Fr. Z's Blog | Catholic commentary by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Francis and the Franciscan Friars have a meeting

Posted on 23 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Andrea Tornielli tells us that the Holy Father granted an audience to the embattled Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

Oddly, we didn’t hear about this meeting before. It happened on 10 June. Usually the Pope’s meetings are listed in public sources, such as the Bolletino.

From Vatican Insider with my emphases:

The Pope speaks with the young Franciscans of the Immaculate

The meeting, which lasted an hour and a half, took place on Tuesday 10 June in the chapel of Santa Marta. On the Council, Francis endorsed the hermeneutic proposed by Benedict XVI

ANDREA TORNIELLI
VATICAN CITY

The meeting was held on Tuesday 10 June in the chapel of the Santa Marta Residence in the Vatican, despite the fact the Pope had been feeling under the weather and cancelled some appointments the previous day. For an hour and a half, Francis entertained around sixty Franciscans of the Immaculate, the order founded by father Stefano Manelli that last year the Holy See put under temporary receivership to resolve internal differences regarding the government, administration, relationship with the female branch and the use of the by new exclusive [sic] old missal and the interpretations of the last Council. Around forty seminarists, novitiates, and theology and philosophy students were present, along with their teachers and the pontifical commissioner, [aka Commisar] father Fidenzio Volpi.

The Franciscan Friars sang the Ave Maria di Fatima and renewed in the hands of the Pope their vows of total consecration to the Immaculate. Questions were then put to Francis on the most contested themes regarding the internal operations of the institution. Pope Bergoglio proved to be well informed on all issues, following the matter closely, and several times showed his appreciation for father Volpi, quelling rumours that the actions of the government of the commissioner and his collaborators were undertaken without the Pope’s knowledge. [So, the Pope knew what was going on.]

Following the assignment of commissioners and restrictions applied to the use of the old missal, which, as opposed to what happens under motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, in the case of the Franciscans of the Immaculate it can be used without prior authorisation from superiors, there were defections in the friars and the seminarists. Of 400 members in the world, around 40 have requested to be released from their vows, and around half of these are seminarists and therefor still students who had only made temporary vows.

[NB] On the motu proprio, [Summorum Pontificum] Pope Francis said he did not want to deviate from the line of Benedict XVI, and reiterated that the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate remained free to celebrate the old mass, even if for the moment, [?] in light of the controversies surrounding the exclusive right to use that missal – an element that did not constitute part of the founding charisma of the institution – they required “a discernment” with the superior and with the bishop if it concerned celebrations in parish churches, sanctuaries and teaching houses. [Excuse me, but… why?] The Pope explained that there must be freedom, both for those who wish to celebrate with the old rite, and those who wish to celebrate with the new rite, without the rite becoming an ideological banner. [And clearly it had. But, now that this trip to the woodshed (fairly or unfairly) has been prosecuted, why not just let them get on with life? Also, if Pope Francis is okay with the juridical changes made by Benedict, then why is the group getting hammered? Is this a way of testing them? Is this something that a former Jesuit provincial would do? Force the group to make choices and test them?]

One question concerned the interpretation of the II Vatican Council. Francis once again expressed his appreciation for the work of Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, defining it as “the best hermeneutic” of the Council. [DI YOU HEAR THAT, FISHWRAP? Remember what Pope Francis wrote to Marchetto? HERE] He then responded to the objection according to which the II Vatican would only be a castoral [sic… I don’t think “beaver-like” but rather “pastoral”] council, which has damaged the church. The Pope said that although it is has been pastoral, it contains doctrinal elements and is a Catholic council, reaffirming the line of the hermeneutics of reform in the continuity of the one-subject church, presented by Benedict XVI in his speech to the Roman Curia in December 2005. He then reminded them that all councils have provoked uproar and reactions, because the demon “does not want the church to become strong”. [“the demon… il demonio”, which is The Devil.] He also said that we must move forwards with a theological and not ideological hermeneutic of the II Vatican.

Francis also said that he had wanted the closure of the theological institute within the Franciscans of the Immaculate (STIM), so that the seminarists would study in the pontifical theology faculties of Rome. He then explained that the Church guarantees orthodoxy through the Pope. [His Holiness, if he thinks that, should pay closer attention to his old colleagues at the Gregorian.]

