QUAERITUR: how the Ceremonial of Bishops guides Novus Ordo worship

Posted on 5 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Let’s get some discussion going about this point concerning the Ordinary Form – Novus Ordo liturgy.

From a reader via email:

Is it proper for a priest to use the rubrics and prayers for priests contained in the Ceremonial of Bishops if the bishop is not present? 

At the Vigil, our pastor, who really wants beautiful and perfect liturgy, followed the Ceremonial, but this made it difficult for the congregation, which was working largely from missalettes, to follow with proper responses and postures. I don’t want to mention this concern to him unnecessarily, because he is pretty touchy and protective of the liturgy (not a bad thing) and would feel hurt if he knew we were doubting any of his choices.  I know he would want to be corrected if he is in error, however; he is receptive to and grateful for any well founded information about how to celebrate and gracefully changes his practice in response to new information. 

My understanding is that when in the Novus Ordo Missale Romanum the rubrics are vague or absent, then the reference point is the Ceremonial of Bishops.

Frankly, I don’t think that is a very good idea but I recall something about that.

Perhaps the pastor could get a bit more interested in the Extraordinary Form.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box | Tagged
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We arise from death to new life: OPENING DAY

Posted on 5 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yes, folks, it is once again the season of the sport God loves best: baseball.

Today, the forces of darkness are taking it on the chin.

Over at SERVIAM we find an apt haiku in honor of such an important event as opening day.

Last night I was in Junior’s in Brooklyn, having a sandwich and watching the hated Yankees beating the noble Red Sox (all teams are noble when playing against the Enemy Team) in their opener. 

I was downcast about what such a thing might herald for the season.

But the sun rose on a new opening day and we find that, after the darkness, the Red Sox won after all!

Here is a happy sight for all, far and wide:

Posted in Brick by Brick, Lighter fare | Tagged , ,
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Benedict XVI’s Easter Sunday sermon: humanity is in a profound crisis

Posted on 4 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Holy Father’s Easter Sunday sermon with my emphases and comments:

Cantemus Domino: gloriose enim magnificatus est.
"Let us sing to the Lord, glorious his triumph!" (Liturgy of the Hours, Easter, Office of Readings, Antiphon 1).

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I bring you the Easter proclamation in these words of the Liturgy, which echo the ancient hymn of praise sung by the Israelites after crossing the Red Sea. It is recounted in the Book of Exodus (cf 15:19-21) that when they had crossed the sea on dry land, and saw the Egyptians submerged by the waters, Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, and the other women sang and danced to this song of joy: "Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed wonderfully: horse and rider he has thrown into the sea!"  [The Holy Father is not advocating liturgical dance, btw.] Christians throughout the world repeat this canticle at the Easter Vigil, and a special prayer explains its meaning; a prayer that now, in the full light of the resurrection, we joyfully make our own: "Father, even today we see the wonders of the miracles you worked long ago. You once saved a single nation from slavery, and now you offer that salvation to all through baptism. May the peoples of the world become true sons of Abraham and prove worthy of the heritage of Israel."

[Here is the prayer in the older form of the Roman Rite:  Oremus. Flectamus genua. R. Levate.

Deus, cuius antiqua miracula etiam nostris saeculis coruscare sentimus: dum quod uni populo, a persecutione Aegyptiaca liberando, dexterae tuae potentia contulisti, id in salutem gentium per aquam regenerationis operaris: praesta; ut in Abrahae filios, et in Israeliticam dignitatem, totius mundi transeat plenitudo. Per Dominum nostrum, Iesum Christum, Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.

Let us pray.  Let us kneel.  R. Arise.

    O God, Whose ancient miracles we see shining also in our days, whilst by the water of regeneration Thou dost operate for the salvation of the Gentiles, that which by the power of Thy right hand Thou didst confer upon one people, by delivering them from the Egyptian persecution: grant that all the nations of the world may become the children of Abraham, and partake of the dignity of the people of Israel. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who with Thee liveth and reigneth in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. R. Amen.]

The Gospel has revealed to us the fulfilment of the ancient figures: in his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has freed us from the radical slavery of sin and opened for us the way towards the promised land, the Kingdom of God, the universal Kingdom of justice, love and peace. This "exodus" takes place first of all within man himself, and it consists in a new birth in the Holy Spirit, the effect of the baptism that Christ has given us in his Paschal Mystery. The old man yields his place to the new man; the old life is left behind, and a new life can begin (cf. Rom 6:4). But this spiritual "exodus" is the beginning of an integral liberation, capable of renewing us in every dimension – human, personal and social.

