URGENT MATTERThe Pope defends himself;cries against moral lynching of TraditionalistsUPDATED

A letter of Pope Benedict XVI to all Bishops of the world on the removal of the excommunication of the Bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) and on all aspects involving the subsequent problems related to Bishop Richard Williamson is set to be released tomorrow (Thursday). Several Italian news sources provide some excerpts of the letter this morning, and we will provide a translation as soon as possible.

Excerpts:

The letter will announce that the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" will be placed under the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (though, as of this moment, it is not clear if only regarding doctrinal matters). The Pope makes clear for Traditionalists that it is not possible to "freeze" the Magisterial authority of the Church in 1962 - but he also chides those who proclaim themselves to be "great defenders of the Council" but who do not wish to understand that Vatican II carries with it "the entire doctrinal history of the Church".

The Pope is frank with those who proclaim ecumenism, but who do not wish to follow through with it with the Fraternity: "May we consign to utter indifference a community in which there are 491 priests, 215 seminarians, ... 117 brothers, 164 sisters, and thousands of faithful? Should we truly let them drift away from the Church? Are we allowed to simply exclude them, as representatives of a radical and marginal group, from the search for unity and reconciliation?"...

...

"A mishap unpredictable to me was the fact that the Williamson affair was placed above the remission of the excommunication. The discreet gesture of mercy towards the four Bishops, ordained validly but not licitly, appeared unexpectedly as a completely different matter: as a denial of the reconciliation of Christians and Jews, and thus as a repeal of that which the Council had clarified for the path of the Church regarding this matter."

...

"I am saddened by the fact that even Catholics, who in the end should have known better how things stand, considered having to assail me with a hostility ready for attack. For this, I thank even more the Jewish friends who have helped to promptly remove the misunderstanding and to reestablish an atmosphere of friendship and trust."

Some of the concluding words are strong: "The impression is often given that our society feels the need for at least one group to which no tolerance is to be granted; which one may perfectly abuse with hatred. And if anyone - in this case the Pope - dares to approach them, he also loses his right to tolerance and he also may be treated with hatred, with no fears or reservations."

________________________________

UPDATE (1300 GMT): Complete German text (Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). Since the Holy See Press Office has announced that official versions of the letter in Italian, German, French,  English, Spanish, and Portuguese will be made available tomorrow, and since some of the most relevant excerpts were already translated above, we will wait for the official release this Thursday.

Note: We have kept the above link to the version made public by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, but have decided to remove the text from the blog while the official text remains embargoed by the Holy See (until Thursday, 1100 GMT) .

Cardinal Mahony Scandal: Rebukes Holocaust Denier; Remains Silent on Pro-Abortion Catholics

Released March 6, 2009

Washington, DC (6 March 2009) – American Life League is asking Cardinal Roger Mahony if his public ban of a Holocaust-denying bishop signals his willingness to take a similar position on pro-abortion advocates in his own archdiocese and parish.

 

Mahony, head of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, announced March 3 that he is banning Bishop Richard Williamson from any Roman Catholic Church, school, or other facility in the archdiocese for denying certain facts about the Nazi Holocaust.

 

“Since Cardinal Mahony is taking such a strong public position against the Nazi holocaust denier, Bishop Richard Williamson, SSPX, we are hopeful it signals a new attitude towards those who deny and actively support the American holocaust of abortion,” said Michael Hichborn, spokesman for American Life League.

 

Mahony and two officials of the American Jewish Committee signed a commentary that stated, "Holocaust deniers like Williamson will find no sympathetic ear or place of refuge in the Catholic Church, of which he is not — and may never become — a member.”

"Cardinal Mahony's apparent ire regarding one Holocaust denier should provoke him to enforce Catholic Church law when it comes to pro-abortion public figures, that is if he is to consistent," Hichborn stated.

 

“Canon law is clear.  Supporting so-called abortion rights is intrinsically evil, and obstinate persistence in grave, manifest sin requires denial of Holy Communion. For pro-abortion public figures to be allowed to receive Holy Communion is a huge scandal,” Hichborn continued.  “How many people have taken this as a form of silent consent?”

Hichborn is the head of American Life League’s Canon 915 project, directed at encouraging bishops and priests to protect the Holy Eucharist from sacrilege.

“Banning a brother bishop from even entering a church is a serious and extreme step,” said Hichborn. “We are waiting for Cardinal Mahony to take similar measures for those who support the intrinsic evil of abortion.”

[In the picture: Mahony celebrates the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with pro-abortion Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and the rector of the Guadalupe Basilica - Dec. 3, 2006]

_____________________________________________________

RECESS for a few days; urgent news may be posted at any moment.

Lacordaire: "That stream is sanctity"

Assumpsit Iesus Petrum, et Iacobum, et Ioannem fratrem eius, et duxit illos in montem excelsum seorsum: et transfiguratus est ante eos. Et resplenduit facies eius sicut sol: vestimenta autem eius facta sunt alba sicut nix. (From the Gospel for Ember Saturday in Lent and for the Second Sunday in Lent, Matthew xvii, 1-2: "Jesus took Peter and James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart: and He was transfigured before them. And His face did shine as the sun, and His garments became white as snow.")

