CONTINUITY MAKES SENSE, RUPTURE WAS REALLY STUPID FOR THE CHURCH!

Pope Benedict has embolden many within the Church to criticize the "spirit of Vatican II" movement that was rampant in the Church from right after the Council until about the early 1990's or so. This hermeneutic was one of rupture with the past, historical revisionism and reconstruction of the Church according to a very wishy-washy, left leaning, rootless theology.
From the New Liturgical Movement Blog, Shawn Tribe writes the following reflecting on Cardinal Biffi:

Cardinal Biffi Critiques the Postconciliar "Spirit" of Vatican II
by Shawn Tribe

Readers may recall some while ago a discussion of the critique made by Cardinal Biffi around the topic of the new Ambrosian lectionary.

Today on Chiesa, Cardinal Biffi again arises, but this time in relation to a book of his memoirs. In that book, published in Italian, one of the topics addressed is the matter of the postconciliar era, and the matter of the so-called "spirit" of the Council which has ignored parts of the actual conciliar documents on the one hand, over-emphasized others and also imparted certain things to the Council not to be found there. As Biffi notes it, it is as though a kind of "virtual Council" has taken the place of the actual Ecumenical Council.

As Biffi describes it, "The first phase lies in a discriminatory approach to the conciliar pronouncements, which distinguishes the accepted and usable texts from the inopportune or at least unusable ones, to be passed over in silence.

"In the second phase what is acknowledged as the valuable teaching of the Council is not what it really formulated, but what the holy assembly would have produced if it had not been hampered by the presence of many backward fathers insensitive to the breath of the Spirit.

"With the third phase, there is the insinuation that the true doctrine of the Council is not that which is canonically formulated and approved, but what would have been formulated and approved if the fathers had been more enlightened, more consistent, more courageous."

Biffi concludes with what must be one of the take-home quotes, doubtless to be re-quoted from henceforth by many: "what is adopted and exalted in an almost obsessive manner is not the Council that in fact was celebrated, but (so to speak) a "virtual Council"; a Council that has a place not in the history of the Church, but in the history of ecclesiastical imagination."

To which he adds: "Anyone who dares to dissent, however timidly, is branded with the infamous mark of "preconciliar," ..."

One cannot help but note today, that there is a growing chorus of critiques of this co-opting of the Council; of what we might even call the manipulation of the Council. This critique is not rooted in -- as the rupturist school would like to spin it -- a rejection if the Council, nor in a going backward, but rather in precisely an opposite motivation which aims to take possession of and enact the Council proper, understood both literally from it's texts and implemented within the school of continuity that, while not opposed to developments, venerates our Catholic inheritance, traditions and identity.

Here is a section in translation from Biffi's book, provided by Chiesa:

COUNCIL AND "POSTCOUNCIL"

(pp. 191-194)

In order to bring a bit of clarity to the confusion that afflicts Christianity in our time, one must first distinguish very carefully between the conciliar event and the ecclesial climate that followed. They are two different phenomena, and require distinct treatment.

Paul VI sincerely believed in Vatican Council II, and in its positive relevance for Christianity as a whole. He was one of its decisive protagonists, attentively following its work and discussions on a daily basis, helping it to overcome the recurrent difficulties in its path.

He expected that, by virtue of the joint effort of all the bishops together with the successor of Peter, a blessed age of increased vitality and of exceptional fecundity must immediately benefit and gladden the Church.

Instead, the "postcouncil," in many of its manifestations, concerned and disappointed him. So he revealed his distress with admirable candor; and the impassioned lucidity of his expressions struck all believers, or at least those whose vision had not been clouded over by ideology.

On June 29, 1972, on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul, speaking off the cuff, he went to the point of saying that he had "the sensation that through some fissure, the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God. There is doubt, uncertainty, trouble, disquiet, dissatisfaction, confrontation. The Church is not trusted . . . It was believed that after the Council there would be a day of sunshine for the history of the Church. What has come instead is a day of clouds, of darkness, of seeking, of uncertainty . . . We believe that something preternatural (the devil) has come into the world to disturb, to suffocate the fruits of the Ecumenical Council and to prevent the Church from bursting into a hymn of joy for having regained full awareness of itself." These are painful and severe words that deserve painstaking reflection.

How could it have happened that from the legitimate pronouncements and texts of Vatican II, a season followed that was so different and distant?

The question is complex, and the reasons are multiform; but without a doubt one influence was a process (so to speak) of aberrant "distillation," which from the authentic and binding conciliar "reality" extracted a completely heterogeneous mentality and linguistic form. This is a phenomenon that pops up here and there in the "postcouncil," and continues to advance itself more or less explicitly.

We can, in order to make ourselves understood, hazard to illustrate the schematic procedure of this curious "distillation."

The first phase lies in a discriminatory approach to the conciliar pronouncements, which distinguishes the accepted and usable texts from the inopportune or at least unusable ones, to be passed over in silence.

In the second phase what is acknowledged as the valuable teaching of the Council is not what it really formulated, but what the holy assembly would have produced if it had not been hampered by the presence of many backward fathers insensitive to the breath of the Spirit.

With the third phase, there is the insinuation that the true doctrine of the Council is not that which is canonically formulated and approved, but what would have been formulated and approved if the fathers had been more enlightened, more consistent, more courageous.

With such a theological and historical methodology – never expressed in such a clear fashion, but no less relentless for this reason – it is easy to imagine the results: what is adopted and exalted in an almost obsessive manner is not the Council that in fact was celebrated, but (so to speak) a "virtual Council"; a Council that has a place not in the history of the Church, but in the history of ecclesiastical imagination. Anyone who dares to dissent, however timidly, is branded with the infamous mark of "preconciliar," when he is not in fact numbered among the traditionalist rebels, or the despised fundamentalists.

And because the "counterfeit distillates" of the Council include the principle that by now there is no error that can be condemned in Catholicism, except for sinning against the primary duty of understanding and dialogue, it becomes difficult today for theologians and pastors to have the courage to denounce vigorously and tenaciously the toxins that are progressively poisoning the innocent people of God.

IT WAS A NAIL BITER, BUT ARCHBISHOP DOLAN IS THE PRESIDENT!

UPDATE: Catholic Bishops Reject Moderate Leader, Elect New York's Timothy Dolan in a Shocker
POLITICS DAILY BLOG (PRESS HERE TO READ ARTICLE)


It was between Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Bishop Gerald Kicanas and just as the winner was to be announced, EWTN lost the feed! A real cliff hanger! But Archbishop Dolan won and so too the Church in the USA!

Just a side bar, when I was vocation director for the Diocese of Savannah, I visited two of our seminarians at the North American College in Rome around 1995 and met with the rector, Monsignor Timothy Dolan. He invited me to his apartment later in the day for a wonderful Italian dinner with some other guests he had invited. Man, can he talk! Everything he says is interesting.

During the meal, though, I thought to myself in premonition form, this man would be a great successor to Cardinal John O'Connor. I just thought this man, Msgr. Dolan was made for New York City. Am I clairvoyant?

DO YOU THINK THE HOLY FATHER, POPE BENEDICT READS MY BLOG?

