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{]:¬)

DETROIT: Unveiling statue of Satan event – Mass of Reparation

Posted on 13 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Detroit has many problems. Here is another.

From ABC:

Threats Force Satan Statue Unveiling to Secret Detroit Venue

An 8½-foot-tall bronze monument featuring a goat-headed Satan will be unveiled at a secret, ticketed event in Detroit after the owner of a popular restaurant and entertainment complex backed out and opponents issued threats, organizers said.

The 1½-ton Baphomet, which is backed by an inverted pentagram and flanked by statues of two young children gazing up at the creature, [?!?] shows Satan with horns, hooves, wings and a beard.

The Satanic Temple, a group that advocates for the separation of church and state, [Therefore, allies of the Madison based Freedom From Religion Foundation.] will release the location of the unveiling on the day of the event, and details will be sent to ticketholders only, the group’s co-founder Lucien Greaves told The Associated Press Monday.

“Tickets are going to be pre-ordered to cut down on harassment … people threatening to burn the venue down,” Greaves said. “We’ve gotten those kinds of messages.”

“If people don’t want to come, they don’t need to come,” he added.

Greaves said he reported the threats to authorities. The AP left a message Monday seeking comment from Detroit police.

The statue was to have been unveiled July 25 at Bert’s Market Place in Detroit’s Eastern Market district, but Bert Dearing said he gave the group back it’s $3,000 rental fee when he learned who booked the place. [Will he be sued? Is this like refusing to bake a homosexcake?]

“Detroit is a very religious area,” Dearing said. “When I rented the place, I just thought it was a church. I didn’t know about the unveiling of a statue. We weren’t aware they were into devil worshipping.”

The Satanic Temple Detroit chapter founder Jex Blackmore has said the group doesn’t worship Satan but does promote individuality, compassion and views that differ from Christian and conservative beliefs. [Ummm… read that again. Does that contrast “individuality. compassion” with Christian and conservative?]

The statue was designed and built at a cost of more than $100,000 and had been planned for the state Capitol in Oklahoma City until Oklahoma’s Supreme Court banned religious displays — including a monument of the Ten Commandments — on Capitol grounds.

Greaves said the statue will not remain in Detroit and that The Satanic Temple wants to erect it outside Arkansas’ Statehouse in Little Rock where a Ten Commandments monument also is planned. [So… this seems to be a plot also to eradicate the 10 commandments from public display… a goal of the Freedom From Religion types.]

Detroit was selected for the unveiling because The Satanic Temple in the city has a “strong congregation,” [?!?] Greaves said. “We just have a good community over there.”

Blackmore said Detroit has more than 200 registered members.

The group erected a display in December outside Michigan’s state Capitol in Lansing. The “Snaketivity Scene” featured a snake offering a book called “Revolt of the Angels” as a gift. The snake was wrapped around the Satanic cross on the 3-feet-by-3-feet display. Like other religious displays, it was taken down each night.

Bishop Charles Ellis III, pastor of the 6,000-member Greater Grace Temple in Detroit, said he is not concerned about a statue depicting Satan being unveiled in the city because America “was built on freedom of speech and freedom of religion.”

“If we ask others to be tolerant of our religion, we are going to be asked to be tolerant of their religion as well,” Ellis said.

“Tolerable does not mean you have to practice what they practice or that you are condoning what they are practicing. I’m not saying I’m being accepting. I’m just saying I have no control over that.”

I understand that there will be a Mass and Holy Hour of Reparation on 25 July at Mother of Divine Mercy Catholic Church in Detroit.

Posted in Pò sì jiù, The Coming Storm, The future and our choices, You must be joking! | Tagged Archd. Detroit, Freedom From Religion Foundation
14 Comments

IRELAND: Conservative seminarians ejected from Maynooth, bishops intervene

Posted on 13 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Once in a while it is good to be reminded that the oppression is still going on.

Did you see the story about the “conservative” seminarians who were given the heave ho from Maynooth Seminary in Ireland?

From Irish Catholic:

A number of Maynooth student priests [i.e. seminarians] who were reportedly asked to take time out [euphemis alert! “thrown out”] of seminary because they were ‘too conservative’ [i.e, they believe in God, they don’t think women should be ordained, they don’t think men should sleep together, etc.] are to return to the college in the autumn after interventions by a number of bishops, it has been claimed. [Because, these days, there are so many seminarians in Ireland they can afford to lose some, right?]