Yes, my brothers and sisters, Easter is the true salvation of humanity! If Christ – the Lamb of God – had not poured out his blood for us, we would be without hope, our destiny and the destiny of the whole world would inevitably be death. [I have often reflected on this point.  I have wondered if, had Christ not conquered death, whether even what we call entropy would finally triumph – producing a hideous parody of the harmony of the rest we would have in the Beatific Vision, with its perfect movement – perhaps dance-like – in the manner described by Dante.  Had death been victorious, and all of us had gone to the dust, eventually when all energy in the universe was perfectly distributed, after all the galaxies had ended their majestic spinning and the stars had winked out, would there remain only perfect stillness in an absolutely cold and loveless void?]  But Easter has reversed that trend: Christ’s resurrection is a new creation, like a graft that can regenerate the whole plant. It is an event that has profoundly changed the course of history, tipping the scales once and for all on the side of good, of life, of pardon. We are free, we are saved! Hence from deep within our hearts we cry out: "Let us sing to the Lord: glorious his triumph!"

The Christian people, having emerged from the waters of baptism, is sent out to the whole world to bear witness to this salvation, [I have hammered away on this blog that I think Pope Benedict’s task in this pontificate is to revitalize the identity of the Church, of Catholics, so that they can have an impact in the public square.  Ad intra and ad extra.  We need a clear identity, which is why we need proper worship, before we have anything clear to offer to the wider world.  But it is out duty to offer the good news to the world.  Therefore, we must revitalize our identity.  Worship is the starting place for this.] to bring to all people the fruit of Easter, which consists in a new life, freed from sin and restored to its original beauty, to its goodness and truth. Continually, in the course of two thousand years, Christians – especially saints – have made history fruitful with their lived experience of Easter. The Church is the people of the Exodus, because she constantly lives the Paschal Mystery [dying and rising] and disseminates its renewing power in every time and place. [NOTA BENE: This is where he starts to apply his point to our day.] In our days too, humanity needs an "exodus", not just superficial adjustment, but a spiritual and moral conversion. It needs the salvation of the Gospel, so as to emerge from a profound crisis, one which requires deep change, beginning with consciences.  [Get that?  Humanity is in a "profound crisis".  I wonder what the world looks like to one as pensive as Benedict XVI, from his vantage.  For him to say this…. ]

I pray to the Lord Jesus that in the Middle East, [think nukes, friends] and especially in the land sanctified by his death and resurrection, the peoples will accomplish a true and definitive "exodus" from war and violence to peace and concord. To the Christian communities who are experiencing trials and sufferings, especially in Iraq, the Risen Lord repeats those consoling and encouraging words that he addressed to the Apostles in the Upper Room: "Peace be with you!" (Jn 20:21).

For the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that are seeing a dangerous resurgence of crimes linked to drug trafficking, let Easter signal the victory of peaceful coexistence and respect for the common good. May the beloved people of Haiti, devastated by the appalling tragedy of the earthquake, accomplish their own "exodus" from mourning and from despair to a new hope, supported by international solidarity. May the beloved citizens of Chile, who have had to endure another grave catastrophe, set about the task of reconstruction with tenacity, supported by their faith.

In the strength of the risen Jesus, may the conflicts in Africa come to an end, conflicts which continue to cause destruction and suffering, and may peace and reconciliation be attained, as guarantees of development. In particular I entrust to the Lord the future of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Nigeria.

May the Risen Lord sustain the Christians who suffer persecution and even death for their faith, as for example in Pakistan. To the countries afflicted by terrorism and by social and religious discrimination, may He grant the strength to undertake the work of building dialogue and serene coexistence. To the leaders of nations, [Hey POTUS! … ] may Easter bring light and strength, so that economic and financial activity may finally be driven by the criteria of truth, justice and fraternal aid. May the saving power of Christ’s resurrection fill all of humanity, so that it may overcome the multiple tragic expressions of a "culture of death" which are becoming increasingly widespread, so as to build a future of love and truth in which every human life is respected and welcomed. [Including the unborn.  Sadly, the Pope doesn’t mention the unborn specifically.   Nor does he mention Europe or North America.  But you can’t mention everything in one sermon.]

Dear brothers and sisters, Easter does not work magic. Just as the Israelites found the desert awaiting them on the far side of the Red Sea, [good point] so the Church, after the resurrection, always finds history filled with joy and hope, grief and anguish. [Gaudium et spes, luctus et angor…]  And yet, this history is changed, it is marked by a new and eternal covenant, it is truly open to the future. For this reason, saved by hope, let us continue our pilgrimage, bearing in our hearts the song that is ancient and yet ever new: "Let us sing to the Lord: glorious his triumph!"

Posted in Pope of Christian Unity | Tagged
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WDTPRS – Vigil of Easter – HAPPY EASTER!

