Clarification on Celibacy/Anglican Use Issued by Vatican

The Holy See's Press Office has just issued a clarification regarding the celibacy issue and the new structures, "ordinariates", being erected for the reception of traditional Anglicans into the Catholic Church. This clarification contains a portion of the yet to be released Apostolic Constitution, as well as a statement by the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, William Cardinal Levada.

This is in response to a number of news articles printed in Italian newspapers, reported here at this blog a few days ago. Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale reported that the reason for the delay in the publication of the new Apostolic Constitution was due to controversy regarding a permament dispensation of celibacy in the new Anglican use ordinariates. Tornielli reported that future priests of the ordinariates would have to be celibate, contrary to statements made by Rt. Rev. John Hepworth, the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion. Hepworth indicated in an interview that the dispensation from celibacy would be a permanent provision of the new Anglican structures.

Cardinal Levada in today's press release states: "Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation [that the document is being held up due to controversy regarding the dispensation from celibacy]."

Cardinal Levada goes on to reveal a portion of the working draft for the new Apostolic Constitution that clarifies any doubt in the matter regarding the dispensation from celibacy. This is currently from Article VI of the new Apostolic Constitution:

§1 Those who ministered as Anglican deacons, priests, or bishops, and who fulfill the requisites established by canon law and are not impeded by irregularities or other impediments may be accepted by the Ordinary as candidates for Holy Orders in the Catholic Church. In the case of married ministers, the norms established in the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI Sacerdotalis coelibatus, n. 42 and in the Statement "In June" are to be observed. Unmarried ministers must submit to the norm of clerical celibacy of CIC can. 277, §1.

§2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.

These paragraphs from the new Apostolic Constitution essentially say that ALREADY married deacons, priests and bishops will be eligible for ordination to the Catholic priesthood, and that this dispensation is not intended to be a permanent provision for the Anglican Use ordinariates. Levada goes on to comment that this is in conformity with already existing measures that admit married Anglican clergy to the Catholic priesthood on a case by case basis.

Cardinal Levada, however, goes on to state: "With regard to future seminarians, it was considered purely speculative whether there might be some cases in which a dispensation from the celibacy rule might be petitioned. For this reason, objective criteria about any such possibilities (e.g. married seminarians already in preparation) are to be developed jointly by the Personal Ordinariate and the Episcopal Conference, and submitted for approval of the Holy See."

The parenthetical seems to limit these petitions to current seminarians who are already married, but it, along with paragraph 2 from the working draft of the Constitution, does open the door for further dispensations in the future.

The whole press release can be read here.

Several Excellent Methods: Five

Several Excellent Methods of Hearing Mass

By Lady Lucy Herbert

The Second Design our Lord had in the Institution of the adorable Sacrifice of Holy Mass was, that it should be a perpetual Sacrifice of Thanksgiving, which might worthily acknowledge all the divine Favours and Benefits, and render Him answerable Thanks.

The Divine Majesty continually bestowing new favours upon us, we ought likewise every moment to offer Him a sacrifice of thanksgiving, which duty Christ knew was impossible to us; and therefore He fulfills that obligation for us, to His eternal Father, by means of Holy Mass (in which consists its greatest advantage); and that in an infinitely more perfect manner than all the Saints and Angels could do during the whole eternity.

For this end we ought to assist at Mass that we may thereby render infinite thanks to Almighty God for all the favours we daily receive, since all we are, or have, is His gift to us; and as if that were not yet enough, He has, as it were, drained His greatest treasure which is of an infinite value, and has given it to us; to wit, His only Son, for which none but Himself can render worthy thanks.

We should therefore, by necessity, have remained ungrateful, had we not had His only Son, who He has made ours, by giving Him to us, that we may present Him in return for all benefits received.

When our Saviour instituted this adorable Sacrifice, the Evangelists observes, that He first rendered thanks to His eternal Father. This is what He continues to do daily on our altars. He there, in our behalves, renders due thanks for all God’s favours, and as much as He deserves; for it being the thanksgiving of a God, it can be no less than infinite: and therefore God can neither possibly receive, nor exact greater.

It follows then, that by assisting devoutly at Mass, and uniting our hearts and will with that of Jesus, we by Him and with Him render thanksgiving to God, which is infinite and worthy of Himself.

Though we should have been upon knees, from the first moment of our lives to the last of our days, employed in thanking Almighty God, with all imaginable fervour for all His benefits, and that all souls, both in heaven and earth, should have joined with us, yet we should not so worthily have thanked His Divine Majesty, as we do by hearing Mass devoutly.

What a comfort ought this to be to us, and with what joy ought we to assist thereat; since by it we can worthily acknowledge, and render those thanks to God which are due to Him for all His mercies to us.

Let us then, with all possible reverence, offer this great Sacrifice in thanksgiving for all favours received, both spiritual and corporal, for the best means to obtain new favours, is to be grateful for them we have received. And nothing being more proper for acknowledgment than the Sacrifice of Holy Mass, we may offer it for that intention, using the following method.

A Method of
Hearing Mass,
When we consider it as a Thanksgiving Sacrifice.

At the Beginning.

Having placed yourself in the presence of God, and made an act of contrition, represent to yourself the angels and saints surrounding the Throne of God, and continually singing the canticles of praise and thanksgiving to the glory of their benefactor, recounting therein, and extolling His innumerable benefits. Join yourself in spirit with them, and render the best thanks you are able for all those you have received.

Affections.

Being wholly incapable, my God, of rendering the thanks I owe you, I offer you all those that are paid you by the blessed in heaven; begging you will please to receive them in acknowledgment of all your infinite mercies to me. The multitude of your favours are so many, and each so great, that I can neither reckon their number nor conceive their excellence. And though I should conceive that infinite love and charity which moved you to bestow them; where should I find terms worthy to praise and thank you for them? All I can say is, that they infinitely surpass whatever I can conceive of express; but will the acknowledgment of my insufficiency suffice?

Alas! without the help of your dear Son, I could have gone no further; but since He has been pleased to make Himself man, and give Himself to us, to be the victim of our sacrifice, I have the comfort, by offering Him to your Divine Majesty, to acknowledge all your benefits worthily; for that end receive Him then from your unworthy servant.

My dear Redeemer, you having served me as a victim to offer, be now for me as High-Priest, and in offering yourself offer me also, and as a member of your mystical body, and the purchase of your blood, to labour the rest of my days for the divine glory.

At the Offertory of the Bread and Wine.

The Bread and Wine which is offered, may put you in mind of God’s temporal benefits bestowed upon us, for which you may begin to thank Him.

Affections.

O my God, the Author of my being! I am indebted to you for the life you have given; or, to speak more properly, which you hourly give me; since if you did not each moment conserve me I should return to nothing. On every side that I turn me I see and enjoy your benefits. All you have made, you have made for my use. Add to this, the evils you have hindered from falling upon me, and the dangers you have drawn me out of: For all which I can never sufficiently thank you. The least I can do in return, is to resolve that for the remainder of my life I will make use of all your benefits to increase your glory; for which I beg your grace: And if I am not so happy as to give my life for you who are the Author of it and all I have, at least I may thus do it, by abstaining from all you forbid, and exactly performing all you command.

