UPDATE 17 Jan 2022:
The thugs got busy.
UPDATE 16 Jan 2022:
God bless Bp. Strickland.
This brave priest goes to the heart of the issue. “Do we go the way of Jesus Christ or do we accommodate and compromise our faith in deference to the world?” My answer, I choose Jesus. Let us pray for each other as we choose His way in this storm. https://t.co/qgnel3rXg2
— Bishop J. Strickland (@Bishopoftyler) January 15, 2022
Originally Published on: Jan 14, 2022
You must read something posted on the website of St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in the increasingly unfortunate Archdiocese of Chicago.
The pastor of St. SK has written an open letter to the Auxiliary Bp. who is charged with their deanery.
St. Stanislaus Kostka was once one of the largest parishes in the world, serving especially immigrant Poles in great numbers on the north side of Chicago.
The initial point of the pastor’s letter has to do with the attempt of Card. Cupich to forbid – mainly by bullying, not by legitimate law – ad orientem worship, despite earlier clarifications from CDW and in the rubrics themselves, not to mention the custom of centuries and the examples of recent Popes. Bishops may be the overseers of liturgy, but they are not its tyrants or masters, who can do as they please from high atop the thing.
So, the following letter starts with ad orientem worship, but says a lot more.
With due respect to the pastor of St. SK, here’s the whole thing: My emphases.
Dear Friends,
Please take note of the following letter. This is in regard to the prohibition of “Ad Orientem” in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
God Bless You,
Fr. Anthony Bus C.R., pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka
Letter to Bishop Lombardo
[Auxiliary Bp. in Chicago, tasked with that Deanery of the Archdiocese. I note in his wiki page that, in his journey, he did not study in Rome at any point. I don’t think that any of the auxiliaries rustled up under Cupich studies in Rome. Correct me if I am wrong.]
January 13, 2022
Dear Bishop Lombardo,
Thank you for consulting the Archbishop regarding my request for permission to offer the Holy Sacrifice, “Ad Orientem.” I will comply with his directive that this is forbidden in his Archdiocese.
Even so, the Archbishop does not provide evidence that “Ad Orientem” was abrogated at the Second Vatican Council. As I read Sacrosanctum Concilium and the Roman Missal the implication is “Ad Orientem” was not abolished or prohibited – on the contrary.
Liturgists, prelates, priests, and religious had a glorious time after the Council, taking liberties to “change the face of the Church.” I recall as a young teenager in Florida when a priest from Chicago came to our beautiful parish as its new pastor. He right away “renovated” the church into what looked more Baptist than Catholic. In those days, Baptists had strange notions of the Catholic faith, but they loved our beautiful churches. I think they were as shocked as we were at what became of our parish church. As a teenager, the Church I loved very much turned upside down and through my young mind, lost all relevancy – it seemed to just disappear. Like so many others I turned away from the faith even though I had always felt a deep-seated call to the priesthood. My return to the faith only came years later and that’s a whole other story.
As I mentioned in a previous email to you, even though I intuitively knew by the grace of God that something’s been amiss in the reform of the Sacred Liturgy, the depth and richness in the writings of Pope Benedict and Cardinal Sarah became for me the key that unlocked the mystery of the Holy Sacrifice and the mystery of the ministerial priesthood, In Persona Christi. I believe their writings and expositions hold the key to the reform of the Sacred Liturgy and the priesthood.
It’s no wonder why the young are drawn to those who hold to Sacred Tradition in worship and in life. If the Church’s agenda is to Protestantism or make herself acceptable to the world, she’s been effective and thus, one can explain in part, the mass apostasy from the Catholic faith on the part of priests, religious, and laity alike. The faith of the Ancients of Old, is discarded for what’s been called Moral Therapeutic Deism. One doesn’t need the Church or Christ if it’s just about feeling good.
Again, as I’ve suggested in previous emails to you, there’s a point when the constant chiding of the Holy Father, that we are “demented, rigid, or hiding some sickness” because we hold to what has been handed down to us, wanting to remain Catholic in solidarity with our ancestors who heroically and courageously defended the faith in times of persecution, cause us to turn a deaf ear to his exhortations. In reality, we can’t help but listen because he is the successor of Peter.