It is easy for me... to show that Catholic doctrine enjoys a superhuman moral efficacy, even as a consequence of the interaction which it keeps between man and God. ... Now, in virtue of what does Catholic doctrine operate this superhuman transformation in the soul? Is it directly? Is it simply because it says to us, "Be humble, be chaste, be apostles, be brethren"?

Ah..., but everyone says this to us more or less earnestly: there is not a man steeped in pride who has not invoked the humility of others; not a man drowned in sensuality who was not invoked the purity of his victims; not a man who has not invoked apostleship to propagate his ideas, and fraternity to establish his empire! But the ear of man remains closed to those invitations of selfishness, or to those dreams of reason; it listens to them without hearing; it hears, without obeying.

Catholic doctrine would have succeeded no better, if it had spoken to man only of man; if it had proposed to him, as the spring of its action, only his interest, his duty even, and his dignity. To render man humble, chaste, apostle, brother, it has taken its basis outside of him: it has placed it in God.

It is in the name of God, by the power of the relationship which it has created between God and ourselves, by the efficacy of its dogmas, of its worship, and of its sacraments, that it changes within us that corpse which rebels against virtue; that it reanimates it, resuscitates it, purifies it, transforms it, clothes it with the glory of Tabor, and having thus armed it from head to toe, sends it forth into the distress of the world, as a new man, still feeble by nature, but strengthened by God, towards Whom his unceasing aspiration ascends.

It is thus ... that the miracle of our transfiguration is accomplished in Catholic doctrine: humility, chastity, charity, and all the interior elevations which result from these are but effects of a higher virtue giving the movement to all the rest. Without religion, without the interaction of soul and God, the whole Christian edifice crumbles -- consequently, that interaction, which is the keystone of the arch, is efficacious in a superhuman manner, since it bears man above humanity.

...humility, chastity, the charity of apostleship and of fraternity, obedience, penitence, voluntary poverty...are but branches of a single stream. ... There is ... a stream into which merge all those scattered virtues which I have named: and that stream is sanctity.

Henri-Dominique Lacordaire
Conférences de Notre-Dame de Paris (1844)

A Vatican II Momentbrought to you by the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle

Catholics, in their ecumenical work, must assuredly be concerned for their separated brethren, praying for them, keeping them informed about the Church, making the first approaches toward them. But their primary duty is to make a careful and honest appraisal of whatever needs to be done or renewed in the Catholic household itself, in order that its life may bear witness more clearly and faithfully to the teachings and institutions which have come to it from Christ through the Apostles.

Unitatis Redintegratio, 4

Some Australian Bishops seem to be on their way to distort all Sacraments of the Church. For decades, in Queensland, an invalid form of Baptism was tolerated by a local Bishop - until the very late intervention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Now, a "Joint Confirmation" was being planned in New South Wales for next May - Anglican pseudo-confirmations conferred by the local Anglican leader in Newcastle and Catholic confirmations conferred by the Bishop of Maitland-Newcastle. This spectacle of Sacramental confusion was being encouraged by the local Bishop, until the (timely) intervention of the Congregation for Divine Worship. As The Herald reports, "Rome intervened, forcing its cancellation, citing the possibility of 'confusing messages' being given to churchgoers".

A Traditional rising in Cornwall

At Lanherne in mid-Cornwall a part of Pope Benedict’s quiet revolution is occurring. A youthful order is embracing the 1962 liturgical books in their entirety. Even in far-flung Cornwall new shoots are growing fast!

“In a beautiful valley about midway between the small town of St Columb Major and the sea, lies the Teresian Carmelite Convent of Lanherne...”: so begins the little booklet giving the history of this important site in Cornwall, important among other things for its Catholic history, especially its post-Reformation struggles. This former manor house belonging to the Arundell family became home for about 200 years to the Carmelites, (in fact the oldest carmel in England). This carmel had been founded in Flanders at the time of the Reformation. About seven years ago the Carmelite nuns decided to leave Lanherne and move to the Carmel at St Helens to continue their life there. However, they were determined to find a contemplative community who would make sure that Lanherne continued as a place of spirituality and prayer. Divine Providence, as always, provided an answer. The Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate took up residence.

The two orders - The Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate and the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate - have interesting histories. The friars were founded in 1970 and the sisters some years later. Both are now of Pontifical Right and belong to the First Order of Franciscans (it is most unusual for Franciscan nuns to belong to the First Order). For more information about both friars and sisters, it is a good idea to read the brief history of the foundation entitled, Franciscan Legend of the Immaculate, which is obtainable from Lanherne.

The sisters have two branches. The Apostolic Sisters are involved with many and various apostolates in an ever increasing number of countries and the contemplative branch have four houses: two in Italy, one in the Philippines and the fourth at Lanherne. More foundations will follow.

Whereas the Carmelites were an elderly community, the exact reverse is the case at Lanherne. There are twelve sisters at present, most of them in their thirties and forties. The rule is strict - very strict - by English standards: why do the British find discipline so hard to cope with?

