A “pastor’s page” against Pope Benedict and against the new translation

Posted on 20 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes people send me "pastor’s pages" from their parish bulletins.  Most of the time this is an opportunity to exercise patience.

I was alerted something written in a pastor’s page from "The Catholic Faith Communities of Saint Theresa and Saint Christopher" in
Tiverton, Rhode Island where Fr. Peter J. Andrews is pastor.

This benighted little blurb popped up,

But it is not just the sexual abuse crisis that muddies the waters of Church life and overall integrity. Liturgically we are at a cross roads, where some continue the work of reform set forth by the Second Vatican Council, while at the same time, others see reform as a return to a time and practice present for centuries before this last ecumenical opening of windows and doors. [The writer has set himself squarely in opposition to Pope Benedict.  But wait… there’s more…] Newer translations of prayers and texts, warranted in so many cases, seem to go too far in [Get this howler…] an effort to rein in our theological and spiritual understanding of faith and are becoming stilted and difficult to understand. [Lemme get this straight… more accurate translations which, by the way, haven’t yet been used, will rein in understanding of the faith?] Instead of gathering [bzzzzz] folks with a common and comprehensible language in liturgy and prayer, [What he means here is lowest common denominator of language.  Sorry, but I feel excluded by the banal evacuated version now in use.] I fear [Based on what?  Evidence of some sort?  This is fearmongering and rabble-rousing.  He is trying to spoil the effort before it begins.] there will be separation and confusion. Instead of being one with the people who make up her members, one might see the Church disconnecting from the very folk she is meant to lead.

 

The new translation is not yet in use.

Therefore the writer is just talking out of his hat.

With no evidence at all, he is purposely trying to turn people against the new translation before it is implemented.

So… what does this mean for that parish when the new translation goes into force?  How much whining will his people have to endure then?

Furthermore, while the translation seems to be the main object of his attack, do not forget that he placed himself firmly in opposition to Pope Benedict. 
 
Finally… if the pastor doesn’t like the new translation, he can always use Latin.

Posted in Throwing a Nutty |
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A new sodality for servers of the Traditional, Extraordinary Form

Posted on 20 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A while back I called for those groups who do training for priests and seminarians for the older forms of the Roman Rite, the Extraordinary Use, also to provide more training for lay people who will be called upon to serve those liturgies.

The provision of Summorum Pontificum make it clear that all Latin Rite priests have the right to say Holy Mass also with the Extraordinary Form.  Most priests today did not grow up with that older, traditional form.  This means that they did not learn the older liturgy from the ground up, as it were.  They didn’t learn what to do as servers in different roles.  Therefore, when it is time to implement Summorum Pontificum in the parish, they have a gap of knowledge when it comes to training servers.  Inevitably there is a layman around – at least in my experience – who know the older form pretty well and can be of great help. 

But more resources are needed.

I was interested to find in my mailbox today a note from the Latin Mass Society in England and Wales.  Something for your "brick by brick" file.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY
For Immediate Release

19 May 2010

LATIN MASS SOCIETY LAUNCHES NEW SODALITY FOR TRADITIONAL ALTAR SERVERS

On Saturday 15th May 2010, at Blackfriars, Oxford, the Society of St Tarcisius, a sodality of servers of the Traditional Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form), [I am reminded of the Archconfraternity of St. Stephen.] was founded during a training day for altar servers, arranged by the Latin Mass Society. Thirty servers were present, with the training being delivered by Fr Armand de Malleray FSSP, Br Lawrence Lew OP, Mr David Forster, and Mr Richard Hawker. The day began with an address from Fr de Malleray on the importance of the service of the altar. The servers were divided into two groups of the less and more experienced for training. Some people travelled long distances to attend – one as far as Preston, Lancashire. 

   The two groups each had an experienced MC and a cleric to guide them: the less experienced group was led by Fr de Malleray and David Forster; the more experienced group by Br Lawrence Lew and Mr Richard Hawker. The day was interspersed with prayers and ended with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

   The Society of St Tarcisius has been founded to encourage servers of the Traditional Mass in their work on the altar, to provide training for new servers and the more experienced, to promote a high standard of reverence and accuracy, and to form a network through which servers can stay in touch and share resources.

