China (PRC): Government Bishop excommunicated by can. 1382

Posted on 16 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From VIS/News.va:

Statement of the Holy See on the Episcopal Ordination in the Diocese of Shantou (Mainland China) [Note the distinction of “mainland”.  The Holy See has diplomatic relations with Taiwan at a higher level than with the PRC.]

The following clarifications are issued with reference to the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Huang Bingzhang which took place on Thursday, 14 July 2011:

1) The Reverend Joseph Huang Bingzhang, having been ordained without papal mandate and hence illicitly, has incurred the sanctions laid down by canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law.  Consequently, the Holy See does not recognize him as Bishop of the Diocese of Shantou, and he lacks authority to govern the Catholic community of the Diocese.
The Reverend Huang Bingzhang had been informed some time ago that he could not be approved by the Holy See as an episcopal candidate, inasmuch as the Diocese of Shantou already has a legitimate Bishop; Reverend Huang had been asked on numerous occasions not to accept episcopal ordination.

2) From various sources the Holy See had knowledge of the fact that some Bishops, contacted by the civil authorities, had expressed their unwillingness to take part in an illicit ordination and also offered various forms of resistance, yet were reportedly obliged to take part in the ordination.
With regard to this resistance, it should be noted that it is meritorious before God and calls for appreciation on the part of the whole Church. Equal appreciation is also due to those priests, consecrated persons and members of the faithful who have defended their pastors, accompanying them by their prayers at this difficult time and sharing in their deep suffering.

3) The Holy See reaffirms the right of Chinese Catholics to be able to act freely, following their consciences and remaining faithful to the Successor of Peter and in communion with the universal Church.
The Holy Father, having learned of these events, once again deplores the manner in which the Church in China is being treated and hopes that the present difficulties can be overcome as soon as posssible.

From the Vatican, 16 July 2011

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices | Tagged , ,
13 Comments

The Bonaventuran Pope of Christian Unity

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I posted this back in 2006 about how the “Pope of Christian Unity” is influenced by St. Bonaventure.  A few years have passed, so I think this should be reviewed and verified:

Are you looking for insight into how Pope Benedict is going to treat the SSPX or make other decisions concerning dissent or practices that require correction?  We can learn something about how Pope Benedict operates through a glimpse at how he studied St. Bonaventure.  As you know, today is the Feast of St. Giovanni di Fidanza, otherwise known as Bonaventure Bagnoregio (+1274), Doctor of the Church.

Way back when, His Holiness Pope Benedict explored St. Augustine’s theology of the House and People of God (Volk und Haus Gottes in Augustine Lehre von der Kirche, 1954).  Steeped in Augustine, Joseph Ratzinger made significant theological/ecclesiological contributions to the Second Vatican Council.  After his work on Augustine, Ratzinger turned his considerable attention to St. Bonaventure for his Habilitationsschrift (his second doctoral dissertation).  Ratzinger was interested in exploring questions having to do with the relationship of salvation history to metaphysics. In other words, how are God’s nature and this universe created under God’s plan related?   In short, Ratzinger (and many others) were interested in a theology of history.  It was natural to turn to St. Bonaventure for these questions.  His work called Geschichtstheologie des heiligen Bonaventura or (The Theology of History in Saint Bonaventure) was published in 1959.

Back in the 13th century, Bonaventure, in his role as a theologian and the Minister General of the Franciscans, had written about this subject as part of a response to the Calabrian writer Joachim of Fiore.  Joachim and his followers were creating great tensions amongst the Franciscans themselves and theology at large.  Joachim was making claims that the world was about to enter into a new “charismatic” phase, a reign of the Holy Spirit, during which people would receive unmediated graces.  For Joachim, St. Francis of Assisi had been the forerunner of this new age.  While St. Thomas Aquinas’ response totally rejected Joachim’s ideas, Bonaventure’s own response in Collationes in Hexameron sought to apply corrections to the theory.  The radical followers of Joachim were interpreting Joachim in a way that was contrary to the Church’s theological tradition.  Bonaventure, on the other hand, attempted to interpret Joachim’s ideas in a manner consonant with tradition.