The Irish Catholic understands that of 10 diocesan seminarians who were due to return to Maynooth in the autumn [they have TEN?] after completing their pastoral year, six were recommended to take time out to reconsider their vocation. [This reminds me of the diocese in California which had no seminarians at all for a couple years. They said that their admissions process worked. It was so excellent and sophisticated that no one got through!]

Sources have indicated to The Irish Catholic that the clear impression was given to the students that they were so advised because their theological views were considered at the conservative end of the spectrum. [I’m shocked! Shocked!]

However, Msgr Hugh Connolly, President of Maynooth, rejected the claim, insisting that there has been “nothing out of the ordinary in terms of usual action between students, dioceses and the seminary in making a decision on what is the best next step for a particular student”. [Uh huh.]

Msgr Connolly said it was “not a question of conservativism” but rather a question of “getting the right experience”. [Uh huh.]

However, the issue will put fresh focus on concerns that the Vatican’s investigation of Maynooth, ordered by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, has had little practical effect. In previous years some Maynooth students claimed the college operated an informal ‘litmus test’ to sift out seminarians considered excessively conservative. [What does “excessively” conservative mean in the modern Irish context? Translation: the rector didn’t like them.]

Interventions

The Irish Catholic now understands that after interventions by a number of bishops, three of the six seminarians will in fact be returning to the college this autumn. It is understood that the bishops involved rejected the assessment of their seminarians by those involved in co-ordinating the pastoral year, [of course] and that the apprehensions shared were at odds with favourable reports from pastoral placements. The concerns aired were reportedly not shared by the college’s seminary council. [It’s dejà vu all over again. This is sounding really familiar.]

Maynooth President Msgr Connolly, who chairs the council, poured cold water on the claim that a bishop had to bring any student “back on board,” insisting that no student was ever “off board”. [Uh huh.]

[…]

This is not the first time the issue has provoked controversy. Some years ago, seminarians were reportedly suspended for wanting to kneel during the consecration at Mass.

[NB!] In 2012, Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said “it is not just that the number of candidates is low; it is also that many of those who present are fragile and some are much more traditional than those who went before them”. [That’s the old technique from the 80’s isn’t it? Suggest that anyone who is conservative is psychologically damaged. Then either force them out the door or into a shrink’s office so that he tell them that they are really gay. It’s what we, back in the day, referred to as Lubyanka.]

Attachment

While rejecting “priests or candidates who simply go with the trends of the day”, the archbishop warned there is “a danger that superficial attachment to the externals of tradition may well be a sign of fearfulness and flight from changed realities: and that is not exactly what we need”.

[…]

Changed realities…

Read the rest there.

Posted in Pò sì jiù, Priests and Priesthood, Seminarians and Seminaries, The future and our choices | Tagged Ireland, Maynooth, seminarians
13 Comments

WDTPRS: 7th Sunday after Pentecost – acts of faith

Posted on 12 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

In the traditional Roman calendar this Sunday is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost.

Today’s Collect survived the cutting and pasting experts of the Consilium to live on as the Collect for the 9th Sunday of Ordinary Time.

COLLECT (1962MR):

Deus, cuius providentia in sui dispositione non fallitur te supplices exoramus, ut noxia cuncta submoveas, et omnia nobis profutura concedas.

Blaise/Chirat (a dictionary of Latin in French) indicates that dispositio is “disposition providentialle”. It has to do God’s plan for salvation. Fallo is an interesting word. It means basically, “to deceive, trick, dupe, cheat, disappoint” and it has as synonyms “decipio, impono, frustror, circumvenio, emungo, fraudo”. Fallo is used to indicate things like simply being mistaken or being deceived. It can apply to making a mistake because something eluded your notice or it was simply unknown. In our Latin conversation it is not uncommon to say nisi fallor, “unless I am mistaken…”. If you look for submoveo you may have to check under summoveo. Find profutura under prosum. Don’t confuse noxia with noxa.

LITERAL WDTPRS VERSION:

God, whose providence, in its plan, is not circumvented, humbly we implore You, that you clear away every fault and grant us all benefits.

There is no getting around or circumventing God’s plan.

Why, given who God is and who we are, would we want to try?

But we do, don’t we.

We have to make a choice about which way to go with noxia. Does it mean “harmful things” that are outside us or that are within us, that is, our own sins, our faults? Both?

