PLEASE get rid of “reconciliation rooms”!

Posted on 3 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

PLEASE get rid of "reconciliation rooms"!At Crisis there is an article which argues for the end of “reconciliation rooms”.  I have always called them “lawsuit rooms”.

I’ve been arguing for this ever since I could argue anything.   I think he over plays a particular issue but, hey!, do I care?  He’s on the right side.

“Face to face” confession should be reduced as much as possible.

Can. 964.2 requires a fixed grate for confessionals.   This is for the penitent, but it is also for the priest confessor’s sake as well.

The writer argues that people should have an option to open the grate, with there still being a clear barrier.   I say, the priest should also have the option to leave his side closed, clear barrier or not.

The author also suggests that the confessionals should be in the nave within view of the sanctuary of Blessed Sacrament.   He thinks that confessionals should have kneelers.

It’s almost as if, once upon a time, the Church knew what she was doing.   Then, in the post-Conciliar springtime – which “beyond question” brought so many benefits for the whole people of God, we developed spiritual Alzheimer’s and forgot almost everything that worked, forcing constant reinventions of basics like fire, the wheel, cups.

FATHERS!

Put in, or restore traditional confessionals.

READERS!

GO TO CONFESSION!

You might tell your priests that you want old-fashioned confessionals.

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, ¡Hagan lío!, GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Our Catholic Identity | Tagged , ,
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Omnium Gatherum: Of chilling out, new revelations, and Job’s job

Posted on 3 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Omnium Gatherum: Of chilling out, new revelations, and Job's jobSome quick views of bits and pieces.

First, Michael Cook is editor of MercatorNet. He offers is a piece that we should all just “chill out” over The Present Crisis. He manages to make a few decent points, but the overall effect is: “Gosh! Can’t we just tone it down and get along?”

No, Mr. Cook. I think we have to have this dreadful food fight, lest what happened or didn’t happen earlier, happens again.

In a more complicated development, Fr Thomas Rosica of Salt & Light (quondam auxiliary of the Holy See’s Sala Stampa during Synods – you might remember how he introduced to the press something that weren’t discussed by the synod fathers) teamed up with retired Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi (who was once the papal spokesman but is no longer). They – mirabile visu – produced some musing based on old notes which concerned how Archbp. Viganò arranged a meeting between Francis and Ki Davis, who had been jailed for exercising her conscience in the matter of signing same-sex marriage documents in her capacity as a government clerk. And here I thought conscience was supposed to be respected. Anyway, as the email relayed to me said: “Vatican spokesmen contradict Viganò’s account of meeting with Pope Francis about Kim Davis” Well… okay. They were spokesmen, but they aren’t now. Gregg Burke is the spokesmen. As far as the notes are concerned, I am reminded of the case of the election recounts when the supporters of disgraced Sen. Franken (D-MN) wonderously found a box of hitherto uncounted ballots in the trunk of a car. Wouldn’t you just know it, but they changed the results of their guys election? Of course this situation isn’t quite like that, obviously. And I’m sure that it took a while for Lombardi and Rosica to coordinate their stories in time for a new news cycle. What they say should be considered with everything else. The fact remains, however, that the “everything else” contains credible claims that must be investigated. That hasn’t yet been brought to completion. There are more shoes to drop.  ChurchMilitant has a take on this.  HERE

At Fishwrap, Madame Wile E. Defarge continues the Left’s attack on Archbp. Viganò character.   It seems to me that his motive for doing so is adequately summed up in what he penned:

It should be obvious to discern why Viganò championed Davis then as now. His 11-page dossier was filled with anti-gay slurs and complaints about a “lavender mafia” that tried to do him in. I suspect the reason Pope Benedict XVI exiled him from Rome and Francis sacked him early on is because they saw what we can now all see: This is an ambitious, gossipy, mean-spirited little man.

Madame Defarge, ladies and gentlemen!

A sane Jesuit, Fr James Schall, SJ, had an interesting observation:

What are we to make of these astonishing events? A friend of mine thinks that we have seen nothing like this since the Reformation, if then. The Renaissance popes were sometimes high livers, but there were few intimations of heresy surrounding them. Catholics have long been warned from Scripture itself of their own sins. They were also told that they could expect the hated by the world. The late Cardinal George of Chicago once famously predicted that his successor would be put in jail and the one following him would be a martyr. Catholic League President, Bill Donohue, sees the devil at work in all of this controversy.

