The Holy Father: ipsissimis verbis…
About this blog…
“This blog is like a fusion of the Baroque ‘salon’ with its well-tuned harpsichord around which polite society gathered for entertainment and edification and, on the other hand, a Wild West “saloon” with its out-of-tune piano and swinging doors, where everyone has a gun and something to say. Nevertheless, we try to point our discussions back to what it is to be Catholic in this increasingly difficult age, to love God, and how to get to heaven.” – Fr. Z
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
Polls
Loading ...Donate using VENMO
GREAT BEER from Traditional Benedictine Monks in Italy
CLICK and say your daily offerings!
A Daily Prayer for Priests
Do you have a faithful Catholic website that needs competent and reliable tech support?
NEW OPPORTUNITY – 10% off with code: FATHERZ10
Fr. Z’s VOICEMAIL
Nota bene: I do not answer these numbers or this Skype address. You won't get me "live". I check for messages regularly.
WDTPRS
020 8133 4535
651-447-6265YOUR RECENT COMMENTS
on Daily Rome (not) Shot 497, etc.: “I was sure that was a Caravaggio, with his distinctive use of chiaroscuro. But then I didn’t want to sound…”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “Perhaps the Vatican was a little irritated. The cash flow from the McCarrick deal is probably very much needed still,…”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “While Communist China Expands Its Threat To The Globe, DC Is Still Acting Like It’s 1991, by Christian Whiton. May…”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “Don’t think that wouldn’t happen in the US of A if the decline into a ‘progressive’ paradise continues unchecked. Though,…”
on Daily Rome (not) Shot 496, etc.: “It would seem someone left their Apple Air Pods on top of the fountain. Oooops!”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “May God reward him! We will be praying for him! It’s so horrible to think about.”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “There was an statement from the Vatican. It says “we are worried and following the situation”. Strong words of support!”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “Oh boy, not to worry, the Vatican is “watching it closely”. Phew.”
on YOUR URGENT PRAYER REQUESTS: “Please pray that God heals and protects my brother and his wife and 2 kids (ages 7 and 4) who…”
on Hero priest Joseph Card. Zen, 90, has been arrested in Hong Kong: “We are not privy to all the back-channel messages and workings that may be going on to try to “sort…”
This REALLY helps! And it’s great coffee (and tea)
I use this when I travel both in these USA and abroad. Very useful. Fast enough for Zoom. I connect my DMR (ham radio) through it. If you use my link, they give me more data. A GREAT back up.
This blog has to earn its keep!
PLEASE subscribe via PayPal if it is useful.
That way I have steady income I can plan on, and you wind up regularly on my list of benefactors for whom I pray and for whom I periodically say Holy Mass.
In view of the rapidly changing challenges I now face, I would like to add more $10/month subscribers. Will you please help?
For a one time donation...
Yes, Fr. Z is taking ads…
Use the coupon code...
fatherz10
Be a “Zed-Head”!
CHALLENGE COINS!
My "challenge coin" for my 25th anniversary of ordination in 2016.
Want one? I do exchanges with military and LEOs, etc.
PLEASE RESPOND. Pretty pleeeease?
Loading ...This is really useful when travelling… and also when you aren’t and you need backup internet NOW! I use this for my DMR “Zednet” hotspot when I’m mobile. It’s a ham radio thing.
If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
WDTPRS POLL
Loading ...Fr. Z’s stuff is everywhere
Help support Fr. Z’s Gospel of Life work at no cost to you. Do you need a Real Estate Agent? Calling these people is the FIRST thing you should do!
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
GREAT causes to support
Help Monks in Wyoming (coffee – UPDATED LINK) and Norcia (beer) and the wonderful "Soap Sisters" of Summit, NJ!
Please follow me on Twitter!
God bless the Holy Father!
Here is the Latin text. It would be a good text for study by students of Latin:
—-
Fratres carissimi
Non solum propter tres canonizationes ad hoc Consistorium vos convocavi, sed etiam ut vobis decisionem magni momenti pro Ecclesiae vita communicem. Conscientia mea iterum atque iterum coram Deo explorata ad cognitionem certam perveni vires meas ingravescente aetate non iam aptas esse ad munus Petrinum aeque administrandum.
