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{]:¬)

ASK FATHER: Liturgy director tries to forbid altar boys from wearing cassock and surplice.

Posted on 10 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Our diocesan liturgical director is trying to prevent parishes from having altar servers wear cassocks and surplices, claiming they’re “clerical garb,” so lay people can’t wear them. Is his claim legitimate? Is there any official statement to which I can point that says altar boys can wear cassock and surplices?

Ahhh, the diocesan liturgical director inveighing against the use of cassock and surplice. There have definitely been a surplus of this sort of partially-educated tyrant.

Traditionally, the cassock has indeed been indeed “clerical garb.” Which is precisely why attendants of the priest celebrating Mass would wear a cassock. Attendants were considered, ceremonially, to be a certain extension of the person to whom they attended. Think of a squire wearing the colors of his knight, or a page wearing a tabard emblazoned with his lord’s coat of arms. The surplice is a “mini” version of the alb, which harks to the baptismal garment, the garment that most diocesan liturgist-types want servers to wear.

Altar boys have, for several centuries, dressed like mini-priests, if you will, as they attend to Father during the celebration of the Holy Mass. The argument that they shouldn’t do so is a new one, and it is pretty weak. No sane person will confuse little Derek and Ryan, aged 10, for priests, nor will they accidentally make a confession to mop-topped little Billy, because they were somehow confused by seeing him in cassock and surplice.

Bishops (bishops, not liturgy directors) can make diocesan law to govern precisely what altar servers wear (though this would be a petty use of their legiferous authority).

A diocese so nit-picky as to determine precisely what altar boys are wearing is a diocese in which all liturgical abuse has – no doubt – been eliminated, in which Gregorian chant and Latin are being given pride of place in the Mass (as Vatican II called for), and the faithful are so enthused about their faith that seminarians and religious vocations are plentiful.

UPDATE:

Speaking of cassocks, a reader sent this…

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged altar boys, cassock, surplice
17 Comments

The press takes sides before the Synod starts

Posted on 10 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

As Rome wakes up from the summer break, the war for the Synod has begun. Those who wish changes to Catholic doctrine have allies in the Catholic media and the mainstream media.

You should be aware of what is going on, to motivate you in holy anger and concern. In the letter to the Galatians heard on Sunday in the Extraordinary Form we hear Paul exhort Christians to use meekness in correction of others. Meekness is the mean between the extremes of unreasonable anger and not getting angry when you should.

I want you to be a little angry with a holy anger so that you will be motivated to pray and to fast, to bear the self-denial and to be focused. You also need to overcome the case of Synod Fatigue that is sure to set in pretty soon, if you don’t suffer from it already.

Read the following, closely… don’t just scan. Read.

First, WaPo is weighing in, identifying the “bad guys” who stand against “reform”. HERE Pictures are worth a thousand words. Here is how they start out.

Conservative dissent is brewing inside the Vatican [Conservatives are the dissenters now, even though they uphold Catholic doctrine.]

VATICAN CITY — On a sunny morning earlier this year, a camera crew entered a well-appointed apartment [not “humble” like some apartments!] just outside the 9th-century gates of Vatican City. Pristinely dressed [what the hell does that mean?] in the black robes and scarlet sash of the princes of the Roman Catholic Church, the Wisconsin-born Cardinal Raymond Burke sat in his elaborately upholstered armchair [not “humble” like some armchairs] and appeared to issue a warning to Pope Francis.

A staunch conservative and Vatican bureaucrat, [bureaucrats are mean] Burke had been demoted by the pope a few months earlier, but it did not take the fight out of him. Francis had been backing a more inclusive era, giving space to progressive voices on divorced Catholics as well as gays and lesbians. [He is also the first Pope who has ever smiled or kissed a baby!] In front of the camera, Burke said he would “resist” liberal changes — and seemed to caution Francis about the limits of his authority. “One must be very attentive regarding the power of the pope,” Burke told the French news crew.

Papal power, Burke warned, “is not absolute.” He added, “The pope does not have the power to change teaching [or] doctrine.”

