*More speculation regarding the SP instruction.
*Community of traditional nuns joins the Society of St. Pius X.
*Welcome back, Norma Jean. Please consider renouncing the novus ordo, which no doubt contributed to those past mistakes, and hearing exclusively the Traditional Latin Mass.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
I don't really care about the new novus ordo translation... but...
This creepy-priest-dude doesn't like it at all!
Look at this guy! Does he look like a priest? He looks like someone I would keep my kids away from!
His attitude demonstrates where the average mainstream novus ordo Catholic is, mentally and spiritually: "I've no problems with changing things - it's part of my philosophy that you've got to change and grow and develop..."
Does his "philosophy" include Our Blessed Lord, faith in the Catholic Church, Truth? Does his "philosophy" include the fact that Christ is the same yesterday, today and always? I doubt it. These aren't Catholics. People like this creepy-priest-dude are Modernist heretics worshiping their idol of progress, and they will not, for a moment, give up their precious novus ordo that has allowed them to spread their filth for over forty years.
Pray for the full and complete restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass, and for an end to the novus ordo (and creepy-priest-dudes everywhere).
Look at this guy! Does he look like a priest? He looks like someone I would keep my kids away from!
His attitude demonstrates where the average mainstream novus ordo Catholic is, mentally and spiritually: "I've no problems with changing things - it's part of my philosophy that you've got to change and grow and develop..."
Does his "philosophy" include Our Blessed Lord, faith in the Catholic Church, Truth? Does his "philosophy" include the fact that Christ is the same yesterday, today and always? I doubt it. These aren't Catholics. People like this creepy-priest-dude are Modernist heretics worshiping their idol of progress, and they will not, for a moment, give up their precious novus ordo that has allowed them to spread their filth for over forty years.
Pray for the full and complete restoration of the Traditional Latin Mass, and for an end to the novus ordo (and creepy-priest-dudes everywhere).
Monday, February 21, 2011
Ignorance is not a Sacrament
Eskimo: "If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?" Priest: "No, not if you did not know." Eskimo: "Then why did you tell me?"
- Annie Dillard
The problem is, most mainstream Catholics would think that the priest's answer was the correct one. In fact, he was quite wrong.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
The burying of the Alleluia
Yesterday the Church buried the Alleluia. This action of Holy Mother Church is of great significance during this Septuagesima season, a preparation on our road toward the most sacred times of the liturgical calendar.
Dom Prosper Guéranger writes:
This season of Septuagesima is not just a time to prepare for the Great Fast, but also a time to re-evaluate our tactical position on the battlefield of the spiritual combat. During these short two and half weeks nurturing a renewed devotion to frequent examinations of conscience and spiritual exercises that enlighten us as to our own fallen condition, our particular and unique areas of weakness, and our ruling passions, is of great benefit.
It is also time to renew devotion to the basics of the spiritual life, such morning and evening prayers, the daily rosary, and holy hours. Of particular importance is daily hearing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving Holy Communion frequently. At least endeavor to spiritually hear the Holy Mass daily, and make Spiritual Communions frequently throughout the day. In this way, one trains one's soul for the even harder disciplines of the Lenten Fast.
Dom Prosper Guéranger writes:
Our Saviour is soon to appear, bearing His cross; and His sacrifice is to restore fallen man to all his rights. Surely, we can never allow that precious Blood to fall uselessly on our souls, as the morning dew that rains on the parched sands of the desert! Let us with humble hearts confess that we are sinners, and, like the publican of the Gospel, who dared not so much as to raise up his eyes, let us acknowledge that it is only right that we should be forbidden, at least for a few weeks, those divine songs of joy, with which our guilty lips had become too familiar; and that we should interrupt those sentiments of presumptuous confidence which prevented our hearts from having the holy fear of God.
This season of Septuagesima is not just a time to prepare for the Great Fast, but also a time to re-evaluate our tactical position on the battlefield of the spiritual combat. During these short two and half weeks nurturing a renewed devotion to frequent examinations of conscience and spiritual exercises that enlighten us as to our own fallen condition, our particular and unique areas of weakness, and our ruling passions, is of great benefit.
It is also time to renew devotion to the basics of the spiritual life, such morning and evening prayers, the daily rosary, and holy hours. Of particular importance is daily hearing the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and receiving Holy Communion frequently. At least endeavor to spiritually hear the Holy Mass daily, and make Spiritual Communions frequently throughout the day. In this way, one trains one's soul for the even harder disciplines of the Lenten Fast.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Updated Again. Fears that the clarification document will water down Summorum Pontificum
Update: Paolo Rodari's Vatican sources state that the contentions put forth by blogs like Rorate Coeli "sono del tutto prive di fondamento” ("are completely without foundation"). Fr. Z provides the translation from the Italian here.