OBSOLETE ICEL (1973 9th Sunday Ordinary Time):

Father, your love never fails. Hear our call. Keep us from danger and provide for all our needs.

ROFL! Quite simply dreadful. This may be one of the worst I have ever seen.But we NEVER have to HEAR IT AGAIN.

CURRENT ICEL (2011 9th Sunday Ordinary Time):

O God, whose providence never fails in its design, keep from us, we humbly beseech you, all that might harm us and grant all that works for our good.

We have to make a choice about which way to go with noxia. Does it mean “harmful things” that are outside us or that are within us, that is, our own sins, our faults? Both?
God knows who we are and what we need far better than we can ever know ourselves.

Foreseeing all our sins and many faults, all that we say and do is embraced in His eternal plan.

He has disposed all things so as to make glorious things result from the evils for which we alone are responsible.

Sometimes, moreover, it is hard to understand that God actually cares are us. Given how immeasurably vast God is and how small we are, it is easy for some, mired in earthly distractions, to lapse into sort of deism and imagine a God who created everything and then, like a clock maker, just set the pendulum to swing and stepped away.

There is an old adage that, if you want to know if God is interested in you, just make a plan.

It is good for us each day never to forget to make an Act of Faith, which is a good Trinitarian prayer.

O my God, I firmly believe that Thou art one God in Three Divine Persons, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. I believe that Thy Divine Son became Man, and died for our sins, and that He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches, because Thou hast revealed them, Who canst neither deceive nor be deceived.

Posted in Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, WDTPRS | Tagged Act of Faith, dispositio, Faith, fallo, fides
10 Comments

Pope Francis leaves weird Bolivian Jesuit Communist “crucifix” in Bolivia… with a twist

Posted on 11 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From Vatican Insider:

This morning Francis lay the two presidential honours he received Wednesday from President Evo Morales in La Paz, at the feet of Our Lady of Copacabana. One of these featured the hammer and anvil with a carving of a crucifix

Before leaving Bolivia, Francis placed two gifts he received on Wednesday from President Evo Morales at the foot of a statue of Mary. One of these, a chain with a chunky medallion, had the figure of the crucified Christ carved into a wooden hammer and anvil. This image had been drawn by Fr. Luis Espinal, the Jesuit priest who was assassinated in Bolivia in March 1980. [So, it is the chain and medallion with the image of commie-crux that the Pope left? Along with the Bolivian honor?]

“This morning,” reads a statement issued by Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi, “Pope Francis celebrated Holy Mass in the chapel of the private residence of the Archbishop Emeritus of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, the Holy Father presented two decorative honours that were conferred onto him by Bolivian president Evo Morales during his courtesy visit to the Presidential palace in La Paz , to a statue of the Our Lady of Copacabana, patron saint of Bolivia.” [So… something doesn’t go back to Rome. The wooden commie-crux? However, didn’t Fr. Lombardi say that it wasn’t going to go into a church? ““Certainly, though, it will not be put in a church,” he said.” HERE This Pope is full is surprises.]

Francis accompanied this gesture with the following words: “The President of the nation was kind enough to offer me two decorative honours on behalf of the Bolivian people. I thank the Bolivian people for their affection and the President for this courteous gesture. I would like to dedicate these two decorations to the patron saint of Bolivia, the Mother of this noble nation, so that she may always remember her people and from Bolivia, from the shrine where I would like them to be, that she may remember the Successor of Peter and the whole Church and look after them from Bolivia.”

“Mother of the Saviour and our Mother,” Francis prayed, “You, Queen of Bolivia, who from the height of your Shrine in Copacabana attend to the prayers and needs of your children, especially the most poor and abandoned, and protect them: Receive as a gift from the heart of Bolivia and my filial affection the symbols of affection and closeness that – in the name of the Bolivian people – Mr. President Evo Morales Ayma has bestowed on me with cordial and generous affection, [uh huh] on the occasion of this Apostolic Journey, which I entrusted to your solicitous intercession.”

