What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Nominations for the 2008 Catholic Blog Awards has now ended.

Voting will begin at Noon CST on Monday, March 4, 2008.

It will be great to see who was nominated this year!

 

Here are a couple links to stories about China’s "one child policy".  I think you’ll find them… interesting… as the run-up to the Olympics races forward.

First, read through this piece from John Smeaton, director of the The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children:

one-child policy propaganda

Anthony Ozimic, SPUC political secretary, has commented today on how Western media outlets are disseminating misinformation by the Chinese Communist regime allegedly implying that China might scrap or significantly relax its one-child, forced-abortion population control policy.

Reuters and the Guardian have today published reports analysing comments by Zhao Baige, Chinese’s population control minister, to a Beijing press conference. The headlines read "China could scrap its one-child policy" and "China considers ending one-child policy", even though nothing in the minister’s comments suggests such a move.

Anthony comments: "Experts know that the Chinese Communist regime makes misleading statements about human rights when the international spotlight is on China, such as now in the run-up to the Olympics. Such statements are intended for Western consumption only and specifically designed to mislead Westerners into wishful thinking that the regime’s crimes against humanity, such as the one-child policy, are coming to an end.

"The false claim by the Guardian’s Tania Branigan that the one-child policy’s ‘enforcement system is far less punitive than in the 80s and early 90s’ is one such example of how the Chinese regime has been successful in planting such misinformation into the Western media.

"After the Olympics, the Western media should conduct on-the-ground investigations into the one-child policy’s implementation, where they will discover the reality of continuing forced abortions rather than the myths the Communist regime has led them to believe," Anthony concludes.

Pictured is Hui Rong Mesrinejad, a refugee from the one-child policy (read more about her story here).

And from our friend the hermeneutical Fr. Finigan:

Western media falls for commie propaganda 

China’s "Population Control Minister" (shouldn’t that title itself put you on your guard just a little?) has been reported as indicating that China might scrap its one child policy. Since his actual comments said nothing of the sort, the spin doctors must have been working hard. See Anthony Ozimic’s comments: One-child policy misinformation being planted in Western media. See also John Smeaton’s post today on one-child policy propaganda.

As the late Dr John S. Aird, former senior China specialist at the U.S. Bureau for the Census (a world expert on China’s one-child policy), said five years ago:

"The Chinese family planning authorities are continuing their old trick of talking tough to their own people while giving a gentle image to the gullible foreigners. It is a clumsy, transparently obvious trick, but it still works as it has in the past. That is why the Chinese authorities still use it! When will the foreigners wise up?"

For a reminder of the sensitive way that the Chinese communist authorities have promoted the one child policy, see my post from last year: Your home will be destroyed and your cows taken away if you don’t abort. Other wall writing included "Better blood flowing like a river than one extra birth." and "One excess birth, whole village sterilized!"

 

The Italian Il Giornale di Brescia has an article about the Holy Father’s upcoming 3rd encyclical.  Biretta tip to Papa Ratzinger Blog  o{]:¬)

The bullet points:

• Card. Bertone has confirmed that the encyclical will deal with "social" themes.
• The Pope is finishing it.
• He will deal with developing countries.
• Card. Bertone did not confirm when it would be released.
• Whereas the first two encyclicals were very much a product of Benedict’s relfection, this one has more input from Ponticifical Councils.
• The French La Croix speculates that deals with globalization.

 

 

IERI LA CONFERMA DEL CARDINAL BERTONE

Presto la terza enciclica di Benedetto XVI: sarà dedicata ai temi sociali

Arcangelo Paglialunga

CITTÀ DEL VATICANO - Le voci che circolavano da qualche tempo in Vaticano su una nuova enciclica del Papa, «di carattere sociale», hanno trovato conferma nelle parole del cardinal Bertone: il Santo Padre sta terminando la sua terza enciclica che sarà incentrata sui temi e problemi sociali internazionali con particolare riferimento ai Paesi in via di sviluppo. Il Segretario di Stato non ha però confermato le voci secondo cui l’enciclica sarà pubblicata entro marzo.
La terza enciclica si differenzia dalle due che l’hanno preceduta la «Deus Caritas est» e la «Spe Salvi», che recavano lo stilo del papa teologo che fonda il suo magistero sul richiamo alla fede e alle virtù teologali. Questa volta il tema è di carattere sociale. E se le prime due encicliche sono state frutto di studio personale, per la terza il Papa si è avvalso anche degli studi dei Pontifici Consigli impegnati in campo sociale.