Fr. McDonald, unchanging over the years

In the comment section of my very own blog, on Saturday, November 16th I wrote the following about bishops and bishops' conferences:

The bishop is a "vicar of Christ" in his own diocese. But he is responsible to Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Canon Law and obedience directly to the pope. He does not have to, though, follow every "dictate" of the USCCB. For example he could issue his own document on liturgy, music, architecture and forgo documents offered over the years by sub committees of the USCCB on the same. He could also write documents about war and peace and in some ways take exception to documents written by the USCCB. I don't think though he could take exception to Humanae Vitae or requests of the Holy Father to all bishops of the world. But with that said, I'm not opposed to the USCCB for it functions in a very important capacity nationally, but it is not on the same level of authority as the local bishop and his relationship to all of the above and the Holy Father.

The Holy Father, unchanging over the years:

Then on Monday, November 15th, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI said this to Brazilian bishops meeting in Rome:

The national bishops’ conference exists to promote collaboration among bishops, not to replace their authority, Pope Benedict XVI said to a visiting group of bishops from Brazil on November 15.

The episcopal conference “must avoid becoming a parallel reality or substituting for the ministry of each individual bishop,” the Pope said. He added that “the counselors and structures of the episcopal conference exist to serve the bishops, not to replace them.” Stressing the duty and authority of each individual bishop within his own diocese, the Pope said that the conference should help each bishop to carry out his work more effectively.

The Holy Father's comments two days after my comments makes me wonder, does His Holiness read my blog for fair and balanced blogging with no slant or ax to grind whatsoever? Could it be?

REMEMBER THE DEVIL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES, NOW GOOD MORNING AMERICA IS POSSESSED, KIND OF

Good Morning America interviewed Bishop Paprocki on the Exorcism conference in Baltimore. You can get the video of the interview by pressing Good Morning America!

CONFUSION ABOUT ECUMENISM AND INTERFAITH GOOD INTENTIONS RUN AMUCK PAVING THE WAY TO HELL?

I was just watching PBS's weekly religion show as I get ready for Sunday. There was a segment on Buddhist chaplains in hospitals.

In an interfaith seminar on hospital chaplaincy, a Buddhist chaplain asked a Catholic Sister-Chaplain if it was okay for him to make the "Sign of the Cross" when praying with a Catholic.

Her answer was "YES." "The Catholic will like that you identify with him/her and they might even think they are converting you." Of course she said that with a smile.

What do you think? Should a non-Christian make the Sign of the Cross which implies belief in the Most Holy Trinity and Jesus Christ who is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity who Himself has two natures, human and divine and through whom all prayer is addressed to God the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit; and by whom those who acknowledge Him are saved and no one is saved except through Him? Or is it just play acting on the part of the non Christian and thus an act of benign mockery and thus the antithesis of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue?

Your thoughts.

FORGIVENESS DOESN'T COME EASILY, A TERRIBLE PRICE MUST BE PAID!

We're told in Sacred Scripture that the only unforgivable sin is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.

This is what Mark Shea from "Catholic Exchange" writes about the unforgivable sin:

The only unforgivable sin is the one Jesus warns of in Mark 3:22-30:

"And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” And he called them to him, and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man; then indeed he may plunder his house. “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin,” for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”"

Note the context of the warning: Jesus is speaking to people who have seen that he does good and that he is good — yet who deliberately and perversely call good “evil” and who deliberately and knowingly choose to reject the healing, deliverance, and forgiveness he offers as “satanic.” The reason they cannot be forgiven is not that Jesus doesn't want to forgive them, but because forgiveness requires acceptance in order to do us any good. It's like a man at the bottom of a well cursing the people who are lowering him a rope. If he takes out a knife and cuts off the rope so that he can't even take hold of it, he can't be saved. But that's not because his rescuers don't want to save him. A good rule of thumb is this: if you are worried you may have committed the unpardonable sin, chances are very high that you haven't. A man who is worrying that he has offended Jesus is generally not a man who is cursing Jesus as satanic and deliberately spitting on everything that is true, good, and beautiful.

There is no sin — no sin at all — that we bring to Jesus with contrition that he is not willing and able to forgive. Indeed, our very willingness to repent is itself a gift from him who loves us before we are even aware of him. But the nature of the unpardonable sin is that we refuse to bring it for forgiveness. Instead, we spit on repentance and forgiveness and on the One who offers it. If we choose to do that, we (as always) get what we most deeply desire. If our deepest desire is that God leave us alone, we shall have it. And that Cosmic Loneliness is what the Church refers to as “Hell.” But nobody goes there by accident. It takes rather a lot of concentrated effort in resisting the grace and love of God.

Happily, we do not have to go there, however. That is why Jesus came. He means to save us.

Mark Shea

Senior Content Editor

Catholic Exchange

My comments:

Of course, what is quoted above concerns Jesus' forgiveness and our acceptance of that forgiveness which depends on repentance and contrition and acknowledging God as God and as the source of all love, goodness and forgiveness. Accusing God and His goodness as satanic is unforgivable.

But what about the person who cannot forgive the man who entered his home and killed his family? Can the one who is injured by the mortal sin of another be saved if he cannot forgive the one who is guilty?

Jesus calls us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect and therein lies the conundrum. We're not perfect on this side of life, but Christ who is God initiates the process by which we will be made perfect--by Him and through His suffering, death and resurrection. He is the only one who can make it happen and it cost Him dearly.

This now falls into the realm of my opinion. If I were to die at this moment, I must tell you that I have not perfectly forgiven those who have harmed me in my life. I have nothing as serious as some do in terms of murder, rape, sexual abuse and mental cruelty. But still I harbor resentment and some bitterness. I have tried to forgive, but haven't completely or perfectly.

If I find myself in heaven after my death, I will be perfectly reconciled with everyone including God. It might take a bit of purifying fire at my personal judgment for this to occur and a long stint in the purifying fires of purgatory, but when I get to heaven, I'll have forgiven perfectly everyone who has harmed me in any way and others will have forgiven me too for what I did to them if they are in heaven.

So if the murderer, rapist, child molester, and overall just nasty person repents and dies in God's grace and under the sign of the cross, he or she will get to heaven although purgatory may seem like an eternity for them. And when their victims get to heaven they will embrace in love. That's perfection and only rarely experienced on this side of purgatory and heaven. But I have heard true stories of heroic forgiveness and reconciliation in the here and now. So perfection must be possible even now, but only by the grace of God. It is His work, not ours, but we must be open to God's grace to bring it about, if not here, then in purgatory!

So, I would say pray the Our Father daily and if you mean it, you will be perfectly reconciled to God and to those who harmed you. It might take not only a lifetime, but time in purgatory for it to occur, but occur it will if one is open to it!

Politics divide U.S. Catholic bishops ahead of meeting

A short article from CNN on the USCCB:

The nation’s bitter political divisions are driving a wedge between some of the most powerful leaders in the U.S. Roman Catholic Church, according to the Religion News Service.

RNS writer Daniel Burke says several U.S. Catholic bishops charge that their church’s “flagship” anti-poverty program funds left-wing activists who subvert church doctrine on homosexuality and abortion.

The poverty program is called the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. The program has donated $290 million to groups combating poverty during the last four decades, according to RNS.

But the program has also attracted fierce church critics who are suspicious of anything that “sniffs of socialism,” the RNS article said.

Some of these critics have formed a coalition called “Reform the CCHD Now.” The coalition accuses some of the groups receiving CCHD funding of actions “antithetical to church teaching,” the RNS said.