   The Society of St Tarcisius is sponsored by the Latin Mass Society, though membership is open to all who wish to serve the Traditional Mass. Saint Tarcisius was a Roman acolyte who was martyred while defending the Holy Eucharist from profanation during the fierce persecutions of the third century. The sodality has taken “Fidelis usque ad mortem” – Faithful even unto death – as its motto, and seeks to inculcate in servers an intense devotion and reverence for Our Lord in the Eucharist, as well as a precise attention to the ceremonies of the Mass.

   The society’s website is www.saint-tarcisius.org.uk. Servers wishing to join the sodality should contact the Secretary, Mr David Forster, at secretary@saint-tarcisius.org.uk.

   Photographs of the training event on Saturday 15th May can be seen at www.lmschairman.org/2010/05/server-master-class-report.html

   The Latin Mass Society and the Society of St Tarcisius will be holding a residential training course for lay servers at Downside Abbey, Somerset, from Tuesday 10 August to Friday 13 August. This will run alongside the LMS’s Downside training conference for priests to learn the Extraordinary Form. Full details are available from the LMS.

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First move for Anglican Ordinariate?

Posted on 19 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The wonderful and persistent Anna Arco has this about traditionally-minded Anglicans:

It looks like the first moves towards establishing an ordinariate in the United Kingdom have been made by the Traditional Anglican Communion in this country. According to Anglo-Catholic, the group–which is small in Britain– has made a formal request to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

This is part of their letter stating that they will take up the new canonical structure offered in the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, published last year:

We therefore request that:

1) That the Apostolic Constitution be implemented in the United Kingdom and a Personal Ordinariate be erected.

2) That we may establish an interim Governing Council.

3) That this interim Council be directed by the Holy Father to propose a terna of names for the appointment of an Ordinary in a UK Ordinariate.

While we cannot speak for other groups of Anglicans in the United Kingdom, we shall be delighted if others apply for acceptance under the terms of Anglicanorum coetibus.

NB: It is important not to confuse the Traditional Anglican Communion with traditionalist groups in the Church of England. TTAC counts as a continuing Church and is not in Communion with Canterbury.

Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.

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Catholic sister, hospital administrator, excommunicated for approving abortion

Posted on 17 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In a NewsCore story we read that that whole "magisterium of nuns" thing does work so well when bishops have backbones.

Arizona Hospital Nun Excommunicated For Allowing Abortion

Updated: Sunday, 16 May 2010, 9:20 AM CDT
Published : Sunday, 16 May 2010, 9:20 AM CDT

(NewsCore) – A nun at a Catholic hospital in Phoenix, Arizona was automatically excommunicated after approving an abortion be performed on a patient in order to save the woman’s life, The Arizona Republic reported Saturday.  [The idea here is that she automatically incurred the excommunication, latae sententiae, by her direct participation in the successful procuring of an abortion.  Some may have questions about how proximate her participation was to the actual abortion.  However, it seems that the bottom line here is that it could not have taken place without her approval.]

Sister Margaret McBride, who was also a long-time administrator at St Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, has also been reassigned to other duties, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, head of the Phoenix Diocese said. 

The incident occurred late last year when McBride was consulted — along with doctors — in the case of a young woman who was 11 weeks pregnant.

The woman was suffering a life-threatening condition which was likely to have caused her death had she not had an abortion.

"In this tragic case, the treatment necessary to save the mother’s life required the termination of an 11-week pregnancy," hospital vice president Susan Pfister told the newspaper. 

Pfister issued the statement on behalf of the hospital, its parent company Catholic Healthcare West, and the Sisters of Mercy, McBride’s religious order.

Olmsted confirmed McBride was "automatically excommunicated" because of her involvement in the abortion.

"I am gravely concerned by the fact that an abortion was performed several months ago in a Catholic hospital in this diocese," Olmsted said.

