The International Una Voce Federation (FIUV) has released to the public two interesting reports:
SSPX weighs in on the condom controversy
DICI has published a statement from the SSPX regarding the controversy over the Pope's remarks on condoms in "Light of the World":
The statement, unsurprisingly, concludes that the Pope's opinion departs from the teaching of his predecessors and "relativizes" the teaching of Humanae Vitae.
I leave it to the readers of the blog to analyze, and argue over, the statement. However, I think that all orthodox Catholics will agree and join their voices with the following passage in it:
Certainly, a book-length interview cannot be considered an act of the Magisterium [i.e. of the Church’s official teaching authority], a fortiori when it departs from what has been taught in a definitive, unchangeable way. Nonetheless the fact remains that the doctors and pharmacists who courageously refuse to prescribe and deliver condoms and contraceptives out of fidelity to their Catholic faith and morality, and in general all the many families devoted to Tradition, have an urgent and overriding need to hear that the perennial teaching of the Church could not change over time. They all await the firm reminder that the natural law, like human nature upon which it is engraved, is universal.
Cardinal Bartolucci to offer Pontifical Mass
Messa in Latino is reporting that for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception this year, the main Mass in the FSSP-run Parish of Santa Trinita dei Pellegrini in Rome will be a Pontifical Mass by no other than His Eminence, Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci (born 1917). (Note: Cardinal Bartolucci has not been consecrated a bishop. However, as Cardinal, he can pontificate. Perhaps some of our readers can elaborate on the liturgical privileges of Cardinals who are not bishops according to the legislation in force prior to Vatican II.)
You Report: Monthly TLM in South Korea
From regular Rorate Caeli reader Mr. Peter Kim:
Dear friends,
Confraternity of Traditional Latin Liturgy announced that the confraternity will offer monthly Traditional Latin Mass. After the first TLM celebrated with members of the confraternity last month (October 31, 2010, see this -- CAP), two priests graciously suggested more frequent offering of the old rite in Korea. They are Korean fathers who had opportunity to learn how to say Extraordinary Form of Mass during their ministry abroad.
The next EF Mass according to Missale Romanum 1962 and the article 5 of Summorum Pontificum will be offered at Wonhyoro Catholic Church (previous Yongsan seminary) at 4:30 pm on Sunday, Dec. 5th (2nd week of Advent), 2010. The Wonhyoro Catholic Church, built in early 20th century by French missionary (MEP), retain its beautiful traditional altar and architecture. Robert Koehler, a professional photographer in Korea, reported about the history of the church with pictures: Wonhyoro Catholic Church and Yongsan Seminary. (See below.) The church has been managed by sisters of Society of Sacred Heart since 1956; the church is located in the campus of Songsim (Sacred Heart) Girl's High School. Here is a direction to the school.
Mass attendants are suggested to donate 5,000 won (about 4 dollars) to the confraternity for the cost of heating and renting the church. The confraternity is also seeking for cantors/chanters and organists for the old rite. The confraternity provides Gregorian chant workshops for free.
St. Justin Martyr's Zeal for the Conversion of the Jews
In the midst of his apologia in the second century, St. Justin Martyr gave voice to Christians' missionary ardor and prayer for the conversion of Jews to the Christ, for their turning away from the rabbis who had polemicized against Him since Pentecost. Excerpts from his Dialogue with (the Jew) Trypho:
Wherefore we pray for you and for all other men who hate us; in order that you, having repented along with us, may not blaspheme Him who, by His works, by the mighty deeds even now wrought through His name, by the words He taught, by the prophecies announced concerning Him, is the blameless, and in all things irreproachable, Christ Jesus; but, believing on Him, may be saved in His second glorious advent, and may not be condemned to fire by Him.” Chapter 35.
And Trypho said, “Sir, it were good for us if we obeyed our teachers, who laid down a law that we should have no intercourse with any of you, and that we should not have even any communication with you on these questions. For you utter many blasphemies, in that you seek to persuade us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, and ascended up to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be worshipped.”
Then I answered, “I know that, as the word of God says, this great wisdom of God, the Maker of all things, and the Almighty, is hid from you. Wherefore, in sympathy with you, I am striving to the utmost that you may understand these matters which to you are paradoxical; but if not, that I myself may be innocent in the day of judgment. For you shall hear other words which appear still more paradoxical; but be not confounded, nay, rather remain still more zealous hearers and investigators, despising the tradition of your teachers, since they are convicted by the Holy Spirit of inability to perceive the truths taught by God, and of preferring to teach their own doctrines. Accordingly, in the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] Psalm, these words are in like manner referred to Christ: ‘My heart has brought forth a good matter; I tell my works to the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Fairer in beauty than the sons of men: grace is poured forth into Thy lips: therefore hath God blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One. Press on in Thy fairness and in Thy beauty, and prosper and reign, because of truth, and of meekness, and of righteousness: and Thy right hand shall instruct Thee marvellously. Thine arrows are sharpened, O mighty One; the people shall fall under Thee; in the heart of the enemies of the King [the arrows are fixed]. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated iniquity; therefore thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. Chapter 37
And Trypho said, “Sir, it were good for us if we obeyed our teachers, who laid down a law that we should have no intercourse with any of you, and that we should not have even any communication with you on these questions. For you utter many blasphemies, in that you seek to persuade us that this crucified man was with Moses and Aaron, and spoke to them in the pillar of the cloud; then that he became man, was crucified, and ascended up to heaven, and comes again to earth, and ought to be worshipped.”
Then I answered, “I know that, as the word of God says, this great wisdom of God, the Maker of all things, and the Almighty, is hid from you. Wherefore, in sympathy with you, I am striving to the utmost that you may understand these matters which to you are paradoxical; but if not, that I myself may be innocent in the day of judgment. For you shall hear other words which appear still more paradoxical; but be not confounded, nay, rather remain still more zealous hearers and investigators, despising the tradition of your teachers, since they are convicted by the Holy Spirit of inability to perceive the truths taught by God, and of preferring to teach their own doctrines. Accordingly, in the forty-fourth [forty-fifth] Psalm, these words are in like manner referred to Christ: ‘My heart has brought forth a good matter; I tell my works to the King. My tongue is the pen of a ready writer. Fairer in beauty than the sons of men: grace is poured forth into Thy lips: therefore hath God blessed Thee for ever. Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O mighty One. Press on in Thy fairness and in Thy beauty, and prosper and reign, because of truth, and of meekness, and of righteousness: and Thy right hand shall instruct Thee marvellously. Thine arrows are sharpened, O mighty One; the people shall fall under Thee; in the heart of the enemies of the King [the arrows are fixed]. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of equity is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hast hated iniquity; therefore thy God hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows. Chapter 37
“Now it is not surprising,” I continued, “that you hate us who hold these opinions, and convict you of a continual hardness of heart. For indeed Elijah, conversing with God concerning you, speaks thus: ‘Lord, they have slain Thy prophets, and digged down Thine altars: and I am left alone, and they seek my life.’ And He answers him: ‘I have still seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’ Therefore, just as God did not inflict His anger on account of those seven thousand men, even so He has now neither yet inflicted judgment, nor does inflict it, knowing that daily some [of you] are becoming disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting the path of error; who are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy, illumined through the name of this Christ. For one receives the spirit of understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing, another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God.” Chapter 39
“For my part,” I replied, “if I had remained, I would have wished to do the same thing daily. But now, since I expect, with God’s will and aid, to set sail, I exhort you to give all diligence in this very great struggle for your own salvation, and to be earnest in setting a higher value on the Christ of the Almighty God than on your own teachers.”
After this they left me, wishing me safety in my voyage, and from every misfortune. And I, praying for them, said, “I can wish no better thing for you, sirs, than this, that, recognising in this way that intelligence is given to every man, you may be of the same opinion as ourselves, and believe that Jesus is the Christ of God. Chapter 142
From the online Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
Event: additional Mass in San Francisco
Sent by a reader:
Today, November, 28, 2010, will be the first time of a monthly T.L.M. at the Carmelite Cristo Rey Monastery. The Monastery will have a Mass each month, every fourth Sunday of the month. Father (or Canon) Jean-Marie Moreau, of the Institute of Christ the King, will say the Mass (this is especially fitting, given the name of the monastery, that the Mass will be celebrated by a member of the ICKSP). The address of the monastery is721 Parker Avenue San Francisco, CA 94118-4227The monastery is right across the street from a prominent San Francisco Church, St. Ignatius, right near the campus of the University of San Francisco. This is the Sunday Mass said in the Archdiocese. Each Sunday Fr. William Young says Mass (12:30 PM) at Most Holy Rosary chapel, in Marinwood, across the Golden Gate Bridge. Every first Sunday the same Fr. Young says Mass at Mater Dolorosa Church, 5:30 P.M., in South San Francisco, and every second Sunday, at St. Finn Barr's, 5:30 PM, in San Francisco proper. This Mass will be the second Mass within the actual City, and we are very proud and happy. Fr. Young can also be contacted about his daily private Mass.
