia. He then convinced King Pepin to officially adopt the Roman liturgy in his kingdom, which was done at the Council of Quierzy in 754. The Franks recognized in this liturgy the most exalted expression of the type of civilization they desired to promote. Metz became a high liturgical place and its numerous manuscripts are still today a precious source of information for research on the Gregorian chant.

The son of Pepin, Charlemagne, pursued the work of his father. One of his closest counselors was an English monk named Alcuin, who worked for the unity of the Empire by promoting the liturgical unity. A great liturgist, among many other talents – philosopher, theologian, man of letters and of arts – Alcuin can be considered as one of the lights of the early Middle Ages. One of his major works was the organization of the monastic Orders in the Empire. The monasteries were the seats of knowledge and culture. But their main and highest duty was the Divine Work according to the teaching of Saint Benedict. The building of Christendom would probably not have been possible without the monks. We know the great influence that Cluny and Citeaux would have later. How interesting it is to see that among the greatest names whose memory has been perpetuated from the Middle Ages until today, many are the names of monks! Because they were men of prayer, and especially of the prayer of the Church, they were the artisans of a social, political, economic and cultural order, in other words, the artisans of a civilization.



The two orders, temporal and spiritual, are well distinct, but they are not stranger to each other, as the body and the soul are distinct but are both the two essential components of one human person. If one part is sick, the other is affected. For that reason, one of the causes of the western world’s crisis may be found in the liturgical drift of the recent past decades. If the liturgy has the power to make a civilization, it can also maintain this civilization in time, as the soul, which is the form, informs the body, which is the matter, of the same one substance. But when the soul is separated from the body, this one, breaks down and is changed into something else.
It needed only half a century for France to change her identity. The Eldest daughter has denied what had been her principle for many centuries. She lost her soul and her body has changed. The Church of France has lived through many ordeals and torments and yet has always found the strength to invigorate herself. We see this in the XIX century when dealing with the Revolution which persecuted her; she still produced a beautiful missionary impulse within the country which extended to all the continents. Truly, it was a century of heroes for the Church, with names that have crossed the boarders of the country, such as Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, the humble Curé d’Ars who clandestine, made his first Communion, because the Church was then persecuted. It is the century of Saint Eugene de Mazenod, the beautiful Bishop of Marseille and founder of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; he established the second house of his Congregation at Notre-Dame du Laus whose apparition has just been approved by the Vatican this past week. One of his spiritual sons, Joseph Cardinal Guibert would become Archbishop of Paris in 1871, succeeding Monseigneur Darboy, who was killed by the “Communards.” A few decades earlier, it was Archbishop Affre who died on the barricade while trying to restore the peace during the insurrection of 1848. To General Cavaignac who urged him to not come, for his safety, Monseigneur Affre answered: my life is of little value, I will gladly risk it. As soon as he arrived to the See of Paris, Monseigneur Guibert began to work on the project of the building of the church of the National Vow, as a symbol of the Counter-Revolution. This church is now known as the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Montmartre.

It was the century of the restoration of the Benedictine Order by Dom Gueranger in Solesmes whose works on the liturgy and Gregorian chant are priceless. Inspired by this example, Lacordaire would follow by restoring the Order of Saint Dominic which had been suppressed in the country in 1790. So many other Congregations flourished or were created in this century that it would be impossible to name them all, but let us just mention the Congregation of the Holy Ghost and the Society of the Foreign Missions of Paris whose seminary used to train a legion of martyrs. One of them, who inspired Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, was Théophane Venard. This magnificent priest chosen in the prime of his age was so happy to give his life for Jesus Christ. The Most Holy Sacrament had His champion too, in the person of Saint Pierre Julien Eymard, founder of the Congregation of the Fathers of the Blessed Sacrament.
And there are all the others, those that we cannot name, because the list would be too long or simply because they were unknown to the world, but not to God.

For us, the deeds of our eldest are not just a beautiful thing to remember. They are – they should be – a source of inspiration in order to continue the prodigious work of civilization accomplished during twenty centuries. We have to go to the source to draw the strength to do this. The source is Our Lord Jesus Christ, the One for whom it is worthy to consecrate our lives and to die if it is necessary. It is first, at the altar that we will find Him. The liturgy introduces us into the mystery of His life. By doing this, it has the power to edify us. Before thinking of a restoration of Christendom, we should remember that we have first to become saints.
The time of Pentecost is an occasion to be renewed in the Spirit. This is the intention that I present to Our Lady during this month of May. Her powerful and yet delicate intercession is more than ever necessary. The task is huge!


Father Laurent Demets, FSSP

"The Truth of Humanae Vitae does not change"

My Predecessor of venerable memory, the Servant of God Paul VI, published, on July 25, 1968, the Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae. That document very soon became a sign of contradiction. Written under the light of an excruciating decision, it constitutes a significant gesture of courage in the confirmation of the continuity of the doctrine and of the Tradition of the Church. That text, often misunderstood and distorted, caused much discussion, also because it was set at the dawn of [an age of] strong dissents which marked the life of entire generations.
...
The truth expressed in Humanae Vitae does not change; rather, in light of the new scientific findings, its teaching becomes even more up to date and induces reflection upon its intrinsical value.
...
The teaching expressed by the Encyclical Humanae Vitae is not easy. It is, nonetheless, pursuant to the fundamental structure by which life has always been transmitted, since the Creation of the world, in respect of nature and in conformity with its demands. The concern for human life and the safeguard of the dignity of the person impose upon us not to leave anything untried so that it may be shared with all people the genuine truth of responsible conjugal love in full adherence to the law written in the heart of every person.

