Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

Theme for World Communications Day 2014

Posted on 2 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization

(Vatican Radio) – The theme for the next World Communications Day has been announced. Below the text of the statement released Saturday by the Pontifical Council of Social Communications. [Was that a sentence?]
One of the most important challenges facing the task of evangelization today is that which is emerging from the digital environment. Pope Benedict XVI calls attention to this particular topic, in the context of the Year of Faith, in his choice of the theme for the 47th World Communications Day, “Social Networks: portals of truth and faith; new spaces for evangelization”.
The theme suggests a series of important points for reflection. [and then… after reflection…. ummm… what comes next?] During a time in which technology has emerged as part of the fabric of connectivity of human experiences, such as relationships and knowledge, we need to ask: can it help men and women meet Christ in faith? [Did letter writing? Did the printing of books or creation of stained-glass? When Jesus wanted to me let out from shore in a little boat on a line so that He could talk to more people at once, He used technology. As a matter of fact, that was the first example of “on-line” ministry] It is not enough to find an adequate language, but rather, it is necessary to learn how to present the Gospel as the answer to that basic human yearning for meaning and faith, which has already found expression online. [One way is through the promotion of sound liturgy and teaching those who begin grassroots movements in parishes the need for the sacraments to be celebrated properly according to the rites of the Church.]
Such an approach, which will serve to create a more dynamic and humane digital world, requires a new way of thinking. [Good luck.] It is not simply a question of how to use the internet as a means of evangelization, but instead of how to evangelize in a context where the lives of people find expression also in the digital arena. [?]
In particular, we need to be attentive to the emergence and enormous popularity of the social networks, which privilege dialogical and interactive forms of communication and relationships.
World Communications Day, the only worldwide celebration called for by the Second Vatican Council (Inter Mirifica, 1963), is celebrated in most countries, on the recommendation of the bishops of the world, on the Sunday before Pentecost (May 12th in 2013). The Holy Father’s message for World Communications Day is traditionally published in conjunction with the Memorial of St. Francis de Sales, patron of writers (January 24).

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick | Tagged Benedict XVI, Pontifical Council of Social Communications, World Communications Day
10 Comments

The Canonical Defender responds to a claim about the ordination of deaconesses

Posted on 2 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Canonical Defender, Dr. Ed Peters, has on his fine blog about canon law again drilled into an aspect of the question of women deacons.

Further re female ordination to diaconate
by Dr. Edward Peters

I saw the recent comments here and here of Msgr John Alesandro—an accomplished canonist—in support of ordaining women to the diaconate. I disagree with him on the prospects of women’s ordination but, because some of Alesandro’s comments were directed against a claim that sounds similar to mine, I write to make sure that his defeat of that claim is not parlayed by others into a refutation of mine. [Well said.]

Alesandro responded to the following claim: “There is no possibility that women will ever be ordained to the diaconate because canon law forbids it” (emphasis added). Of course he responded negatively to that claim: the fact that canon law forbids women’s ordination is—I won’t say irrelevant, but—certainly one of the weakest arguments against women’s ordination available. Canonical history is replete with examples of actions illegal in one generation, but legal in another. [NB] Rejection of what amounts to a purely positivistic [rooted mainly in law, by “fiat”] argument against women’s ordination is sound.
But, three things need noting:
• canon law does not determine, but rather, upholds doctrine and theology; I base my rejection of the possibility of women’s ordination, even to the diaconate, on my understanding of the theology of Orders; Alesandro and I apparently disagree about that theology, but we agree that theology is ultimately where this issue must be settled;
• many canonical institutes have changed dramatically over the centuries, but the more closely institutes are tied to doctrinal points touching, say, the nature of a sacrament, the less they change; the enduring, strongly negative, even penal, stance of canon law against women’s ordination tends far more against the radical possibility of women’s ordination than for it;
• the current norms against women’s ordination (chiefly in c. 1024) mean that any current attempts at ordaining women—irrespective of women’s (alleged) ontological capacity for Orders—are utterly null, that is, they are of no sacramental effect in the Church. [That is a very tall cliff to overcome.]
Thus, Alesandro and I agree on the first point, I think that he would grant the plausibility of my second, and I am sure we agree on the third.