Now, of particular interest to Mass of Ages readers, the nuns at Lanherne have been using the 1962 Mass Rite on a daily basis since June 2008. Their chaplain - one of their own Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate - and a US citizen had no prior experience of celebrating the rite but is doing very well with the 1962 Missal. The Conventual Mass is sung daily - the Masses are open to the faithful. The chapel, the most modern part of the building (nineteenth century), is built in the style of Louis XIV, with rich ornamentation, and contains a beautiful altar of Bath stone in the Gothic style: there are three exquisite medallions in the front of the altar representing the Agony in the Garden, the Crucifixion, and the Last Supper; in the niches are finely sculptured figures representing Our Lady, St John the Baptist, St Anne, St Teresa, St Joseph, and the Angel Gabriel. Pillars of marble and alabaster support the base, and the tabernacle, also of alabaster, is surmounted by four beautifully carved angels in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

The chaplain and the nuns have had to learn everything right from the beginning - rites, rubrics, the lot, and this has required many hundreds of hours of learning. They are awaiting the publication and delivery of new Traditional breviaries. I hope that before Easter the full Office (1962) will be in use. This will comprise of Matins (at midnight), and during the day Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, None, Vespers and Compline. The Office will be recited according to the Roman Seraphic Breviary (i.e. Franciscan Rite 1962). This too will mean a huge amount of teaching and learning. Remember, also, the whole office is sung on a daily basis. At present all four contemplative houses are using the 1962 Missal and the two Italian houses are also using the full 1962 Office.

“The first of the seminary priests of Douai to suffer martyrdom in England, St Cuthbert Mayne, is intimately connected with Lanherne”, says the booklet. One of the Arundells riding to Lanherne brought back the crown of the head of the martyr, and 430 years later, this wonderful relic is exposed after Mass every Sunday for the faithful to venerate. What gifts God gives us!

What is happening at Lanherne is perhaps the most important of the restoration work being undertaken in the UK to fully re-establish the 1962 rites. This is the first religious order fully to use the 1962 liturgical books in England and Wales since about 1964. Readers of Mass of Ages will I’m sure want to be involved and kept informed of developments.

How can we help?

1. First and foremost - prayers for the nuns and for all the Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Immaculate. 2. These Franciscans own nothing at all. They depend entirely upon benefactors for their daily living - including all food. 3. Returning to the 1962 rites is costing a good deal of money, particularly in buying expensive liturgical books.

I’m sure that readers and LMS members will want to support this wonderful work which is flowering in deepest Cornwall. Please send your donations to the Reverend Mother, Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate, Lanherne, Newquay, Cornwall TR8 4ER. Cheques should be made payable to the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate. Mother asks me to inform you that all benefactors are prayed for daily and will be sent a copy of the brief history of Lanherne. Please be generous.

The Contemplative Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate issue a monthly magazine entitled De Vita Contemplativa. Although aimed at monasteries and religious generally, it is well worth reading by the laity. Subjects include an editorial, the Magisterium, the Fathers of the Church, Liturgy, the Saints etc. If you would like to receive a copy, then please write to the Reverend Mother at Lanherne (address above).

Mass at Lanherne is offered daily at 8.00 am on all weekdays and at 10.00 am on Sundays and Holy Days.

[The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales]

Picture source: Flos Carmeli

Hindsight is 20/20

From Der Spiegel's interview with the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay:

SPIEGEL: Why did you respond so late to Williamson's crude theses?

Fellay: I confess that I didn't take the situation seriously enough

Wagner Affair over

The Holy Father has relieved the Rev. Mons. Gerhard Wagner from accepting the office of Auxiliary Bishop of Linz (Austria).

Holy See Press Office

Events

1. Father Jonathan Romanoski, FSSP, sends us information about the upcoming International Week of Gregorian Chant in Guadalajara (Jalisco), Mexico:

FIRST INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF GREGORIAN CHANT
Guadalajara, Jalisco, MEXICO. 23-28 March 2009

The Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara and the Gregorian Society of Mexico, A.C., with the support of the International Association for the Study of Gregorian Chant, will hold the “First International Week of Gregorian Chant,” 23-28 March 2009, in the lovely city of Guadalajara, Jalisco. There will be 6 days of cultural activity dedicated to the “sacred music par excellence,” which shall include conferences, recitals, an introductory course with Professor Rafael Martinez, an intermediary course with Dr. Herminio Sanchez de la Barquera, and an advanced course for teachers on semiological interpretation given by Professor Nino Albarota, who recently received an honorary doctorate from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome (PIMS).

Introductory Course: designed for all those who desire to know, value and sing Gregorian chant. It is desirable that they have some knowledge of musical notation. The cost is approximately $110 U.S. (1600 mexican pesos).

Intermediate Course: designed fot those have begun a study of Gregorian Chant, and who desire to go deeper into study of musical style and interpretation. The cost is approximately $135 U.S. (2000 mexican pesos).

Advanced Course: designed for those who have degrees in Music, those with advanced studies in Gregorian Chant, directors of choirs who include or desire to include Gregorian Chant in their repertoire. The cost is approximately $160 U.S. (2400 mexican pesos)

Recitals: All choirs are invited to participate with their Gregorian repertoires in the various recitals which will take place in the metropolitan area. The number of choirs will thus determine the number of recitals.

Conferences: A team of experts will expound the “sacred music par excellence,” to the general public, as well as increase the knowledge and interest of musicians of the Church by this supreme model.