My sovereign Redeemer and High-Priest, who has paid the price of what I ask, give it me then, with a heart conformable to yours, which may truly and constantly love you, with such a love as may best acknowledge yours to me; which love you only can bestow, and which through your sacred merits I beg.

At the Consecration and Elevation.

Here consider those infinitely greater benefits which God has bestowed on you in your redemption, and return most humble thanks for the same. Consecration representing the incarnation of our Saviour, who descended from heaven into the womb of the blessed Virgin, as He is pleased to descend into the hands of the priest at the words of consecrating, and, his elevating Him represents His being lifted up when on the Cross, where He expired for your redemption.

Affections.

All your other benefits, my God, compared to these, appear but small; for these are incomprehensible ever to the most sublime intelligences. And what renders them still more worthy of admiration is, your having done them for creatures who rather deserve to feel indignation and anger.

O inconceivable source of goodness! What has it cost you to redeem me? This adorable Sacrifice represents it to me, when by virtue of the Sacramental Words, I adore your sacred Body in the Hose, and your Blood in the Chalice: It minds me of those cruel torments you suffered, which forced each drop of blood from your sacred veins, and your soul from your body. Here I lose myself, and can only say, that your boundless love has ever made you forget your greatness and my baseness. None but you, my God, could carry love to so high a pitch.

Whilst you, my Lord, so profusely pour forth your treasures upon me, I am so nigard to you, that when there is question of proving my love to you, by suffering for you, I examine whether I am obliged to it under sin; love and gratitude no sufficing, though by them I am most certainly obliged. A torrent of tears cannot wash off so great an ingratitude: But, dear Lord, I do not reckon upon my tears, but upon your precious blood, both to satisfy for my sins, and to acknowledge your mercies as I ought. I beg that the same love which made you suffer for me, may continually draw tears from my heart for my ingratitude to you. Let your love, to which I abandon all my interest, act this for me. Consult it in all that concerns me, and give me what it requests of you for me.

In Time of Communion.

Consider that if you really desire worthily to acknowledge God’s favours and mercies to you, you have the best means, and indeed the only, which is Jesus Christ, who is willing to come into your heart, that you may thereby have in His person, wherewithal to offer to God what is worthy of Him.

Affections.

O come, dear Lord, into my heart, for it is by your means only that I can worthily acknowledge God’s infinite mercies to me, as well as learn to do it. Come, then, and teach me that duty. During your mortal life you gave me example of it, ever rendering thanks to your eternal Father; before you proceed to any action, inspire me with the like sentiments.

And since, for that end, you are pleased to come into my heart, give leave to offer you to your eternal Father and mine, since He allows me to hour to call Him so.

O eternal God! I offer you your only Son, Jesus Christ, to acknowledge your merciful goodness to me your unworthy creature; for He is mine by your free gift and His; I offer Him then with my whole heart for your greater honour and glory, since nothing can more contribute to it.

O my sweet Saviour, who are so good as to visit me, unite me to yourself, that I may be but one with you by grace, and a perfect conformity of wills. Let the same fire that burns in your heart inflame mine. Make use of me as an instrument to glorify your eternal Father on earth, whilst you thank and praise Him for me in heaven.

O love, immense and infinite! thaw the icy coldness of my heart; soften its hardness that you many find no more resistance in it to your holy inspirations. Inflame, dilate, and fortify my heart, and grant I may immeasurably love you, for I cannot other wise answer you love. I consecrate to you my life, my soul, and all that I am. Dispose of me and all that is mine according to your will; and let not my will be ever different from yours. I but desire your love, give me that and it is sufficient.

USCCB, Healthcare, Abortion

The USCCB is now actively combating the abortion provisions in the current health care bills in Congress, according to this Reuter's report.

In an extraordinary call to Catholics to prevent health care reform from being derailed by the abortion lobby, the United Sates Conference of Catholic Bishops has sent bulletin inserts to almost 19,000 parishes across the country.

"Health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them," the insert states. It urges readers to contact Senate leaders so they support efforts to "incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights" in health reform legislation.

"If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed," it adds.

Extraordinary? I'm delighted that the USCCB is finally speaking up on this issue, but really, shouldn't speaking out against public funding of abortion be an ordinary thing for Catholic bishops to do as opposed to an extraordinary thing? Well, given the history of the USCCB, this is extraordinary, and the fact that it's extraordinary is reprehensible.

This history is much deeper than the silence of the majority of American bishops a year ago when the most pro-abortion politician to ever run for the office was campaigning for the President of the United States. That was just one episode in a long line of deafening silences going back to the very inception of the bishops' conference in the United States under the leadership of Joseph Cardinal Bernardine. From the very beginning the bishops' conference failed to proclaim clearly the Church's strong anti-abortion doctrine, burying the abortion issue in Bernardine's seamless garment garbage, elevating "social justice" issues that were inferior in scope, less deadly to the life of souls and society, and morally negligible in comparison to the thousands of murders that are committed daily as the direct result of abortion.

For four decades, since Roe vs. Wade, the bishops of the United States have dithered in committee and have refused to speak clearly as a collective body. What's more, the bishops' conference has hampered the efforts of individual bishops by alienating those who have perceived hard-line positions in regards to pro-abortion Catholic politicians.

This inactivity has only strengthened the pro-abortion sentiments that have taken root in the American Church, and one has to wonder, that after so long, is this now too little, too late. Will the pro-abortion Catholic in the pew, who has never been adequately challenged by his bishop be persuaded by a bulletin insert now? When the bishops, the men who have been entrusted with the teaching office of the Church, allowed the Doug Kmeics of the American Church to go unchallenged for so long, they essentially rendered this USCCB bulletin insert nothing more than just another voice in the confusing cacophony that passes for health care reform debate.

Can this bulletin insert turn the tide? I don't think it will. For the bishops to be any thing other than just one more voice in the cacophony they will have to be united, not by the USCCB, but by their common Catholic faith. First and foremost, the bishops have to be united in faith, and they have to take being united in faith seriously. Faith isn't a policy statement. In fact, policy statements can often obscure the faith.

Being united in faith will take more than just issuing another USCCB document (that carries absolutely no authority) or propagating a bulletin insert, extraordinary or not. The bishops can start with courageously facing up to the failures and infidelities of the USCCB. Will this bulletin insert be followed by support of individual bishops who favor excommunication for Catholic politicians who support the legalization and public funding of abortion? Will this insert be followed by the vetting of all recipients of USCCB monies to ensure they are not involved with pro-abortion or left wing extremist activities? Will this effort be followed by meaningful reforms of the bureaucratic monstrosity that the bishops' conference has become? Excuse me if I'm skeptical given the history of this organization.

Nevertheless, I hope this effort on the part of the USCCB is a turning point. Maybe the real possibility of publicly funded abortion on demand has woken up enough bishops to the ineptitude of this vacillating, frivolous organization that has done very little in the fight against abortion.