Indeed, we are passing through a time of persecution. Do we go the way of Jesus Christ or do we accommodate and compromise our faith in deference to the world?
The Holy Mass is the renewal of our fiat – a renewal of our covenant with the Lord and His Mystical Body. Therefore our primary participation in the Holy Mass and the renewal of our sacred covenant to the Lord is that we offer ourselves “a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God our spiritual worship,” quoting St. Paul. We do this in union with the sacrifice of Jesus, for Jesus, through Jesus, and in Jesus – to the glory of the Father. The Sacred Mysteries offered, “Ad Orientem” facilitates this so beautifully in preparation for Holy Communion, and always in anticipation of the Lord’s coming at the end of all things.
Forgive me Bishop Lombardo if I’m sharing with you things you already know, I just need to unburden my heart of the pain I feel at what is happening in the Church. Many faithful Catholics are being cruelly demoralized – thrown into confusion, which is something the Pope admittedly takes joy in, and are purposefully being pushed to the fringe. There will be no place for our voices in the so called “Synod on Synodality.” This is something we know for certain. I don’t mean to be offensive, but my words come from a place of having been offended over and over again for far too long. I speak for many because I listen to many who are away from the faith or trying hard to hold to the faith.
These are strange times, no doubt. I entrust us all to the benevolent and gracious love of the Blessed Virgin Mary – she is not frozen in the pages of Sacred Scripture and continues to fulfill the will of God – a prophetic presence for the time in which we live.
Again, as always, thank you for hearing me out. Be assured of my prayers for you and all who hold the lofty office of successors of the Apostles, governing, sanctifying, and prophetically leading the Lord’s flock entrusted to the care of their pastors.
As Pope Benedict said, “The false deities will be unmasked through the suffering faith of simple believers.” Pope Francis said, he wants, not a new Church, but a different Church. The Church is Christ’s Church. One wonders what he means by this or why his mercy is shown to some while disdain is shown to others. I don’t mean to end on a sour note, but I can’t resist this. The Church is in need of renewal and reform in every generation as the Council states. Perhaps the “surprise of the Spirit” will undo the harm that’s been done and bring us back to our identity as members of the Mystical Body of Christ as opposed to mere Global Citizens where man/woman are the central protagonists to the unfolding of a New World Order. The governments and corporate elites of the world along with the Pope and some Prelates are quite open to accepting this frightening reality. Perhaps this will hasten the coming of the Lord.
Again, thanks for hearing me out Bishop Lombardo! I do appreciate it.
God bless you always,
Fr. Anthony
It’s okay in Chicago to have pagan ceremonies. HERE
It’s okay in Chicago to have sacrilegious “masses”. HERE
It’s not okay to pray the St. Michael Prayer after Mass. HERE
Tyranny must be resisted.
I suspect that some of the resistance in Chicago will be handled Chicago style, which could involved less than passive voices being raised as they recently were at a pro-life rally. HERE
The great theologian and liturgist Klaus Gamber commented that of all the things perpetrated in the name of the Council, the most damaging was the turning about of altars, the shifting of Mass versus populum.
We need to return to ad orientem worship. This, along with phasing out Communion in the hand, would be two of the most important course corrections that could save the Church in these USA.
Of course this should be done with catechesis, explanations. The preparation doesn’t have to be exaggerated, but the terrain has to be prepared. There will always be a few who squawk, but they are more than likely the sort of person who is happy only when she is unhappy.
TURN TOWARDS THE LORD.
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What a great letter, Father Anthony! Hang tough.
Blase Cupich is the poster boy for what is wrong with the cardinals appointed by Jose Bergoglio.
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Hang in there Father Anthony, indeed. I have long since said goodbye to the electric guitars, piano playing and drum bashing of the parishes controlled by tyrants like cupich, or in my case, night night baby, and attend a Byzantine Catholic Church where the beauty, majesty and mystery of the liturgy gives me a glimpse into what the worship of those lucky enough to attend pre Vatican 2 Mass must have experienced; a Church where putting a pachamama on the Altar seems as fitting as putting a used car lot air dancer in the Sistine Chapel or a beannie on Michaelangelo’s David. As a laymen, I am fortunate to be able to take my family and donations to a place that my heart and intellect tells me is more correct. My heart goes out to those who are not, to those at the mercy of these strange, cruel..men. May God sustain those better than me in fighting and riding out the storm of this most cartoonish of leadership that seems to (for now) have control of His Church.