Not. Going. To. Happen.

UPDATE

Peters follows up with a post about the reporter who had contacted him and then wrote the story to which the canonist mentioned above later responded. Good reading!

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged c. 1024, canon law, deaconesses, diaconate, Ed Peters, Holy Orders, women deacons, women's ordination
53 Comments

Catholics and voting

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This is interesting. And it is irritating.

From WND:

America’s salvation depends on Catholics
Exclusive: Anita Crane reveals mind-blowing number not registered to vote

by Anita Crane

“The religious group that seems to be figuring most prominently in the presidential election right now is the Roman Catholic Church,” wrote AP’s Rachel Zoll in an article about vice presidential candidates Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and the incumbent, Democrat Joe Biden. While that one sentence is true, Ms. Zoll doesn’t seem to know what makes someone truly Catholic or not. Worse yet, a vast number of Catholic voters may not know, either.

Why does this matter? According the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, 77.7 million Americans declared themselves Catholic in 2011. That’s a hefty 24.9 percent of the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimated population for last year, and Catholics are supposed to be the champions of human rights. However, according to Brian Burch of CatholicVote.org, 20 percent of eligible Catholics – 15 million – are not registered to vote in this crucial election.

The Catholic Church rightly condemns all forms Marxism (collectivism, communism, socialism) – but few Catholics know it. The Church also condemns human laws permitting or coercing the crime of abortion, but many Catholics ignore it. (See more in the searchable Catholic Catechism.) Yet Barack Obama and the nominally Catholic Joe Biden are imposing Marxist dictates and abortions upon the American people, ….

[…]

The rest of the piece is wide-ranging and includes a bit about Bp. Morlino of Madison on VP-candidate Paul Ryan.

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Emanations from Penumbras, Liberals, New Evangelization, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged November 2012
37 Comments

Pres. Obama’s record in regard to Christians and Biblical values

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The fight for our religious liberty is really just beginning.

Remember how Pres. Obama said at Notre Shame that he was interested in “common ground”? Remember what he promised Card. Dolan?

I was sent this list by a reader. It recounts Pres. Obama’s actions in regard to Christian values.

Take a look at this list and then ask yourself: In a second term, would he be better in this regard or worse?

1. Acts of Hostility Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a. April 2008 – Obama speaks disrespectfully of Christians, saying they “cling to guns or religion” and have an “antipathy to people who aren’t like them.”
b. February 2009 – Obama announces plans to revoke conscience protection for health workers who refuse to participate in medical activities that go against their beliefs, and fully implements the plan in February 2011.
c. April 2009 – When speaking at Georgetown University , Obama orders that a monogram symbolizing Jesus’ name be covered when he is making his speech.
d. May 2009 – Obama declines to host services for the National Prayer Day (a day established by federal law) at the White House.
e. April 2009 – In a deliberate act of disrespect, Obama nominated three pro-abortion ambassadors to the Vatican ; of course, the pro-life Vatican rejected all three.
f. October 19, 2010 – Obama begins deliberately omitting the phrase about “the Creator” when quoting the Declaration of Independence – an omission he has made on no less than seven occasions.
g. November 2010 – Obama misquotes the National Motto, saying it is “E pluribus Unum” rather than “In God We Trust” as established by federal law.
h. January 2011 – After a federal law was passed to transfer a WWI Memorial in the Mojave Desert to private ownership, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that the cross in the memorial could continue to stand, but the Obama administration refused to allow the land to be transferred as required by law, and refused to allow the cross to be re-erected as ordered by the Court.
i. February 2011 – Although he filled posts in the State Department, for more than two years Obama did not fill the post of religious freedom ambassador, an official that works against religious persecution across the world; he filled it only after heavy pressure from the public and from Congress.
j. April 2011 – For the first time in American history, Obama urges passage of a non-discrimination law that does not contain hiring protections for religious groups, forcing religious organizations to hire according to federal mandates without regard to the dictates of their own faith, thus eliminating conscience protection in hiring.
k. August 2011 – The Obama administration releases its new health care rules that override religious conscience protections for medical workers in the areas of abortion and contraception.
l. November 2011 – Obama opposes inclusion of President Franklin Roosevelt’s famous D-Day Prayer in the WWII Memorial.
m. November 2011 – Unlike previous presidents, Obama studiously avoids any religious references in his Thanksgiving speech.
n. December 2011 – The Obama administration denigrates other countries’ religious beliefs as an obstacle to radical homosexual rights.
o. January 2012 – The Obama administration argues that the First Amendment provides no protection for churches and synagogues in hiring their pastors and rabbis.
p. February 2012 – The Obama administration forgives student loans in exchange for public service, but announces it will no longer forgive student loans if the public service is related to religion.