However, we are due more than just this one effort. Catholics in this country are due an apology from this body for having obscured the Church's teachings over the years, and that apology ought then be followed by a voluntary dissolution and reconstitution based on traditional Catholic principles, fiscal common sense, the absence of useless and often leftist bureaucracy, without an intent to set policy, but only as a fraternal association meant to support the juridical autonomy of the bishop in his own diocese.

It's not a pipe dream to believe that Catholic bishops can be united in Catholic faith. St. Athanasius believed it, otherwise he would never have raged against the storms of his own times.

Want to do some mental gymnastics?

How do you read this?

(3) COVERAGE UNDER PUBLIC HEALTH INSURANCE OPTION- The public health insurance option shall provide coverage for services described in paragraph (4)(B). Nothing in this Act shall be construed as preventing the public health insurance option from providing for or prohibiting coverage of services described in paragraph (4)(A).

(4) ABORTION SERVICES-

(A) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC FUNDING IS PROHIBITED- The services described in this subparagraph are abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is not permitted, based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved.

(B) ABORTIONS FOR WHICH PUBLIC FUNDING IS ALLOWED- The services described in this subparagraph are abortions for which the expenditure of Federal funds appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services is permitted, based on the law as in effect as of the date that is 6 months before the beginning of the plan year involved.

Here's how I read it.

Public Health Insurance Option (PHIO) will cover abortions for which public funding is allowed. Nothing in this bill will prevent PHIO from providing for abortions that is not publicly funded.

Since the Public Health Insurance Option is entirely publicly funded, then the bill is admitting that abortion is publicly funded whether or not it is publicly funded. Nice piece of double talk, Pelosi, et al.

Abortion on demand is a hair's breath from being publicly funded... with or without public funding, that is.

Today I agreed with Hans Küng

Did Hans Küng write something to which I would agree? Apparently so, according to this news piece in The Catholic Review:

The pope’s basic message is: “Traditionalists of all churches, unite under the dome of St. Peter’s!” Father Kung wrote in an editorial Oct. 28 in the Rome daily La Repubblica.

Yip. At least I hope that's the pope's basic message. Of course, Hans would be upset, but certainly not the faithful remnant that has had to endure the desecration of the dome of St. Peter by Hans and his fellow thugs. There's always room for Hans, though. All he has to do is convert to Catholicism.

Contrary Claims Regarding Celibacy for Anglican Use Ordinariates

According to the National Catholic Register, the celibacy issue is what is now holding up the pope's Apostolic Constitution that will set up structures in the Catholic Church to accept Anglicans en masse.

It is generally accepted that married Anglican clergy will be allowed ordination in the Catholic Church in the new structures or "ordinariates". However, there is concern over the question of whether or not married men may train as seminarians into the future, NCRegister reports the Italian newspapers Il Giornale and Il Foglio as saying.

According to Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale future seminarians of the Anglican Use "ordinariates" will have to be celibate like all other Catholic priests in the Latin Church, and that the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts is working to clarify this matter.

This contradicts at least one statement by Rt. Rev. John Hepworth, who stated in a recent interview that the celibacy dispensation would be a permament one. In this interview Hepworth stated: "The truly radical element is that married men will be able to be ordained priests in the Anglican structure indefinitely into the future."

This is not a political blog, but...

... every day, it seems, there's something new to frighten us. This from Reuters: Government take over power Stalin style, just on the horizon.

The bill would empower the council to make decisions about the treatment of shareholders, creditors and management in cases requiring the government to step in, the source said.

"Shareholders will be wiped out. Creditors can take major hits. Management can be replaced," the source said.

What is happening to this country?

Some Thoughts on the Talks

From the communiqué of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (emphasis added):

In particular, the questions due to be examined concern the concept of Tradition, the Missal of Paul VI, the interpretation of Vatican Council II in continuity with Catholic doctrinal Tradition, the themes of the unity of the Church and the Catholic principles of ecumenism, the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions, and religious freedom.

There is no mention here of the SSPX having to “fully accept the doctrines of the Second Vatican Council”. Remember Cardinal Schonborn seemed to indicate in an interview earlier this year that this is what was going to be main aim of these talks. To the contrary, what will be discussed isn’t the full acceptance of “the doctrines of Vatican Council II”. Apparently the nature of such an acceptance depends on the questions concerning the concept of Tradition and an interpretation of the Second Vatican Council in continuity with Catholic doctrinal Tradition.

What that will entail for both SSPX and the Church is yet to be seen, but I’m predicting it will be a radical defeat for the liberals and modernists. We know that the participants will clarify their concept of Tradition, and that will necessarily include a discussion of what is dogmatic and binding upon all for all time, and, of course, what is not. The crux, then, for interpreting Vatican II in continuity with doctrinal Tradition will be in determining where it falls, in whole and in part, in that either/or category.

We already know the mind of the present pontiff on this question. He, himself, has said that the Second Vatican Council was a pastoral council only. We also know the mind of pope at the close of the Council. Pope Paul VI declared that it was a pastoral council, and nothing was defined infallibly. Pope Paul VI said at the General Audience of 12 January 1966:

In view of the pastoral nature of the Council, it avoided any extraordinary statements of dogmas endowed with the note of infallibility, but it still provided its teaching with the authority of the Ordinary Magisterium which must be accepted with docility according to the mind of the Council concerning the nature and aims of each document.

However, this declaration has had little traction in the Church over the last 40 years. The present pontiff said long ago that many treated Vatican II as a "superdogma", essentially ignoring the unique and limited nature of the Council.

The talks between the Vatican and SSPX theologians, however, could give that declaration new practical traction. In other words, the Apostolic See instead of just saying that Vatican II was pastoral in nature, will consent to others actually acting on the fact. It would in effect give license to question the content, strategies and ambiguities of the documents if, of course, the intent is to clarify the dogmatic and binding teachings of the Church. With Summorum Pontificum, after 40 years in the desert the faithful have entered the Promised Land. The outcome of these talks very well could be the tumbling down of the walls of Jericho, the stronghold of the liberals and modernists in the Church, the "superdogma" of Vatican II. Indeed, if Vatican II is unambiguously revealed as completely disciplinary and pastoral in its directives, and those directives are changeable and refutable by the Magisterium, then what is left of the “spirit of Vatican II”, the liberal and modernist rallying cry for nearly five decades? Furthermore, it would be utterly meaningless to criticize traditionalists for rejecting Vatican II just because they have reservations concerning some of the content or ambiguities of the documents. As long as they submit themselves to the prudential judgment of the Apostolic See, their reservations are completely legitimate. In fact, as I’ve pointed out before, this situation already exists to a certain degree in regards to the Institute of the Good Shepherd.

In the end, these talks could very well lead to a refutation and reversal on the part of the Church’s Magisterium of many of the pastoral objectives contained in the documents of the Second Vatican Council, perhaps not in my lifetime, but maybe in the lifetime of my children. Will these talks be the beginning of such a radical turnaround? We can dare to dream. At the very least, there will be a necessary clarification, eventually, and that, second only to the knowledge that the Traditional Latin Mass and its spirituality have not been vanquished, is something that helps me get out of bed in the morning and face another day of pro-choice Catholics, ignorant and arrogant liberal Catholic journalists, spineless bishops, homosexual priests and bishops on trial for abusing minors and having child porn on their computers, neo-conservatives telling us we need to interpret dogma to find the truth, and reports of liturgical dancing, clowning and spirit raising. The thought that the people of the promise are even now marching around the unholy edifice that is the liberal and modernist Jericho gives enough hope for the future to help me grin and bear it a bit longer.