It is hard to do “to the people” if you don’t have a table altar.
Just saying.
If you have a Roman Altar, your parish might be in need of some repairs that necessitate the removal of the table altar. Might be time to get a new one. And you know, if you have the right layman lead committee, figuring out which one to get AND raising the funds to get one, is something that could take years. Might have to get the approval of multiple parish committees, go back to the drawing board a few times, lots of letters lost in the mail, committee members leave, and new ones with different ideas join. Years I tell you.
Just saying.
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Father Anthony really hit it about Our Blessed Virgin Mary. The Consecration not made and Russia spreading it errors. One only has to look at the Vatican and Pope Anathema Francis.
Fr. Anthony’s letter is spot on!
Expect him to be transferred to prison or nursing home ministry, or sent for “health reasons” to a reeducation camp with great rapidity.
Those in charge can’t handle the truth and will harshly punish those who point out the emperor’s nakedness.
A very good letter by Fr. Bus. He makes his points well but remains respectful towards his ecclesiastical superiors. I hope the Diocese of Chicago soon withdraws its ban on ad orientem worship. Does a diocesan bishop have the authority in canon law even to introduce such a ban? I wonder how popular ad orientem celebration is with the parishioners of St. Stanislaus Kostka. I bet they’re quite happy with it.
I’m thankful that the Ordinariate masses I regularly attend are all ad orientem. In fact, at the ancient Anglican church at which our masses are celebrated, the altar and reredos are just as they would have been in pre-Vatican II Catholic Churches with altar fixed to the eastern wall. Versus populum celebration is therefore impossible. I don’t mind if I never see another celebrant’s face while he is offering the sacrifice of the Mass!
” I hope the Diocese of Chicago soon withdraws its ban on ad orientem worship”
That would have to include an admission of being in error by the Diocese which I do not see coming at this time.
They are undoing all of Cardinal George’s efforts of rebuilding the Church in Chicago, after Cody and Bernardin (and I don’t know which of those two was dirtiest). It should be mentioned that Bishop Lombardo is a Franciscan Friar of the Renewal, founded by the late, great Fr. Benedict Groeschel. I would hope that the Bishop would recall that their founder was fed up not only with the sorry state of Franciscan and Capuchin communities doctrinally and theologically, but ALSO with the endless liturgical abuses and experimentation… a point Father Groeschel often mentioned to one of his closest friends-Mother Angelica. I really don’t know how a spiritual son of Father Benedict was selected to assist Cupich under this Pontificate— but I have to believe he is orthodox and at the very least sympathetic to faithful Catholics in Chicago. From my Chancery work, I did learn that some auxiliaries can be quite at odds with their Ordinary, but I don’t know how much wiggle room an auxiliary actually has to do anything significant in a situation like Chicago. Bishop Perry is also a Chicago auxiliary, and I bet Cupich doesn’t have a lot of love for him either.
Would it be ‘illegal’ to have private masses ad orientum like priests did on the hoods of Jeeps like in WWII, Korea and Vietnam? Or in basements of bombed out buildings? I think its time to rebel.
I met Bp Lombardo before he was a bishop, when he preached a Lenten retreat for my parish several years ago, he is wonderful, simply wonderful. He’s definitely not Cupich. I was delighted when I heard he was going to be a bishop. I don’t know of him being a “traditionalist” but he was one of the FOUNDERS of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal and that says a lot. I would think he is “pastoral” in the best sense. It would appear to make a ton of sense for him to go on to be a diocesan ordinary (not remain an auxiliary).
sadly another Priest maybe soon to be cancelled, unless he starts groveling now.
Mojoron: Good point. If the Pachamama Vatican and its minions insist on taking over many of the buildings then we’ll preserve the Faith at the Mass Rocks and on jeep hoods.
