Motu Proprio of Pope Francis, updating norms on criminal matters and administrative sanctions

APOSTOLIC LETTER 

ISSUED MOTU PROPRIO
OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF
FRANCIS

ON THE JURISDICTION OF THE

JUDICIAL AUTHORITIES OF VATICAN CITY STATE

IN CRIMINAL MATTERS

In our times, the common good is increasingly threatened by transnational organized crime, the improper use of the markets and of the economy, as well as by terrorism.

It is therefore necessary for the international community to adopt adequate legal instruments to prevent and counter criminal activities, by promoting international judicial cooperation on criminal matters.

In ratifying numerous international conventions in these areas, and acting also on behalf of Vatican City State, the Holy See has constantly maintained that such agreements are effective means to prevent criminal activities that threaten human dignity, the common good and peace.

With a view to renewing the Apostolic See’s commitment to cooperate to these ends, by means of this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio, I establish that:

1. The competent Judicial Authorities of Vatican City State shall also exercise penal jurisdiction over:

a) crimes committed against the security, the fundamental interests or the patrimony of the Holy See;

b) crimes referred to:

- in Vatican City State Law No. VIII, of 11 July 2013, containing Supplementary Norms on Criminal Law Matters;

- in Vatican City State Law No. IX, of 11 July 2013, containing Amendments to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code;

when such crimes are committed by the persons referred to in paragraph 3 below, in the exercise of their functions;

c) any other crime whose prosecution is required by an international agreement ratified by the Holy See, if the perpetrator is physically present in the territory of Vatican City State and has not been extradited.

2. The crimes referred to in paragraph 1 are to be judged pursuant to the criminal law in force in Vatican City State at the time of their commission, without prejudice to the general principles of the legal system on the temporal application of criminal laws.

3. For the purposes of Vatican criminal law, the following persons are deemed "public officials":

a) members, officials and personnel of the various organs of the Roman Curia and of the Institutions connected to it.

b) papal legates and diplomatic personnel of the Holy See.

c) those persons who serve as representatives, managers or directors, as well as persons who even de facto manage or exercise control over the entities directly dependent on the Holy See and listed in the registry of canonical juridical persons kept by the Governorate of Vatican City State;

d) any other person holding an administrative or judicial mandate in the Holy See, permanent or temporary, paid or unpaid, irrespective of that person’s seniority.

4. The jurisdiction referred to in paragraph 1 comprises also the administrative liability of juridical persons arising from crimes, as regulated by Vatican City State laws.

5. When the same matters are prosecuted in other States, the provisions in force in Vatican City State on concurrent jurisdiction shall apply.

6. The content of article 23 of Law No. CXIX of 21 November 1987, which approves the Judicial Order of Vatican City State remains in force.

This I decide and establish, anything to the contrary notwithstanding.

I establish that this Apostolic Letter issued Motu Proprio will be promulgated by its publication in L’Osservatore Romano, entering into force on 1 September 2013.

Given in Rome, at the Apostolic Palace, on 11 July 2013, the first of my Pontificate.

FRANCISCUS

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[Introduction: communiqué of the Holy See Press Office]

1. Today His Holiness Pope Francis has issued a Motu proprio on criminal law matters.

The power of shame and death - and a civilization built on life

Tomorrow is a Feria. And this means there is once again a chance for us to meditate on the readings of the past Sunday, the Seventh after Pentecost. 

Sunday, the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, and the seventh day of the seventh month, was also the anniversary of Summorum Pontificum. Fr. Richard G. Cipolla's sermon reminds us of all the great heritage we receive from our forefathers in the Faith, founders of our Civilization - a civilization destroyed in its very foundations by sin that is proud of itself, pride that leads to death.

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Sermon for the 

7th Sunday after Pentecost

From St Paul’s epistle to the Romans: But then what return did you get from the things of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death.

Surely one of the seminal works of Western culture is Virgil’s Aeneid, the story of the founding of Rome but also the deposit of Roman ideals and values which became, along with Christianity, the foundation of Western culture. One of the most glorious parts of Vergil’s Aeneid really has nothing to do with Aeneas’ founding of Rome. Book 4 of the Aeneid deals with the passion of Queen Dido of Carthage for Aeneas and its tragic consequences. Dido has sworn a oath to her dead husband that she will never remarry, that she will always be true to the oath she made to her husband to be faithful and true to him even in death. When she meets Aeneas, she is stirred with passion, and in a famous scene she swears to her sister Anna, she swears by the gods that she will never set aside her pudor and embark on an affair with this man-god Aeneas. But she does sacrifice her pudor, and she loses her life.

That word pudor, a classical word that has come into the vocabulary of all the Romance languages. Those of you here who speak Spanish or Italian will recognize this word. Its meaning lies deep in the understanding of the human psyche, and its English translation, which is inadequate, is a sense of shame. For the classical author, to lose one’s pudor, one’s sense of shame, makes one less than human, more of an animal than a man or woman. This very word, shame, is something that is disappearing from our culture, our society. The post-modern man, who is a man who has shed or who is ignorant of the traditional culture, that of the classical Greek and Roman and of its flowering and sacralization in Christianity, has lost his sense of shame. And so he cannot possibly understand St Paul’s words in today’s epistle: Bu then what return did you get from the tings of which you are now ashamed? The end of those things is death. The Latin text here uses the verb erubescere, to blush, and it is this word and the accompanying emotion that shows itself in a physical way, that points to this sense of shame. And this pudor, this sense of shame is deeply biblical. When Adam and Eve sinned in that cataclysmic way, they expressed their shame in a physical way by covering their private parts. Those of you who have seen Massaccio’s fresco of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden have seen the agony of the denial of pudor. When King David is confronted by the prophet Nathan about his murder of Bathsheba’s husband and his act of adultery with her, he is overwhelmed with a sense of shame at what he has done. And he acknowledges his guilt. When the prodigal son in Jesus’ parable realizes what he has done, he is overwhelmed with a sense of shame, and this sense of shame brings him to his moral senses and he returns to his father to ask forgiveness. Notice that in this parable, and in the story of King David, the sense of shame, pudor, is needed for conversion and for seeking forgiveness.

