Keep repeating: “Anglicanorum coetibus… Anglicanorum coetibus…”

Posted on 12 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We should all be ready on the bank with good towels and disinfectants as Anglicans begin swimming the Tiber.

Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity

From CNN we learn that the Protestant Anglican Church in England rejected even the compromise about women "bishops":

My emphases and comments.

Women bishops vote threatens to split Church of England

The Church of England inched closer to allowing women bishops this weekend, with a vote that traditionalists warned could split the church.

The church’s governing body narrowly rejected a measure that would allow parishes that oppose women bishops to have an additional male bishop. [They rejected even the compromise.]

The proposal, floated by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (pictured) – the titular head of the Church of England – was an attempt to satisfy conservatives.

Campaigners for women bishops hailed the vote as a victory. [HUZZAH!]

But traditionalists said the ballot "has made it very difficult [read: impossible] for those who in conscience cannot accept the ministry for women priests and bishops."

The vote happened Saturday at the General Synod, the three-times-a-year meeting that sets policies for the Church of England.

Williams, who is also nominal head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, proposed the measure along with John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York.

The rejection of the compromise was greeted with a "slightly stunned silence," said the Rev. Miranda Threlfall-Holmes.

"Everyone was aware instantly of how close it was, [with] a slight gasp from everybody, thinking, ‘Oh no, we only lost that by the skin of our teeth’ or ‘only passed that by the skin of our teeth,’" she said Sunday.

The Church of England is probably still a couple of years away from having women bishops. If this week’s General Synod approves them, as expected, parishes across the church then have at least a year to consider the matter before a future General Synod casts a final vote on the issue.

Chris Sugden of the conservative Anglican Mainstream movement said the vote showed that conservatives were actually the majority.

"Although this group is portrayed as a minority, [I love that…. "portrayed".   The liberals are so consistent.   They always want to paint the majority of conservatives as if they are the fringe.] those who do not want a winner-take-all, scorched-earth policy, are a majority in Synod," he said.

He denied that the vote was about whether or not to ordain women bishops, saying the Church of England had already decided to go ahead with that. [!]

Instead, Sugden said, the vote was about keeping the church together.  [I wonder how that double tabernacle thing is working.]

The failed compromise was so "that those who cannot accept women bishops can still be part of the Church of England," he said. "We believe in freedom of conscience, in religious freedom," he said of conservatives.

But he said a split was not inevitable, with two days to go before the General Synod concludes.

"Forty-eight hours is a long time in the life of a synod," he told CNN Sunday. "There is a lot of water to flow under the bridge. A lot of conversations are taking place."

The Catholic Group in Synod, another conservative group, suggested it would continue to fight against women bishops.

"The process in General Synod is not over and we would wish to be involved in the ongoing discussions as to a way forward that includes all loyal members of the Church of England," it said in a statement.

But a campaign called Women in the Church hailed the vote.

"We’re tying hard not to use the word victory, but yes it is," said Sally Barnes, a Women in the Church representative.  [Another blow to unity!]

"You can’t have a church where we’re all supposed to be one in Christ and then treat women as if it’s the faulty half of creation," she told CNN Sunday.

"People don’t need protecting against women, it’s not a Christian concept. It’s not how Christ treated women," she argued.  [Ho hum.   If their orders are invalid anyway, why not just do it… get it over with…. move on to a brighter future?]

Under Church of England rules, for a measure like the one proposed by Williams and Sentamu to pass, it needed majority support from three different groups: bishops, priests and lay leaders.

Bishops and lay leaders backed the measure, but priests narrowly rejected it, meaning it failed.

The Anglican Communion – of which the Church of England is the British branch – is the world’s third-largest Christian denomination, with about 77 million members worldwide.

It’s facing serious strains over the ordination of women bishops and gay priests, and the Catholic Church has reached out to disaffected Anglicans, raising the possibility that conservatives could leave en masse.

 

Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity

He has approved the mesures to facilitate the unity of Anglicans who don’t want to be involved with this stuff anymore.  

Anglicanorum coetibus …. keep repeating… Anglicanorum coetibus….

