"The great Father Zed, Archiblogopoios"
-
Fr. John Hunwicke
"Some 2 bit novus ordo cleric"
- Anonymous
"Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a traditionalist blogger who has never shied from picking fights with priests, bishops or cardinals when liturgical abuses are concerned."
- Kractivism
"Father John Zuhlsdorf is a crank"
"Father Zuhlsdorf drives me crazy"
"the hate-filled Father John Zuhlsford" [sic]
"Father John Zuhlsdorf, the right wing priest who has a penchant for referring to NCR as the 'fishwrap'"
"Zuhlsdorf is an eccentric with no real consequences" -
HERE
- Michael Sean Winters
"Fr Z is a true phenomenon of the information age: a power blogger and a priest."
- Anna Arco
“Given that Rorate Coeli and Shea are mad at Fr. Z, I think it proves Fr. Z knows what he is doing and he is right.”
- Comment
"Let me be clear. Fr. Z is a shock jock, mostly. His readership is vast and touchy. They like to be provoked and react with speed and fury."
- Sam Rocha
"Father Z’s Blog is a bright star on a cloudy night."
- Comment
"A cross between Kung Fu Panda and Wolverine."
- Anonymous
Fr. Z is officially a hybrid of Gandalf and Obi-Wan XD
- Comment
Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a scrappy blogger popular with the Catholic right.
- America Magazine
RC integralist who prays like an evangelical fundamentalist.
-Austen Ivereigh on
Twitter
[T]he even more mainline Catholic Fr. Z. blog.
-
Deus Ex Machina
“For me the saddest thing about Father Z’s blog is how cruel it is.... It’s astonishing to me that a priest could traffic in such cruelty and hatred.”
- Jesuit homosexualist James Martin to BuzzFeed
"Fr. Z's is one of the more cheerful blogs out there and he is careful about keeping the crazies out of his commboxes"
- Paul in comment at
1 Peter 5
"I am a Roman Catholic, in no small part, because of your blog.
I am a TLM-going Catholic, in no small part, because of your blog.
And I am in a state of grace today, in no small part, because of your blog."
- Tom in
comment
"Thank you for the delightful and edifying omnibus that is your blog."-
Reader comment.
"Fr. Z disgraces his priesthood as a grifter, a liar, and a bully. -
- Mark Shea
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“a seminarian is a layperson”
Would this statement be true even if the seminarian in question has received the tonsure?
On the other hand, though, a priest can…using the solemn rite of betrothal found in the Roman Ritual, which has become quite popular in our community since it was first revived.
Can a priest, in morality, bless an engagement of a couple that is decidedly heading to a merely civil marriage? I doubt it. As they aren’t going to, really, marry, they haven’t, really, got engaged to each other.
Dear Catholic Tech Geek, no, by applicable legal definition.
And if we want to go on with old use of language (the roles of tonsured seminarians have not, as such, changed after all; just whether they are called “clerics” by the Code has)… then w.r.t. blessings, even a subdeacon never held any more powers than a layman. A deacon has them, or some of them, though. (That is if I am rightly informed.)
Pursuant to Ministeria Quaedamn issued in 1972, “First tonsure is no longer conferred; entrance into the clerical state is joined to the diaconate.”
It is true, however, that certain congregations still confer the tonsure. Hagan lio!
I believe that those minor minor were able to give certain blessings. That is an open question with the MQ’s mandated switch to minor ministries. I’ve tried for years, without success, to determine what blessings those were/are.
I wonder why she would even want a blessing of a non-Christian marriage. Is there a validity issue involved? What kind of marriage is this and to whom?
tonsure. i would think that any one who knows enough arcana to ask the question, knows enough to (at least google) an answer, unless one has noticed NOTHING about clerical formation nigh on 45 years.
anyway, about the Book of Blessings, that whole thing needs urgently to be dealt with, but one no longer holds the proverbial breath.
The actual text of blessing from The Roman Ritual: Book of Blessings is:
“We praise you, Lord, for your gentle plan draws together your children, N. and N., in love for one another. Strengthen their hearts, so that they will keep faith with each other, please you in all things, and so come to the happiness of celebrating the sacrament of their marriage. Through Christ our Lord. R/. Amen”.
It is obvious that it is intended for those destined for a sacramental marriage.
What is a non-Christian wedding? It could be sacramental. It could be two baptists marrying before a judge. The seminarian could offer some sort of prayer. It is not clear that the couple have any understanding of what a blessing is. He could ask God to bless a natural marriage of two non-Christians for that matter.
Since this involved a family member, one way to approach this while still respecting Fr. Z’s counsel would be to offer a prayer and not a blessing. Pray for God to watch over her and her husband-to-be, protect them, and lead them ever closer to Him.
This way, you are not blessing their arrangement, but requesting God’s graces to lead them to the truth. An outright refusal to offer any prayer or blessing might make the couple feel spurned/rejected and turn the couple’s heart further from Christ and the Church. A prayer would still leaves this relationship intact, which could permit the seminarian opportunities to provide additional nudges towards a holy, sacramental marriage in the future.
to both cwillia1 and Michael,
It would still be a very bad idea. Even offering a prayer (at a non-Christian wedding? what sort of prayer would one offer?) could be seen by some as actively consenting to and participating in activity unbecoming a seminarian. He is a seminarian – he is not a priest, he is not a cleric. He is not authorized to act as such.
If he were a second-year med student, and a family member needed to have a heart bypass, would any reasonable family member consider asking him to do the surgery? Would any reasonable family member be upset when he refused to do the surgery if asked?
His simple response should be, “Gosh, it’s so nice of you to ask me. I’m honored, but you know, since I’m just in the seminary and not yet ordained, I’m not authorized to do anything like that. You know, once I’m ordained, and you two get everything straightened out and want to get married in the Church, let me know and I’ll be happy to help you!”
Fr. Timothy,
You are absolutely correct. The problem is when priest X and seminarian Y who’s friends with cousin A and sister in law B does the opposite, then this seminarian becomes the “big bad rule welding fundamentalist (who hates Vatican 2!)” .. I know, I tried to explain the reasons to my protestant mother regarding my first daughter’s baptism. I tried to explain she could be a witness, etc., but some parts of the Mystery must be taken over by a confirmed practicing Catholic or Orthodox Christian. The response, “well, Fr. X let my friend be her grand daughter’s godmother and hold her at this point.” Never mind that it’s a different sui juris Church and totally different Rites. I just wasn’t being stubborn enough to force the priest to bend to my will.. and we ask why there are 40K denominations.