Il giornale cattolico francese «La Croix» ha potuto anticipare che il tema centrale della nuova Enciclica riguarderà le problematiche della «mondializzazione», «un fenomeno che ha fatto passare il mondo dalla guerra fredda, dal suo superamento ai tempi nuovi del traffico dei prodotti, delle informazioni, agli scambi economici, ai flussi finanziari».

Ma non è detto che ciò abbia portato tranquillità e benessere a tutti: non pochi Paesi sono restati nella povertà, anzi hanno visto aggravate le loro difficoltà.
Non per nulla Benedetto XVI disse in un recente discorso: «Non si può certo affermare che la mondializzazione sia sinonimo di ordine mondiale… E i conflitti per la supremazia economica e la dominazione sulle risorse energetiche, idriche e delle materie prime, rendono difficile l’impegno di coloro che si sforzano di costruire un mondo più giusto e solidale».

Il Papa ha detto ancora: «C’è bisogno di una speranza più grande, che permette di preferire il bene comune di tutti al lusso di un piccolo numero ed alla miseria di tanti».

Facile intuire che Benedetto XVI accanto ai temi nuovi, come la difesa dell’ambiente, il riscaldamento del pianeta, affronterà temi sociali ed umani anche quelli relativi al lavoro con i suoi diritti e doveri.

Non si può dimenticare quanto affermò, suscitando svariati commenti: «È ormai evidente che solo adottando uno stile sobrio di vita accompagnato da un impegno serio per una giusta distribuzione delle ricchezze sarà possibile instaurare un ordine di sviluppo giusto e durevole».

Possono bastare per ora queste osservazioni per giustificare l’attesa di un documento che si inserisce nel solco dei grandi documenti sociali coi quali la Chiesa ha accompagnato la vita e la storia sociale dell’umanità.

Oggi il problema è la «mondializzazione». Su tutti i documenti il richiamo al rispetto totale della persona umana, della vita, della famiglia. Il nuovo documento di Benedetto XVI sarà certamente di grande importanza sul piano della dottrina e su quello delle proposte al mondo.

 

From Fox News:

Chaldean Archbishop Kidnapped in Northern Iraq

Friday , February 29, 2008

AP

BAGHDAD —  Gunmen on Friday kidnapped Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, police and the church said.

The gunmen also killed three people who were with Rahho, 65, at the time of the kidnapping, which occurred after he ended a Mass in a nearby church, said Iraqi Brig. Gen. Khalid Abdul-Sattar, a spokesman for the Ninevah province police.

An aide to Iraq’s Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, leader of the church, said he did not know who was behind the kidnapping.

"We pray for his release as soon as possible," said Archbishop Andreos Abouna. "This act of abduction against a Christian clergy member will increase our fears and worries about the situation of Christians in Iraq."

Last year’s International Religious Freedom Report from the U.S. State Department noted that Chaldean Catholics comprise a tiny minority of the Iraqi population, but are the largest group among the less than 1 million Christians in Iraq.

Since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003, Iraqi Christians have been targeted by Islamic extremists who label them "crusaders" loyal to U.S. troops.

Churches, priests and business owned by Christians have been attacked by Islamic militants and many have fled the country.

Last June, Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep concern about the plight of Christians caught in the deadly sectarian crossfire in Iraq and pressed U.S. President George W. Bush in a meeting to keep their safety in mind.

"Particularly in Iraq, Christian families and communities are feeling increasing pressure from insecurity, aggression and a sense of abandonment," Benedict said at the time.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki pledged last fall to protect and support the Christian minority.

Here are shots of the pages from the 2005 Martyrologium Romanum concerning 29 February and Leap Year.