Vatican/SSPX Talks Begin in Earnest

Communiqué of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei:

On Monday 26 October 2009 in the Palazzo del Sant'Uffizio, headquarters of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", the study commission made up of experts from "Ecclesia Dei" and from the Society of St. Pius X held its first meeting, with the aim of examining the doctrinal differences still outstanding between the Society and the Apostolic See.

In a cordial, respectful and constructive climate, the main doctrinal questions were identified. These will be studied in the course of discussions to be held over coming months, probably every other month [edited by the Vatican Press Office]. In particular, the questions due to be examined concern the concept of Tradition, the Missal of Paul VI, the interpretation of Vatican Council II in continuity with Catholic doctrinal Tradition, the themes of the unity of the Church and the Catholic principles of ecumenism, the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions, and religious freedom. The meeting also served to specify the method and organisation of the work.

UPDATED A dowse of cold water: Forward in Faith meeting a disaster

UPDATE:

After doing some more research and listening to others in the know, it is a certain fact that the FIF conference was not a total failure.

I've been told that the FIF clergy were clearly divided, almost 50-50, one side clearly positive and receptive to the new Catholic structure (though many are still unwilling to dive into the Tiber, or are at least reserved in that regard), and more importantly, not suspicious of the motives behind it. This is the important point here. The FIF is still part of the Church of England, and as a group they were not the ones "officially" asking for full and visible unity with the Roman Catholic Church. However, there's no doubt that some of the bishops in the FIF were part of the discussion, or at least, were kept abreast of the discussions between the Vatican and the Traditional Anglican Communion (which has already officially separated from the Church of England).

Why is this important? I've been told that no one in the Vatican was really expecting an exodus of clergy and faithful from this group. However, if about 50% are positive, then it stands to reason that a significant number of these clergy will eventually make that dive and swim the Tiber.

I have to admit, that is most definitely not a complete failure. However, I will allow what I have already posted to stand, as the other 50% of traditionalist Anglicans who call themselves "Catholic", it has been proven, are nothing of the sort.

ALSO

John Hepworth, the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, stated in a recent interview that there will be a permament dispensation from celibacy for the Anglican Use priests. (Reported by our friends at Rorate Coeli.)

He said: "The truly radical element is that married men will be able to be ordained priests in the Anglican structure indefinitely into the future."

If true that would certainly be radical. Celibacy, of course, is not a strict discipline for the Eastern Churches, and if this relaxed discipline in the Latin Church for Anglican Use priests helps to facilitate union with the Eastern Churches, then I'm alright with it. However, celibacy must be safeguarded and retained in the Latin Rite for no other reason that it is what we have received. Secondly, I sincerely hope that Anglican Use faithful are not deprived for a long period of time of the ministry of the bishop due to this relaxed discipline.

My personal disappointment not withstanding, to relax the discipline in regards to the Anglican Use priests would not be an innovation, and I'm sure that the Holy Father has prayed over this, thought it out carefully, and discussed it thoroughly.


Excellent commentary here at Sub Tuum: http://subtuum.blogspot.com/2009/10/forward-in-faith-assembly-day-two-as.html
_____________________________

It is now officially time for the euphoria to reside. Reality has set in.

Many Anglo-"Catholics" (emphasis on the quotation marks), at the Forward in Faith annual conference held yesterday and today, express little more than anti-Catholic (emphasis on the lack of quotation marks) diatribe, as reported by our friends at Rorate Coeli.

A reflection by Jeffrey Steel on his blog, De Cura Animarum, sums up the Protestant mentality of Anglo-"Catholics" at this meeting:

To be perfectly honest, it almost feels like a bluff has been called. Sitting and listening to those speeches made me sad and realise that for many in the C of E, the issue that alone makes them 'feel' Catholic is being against the ordination of women or so it seems.

While some present seem to have an understanding of what is lacking in the present Anglican Communion (that is, a REAL Church), most are still Protestant both in spirit and mentality, and it's becoming clear that many, if not most, who call themselves Anglo-"Catholic" will ever be anything other than Protestant.

There will not be unity if the only principle of unity is mutual disagreement with a third party. It will take more than disagreement over women ordination or active homosexuality to forge real unity, and to be honest, I'm not so sure bringing in a bunch of discontents would be a good thing for the Catholic Church. If, as it appears from this conference, Forward in Faith is nothing more than a bunch of discontents, upset with their church leadership about a couple of issues with which Catholics happen to share common ground, would bringing them into the Catholic Church be a good thing for the Catholic Church? How long will it take them to become discontents over the question of celibacy? I'm supposing not long. Probably at the point when their sons want to get married and be ordained as well. In short, why bring Rowan William's problem into the Catholic Church?

Indeed, if the only problem these Forward in Faith, Anglo-"Catholics" have with the Church of England is opposition to woman's ordination and active homosexuality, but they lack any agreement on the distinctive Catholic principles that underpin the Catholic teaching regarding the same issues, then perhaps there is truth to the claim that they are nothing more than misogynists and homophobes. Do we really need that in the Catholic Church?

I still hold that Pope Benedict XVI's gesture thus far has been a good and honest one, offered sincerely in response to what he and the rest of us thought was a sincere request. Now that the request appears to be anything but sincere, at least on the part of a significant number of Anglo-"Catholic" Protestants in Forward in Faith, there is still hope that the request was sincere from many others in other Anglican groups, such as the Traditional Anglican Communion.

Still, it may be a good thing that the Apostolic Constitution hasn't been disseminated. Hopefully eyes and ears in the Vatican are paying close attention to what is happening at the Forward in Faith conference, and perhaps too permissive of provisions are being revised now that the bluff has been called and the cards are hitting the table.

_______________

Clarification: The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), the group that signed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and statements regarding their agreement with the Catholic Church's teaching regarding the Petrine office is not affiliated with Forward in Faith. TAC broke with the Church of England. FIF is still part of the Church of England. We should expect a more favorable attitude from the TAC.

Oops

Sorry for posting the wrong Collect of the Day today. I forgot it was the last Sunday of October. Three reasons for this:

1. Carelessness
2. Spending too much time on the computer, distracted by other issues
3. Lack of personal prayer


Mea culpa.

Rosary Novena: Day Nine

Mother of God, pray for us.


For a fruitful and successful discussion between the Vatican and SSPX theologians, and that these discussions might bring about an end to the confusion regarding the Second Vatican Council.

Fellay: Vatican moving towards personal prelature for the SSPX

CNA is reporting about an interview given by His Excellency, Bishop Bernard Fellay to the Chilean daily, El Mercurio. The article can be read here: Vatican could convert Lefebvrists into personal prelature, says Fellay. (The full interview in Spanish can be read here.)

