From the site of the Italian daily La Repubblica comes this.
CAPTION:
Melissa, a street-artist, play the sax during Mass.
She earns her living in the streets with her saxophone. Melissa has always had a dread: to play in a church. Don Paolo Farinella, parish priest of San Torpete, in the historic center of Genoa, fulfilled her desire. And she moved the faithful.
It moves me, too.
(This video is no longer available.)
The priest, by the way, is a long-time and well-known dissident.
I have heard, and I think this may be anecdotal, that Card. George quipped that his successor might wind up dying in jail.
The England and Wales and Scotland are farther along in the culture war that we are in the USA.
From CNA:
Glasgow, Scotland, Jul 25, 2012 / 11:20 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Archbishop-designate Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow could see himself being imprisoned for speaking out in support of the traditional married family.
“I could see myself going to jail possibly at some point over the next 15 years, if God spares me, if I speak out,” Archbishop Tartaglia said in an interview with STV News July 24.
His comments came just a day before the Scottish government announced it would legislate in favor of same-sex “marriage.” Archbishop Tartaglia warned that the redefinition of marriage will have “enormous implications for religious liberty.”
“I am deeply concerned that today, defending the traditional meaning of marriage is almost considered ‘hate speech’ and branded intolerant. Such a response is undemocratic, closes debate and is highly manipulative,” he told CNA on July 24.
Last month the leading Scottish lawyer Aidan O’Neill warned that same-sex “marriage” legislation will radically undermine religious liberty in Scotland.
He predicted that a change in the law could result in employees being fired for opposing same-sex “marriage,” ministers and priests being sued for refusing to allow “wedding” ceremonies to take place in their churches, school children being forced to attend homosexual history lessons, and couples being rejected as foster parents if they oppose the new legislation.
[…]
REad the rest there.
From the intrepid Andrea Tornielli:
[…]
The latest version of the doctrinal preamble – discussed by cardinals of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and approved by the Pope – is considered by the Holy See to be definitive and not subject to any significant changes. The Vatican has pointed out that those who claim that the preamble of 13 June essentially repeated what the initial version of the text (prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in September 2011) said, failing to take the Fraternity’s proposals into account, is wrong. A Vatican Insider source confirms that “the latest version acknowledges various proposals and suggestions made by Mgr. Fellay.” [I wonder what “acknowledges” means.]
At the request of the Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, two points were added again to the preamble: the first relates to the mass according to the Novus Ordo, the new rite of mass promulgated after the Second Vatican Council. Lefebvrians are asked to recognise not only the validity of the new mass but its legitimacy as well. [hmmm] This does not mean liturgical abuses cannot be criticised or that the post-Council liturgical reform and its implementation cannot be discussed.
The other point is to do with the Council and its magisterium. The Holy See cannot accept the assertion that the Second Vatican Council documentation contains “errors” and is asking the Fraternity to distinguish between the Council texts and the interpretation of the Council texts, accepting the fact that the magisterium cannot be judged by another group – in this case the Society of St. Pius X – which would end up becoming a sort of “super-magisterium”. [Exactly.]
“The purpose of dialogue is to overcome the difficulties in the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council, but we cannot negotiate on revealed faith; [? Of course not! But that doesn’t mean that every word in every document of the Council is “revealed faith”. Does it?] this is impossible. An ecumenical Council, according to the Catholic faith, is always the Church’s supreme magisterium,” stated the new Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Gerhard Müller, in an interview with Catholic news network EWTN News.” “The claim that the authentic teachings of the Second Vatican Council – he added – formally clash with Church tradition, is false.”
As the Vatican awaits Fellay’s response, it has examined closely the circular letter (which is confidential but as usual has ended up on the web) sent by the General Secretariat of the Society of St. Pius X to the various Districts summarising the position which emerged during the Society’s recent General Chapter. The three absolute conditions (“sine qua non”) [sine quibus non… unless the qua refers back to the acceptance rather than the conditions.] the Society of St. Pius X has put forward for an agreement with Rome have been formulated in such a way so that it leaves some room for hope: for example the request for the exclusive use of the 1962 liturgy is reiterated, but nothing is said about the legitimacy of the new mass.