Though we would not be in rebellion, the pagans who have infiltrated the Church and demand versus populum and worse abominations are in rebellion.
Anno Domini 2022 requires a rewriting of Leo XIII’s 1899 encyclical “Testem Benevolentiae Nostrae” in which Catholics in China, Europe, Africa, the Americas and Australia caution the Pachamama Vatican against “the omission or neglect of some of the principles of Christian doctrine.”
And, sternly warn the Pachamama Vatican against “new opinions” such as versus populum and clown masses: “The underlying principle of these new opinions is that, in order to more easily attract those who differ from her, the Church should shape her teachings more in accord with the spirit of the age and relax some of her ancient severity and make some concessions to new opinions.”
The problem today is not so-called “Anericanism.” I’ve heard from numerous Protestants- unlike the situation when John F. Kennedy campaigned for President in 1960- that their concern today is that Joe “You Ain’t Black and Kill the Babies and Death to America” Biden is actually not Catholic enough.
The problem in 2022 is grotesque Vaticanism with its pagan narcissism and hostile assaults on Christianity, the Church and citizenship.
Father,
At what point is it acceptable for both priests and laity to simply say no, we will not accept this?
The mass refusal to comply with this evil is the only way that I see to stop it.
Compliance with this functionally becomes assent.
Assent to things we know are wrong has led us to where we are today.
The risks are great either way but cooperation is an eternal risk, whereas I see non compliance as a temporal one.
Our wallets may suffer supporting our priests and churches and we may be inclined toward anxiety entering into a new reality in this life.
All of that is as nothing compared to the eternal danger to ourselves and others of remaining silent.
Fr. Bus: “Even so, the Archbishop does not provide evidence that “Ad Orientem” was abrogated at the Second Vatican Council. As I read Sacrosanctum Concilium and the Roman Missal the implication is “Ad Orientem” was not abolished or prohibited – on the contrary.”
Excellent point, Padre.
We did not ask for this war declared upon our Faith, ourselves and our children. In war- though I would not presume Fr. Bus would use such a term- education, training and information are fundamental. Knowledge breeds confidence. Virtues breed citizenship.
The monasteries founded Western Civilization, they were centers of learning before universities and neighborhood schools existed. Deo Gratias, today we have colleges who encourage Faith and Reason. Colleges such as Wyoming Catholic College and Belmont Abbey College are not diploma mills for the Permanently Aggrieved. These colleges, to paraphrase Christopher Dawson, provide the spiritual discipline and intellectual development essential to Christianity and citizenship.
Western Civilization, one of the many gifts of Christianity to the world, has been seriously damaged during the past several centuries by barbarians and our own weaknesses and negligence. Rebuilding civilization is the work not only of a lifetime but several lifetimes.
The origins of Clear Creek Abbey:
“In the 1970s, at the University of Kansas, three professors inaugurated a Great Books program (Pearson Integrated Humanities Program, or PIHP) with a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Through their study of Western Civilization, a number of these students became interested in monastic life and found their way to Notre-Dame de Fontgombault Abbey in France. Some entered the novitiate, hoping to be part of a new monastic foundation in America some day.”
…
“The first monastery [at Clear Creek by monks returning from France] was established, partially, in a large log cabin and, partially, in a barn and stable, where the previous owners had kept their saddle horses. The horse stalls became monastic cells, and the barn became the first chapel.”
Bethlehem, ever new.
More on the origins of Clear Creek Abbey:
https://clearcreekmonks.org/
Clear Creek Abbey and the town nearby. Faith and Reason. Ora et Labora. Fortitude, Patience, Perseverance.
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Funny thing, or is it just me? In an enquiring spirit I looked up the rubrics in the online Latin (official) version of the 2002 MR and saw, at the “Domine, non sum dignus”:
Sacerdos genuflectit, accipit hostiam, eamque aliquantulum elevatam super patenam vel super calicem tenens,versus ad populum, clara voce dicit:”
And then:
“sacerdos, versus ad altare, secreto dicit:”
But… but… (gasp!) how could he be “versus ad populum” and then “versus ad altare” if the altare weren’t already “versus ad populum”??? Could it be… (gasp again) that the rubrics envisage, nay mandate, that he be (gasp yet again, pearls clutched)… NOT facing the assembly??? HORROR!!! How could we ever sing a new world into being if that were so???