Asked about the speculation that the Society of Pius X could be made into a personal prelature similar to Opus Dei, Fellay responded, “There is a lot of truth to that. I think the Vatican is moving towards that kind of canonical solution.”

Prayer vs. discussion

"Together with Bernard of Clairvaux, we too must recognize that man seeks God better and finds him more easily 'with prayer than with discussion.'"

--Pope Benedict XVI, General Audience, 10/21/2009

What does this "Personal Ordinariate" thingie mean for traditional Catholics?

Updated

It is entirely too early to discuss the ramifications on traditional Catholic groups (i.e. the SSPX) of this morning’s announcement concerning the institution of “personal ordinariates” for the reception of whole groups or communities of former Anglicans. First, incredibly the announcement of the Apostolic Constitution for some reason wasn't accompanied by the actual document. Second, there was no such thing as personal ordinariates until this morning (a new word to add to our word processor dictionaries, it appears), so until the Apostolic Constitution is actually available, there’s no telling what this new structure will entail or why the structure of a personal prelature was deemed inadequate.

Until then, there’s already plenty of speculation on the internet.

WDTPRS
Damian Thompson
Rorate Coeli
And about a few thousand others.

HOWEVER, the other side of this coin is the rather safe bet that very soon the scathing, vehement, and blood thirsty criticisms of Pope Benedict XVI will soon be spewing forth from sources outside and inside the Catholic Church.

This from Damian Thompson:

This from a good source in Rome: apparently both Lambeth Palace and elements in the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were “implacably opposed” to Pope Benedict XVI’s dramatic new arrangements for Anglicans. The source also reports speculation that Archbishop Rowan Williams put pressure on Vatican ecumenists to stop the Apostolic Constitution being issued. For all I know, he did persuade Cardinal Kasper, head of the Pontifical Council, that it wasn’t a good idea. But this particular portfolio was taken out of Kasper’s hands a long time ago; indeed, it looks as if the cardinal was simply “informed” what was happening by the CDF.

Will the enemies of the Church find a Holocaust denier among the Traditional Anglicans?

____________________

Update:

Dr. Moynihan has these sobering words from his Letter from Rome (#38):

What is going on?

Why the evident haste to make this announcement?

Why go ahead and hold a press conference about a document before the document is finalized?

Is someone is trying to "steal a march" on someone?

It would seem so.

But who is hurrying, and why?

Is it the Pope himself?

If so, why?

I don't know.

Does it have to do, perhaps,with the Pope's age, that he wants to move on these questions now, while he is vigorous, rather than waiting even a week or a month, or longer?

Or is the question of married priests the difficulty? Are there perhaps potential "Trojan horses" for a married priesthood within the document that the Pope has only just noted, and has at the last minute decided to remove, even if it means delaying the document's publication?

I've already noticed a couple interpretations that the dispensation from celibacy will be a permanent feature of the new "personal ordinariates", not a temporary feature as is the case in the American Use already in place.

I would be very disappointed if the Holy Father made the dispensation from celibacy a permanent feature, but I seriously doubt this will be the case. The announcement today clearly stated that any such disposition would be extended to married former Anglican clergy. There's no reason at this point to suspect that this provision will be extended to anyone in or out of the new "personal ordinariates" who are not former Anglican clergymen.

There's also some rather glaring practical issues. There may be a statue of limitations question that could become sticky. What about a man who was an Episcopalian clergyman of whatever stripe, left the ministry a long time ago, got married, and now wants to be a Catholic priest? What about a clergyman who has been divorced and remarried? What about compensation? I would assume existing Anglican clergyman entering the Catholic Church with an already existing congregation would just go about business as usual, but what about a former Anglican clergyman who does not come into the Church with a congregation that can financially support him and his family? Some or most of these issues will probably dealt with on the local level, but basic guidelines need to be present in the actual Constitution.

There certainly are a lot of unanswered questions.

Forward in Faith Responds

Update, John Hepworth (of TAC) responds:

Traditional Anglican Communion Responds to Pope's Offer of Ecclesiastical refuge

by John Hepworth
20th October 2009

I have spent this evening speaking to bishops, priests and lay people of the Traditional Anglican Communion in England, Africa, Australia, India, Canada, the United States and South America.

We are profoundly moved by the generosity of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. He offers in this Apostolic Constitution the means for "former Anglicans to enter into the fullness of communion with the Catholic Church". He hopes that we can "find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to us and consistent with the Catholic faith". He then warmly states "we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith".

May I firstly state that this is an act of great goodness on the part of the Holy Father. He has dedicated his pontificate to the cause of unity. It more than matches the dreams we dared to include in our petition of two years ago. It more than matches our prayers. In those two years, we have become very conscious of the prayers of our friends in the Catholic Church. Perhaps their prayers dared to ask even more than ours.

While we await the full text of the Apostolic Constitution, we are also moved by the pastoral nature of the Notes issued today by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. My fellow bishops have indeed signed the Catechism of the Catholic Church and made a statement about the ministry of the Bishop of Rome, reflecting the words of Pope John Paul II in his letter "Ut Unum Sint".

Other Anglican groups have indicated to the Holy See a similar desire and a similar acceptance of Catholic faith. As Cardinal Levada has indicated, this response to Anglican petitions is to be of a global character. It will now be for these groups to forge a close cooperation, even where they transcend the existing boundaries of the Anglican Communion.

Fortunately, the Statement issued by the Archbishop of Canterbury reflects the understanding that we have gained from him that he does not stand in our way, and understands the decisions that we have reached. Both his reaction and our petition are fruits of a century of prayer for Christian unity, a cause that many times must have seemed forlorn. We now express our gratitude to Archbishop Williams, and have regularly assured him of our prayers. The See of Augustine remains a focus of our pilgrim way, as it was in ages of faith in the past.

I have made a commitment to the Traditional Anglican Communion that the response of the Holy See will be taken to each of our National Synods. They have already endorsed our pathway. Now the Holy See challenges us to seek in the specific structures that are now available the "full, visible unity, especially Eucharistic communion", for which we have long prayed and about which we have long dreamed. That process will begin at once.

In the Anglican Office of Morning Prayer, the great Hymn of Thanksgiving, the Te Deum, is part of the daily Order. It is with heartfelt thanks to Almighty God, the Lord and Source of all peace and unity, that the hymn is on our lips today. This is a moment of grace, perhaps even a moment of history, not because the past is undone, but because the past is transformed.


----Archbishop [sic] John Hepworth is Primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion

__________________________

It has been the frequently expressed hope and fervent desire of Anglican Catholics to be enabled by some means to enter into full communion with the See of Peter whilst retaining in its integrity every aspect of their Anglican inheritance which is not at variance with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

We rejoice that the Holy Father intends now to set up structures within the Church which respond to this heartfelt longing. Forward in Faith has always been committed to seeking unity in truth and so warmly welcomes these initiatives as a decisive moment in the history of the Catholic Movement in the Church of England. Ut unum sint!

+John Fulham
Geoffrey Kirk

Statement from the CDF

NOTE OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ABOUT PERSONAL ORDINARIATES FOR ANGLICANS ENTERING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion.