The demand for the right to freely and publicly criticise “the promoters of the errors or the innovations of modernism, liberalism, and Vatican II and its aftermath” could in the end be interpreted in a less harsh way than expected. “It all depends on the response Mgr. Fellay will give to Rome,” the Vatican stressed.
Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.
More than seven years ago, on April 19th, 2005, Benedict XVI was elected Pope. On average, Popes usually reign for 7.19 years. Now, Benedict XVI has surpassed that average.
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From a reader:
On Wednesday before Mass a friend of mine leads the public recitation of the Rosary. She inserts after the Fatima Prayer in each decade this pray; Jesus, protect and save the unborn and the sanctity of life. I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to put that prayer there. And then she has added another prayer about protecting our religious freedom after the one for sanctify of life. So now I’m really wondering if this is appropriate or not; and if they should be inserted along with your own intentions before or after the rosary but not inside the rosary itself. Thanks
There is no one way to recite the Holy Rosary. You will find variations from country to country, ethnic group to ethnic group, community to community. As a matter of fact, the Fatima Prayer is not used universally.
My preference is to add as few interpolations as possible, so as not to lengthen excessively the amount of time it takes to recited it. People have lives to live as well.
Thus, variations are acceptable, so long as the community in question goes along and the variations are not contrary to the faith. Always be sure to check with parish priest if this is in the parish. People should not just impose their way of saying the Rosary on everyone else.
Not long ago, I had a question from a reader about a good way to clean an encrusted thurible (the thing in which we burn incense and then swing around, from the Latin word “thus… incense”).
At the site of Romanitas Press, Louis Tofari has a useful article on this sometimes sticky problem.
He recommends using carburetor cleaner to get a really tough stuff off the metal. I have it on good authority that, once clean, giving it a dip in kerosine works wonders.
NOTA BENE: Some metal thuribles have a lacquer coating. These need special handling.
BTW… when I took over a church in Italy, which had been close for many years, I found that all the hardware was in truly appalling condition. I took everything apart and soaked it in buckets of Cola Cola, which stripped the petrified goo right off. They could then be cleaned and maintained normally.
And, just because I haven’t written it in a while, Benedict XVI is the Pope of Christian Unity.
Via CMR I found this about the SSPX and their equivalent of the “crazy-uncle in the attic” Bp. Williamson.
My emphases:
Bishop McCrazy Says He Wants Bp. Fellay Out
Bishop Williamson of the SSPX, a guy who makes the Moony marrying Bishop Milingo look like Spock, is speaking out against Bishop Fellay. He wants him out, no surprise there.
The SSPX need to throw Williamson out permanently and completely. [A touch of Donatism?] I firmly believe that God has appointed Bishop Fellay to restore the SSPX to the Church and maybe a little vice versa. When that happens, Williamson will do as much damage as he can. Whatever damage he does, he must do it as an outsider.
If he is still of the SSPX, no matter any sanctions imposed, he will drag the SSPX and the Church down with his self-centered lunatic ravings and behavior.
Forget Fellay being out, Fellay must kick Williamson out. Do it. Do it now.
I don’t know how the SSPX handles matters like this. Does the Superior have that authority from his office? The SSPX is a priestly “fraternity”: can they just, should they just, chuck men out?
I am sympathetic to CMR‘s concerns. Even the human body cuts off blood to limbs to save the core.
Do you throw your brother out?
From Matthew 18:
But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother. And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.
(This video is no longer available.)
I am with a gang of priests for our annual get together.
There may be a little less going on with the blog for a few days.
This morning I gave a conference to the crew on causes of saints. We will also have conferences on Islam and perhaps also how priests can have recourse to the Sacra Penitenzieria Apostolica in Rome concerning internal forum matters.
I am doing the cooking, though in a simpler way than last year. A few of the members will join us for just part of the time.
Last year we enjoyed developing some possible episcopal mottos. One that we have generated so far is: imminutum a prudentia.
UPDATE 24 July:
We have been sampling bars.
Here, for example, are the remains of some exceptionally good lemon bars brought by one of the brethren. Once they were sampled, I was hard pressed to get one. But I managed.
Last night I made a couple pork loins, one in a teriyaki marinade and the other marinaded in cherries. They were accompanied by brown rice and steamed broccoli. Dessert: the aforementioned bars. There may have even been some wine and other adult beverages.