Posted on 3 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Our forty day Lenten journey has brought us to the ultimate festal day of the whole liturgical year.  Hopefully we have all participated in the Sacred Triduum ceremonies of Thursday and Friday. 

We saw the priesthood and Eucharist instituted at Holy Thursday.  A glimspe of Easter glory was given us with the singing of the Gloria.  The priest responded to Christ’s priestly command to serve by washing the feet of males only (viri).  Christ in the Blessed Sacrament was reposed and the altar was stripped. 

On Friday the Passion was sung and the Cross kissed.  We could receive Communion but we “fasted” from Mass.  On “liturgical” Saturday, that is until sundown, we had neither Mass nor Holy Communion, and thus we arrived at the nadir of the year in our preparation for Easter.  Suddenly with the Vigil, flowers, instrumental music, and white and gold vestments return.  The Church springs back to life like Christ from His tomb.

Remember that at this point, the liturgy began in darkness. 

The priest kindled the fire and prepared the candle.  Light began to spread through the church from hand to had as the smaller candles held by the faithful were lit. 

The deacon sings three times Lumen Christi … The Light of Christ, three times as the sacred ministers process to the sanctuary.  The Christ Candle is set in place, incensed, and Exsultet is sung. 

The liturgy of the word begins, and after each reading there is a Collect. 

The 2002 Missale Romanum presents 11 different prayers.  We shall examine the final Collect, which follows the singing of the Gloria and the lighting of the candles on the altar during the ringing of the bells.

FINAL COLLECT (2002MR):
Deus, qui hanc sacratissimam noctem
gloria dominicae resurrectionis illustras,
excita in Ecclesia tua adoptionis spiritum,
ut, corpore et mente renovati,
puram tibi exhibeamus servitutem.

This is adapted from the prayer in the 1962MR situated in the same moment of the Mass.  The 1962 prayer was the same as that found in the ancient Gelasian Sacramentary.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
O God, who illuminate this most holy night
by the glory of the Lord’s resurrection,
rouse up the spirit of adoption in Your Church,
so that, having been renewed in mind and body,
we may render You our unstained service.

There is a reading from the New Testament, the first Alleluia of the season and the Gospel proclaimed in usual way.  There follows the baptismal rite with the singing of the Litany of Saints, blessing of Easter water, and the conferral of the sacraments with a confession of Faith.   When the Eucharistic part of the Mass begins, in the usual way, the priest sings the

SUPER OBLATA (2002MR):
Suscipe, quaesumus, Domine, preces populi tui
cum oblationibus hostiarum,
ut, paschalibus initiata mysteriis,
ad aeternitatis nobis medelam, te operante, proficiant.

This is identical to the corresponding prayer in the Gelasian and also Secret of the Mass in the pre-Conciliar Missale Romanum.  A note about pascha and its various forms.  This word concerns all things Easter: the first Passover and passage of the Jews from slavery to freedom, the Jewish rites of the sacrificing the lambs at Passover or, in the Christian sense, the Passion and Resurrection of the Lamb of God, and the subsequent renewal of these mysteries both in Holy Mass and each year in the Triduum and Easter.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
Receive, O Lord, we beg you, the prayers of Your people
with offerings of sacrifices
so that the things initiated in the paschal mysteries,
may, You causing it, avail for us unto the remedy of eternity.

Holy Mass continues as normal to the consecration, during which the priest says the words pro multis (“for the many”), and thence to the most perfect form of active participation, the distribution and reception of Holy Communion.  For many who have been brought into the full embrace of Holy Church, this will be the first time they have received the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Risen Christ.

POST COMMUNIONEM (2002MR):
Spiritum nobis, Domine, tuae caritatis infunde,
ut, quos sacramentis paschalibus satiasti,
tua facias pietate concordes.

This prayer was not in the Gelasian but is to be found in the Veronese Sacramentary in the month of November, though it has uno caelesti pane rather than sacramentis paschalibus.  It was also the corresponding prayer in the 1962MR and earlier editions.

LITERAL TRANSLATION:
Infuse in us, O Lord, the Spirit of Your charity,
in order that in Your compassion You make one in mind
those whom you have satiated with the mysterious paschal sacraments.

Please accept my prayerful best wishes to you and yours for a fruitful and holy Easter season.