In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.

The forthcoming Apostolic Constitution provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon, by offering a single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application. It provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy. Historical and ecumenical reasons preclude the ordination of married men as bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Constitution therefore stipulates that the Ordinary can be either a priest or an unmarried bishop. The seminarians in the Ordinariate are to be prepared alongside other Catholic seminarians, though the Ordinariate may establish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in the Anglican patrimony. In this way, the Apostolic Constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church.

Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which has prepared this provision, said: "We have been trying to meet the requests for full communion that have come to us from Anglicans in different parts of the world in recent years in a uniform and equitable way. With this proposal the Church wants to respond to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups for full and visible unity with the Bishop of Rome, successor of St. Peter."

These Personal Ordinariates will be formed, as needed, in consultation with local Conferences of Bishops, and their structure will be similar in some ways to that of the Military Ordinariates which have been established in most countries to provide pastoral care for the members of the armed forces and their dependents throughout the world. "Those Anglicans who have approached the Holy See have made clear their desire for full, visible unity in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. At the same time, they have told us of the importance of their Anglican traditions of spirituality and worship for their faith journey," Cardinal Levada said.

The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church, particularly through the efforts of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity. "The initiative has come from a number of different groups of Anglicans," Cardinal Levada went on to say: "They have declared that they share the common Catholic faith as it is expressed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and accept the Petrine ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. For them, the time has come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion."

According to Levada: "It is the hope of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the Anglican clergy and faithful who desire union with the Catholic Church will find in this canonical structure the opportunity to preserve those Anglican traditions precious to them and consistent with the Catholic faith. Insofar as these traditions express in a distinctive way the faith that is held in common, they are a gift to be shared in the wider Church. The unity of the Church does not require a uniformity that ignores cultural diversity, as the history of Christianity shows. Moreover, the many diverse traditions present in the Catholic Church today are all rooted in the principle articulated by St. Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: ‘There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism’ (4:5). Our communion is therefore strengthened by such legitimate diversity, and so we are happy that these men and women bring with them their particular contributions to our common life of faith."

Forward in Faith Responds

Response from traditional Anglican group to the Holy Father's new Apostolic Constitution:

It has been the frequently expressed hope and fervent desire of Anglican Catholics to be enabled by some means to enter into full communion with the See of Peter whilst retaining in its integrity every aspect of their Anglican inheritance which is not at variance with the teaching of the Catholic Church.

We rejoice that the Holy Father intends now to set up structures within the Church which respond to this heartfelt longing. Forward in Faith has always been committed to seeking unity in truth and so warmly welcomes these initiatives as a decisive moment in the history of the Catholic Movement in the Church of England. Ut unum sint!

+John Fulham
Geoffrey Kirk

Apostolic Constitution Announced for the Reception of Anglicans

News this morning: Pope Benedict XVI promulgates Apostolic Constitution erecting a canonical structure for communities or groups of Anglicans wishing to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. (From Catholic World News)

Already there is unease among some traditional Catholics concerning the prospect of a mass entrance of married clergy into the Roman Catholic Church. However, we should wait before passing judgment before actually reading the Apostolic Constitution.

Having said that, I would suspect that there will be a provision allowing Anglican married clergy to seek ordination in the Catholic Church, but this allowance could not be extended to married bishops. This would essentially be the same as the currently American allowance. I don't think there is anything to be too concerned about because the provision in America does not allow for a priest to get married, and it is a provision only for Anglican clergy who are already married. The American allowance did not set a precedent for married clergy. (Kudos, though, to Dr. John Haas who turned down the offer when he became Catholic.)

In addition, Anglican orders are not valid. All Anglican clergy will have to be ordained in the Catholic Church if they wish to continue as clergy. I will be curious as what kind of formation they will receive prior to their ordinations.

All in all, I think this is good news so far. Let us pray that this Apostolic Constitution will proceed the salvation of many souls.

Mass Reception of Traditional Anglicans into the Catholic Church?

There's a lot of speculation out there concerning a Vatican press release about a briefing to be held tomorrow at 11:00 am Rome time (5:oo am Eastern standard time). The press release is as follows:

We inform accredited journalists that tomorrow, Tuesday, 20 October 2009, at 11 a.m., in the John Paul II Hall of the Press Office of the Holy See, a briefing will be held on a theme pertaining to the relationship with the Anglicans, at which His Eminence Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and His Excellency Msgr. Joseph Augustine Di Noia OP, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments will take part. (Rorate Coeli translation.)

Rorate Coeli, Fr. Z. and Damien Thompson have commented. Here's an article by Catholic New Agency about speculation in the Italian media.

Something is brewing. If this is an announcement concerning a mass reception of the Traditional Anglican Communion, it will have important ramifications for traditional Catholicism. The traditional Anglican liturgy is very close to the Tridentine liturgy. I'll be up early to get the news.

History in the making: Pontifical Solemn Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome

The first Pontifical Solemn Traditional Latin Mass offering is St. Peter's Basilica since 1969!

(Images, courtesy The New Liturgical Movement. Please frequent their excellent blog and visit their sponsors.)





Offered by His Excellency, Archbishop Raymond Burke, this 18th of October, the Year of Our Lord, 2009, in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the Basilica of St. Peter, Rome.

The Glory of Catholic Spain: Juan Manuel de Prada

The following is a translation of de Prada's preface to "La nueva tiranía" provided by Sandro Magister, here. While not specifically about the Traditional Latin Mass, de Prada highlights the role that authentic Catholicism plays in the battle against the new tyranny. It is a contemporary piece that is at the same time formed by the shadows of the once great Catholic bastion of Europe, Catholic Spain.

The progressive matrix of the new tyranny

by Juan Manuel de Prada

"How can one talk about a 'new tyranny' when never before have men enjoyed so much freedom and so many rights?" It's a question the reader unfamiliar with the subject might well ask. The classical tyrannies, in effect, were characterized by the fact that they stifled freedom and denied rights. Men were aware of this usurpation because, deprived of something that belonged to them by nature, they felt diminished.

The new tyranny of which we are speaking, instead, exalts man to the point of adoration, giving him the opportunity to turn his interests and desires into freedoms and rights, which however are no longer inherent in him by nature, but become the "gracious concessions" of a power that legally ratifies them. And so, turned into a child who contemplates his own whims as these are maximized and satisfied, the man of our time is more than ever the hostage of the assertions of power that guarantee him the enjoyment of all-encompassing liberty and constantly expanding rights. In the classical tyrannies, the subject at least still had the consolation of knowing that he was oppressed by a power that was violating his nature; but those who are subjected to this new tyranny have no consolation other than the protection of the same power that has lifted them up to the altar of adoration. And so without even realizing it man has become a tool in the hands of those who tend to him with painstaking care, as ants tend to aphids before feeding on them.