Benedict XVI
Address to the Participants of the Congress on the 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae
May 10, 2008

Will the Pope celebrate a Traditional Mass? Don Guido answers it - or maybe not

The Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Monsignor Guido Marini, granted an interview to Andrea Tornielli, published today in Il Giornale - of which two questions could not be published in print, and were posted by Tornielli in his blog, including the following:

Will Benedict XVI celebrate a Mass using the ancient rite, liberalized by him with the motu proprio?

"I do not know it and I in not in a position to answer it. I believe that a serene, ecclesiological, and non-ideological reading of this decision of the Pontiff ought to be important. The liturgy of the Church, as in any case all of her life, is made up of continuity: I speak of development on continuity. This means that the Church proceeds in her historical path without losing sight of her own roots and of her own living tradition: that may demand, in some cases, even the recovery of precious and important elements which, along the path, went astray, were forgotten or that the passage of time rendered less luminous in their authentic meaning. It seems to me that the Motu proprio moves in that direction: reaffirming with great clarity that there is continuity in the liturgical life of the Church, without rupture."

The Latin version of the Holy See website

Anglicans must choose between Protestantism and tradition, says Vatican

From The Catholic Herald

Anglicans must choose between Protestantism and tradition, says Vatican
By Anna Arco
6 May 2008


The Vatican has said that the time has come for the Anglican Church to choose between Protestantism and the ancient churches of Rome and Orthodoxy.

Speaking on the day that the Archbishop of Canterbury met Benedict XVI in Rome, Cardinal Walter Kasper, the president of the Pontifical Council of Christian Unity, said it was time for Anglicanism to "clarify its identity".

He told the Catholic Herald: "Ultimately, it is a question of the identity of the Anglican Church. Where does it belong?

"Does it belong more to the churches of the first millennium -Catholic and Orthodox - or does it belong more to the Protestant churches of the 16th century? At the moment it is somewhere in between, but it must clarify its identity now and that will not be possible without certain difficult decisions."

He said he hoped that the Lambeth conference, an event which brings the worldwide Anglican Communion together every 10 years, would be the deciding moment for Anglicanism.

Cardinal Kasper, who has been asked to speak at the Lambeth Conference by the Archbishop of Canterbury, said: "We hope that certain fundamental questions will be clarified at the conference so that dialogue will be possible."

We shall work and pray that it is possible, but I think that it is not sustainable to keep pushing decision-making back because it only extends the crisis."

His comments will be interpreted as an attempt by Rome to put pressure on the Church of England not to proceed with the ordination women bishops or to sanction gay partnerships, both serious obstacles to unity.

They have come at an extremely sensitive time for the Anglican Communion, as cracks between different factions in the church are beginning to show ahead of the conference in July.

Dr Rowan Williams faces rebellion from conservative and liberal Anglicans over homosexuality and women bishops.

The Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Anglican bishop of New Hampshire, whose attempts to enter into a civil union with his gay partner have angered conservative Anglicans, plans to attend the public events of the conference despite the fact that he has not been invited by Dr Williams.

On the other side of the spectrum, rebel conservative bishops, headed by Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, dismayed by the Archbishop of Canterbury's refusal to condemn homosexuality outright, plan a rival conference in the Holy Land in June.

Ecumenical dialogue between Rome and the Anglican Communion ground to a halt in 2006. Cardinal Kasper said at the time that a decision by the Church of England to consecrate women bishops would lead to "a serious and long lasting chill".

But last month the Church of England's Legislative Drafting Group published a report preparing the ground for women bishops, who are already ordained in several Anglican provinces.

First Traditional Mass publicly celebrated by a Bishopin Poland since the 1969-70 reforms

On May 4, the Sunday after the Ascension, in the Church of the Brothers Hospitallers of St. John of God in Cracow, Poland, there was a Pontifical Mass celebrated by one of the oldest Polish Bishops, Bishop Albin Malysiak. Bishop Malysiak was once a suffragan bishop to cardinal Wojtyla.

This was the first Mass celebrated in the Extraordinary Rite by a Polish Bishop since the reforms of Vatican II. Several young Catholics received Sacrament of Confirmation in the Traditional Rite from Bishop Malysiak.

In his sermon, the Bishop pointed to the many dangers to the faith and morals in the modern world and the importance of the Catholic Church as the one true Church in the lives of young people. In the conclusion of his sermon, he noticed the beauty of Traditional Liturgy. The event was enthusiastically welcomed by Polish Catholics devoted to Tradition.

Source: Forum Fidelitas; Pictures.
Translation: J. Pitera

FSSP Parish in Rome

J.P.Sonnen, of Orbis Catholicus, quotes portions of the decree assigning the Parish Church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, as we first reported here last December. Full FSSP Communiqué:

The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is granted a personal parish in Rome

It is with great joy that the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter announces the opening of a personal parish in the Diocese of Rome. The decree of erection of the parish, which is dated Easter day of 2008, states that in conformity with art. 10 of Summorum Pontificum, "and after having received the proposal of the Cardinal Vicar, the Holy Father has established that in the central sector of the Diocese of Rome, in the 1st District, and in a fitting place of worship, namely, the Church of Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini [...] should be erected a personal parish, in order to guarantee proper pastoral care for the entire community of Traditional faithful residing in the same Diocese".