A new human being, from conception
Believing in Jesus Christ also means having a new outlook on man, a look of trust and hope. Moreover, experience itself and reason show that the human being is a subject capable of discernment, self-conscious and free, unique and irreplaceable, the summit of all earthly things, that must be recognized in his innate value and always accepted with respect and love. He has the right not to be treated as an object of possession or something to manipulate at will, not to be reduced to a mere instrument for the benefit of others and their interests. The human being is a good in and of himself and his integral development should always be sought. Love for all, if it is sincere, naturally tends to become a preferential attention to the weakest and poorest. In this vein we find the Church's concern for the unborn, the most fragile, the most threatened by the selfishness of adults and the darkening of consciences. The Church continually reiterates what was declared by the Second Vatican Council against abortion and all violations of unborn life: 'from the moment of its conception life must be guarded with the greatest care'.... With regard to the embryo in the womb, science itself highlights its autonomy capable of interaction with the mother, the coordination of biological processes, the continuity of development, the growing complexity of the organism. This is not an accumulation of biological material, but a new living being, dynamic and wonderfully ordered, a new unique human being. So was Jesus in Mary's womb, so it was for all of us in our mother’s womb…there is no reason not to consider him a person from conception.
Benedict XVI
November 27, 2010
From the Papal Magisterium of Ven. Pius XII
From the Encyclical Mystici Corporis :
28. That He completed His work on the gibbet of the Cross is the unanimous teaching of the holy Fathers who assert that the Church was born from the side of our Savior on the Cross like a new Eve, mother of all the living. [28] "And it is now," says the great St. Ambrose, speaking of the pierced side of Christ, "that it is built, it is now that it is formed, it is now that it is...molded, it is now that it is created... Now it is that arises a spiritual house, a holy priesthood." [29] One who reverently examines this venerable teaching will easily discover the reasons on which it is based.
29. And first of all, by the death of our Redeemer, the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished; then the Law of Christ together with its mysteries, enactments, institutions, and sacred rites was ratified for the whole world in the blood of Jesus Christ. For, while our Divine Savior was preaching in a restricted area - He was not sent but to the sheep that were lost of the House of Israel [30] - the Law and the Gospel were together in force; [31] but on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees [32] fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross, [33] establishing the New Testament in His blood shed for the whole human race.[34] "To such an extent, then," says St. Leo the Great, speaking of the Cross of our Lord, "was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mystical veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sacred secret was rent violently from top to bottom." [35]
30. On the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried and to be a bearer of death, [36] in order to give way to the New Testament of which Christ had chosen the Apostles as qualified ministers; [37] and although He had been constituted the Head of the whole human family in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, it is by the power of the Cross that our Savior exercises fully the office itself of Head of His Church. "For it was through His triumph on the Cross," according to the teaching of the Angelic and Common Doctor, "that He won power and dominion over the gentiles";[38] by that same victory He increased the immense treasure of graces, which, as He reigns in glory in heaven, He lavishes continually on His mortal members; it was by His blood shed on the Cross that God's anger was averted and that all the heavenly gifts, especially the spiritual graces of the New and Eternal Testament, could then flow from the fountains of our Savior for the salvation of men, of the faithful above all; it was on the tree of the Cross, finally, that He entered into possession of His Church, that is, of all the members of His Mystical Body; for they would not have been untied to this Mystical Body through the waters of Baptism except by the salutary virtue of the Cross, by which they had been already brought under the complete sway of Christ.
31. But if our Savior, by His death, became, in the full and complete sense of the word, the Head of the Church, it was likewise through His blood that the Church was enriched with the fullest communication of the Holy Spirit, through which, from the time when the Son of Man was lifted up and glorified on the Cross by His sufferings, she is divinely illumined. For then, as Augustine notes, [39] with the rending of the veil of the temple it happened that the dew of the Paraclete's gifts, which heretofore had descended only on the fleece, that is on the people of Israel, fell copiously and abundantly (while the fleece remained dry and deserted) on the whole earth, that is on the Catholic Church, which is confined by no boundaries of race or territory.
29. And first of all, by the death of our Redeemer, the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished; then the Law of Christ together with its mysteries, enactments, institutions, and sacred rites was ratified for the whole world in the blood of Jesus Christ. For, while our Divine Savior was preaching in a restricted area - He was not sent but to the sheep that were lost of the House of Israel [30] - the Law and the Gospel were together in force; [31] but on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees [32] fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross, [33] establishing the New Testament in His blood shed for the whole human race.[34] "To such an extent, then," says St. Leo the Great, speaking of the Cross of our Lord, "was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mystical veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sacred secret was rent violently from top to bottom." [35]
30. On the Cross then the Old Law died, soon to be buried and to be a bearer of death, [36] in order to give way to the New Testament of which Christ had chosen the Apostles as qualified ministers; [37] and although He had been constituted the Head of the whole human family in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, it is by the power of the Cross that our Savior exercises fully the office itself of Head of His Church. "For it was through His triumph on the Cross," according to the teaching of the Angelic and Common Doctor, "that He won power and dominion over the gentiles";[38] by that same victory He increased the immense treasure of graces, which, as He reigns in glory in heaven, He lavishes continually on His mortal members; it was by His blood shed on the Cross that God's anger was averted and that all the heavenly gifts, especially the spiritual graces of the New and Eternal Testament, could then flow from the fountains of our Savior for the salvation of men, of the faithful above all; it was on the tree of the Cross, finally, that He entered into possession of His Church, that is, of all the members of His Mystical Body; for they would not have been untied to this Mystical Body through the waters of Baptism except by the salutary virtue of the Cross, by which they had been already brought under the complete sway of Christ.
31. But if our Savior, by His death, became, in the full and complete sense of the word, the Head of the Church, it was likewise through His blood that the Church was enriched with the fullest communication of the Holy Spirit, through which, from the time when the Son of Man was lifted up and glorified on the Cross by His sufferings, she is divinely illumined. For then, as Augustine notes, [39] with the rending of the veil of the temple it happened that the dew of the Paraclete's gifts, which heretofore had descended only on the fleece, that is on the people of Israel, fell copiously and abundantly (while the fleece remained dry and deserted) on the whole earth, that is on the Catholic Church, which is confined by no boundaries of race or territory.
29. Ambrose, In Luc, II, 87: Migne, P.L., XV, 1585.
30. Cf. Matth., XV, 24.
31. Cf. St. Thos., I-II, q. 103, a. 3, ad 2.
32. Cf. Eph., II, 15.
33. Cf. Col., II, 14.
34. Cf. Matth., XXVI, 28; I Cor., XI, 25.
35. Leo the Great, Serm., LXVIII, 3: Migne, P.L. LIV, 374.
36. Jerome and Augustine, Epist. CXII, 14 and CXVI, 16: Migne, P.L., XXII, 924 and 943; St. Thos., I-II, q. 103, a. 3, ad 2; a. 4; ad 1; Council of Flor. pro Jacob.: Mansi, XXXI, 1738.
37. Cf. II Cor., III, 6.
38. Cf. St. Thos. III, q. 42, a. 1.
39. Cf. De pecc. orig., XXV, 29: Migne, P.L., XLIV, 400.
From the Vatican website.
Advent is coming! - 2
"Dicit Dominus: Ego cogito cogitationes pacis, et non afflictionis." ("The Lord saith: I think thoughts of peace, and not of affliction." From the Introit of the Mass for the Last Sunday after Pentecost.)
"When these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand." (From the Gospel for the First Sunday in Advent.)
A November reflection ...
The following thoughts are from the Chaplain of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society -- a 27-year-old American diocean priest who remembers the Society at every Mass he says, and will continue to do so for as long as our Good God allows him to minister to His children.
And don't forget to send in the names of the souls you want enrolled. The next posting is next Thursday.
A reminder on how to enroll souls: please email me at cpaulitz@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "name, state, country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Pacelli family, Rome, Italy". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.
Chaplain's Reflection:
November is a month when we reflect on how fragile life is, and contemplate what comes after this life. At the beginning of the month, the Church throughout the world celebrated the solemnities of All Saints and All Souls. Throughout this month -- dreary and gray as it often is -- our thoughts are turned toward the Four Last Things -- death and judgment, eternal punishment and eternal reward.
We are reminded in faith of how close we are to those who have gone before us on our pilgrimage toward eternal life. But as God's creation around us grows old and the leaves are shed from living vegetation, the Eucharistic Sacrifice comes to us like a light shining in darkness.