Burke’s words belied a growing sense of alarm among strict conservatives, [not just conservatives… but strict conservatives… they are really mean meanies] exposing what is fast emerging as a culture war [culture warriors are super mean meanies who hate the poor… and gays… and hate kittens and music and flowers and sunlight… like orcs] over Francis’s papacy and the powerful hierarchy that governs the Roman Catholic Church.

[…]

It goes on to show photos of “Pope Francis: Acts of humility”. No…. their not taking sides.

Check out Breitbart on the WaPo piece. It concludes:

The next time the Washington Post is looking for a writer to report on the Catholic Church, maybe they should ask Dan Brown if he’s free. At least he admits that he writes fiction.

Next, read this piece by Sandro Magister about what is going on with the Jesuit run Civiltà Cattolica, which has a quasi-official status due to its oversight by the Secretariat of State. These days it is also said that a Jesuit close to Pope Francis is deeply involved with it. HERE

You may weep as you read it.

“La Civiltà Cattolica” Has a New Headquarters. At Santa Marta

ROME, September 8, 2015 – “La Civiltà Cattolica” is not just any magazine. Written exclusively by Jesuits, its proofs always undergo inspection by the Vatican authorities before publication. With Pius XII, it was the pope himself who exercised this supervision and inspired some of the articles. John XXIII left the job to the secretariat of state, and so did his successors.

But with Francis the connection between the pope and the magazine is once again a direct one. The current director of “La Civiltà Cattolica,” Fr. Antonio Spadaro, has a very close and confidential relationship with Jorge Mario Bergoglio, to the point of having become the prince of his interviewers and interpreters. [Don’t freak out. It is a common practice in Italian journalism to use the baptismal names of Popes.]

Everything that this magazine writes about the synod on the family, therefore, tends to be traced back to him, to Francis.

And in effect, all of the articles published so far on this matter lean in a more or less pronounced form toward supporting that “process” of updating the pastoral care of marriage under the banner of “mercy” which turns out to be the real intention of the pope and which for many – including some writers of “La Civiltà Cattolica” – should be concretized in the admission of the divorced and remarried to communion and in the blessing of homosexual unions.

The latest issue of the magazine and a book it is about to publish are the umpteenth proof of this orientation.

*

In “La Civiltà Cattolica” of September 12, 2015 there are two articles dedicated to the subject of the synod.

[…]

It’s hard to know what Pope Francis wants, but it is pretty clear what some people around Francis wants.

Moreover, the New Yorker has weighed in to smear Andrea Gagliarducci.

And USNews & World Report has, with AP, weighed in to smear Ed Peters.

You may all need to stock up on Scotch before this is over.

Meanwhile, I suggest, instead of Scotch, some fasting and lots of prayer before the Synod starts. Pray a lot. Make it a constant and disciplined intention. Use the Most Holy Rosary. Ask others to pray and to fast.

For the love of God, invite an army to pray.

Posted in Lighter fare, One Man & One Woman, Sin That Cries To Heaven, Synod, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged mainstream media, meekness, MSM, Synod of Bishops
13 Comments

NOTE TO READERS: Registration, Comments, getting LOCKED OUT

Posted on 10 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Even as you read, right now, this blog is under siege by vile spammers trying to register to post their putrid slime.

I have logs that show me what’s going on.

I ratcheted up the drawbridge and released the gators into the moat. Oil is on the boil.

To comment here, you have to be registered and your registration must be approved.

Registrations go into a queue, which I check when I can. I’m not always near my computer. Be patient.

You don’t have to register simply to lurk (i.e., read without posting comments).

If you register to comment, pay attention to that field where I ask information about you. You don’t have to provide a biography, address or blood type. Just write something that will show me that you aren’t either a bot or a nefarious ne’erdowell. Your confirmation name is a good one, favorite encyclical, a brief explanation of circumincession… that sort of thing… easy stuff.

NB: The defense software is set to DEFCON 2 (hint: high). Therefore, be careful how you log in. The log keeps track of the number of failed attempts. After a few failed attempts, you get locked out. Also, if you log in from multiple devices, you might be mistaken for a vile spammer and you will be consigned to Lockout Limbo™.

Drop me a note if you get yourself locked out. I will try to fix it. SEND YOUR IP ADDRESS. Click HERE and then bookmark it or jot down my email and squirrel it away.