The Fraternity of St. Peter is deeply grateful to the Holy Father and his Vicar, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, to be entrusted with this parish in the See of Peter. Of the many dioceses where the Fraternity serves, this is the tenth apostolate which has been erected as a full personal parish, and the first in Europe. It is hoped that this particular parish will serve not only the local parishioners, but that it will also provide a fine example of the beauty and solemnity of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite to the many pilgrims and students in Rome. Rev. Joseph Kramer, FSSP, has been appointed as the first pastor of the parish Ss. Trinità dei Pellegrini, Rector of the venerable Archconfraternity of the same name, and Rector of the church.

The installation of Fr. Kramer as pastor, and official opening Mass of the parish will take place on June 8, 2008. The Fraternity of St. Peter asks for your prayers in carrying out these new duties towards the faithful, and the Diocese of Rome.

From the General Secretariat FSSP, on May 7, 2008.

The information for the Parish Church, in the first District of Rome, has been updated in the website of the Vicariate of the City. Congratulations to the new Parish Priest, Father Joseph Kramer, FSSP, new Rector of the Archconfraternity of the Most Holy Trinity of the Pilgrims and Convalescents (Arciconfraternita della Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini e Convalescenti), founded by Saint Philip Neri in 1548.

20 years on: Reliving the Events of 1988Part II: The Protocol is signed

Part I: July 1987 - February 1988

By the end of March 1988, the rumors regarding a possible reconciliation of the movement led by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Pope John Paul II reached feverish levels in Rome and around the world.

In early April, after nine months of talks, the Pope publicly charged the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, to negotiate the terms of reconciliation. As The New York Times reported on April 9:

Pope John Paul II today personally stepped into a dispute with one of his severest critics, urging Vatican officials to heal a rift with the ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of France.

Six months after the Vatican began negotiations aimed at reinstating the rebel Archbishop, John Paul issued an unusual public statement voicing ''my desire that these efforts should continue.'' The statement was in the form of a letter to Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who is in charge of the talks.

The letter displayed the public will of the Pope to reach an agreement with Archbishop Lefebvre:

The necessity to distinguish that which authentically "edifies" the Church from what destroys it becomes, in this period [after the Council] a particular need of our service regarding the whole community of the faithful.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has, in the field of this ministry, a key role, as the documents on matters of faith and morals which your Dicastery has published in the last few years have been showing. Among the themes of which the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has had to deal in recent times are included the problems related to the "Fraternité of Pius X", founded and guided by Archbishop M. Lefebvre.

Your Eminence is very aware of how many efforts the Apostolic See has made, from the beginning of the existence of the "Fraternité", to ensure ecclesial unity in relation to its activity. The last of such efforts was the canonical visit made by Cardinal E. Gagnon. You, Lord Cardinal, have occupied yourself with this affair in a particular way, as also your Predecessor of venerable memory, Cardinal F. Šeper. All that which the Apostolic See, which is in constant contact with the interested Bishops and Conference, does aims at the same end: that also in this case the words pronounced by the Lord in the priestly prayer, for the unity of all His disciples and followers, may be fulfilled. ...

For all this, I wish to confirm to you, Lord Cardinal, my desire that such efforts may proceed: we do not cease to wait that - under the protection of the Mother of the Church - they may wield fruits for the glory of God and for the salvation of men.

In fraternal charity.

From the Vatican, April 8, in the year 1988, tenth of the Pontificate

IOANNES PAULUS PP. II

A letter from Cardinal Ratzinger to Archbishop Lefebvre had also been sent on March 18, asking for the appointment of two experts by the Archbishop which could meet in Rome in early April.

Three days after the Papal letter was made public, the informal commission met in Rome: Fathers Patrice Laroche and Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, chosen by Lefebvre, and Fathers Tarcisio Bertone, SDB, and Fernando Ocariz (Opus Dei), chosen by the Cardinal, with Father Benoît Duroux, OP, as moderator and under the chairmanship of Ratzinger himself.

As Lefebvre's biographer and member of the commission, future Bishop Tissier de Mallerais, recalls:

"The meeting, held on April 12 and 13 near the Holy Office, led to a declaration in five points. After adding a few corrections on May 4, Archbishop Lefebvre would decide that he could sign it, since it allowed him to speak about 'certain points of the Council and the reform of the liturgy and Canon Law that seem to him difficult to reconcile with Tradition'."

This text was the famous Protocol of May 5, 1988 (full text), of which two points were particularly important.

First, the "Roman Commission":

"A commission to coordinate relations with the different Dicasteries and diocesan bishops, as well as to resolve eventual problems and disputes, will be constituted through the care of the Holy See, and will be empowered with the necessary faculties to deal with the questions indicated above (for example, implantation of a place of worship, at the request of the faithful, where there is no house of the Society, ad mentem can. 683, par. 2)"

Secondly, the very important matter of the consecration of a bishop, chosen by the Pope from members of the society presented by Archbishop Lefebvre:

"But, for practical and psychological reasons, the consecration of a member of the Society as a bishop seems useful. This is why, in the context of the doctrinal and canonical solution of reconciliation, we suggest to the Holy Father that he name a bishop chosen from among the members of the Society, presented by Archbishop Lefebvre"

The "grave matter of Archbishop M. Lefebvre" seemed to be approaching a new phase as the skies over Rome darkened on the evening of May 5, 1988.