What happens when this sense of pudor is lost or is deliberately forgotten? Then we have a person who lives his life solely to satisfy himself, his needs and his wants. Literature is strewn with such characters. Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina denies her marriage vows to give herself over to her lustful passion for Count Vronsky. And she deliberately denies any sense of shame about her behavior, she rationalizes her betrayal of her marriage vows in the name of freedom and finally, in a terrible realization of her crime, she kills herself. Now Tolstoy wrote this novel as a tragedy, to show how the denial of shame under the guise of a specious freedom must end up in self-annihilation. But what if a society, a culture, denies shame, relegates such an idea and such an emotion to the staid past? That question has great relevance for us today, for indeed we are a culture in which pudor has been set aside, has been denied, and all of this in the name of personal freedom. Remember that the whole concept of pudor requires a sense of the rightness of things, a sense of morality that does not depend on the individual but is grounded in an objective understanding of what is right and wrong, and for the Christian this grounding is in God and his revelation to us. If what I do and how I act and how I relate to people is grounded not in the commandments of God but rather in a personal freedom that knows no bounds except perhaps in what is euphemistically called hurting another person, that all is allowed if no one is apparently hurt, then pudor, that sense of shame, cannot be that natural warning that something is terribly wrong. If I can watch films that border on pornography without shame, or even closer to the truth, if I can watch pornography without a sense of shame—as is the case today in epidemic proportions—then there is no way out of the addiction that feeds the worst of the narcissistic self.

The recent decision of the Supreme Court to annul the Defense of Marriage Act and to rule in favor of same sex marriage could only happen, could only be understood, in a culture where pudor no longer exists and the rights of the individual have no objective context other than the subjective self. When there is no longer a belief in natural law or a belief in revealed moral truth especially as expressed in Judaism and Christianity, then all is possible, and same sex marriage then is possible and makes sense. In the discussions leading to the ruling there was no discussion of the moral issues involved in homosexual unions, there was no discussion of the traditional meaning of marriage. The whole thing boiled down to this perverse understanding of human freedom that has no grounding in the moral law of God but rather solely in an unrestrained understanding of human freedom that is not freedom but license to do whatever I want to do—as long as no one is hurt. This gross sentimentality obviously has relegated pudor, a sense of shame, to quaint novels of the past whose characters were not as enlightened as we are in this present age. This spawns an age in which there are demonstrations against laying new gas pipe lines and laws protecting endangered species of animals and at the same time the condoning of the killing of millions of unborn babies as a right.

In a sense, the genie has been let out of the bottle. But the answer is to not either pretend that this has not happened nor to try to live in some sort of Ozzie and Harriett or Leave it Beaver world, and to force one’s family to live in some sort of bubble that fears the world and tries to create an alternative universe to the one that exists. This is silly and disastrous on many counts. When Jesus sent out the seventy on a mission to prepare his visits to towns and villages, he sent them in haste, carrying no money bags, no sandals, no chatter, say what is necessary, a sense of urgency. And he sent them into a world that was hostile to his teaching and what he asked his disciples to preach: the kingdom of God is at hand, repent, believe the gospel, have faith in Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. The world at that time was in many ways no more ready to believe any of this than in our own time. But the difference is this: that the apostles were preaching something new and true, something that spoke to man’s innermost heart. But today we preach to a world that was Christianized and now whose faith is gone. The gospel is stale news and incomprehensible. The pagan world was at least open to religious talk, it still had a sense of pudor, it still had a sense of objective truth. Our world is hell bent on denying that there is anything to be ashamed of—unless you are caught and even then the shame lasts only as long as people remember and then you can run for mayor of New York. And much of this is due to the inability of the Church, especially those charged with the preaching and teaching of the faith, to convey the gospel message to this post-Christian world. The lack of intellectual clarity and missionary zeal of the past fifty years in the Catholic Church has contributed greatly to where we find ourselves today. And so do we wring our hands and seek solace in our own individual pieties and hope for the best or hope for the second coming very soon? No. We must listen to our own sense of shame that allows us to open ourselves more and more to that grace of God that alone can turn us away from sin and death and to the light of Chist, that converts us ever more deeply in conformity to Christ and his saving work among us. We must be soldiers of Christ in our families, among our friends, we must live our lives in conformity to the truth of God so that we become those lights on the hill in a time of darkness, and all this with no sense of bitterness and fear but rather with joy and hope. And above all, we must worship. We must worship that God who is the very center of being in goodness, in beauty and in truth, and so hasten the transformation of this world begun in the Incarnation of the Word of God in the womb of Mary and launched into eternity by the Resurrection of Christ, God incarnate, and do all of this in wonder, love and praise.

You report: First Mass of diocesan priest at Brooklyn Carmelite Monastery

Reader T. Barboza sends us this report from Long Island - another newly-ordained diocesan priest celebrating a Traditional Mass as one of his First Masses:

Plenary Indulgence for those going to Rio; Partial indulgence for those praying for WYD

The great metropolis between the mountains, the bay, and the South Atlantic will host World Youth Day - and the Apostolic Penitentiary made public today that those going to the city of Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro, and take part in any foreseen activity sometime from July 22 to July 29, may benefit of the plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions. Those legimitately impeded from going may also gain plenary indulgences.

Those not going to Rio may gain partial indulgences if they "pray for the youth to strengthen their faith and lead a holy life," invoking the patroness of Brazil, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception "Aparecida" and ending with the official WYD prayer.