I’m sorry if you are getting caught in the security here, but I don’t know another way to keep out the creeps. So, please, be a little careful when logging in.

Finally, ask whatever Guardian Angels assigned to help us out here.

I direct you once again to my Litany For The Conversion Of Internet Thugs (a wry work in progress):

It’s summer. Start thinking about ICED coffee.

Are you thinking about ICED coffee yet?

How about now?

Litany for the conversion of internet thugs (2.0)
(For private use only, when truly irritated, and when the alternative is foul language.)

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God, the Son, Redeemer of the World, have mercy on us.
God, the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

Lest internet thugs be eternally tormented by all the fiends of hell, convert them, O Lord.
Lest they pass eternity in utter despair, convert them, O Lord.
Lest they come to be damned for the harm they cause, convert them, O Lord.
Lest they roast forever in the deepest cinders of hell, convert them, O Lord.
Lest they suffer the unceasing pain of loss, convert them, O Lord.

Lest devils endlessly increase their physical agony, convert them, O Lord.
Lest devils twist their bowels and boil their blood in hell, convert them, O Lord.
Lest devils use them as toys and tools, convert them, O Lord.
Lest devils forever gnaw upon their skulls, convert them, O Lord.

Lest the innocent be harmed by the sins of thugs, convert them, O Lord.
Lest the innocent yield to thugs in weakness, convert them, O Lord.
Lest the innocent be drawn into thuggish traps, convert them, O Lord.

From faceless Facebook admin drones, spare us O Lord.
From tweeting Twitter idiots, spare us O Lord.
From loony Wikipedia liars, spare us O Lord.
From from heart-hardened spammers, spare us O Lord.
From liberal nut-case smear-blogging hacks, spare us O Lord.
From thread-dominating combox trolls, spare us, O Lord.
From sophomoric drive-by commentators, spare us, O Lord.

From server memory resource difficulties, spare us O Lord.
From rss feed problems, spare us O Lord.
From DOS attacks, spare us O Lord.
From power outages and surges, spare us O Lord.
From viruses, trojan horses, and all manner of snares, Lord save us.
From wasting our time, Lord save us.
From our own stupidity, Lord save us.

St. Michael, defend us.
St. Gabriel, defend us.
Holy Guardian Angels, defend us.
St. Isidore of Seville, defend us.
St. Francis de Sales, defend us.
St. Maximilian Kolbe, defend us.
All ye angels and saints….. GRRRRR.

Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord,
Lamb of God who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

V. Christ, Jesus who died for our sins.
R. Please return, and return swiftly.

Let us pray.

Almighty and merciful God, who according to Thy ineffable plan hast called us into existence to do Thy will amid the vicissitudes and contagion of this world grant, we beseech Thee, both protection for Thy servants who use the tools of this digital age and confusion for evil-doers who abuse their neighbors and Thy gifts.

Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, Si vis pacem para bellum! |
1 Comment

A bit of wry humor

Posted on 9 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Sometimes you have to search for your sense of humor when things aren’t going as smoothly as we would prefer. We aren’t liberals, after all, and this isn’t the Fishwrap.

I saw this at the often amusing Eye of the Tiber:

The Vatican announced today that it’s making faster, easier annulments an option via its brand new delivery system, Annulment Prime.

The news confirms reports that surfaced last week indicating that the Vatican was staffing up a new “separation division” to compete with services offered by its protestant competitors.

The service will give Annulment Prime members faster annulment options at a fraction of the cost. As an introductory offer, members who sign up to Annulment Prime in the next two days will receive a 30-day free trial. Members will also have access to annulment paperwork order-tracking, as well as the option to track the priest working on his or her case in real-time.

The Vatican says that “customers” will see their annulments finalized and delivered within a day or less with no additional charges or delivery fees.

In other news, my Roman correspondents have seen these new nullity declaration dispensers being installed in Italian churches and chanceries.

Yes, the moderation queue is definitely ON.

Okay, back to being serious, everyone.

Posted in Lighter fare |
25 Comments

Canonist Ed Peters on the changes to law for marriage nullity procedures

Posted on 9 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

You will want to have at least a glance at largifical canonist Ed Peters take on the changes to Canon Law for the Latin and the Eastern Churches concerning the procedure for handling marriage cases which were announced yesterday.

