Fr. Z's Blog | Formerly entitled: "What Does The Prayer Really Say?" – Clear, straight commentary on Catholic issues, liturgy and life by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf o{]:¬)

The Horan of Babylon on “Why Catholics should use preferred gender pronouns and names”

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Just when I think I’ve successfully gotten away, the Fishwrap keeps pulling me back in to its feverswamp.

This from Daniel P. Horan (aka The Horan of Babylon):

Why Catholics should use preferred gender pronouns and names

His deeply thought through piece suggests this is appropriate for Catholics because God changed the names of Abraham and Sarah, Saul became Paul, and because sometimes people call him “Dan”.

I am not making this up.

He connects resistance to such a practice to transphobia and the way the Chinese are persecuting the Uyghurs and how slave owners named their slaves.

In short, if you don’t use gender neutral pronouns, you are committing a human rights violation.

This is so wierd that you will be tempted to re-read parts just to be sure he really wrote it and then let people see it.

The Horan hints at rude behaviour by refusing to address clergy properly:

Perhaps some kind of nonviolent civil (or maybe better put, ecclesial) disobedience might help our fellow Christians — especially those in positions of leadership and authority in the church — get a taste of their own medicine and experience a small piece of the shame, disrespect and dehumanization such unethical practices place on others.

I wonder how he would react to a suggestion that Catholics should simply ignore Francis’s cruelty and multiply celebrations of the TLM?

Chad Pecknold applies some common sense.

Pope Francis has called this gender ideology “demonic,” a grave threat to the dignity of the human person, made either male or female — our “pronouns” are given by God, inscribed in our nature, not constructed by our desires. Repent and believe the good news! https://t.co/c1WH6lf3M4

— Chad Pecknold (@ccpecknold) October 13, 2021

Here is a recent “cum canibus concumbunt” tweet”:

Grateful to my friend Fr. @JamesMartinSJ for a wonderful conversation this evening about Thomas Merton, Prayer, and so much more during this evening’s “Tuesdays with Merton” webinar. Thanks to all who joined us—hope to see you for the next one on Tues Nov 9th! pic.twitter.com/xfTkSu2pqo

— Daniel P. Horan, OFM (@DanHoranOFM) October 13, 2021

It seems that The Horan is no longer at that bastion of mediocrity and equivocation Catholic Thelogical Union in Chicago and has moved to St. Mary’s in Indiana (which I, alas, had never heard of). His latest book: A White Catholic’s Guide to Racism and Privilege. Gotta run out and buy that one! If you do, please use my amazon affiliate link. Thanks in advance.

Posted in Liberals, Sin That Cries To Heaven, You must be joking! | Tagged Daniel P. Horan OFM
29 Comments

Is it just me…?

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Traditionis custodes (Francis’ Plessy)…

Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

But…

“How many errors have been made in the history of evangelization by seeking to impose a single cultural model! Uniformity as a rule of life is not Christian! Unity yes, uniformity no!” Read @Pontifex’s general audience for this week: https://t.co/oxRQnEcRaQ

— America Magazine (@americamag) October 13, 2021

Posted in The future and our choices, Traditionis custodes | Tagged hypocrisy
10 Comments

Assault on the Seal and Creeping Incrementalism

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

One of the direct assaults of Hell on the Church is the undermining by the state of the Seal of Confession.

At the Italian La Nuova Bussola, there is a report on the disaster in FRANCE over the abuse scandal which has erupted.

The summit meeting between the French Minister of the Interior and the President of the Bishops’ Conference ends with an notice: “Catholic priests must report the allegations of abuse heard in confession”. The priestly vocation is defined as a profession and therefore the secret of Confession a confessional secret. But this is not the case. It is clear that with the excuse of a still wholly ambiguous report in the cases and in the numbers, the assault on the Church has started. Who replied weakly with a statement in which he defined the position of the minister only “clumsy”.

Catholic priests in France “must report the allegations of abuse heard in confession.” This is the absolute claim of the Minister of the Interior of the French Republic to the President of the Episcopal Conference during the meeting yesterday afternoon at the Ministry of the Interior. For the Minister of the Macron government, nothing can be above the laws of the Republic, not even the command of Jesus of confessional secrecy, as the President of the Catholic Bishops had and reiterated.

There is a lot more. But it ends….

What is ‘clumsy’ in defending the confessional secret and the command of Jesus? So, will the Church of France yield to Macron’s threats and claims, after thousands of priests perished for refusing the pretensions of Robespierre?

Another sign that the Restrainer is no longer restraining?

