Amy Sullivan about V.P. Biden’s papal audience

Posted on 16 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Time Magazine has a section online named “Swampland”, which seems appropriate for pretty much the whole publication.

Here is some “insight” from one Amy Sullivan, who has alas received our attention before, here.

Joe Biden’s Secret Meeting with the Pope
By Amy Sullivan Thursday, June 16, 2011 | 11 Comments

Late last week, the White House released a photo of Vice President Joe Biden meeting with Pope Benedict during a recent trip to Italy. The meeting, which was unannounced and appeared on neither man’s official schedule, took Vatican watchers by surprise. But many were even more thrown by the Vatican’s silence about the papal audience. [Note the terms used.  A “meeting” is a sort of “audience”, but “meeting” seems as if it were organized, purposeful, with an agenda other than merely the chance to see the Pope.]

Biden is the first Catholic vice president and the highest-ranking Catholic in the U.S. government. [Well… yes, he is next in the line of succession.  But, does that make him the “highest ranking”?  I may be wrong, but it seems to me that the Speaker of the House, though third in line in succession, has more power and influence.  Am I wrong?] When then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (also Catholic) [welllll…] met with Pope Benedict in February 2009, the Vatican seemed to go out of its way to emphasize the fact that Pelosi received a papal lecture about her support for abortion rights. A statement released after the meeting said that the Pope “briefly greeted” Pelosi, [Which is probably what happened with V.P. Biden.] and then “His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death.” [That’s what Pope’s do… and she was lucky to receive it.]

[Get this…] The Vice President supports abortion rights as well, although unlike Pelosi he has also said he accepts church teaching that life begins at conception. [Isn’t that really worse?] And yet, in what Catholic News Service called “an unusual move,” the Vatican did not comment on Biden’s papal audience. [Probably because the meet and greet didn’t mean anything.] The only official mention of the meeting was a one-sentence summary in the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano reporting after the fact that the audience took place. [Because that is how these audiences are reported.]

Biden’s conservative critics [Rather… Catholic critics…?] will be disappointed that the Pope did not choose to publicly remind Biden of the church’s opposition to abortion. [Or… it is a sign of how little influence he is considered to have?] During the 2008 campaign, several U.S. Catholic leaders, including Archbishop Charles Chaput in Denver, criticized Biden’s position on abortion and said he should refrain from taking communion. The Pope himself wrote a memo to U.S. bishops in 2004 (as then-Cardinal Ratzinger) supporting the practice of denying communion to Catholic politicians who consistently vote in support of abortion rights. [And V.P. Biden affirms that human life begins at conception.]

No one is saying why the Pope chose not to make an example out of Biden on the occasion of their meeting. But the Vice President is no doubt offering a few prayers of thanks for that silence.  [I wonder.]

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TRADITIONAL KNIGHTS UNITE!

Posted on 16 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I had a note from a good friend, and very active Knight, who is trying to put together an initiative for traditionally-minded Knights of Columbus.

He pointed out that over the last year several posts here announced Masses in the Extraordinary Form sponsored by Knights of Columbus Councils.

For example, in March there was the Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation sponsored by the Harvard Knights in Cambridge.  There were also Masses for the First Friday All-Night Vigil sponsored by the Agnus Dei and Regina Coeli Knights in Manhattan.  Also, for the Feast of the Annunciation/Incarnation a year ago also in Manhattan.

I am a Knight myself, though I haven’t been very active as a Knight for some time.  I am happy to see the Knights supporting the liturgical renewal Pope Benedict XVI has been trying to initiate, especially through the provisions of Summorum Pontificum.  If we want to have a renewal of the life of the Church, we must first renew our liturgical worship.  That renewal must include use of the provisions of Summorum Pontificum, which were intended for all the faithful (Universae Ecclesiae 8).

But, this got me wondering … how many Councils of the Knights of Columbus are involved in supporting celebrations of Mass in the extraordinary form?