"I am further concerned by the hospital’s statement that the termination of a human life was necessary to treat the mother’s underlying medical condition.

"An unborn child is not a disease. While medical professionals should certainly try to save a pregnant mother’s life, the means by which they do it can never be by directly killing her unborn child. The end does not justify the means."

Excommunication forbids the person from participating in church life, including receiving communion, and can only be remedied through an appeal to the Vatican. 

It is normally resolved by a statement of repentance.

(This article is provided by NewsCore, which aggregates news from around News Corporation.)


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QUAERITUR: Latin forms of confirmation names, genders

Posted on 17 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A question came in from a priest friend preparing confirmands for confirmation in the older traditional, form.

The question posed was about the Latin form of the name which the confirmands chooses.

The confirmand is called by name in Latin, in the vocative.

However, girls will at times chose the name of a male saint.  

My first reaction simply that the male form of the vocative should be used even when its little Cindy who has chosen the name, for example, Francis of Assisi.  

Furthermore, in calling the confirmand just "Francisce" should be used, and not some longer form or, in the case of, say, St. John Fisher also by the last name.  Sure there are lots of saints who are called "John", but I think you would still just use the saint’s baptismal name, according to the gender of the saint, not the confirmand.

It has been decades since we have done these things with any regularity and we have to feel our way sometimes.

So, does anyone have any concrete information about this?   Experience?  

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Brick by Brick, Mail from priests | Tagged , ,
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Hell’s Bible on Archbp. Dolan of NY

Posted on 17 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Hell’s Bible is again going after Archbishop Timothy Dolan, of New York.

In a front page article – not for a change written by Laurie Goodstein or Rachel Donadio, Archbp. Dolan is presented as the one who had been once such a source of hope to victims of clerical sexual abuse, only to turn out a huge disapointment. 

While Archbp. seemed – and you find this key word in the first paragraph – "seemed a bright beacon of hope". 

But when he was in Milwaukee, Archbp. Dolan – even though he spent time with victims, created a fund for them helped find counseling – refused to open up confidential files and then defended the Church in the courts.  Can you imagine such a thing?

Hell’s Bible is now digging all the way back to Dolan’s time in St. Louis for any good dirt they can throw.

And they want those records.  Actually, their bedfellow Jeff Anderson needs more income.

Today’s Time’s article is 3700+ words.

Keep in mind that Archbp. Dolan dared to suggest… imagine this… that the Times is anti-Catholic.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Clerical Sexual Abuse, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged
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An anti-Catholic editorial in Hell’s Bible… again

Posted on 16 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Hell’s Bible (aka The New York Times) comes this anti-Catholic blast.

Editorial
Justice for Child Abuse Victims
Published: May 14, 2010

The Catholic Church is working against the interests of child abuse victims in state legislatures around the country. [Absurd.] In recent weeks, lobbying by the church has blocked measures [Ummm… how does lobbying block anything?  Also, you are being asked to accept their premise, namely, that that is what is going on, that "the Catholic Church" is trying to do something bad.  Lobbying is bad (unless perhaps you are a lobbyist with a job in the present White House Administration).] in Wisconsin, Arizona and Connecticut intended to widen the legal window for victims to file lawsuits against hidden predators. [What is meant by "hidden predator"?]

We urge the New York State Legislature to rise above intense lobbying by the New York State Catholic Conference [But wait… there’s more…] and Orthodox Jewish officials [Sooooo…. it is not just the Catholic Church involved?  However, the one group the editors of Hell’s Bible hates nearly as much as Catholics, its practicing orthodox Jews.] and pass the overdue Child Victims Act. Like a similar measure enacted in 2003 by California, it would create a one-time, one-year suspension of the statute of limitations for bringing civil lawsuits over the sexual abuse of children.

Once that window closes, people alleging abuse would have until age 28 to bring a claim. Current law sets the limit at 23 in most circumstances.