2. Acts of Hostility From The Obama-Led Military Toward People Of Biblical Faith:

a. June 2011 – The Department of Veterans Affairs forbids references to God and Jesus during burial ceremonies at Houston National Cemetery ..
b. August 2011 – The Air Force stops teaching the Just War theory to officers in California because the course is taught by chaplains and is based on a philosophy introduced by St. Augustine in the third century AD – a theory long taught by civilized nations across the world (except America).
c. September 2011 – Air Force Chief of Staff prohibits commanders from notifying airmen of programs and services available to them from chaplains.
d. September 2011 – The Army issues guidelines for Walter Reed Medical Center stipulating that “No religious items (i.e. Bibles, reading materials and/or facts) are allowed to be given away or used during a visit.”
e. November 2011 – The Air Force Academy rescinds support for Operation Christmas Child, a program to send holiday gifts to impoverished children across the world, because the program is run by a Christian charity.
f. November 2011 – The Air Force Academy pays $80,000 to add a Stonehenge-like worship center for pagans, druids, witches and Wiccans.
g. February 2012 – The U. S. Military Academy at West Point dis-invites three star Army general and decorated war hero Lieutenant General William G. (“Jerry”) Boykin (retired) from speaking at an event because he is an outspoken Christian.
h. February 2012 – The Air Force removes “God” from the patch of Rapid Capabilities Office (the word on the patch was in Latin: Dei).
i. February 2012 – The Army orders Catholic chaplains not to read a letter to parishioners that their archbishop asked them to read.

3. Acts of Hostility Toward Biblical Values:

a. January 2009 – Obama lifts restrictions on U.S. government funding for groups that provide abortion services or counseling abroad, forcing taxpayers to fund pro-abortion groups that either promote or perform abortions in other nations.
b. January 2009 – President Obama’s nominee for deputy secretary of state asserts that American taxpayers are required to pay for abortions and that limits on abortion funding are unconstitutional.
c. March 2009 – The Obama administration shut out pro-life groups from attending a White House-sponsored health care summit.
d. March 2009 – Obama orders taxpayer funding of embryonic stem cell research.
e. March 2009 – Obama gave $50 million for the UNFPA, the UN population agency that promotes abortion and works closely with Chinese population control officials who use forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations.
f. May 2009 – The White House budget eliminates all funding for abstinence-only education and replaces it with “comprehensive” sexual education, repeatedly proven to increase teen pregnancies and abortions. He continues the deletion in subsequent budgets.
g. May 2009 – Obama officials assemble a terrorism dictionary calling pro-life advocates violent and charging that they use racism in their “criminal” activities.
h. July 2009 – The Obama administration illegally extends federal benefits to same-sex partners of Foreign Service and Executive Branch employees, in direct violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
i. September 16, 2009 – The Obama administration appoints as EEOC Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who asserts that society should “not tolerate” any “private beliefs,” including religious beliefs, if they may negatively affect homosexual “equality.”
j. July 2010 – The Obama administration uses federal funds in violation of federal law to get Kenya to change its constitution to include abortion.
k. August 2010 – The Obama administration Cuts funding for 176 abstinence education programs.
l. September 2010 – The Obama administration tells researchers to ignore a judge’s decision striking down federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.
m. February 2011 – Obama directs the Justice Department to stop defending the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
n. March 2011 – The Obama administration refuses to investigate videos showing Planned Parenthood helping alleged sex traffickers get abortions for victimized underage girls.
o. July 2011 – Obama allows homosexuals to serve openly in the military, reversing a policy originally instituted by George Washington in March 1778.
p. September 2011 – The Pentagon directs that military chaplains may perform same-sex marriages at military facilities in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
q. October 2011 – The Obama administration eliminates federal grants to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for their extensive programs that aid victims of human trafficking because the Catholic Church is anti-abortion.

