THE VATICAN SPEAKS, SO TO SPEAK!

Fr. Federico Lombardi on the discussions on economic issues of the Holy See

Vatican City, 4 November 2015 (VIS) – The following are reflections by Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, regarding a new chapter in discussions on the economic matters of the Holy See.

“As is known, a significant part of what has been published is the result of the disclosure of reserved information and documents, and therefore of an illicit activity that must therefore be prosecuted forthwith by the competent Vatican authorities. But this is not what we now wish to speak about, given that it is already the object of much attention.

Now, instead, we are interested in considering the content of the disclosures. It can be said that it consists mostly of information that is already known, although often less widely and with less detail, but above all it must be noted that the documentation published relates mostly to an significant effort to gather data and information, initiated by the Holy Father himself in order to carry out a study and reflection on the reform and improvement of the administrative situation of Vatican City State and the Holy See.

The COSEA (Commission for Reference on the Organisation of the Economic-Administrative Structure of the Holy See), from whose archive the majority of the published information originates, was instituted by the Pope for the purpose on 18 July 2013 and then dissolved after the fulfilment of its task.

This is not, therefore, information obtained against the will of the Pope or of the heads of the various institutions, but generally information obtained or provided with the collaboration of these same institutions, for a common positive purpose.

Naturally, a great deal of information of this type must be studied, understood and interpreted with care, equilibrium and attention. Often the same data can give rise to different readings.

An example is that of the situation of the Pension Funds, in relation to which a series of very different evaluations has been expressed, from those who speak with concern of a large “gap”, to those that provide instead a reassuring interpretation (as resulted from the official Communiqués published authoritatively through the Holy See Press Office).

Clearly there is then the issue of the destination and use of goods belonging to the Holy See. Although regarded in their entirety they appear extremely extensive, they are in fact aimed at supporting over time the vast range of service activities managed by the Holy See or connected institutions both in Rome and in different parts of the world.

The origins of the ownership of these goods are varied, and the suitable instruments for knowing their history and development have been available for some time (for example, it would be useful to refer to the economic agreements between Italy and the Holy See in the context of the Lateran Pacts and the work of establishing an effective administration carried out by Pius XI with the assistance of excellent and expert collaborators, a work commonly recognised as wise and far-sighted, also in terms of investments abroad and not only in Rome or Italy).

With regard to Peter’s Pence it is necessary to observe that it is employed for various purposes, also in situations, according to the judgement of the Holy Father, in which it may be given trustfully by the faithful in support of his ministry. The Pope’s works of charity for the poor are certainly one of the essential uses, but is certainly not the intention of the faithful to exclude the possibility that the Pope himself may evaluate situations of urgency and the way of responding, in the light of his service for the good of the universal Church. 

The Pope’s service also includes the Roman Curia, as an instrument of his service; his initiatives outside the Diocese of Rome; communication of his teaching to the faithful in different parts of the world, including the poor and distant; and the support of the 180 Pontifical diplomatic representations throughout the world, which serve the local Churches and intervene as the main agents for distributing the Pope’s charity in the various countries, as well as the Pope’s representatives in local governments. The history of Peter’s Pence illustrates this clearly.

These issues return to the fore periodically, but are always occasions for curiosity and polemics. It is necessary to study the situations and specific problems in detail and with professionalism, so as to be able to recognise much that is entirely justified, normal and well-managed (much more than is generally assumed and systematically excluded from the type of publication under consideration here) including the payment of taxes due, and to distinguish where there are problems to be corrected, ambiguities to be clarified, and genuine improprieties or illegal acts to be eliminated.

This was precisely the aim of the arduous and complex task initiated at the Pope’s behest with the constitution of the COSEA, which completed its work some time ago, and with the decisions and initiatives which are still in the process of development and implementation (or which are at least in part followed up by recommendations from the same COSEA at the end of its work). The reorganisation of the economic Dicasteries, the appointment of the Reviser general, and the regular working of the competent institutions for the supervision of economic and financial activities, etc., are an objective and incontrovertible reality.