We are indeed brought face to face with the Messiah, in whom all things live. Every Holy Mass is offered for the deceased and offered in union with the heavenly court surrounding the Triune God. As we know, it is a great act of charity and mercy to pray for our brothers and sisters.
The Church's teaching on purgatory is an especially great consolation, as it is a reminder that our final words on earth are not God's last word on us, and simply our final purifying passage on the journey toward the Kingdom of Heaven.
We remember with love and thanksgiving our brothers and sisters who have died, and we look forward to that time when Jesus Christ, who is All in all, will come to "make all things new."
As the liturgical year ends and we anticipate the birth of the Savior in the humble crib of Bethlehem, we pray:
Come, Lord Jesus!
And please remember to follow @RorateCaeli on Twitter.
Missing him
Yes, there was some good in the Wojtylian years - and one example was the professional and steady manner in which the Holy See Press Office and L'Osservatore Romano were guided under the leadership of Joaquín Navarro-Valls, M.D, and Mario Agnes. After the Recife Affair, and the new rubber controversy - both of which were fed by the Press Office/OR -, one can affirm with certainty that the Lombardi-Vian team (and Fisichella, who, NOT COINCIDENTALLY, was the man responsible for the Recife affair and the main ecclesiastical authority in the press conference of presentation of "Light of the World") have as their main concern and as their "editorial line ... to incite doubt on moral matters", as Christine Vollmer affirmed.
One would never have seen matters of life and death, and of spiritual life and death, treated so lightly in the days of Navarro-Valls and Mario Agnes. It is a pity that the Pope has decided to entrust the public communications of the Holy See to (1) a Liberal Jesuit (prostituto-prostituta, Tweedledum and Tweedledee), (2) an agitprop "journalist" who still misses the post-Conciliar years under the great Montini (too bad he got one thing wrong in Humanae Vitae - not that we can't fix this!), and (3) their friend the pro-abortion-in-some-cases Archbishop-for-the-new-evangelization.
Well, at least they are selling lots of books!
Question for our readers
Is there a full Ukrainian-English side-by-side version of the Divine Liturgy (of Saint John Chrysostom) available online? It may also be any web version in Ukrainian and another Western European language...
Thank you. You may also send your input directly to newcatholic AT gmail DOT com.
Advent is coming! - 1
"And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty." (From the Gospel for the Last Sunday after Pentecost)
The Rosary: breaking down barriers
In the Philippines, there have been repeated attempts since 1998 to pass the "Reproductive Health Bill" (RH Bill") that, in its various similar incarnations through successive Congresses, has sought to introduce the aggressive promotion of contraception and of liberal sex education as part of State policy, with no real exemptions for Catholic believers and institutions. The bill failed to pass due to the opposition of the Church and -- more importantly -- the opposition of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (president of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010), who for all her faults professed to be a devout Catholic. However, the accession of a new President who openly supports the RH Bill, the overwhelming support for it by the media and the new political establishment, the sudden rise of an unusually vicious form of anticlericalism in certain sectors of Filipino society and the general weakness and apathy of the Church in the Philippines mean that the Bill, after 12 years, is nearer than ever before to being passed.
(Those who want to know more about the bill and the Filipino Catholic resistance against it can read my blog on the matter: The Catholic Position on the RH Bill. The text of the bill can be found here. An article that gives an excellent overview of the bill and explores its legal implications can be found here.)
In response to this, the SSPX launched a rosary crusade on October 31, 2010, the Feast of Christ the King. DICI's article on this event, and the promotional video for the rosary crusade, can be found here. The SSPX Rosary Crusade seeks to collect 1 million rosaries between October 31, 2010 and January 16, 2011, third Sunday of January, which is marked in the Philippines as the Feast of the Sto. Nino (the Holy Child).
Amazingly, the SSPX Rosary Crusade has garnered the support of Archbishop Paciano Aniceto (head of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines) and of Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu. Both of them have appeared in promotional videos for the Rosary Crusade with priests of the SSPX. (Cardinal Vidal video; Abp.Aniceto video). Other videos promoting the Rosary Crusade against the RH Bill can be found in the Youtube site of the SSPX in Metro Manila.
Pray that the Philippines will not fall into the deadly trap of this bill!
Addendum (25/11/10): The Prayer Crusade is all the more necessary now that the Pope's words -- and the even worse interventions of Fr. Lombardi -- are causing immense damage to the pro-life movement in the Philippines. The media and members of Congress and the Presidential Palace itself are using the Pope's statement to aggressively push for condom use and artificial contraception, with little attention being paid to the pro-lifers' attempts at clarifying matters.
The Ouellet batch of bishops
Nothing has changed in the Congregation for Bishops. Kath.net reports on the newly-chosen Bishop of Basel, Felix Gmür:
Felix Gmür: sexuality is primarily a matter of conscience of each individualThe new Bishop of Basel on celibacy: "The church must consider whether this must necessarily be the rule. I do not think so - even though celibacy is the correct way of life for me."
Basel (kath.net)
Felix Gmür, the newly-appointed Bishop of Basel, welcomes in a recent interview with Tagesanzeiger the (alleged) relaxation of the condom ban by the Pope and declares, "Sexuality is primarily a matter of the conscience of every human being. I welcome what the Pope said. ... ."
When asked whether now that he is in the diocese of Basel he would follow the line of Rome, Gmür then says, "It is not the message of the line of Rome, but [the message of] the line of the Bible that we have to proclaim, and that is the message of Jesus Christ. ... In the diocese of Basel, there is a lot of freedom within [the Church] structure." [Full article in German; tip: Papa Ratzinger blog]
This is just great.
Confirmation
Mr. Nicholas Wansbutter, editor of Bishop R. Williamson's newsletter "Eleison Comments", asked us to confirm the news we had already reported:
"Unfortunately Bp. Williamson does not have any sort of international web page for this sort of announcement, so I am making it here. I am making this public statement having requested Bp. Williamson's permission to do so. I received same directly from the bishop (contrary to all the rumour and innuendo out there) and is as close to an official pronouncement as is likely forthcoming. I am making this statement for the sole purpose of trying to clarify the situation.
"Let it be known that Bp. Williamson will NOT be using the services of the lawyer mentioned in Fr. Thouvenot's communiqué of 20 November 2010." (Source.)
The Friday after Thanksgiving Day indult ...
Just a reminder or, for some new to tradition, a wonderful heads up, that there is no required abstinence from meat this Friday.
While always a topic of great discussion, it is a fact that Pope Pius XII granted Americans a dispensation from their Friday abstinence, so that they may enjoy turkey the Friday after Thanksgiving. I say "enjoy" turkey because that is truly the only reason he would have granted it -- the arguments over refrigeration and whether meat would spoil are rather silly since wide-spread, in-home refrigeration (as well as cable TV) actually did exist in the 1950s.
So eat your turkey sandwiches this Friday and give great thanks to a merciful God for all that we have to be thankful for. And, while you're at it, thank and pray for Pope Pius XII before you dive into that turkey, that he may be canonized a saint soon.
Also, there will be no posting of souls for the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society this week. All souls sent in will be posted next week.
A reminder on how to enroll souls: please email me at cpaulitz@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "name, state, country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Rome, Italy". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.
And please remember to follow @RorateCaeli on Twitter.
Clarification document soon?
Yes, according to German Catholic website Kathnews.de, the famous clarification document on Summorum Pontificum, which has been promised almost since the publication of the memorable Motu Proprio, is ready and should be published shortly, perhaps even before Christmas.
Overlooked in the fray: the Pope on Judaism and the prayer for Jews
Sandro Magister's site has published an English translation of the passages from the Pope's upcoming book "Light of the World", which were previewed the other day by L'Osservatore Romano. The following is the passage on Judaism:
I must say that from the first day of my theological studies, the profound unity between the Old and New Testament, between the two parts of our Sacred Scripture, was somehow clear to me. I had realized that we could read the New Testament only together with what had preceded it, otherwise we would not understand it. Then naturally what happened in the Third Reich struck us as Germans, and drove us all the more to look at the people of Israel with humility, shame, and love.
In my theological formation, these things were interwoven, and marked the pathway of my theological thought. So it was clear to me – and here again in absolute continuity with John Paul II – that in my proclamation of the Christian faith there had to be a central place for this new interweaving, with love and understanding, of Israel and the Church, based on respect for each one's way of being and respective mission [. . .]
A change also seemed necessary to me in the ancient liturgy. In fact, the formula was such as to truly wound the Jews, and it certainly did not express in a positive way the great, profound unity between Old and New Testament. For this reason, I thought that a modification was necessary in the ancient liturgy, in particular in reference to our relationship with our Jewish friends. I modified it in such a way that it contained our faith, that Christ is salvation for all. That there do not exist two ways of salvation, and that therefore Christ is also the savior of the Jews, and not only of the pagans. But also in such a way that one did not pray directly for the conversion of the Jews in a missionary sense, but that the Lord might hasten the historic hour in which we will all be united. For this reason, the arguments used polemically against me by a series of theologians are rash, and do not do justice to what was done
The other passages also contain much matter for intense discussion.