At least 10 bishops have stopped CCHD collections in their diocese.

Michael Hichborn, a CCHD Now spokesman, said the church’s anti-poverty program was “philosophically flawed right from the outset”:

It never addresses sin as the root cause of poverty, which means it never addresses Christ as a remedy.

The ideological battle could move to the U.S. bishop’s annual meeting in Baltimore, Maryland next week (Nov. 15-18), when CCHD officials will present a list of reforms to preserve the anti-poverty programs’ Catholic identity.

The RNS article raised two broad questions:

Is partisan politics playing of a role in the bishops' tussle over the church’s poverty program?

Should the church program identify sin as the root cause of poverty, and Christ as the remedy?

THE USE OF EXTRAORDINARY MINISTERS OF HOLY COMMUNION, DOES IT BUILD FAITH AND REVERENCE IN THE ONE RECEIVING?

I saw this photo concerning another topic altogether. It appears to me that these are teenagers receiving Holy Communion in a high school setting. It also appears that one of their peers, a teenager himself, is distributing Holy Communion.

My question, and I ask it legitimately, is, does this increase or decrease the teenager's appreciation of the priesthood and the communicants' belief in the real presence of Christ and the reverence and respect that the moment of Holy Communion should elicit?

Or is it just another attempt to indicate that there should be no unique roles for the clergy in distributing Holy Communion, representing Christ in "persona Christi" even in the distribution of Holy Communion?

Let me know.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING POWERFULLY POSITIVE ABOUT THE HOLY PRIESTHOOD!

This video makes me want to join the Nobertines! They get it! If only we all would!

Vignette of the Norbertine Life at St. Michael's Abbey from St. Michael's Abbey on Vimeo.

THE DEVIL YOU SAY? YES, AND HE'S IN THE NEW YORK TIMES!

Believe it or not, there is yet another good article in Today's New York Times concerning the Catholic Church. This must be a sign of the end times!

It's on exorcisms and the need for more exorcists.

Oddly enough, this past Thursday when I visited our school's classrooms, my catechesis was on "spiritual warfare" (tied it into Veteran's Day and the courage of those who serve our country even to sacrificing their lives for us in war) and the reality of the devil. I spoke of the story of the fall of the Lucifer, that his power is much greater than we humans have. But as a "fallen archangel" his power is much weaker than God who created Him to be good prior to Lucifer's rebellion and the other angels he took with him. Their rebellion was definitive and eternal with no possibility of "repentance" and return. They seek the ruin of souls in this life and for an eternity.

The article from the New York Times touches on what is marvelously called "The Hermeneutic of Reform within Continuity" that His Holiness Pope Benedict has brought to the fore in his marvelous papacy! We're rediscovering our past and an appreciation for it which the dreadful "hermeneutic of reform within the context of rupture with our past" foisted upon the Church immediately following the Second Vatican Council by those who in their "drunken" euphoria to cast off any restraints of the Church's treasury of discipline, promoted libertine rupture from tradition at a feverish pace. Their days were numbered and are numbered and new generations formed by Pope John Paul II and now Pope Benedict soberly attend to the true meaning of the Second Vatican Council.

READ ABOUT THE DEVIL IN THE NEW YORK TIMES BY PRESSING THIS SENTENCE!

BISHOP KICANAS CLARIFIES HIS REMARKS ABOUT FUTURE PRIEST ABUSER

What I post below is from "Catholic Culture" quoting Biship Kicanas who clarifies remarks that appeared in the National Catholic Register.

My Comments first: When I was vocation director for the Diocese of Savannah,(between 1986 to 1998), we were taught at the various national workshops we attended on our "art" of discerning who would be an appropriate candidate for the priesthood, that same sex attraction should not disqualify a candidate immediately; just as heterosexual men can be chaste and celibate for spiritual and religious reasons, so too could homosexual men. The key was to discern or discover what their attractions were, which included if these were directed toward children or teenagers, and to discover what their history was as well.

In addition, we had to discern their "sexual maturity." Just because someone is a virgin in this regard doesn't mean they are mature sexually. Have they lived isolated lives; have they dated; have they matured in their own sexual self-awareness? Are there issues of the lack of "impulse control" when it comes to sexuality including masturbation. Part of the problem with those who have abused is that they were and are "developmentally" immature sexually and otherwise and have little of no "impulse control" meaning they are compulsive in sex and other areas of their lives. If this is combined with a drinking or drug problem, disaster looms.

In addition, we were taught that if a candidate had been sexually active, either in regards to a heterosexual orientation or same sex one, that they should prove their call to celibacy by having lived chastely for at least five years prior to being accepted as a candidate. One night stands, versus a more mature and self-giving relationship needed to be taken into account as well. How does a heterosexual man treat women? How compulsive is he in his relationships with them and how respectful? Is he promiscuous? I don't recall having accepted any heterosexual male who was compulsive in his sex life and disrespectful toward women in this or any other area of his life.

I must add,that in the discernment process that I led candidates through, that if I learned through that process of an active homosexual or same sex lifestyle in the past, that I would not recommend to the bishop that this man be accepted as a candidate. I do not recall having accepted any candidate for the Diocese of Savannah that had been in an "active" same sex relationship previously. As well I tried to be scrupulous in the "five year" living as a celibate for those with heterosexual inclinations.

What many seem not to be aware of when it comes to same sex attraction between two males is the following wisdom I learned from one of my deacons in Augusta concerning the nature of sexuality between men and women. He gave this advice to those preparing for marriage. Men are like microwave ovens when it comes to sex. It can be instant and quick. Women, however, are normally like crock pots, if you would pardon the simile. They need to warm up to it in marriage. They like affection, flowers, sweet words and this might take all day to bring them to the point that they are willing, grateful partners in the marriage act. In this area, if the art of sexuality between a husband and a wife isn't developed by the husband, the wife might well feel that she is being used only as an object for the husbands gratification needs.

In other words, it doesn't take much for men to get in the mood whereas for women it does take some nurturing. That's the complimentary nature of heterosexual sex that is lacking in male same sex attraction and instant gratification at any time and any place.

With that said, please judge the good bishop's clarification below for yourself.

Bishop Kicanas defends his handling of McCormack case
November 12, 2010

The vice-president of the US bishops’ conference has denied that he ignored evidence of sexual abuse while he served as rector of a Chicago seminary.

Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tuson, Arizona, told the National Catholic Register that he had never heard reports that Daniel McCormack had been guilty of sexual abuse when he supervised McCormack’s study at Mundelein seminary. After his ordination, McCormack would face charges of molesting more than 20 boys.

Because Bishop Kicanas is a heavy favorite to be elected president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops at the upcoming meeting of the episcopal conference, Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register questioned whether the bishop’s support for McCormack’s ordination, in spite of early evidence of sexual misconduct, would cause embarrassment for the US bishops. Responding to queries from Drake, Bishop Kicanas said:

At no time while McCormack was a seminarian at Mundelein did I receive any allegation of pedophilia or child molestation against him.

The bishop did admit that he had received reports of McCormack’s involvement in homosexual activities, but an inquiry concluded with the judgment that these episodes were “experimental and developmental,” and would not affect McCormack’s ability to live a celibate life.

