Greetings to all.
I am journeying in the south of England right now, presently in Lewes visiting priest friends.
My connectivity is a little spotty right now, so please pardon me if I am slow in reponding to e-mails. I managed to get on line this morning and found that in the last two days I had over 1000 e-mails waiting for me. That’s quite a few to handle in a narrow morning window, obviously. So, I am afraid many will simply have to go unanswered.
Today I will be meeting with a group of priests and we will have a discussion of Summorum Pontificum.
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Father Z: Readers of your blog might get an insight on the Irish situation across the water from you by reading this article.
http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=26659-qqqx=1.asp
God Bless
… and the situation in Luxembourg; a “coetus” shall here be composed of 25 persons …
http://www.cathol.lu/
Comments by father Z?
Best regards
An article of possible interest-
“Vatican cardinal urges respect for people’s right to Tridentine Mass”
Article can be found at this URL
http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=25382&wf=rsscol
And in Naples, the ultra ‘tolerant’ bishop says the Pope’s authority in regard to the celebration of the Extraordinary form doesn’t stretch to him – NO “Latin Mass’ in his diocese. Period. He told a priest preparing for the Extraordinary form not to celebrate it.
http://www.summorumpontificum.net/2007/09/bishop-to-pope-take-flying-leap.html
[snip]
“The authority for the theological, liturgical and moral correctness of a diocese is the bishop,” Nogaro continued, “even if the Pope has decreed an opening in favor of other rites. I am the only bishop in Campania who has asserted this so far to control the application of the Papal decree.
“Besides, the request of 30-40 persons is not sufficient in order for the traditional Mass to be celebrated. The parish priest is obliged to report it to his bishop. And I was never informed.”
In his sacristy, Don Gionti is surrounded by many of those who had requested him for the traditional Mass, and is visibly disconcerted: “I will obey the bishop,” he said, “even if this loses us the occasion for a liturgical experience that is important for our community, many of whom requested this. I considered it an experiment, certainly not a replacement for the post-Conciliar Mass.
“I think a priest should respond to a request by his congregation. But the bishop has ordered me to suspend the scheduled Mass, telling me that this would create a dangerous precedent. Though I still do not understand what danger he means.”
I hope the Holy Father sets things straight with this bishop quickly.
Glad to see you arrived safely…
Here in our small South Midlands country parish parish, our parish priest wrote a note in the newsletter that the Bishop had written to all the priests in the dioscese about SP and if anyone in the parish desired Mass in the extraordianary rite they should let Canon know.
To my amazement a few weeks later a further note in the newsletter stated that 22, yes 22 parishoners contacted Canon asking for this!
As a result what will probably be the first mass in the Extraordinary rite since the reformation will be held as a sung Mass at 7.30PM on Thursday 4th October in Sacred Heart Church in Flitwick.
(Sacred Heart Church is in Pope Close, Flitwick which is just off Dunstable Road about 5 minutes walk from Flitwick Railway station [Thameslink] if anybody is in the area)
Peter: … and the situation in Luxembourg; a “coetus†shall here be composed of 25 persons … Comments by father Z?
Sure.
First, that has nothing to do with this blog entry and, second, that artificial minimum nothing has nothing to do with Summorum Pontificum. It’s just wrong.
The Bishop of Lisbon, Portugal, also came out with a horrible statement on Sept. 14 in which he makes it clear that he has no intention of permitting the old rite, hates it, regards it as a rejection of VatII, and puts the pastor in charge of deciding if priests may celebrate the old rite privately. If they do manage to celebrate it, they may in no event invite people to attend or indicate in advance in any way that they are going to celebrate it. Furthermore, the Bishop of Lisbon comes up with a weird standard that insists that the FAITHFUL be fully competent in Latin (by which he seems to mean practically that they went to school with Caesar!) if they wish to attend, and that the priests and the bishop must examine the “motives” of persons requesting the old rite. He declares that he is in charge of the MP’s implementation, and the old rite will not be permitted if he feels their “motives” are not correct. And finally, the ability to sing Gregorian chant is required as a condition for the celebration of any public mass! Talk about bizarre.
Somebody posted it (in Portuguese) on Rorate Caeli as a comment in the context of the discussion of the Neapolitan bishop. It’s worth reading. It’s one of the most overtly hostile yet, IMHO.
The case of Bp Nogaro of Caserta is unusual. Italian bishops almost always defer very quickly to the pope. But he’s almost 74, and, as I’ve said before, Rome can resolve situations like this very quickly by naming a co-adjutor.
The Cardinal in Portugal? My guess is that he didn’t cast a Ratzinger vote in the conclave.
Father,
Will you be near Bath, perchance?
Was just wondering what kind of Church there is in Bath, and if the Classical Rite will be offered there.
I have been to Bath, and remember how beautiful it was. It holds a special place in my heart.
God bless you in your travels.
Father Zuhlsdorf,
How does one pronounce the name “Lewes” in England? One syllable or two?
Safe journies!
St John the Evangelist is a fine Victorian gothic church in Bath, built for the Benedictines of nearby Downside. It’s close to the city centre, between the Abbey & the river, recognisable by its tall spire. It retains its High Altar, wrought iron rood screen & marble side altars, so all the furnishings are in place, and it’s well worth a visit. Unfortunately its web site (stjohnsrcbath.org.uk) is not particularly enlightening & has no photos of the interior. It was designed by the Hansoms (as in the cab of the same name).
The diocese of Clifton is probably not the first place I’d go looking for a mass in the EF, but remarkable things are happening at present….
Denis
Looez. The townsfolk burn an effigy of the pope every November 5th. Probably inbred or something.
I wonder,
does anybody know of a bishop who has attempted to restrict the right of his priests to offer the ordinary expression of the Roman Rite in Latin? It seems to me that only if it is possible to restrict that right is it possible to lay down equivalent qualifications for the extraordinay expression of the Roman Rite.
In my small NO parish in one of the London boroughs attendance during weekends masses is not that impressive – many people picked up strange custom to attend Mass on Saturday evening instead of Sunday – however in parish bulletin it is stated that between 300-400 people attend these Masses and collection is about £400-500. Keeping this in mind the simple x4 gives around £1600-2000 per months. I have no idea what part of it must go to diocese, but i think that certainly the faithful can put a bit of pressure on unwilling bishops by simply abstaining from these weekday Masses offerings, instead giving the money to some charities, i am sure that it would work. In the end bishops are intelligent people.