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

Pope Francis’ new interview: his answer about Benedict XVI and Popes Emeriti

Posted on 5 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

His Holiness Pope Francis gave a substantial interview which is published simultaneously in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera and an Argentinian source. I read it in Italian.

The interview makes it clear that there were more than one recording devices used. Thus, unlike in the Scalfari debacle, we know what the Pope said. That said, as I read the Italian version, I has the sense that the answers were polished up before they went to press. That’s reasonable.

We could tease out his responses about Humane vitae and about same-sex unions, about which I have plenty to say, but I want to focus here on this question and answer, in my translation:

Relationship with your predecessor. Have you ever asked advice of Benedict XVI?

Yes. The Pope Emeritus isn’t a statue in a museum. He/it is an institution. (È una istituzione.) We weren’t used to it. Sixt or seventy years ago, the bishop emeritus didn’t exist. It came after the Council. Today he/it is an institution. The same has to happen for the Pope Emeritus. Benedict is the first and maybe there will be others. We don’t know. He is discreet, humble and doesn’t want to be a bother. We have spoken about it and we have decided that would be better that he should see people, go out and participate in the life of the Church. Once time he came here for the blessing of a statue of St. Michael the Archangel, then to lunch at Santa Marta and, after Christmas, I sent him an invitation to participate at the Consistory and he accepted. His wisdom is a gift from God. Some would have wished that he retire to a Benedictine monastery far from the Vatican. I thought of grandparents with their wisdom, their counsels give strength to families and they don’t deserve to end up in a nursing home.”

Do you recall that I opined some time ago that Pope Francis would resign at 80 years old? I still believe that. Sure, he might wait till 81 or 82, etc., but I predict that he will resign his office before he dies in office.

It’s a busy day for me, so the comment moderation queue is switched on.

UPDATE:

An English translation is HERE.

Posted in Francis, The Drill | Tagged Benedict XVI, Pope Emeritus, resignation
35 Comments

Francis at Santa Sabina

Posted on 5 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I am watching the Holy Father process to and enter the first Roman Station Church, Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill.

Posted in Francis, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged Ash Wednesday, LENT, Roman Stations, Santa Sabina
5 Comments

An Open Letter to Most Rev. Michael Olson, Bishop of Fort Worth

Posted on 5 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I propose a possible way to diffuse some of the tension surrounding Fort Worth’s Bp. Olson and his banning of Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Missale Romanum at Fisher More College.

Years ago, when I worked at the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei“, we had an especially tense and even bitter round of correspondence with an American bishop who steadfastly denied to the faithful any use of the Traditional Latin Mass. Hundreds of people signed petitions. He wouldn’t budge. Finally, my boss, Card. Mayer told me that, at some point, we had to stop arguing and try to open hearts. I round-filed the draft of a conclusive letter I had brought to him and wrote a new one. He signed it and I sent it. A few weeks later we received news that, not only had His Excellency the Bishop granted regular celebrations of the TLM, he celebrated the first one himself.

It was a gesture of rare healing and true grace for many people.

I am reasonably sure that someone in Fort Worth is monitoring this blog for Bp. Olson.

Therefore, I ask:

Your Excellency,

Would you not go to celebrate a Traditional Latin Mass for the student body yourself? If you object to some aspects of Fisher More College, could you not offer this Mass at the parish nearby, which Your Excellency mentioned in your letter to Mr. King, St. Mary of the Assumption?

This gesture would heal wounds that are opening up, allay fears, and give great solace to many people near and far, not the least the students of the College. They are caught in the crossfire.

I humbly ask Your Excellency to consider this petition with an open, fatherly heart.

As a token of my best wishes, I promise during Lent a daily prayer, a Memorare, for you in the heavy mandate that has been entrusted to you as Bishop of Fort Worth.

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Posted in Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Bp. Michael Olson, D. Fort Worth, Fisher More College
28 Comments

Is your garage door secure?

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I saw this at the site of KOAT in Albuquerque:

$1 fix may secure your garage from thieves
Zip-tie fix secures garage from some threats

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —There are dozens of home burglaries every day in New Mexico.