A Vatican II Moment: the "Pre-Party Mass"
In the Archiocese of Maringá, Brazil. The novel way of the entrance of the Gospel is quite interesting (1 minute into the video).
Contacted by a concerned Catholic by e-mail, the Archbishop of Maringá responded thus:
The pre-party masses are the mass of the Roman Ritual [sic] which all of us Roman Apostolic Catholics celebrate. It is just celebrated with certain symbols, dances, for young people... [sic]No one needs to be scandalized by this... [sic]God bless you!!Abp. Anuar Battisti
[Source: Fratres in Unum; tip and translation: reader]
RORATE exclusive: Williamson dismisses controversial lawyer
RORATE CÆLI has learned from a source very close to Bishop Williamson that the Bishop will take steps to separate himself from his new lawyer, in accordance with Bishop Fellay's public order.
Honestly...
...and with all due and venerable respect for the most august office on Earth: is an interview the best venue to present a personal opinion on a matter of moral theology that is so complex that even the most brilliant and orthodox minds can hardly understand it and that inevitably causes confusion and misunderstanding, no matter how many times and how deeply it is explained?
It is just as well that the Holy See Press Office affirmed that it is "true that until now [such opinions] have not been heard with such clarity from the mouth of a Pope". Yes, that is true, indeed.
From DICI:
The Superior General, Bishop Bernard Fellay, has learnt by the press of Bishop Richard Williamson’s decision, just ten days before his trial, to dismiss the lawyer charged with his defense, in favor of a lawyer who is openly affiliated to the so-called neo-Nazi movement in Germany, and to other such groups.
Bishop Fellay has given Bishop Williamson a formal order to go back on this decision and to not allow himself to become an instrument of political theses that are completely foreign to his mission as a Catholic bishop serving the Society of Saint Pius X.
Disobedience to this order would result in Bishop Williamson being expelled from the Society of Saint Pius X.
Menzingen, november 20 of 2010.
Fr. Christian Thouvenot, general Secretary
Ordinariate in England and Wales: January 2011
In less than two months, the first Ordinariate established according to the norms of Anglicanorum Coetibus will be established in England and Wales. Let us all pray for this incredible canonical achievement, which is a great hope for all Catholics and a precedent of particular relevance for Traditional Catholics.
In collaboration with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome, the Bishops of England and Wales have been preparing for the establishment of an Ordinariate early in January 2011. Although there may be practical difficulties in the months ahead, the Bishops are working to address these at a national and local level.Five Anglican Bishops who currently intend to enter the Ordinariate have already announced their decision to resign from pastoral ministry in the Church of England with effect from 31 December 2010. They will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church early in January 2011. During the same month, it is expected that the Decree establishing the Ordinariate will be issued and the name of the Ordinary to be appointed announced. Soon afterwards, those non-retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood for service in the Ordinariate.It is expected that the retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood prior to Lent. This will enable them, together with the Ordinary and the other former Anglican Bishops, to assist with the preparation and reception of former Anglican clergy and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church during Holy Week.Before the beginning of Lent, those Anglican clergy with groups of faithful who have decided to enter the Ordinariate will then begin a period of intense formation for ordination as Catholic priests.At the beginning of Lent, the groups of faithful together with their pastors will be enrolled as candidates for the Ordinariate. Then, at a date to be agreed between the Ordinary and the local diocesan Bishop, they will be received into the Catholic Church and confirmed. This will probably take place either during Holy Week, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday or during the Easter Vigil. The period of formation for the faithful and their pastors will continue to Pentecost. Until then, these communities will be cared for sacramentally by local clergy as arranged by the diocesan Bishop and the Ordinary.Around Pentecost, those former Anglican priests whose petitions for ordination have been accepted by the CDF will be ordained to the Catholic Priesthood. Ordination to the Diaconate will precede this at some point during Eastertide. Formation in Catholic theology and pastoral practice will continue for an appropriate amount of time after ordination.In responding generously and offering a warm welcome to those seeking full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church within the Ordinariate, the Bishops know that the clergy and faithful who are on that journey of faith will bring their own spiritual treasures which will further enrich the spiritual life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Bishops will do all they can to ensure that there is effective and close collaboration with the Ordinariate both at diocesan and parish levels.Finally, with the blessings and encouragement they have received from Pope Benedict’s recent Visit, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are resolved to continue their dialogue with other Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities on that journey towards the communion in faith and the fullness of unity for which Christ prayed.
The Pope's latest words on ecumenism
From ZENIT:
"The Unity of Christians Is and Remains Prayer"
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 18, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI delivered today upon receiving in audience the participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which ends Friday in Rome. The plenary, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of the institution of the dicastery, is considering the theme: "Toward a New Stage of Ecumenical Dialogue."
* * *
Esteemed Cardinals,
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
It is a great joy for me to meet with you on the occasion of the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during which you are reflecting on the theme: "Toward a New Stage of Ecumenical Dialogue." In addressing my cordial greeting to each one of you, I also wish to thank in a particular way the president, Archbishop Kurt Koch, for the warm expressions with which he interpreted your sentiments.
Yesterday, as Archbishop Koch has recalled, you celebrated with a solemn commemorative ceremony, the 50th anniversary of the institution of your dicastery. On June 5, 1960, eve of the Second Vatican Council, which indicated the ecumenical commitment as central for the Church, Blessed John XXIII created the Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity, called later, in 1988, Pontifical Council. It was an act that constituted a milestone for the ecumenical path of the Catholic Church. In the course of 50 years, it has covered much territory. I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have given their service in the pontifical council, remembering first of all the presidents who succeeded one another: Cardinal Augustin Bea, Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, and Cardinal Edward Idris Cassidy; and I am especially pleased to thank Cardinal Walter Kasper, who led the dicastery, with competence and passion, over the last 11 years. (There have been rumors in a few blogs that over the weekend, Cardinal-elect Abp. Raymond Burke will, with the Pope's blessing, publicly reprimand Cardinal Kasper for his resistance to the "ecumenism of return". This passage doesn't bode well for the credibility of that prediction. CAP.) I thank the members and consultors, officials and collaborators, those who have contributed to undertake theological dialogues and ecumenical meetings, and all those who have prayed to the Lord for the gift of visible unity between Christians. They are 50 years in which a truer knowledge and greater esteem have been acquired with the Churches and the ecclesial communities, overcoming prejudices cemented by history; there has been growth in the theological dialogue, but also in that of charity; several forms of collaboration have been developed, among which, in addition to those of the defense of life, the safeguarding of creation and the combating of injustice, important and fruitful has been that in the field of the ecumenical translations of sacred Scripture.
In these last years, then, the pontifical council has been committed, among other things, in a wide project, the so-called Harvest Project, to sketch an initial evaluation of the goals achieved in the theological dialogues with the principal ecclesial communities of Vatican II. It is a precious work that has made evident both the areas of convergence, as well as those in which it is necessary to continue and deepen reflection. Thanking God for the fruits already gathered, I encourage you to continue your efforts to promote a correct reception of the results attained and to make known with exactness the present state of theological research at the service of the path to unity. Today some think that this path, especially in the West, has lost its élan; noted now is the urgency to revive ecumenical interest and to give new incisiveness to the dialogues. Unheard of challenges, then, appear: the new anthropological and ethical interpretations, the ecumenical formation of the new generations, the further fragmentation of the ecumenical scene. It is essential to be aware of such changes and to identify the ways to proceed effectively in the light of the will of the Lord: "That they may all be one" (John 17:21).
Also with the Orthodox Churches and the Ancient Eastern Churches, with which "very close bonds" exist ("Unitatis Redintegratio," No. 15), the Catholic Church continues the dialogue with passion, seeking to deepen, in a serious and rigorous way, the common theological, liturgical and spiritual patrimony, and to address with serenity and commitment the elements that still divide us. With the Orthodox we have succeeded in touching a crucial point of encounter and reflection: the role of the Bishop of Rome in the communion of the Church. And the ecclesiological question is also at the center of the dialogue with the Ancient Eastern Churches: Despite many centuries of misunderstanding and separation, witnessed with joy is our having kept a precious common patrimony.