Bishop Kicanas said that his words had been taken out of context in a November 2007 Chicago Sun-Times story about McCormack, in which the bishop had been quoted as saying: “It would have been grossly unfair not to have ordained him.” He insisted: “I would never defend endorsing McCormack’s ordination if I had had any knowledge or concern that he might be a danger to anyone, and I had no such knowledge or concern.”

Pope issues ‘most important document on Scripture since Vatican II’

You can read it here and there is a link to the actual, long document.

INSIGHTS AS TO WHY CATHOLIC BISHOPS OF THE PAST MADE SUCH DREADFUL DECISIONS WHICH LED TO THE SEXUAL ABUSE OF SCORES OF MALE CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS!

This is a brief excerpt of what the National Catholic Register, a conservative Catholic newspaper is saying about the possible election of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson as the President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Journalist warns against election of Bishop Kicanas as USCCB president
November 11, 2010

Tim Drake, senior writer for the National Catholic Register, is warning that the election of Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) would be a public relations disaster for the Church.

Bishop Kicanas is currently the conference’s vice president, and the vice president is typically elected president. The USCCB will elect a new president at its November 15-18 meeting; the ten candidates include Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore, Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit, and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver.

Drake writes:

Bishop Kicanas’ election is a potential powder keg. In his story, “Sex Abuse Lurks Behind Catholic Election,” Chip Mitchell [of WBEZ, Chicago Public Radio] tells the horrific story of Father Daniel McCormack, who molested at least 23 boys. The story demonstrates that Bishop Kicanas, while rector of Chicago’s Mundelein Seminary, was aware of accusations of sexual misconduct against McCormack, but chose to ordain him anyway.

Asked about it, Bishop Kicanas essentially said that he would do it again.

“It would have been grossly unfair not to have ordained him,” Bishop Kicanas said shortly after being elected as vice president of the USCCB, in a quote that appears in the deposition of Cardinal Francis George. “There was a sense that his activity was part of the developmental process and that he had learned from the experience,” continued Bishop Kicanas. “I was more concerned about his drinking. We sent him to counseling for that.”

My comment: The cold, clinical, crassness of the bishop in the last paragraph above in a nutshell is the reason why we are in the crisis of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church that is comparable to attitudes about other rampant anomalies that existed in the Church at the time of the Protestant Reformation. The convoluted thinking of the bishop and his concern that the problem with the priest mentioned in the article was a "developmental" problem that led him to sexually abuse teenagers was less grave than his drinking problem which to Bishop Kicanas was of more concern. For these bishops of this mindset, therapy for the abuser is the cure, damn the victims and the would-be victims! It is outrageous, but this was the thinking of not a few bishops back in the 1970's and forward until 2002. Evidently the good bishop hasn't caught up with the times and if he is elected president of the USCCB, neither have the bishops who would vote for him. Just my opinion.

IS OUR NEW ENGLISH MASS SET FOR ADVENT OF 2011 GOING TO BE A TRANSLATION DEBACLE? PRAY TELL IT WON'T BE, BUT TIME WILL TELL!

Nimrod's Tower of Babel

There is some real concern that someone at the Vatican has tinkered with the English translation submitted by the English speaking bishops who approved it in 2008. The 2010 tinkering was not approved by them, but by someone else. It is not an improvement evidently. You can read about this possible debacle from three sources. The first source, the blog PrayTell has been the only blog until yesterday, when Fr. Z chimed in, to actually bring this to the blogging world. PrayTell is slanted as are all blogs, except mine, but has done somewhat of a good job with this. So as is my policy, and in a fair and balanced way, I bring you three articles on this, from PrayTell the first to tell the blogosphere, the NCR, fishwrap, but with good articles at times and then from "What Does the Prayer Really Say" by Fr. Z, who sent my rats in the rectory nightmare worldwide!

A POST FROM PRAYTELL ON THE DEBACLE

A POST FROM THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER ON THE DEBACLE

A POST FROM "WHAT DOES THE PRAYER REALLY SAY" ON THE DEBACLE

If this debacle in translation comes about, maybe like Fr. Z writes, the only solution will be to use the Latin and get missal companies to do an accurate translation of the Latin for in pew following! If you look at the pre-Vatican II St. Joseph Sunday Missal for the Tridentine Mass, their English translation of that Latin Mass is superb. I guess they didn't have a committee doing the translation. You know what they say, God must have used a committee to create the Giraffe! The same thing has happened with this English translation! Tower of Babel all over again!

THOUSANDS SET TO LEAVE THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND BECOME ROMAN CATHOLICS?

Just one of the many reasons the Anglican Communion is in such disarray, Bishop Eugene Robinson and his "husband."

This week five Anglican bishops resigned their positions with the Church of England and intend to become part of the new structure in the Roman Catholic Church for former Anglicans. One of them says thousands of lay Anglicans will swim the Tiber to Rome. Time will tell.

Read the Herald Sun article from the United Kingdom Here, by pressing this sentence! Thousands tipped to desert Church of England and follow bishops to Rome (Herald Sun)

I feel for traditional Anglicans and Episcopalians who have had their Church hijacked by extreme left wing social engineers in their denomination who prefer a post-Christian Anglican Communion. In doing so they have set in motion the destruction of their institution and have thumbed their noses at the Anglican/Catholic dialogue which for years had striven to bring the two Communions back together again. In the 1970's there was actual hope that this might happen. Positions that the Anglicans have taken beginning with ordination of women to their priesthood and subsequent more radical positions have moved the Church of England further away from Roman Catholicism, more so than at any point since King Henry VIII brought Catholicism in England into open schism.

Pope Benedict has found another way to bring Anglicans back to the full communion of their Church. He is the pope of Christian unity!

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME

Bishop Fulton Sheen teaches on angels and laments during this broadcast in 1950's (which in the minds of many traditional Catholics is the Utopian time for Catholicism in the USA)that children today aren't taught about angels, the world is closed to God and modern architecture shows it. The world is too materialistic and has little room for God or for angels and children prefer Captain Marvel and superman.

CATHOLIC BLOOD SHED BY EXTREMIST MUSLIMS, NOT MUCH OF AN OUTCRY IN THE WORLD ABOUT IT!

Pope Benedict burned in effigy by rank and file Muslims after a speech he gave on Islam in 2006 at a university in Germany!

One of the priests amongst 60 laity and some clergy massacred by militant Islamic extremists in an Iraq Catholic Cathedral two weeks ago!

The blood of Baghdad screams out to heaven and earth!

Read this article, "His Wrath Upon Their Heads" by FATHER RAYMOND J. DE SOUZA, on the massacre that happened in Iraq about two weeks ago at Mass. Press this sentence.

About two weeks ago, Islamic terrorists entered a Catholic Cathedral in Iraq and killed about 60 Catholics along with their priests as they celebrated Mass together.

There was some news about it in the main stream press but very little in my opinion compared to how the press covered Pope Benedict and his September, 2006 speech at Regensburg University and the Muslim reaction, so fierce that threats were made against the Holy Father's Life and he was burned in effigy in many Islamic countries.

Could you imagine the world-wide coverage in the liberal media and their outrage if Catholics entered a Mosque and did the same thing to Muslims as they prayed?

READ A 2006 ARTICLE BY THE BBC CONCERNING POPE BENEDICT'S SPEECH ON ISLAM BY PRESSING THIS SENTENCE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

And from MSNBC from September 16, 2006.