In the 20th century, as a theologian, Joseph Ratzinger used the same technique as Bonaventure.   He sought to correct rather than reject.  For example, Ratzinger sought as a theologian to make good use of what could be salvaged from Liberation Theology which, as the Prefect, he had had to correct but also repress in some of its aspects.  For example, in his work A New Song For The Lord, Ratzinger lays the groundwork for a liturgical theology taking ideas from positive ideas gleaned Liberation Theology.    I think it is fair to say that, as Prefect, Ratzinger came to know Liberation Theology better than anyone else in the world, including its own proponents.   He was in a good position, therefore, to make judicious use of the good things that Liberation Theology produced while rejecting the dross.
Another example might be to go back to his first encyclical Deus caritas est and consider his discussion of eros and agape.  This and the exitus/reditus theme were constant considerations of the neo-Platonising theologians of the Augustinian tradition, such as Bonaventure.   But I digress…

This could be instructive about Pope Benedict’s modus operandi both as a theologian and as a disciplinarian and, now, legislator, etc.  It might be useful to regard Pope Benedict through this lens as he follow his dealing with the SSPX and matters of liturgical discipline, even curial appointments.  It might be helpful to keep in mind when thinking about how Pope Benedict acts to remember that he is in some respects “Bonaventuran” and decidedly eclectic in his influences.  I am not alone in making this observation.   There was an interesting article about this in Commonweal (not my usual reading material, please note) by Joseph A. Komonchak.

Posted in Classic Posts, Linking Back, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged , , , , , ,
6 Comments

First Things meets WDTPRS

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I read with interest a piece on the “On The Square” blog of First Things.   It is by Richard Upsher Smith, Jr., Professor of Classics and Chairman of the Department of Classics at Franciscan University of Steubenville. The Excellence of the Latin Novus Ordo.

Prof. Smith has taken a page from WDTPRS and done a great job looking at a Preface in the 2002MR.

You should read the whole article over there, but here is a taste with my emphases and comments:

The Excellence of the Latin Novus Ordo
Jul 15, 2011Richard Upsher Smith, Jr.

As a convert to Roman Catholicism [I, too, am a convert.] from old Prayer Book and High Church Anglicanism, [Not I.] I resolved to tolerate the current translation of the Novus Ordo [We have our crosses.] (the Latin Mass as revised after Vatican II) because it was the Church’s, not because it was edifying or beautiful. After recently translating the Ordo Missae for use at Christ the King Chapel at Franciscan University of Steubenville, I have become convinced that the Novus Ordo contains much that is beautiful and edifying.

The language of the Novus Ordo is robust, the rhetoric persuasive, [In Latin… In Latin…] and the theology a complement to the “revitalization” of Catholic thought aimed at by the theologians of ressourcement before Vatican II. [NB…] All this despite the fact that Archbishop Annibale Bugnini’s “euchological pluralism and rubrical flexibility” (his prodigality with forms of prayer and his leniency with liturgical rules), advocated over a supposedly rigid “fixism,” displaced the traditional collects from the Mass, promoted a radically simplified ceremonial that tires the eye and deadens the imagination, and introduced a three-year lectionary that contains too much spread out over too long a period to shape a pious memory effectively.  [Bull’s Eye!]

A paragraph from the Third Preface of the Nativity of the Lord illustrates these points.

Per quem hodie commercium nostrae reparationis effulsit, quia, dum nostra fragilitas a tuo Verbo suscipitur, humana mortalitas non solum in perpetuum transit honorem, sed nos quoque, mirando consortio, reddit aeternos.

Translated:

Through whom flashed forth today the transaction of the healing of our nature, because, when our frailty is received by thy Word, not only does human mortality pass across to everlasting honor, but it also, by a wonderful fellowship, renders us eternal.

The first clause in this passage is particularly striking, as commercium, a commercial term, is a jarring word to apply to our salvation. Effulsit, too, is vigorous, and in combination with commercium—“the transaction flashed forth”—creates an impressive concept for the mind. At the end of the passage, too, the phrase mirando consortio—“by a wonderful fellowship,”—implying as it does a community of goods, reinforces the notion of exchange that gives this passage its vitality.