While there are a number of ways thieves can break into homes, one of the easiest ways is through the garage door.

The automatic garage door isn’t as secure as many think. Thieves have discovered a simple solution to breaking in through the home’s largest door.

Crooks can break into the garage in six seconds using an iron hanger by targeting the safety releasing on the most common and commercialized garage doors.

There is a very simple, inexpensive way to fend off garage bandits — the zip tie. Just thread a plastic zip tie through the emergency release latch.

The zip tie should be strong enough that it would prevent a hanger from opening the garage door, but make sure you have enough strength to bust it in an emergency.

Andy Pomroy of Windsor Door Sales said it should be easy for adults to pop the zip tie in the event of an emergency.

Here is a video that shows you how to do this.

I have lots of zip ties around. I keep some in my pack and/or suitcase when traveling, along with paracord. Many uses.

100 12″ 50lbs black zip ties: $5.95

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Semper Paratus | Tagged garage, home security, paracord, zip ties
6 Comments

Francis Pellverizes™ the Roman Curia

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As you know, Pope Francis set up a Secretariat for the Economy (SftE) and has appointed Card. Pell to head it up. Since this Secretariat will control money it will, if it gets off the ground, be very powerful. This SftE could wind up “Pellverize™” many of the Curia’s dicasteries.

Here is a curious take on what Pope Francis might be up to.

I saw this at MondayVatican:

Pope Francis observes, judges, and acts. And begins establishing a parallel Curia

Watch, judge, act. These are the three steps put into action by Pope Francis. After almost one year of pontificate, Pope Francis has decided on a way forward on how to reform the Curia. Those who were thinking of a wide reform, built on a solid legal framework, will be perhaps disappointed. Pope Francis seems to have taken the decision of changing everything without waiting any longer. And of starting the Curia reform without reforming the Pastor Bonus, i.e. the constitution that regulates the functions of the offices of the Curia. Rather, Pope Francis is going to directly establish a parallel Curia. When this parallel Curia is complete, he will probably let all the other structures wither away. [I don’t think it will work, by the way.]

This development is informed by two decisions Pope Francis has taken and is reportedly going to take. The first, that of establishing an Secretariat for the Economy. The second, that of appointing Cardinal Giuseppe Bertello as ‘Moderator Curiae’, i.e. a general coordinator of the Roman Curia. [Card. Bertello would have to be on board with a parallel Curia model. I’ll bet he isn’t.]

The Secretariat for the Economy has been established via a “motu proprio” suddenly issued on February 24. This “motu proprio” involves a sort of aggregate of “tuning-ups” of the Holy See’s financial offices. The Secretariat for the Economy will be entrusted with the task of financial programming and issuing an annual balance sheet. Pope Francis will also appoint a general auditor, with the capacity of inspecting the accounts of any office in the Holy See and in of Vatican City State. He also established a new Council for the Economy, composed of 15 members (eight cardinals or bishops, and seven laymen). At the moment, only the prefect of the new secretariat has been appointed: it will be Cardinal George Pell, a member of the Council of Cardinals that Pope Francis appointed to developed a Curia reform plan. [As I said: Pellverize™]

[…]

(editor note: despite any rumor, today March 3, Pope Francis appointed msgr. Alfred Xuereb as prelate general secretary of the Secretary for the Economy. Xuereb was already the Pope’s delegate at the two pontifical commission. Is the Xuereb appointment another move of Pope Francis to switch from external consultants to consultants from within?).

[Get this…] The offices of the new Secretariat will be at the Torrione San Giovanni, in the Vatican walls, and the new dicastery will be staffed with 15 people. The Torrione San Giovanni was restored by John XXIII (who wanted to make it his summer residence) and was used by Secretary of State emeritus Tarcisio Bertone as his apartment while the official residence of the Secretary of State was still occupied by his predecessor, Angelo Sodano. The Torrione was also the location of the last George W. Bush visit to the Vatican as President of the United States.

[…]

It’ll take lots of bushel baskets of Euro to get that building up to speed to take offices for this.

Poverty is expensive, I guess.