Posted in WDTPRS | Tagged
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Benedict XVI’s Easter Vigil sermon

Posted on 3 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The Holy Father’s Easter Vigil Sermon with my usual emphases and comments:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

An ancient Jewish legend from the apocryphal book "The life of Adam and Eve" recounts that, in his final illness, Adam sent his son Seth together with Eve into the region of Paradise to fetch the oil of mercy, so that he could be anointed with it and healed. The two of them went in search of the tree of life, and after much praying and weeping on their part, the Archangel Michael appeared to them, and told them they would not obtain the oil of the tree of mercy and that Adam would have to die.  [The legend says also that Seth brought back a branch from the Tree, given to him by the angel, which he planted in Adam’s mouth when he died.] Subsequently, Christian readers added a word of consolation to the Archangel’s message, to the effect that after 5,500 years the loving King, Christ, would come, the Son of God who would anoint all those who believe in him with the oil of his mercy. "The oil of mercy from eternity to eternity will be given to those who are reborn of water and the Holy Spirit. Then the Son of God, Christ, abounding in love, will descend into the depths of the earth and will lead your father into Paradise, to the tree of mercy." This legend lays bare the whole of humanity’s anguish at the destiny of illness, pain and death that has been imposed upon us. Man’s resistance to death becomes evident: somewhere – people have constantly thought – there must be some cure for death.  [WDTPRS has constantly hammered at the need for us to deal with death through an encounter with mystery in our worship.] Sooner or later it should be possible to find the remedy not only for this or that illness, but for our ultimate destiny – for death itself. [That is what philosophy has been: death therapy.] Surely the medicine of immortality must exist. Today too, the search for a source of healing continues. Modern medical science strives, if not exactly to exclude death, at least to eliminate as many as possible of its causes, to postpone it further and further, to prolong life more and more.

But let us reflect for a moment: what would it really be like if we were to succeed, perhaps not in excluding death totally, but in postponing it indefinitely, in reaching an age of several hundred years?  [Which could possibly have been possible if it were not for the felix culpa.] Would that be a good thing? Humanity would become extraordinarily old, there would be no more room for youth. Capacity for innovation would die, [as many stagnant cultures we have seen in the world’s history] and endless life would be no paradise, if anything a condemnation. The true cure for death must be different. It cannot lead simply to an indefinite prolongation of this current life. [Sounds like the Numenoreans.] It would have to transform our lives from within. It would need to create a new life within us, truly fit for eternity: it would need to transform us in such a way as not to come to an end with death, but only then to begin in fullness. What is new and exciting in the Christian message, in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, was and is that we are told: yes indeed, this cure for death, this true medicine of immortality, does exist. It has been found. It is within our reach. In baptism, this medicine is given to us. A new life begins in us, a life that matures in faith and is not extinguished by the death of the old life, but is only then fully revealed.

To this some, perhaps many, will respond: I certainly hear the message, but I lack faith. And even those who want to believe will ask: but is it really so? How are we to picture it to ourselves? How does this transformation of the old life come about, so as to give birth to the new life that knows no death? Once again, an ancient Jewish text can help us form an idea of the mysterious process that begins in us at baptism. There it is recounted how the patriarch Enoch was taken up to the throne of God. But he was filled with fear in the presence of the glorious angelic powers, and in his human weakness he could not contemplate the face of God. "Then God said to Michael," to quote from the book of Enoch, "‘Take Enoch and remove his earthly clothing. Anoint him with sweet oil and vest him in the robes of glory!’ And Michael took off my garments, anointed me with sweet oil, and this oil was more than a radiant light … its splendour was like the rays of the sun. When I looked at myself, I saw that I was like one of the glorious beings" (Ph. Rech, Inbild des Kosmos, II 524).

Precisely this – being reclothed in the new garment of God – is what happens in baptism, so the Christian faith tells us. To be sure, this changing of garments is something that continues for the whole of life. What happens in baptism is the beginning of a process that embraces the whole of our life – it makes us fit for eternity, in such a way that, robed in the garment of light of Jesus Christ, we can appear before the face of God and live with him for ever.

In the rite of baptism there are two elements in which this event is expressed and made visible in a way that demands commitment for the rest of our lives. There is first of all the rite of renunciation and the promises. In the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the west, the symbol of darkness, sunset, death and hence the dominion of sin. The one to be baptized turned in that direction and pronounced a threefold "no": to the devil, to his pomp and to sin. The strange word "pomp", that is to say the devil’s glamour, referred to the splendour of the ancient cult of the gods and of the ancient theatre, in which it was considered entertaining to watch people being torn limb from limb by wild beasts. What was being renounced was a type of culture that ensnared man in the adoration of power, in the world of greed, in lies, in cruelty. It was an act of liberation from the imposition of a form of life that was presented as pleasure and yet hastened the destruction of all that was best in man. This renunciation – albeit in less dramatic form – remains an essential part of baptism today. We remove the "old garments", which we cannot wear in God’s presence. Or better put: we begin to remove them. This renunciation is actually a promise in which we hold out our hand to Christ, so that he may guide us and reclothe us. What these "garments" are that we take off, what the promise is that we make, becomes clear when we see in the fifth chapter of the Letter to the Galatians what Paul calls "works of the flesh" – a term that refers precisely to the old garments that we remove. Paul designates them thus: "fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing and the like" (Gal 5:19ff.). These are the garments that we remove: the garments of death.

