Fr. Pfleger, after “apology”, restates he wants ordination of women priests, bishops

Posted on 16 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Dear Card. George.. Your Eminence… I have respect for you and your office.

Therefore, Your Eminence, WDTPRS asks with respect: "When will enough be enough when it comes to Fr. Pfleger?"

From Lifesite, with my incredulity… er um emphases and comments.

Fr. Pfleger on Apology: They Made Me Do it, But I Didn’t Mean it

By Patrick B. Craine

CHICAGO, Illinois, April 16, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In the latest episode in an ongoing controversy, Fr. Michael Pfleger has again publicly voiced his support for women’s ordination, this time in a comment posted to his Facebook fan page.  In that comment, he also notes that the archdiocese made him issue the apology he put out on Wednesday.

“Sunday, I mentioned in my Sermon that I believe in married Priests and Woman Priests,” the Facebook comment reads.  “I was then told that I had to apologize for saying it durning [sic] a Sermon because that is not allowed, [NB:] even though that is my opinion. [He really believes that women should be ordained.]

“I have received much hate from the right-winged who want my removal,” he added. [It is not "hate" to hope that the Black Catholic community in Chicago might have a Catholic priest who is actually faithful to the Church’s teachings and disciplines.]  “Amazing… Nobody Blogged me or youtubed me about helping Save our children or Stopping the Violence…” [Those are not the immediate issues.]

His comment follows a Wednesday statement published on the Archdiocese of Chicago’s website, which has since been removed. [Really?  Why? Because it was dishonest?] In the statement he admits that he advocated for women priests and bishops in his homily, but then says that, “While this is my personal opinion, I do respect and follow the Catholic Church teachings and I am sorry I failed to do this.”

Pfleger’s Sunday homily had been posted to the website of his parish, Saint Sabina’s Catholic Church, and the 30-second clip in which he made the controversial remarks quickly made it onto Youtube.  The homily and Fr. Pfleger’s call for women’s ordination remained posted on the parish website as of press time.

According to Diogenes of CatholicCulture.org, Pfleger’s apology “won’t do.” [Diogenes is not alone.]

“If you ‘respect and follow the Catholic Church teachings,’ you don’t hold a ‘personal opinion’ completely at odds with those teachings,” the pundit wrote yesterday.  “If you respect the teachings of the Church regarding priestly ministry, you don’t use the pulpit to advance a ‘personal opinion’ of any kind, let alone an opinion critical of the Church.”

“Based on the statement above, would you say that Father Pfleger understands, accepts, and submits to the authority of the magisterium?” he asks.  “No. Do you think Cardinal George has the intelligence to reach the same conclusion? Yes. Will the cardinal allow a priest who disregards Church authority to remain in place as a pastor? Wait and see.”

Calls and an e-mail to the Archdiocese of Chicago were not returned by press time.  LSN also did not hear back from Fr. Pfleger by press time.

Posted in Throwing a Nutty | Tagged
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PRAYERCAzT: Sext, Nones, Vespers (BrevRom)

Posted on 16 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

No frills… just a tired voice reading quickly with a mic turned on.

In the meantime I am trying to figure out how to record a voice note on my mobile, FTP it to the server, so I can do projects on the move.

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Perhaps I should invite some guest readers?

Posted in PRAYERCAzT: What Does The (Latin) Prayer Really Sound L |
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A few observations

Posted on 16 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

 

There is a movie coming about a Pope crushed under depression. 

Ho hum.

I think lefties and liberal Catholics are going to be dreadfully disappointed when Pope Benedict goes to England.

  • He is not going to fit the image promoted by the MSM and their twisted expectations.
  • They will see a man who is joyful and serene.
  • He will not be depressed or morose or crushed or over-burdened.
  • He will not soften his message to the English people about the need for God in their lives.
  • He will not dodge hard issues, such as the clerical abuse controversy, but will confront them head on.
  • People will flock to see him and listen to what he has to say and his message will make more sense than what they get from the MSM.
  • Vocations to the priesthood and religious will rise after his visit.

Some people are suggesting that perhaps Pope Benedict should cancel his trip to the UK because of what is going on.

I don’t think that is going to happen.  I think he will go, especially because of the importance of Ven. John Henry Newman’s beatification.

I am sure you can add your own observations.

 

Furthermore, I also hope he appoints a certain priest as Archbishop of Southwark, … but I digress….

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Lighter fare |
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Wisconsin shrine to install St. Gianna Molla relic

Posted on 16 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is a good story.  This is an important way to fight the good fight.

If you have not read about the 2nd miracle worked by God through the intercession of St. Gianna, the miracle authenticated for her canonization, you might look at this.

Wisconsin shrine to install St. Gianna Molla relic

Gianna Beretta MollaLa Crosse, Wisc., Apr 16, 2010 / 02:06 am (CNA).- The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in La Crosse, Wisconsin announced the upcoming installation of a first-class relic of St. Gianna Molla that will take place following a Mass which will honor the saint.