Conditions:

o All courses will be conducted in Spanish, though oral translations may be possible for a group of foreign speakers.
o The cost of the course will include for each participant the course material of each level- a Graduale Triplex, for the Intermediary and Advanced Courses; a Liber Cantualis and a Cantus Selecti for the Introductory Course.
o After having signed up, the participant of the Intermediary and Advanced Courses will receive notice by email of the pieces upon which to work during the courses. The participant will be required to study them, so as to make the most of the class time in the analysis of interpretation. On the day of registry, there will be a brief exam on these pieces which will have to be passed so as to enter the desired course.
o Two concerts are scheduled for two nights- Friday the 27th, and Saturday the 28th. Certificates of particpation will be given, without exception, after the final concert. The participation of all students at both events is required.

For more information please contact:

LCG. José María López Ventura
Presidente de la Sociedad Gregorianista de México, A.C.
sociedadgregorianista@yahoo.com.mx or canto_gregoriano@uag.mx
(52) (33) 3648-8824 ext. 32678.

From the US, 011-52-33-3648-8824 ext. 32678.

To speak with an English speaking representative please contact:
Rev. Jonathan Romanoski
padre.romo@gmail.com
402-403-1783,
skype: “Romanovius”

Angelis suis Deus mandavit de te

[Christ], who did not sin and cannot sin, submits Himself to the test and due to this is able to share in our infirmity (cf. Hb 4, 15). He lets Himself be tempted by Satan, the enemy, who opposed the salvific project of God in favor of men since the beginning. 

Almost in passing, in the brevity of the account [of the Temptation], before this obscure and dark figure which dares to tempt the Lord, appear the angels, luminous and mysterious figures. The angels, the Gospel says, "served" Jesus (Mk 1, 13); they are the counterpoint to Satan. "Angel" means "envoy". Throughout the Old Testament we find these figures who, in the name of God, aid and guide the men.  ...

The angels serve Jesus, who is certainly above them, and His dignity is proclaimed here in the Gospel in a clear, though discreet, way. In fact, even in a situation of extreme poverty and humility, when He is tempted by Satan, He remains the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lord. 

Dear brothers and sisters, we would remove a notable portion of the Gospel if we forgot these beings sent by God, who announce His presence among us and are a sign of Him. Let us call upon them often, so that they may support us in the effort to follow Jesus to the point of being identified with him. 

Let us ask them, in particular today, to watch over me and my coworkers in the Roman Curia, who this afternoon, like every year, begin the week of spiritual exercises. Mary, Queen of the Angels, pray for us!

Benedict XVI

Angelus

March 1, 2009

Galarreta new head of La Reja

Local sources in Argentina confirm that Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, one of the four bishops of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, will run the Seminary of Our Lady Co-Redemptrix in La Reja, Province of Buenos Aires -at least temporarily, as a "Visitator".

The news has also been posted in the website of the excellent Argentinian Catholic publication Panorama Católico Internacional. 

Note: The father of Panorama's editor (Marcelo González) died this Friday: may he rest in peace.

Ecce nunc tempus acceptabile!Ecce nunc dies salutis!

It is most fitting that the Station for the first Sunday in the most solemn season of the year is at the Mater et Caput omnium Ecclesiarum, the Cathedral of the Holy Roman Church, the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior in the Lateran, better known by the secondary patronage under Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. In the primitive days of the Roman Church, before four ferias were added by Saint Gregory the Great (or some other Pontiff in the following decades) to complete 40 days of fasting, the Station at the Lateran, the old palatial basilica on the ancient estate of the Lateran family handed to Saint Sylvester, signaled the beginning of Lent (from the Secret of the Mass: "sacrificium quadragesimalis initii", of the beginning of the Lenten sacrifice).

It is always refreshing for Catholics to see the Traditional Mass celebrated once again in this Mother and Head of all Churches. In early Eastertide, the Traditional Mass will be celebrated at least twice in the Lateran: on April 16 (Thursday), 10 AM, by Father Stefano Maria Manelli, Superior of the Franciscans of the Immaculate, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the Rule of Saint Francis (the Rule of 1209); and, on the anniversary of the City of Rome, April 21 (Tuesday), 10 AM, by His Eminence Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

___________
Source: AGI News Agency.

DECLARATION

The Holy Father and my Superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy.

Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them.

On Swedish television I gave only the opinion (..."I believe"..."I believe"...) of a non-historian, an opinion formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available and rarely expressed in public since. However, the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused. To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said before God I apologise.

As the Holy Father has said, every act of injust violence against one man hurts all mankind.

+Richard Williamson

London, 26 February 2009.

Notes

1. Many in the Vatican see the ongoing battle. Andrea Tornielli in today's Il Giornale:

[In the Vatican], where nonetheless the existence of obstacles and problems is not denied, there are those who are convinced that what is in play in these weeks is a "battle" of greater and deeper dimensions than it may appear from the outside, and that the recent epiosodes themselves [Williamson and Wagner] have strengthened and granted visibility to those who have never forgiven Benedict XVI for having become Pope.

Those same who had spent years portraying Joseph Ratzinger as the "Panzerkardinal", attributing to him a restraining role during the pontificate of John Paul II - a caricature out of History, considering that Ratzinger himself was the one who worked more with Pope Wojtyla, and the latter never accepted the request of retirement repeatedly put forward by the Cardinal - now place once again on him the same stereotyped clichés.