You can click these for large images.

 

You will have noticed the word The word bissextus.  The mighty Lewis & Short says that bisextus, is "an intercalary day; so called, since the 24th of February = VI. Cal. Mart., was doubled". 

In the Roman calendar the sixth day before the Kalends, or Calends, of March (24 February, counting back from the beginning of March) occurred twice in a leap year.  So, bisextus (from bis "twice" and sextus "sixth") "the sixth day for the second time".

Just to expand this a little, again we look at the Martyrologium Romanum for 24 and 25 February.

On 24 February we have the sixth day before the Kalends of March.



On 25 February, we have this:



"The fifth day before the Kalends of March; or on leap year: the sixth day before the Kalends of March".

Looked at this way, the real "leap day" for the ancient Romans was at 24/25 February, not the 29th!

Remember, the Romans made their dates by counting forward to fixed points, the Kalends (1st day of a month), the Nones, (the 5th or 7th, depending on the month) and the Ides (the 13th or 15th depending on the month).  There is a little verse to help us remember how this works:

In March, July, October, May
The Ides fall on the fifteenth day
The Nones the seventh; all besides
Have two days less for Nones and Ides.

Again, the Romans counted forward, rather than backward, like we do.  We today think in terms of the first day of the month, and then the 2nd day from the 1st, and the 3rd from the first: our reference point is backward.  The Romans counted forward to their days.  and they also counted inclusively, counting the days themselves rather then the days remaining until the Kalends, Nones or Ides.  Thus,

29 February = pridie Kalendas Martii – the day before the Kalends of March (which was the 1st day of the ancient Roman year for centuries!)
1 March = Kalendis martii – the Kalends of March
2 March = sexto Nonas martii – the sixth day before the Nones of March (which is 7 March)
3 March = quinto Nonas martii – the fifth day before the Nones of March
4 March = quarto Nonas martii – the fourth day before the Nones of March
5 March = tertio Nonas martii – the third day before the Nones of March
6 March = pridie Nonas martii – the day before the Nones of March
7 March = Nonis martii – the Nones of March

The Romans had abbreviations for dating.  For example: a.d. for ante diem = "days before" and prid. for pridie, "the day before".

It is possible that the month February is named for a thong of goatskin called a februa from the verb februo ("to purify, expiate").  On 15 February the ancient Romans had a festival called the Lupercalia. Lupercalia is from the name of the Lupercal ("she wolf") cave on the Palatine Hill, sacred to the Lycean Pan.  The Lupercal was recently rediscovered, btw., on October 2007, between the Temple of Apollo Palatinus and the Basilica of Santa Anastasia (where the Station of the 1st Mass of Christmas is).  They are still searching for the entrance to the grotto, but they got photos of the inside with a remote device.  Very cool stuff.

The Lupercalia were observed from 13-15 February.  It was a festival for purification of the city from bad spirits and to promote fertility.  At the beginning, two male goats and a dog were ritually slaughtered.  Then two patrician men who belongeds to special priestly colleges, smeared with  the blood wiped from the blade of the knife with wool soaked in milk.  They then had to laugh (which would be my first reaction, I can tell you).  After a feast, the two patricians, or luperci, cut thongs, februa, from the skins of the animals and put the bloody skins of the goats around their loins.  They then had to run around the walls encircling the Palatine Hill, striking the people who lined their course with the thongs.  This februatio was especially beneficial for girls and women, apparently, in promoting fertility.

It will be no surprise that these ancient rites were ended by Pope Gelasius (+496) of the Gelasian Sacramentary fame.  Gelasius even had fight with a senator named Andromachus who wanted to keep it going, telling him that if we wanted the Lupercalia to continue, then Andromachus should be the one to run nude around the Palatine with only a bloody goatskin around his waist.

But I digress…

 

I was rooting around over at In the Light of the Law and found an interesting bit of information.

The CDF has issued a response to questions about the use of the proper form for conferring the all important sacrament of baptism.

In short, in the Diocese of Brisbane, Australia, some priests at a parish church in performed thousands of invalid baptisms.  They were changing the Trinitarian baptismal form to things like "I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier’, or ‘I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer’".