Posted in Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged , , , , ,
37 Comments

QUAERITUR: pamphlets about TLM for parishes

Posted on 12 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I am trying to raise awareness of the TLM and Summorum Pontificum in my diocese.  I am considering developing a pamphlet to pass out at different parishes in order to do this.  However, before I reinvent the wheel, I was hoping someone else in an English speaking country has already done this.  Could you please make a post that would allow us to share information and find out what is out there in the Catholic world along these lines? It would certainly save me a great deal of time and perhaps others as well.

 

I think it is commendable to want to raise awareness of the TLM among people who may not know much about it.

I don’t know of any resource already available for this project.  

That said, I am sure that people here will now chime in with their suggestions.

But I must add some caveats.

Again, I think it is commendable to want to make the TLM known and loved.

But do exercise prudence and respect for the authority of a parish’s pastor. 

Don’t just go around sticking things in churches.  Pastors of parishes have the right to determine what is placed in the church.

Also, be prudent in regard to what you distribute outside other churches.

Finally, be sure that the material is not disrespectful of priests, bishops or the Novus Ordo.  

“Soyez toujours le plus doux que vous pourrez, et souvenez-vous que l’on prends plus de mouches avec une cuillère de miel qu’avec cent barils de vinaigre… Always be as gentle as you can and remember that one catches more flies with a spoonful of honey than with a hundred barrels of vinegar." – St. Francis de Sales

 

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Brick by Brick, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM |
18 Comments

Expert consultation needed: what is this thing?

Posted on 11 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

One of the great things about having so many readers for this blog, is the vast range of expertise you can bring in when interesting topics arise.

And so, people with some experience of silver can help me with this.

What is this thing?

I spotted it in a flea market when walking around today.

Does it have something to do with keeping toast or some other breakfasty bready thing warm and perhaps carrying on a service tray?

What is this for and what is it called?

Anyone?

Posted in Just Too Cool |
24 Comments

QUAERITUR: priest consecrating the people during Mass?

Posted on 11 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader:

I thought I had heard it all until—
 
I attended a Mass tonight during which the priest said:
 
"Tonight, Lord, we offer You these people and these gifts… we ask you to bless them and make them holy…. so that they might become… the Body and Blood… of Our Lord Jesus Christ."  He motioned towards the congregation with the words "these people" and towards the unconsecrated bread and wine with "and these gifts…"
 
I hope that the priest was not trying to "consecrate" the people…  but from the logic of this sentence, that’s what it sounded like.
 
What do you make of this?  Is this a liturgical abuse?  What, if anything, can be done about it?

 

Priests don’t consecrate people at the consecration during Holy Mass.  Priests consecrate the bread and the wine for the people, who in their turn are uniting themselves to what the priest is doing.

Yes, that strange interpolation is a liturgical abuse. 

The priest had a text provided for him in the book.  He chose instead to make something up on his own, at the most important part of Mass.   He violated your right to have a Mass celebrated according to your rite.  Furthermore, he created confusion by what he did.

If he regularly says this, I would have a discussion with the pastor of the parish, if that priest is not the pastor.  Otherwise, I would write to the bishop. 

Posted in ASK FATHER Question Box |
26 Comments

Another attempt to juxtapose ordination of women and clerical abuse of children

Posted on 9 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The managing editor of the liberal U.S. Catholic needs some aggiornamento.

In this editorial piece, he almost gets it right.  He does pretty well until he gets to the end where he lurches into a total failure.

Let’s have a look with my emphases and comments:

Sex abuse and women’s ordination?
Friday, July 9, 2010
By Bryan Cones

Great news from the Vatican, according to Catholic News Service: New norms against the sexual abuse of children will double length of time a victim has to bring charges from 10 to 20 years after the victim’s 18th birthday. It will also extend the penalties for sexual abuse of children to those who abuse the mentally disabled.

Bad news: The new norms will simultaneously add to the list of grave offenses against the sacrament of holy orders the "attempted ordination of women." Seriously? [Yes… seriously.  And there are reasons for this.  But does he have reasons? We’ll soon find out!]

Why is that bad? First, the "attempted ordination of women" already brings with it automatic excommunication, so making it one of the "delicta graviora" is redundant. Second, it conflates two completely separate issues, and in effect, or at least in the minds of many people who will read the news, seems to equate the "attempted ordination of women" with the rape and torture of children.