Too much. I’m literally shaking…
By the time most of us exit this world we’re all going to be battle-hardened warriors. Warriors come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
Once, it was hard to tell what was going on in the church. I remember clearly trying to sort out what all was happening, I never felt I understood it, it was obscure, yet we knew something was not right.
Now we know. We know so exceedingly well and thoroughly that at least we have the sureness of our understanding, which is kind of a relief.
I never wonder anymore. Rome is evil. Pretty much everything in it is evil. Naturally there are exceptions, but they are exceptions. What they are doing is evil.
We must resist. The only alternative is capitulation to monsters. The only alternative is to give up the Mass of Ages. Never.
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There is good and bad about social media. Here is the good! Not long ago good Priest who came up against radical Bishops were sent to Insane Asylums. I know a few. Now Our good Priest are not forced to go quietly into the night.
Thank you Father Z.
I have wondered if the way forward is for groups of priests to rebel. For example, our mission diocese is fairly large in area, but small in number of Catholics, and and has an extreme priest shortage. There are 4-5 younger and more traditionally inclined priests who are seemingly persecuted. If they all, at the same time, requested to celebrate the TLM (and pushed for it), and in their Novus Ordo parishes, turned ad orientem and introduced chant and altar boys, etc… All at the same time. Even those four or five could make a huge difference. These are priests who are very well-liked among the faithful. The bishop could not punish them all without a huge outcry from the laity. And there are no other priests available. Plus, most of our diocese is already rural, so assigning them to a rural parish is just the way it works anyway for young priests. The bishop’s only choice if he wanted to get rid of them all at once would be to bring in even more priests from Africa or India, but he would hear about it in the collection plates. Individual priests taking a stand for tradition and orthodoxy won’t succeed, but even small groups like this in small dioceses can.
I can’t find the letter on the parish website. Has it been removed?
Yes, it looks like the letter has been removed from the parish website.
There’s a posting on Facebook stating that Fr. Bus met with His Eminence this morning.
We may know soon the outcome of that meeting.
Fr. Joshua Caswell, pastor of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, announced yesterday that Masses in the OF and EF will continue to be celebrated ad orientem.
So, there’s hope that the same permission will be given to Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church.
It seems that they have an awfully large bench of Auxiliary Bishops, only one of whom studied in Rome (The Gregorian) from a cursury read, and few who have higher degrees beyond Bachelor Degrees.
A new letter from Fr. Bus has just posted on the parish’s Facebook page.
The new letter from Fr. Bus is posted on the parish’s website. It’s an apology, and begins:
“As was stated to me, the letter verges on a violation of Canon 1373: ‘A person who publicly incites among subjects, animosities or hatred against the Apostolic See or an ordinary because of some act of power or ecclesiastical ministry or provokes subjects to disobey them is to be punished by an interdict or other just penalties.’”
And concludes:
“Soon I will go into retreat for about ten days and reflect on my priesthood. I will be praying for all of you and the Church Universal. I will always safeguard the peace and tranquility of our worship here at St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish – the people entrusted to my care and whom I love dearly.”
As Gerard just said, Cupich has forced a public apology to himself from Fr. Bus. And is requiring him to go on a 10-day “retreat” to reflect on his priesthood, after ominous threats with canon law. On the parish Facebook.
These men have no shame.
Jaykay is certainly right that the 2002 rubrics allow the possibility of ad orientem for the Canon, but they do not require it. Cupich seems to be pig-ignorant on liturgy, “unfortunate” in the diocese’s chief liturgist.