A first look at Mitis Iudex

He points out the changes, major and minor.

And

A second look at Mitis, especially at the new fast-track annulment process

Toward the end of that post he writes:

Looking ahead

At the pope’s request, a tiny group of experts, most from just one country, developed these new canons and explanations in a very short time. I find, however, the implications of some of these norms for marriage law in general, and for diocesan bishops in particular, stunning, and I join Dr. Kurt Martens of CUA in wondering how bishops must feel at having such significant burdens thrust on them just in time for Christmas with, as far as one can see, virtually no prior consultation. I expressly cautioned against this approach last year and sound that claxon again. Assuming, in any event, that I have read the new norms correctly, and assuming that there are no easy resolutions to my concerns, what might one suggest?

First, and most importantly, the vacatio legis (a delay period before new laws go into effect per Canon 8) indicated for Mitis should be extended from this December until well into next year at the very least. If, as some assert, Francis’ annulment reforms are the most significant in the last three hundred years, a considerably longer period than three months is needed to prepare for them. If necessary, a request for an extension could be proposed by the upcoming Synod of Bishops.

Second, a much wider consultation about annulment reform should be conducted, a consultation that would involve, at a minimum, manyidentified diocesan bishops (identified precisely so observers could forward remarks to them) and canonists from several countries, especially from countries with extensive tribunal operational experience.

I repeat, some aspects of Mitis are sound. The elimination of mandatory appeal, for example, can be put into effect with minimal delay. But other aspects of Mitis, especially the fast-track annulment option, need, I suggest, considerably more study. I only hope sufficient time is accorded the wider Church to make such studies feasible.

Posted in Francis, One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged annulm, canon law, Ed Peters, marriage, nullity
21 Comments

Card. Burke’s address at Steubenville about the marriage and the Synod

Posted on 8 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

At Steubenville, His Eminence Raymond Card. Burke gave an address tonight (Tuesday 8 Sept) which you all will want to watch or listen to. He and other speakers talk about the working document, the Instrumentum Laboris for the upcoming Synod of Bishops.

Skip to about 10:00 for the presenter.

Skip to 18:00 for Card. Burke

Skip to 1:22:00 for the panelists reading abstracts from their papers. Peter Kwasniewski has a good one!

Skip to 1:45:00 for the Q&A period (the first rambles a bit but it gets on track after)

BONUS VIDEO:

My friend Fr. Murray on FNC this morning with Bill Hemmer. HERE

Posted in One Man & One Woman, Our Catholic Identity, Synod, The Coming Storm, The Drill, The future and our choices | Tagged Card. Burke, Instrumentum Laboris 2015, Synod of Bishops
13 Comments

Pope Francis has changed canon law procedures for “annulments”

Posted on 8 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Today we received the texts of the two Letters Motu Proprio from His Holiness Pope Francis which change the Codes of Canon Law concerning the procedures for declarations of nullity for both the Latin and the Eastern Church. The texts are in Latin and Italian only right now.

Remember, we put “annulments” in “…”, because the Church doesn’t annul. The Church determines, with moral certainty (we hope and pray) that there wasn’t a marriage bond, that it was always null. So, properly, we talk about declarations of nullity, not “annulments”, though in shorthand and common parlance we resort to the inaccurate term.

After reading through the new rules and after reading the interventions of the presenters at the presser this morning, and after talking with two trusted canonists by phone and after reading a few reactions online, I have to take seriously the summation point made by the canonist Kurt Martens, professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of America. He was cited in today’s WaPo.

Martens said that essentially the Church is providing a path that looks like the Catholic version of no-fault divorce.

In a nutshell, it is now possible to reduce the number of full judges in a tribunal to one cleric with the assistance of some lay people, who can now be in the majority. Diocesan bishops are encouraged by the new procedures to look at cases themselves (which would mean that – in their copious free time – bishops who aren’t canonists may be in over their heads and will have to rely on experts anyway… like a judicial vicar). Fees will be reduced (what do you want to bet the Rota will find a way to charge). There will be a streamlined procedure for ex-couples who are in agreement and where the situation seems evident (which is rare, because though a case might seem evident on the surface, all sorts of things can come out in the process) to take 30-45 days (and how that will work in cases when expert testimony is needed as in claims of psychological incapacity I can only guess). And, most troubling, the requirement of a conforming opinion of another tribunal is eliminated. There can still be appeals, etc. Some Metropolitan sees will have to appeal to senior suffragan sees.