2. The leader of the Traditional Anglican Communion has clarified the rumors about the precise canonical structure which the Holy See may offer them (read previous post). From the official paper of the Communion, The Messenger (tip: Creative Minority Report):

In an interview with Archbishop Hepworth, His Grace agreed to clarify some aspects of these reports for the Messenger Journal as follows:

“It is possible for a church to come into union with the Bishop of Rome, in which case it is known usually as "a ritual church sui iuris - that is a church with its own rite and canonical regulation. There are some twenty-eight of these churches, and they appoint their own bishops by synodical processes, and seek confirmation of the election from the Bishop of Rome.

Much of the Concordat of the Traditional Anglican Communion was designed to mirror the processes of a ritual church, a point noted by some Vatican officials. We have not anticipated that our present application would lead to this sort of structure - most of these rites are descended from ancient churches that have never been part of the Roman or Western rite. Of modern origin, however, are the Personal Prelatures and Apostolic Administrations that are essentially vehicles for specific groups to coalesce around their own episcopate for a particular pastoral reason.

We have taken the advise of those with whom we have been meeting, and not sought any particular structure. We understand that no existing canonical structure might prove appropriate. Since the idea of a Personal Prelature is itself a modern creation, dating only to the late Pope, from a structural point of view the Holy See is open to new forms of community within the Church.

We have simply asked, in the words of our letter, to "seek a communal and ecclesial way of being Anglican Catholics in communion with the Holy See, at once treasuring the full expression of catholic faith and treasuring our tradition within which we have come to this moment."

We have not sought to design something for ourselves. We have asked for the guidance of the Holy See, given the reality of our position and the mind of our episcopate.

We remain in quiet prayer, while growing our Communion in key parts of the world. We agreed, rightly, to allow the Holy See the opportunity to respond to the difficult problems that our letter undoubtedly caused. When there is a reply, I am committed to presenting it to a full meeting of our College of Bishops, and to formal meetings of each of the general synods of our churches that voted to support this initiative."

TLM Update from India

We have received the following update on the TLM situation in India. The author of this piece has long involvement in the Traditionalist movement in India, but has requested not to be named for fear of reprisals from Church authorities. Out of respect for the author of the piece, I have not edited or deleted anything in his message.

Aside from the SSPX Masses, it seems that there are no regular Sunday TLM's in India under diocesan auspices, and only two monthly Masses.

The Catholic Church in India has Asia's largest Catholic hierarchy and, with nearly 17,000 seminarians, has more seminarians than any other country in the world (indeed, more than the entire North American continent). Unfortunately, the traditional Roman liturgy has been all but obliterated in this vast and growing Church. Given the future importance of the Church in Asia to the Catholic Church as a whole, this is a terrible deficiency that needs to be repaired urgently.

In the Archdiocese of Bombay the Indult Mass has been celebrated at Our Lady of Victory Church, Mahim, Bombay, on the first Sunday of the month since January 2001. Initially done by a very senior priest who was ordained in 1956, he had forgotten how to celebrate it and made quite a mess of it. For around a year the Mass was celebrated by pre-1969 priests but thereafter it has been celebrated mostly by a post-1969 priest. Attendance in the begining was 250 but it has reportedly dwindled to around 50. A seminarian who was attending it (and was also promoting the Holy Rosary with a small group in the Bombay Seminary) was victimised by the Archbishop (Cardinal Ivan Dias, now at the Curia), called a Lefebvrist, and his ordination was therefore delayed in 2002 by 3 years during which period he was to have been indoctrinated by a modernist Jesuit. He and 3 others, who had put in 9, 8, 7 and 6 years of study at the Bombay seminary, defected to the SSPX but were told by the SSPX in Australia that as their studies in Bombay was unsuitable for the Catholic priesthood they would have to study 6 years more (to the very same studies which used to be imparted in the Bombay Seminary befire Vatican II). Three of them quit Holy Cross Seminary, Australia, unceremously end 2005/ early 2006 and returned to India after having received assurances from the same archbishop that they would be well-received but they have not been ordained by the Archdiocese of Bombay as yet and have been under observation in three different churches; one of the three reportedly has quit altogether and has gone back to his mother. The fourth in Australia, youngest of the group, was ordained a SSPX priest there on December 27, 2008. Meanwhile Cardinal Dias was moved to Rome in June 2006 and the present Archbishop of Bombay from October 2006 is Cardinal Oswald Gracias.

Testimonies of 3 of the 4 Bombay seminarians who had defected to the SSPX, on the
modernistic teachings imparted by the Novus Ordo Bombay Seminary, were hosted on the SSPX Asia website in 2003/2004 and may be accessed at:

http://www.sspxasia.com/Newsletters/2004/Jan-Jun/Indian_Seminaries.htm
http://www.sspxasia.com/Newsletters/2003/Jul-Dec/Hinduism_at_a_Glance.htm
http://www.sspxasia.com/Newsletters/2003/Jul-Dec/Scandalous_Ecumenism_with_Hinduism.htm

From January 2008 the Motu Proprio Mass, requested by a group of laypersons, is being offered in th Jesuit-run St. Peter's Church, Bandra, in the church loft by a pre-1969 priest, first a 82 year-old priest in the Clergy Home and thereafter by a Spanish Jesuit, also ordained before 1969. Attendance at the start was around 70.The Mass is only on the third Sunday of every month

In Bombay - Bassein the SSPX has 3 Mass locations.

In Goa there was a petition signed by more than 100 persons for the Indult Mass about 12 years ago but the Archbishop referred it to the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council and the Priests Council and both bodies vetoed it.