[…]

Meanwhile, the fact of this meeting makes me scratch my head a little. What I have been hearing is that some of the men want to leave the FFIs, maybe to form something else, perhaps under the aegis of the PCED. So, it could be that some people are getting nervous. Could it be that the powers that be have become aware of how many people are watching the situation of the FFIs? Could this be damage control? It’s pretty ugly, after all.

I pray for the peaceful resolution of the situation and the relief of the Friars from the super-invasive aegis of the Congregation.

Posted in Francis, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM, The Drill | Tagged Fr. Volpi, Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate
31 Comments

Liberals hating on Pope Francis, who just refuses to get with their agenda!

Posted on 23 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Liberals will eventually turn on Pope Francis. There are even some indications at The Fishwrap that this is starting.

Francis’ style doesn’t seem conservative at all, but he is NOT going to change doctrine. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if it were he who issues the document that shoots down the ordination of women to the diaconate, something along the lines of Ordinatio diaconalis.

I just perused this at Salon:

This piece is great. It is a sustained spittle-flecked nutty from top to bottom. Make popecorn [HAH! Such a great typo, I’ll leave it!] and enter into a fantasy landscape.

Pope Francis’ new clothes: Why his progressive image is white smoke and mirrors
Don’t buy his populist rhetoric. The new pope is every bit the sexist homophobe as his predecessors

[…]

While the pope transmits a populist vibe—particularly about the economy— he is an old-school conservative who, despite his great PR, maintains nearly all of the socialpolicies of his predecessors and keeps up a hardline Vatican “cabinet.” He has done virtually nothing to change the policies of the church to match his more compassionate rhetoric. People excuse the pope, claiming that he doesn’t have much power to make changes, but this simply isn’t true. Further, it is ludicrous to suggest that a man who denies comprehensive reproductive health care (including all forms of birth control including condoms and abortion) and comprehensive family planning is a man who cares about the poor of this world. The bigotry of homophobia and sexism cloaked in religion are still bigotry and sexism. By giving to the church, American Catholics aren’t supporting “progress,” they are supporting oppression and in this way are complicit in the bigotry, sexism, and oppression of the church.

[…]

The new sexist, nun-hating, poverty-perpetuating, pedophile-protecting homophobe is the same as the old sexist, nun-hating, poverty-perpetuating, pedophile-protecting homophobe, but gosh how the media loves him

[…]

Remember that for secularist liberals, abortion is a sacrament. They want lots of abortion. For catholic liberals, such as the writers and readers of Fishwrap, who eventually and unavoidably verge into being secularists, the ordination of women is the unholy grail. But even were they to get that (and they won’t), they wouldn’t be satisfied.

Pope Francis is going to say “No” to what liberals want. Doctrine will not change. They will turn on him.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Blatteroons, Francis, Liberals, The Drill, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Throwing a Nutty | Tagged Pope Francis, Salon, spittle-flecked nutty
22 Comments

ASK FATHER: How to support a friend’s vocation to the priesthood

Posted on 23 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

Father, I have a close friend who has been as close as a brother to me who is discerning the priesthood. I think he would make a wonderful priest or even religious brother. What steps can I take to encourage him in his path and help him along his way?

Thanks for taking interest in his vocation and not being selfish. Some people might not want to encourage a friend, from fear that he might not be able to see as much of him should he take that path.

That is also a problem, I think, that some parents have. I suspect that God will frown on parents who place obstacles before a son’s a vocation to the priesthood. I’m just sayin’ …

For sure, pray for the guy. Fast for him. Have Masses said for him. The devil, and maybe others, will try to dissuade him from such a path. Also, speak positively about the priesthood when the topic arises in conversation. Be supportive. You support might also extend even to helping with some of the expenses in his formation, although here I must add a cautionary word.

Whenever you give some sort of material or monetary support to a seminarian never never never give the man also the slightest sense that you consider him therefore obliged to continue to Holy Orders if he has arrived at a conclusion that ordination is not for him. Every man must come to that moment of the laying on of hands with a will that is free and not encumbered by the expectations of those whose opinions he holds dear. He shouldn’t be burdened with the expectation that just because someone gave money for x or y or z in his formation, he is therefore obliged to continue, when he knows he should not.