Posted in Francis, The Drill | Tagged Card. Pell, Pellverize, Pope Francis, Secretariat for the Economy, SftE
13 Comments

Wherein Fr. Z rants, slaps some heads

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Under another entry, someone posted:

I am losing hope. I wish I had a time machine to look 100 years into the future and see what happens.

We are on the threshold of Lent. This is a time of spiritual warfare. This is a time of spiritual and physical discipline.

Put on your spiritual armor and join the battle.

Losing hope? A traditional Catholic lose hope?

[CUE AMUSING ILLUSTRATIVE INTERLUDE]

As I have written elsewhere, the enemies of Benedict’s vision at at their end. They might think they have the big mo right now. They may be emboldened. What they will try, they will attempt in vain.

They may try to roll back what Benedict set in motion, or the good things he ratified from his predecessor.

They will fail.

There is a new generation rising up who have no time for their bitter retrograde agenda. Are there some young ones who have followed the line of the aging hippies? Yes, of course. Will some of them rise to positions of prominence? Yes, of course. It has ever been so. The Church isn’t Shangri-La. The Church is the battleground for the salvation of souls. The Devil is the prince of this world. The demonic enemy rampages and devours. The bishops and priests of Holy Church will be the enemy’s first targets. The enemy will seek to divide, to spread doubts, to sew dissension among those who ought to be the most filled with faith, hope and charity. The Church is, simultaneously, a rock and refuge for sinners as well as a vicious blood-stained battlefield.

It has ever been so.

Now is not the time to be discouraged or to back down or to lose vigor. Press forward. The Biological Solution (which works on all of us) is at work on the aging-hippies and their younger acolytes. In finem citius! Yes, they are still influential, but the dusk closing around them.

People write to me asking many things about what we can expect in a Church during a pontificate like this one, or in a diocese with a bishop like X or Y (not Z). Sure, libs have the big mo. But, as I understand it, the young priests and seminarians with whom I have contact are quietly going about their way according to the still entirely valid and proper vision Benedict XVI sketched out for us.

Do NOT lose hope. Do not flag, stop or relent.

Lent is here, the time of spiritual warfare.

Action Item: Convince a priest to learn the Extraordinary Form during Lent. Imagine the howls of the fiends of Hell at the pain they will experience the first time Father says “Introibo ad altare Dei….” Imagine the agony in Hell when a Bishop says those words.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA, Wherein Fr. Z Rants |
1 Comment

ASK FATHER: Do indulgences listed in the old ‘Raccolta’ still apply today?

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I was wondering whether or not old indulgences granted under the old rules, for example, in the Raccolta, expire or are superseded by the new rules of the Enchiridion Indulgentarium. That is, it is my private belief that I can still get a plenary indulgence attached to an old devotion, so long as it was stated and no official pronouncement said anything to the contrary.

Given the generally lax nature of the new rules, am I correct in holding this view? For example, the new rules say nothing about certain old pronouncements, nor about superseding old collections of indulgences. Am I then free to assume that the old rules still bind with the authority of Peter?

I am glad that you are interested in gaining indulgences. All Catholics should be!

Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution 1967 Indulgentiam Doctrina, by which indulgences were revised, states,

“Indulgences attached to the use of religious objects which are not mentioned above cease three months after the date of publication of this constitution in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.“

Acta Apostolica Sedis is the Holy See’s usual official instrument of promulgation of law.

There were certain other indulgences – privileges of certain religious orders, for example, that required revision. Of these, the Holy Father states,

“The revisions mentioned in n. 14 and 15 must be submitted to the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary within a year. Two years after the date of this constitution, indulgences which have not been confirmed will become null and void.”

That pretty much clears things up.

All the indulgenced prayers and devotions of the old Raccolta, except for those that have been carried over into the new Enchiridion, are null and void.

Peter binds and Peter loosens.

The old indulgenced prayers and devotions are still of great spiritual merit. However, unless they been re-confirmed in the Enchiridion or perhaps by a grant from the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary, the indulgence attached to them no longer applies.

On that note, if you see in some older work that an indulgence of X number of days, months or, as we are on the verge of Lent, quarantines, are indicated, you can be pretty sure that that indulgence no longer applies. Today the Church applies either partial or plenary indulgences. That’s it.