They have no respect for the dead.

Msgr. Moises Andrade loved the Traditional Latin Mass. Even the Philippines' most-watched evening news show, in reporting his passing, mentioned that he was an expert in the "Latin Mass" and opined that his death was a great loss for the Catholic Church in the Philippines. (The fact that his death was reported on national television was a testament to his stature.)

How fitting, then, that a Requiem Mass according to the 1962 Missal had been scheduled for the evening of February 23, in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, the parish that he had last served.

Except that, at the last moment, the clerics now in charge of the Shrine and the funeral of the Monsignor decreed otherwise. The TLM is no longer welcome in the very Shrine -- dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima! -- where the late Monsignor had given it refuge. It is not even welcome at his own funeral.

The enemies of the Traditional Latin Mass will not stop even at the grave.

To all priests who read this: of your charity, please remember Msgr. Moises Andrade in your prayers and Masses. And if you could, please offer a Requiem Mass for him according to the Gregorian Rite.

No surprise

As already mentioned here and elsewhere:

The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, has accepted the resignation from pastoral oversight of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New York (U.S.A.), presented by His Eminence Card. Edward M. EGAN, in conformity with canon 401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

The Pope has named Metropolitan  Archbishop of New York (U.S.A.) H. E. Abp. Timothy M. DOLAN, up to now Archbishop of Milwaukee. [Holy See Press Office]

Rt. Rev. Msgr. Moises B. Andrade 1948 - 2009

Our esteemed Msgr. Moises B. Andrade reposed in the morning of Monday, February 23 (Manila time). As reported previously on this blog, he had a stroke last Thursday, and he never recovered consciousness.

Even as "Father Moi" lay in the intensive care unit, the Sunday TLM that he had faithfully offered in his parish -- the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima -- was unceremoniously suspended by the priest who took over his duties, even though there was another priest willing to offer it. Pray that this state of affairs will be reversed.

With the passing of Msgr. Andrade, we have lost one of the strongest voices for the Traditional Mass in the Philippines, and perhaps we have lost another parish TLM. There are now only two places under diocesan auspices (down from four as of July last year) in Metropolitan Manila where the faithful can count on the TLM being offered every Sunday -- the Parish of the Lord of Divine Mercy in the Diocese of Cubao, and the Parish of St. Jerome Emiliani and St. Susanna in the Diocese of Paranaque. Of course, the SSPX has a church in Cubao, with two Masses every day.

Pope: "Vatican II: the Pope protects legitimate differences""Pray that storms do not shake the Church"

The Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter also falls on this Sunday, an important liturgical event which underscores the ministry of the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles. The Chair of Peter symbolizes the authority of the Bishop of Rome, called to accomplish a peculiar service for the whole People of God. Soon after the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, the primatial role of the Church of Rome is in fact recognized in the entire Catholic community, a role already recognized in the Second Century by Saint Ignatius of Antioch (Ad Rom., Pref.: Funk, I, 252) and by Saint Irenaeus of Lyon (Ad Haer.III, 3,2-3). 

This singular and particular ministry of the Bishop of Rome was reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council: "Within the Church particular Churches hold a rightful place; these Churches retain their own traditions, without in any way opposing the primacy of the Chair of Peter, which presides over the whole assembly of charity (cfr. S. Ign. Ant., Ad Rom., Pref.) and protects legitimate differences, while at the same time assuring that such differences do not hinder unity but rather contribute toward it." (Lumen gentium, 13).

Dear brothers and sisters, this feast grants me the opportunity to ask you to join me with your prayers, so that I may faithfully accomplish the high responsibility which Divine Providence entrusted me as Successor of the Apostle Peter.

...

[From the greeting to the German-speaking pilgrims:] Let us ask Saint Peter for his intercession so that the bewilderment and the storms do not shake the Church, that we remain faithful to a genuine Faith, keep unity, and live together in charity.

Benedict XVI

Angelus

February 22, 2009

The Sunday in Quinquagesimaand the Chair of Saint Peter

Ecce ascendimus Ierosolymam, et consummabuntur omnia quæ scripta sunt per prophetas de Filio hominis. (From the Gospel for the Sunday in Quinquagesima, Luke xviii, 31: Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things shall be accomplished which were written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man.)

Christianity is as old as the world; for it consists, essentially, in the idea of a God -- Creator, Legislator, and Savior -- and in a life conformable to that idea. Now, God manifested himself to the human race from the beginning under the threefold relation of Creator, Legislator, and Savior, and from the beginning, from Adam to Noah, from Noah to Abraham, from Abraham to Moses, from Moses to Jesus Christ, there have been men who lived conformably with this idea of God.

Three times before Jesus Christ, God manifested himself to men in this threefold character: by Adam, the first father of the human race; by Noah, the second father of the human race; and by Moses, the lawgiver of a People whose influence and existence have mixed them up with all the destinies of mankind.

There exists, however, a fact not less remarkable, namely, that Christianity only started its reign in the world eighteen hundred years ago, with Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ appears to have been the first who brought light into the world. Before him, as Saint John said, "it shined in darkness". But what is the cause of this? How is it that Christianity, vanquished in the world before Jesus Christ, has been victorious in it since his coming? How is it that Christianity, before Jesus Christ, "did not hinder the nations from following their ways", and that Jesus Christ, on the contrary, was able to pronounce that sentence of eternal victory, "In mundo pressuram habebitits, sed confidite, ego vici mundum"?