Francis concluded his prayer by saying: “I ask that these honours, which I leave here in Bolivia at your feet, and which recall the nobility of the flight of the Condor in the skies of the Andes and the commemorated sacrifice of Father Luis Espinal, S.J., may be emblems of the everlasting love and persevering gratitude of the Bolivian people for your solicitous and intense tenderness. At this moment, Mother, I place in your heart my prayers for all the many petitions of your children, which I have received in these days: I beg you to hear them; give them your encouragement and protection, and manifest to the whole of Bolivia your tenderness as woman and Mother of God, who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.” [I’m pretty sure he means that God lives and reigns forever and ever, although Mary now lives forever and she is Queen of Heaven forever.]

So, I hope the contraption isn’t returning to Rome.

Posted in Francis, Pò sì jiù, The Last Acceptable Prejudice, You must be joking! | Tagged Bolivia, Copacabana, Evo Morales
55 Comments

CQ CQ CQ – #HamRadio Saturday – Priest hams out there?

Posted on 11 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

A couple things to report on the Ham front this week.

One Wednesday evening I tuned in to listen to the local ARES check in. This is something I might consider in the future. This is the Amateur Radio Emergency Service, which is a network of hams who volunteer to help with communications during emergencies or disasters. It might be handy to have a priest in such a net. And if I go ahead with some EMT training, even more so. Just thinking aloud at this point.

I finally heard back from the nice, but pokey, folks who made my Juicebox. You may recall that my hardened portable power unit wouldn’t charge, despite my various efforts. So, the Juicebox folks wrote to say they were going to send new batteries. Then, days later, I got the email with the shipping information: That was a couple days ago, I’ll probably see them Monday, even though it was 2nd day shipping.

When I have those new batteries and if I can get the Juicebox to work, then I’ll fire up the Kenwood transceiver I received: it has only an Anderson Power Pole Cable, and the Juicebox has built in Anderson capability. I have a bunch of Anderson stuff on my wishlist. One of these days I’d like to do some cables, etc. along the lines of what USNERDOC has shown in some of his instructive videos. Example: HERE

I have to start thinking about a QSL card pretty soon. Would that I were more artistic. I suppose it ought to be in Latin… and retro. Or perhaps I should wait on my “vanity” call sign decision. So many conundra.

Click

My little Baofeng (thanks readers!) is on and tuned to the local repeater. I’ve made a few brief contacts and listened to some interesting ragchew about radio gear: Way Over My Head™. They were going on about tubes and mods and making RTTY contacts. Yet, inspired, I fiddled around with my Yaesu and figured out what was wrong with my settings: I couldn’t get the repeater. It’s a complicated little thing to program, but I solved my issue. I am starting to recognize the calls (and personalities) of some of the local users.

Later today (Saturday) I’ll switch on Echolink. NB: WB0YLE has lent us his node. Do an F-key search for his or my call or: WDTPRS Ham Cafe

Not quite Z-Chat, but it is interesting.

Speaking of Z-Chat, I might have to start that again. It takes a lot more equipment to do the Ustream thing.

KC9ZJN
73

UPDATE 11 July 2112 GMT:

I was on earlier with WB0YLE and KE4WKV via Echolink and it worked well!

The topic of priests who are Hams came up. I’d sure like to build a list. Fathers! Bishops! CQ!

Also, I am wondering where our other hams are. I remember some of you have chimed in in the past:

Z-Blog HAMS

acardnal KE4WKV
Joan W4JMJBMKoenig K3BMK
chris1 KJ4MPE
crule N4TII
Bryan Boyle WB0YLE
Andy Lucy KG4ZMF
Navy Jeff KC9TCZ
EXCHIEF N7WR
pledbet424 WB0MZT
Kenneth Jones KB3JA/BY
asperges G4NJH
Dan Soderlund KBØEO
Hesiodos AD7QQ
MWindsor – KT5WX
dahveed – KD8ZIB
FloridaJoan – W4JMJ
Jilly – WA4CZD
jpaluh – KB3LUE
Humilitas – KC4RAC
Jeffc – AC5XL
pledbet424 – WB0MZT
JBBIII – AD7QQ
Patrick L – AG4JQ
Dr Guinness – VK3SJB
MacBride – KC2MEO
Evan C – N5EDC
boxerpaws1952 – N3XFQ
chris_R – N3GBJ
Jack – W1JEM
Julia12 – KC9ALW
moon123 – KB9VSE
Pearl – KC8JSL
OK_doc – KF5THY
Baritone – KD5AYJ
IPSB – SA2BXP
ByzCath08 – W8GMN
Mojoron – K0CCP
Deacon Bob – W8CRO
Incensum – N9WIV

PRIESTLY HAMS

Fr. David McGuire AE4LH
frdanbecker WA1ZHQ
Rev. Canon Glenn Gardner K9ALT
plaf26 – KC0GA
Fr. Bryan – KD8ZFF

There must be more of you!