HOLY INCENSE BATMAN! NO ROBIN, HOLY THURIBLE!

When I arrived at St.Joseph Church in Macon in 2004, I began to implement the use of incense on an every Sunday basis at our 9:30 AM and 12:10 PM Mass. Incense was seldom used here until my arrival. I noticed that for some parishioners quite unaccustomed to the sense of smell at Mass, started to cough even at the sight of the thurible, let alone the sight of incense smoke.

Now in my seventh year, I hardly ever hear anyone cough at the sight of the thurible or the actual incense streaming out in a haze of intoxicating delight. In my previous parish in Augusta, the Metro Spirit, an alternative newspaper, made me the cover boy of the weekly, with a picture that filled the front page of me incensing the altar at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. I have it framed in my sitting room!

But now I am inspired by the Spaniards and Pope Benedict's delight at what he saw and experienced this past Saturday in Spain. So this Sunday, my parishioners will see a gargantuan, giant thurible of the nth degree hanging from the cupola of St. Joseph swinging madly in front of them, very similar to the one in this video! Enjoy:

NOW IF YOU DON'T THINK THAT'S COOL, THEN YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT COOL IS! LEAVE IT TO THE SPANIARDS!

IS THIS USING RELIGIOUS MUSIC FOR CRASS COMMERCIALISM OR IS IT JUST SOMETHING PRETTY DARN AWESOME AND A MOMENT OF GRACE IN A DEPARTMENT STORE?

As reported on the Creative Minority Report Blog: Just this past weekend, shoppers at the the Macy's in Philadelphia (the old Wanamaker building) were surprised when over 600 choristers who were there mingling with regular shoppers suddenly burst into Handel's Hallelujah Chorus. It's pretty awesome.

The Opera Company of Philadelphia was instrumental in bringing it together to perform one of the Knight Foundation's "1000 Random Acts of Culture" which they'll be doing over the next three years across the country. Accompanied by the Wanamaker Organ - the world's largest pipe organ - the singers burst into song at exactly noon.

(A disclaimer, I worked for R.H. Macy and Company in downtown Augusta from 1972 to 1976 while I went to college. Macy's operated many stores under different names, the one in Augusta was called Davison's Department store, but my paycheck said Macy's! I was a student in college and they bent over backwards to accommodate me with my school hours and to give me more hours when school was not in session. I have very fond memories of Macy's!)

Check it out!

IS IT AGAINST NATURAL LAW AND THUS IMMORAL TO BE BODY SCANNED? JUST ASKING!

This morning I drove from Augusta to Macon listening to FOX news on my XM radio. There was a brief discussion of airport body scanners, the type that lets those looking at it see it all hang out. The commentator felt we as citizens have a right not to be scanned and that images like the one below could get on the internet. He called it pornography, although I don't think I would go that far.

But I confess! I've been body scanned and was not given the option to be body molested by the security guards, in fact I didn't even know what was happening until it happened.

This summer on the way back from Ireland to Atlanta, we deplaned and went through Atlanta Customs. Of course, we must get our bags to go through customs and then recheck them before we can exit the airport so that we can get our baggage at the baggage area rather than bring the baggage through the airport and its trains.

Now keep in mind I went through security in Ireland. For some reason, once we went through customs in Atlanta, we had to once again go through security to enter the area where we would take the trains to the next gate or to baggage.

I was singled out to go through not the metal detector but the body scanner, but was not told that I was going through a scanner, in fact I had never seen one up close and personal. You get into this contraption, are told to raise your hands above your head, stand still, and then this thing rolls around,"all over your body" and you leave. I wasn't given the choice of an intrusive physical search.

I'm not a prude, but it is an invasion of personal privacy I think. I wonder now if people are taking delight I would hope, but more than likely taking disgust at my image if it gets to the world wide web and it could be for all I know! This is immoral isn't it or am I overreacting????????

Because I wasn't dressed as a priest, but in casual clothes, I didn't really think anything of it at the time; it happened all so quickly and I'm not a prude. But I do think that if I had been in my priestly collar I would have felt most uncomfortable.

What do you think? This is what the person viewing the scan in another room sees! Fortunately, you can't see the person's reaction, but I'm sure, being human, he or she is having some kind of reaction! By the way, the image below is not of me! At least I don't think so! No, it can't be me, I am in much better shape and look so much better than this! Certainly this is not me! Please God don't let it be me!

ANONYMOUS TO HOLY FATHER(S): STAY OUT OF THE BEDROOM!

I received this anonymous comment on my "hyper-secularized" post that has 94 comments or more, on my little old blog no less! I never would have thunk! But I digress. Read this comment and I respond below it.

"Anonymous said...

The pope needs to STAY OUT OF THE BEDROOM. What two people do there is NOBODY'S business. Especially someone who has never had sex, namely the pope. Or, should we never say never. That is a vote for heterosexuals and homosexuals alike."

Several years ago I spoke to a Sunday School group at the First Baptist Church in Augusta (the birth place of the Southern Baptist Convention, by the way) on the Church's teaching on birth control and human sexuality, including marriage. I was asked about the fact that many Catholics disregard these teachings. My answer was that these teachings, based upon Scripture, Tradition and natural law are precisely that, teachings. No one can force anyone to follow the moral law and "I'm not a policeman standing over the bed of any couples, married or not, exerecising their unconverted instincts and ready to arrest them if they don't follow Church teaching as it concerns sex. I stay out of the physical bedrooms of the my parishioners and only offer revealed truth as advice to them." The Southern Baptists liked my answer!

I gave a presentation on Stewardship in three cities of the Diocese of Bismarck this past week. Apart from my presentation, the group also viewed a video tape by Msgr. McGreed of the Diocese of Wichita who is a pioneer in stewardship. He made it clear that stewardship is a Biblical principle that helps us to live our Catholic faith. Our Catholic faith touches every aspect of our lives, from sex to the pocketbook and calls us to be good stewards of all that God has given us. The two areas that many Christians resent God or the Church touching or striving to convert is our sex lives and our pocket book. But yet in both of these areas converting is necessary, but is only accomplished by being open to the grace of God to allow this to happen by God's grace.

Evidently, anonymous above is not open to conversion in the area of sexuality as God as enlightened the Church on this issue. Anonymous is not a good steward of God's gracious gifts evidently. That's sad!

THE HOLY FATHER SPEAKS THE MIND OF GOD AND THE CHURCH! NEW YORK TIMES PRINTS THE TRUTH, THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST WILL OCCUR!

Pope Defends Family as Spanish Gays Hold ‘Kiss-In’, Today's New York Times coverage of the pope! Press this sentence to read all about it. Actually it is a good article!

THE HOLY FATHER CONSECRATES A BRAND SPANKING NEW TEMPLE-BASILICA OF THE HOLY FAMILY BEGUN ONLY 100 YEARS AGO!

UPDATED WITH IMPRESSIVE SHORT VIDEO OF INTERIOR DEDICATION AND ADDITIONAL STILL PICTURES!


Absolutely spectacular and "Wizard of Oz" like! HOW MANY TODAY COULD WAIT FOR A NEW CHURCH TO TAKE 100 YEARS TO COMPLETE? And it is yet to be completed, outside still adding spires!