How stupid is that?

Remember: we have to get baptism right!  Without baptism, you can’t receive the other sacraments.

The entry at the aforementioned canon law blog provides some background.  

Take a look at  In the Light of the Law

 

The rules on baptism are meant to be followed

When, back on 2 December 2004, I blogged about "Brisbane’s Bad Baptisms", I got an unusual number of nasty notes from folks who (assuming they agreed with my point that baptism in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier was invalid, and many did not agree), nevertheless took umbrage at my conclusion that those undergoing such rituals were not, in fact, any kind of Christian (pace the archbishop there), and that such persons, to be Christian, let alone Catholic, needed to be absolutely (not conditionally, pace 1983 CIC 869.1) baptized anew. "It wasn’t their fault they were baptized invalidly," wrote one unhappy reader, "how can you deny them the grace of God because of something they didn’t do?" Like, you know, I decide who gets God’s grace and who doesn’t.

Today, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith announced its ruling that any ‘baptism’ attempted "in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier" (or, to take another silly variation, "in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer") is invalid, and that persons who received such ‘baptisms’ . . . "have, in reality, not been baptised [and must] . . . be treated for all canonical and pastoral purposes with the same juridical criteria as people whom the Code of Canon Law places in the general category of non-baptised."

I won’t say that it feels good being shown right by an "authentic doctrinal declaration" from CDF, but it sure beats being shown wrong.

Anyway, sacraments are pretty tough things, designed by Christ to be administered even by fallen people. But sacraments have rules, instilled by the Lord, that must be followed. When his rules aren’t followed, real people miss out. So let’s get these folks baptized as Christ directed, and get back about the task of spreading his Good News as Jesus would have it spread.

Here is the CDF statement:

REPLY FROM DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH ON BAPTISMAL FORMULAE

VATICAN CITY, 29 FEB 2008 (VIS) – Made public today were the responses of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to two questions concerning the validity of Baptism conferred with certain non-standard formulae.

The first question is: "Is a Baptism valid if conferred with the words ‘I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier’, or ‘I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the Sustainer’"?

The second question is: "Must people baptised with those formulae be baptised ‘in forma absoluta’?"

The responses are: "To the first question, negative; to the second question, affirmative".

Benedict XVI, during his recent audience with Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved these responses, which were adopted at the ordinary session of the congregation, and ordered their publication. The text of the responses bears the signatures of Cardinal Levada and of Archbishop Angelo Amato S.D.B., secretary of the dicastery.

An attached note explains that the responses "concern the validity of Baptism conferred with two English-language formulae within the ambit of the Catholic Church. ... Clearly, the question does not concern English but the formula itself, which could also be expressed in another language".

"Baptism conferred in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit", the note continues, "obeys Jesus’ command as it appears at the end of the Gospel of St. Matthew. ... The baptismal formula must be an adequate expression of Trinitarian faith, approximate formulae are unacceptable.

"Variations to the baptismal formula – using non-biblical designations of the Divine Persons – as considered in this reply, arise from so-called feminist theology", being an attempt "to avoid using the words Father and Son which are held to be chauvinistic, substituting them with other names. Such variants, however, undermine faith in the Trinity".

"The response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith constitutes an authentic doctrinal declaration, which has wide-ranging canonical and pastoral effects. Indeed, the reply implicitly affirms that people who have been baptised, or who will in the future be baptised, with the formulae in question have, in reality, not been baptised. Hence, they must them be treated for all canonical and pastoral purposes with the same juridical criteria as people whom the Code of Canon Law places in the general category of ‘non- baptised’".

 

There is a lot of snow here at the Sabine Farm right now.

It is getting pretty deep in places, especially for the hungry birds.

 

Sabine Snow Removal requires more than a shovel. 

 

The chickadees don’t seem overly put off by all the noise and activity, however.

 

As John Sonnen reports at his place, today is the birthday of of Pope Paul III, born in 1468.

That would make him, and other people born on leap year day, "Leaplings".