Posted in Ham Radio | Tagged Anderson Power Pole, Ares, Echolink, Juicebox, USNERDOC
20 Comments

BOLIVIA: Holy Communion from paper bags at papal mega-Mass?

Posted on 10 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

For the most part, in recent times I have tuned out from the papal mega-Masses. However, I saw a report that at the mega-Mass in Bolivia, Holy Communion was distributed from paper bags.

I was ready to believe that, since the Holy Father had vested for Mass in – I’m not making this up – a Burger King (ironic symbol of Americanist imperialism and consumerism which promotes the eradication of the rain forest for the sake of corporate beef).

However, when I reviewed the video of the Mass, I found that they weren’t paper bags after all. Watching the video, more carefully, the Blessed Sacrament was in some sort of bowl which was wrapped or covered with what looked like a cloth – perhaps paper – bag.

You can see clearly, if you are patient, that there is a container within the white material, with a rounded edge.

So, let’s not say that Holy Communion was distributed from paper bags, as if there were only paper bags, like pop corn.

Don’t get me wrong. Do I like what they did? No. You might not want to watch the video of the distribution of Communion. It was appalling. These mega-Masses with Communion for all have to stop.

Please?

Moderation queue is ON.

UPDATE:

Meanwhile… for those who are willing to think badly of Pope Francis no matter what… I am shocked that people didn’t react to the sight of His Holiness tending his BBQ on the balcony of St. Peter’s. (source)

I mean… really. You’ve got the gardens, Your Holiness.

Why not slide back der’, by Ben’s crib, yo? Feel me?

Posted in Francis, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, You must be joking! | Tagged Bolivia, mega-Masses
46 Comments

Where is the liberal ‘c’atholic anger at insult to the Pope and the Church?

Posted on 10 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Where is the liberal catholic anger and frustration at the insulting gesture of the hammer and sickle “crucifix” offered to Pope Francis and the Catholic Church by Bolivian President Evo Morales? Look at the liberal catholic sites… do you see any commentary?

Let’s play this out.

How would the libs react were someone to give a Confederate Battle Flag to the Pope during his visit to these United States?

What would Amerika and Fishwrap say if the Pope, handed the flag, smiled and nodded and mummured quiet comments?

Would they say that it isn’t about “ideology“? “No, no!”, they’d explain, “It’s a symbol of… rights of states and .. and … tradition!”

During papal visits, Popes are presented with all sorts of things. Sometimes the junk, such as paintings, winds up on the walls of Vatican offices, as it did in ours.

Let’s imagine that the Pope were to be presented with a painting of Our Lord crucified during the burning of Atlanta. Instead of Our Lady and St. John by the Cross, you see Gen. Lee and Jefferson Davis. Above the Lord’s head, in place of INRI, DIXIE.

Would there be any official statement that that wasn’t about ideology?

Would there be any liberal reaction?

But, my bad. I keep forgetting that Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, Dredd Scott v. Sanford – denying personhood to human beings – were liberal non-ideological projects too.

Moderation is ON.

Posted in Liberals, Pò sì jiù, The Drill | Tagged Bolivia, Commie-crux, confederate battle flag, Evo Morales
23 Comments

Pope Francis given Hammer and Sickle “crucifix”, reacts “No está bien eso” … that’s not right.”

Posted on 9 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

FranciscoEvoRegalo_LOsservatoreRomano_090715

“No está bien eso”

UPDATE: In fairness, I will add that there are some reports that what the Pope really said at the sight of the commie-crux is not, “No está bien eso”, as previously reported (“That’s not right”), but rather “No sabía eso” or “Eso no lo sabía” (“I didn’t know that” – as Morales explains the hideous thing. FWIW The audio is, admittedly, very hard to understand.

___ Originally Published on: Jul 9, 2015 @ 11:51

A little tempest has been stirred around the “gifts” (aka traps) that Bolivian Pres. Morales gave to Pope Francis during his 4 hour stop in La Paz.

Morales, a socialist who dedicated his last election to Chavez and Castro, gave the Pope a “crucifix” in the form of a hammer and sickle as well as a small pectoral “cross” with the same design.