But in Scripture this recurring hatred of the world for the Church was thought to be directed, not at the believers’ own sins, but at their virtues. They were most persecuted when they were most believing, not when they were lax. In both the Old and New Testaments, we do find many warnings of unworthy shepherds, meaning priests, bishops, and popes. From this point of this view, today we are not really witnessing something new or totally unexpected. In the Old Testament, when things went bad for the Hebrews, it was usually seen to be a result of their own sins. The solution was usually imposed by outside powers in the name of Yahweh. In today’s world, the concern is with those Catholics who simply do not follow the basic tenets of their own faith.

I agree that the Devil is at work.  I agree that what is going on is not unexpected.  I agree that outside powers are going to be involved.  What caught my eye was, “They were most persecuted when they were most believing, not when they were lax.”

There is a tension present.  Schall points out rightly that the world and the believer will be at odds.  It must be so.

Right now, in the Roman Breviary, Holy Church has assigned to us at Matins, beginning the 1st Sunday in September, the reading of the Book of Job.  You remember the basic outline of the story, right?

First, we learn of Job’s wealth, well-being and righteousness.  Then Satan engages in a smear campaign against Job to obtain leave from God to persecute him.   Satan plagues Job until he wishes for death.  Eventually Job passes through the afflictions to acknowledge God’s greatness.

During Matins, we pray small portions of Job which are followed by Responses with verses, intended of course to be sung.    Portion of Job.  Response and verse.  Portion of Job. Response and verse.   Today and yesterday the Response was:

R. Quare detraxístis sermónibus veritátis? ad increpándum verba compónitis et subvértere nitímini amícum vestrum:
* Verúmtamen quæ cogitástis, expléte.
V. Quod iustum est, iudicáte; et non inveniétis in lingua mea iniquitátem.
R. Verúmtamen quæ cogitástis, expléte.
V. Glória Patri, et Fílio, * et Spirítui Sancto.
R. Verúmtamen quæ cogitástis, expléte.

R. Why do ye argue against the words of truth? Do ye imagine words to reprove me and strive to confound one that is your friend?
* Nevertheless, finish that ye have in mind.
V. Judge that which is just, and ye shall find no iniquity in my tongue.
R. Nevertheless, finish that ye have in mind.
V. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, * and to the Holy Ghost.
R. Nevertheless, finish that ye have in mind.

Poignant, given The Present Crisis.

Some speculate that we are in or concluding a period of trial of the Church foreseen by Leo XIII.   In 1884 Pope Leo XIII fell into a trance at Mass and, it is said, was granted to hear a conversation between God and Satan.  Satan asked for75 to 100 years to try to destroy the Catholic Church.  God granted Satan’s request.  Immediately after this, Leo penned the Prayer to St. Michael the Archangel.  It is not entirely clear when the period of trial began. If the period was 75 years, and it began right away in 1884, then it ended in 1959, the same year that John XXIII called for Vatican II.  If 100 years, then it would have ended in 1984, a less significant year.  Maybe the period began later.  Hard to say.  Some argue that the period of trial began in 1914, the year that Pius X died (today, as I write, is his feast 3 Sept) and the year WWI broke out.  That would mean that it would have ended, perhaps around the time Benedict XVI suddenly and oddly abdicated and Francis emerged in such a strange way on the balcony of St. Peter’s.

One thing is clear.  There have been huge changes in the Church since 1959 and, again, since 2014.

Job’s job was to endure and learn to love God in his suffering. That’s our job too.

Posted in The Drill, Clerical Sexual Abuse | Tagged , , , , ,
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Rumor Volat: Shouts in the piazza during Sunday Angelus Address

Posted on 2 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

There is a phrase: Rumor volat… Rumor, hearsay, noise flies”.   In this case, this may be just so much noise, but today during the Angelus in Rome “noise flew” in St. Peter’s Square.

I want to be careful with this.   It is worth at least mentioning.

As you know, at the end the video of last week’s Wednesday General Audience, it sounded as if a small group might have been chanting “VI-GA-NÒ!”  Some of you thought it was that, others thought it might have been “Italo!” for a bishop who was there.  It is not unusual at all for people to chant oddities at audiences.  In fact, it is odd if they don’t.

However, in the wake of that Audience, I was wondering if chanting “VI-GA-NÒ!” might become a thing.   Hence, I watched the video of today’s Sunday Angelus address.  There were a few instances of a lone voice shouting in the piazza.  Please note that St. Peter’s Square is pretty big and the acoustics are not great.  Also, the one shouting was not near a microphone, directional or other, which would pick up ambient sound for the broadcast.