4. Acts Of Preferentialism For Islam:

a. May 2009 – While Obama does not host any National Day of Prayer event at the White House, he does host White House Iftar dinners in honor of Ramadan.
b. April 2010 – Christian leader Franklin Graham is dis-invited from the Pentagon’s National Day of Prayer Event because of complaints from the Muslim community.
c. April 2010 – The Obama administration requires rewriting of government documents and a change in administration vocabulary to remove terms that are deemed offensive to Muslims, including jihad, jihadists, terrorists, radical Islamic, etc.
d. August 2010 – Obama speaks with great praise of Islam and condescendingly of Christianity.
e. August 2010 – Obama went to great lengths to speak out on multiple occasions on behalf of building an Islamic mosque at Ground Zero, while at the same time he was silent about a Christian church being denied permission to rebuild at that location.
f. 2010 – While every White House traditionally issues hundreds of official proclamations and statements on numerous occasions, this White House avoids traditional Biblical holidays and events but regularly recognizes major Muslim holidays, as evidenced by its 2010 statements on Ramadan, Eid-ul-Fitr, Hajj, and Eid-ul-Adha.
g. October 2011 – Obama’s Muslim advisers block Middle Eastern Christians’ access to the White House.
h. February 2012 – The Obama administration makes effulgent apologies for Korans being burned by the U. S. military, but when Bibles were burned by the military, numerous reasons were offered why it was the right thing to do.

Posted in Dogs and Fleas, Emanations from Penumbras, Liberals, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged anti-catholic, anti-Christian, biblical values, November 2012, Pres. Obama
36 Comments

Bp. Sample (D. Marquette) on the upcoming election, November 2012

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Fr. John Boyle has posted on his blog Caritas in veritate, some links to four articles from His Excellency Most Rev. Alexander Sample, Bishop of Marquette. Take it away, Fr. Boyle:

Bishop Sample of Marquette, Michigan, is contributing a 4-part series of articles in the diocesan newspaper The UP Catholic to guide his diocesan faithful in the November General Election.

His first article entitled “A Consequential Election” deals in general with the Church’s social teachings describing her rich and well-developed social doctrine as “one of the ‘best kept secrets of the Church'”.

In his second article Bishop Sample writes about the Church’s teachings on life. “From the very moment of conception, a unique and irreplaceable member of the human family comes into existence.”

The UP Catholic, published twice monthly, is available free on line, and you can subscribe to receive a free email notification when a new edition is published by clicking on the enotify button at the top of the page.

WDTPRS kudos to Bp. Sample.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Emanations from Penumbras, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Religious Liberty, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Bp. Sample, D. Marquette, GET OUT THE VOTE, November 2012, vote
8 Comments

1 October Monday – London – evening

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am back in London… briefly.

Since it is a Monday, and since there is a TLM at the little church on Maiden Lane near Covent Garden, and since after Mass some people go to the nearby Coal Hole, I may just stick my head in and see who is around. Say: 7:15-30-ish? Were any of you in the area intending to show up at the Coal Hole, I might find your presence more compelling in my choice.

Drop me a line by email, or text me if you have my UK mobile number, or post something here.

UPDATE:

I the meantime, lunch. Chinatown!

Mixed pork and duck with fried noodles.

Posted in On the road, What Fr. Z is up to |
3 Comments

9-12 Oct – MIAMI, FL: Low Mass (Extraordinary Form) training for Priests – no charge

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am informed that there is training in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite being offered for Priests – 9-12 October 2012 –
by the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (Low Mass)FREE OF COST at St. John Vianney College Seminary in Miami, Florida.