In a while it will be illegal for priests to hear confessions without risking jail or worse.

It is a tactic to fulfill a strategy: creeping incrementalism. They bash away and move the needle one more tick in the direction they want it to go. Then they back off, having won some more people to their side. Something else happens and they bash at the bruise that they had made before. They move a few more into their camp. They do this again and again until it passing a law – or striking one down? Griswold? Obergefell, anyone? – seems the normal thing to do.

This is the track they are on.

Read this through a lens of current events: massive government and MSM pressure – pressure? – like a trash-compacting garbage truck on fire barrelling down on you – for the jab.

This pops up: network with sound Catholics and a few priests. Get things now.

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, Liberals, Si vis pacem para bellum!, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged creeping incrementalism, Seal of confession
18 Comments

Daily Rome Shot 302

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Photo by The Great Roman™

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged Rome Shot
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From the dadaist dreamworld of the Fishwrap

Posted on 13 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the dadaist dreamworld of the Fishwrap (aka National Schismatic Reporter) comes these two skubala… sorry, scoops. (Same thing depending on context.)

First, get your mind around this piece – from March so it is exactly a scoop in the sense of it being hot, at least in the journalistic sense – recently trotted out again in the tweetosphere by a troubled soul with a real gift for hate:

Petition calls for Archbishop Naumann’s removal as bishops’ pro-life chair

by Christopher White

More than 20,000 individuals have signed a petition calling for Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City, Kansas, to be removed from his post as chairman of the U.S. bishops’ pro-life committee following a series of comments signaling hostility towards President Joe Biden over his position on abortion.

[…]

You can stop reading right there. The rest is silly. And twisted. Don’t forget twisted.

So, Naumann shouldn’t be on the bishops’ “pro-life” committee because he doesn’t like a manifestly bad catholic politician’s open pro-abortion stance and years of work to promote abortion and even to prop up Big Business Abortion.

That’s why Naumann should not be on the pro-life commitee.

Interesting exericse… at Fishwrap in their search box, type in Naumann and scan the titles.

What Naumann said in that March interview:

CWR: Mr. Biden professes to be a devout Catholic, yet is 100% pro-choice on abortion. How do you think America’s bishops ought to respond to this situation?

Archbishop Naumann: I can tell you how this bishop is responding. The president should stop defining himself as a devout Catholic, and acknowledge that his view on abortion is contrary to Catholic moral teaching. It would be a more honest approach from him to say he disagreed with his Church on this important issue and that he was acting contrary to Church teaching.

When he says he is a devout Catholic, we bishops have the responsibility to correct him. Although people have given this president power and authority, he cannot define what it is to be a Catholic and what Catholic moral teaching is.

What he is doing now is usurping the role of the bishops and confusing people. He’s declaring that he’s Catholic, and is going to force people to support abortion through their tax dollars. The bishops need to correct him, as the president is acting contrary to the Catholic faith.

Speaking of usurping the role of bishops…. you can almost hear the Fishwrappers laughing around the water cooler: “And then Naumann walked right into it… practially gave us the bat to beat him with… HA HA! Too much. Who can write this up really fast?”

Moving backward and downward…

From the Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese… I am not making this up… this is not the Babylon Bee VATICAN EDITION… it is a real headline in the Fishwrap:

Pope should send Greta Thunberg to COP26 in his place

One is tempted to wonder just how far from reality the catholic Left has drifted.

We know that they can always drift farther.

COP26 is, I guess, a confab in Scotland about the evils of human beings who breathe air, thus harming the environment. And probably cows. Don’t forget them.

Francis was supposed to go and now he isn’t going.

Reese’s mighty peroration. Feel the zeal.

[…]

I have a suggestion: Give Greta the pope’s chair at the meeting. Make her part of the Vatican delegation to COP26 with full diplomatic credentials so she can go anywhere, attend any meeting and speak out for the children of the world.

Let Parolin be the diplomat; let Greta be Greta.

Enough “blah, blah, blah.” The children of the world demand action that protects their futures. That means fulfilling the commitments made at Paris for reducing carbon emissions and helping poorer countries in the transition to a green economy.

[…]

You know… I’m starting to come around to this idea. It could be just about right. They are sort of, to use the word loosely, co-religionists in the matter of human-caused climate change.

Send her with one of the Pachamama demon idols allegedly rescued from the Tiber after their inglorious dive. She could do photos with it at the conference like some people do with “travel toys”. That’s a real thing. They have a little figurine and pose it in travel photos: teddy bears and little gnomes and miniature Star Wars figures. I once saw a little cactus with a French beret at Versailles.