Check the ACI version of the story in Spanish. HERE

Gifts at these meetings of heads of state are worked out ahead of time. So what gives with this?

Alas, the Pope put on the damn pectoral “cross” thing, which is a little hard to understand. I have a theory about that, below, but only a persistent grilling of Fr. Lombardi has the potential of producing the authentic explanation.

In any event, and this is what we have to pay attention to, when the Pope saw the “crucifix” (much larger than the little pectoral “cross”) he said, “No está bien eso… That’s not right.”

The conservative/traditional element are predictably blowing arteries at the sight of the Pope with these … things. I, too, am disturbed. After all, the hammer and sickle is a symbol of extermination of both human dignity and human beings numbering in tens of millions. It is a symbol of oppression and degradation of billions that by far outstrips the swastika.

Some will counter, “But Father! But Father! The connection those noble yet humble proletariat crosses of mercy have with the Jesuit priest who was killed in the 1970s outweighs the …!” Blah blah blah.

Can you imagine anyone daring to put something like these into the hands of St. John Paul II?

Times have changed.

Look at the photos and the video. Francis is clearly unhappy when he saw the large version of what was on the smaller pectoral “cross”.

Could this have been a Pres. Bartlett moment, like the one with the flag of Taiwan? In The West Wing, Bartlett mistakenly accepts a controversial Taiwanese flag which stirs a hornet’s nest with the PRC on the eve of a state visit. Bartlett didn’t see the flag (why is another, not relevant, issue). In this present Bolivian case, Francis might not have noticed the symbol on the small pectoral “cross”, but he reacts sharply – negatively – when he sees the larger version in wood.

I think that Morales move was sheer manipulation and political theater for his commie base in Bolivia. it was a trap set for Francis to score points. Francis was polite in accepting this “gift/trap”, much as would a kind grandfather when given an inappropriate gift by an errant grandson.

I suspect that we haven’t heard the end of this one. In the meantime, keep your cool and wait for additional information.

The moderation queue is ON.

And, warning, keep the knuckle-head stuff and spittle-flecked nutties out of my combox. If you want to rave, go over to the Fishwrap where they have no charity or reason filters.

UPDATE 9 July 2038GMT:

According to CNS with my emphases and comments:

[…]

Father Lombardi, who said neither he nor the Jesuit pope had ever seen or heard of Father Espinal’s crucifix, said he believes it is much more likely that the pope admitted to not knowing its origin than to saying it was wrong. [Fr. Lombardi “believes” it is “more likely”. Not exactly a clear answer.]

After discussing the cross with several Jesuits July 9, Father Lombardi said that Father Espinal, who “was an artist, very creative,” [?!?] made the crucifix as an expression of his belief in the need for dialogue involving all Bolivians at a time of great political tension and upheaval. [The need for dialogue with… Marxism?]

Ideological? Not ideological? You decide.

For Father Espinal “it was not ideological,” Father Lombardi said; he was not giving “a Marxist interpretation of the faith.” [Okay.. let’s look at the thing again… photo on the right]

How other people interpret the piece or use it today is another question, the spokesman said.

[Were I to channel my inner Marshal McLuhan, I might say that an image trumps audio every time.]

“Certainly, though, it will not be put in a church,” he said.

The crucifix, he added, was “an expression of what Father Espinal was living” at the time he made it. [A horrible thought.]

Asked his personal reaction to the piece, Father Lombardi said he tried to understand the origin of the piece and what Father Espinal intended when he made it. [So, this is a thing that Jesuits get, I guess. Made by a Jesuit, given to a Jesuit, and explained to another Jesuit by more Jesuits. No wonder I don’t get it. Maybe we have to just take their word for it. Prediction: What do you want to bet that more Jesuits will be explaining this thing to us in the near future? Who could they be?]

Posted in "But Father! But Father!", Francis, The Drill, You must be joking! | Tagged Bolivia, Pope Francis
67 Comments

ASK FATHER: Do we need “more direct and forceful” evangelization? Identifying the “enemy”.