Dear friends, despite the presence of new problematic situations or difficult points for the dialogue, the aim of the ecumenical path remains unchanged, as does the firm commitment in pursuing it. It is not, however, a commitment according to political categories, so to speak, in which the ability to negotiate or the greater capacity to find compromises come into play, from which could be expected, as good mediators, that, after a certain time, one will arrive at agreements acceptable to all. Ecumenical action has a twofold movement. On one hand there is the convinced, passionate and tenacious search to find full unity in truth, to excogitate models of unity, to illumine oppositions and dark points in order to reach unity. And this in the necessary theological dialogue, but above all in prayer and in penance, in that spiritual ecumenism which constitutes the throbbing heart of the whole path: The unity of Christians is and remains prayer, it resides in prayer. On the other hand, another operative movement, which arises from the firm awareness that we do not know the hour of the realization of the unity among all the disciples of Christ and we cannot know it, because unity is not "made by us," God "makes" it: it comes from above, from the unity of the Father with the Son in the dialogue of love which is the Holy Spirit; it is a taking part in the divine unity. And this should not make our commitment diminish, rather, it should make us ever more attentive to receive the signs of the times of the Lord, knowing how to recognize with gratitude that which already unites us and working to consolidate it and make it grow. In the end, also in the ecumenical path, it is about leaving to God what is only his and of exploring, with seriousness, constancy and dedication, what is our task, being aware that to our commitment belongs the binomial of acting and suffering, of activity and patience, of effort and joy.
We confidently invoke the Holy Spirit, so that he will guide our way and that each one will feel with renewed vigor the appeal to work for the ecumenical cause. I encourage all of you to continue your work; it is a help that you render to the Bishop of Rome in fulfilling his mission at the service of unity. As a sign of affection and gratitude, I impart to you my heartfelt apostolic blessing.
Roamin' Catholic
The "Traditional Roamin' Catholic" is in Rome trying to find out about life for Traditional Catholics in the City and gather possible news from the Consistory. This person can be reached by way of newcatholic AT gmail DOT com.
Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society (eighth posting of souls)
Below, please find the eighth posting of enrolled souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. It's another long list this week.
Please pray for these souls with a prayer provided below as well as for the 11 holy priests who are praying the Traditional Latin Mass either weekly or monthly for the success of the Society and the repose of the enrolled souls.
A reminder on how to enroll souls: please email me at my address found in my profile on the right and submit as follows: "name, state, country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Rome, Italy". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well.
Also, if you run a blog or website, please consider letting your readers know about the Society as well by posting a link or short write-up. God knows there aren't enough people praying for these souls -- let's all join together and get the word out.
Please pray for the enrolled souls and the holy priests of the Society:
"For all the souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the Faithful departed rest in peace. Amen."
Then ...
Eternal God,
please bless our priests,
who are selflessly saying Masses for this Society.
Make them more greatly aware of the grace
that You pour out through them
when they minister the sacraments,
and help them to fall more deeply in love with You
after each and every Mass that they celebrate.
Please strengthen our priests,
who shepherd Your flock,
when they are in doubt of their faith,
that they may be examples of Your Truth
and guide us always on the path to You.
We ask these things of You, our Eternal Priest.
Amen.
A reminder: The list below shows only the souls enrolled this past week -- not all of the souls enrolled since the beginning. If you enrolled a soul once, there is no need to enroll him again.
Joyce Jones, Farnworth, Lancashire, UK
Wilfred Jones, Farnworth, Lancashire, UK
Teresa Warburton, Farnworth, UK
Albert Booth Warburton, Farnworth, UK
Lisa Joseph,Kerala, India
E J Joseph, Kerala, India
Chacko, Kerala, India
Girish Paul, Kerala, India
Agnes Sebastian, Kerala India
Bp Daniel, Kerala, India
Sr Lisia Kerala,India
Jordan Sugars, QLD Australia
Martha Walker, QLD,Australia
Colleen Lanzon, QLD, Australia
Michael Pierce, NSW,Australia
Fr John Drury SJ, QLD,Australia
Fr Nobert Olsen SJ, QLD, Australia
Ancestral Souls of C.T and C.L.
50,000 souls of priests in Purgatory
50,000 orphan souls in Purgatory
John Melvin O'Brien III, Tennessee, USA
Santiago and Norma Sarracino – New Mexico, USA
Matthew Sarracino – New Mexico, USA
Alvin Sarracino – New Mexico, USA
Alberta Sarracino – New Mexico, USA
Henry Lukee – New Mexico, USA
Juanita Lukee – New Mexico, USA
Xavier Farias – New Mexico, USA
Dax Heller – Texas, USA
Ryan Vaio – New Mexico, USA
Catherine Baca – New Mexico, USA
Sr. Charles Marie Coy, OSU – Kentucky, USA
Samuel Joseph Abraham, USA
Maria Paz Alhambra, Canada
Msgr. Moises Andrade, Philippines
Noli Fausto Anonas, Philippines
Fr. Francisco Araneta, Philippines
Jennifer Van Atta, USA
Joan Sutherland, Australia
Joseph Winternitz, Austria
Derek Beveridge, Canada
Diane Kroeskamp, Canada
Elvira Rikards, Canada
Evelyn Turner, Canada
Filomeno Apolinario, Canada
Gerry Puchalski, Canada
Gregorio Navarro, Canada
Leonardo Festin, Canada
Louis Bonner, Canada
Lucy Agcaoli, Canada
Margaret Cunha, Canada
Maria Soto, Canada
Mariano Venida, Canada
Martha Wourms, Canada
Maureen Forrester, Canada
Melvin Upton, Canada
Miguel Hernandez, Canada
Otto Krahnbel, Canada
Paulina Navarro, Canada
Peter Maxwell, Canada
Rose-Marie Landry, Canada
Sandy Sublay, Canada
Adolfo Lim, Philippines
Aling Aya, Philippines
Anastacio Quijano, Philippines
Andita Huenefeld, Philippines
Andy Maglalang, Philippines
Angela Fermin, Philippines
Anton Uy, Philippines
Antonio Heras, Philippines
Arsenio Mariano, Philippines
Ida F. Barretto, Philippines
Fr. Miguel Bernad, Philippines
Fr. Raul Bonoan, Philippines
Alan Aberbach, Canada
Ambrose Heidrich, Canada
Arnie Kroeskamp, Canada
Carl Winternitz, Canada
Cecilia Sothy, Canada
Charles Paqueo, Canada
David Akhurst, Canada
Delia Velasco, Canada
Asuncion Huang, Philippines
Augusto Barcelon, Philippines
Elena Cuyegkeng, Philippines
Elena Lagdameo, Philippines
Elias Fermin, Philippines
Emigdio Tanjuatco, Philippines
George Siy, Philippines
James Pouillon, Philippines
Vincent Huang, Canada
Virginia Venida, Canada
Zora Anderson, Canada
Fr. Miguel Casals, Philippines
Lorenzo del Castillo, Canada
Constante de Castro, USA
Bishop Francisco Claver, Philippines
Agnes Colette Condon, USA
Fr. James Donelan, Philippines
Fr. Joey Fermin, Philippines
Sr. Helen Fitton, USA
Fr. Joseph Galdon, Philippines
Fr. Victor Gallo, Canada
Vanya Joy Galos, Philippines
Fr. Thomas Green, Philippines
Fr. Eduardo Hontiveros, Philippines
Pedro Lopez III, Philippines
Sr. Mary Joseph, USA
Benigno Aquino Jr., Philippines
Ng Kim Kheng, Philippines
Christina Pineda Kinsky, USA
Sui Ching Lau, Canada
Maria Teresa Ledesma, Philippines
Fr. Santiago Leon, Philippines
Fr. Prudencio Macayan, Philippines
Fr. Rodolfo Malasmas, Philippines
Fr. Paul Marx, USA
Isaiah James May, Canada
Paul Cardinal Mayer
Fr. Gordon McKinnon, Canada
Fr. James McMahon, USA
Filomena T. Mullis, USA
Fr. Joseph Murray, USA
Joseph Chummy Ng, Philippines
Fr. Reynaldo Ocampo, Philippines
Ace Natividad, Philippines
Adita Perez, Philippines
Joel Barrios, Philippines
Josefa Perez, Philippines
Juan Javier, Philippines
Laura Milo, Philippines
Lila Balchand, Philippines
Lorenzo Perez, Philippines
Lourdes Sevilla, Philippines
Lydia Fermin, Philippines
Mae Yu, Philippines
Marguerite Echaus, Philippines
Mario Silva, Philippines
Maximo Cenir, Philippines
Maximo Forbes, Philippines
Michael Chow, Philippines
Miguel Romualdez, Philippines
Miguel Vasquez, Philippines
Milagros Redison, Philippines
Naty Siy, Philippines
Nelly Perez, Philippines
Pablo Siy, Philippines
Patrick Herlihy, Philippines
Peter Siy, Philippines
Renato Dantes, Philippines
Richard Chow, Philippines
Roberto Selorio, Philippines
Rose Cruz, Philippines