Then, in the practice of the early Church, the one to be baptized turned towards the east – the symbol of light, the symbol of the newly rising sun of history, the symbol of Christ. [AD ORIENTEM NOW… WE WANT IT NOW!] The candidate for baptism determines the new direction of his life: faith in the Trinitarian God to whom he entrusts himself. Thus it is God who clothes us in the garment of light, the garment of life. Paul calls these new "garments" "fruits of the spirit", and he describes them as follows: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22).

In the early Church, the candidate for baptism was then truly stripped of his garments. He descended into the baptismal font and was immersed three times – a symbol of death that expresses all the radicality of this removal and change of garments. His former death-bound life the candidate consigns to death with Christ, and he lets himself be drawn up by and with Christ into the new life that transforms him for eternity. Then, emerging from the waters of baptism the neophytes were clothed in the white garment, the garment of God’s light, and they received the lighted candle as a sign of the new life in the light that God himself had lit within them. They knew that they had received the medicine of immortality, which was fully realized at the moment of receiving holy communion. In this sacrament we receive the body of the risen Lord and we ourselves are drawn into this body, firmly held by the One who has conquered death and who carries us through death.

In the course of the centuries, the symbols were simplified, but the essential content of baptism has remained the same. It is no mere cleansing, still less is it a somewhat complicated initiation into a new association. It is death and resurrection, rebirth to new life.

Indeed, the cure for death does exist. Christ is the tree of life, once more within our reach. If we remain close to him, then we have life. Hence, during this night of resurrection, with all our hearts we shall sing the alleluia, the song of joy that has no need of words. Hence, Paul can say to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!" (Phil 4:4). Joy cannot be commanded. It can only be given. The risen Lord gives us joy: true life. We are already held for ever in the love of the One to whom all power in heaven and on earth has been given (cf. Mt 28:18). In this way, confident of being heard, we make our own the Church’s Prayer over the Gifts from the liturgy of this night: Accept the prayers and offerings of your people. With your help may this Easter mystery of our redemption bring to perfection the saving work you have begun in us. Amen.

Posted in Pope of Christian Unity |
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The Feeder Feed (Guest Edition)

Posted on 3 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have been away from the feeders for quite a while but someone sent a fine shot I had to share with you.

Posted in The Feeder Feed |
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EF/TLM TRIDUUM in NYC at Holy Innocents

Posted on 3 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For those of you close to Manhattan, NYC…  the Sacred Triduum will be observed in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, according to 1962 Roman Missal at the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan:

  • Maundy Thursday, 4/1, at 7:30 PM
  • Good Friday, 4/2, at 6:00 PM
  • Easter Vigil, 4/3, at 11:00 PM

On Good Friday, the choir will sing De Victoria’s turba setting for the Passion, as well as his setting of the Reproaches. 

Holy Innocents Church is located on 37th Street between Broadway and 7th Avenue.

Yours truly will also be involved.  I believe I am celebrant for two of these services.

This may be the first time in a great while that the Triduum has been observed using the traditional form in Manhattan.

UPDATE:

Tonight is the Vigil of Easter.  I am scheduled to be the celebrant.

I will during Holy Mass remember all of you who have been benefactors and have given donations using the donation button and who have used the amazon wishlist or the pitch-in card.

Posted in Brick by Brick |
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Priestly abuse a problem? Yes. Big problem? No. It’s “organized moral panic”.

Posted on 3 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

On MercatorNet from Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne, whose books I have read with interest… I recommend his book on Hammas… comes this with my emphases and comments.   The piece is on the long side, so I will give you just a bit of it.

 

Moral panic flares again

Is priestly paedophilia a problem? Yes, says an Italian sociologist. Is it a big problem? No.

Why is there talk again of paedophile priests, based on a case in Germany, which drags in people who are close to the Pope and now even the Pope himself? Does sociology have something to say about this or should we leave it completely to the journalists? I believe sociology has much to say, and it must not remain silent because of a fear of displeasing some.

The current discourse on paedophile priests – considered from a sociological perspective – represents a typical example of "moral panic". The concept was coined in the 1970s to explain how certain problems become the subject of "social hyperconstruction". More precisely, [NB] moral panics are defined as socially constructed problems that are characterised by a systematic amplification of the true facts in the media or in political discourse.