It appears that Cupich found a way to break him. They can always hurt you more.
https://www.complicitclergy.com/2022/01/17/cupich-bullys-priest-with-stage-4-cancer-into-submission/
Curiously, if the text of Canon 1373 which Father Anthony Bus quotes is what was “stated to” him, then whoever stated it is quoting the ‘old’ English translation of the ‘old’ Latin version:
Qui publice aut subditorum simultates vel odia adversus Sedem Apostolicam vel Ordinarium excitat propter aliquem potestatis vel ministerii ecclesiastici actum, aut subditos ad inoboedientiam in eos provocat, interdicto vel aliis iustis poenis puniatur.
which was superseded last 8 December by the new Latin version:
Qui publice simultates vel odia adversus Sedem Apostolicam vel Ordinarium excitat propter aliquem officii vel muneris ecclesiastici actum, aut ad inoboedientiam in eos provocat, interdicto vel aliis iustis poenis puniatur.
which is translated on the Vatican website as:
A person who publicly incites hatred or animosity against the Apostolic See or
the Ordinary because of some act of ecclesiastical office or duty, or who provokes disobedience against them, is to be punished by interdict or other just penalties.
And, if the text of Canon 1369 was “stated to” him as such, this is the ‘old’ pre-8 December 2021 translation of the Latin text, with the added curiosity that the Latin text of ‘old’ Canon 1369:
Qui in publico spectaculo vel concione, vel in scripto publice evulgato, vel aliter instrumentis communicationis socialis utens, blasphemiam profert, aut bonos mores graviter laedit, aut in religionem vel Ecclesiam iniurias exprimit vel odium contemptumve excitat, iusta poena puniatur.
has become (without revision) the Latin text of ‘new’ Canon 1368 as of 8 December, but has been provided with a new English translation:
A person is to be punished with a just penalty who, at a public event or assembly,
or in a published writing, or by otherwise using the means of social communication, utters blasphemy, or gravely harms public morals, or rails at or excites hatred of or contempt for religion or the Church.
The new Canon 1269 is:
Qui rem sacram, mobilem vel immobilem, profanat iusta poena puniatur.
translated:
A person who profanes a sacred object, moveable or immovable, is to be
punished with a just penalty.
Now, if what had been stated to Father Anthony Bus had been merely the numbers of the Canons, he would have immediately discovered, upon looking up the texts (in Latin and translation), that ‘new’ Canon 1369 could not possibly have been intended.
So, it would seem that someone other than Father Anthony Bus has some explaining to do, and I cannot help thinking a Canon lawyer should have a look at whatever was “stated to” him in writing.
There is no doubt that Blase Cupich is a mean vicious bully. The first part of the solution is to refuse to give a single penny to any diocesan entity, including parishes. That money will always trickle down to the diocese. Imagine if next week the collection at St. Stanislaus dropped to zero?
Second, faithful Catholics must confront Cupich as they did at the March for Life.
Third, (and I admit I am not sure how to start this), I think it would be great if faithful Catholics showed up in front of (or inside) the Cathedral to recite the rosary…in latin!
Since Bp. Strickland put in his two cents’ worth, could he intervene and invite Fr. Bus into his diocese? Or, if it looks like the Canons are finished in Chicago (which I hope doesn’t happen), invite them into Tyler as well? Or would Cupich be the type to engineer retaliation against a bishop who stood up to him?
Dave P:
Fr. Bus is not a member of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius nor is he assigned to the parish they staff. As noted above, the Canons Regular have received permission to continue to celebrate both the Ordinary Form and the Extraordinary Form ad orientum. Fr. Bus is pastor of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish and is a member of the Congregation of the Resurrection.
I am aware of that. Bp. Strickland could invite in the Resurrectionists and specifically ask for Fr. Bus (and maybe Fr. Phillips) to work in his diocese. And while the Canons may have received permission for now, who knows what else His Eminence has in mind for them? If they are no longer able to function as founded, then they may need to go elsewhere (again, I hope that doesn’t happen). Could Bp. Strickland (or another of like mind, like Bp. Conley of Lincoln) invite them in? I’m also aware of Fr. Bus’s health issues. Even if he was welcome elsewhere, it might be better for him to retire and live out his days at the motherhouse in St Louis.
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Ahh. The kindness, benevolence and tolerance of liberals.
I wish he would have left off the sentence about the New World Order, which is excessively political. The line about the Pope was (while true) sure to trigger his ordinary, and Fr. Bus had to know that.