So, friends, get out there during Lent and be indulgence indulgent. Gain those indulgences!

And GO TO CONFESSION!

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, indulgences, Raccolta
31 Comments

ASK FATHER: TEOTWAWKI, Sacraments, Documents and You

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

I was thinking about a plan for my family for TEOTWAWKI and I immediately thought of how we would find a priest during that time. I wonder if Rome or dioceses have instituted any plans for major disasters. Is this something we should ask our parish priest or diocese and what ideas have you had with how you will attend to the spiritual and sacramental needs of the faithful and knowing how and where to find you?

Good for you for thinking about this. Any responsible parent would form a plan of action and gather what will be necessary for a few scenarios.

ASK FATHER: TEOTWAWKI, Sacraments, Documents and You

There's an app for that.

Have dioceses implemented plans? I have no idea, but I really doubt it, not as far as sacramental needs are concerned. Not a plan: find a priest. Organizing priests is like organizing those little balls in a prize from the old Cracker Jack boxes. (Some of you will understand that reference.)

My recommendation is to identify a local priest who is amendable to and/or wholly on board with your SHTF Plan. We should all network with people anyway. People are better off working together in a bad situation. Include a priest in those plans. If you are going to go so far as to make a “retreat”, some place to which you can bug out, then you might consider bringing Father, too, or including him in your planning if he is able to get there on his own. This includes bugging in, too, not just bugging out. Some people plan, depending on the situation, to shelter in place. Think of the spiritual advantages. Also, some priests are pretty savvy and even outdoorsy. They can often do more than shrive, though that would be enough to warrant the extra mouth to feed.

How to let people know where I am…. that is another matter entirely.

First, depending on the situation, it might not be a good idea to let people know where you are. I know I sound like Cassandra, but I can envision a time when priests are being hunted, imprisoned and killed. Also, if starving mobs know where you are, you are less safe.

Otherwise, as I mentioned before network with people now and make some plans. Another tool in this scenario could be ham radio equipment and a time/frequency plan for your network. This might sound a little like a novel plot, but broadcasting to your network where Father will be for confession and Mass could address the problem you raise. Also, Father himself could communicate that way to the network you have stitched together. Again, depending on the scenario, you might have security issues to address.

Don’t wait for dioceses. Make your own plans. Collect your own supplies. That would include having everything you need for Mass.

On a slightly different note, we need to think not only in terms of sacraments, but also sacramental records. This is an issue for dioceses and parish and individuals.

I know that some dioceses have taken good care of their diocesan archives and have encouraged parishes to do the same. My suggestion to parish priests is that they – at the very least – take digital photos of every page of every important sacramental register and then keep that digital record on an encrypted USB drive in the parish’s fireproof safe or offsite.

Individuals should do the same: at least digitally photograph, if not scan, important documents and keep them on an encrypted flash drive. I recently received from one of you readers an Ironkey, which I am loading up. These hardened drives come in different memory capacities. The large ones are a little spendy, but they have multiple uses.

I am sure some of you knowledgeable readers will chime in about how they can be used to help you guard against identity theft and loss of important data. I wouldn’t mind some creative tips. For example, I recently started thinking about how to put a virtual machine on a USB drive.

Think, for a moment, about a house fire and losing all your precious family photographs. You might start a family project of scanning those photos (a printer/scanner is not expensive (a wireless color printer/scanner comes in well under $100, for example HERE). Scan personal documents, records, all manner of data.

In any event, think through some scenarios and make plans and implement those plans now. That could make all the difference in a future emergency.

Don’t leave it to other to provide for your material and spiritual security and needs. Plan. Plan. Plan.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Global Killer Asteroid Questions, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Semper Paratus, TEOTWAWKI, The Coming Storm | Tagged encryption, SHTF, TEOTWAWKI, USB drive
16 Comments

Of Roast Beef, Rat Excrement and You

Posted on 4 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Floris van Schooten, Breakfast

From the always interesting Laudator. This seemed appropriate for Shrove Tuesday:

Roast Beef
Henry Fielding (1707-1754), Don Quixote in England (London: J. Watts, 1734), p. 14 (from Act I, Scene VI):

When mighty rost Beef was the Englishman’s Food,
It enabled our Hearts, and enriched our Blood;
Our Soldiers were brave, and our Courtiers were good.
Oh the Rost Beef of Old England,
And Old England’s Rost Beef!