Are any of these councils in touch with each other?

My guess is that they are not networked

So, having had conversation with a friend who is a Knight, and who is interested in carrying forward an initiative to get different Councils talking to each other, if you know of or are involved with a Knights of Columbus Council that supports or sponsors Mass in the extraordinary form, you might send your contact information to this e-mail address tradknight {at] gmail DOT com which my friend set up to put these councils into contact with each other.

Perhaps a first project could be to set up a meeting of members of traditional Councils and organize, say, a Pontifical Mass.

Just thinking out aloud.

UPDATE:

So far there is a good response.

Be sure to write to the email address I indicated above.  I am not creating a link, so as to avoid spammers sending to that address.

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The Not-So-Incredible Hulks

Posted on 16 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today in the 2005 Martyrologium Romanum there is the following entry:

11*. Ad ancoram in salo ante portum Rupifortii in Gallia, beati Antonii Constantis Auriel, presbyteri et martyris, qui, vicarius paroecialis Cadurcensis, temporibus gallicae perturbationis propter sacerdotium in squalida navi inclusus, mox morbo correptus in concaptivis adiuvandis spiritum reddidit.

You readers can work on the a perfect English version.

Rupifortium (ad litus Galliae), from Latin rupes (“rock”, French roche) and fortis (“strong” French fort) is none other than the coastal city of Rochefort, 18 miles south of La Rochelle in France on the right bank of the Charante, 6 miles east of the Bay of Biscay.

In the meantime, have you ever heard about the prison hulks?  The old ships used to incarcerate priests and religious during the French Revolution?

This episode in human history is an example of some of the very worst treatment of man by man.

The Martyrs of Rochefort were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995.

These blesseds are called the “les martyrs des pontons de Rochefort… martyrs of the ‘hulks’ of Rochefort” because, condemned to deportation, they were held in old ships used as prisons (pontons): the Washington, La Décade, La Vaillante, La Bayonnaise, Les Deux-Associés, and Bonhomme Richard.

827 priests and religious refused to swear the oath of the Civil Constitution of the Clergy of 12 July 1790, by which the Assembly attempted to reorganize the Church according to the model of the state.  By this instrument the state confiscated Church property and effectively forced clergy to commit a formal act of apostasy.

Of the 827 held in the “hulks” from 11 April 1794 to 7 February 1795, 542 died enduring horrific suffering for their faith, martyrs of the “Revolution”.  Some of the 285 survivors left written testimonies about the heroic examples of their martyred companions.

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WDTPRS Pentecost Thursday – footware and flight from the world

Posted on 16 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

St. AmbroseBack in 2008 I made some PODCAzTs for each day of the Octave of Pentecost.   For Pentecost Thursday you can go here.

The Gospel for Mass is from Luke 9:1-6:

At that time, having summoned the twelve apostles, Jesus gave them power and authority over all the devils, and to cure diseases. And He sent them forth to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. And he said to them, Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor wallet, nor bread, nor money; neither have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and do not receive you – go forth from that town, and shake off even the dust from your feet for a witness against them. And going forth, they went about from village to village, preaching the gospel and working cures everywhere.

You see variations in the parallel Gospel passages.  In Matthew 10:9-10 the Lord says: “Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses: Nor scrip for your journey, nor two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat.”  Mark 6:8-9 says: “And he commanded them that they should take nothing for the way, but a staff only; no scrip, no bread, nor money in their purse, But to be shod with sandals, and that they should not put on two coats.”

St. Ambrose of Milan (+397) referred to this pericope in De fuga saeculi (Concerning flight from the world) 5, 25.   The Lord sends the Apostles out without sandals.  Ambrose uses the sandals, of course, to explain something else.

At this moment in De fuga saeculi, Ambrose is talking about how the things and goods of this world are nothing, they are vain.  We should pass them by and learn how to discern the things of Christ.  But it is very difficult to “see” the nothingness of the world and the things that are God’s.  The devil could not see who Christ was.