Saturnino Cruz, Philippines
Sergio Locsin, Philippines
Shirley Advincula, Philippines
Tabing Abelido, Philippines
Teddy Caguiat, Philippines
Vicente Chua, Philippines
Virginia Licuanan, Philippines
Ying Villanueva, Philippines
Fr. William Schmitt, Philippines
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, USA
Lao Mo Tai, China
Chiu Khi Tee, China
Fr. Felixberto Trinidad, Philippines
Fr. Cipriano Unson, Philippines
Alexander Haig, USA
Antonio Manuud, USA
Michael Davies, USA
Michael Dubruiel, USA
Michael Krawczun, USA
Norma Nievera, USA
Ralph McInerny, USA
Rena Krasno, USA
Rose Korzeniewski, USA
Ryan Barrett, USA
Shirley Verrett, USA
Thomas Dillon, USA
Tom Herndon, USA
William Long, USA
Lourdes Caringal Valencia, Philippines
Amparo de Villa, Philippines
Lech and Maria Kaczynski and companions, Poland
Alexis Tioseco and Nika Bohinc, Philippines
Otto and Diane Hajek, Canada
Ng Gee Ting, Hong Kong
Jayrizal Bautista, Philippines
Fr. Jose A. Cruz, Philippines
Jesus and Angela Singson, Philippines
Roberto A. Barretto Sr., Philippines
Ramon and Carmen Recto, Philippines
Leoncio Siy Cong Bieng, Philippines
Amparo Moreno de Jesus, Philippines
Juanito Vergel de Dios, Philippines
Sr. Rosario de Veyra, Philippines
Purita de los Angeles, Philippines
Naty del Rosario Lim, Philippines
Salvador and Victoria Araneta, Philippines
Pope John Paul II, Vatican City
Nieves Montemayor, Philippines
Carmen Infante, Philippines
Carmen Sison, Philippines
Cayo Emnas, Philippines
Clarinda Macasaet, Philippines
Conchita Murillo, Philippines
Cora Borromeo, Philippines
Corazon Aquino, Philippines
Corazon Musni, Philippines
Dely Caguiat, Philippines
Catherine Donelan, USA
Evaristo Nievera, USA
Felipe Calasanz, USA
Gerry Segovia, USA
Imogene Perry, USA
Jerry Sarte, USA
Jose Olasolo, USA
Kenneth Reuter, USA
Lawrence Dee, USA
Lori Pachler, USA
Lyle Ross, USA
Gunther Wilde, Canada
Henriette Magee, Canada
Herbert Quinn, Canada
Herbert Schwabb, Canada
Herbert Tam, Canada
James McLeod, Canada
Janine Lieu, Canada
John Colleran, Canada
Joseph Gerenscer, Canada
Joseph Kohlman, Canada
Kara Turton, Canada
Kasper Gedak, Canada
Kulendan Mayandy, Canada
Laurene Dirksen, Canada
Lavinia Stark, Canada
Helen Gianoni Erie, PA
Joyce Applegate Erie, PA
Gianoni/Applegate/Rodrigues/Barone/Duchini Families Erie, PA
William Ring - N.J. – USA
Josepth Ches, Minnesota, USA
Mary Ches, Minnesota, USA
Andrea Bloomquist, Minnesota, USA
Walter Bloomquist, Minnesota, USA
Walter Ches, Minnesota, USA
Beverly Ches, Minnesota, USA
Bennett Benson, Minnesota, USA
Joseph Benson, Minnesota, USA
James Benson, Minnesota, USA
Ruth Conway, Ohio, USA
Joseph Colombo - Fla. – USA
Hugo Gil Castela, Rhode Island, USA
The Portelli Family - USA & Italy
The Mastrogiovanni Family - USA & Italy
The Lobosco Family - USA & Italy
The Susino Family - USA & Italy
George Schroers - N.J. - USA
Frank X. Graves - N.J. - USA
Joel Blake - N.J. - USA
Mary Blake - N.J. - USA
Michael Corrigan - N.J. - USA
Robert Giannini - Pa. - USA
Raymond Tuscano - N.J. - USA
William McVeigh - N.J. - USA
Sam Sibilio - N.J. – USA
Carl Wiechkoske, Texas, USA
Otto Bergenske, Wisconsin, USA
Fr. Michael Yakaits, Archdiocese of Chicago
Bob Pulaski, Rochester, Michigan
Jozef Wydrzynski, Toronto, Canada
Edward and Maria Golab, Przemysl, Poland
William Anthony and Laura Murray Parr; London, England
Betty Harrex, Worthing, England
Trevor and Sheila Morse, Bognor Regis, England
Joseph and Georgina Mabel, London, England
Beverly Elt; Birmingham, England
The Wydrzynski Family; Poland
The Parr Family; England and Ireland
The Eke Family; England
The Very Rev'd Canon Austin Pozzi; Llandundo, Wales
Jozef and Marta Spyra; Toronto, Canada
Stanislaw and Ada Bulzak, Toronto, Canada
Zdzislaw Staron, Toronto, Canada
Eugene, Dybczak, Toronto, Canada
Patrick Collins, Toronto, Canada
Deceased members of the Society of St Vincent de Paul
bertha bosch overland park ks usa
john kern overland park ks usa
mary bosch kansas city mo usa
josephine shields kansas city ks usa
james shields kansas city ks usa
bill shields kansas city ks usa
john holtsclaw overland park ks usa
charlotte morton kansas city ks usa
billy morton kansas city ks usa
virgil defries bonner springs ks usa
nancy radford wellsville ks usa
dick radford wellsville ks usa
madeleine/johnny jamka kansas city mo usa
sophie kern overland park ks usa
robert/rosemary pyle overland park ks usa
Mr & Mrs Austin T. Welsh, Sr, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
John Arthur Aspinwall Deming NM
Frances S. Aspinwall Rochester NY
Edna L. Brennan Rochester NY
Bud and Agnes LeSchander Rochester NY
George B. LeSchande, Rochester NY
Benjamin Baldiga, Mendon, USA
Margaret Baldiga, Mendon, USA
Stephen Baldiga, Bellingham, USA
Rose Baldiga, Bellingham, USA
Lorraine James, New York, USA
And please remember to follow @RorateCaeli on Twitter.
Pope Benedict XVI: The Church is enjoying a "Eucharistic Springtime"!
In his address (on St. Juliana of Cornillon) at yesterday's General Audience, Pope Benedict XVI made the following affirmation:
I would like to affirm with joy that today in the Church there is a "Eucharistic springtime": How many persons pause silently before the Tabernacle to spend time in a conversation of love with Jesus! It is consoling to know that not a few groups of young people have rediscovered the beauty of praying in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament. I am thinking, for example, of our Eucharistic adoration in Hyde Park, in London.
I pray so that this Eucharistic "springtime" will spread increasingly in every parish, in particular in Belgium, the homeland of St. Juliana. The Venerable John Paul II, in the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," said: "In many places, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is also an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord which yearly brings joy to those who take part in it. Other positive signs of Eucharistic faith and love might also be mentioned" (No. 10).
I pray so that this Eucharistic "springtime" will spread increasingly in every parish, in particular in Belgium, the homeland of St. Juliana. The Venerable John Paul II, in the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," said: "In many places, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is also an important daily practice and becomes an inexhaustible source of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ is a grace from the Lord which yearly brings joy to those who take part in it. Other positive signs of Eucharistic faith and love might also be mentioned" (No. 10).
Remembering St. Juliana of Cornillon we also renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As we are taught by the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is present in a true, real and substantial way, with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and his Divinity. In the Eucharist, therefore, there is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine, Christ whole and entire, God and Man" (No. 282).
Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in Sunday's Holy Mass is essential for the journey of faith, but let us try as well to frequently go to visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle! Gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of the love of God, we discover the passion and the cross of Jesus, and also his Resurrection. Precisely through our gazing in adoration, the Lord draws us to himself, into his mystery, to transform us as he transforms the bread and wine. The saints always found strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. With the words of the Eucharistic hymn "Adoro te devote," let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Make me believe ever more in You, that in You I may have hope, that I may love You!" Thank you.
Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in Sunday's Holy Mass is essential for the journey of faith, but let us try as well to frequently go to visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle! Gazing in adoration at the consecrated Host, we discover the gift of the love of God, we discover the passion and the cross of Jesus, and also his Resurrection. Precisely through our gazing in adoration, the Lord draws us to himself, into his mystery, to transform us as he transforms the bread and wine. The saints always found strength, consolation and joy in the Eucharistic encounter. With the words of the Eucharistic hymn "Adoro te devote," let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Make me believe ever more in You, that in You I may have hope, that I may love You!" Thank you.