On April 25, the shrine will hold Mass along with a prayer service, veneration and installation of the relic. A blessing for mothers and married couples will also be given.

The local La Crosse Tribune reported that the relic consists of three hair strands from the Italian saint.

“We’re very, very honored to have that here. It’s through the graciousness of the family,” said Sister Christa Marie, executive director of the shrine. Sister Christa Marie told the La Crosse Tribune on March 27 that she had asked the saint’s son, Pierluigi, if the family would provide the relic after he spoke at the shrine last July.

St. Gianna died in 1962 shortly after giving birth to her fourth child. The pediatric surgeon developed uterine tumors while pregnant and was advised by doctors to terminate the pregnancy. She refused, and chose to give birth, dying a few days later at the age of 39.

“One person’s life and one person’s death has had such an impact on so many lives,” Sister Christa Marie said. “She lived a beautiful, Christian life. She did live ordinary in an extraordinary way.”

The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which opened in 2008 under the direction of  Archbishop Raymond Burke, recently installed a first-class relic of St. Faustina Kowalska on Divine Mercy Sunday. The relic of the Polish saint who died in 1938 consists of bone fragments which were brought to the La Crosse diocese from Rome by Archbishop Burke.

Sister Christa Marie spoke to the La Crosse Tribune on the importance of relics, saying, “It’s an ability to connect. It just reminds us that we are one big family.”

 

 

Posted in Just Too Cool, Saints: Stories & Symbols | Tagged ,
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Pope Benedict talks about the rite of Mass, inculturation, mystery!

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Our friends at Rorate have given us part of the Holy Father’s ad limina address to bishops of Brazil.   Let’s have a look with my E & C.

Wonderful words on the true meaning of active participation

Today’s speech of the Holy Father to the Bishops of Brazil (North II Region) in their ad limina visit was a true course on sacred liturgy, active participation, inculturation, and the Holy Mass. We particularly refer to the 4th, 5th, and 6th paragraphs of his address (in Portuguese).

VIS excerpts; complete translation coming up:

    Speaking of the Eucharist, the Pope recalled that it constitutes "the centre and permanent source of the Petrine ministry, the heart of the Christian life, source and summit of the Church’s mission of evangelization. You can thus understand the concern of the Successor of Peter for all that can obfuscate this most essential point of the Catholic faith: that today, Jesus Christ continues alive and truly present in the consecrated host and the chalice." [NB: "most essential".  When we speak of "the Eucharist" we need to keep in mind both the Sacrament and its celebration.]

    "Paying less attention at times to the rite of the Most Holy Sacrament [i.e., Holy Mass] constitutes," he said, "a sign and a cause of the darkening of the Christian sense of mystery, [EHEM… sound familiar?!?  Not only is this redolent of the whole "Save The Liturgy – Save The Word" thing I have been pushing forever, it also directly bears on what I have pounded for several years, ever since the unveiling the the text of Summorum Pontificum: if our worship does not bring us to an encounter with mystery, then it has failed.] such as when Jesus is not the centre of the Mass, [stressed by ad orientem or ad Deum worship] but rather a community preoccupied with other things instead of being taken up and drawn to the only one necessary: their Lord."  [Fantastic.]

    Benedict XVI emphasized that "if the figure of Christ does not emerge from the liturgy … it is not a Christian liturgy". [OORAH!] This is why, he added, "we find those who, in the name of enculturation, fall into syncretism, introducing rites taken from other religions or cultural particularities into the celebration of the Mass."  [It loses its proper identity.  And we, therefore, lose our identity.  This is rich fare.]

    As Venerable John Paul II wrote, "the mystery of the Eucharist is ‘too great a gift’ to admit of ambiguities or reductions, above all when, ‘stripped of its sacrificial meaning, it is celebrated as if it were simply a fraternal banquet’."

    The Pope highlighted that "behind many alleged motives, there exists a mentality that is incapable of accepting the real possibility of divine intervention in this world to assist human beings. [That is modernism.]  … Admitting God’s redeeming intervention to change our situation of alienation and sin [The Holy Father is speaking of sin more often.  And I predict he is also going to be speaking more about worship.] is seen as fundamentalism by those who share a deist vision and the same can be said about the sacramental sign that makes the salvific sacrifice present. For such persons, the celebration of a sign that corresponds to a vague sentiment of community would be more acceptable."  [A "vague sentiment of community"… embodied by versus populum worship and the clericalization of the laity, non-sacral language, music reduce to the lowest denominator.]

    "Worship, however," he continued, "cannot come from our imagination: that would be a cry in the darkness or mere self-affirmation. [Here it comes:] True liturgy supposes that God responds and shows us how we can adore Him. ["how we can adore Him"… i.e., proper worship] … The Church lives in His presence and its reason for being and existing is to expand His presence in the world."