There was one point, however, when it seemed to me that the voice, fairly high and probably female, could have been shouting “VIGANÒ!”, not like a crowd might, “VI-GA-NÒ!” but more like a call.

Just after the Angelus itself and as Francis starts the pray for the dead, Pro fidelibus defunctis, you hear this lone call raised and it gets his attention.  He seems pensive as he continues.  He looks out in the direction of the sound.  Just as he starts the Apostolic Benediction, you hear the shout again.   Francis imparts the blessing, but with a measure of hesitation in his body language.   Keep in mind that he has done this only a zillion times.

If you go to other videos of the Angelus or Regina Caeli, as I did, you see that he zips right along.  This time, he is seemingly distracted.

I do not want to read too much into this.   We will soon enough have verification from someone who was in the piazza of what happened, yay or nay.  Perhaps this post will shake some information loose.  Meanwhile, the video is posted.  You can decide.

Play video

Meanwhile, in Chicago, Card. Cupich ordered that a statement from him should be read at  all the parishes of the Archdiocese.   He did an interview with the local NBC affiliate and he said some strange things that brought sky down on his head.  He said that his true intent was distorted by their editing.  NBC posted the whole thing and, frankly, it didn’t change a thing: he said some strange things.   NBC is standing by what they did and Cupich now requires the priests of the Archdiocese to read his self-defense.  The Sun-Times has a story, HERE.

Never dull.

Elsewhere, Card. Tobin, according to CNA, declined to investigate reports about disgraced non-Card. McCarrick.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin told a journalist Friday that he heard rumors shortly after his 2017 arrival in the Archdiocese of Newark about the sexual misconduct of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick. He said he did not investigate those rumors because he found them unbelievable.

In a column published Aug. 31 in the North Jersey Record, journalist Mike Kelly reported that “Tobin told me that soon after arriving in Newark, he heard ‘rumors’ about McCarrick’s beach house. But he never bothered to check them out. He says he thought the story was too ‘incredulous’ to believe.”

“Shame on me that I didn’t ask sooner,” Tobin reportedly told Kelly.

First, someone has to explain that rumors can’t be incredulous.  Rumors can be incredible.  People are incredulous.  That aside…

To be fair, Tobin was religious, a Redemptorist, and he spent some time in Rome.  While it might have been quite common for diocesan men to have known what was going on, it is just possible that a religious might not have heard.  It is possible that Tobin did not know about McCarrick before he arrived in Newark… although I remain incredulous.

On a another note, we know that one of Francis’ closest advisors, Fr. Antonio “2+2=5” Spadaro, SJ, maintains a website dedicated to the homoerotic writer Pier Vittorio Tondelli.  What I didn’t know is that another very close confidant, Francis’ personal secretary was thought to be involved with child porn to the point where authorities seized his computer.  However, this same priest was promoted to be Sub-Secretary of the Congregation for Bishops: Fabián Pedacchio Leániz.  He has been around for quite a while.

 

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Francis |
30 Comments

Your Sunday Sermon Notes

Posted on 2 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Was there a good point made in the sermon you heard for your Mass of obligation?  Let us know.

Also, please note if your priest mentioned anything about The Present Crisis and The Viganò Testimony.

For my part, I am on an island in Lake Michigan.  We had a small flock for Mass, in the Extraordinary Form of course.   I spoke about Christ’s work of mercy in the case of the Widow of Naim.   Christ could have, as God, solved the problems of all poor widows everywhere, with the blink of an eye.  He did not.  But He in mercy helped a real widow in front of Him.   Screwtape told Wormwood to keep his “patient” focused on “the poor”, nebulous and generic poor out there, rather than attending to the poor person in front of him.   Paul told the Galatians to admonish each other properly, which is a spiritual work of mercy.  We all have occasions in which we can make mercy concrete instead of leaving it a nebulous and inactive abstraction.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA |
36 Comments

Wherein Fr. Hunwicke identifies a serious problem

Posted on 2 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
Wherein Fr. Hunwicke identifies a serious problem

Alexander VI, not Fr. Hunwicke

You strong supporters of Francis and you sharp critics of anyone who raises questions about certain of his actions and words should pay close attention to the following.

Over at his amusing and erudite Mutual Enrichment, Fr. John Hunwicke of the Ordinariate, has an observation.