_____________________
Update: The big fears concerning the SP instruction are not materializing in the rumor mill.
So far, the two negatives presented by Rorati Coeli are rather minor, and if everyone would stop and think about it, to be expected.
An apparent limitation of the application of Summorum Pontificum to Western liturgical Rites such as the Ambrosian Rite and Dominican Rite, which is said to be contained in the instruction, and limiting the ability of diocesan seminarians to be ordained according to the 1962 liturgies have more to do with protecting the equally legitimate liturgical rights of local bishops and religious superiors. In both cases, the rights of local bishops and religious superiors may be contrary to the rights of the faithful concerning the forms of the liturgy to be used. We should not expect anything other than the rights of the local bishop and religious superiors taking precedence.
Secondly, there is a new rumor circulating that these leaks are coming from those translating the document, which raises some pointed questions:
I think it best to bring back some measure of calm here. We need to wait for the document to be released before passing judgment, otherwise we may be unwittingly playing into the hands of a few who are trying to undermine the present course regarding Tradition and traditionalists.
______________________
Rorati Coeli has been posting about a possible disaster pending with the release of the "clarification" document concerning Summorum Pontificum. There are rumors claiming this document will water down the prerogatives set forth in the Holy Father's motu propio that liberated the Traditional Latin Mass according to the liturgical books of 1962.
Back at the beginning of the year I made a prediction that this clarification document would be released this year, but would be a disappointment for traditional Catholics. This was not a wild guess on my part. Late last year I had gotten wind that a substantial number of bishops and their offices had written up negative reviews for the three year analysis that they were asked to draw up. The main criticism, I was told, was divisiveness on the part of the members of traditional Catholic groups and communities, and their lack of involvement in the greater diocesan communities. Accusations were being made regarding "strong-arm" tactics on the part of traditional Catholics, insularism, and slow growth.
This, of course, is all hear-say, but given the recent rumors, I believe that this information is relevant at this time. Allow me to point out, I rather think these rumors about the clarification document are exaggerations. While it may be disappointing, I don't think it will be the disaster that it is already being lamented as being. We need to wait for the document to come out, and then judge it on it's own merits.
But lets grant that the rumors are true, and this document will be every bit as terrifying as it is being made out to be...
If these rumors are true, then we can expect from the clarification document a movement away from the Extraordinary Form being a "right", and back to being a "privilege". There is essentially no difference between a privilege, something that is allowed, and an "indult". I seriously doubt we are headed back to those bad-old-indult days, wherein local bishops had the freedom to crush traditional Catholics and their legitimate aspirations. On the other hand, I think we are going to start hearing the word "universal indult" again. Granted, back in 2006 the term "universal indult" was the substance of our dreams, but that was before we got something much better, a right.
What will this mean for traditional Catholics? Honestly, it's not all doom and gloom. Sure we can expect some negatives from this. The re-introduction of an "indult mentality" to the episcopate will mean that traditional Catholics will once again get treated as second class citizens by many bishops, and our aspirations will be treated as aberrations in the life of the Church that needs to be segregated and ignored as much as possible. However, that's true of many bishops, regardless of what this clarification document will say. If a modernist bishop doesn't like traditional Catholics, the Traditional Latin Mass or Tradition, then there's nothing in a Vatican document that will make it better or worse for traditional Catholics in that man's diocese. It may even have the advantage of silencing all these calls for the novus ordo, as ludicrous as it may be, to "enrich" the Traditional Latin Mass. If traditional Catholics and the Traditional Latin Mass are once again "second class", then I for one will not lament mainstream Catholics forgetting "mutual enrichment."
Speaking of "mutual enrichment", I heard a theory (not a rumor) that one aspect of the clarification document may be a call to force traditional Catholics into hearing the novus ordo by willfully limiting our access to the Traditional Latin Mass. Exclusivity and insularism on the part of traditional Catholics is, after all, one of the main concerns of many bishops. Mutual enrichment isn't served by traditional Catholics attending only the Extraordinary Form, or so the logic goes. Pressure could be brought to bear on traditional Catholic fraternities and orders to start offering the novus ordo, and to start concelebrating at the novus ordo, at least once a year at the bishop's chrism Mass. This latter theory isn't so far fetched. It has actually happened in the case of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and that controversy contributed to the resignation of the Fraternity's original superior.