It is also the birth of the infamous Consilium.

At the beginning of its work the Consilium’s very existence was in question. 

However, it was eventally settled.

In the book which has H.E. Piero Marini’s name on the cover (but which I think was ghost written for him), A Challenging Reform: Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal, there are interesting pages about the origins of the Consilium.  Here is an excerpt:

The institution of the Consilium was finally "settled" with letters on February 29 and March 2.  February 29 was the date on which the Secretariate of State sent a letter addressed to Cardinals Lercaro, Larraona, and Gregorio Pietro Agagianian, prefect of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide:

I have the the honor of communicating to Your Eminence, in keeping with the directives of Pope Paul VI, the responsibilities of the Consilium for the Carrying out of the Constitution on the Liturgy, of which Your Eminence is PResident.  They are as follows:

a. to suggest the names of the persons charged with forming study groups for the revision of rites and liturgical books;

b. to oversee and coordinate the work of the study groups;

c. to prepare carefully an instruction explaining the practical application of the Motu Proprio Sacram Liturgiam and clearly outling the competence of the territorial ecclesiastical authorities, pending the reform of rites and liturgical books;

d. to apply, according to the letter and the spirit of the Council, the Constitution it approved, by responding to the proposals of the conferences of bishops and to questions that arise involving the correct application of the Constitution.

Appeals of decisions of the Consilium as well as the solution of particularly sensitive nd grave or completely new problems will be referred by the Consilium to the pope.

... [T]he February 29 letter did place the Consilium at the head of the reform.  In fact, it was the Consilium’s legal charter and would later be reffered to often in times of controversy and conflict with the Congregation for Rites.  Therefore it marked a most important step in the life of the Consilium.  this letter sent to Cardinal Larcaro concerning the Consilium’s competencies also appointed him president.

Thus was born the Consilium, set up to carry out what the Council asked for regarding reform of the liturgy.

The Consilium by far outstripped its competency, but Pope Paul backed it, even to the point of stripping the Congregation for Rites of much of its power.

Part of the purpose of the members of the Consilium was precisely to diminish the Congregation, and the rest of the Curia, and used certain liturgical questions as their weapons.  For example, the issue of the vernacular was as much about shifting power to conferences of bishops (whom the Consilium wanted to have final approval of translations) as it was about "active participation".  More so, if you read between the lines in The Book With Marini’s Name On It.  The same goes for the other huge points of war between the Consilium and the Curia, such as concelebration and Communion under both species.

If you can get a used copy of The Book With Marini’s Name On It, that would be best.  Or get it from a library. 

It is like reading a fascinating autopsy.

Over at Rorate there is a very interesting entry about chasubles through history.  I think you will find it instructive.

Here is a sample:

Note well: the "taglio filipino" 

Welcome to another installment of What Does the Prayer Really Sound Like? 

Today we will hear the prayers for the 4th Sunday of Lent (Laetare) in the 1962 Missale Romanum.  I speak all the prayers and readings and also sing the Collect and Post Communion in the festal tone.  The Preface is spoken and sung in another installment.  

http://www.wdtprs.com/prayercazt/080228_04_lent.mp3

If priests who are learning to say the older form of Holy Mass can get these prayers in their ears, they will be able to pray them with more confidence. So, priests are my very first concern. 

However, these audio projects can be of great help to lay people who attend Holy Mass in the Traditional, or extraordinary form: by listening to them ahead of time, and becoming familiar with the sound of the before attending Mass, they will be more receptive to the content of the prayers and be aided in their full, conscious and active participation.

My pronunciation of Latin is going to betray something of my nationality, of course. Men who have as their mother tongue something other than English will sound a little different.  However, we are told that the standard for the pronunciation of Latin in church is the way it is spoken in Rome.  Since I have spent a lot of time in Rome, you can be pretty sure my accent will not be too far off the mark.

  I deliver them at a slower pace than I would ordinarily during Mass.  But hopefully the pace will help you hear the words a little more clearly.