But neither of these is justification for banning a licit ars celebrandi for Mass in the modern rite. And the punishment of Fr Bus could be accepted for his own good if Cardinal Cupich and his apparently favored priests weren’t flogging the usual menu of Agenda 21 political talking points on a near daily basis. His Eminence does not mind his priests getting political, so long as the politics are the right politics.
“…I have always held in high regard the Documents of the Second Vatican Council …”
There it is, a loyalty oath straight out of Heller’s “Catch-22”. I wish he had included “and Trent”. The fact of the matter is, the valid and august official documents of that official and valid ecumenical council are rife with contradictions and loopholes. They are worthy of regard as official decrees of a valid council … but that doesn’t mean that they are masterpieces of lucidity or coherence.
“…I have always held in high regard the Documents of the Second Vatican Council …”
There it is, a loyalty oath straight out of Heller’s “Catch-22”. I wish he had included “and Trent”. The fact of the matter is, the valid and august official documents of that official and valid ecumenical council are rife with contradictions and loopholes. They are worthy of regard as official decrees of a valid council … but that doesn’t mean that they are masterpieces of lucidity or coherence.
I’ve observed elsewhere that Catholics of the totalitarian-lib bent who are fired up about suppressing the TLM have been citing Canons 1369 and/or 1373 as grounds for quelling any pushback against TC and the recent Roche dubia document.
Canon lawyers out there: Is it true that Fr. Bus’ letter constitutes a “near violation” of Canons 1369 and 1373? What are those canons really intended to prevent? Is it always and everywhere impermissible to criticize what a bishop does? If not, when is it permissible and when is it not?
“…I have always held in high regard the Documents of the Second Vatican Council …”
I don’t know ANYONE (left, right, orthodox, heterodox, etc.), especially at the academic level, who thinks the VII documents are sacrosanct. Everyone is critical of them in one fashion or another. I bet if you dig through Archbishop Cupich’s writings you will find criticism.
Personally, it should be argued that this attitude of using VII as a loyalty oath is blasphemous because it is placing the content of the documents at a level higher than sacred scripture. Further, it is not about the truth content of the documents but rather simply “the documents” being used to force groveling to “the spirit of VII” and “the mercy^tm”.
God bless Bp. Strickland and Fr. Bus.
I just saw a tweet quoted, from Bishop Strickland:
I’ve re-read Fr Bus’s letter and I see nothing disrespectful in his tone or in his actual words. It is a heartfelt cry from a priest who is hurting deeply & speaks for many, many others. He should be comforted rather than being disciplined.
Posting a comment now is probably not useful, but today an excellent explanation of the papacy was written by John A. Monaco and posted at Crisis Magazine, titled “The Church of the Papal Fiat”. I recommend it to those in the Episcopate, especially those “original” dissenters and “change agents” who are now in “power” in the Church, including the person who occupies the Chair of Peter. I also recommend it to the priests, bishops, archbishops and cardinals who are afraid to speak up. I realize they may be “removed”, punished or sent to a “re-education” camp; however, let us not forget that Peter, the first Pope, was imprisoned and crucifiied upside down on a cross. Other Apostles were crucified, beheaded or hung because of following Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, in our time, the persecution of “Christians” comes not only from Communist/Marxist/Islamic countries but from the Church’s own leadership. I quote from “The Church of the Papal Fiat”:
“Today there are also, albeit smaller in number, papal minimalists. Up until the present pontificate, these theologians typically resisted the papal magisterium, preferring to insist on a misguided notion of the “sense of the faithful.” The vociferous reaction against Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae is a prime example of this. (Ironically enough, those who questioned papal teaching authority under Pope John Paul II and Benedict XVI have become decidedly less minimalist with Pope Francis.)
[…]
“And, of course, possibly the greatest contradiction of Francis’ pontificate is this: the pope who famously speaks about the need for “mercy” and “accompaniment” shows neither to those Catholics attached to the Traditional Latin Mass. The same pope who famously called the Church a “field hospital” endorsed the ghettoization of Catholics attending the Latin Mass, excluding them from the parish family itself. And these are merely a few examples of such contradictions.”
Thank you, John A. Monaco !!!
https://www.crisismagazine.com/2022/the-church-of-the-papal-fiat?mc_cid=712fefd532&mc_eid=0d53d2b669