If this is the case, then once again, I'm not so sure this is all doom and gloom. It isn't as though traditional Catholics haven't had to tread the same ground in the not so distant past. The Modernists will never understand our devotion for the Traditional Latin Mass, or our willingness to make extraordinary sacrifices for it, because the disaster that they have made of the Church has obscured and caused them to forget any semblance of true devotion. While they are drooling over the witchery and fraud at Medjugorje or congratulating themselves for their Pentecostalism at Franciscan U, neither of which will stand the test of time, we will simply go about business as usual. Whether it be swelling the pews at the local SSPX chapel, driving sixty or a hundred miles on Sunday, or just pestering the daylights out of our bishops, we've been there and we've done that. We had nearly fifty years of training. The Traditional Latin Mass and Tradition didn't go away then, and they won't go away now.
I agree with New Catholic over at Rorate Coeli that we should all start writing letters to the Holy Father, the CDF and our local bishops. But allow me to add this: if you are expecting our current leaders to make the necessary reforms that will turn the tables on the Modernists, you are going to be disappointed. The fox is guarding the hen house. Write to them, pray for them, ask God to soften their hardened hearts, but we have to put even more energy into making ourselves holy and faithful traditional Catholics. The primary manner in which we promote the Traditional Latin Mass and Catholic Tradition is by making ourselves more receptive to the beauty and spiritual fecundity that is the exclusive property of the Immortal Mass. We are the ones entrusted with this precious Icon, and it is up to each one of us to muster up the courage to rise to the occasion, come the realization of these rumors, or even worse.
_____________________
Update: The big fears concerning the SP instruction are not materializing in the rumor mill.
So far, the two negatives presented by Rorati Coeli are rather minor, and if everyone would stop and think about it, to be expected.
An apparent limitation of the application of Summorum Pontificum to Western liturgical Rites such as the Ambrosian Rite and Dominican Rite, which is said to be contained in the instruction, and limiting the ability of diocesan seminarians to be ordained according to the 1962 liturgies have more to do with protecting the equally legitimate liturgical rights of local bishops and religious superiors. In both cases, the rights of local bishops and religious superiors may be contrary to the rights of the faithful concerning the forms of the liturgy to be used. We should not expect anything other than the rights of the local bishop and religious superiors taking precedence.
Secondly, there is a new rumor circulating that these leaks are coming from those translating the document, which raises some pointed questions:
Why aren't the positives being leaked?
Are those leaking this information interested in weakening the instruction in general by undermining support for it in traditional circles?
Given the importance of Summorum Pontificum in the efforts to reach a canonical solution for the SSPX, is this an attack on those efforts?
If this is the case, is Rorate Coeli and the rest of us only furthering these nefarious designs?
I think it best to bring back some measure of calm here. We need to wait for the document to be released before passing judgment, otherwise we may be unwittingly playing into the hands of a few who are trying to undermine the present course regarding Tradition and traditionalists.
______________________
Rorati Coeli has been posting about a possible disaster pending with the release of the "clarification" document concerning Summorum Pontificum. There are rumors claiming this document will water down the prerogatives set forth in the Holy Father's motu propio that liberated the Traditional Latin Mass according to the liturgical books of 1962.
Back at the beginning of the year I made a prediction that this clarification document would be released this year, but would be a disappointment for traditional Catholics. This was not a wild guess on my part. Late last year I had gotten wind that a substantial number of bishops and their offices had written up negative reviews for the three year analysis that they were asked to draw up. The main criticism, I was told, was divisiveness on the part of the members of traditional Catholic groups and communities, and their lack of involvement in the greater diocesan communities. Accusations were being made regarding "strong-arm" tactics on the part of traditional Catholics, insularism, and slow growth.
This, of course, is all hear-say, but given the recent rumors, I believe that this information is relevant at this time. Allow me to point out, I rather think these rumors about the clarification document are exaggerations. While it may be disappointing, I don't think it will be the disaster that it is already being lamented as being. We need to wait for the document to come out, and then judge it on it's own merits.
But lets grant that the rumors are true, and this document will be every bit as terrifying as it is being made out to be...
If these rumors are true, then we can expect from the clarification document a movement away from the Extraordinary Form being a "right", and back to being a "privilege". There is essentially no difference between a privilege, something that is allowed, and an "indult". I seriously doubt we are headed back to those bad-old-indult days, wherein local bishops had the freedom to crush traditional Catholics and their legitimate aspirations. On the other hand, I think we are going to start hearing the word "universal indult" again. Granted, back in 2006 the term "universal indult" was the substance of our dreams, but that was before we got something much better, a right.