If this was useful to you, let your priest friends know this resource is available.  And kindly make a little donation using the donation button on the left side bar of the blog or or by clicking here.  This is a labor of love, but those donations really help.  And don’t forget to check out the PODCAzTs!

Pray for me, listen carefully, and practice practice practice.

 

I received the following by e-mail.  There is some news about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum at the Cathedral of Portland, Maine.

Let us have a glance with my emphases and comments.

February 24, 2008


Dear Friends of the Noon Mass at the Cathedral:

As you may be aware, I have been endeavoring to provide for the implementation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum on a more stable basis and on a more extended basis in other locations in our diocese in addition to Portland and Newcastle.

I am pleased to announce that as of July 1, 2008, Father Robert Parent will serve as chaplain to the persons attached to the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy residing in Southern and Central Maine.  Father Parent is a native of Lewiston and a priest of the Melkite Catholic Eparchy of Newton, Massachusetts.  He enjoys all the ministerial faculties of the Latin Church.  Currently, he is the administrator of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Sabattus and St. Francis Mission in Greene.  He will continue to reside at the family home in Auburn.  [So, this fellow is bi-ritual.  He is not a Latin Church priest, but he has faculties.]

After July 1, he will be responsible for Sunday Mass in the extraordinary form here at the Cathedral and at the Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul in Lewiston, and in whichever additional locations may be possible either on the weekends or on weekdays.  He will be available for the celebration of the sacraments and sacramentals, including funerals, as needed and where the provisions exist for these celebrations.  The faithful having recourse to Father Parent will remain parishioners of the parish where they live.  [so… no personal parish at this time.] The jurisdiction of the chaplain extends to Mass and confessions for such persons.  Jurisdiction for other sacraments and sacramentals would be obtained from the proper pastor of the place where the individual lives.

The chaplaincy will be funded through the donations of the faithful at the Masses celebrated by Father Parent.  [I like this.  They can ante up.] The chaplaincy will exist as long as there is sufficient funding to meet its expenses.  This budget is being prepared and will be communicated to those who will be benefiting from his ministry.

It is my hope that this will allow for greater access to the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy.  I am grateful to Father Parent for accepting this new position.  I count on your support and encouragement to him as he begins his ministry among you.

May God bless you with His peace.  Please know that you are in my prayers.

Yours sincerely in Christ,


Most Reverend Richard J. Malone
Bishop of Portland    

 

I like the solution.  Let the people who really want this, support it and then, if they can, expand it so that it merits a more stable structure.

I would only point out that this solution does not preclude a parish priest from implementing Summorum Pontificum in his own parish, if such a thing is merited.  The provisions of Summorum Pontificum are not by this solution to be restricted, after all.

 

Finally, the situation of Fr. Parent, the chaplain there in Portland, is instructive for people to understand what Pope Benedict did with Summorum Pontificum.

Before Summorum Pontificum priests really had to have permission to celebrate the older form of Mass publicly.  Even if they had faculties to say Mass, they needed permission for the TLM which had been made possible by an indult from John Paul II.  Now, however, the indult framework no longer exists, because now all priests have the faculty to say the older Mass by the fact they have the faculty to say Mass at all.

This is because Benedict XVI establsihed that, juridically speaking, there is only one Roman Rite and that that one Roman Rite has two uses.  If a priest has faculties for the Roman Rite, he has faculties for the older Mass. 

This is why we don’t, juridically, speak of the older, "Tridentine" Mass as a different Rite.  If it is a different rite, juridically, then the priest needs special faculties to celebrate it.

For example, if I, as a priest of the Latin Rite, the Roman Rite, want to celebrate Mass as the Maronites do, or the Ukranians, then I must obtain from their ecclesiastica authorities the faculty to say Mass in their rites.  If a Maronite priest wants to say Mass in the Roman Rite, he must obtain a faculty from a Latin Church authority.

Thus, you can see that Pope Benedict’s solution was brilliant.  Leaving aside the scholarly debates about whether the Novus Ordo and the "Tridentine" Mass are really the same RITE, which is a scholarly historical, liturgical, theological debate, His Holiness said that juridically there is one Roman Rite with two uses.  This eliminates the need for separate faculties.  