Because of this, if it comes to monetary or material support, you might consider asking a third party to be an intermediary. For example you might give what you want to give to the seminary or the man’s parish, with the understanding that it will be then give to him as from an anonymous donor, and so forth.

I am not here talking about birthday presents or the like. I raise this in case the man has, for example, debts from university that he is still paying off, or his car is a wreck and he needs something new. That sort of thing.

Also, as a concrete sign of solidarity, you might join a local Serra Club, which fosters vocations to the priesthood.

I hope everyone out there will be generous in spirit when it comes to vocations to the priesthood.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity, Priests and Priesthood, Seminarians and Seminaries | Tagged formation, priesthood, seminarians, seminary, Serra Club, vocation
6 Comments

“We declare him excommunicate and anathema.”

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In case you haven’t seen this.

Never gets old. It’s the slight pause before … pain that really does it.

We could just adopt this rite as it is.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Becket, excommunication, Richard Burton
27 Comments

“It was going to come down to just him and me.”

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

May I recommend that you stop over at the blog Shoved To Them (where do these interesting names come from?) and peruse THIS.

Here is an excerpt:

[My husband] worried about our safety, so he made sure that I had a gun and ammunition in case I should ever need them. You see, I’m not the biggest person ever. I’m right at 5′ 3″ and was tiny. If anything happened, there was no way for me to physically fight back and have much of a chance. The gun my husband put up on our closet shelf was an equalizer, because my husband knew I would need one.

I’m not going to pretend that I was at all pleased with the “gift” he gave me. I wasn’t thrilled to have a gun in the house with a small child. It’s not that I couldn’t handle a gun. (God golly, I grew up in Texas! I can hunt and shoot with the best of ’em! Like many Texas daddies, mine made sure that his daughter could change the tire on a car and drop a deer with a single shot!) I was irrationally afraid that my six month old would scale the walls, retrieve it from the shelf, be able to pull the trigger, and hurt herself. It was a bone of contention in our house until I needed it and then I sure was glad that my husband hadn’t listened to me.

There had been a couple of break-ins in our neighborhood in the preceding weeks. Whomever it was had clearly been watching his targets because the seemed to happen within minutes of the residents’ leaving their homes in the evening. The perpetrator either forced open back doors or he had cut the screens and gone in through a window.The houses were old, and many of the doors and windows were easy to jimmy open from the outside.

One evening around close on to midnight, my husband was at work, and I was up nursing the baby. I had just begun to doze off when I heard someone try knob on the back door. When he tried to shove the door in, I ran with the baby to my bedroom. I laid her on a blanket on my closet floor, and grabbed the shotgun off of my shelf. I knew that the person trying to get in wasn’t going to give me a chance to call 911 and wait for the police to arrive. It was going to come down to just him and me.

After his third try at the door, he went to the side of the house to the only window which was both low enough to reach and in the shadows enough to be hidden. I heard the screech of blade on glass as he started to cut the screen away. I exhaled in attempt to steady my breath and calm my racing heart. All I could think was that this son of a b$&@% wasn’t getting anywhere near my baby ….

[…]

Read the rest there.

I am glad to hear from and speak to gals who can defend themselves and their loved ones from vile aggressors.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes | Tagged gun control, self-defense
14 Comments

“Don’t Tread on Me”

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I liked this from Military.com:

Navy SEALs Order More ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ Patches

The U.S. Navy is ordering more “Don’t Tread on Me” flag patches eight months after it was reported that Navy SEALs had stopped wearing them because the Tea Party used a similar flag. [Ridiculous.]

The U.S. Naval Special Warfare Command ordered the patches in an official announcement posted June 3 that was first reported by Dan Lamothe with the Washington Post.

Known as the First Navy Jack, former Navy Secretary Gordon England authorized it in 2002 as the Navy’s official jack for the Global War on Terrorism. Sailors and SEALs have since often worn the symbol as a patch on their left shoulder when deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Click

Last November, Carl Higbie, a former Navy SEAL, reported for the Daily Caller that SEAL commanders had told their units to stop wearing the Navy Jack patches because it looked similar to the flag that Tea Party leaders have adopted.