What will this mean for traditional Catholics? Honestly, it's not all doom and gloom. Sure we can expect some negatives from this. The re-introduction of an "indult mentality" to the episcopate will mean that traditional Catholics will once again get treated as second class citizens by many bishops, and our aspirations will be treated as aberrations in the life of the Church that needs to be segregated and ignored as much as possible. However, that's true of many bishops, regardless of what this clarification document will say. If a modernist bishop doesn't like traditional Catholics, the Traditional Latin Mass or Tradition, then there's nothing in a Vatican document that will make it better or worse for traditional Catholics in that man's diocese. It may even have the advantage of silencing all these calls for the novus ordo, as ludicrous as it may be, to "enrich" the Traditional Latin Mass. If traditional Catholics and the Traditional Latin Mass are once again "second class", then I for one will not lament mainstream Catholics forgetting "mutual enrichment."
Speaking of "mutual enrichment", I heard a theory (not a rumor) that one aspect of the clarification document may be a call to force traditional Catholics into hearing the novus ordo by willfully limiting our access to the Traditional Latin Mass. Exclusivity and insularism on the part of traditional Catholics is, after all, one of the main concerns of many bishops. Mutual enrichment isn't served by traditional Catholics attending only the Extraordinary Form, or so the logic goes. Pressure could be brought to bear on traditional Catholic fraternities and orders to start offering the novus ordo, and to start concelebrating at the novus ordo, at least once a year at the bishop's chrism Mass. This latter theory isn't so far fetched. It has actually happened in the case of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and that controversy contributed to the resignation of the Fraternity's original superior.
If this is the case, then once again, I'm not so sure this is all doom and gloom. It isn't as though traditional Catholics haven't had to tread the same ground in the not so distant past. The Modernists will never understand our devotion for the Traditional Latin Mass, or our willingness to make extraordinary sacrifices for it, because the disaster that they have made of the Church has obscured and caused them to forget any semblance of true devotion. While they are drooling over the witchery and fraud at Medjugorje or congratulating themselves for their Pentecostalism at Franciscan U, neither of which will stand the test of time, we will simply go about business as usual. Whether it be swelling the pews at the local SSPX chapel, driving sixty or a hundred miles on Sunday, or just pestering the daylights out of our bishops, we've been there and we've done that. We had nearly fifty years of training. The Traditional Latin Mass and Tradition didn't go away then, and they won't go away now.
I agree with New Catholic over at Rorate Coeli that we should all start writing letters to the Holy Father, the CDF and our local bishops. But allow me to add this: if you are expecting our current leaders to make the necessary reforms that will turn the tables on the Modernists, you are going to be disappointed. The fox is guarding the hen house. Write to them, pray for them, ask God to soften their hardened hearts, but we have to put even more energy into making ourselves holy and faithful traditional Catholics. The primary manner in which we promote the Traditional Latin Mass and Catholic Tradition is by making ourselves more receptive to the beauty and spiritual fecundity that is the exclusive property of the Immortal Mass. We are the ones entrusted with this precious Icon, and it is up to each one of us to muster up the courage to rise to the occasion, come the realization of these rumors, or even worse.
New Bishop Fellay Interview (Updated)
A new 54 question interview of Bishop Fellay, Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, has been posted on the SSPX wesite. Please read whole interview here.Over all, the interview was rather encouraging, though prudently reticent on some subjects, especially the outcomes of the doctrinal discussions that Bishop Fellay reveals are coming to a close.
There are two very excellent comments from this interview that I would like to highlight. The first speaks to the reason d'etre of this blog. In response to the question of what the lay faithful ought to do, Bishop Fellay said:
The role of the lay faithful is to provide proof in action, for they are the proof that Tradition can be lived today. What the Church has always demanded—traditional discipline—is not only relevant but really viable even today.
I would like to thank the bishop for clearly pointing out the important and crucial role of the lay faithful in the restoration of Tradition. As I have pointed out over and over again here on this blog, the traditional Catholic laity must labor to sanctify our lives and homes by living lives centered on the Eucharist and the Traditional Latin Mass. True restoration and reform has always originated from the fervor of the faithful. Our love of the Traditional Latin Mass and our living out of its commensurate spirituality are the seeds by which the current crisis will be vanquished.