In exchange for these "gracious concessions," man accepts a hegemonic view of the world that is imposed on him and turns him into an object of social engineering. Let's call this hegemonic view the "progressive Matrix": a mirage, a grand illusion or trompe-l'oeil that is accepted with a gregarious spirit. Those who dare to question the trompe-l'oeil are immediately the target of anathemas, they are considered reprobates or blasphemers, enemies of the worship of man. The progressive Matrix used by the left has also been assimilated by the right, which has declined to join the battle where the confrontation with the adversary would be dynamic and exciting: on the level of principles. In its capitulation, the right limits itself to introducing insignificant variations on the working of the grand machine, but does not dare to use its gears. It's like plowing without oxen.

The progressive Matrix has thus become a sort of Messianic faith; it has instituted a new order, it has imposed unassailable cultural principles, it has established a new anthropology that, while promising ultimate liberation to man, holds nothing for him but future suicide. And standing against this new order is only the religious order, which restores to man his true nature and offers him a correct view of the world that undermines the foundations of the trompe-l'oeil on which the new tyranny is based, dispelling its falsehoods. A vision that power makes a great effort in combating, since the religious order is the only bulwark to be destroyed before its triumph is complete.

Rampant secularism accuses the Church of meddling in politics, citing for support the Gospel passage that is typically flourished by those who do not read the Gospel: "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." But what is it that belongs to Caesar? Temporal things, earthly realities; but, naturally, not the principles of the moral order that are born from human nature itself, not the ethical foundations of the temporal order. The new tyranny, which is so intent on expanding the "liberties" of its subjects, denies the Church the liberty of judging the morality of temporal actions, since it knows that this judgment would include a radical subversion of the trompe-l'oeil on which its very existence is based. Power longs for a pharisaic, corrupt Church that would decline to restore to humanity its true nature and would accept that "mystery of iniquity" which is the adoration of man; it hopes for a Church brought to its knees before Caesar, transformed into the "whore that fornicates with the kings of the earth" spoken of in Revelation.

Today in the West this great clash is being engaged, which the new tyranny disguises very effectively as an "ideological battle." But if this were truly an "ideological battle," power would not consider this a subversion; because ideology is precisely the fertile ground that favors its supremacy, in that it establishes a "demo-tussle," a "democratic" fight of all against all, capable of turning men into petulant children fighting for their "freedom" and "rights," just as the builders of Babel fought, in the midst of the confusion, to raise a tower that would reach heaven.

The battle that is joined today is not ideological, but anthropological, because it tends to restore to men their authentic nature, permitting them to emerge from the Babelic confusion fomented by ideology, until they reach the road leading to the original principles. If it succeeds – if the Matrix is dismantled – men will discover that they do not need to build towers in order to reach heaven, for the simple reason that heaven is already within them, even if the new tyranny seeks to strip it from them.

The articles collected in this volume are dispatches from this battle, issued from the platforms that the newspaper "ABC" and the magazine "XL Semanal" have given me for more than 13 years, and that "L'Osservatore Romano," "Capital," and "Padres y Colegios" have recently inaugurated. The curious reader will note that these "battle dispatches" combine diatribe and introspection, invective and elegy, reflection of a political nature and artistic digression; he will even find a selection of observations made during a spring in Rome that changed the direction of my life, because it was then – in the days following the death of John Paul II – that I definitively adhered to the "ancient liberty," the antidote to all the tyrannies of the world. In an age of uncertainty that leaves man adrift in a sea of troubles, Rome stood before me, suddenly, like a rock of salvation: I am not referring to religious salvation alone, but also cultural, because I consider the faith of Rome a bulwark that clarifies the terms of our spiritual genealogy and shelters us from the squalls into which the new tyranny would like to toss us. Rejecting this boundless possession means signing an act of social death; claiming it as one's own does not constitute an act of submission, but of proud and joyful freedom.

The eternal revolution of Christianity consists in revealing to us the meaning of life, restoring to us our nature; from this discovery is born a joy with no expiration date. When this joy is combined with a minimum of artistic sensibility, life becomes a feast for the intelligence. Chesterton wrote that joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian. I, who am a somewhat immodest Christian, have sought in these articles to make public, or at least provide a glimpse of, this gigantic secret that pervades and transcends me.

Madrid, March 2009

Rosary Novena: Talks with the SSPX to begin on October 26th

Dr. Robert Moynihan had this in today's "Letter from Rome" (#33):

Pope Benedict XVI has just made a dramatic choice, one which will certainly be numbered among the major decisions of his pontificate.

He has decided, in effect, to reopen formal debate on the Second Vatican Council and its teaching.

The new dialogue, which will take place in Rome between the leaders of the Fraternity of St. Pius X (the followers of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre) and Vatican experts will take place on October 26 at the Vatican, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman, said today.

I don't think it was an accident that the Vatican would release the date eleven days out. There's plenty of time to organize novenas in preparation for these very important discussions.

Please join my family and me in a rosary novena, starting this Saturday, 10/17 and ending on Sunday, 10/25, for the intention of a fruitful and successful discussion between the Vatican and SSPX theologians, and that these discussions might lead to a satisfactory clarification regarding the Second Vatican Council.

_____________

Here are the press releases as presented in Dr. Moynihan's Letter from Rome:


THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009

DECLARATION OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE
HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE, FR. FEDERICO LOMBARDI, S.I.

The first meeting of the foreseen discussions with the Fraternity of Saint Pius X will take place on Monday, October 26, in the morning.

Those who will participate will be, from the part of the Commission Ecclesia Dei, other than the Secretary of said Commission, Mons. Guido Pozzo, the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, H.E. Archbisop Luis F. Ladaria Ferrer, S.I., and the already named experts: Fr. Charles Morerod, O.P., Secretary of the International Theological Commission, consultant of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Rev. Mons. Fernando Ocáriz, Vicar General of Opus Dei, consultant of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; the Rev. Fr. Karl Josef Becker, S.I., consultant of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The meeting will take place at the Palace of the Holy Office. The contents of the conversations, which regard open doctrinal questions, will remain strictly reserved.

At the end of the meeting, a communiqué will be released.

____________________


COMMUNIQUÉ OF THE PRIESTLY FRATERNITY OF SAINT PIUS X

Bishop Bernard Fellay has named as representatives of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X for the theological discussions with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith: Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, director of the Seminary Nuestra Señora Corredentora de La Reja (Argentina), Father Benoît de Jorna, director of the Séminaire International Saint-Pie X of Ecône (Switzerland), Father Jean-Michel Gleize, professor of Ecclesiology at the seminary of Ecône, and Father Patrick de La Rocque, prior of the Priory of Saint Louis in Nantes (France).

Bishop de Galarreta had already been the president of the commission which was in charge of the preparation of these discussions within the Fraternity, after the month of April 2009.

The works will start in the second half of the month of October and will require the discretion needed for a serene exchange on difficult doctrinal questions.

Redemption symbolically represented by the ceremonies of the Mass

A fruitful means of hearing of the Mass is to meditate upon the whole history of Redemption that is represented in the ceremonies of the Mass. Here is a helpful breakdown of how the history of Redemption is presented, according to The Catechism Explained (by Rev. Francis Spirago, ed. Clarke, TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., 1993, Imprimatur, Patrick J. Hayes 1921), Part III, 4, 2:

1. The opening prayers, said by the priest at the foot of the altar, and at a little distance from it, are emblematic of the 4000 years during which man was comparatively far from God, and looking for the redemption.