Quite frankly, it is an outrage to pair the two, a complete injustice to connect the aspirations of some women among the baptized to ordained ministry with what are some of the worst crimes that can be committed against the least of Christ’s members.  [woah… he is going off the rails…]
 
Furthermore, if I were a member or supporter of the Roman Catholic Womenpriests movement, I would be opening a bottle of champagne right now. The Vatican has in effect given legitimacy and momentum to what is still an incredibly tiny movement with this clumsy legal manuver, tantamount to the United States dropping a nuclear weapon on Luxembourg–only more ridiculous because this will do absolutely no damage to women’s ordination movement. It is more like a gift. None of those women are afraid of excommunication any longer; indeed, it is now the Vatican that appears fearful. [Okay, there’s a point. Nevertheless, there is need for a procedure to deal with the cases.  Furthermore, he seems to be criticizing something he has not yet seen.  I wonder if the new procedures are intended to deal with priests who support the women’s ordination thingy, rather than with the wymyn themselves.]

This decision boggles the mind: The faithful have been justly demanding for nearly a decade clear guidelines for dealing with the sexual abuse of children, along with just punishments for both offenders and bishops who have abetted these crimes. What we have gotten is half of what we have been asking for (still no sanctions for bishops), [good point] along with a completely unconnected and unnecessary [?] condemnation of the ordination of women. [And here he falls apart completely…] This is especially ironic given that many Catholics, and I include myself among them, see the absence of women in positions of power in the church as a contributor to the ongoing sex abuse crisis. [FAIL!]

This move is a mistake, plain and simple, imprudent at best, at worst a serious further blow to Rome’s already damaged credibility.

Along the way he made some good points, and people may argue about them.

But, he does not seem to realize that the there is now mounting evidence of sexual abuse of children by women.  SNAP, as a matter of fact, has been after the LCWR to work with them.  The LCWR has been stone-walling SNAP.

Read THIS.

If he thinks that having women in positions of power would have curtailed the abuse of children by those in power, he is dreaming.

Keep your eye on SNAP and the LCWR.  One day we will see SNAP protesting outside meetings of the LCWR…. and for good reason.  I look forward to US Catholic covering that story, alongside the reporters of the National Catholic Fishwrap and America.

Posted in Clerical Sexual Abuse, The Drill |
19 Comments

Archbp. Carlson: “You cannot be “pro-choice” (pro-abortion) and remain a Catholic in good standing”

Posted on 8 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Catholic politicians who promote abortion should not receive Holy Communion.

In the Saint Louis Review of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, His Excellency Most Reverend Robert J. Carlson has laid it on the line.

My emphases and comments.

Good Catholics cannot be pro-choice; The Fifth Commandment demands respect for life as God’s most precious gift

Submitted on July 06, 2010

By Archbishop Robert J. Carlson

God’s law in the Old Testament is clear and unambiguous: You shall not kill. Jesus is even more demanding: Every one who is angry is liable to judgment. [Hmmm… I think this a qualification: there is proper anger as well, as demonstrated perfectly by the Lord from time to time.  He is not subject to judgment for having been angry with the money-changers.  But… we know what H.E. means!]

Sins against the Fifth Commandment are easy to commit. Any time we think, speak or act out of anger or hatred or jealousy or revenge, we abuse God’s commandment that we respect His most precious gift, the gift of life — especially human life.

Human life is sacred because, from its beginning until its natural end, it involves the creative action of God. The Fifth Commandment forbids direct and intentional killing as gravely sinful. God alone is the Lord of life. No one has the right to end arbitrarily what God has begun, and sustained, through the gift of His love.

In the account of Abel’s murder by Cain (Genesis 4:8-12), Scripture reveals the presence of anger and envy in humankind, consequences of original sin, from the beginning of recorded history. God declares this as wicked, and He asks the question to be answered over the ages: "What have you done?" Today this question is asked not only of those who kill someone, but also of those responsible for violence, anger, hatred and vengeance in any form.

It is a shame that there are so many violent words expressed between members of the same family day in and day out. Anger and intolerance are also pervasive in our Church and in society. Such attitudes are destructive and sinful. They are of the Evil One and not of God.