This is a great vision.  But if you wish to see it, remove the sandals from your feet. (Exodus 3:5)  Remove every chain of sin.  Remove the chains of the world.  Leave behind earthly sandals.  Jesus sent the apostles without sandals, without money, gold and silver, (Cf. Mark 6.8-9 – where the Apostles are told to retain their sandals; Matt 10.9-10; Luke 9.3) so that they would not carry earthly things with them.  The one who seeks to do good is praised not for his sandals but for the swiftness and grace of his feet.  The Scripture says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, of those who bring glad tidings of good things!” (Is 52:7; Rom 10:15) Therefore remove the sandals from your feet, that they may be beautiful for preaching the Gospel. “Remove” (Exod. 3.5), the text says, not “bind.”  “Remove,” so that you may pass by and may find that the unholy man whom you admired on earth is nothing and can be nothing,  Pass by, therefore, that is, flee from earth, where there is evil and where there is avarice.  Likewise, David says to you, “Turn away from evil and do good” (Ps 33 (34).15) To turn away is assuredly to flee; moreover, evil is on earth and good is in heaven.  For this reason also he continues, “Seek after peace and pursue it” (Ibid.)  Peace is in heaven.  Indeed, He who came from heaven said, “Peace I give to you, my peace I leave to you” (John 14:27)  And so, because we are to flee and turn away from evils, whereas evils are on earth and iniquities are on earth, let us flee from earthly things, so that iniquities may not overtake us, for they overtook even holy David, just as he himself bears witness, saying, “My iniquities have overtaken me, and I was not able to see” (Ps 39 (40).13)  For the eye of the soul is blinded by the smoke of iniquity, so that it does not see things that are clear.  Thus indeed Laban was unable to see Jacob’s goods (Cf. Gen. 31.33-35), and the prince of the world could not see the glory of Christ (cf. John 12:31).

Though we have to work with and care for the things of this world, all created things – though good – can attract us away from God.  We have to be in the world but not of it, not too weighted down in our feet, as it were, which are supposed to allow us to fly forward toward the ultimate goal of heaven.

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Bruins win!

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I’ve been a Bruins fan for a long time.

Just to give this little hockey sweater some scale… my shoes.

And I don’t have particularly large shoes.

20110615-095955.jpg

This little wool sweater would have shrunk a little, I think, but nevertheless I have been a Bruins fan for a long time.

Kudos for their first Stanley Cup in a long time.

UPDATE 16 June:

Over at CatholicVote, Tom Hoopes has an excellent reaction to the reaction in Vancouver.

“The World is trying to experiment with attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide.”

— T.S. Eliot

The Eliot quote is from his essay “Thoughts After Lambeth” (1931).

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Requests to the readership and thanks

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

First, may I ask you to pray for the repose of the soul of a priest friend of mine, who died yesterday.  I am grateful to those of you who remembered my intention in the novena leading up to Pentecost.

Please say a prayer for Fr. Richard Hogan, of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  He was pastor of St. Raphael’s in Crystal, MN.  Fr. Hogan was the co-author of a book on John Paul II’s theology of the body, together with now Bishop John LeVoir of New Ulm.  Fr. Hogan was the nephew of the late Msgr. Richard Schuler.

Thanks in advance.

Also, I ask a prayer, in a rather intense way actually, for a particular important personal intention.

Moreover, I extend thanks to those of you who have recently sent donations.   It is an honor and privilege to pray for benefactors.  I remember you at Mass.  I have recently added the follow people to me list for the next time I say Mass for the intention of those who have been benefactors.

CB, MR, MR, PT, JLR,
CF, JJ, MPP, CO, SS,
HE, DLT, MJC, WV, JF,
DI, AR, VU, MG, PB,
MR, NS, JB, MK, JW,
JP, DD, JJS, JR, SdS,
WH, NM

Thank you.

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USCCB meeting

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I have been watching on a live stream something of the USCCB meeting going on in Seattle right now.