All you bloggers out there.

I recently had to correct my permalink settings.

If you have linked to specific entries on this blog in the last couple days, would you kindly check to make sure those links are working?

Thanks!

And all you bloggers out there who are linking yet to WDTPRS, please feel free to share the luuuuuv.

Okay, that title is a little provocative.   But…. but…

Here is a story from Hemscott

Alitalia president named as Vatican’s international financial controller

ROME (Thomson Financial) – Alitalia president Maurizio Prato has been named as the Vatican’s international financial controller by Pope Benedict XVI, according to a statement from the Holy See.

The council of international financial controllers is attached to the Vatican’s prefecture of economic affairs, which controls the administration of Vatican City and drafts the Holy See’s financial accounts.

The council has to comprise five professionals particularly competent in examining accounts and balance sheets, and who are prepared to give their services free of charge. The council members meet at least once a year.

Prato was already a councillor with the Vatican’s prefecture of economic affairs.

Prato will take on this new role ‘in addition to his functions at the head of Alitalia’, a spokesperson for Alitalia told Agence France-Presse.

AHHHHHRRGHPFFF!

Given the grand state of affairs at Alitalia these days, can this be good?

Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Earl Boyea as the fifth bishop of the 10-county Catholic Diocese of Lansing. Pope Benedict XVI has accepted the resignation of Bishop Carl F. Mengeling.

You should know that Bishop Boyea is a regular celebrant of the TLM at St. Josaphat in Detroit.

He will be celebrating Mass at St. Josaphat on Easter Sunday, 23 March, for the last time as Auxiliary Bishop.

Congratulations to Bishop Boyea, whom we will support with our prayers as we do all bishops.

 

Folks, I was recently contacted by a rather high profile Catholic figure who suggested I might be of some use on a Rome pilgrimage.

I just thought I would float this past some of your readers.

There are no fixed details yet, and this is just discussion stage.

• We are talking about the first part of November.
• The would be the opportunity of both the TLM and Novus Ordo for daily Mass, maybe even a High Mass or two.
• In Rome, mainly.
• Possible side trips to Assisi, or Orvieto, or Ostia Antica.
• It is a special year in honor of St. Paul, whose tomb is also in Rome, of course.

Here is a little poll just to see in a quick way how many readers might be interested.

I put YES, as the answer twice, because this plugin forces at least two responses and I only need to know who might want to go on such a thing.

 

OLD STUFF:

Folks, there were problems with the com box yesterday.  I fixed that.

I believe the feed problem is fixed.

The PODCAzT plugin is screwed up, and it has something to do with permalinks and the .htaccess.

I am going to have to get that resolved today. 

UPDATE:  Even as I type I am on skype with a very smart fellow in South Africa.

He has helped to fix the permalinks problem, which means that my links, comments and the PODCAzT player should all work again.

Hurray for Jacques!

The provisions of Summorum Pontificum are meeting with resistance on the part of some diocesan bishops.  

However, the Motu Proprio also speaks of the role of religious major superiors.  

Some parishes are run not by diocesan priests, but by religious.  While they are not entirely autonomous from the local bishop, they are very much influenced by the will of the superiors of the order or institute that take care of them.

Some religious superiors are showing their real attitude toward the Holy Father, his provisions, the rights of the faithful and the Roman Rite.

Let’s take two examples, one from the USA and one from Italy.

In the USA we have the case of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, OMV’s.

At Saint Peter Chanel in Hawaiian Gardens, CA, USA, there was a older form low Mass for a few months. One day as Mass was ending the pastor announced that the head of his order had told OMV priests to stop saying the older form of Mass because providing the TLM was an "apostolate" that the OMV does not embrace. He also said that the 170 person average Sunday attendance was insufficient to justify the Mass there.  Some parishioners expressed their dismay, but the pastor was adamant.

I wrote about this back on 13 February.

Some parishioners began writing to the superiors of the OMVs.