___________________
To be continued.

On Comments

Dear readers,

As those of you who have written wonderful comments in our site already know, we enjoy having a wide variety of opinions, which is why we have usually allowed all categories of commentators.

Unfortunately, in the past few weeks, a hatemongering and anti-Semitic commentator from Houston, Texas, has spent more than 2 hours every day visiting our site and posting the same comments, day after day. The only solution which does not overwhelm us is, for the moment, to block or moderate all comments. If you wish to send us a specific comment, just send it to us by e-mail and we will post it.

If you believe you can help us get rid of this problem, please send us your opinion by e-mail.

Thank you.

Quem nos, in hoc discrimine,...quam te, Pie, invocabimus?

Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is Saint Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

Benedict XVI
Apostolic Letter given motu proprio Summorum Pontificum

Hail Mary, Queen of May

The Rosary is undergoing, as it were, a new springtime. This is certainly one of the most eloquent signs of the love which the young generations foster for Jesus and for His Mother, Mary. ... The Rosary, when it is prayed in an authentic way, not mechanical or superficial, but profound, truly brings forth peace and reconciliation. It contains in itself the healing power of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, called upon with faith and love in the middle of every Hail Mary.

Benedict XVI
Recitation of the Most Holy Rosary
Basilica of Saint Mary Major

Congratulations, Rome!

Yes, the anniversary of the foundation of Rome is celebrated on April 21 - but the confirmation, by its new mayor, Gianni Alemanno, that the monstrous Modernist box designed by Richard Meier and placed on top of one of the most beautiful surviving monuments of Antiquity in the City (the Augustan "Ara Pacis") will probably be removed is cause for celebration.

Politics - Papal Reminders Subsidiarity and Limits to Governmental Power - I

[S]ubsidiarity – insofar as it encourages men and women to enter freely into life-giving relationships with those to whom they are most closely connected and upon whom they most immediately depend, and demands of higher authorities respect for these relationships – manifests a "vertical" dimension pointing towards the Creator of the social order (cf. Rom 12:16, 18).

A society that honours the principle of subsidiarity liberates people from a sense of despondency and hopelessness, granting them the freedom to engage with one another in the spheres of commerce, politics and culture (cf. Quadragesimo Anno, 80). When those responsible for the public good attune themselves to the natural human desire for self-governance based on subsidiarity, they leave space for individual responsibility and initiative, but most importantly, they leave space for love (cf. Rom 13:8; Deus Caritas Est, 28), which always remains "the most excellent way" (cf. 1 Cor 12:31).

Benedict XVI
Address to the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
May 3, 2008

Just as it is gravely wrong to take from individuals what they can accomplish by their own initiative and industry and give it to the community, so also it is an injustice and at the same time a grave evil and disturbance of right order to assign to a greater and higher association what lesser and subordinate organizations can do. For every social activity ought of its very nature to furnish help to the members of the body social, and never destroy and absorb them.

The supreme authority of the State ought, therefore, to let subordinate groups handle matters and concerns of lesser importance, which would otherwise dissipate its efforts greatly. Thereby the State will more freely, powerfully, and effectively do all those things that belong to it alone because it alone can do them: directing, watching, urging, restraining, as occasion requires and necessity demands. Therefore, those in power should be sure that the more perfectly a graduated order is kept among the various associations, in observance of the principle of "subsidiary function," the stronger social authority and effectiveness will be the happier and more prosperous the condition of the State.

Pius XI
Quadragesimo Anno

EGO FLOS CAMPI

ET LILIUM CONVALLIUM

IESUS - MARIA - IOSEPH

Jesus, Lily of the Valleys
Mary, Queen of May
Joseph, Patron of Laborers

Orate pro nobis!

Ranjith: no official communication

On an interview related to another matter -the manner of reception of Holy Communion by the leader of the Neocatechumenal Way, Kiko Argüello -, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, answered a different question (Petrus):

...Cardinal Arinze should be about to leave the helm of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. In a first moment, it seemed that you were the favorite for his succession, the arrival of Archbishop Angelo Amato and your return to Sri Lanka were mentioned. What can you tell us?

"I have not received any official communications, but so many untrue things have been written in the newspapers. As for myself, I submit myself obediently to the decisions of the Holy Father. "

When Don Camillo prevented the removal of an Altar

Giovannino Guareschi spent the last two decades of his life dedicated to his bestselling novels on life in the Little World of Don Camillo. Yet Guareschi continued his intense work as a journalist and as a polemicist (including harsh criticism of clerics who wished to subvert the Church in the Conciliar and post-Conciliar years).

This was the case in several of his last books in the series, such as "Don Camillo e i giovani d'oggi", published soon after Guareschi's death.

...two days later, the Bishop's secretary plunged into Don Camillo's office. The young priest, like all the progressive priests of the Aggiornamento, despised and detested all parish priests...

"Reverend Father!" he ranted. "Is it possible that you lie in wait for opportunities to show your obtuseness as regards political and social matters involving the Church? What is the meaning of this latest sideshow of yours? Quite rightly Mayor Botazzi intends to encourage tourism and adapt the town to the needs of the motorized times --- and to do this he wants to create an ample parking lot here in the square. How can you have the arrogance to oppose this project?"

"No arrogance at all: I'm simply preventing the destruction of Church property."

"What Church property! You can't clutter half a town square with useless columns. Don't you understand what an advantage it will be to you? Aren't you aware that many people don't come to Mass because they can't find a place to park their cars?"