What new thing is it then that Jesus Christ has accomplished? Is it the sacrifice on Calvary? The Lamb of God that takes aways the sins of the world "was slain from the beginning of the world". ... Is it the Gospel? The Gospel, after all, is but the Word of God, and that word, after many trials, did not change the world. Is it the sacraments? The sacraments are only the channels of grace, and the grace of God, although less abundant, without doubt had not ceased continually to flow to men before Jesus Christ. What new thing, then, did Jesus Christ accomplish? By what means did he secure the eternal duration of the victory obtained on Calvary? 

Listen to his own words, he will say them to you: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against her". This is the work which was to subjugate forever hell and the world, which would everyday renew the Sacrifice of the Savior, maintain and diffuse his doctrines, distribute his grace! ... this Church, "the pillar and ground of the truth"...[is] destined to the universal and perpetual instruction of the human race.

Henri-Dominique Lacordaire
Conférences à Notre-Dame de Paris (1835)

Request for Prayers

The Traditional Catholics of the Philippines request your prayers for Msgr. Moises B. Andrade, who had a stroke last February 19. He has been declared brain dead and is currently on a respirator. We are all hoping for a miracle, but God's will be done!

Msgr. Andrade is the sole Filipino liturgist who has publicly defended the Traditional Roman Rite. He was one of the very few priests who kept the Mass of Ages alive in the Philippines in the period prior to Summorum Pontificum, and prior to his stroke had been the celebrant of one of Metropolitan Manila's three Sunday TLM's. His loss comes at a time when the Traditional Roman Rite is under renewed attack in the Philippines.

CLARITY, AT LAST!

NOTE OF FATHER FEDERICO LOMBARDI, S.I.,
DIRECTOR OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE

Not infrequently, information outlets attribute to "the Vatican", meaning by this the Holy See, comments and points of view which cannot be automatically attributed to it. In fact, the Holy See, when intending to express itself authoritatively, uses particular means and related formats (communiqués, notes, declarations).

Any other pronouncement does not have the same worth.

Even lately, inopportune attributions have taken place. The Holy See, in its representative organs, expresses respect for the civil authorities, who in their legitimate autonomy have the right and the duty of providing for the common good.

Pope: enough with false controversies!

[O]nce again in the Epistle there is a reference to the somewhat gloomy situation of the community of the Galatians, when Paul says, "if you bite and devour one another; take heed you be not consumed one of another. ... Walk in the Spirit"[Galatians v, 15-16]. It seems to me that in this community - which was not on the path of communion with Christ, but of the exterior law of the "flesh" - even controversies naturally arise, and Paul says: "You become like beasts, one bites the other". He thus refers to the controversies which arise there where the faith degenerates into intellectualism, and humility is replaced with the arrogance of being better than the other.

We see well that also today similar things happen, where, instead of entering in communion with Christ, in the Body of Christ which is the Church, one wishes to be superior to the other, and with intellectual arrogance wants to make believe that he knows better. And thus arise the controversies which are destructive, [thus] arises a caricature of the Church, which should be one soul and one heart.

Benedict XVI

Lectio Divina on the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Galatians

in the Seminario Romano Maggiore

February 20, 2009

Argentina expels Bishop Williamson

The most respected Argentinian daily, La Nación, reports:

The Interior Minister [of the Argentine Republic], Florencio Randazzo, announced that the National Migrations Agency "warned Richard Nelson Williamson to abandon the country within a peremptory ten-day period, under pain of having his expulsion decreed".

The order and the respective threat of expulsion are based on a technicality: the Agency affirms that Williamson has "misinformed" the true reason for his presence in Argentina, since he declares to be "an administrative employee" of the Civil Association "La Tradición", when "in fact his true activity was that of priest and director of the Lefebvrist Seminary that the Fraternity of Saint Pius X has in the city of Moreno".

There is only one safe nation for Bishop Williamson now: the United States of America.

What is going on in Linz? (And in Rome?)

Austrian Catholic website Kath.net (see also Catholic Church Conservation) reports that Father Gerhard Wagner, appointed by the Pope Auxiliary Bishop of the second largest diocese in Austria, "has not yet signed the letter asking for the nomination to be withdrawn". Kath.net also publishes an article today in which Bishop Andreas Laun, Auxiliary of Salzburg, concludes that Father Wagner cannot be considered "unsuitable" to be a Bishop - and certainly not because of his declarations.

The silence from the Vatican is deafening. Compare this with the most famous recent resignation from an appointment, that of Archbishop Stanisław Wielgus before his installment as Metropolitan of Warsaw, a resignation reported by the Apostolic Nunciature in Poland and confirmed by the Holy See Press Office on the same day. 

Catechism for Legislators 101

The Pope teaches Madam Speaker:

Following the General Audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Mrs Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage.

His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of its development.

Holy See Press Office

Austrian Bishops in open revolt

And they complain about the "Lefebvrist" Bishops?! "Why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?"