This morning, there was a presentation about a document being prepared on the importance of preaching.

I still find it odd to see a few friends of mine who are now bishops. I am glad they are bishops, though I am sorry for them.

You would do well to say a prayer for the bishops as they are meeting.

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Roman hats

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

It is nice to see that the Holy Father is still using his red, straw “saturno”, or “cappello romano”.

This is from the Wednesday Audience today.

Posted in Just Too Cool | Tagged , ,
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POLL ALERT! Same-sex marriage in NY State. Influence of the Catholic Church, Archbp. Dolan.

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

ACTION ITEM!  READERS! BLOGGERS!

POLL ALERT!

In the Metropolis section of the WSJ there is a piece about the legalization of same-sex “marriage”.  Archbishop Dolan of New York is featured in the article.  There is a POLL about the legalization of same-sex marriage.

June 14, 2011, 12:34 PM ET

As Gay Marriage Gains Ground, Archbishop’s Influence Is Tested

By Jacob Gershman

Therese and Joel for The Wall Street Journal

Archbishop Timothy Dolan

With the refrain of “Please not here!,” New York Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan beseeched state lawmakers to block gay marriage from becoming legal in New York. [BTW… I object to the twisting of the word “gay”. I hate the destructive misuse of that word.]

“The stampede is on,” Dolan wrote Tuesday on his official blog. “Our elected senators who have stood courageous in their refusal to capitulate on the state’s presumption to redefine marriage are reporting unrelenting pressure to cave-in.”

The archbishop has written about gay marriage in the past. In a post last month, for instance, he wrote that advocates for gay marriage were engaging ”in some Orwellian social engineering about the nature and purpose of marriage.” He has also compared the legislation to radical attempts of social engineering seen in China and North Korea. But the tone of his latest post was more urgent.

Catholic officials have asked Dolan to make personal calls to Republican lawmakers. Momentum appears to have shifted behind passage of same-sex marriage legislation before the legislative session ends on June 20. Four lawmakers who voted against gay marriage two years ago, including one Republican, declared on Monday that they would now vote in favor of allowing gays to wed.

That means the odds are long for the Roman Catholic Church in its bid to prevent gay marriage from becoming legal in New York. [This is really a reversal of the issue.  The Catholic Church is trying to defend true marriage and is doing so for the good of all society.] The next few days will be an interesting test of Dolan’s influence. It probably doesn’t help that the archbishop is 3,000 miles away, leading a bishop conference in Seattle.

Some of you readers are a lot farther away.  But you can vote in the poll at the bottom of the page where this article appears.

The Poll looks like this.  I voted “No”.  You, of course, will vote in any way that pleases you to vote.

And at the time of this writing here are the results.

As you can see, this poll needs some additional votes.

UPDATE 20:14 GMT:

There has been some improvement, but more attention is needed!

UPDATE 22:16 GMT:

Keep it going!

UPDATE 16 June 13:15 GMT:

Get the word out!

Posted in Biased Media Coverage, One Man & One Woman, POLLS, The future and our choices | Tagged , , ,
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Request to readers: churches closing, moving church buildings

Posted on 15 June 2011 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I remember reading a story about the moving of a large church building in the USA, from the north to the south.  I can’t remember the details, but I am sure one of you will.

Let’s imagine together for a bit, rather than closing and selling large church buildings, allowing them perhaps after a couple sales to wind up in the hands of schismatic or heretical sects, or perhaps being turned into nightclubs, etc., uprooting a grand church and transplanting it somewhere else.

But in order to entertain such an idea, we would have to know where the churches are, churches that are closed.

I was just in Detroit.  While in the car, we passed by more than one huge and closed church.  Very sad.

There are beautiful churches being closed.  Rather than build something new, at huge expense, could an old church be moved?

So… question for you.

Have any candidates?  Any big beautiful closed churches?

Discuss.

Posted in I'm just askin'... | Tagged
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