As we reported here, the catecheses and traditional public Masses will be celebrated in Rio's ancient Cathedral (Antiga Sé). If you know a young Catholic going to Rio who is not very much aware of Traditional Catholic practices, you may guide him to traditional activities (times and address here).

"An Act of Parliament, directly oppugnant to the laws of God and his holy Church..."

All which notwithstanding the jury found him guilty, and incontinent upon the verdict the Lord Chancellor [for that matter chief commissioner] beginning in judgment against him, Sir Thomas More said to him,

"My Lord, when I was towards the law, the manner in such case was to ask the prisoner before judgment, why judgment should not be given against him."

Whereupon the Lord Chancellor staying his judgment, wherein he had partly proceeded, demanded of him what he was able to say to the contrary. Who then in this sort mildly made answer:

"Forasmuch as, my Lord, this indictment is grounded upon an Act of Parliament, directly oppugnant to the laws of God and his holy Church, the supreme government of which, or of any part thereof, may no temporal prince presume by any law to take upon him as rightfully belonging to the See of Rome, a spiritual preeminence by the mouth of our Saviour himself, personally present upon the earth, to St. Peter and his successors, bishops of the same see, by special prerogative, granted, it is therefore in law amongst Christian men insufficient to charge any Christian."...

Then was it thereunto by the Lord Chancellor answered, that seeing all the bishops, universities, and best learned men of the Realm had to this Act agreed, it was much marvelled that he alone against them all would so stiffly stick and vehemently argue there against. To that Sir Thomas More replied saying,

"If the number of bishops and universities be so material, as your Lordships seemeth to take it, then see I little cause why that thing in my conscience should make any change. For I nothing doubt, but that though not in this Realm, yet in Christendom about they be not the least part, that be of my mind therein. But if I should speak of those that be already dead, of whom many be now saints in heaven, I am very sure it is the far greater part of them, that all the while they lived, thought in this case that way that I think now. And therefore am I not bound to conform my conscience to the council of one realm against the General Council of Christendom."...

After which ended, the commissioners yet courteously offered him, if he had anything else to allege for his defence to grant him favourable audience, who answered,

"More have I not to say but like as the blessed Apostle St. Paul, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, was present, and consented to the death of St. Stephen, and kept their clothes that stoned him to death, and yet be they now both twain holy saints in heaven, and shall continue there friends for ever, so I verily trust and shall therefore right heartily pray, that though your Lordships have now in earth been judges to my condemnation, we may yet hereafter in heaven merrily all meet together to our everlasting salvation."

William Roper
The Life of Sir Thomas More

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Our regular feature on the Feast of Saints John Fisher, Bishop, and Thomas More - Martyrs. "Deus, qui beatos Martyres tuos Ioannem et Thomam veræ fidei et Romanæ Ecclesiæ principatus propugnatores inter Anglos suscitasti: eorum meritis ac precibus concede; ut eiusdem fidei professione, unum omnes in Christo efficiamur et simus. Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. Amen." Saints John Fisher and Thomas More: through your intercession and in the profession of the same Faith and of the Supremacy of the Holy Roman Church, may all be and remain one in Christ!

"Schismatic sect" update

It truly is amazing that ecumenical niceties suddenly disappear when a certain "schismatic" "sect" is involved. From the official publication of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia (tip C.P.):

The St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in a rural area of Buckingham County is operated by the Society of St. Pius X, a schismatic sect which is not in communion with the Holy See.

Catholics who attend Sunday liturgy there do not fulfill their Sunday obligation and the sacraments offered are not valid in accordance with the Vatican.

There is an element of confusion among some Catholics about the validity of the liturgy and the sacraments at the seminary which opened a year ago.

Father Anthony Morris, pastor of St. Theresa Parish in Farmville, says that his church office frequently gets calls from people, some of whom express excitement, and want to know if the seminary Mass is an alternative to the regular Sunday Mass at a Catholic parish. It is not.

“I have announced it from the pulpit to our parishioners,” Father Morris told The Catholic Virginian.

In addition to St. Theresa’s in Farmville, Father Morris is pastor of the adjacent parishes of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Blackstone, Sacred Heart in Meherrin, and Nativity in Buckingham.

The seminary in Buckingham is affiliated with the Society of St. Pius X, an international sect founded in 1970 by the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

Pope Benedict XVI has declared that, for doctrinal rather than disciplinary reasons, the Society of St. Pius X has no canonical status within the Roman Catholic Church and the ministries exercised by its ministers are not legitimate.

Fine, the largest Catholic seminary being built in America is the work of a "schismatic" "sect" not in communion for "doctrinal" reasons - like the Eastern Orthodox, then. Can we at least grant them the same treatment? From the Decree on Ecumenism of the Second Vatican Council, Unitatis Redintegratio:

There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a change of heart. For it is from renewal of the inner life of our minds, from self-denial and an unstinted love that desires of unity take their rise and develop in a mature way. We should therefore pray to the Holy Spirit for the grace to be genuinely self-denying, humble, gentle in the service of others, and to have an attitude of brotherly generosity towards them. St. Paul says: "I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and meekness, with patience, forbearing one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace". This exhortation is directed especially to those raised to sacred Orders precisely that the work of Christ may be continued. He came among us "not to be served but to serve".

The words of St. John hold good about sins against unity: "If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us". So we humbly beg pardon of God and of our separated brethren, just as we forgive them that trespass against us.

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Well, if those in Buckingham Co., Virginia, wish to find a real Catholic church, they can always travel across the country and visit the Jesuit parish of San Francisco, St. Ignatius:

On Wednesday, June 27, the United States Supreme Court handed down two decisions—on Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Amendment –that eviscerated legal marriage in the United States. The following Sunday thus offered Catholic priests a matchless opportunity to articulate the Church’s definition of what marriage is, and what it is not. Indeed, since the decisions had such civilizational import, such articulation was less an opportunity than an absolute obligation.