From the statement of the Bishops of Austria, signed and released today:

"4. There were problems of communication also in the recent appointment of an auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Linz. The bishops are aware that Fr Wagner asked the Pope to withdraw the appointment. The theme of Episcopal appointments is therefore important because since the mid-eighties in Austria it has been associated with a number of problems. For many, the controversy over episcopal appointments led to a painful conflict, and they have triggered splits in the church,. It is precisely in this area that sensitivity is most appropriate. There is no question that the Pope is free to appoint bishops. The bishops do not want to go back in time where - as in 1918 - the Emperor alone chose the bishops. Even a 'popular choice' of the bishops would divide the church into parties and conflicts would be inevitable. We bishops are convinced that the procedure provided for in canon law for the selection and the examination of candidates has proved its worth, if this procedure is really followed. Therefore, before the Holy Father takes the final decision, reliable and thoroughly tested basic information must be provided on which he can rely. In Austria in the next few years a number of bishops are to be appointed. The faithful are legitimately concerned that the process of candidate search, examination of the proposals and the final decisions should be carefully undertaken and with pastoral sensitivity are possible. This can ensure that bishops are appointed who are not 'against' but 'for' a local church. We bishops will make every possible effort to support the forthcoming episcopal appointments in the sense of monitoring these procedures in close cooperation with the relevant Vatican offices."

....

"Trusting in God's help, we will overcome the crisis of recent weeks." [Adapted according to original text]

There was no true "crisis", but open revolt against the Pope, inflamed and supported by the shameless Bishops of Austria, first among them the Cardinal-Archbishop of Vienna. If the Pope does not intervene urgently in this case, if a PUBLIC response is not given - since the Bishops of Austria chose to make the matter public - the perception of the authority of the Pope in Europe is finished. The anti-Roman rebellion of the Austrian Bishops is intolerable.

Fellay speaks after the storm

Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, was interviewed by Swiss newspaper Le Nouvelliste after the Requiem Mass celebrated Saturday in Écône (for the souls of the deceased Seminarians).

Monseigneur Bernard Fellay, at what date will you return to the Vatican? 

No date has been set. After the storm that has taken place, we all need to pull ourselves together. 

And the discussions which you accept to have from now on with Rome, are they for soon?

Still for that, no date... but, yes, they will begin. 

Will these discussions take long? Do you have a timetable? 

They could take very long if we consider what has just taken place. Not because of us, but because of the reactions in the entire Church, notably regarding our positions on the Second Vatican Council. The Council included many ambiguous words in its texts in order to attain a greater majority. We pay for this today.  

The texts are not clear, and there is a multitude of different interpretations which are accepted within the Church. If we do not desire the collapse of the Church, clarifications on this Council, which wished itself to be pastoral and not dogmatic, are urgent. John Paul II already said in 1982 that heresy had spread abundantly within the Church. We are thus glad that Rome speaks of necessary discussions with us to deal with foundational questions. 

But Benedict XVI already has a precise interpretation of Vatican II. 

In the audience which he granted me in 2005, he told me that the only possible interpretation of Vatican II was that which followed the criterion of the living Tradition. On December 22 of the same year, he clearly condemned the hermeneutic of rupture with the Church's past. But this is very vague and wide. It is necessary to expound on it. 

The pope has accomplished a great step towards you, but one has the impression that he finds himself somewhat alone, disregarded by a number of bishops who apparently do not want you in the Church. 

At a moment on which we speak of a return to full communion, the Pope is effectively, perhaps, asking himself who, between certain bishops and ourselves, is closer to him. 

By way of the motu proprio on the ancient Mass and of the removal of the excommunications which weighed on you, Benedict XVI made spectacular and unilateral gestures. But what will be your gesture? A

We have already responded by affirming our desire to follow, with a positive state of mind, the path of discussions indicated by the Holy Father. But we do not with to do so precipitously. When we march on a minefield, prudence and moderation are necessary.  

You have, nonetheless, the hope of reaching a doctrinal consensus with the Pope... 

That seems difficult. True, we have the impression that he is close to us on the liturgical question. On the other hnd, he believes very deeply in the innovations of Vatican II. 

It will be necessary to see what part of the divergences are due to different philosophies. A serious discussion demands a minimum of confidence. 

In order to establish a more serene climate, we precisely asked Rome for gestures, wherefore the removal of the decree of excommunications. We now hope that this work brings to the whole Church greater doctrinal clarity. There are, in effect, too many ambiguities in the Second Vatican Council. 

You are all the samer conscious that it will be asked of you to accept Vatican II. 

Which has just been strongly reaffirmed in the note of the Secretariat of State of February 4, 2009. But the Holy See cannot grant to the Council a greater authority that [the Council] did not wish to grant itself. 

Well, it has not wished to commit to infallibility, it remains on a much lowere degree if authority. It will never be a super-dogma and it should always be viewed according to the perspective of the cosntant Magisterium of the Church. Neither faith nor Chuch begin at Vatican II. 

And if you move towards Rome, do you fear a division at the interior of the Fraternity? 

Not much, but it is always possible. There could be such a risk if we sought from Rome a purely canonical agreement, and not a solution which concerns the foundation of the problem, which is the doctrinal and moral crisis within the Church. But that is not the case.  

And, finally, Mgr Williamson, to whom you asked for declarations, in a "reasonable" time, on the question of the Shoah?  

He is studying the matter, and he will fulfill his responsibilities. But it is necessary to give him time, because he wants to study the matter seriously to give a sincere and true response.