Here is an example of a response:

Dear Ms. _,
 
I want to thank you for your email and the concerns you shared regarding the Tridentine Mass at St. Peter Chanel.  I can understand how the news you have heard regarding the celebration of the extraordinary form is difficult. I appreciate the opportunity to clarify what has happened and to reaffirm our uncompromised fidelity to the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church.

The decision to no longer offer the extraordinary form was made by our Major Superior in Rome in consultation with his Council. He arrived at this decision after careful study of the Motu Proprio in light of our charism and the needs for the people we serve.  Each Religious Community and Institute of Consecrated Life, under the direction of its Major Superior has the freedom to determine which apostolic works they wish to undertake according to their charism and spirit. This freedom is described in Article 3 of the "Motu Proprio" and is given to the Major Superior by the Holy Father.

The decision of our Major Superior for our religious community does not mean we not recognize the beauty and the validity of this extraordinary form permitted by our Holy Father, or the real need it provides for some of the Catholic faithful. It means simply this is not an apostolic work that our Major Superior wants us to undertake as a Congregation.

As stated in Article 7, the bishop has the responsibility to provide this form to the Catholic Faithful in his diocese to meet their spiritual needs. We have encouraged those who feel called to worship in the extraordinary form to pursue the options available by the diocese. For example, this extraordinary form continues to be offered in the diocese, and we have encouraged the faithful to attend this Mass if they are feel called to this particular form of worship.

We are grateful to God for the opportunity to offer the beauty of the liturgy to thousands each week. Like the extraordinary form, these liturgies are reverent, prayerful and spiritually nourishing. There have been and continue to be great miracles that take place at St. Peter Chanel parish. Whether it is the approximate 800 people who attend the four daily Masses, the 8,000 people who attend the 12 Sunday Masses or the many hours of confessions on a daily basis, God is working in and through Oblate priests and the parishioners in a powerful way. Our commitment to this spiritual work of mercy, along with the many good works at St. Peter Chanel we pray will only continue.

I thank you again for taking the time to write me. I hope I have helped to clarify your concerns.

With my prayers and warmest regards in Christ,

Fr. Bill Brown, OMV
Provincial
Oblates of the Virgin Mary

In a nutshell, must we conclude that the OMV’s have determined that they are somehow separate from the rest of the Church in regard to use of the fullness of the Roman Rite?  That’s is what it looks like.  They don’t have the "charism", a slippery term, to provide for the spiritual needs of people through the TLM.  They have an apostolate that excludes such people. 

Okay.  That’s their choice.  Too bad.

Apparently the parishioners are still writing and working to resolve this situation and the Provincial has been communicating with the Rector Major, Fr Patrice Veraquin, OMV.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic…

On 23 December 2007 Holy Mass in the TLM was celebrated with great success and participation at a church, S. Stefano, held by the Jesuits at Sanremo, in Northern Italy.  

The Jesuits freaked out.

Here is part of a press release from Una Voce in my translation.

But, so much enthusiasm notwithstanding, or perhaps really because of it (if only a few people, maybe even old people, were interested in the old rite, no one would bother to block it) the Superior of the Jesuits in northern Italy, the vice-provincial Fr. Alberto Remondini, immediately went to check out the convent at Sanremo and, a few days before the next Mass was to be celebrated, he decreed, in accord with the Provincial of the Province of Italy of the Jesuits, Fr. Francesco Tata, that "in all the churches in Italy cared for by the Company of Jesus, the Pope’s Motu Proprio cannot be applied and Masses in Latin cannot be celebrated, except for occasional events to be pastorally justified on a case by case basis" (naturally what those "pastoral" exigencies are are not specified).  "In any case, " Fr. Remondini continues, "in no case can Mass in Latin have fixed or periodical term, even were it be to be only monthly as in the case of Sanremo."

So, the Jesuits in Italy have concluded that the provisions of the Motu Proprio do not apply to people who frequent their parishes.  They have determined that pastors of parishes who are Jesuits do not in fact have the rights given to them in Summorum Pontificum. 

 

So, there is some resistance on the part of some diocesans bishops.  Religious Superiors also have skin in the game, it seems.

This is a serious matter that only the Holy See can clarify.

 

WDTPRS se