"Certainly I know that," Don Camillo answered calmly. "However, I don't believe the mission of a pastor of souls should be to organize parking lots and rock Masses to provide the public with a religion complete with all the modern conveniences. The Christian religion is not, and should not be, either comfortable or amusing."

His point of view was a bit hackneyed and it caused the Bishop's priest to explode. "My dear Father, you appear not to have grasped that the Church must attempt to bring itself up to date, and it should be helping progress, not blocking it!"
...
There was no point in arguing with such an old fossil, so the secretary wound up the discussion. "Don Camillo, are you saying that you refuse to obey?"

"No, if his excellency the Bishop orders us to transform the colonnade into a parking lot, we will do so, even though the Council has reasserted that the Church of Christ is the Church of the poor people and consequently should not have to worry about the cars of the faithful."
...
"Comrade Mayor," the priest explained humbly, "we have noted that for quite a few years now your Party has involved itself with enormous love and devotion in the major and minor problems of the Church. We would simply like to request that you and several of your comrades be present at the farewell ceremony for our precious crucifix, which after three hundred and fifty years of honorable service to our town is being moved to the city to a fine new home in the Bishop's palace."

Peppone leapt out of his chair. "You're out of your mind, Father! That crucifix is a work of art, and it belongs to this town! And it stays in this town!"

Don Camillo spread out his arms. "I know, Mr. Mayor. The problem is, however, that I have to answer to my Bishop, and not to your Party. Therefore I will have to hand the crucifix and altar over to the Bishop's secretary. I'm well aware that the Christ is a major part of the artistic and spiritual heritage of the town and that it's place should always be the one it's occupied for the last three hundred and fifty years --- on top of that altar in front of which you and so many others took Holy Communion and were united in Holy Matrimony, in front of which your mother prayed while you were fighting in the war --- your poor old parish priest understands all this, but all h can do is obey orders. And he will obey them unless of course he is threatened with violence. Because threatened with violence, what can a poor old parish priest do? Comrade Mayor, I beg of you, explain my plight to your superiors, and remember my position yourself, and realize that nobody could be more distressed at what I must do than I am."

"Father," Peppone shouted, "if you think I'm going to sit still for this, you're out of your mind!"

Peppone was serious and the next morning the town walls were papered with mammoth posters denouncing the planned abduction and ending in two lines of big, bold lettering:

THE CHRIST IS OURS
NOBODY TOUCHES OUR CHRIST

Towards midday Don Camillo, who wasn't the slightest bit disturbed by the position Peppone had taken, calmly pedaled off to the private chapel in the old manor house lost in the countryside --- and there a rude surprise awaited him. The toughest of Peppone's thugs were camping out in his garden full of weeds, passing the time pulling them up.

"You realize this is private property and I could have you prosecuted for trespassing?" Don Camillo said... .

"Oh yes, father."

"May I go inside to wrap up the Christ and the pieces of the altar?" Don Camillo asked.

"You can go inside, but you're not wrapping up anything. You're a priest, not a freight despatcher."

"Well, I certainly don't want to break union rules," said Don Camillo, bicycling off towards town.
...
A committee comprised of representatives from all the political parties and associations traveled to the city and made the Bishop give them an audience, during which Peppone voiced the respectful but adamant protest of the town's citizens. The Bishop heard all he had to say and then held out his hands smiling.

"But this is all a misunderstanding," he said. "There is nothing to prevent the altar returning to the place it has always been. The Mass can be celebrated in the new way in front of it, and the townspeople will have the additional inspiration of its exceptional artistic and spiritual merits. That is, provided that the parish priest has no valid reasons to oppose the restitution of the altar. The decision rests entirely with him."

When the committee went to tell Don Camillo what the Bishop had decreed, Don Camillo answered humbly: "We are fully prepared to carry out the wishes of our Bishop."

(Transl. L. K. Conrad)

Transalpine Redemptorists to establish contact with Rome

The Congregation of Transalpine Redemptorists, a community of Traditional priests historically linked to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) and whose main house is in the island of Papa Stronsay, Scotland, declares that it is willing to discuss with the Holy See, considering the new situation created with the advent of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

Can we choose to remain where we are under these circumstances? We have argued for years now of our "state of necessity" and of the resulting supplied jurisdiction that the Church supplies to us. But can we continue to argue this when ordinary jurisdiction is offered to us without any compromise in the Faith? Can we choose freely to remain in this irregular canonical situation where we are? In other words, can a state of necessity be the object of a choice without moral fault? Clearly not And on the other hand: are the authorities ready to accord us regular faculties? If the answer to this second question is affirmative, then we are no longer in the same case of necessity!

All these serious considerations, dear friends, move us to go and see what Rome has to say. Let not our contacts with Rome be understood as meaning that we will break off our friendship with the Society of Saint Pius X and the other traditionalist organisations around the world. On the contrary, we positively want with all our hearts to remain in contact, sharing all that we may learn with Bishop Fellay and the other heads of traditional orders for the good of tradition as a whole.

Only time will tell if the moment has come for an agreement with Rome. Prudence requires of us to proceed slowly and cautiously, reflecting well at each step of the discussions. In this, we will rely on the continued support and advice of our traditionalist friends. Our agreement must be founded upon the fundamental principles of the Church and the safeguarding of the Faith.