The publication in bulk of a large quantity of different forms of information, in large part linked to a phase of work by now complete, without the necessary possibility of further clarification and objective evaluation instead produces the result – unfortunately largely intentional – of creating the contrary impression, that of a permanent reign of confusion, lack of transparency or indeed the pursuit of particular or inappropriate interests.

 
Naturally this does not in any way account for the courage and commitment with which the Pope and his collaborators have faced and continue to face the challenge of improving the use of temporal goods in the service of the spiritual. This, instead, is what would be more greatly appreciated and encouraged in the correct work of providing information to respond appropriately to the expectations of the public and the needs of truth. The path of good administration, correctness and transparency continues and proceeds without uncertainties. The is evidently Pope Francis’ wish and the Holy See has no lack of those who collaborate loyally and to the best of their abilities”.

AND THEN THERE IS THIS FROM THE VATICAN:

On current investigations in Vatican City

Vatican City, 4 November 2015 (VIS) – The following is the full text of the response given by Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, to questions from journalists regarding the investigations currently underway in Vatican City.

“The Office of the Promoter of Justice of Vatican City State Tribunal, following a report from the Financial Intelligence Authority, initiated investigations in February 2015 regarding operations of the purchase and sale of bonds and transactions attributable to Gianpietro Nattino.

 
The same Office has requested the collaboration of the Italian and Swiss judicial authorities by letters rogatory sent via diplomatic channels on 7 August 2015”. 

AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS ON THE VOCATION FRONT

This is from CRUX and you can read it here and its not only about a nun in a habit who is young but also about the Food Network. Of course the only religious orders of women who have young nuns are the ones who also wear habits and have a distinctive apostolate and actually live like nuns. This is a very nice updated Franciscan habit if you ask me!

Catholic nun set to compete on the Food Network

And then Rorate Caeili is reporting on the vocations galore of the FSSP not to be confused with the FSXP although they ain't doing bad either! And by the way I have a biretta too, what priest worth his salt doesn't?

For the record: Latest FSSP statistics

As of October 24, 2015, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter has a total of 421 members (257 incardinated), of whom 262 are priests, 14 are deacons and 145 are seminarians (including postulants but not including the deacons). All the deacons are incardinated in the FSSP. Of the 262 priest-members, 243 are incardinated, 11 are incorporated "ad annum", 4 are associated and 4 are postulants. Fifteen priests have been ordained this year -- the highest since 2004, when the FSSP had seventeen sacerdotal ordinations. (FSSP has averaged at 11 ordinations per year since 2004). The average age of the membership of FSSP is 37. 

Read more »

 

SHE'S PRETTY, BUT THIS IS ANYTHING BUT PRETTY; FOLKS ITS GETTING UGLY!

God help us! It was reported, and falsely I think, that when Pope Francis was about to step out onto the loggia of Saint Peter's, Monsignor Guido Marini handed him the mozetta to wear and Pope Francis said, no thank you, the carnival is over. Maybe whoever started this false story should have said  that Pope Francis said to Monsignor Marini, the carnival has only begun!

Italian PR expert accuses Spanish priest of papal wiretaps

AFP

November 4, 2015, 11:45 pm

Vatican City (AFP) - Italian public relations expert Francesca Chaouqui, arrested for allegedly stealing confidential documents from the Vatican, said Wednesday it was her co-accused, a Spanish priest, who secretly recorded the pope's conversations.

Monsignor Lucio Angel Vallejo Balda, who was also arrested on the weekend, is currently languishing in a Vatican jail, while Chaouqui was released Monday after cooperating with authorities on a case that has embarrassed the Church.

"It was Balda who recorded Pope Francis, I didn't know anything about it," the 33-year-old said in an interview published in La Repubblica on Wednesday in which she distanced herself completely from her former friend.