Then, Britons, from all nice Dainties refrain,
Which effeminate Italy, France, and Spain;
And mighty Rost Beef shall command on the Main.
Oh the Rost Beef, &c.
Oh the Rost Beef, &c.

7 effeminate: a verb here (“To make womanish or unmanly; to enervate,” Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. effeminate, v., sense 2), not an adjective
8 Main: open sea

On different versions and authorship see Edgar V. Roberts, “Henry Fielding and Richard Leveridge: Authorship of ‘The Roast Beef of Old England’,” Huntington Library Quarterly 27.2 (Feb., 1964) 175-181.

CLICK!

This patriotic song surfaces constantly in the naval novels I enjoy, especially the mighty series by Patrick O’Brian. I don’t like this verse at all:

When good Queen Elizabeth sat on the throne,
Ere coffee, or tea, or such slip-slops were known,
The world was in terror if e’er she did frown.

Oh! The Roast Beef of old England,
And old English Roast Beef!

So many things wrong with that verse. Which it’s a horrid verse, as Preserved Killick would say. NO COFFEE?

To correct for these errors, go NOW and buy some Mystic Monk Coffee and/or Tea.

My trip to England didn’t work for January, so I am thinking about April.

Meanwhile, a moment with Stephen, Preserved and Jack from The Mauritius Command:

‘Good morning, Killick,’ said Stephen. ‘Where’s himself?’

‘Good morning, sir,’ said Killick. ‘Which he’s still on deck.’

‘Killick,’ said Stephen, ‘what’s amiss? Have you seen the ghost in the bread-room? Are you sick? Show me your tongue.’

When Killick had withdrawn his tongue, a flannely object of inordinate length, he said paler still, ‘Is there a ghost in the bread-room, sir? Oh, no, and I was there in the middle watch. Oh, sir, I might a seen it.’

‘There is always a ghost in the bread-room. Light along that pot, will you now?’

‘I durs’nt, sir, begging your pardon. There’s worse news than the ghost, even. Them wicked old rats got at the coffee, sir, and I doubt there’s another pot in the barky.’

‘Preserved Killick, pass me that pot, or you will join the ghost in the bread-room, and howl forevermore.’

With extreme unwillingness Killick put the pot on the very edge of the table, muttering, ‘Oh, I’ll cop it: oh, I’ll cop it.’

Jack walked in, pouring himself a cup as he bade Stephen good morning, and said, ‘I am afraid they are all in.’

‘All in what?’

‘All the Frenchmen are in harbour, with their two Indiamen and the Victor. Have not you been on deck? We are lying off Port-Louis. The coffee has a damned odd taste.’

‘This I attribute to the excrement of rats. Rats have eaten our entire stock; and I take the present brew to be a mixture of the scrapings at the bottom of the sack.’

‘I thought it had a familiar tang,’ said Jack. ‘Killick, you may tell Mr Seymour, with my compliments, that you are to have a boat. And if you don’t find at least a stone of beans among the squadron, you need not come back. It is no use trying the Néréide; she don’t drink any.’

When the pot had been jealously divided down to its ultimate dregs, dregs that might have been called dubious, had there been any doubt of their nature, they went on deck.

Don’t get stuck with rat excrement in your coffee!

Order Mystic Monk now!

Posted in Lighter fare, O'Brian Tags, Preserved Killick | Tagged coffee, Preserved Killick, roast beef
17 Comments

A Pontifical Mass at the Throne

Posted on 3 March 2014 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At the Brigittine Priory of Our Lady of Consolation in Amity, Oregon, His Excellency Most Reverend Alexander Sample, Archbishop of Portland, celebrated Holy Mass in the older, traditional form of the Roman Rite, a Pontifical Mass at the Throne.