The measure recognizes that it typically takes many years before victims are ready to come forward. [Get this…] The measure also recognizes the Catholic Church’s history of intimidating victims and burying abuses in church files, creating a shroud of secrecy that extended in many cases until victims were in their 30s or older, well beyond existing time limits for prosecutions or civil lawsuits.  [I wonder what the language of this "measure" is.]

An earlier version of the bill passed the Assembly in 2006, 2007 and 2008, but the Senate, then under Republican control, [eeeevil REPUBLICANS!  They are as bad as Catholics or even ORTHODOX Jews.  Incredible.] refused to consider it. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver expresses strong support for the latest bill, amended to cover abuses by both religious and non- religious entities. But he is insistent that the Senate act first before requiring his members to cast another politically sensitive vote on the issue.

The Senate Codes Committee is set to consider the measure by mid-June. The committee’s chairman, Eric Schneiderman, Democrat of Manhattan, should work to ensure passage of the bill, which has safeguards against the filing of bogus claims.

The Catholic Church fears a wave of costly settlements and damage awards like those that followed California’s temporary lifting of the statute of limitations several years ago. [But don’t worry, subscribers! We’ll tear at them until they BLEEEEEED.] Those concerns, and the difficulty of trying to judge decades-old accusations, are outweighed by the need to afford victims a measure of justice, the demands of public safety, [What a smear.  The Church has done more than any other organization in the USA to deal with the problem of abuse of children.] and the injustice of rewarding any group for covering up sexual abuse of children.

A version of this editorial appeared in print on May 16, 2010, on page WK9 of the New York edition.

 

If you needed a demonstration of their ability to hate, here it is, draped in the guise of self-righteousness.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Clerical Sexual Abuse, The Drill, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, Throwing a Nutty |
19 Comments

Using the new translation “ad experimentum”

Posted on 15 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the great P.P. of St. Mary Magdalene in Brighton, Fr. Ray Blake:

Our bishop recently said that some parishes in the diocese were already using the new ICEL translations of the Missal, he said that he had no problem with them being used ad experimentum, as they were now an official text which had received the recognitio of the Holy See.

ICEL wants these texts to be used after appropriate catechesis next year. However, this morning I used new translation of the Roman Canon, as there are the four Eucharistic Prayers in the Missal, plus the two prayers for Reconciliation, the three (is it?) for children, and then those ghastly Swiss ones we can use, I thought that no-one would object, and from the reactions I heard people thought it was a vast improvement.
We had already intended to start introducing the Communion Rite in its sung form, just to get people used to the idea that their responses are going to change too.
Other people have suggested the translations are a bit lumpy, I found them immensely beautiful, so much so that I am going to use them tomorrow at the sung Mass.
The problem I have with then is that it seems so natural to use the rubrics, the signs of the cross, for example at phrases like, "… bless these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices, …"
I think it is going to be difficult to get people to change their responses, that is going to be the big problem, not what the priest says.PeoplesMassCard-NewTranslation

Interesting observation about the signs of the Cross during the Canon.  His remark reminds me of the argument that the more the newer form of Holy Mass is celebrated in the style of the old form of Mass the better it is.  Which of course begs a question.

Posted in Brick by Brick, WDTPRS | Tagged
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REVIEW: Robin Hood

Posted on 14 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Not feeling well today, I opted for a movie.

I went to Robin Hood.

I wish I had stayed home.

This movie is really bad.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse… it did.

The credits are still rolling. Get me out of here.

If I had a gun to my head to find something positive… some of the music was okay. Of course modern effects can do amazing things.  Some characters were fine. There were some interesting animation effects in the credits… like paintings… interesting. But it was a long wait to get to this point.

UPDATE 15 May 1357 GMT:

The Catholic Herald’s review.