[…]

The rest is good!  Look at it.

Apparently Prof. Smith has a book coming out soon, entitled: “Vade Mecum,” A Handbook of Terms in Grammar, Rhetoric and Prosody for Readers of Greek and Latin. I shall be sure to put it on my wish-list if only I can learn when it will be published.

Posted in The Drill, WDTPRS |
24 Comments

The story of a Vietnamese priest

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Could it be that we are heading for something like this, even in our lifetime?

Here is a story from CNA with my emphases.

The desperate plight of Catholics in Vietnam – one priest’s story
By Alan Holdren and David Kerr

Rome, Italy, Jul 15, 2011 / 05:53 am (CNA).- “If I return now, they will throw me in jail and kill me.” These are the frank words that mark an encounter with Father Peter Nguyen Khai, a 41-year-old Vietnamese priest living in Rome.

His crime? Not hiding his Catholic faith.

“My parents taught me how to pray daily and keep the faith in our home, but we never went to church,” says Fr. Khai who grew up in the predominantly Catholic village of Phuc Nhac in the Ninh Binh province of northern Vietnam.

“I learned that the government did not allow the parishioners to gather for worship at the church. Attending Holy Mass, therefore, was a special treat for me.”

It is a situation that many Vietnamese Catholics simply had to learn to live with. For Fr. Khai, though, any thoughts of quietly co-existing with the regime evaporated following one particular boyhood experience.

“One day, I saw a mentally ill woman who used to wander around the village. She came to the church in tears, banging on its front door with her skinny hands and crying out with great anguish: ‘The church is still here, but where is Father?’”

“Father” was a local pastor, Fr. Matthew Hau, who a few years before had been arrested, tortured and killed by the local communist authorities. A vicious persecution of all the Catholics in the village then ensued – the Khai family included.

“After learning the story of Fr. Matthew Hau and his heroic acts to the end of his life in order to protect the faith of his people, especially the accounts of his arrest, torture and senseless murder, I suddenly had a strong desire to become a priest—a “Father” like him,” says Fr. Khai.

And so began 12 years of clandestine formation with just one aim – to become a Catholic priest.

Initially he sought out the only surviving Redemptorist priest in northern Vietnam, a member of his extended family, Fr. Joseph Bich. Under the pretense of being the old man’s caretaker, Fr. Khai studied at Fr. Bich’s home in Hanoi.

“Unfortunately, the police in Hanoi suspected my real reason. They summoned me repeatedly to the local precinct for interrogation and put all kinds of pressure on Fr. Joseph Bich.”

And so, Fr. Khai set off for the relative safety of Saigon in the south of the country. It was here after years of secret studying, says Fr. Kwai, “I was secretly ordained to the priesthood in a small room on the night of September 25, 2001.”

Thus began a decade of priestly ministry to the Catholic population in both north and south Vietnam, often playing a game of cat-and-mouse with the communist authorities.

However in 2010, “after a few years of leading the faithful,” says Fr. Khai “in highly publicized quests for justice and truth against the oppression of the communist government,” his superiors decided to send him to Rome.

Unable to leave the country legally, he made a dangerous trek across the Vietnamese border into Laos and on to Thailand.

“After many perilous days during which I had more than once confronted the fear of death, I arrived in Bangkok,” the Thai capital.

“Throughout these escape episodes I knew that St. Joseph was protecting me in a special way. His own story of leading Mary and the baby Jesus to safety remained my constant hope and inspiration,” says Fr. Khai.

In Rome, his campaign for the Catholics of Vietnam continues. He shares photos of peaceful protest and prayer being suppressed by riot police, images of tear gas being used and women being beaten. He even shows prints of babies who, he claims, were forcibly aborted by the authorities. Fr. Khai says he carried out proper burials on each one.

He says the past few months spent “at the heart of the Church” has only deepened his “love and devotion to the causes of my Catholic brothers and sisters back home who still struggle and suffer every day for their faith in a ruthless regime.”