While asking for your prayers for this matter, we place ourselves under the patronage and protection of our Mother of Perpetual Succour, She ‘who by Herself has crushed all the heresies in the whole world’ qui cunctas haereses interemit. May She, whom St Alphonsus ever invoked as the Mother of Good Counsel, teach us to be "wise as serpents and simple as doves", while showing us how to "generously open our hearts to make room for everything that the Faith itself allows."

In the octave of Our Lady of Good Counsel
28 April, 2008

Fr Michael Mary, C.SS.R.
Fr Anthony Mary, C.SS.R.

Most relevant excerpt (read full letter).

'I will not die even if they kill me'

One of the most significant Italian writers of the 20th Century - and certainly one of the most underrated - was Giovanni Guareschi, better known as "Giovannino" Guareschi, born on May 1, 1908, 100 years ago.

Few contemporary European writers had so much authentic Catholic sensibility embedded in their works as Guareschi, whose masterpiece was the series of works, the Mondo Piccolo (Little World), in which the great struggle of his and of our age - the war between Faith and Reason (Logos), on one side, and Socialist barbarianism and relativism, of either "left" or "right", on the other, with many indifferent or lukewarm spectators in the middle - played itself out in a small village in the Italian countryside.

Don Camillo Tarocci, a parish priest in a village of Emilia, was the literary expression of that Church which would not yield, the Church of Pius IX, of Pius X, of Pius XI, of Pius XII - but also the Church of Humanae Vitae, of Evangelium Vitae, of Summorum Pontificum. A Church which is the ardent bearer of all the goods of Civilization, and Reason, and Morals, both in the real world, and in the Little World of Don Camillo.

Giovannino Guareschi, a proud son of the Church, described himself and his world in his introduction to the seventh edition of "Mondo Piccolo: Don Camillo", first released in 1948:

_______________________________

My life began on the 1st of May 1908, and between one thing and another, it still goes on.

When I was born my mother had been teaching in the elementary school for nine years and she continued to teach until the end of 1949. In recognition of her work, the parish priest of the village presented her with an alarm clock in the name of all the people, and after fifty years of teaching in schools where there was no electric light or water but, in compensation, an abundant supply of cockroaches, flies, and mosquitoes, my mother now passes her time waiting for the government to consider her request for a pension and listening to the tick-tock of the alarm clock given her by the village.

At the time when I was born, my father was interested in all kinds of machines, from harvesters to gramophones, and he possessed an enormous moustache, very similar to the one I wear under my nose. He still has the splendid moustache, but for some time he has not been interested in much of anything, and he passes his time reading the newspapers. He also reads what I write, but he does not like my way of writing and thinking.
...
For reasons entirely beyond my control, the war broke out and one day in 1942 I went on a terrible bout of drinking because my brother was lost in Russia and I couldn't find anything about him. That night I went up and down the streets of Milan shouting things which filled several sheets of legal-sized paper - as I found out the next day when I was arrested by the political police. Then a lot of people worried about me and they finally got me released. However, the political police wanted me out of circulation and so had me called into the army, and on the 9th of September 1943, with the fall of Fascism, I was taken prisoner again, this time at Alessandria, in Northern Italy, by the Germans. Since I did not want to work for the Germans, I was sent to a Polish concentration camp. I was in various concentration camps until April 1945, when my camp was taken over by the English and after five months I was sent back to Italy.

The period I spent in prison was the most intensely active of my life. In fact I had to do everything to stay alive and succeeded almost completely by dedicating myself to a precise programme which is summarized in my slogan 'I will not die even if they kill me'.
...

A few months ago the leader of the Italian Communists, Mr. Palmiro Togliatti, made a speech in which he lost his temper and called the Milanese journalist who invented the character with the triple nostrils 'a triple idiot'. The threefold idiot is me and this was for me the most prized recognition of my work as a political journalist. The man with three nostrils is now famous in Italy, and it was I who created him. I must admit that I am proud because to succeed in characterizing a Communist with a stroke of the pen (that is, putting under the nose three, instead of two, nostrils) is not a bad idea, and it worked very well.

And why should I be modest? The other things that I wrote and drew during the days before the election [of 1948, in which the Italian Communist Party was unexpectedly defeated] also worked very well; to prove it I have in my attic a sack full of newspaper clippings which malign me; whoever wants to know more can come and read them.

The stories in The Little World of Don Camillo were very successful in Italy, and this book, which collects the first series of these stories, is already in its seventh edition. Many people people have written long articles on The Little World of Don Camillo and many people have written me letters about this or that story, and so now I am a little confused, and I would find myself rather embarrassed if I had to make any judgement of The Little World of Don Camillo. The background of these stories is my home, Parma, the Emilian Plain along the Po where political passion often reaches a disturbing intensity, and yet these people are attractive and hospitable and generous and have a highly developed sense of humor. It must be the sun, a terrible sun which beats on their brains during the summer, or perhaps it is the fog, a heavy fog which oppresses them during the winter.

The people in these stories are true to life and the stories are so true that more that once, after I had written a story, the thing actually happened and one read it in the news.

In fact the truth surpasses the imagination. I once wrote a story about the Communist, Peppone, who was annoyed during a political meeting by an airplane which threw down pamphlets of the opposition. Peppone took up a machine-gun, but he could not bring himself to fire on the plane. When I wrote this I said to myself, 'This is too fantastic.' Some months later, at Spilimbergo [Northern Italy], not only did the Communists fire on an airplane that distributed anti-Communist pamphlets, but they shot it down.