Click to enlarge




I'm watching live the pope consecrate this magnificent "new" basilica. The Holy Father's Homily for the Mass:

"The Torch of Faith Alight"
HOMILY OF POPE BENEDICT XVI
DEDICATION OF THE EXPIATORY TEMPLE OF THE SAGRADA FAMILIA
BARCELONA
7 NOVEMBER 2010

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

“This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.... The joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:9-11). With these words from the first reading that we have proclaimed, I wish to greet all of you taking part in this celebration. I extend an affectionate greeting to their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain who have graciously wished to be with us. I extend a thankful greeting to Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, Archbishop of Barcelona, for his words of welcome and for his invitation to me to dedicate this Church of the Sagrada Familia, a magnificent achievement of engineering, art and faith. I also greet Cardinal Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Archbishop Emeritus of Barcelona, the other Cardinals present and my brother bishops, especially the auxiliary bishop of this local church, and the many priests, deacons, seminarians, religious men and women, and lay faithful taking part in this solemn ceremony. I also extend a respectful greeting to the national, regional and local authorities present, as well as to the members of other Christian communities, who share in our joy and our grateful praise of God.

Today marks an important step in a long history of hope, work and generosity that has gone on for more than a century. At this time I would like to mention each and every one of those who have made possible the joy that fills us today, from the promoters to the executors of this work, the architects and the workers, all who in one way or another have given their priceless contribution to the building of this edifice. We remember of course the man who was the soul and the artisan of this project, Antoni Gaudí, a creative architect and a practising Christian who kept the torch of his faith alight to the end of his life, a life lived in dignity and absolute austerity. This event is also in a certain sense the high point of the history of this land of Catalonia which, especially since the end of the nineteenth century, has given an abundance of saints and founders, martyrs and Christian poets. It is a history of holiness, artistic and poetic creation, born from the faith, which we gather and present to God today as an offering in this Eucharist.

The joy which I feel at presiding at this ceremony became all the greater when I learned that this shrine, since its beginnings, has had a special relationship with Saint Joseph. I have been moved above all by Gaudí’s confidence when, in the face of many difficulties, filled with trust in divine Providence, he would exclaim, “Saint Joseph will finish this church”. So it is significant that it is also being dedicated by a Pope whose baptismal name is Joseph.

What do we do when we dedicate this church? In the heart of the world, placed before God and mankind, with a humble and joyful act of faith, we raise up this massive material structure, fruit of nature and an immense achievement of human intelligence which gave birth to this work of art. It stands as a visible sign of the invisible God, to whose glory these spires rise like arrows pointing towards absolute light and to the One who is Light, Height and Beauty itself.

In this place, Gaudí desired to unify that inspiration which came to him from the three books which nourished him as a man, as a believer and as an architect: the book of nature, the book of sacred Scripture and the book of the liturgy. In this way he brought together the reality of the world and the history of salvation, as recounted in the Bible and made present in the liturgy. He made stones, trees and human life part of the church so that all creation might come together in praise of God, but at the same time he brought the sacred images outside so as to place before people the mystery of God revealed in the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In this way, he brilliantly helped to build our human consciousness, anchored in the world yet open to God, enlightened and sanctified by Christ. In this he accomplished one of the most important tasks of our times: overcoming the division between human consciousness and Christian consciousness, between living in this temporal world and being open to eternal life, between the beauty of things and God as beauty. Antoni Gaudí did this not with words but with stones, lines, planes, and points. Indeed, beauty is one of mankind’s greatest needs; it is the root from which the branches of our peace and the fruits of our hope come forth. Beauty also reveals God because, like him, a work of beauty is pure gratuity; it calls us to freedom and draws us away from selfishness.

We have dedicated this sacred space to God, who revealed and gave himself to us in Christ so as to be definitively God among men. The revealed Word, the humanity of Christ and his Church are the three supreme expressions of his self-manifestation and self-giving to mankind. As says Saint Paul in the second reading: “Let each man take care how he builds. For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 3:10-11). The Lord Jesus is the stone which supports the weight of the world, which maintains the cohesion of the Church and brings together in ultimate unity all the achievements of mankind. In him, we have God’s word and presence and from him the Church receives her life, her teaching and her mission. The Church of herself is nothing; she is called to be the sign and instrument of Christ, in pure docility to his authority and in total service to his mandate. The one Christ is the foundation of the one Church. He is the rock on which our faith is built. Building on this faith, let us strive together to show the world the face of God who is love and the only one who can respond to our yearning for fulfilment. This is the great task before us: to show everyone that God is a God of peace not of violence, of freedom not of coercion, of harmony not of discord. In this sense, I consider that the dedication of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great importance, at a time in which man claims to be able to build his life without God, as if God had nothing to say to him. In this masterpiece, Gaudí shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the secret of authentic originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to one’s origin which is God. Gaudí, by opening his spirit to God, was capable of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads man to an encounter with him who is truth and beauty itself. The architect expressed his sentiments in the following words: “A church [is] the only thing worthy of representing the soul of a people, for religion is the most elevated reality in man”.

This affirmation of God brings with it the supreme affirmation and protection of the dignity of each and every man and woman: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple?... God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17). Here we find joined together the truth and dignity of God and the truth and dignity of man. As we consecrate the altar of this church, which has Christ as its foundation, we are presenting to the world a God who is the friend of man and we invite men and women to become friends of God. This is what we are taught in the case of Zacchaeus, of whom today’s gospel speaks (Lk 19:1-10), if we allow God into our hearts and into our world, if we allow Christ to live in our hearts, we will not regret it: we will experience the joy of sharing his very life, as the object of his infinite love.

This church began as an initiative of the Association of the Friends of Saint Joseph, who wanted to dedicate it to the Holy Family of Nazareth. The home formed by Jesus, Mary and Joseph has always been regarded as a school of love, prayer and work. The promoters of this church wanted to set before the world love, work and service lived in the presence of God, as the Holy Family lived them. Life has changed greatly and with it enormous progress has been made in the technical, social and cultural spheres. We cannot simply remain content with these advances. Alongside them, there also need to be moral advances, such as in care, protection and assistance to families, inasmuch as the generous and indissoluble love of a man and a woman is the effective context and foundation of human life in its gestation, birth, growth and natural end. Only where love and faithfulness are present can true freedom come to birth and endure. For this reason the Church advocates adequate economic and social means so that women may find in the home and at work their full development, that men and women who contract marriage and form a family receive decisive support from the state, that life of children may be defended as sacred and inviolable from the moment of their conception, that the reality of birth be given due respect and receive juridical, social and legislative support. For this reason the Church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family.

As I contemplate with admiration this sacred space of marvellous beauty, of so much faith-filled history, I ask God that in the land of Catalonia new witnesses of holiness may rise up and flourish, and present to the world the great service that the Church can and must offer to humanity: to be an icon of divine beauty, a burning flame of charity, a path so that the world may believe in the One whom God has sent (cf. Jn 6:29).

Dear brothers and sisters, as I dedicate this splendid church, I implore the Lord of our lives that, from this altar, which will now be anointed with holy oil and upon which the sacrifice of the love of Christ will be consumed, there may be a flood of grace and charity upon the city of Barcelona and its people, and upon the whole world. May these fruitful waters fill with faith and apostolic vitality this archdiocesan Church, its pastors and its faithful.