Tonight we will have something I have written about before: spaghetti al seminario, which always disappears. Green salad and lemon meringue pie or ice cream with various enhancers. There may even be some wine and other adult beverages. We shall see.
This morning we had the first of a series of presentations on Islam, brilliantly delivered and fascinating. Priests should put effort into learning something about Islam.
From CNA:
Rome, Italy, Jul 24, 2012 / 04:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).
Although the new head of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is optimistic about reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X, he says that the teachings of the Church – including the dogmatic content of the Second Vatican Council – will never be up for re-negotiation. [I know this is a news report, but I think the SSPX would not reject the “dogmatic content” of Vatican II.]
“The purpose of dialogue is to overcome difficulties in the interpretation of the Second Vatican Council,” Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Muller told CNA July 20, “but we cannot negotiate on revealed faith, that is impossible. An Ecumenical Council, according to the Catholic faith, is always the supreme teaching authority of the Church.” [Well… of course. But we have to see whether or not everything in every Council is of equal weight.]
[…]
In a July 19 statement, the society said it had “determined and approved the necessary conditions for an eventual canonical normalization” at its recent General Chapter, but added that it still rejected “all the novelties of the Second Vatican Council which remain tainted with errors” as well as “the reforms issued from it.”
“The assertion that the authentic teachings of Vatican II formally contradict the tradition of the Church is false,” Archbishop Muller stated. [Again, I don’t know the language (I am on a bit of a break, but you will surely dig everything up), but who would reject the “authentic” teachings?]
He added, however, that between various texts of the council there are “gradations” [There it is!] of teaching authority. By way of an example, Archbishop Muller drew a comparison between the council’s document on social communications, “Inter Mirifica,” which carries “less weight” than “dogmatic declarations” like the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium.”
“Whatever is dogmatic can never be negotiated,” [Is everything in the document, therefore, dogma?] he said, while still expressing hope that the members of the Society of Pius X “can overcome their difficulties, their ideological restrictions so that we can work together to proclaim Christ as the Light of the World.”
[…]
A key problem for Rome in recent discussions seems to be the perception that the Society of St. Pius X often speaks about errors in the conciliar texts themselves.
[…]
From the Cardinal Newman Society:
Cardinal Burke Says Theologians’ Mandatum Should Be Required by Colleges, Disclosed to Students
Theologians, Canonists Respond to Pope Benedict’s Call for Compliance
Manassas, Va. – Catholic families have a right to know which theology professors have the mandatum, and Catholic colleges and universities should require it as a condition for employment, [Do I hear an “Amen!”?] affirmed the Vatican’s chief judge Cardinal Raymond Burke in a new report prompted by recent concerns from Pope Benedict XVI.
Cardinal Burke and several bishops, canon law experts, and theologians discussed the mandatum with The Cardinal Newman Society in an online report published today at www.cardinalnewmansociety.org.
The report, titled “A Mandate for Fidelity,” follows upon a May 5th address by Pope Benedict to several American bishops during their ad limina visit to Rome. The Pope expressed concern that “much remains to be done” toward the renewal of Catholic identity in U.S. Catholic colleges and universities, “especially in such areas as compliance with the mandate laid down in Canon 812 for those who teach theological disciplines.” [Can we have some compliance with can. 915?]
He cited “the confusion created by instances of apparent dissidence between some representatives of Catholic institutions and the Church’s pastoral leadership.”
Canon 812 of the Catholic Church’s canon law states, “Those who teach theological disciplines in any institutes of higher studies whatsoever must have a mandate from the competent ecclesiastical authority.”
As implemented by the U.S. bishops, a theology professor requests a “mandate” (commonly identified by the Latin mandatum) from the bishop presiding over the diocese where the theologian is employed. The professor commits, in writing, “to teach authentic Catholic doctrine and to refrain from putting forth as Catholic teaching anything contrary to the Church’s Magisterium,” according to U.S. guidelines.
But in the United States, many Catholic colleges and universities have not required theology professors to have the mandatum, or even to disclose to students and their families which professors have the bishop’s recognition. The 1990s saw vigorous opposition to the mandatum by some theologians and the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, but the controversy has since cooled down, largely because in practice the mandatum has not had much relevance to students and college leaders.
[…]
Be sure to read the rest there.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
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