One priest did choose to address the issue. At San Francisco’s St. Ignatius Church, the 9:30 AM Mass on Sunday, June 30 was celebrated by the church’s pastor, Fr. Gregory R. Bonfiglio, SJ. But rather than presenting Church teaching to his audience, rather than, for instance, stating the simple truth that properly ordered sexuality leads to the creation of new life, while sodomitical relations lead, as San Franciscans know all too well, to physical death and to spiritual death, Fr. Bonfiglio chose to read a letter written by Fr. John D. Whitney, SJ, of St. Joseph’s Church in Seattle. In the letter, which is titled “Why Am I In The Parade?” and which runs to 1,098 words, Fr. Whitney justified his presence in Seattle’s “Gay Pride” parade. The letter was published in St. Joseph’s June 23, 2013 parish bulletin. Given the content of the letter (Fr. Whitney absurdly equated Church teaching on homosexuality with Old Testament dietary restrictions, and ignorantly repeats the long-debunked assertion that the word “faggot” derives from “faggots” of wood), and the timing of Fr. Bonfiglio’s homily, the Sunday immediately after the legalization of counterfeit “marriage,” the homily can be seen as nothing less than support of homosexual “marriage.”

During Fr. Bonfiglio’s reading of the letter, the Church was eerily quiet. At least one parishioner was seen leaving the church in tears. When queried she said “It’s not his church! It’s the Catholic church! I should be able to just go to Church! I want to go to a Catholic Church!” (Source: California Catholic Daily, via The Curt Jester)

Fr. Cipolla's report on the "Sacra Liturgia Conference"

by Fr. Richard G. Cipolla

[Note: high-resolution images of the conference available here]

Dom Alcuin Reid, Bishop Dominique Rey and the other organizers of Sacra Liturgia 2013 are to be congratulated and sincerely thanked for what turned out to be an important and moving moment in the post-Conciliar traditional movement to restore liturgical continuity and traditional praxis in the post-Summorum Pontificum Church. This writer was most impressed by the high quality of the papers that were presented and by the enthusiasm of the more than 300 participants from every continent and isle. An analysis of the papers will be possible when they are published (we were promised that this would happen quickly).

Setting things straight about the SSPX-Vatican talks:What exactly happened in April-June 2012? A guest article by Côme de Prévigny

A narrative has dominated the news on the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in the past year: those difficult priests did not accept the extended hand of Pope Benedict XVI; hard-hearted people with stubborn demands, they missed the chance of a lifetime. As in the narrative created by news-creators such as John Allen Jr:

Short of standing outside their headquarters in Econe, Switzerland, in the snow and begging forgiveness like Henry IV at Canossa, Benedict XVI did everything possible to heal the split, and yet the society balked. In an Easter letter to friends and benefactors, Bishop Bernard Fellay asserted that Rome has imposed acceptance of the Second Vatican Council as a sine qua non -- a prerequisite, Fellay wrote, "to which we could not and still cannot subscribe."

Many observers believe it's now "game over," at least for the foreseeable future and barring some surprising concession on the Lefebvrist side. (Here's a prediction: Rejection of Benedict's overtures will go down as the "Camp David" moment for the Lefebvrists, comparable to Yasser Arafat turning down a 2000 deal that would have given the Palestinians basically 95 percent of what they wanted.) (Source)

We in Rorate have always stood for the regularization of the SSPX; one of our first editorials defended that "this is the time" for an agreement - and by "the time" we meant not 2006, but the Pontificate of Benedict XVI. Our readers know we have covered more extensively this matter than practically any other online source - even moments ago, on a matter reported on Sunday by the German press.

In April 2012, a probable regularization certainly seemed to be the case, and who can forget the (leaked) letter of SSPX Superior-General Bp. Bernard Fellay to his fellow bishops? On June 13, 2012, what seemed to be a meeting that would set the path for such reconciliation, following the acceptance by the Vatican of the negotiated Doctrinal Preamble, ended in flames as Bp. Fellay and his assistant met a Vatican side that suddenly came up with new demands - more stringent even than those contained in the May 5, 1988 Protocol. Why would the side that always has the upper hand in any Catholic discussion - that is, Rome - do this, that is, raise new stakes near the end if not from an interest to derail any agreement? Who in the Vatican forced the Supreme Authority's hand at the eleventh hour? Why?

We now know that, in the middle of Vatileaks (which were also made public at around the same time), the Pope's position gradually became untenable. We know that because of what would happen on February 11, 2013. We know now that his isolation, always present throughout the Pontificate, had become critical since the explosion of Vatileaks in the heart of the Pontifical Apartments - that Francis (rightly, it seems, considering what happened with his predecessor) has refused as his living quarters. And we can presume that the pressures on the Pope reached unbearable levels. Truly unbearable.

We asked our friend Côme de Prévigny to present a brief history of those decisive months: something happened in the Vatican between April and June 2012 that created the need for unprecedented demands, more stringent even than the contents of the 1988 Protocol; the "stubborn SSPX" narrative, regarding what took place in June 2012, is simply unsustainable.

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One year later

by Côme de Prévigny

Over one year ago, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith delivered to the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) a document presenting three necessary conditions for the canonical recognition of the work of Abp. Lefebvre, a famous document that should put an end to several years of discussions.