Two other characteristics have been cited as typical of moral panics. First, problems that have existed for decades are reconstructed in the media and political accounts as new or as the subject of a recent dramatic increase. Second, their incidence is exaggerated by statistics plucked from the air which, while not confirmed by academic studies, are repeated by the media and inspire persistent media campaigns. Historian and sociologist Philip Jenkins, of Pennsylvania State University, has emphasised the role of "moral entrepreneurs" in the creation and management of panics whose agenda is not always revealed. [I don’t know about you, but I think this is really interesting…] Moral panics do not bring any good. They distort the perception of the problems and compromise the efficacy of the measures which should resolve them. After a harmful analysis inevitably there comes a harmful intervention.  [Consider how the media has reconstructed a wrong from decades ago into a huge issue today, both ignoring what the Church has actually done and even making what the Church is doing more difficult.]

Let there be no misunderstanding: at the origin of moral panics are objective and real dangers. They do not invent a problem; they exaggerate its statistical dimensions. In a series of excellent studies, Jenkins demonstrated how the issue of paedophile priests is perhaps the most typical moral panic. Two characteristic elements exist: a fact which serves as a starting point, and an exaggeration of this fact by moral entrepreneurs.

[…]

But there have also been many sensational cases of priests who have been falsely accused. Indeed, these cases multiplied in the 1990s, when some legal firms recognised they could reap million dollar returns even on the basis of mere suspicion. Appeals for zero tolerance are justifiable, but there should also be zero tolerance for defaming innocent priests. Nor do the numbers change significantly from 2002 to 2010. The John Jay College study already noted a "significant decline" in cases in the 2000s. New investigations have been rare, and sentences extremely rare, as a result of more rigorous controls introduced by American bishops as well as the Holy See.

So, does the John Jay College study tells us then, as one often reads, that 4 percent of American priests are paedophiles? Not at all. According to the research, 78.2 percent of the accusations involved minors who had advanced beyond puberty. Having sexual relations with a 17-year-old is certainly not a beautiful thing, and much less so for a priest, but it is not paedophilia. Therefore, only 958 American priests were accused of true paedophilia over 52 years, 18 per year. There were only 54 convictions, a little less than one per year. [The statistics, therefore, point to this as a homosexual issue.]

[…]

[QUAERITUR:] Why are old and very often well-known cases being exhumed in 2010 on a daily basis, always attacking the Pope? [By, in primis, Hell’s Bible… the New York Times…] This is paradoxical if one considers the great severity of then Cardinal Ratzinger and of Benedict XVI on this very theme. The moral entrepreneurs who organise the panic [I think that is a phrase you should remember] have an agenda which is increasingly clear and which is not essentially the protection of children. [EXACTLY!  And I have made that point here.  They are not interested in protecting children.  Read this next part carefully….] This is a time when political, juridical and even electoral decisions in Europe and elsewhere are being made about the abortion pill RU-486, euthanasia, the recognition of same sex unions. Only the voice of the Pope and the Church is being raised to defend life and the family. The reading of certain articles in the media shows that very powerful lobby groups are seeking to silence this voice with the worst possible defamation — and unfortunately an easy one to make — that of favouring or tolerating paedophilia.  [That has the ring of truth.]

These more or less Masonic lobby groups show the sinister power of technocracy which was raised by Benedict XVI himself in his encyclical Caritas in veritate and in the denunciation of John Paul II, in his Message for the World Day of Peace of 1985. They warned of "hidden aims" – alongside others which are "openly promoted" which are "directed at subjecting all populations to regimes in which God does not count".

This is truly a dark hour. It takes one back to the prediction of a great Italian Catholic thinker of the 19th century, Emiliano Avogadro della Motta (1798-1865). [NB:] He predicted that after the devastation caused by secular ideologies [the 20th century rise of totalitarianism and world wars] an authentic "demon worship" would spring up [! I think we can find some examples of that now.] which would attack the family and the true concept of marriage. [The rise of aggressive homosexuality.] Reestablishing the sociological truth about moral panics over priests and paedophilia will not of itself resolve the problems and will not stop the lobby groups. But it is a small and proper tribute to the greatness of this Pope and to a Church which is wounded and defamed because they will not be silent on the issues of life and the family.

This is a strong tonic.  WDTPRS kudos to Massimo Introvigne.

Posted in The Drill, The Last Acceptable Prejudice | Tagged
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LOCK AND LOAD! LUTHERAN CLARITY about the attacks on Pope Benedict!

Posted on 1 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is a spectacular examination of the recent attacks on Pope Benedict – the Pope of Christian Unity – and on the Church by a LUTHERAN theologian on a Lutheran site, Logia, a Lutheran theological journal.

It is long but worth it.  Here is a bit of the beginning with my E & C.