The second comment I would like to highlight is relation to this last point. In response to a question about the importance of traditional liturgy in the restoration of Tradition, Bishop Fellay had this to say:
The traditional Mass has an absolutely extraordinary power of grace. You see it in the apostolic work, you see it especially in the priests who come back to it: it is truly the antidote to the crisis. It is really very powerful, at all levels. At the level of grace, at the level of faith…. I think that if the old Mass were allowed to be truly free, the Church could emerge rather quickly from this crisis, but it would still take several years!
Love and promote the Traditional Latin Mass!
___________
Update: Fr. Zuhlsdorf provides some positive commentary concerning this interview here. I do take exception with Fr. Z's "overly sanguine" comment, though. I think his initial reaction to the bishop's words as "sanguine" comes from that hint of clericalism that often comes from Fr. Z. It is living the faith, and not so much the leadership of prelates, that sparks real reform, and this principle, I think, is at the heart of Bishop Fellay's words regarding the importance of the Traditional Latin Mass.
Friday, February 18, 2011
TradNews Roundup
*Discontent is growing over Satanic designs for Catholic churches in Italy.
*Fr. Finigan's "mutual enrichment" article sparks some heated emotions among traditionalists. Is the TLM under attack by forces flying the Summorum Pontificum banner?
*Scranton Knights of Columbus to host seminar on the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Right.
*Too little, too late. May I ask, what exactly did Cardinal Rode do all those years he was head of the Congregation for Religious to curb what the Jesuits have been doing ever since 1965?
*Rorate Coeli reports new instruction will limit the use of the Extraordinary Form of ordination outside traditional fraternities and orders.
*Fr. Finigan's "mutual enrichment" article sparks some heated emotions among traditionalists. Is the TLM under attack by forces flying the Summorum Pontificum banner?
*Scranton Knights of Columbus to host seminar on the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Right.
*Too little, too late. May I ask, what exactly did Cardinal Rode do all those years he was head of the Congregation for Religious to curb what the Jesuits have been doing ever since 1965?
*Rorate Coeli reports new instruction will limit the use of the Extraordinary Form of ordination outside traditional fraternities and orders.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The SSPX is not without its idiots
This has to be one of the most idiotic interpretations of Psalm 90 I've ever heard:
It's been a long time since I've seen the plain meaning of a scriptural text so utterly discarded. Here's the whole text:
Only a small mind would reduce the words of this psalm to rank animus.
It is for this reason that so many traditional Catholics can't stand the sight of the everyday SSPXer, priest or faithful. They often demonstrate an unrestrained conceit and vanity, coupled by a degree of theological ignorance that is surpassed only by their imprudent rhetoric and out-and-out stupidity.
To characterize the monastery of Le Barroux, the Fraternity of St. Peter, Bishop Rifan and Campos, the Institute of Christ the King, the Institute of the Good Shepherd, as "mute dogs" for no other reason than that they enjoy canonical regularity is just as ignorant and idiotic as this priest's interpretation of Psalm 90.
For the last year I've defended the SSPX, both on-line and in face-to-face debates with other traditional Catholics. When the SSPX was called "schismatic" I've demonstrated that they are not. When the SSPX has been accused of not being in "full communion", I've decried the lunacy of whole notion of "full" and "partial" communion. I've defended the communion of the SSPX bishops, priests and faithful with the Church, pointing out that the only difference between the SSPX and other religious fraternities was their lack of canonical recognition.
I will still defend the SSPX in this manner until my dying breath, but I will not countenance the same manner of attack from an SSPX priest leveled against any of the traditional Catholics from other fraternities or orders who happen to be canonically regular. This priest is essentially using the same illogical reasoning that is leveled against the SSPX by its detractors. To say that a traditional Catholic is any less traditional based on whether or not that Catholic is canonically regular or not is absolutely ridiculous.
Indeed, to belittle those fighting on the front lines for Tradition, in this "guerrilla war" against Modernism based on canonical regularity is, indeed, divisive and will not serve the cause of Tradition in the least. This degree of unjustified animus is what will divide our ranks, adding to the confusion and ambiguity. For the US district of the SSPX to post this degree of idiocy on their website is, well, to use Bishop Fellay's words, a real "mystery".
Shame on this SSPX priest, and shame on the SSPX US District.
“1,000 soldiers fall to the left, 10,000 to the right." This Scripture quote from Psalm 90 reminds us that false brethren (those on the right) are more dangerous than true enemies (those on the left).