The Fifth Commandment does not stop someone from self defense, because someone who defends his or her own life is not guilty of murder. Legitimate defense can be not only a right but also a grave duty for someone responsible for another’s life, the common good of the family or the security of a nation. We risk our lives to protect ourselves and others because we value human life and freedom so dearly. They are gifts from God that we are bound to cherish and defend.

Since the first century, the Church has addressed the moral evil of abortion and the killing of a defenseless baby in the womb. People who are casual about the sin of abortion and [Here we go!] who choose to view it as a political issue rather than the serious moral issue that it is are guilty of violating the Fifth Commandment. [AND….] You cannot be "pro-choice" (pro-abortion) and remain a Catholic in good standing. That’s why the Church asks those who maintain this position not to receive holy Communion. We are not being mean or judgmental, we are simply acknowledging the fact that such a stance is objectively and seriously sinful and is radically inconsistent with the Christian way of life.  [And, if Communion should not be received, it should not be given.]

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council said, "God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and human life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: Abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes" ("Gaudium et Spes," No. 51.3). [People forget about that citation.  Don’t forget it!] That’s why formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life (see canons 1398,1314, and 1323-1324).

The Fifth Commandment also directs us to work for justice and peace — avoiding war whenever possible — and to limit the use of capital punishment to the most extreme (and rare) circumstances required to protect human life. Only God has the right to take the life of another human being. When we take that action into our own hands — in self-defense or in defense of others — we had better be sure that all other options have been exhausted!

In addition, euthanasia or deliberately taking of the life of someone who is sick, dying, disabled or mentally ill is morally unacceptable. The Church calls for the ordinary care owed to a sick person, but medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous or extraordinary are not necessary. If you are unsure about the moral implications of health care procedures that are being proposed for someone you love, contact your pastor or the archdiocese’s Respect Life Apostolate.  [I don’t think the sister hospital administrator in Phoenix sought counsel from the Diocese of Phoenix.] They will be happy to help you consider approaches that are in accordance with our Church’s teaching about care for those who are sick or dying.

Taking proper care of our health, respecting others and showing respect for the dead are all matters covered by the Fifth Commandment’s demand that we reverence God’s most precious gift — human life.

 

WDTPRS kudos to Archbp. Carlson!

This is part of the effort toward the "new evangelization".

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, New Evangelization, Our Catholic Identity, The Drill | Tagged
21 Comments

New CDF procedures for attempted “ordination” of women, heresy, apostasy, schism

Posted on 8 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From CNA.

With my emphases and comments.

Vatican to clarify canonical procedure for attempted ordination of women [I bet National Catholic Fishwrap would have written "procedure for the ordination of women".]

Vatican City, Jul 8, 2010 / 03:53 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- More information regarding the soon-to-be-announced modifications to the Vatican’s canonical guidelines for dealing with abusive priests and other sins came to the surface on Thursday. In addition to the previously leaked content, sins such as the attempted ordination of women and "crimes against the faith" [NB: it is a sin.  Certain sins also bring canonical penalties, some automatic.] will also be addressed by the pending Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) document.

Details of possible modifications have been produced by unnamed Vatican sources all week concerning the content of a new document that will update the Church’s legal procedures for recognizing and punishing the most serious sins.

Reports concur across the board that there will be changes in the process of trying priests who have sexually abused minors, and that there will be an increase in the statute of limitations in these cases from the current 10 years to 20 years after the victim turned 18 years old.

According to the Mexican news agency Notimex, which cited unnamed Vatican sources, the scope of the 2001 decree will also be extended to include not only the "delicta graviora," or most serious sins, but a number of other sins typically examined by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, even though those sins are not mentioned in the 2001 decree.

This means that sins considered to be "less serious" will be officially subject to the same judicial procedures that were previously reserved in canon law only for sins against the Eucharist, the sacrament of Penance and sexual abuse of minors.  ["less serious"?  For example?]

Sins such as the attempted ordination of women to the priesthood and the "crimes against the faith" of heresy, schism and apostasy, [Those seem pretty serious to me!] that have until now been investigated by the CDF only on an extraordinary basis will fall under their official jurisdiction, thus clearing up any confusion as to where cases must be reported. In other words, it formalizes procedures that may have been followed in practice, but were never made official.