Glaswegian Pachamama.

Where’s the great “Vincenzo” when you need him?

Posted in Liberals, You must be joking! | Tagged Archbp. Naumann, Fishwrap, Vincenzo
4 Comments

Pelosi and Francis – observations

Posted on 12 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

My friend Fr. Gerald Murray was on Spicer & Co. (Newsmax) talking about the recent meeting of the “self-serving, hypocritical” Nancy Pelosi with Francis.

HERE start at about minute 17:00

And take in the bizzare video of the awkward, “self-serving, hypocritical” handshake with Francis. Clearly she clutched his hand with her claw, wouldn’t let go, and made sure there were photos. If she had been Chinese…

Sorry about the dreadful source…

EARLIER: Pope Francis welcomes Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in the Vatican pic.twitter.com/gP9VVCY2PQ

— The Hill (@thehill) October 9, 2021

Posted in Emanations from Penumbras, You must be joking! | Tagged Nancy Pelosi
19 Comments

FIUV’s magazine: Gregorius Magnus 12, Winter 2021

Posted on 12 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

The newest edition of Una Voce’s biannual magazine is available HERE.

In this edition:

Reactions to Traditionis Custodes

From members’ magazines: Peter Kwasniewski on proclaiming the Gospel to the north; Pope Francis and Dante; Remembering Mgr Richard Soseman; Cardinal Merry del Val.

Features: J.R.R.Tolkien by Robert Lazu Kmita; Traditional walking pilgrimage in Spain.

50th Anniversary of the English Indult; Petitions from 1966 to 1997.

I am glad they have remembered my good friend Msgr Richard Soseman.

Also, I am sure we are all interested in Dante even if we are not terribly interested in what Francis (rather, Francis’ ghost writer) think’s about Dante.

There is a very interesting article about the post-Novus Ordo (seemingly unnecessary) “indults” for the Vetus Ordo.

ALSO…. be sure to taken in Joseph Shaw’s (Chairman of the LMS) piece at One Peter Five which is a buttal to Massimo’s “Beans” Faggioli utterly vicious suggestion that people who desire traditional sacred worship are racists. Peter goes into the provenance of the Vetus Ordo in a dense, informative essay. HERE

What Beans told a writer for a newspaper in Illinois in a dreadfully slimey piece:

While many attending Latin Masses grew up Catholic, others are converts to Catholicism, mainly from conservative Protestant denominations, professor Faggioli said.

“It’s as if they are saying, ‘If I’m going to be Catholic, let’s go all of the way,'” he said. “They have a view of the Catholic church that tends to be closer to the 1950s version of Catholicism. They have a problem dealing with modernity. What took place after the 1960s and ’70s in this country were massive changes: contraception, abortion, LGBT issues. Latin is a statement of what they think of the Catholic Church now,” he said.

“It’s not an accident that all of these Catholics at the old Mass are white, because one of the things that happened after Vatican II was an ‘inculturation’ of the liturgy,” Faggioli noted, referring to music and art from various ethnic and racial groups that have been incorporated into church services to better reach the communities they serve.

“The Latin Mass is white and European by its definition, because it’s a product of the Catholic Church of the 16th century. So, this is creating serious problems because it is never limited to the liturgy only, but it is always the first step to saying Vatican II was a disaster,” he said.

Although Sacred Heart is in the middle of a predominantly African American neighborhood, on a recent Sunday, no Black faces were seen in the sanctuary.

What a fraud.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Save The Liturgy - Save The World, The Campus Telephone Pole | Tagged Una Voce
16 Comments

12 October: Our Lady of the Pillar

Posted on 12 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

On this Feast of Our Lady of Pillar, please ask the Queen of Heaven to intercede with her Son for a special intervention in the Church regarding her ordained pastors, from the lowliest to the loftiest.

The apparition of Mary to St James who was in Spain in AD 40 is considered the first apparition of our Blessed Mother and an instance of bilocation, for she would probably have been still living in the Holy Land.

Our Lady of the Pillar on a monument to Christopher Columbus in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid.

Posted in Our Solitary Boast | Tagged Our Lady of the Pillar
1 Comment

What is your good news?

Posted on 11 October 2021 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

We’ve had so much bad news lately. How about some good news?

It has been some time since I’ve inquired.

What is your good news?

For my part, sadly, I am not in Rome. However, I have a wood working project well under way, my Hungarian progresses, I’ve met some exceptional lay people recently, and I at last defeated the gremlins that interfered with a side-view webcam in the chapel. Brick by brick.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
27 Comments