It's been a long time since I've seen the plain meaning of a scriptural text so utterly discarded. Here's the whole text:
He will overshadow thee with his shoulders: and under his wings thou shalt trust. His truth shall compass thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night. Of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark: of invasion, or of the noonday devil. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand: but it shall not come nigh thee. (Ps 90. 4-7)Clearly the words of the text are directed toward the faithful, who in the perilous fight are surrounded, on the left and the right by the death of comrades, the only difference being that they are not specially called and protected by the mercy of God. They are neither false brethren or enemies, per se. They are simply those who do not trust in God. The analogy is clear: God protects those who trust in Him.
Only a small mind would reduce the words of this psalm to rank animus.
It is for this reason that so many traditional Catholics can't stand the sight of the everyday SSPXer, priest or faithful. They often demonstrate an unrestrained conceit and vanity, coupled by a degree of theological ignorance that is surpassed only by their imprudent rhetoric and out-and-out stupidity.
To characterize the monastery of Le Barroux, the Fraternity of St. Peter, Bishop Rifan and Campos, the Institute of Christ the King, the Institute of the Good Shepherd, as "mute dogs" for no other reason than that they enjoy canonical regularity is just as ignorant and idiotic as this priest's interpretation of Psalm 90.
For the last year I've defended the SSPX, both on-line and in face-to-face debates with other traditional Catholics. When the SSPX was called "schismatic" I've demonstrated that they are not. When the SSPX has been accused of not being in "full communion", I've decried the lunacy of whole notion of "full" and "partial" communion. I've defended the communion of the SSPX bishops, priests and faithful with the Church, pointing out that the only difference between the SSPX and other religious fraternities was their lack of canonical recognition.
I will still defend the SSPX in this manner until my dying breath, but I will not countenance the same manner of attack from an SSPX priest leveled against any of the traditional Catholics from other fraternities or orders who happen to be canonically regular. This priest is essentially using the same illogical reasoning that is leveled against the SSPX by its detractors. To say that a traditional Catholic is any less traditional based on whether or not that Catholic is canonically regular or not is absolutely ridiculous.
Indeed, to belittle those fighting on the front lines for Tradition, in this "guerrilla war" against Modernism based on canonical regularity is, indeed, divisive and will not serve the cause of Tradition in the least. This degree of unjustified animus is what will divide our ranks, adding to the confusion and ambiguity. For the US district of the SSPX to post this degree of idiocy on their website is, well, to use Bishop Fellay's words, a real "mystery".
Shame on this SSPX priest, and shame on the SSPX US District.
Friday, February 11, 2011
TradNews Roundup
*Some are already drooling over a new motu propio, but Lombardi had a glass of cold water at hand.
*And more news concerning that religion of peace.
*German bishops welcome heresy as just another part of the dialogue. Oh, dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! What would we ever do without dialogue? the highest dogma of the Modernists!
*Legionaries of Christ have problems that stain to the core. Can the order be reformed?
*And more news concerning that religion of peace.
*German bishops welcome heresy as just another part of the dialogue. Oh, dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! What would we ever do without dialogue? the highest dogma of the Modernists!
*Legionaries of Christ have problems that stain to the core. Can the order be reformed?
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
The SSPX, including its bishops, priests and faithful, is in Communion, "full" or otherwise
Christopher A. Ferrara writes:
Be sure to read the whole article here.
The contention that the Catholics of the SSPX are not in “full communion” with the Catholic Church of which they are indubitably members is nonsense. Just as nonsensical is the idea that the likes of Mahony and Gumbleton are in “full communion” with the Church but not the SSPX bishops, or that legions of pew Catholics every bit as heterodox as the most liberal of Protestants are in “full communion,” but not the laity of the SSPX, who accept every single binding teaching of the Magisterium on faith and morals.
The SSPX affair demonstrates how the ambiguous conciliar neologism “full communion” and its flipside, “partial communion,” cause enormous damage to the Church. At one and the same time non-Catholics, now hailed and feted at ecumenical gatherings, are no longer viewed as heretics or schismatics because they are deemed to have a nebulous “partial communion” with the Church, while Catholic traditionalists are denounced and ostracized for lacking an equally nebulous “full communion”—denounced and ostracized by the same critics who praise the “partial communion” of a vast array of actual heretics and schismatics that rejects practically everything the Church teaches.
Ridicule is the only fitting response to those who continue to prattle about a lack of “full communion” on the part of Catholics who are keeping the Faith in the midst of what the last Pope, after a quarter-century of celebrating a “great renewal” that never was, finally lamented as “silent apostasy” in a once Christian Europe.
Be sure to read the whole article here.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
FSSP to live-stream evenings of recollection beginning this Friday
According to this week's email letter to members of the Confraternity of St. Peter, evenings of recollection will be available via live streaming from the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter parish in Sarasota, Florida. The first evening of recollection will be this Friday, February 11th at 6:30 pm EST.