Register today at www.tinyurl.com/extraordinary2012. Contact: Fr. Brian T. Austin, FSSP, for more information at
btafssp@gmail.com

Roman Priests should be able to say BOTH forms of the Roman Rite.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Benedict XVI, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Archd. Miami, Extraordinary Form, FSSP, Low Mass, TLM
2 Comments

Two New Doctors of the Church

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Vatican Radio:

The Holy See announced today that Pope Benedict XVI will preside at the Solemn Mass for the opening of the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

The General Assembly will open on 7 October, the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

During the Mass, the Pope will proclaim Saint John of Avila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen “Doctors of the Church.”

St. John of Avila, a 16th century Spanish priest, was known for his preaching and for his reform of clerical life in his native country, while his spiritual works have enjoyed widespread popularity.

The 12th century German mystic St. Hildegard of Bingen was a professed member of the Benedictine order. She is known for her extensive writings and visions.

Pope Benedict will concelebrate the General Assembly’s opening Mass with the Synod Fathers, and with Bishops from the Spanish and German Episcopal Conferences.

Posted in Benedict XVI, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged Doctor of the Church, St. Hildegard of Bingen, St. John of Avila
12 Comments

Muslim terrorists attack, kill Catholic schoolchildren with a grenade

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From UPI:

NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept. 30 (UPI) — A grenade attack on a Catholic church Sunday school in Kenya killed one boy and critically injured six other children, the Red Cross said.

The attack happened around 10:30 a.m. at the St. Polycarp Catholic church in Nairobi and was immediately blamed on Somalia’s al-Shabaab Islamist militants, the BBC reported.

Nairobi Police Chief Moses Ombati told the Sunday Nation newspaper some of the injuries were caused by a panic stampede after the blast.

He said no one saw the person who threw the grenade, but three people were arrested while taking pictures of the blast scene. The three told police they were Somali television journalists, the newspaper said.

Soon after the explosion, a group of youths began attacking a nearby mosque, but they were dispersed without incident by police, Ombati said.

Al-Shabaab militants have targeted Kenyan churches in the past in retaliation for Kenya’s participation in an African Union military mission in Somalia to roust the group considered to be a terrorist organization.

Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, pray for us.

Posted in The future and our choices | Tagged al-Shabaab, Islam, Kenya, Somalia, Sts. Nunilo and Alodia, The Religion of Peace
2 Comments

QUAERITUR: Children sent out from Mass after the Gospel

Posted on 1 October 2012 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

We recently moved to a new area, where the parish encourages children to leave Mass after the Gloria for a ‘liturgy’ and returns them after the intercessions. I have not permitted my children to leave Mass, but when I’ve expressed concern the answer is “Well, the bishops have approved it, and children don’t understand the gospel so this helps them get more out of Mass.” My ‘spidey sense’ is tingling on this one. Help???

I have heard of this sort of thing, but I have no experience with it. I believe the thought behind having children go out, and in the some places even adult catechumens, is inspired by the ancient, and I mean ancient, practice of having the non-baptised leave the church before the Eucharistic part of Mass began. There was and still is a distinction made about the “Mass of the Catechumens” (the readings, etc.) and the “Mass of the Faithful” (Creed and all that follows). Doing this today, however, strikes me as a kind of archeologizing of process of conversion.

Since in the case above I don’t know whether the “children” involved have made their first Holy Communion or not, I don’t know what to say. If they have made their First Communion, I really don’t see why they should be sent out.

Also, I really don’t like that whole “get more out of Mass” argument. This is very shifty ground. “Get more” what? “Get more” in what sense? Are they being trained to think of Mass is a didactic moment? Are they being taught that the important thing to attend to at Mass is that which can be easily understood? Does their removal from Mass weaken or reinforce a sense of the importance of the sacrifical dimension of the Mass of the Faithful?

At this point I invite those who have experience with this sort of thing to chime in.