Some weeks earlier, the entire press indicated that the regularization of the SSPX was certain. Andrea Tornielli, the famous Italian Vaticanist, predicted: "In May should be reached the end of the road leading the Society of Saint Pius X, founded by Abp. Lefebvre, to full communion with Rome." Henri Tincq, a journalist with Le Monde, not known for any indulgence with the traditional cause, has covered religious news for decades. According to him, it was merely a matter of days: "the imminence of an agreement that should be signed between the Vatican and the Society of Saint Pius X, the stronghold of integrist Catholics, is not in doubt anymore." On April 19, his fellow journalist Bernadette Sauvaget, of Libération, wrote: "Since Tuesday, some Vaticanists have affirmed that agreement has been reached." All the echoes emanating from the Pontifical Apartments allowed for the confirmation, without much second-guessing, that the doctrinal declaration proposed by Bp. Fellay had been accepted by the Pope and already the most hostile observers considered that Rome that conceded all ground to "the Integrists". On the side of the Society, however, the expectation remained realistic, by insisting on the fact that the roadmap remained uncertain. Several relevant points, both doctrinal and canonical, remained open to clarification and the discussions were not yet over.

The text sent back to Rome was a declaration dated April 15, 2012, proposed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and revised by the Superior General of the SSPX. In its great lines, it was a copy-paste of the May 5, 1988, Protocol of Agreement that Abp. Lefebvre had rejected not due to its doctrinal basis but because of its context (the points related to the Roman Pontiff or to the new Code of Canon Law are the same, for instance). The document negotiated twenty-four years later had its weaknesses, and its progresses that counterbalanced, on the other hand, those same weaknesses. For instance, the text speaks of conciliar formulations that are "not reconcilable with the previous Magisterium of the Church", while the 1988 Protocol was limited to saying that they are "reconcilable with Tradition only with difficulty". There were the document signed by Abp. Lefebvre indicated "a positive attitude of study and of communication" regarding the Council, the one that Bp. Fellay had written was stronger because it neutralized any "interpretation of these affirmations that may lead to present Catholic doctrine in opposition or in rupture with Tradition and with this Magisterium". Whatever the case may be, this counterproposal was presented, and it was said in the Roman halls that it would open the path to an imminent recognition. In order to prove that the search for unity begun by the founder was not seen as an optional point, the Superior General of the SSPX did not fear the public criticisms of his British confrere or the rebellious attitude of a friendly religious community.

However, the June 13 meeting three new points were superposed to these exchanges, which would, in a few hours, ruin the process begun many months earlier. Among these conditions was to be found the recognition of the continuity of the conciliar texts in relation with the preceding Magisterium, which contradicted the doctrinal declaration that mentioned, on the contrary, their non-reconcilable character. Moreover, the authorities introduced the need to recognize the "liceity" of the new mass, a new term that had been, it was known, the object of bitter debates. This had never been demanded, neither in 1988, nor of the different institutes regularized up to that moment. These new demands left the impression that there was a desire to interrupt the process very elegantly as well as suddenly, by the introduction of inadmissible points.

What were the motives for this about-face that was sudden and that was incongruous with the attitude adopted by Benedict XVI for so many years? Undoubtedly, the influence of certain heads of dicasteries strongly opposed to this recognition, as well as specific diplomatic pressures, had their influence on the inclination of the pope. A few months later, the latter resigned from his position in the stormy context of the Vatileaks. As a French university professor rightly remarked recently, these leaks have ceased as if by magic since pope Ratzinger stopped presiding over the fate of the Church. Does this mean that the dossier of relations between Rome and the SSPX is dead and buried and that the Traditional world will relive those days of silence that were the 1990s? It is true that Benedict XVI was very close, personally, to the matter. Nevertheless, the restart of relations in the early 2000s took place in the pontificate of John Paul II. In France, in any event, the Society of Saint Pius X had, on the ground, obtained more for its local pilgrimages from bishops supposedly far from it than from those considered conservative. Bp. Perrier, of Lourdes, opened for years his shrines, lending liturgical objects and ornaments, while the diocese of Versailles, governed by Bp. Aumônier, who knew Abp. Lefebvre well in the early years of his priestly life, never granted anything to the work that the latter founded.

Beyond these considerations, the dynamics of the traditional movement, invigorated by the liberation of the Mass and the lifting of sanctions affecting the bishops of the Society, will increasingly make clear the unavoidable character of Traditional groups. Ignoring them now seems hardly tenable.

CDF Prefect wants to break all contact with the SSPX?

German weekly FOCUS reports this Sunday that Archbishop Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, wants to break contact with the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX). A statement to that effect is about to be published, according to a source of FOCUS within the CDF.

The reason for ending contacts with the SSPX is the recent declaration of the three SSPX Bishops, in which they not only criticize the texts of Vatican II, but also the Magisterium, "a magisterium resolved to reconcile Catholic doctrine with liberal ideas". Furthermore, they state that the church is "imbued with this liberal spirit which manifests itself especially in religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality and the New Mass."

According to FOCUS's source, the reaction of Archbishop Müller was: "That's it!" ("Jetzt reicht's!", i.e., "enough!")

(Tip: Reader; First source: Focus; Second source: Pius.info)

Rorate note: what exactly happened one year ago, anyway? What caused the unbelievable turn between April and June 2012? We will try to explain it in a specific post on the matter.

WYD Rio: an all-traditional experience in a beautiful church

Juventutem Niteroi (based in Niteroi, the city across the bay from Rio) sends us the link to the program of Traditional masses and activities in Rio de Janeiro during World Youth Day, all based in the former Cathedral of the city - Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo da Antiga Sé (Our Lady of Mount Carmel of the Ancient See - address), under the guidance of the Apostolic Administration St. John Mary Vianney.

If you know young men and women going to Rio, especially those who may not have experienced a traditional mass before, or priests who are going to World Youth Day for any reason, please keep them informed of these activities.