The live stream can be viewed at www.livemass.net.
For those of you who don't know, you can also view the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Christ the King Catholic Church, live or recorded, at this link. This is quite a blessing, especially for those who do not have access to a daily Traditional Latin Mass.
The live stream can be viewed at www.livemass.net.
For those of you who don't know, you can also view the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Christ the King Catholic Church, live or recorded, at this link. This is quite a blessing, especially for those who do not have access to a daily Traditional Latin Mass.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Doctrinal Emphasis Noted by Head of SSPX in the US
Fr. Arnaud Rostand, SSPX, District Superior of the Society of St. Pius X in the United States:
The complete interview can be read here.
Two years ago, for the first time, a voice in Rome rose up to question the Second Vatican Council; Monsignor Gherardini wrote several articles and a book criticizing the Council. He demonstrates that the Second Vatican Council is not in continuity with the previous doctrine of the Church. On December 17, 2010 a bishop, Mgr. Schneider asked for a new Syllabus. In a conference in Rome, he denounced the wrong interpretations of Vatican II and proposed a list of propositions (a Syllabus) condemning “the errors of interpretation of Vatican II”. So, the solution he recommends to correct the actual situation of the Church is the use of the extraordinary Magisterium of the Pope, a solemn infallible declaration of the Pope to clear up the Council. This evolution is very interesting and it will go farther, because if the infallible Magisterium is necessary to clarify the Council, it means that, to say the least, it is ambiguous and therefore leads to errors regarding the Faith! This shift of the debate toward the doctrinal level is clearly happening, albeit at a slow pace.
The complete interview can be read here.
Friday, February 4, 2011
TradNews Roundup
*Once Catholic States Spain, Ireland and Portugal, and also Cyprus, and Luxembourg reject attempts to renounce persecution of Christians.
*Former president of Human Life International, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, releases statement disclosing reasons for his exit from ministry being due to sexual indiscretions. HLI reveals that there are now multiple women coming forward with complaints about Fr. Euteneuer. Opinion here.
*Archbishop of Tokyo goes to the mattresses with the Vatican over the NCW.
*Yet another clarification belies the fact that the pope really muddled things up.
*Former president of Human Life International, Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, releases statement disclosing reasons for his exit from ministry being due to sexual indiscretions. HLI reveals that there are now multiple women coming forward with complaints about Fr. Euteneuer. Opinion here.
*Archbishop of Tokyo goes to the mattresses with the Vatican over the NCW.
*Yet another clarification belies the fact that the pope really muddled things up.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Unhealthy Attention to the Demonic
With the release of the new movie, The Rite, and its positive review by many in the Catholic (mostly neo-con) media, we can expect a new wave of interest in the Church's ministry of exorcism. Of course, this will also include an equal interest in the demonic.
The movie, The Rite, follows closely on the heals of another movie from a Catholic sensibility about a similar subject. I'm referring to the M. Night Shyamalan's film, Devil. Shyamalan's grotesque and violently gratuitous film attempts to focus on man's need for redemption, reparation and forgiveness. The ends, however, do not justify the means. Shyamalan's film mixes faith with violence and a modern penchant for blood and gore. There is a big difference between telling children scary stories to foster a healthy fear for a creature who can really do harm to their eternal life, and displaying these ideas with images that go beyond decorum. Religion is not served well when it is served up with sadism and bloodshed.
The Rite, however, may hold more potential for disservice to our Catholic religion than a film like Shyamalan's, Devil.
Caution must be served here. Despite the Catholic neo-con's baptism of The Rite, Catholics must be careful not to reduce the Church's ministry of exorcism to base entertainment. The subject matter of The Rite isn't some theatrical fantasy, but an actual reality of our sinful and fallen world. Demonic influence, obsessions and possessions afflict many poor souls, and their suffering should not be trivialized or used for profit.
Secondly, too much attention or interest in the demonic can, and will be used, by Satan and his demons to lead individuals to obsession. These obsessions in turn can have devastating results. Interest in the demonic also leads to pride. While all things can be conquered in Christ, there is a reason why the Church has historically approached the ministry of exorcism with extreme caution, giving those entrusted with the ministry careful scrutiny and thorough training. There is a real danger to one's soul, and the trivializing of demonic influences, obsessions and possessions can not have any kind of good consequence.