According to the July 8 Notimex report, possession and distribution of child pornography will also be declared "serious sins" and, in cases in which they have been found guilty in civil courts, perpetrators could be sentenced without a canonical trial.

The modifications should be promulgated in the coming days, bearing the signature of the prefect of the CDF, Cardinal William Levada, and accompanied by notes explaining the changes and the history of the legislation.

 

 

Posted in The Drill |
8 Comments

Brick by brick in Rhode Island

Posted on 8 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Rhode Island Catholic there is an article about the use of the Traditional Latin Mass, a fruit of Summorum Pontificum.

My emphases and comments.

Ways we worship: Celebrating the Latin Mass
Part one of a three-part series on special liturgical celebrations offered in the diocese of Providence.
BY LAURA KILGUS, Staff Reporter
7/8/10

PROVIDENCE — On July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI relaxed restrictions on the use of the Tridentine Mass, the Latin-language liturgy that predates the Second Vatican Council. The pope’s instruction came in a four-page apostolic letter entitled Summorum Pontificum.

After hearing of this letter, Father Michael J. Woolley, pastor of St. Joseph Church in Woonsocket decided to learn to say the Mass and offer it monthly in his parish. [Do I hear an "Amen!"?] Over the past three years, the pastor explained that the Traditional Latin Mass continues to be cherished by Catholics throughout the state. 

In his letter, the pope said Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal, sometimes referred to as the Tridentine Mass and now officially known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, should be made available in every parish where faithful desire it. The Tridentine Mass has been allowed as a liturgical exception since 1984, but Catholics had to request permission from local bishops, who did not always consent. [But they don’t even have to request it now.  Pastors can themselves determine to implement it so that the people can experience it.]

“A lot of lay people and clergy had an affection for the traditional Mass,” said Father Woolley. “What Pope Benedict said in Summorum Pontificum was that what was holy then is holy now. He wanted it to be revived.”

John Boni of Bellingham, Massachusetts attended his first Latin Mass in April 2008 when it was first offered at St. Joseph’s Church.

There are many aspects of the Latin Mass that Boni was drawn to, he said. The decoration of the altar, the priest facing east or “ad orientem,” the music, communion kneeling and received on the tongue, and the powerful silence were all spiritual elements that added to the sacredness of his experience.

“Some may think that too much silence means you are not really participating in the Mass, but I disagree,” said Boni. “I think the silence helps me focus more on God during the Mass and that to me is a truer participation.” [That is because true active participation begins with active interior participation, which usually stems from intent listening.]

Boni’s family attends the Latin Mass when it is offered monthly at St. Joseph’s parish. On other weeks, they attend the new Mass.

“While I prefer the Traditional Latin Mass, I certainly still appreciate the regular Mass also,” he said. “Perhaps the future will be a merging of the two forms of Mass, taking the best of both.” [Perhaps.]

The Latin Mass draws Catholics into beautiful prayer, said the Father Woolley.

“People appreciate this kind of liturgy,” he said. “Latin is a liturgical language that makes everyone equal.”

Since 1978, Holy Name of Jesus parish in Providence has celebrated a Mass in Latin, and since 1984 that Mass has been in the Traditional Form every Sunday.

Father Joseph Santos, pastor of Holy Name, finds that the quality of the prayers is the most beautiful component of the Traditional Latin Mass.

“I find it not only theologically correct, but also on a deeper level than some of what was incorporated into the new rite,” he said. “The reverence is inherent in the rite itself and the fact the priest faces the same way as the people conveys the simple truth that he is there to lead the faithful and not to be the one that the people are focusing on as an individual.”

It is the reverence that draws Catholics to this Mass, said Father Santos, specifically many parishioners traveling from bordering states.

“They find a source of stability in a very confusing and changing world,” he explained. “This is something that is there as it has been and as it will be.”

With a passion for the Latin Mass, Allen Maynard of North Carver, Mass travels 42 miles to attend Holy Name with his wife and five children each week.

Feeling disenchanted with the Church, Maynard said he couldn’t find a parish where he felt like he was Catholic. After a long search, eventually he began to attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

“It is beautiful,” he said. “I think it is unmistakably oriented toward God.”