The dictatorship of relativism strikes back—and goes nuclear
Wednesday, 31 March 2010 15:43

Some ecumenical thoughts at Holy Week 2010 from John Stephenson

The secular press has had it in for Joseph Ratzinger for going on three decades. Before his election as Pope in the spring of 2005, he was routinely derided in his homeland as the Panzerkardinal (“tank cardinal”) and caricatured in North America as the “Enforcer” or even the “Rottweiler.” The roots of this negative reputation stretch back at least as far as the book-length interview he granted to the Italian journalist Vittorio Messori that catapulted him to global fame when published as The Ratzinger Report in 1985. [He dared to question to liberal, modernist grip on the narrative of Vatican II and how things were going as a result of the misapplication of the Council.] Prior to that juncture, as a heavyweight German academic who had leapfrogged over a major episcopal see (Munich-Freising) to become a leading official in the Roman curia (as cardinal prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith) under the still new John Paul II, Ratzinger’s was hardly a household name.

But shrewd observers must wonder about [get this…] the startling disproportion between the enormous hue and cry artificially whipped up by the media and the softly spoken real life figure who seems always to have avoided hyperbole like the plague. [One of the best sentences on this controversy yet.]  Even though the curial department over which he presided for almost a quarter century is the direct heir to the 16th-century Inquisition, the disciplinary measures dealt out by Ratzinger against barely a score of wildly Modernist (actually mostly apostate) theologians over more than two decades add up to a string of fairly mild censures, gentle slaps on the wrist in most cases. Hans Küng [ultra-discontinity agent and star theological punchline] lost the right to teach theology as an accredited representative of the magisterium (as his missio canonica was stripped from him), but (despite his clear disavowal of the divinity of Christ!) retained his status as an incardinated (=rostered) Roman Catholic priest, and he has, well, greatly profited in fame and fortune from his much trumpeted role as Rome’s chief dissident. Had he rather than Ratzinger landed in the chair of cardinal prefect back in the early 1980s, the media would have shown no sympathy for the advocates of traditional Christianity that a totalitarian liberal such as Küng [excellent… "totalitarian liberal".  Right!  Liberals are those with whom you are "free" to agree!] would have hounded to the remotest margins of Church life; ironically, there is no more illiberal force on earth than a liberal with his hands on the levers of power.  [POW!  BIF!]

 Moreover, when someone takes the trouble to examine Ratzinger’s huge opus over close to six decades as a professional theologian, they make the discovery that he occupies a centrist position in the constellation of modern Roman Catholic theology; he is at most mildly “conservative”, the “ultra-conservative” label routinely affixed to him by most sections of the press being sheerly laughable.  [Folks… I didn’t write this… I promise you, I didn’t.  I wish I had, however.]

As I set forth the Roman Catholic reality in our St. Catharines Religious Bodies (Comparative Symbolics) course, I point out the current uneasy coexistence of three groupings in that vast church body.

[I will cut this off soon… but… here is a little more.]

Modernism on the rampage (or the elephant actually destroying the living room)

In the one corner are the media-supported Modernists, those who do not acknowledge the definitive quality of God’s unsurpassable self-revelation in Christ, and who thus regard faith and practice not as givens to be handed down intact but as man-made constructs to be refashioned at whim according to the capricious desire of succeeding generations. Roundly condemned and solemnly proscribed by Pius X (1903-1914) and still held back to a great extent by Pius XII (1939-1958), the Modernists crawled out of the woodwork during the reign of John XXIII (1958-1963), and Modernism swiftly rose to a dominant position in Roman Catholic theology in, with, under, and around the (sixteen) officially promulgated documents of Vatican II (1962-1965).  [OORAH!]

As a young theologian, Ratzinger attended Vatican II as a peritus (=expert) of somewhat “progressive” tendencies. By Council’s close he was uneasy over the tone and content of its last document, Gaudium et spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church and the Modern World. Shocked to the core by the virulently anti-Christian positions embraced even by theology students (led by such figures as the radical Tübingen exegete Ernst Käsemann) in the student uprisings of 1968 (Achtundsechziger [“68ers”] is an actual word in modern German), Ratzinger firmed up his centrist credentials and switched his support from the left-leaning magazine Concilium (the house organ of Küng & Co.) to the middle of the road Communio (the substitute publication of von Balthasar and friends).

Clearly, the Modernists who surged forth to theological dominance in the wake of Vatican II have never forgiven Ratzinger for his “betrayal” of their cause; in their books (literally, in the case of Küng’s interminable memoirs) he is and remains a cross between Brutus and Judas Iscariot. At least some of his media woes are attributable to the Modernists’ insatiable thirst for revenge for, say, his pointed critique of Gaudium et spes written ten years after the close of the Council. But these pages of sober commentary are surely sweet music to orthodox Lutheran ears. [Are you itching to read more?] Yes, Vatican II was infected by the dementedly schwärmerisch optimism of the Kennedy era (Principles of Catholic Theology, 372; 383). Yes, Gaudium et spes considers the “world” a positive entity, with which it seeks dialogue and cooperation with a view to building jointly with it a better global state of affairs (Principles, 379f.). Had he lived much longer, Hermann Sasse, who was careful to register both the strengths and the weaknesses of Vatican II, would surely have added his Yea and Amen to Ratzinger’s analysis of Gaudium et spes.