Navy officials denied the story to multiple news outlets and sailors have continued to wear the patch since.

Of course, the Tea Party most often uses the Gadsden flag, not the First Navy Jack. Both have the words “Don’t Tread on Me,” but one has stripes and the other is yellow. The Gadsden flag also features a coiled snake while the First Navy Jack’s snake is elongated.

The Gadsden flag was flown during the Revolutionary War and used at times by the Continental Marines.

I am reminded of the opening credits of the series John Adams:

Also, the biography of John Adams, by David McCullough is quite simply one of the best biographies I have ever read.

Click to see.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Don't Tread On Me, First Navy Jack, Gadsden Flag, Navy SEAL, Tea Party
14 Comments

How do you use the precious allotment of time which you have been given?

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw this at Acton Power Blog. It made me put on my Patristiblogger hat for a while:

Every year the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), which measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities, such as paid work, childcare, volunteering, and socializing.

Here are seven figures you should know from the latest report:

1. On the days they worked, employed men worked 53 minutes more than employed women. This difference partly reflects women’s greater likelihood of working part time. However, even among full-time workers, men worked longer than women–8.3 hours compared with 7.7 hours.

2. On an average day, 83 percent of women and 65 percent of men spent some time doing household activities such as housework, cooking, lawn care, or financial and other household management. On the days they did household activities, women spent an average of 2.6 hours on such activities, while men spent 2.1 hours.

3. Individuals age 75 and over averaged 1.0 hour of reading for personal interest per weekend day and 20 minutes playing games or using a computer for leisure. Conversely, individuals ages 15 to 19 read for an average of 4 minutes per weekend day and spent 52 minutes playing games or using a computer for leisure.

4. Employed adults living in households with no children under age 18 engaged in leisure activities for 4.5 hours per day, about an hour more than employed adults living with a child under age 6.

5. Men were more likely than women to participate in sports, exercise, or recreation on any given day–21 percent compared with 16 percent. On the days that they participated, men also spent more time in these activities than did women–1.9 hours compared with 1.3 hours.

6. Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time (2.8 hours per day), accounting for more than half of leisure time, on average, for those age 15 and over. Socializing, such as visiting with friends or attending or hosting social events, was the next most common leisure activity, accounting for 43 minutes per day.

7. The average person spend 8.74 hours a day sleeping (8.65 for men; 8.82 for women).

I wonder how much time Catholics spend in prayer.

How do you use the precious allotment of time which you have been given?

Today, it's my turn. Tomorrow, it's yours.

In Luke 10, Our Lord spoke of the “unum necessarium” during his dialog with Martha.

“Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful (unum necessarium). Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10: 38-42).

You might also be saying, “But Father! But Father!”, as you reach for your never distant Bible, “What about Ps 27:4?!?”:

“One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple.”

There are any number of places in Scripture where we read about the necessity of a singular focus on God, of placing Him at the very summit of our desires and gratitude.

Down through the ages out greatest writers and thinkers have strained to find the right balance of the active life and the contemplative life.

We live in the tension between the active and contemplative. We feel the tension of the bustle and the desire for calm.

St. Augustine of Hippo often explores this tension in his commentaries on Scripture, usually in homiletic form. At times Augustine presents pair of figures who represent the two dimensions, such as Leah and Rachel, Peter and Paul, Martha and Mary. In his own life Augustine was torn between the heavy burdens of his vocation as a bishop and civic figure and, on the other hand, his desire for quiet and time to contemplate deeper questions. Augustine explains that the two modes of Christian life seem to conflict in this world, while in the next they will be integrated in perfect unity.

Augustine strove to balance the seeming conflict of what he identified as otium and negotium. Otium is “leisure, vacant time, freedom from business”. Negotium is otium‘s opposite: “business, employment, occupation, affair”.

The otium/negotium pair is a topos in classical thought. Take for example a letter of Pliny wherein he nearly shouts: “O dulce otium honestumque ac paene omni negotio pulchrius!” (ep. 19) Just as “peace is not merely the absence of war”, neither is otium simply the absence of pressing business. Otium might be packed with action, but perhaps it may be more interior action than outward physical action.