Finally, I wish to commend to the loving protection of the Mother of God, Mary Most Holy, April Rose, Mother of Mercy, all who enter here and all who in word or deed, in silence and prayer, have made this possible this marvel of architecture. May Our Lady present to her divine Son the joys and tribulations of all who come in the future to this sacred place so that here, as the Church prays when dedicating religious buildings, the poor may find mercy, the oppressed true freedom and all men may take on the dignity of the children of God. Amen.

THE POWER OF KNEELING FOR HOLY COMMUNION

Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, receives Holy Communion kneeling!

I've been watching the papal Mass in Spain. People are receiving Holy Communion. As is Pope Benedict's desire, communicants kneel to receive our Lord, the Bread of Life at the pope's station.

The first to receive Holy Communion was the prince and princess of Spain, the royal family. They knelt and what a powerful sight to see them do so. Standing conveys something else altogether. Kneeling, especially for royalty, keep them and all of us in our place before God!

AND YOU THINK I'M ORTHODOX, EVEN I BLUSH ON THIS ONE!

Bishop Robert Morlino of Madison, Wisconsin, read his letter to two parishes below my comments; but especially read his addendum! I was even squirming!

My comments first: Read Bishop Robert Morlino's letter to Catholics of two parishes where he assigned a traditional order of priests who uphold Orthodox Catholic teaching and the traditional liturgy (not sure if that is in the EF or OF). At the end of his letter is an addendum. I've never heard a bishop be so strong in support of canon law, doctrine and orthodoxy. You can see how a parish schooled in the theology of reform through rupture with tradition rather than reform through continuity with tradition would be reacting to the "hermeneutic of reform within continuity" in a negative way!

Evidently too, these parishes are infiltrated with the schismatic "Voice of the Faithful" and "Call to Action" groups that have some very dubious and unCatholic means to stir the pot and create even more dissent. I'm surprised there isn't open warfare!

At first blush, I feel that certain pastoral sensitivities are in order toward some of the dissent, particularly as it concerns two things that could create a great deal of misunderstanding, altar girls and the manner of homilies at a funeral Mass, especially if these dwell too much on purgatory or hell and in light of the congregation never having heard of these two doctrines until the funeral of a loved one. Perhaps the funeral Mass isn't the best place to introduce doctrine, but should be more pastoral. Being pastoral doesn't mean canonizing the dead, but it does mean comforting the grieving.

In terms of altar girls, what the bishop says is correct about Church law and the priest's legitimate right not to have them, especially in light of striving to promote vocations to the priesthood. However, I do think that parents get very angry when they perceive that their children are mistreated by clergy or religious and I could see how a girl who was an altar server would be quite alienated if told she couldn't serve with little or no adequate explanation.

Prior to Church law allowing altar girls, Bishop Raymond Lessard, the retired bishop of Savannah, in reaction to parishes which had altar girls "illegally" asked that girls be vested differently than the boys and that the girls could be allowed to carry the cross and candles of Mass, but that altar boys should be the ones that bring the wine and water to the priest and/or deacon at the preparation of the gifts and wash his hands, as well as bring the incense and boat to the priest. I thought this was a very good way to include girls but to keep the traditional role of the altar boy as a way for the church to plant the seed of priestly service in their hearts.

At any rate read the bishop! Wow! It takes guts in today's Church to write this. I hope and pray that Bishop Morlino has a strong constitution!

Bishop Robert Morlino’s letter to Platteville Catholic parishes
Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin

October 28, 2010
Feast of Sts. Simon and Jude

Dear Members of Christ’s Faithful of St. Mary and St. Augustine Parishes:

I am in receipt of your October 8, 2010 letter and petition. I am grateful that you have approached me with your concern, and I certainly recognize and respect your right to do so (Code of Canon Law, c. 212, §§2-3). By means of this letter I am replying to what you requested, namely, the “immediate removal of the priests of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest from St. Mary and St. Augustine parishes in Platteville.” A number of you have written to the Apostolic Nuncio about this matter. He has forwarded the letters to me after having read them. He asked that I inform you that he has forwarded these letters to me for my pastoral consideration, since the responsibility for priestly assignments rests with the diocesan bishop.

The removal of a priest assigned to a parish is a very serious matter, and I as a Bishop may only do so, at my discretion, for certain serious causes (c. 1741). I have found that much of what has been said amounts to opinion, misunderstanding, and rumor rather than fact. Nonetheless, after carefully weighing all of your reasons for the proposed removal, I have decided to keep Rev. Lope Pascual, Rev. John Del Priore, and Rev. Miguel Galvez in their current priestly ministry at St. Mary and St. Augustine parishes in Platteville. Their charisms for Catholic education and vocations will serve the people of Platteville very well, and they have my full support. With regard to each of your concerns, see the attached Addendum.

While I am available to all of the faithful of the Diocese of Madison, it is always best to resolve concerns with one’s Pastor(s) personally and locally. Not only does this give due respect to the priests, who have given their lives to serve you, but it is usually more efficient. I urge you to speak openly with these priests about your concerns; and I am confident that you will be treated with dignity and respect.

It grieves me to acknowledge that the reputation of three happy, holy, and hardworking priests has been seriously tarnished by rumor, gossip, and calumny (lying with the intent to damage another’s good name) by some within the parish community. Such conduct is gravely sinful, since some parishioners have been driven by fear, anger, or both, to distance themselves from their priests and even the Sacraments. This situation must cease, and charity must prevail on the part of all.

Furthermore, activities such as protest-letter-writing seminars, leafleting of motor vehicles, doorto- door canvassing for signatures on a petition, etc (that is, exerting organized political pressure on people, where the end justifies any means) is an appropriate tactic in a political campaign, but not in the communion of faith which is the Catholic Church. Groups such as “Call to Action” and “Voice of the Faithful” regularly employ such tactics against legitimate authority in the Church. Because these groups dissent from basic tenets of Catholic Doctrine and Discipline, they are not recognized as Catholic in the Diocese of Madison, much less are they able to exercise legitimate authority. It is my hope that these clarifications will prove helpful.

Please give these priests time and open hearts. I assure you of their good will and pastoral concern for all of you, and I ask you to join me in praying for them in their sacred ministry.

With warm regards in Christ Jesus, I remain,

Sincerely yours,

Most Rev. Robert C. Morlino
Bishop of Madison

Enclosure: Addendum

ADDENDUM
Since it is obvious that much thought and care went into the formulation of the reasons for the petition of October 8, I want to provide a response to each point for the ongoing reflection of the Parish.