2. The Kyrie, repeated nine times, and the Gloria, signify the book of Christ, and the song of praise sung by the nine choirs of angels at Bethlehem.

3. The Orationes, the youth of Our Lord, which was passed in prayer and seclusion from the world.

4. The Epistle, the carrying across of the missal, the Gospel and the Creed, are to remind us that the Gospel was first preached to the Jews, and being rejected by them, was proclaimed to the Gentiles, many of whom believed and were baptized.

5. The offertory represents Our Lord’s preparation for His Passion, and His willingness to surrender His life.

6. The preface, which ends with the words: “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest” (from the Sanctus), represents Christ’s entry into Jerusalem.

7. The prayer for the living, His prayer for the Church before the Last Supper.

8. The five crosses which the priest makes over the oblation are symbolical of the five times that Our Lord was mocked, before Annas, Caiphas, Herod, Pilate, and once again before Herod.

9. The elevation of the bread and wine, of His lifting up on the cross.

10. The five crosses made from time to time over the elements, of the five sacred wounds.

11. The seven petitions of the Lord’s Prayer represent the seven wounds upon the cross.

12. The breaking of the Host, the death of Christ, when His soul and body were parted.

13. When the priest says the Agnus Dei and strikes his breast, it recalls the action of the soldiers and others present upon Calvary, who, amazed at the stupendous convulsions of nature, struck their breasts, while the centurion exclaimed: “Indeed this man was the Son of God!” (Lk. 23, 48; Mk 15. 39).

14. The communion represents the burial of Christ.

15. The Dominus vobiscum, twice repeated, His salutation of the apostles on His twofold appearacne to them after His resurrection.

16. The words of dismissal, Ite, missa est, His ascension, when He sent His apostles forth to evangelize the world, and blessed them for the last time.

17. And the Last Gospel, the propagation of the Gospel after the descent of the Holy Ghost.

Thus the Mass is seen to be a brief compendium of Our Lord’s life; in one half hour all is depicted which He did during thirty-three years upon earth (Cochem).

(p. 540-541).

The Glory of Catholic Spain: The Spanish Crusade, 1936-1939

Latest Bishop Fellay interview

... can be read here: Interview with Bishop Bernard Fellay, Roodepoort (South Africa). Thanks to our friends at Rorate Coeli.

Bishop Fellay: We must be realistic. The return, the restoration of the church will take time. The crisis in the Church has affected all aspects of Christian life. To come out of this situation will take more than a generation of constant effort in the right direction - perhaps a century. This means that we must expect resistance. But let’s hope that the worst has passed and that the signs of recovery we see today are the seeds of reality and not just a dream ...

Instructional videos online

Maranatha website has posted 11 excellent instructional videos for Low Mass in English, here: http://www.maranatha.it/MissaleRomanum/videoEN.htm.

Primarily intended for use by priests, I showed these videos to my children for their religious instruction this week.

While concerned exclusively with the rubrics of the Low Mass, these videos can be used to provide the bare bones, as it were, of the Traditional Latin Mass, to which can be added history, symbolism and spiritual significance using other resources. My children to whom I presented these video are 13, 12 and 11. All of them watched the videos with fascination, asked questions, and were genuinely engaged.

These videos are great resource for homeschoolers. I highly recommend them.

Absolutely stunning!

The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in Cebu, Philippines with the Franciscans. Offered by Fr. Joseph Skelton, Jr.

Thank you, Father!

Deo Gratias!

Cork City, Ireland

Ss. Peter and Paul’s, Cork City, Ireland. Full treatment at the New Liturgical Movement, here.

Boston College

Traditional Latin Mass sponsored by the Thomas More Society of Boston College, Celebrated in St Mary's Chapel by Fr Agustin Anda, assisted by Fr. Gary Gurtler, S.J.. Chant choir Schola Amicorum, from the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. Feast of St Michael the Archangel. Acolytes Philip Micele, Michael Williams

Same old same old... the house is still filthy

UPDATED

Despite claims that there's a house cleaning going on ("As the Catholic church has been busy cleaning its own house")... there's more news that the lavender mafia still has the run of the house: Canadian Bishop Arrested for Child Porn.

With all due respect to His Excellency, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, enough of the excuses and finger pointing. Sure, only 1.5%-5% of Catholic clergy were involved in child sex abuse. Sure, most US churches being hit by child sex abuse allegations were Protestant. Sure, sexual abuse within Jewish communities is common. Sure, sexual abuse is far more likely to be committed by family members, babysitters, friends, relatives or neighbours, and male children are quite often guilty of sexual molestation of other children. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SO WHAT!

Your Excellency, this is the one true Church of Christ, and our pastors have been in the business of running into the ground for the last four, five, even six decades. The Catholic Church is supposed to be a cut above the rest, to say the least. Instead, you have made it a den of perverts.

I remember walking down the hallway of the college building at the Pontifical College Josephinum with a group of my classmates and our philosophy professor, Fr. Robert Gonzales. The topic of discussion was the rampant homosexual subculture in the seminary. The year was 1991. I remember distinctly Fr. Gonzales saying: "Just wait; this will all come to a head in ten years." Ten years later, 2001, the priest sex abuse scandal hit the Boston Globe. Fr. Gonzales was a smart guy back then, but it didn't take a genius to see the direction things were headed.

Now after the Church has spent billions of dollars on settlements and treatment programs and studies, Archbishop Tomasi has come to the conclusion that the problem is homosexuality. He could have gotten that for free from the thousands of men who left the seminary because they were creeped out by gays making passes at them on a regular basis. Perhaps if bishops like him had been concerned thirty years ago about so many effeminate men being ordained, or at least noticed that so many masculine men were bailing out in droves, then maybe many teenage boys could have been spared, not to mention the Church spared a scandal.

Well, thanks for waking up, Your Excellency... finally. Too bad the wake up call is accompanied by petty finger pointing and excuse making. The house is still filthy, Your Excellency.

______________

UPDATE:

More fallout from the Lahey scandal:

“So, honestly, part of my concern is, is there anyone left that we can believe?” Archbishop Anthony Mancini of Halifax, Nova Scotia’s leading prelate and now apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Antigonish, said. “I think many will see this as something that will make the Church less credible than we are."

No, the mainstream Church is less credible. There's no appearances about it, Your Excellency.

This speaks to why I'm highlighting this newest scandal here. Our bishops are either living with their heads in the sand, or they are willfully covering over the magnitude of the situation. The visible institutions of the Church, from the bishops down to parish pastoral councils, are being used to destroy Christian culture and souls.

The priest sex scandal was 80 years in the making. The enemies of the Church are firmly entrenched in the Church. These enemies are a loose confederation of Modernists, Marxists and Satanists who instigated systematic manipulation over the course of the 20th century. The goal is not to destroy the Church, but use the visible institutions of the Church to destroy societies, cultures and souls. The strategy proved very effective.

Only the complete and full restoration of traditional Catholicism and the Traditional Latin Mass can combat the assault on our culture and on individual souls that has come from within the very institution that was supposed to safeguard both.