There are times when I feel like I am shouting down a well.  

Then someone like this comes along.

The Holy Father introduced this section by mentioning his own office, the Petrine office of the Successor of Peter.   Then he goes on to talk about proper worship in the rites of Holy Mass.  Then he speaks of evacuation of the meaning of the rites and the effect on people when the rites lose their proper orientation. 

This seems very much in keeping with what I have been saying about his "Marshall Plan" for Holy Church during his pontificate.

Posted in Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM |
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Card. Ruini on the source of Pope Benedict’s insistence on liturgy

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Again I return to a constant theme of WDTPRS: Pope Benedict ‘s "Marshall Plan" to revitalize Catholic identity, our worship being the tip of the spear.   We need to do this in order to keep the Church as a strong and good influence in the public square.  If we don’t know who we are, why should anyone bother to listen to us?

Below, you will find comments of His Eminence Camillo Card. Ruini.  The context of these comments is, of course, the present controversies and attacks on the Holy Father.  However, Card. Ruini pointed out something of interest to WDTPRSers.  Excerpt:

"It’s not only about announcing and testifying of God as our creator and savior," he explained, rather "It’s about … trusting him and putting ourselves in his hands, therefore praying and making space for him, his presence and his grace, in our entire lives.

"Here, the great insistence of Benedict XVI on the liturgy has its origin," he underscored.

Here are other things from Card. Ruini as reported by CNA with my emphases and comments.

Cardinal Ruini speaks on Pope Benedict and ‘cleaning’ of the Church

Vatican City, Apr 15, 2010 / 05:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- This "isn’t the first time the Church has suffered," Cardinal Camillo Ruini said as he reflected on the current state of the Church in an interview with the Italian paper La Repubblica on Thursday.

Responding to a question about the "dramatic moments" the Catholic Church is living through as Pope Benedict XVI approaches the fifth year of his pontificate, Cardinal Ruini said, "It’s is undoubtedly a period of suffering and of trial for the Church, that at the moment revolves around the question of pedophilia."

"But it isn’t the first time the Church has suffered," he added. In the past, there have been other trials, other sufferings, always overcome by Providence." [Do I hear an "Amen!"?]

In the current situation, the cardinal said, "there are the objectively very serious sins of some priests and there is a strong desire to put the entire Church and especially the Pope on the bench of the accused: a profoundly unjust and unfounded thing, because Benedict XVI is exactly the opposite of that which they wish to make him appear (to be)."

Reflecting on the scope of the words of Pope Benedict during the Stations of the Cross in 2005 when he spoke of a "cleaning" that needed to take place in the Church, the cardinal said that while pedophilia is a part of the needed cleaning, "it would be mistaken" to read into that statement as strictly pertaining to sexuality.

The "cleaning" mentioned by Pope Benedict should be considered as "a challenge that concerns all of our Christian life, beyond that of priests, and it’s a challenge that, as Jesus has taught us, one can hope to win only concentrating before all on Him, (and) therefore on humility and prayer," the cardinal said.

During the interview, Cardinal Ruini said he observes a "profound continuity" between Pope Benedict and two of his predecessors, Popes John Paul II and Paul VI. The current Pope, he noted, can also be noted for the priority that he gives on evangelization.

"It’s not only about announcing and testifying of God as our creator and savior," he explained, rather "It’s about … trusting him and putting ourselves in his hands, therefore praying and making space for him, his presence and his grace, in our entire lives.

"Here, the great insistence of Benedict XVI on the liturgy has its origin," he underscored.

Cardinal Ruini recognized the Holy Father’s acumen as a "grandissimo" theologian, an "extraordinary homilist and catechist," and, he said, contrary to the thoughts of some, "it’s mistaken to think that he takes little care of the government of the Church."  [I think Card. Ruini is right to mention this.  However, I think it is also the case that Papa Ratzinger hasn’t always had the greatest success in administration.]

Cardinal Camillo Ruini is a former president of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and is now working on the Italian bishops’ "Cultural Project," maintaining the Church’s presence within contemporary discussion. [Get that?  Maintain the Church’s presence "within contemporary discussion".  Keep the Church’s voice in the public square.] He was recently named by Pope Benedict XVI to head the investigation commission on the possible Marian apparitions at Medjugorje.

WDTPRS likes the Cardinal’s mention of liturgy.

 

 

Posted in Clerical Sexual Abuse, Our Catholic Identity, Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged
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“Why not bomb the Vatican, and riddle the Pope with bullets as he staggers out of the flames?”

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The following is amazing, even for those of us who are used to reading unhinged hate-speech.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reveals its true colors.

I know about Godwin’s Law, but I suspect they may be Nazis sympathizers, given their hatred of the Church. Not sure about that, but their rhetoric suggests it.  It is dangerous to introduce the reductio ad Hitlerum at any time, but… by gum.. sometimes it fits!