That suffering, he says, is “systematic” and “cunning” and comes in many guises from interference in episcopal appointments down to everyday discrimination in politics, the law and freedom of worship.

“The government uses all forces at their disposal, including the state media, the political apparatus, the laws and the public education system to stop the growth of the Catholic Church at all costs.”

“Catholics in every part of Vietnam are considered second-class citizens, deserving discrimination in legal treatment” he concludes.

His key message is that he not only wants the outside world to protest but also to pray for Vietnam, a country he believes is ripe for the message of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.

“Vietnamese society as a whole is thirsty for truth and justice and their result which is peace. They are tired of living under a regime full of lies, corruption and unjust treatment.”

“When the Catholic leadership is strong in promoting these fundamental values, they earn the respect and loyalty of the poor, the educated and the young people who are seeking.”

Posted in Modern Martyrs, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged , ,
20 Comments

QUAERITUR: Coming back to the Church after falling far away

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader, edited:

I was raised catholic and as so many have fallen away from the church, unfortunately very far.  I am trying to find my way back and am wondering what suggestions you would give as a place to start? I did just go to confession, as terrible as I did doing it, I guess I at least did try. Felt totally ashamed and embarrassed afterwards. I am just not sure what the next right step should be?

Go slowly.

Pray when you get up in the morning and when you retire in the evening.  Pray before meals.  Say small things, to yourself, during the day such as, “My Jesus, mercy!”

Go to Mass on Sundays.  Go to confession when needed, at least, say, every two weeks or so.

Keep in mind that, while we are little finite mortals, God is not.  God knew you before the creation of the world and wants you for Himself.  There is no sin we little mortals can commit that God, who is both all-powerful and loving, cannot forgive, so long as we turn to Him and sincerely ask for forgiveness.

Also, you have friends in high places. God’s Holy Angels will help you and the saints in heaven will intercede for you.  You may still have a hard road, but you are not alone.

You’ll be fine!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged ,
Comments Off on QUAERITUR: Coming back to the Church after falling far away

Ireland: Law proposed to force priests to break the Seal of Confession

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Biretta tips to Fr. Blake and to Sancte Pater who lead me to this story at The Irish Catholic and elsewhere.

Government proposal to break the seal of confession is without precedent
Thu, 14/07/2011 – 15:34

The Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice and the Minister for Children are all indicating that a proposed new law will require priests to break the seal of confession if someone confesses to them the crime of paedophilia.
This would make us the one and only country in the Western world to have such a law. Even Revolutionary France in the days of its worst violence against the Church did not pass a law requiring the breaking of the seal of confession.
The justification for the law is that the crime of paedophilia is so heinous that no one who hears about it, under whatever circumstances, can be allowed to keep it to themselves.
But our Government is clearing missing something that every other Government can see, which is that at a minimum such a law is very unlikely to lead to a single conviction and at a maximum will be counter-productive and will make society less safe, rather than more safe.
It could equally be argued that a priest who hears a confession of murder must report it to the police. But if the murderer knew that priests were under such a legal requirement, the murderer would not make such a confession unless he was going to the police anyway.
On the other hand, a murderer who wishes to confess a crime to a priest, under the absolute seal of the confessional, is on the road to repentance and attending confession gives a priest the chance to encourage the murderer to turn himself over to the authorities or at the very least to cease his criminal activities.
The logic is the same with child abusers. No child abuser will go to a priest in confession knowing the priest is required to inform the police. But cutting off the avenue of confession to a child abuser makes it less likely that he will talk to someone who can persuade him to take the next step.
Various relationships in society are considered privileged and confidential. One is between a person and his or her confessor. Another is between a doctor and patient, and another is between a lawyer and client.
In creating a legal requirement that priests break the seal of confession under certain circumstances, the Irish State is going down a road very few other states in history have gone down. We need to seriously reconsider this extremely unwise and unprecedented proposal.
It says a lot about the present mood here that it can even be entertained.

And that mood is: Attack the Catholic Church, threaten the Catholic Church, intimidate the Catholic Church.