I have nothing more to say about The Little World of Don Camillo. You can't expect that, after a poor fellow has written a book, he should also understand it.

I am 5 feet 10 inches high and I have written eight books in all. I have also done a movie which is called People Like This, now being distributed throughout Italy. Many people like the movie; others do not like it. As far as I am concerned, the movie leaves me indifferent. Many things in life me indifferent now, but that is not my fault. It is the fault of the war. The war destroyed a lot of things we had within us. We have seen too many dead and too many living. In addition to 5 feet 10 inches, I have all my hair.

(Introduction to the Seventh Italian Edition; Transl. by Una Vincenzo Troubridge, with minor corrections)

A Catholic George W. Bush? President to announce conversion at the end of his term

Could the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, be the next new Catholic convert? Ignazio Ingrao, religion journalist of Italian weekly Panorama, reports:

After Tony Blair, it could be the turn of George W. Bush. According to Washington rumors, the President, a Methodist Christian, would be in the process of converting to Catholicism, as the Anglican Blair. The prayer which the Pope and the Bush family prayed together in the Oval Office of the White House might be the sign of the already accomplished conversion, which the President of the United States could expect to make public at the end of his term. Also Jeb, George's younger brother, entered the Catholic faith years ago, thanks to his Mexican wife Columba.

(Transcript-Italian)

Christos Anesti! Christos Voskrese!

Even if it's a bit late...a blessed and joyous Pascha to our Eastern Catholic brethren and other Christians who observe the Queen of Feasts according to the Julian Calendar

The man who will not go away

Main excerpts of the interview granted by the President of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, Archbishop Piero Marini, to the official Vatican daily, L'Osservatore Romano (permanent link):

The debate on the liturgical reform effected by the Council seems today to have become again of current interest. How do you judge the path accomplished in over forty years?

I followed, from the end of the Vatican II period, the implementation of the liturgical reform for around 22 years, first in the Consilium ad exsequendam constitutionem de Sacra Liturgia, and then in the Congregation for Divine Worship. Afterwards, for over twenty years, I was able to celebrate the liturgy willed by the Council in over one hundred nations, on the voyages of Pope Wojtyla. I have thus organized with local experts countless celebrations of the Eucharist, of the Liturgy of the Hours, of the Word of God, of sacraments, Ecumenical celebrations in so many languages and cultures. The liturgy willed by the Council was celebrated everywhere with lively participation and enthusiasm. Everyone understood the liturgy as specific to their local Church and, at the same time, as expression of the universal Church. The celebratory praxis has confirmed that the liturgical reform was necessary because it was based upon sound theological principles of perennial value. It is, therefore, an irreversible path.

The Conciliar Fathers and the Roman Pontiff, making the words of Pius XII their own, defined the renewal of the liturgy, in Sacrosanctum Concilium, as a movement of the Holy Spirit in the Church. The meaning of this affirmation is thus part of the tissue of contemporary ecclesial faith.

The celebration of the liturgy cannot, therefore, be separated from the life of the Church. And the Church that lives - I quote Paul VI - is the Church of today, not the Church of yesterday or the Church of tomorrow.

This is the reason for which the Council concerned itself, first of all, with the liturgy. For the Council, the renewal of the Church, Ecumenism, and missionary action depend on the way in which the liturgy is lived. Yet, celebrating the liturgy of the Council, as Pope Montini affirmed, is not an easy matter, as it is not easy living the life of the Church. Rather, celebrating the liturgy of the Council is a difficult and delicate matter. It demands direct and methodical interest, it requires patience, perseverance, personal and loving effort, and so much pastoral charity. All this is necessary, however, if we wish that the life of the Church to be renewed, and that all may feel called to salvation. Liturgical pastoral [care] is an always permanent effort.

Let us, therefore, be guided by the Holy Spirit who inspired the liturgical movement, Paul VI, and the Conciliar Fathers, and let us continue to bring forward, with renewed effort and enthusiasm, the liturgical ministry in our ecclesial communities.

Many have interpreted "Summorum Pontificum" as a full stop in this path of action [of Conciliar Reform]. What is your though regarding this event?


The text of the motu proprio is to be read in the context in which the Pope placed it. "Today - the Pope says in the accompanying letter addressed to the Bishops - an obligation is imposed upon us: to make every effort to unable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew." For us, Catholics, the Pope is the visible sign of unity in the Church, he is the Bishop of the Church of Rome called to preside over all the other Churches in charity. The Pope was called by the Lord to exercise the Petrine ministry , to make every effort so that the Church shall remain whole. He has therefore the right and the duty to provide unity to the Church. Who can deny him this duty or this obligation? The Liturgy itself, for those who live it with authenticity, is a school which shapes the very meaning of the Church in the respect of the different competences and ministries and in obedience to the one who presides it.

Finally, it should be remembered that the motu proprio does not intend to introduce modification in the current Roman Missal nor to express a negative judgment on the liturgical reform willed by the Council: the Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the "law of prayer"' the Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V must be considered as the extraordinary expression of the same "law of prayer" . With this new disposition, Benedict XVI does not wish that "the authority of the Council be attacked" or that "the liturgical reforb be put in doubt". On the contrary, the Pope's decision has not entailed, up to now, any change in the celebratory praxis of our ecclesial communities. His gesture has been solely in the service of unity. Let us look forward, then, and let us continue with enthusiasm on the path carried out by the Council.