The elimination of the necessity of a second conforming judgment from a different tribunal will probably result in almost no submission of opinions to different tribunals.

It looks a lot like a return to the norms that were in place in the 70’s in these USA, which were catastrophic, and “annulments” were being handed out like aspirin to brides with headaches on their wedding days.

One canonist suggested to me that this reflects the personal frustration of Papa Bergoglio who, as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, had to cope with seriously flawed tribunals in his region. One of the men on the commission was, I believe, his former judicial vicar.

It strikes me that, with rumors of the changes and the reduction of fees, cases (some frivolous) will multiply, thus driving up costs to the tribunals… to be offset … how? I suspect tribunals will need more personnel.

Time to digest this is needed, but this seems like another antinomian blow leveled at Roman centralism. I’ll add that we learned by watching Protestant chaos what happens when there is no oversight from an authority.

Justice has a deliberative nature to thwart corruption and arrive at the truth of cases, rather than a predetermined result. This is why the Church developed over the centuries certain procedures.

Back to Martens in WaPo for a moment:

The changes move the church away from a set of 18th-century safeguards meant to make sure that the annulment process wasn’t subject to abuse, Martens said. Those changes, set up by Pope Benedict XIV, included a provision that would require a mandatory appeal of the lower court’s decision.

“What guarantee do you have for a fair trial if you take away those guarantees that were put in the past?” Martens said. “Sometimes you want to go so quickly, you miss elements and make mistakes. Procedure law takes time to unfold.”

Martens said the way Francis changed the annulment process was unusual, because he did not go through the Synod on the Family, as expected, in October. [It takes some things off the table for the Synod, which explains something of the timing of this.]

“If I were a bishop, I would be upset,” Martens said. “It’s a bit strange and even a sign of contradiction that a pope who is big on consultation and collegiality seems to forget that on something like this. It’s highly unusual for legislation like this to get through that way.”

Not to mention that this will create horrific work and pressure for bishops.

This all goes into effect 8 December. That probably means that cases which are in limbo between tribunals with different judgments will have to still be sorted.

It could be worse, I guess. They could have eviscerated the Defender of the Bond.

BTW… in today’s L’Osservatore Romano, Msgr. Pinto (head of the commission who put this together) has argued that this is a reform of mercy for “the poor”, and the “the poor” are the divorced and remarried.

PS: I wonder if anyone will notice that this procedure will probably favor men who dump their wives and kids for a younger model.

There is a lot more to say, but I just can’t do it right now.

The moderation queue is ON.

Posted in One Man & One Woman, The Coming Storm, The Drill | Tagged annulments, canon law, canonical process, declaration of nullity
79 Comments

Refugees Refusing Aid Because It Has A Red Cross On It

Posted on 8 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Yes, there are true refugees. I don’t think they are all refugees. We shall see.

Meanwhile, some are rejecting aid because there is a Red Cross on the packages.

What do you think will come of this… migration?

May the Blessed Virgin, who defended Europe at Lepanto, guard and protect the traditionally Christian nations from the influence of Islam.

Posted in The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, The Religion of Peace | Tagged Europe, ISIS, Islam, Red Cross, refugees, Syria, The Religion of Peace
41 Comments

8 Sept: Nativity of Mary

Posted on 8 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Here is the entry in the Roman Martyrology for today’s feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary:

Festum Nativitatis beatae Mariae Virginis, ex semine Abrahae, de tribu Iuda ortae, ex progenie regis David, e qua Filius Dei natus est, factus homo de Spiritu Sancto, ut homines vetusta servitute peccati liberaret.

Perhaps you readers would like to offer your own perfect and smooth versions in English.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged Nativity of Mary, Roman Martyrology
7 Comments

7 Sept: International Buy A Priest A Beer Day!

Posted on 7 September 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

I almost missed it, but I was saved by one of you readers – DR in Germany – who sent a donation using the button on the sidebar and included a note about IBAPABD.