When our Catholic identity is eroded, this is what happens.  As the night follows the day, threats of this kind will be made so as to silence the Church, whose duty it is to teach on many moral issues.  You know the issues I am talking about.  I suspect that this has more to do with hatred of the Church’s teaching office than it does with outrage over child abuse.

Sadly, the climate of anti-Catholicism and oppression is in large part fueled from within the Church herself.

Think about it.  A law proposed to force priests to break the Seal… in Ireland.

Posted in Clerical Sexual Abuse, Our Catholic Identity, Slubberdegullions, TEOTWAWKI, The future and our choices, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged , , ,
57 Comments

An afternoon refreshment break

Posted on 14 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have had a few lousy days, with hot and grubby work involving dust, sweat, lots of lifting and hauling, spiders and a few dead things I would rather not remember, missing one deadline and barely making another.  This afternoon I am taking a break with some…

…Iced Coffee.

20110714-044748.jpg

But as you may suspect, this isn’t just any iced-coffee.

The discerning eye can tell just by looking at it what coffee it is.

And those of you who are even more discerning will be able to tell, just by looking at it, that I have added a touch of sambuca.

For some therapy tonight I will make something involving a chicken breast, lots of tarragon and some sort of vegetable.  Then I will eat it … slowly… and read a book.

Posted in Fr. Z's Kitchen, Just Too Cool, Lighter fare |
16 Comments

Gnothi seauton

Posted on 14 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

γνῶθι σεαυτόν!

Artist… know thyself.

It could be that this is actually a commentary on the quality of most modern art.

Posted in Lighter fare | Tagged
8 Comments

Notitiae Responses online

Posted on 14 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Jeffrey Tucker at The Chant Cafe has found something interesting.  There is an online database of responses given by the Holy See in Notitiae.

Here’s Mr. Tucker:

Steven van Roode drew my attention to a wonderful online database of Notitiae Responses that has appeared online. These had been previously very hard to find. It was nearly the case that you had to be a PhD student digging through the postconcilar archives to find them. Now they are available to anyone. They are interesting because, as the official journal of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship, they provide insight into the mind of the Church following the Second Vatican Council.

There are some interesting points in here, such as the claim from 1966:

“News is sometimes spread around about an imminent reform of the Order of Mass or a definitive reform of the whole Mass, which lacks a serious foundation. The liturgical restoration needs many efforts and years of study.”

Hmmm.

[…]

Hmmmm indeed.  Even though so many things were done now here and now there, with confused communications, purposely or not confused, experimentation with permission or without, Vatican II “spiritualists” on their iconoclastic march….  what chaos there was.

We need greater clarity from the Holy See about certain questions.  This applies also to the Extraordinary Form.

But that quote, above, also reminds me of the lead up to Summorum Pontificum and then Universae Ecclesiae.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged ,
6 Comments

QUAERITUR: The number of altar steps and validity of Mass.

Posted on 14 July 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

A few years ago some modifications were made at our church including raising the floor level of the sanctuary. As a consequence the three steps that used to lead up to the high altar are now just two steps. You can still see the outline of the old bottom step but there is no rise. I have been told that this means it is no longer possible to have a valid TLM. Is this true?

Number of altar steps… valid Mass?   O dear O dear O dear.

No, friend. The number of altar steps in now way affects validity of Mass.  The number of the priest’s gray cells, on the other hand….

That said, traditionally the number of steps going up to the main altar will be uneven, usually three, five, or seven, including the predella or footpace (the flat platform at the top of the steps).  The steps for an altar against the apse or wall should embrace the altar on three sides.  Side altars usually have at least one step.  Customarily, steps are covered with a carpet.

Here is a shot from my phone of an illustration in Trimeloni.

The reason for the odd number of steps … well… it’s supposed to be symbolic.  I suppose 3 for the repetition of Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus or for the Trinity, 5 for the wounds of the Lord, and 7 for the virtues.  Practically speaking the steps allow the altar to be more visible and for the deacon and subdeacon to arrange themselves in an aesthetically pleasing way.

But, in the final analysis, be there steps or no steps, even or unevenness of number, the validity of Mass is not affected.

UPDATE:

Mass on a jeep

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged , , , ,
19 Comments