"This man's religion is in vain"

Dearly beloved, Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the word and not a doer, he shall be compared to a man beholding his own countenance in a glass: for he beheld himself and went his way, and presently forgot what manner of man he was. But he that hath looked into the perfect law of liberty and hath continued therein, not becoming a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work: this man shall be blessed in his deed. And if any man think himself to be religious, not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man's religion is in vain. Religion clean and undefiled before God and Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation, and to keep one's self unspotted from this world. (Epistle for the Fifth Sunday after Easter - Saint James, i, 22-27)

_______________________________

It may be said in all truth that the Church, like Christ, goes through the centuries doing good to all. There would be today neither Socialism nor Communism if the rulers of the nations had not scorned the teachings and maternal warnings of the Church. On the bases of liberalism and laicism they wished to build other social edifices which, powerful and imposing as they seemed at first, all too soon revealed the weakness of their foundations, and today are crumbling one after another before our eyes, as everything must crumble that is not grounded on the one corner stone which is Christ Jesus.

This, Venerable Brethren, is the doctrine of the Church, which alone in the social as in all other fields can offer real light and assure salvation in the face of Communistic ideology. But this doctrine must be consistently reduced to practice in every-day life, according to the admonition of St. .James the Apostle: "Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."

The most urgent need of the present day is therefore the energetic and timely application of remedies which will effectively ward off the catastrophe that daily grows more threatening. We cherish the firm hope that the fanaticism with which the sons of darkness work day and night at their materialistic and atheistic propaganda will at least serve the holy purpose of stimulating the sons of light to a like and even greater zeal for the honor of the Divine Majesty.
...
Even in Catholic countries there are still too many who are Catholics hardly more than in name. There are too many who fulfill more or less faithfully the more essential obligations of the religion they boast of professing, but have no desire of knowing it better, of deepening their inward conviction, and still less of bringing into conformity with the external gloss the inner splendor of a right and unsullied conscience, that recognizes and performs all its duties under the eye of God.

We know how much Our Divine Savior detested this empty pharisaic show, He Who wished that all should adore the Father "in spirit and in truth." The Catholic who does not live really and sincerely according to the Faith he professes will not long be master of himself in these days when the winds of strife and persecution blow so fiercely, but will be swept away defenseless in this new deluge which threatens the world. And thus, while he is preparing his own ruin, he is exposing to ridicule the very name of Christian.

Pius XI
Divini Redemptoris

¿Pueblo de Dios?

[Chávez] described the arrival of [Bishop] Lugo at the Presidency of the Paraguayan nation as "an extraordinary triumph which fills us with optimism."
...
"We have Fidel [Castro, of Cuba], a guerrilla; myself, a soldier from the barracks; [Rafael] Correa [of Ecuador], a Harvard economist; Evo [Morales, of Bolivia], an Indian; Lula [da Silva, of Brazil], a worker; Cristina [Kirchner, of Argentina],a nationalist, patriotic woman; a physician, Tabaré [Vázquez, of Uruguay]. A priest was missing," he underlined.

Ministry of the Popular Power
for Communication and Information,
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

24 April 2008

* Westminster bishop to confer Traditional Latin Rite Confirmations

Bishop George Stack, auxiliary bishop in Westminster, will administer Confirmations in the Traditional Latin Rite at St James’s Church, Spanish Place, London W1 on Saturday, 15 November at 11.00 am at the request of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, Archbishop of Westminster. This will be the fifth consecutive year that Westminster auxiliary bishops will have conferred Confirmation in the Traditional Rite. Last year in November 2007, a record 54 candidates received the sacrament at the hands of Bishop John Arnold – 50 children and 4 adults.

Also in November 2007, Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton became the first diocesan bishop of England and Wales to administer Traditional Rite Confirmations when he confirmed 7 candidates during a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Chesham Bois, Bucks on Sunday 18 November 2007. Bishop Doyle also celebrated Sunday Mass in the Traditional Rite on that occasion.

John Medlin, General Manager of the Latin Mass Society, said, “There is no sign of slackening of demand for Traditional Rite Confirmations – in fact the opposite. The numbers are increasing every year and I expect this trend to continue after Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio. We hope it will not be long before bishops all over England and Wales respond to pastoral demand for Mass and the Sacraments in the Traditional Rite. Those attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite are very grateful to Cardinal Cormac and the Westminster auxiliary bishops for making provision for the Traditional Mass and Sacraments.”

At St James’s, Spanish Place, in November 2007, a packed congregation of 600 family and friends were led by the St James’s choir in singing the Veni Creator Spiritus and other traditional hymns. During the anointing, the choir sang polyphony and plain chant. After the anointing, Bishop Arnold led the congregation in the Divine Praises and then conferred Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

After the Confirmations, at a reception, Julian Chadwick, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, thanked Bishop Arnold for his pastoral concern and led the assembly in a traditional roof-raising round of applause. Bishop Arnold then spoke informally and cut the special Confirmation cake with many parents taking photographs. Later, the bishop mixed with the parents and children whilst everyone enjoyed the refreshments provided by the LMS.

Note:

Parents who require Traditional Confirmation for their children in November 2008 should contact the LMS office for full details of how to register.

OTHER LATIN MASS SOCIETY NEWS:

• Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos to celebrate Pontifical High Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
• Intensive training conference in the Extraordinary Form for priests - Merton College, Oxford.

Silence and Signs

April 24 is a special day for Catholic converts from Protestantism: it is