The heart of Bergoglianity

The heart of the Bergoglianist error is, in my fallible opinion, to be found in such texts as the letter Archbishop Nichols wrote last year to PF, assuring him that English Catholics believe that his election was the work of the Holy Spirit [not in my name, Vincent], and that the Holy Spirit guides him daily [ditto]; vide similar statements by now-Cardinal Farrell linking the Pope to the Holy Spirit … Mgr Pio of the Rota … …

Now one of the Church’s leading and most extreme hyperultrapapalists, the papolatrous Cardinal Maradiaga, has encapsulated that error in a single lucid sentence and, in so doing, has pushed the error a few notches further up the scale … or even, you may feel, off the scale. Here are his reported words:

“To ask for the resignation of the pope is, in my opinion, a sin against the Holy Spirit, who ultimately is the guide of the Church.”

I need not remind you that the “sin against the Holy Spirit” is, according to the words of the Lord, the unforgivable sin: unforgivable both in this world and in the next (Mt 12:31 sqq et parr).

Not even, apparently, merely a sin canonically reserved to the Holy See. A sin … unforgivable!

[…]

Think about what they are saying.

Francis does something like change a paragraph of the CCC so that it says something that the Church has never before said and, indeed, appears to contradict directly what the Church has taught on the matter and, when people raise objections or ask questions, his supporters say that they sin against the Holy Spirit.

Francis teaches something in an encyclical which seems to say that people in the state of mortal sin should be admitted to Communion – which no saint or theologian in their right mind would have suggested in centuries past – or that they cannot live up to the ideas of morality that the Church teaches and, when people object, they are accused of sin against the Holy Spirit.

Ratzinger once answered that the role of the Holy Spirit in the conclave was not to be the Super Elector of the new Pontiff, but rather to ensure that the decision the poor little mortals make will not be total disaster for the Church.  The Holy Spirit did not control the Evangelists with automatic writing.  Neither does the Holy Spirit impose Popes.  Or would the papaltrous require us to believe that the Holy Spirit imposed Sergius III, John XII or Alexander VI?   Do we sin against the Holy Spirit – unforgivably – if we insist that men chose every Pope after Peter and that the Third Person made sure they couldn’t destroy the Church?

The Holy Spirit surely is at work in the Church and He without question offers assistance to us all, each according to our vocations.

However, those who claim “sin against the Holy Spirit” against their opponents or critics should be aware that what they are doing is weaponizing the Holy Spirit, instrumentalizing God, which is not to be tolerated.

God is not mocked. Galatians 6:7.

If you are one of those who claim that to resist anything Francis does is sinning against the Holy Spirit, you had better look carefully into your own soul.  You’ve gone too far.

Posted in The Drill | Tagged , , ,
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“The evasive coverage of this scandal by Team Francis hardliners is impossible to justify.”

Posted on 1 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Damian Thompson has a good commentary at The Spectator.

He adds a wrinkle I had not thought about:

The evasive coverage of this scandal by Team Francis hardliners is impossible to justify. Certain ‘reporters’ should ask themselves whether they have become complicit in concealing sexual abuse.

Meanwhile, most of the secular media – now almost bereft of religion specialists – are lazily clinging to the narrative of Francis as a ‘Great Reformer’.

He is nothing of the sort. He’s a man whose ruthless and cynical modus operandi was well known in Argentina before he was elected pope. (I urge everyone to read the book The Dictator Pope by Henry Sire, which gives chapter and verse.) Note that Francis has not set foot in his home country since leaving for the 2013 conclave. He dare not: he has too many enemies there.

Henry Sire’s  book could be supplemental reading to The Present Crisis:

US HERE – UK HERE

"The evasive coverage of this scandal by Team Francis hardliners is impossible to justify."

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged
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“The church was packed for confessions this afternoon, and they were some of the best I’ve ever heard.”

Posted on 1 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fathers…

Is this going on where you are?

This is from a friend, who sent it from a priest:

The church was packed for confessions this afternoon, and they were some of the best I’ve ever heard. The devotion and reverence during the distribution of Holy Communion was palpable. I could see a new boldness and fervor in the eyes of the faithful as I greeted them after Mass, and their comments confirmed as much. Things are falling apart and yet God’s people are becoming more and more rock solid. Something is happening, folks…
The saints we so desperately need are on their way. Buckle up.

This was so encouraging that I had to post it.

I wonder what the secondary effect of The Present Crisis will be. Will it turn out to be the primary effect?

GO TO CONFESSION!

Today I wrote to a friend that I thought it entirely possible that God will raise up certain saints who will help us in this period to sort our ecclesial problems.

It has happened before.  There is no reason to think that it won’t happen now.

However… we have to do our part and GO TO CONFESSION, MAKE REPARATION and PRAY FOR INTERCESSION.