What Augustine speaks of, however, is establishing otium in negotio, the freedom from care which can be dedicated to contemplation of God and the deeper questions within and in the midst of, united to the performance of the days work and needful tasks.

In simple terms, on can make even laborious tasks, even mind-crushing endlessly repetitive labor, an occasion of contemplation of God.

God is involved in the smallest good performance of our vocations in life.

We must work to be aware of and foster – in a disciplined way- a “God presence” in our actions, in our daily grind.

Allow me to end with a remind of the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell.

The clock is ticking.

You are going to die.

Sort out your priorities.

And, yes, you knew I would get to it: Go to confession.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Patristiblogging, The Drill | Tagged American Time Use Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics, otium, otium in negotio, St. Augustine, St. Martha, time use
7 Comments

ASK FATHER: Newly wedded couple kissing during wedding Mass?

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a priest…

QUAERITUR:

Do you think it is appropriate for a newly wed couple to share a kiss at their wedding mass? If so, the only place in the Ordinary Form I can think of it happening is at the very end, before they process out.

No.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged kiss, marriage, weddings
25 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Posted on 22 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Was there a good point made during the sermon at the Mass you attended for your Sunday obligation? Let us know what it was!

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
17 Comments

ASK FATHER: Excommunication after abortion and absolution

Posted on 21 June 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

When I was very far away from the Church in apostasy, I asked a girl to take emergency contraception (not sure if she was pregnant). I knew that this was an excommunicable act, but I persisted because I hated the Church and I wanted nothing to do with it. A few years ago, I realized all the evil I’ve done and I have been striving through tears and penance to make some atonement for all I did out of hatred and disobedience. Back then, I was referred by the local Chancery to the priest nearest me for Confession, but I’m not sure the person who referred me understood the need for faculties to rescind excommunication. Recently, I confessed this sin to a priest who told me that all priests were given such faculties by John Paul II and he could restore me to Communion–he seemed very certain. I tried to contact the local Chancery to arrange Confession with the Bishop, but to no avail. I weep for my sins and I want to be reconciled to God and his Church. How can I do properly do penance? Should I trust what the priest recently told me? Should I continue to call the Chancery? Should I refrain from Communion until I have a definite answer? I pray for you, Father, and I ask you to pray for me. Please don’t use any identifying information if this goes on the blog. Thank you and God bless you.

I am not aware of any diocese in these USA where the local bishop has not given his priests the faculty to lift the censure of excommunication for procuring an abortion (c. 1398), as well as the censure of excommunication for committing an act of apostasy (c. 1364).

If the chancery referred you to the priest nearest you, it is safe to assume that all the priests in that diocese have been given the faculty.

The priest who told you that St. John Paul II gave all priests this faculty may have either been confused, or unclear – St. John Paul, in promulgating the 1983 Code, gave bishops the ability to grant this faculty to their priests.

Precisely for these situations, priests who generally use the newer form for the Sacrament of Penance should familiarize themselves with what their faculties are! They should review them on a regular basis with other priests of their diocese to make sure that everyone’s on the same page.

I also suggest that priests review the forms of sacraments, especially that of absolution give in the Sacrament of Penance. C’mon, Fathers! Stop making it up? I digress.

In addition, priests should be familiar with and utilize the formula for lifting an ecclesiastical penalty, found in Appendix I of the Rite of Penance. Although this formula is not required to be used for the valid lifting of a penalty (sacramental absolution with the intent to lift the penalty is sufficient), using the formula can help to ease the consciences of those who have committed acts worthy of censure.

In the older, traditional form, of the formula of absolution, the priest mentions the sorts of censures that he can absolve, along with a phrase meaning “insofar as you need them and I can absolve them”:

May our Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every bond of excommunication (suspension) and interdict, so far as my power allows and your needs require.

For further clarity, folks should have recourse to Dr. Ed Peters’ book, Excommunication and the Catholic Church.

Remember, there is no sin that we little mortals can commit that is so bad that God will not forgive, provided we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. God’s mercy is magnificent and it is ours for the asking.