Whether there really is a "Eucharistic springtime" going on in the Church is debatable, to say the least. On the other hand, this address -- which is but one of the Pope's many calls to prayer before the Blessed Sacrament -- should put to rest the accusation that Joseph Ratzinger does not believe in Eucharistic adoration.
A very interesting blog
A blog on the life, times, and legacy of Dom Aelred Carlyle, an Abbot Extraordinary.
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If you sent us an e-mail message regarding a future event in the past couple of weeks, please send it again to newcatholic AT gmail DOT com.
And the "much-needed discussion" continues: Basile Valuet responds to Brunero Gherardini
La Nef has published Débat autour du Concile Vatican II, in which Dom Basile Valuet OSB thoroughly criticizes Msgr. Brunero Gherardini's book on the Council. I am not aware of any English translations yet (there should be one in the near future) but it is good to be aware of the growth of this discussion. At one point, he wonders aloud if Msgr. Gherardini is really the author of the book, or if someone had simply used the old man -- a very serious charge. ("C’est à se demander si Mgr Gherardini, ancien professeur d’ecclésiologie et d’œcuménisme, est bien l’auteur du livre que nous examinons, ou si quelqu’un a profité de son âge respectable pour l’abuser.")
The Benedictine also hints that he will be coming up with another article on La Nef specifically defending Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty from the criticisms of Msgr. Gherardini.
The Benedictine also hints that he will be coming up with another article on La Nef specifically defending Vatican II's teaching on religious liberty from the criticisms of Msgr. Gherardini.
Fr. Valuet is a monk of the Benedictine monastery of Le Barroux and author of Liberté Réligieuse et la Tradition Catholique, a massive work controversial in Traditionalist circles, as it claims to show that the teaching on religious liberty as found in Dignitatis Humanae is a legitimate development of, and in continuity with, the teachings of the pre-Vatican II popes on the same topic.
Giacomo Cardinal Biffi on the "Counterfeit Distillates of the Council"
A long quote from the about-to-be-released and greatly-augmented second edition of Giacomo Cardinal Biffi's memoirs, as translated in the English version of Sandro Magister's latest article on Chiesa, The Inconvenient Memoirs of Cardinal Biffi:
In order to bring a bit of clarity to the confusion that afflicts Christianity in our time, one must first distinguish very carefully between the conciliar event and the ecclesial climate that followed. They are two different phenomena, and require distinct treatment.
Paul VI sincerely believed in Vatican Council II, and in its positive relevance for Christianity as a whole. He was one of its decisive protagonists, attentively following its work and discussions on a daily basis, helping it to overcome the recurrent difficulties in its path.
He expected that, by virtue of the joint effort of all the bishops together with the successor of Peter, a blessed age of increased vitality and of exceptional fecundity must immediately benefit and gladden the Church.
Instead, the "postcouncil," in many of its manifestations, concerned and disappointed him. So he revealed his distress with admirable candor; and the impassioned lucidity of his expressions struck all believers, or at least those whose vision had not been clouded over by ideology.
On June 29, 1972, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, speaking off the cuff, he went to the point of saying that he had "the sensation that through some fissure, the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God. There is doubt, uncertainty, trouble, disquiet, dissatisfaction, confrontation. The Church is not trusted . . . It was believed that after the Council there would be a day of sunshine for the history of the Church. What has come instead is a day of clouds, of darkness, of seeking, of uncertainty . . . We believe that something preternatural (the devil) has come into the world to disturb, to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council and to prevent the Church from bursting into a hymn of joy for having regained full awareness of itself." These are painful and severe words that deserve painstaking reflection.
How could it have happened that from the legitimate pronouncements and texts of Vatican II, a season followed that was so different and distant?
The question is complex, and the reasons are multiform; but without a doubt one influence was a process (so to speak) of aberrant "distillation," which from the authentic and binding conciliar "reality" extracted a completely heterogeneous mentality and linguistic form. This is a phenomenon that pops up here and there in the "postcouncil," and continues to advance itself more or less explicitly.
We can, in order to make ourselves understood, hazard to illustrate the schematic procedure of this curious "distillation."
The first phase lies in a discriminatory approach to the conciliar pronouncements, which distinguishes the accepted and usable texts from the inopportune or at least unusable ones, to be passed over in silence.
In the second phase what is acknowledged as the valuable teaching of the Council is not what it really formulated, but what the holy assembly would have produced if it had not been hampered by the presence of many backward fathers insensitive to the breath of the Spirit.
With the third phase, there is the insinuation that the true doctrine of the Council is not that which is canonically formulated and approved, but what would have been formulated and approved if the fathers had been more enlightened, more consistent, more courageous.
With such a theological and historical methodology – never expressed in such a clear fashion, but no less relentless for this reason – it is easy to imagine the results: what is adopted and exalted in an almost obsessive manner is not the Council that in fact was celebrated, but (so to speak) a "virtual Council"; a Council that has a place not in the history of the Church, but in the history of ecclesiastical imagination. Anyone who dares to dissent, however timidly, is branded with the infamous mark of "preconciliar," when he is not in fact numbered among the traditionalist rebels, or the despised fundamentalists.
And because the "counterfeit distillates" of the Council include the principle that by now there is no error that can be condemned in Catholicism, except for sinning against the primary duty of understanding and dialogue, it becomes difficult today for theologians and pastors to have the courage to denounce vigorously and tenaciously the toxins that are progressively poisoning the innocent people of God.
Paul VI sincerely believed in Vatican Council II, and in its positive relevance for Christianity as a whole. He was one of its decisive protagonists, attentively following its work and discussions on a daily basis, helping it to overcome the recurrent difficulties in its path.
He expected that, by virtue of the joint effort of all the bishops together with the successor of Peter, a blessed age of increased vitality and of exceptional fecundity must immediately benefit and gladden the Church.
Instead, the "postcouncil," in many of its manifestations, concerned and disappointed him. So he revealed his distress with admirable candor; and the impassioned lucidity of his expressions struck all believers, or at least those whose vision had not been clouded over by ideology.
On June 29, 1972, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, speaking off the cuff, he went to the point of saying that he had "the sensation that through some fissure, the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God. There is doubt, uncertainty, trouble, disquiet, dissatisfaction, confrontation. The Church is not trusted . . . It was believed that after the Council there would be a day of sunshine for the history of the Church. What has come instead is a day of clouds, of darkness, of seeking, of uncertainty . . . We believe that something preternatural (the devil) has come into the world to disturb, to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council and to prevent the Church from bursting into a hymn of joy for having regained full awareness of itself." These are painful and severe words that deserve painstaking reflection.
How could it have happened that from the legitimate pronouncements and texts of Vatican II, a season followed that was so different and distant?
The question is complex, and the reasons are multiform; but without a doubt one influence was a process (so to speak) of aberrant "distillation," which from the authentic and binding conciliar "reality" extracted a completely heterogeneous mentality and linguistic form. This is a phenomenon that pops up here and there in the "postcouncil," and continues to advance itself more or less explicitly.
We can, in order to make ourselves understood, hazard to illustrate the schematic procedure of this curious "distillation."
The first phase lies in a discriminatory approach to the conciliar pronouncements, which distinguishes the accepted and usable texts from the inopportune or at least unusable ones, to be passed over in silence.
In the second phase what is acknowledged as the valuable teaching of the Council is not what it really formulated, but what the holy assembly would have produced if it had not been hampered by the presence of many backward fathers insensitive to the breath of the Spirit.
With the third phase, there is the insinuation that the true doctrine of the Council is not that which is canonically formulated and approved, but what would have been formulated and approved if the fathers had been more enlightened, more consistent, more courageous.
With such a theological and historical methodology – never expressed in such a clear fashion, but no less relentless for this reason – it is easy to imagine the results: what is adopted and exalted in an almost obsessive manner is not the Council that in fact was celebrated, but (so to speak) a "virtual Council"; a Council that has a place not in the history of the Church, but in the history of ecclesiastical imagination. Anyone who dares to dissent, however timidly, is branded with the infamous mark of "preconciliar," when he is not in fact numbered among the traditionalist rebels, or the despised fundamentalists.
And because the "counterfeit distillates" of the Council include the principle that by now there is no error that can be condemned in Catholicism, except for sinning against the primary duty of understanding and dialogue, it becomes difficult today for theologians and pastors to have the courage to denounce vigorously and tenaciously the toxins that are progressively poisoning the innocent people of God.
The SSPX and the Hermeneutic of Continuity: A Report from the SSPX "Convegno" in Rimini
Rorate presents the following translation, by Fr. Charles W. Johnson, of the Messa in Latino report on the SSPX "Convegno" in Rimini, held from October 22 to 24, 2010.