Maynard, who is on the national board of Una Voce America, a global organization that promotes the Tridentine Mass, said that the Mass is efficacious regardless of what rite one attends.

“I would like to see more people aware of it and be curious of it. Catholics do need to understand their liturgical heritage,” said Maynard. [And not just as a curiosity.] “It’s what their parents and grandparents went to. I think Summorum Pontificum was not just a gift to us who love the traditional Mass, but it was a gift from the pope to the whole church. A lot of fruits will come from this.”

Many people have fond memories of the Traditional Latin Mass and are attracted to its reverent atmosphere. [But young people are the ones who really drive its growth.] Father Woolley said that this Mass has a significant history and is irreplaceable in the life of the church.

“The more exposure it gets the more people like it,” he said. “It’s over 1000 years old. It’s a witness to the undying faith; it connects us not only with Catholics throughout the world, but with Catholics throughout the centuries.”

Posted in Brick by Brick, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged
10 Comments

Who are the “fideles” of McBrien’s “sensus fidelium”?

Posted on 8 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There they go again.  

Aged McBrien, Richard, is defending the abortion performed at the Catholic hospital in Phoenix and rejecting the Church’s position about abortion as an evil meriting excommunication.

First, I would remind McBrien that Bp. Olstead did not excommunicate Sr. Margaret Mary McBride (without whose approval the direct abortion could not have taken place).  My understanding is that Bp. Olstead affirmed that sister president’s excommunication took place by the fact that she did what she did.  Had Bp. Olstead wanted to issue a formal statement, he, a canonist, would have made it clear that that is what he was doing.  Read this.

But wait!  There’s more!

McBrien exalts the opinion of Charles Curran to defend sister president’s action.   But the amusing dimension of it comes from his reference to the sensus fidelium as a force or dimension of the Church which (to McBrien’s mind) trumps or changes the Church’s teachings and laws.

"In my judgment," Curran concludes, "the strong reaction by many Catholics to the action taken by the Bishop of Phoenix could well indicate the sensus fidelium ["sense of the faithful"]. At the very minimum … the church should study again the history and reasons proposed in this case.

"It is clear that many theologians and some bishops have come to the conclusion that an abortion to save the life of the mother is a morally good act."

That is "clear"?  Who are these bishops?  Names please?  May we have a list?

Sensus fidelium?

Sensus fidelium is not cobbled up at the water cooler of NCR and LCWR or the Theology Department of Notre Shame, or at Charles Curran’s office at Southern Methodist University.

Who are the "fideles" of their sensus fidelium?

Posted in Throwing a Nutty | Tagged
47 Comments

What has Summorum Pontificum done? Damian Thompson opines.

Posted on 7 July 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At three years of Summorum Pontificum the big question is: has it made any difference?

Damian Thompson on Holy Smoke makes some mordant comments, much to our surprise, about the third anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, together with giving some good links (and I thank him for the link back to this blog).

My emphases and comments:

Today is the third anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, the Motu Proprio by which – to the dismay of control-freak liberal bishops everywhere – Pope Benedict XVI removed nearly all restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine Rite of Mass. I’d like to point you in the direction of the very smart new website CatholicHerald.co.uk, which is running an online debate entitled “Is Summorum Pontificum a failure?”

My own view is that, while demand for the older form of the Roman Rite is – and probably will remain – limited, its reintroduction into Catholic life is proceeding slowly and surely. Brick by brick, as the great Fr Z likes to say.  [Do I hear an "Amen!"?] It would be interesting to know how many seminarians and newly ordained priests in Europe and America plan to celebrate it. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a very high proportion would like to know how to use both the 1962 and modern Roman Missals. [And we all know that data is the plural of anecdote.  Seriously, anecdotes do mean something.] There are already popular Latin Mass training sessions for priests in England and Wales; surely it’s now time, as the Catholic Herald suggested this week, for English seminaries to teach the rubrics of the Extraordinary Form. [And not just English seminaries.  ALL seminaries.] The Bishops of England and Wales will make a great show of their loyalty to the Holy Father when he visits them in September. Well, this would be a good way for them to demonstrate it.  [!]

A very good observation at the end.

This is something Pope Benedict really does want for the Church.

Posted in Brick by Brick, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged ,
24 Comments