Tuesday, July 23rd / Terça, 23 de julho

3pm - Missa cantata

Wednesday, July 24th / Quarta, 24 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

6pm -Solemn Pontifical Mass / Missa Pontifical Solene (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

Thursday, July 25th / Quinta, 25 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

3pm - Missa cantata

Friday, July 26th / Sexta, 26 de julho

9:30am - Catechesis / Catequese (S. Ex. Revma. Dom Fernando Arêas Rifan)

10am - Missa cantata

3pm - Missa cantata

Another reader informs us that the side altars of the Church are ready to be used for Low Masses by all priests willing to do so - minor details of vestments and other items could be arranged with the staff that will be present there. Confessions will be widely available there and certainly Low Masses will also be available on the days preceding and following the main days, as well as public liturgical hours - there should be more information on the spot.

Six yearsMemento etiam, Domine...

Iam enim hiems transiit;
imber abiit, et recessit.
Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra;
tempus putationis advenit:
vox turturis audita est in terra nostra;
ficus protulit grossos suos;
vineæ florentes dederunt odorem suum.

______________________________________

The beautiful words of that great French hero of the Traditional Mass, Jean Madiran, who lived to see the miracle, remembering the names of some who died in the battlefield:

"For thirty seven years, a whole generation of militant Catholics, religious or lay members of the Militant Church (a generation reaching from 7 to 97 years of age) suffered, without giving in, openly defying the arbitrary interdict on the Traditional Mass. We think of our dead: Cardinal Ottaviani, Father Calmel, Father Raymond Dulac, Monsignor Renato Pozzi, Monsignor Lefebvre, Father Guérard. And, among the laymen: Cristina Campo, Luce Quenette, Louis Salleron, Eric de Saventhem. The pontifical goodwill is for them as a light breeze, which sweetly brings peace to their tombs. Wherever they are now, they do not need it anymore. But it is their memory amongst us which is appeased and elevated."

And also: Bishop Castro Mayer, Father Gamber, Michael Davies, Tito Casini, and so many, many others (priests, laymen and laywomen- God knows their names!), each of whom placed his own brick, large or small, in the great dam built for decades against the tumultuous tides of the late twentieth century. Thank you, thank you, thank you dearly! The heat of the battle has caused so much personal attrition, exaggerations, and misunderstandings... Yet, justice cannot be denied: gratitude is owed to those who did not live to see, on this earth, the glorious date of July 7, 2007.

___________________

Reposted - Adapted.

Celebrating six years!

Six years after the promulgation of Sumorum Pontificum, Traditional Masses continue to multiply far and wide. It is for that reason that I always take the occasion of Summorum’s anniversary to ask our readers to make a visit to WikkiMissa to check the information on the Masses that they attend in order to insure that everything is up to date. For those not familiar with it, WikkiMissa is a France-based, user-editable directory of Traditional Masses offered around the globe - and a very influential commodity for bringing people to those Masses. As Masses appear at an ever-increasing rate, WikkiMissa’s role becomes more vital and it is up to all of us to help it do its job. It is accessible in eight languages so feel free to inform friends in far-away places of its existence if they are not already aware of it. For the Masses in your own area, please verify the times and days of the week that they are offered as these sometimes change from one year to the next. It is also important that addresses and telephone numbers are provided accurately for the benefit of those who travel. No one wants to spend upward of an hour in a foreign country going to a place where a Mass is supposed to take place only to learn that it has been cancelled that week because of an unforeseen circumstance.

Also, this year I’d like to ask everyone to check the WikkiMissa for Masses in your area that you don’t attend but that you could “visit” on one or more Sundays. Many of us who have a Mass right in our own parish or at a nearby chapel tend to become isolated. We feel that we are being served and we become a little bit too satisfied with that situation. Many people spend hours on the road each and every Sunday to get to Mass. If you have the luxury of attending Mass within a half hour from your home, perhaps one day you could make an effort to go to a neighboring Mass either across town or in a nearby community. Be sure to introduce yourself, tell people where you traveled from, and invite them to come to your own Mass when they have the opportunity. It may do wonders for small Mass communities who are trying to establish themselves and could use the moral, if not practical support of those who are well-founded. One thing that seems to lack among those who practice the Traditional Rite is a semblance of community above and beyond that within our own individual parishes and chapels. I think all would agree that waiting for our dioceses or bishop’s conferences to provide it is not a great plan. It is up to us to start making meaningful connections.

      

Finally, I’d like once again to thank Emmanuel who owns and maintains WikkiMissa for providing this valuable resource.

Why Summorum Pontificum has a future

And this little boy is but one of many!


 

In Ireland, celebrating the 6th anniversary of Summorum

His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke will offer a Pontifical High Mass at Ss. Peter and Paul Church in the Diocese of Cork on Sunday, July 7, 6th anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, at 11:30a.m. 

Or perhaps it's not too late, while he's in the country, for there to be a Mass of Reparation for the grave scandals caused over and over by the Redemporists of Limerick (see here and here). These Clown Masses, public trashing of the Traditional Latin Mass, and the Redemptorists allowing open homosexuals to preach "homilies" from the pulpit about their "lifestyles," surely could use His Eminences' prompt attention.

You Report: a First Mass in Croatia

Congratulations to Croatia! No, not because it became the 28th member of the European Union this week, but because one of the (not many) priests ordained this ordination season in that nation decided to celebrate a Traditional Mass as one of his First Masses. Reader Tomislav Pejkovic reports from Zagreb:

Rev. Fr. Marko Tilosanec celebrated his First Traditional Mass as a Missa Cantata. Everyone practiced a lot, both the servers and our little choir. As you can see, the sanctuary is really small especially with the new altar blocking the way, but it seems they did everything very well for a first time.

As you might know, we do not have any traditional priestly societies in Croatia and when we started with Mass in February 2011 Rev. Fr. Vitkovic, who was asked by Cardinal Bozanic to initiate it, taught himself how to say the Mass. We also never have incensation so it was a new experience on multiple levels.