Meeting of Lefebvrists at Rimini: A Summing Up
It’s necessary to recognize clearly that in these times the superiors of the Fraternity of St. Pius X do not let themselves be swayed to grant interviews or make declarations concerning relations with Rome. And these are not indirect comments but true and authentic revelations from behind the scenes of the Vatican dialogues. After the interview reported yesterday (Messa in Latino is referring to this -- CAP), here is a summing up of the meeting held at Rimini in the last few days (for which we thank Marco Bongi, who sent it to us).
In one of his recent interviews, Monsignor Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the FSSPX, listed Italy as one of the countries in which the congregation founded by Mons. Marcel Lefebvre was expanding the most. This phenomenon emerged clearly in the 18th Meeting of Catholic Studies which, as every year, the Lefebvrists celebrated at Rimini at the end of October. The generous participation of the public, the authority of the speakers, the level of some new publications that were introduced, and, above all, the undoubted charisma of the Superior General, all contributed not a little to bring about the feeling of a rising force in traditional Catholicism in Italy, which is to be seen in the positions held by the Fraternity.
After an historical excursus, the true work, properly so called, of Friday evening, October 22nd, began with an introductory talk by the superior of the Italian district, Don Davide Pagliarani. He dealt with the theme, much debated, of the so-called “hermeneutic of continuity” in the interpretation of Vatican Council II.
The entire, detailed presentation concentrated on expounding and demonstrating a very precise thesis: the complex of ideas bound up with the hermeneutic of continuity, although most likely owing their origin in the intentions of Benedict XVI to salvaging the Council in some way, contains as in a “nutshell” the substantial failure of the same Council.
This basic idea was then laid out from a variety of perspectives:
1 – If the principle aim of VCII was that of explaining better the dogmas of the Faith to contemporary man and then, for at least forty years after its close, it never arrived at a univocal interpretation of its texts, it is evidently the result that, at least as far as communication is concerned, the Council was a failure.
2 – If someone, wishing to contest this obvious consideration, were to bring in the example of the slow application of certain other Councils, such as Nicea or Trent, he would err regarding history. Those Councils were received slowly because there was opposition to their application, not because there was a difficulty interpreting their texts.
3 – If we admit that there are problems with interpreting the conciliar texts, to whom would it pertain to give an authentic interpretation of these texts? Certainly not to theologians or bishops, but to the Supreme Authority that promulgated them, i.e. the Pope. And what was the first such interpretation given them by Benedict XVI [i.e., as a peritus at the Council—translator]? Certainly that of rupture. It is enough to consider certain important magisterial acts: for instance, did the liturgical reform rely on a hermeneutic of continuity? Can the [inter-religious—translator] meetings at Assisi be properly placed within the concept of ecumenism as enunciated by Catholic doctrine before VCII? In other words, it is incontrovertible that the hermeneutic of rupture has been adopted, albeit in the past, by numerous documents of the Papal Magisterium.
4 – A hermeneutic of continuity ought to presuppose as well continuity in the kind of language employed. Now, we can easily see that, while the definitions of Councils in the past retain their clarity and are recognizable as definitions even today, the language of VCII appears today as out-dated, linked to a 1960’s mentality, and profoundly different from the language of our own day. Would it then be necessary, as Cardinal Martini wanted, to hold a Council for each generation?
5 – Because the expressions of VCII are not definitions, it becomes difficult even to analyze them according to traditional interpretive criteria. Often in a single sentence, or a few lines later, perfectly orthodox expressions are found side by side with others that are plainly and willfully ambiguous. It becomes impossible to apply the interpretive rules always used by the Church unless there is first applied to the conciliar documents the classic canons of [dogmatic] definitions.
These themes were reprised soon after by Alessandro Gnocchi, a noted journalist and Catholic essayist. He dwelt on an examination of certain aspects of Benedict XVI’s pontificate, which, though muted, are profoundly disorientating for some groups of those classifying themselves as “Catholic.” The acts of the Pope that can be defined as “in conformity” with the previous [papal] “style” are not those which shall live on in history: before long, no one will remember the visits to mosques or to Lutheran churches. Instead, what is striking is Summorum Pontificum, the lifting of the excommunications, the opening of theological dialogue with the SSPX, the letter to bishops following the outcry over the lifting [of the excommunications], and, in a different arena, the speech at Ratisbon and the Year for Priests.
Extending a “line of credit” to the SSPX, according to Gnocchi, has profoundly displaced certain categories of Catholics that were quite at home in the cultural climate of the last pontificate. He defined such persons as “polite conservatives” or “quibblers” [uomini cavillo]: those, that is—and everyone was invited to list for himself the names of such—who were accustomed to the necessity of always choosing “a lesser evil,” who always managed to find some line or comma in every document from the Bishops Conferences that could give comfort to their consciences as self-described good Catholics.
Those, in other words, who believed themselves to be seated at the extreme right of the “Conciliarly correct” find themselves shoved aside, and they consider it extremely irritating.
The first step towards a restoration—still according to Alessandro Gnocchi—must necessarily be a shedding of light upon the past. To know what actually happened at the Council, during its preparation, and in the following years. It will also be important to find persons, outside the traditional world, who can corroborate our positions. For example, what Msgr. Gherardini has written assumes an importance which is much greater than if the same thing had been put forth by a member of the Fraternity.
Among other things, during the meeting, there was a presentation of Alessandro Gnocchi’s new book, entitled The Last Mass of Padre Pio [L’ultima Messa di Padre Pio]. In it is recounted the profound attachment the Saint had towards the immemorial Liturgy.
After Gnocchi, it was Prof. Corrado Guerre’s turn, a veteran apologist and friend of the Franciscans of the Immaculate. His report, with the significant title “God Is Catholic,” developed the argument along classical lines to contrast ours, the true religion, with the concept of the divinity found in Islam, in eastern religions, and in Protestantism.
Another impressive moment at the meeting occurred during the first afternoon with the talk by Cristina Siccardi, a journalist and writer, recently having become closer to the FSSPX. Her book dedicated to Mons. Marcel Lefebvre, published by SUGARCO, has in fact received numerous favorable and dissenting comments in the Catholic world. To her indubitably belongs the credit for having written the first-ever Italian biography of the great transalpine prelate.
Siccardi related, in a simple, conversational manner that did her credit, her meeting with the figure of Lefebvre. She came to him almost by chance during the course of her research for the publication of a biography of Paul VI. Her curiosity was aroused by the importance Montini attributed to the subject of Ecône in the face of the phenomenon’s relatively inconsistent smallness.
She intended thus to pursue this theme more profoundly and made his acquaintance; notwithstanding the exaggerated media reports, he immediately seemed to her to be a giant of the contemporary Church.
Today, at last, despite publishers’ long-standing silence, it seems that the French prelate has truly begun to interest Italian readers. After Cristina Siccardi’s book—at the Rimini conference of course—there was the presentation of a book “hot off the presses,” published by SUGARCO as well. It is an anthology of unpublished articles entitled quite significantly: I Hand on to You What I Have Received [Vi trasmetto quello che ho ricevuto]. It was also announced that other works dedicated to Mons. Lefebvre were in preparation as well.
The meeting ended with a long interview by Alessandro Gnocchi of Mons. Bernard Fellay. The Superior General of the FSSPX illustrated at length the spread of this religious congregation throughout the world.
As for relations with Rome, he used once more the image often discussed of two waves. The wave of auto-demolition continues on, but when Benedict XVI was elected, another wave, though small, began to attempt progress in the opposite direction.
The greatest problem, the bishop admitted, is that when one is speaking with curial authorities, one never knows if one’s interlocutor is sympathetic or not. Within the Curia an unprecedented struggle is underway.
Mons. Fellay gave some examples in evidence: a German Trappist monastery had written the Pope to ask permission to return to the ancient Liturgy and the ancient rule. Benedict XVI received their request kindly, but the letter of permission never reached its addressees. When a new, different part of the request came to the Pontiff’s attention, he was astonished that the previous letter never arrived.
Cases like this, according to the Superior of the FSSPX, are quite frequent.
He recounted as well that even in the episode of the subdiaconate ordinations of 2009 that were transferred, in an extraordinary move, from Germany to Ecône, the German bishops succeeded in obtaining a declaration by the Secretariate of State that made permission for the ordinations dependent on an integral acceptance of VCII. But with a telephone call, Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos assured Mons. Fellay that that was not the Pope’s understanding.
“Which were we to trust then,” concluded Mons. Fellay, “the official documents or a telephone call from a Cardinal?”
Finally, the bishop commented on the conference given by Msgr. Pozzo at the time of the priestly ordinations of the Fraternity of St. Peter.
He thought certain statements were “interesting” in that, for example, they admitted that the hermeneutic of rupture was already put into operation during the Council and not simply after its conclusion. Otherwise, there was the suggestion of a possibility of correcting certain conciliar texts, but each of these items remains only the beginning of a long process.
Marco Bongi
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