As they still pretend that everything in the post-Vatican II Roman Catholic garden is fine and dandy, the Modernists undoubtedly continue greatly to resent Ratzinger’s telling Vittorio Messori in the early 1980s how “we must speak …of a crisis of faith and of the Church” (Ratzinger Report, 44; “the gravity of the crisis,” 62;  “in this confused period, when truly every type of heretical aberration seems to be pressing upon the doors of the authentic faith,” 105). Later in the same decade I headed the first chapter of CLD’s Eschatology volume “General Apostasy: the Sign of our Time.” Guess what? Ratzinger, the GAFCON Anglicans, and I are spot on. Might there be something slightly fishy in the direction ELCA, ELCiC, TEC (the US Episcopalians), and the Anglican Church of Canada have been heading lately? The Modernists and their media allies would much prefer that no one notice these developments.

[Fantastic…. here are his other headings.]

  • The traditionalist rump
  • In the centre receiving shots from both (all) sides
  • By the way, the world still hates, loathes, & detests Christ and His Church!
  • Christendom as a whole is under attack
  • Not in the same ballpark as Leo X & Co.

HUGE WDTPRS KUDOS to John Stephenson and Logia!

Some highlights….

When did you last read a fair account of the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (1905-1991) in the “quality” press? When did you ever read there an objective appraisal of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) that Lefebvre founded to withstand the Modernist juggernaut that came out of the Council?

And…

To understand his papal programme (inasmuch as we may talk of such a thing), we must realise that he is endeavouring to steer his massive ecclesial ship back into a centrist channel after a good forty years of disastrous leftward lurch—just consider the pitiful liturgical shambles that emerged from Paul VI’s Novus Ordo of 1968, causing Hermann Sasse to remark in his last years how Rome had suddenly “canonised St. Zwingli.”

Who is this guy?  Can we make him a bishop?

And…

His papacy was barely a few hours old when the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) evening news ran a segment on an aged Italian woman (a “good Catholic”, of course) who stood crestfallen amid a jubilant crowd as Benedict XVI appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s, walking dejectedly away as she realized that women’s ordination, contraception, sexual licence, abortion on demand, and all that good stuff would still be denied the papal seal of approval.

And…

The negative reaction aroused already by the Ratzinger Report laid bare the sheer fury shared by Roman Catholic Modernists and the unbelieving world in general against anyone who dares to intimate that the historic Christian religion is, to put it bluntly, true. Neither apostates within Holy Christendom nor naked unbelievers outside her borders will ever forgive Ratzinger for the grave breach of secularist, pluralist etiquette involved in the first volume of his Jesus of Nazareth.

 And…

 

Can we picture Peter and Paul, around the year 68, stamping their feet and stressing the paramount need for Nero to respect the human rights of the nascent Christian community in Rome? Can we get our hands on evidence that the bishops and other ecclesial spokesmen of the day adopted the tone of these Anglican Evangelical prelates toward Decius and Diocletian? More to the point, can we imagine Diocletian, Decius, and Nero meekly agreeing to “remedy the serious developments” that had occurred on their respective imperial watches? Rather than issuing impotent appeals to the successive beasts that arise from the earth, bishops are to prepare and equip the Christian faithful to undergo the fires of tribulation that the Lord permits to come their way.

 

And…

 

Oh… just go read it!

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WDTPRS POLL: How much of the Sacred Triduum will you attend?

Posted on 1 April 2010 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

This is a busy time for all of us, but this is also the most sacred and profound time of the whole liturgical year.

Here is a little poll… which is entirely anonymous.

You might prefer your local parish for the Triduum.  You might travel a great distance for something you consider more worthy.  You might be able to go to everything offered or just part of it.  You might even wind up going to more than one!

This is more about actual plans to go, if you can, rather than whether you long to go but can’t.

But vote and give us a comment in the combox.
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REMEMBER: Participation at the Easter Vigil on Saturday evening fulfills your obligation to attend Mass on Easter.

Also… GO TO CONFESSION if you need to and if you can!  JUST GO!

{democracy:50}

And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and … the … thingy.

ALSO!… ALSO!….

Will you stay on Thursday for Adoration or will you also visit other Churches to see their Altars of Repose?
 

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