I won’t add comments, but I will edit.

A tale of two battles

No-one has yet suggested bombing the Vatican and pursuing the Pope through the sewers of Europe till he is caught and riddled with bullets in order to stop priests buggering choirboys in Boston, Chicago, Dublin and Sydney. But a precise mirror image of this is how we behaved in Afghanistan.

If we bomb it flat, we were told, and pursue Bin Laden through the caves of Tora Bora and the mud huts of Waziristan until he is caught and riddled with bullets, al-Qaeda won’t hijack planes and blow up trains any more. And the world will live at peace.

[…]

Let’s consider for a while the comparable crimes, or iniquities, or sins, or misdeeds, or culpable errors of Osama bin Laden and the Pope. Osama’s followers killed 3,000 people in New York and around 700 more by terrorist acts in London, Bali, Madrid and Mumbai in the past eight years and desolated maybe 20,000 lives of the relatives of the dead.

The Pope’s followers desolated, perhaps, 100,000 lives (or this is my guess) by sexual depravity in the past 80 years and killed, perhaps, (this too is my guess, I ask for yours) no more than 5,000 smashed and embittered Catholic boys and girls they drove to suicide or drunken oblivion and early death in those years.

The crimes are comparable pretty much and well-attested and well known from enquiries here and in Germany, the US and Ireland. Why then do we not bomb the Vatican and obliterate Italy for harbouring this criminal mastermind, this known protector of evil predators? Why do we not pursue him through the sewers of Europe and riddle his corpse with bullets?

Can it be, perhaps, because we think Italians and Germans are in some way superior to Afghans or Saudis or Palestinians? Can it be because we believe Catholic priests have a right to hurt little boys and Taliban mullahs and chieftains no right to hurt little girls and young women?

Why do we do this? Why are we not bombing the Vatican?

[…]

If an Australia-wide child care corporation had been shown to have covered up 1000 cases of child rape by its teachers it would have been wound up, its assets seized and sold, its CEO arraigned for criminal neglect, its employees held for questioning, the offending perverts jailed or put in madhouses, its name eternally stained.

Yet precisely this kind of crime has occurred in another institution responsible for the care and shaping of children, the Catholic Church.

Should it be outlawed?

Or is it, simply, too big to fail?

Just asking.

It is worthwhile, I think, to make these connections, of how forgivingly we treat the First World rich and the contrasting way we treat the Third World poor. How we treat the crimes of Christians and of heathens in very different ways. It shows how crazy we have lately come to be, and how justly we are despised by the Islamic world, and the Communist world, and many of our former colonies.

If we do this violence to the Taliban for the way they treat their women and children, why not the Catholics too?

Why not bomb the Vatican, and riddle the Pope with bullets as he staggers out of the flames?

 

If you can exercise some self-editing, make comments somewhat deeper than "nasty poopy-head should be fired", this could make for an interesting discussion.

I read something not long ago, a comment by … perhaps… George Weigel? … that there was a remarkable similarity to some of the recent anti-Catholic rhetoric and editorial cartoons to the anti-Catholicism during the rise of the Nazi Party in Germany.

It might be interesting to find some examples and gather them for the sake of our opportune knowledge.

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, Clerical Sexual Abuse, Throwing a Nutty |
78 Comments

The Feeder Feed, et al.

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the Feeder.Twitter

Here is, I am pretty sure Chipping Sparrow, who likes millet.

Not sure who this is.

Mr. and Mrs. Cowbird, though I wish they would find another food source.

Today I spotted the first Long-billed Thrasher, or Taxostoma longirostre, appropriate for 15 April in so many ways.

Then there is Carrusfederatus expressus, always a welcome sight. 

Though this species doesn’t come nearly as often as I would like.

There is also, Carrusruber parvus.

Nice color scheme… that.

Not to be outdone …

Posted in The Feeder Feed |
14 Comments

The other point of view

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Given that I know my computer is actively working against me… I think I understand this.

Posted in Lighter fare |
2 Comments

PRAYERCAzT: Nones and Vespers (BrevRom)

Posted on 15 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

More no frills Nones and Vespers.

I just turned on the mic and read Nones and Vespers.

With one frill… I sing the Vespers hymn this time.  I am used to the newer melody from the Liber Hymnarius, so I had to concentrate a bit through this.

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From a priest reader:

 

You recent recordings of the Lauds and Vespers your site are a great help to me practicing my latin.  I only had a year of latin in the seminary.  I also miss the recordings of the propers you posted some time ago.  They were a great help preparing to celebrate Mass in the extraordinary form. 

 

I just didn’t have a sense that priests were using those.

Posted in PRAYERCAzT: What Does The (Latin) Prayer Really Sound L |
3 Comments