A. Impact on Faith of Parishioners

1. Allegation: Introduction of faith doctrine that is pre-Vatican II in format and content

– Response: First of all, it is necessary for us to appreciate the eloquent teaching of His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI regarding the false dichotomy between the pre-Vatican II and post-Vatican II Church. While the Council introduced much renewal, this dichotomy is not healthy in the Church. It is what the Holy Father described as the “hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture.” We must rather adopt the “hermeneutic of reform,” which recognizes continuity in the Church’s life from before the Council to the present day. The hermeneutic of reform rejoices in the renewed presentation of the Church’s self-understanding without attempting to divorce itself from our rich Catholic heritage. The Holy Father taught this in his Christmas Greeting to the Roman Curia (December 22, 2005); I earnestly recommend that all the faithful prayerfully study this speech.

a. Allegation: Reversion to obedience rather than acting as Body of Christ

– Response: It would not be correct to see obedience to Church authorities and the common priesthood of the faithful as in any way opposed to each other. The Council itself highlighted both of these as important components to the life of the Church (Lumen gentium, no. 37). Indeed, the example of Christ our Savior is the very epitome of these two elements, since he offered his priestly sacrifice to the Father by being obedient to the point of death on the Cross.

b. Allegation: Treating not as true believers but as lost souls

– Response: It is not proven that any of the priests have called the parishioners “lost souls” in the paternalistic way implied in the petition. I would encourage parishioners not to infer that the priests currently assigned to St. Mary and St. Augustine Parishes are criticizing their predecessors simply on the basis of their own pastoral decisions. Every Pastor must prayerfully discern how to proceed in his ministry, and this not uncommonly takes a different course and expression than that of his predecessors. Likewise, I would urge parishioners not to infer that the priests are making personal judgments when they preach doctrines and disciplines of the Church which may have been less emphasized in the past or when they encourage or offer pious practices which may be a change in experience.

2. Allegation: Introduction of faith practices that are pre-Vatican II in format and content

– Response: The petition did not include any evidence of when the indicated practices were mandated by the priests. It is my understanding that the priests have made a kneeler available for those who wish to receive Holy Communion kneeling, without requiring it. The options of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue or in the hand are both acceptable; and I know that the priests respect this. In general, it is important for priests to verify that a person is properly disposed to receive Holy Communion (c. 843, §1), and this may include an assessment of whether a person’s hands are too dirty to handle the sacred species. In one incident of this in Platteville, after the priest received more complete background information, the offended party immediately received the priest’s apology, and the apology was accepted. As far as I am aware, this was an isolated incident and should not be characterized as a general trend.

3. Allegation: Homilies transmit teachings inconsistent with the Vatican II Council

– Response: Regarding this concern, it is probable that the remarks at no. 1 above are applicable. I note also that Fr. Pascual publicly invited any concerned parishioners to review his homilies, which he has recorded, so that they could tell him where they think he diverges from the teaching of Vatican Council II. To date, no one has stepped forward, nor was any evidence of this included in the petition. If anyone has very clear examples, I would encourage you to bring your concerns, along with the helpful citations from the documents of the Second Vatican Council to Fr. Pascual.

4. Allegation: Limiting altar service only to males so that young females aren’t deemed worthy in the eyes of Christ

– Response: It is permissible in the Diocese of Madison for Pastors to reserve altar service at the Holy Mass to males. This is particularly beneficial for the promotion of priestly vocations, which is a particular charism of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest. Once again, it is unfair and unreasonable to infer that the priests, by employing only males in this service, deem women to be unworthy in any way. Also, while it is a particular charism of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest to foster vocations to the priesthood, that does not mean, nor will you find, that they ignore the vocations of young women to the consecrated life, nor of young men and women to holy marriages.

5. Allegation: Reducing visits to homebound parishioners compared to Extraordinary Ministers

– Response: Extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion have no “right” to administer Holy Communion at all—whether within the Holy Mass or outside of it. The administration of Holy Communion is proper to the clergy; and extraordinary ministers may only be used when there is a true necessity (Instruction Ecclesiæ de mysterio, art. 8, §1). Therefore, the priests are obliged to administer Holy Communion to the homebound if they are able; they may only call on an extraordinary minister if they judge there to be a true necessity. To my knowledge, now that the priests are settled in Platteville, they are known to be consistent and diligent in this aspect of their priestly ministry.

6. Allegation: Lack of support for families suffering loss of a loved one with inappropriate comments at a funeral

– Response: I have known the priests to be quite supportive and attentive to grieving families. As for the comments about hell and purgatory, it is natural for the Last Things to be discussed at the time of a funeral. While it would be gravely wrong for a priest to declare that the deceased is in or deserves hell, there is no indication that this has ever been done by the priests of the Society. At the time of a loved one’s death, it is very important for priests and deacons to remind the faithful to pray for the departed and to have Masses offered for them in order to help make satisfaction for the temporal punishment due them for their sins (purgatory). If a soul is in heaven it can do no harm. If the soul is in purgatory, it can do great good.

7. Allegation: Insisting on an open flame candle at a nursing home that prohibits open flames

– Response: To my knowledge, this was an isolated incident, which was immediately resolved between Fr. Pascual and nursing home management, and in fact Mass is now regularly offered by the priests at the nursing homes.

B. Change of Worship Environment

Allegation: Worship environment has become unwelcoming and lacks joy

– Response: It is not proven that the celebrations in Platteville are lacking in due joyfulness, calling to mind also the characteristic sobriety of the Roman Rite. From other letters and communications it is also clear that what is reported in the petition is not the unanimous experience in Platteville. In fact, it is well known that the priests are reintroducing many images and practices that have never ceased to be an important part of the Church’s spiritual heritage. As for decisions about the kinds of music to be used in the Sacred Liturgy, this is prescribed by the universal liturgical norms of the Church. Also, it is the responsibility of priests to implement these norms in their parishes. Finally, it is entirely permissible for the tabernacle to be placed in a prominent, dignified place in the sanctuary; and in fact I routinely insist on this for renovation projects in the Diocese. On a personal and spiritual level, I would offer for consideration the reality that each of us is called constantly to seek real and lasting peace and serenity in our life of prayer – the very center of which, of course, is the Holy Mass. While I do not doubt that there have been some external changes at the parish nor that these changes – as change almost always does – may cause a certain unsettledness, the reality of Christ’s real presence in the Holy Eucharist is the same. God, Himself, remains constant, unchanging from age to age. I encourage each of you – as I remind myself each day – seek the interior peace and serenity that only God can grant you. Sincerely approaching your liturgical prayer with this at heart, and allowing all things to point to God, I am confident that whatever unsettledness you might be feeling will fall away and be replaced with a renewed and lasting peace in our God, who desires passionately to speak to you in the silent depths.

C. Parish Donations

Allegation: Parish donations have decreased by 50%

- Response: Parish donations often decrease when changes occur at a parish. The exact level of change at the two parishes here is not yet clear. Regardless, it would be wrong to imply that the priests should carry out their ministry in a way that is pleasing to the faithful in order to generate income for the parish. On the one hand, the priests have the responsibility to proclaim the Gospel in season and out of season, even if it is unpleasing to those whom their preaching challenges. On the other hand, it is the obligation of the faithful to support the work of the Church as a good in and of itself, irrespective of the popularity of the clergy. Financial support is not to be treated as a vote of confidence but as a gift of love. This was emphasized by Vatican II in many places (Presbyterorum ordinis, nn. 20-21; Apostolicam actuositatem, no. 21; Ad gentes, no. 36).

D. Approval of Finance Council

Allegation: Consultation with parishioners is next to non-existent; no approval of finance council

– Response: The duty of administration of the parish is entrusted to the Pastor and no other (c. 532); the Parochial Vicars participate in this according to the determinations of the Bishop and the Pastor. The Pastor never needs the approval of the finance council, pastoral council, or any other committee before making any decision (c. 536, §2, and c. 537). These councils and committees offer him insights, suggestions, and support; he can never allow them to bind him to make any specific decision, even by their unanimous vote (Instruction Ecclesiæ de mysterio, art. 5, §§2-3).