Posted on 8 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

In the Pope’s visit to Ecuador he stated: “Evangelization does not consist in proselytizing, but in attracting by our witness those who are far off, in humbly drawing near to those who feel distant from God and the Church, those who are fearful or indifferent.” Since hundreds of thousand of South America Catholics have left the Church for Pentecostal “churches” mostly through very aggressive proselyization, the prosperity gospel message and having preachers destroy statues of Our Blessed Mother on stage, I wonder if we are being too benign in efforts to gain back those who have left the Church. I freely admit I usually prefer a more direct and forceful approach in situations when confronted by situations in which I am attacked wrongly. In this case is turning the other cheek the right thing to do in your opinion?

I’m not sure exactly what you mean by proposing a “more direct and forceful approach,” with regard to evangelization.

Errors must be addressed forthrightly, as Pope Francis has done. The proselytization he is condemns is the approach used by “pentecostal” communities which is, at its core, deceitful.

We should not pretend to be anything other than what we are: Catholics, Catholics who are Roman, Ukrainian, Maronite, etc… but Catholics, nothing less.

We should live our faith with gusto, fidelity, and striving for holiness.

¡Hagan lío!

If our numbers are falling off, it’s not because we’ve not tried some new, aggressive program or approach. It’s because we’ve failed in holiness and we have failed in our God-given vocations. We have failed in our sacred liturgical worship as well. Christ is the Perfect Communicator and liturgy is the most visible and accessible means by which He communicates with us.

My old pastor, Msgr. Schuler was wont to quip, “Nemo dat quod non got”, purposely macaronic, for “You can’t give what you aint’ got.” We have to know clearly what we believe (fides quae creditur) and have a solid, holy relationship with the content of our Faith (fides quae creditur – a Person!) and we must be able to communicate it clearly and with charity (1 Peter 3:15).

If we don’t know who we are, then we can’t share who we are. If we can’t share who we are, why should anyone bother to listen to us?

The starting point, therefore, is a renewal of our sacred liturgical worship of God. That’s where we must start and that’s where we must wind up. We cannot simply have a marketing approach evangelization. Everything we do must flow from our Catholic identity and that must start and aim at worship, as individuals and as congregations.

We need liturgical worship for our identity, like our bodies need shelter, air and nourishment.

If we have become ineffective bring the Faith to the masses and the masses to the Faith, then we need to review how we are worshiping Almighty God.

We need a strong, hard identity liturgical life!

Ask yourselves: Is what are you are getting at your parish or chapel giving you that? Clear Catholic identity (which involves works of mercy as a sine quibus non)?

Fathers: Is that what you are providing for your flocks?

If not… for the love of all that’s holy WHY NOT?!?

Is evangelization failing? Are people falling away?

Our priests and, especially bishops, have failed to provide us with the liturgical, sacramental, and catechetical life which has always been the backbone of the Church. Our consecrated religious have failed to lead lives of heroic and inspiring sanctity. Our laity have failed to live authentically Catholic lives both in the pew and in their homes, places of work, and in the public square.

We have no one to blame but ourselves.

Pace Commodore Perry and Cartoon Pogo, we have met the enemy and he is us!

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, "How To..." - Practical Notes, ASK FATHER Question Box, Hard-Identity Catholicism, New Evangelization, The future and our choices | Tagged evangelization, New Evangelization, proselytism
27 Comments

ASK FATHER: Is it wrong or illicit to go to a different diocese to be confirmed?

Posted on 8 July 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From a reader…

Is it wrong or illicit to go to a different diocese to be confirmed? Does an Ordinary have the right to confirm his subjects? Does the Bishop of another diocese have to have permission to confirm someone from another diocese?

Background: neighbouring diocese wants two year program of prep, leading to candidates being even 18 years old, etc. (A Lutheran idea of Confirmation?)

It is not wrong.

Can. 886 of the Code of Canon Law for the Latin Church states,

“A bishop in his own diocese may lawfully administer the sacrament of confirmation even to the faithful who are not his subjects, unless there is an express prohibition by their own Ordinary.”

Can. 887 adds that a priest who has the faculty to confirm, does so lawfully “even to those from outside the territory, unless there is a prohibition by their own Ordinary.”

Some people who might be interested in this topic are those traditionally-minded people who desire confirmation according to the older, traditional Roman Rite. While their local bishop may not be cooperative, the bishop of the neighboring diocese may be friendly and helpful.

Also, may I add my opinion that it is better to be confirmed by a bishop? Someone confirmed by a priest is not less confirmed, but it is seemly and fitting and, frankly, more impressive to be confirmed by a bishop.