We have recently been reminded of the dangers entailed in this ministry by the scandal surrounding Fr. Thomas Euteneuer's exit from priestly ministry due to sexual indiscretions. I'm not referring, specifically, to the scandal, the details of which are none of my business, nor that of any other hack with a website. However, what I'm referring to is the danger of publicity surrounding a ministry that is fraught with dangers that often include attacks specifically designed to harm the reputation of the people involved, especially the priests and the Church. It is bad enough that another notable and public figure is involved in yet another priest-sex scandal, but now it is coupled by the fact that much was made of his ministry as an exorcist in the media. The nature of the indiscretion or its severity is irrelevant. The damage has been done largely because the exorcist involved was such a public figure. I lay the blame for this with those who, for whatever reason, made Fr. Euteneuer's ministry of exorcism such a public spectacle.
We have to re-evaluate the wisdom of making exorcism and matters concerning the demonic into public spectacles. To much attention to the demonic, especially in the entertainment industry, is not good for the Church. What is lacking in the Catholic neo-con media is a traditional respect for the ministry of exorcism and its subject matter. This is born of pride, and this pride obviously leads to great falls.
The Catholic neo-con media is quick to taunt the ministry of exorcism, as is evident from their canonization of The Rite, but I'm afraid they are treating it more as a marketing tool than a sacramental. Is it their hope that The Rite will bring more movie goers to Church? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. However, I'm not going to put much faith in the possibility that pride and publicity for the Devil, not to mention the trivialization of a sacramental, will lead to a great Catholic revival.
The movie, The Rite, follows closely on the heals of another movie from a Catholic sensibility about a similar subject. I'm referring to the M. Night Shyamalan's film, Devil. Shyamalan's grotesque and violently gratuitous film attempts to focus on man's need for redemption, reparation and forgiveness. The ends, however, do not justify the means. Shyamalan's film mixes faith with violence and a modern penchant for blood and gore. There is a big difference between telling children scary stories to foster a healthy fear for a creature who can really do harm to their eternal life, and displaying these ideas with images that go beyond decorum. Religion is not served well when it is served up with sadism and bloodshed.
The Rite, however, may hold more potential for disservice to our Catholic religion than a film like Shyamalan's, Devil.
Caution must be served here. Despite the Catholic neo-con's baptism of The Rite, Catholics must be careful not to reduce the Church's ministry of exorcism to base entertainment. The subject matter of The Rite isn't some theatrical fantasy, but an actual reality of our sinful and fallen world. Demonic influence, obsessions and possessions afflict many poor souls, and their suffering should not be trivialized or used for profit.
Secondly, too much attention or interest in the demonic can, and will be used, by Satan and his demons to lead individuals to obsession. These obsessions in turn can have devastating results. Interest in the demonic also leads to pride. While all things can be conquered in Christ, there is a reason why the Church has historically approached the ministry of exorcism with extreme caution, giving those entrusted with the ministry careful scrutiny and thorough training. There is a real danger to one's soul, and the trivializing of demonic influences, obsessions and possessions can not have any kind of good consequence.
We have recently been reminded of the dangers entailed in this ministry by the scandal surrounding Fr. Thomas Euteneuer's exit from priestly ministry due to sexual indiscretions. I'm not referring, specifically, to the scandal, the details of which are none of my business, nor that of any other hack with a website. However, what I'm referring to is the danger of publicity surrounding a ministry that is fraught with dangers that often include attacks specifically designed to harm the reputation of the people involved, especially the priests and the Church. It is bad enough that another notable and public figure is involved in yet another priest-sex scandal, but now it is coupled by the fact that much was made of his ministry as an exorcist in the media. The nature of the indiscretion or its severity is irrelevant. The damage has been done largely because the exorcist involved was such a public figure. I lay the blame for this with those who, for whatever reason, made Fr. Euteneuer's ministry of exorcism such a public spectacle.
We have to re-evaluate the wisdom of making exorcism and matters concerning the demonic into public spectacles. To much attention to the demonic, especially in the entertainment industry, is not good for the Church. What is lacking in the Catholic neo-con media is a traditional respect for the ministry of exorcism and its subject matter. This is born of pride, and this pride obviously leads to great falls.
The Catholic neo-con media is quick to taunt the ministry of exorcism, as is evident from their canonization of The Rite, but I'm afraid they are treating it more as a marketing tool than a sacramental. Is it their hope that The Rite will bring more movie goers to Church? Maybe it will, maybe it won't. However, I'm not going to put much faith in the possibility that pride and publicity for the Devil, not to mention the trivialization of a sacramental, will lead to a great Catholic revival.
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