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000, Mail from priests |
15 Comments

Beating the Devil

Posted on 1 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Enthusiastic ChurchPop picked up on something “new” from Taylor Marshall (who has done good things recently): a title of Our Lady invoked as Exterminatrix of Heresies.   They posted an image of Mary which I’ve shown on and off on this blog since time immemorial.

Beating the Devil

Alas, the title for this marvelous image is not “Exterminatrix of Heresies”.

While we can invoke Mary with any of her titles when we are before any of her images or depictions – I wouldn’t hesititate to call Our Blessed Mother Queen of Priests while she is dressed in her Fatima garb – the title of the depiction in question is “Madonna del Soccorso… Our Lady of Succor, or Help.”   This version was painted in 1494 and it is found in the cloister of the Abbey of San Felice in Giano del Umbria, the Foundation house of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.

Mary putting the smack down on the Devil with a club is a common theme.  There are numerous depictions of the Devil trying to get at a soul, in the guise of a child running to mom for help.

I’ve written more about here HERE.

A few more versions just for nice.

Beating the Devil

It’s a whip this time.  Gotta sting.

Beating the Devil

Beating the Devil

Beating the Devil

Beating the Devil

Beating the Devil

Our Lady of Succor, ladies and gents.

And for the bonus round, here’s Barna da Siena’s offering of St. Margaret beating the stuffing out of the Devil with a hammer!

Beating the Devil

Posted in Our Solitary Boast, Lighter fare | Tagged ,
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Francis’ Four Guiding Postulates include: “Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced.”

Posted on 1 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
Francis' Four Guiding Postulates include: “Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced."

Juan Manuel de Rosas (17th Governor of Buenos Aires Province 1835 -1852)

“What is Francis doing?”

This is a question I get again and again in my mailbox.

I am at a loss.

This morning, however, it occurred to me that we might return to Francis’ “four postulates” which he included in his programatic document Evangelii gaudium.   You will remember them:

  • time is greater than space
  • unity prevails over conflict
  • realities are more important than ideas
  • the whole is greater than the part

Some speculate that he got these from his reading of Romano Guardini.  However, Juan Carlos Scannone’s ‘El papa Francisco y la teologia del pueblo’ (in Razón y Fe. 86) and Tracey Rowland (Catholic Theology US HERE – UK HERE) and others have uncovered the true source: a 1834 letter of the 19th c. Argentinian dictator, Juan Manuel de Rosas (1793– 1877) sent to another Argentinian caudillo [a type of personalist leader wielding political power], Facundo Quiroga (1788– 1835).

How might one in a swift and reductive way apply these to what is going on?    First, “wait them out”.  Second, “let there be chaos – eventually things will sort out, in a Hegelian way”.  Third, “lived experience trumps expressions of doctrine – eventually doctrine must adapt, in a Hegelian way, to lived experience.”  Fourth, “if there is a group that is not conforming to the larger group’s needs, reject them – in a Rawlsian way the whole remains the whole even if you lop off a few limbs.”

However, if you review Evangelii gaudium – as I am sure you do – you will find explanations of these four postulates.

What does Francis sign off on with EG?

“Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced. But if we remain trapped in conflict, we lose our perspective, our horizons shrink and reality itself begins to fall apart. In the midst of conflict, we lose our sense of the profound unity of reality.” (no. 226)

“When conflict arises, some people simply look at it and go their way as if nothing happened; they wash their hands of it and get on with their lives. Others embrace it in such a way that they become its prisoners; they lose their bearings, project onto institutions their own confusion and dissatisfaction and thus make unity impossible. But there is also a third way, and it is the best way to deal with conflict. It is the willingness to face conflict head on, to resolve it and to make it a link in the chain of a new process.” (no. 227)

Face the conflict head on!

 

Posted in ¡Hagan lío!, Francis, The Drill | Tagged
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Archbp. Viganò on meeting between Francis and Kim Davis during USA visit

Posted on 1 September 2018 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Go to LifeSite and read Archbp. Viganò’s statement about what really happened with the meeting between Francis and Kim Davis during his visit to these USA.  It is fascinating.

The picture painted is … unsettling.

Once again, Viganò supplies details and refers to witnesses and mentions documents.

HERE

One of the things that bothers me about these accounts provided by Archbp. Viganò is the 180° reversal of attitude that Francis would show toward the nuncio.   Viganò is dressed down and then then next time they meet, Francis is cordial.  Viganò is summoned by Card. Parolin to Rome because Francis is “furious”, and then he is received by Francis with smiles, to the astonishment of Parolin.

Posted in SESSIUNCULA | Tagged ,
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