Posted in REVIEWS |
37 Comments

Bp. Moran of Aberdeen, Scotland, blocks an Extraordinary form Mass

Posted on 14 May 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the blog Damian Thompson on a sad piece of news:

A historic Latin Mass in the cathedral of the Orkney Isles… blocked by the Catholic bishop
By Damian Thompson

How sad to hear that plans to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form in St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall – parts of which date back to 1137 – were recently blocked by the Catholic Bishop of Aberdeen, the Rt Rev Peter Moran. Sad but not surprising, since the Bishops of Scotland seem united in their determination to throw up as many obstacles as possible to the implementation of Summorum Pontificum.

The traditionalist group Una Voce Scotland had planned what would have been a historic and very beautiful celebration of the older form of the Roman Rite in the cathedral of the Orkneys (the most northerly in Britain), apparently with the permission of the Church of Scotland, which has occupied it for centuries. Una Voce has its own schola, so the plainchant would have been magnificent. [to be clear… the Church of Scotland now has the church, but they were willing to host this Catholic TLM.  Then the local Catholic bishop hears about it and blocks it.  Some time ago, if memory serves, there was a fine Solemn TLM in the Cathedral of Winchester which had the permission of the Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth.  So, it isn’t as if there isn’t a precedent.]

Enter Bishop Moran. “It has come to my attention,” he told Una Voce in a letter from last autumn that I’ve just been sent, “that … you have been making enquiries about the availability of St Magnus Cathedral for a possible celebration of Mass in the forma extraordinaria.”

Well, forget it. He didn’t approve of the choice of two priests from the traditionalist community of Papa Stronsay, now reunited with the Holy See after years of separation. Said the bishop: “While Fathers Michael Mary and Anthony Mary … are now, happily, in good standing with the Church, they have as yet only limited faculties to celebrate Mass in this diocese. (Like all priests of the Church they are at liberty to celebrate the forma extraordinaria privately without specific permission, and to have some people with them when they do, but for public celebration the local bishop’s permission is needed.)”  [And I say they CAN’T.  Nice, huh?  What possible harm could it have done to anyone?  Why are there still so many closed hearts when it comes to this perfectly legitimate and laudable desire for the use of the Extraordinary Form?]

Excuse me? Bishop Moran must have read a different edition of the Pope’s Apostolic Letter from the one published by the Holy See, because it says no such thing. Sadly, Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow labours under the same misapprehension. What is wrong with these Scottish prelates?  [Actually Summorum Pontificum addresses mainly the situation of pastors when it comes to public celebration. But it is clearly not the case that the bishop’s permission is needed for a public celebration of Holy Mass in the older form.  Other circumstances do matter, however.  For example, if that Mass is going to be in a church of another ecclesial community with whom we do not share Communion.]

That’s what really bugs me. I can understand why Bishop Moran might have had problems with the choice of Papa Stronsay priests; I am sure he’s telling the truth when he says in the letter that he has considered celebration of the EF elsewhere in Aberdeen diocese but “those priests whom I have approached have not been enthusiastic”;  and it is too much to expect, I suppose, that his imagination might be captured by the possibility of the Latin Mass being celebrated again in a building once renowned for its “treasures and rich vestments” before the so-called reformers destroyed them and whitewashed the walls.

But the claim (and I quote Bishop Moran again) that “the bishop’s permission is needed for any public celebration of the forma extraordinaria” is one with which the Congregation for Divine Worship would – and, I hope, will – take issue. [No.  The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has competence in this matter, not the CDW.]

Oh, and another thing that bugs me: not being told the truth. This morning I left a message with Bishop Moran’s secretary asking if I could talk to him about the plans for a Tridentine Mass at St Magnus. “We’ll get back to you,” she said, but no one did. So I rang again, the bishop picked up the phone and he said: “I’ve no knowledge at all of what you’re talking about. I’ll make inquiries and get back to you.” [HUH?]

No knowledge at all, he says, with his letter sitting in front of me.  Looking forward to your call, bishop.  [And I hope we hear more about this.]

It makes you think of the days just after the release of Summorum Pontificum when bishops finally started thinking about implementing Ecclesia Dei adflicta.

UPDATE: 16 May 1700 GMT:

Damian has more.  Be sure to read his update.

 

Posted in SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM | Tagged ,
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