Bene conscius sum hoc munus secundum suam essentiam spiritualem non solum agendo et loquendo exsequi debere, sed non minus patiendo et orando. Attamen in mundo nostri temporis rapidis mutationibus subiecto et quaestionibus magni ponderis pro vita fidei perturbato ad navem Sancti Petri gubernandam et ad annuntiandum Evangelium etiam vigor quidam corporis et animae necessarius est, qui ultimis mensibus in me modo tali minuitur, ut incapacitatem meam ad ministerium mihi commissum bene administrandum agnoscere debeam. Quapropter bene conscius ponderis huius actus plena libertate declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus Cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commissum renuntiare ita ut a die 28 februarii MMXIII, hora 20, sedes Romae, sedes Sancti Petri vacet et Conclave ad eligendum novum Summum Pontificem ab his quibus competit convocandum esse.
Fratres carissimi, ex toto corde gratias ago vobis pro omni amore et labore, quo mecum pondus ministerii mei portastis et veniam peto pro omnibus defectibus meis. Nunc autem Sanctam Dei Ecclesiam curae Summi eius Pastoris, Domini nostri Iesu Christi confidimus sanctamque eius Matrem Mariam imploramus, ut patribus Cardinalibus in eligendo novo Summo Pontifice materna sua bonitate assistat. Quod ad me attinet etiam in futuro vita orationi dedicata Sanctae Ecclesiae Dei toto ex corde servire velim.
Ex Aedibus Vaticanis, die 10 mensis februarii MMXIII
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
—
Source:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2013/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20130211_declaratio_lt.html
Can someone translate please?
He sounds very frail and exhausted…Oremus
Quid putas, Pater? Notavitne vir (episcopus?) qui ad papae dexteram sedebat verba resignationis? Ecce ocula eius.
Fallor. Non dexteram, sed sinistram papae, sedebat vir.
If you watch closely, he seems to be “reaching” for breath at several points.
At the very end of his announcement, the Pope looks so defeated. My dear Papa.
“Luminoso” is le mot juste!
Dr. Edward Peters,
Yes, he looked shocked to the core. In a quiet way, but still.
Dear BillyHW, the Declaratio is available in English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish at:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2013/february/index_en.htm
@oddfisher If you watch closely, he seems to be “reaching” for breath at several points.
I saw the Pope at an event on Saturday and a few times during his talk his voice got lower and seemed to waver. He has been criticized by some for resigning during Lent which will cause a disruption in many of the activities during Lent and the approach of Easter. Frankly it would not surprise me in the least if the Pope wasn’t aware that his time was short and planned his resignation and the ensuing conclave so that everything could be completed before Holy Week.
Along with the Pope’s “Declaratio” of Monday February 11, I think it is helpful to be aware of his “Lectio” of Friday February 8. Although I could not find an official English translation yet, there is one available in Sandro Magister’s column. Here is the conclusion, about both “false optimism” and “false pessimism”:
—
“Naturally, there is a false optimism and a false pessimism. A false pessimism that says: the time of Christianity is finished. No: it is beginning again! The false optimism was that after the Council, when the convents were closing, the seminaries were closing, and they were saying: but it’s nothing, everything’s fine . . . No! Everything is not fine. There are also grave, dangerous downfalls, and we must recognize with healthy realism that this is not all right, it is not all right when wrongful things are done. But also to be sure, at the same time, that if here and there the Church is dying because of the sins of men, because of their unbelief, at the same time it is being born anew. The future really does belong to God: this is the great certainty of our life, the great, true optimism that we know. The Church is the tree of God that lives forever and bears within itself eternity and the true inheritance: eternal life.”
—
Links:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1350428?eng=y
http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-prays-lectio-divina-at-romes-major-seminary
Here is a 5 min. video interview from CNS with Cardinal Arinze. He was present when the Holy Father made his announcement and gives his reaction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=06UP2qHCxWg
Very matter of fact in his delivery, though. In hindsight, it seems very wise to have announced this in Latin. (Frankly, people do not listen too closely to things said in their own language, a fact that is currently driving our poor grasp of the Mass.)
It occurred to me that there are some devotions that carry the promise that you’ll be warned thirty days before your death. Maybe he got warned, and he didn’t want to leave the Church rudderless while we were grieving. I’m so sad about this.
Pope’s brother, Msgr. Georg, reacts. Says don’t expect anything more to be published by Pope Benedict while he is alive. It would be seen as interference by some with the work of new Pope.
http://news.yahoo.com/popes-brother-benedict-seeks-quiet-retirement-114701199.html
Wow, he speaks Latin fast. I wonder how many of the cardinals present understood him the first time around? Without the transcript I couldn’t have caught more than a few words.