Congratulations to Fr. Tilosanec, and many, many decades of fruitful ministry! 

Note: If you wish to see how widespread the TLM landscape has become in the past 6 years, following the publication of Summorum Pontificum by Benedict XVI, just visit our You Report series of posts. And, if you wish to send us your report from anywhere on earth, please contact us with a short report and images. Thanks to Mr. Pejkovic.

Live - Masses, Vespers, Concerts in an exclusively Traditional Conference

Just a reminder: LiveMass.org is broadcasting live the Masses, Vespers and Sacred Music concerts of the First Summorum Pontificum Congress, held by Una Voce México and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) in Guadalajara - including at this exact moment. All liturgical acts are of the Traditional Roman Rite - making it a truly traditional conference.

The schedule and further information are available in our previous post.

TLMs around the world

The Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society is blessed with 32 priests saying TLMs for the enrolled Souls. Here are two, in very remote areas. 

Pictured above is Fr. Kevin Cusick, who writes often here and here. Fr. Cusick is in Alaska for a couple of weeks training as a reservist Navy Chaplain and saying Mass for the Souls. Fr. Charles Johnson, also of the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps, is pictured below saying his last TLM for the Souls in Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck (a Royal Navy officer served the Mass). It is not possible to find more masculine examples of Holy Mass. 

Priests: The Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society."

Official: Pope Francis will canonize John XXIII and John Paul II

The first Pontiffs to be canonized since Saint Pius X, in 1954.

From today's Bollettino:

Il Sommo Pontefice ha approvato, infine, i voti favorevoli della Sessione Ordinaria dei Padri Cardinali e Vescovi circa la canonizzazione del Beato Giovanni XXIII (Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli) e ha deciso di convocare un Concistoro, che riguarderà anche la canonizzazione del Beato Giovanni Paolo II (Carlo Giuseppe Wojtyła).

Is there a Pope that links all three? Yes, the one who beatified and canonized Sarto, who made Roncalli a cardinal and who named Wojtyła bishop. Pope Pacelli's cause is gathering dust somewhere.

Encyclical Letter Lumen Fidei

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

LUMEN FIDEI

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

FRANCIS

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

CONSECRATED MEN AND WOMEN

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON FAITH

______________________

THE LIGHT OF FAITH: this is how the Church’s tradition speaks of the great gift brought by Jesus. In John’s Gospel, Christ says of himself: "I have come as light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness" (Jn 12:46). Saint Paul uses the same image: "God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts" (2 Cor 4:6). The pagan world, which hungered for light, had seen the growth of the cult of the sun god, Sol Invictus, invoked each day at sunrise. Yet though the sun was born anew each morning, it was clearly incapable of casting its light on all of human existence. The sun does not illumine all reality; its rays cannot penetrate to the shadow of death, the place where men’s eyes are closed to its light. "No one — Saint Justin Martyr writes — has ever been ready to die for his faith in the sun".[1]Conscious of the immense horizon which their faith opened before them, Christians invoked Jesus as the true sun "whose rays bestow life".[2] To Martha, weeping for the death of her brother Lazarus, Jesus said: "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" (Jn 11:40). Those who believe, see; they see with a light that illumines their entire journey, for it comes from the risen Christ, the morning star which never sets.

Pope consecrates Vatican City to St. Joseph and St. Michael the Archangel...

...on the occasion of the dedication of a monument to St. Michael, in front of the Governatorate of Vatican City State, following up on a decision that had been taken by his predecessor. Both the Pope and his Emeritus were present. Vatican Radio has a summary: "Following a brief ceremony, Pope Francis addressed those present noting how St. Michael defends the People of God from its enemy par excellence, the devil. He said even if the devil attempts to disfigure the face of the Archangel and thus the face of humanity, St Michael wins, because God acts in him and is stronger."

The whole text of the Holy Father's beautiful short address in Italian is available here.

Event: Pontifical Mass for the Feast of Mt. Carmel in Newark, NJ

A traditional Pontifical Mass at the faldstool by His Excellency, Arthur Serratelli, Bishop of Paterson, New Jersey, will take place at Noon on July 16.

   

The music at Mass will include the Messe Solennelle by Louis Vierne (1870-1937), the renowned blind composer who, during most of his career, was principle organist of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, as well as motets by Franz Schubert and Tomas Luis da Victoria and traditional Italian hymns in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

Most of the servers will be coming from the Church of the Holy Innocents (NYC), and most of the Sacred Ministers will be from the Archdiocese of Newark. 

(h/t reader)

Event: NYC Traditional Latin Mass Pilgrimage - East Harlem

Submitted to Rorate by Mr. Patrick O'Boyle:

New York City Second Annual Traditional Latin Mass Pilgrimage to the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem

On Saturday July 20, 20012, at 11 a.m., there will be celebrated at the Shrine Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem, New York, a Solemn High Traditional Latin Mass at the altar of the Pontifically Crowned Madonna on the occasion of the second annual pilgrimage being made that day by faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite. The Rosary, Litany of Loreto and Solemn Benediction will follow at 3:30 p.m.

On clerical homosexuality and the desire to modernize the Church: a perspective from Greece

The following passage comes from an article (simply titled Περί ὁμοφυλοφιλίας or "On Homosexuality") originally posted  last month on the official website of the Greek Orthodox Eparchy of Kifisia, Amoros and Oropos and translated into English by John Sanidopoulous of the "Mystagogy" blog. (The Passion of Homosexuality According to St. John Chrysostom.)

Emphases are Rorate's. 

It is understood that in the circle of priests homosexuality is unthinkable. Even the simplest carnal sins are obstacles to the Priesthood. The Saints of our Church believe that even the smallest hair in the eye of a person causes tingling and pain and it takes many tears to remove it from the eye. So also the candidate for the clergy, and much more the active clergyman, cannot rest in his priestly ministry, but is tormented and suffers, if there is the slightest carnal sin.

Homosexuality is the heaviest sin, which irrevocably and definitely prevents one entering the Priesthood (and of course the Church does not allow any homosexual to be elevated to the priesthood, even if he has stopped the sin for years). Basil the Great considers homosexuality or lesbianism a beastly sin: "Abusers of themselves with mankind and with beasts, as also murderers, wizards, adulterers, and idolaters, are deserving of the same punishment" (Canon 7 of Basil the Great). Saint Gregory of Nyssa characterizes homosexuality as "unnatural" in his 4th Canon. Saint John the Faster observes in his 19th Canon, according to the compilation of The Rudder by Saint Nikodemos the Hagiorite, the following: "A boy who has been ruined by any man cannot come into the holy priesthood. For although on account of his immature age he did not sin himself, yet the vessel of his body was rent and became useless in connection with the sacred priesthood."

Update: Saint Francis Xavier Mission Trip of the FSSP

We have been asked to spread the word on the FSSP's upcoming mission trip to Lima, Peru, dating back to our first posts last autumn (see here). 

We are now pleased to report that the Fraternity has confirmed they will have a Solemn High Mass at the church of San Marcelo on August 12th at 7:30p.m.

To learn more about the mission or to donate, go here. 

Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society: Seventy-Third Posting of Souls

Below, please find the seventy-third posting of enrolled Souls of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. 

Priests: The Souls still need more of you saying Mass for them! Please email me to offer your services. There's nothing special involved -- all you need to do is offer a weekly or monthly TLM with the intention: "For the Souls enrolled in the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society."

How to enroll souls: please email me at athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com and submit as follows: "Name, State, Country." If you want to enroll entire families, simply write in the email: "The Jones family, Ohio, USA". Individual names are preferred. Be greedy -- send in as many as you wish and forward this posting to friends as well. And please try to follow this formatting strictly. 

Please consider forwarding this Society to your family and friends, announcing from the pulpit during Holy Mass or listing in your church bulletin. We need to spread the word and relieve more suffering souls.

Please pray for the enrolled Souls and the 33 holy priests saying Traditional Masses for the Society:

CELEBRATE THE 6TH ANNIVERSARY OF SUMMORUM PONTIFICUMWatch the Masses of an exclusively Traditional Conference Live on the web - July 5-7

While conferences for the advancement of the liturgy are good, actual traditional conferences are those dedicated exclusively to the traditional rites and uses of the Church, of West and East - not those liturgies younger than the United Nations...

The admirable Una Voce México and the local apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) are promoting just such a conference in the upcoming days in Guadalajara, Jalisco, the Congreso Summorum Pontificum, which promises to be the best liturgical conference of the year in all of North America - and certainly the best in the entire Spanish-speaking world.

The liturgical celebrations of the Conference (Holy Masses and Vespers) as well as the Sacred Music Concerts will all be broadcast live at LiveMass.net. The liturgical and sacred music program is the following (all times CDT, EDT - 1, UTC/GMT - 5)

Friday, July 5

6:15 pm - Vespers

6:45 pm - The arrival of the visiting Relics of the Cristeros

7:00 pm - Solemn High Mass in the Presence of a Bishop - with His Excellency Bishop Juan Humberto Gutierrez Valencia

8:30 pm - Sacred Music Concert

Saturday, July 6

5:30 pm - The arrival of the image of Nuestra Señora de Zapopan

7:00 pm - Solemn Vespers in the Presence of a Bishop - with His Excellency Bishop José Refugio Mercado Días

8:15 pm - Sacred Music Concert

Sunday, July 7 - 6th ANNIVERSARY OF SUMMORUM

12:00 Noon - Solemn Mass Celebrated by His Eminence Juan Cardinal Sandoval Iñiguez

Thanks to Una Voce México and the LiveMass.net staff, in particular Fr. Fryar, FSSP, for the information.

Lessons from the past: They do not want what suits best

[Saint Teresa of Avila] wished for, and asked God in the fervor of her prayers, that as Provincial of Religion [her religious order] be chosen a man of high virtues, and learned, whom she loved [her confessor, the Venerable Jerónimo Gracián Dantisco, greatly esteemed by her]. The Chapter assembled, and another one was chosen. The Saint, with her usual humility, begged the Lord to forgive her if she had erred in that request. His Majesty answered her: "My Teresa, it is certain that what you asked for was what suited best; but the Friars do not want what suits best."

Bernardino Fernández de Velasco y Pimentel, Duke of Frías

Deleyte de la discrecion y facil escuela de la agudeza

1764

Help form a stable group of faithful for the TLM in Mississippi

This is a message to all traditional-minded Catholics in the state of Mississippi: if you wish to help on the formation of a stable group of faithful (a coetus fidelium) for the celebration of the Traditional Mass according to Summorum Pontificum in the state, please contact http://www.unavocemississippi.org/, or their Facebook group "Una Voce Mississippi"; or still just send a message to unavocems@gmail.com.

FSSP European Ordinations 2013 - Photo album

Thanks to the link included in a letter of Father Hubert Bizard, FSSP, to the Confraternity of Saint Peter (via Le Forum Catholique), view here the lengthy collection of images of the European Priestly Ordinations of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP). The new priests are the Rev. Frs. Hubert Coeurderoy, Charles Gauthey, André Hahn, Bertrand Lacroix, and Juan Tomás.

Félicitations!

Lumen Fidei, Encyclical of the Two Popes, to be released on Friday

The Vatican has just announced that Pope Francis' first encyclical, Lumen Fidei ("The Light of Faith"), whose authorship (as admitted by Francis himself) is jointly of the current Pope and his emeritus, will be released on Friday, July 5.