Perhaps someone can help me out here. The key sentence in the Pope’s delcaration is this: “Quapropter bene conscius ponderis huius actus plena libertate declaro me ministerio Episcopi Romae, Successoris Sancti Petri, mihi per manus Cardinalium die 19 aprilis MMV commissum renuntiare ita ut a die 28 februarii MMXIII, hora 20, sedes Romae, sedes Sancti Petri vacet et Conclave ad eligendum novum Summum Pontificem ab his quibus competit convocandum esse.”
Grammatically, we have declaro and two accusative and infinitives: me…. renuntiare, and Conclave… convocandum esse.
What puzzles me is “commissum.” Shouldn’t it agree with “ministerio” and not “me”? If it agrees with “me” (“I declare that I, entrusted with/to the ministry…” then the “mihi” seems superfluous.)
My head is not clear today… what am I missing?
I’m pacific standard time- my mother called me at 6:30 am Monday to tell me the news- to show how seriously she’s taken this, on 9/11, she didn’t call even though she knew we don’t have a television…I’ve encouraged her to watch the lovely video from Cardinal Arinze
Edward, I think you are right. The main clause (using English word order) consists of “declaro me renuntiare ministerio Episcopi Romae” (renuntiare takes the dative, not an ablative of separation, oddly). I don’t see any choice but to take “mihi per manus Cardinalium commissum” as a participial clause modifying ministerio, and therefore “commissum” must be a typo for “commisso” (although the Holy Father clearly says “minsterio” and “commissum” at 1:09-1:17 in the video).
Your post did clear up another point that confused me; I initially interpreted the ut clause as extending to the end of the sentence, and so couldn’t figure out why convocandum esse was an infinitive. But from your post I now see that the ut clause ends with vacet, and the remainder of the sentence continues the main clause whose verb is declaro.
Yes, “ministerio” is dative with a compound verb, although Lewis and Short document that the accusative is more common with this verb. That may account for the slight grammatical anacoluthon of “commissum,” as if one speaking or translating forgot that he had initially used a dative object with “renuntiare” and made the participle agree with the more prevalent option for a direct object of “renuntiare”, an accusative.
Imagine being the Latinist who was handed this letter to make sure the grammar & spelling were right. Maybe Card Burke did it himself, but methinks they’re always looked over by multiple people to be certain nothing was missed.
Cardinal Sodano was received in Audience on February 8th, according to the Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office. That’s probably when he was told of the Pope’s intention.
I watched Father Lombardi’s briefing yesterday (there was another one today, that I have not watched yet). The Press Office Director speculated that the document was prepared in Latin – and translated into the several languages in which it was quickly made public yesterday – by the Pope’s closest colaborators, because he, Lombardi, knew of nothing until the document was read in the Consistory of February 11th.
Well.. I think I have a way to make it work grammatically, (though I think the typo is the easiest answer.)
Take “ministerio” as a dative of reference, and “commissum” as direct object of “renuntiare” and it works like this: “I declare that I, as to ministry, renounce what was entrusted to me….”
Cumbersome and not as smoothly stylistically, but enough to get someone out of Latin grammatical prison.
Maybe the Pope, once relieved of the great burdens and pressures will feel comfortable to celebrate the TLM in his final years. In doing so, if the world at large were to gain knowledge of it, it may very well have more meaning and effect than if he had done it as Pope. If indeed this is in his thoughts then he knows very well how it will help the Latin Mass Communities and he can still feel he is contributing to the Church at large albeit in a less formal way. It would be quite touching to have the Holy Father quietly and out of the spotlight start celebrating this Mass in his twilight years. Afterall a very wise Pope wrote a MP that declared he needs no permission at all. God Bless and protect Benedict XVI.
Edward, that would work.
Looking at the dictionary again, I think I was wrong about renuntiare. Its direct and indirect objects are in the accusative and dative, respectively, as one would expect, and the indirect object is optional. Thus: “Carnem renuntio” = “I am giving up meat;” and “Auxilium sorori renuntio” = “I refuse to give help to my sister.” So if the sentence is indeed grammatical, then you must be right that “commissum” stands by itself as the direct object of renuntiare, and there is no indirect object.
The comment that commissum should be commisso was right on (I noticed it as well). The offical version on the Vatican site says “commisso”. Benedict, however, did read “commissum”, which was either a textual error which has been subsequently emended, or an understandable minor slip by someone, burdened by age and ill health who is making one of the most monumental statements in centuries.