And she said she was not the only one who knew Vallejo Balda, 54, had been recording the pope without his knowledge.

Dubbed a "sex bomb" by Italian media, Chaouqui was part of a now defunct special commission (known as COSEA) set up by Pope Francis to advise him on economic reform within the Church -- along with Vallejo Balda.

"It was he who played one of the recordings to the members of the COSEA," Chaouqui said, adding that the others has been "astounded" by what Vallejo Balda had done but the matter ended there.

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Chaouqui said the conversation with the Repubblica journalist had been off the record and she had not given permission for it to be published.

The accused pair are suspected of having leaked documents and wiretaps to two Italian investigative journalists who published books this week dishing the dirt on gross financial mismanagement at the Vatican, including the use of charity funds to refurbish cardinals' homes.

In the recordings, the pope is heard complaining that the Vatican finances are "out of control" and demanding that tighter checks be made on expenses.

HOW THE MEDIA IS DECEIVING CATHOLICS AND THE WORLD ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE VATICAN AND NO IT ISN'T THE TRADITIONALISTS AND CONSERVATIVES THAT ARE THE PROBLEM, FAR FROM IT!

This sign should indicate any news outlet:

This is a headline on an article that shows how the media is manipulating us into believing that the culprits with the Vati-Leaks II episode are rigid conservative, traditionalists who hate Pope Francis and his liberalizing agenda. Isn't this how you would read this headline?:

Understanding the latest Vatican scandal: A clash of tradition against reform

Actually the headline above is for an interview which puts the lie of the headline to rest. It is actually a good, straightforward article/interview. It is from Canada's National Post and the interview is by the  National Post’s Joseph Brean  who spoke with John L. Allen, Jr., a leading American Vatican watcher and author of papal biographies, about the latest Vatileaks scandal. You can read the full article HERE.

But the last question nips the lie of the headline in the bud:

Q: Does this represent the clash of tradition against reform?

A: (John Allen) To some extent, yes, with the odd twist that the reformers and traditionalists on money in the Vatican are not the reformers and traditionalists on doctrine. The guy who’s in charge of this reform, an Australian cardinal by the name of George Pell, on virtually any political or theological issue you could name, would come off as a hyper-traditionalist, a very strong conservative. And yet, on this stuff, he clearly is the reformer facing off against elements of the Vatican’s old guard.

My final comments: The Vati-leaks II episode seems to want to discredit not only the Pope, but also Cardinal Pell. When it comes to cleaning up the mess that is the curia's financial issues, especially the bank, Pope Francis is the man and for the most part why he was elected to the papacy by the cardinals. Given the waste in the Vatican, Pope Francis' first words as pope, that he wants a poor Church had double meanings and those in the Vatican knew it! He has the will to clean it up and the guts. So does Cardinal Pell, Pope Francis' handpicked henchman--this is a good reform and liberalizing the Vatican's money and bookkeeping practices and making it transparent is a wonderful liberalization and I am in favor of it completely. All of us should be!

But the other scandal is the one that is doctrinal and of concern to those who are faithful, orthodox Catholics. 

Oddly enough, Cardinal Pell is the ring leader of the orthodox concern. But there is no scandal or skulduggery in what Cardinal Pell organized during or before the Synod on the family and marriage.

He was able to get about 13 cardinals to sign a letter of concern that was given to Pope Francis concerning some skulduggery with the synod last year and perhaps this year, that things were rigged in favor of heterodoxy.

This should have been a private letter to the pope, but someone leaked it? Who? The orthodox, faithful Catholics in the curia? I think not--it was the heterodox and they did it to humiliate poor old Cardinal Pell on this front too. One thinks that it might be the same group that is opposing Pell and the Pope on financial reforms in the Vatican.

I am not even sure you can call these people who are so immoral and unethical heterodox. I think they have long since abandoned the authentic Catholic faith in particular and Christianity in general. They are criminals who are greedy and see in their positions in the Vatican a sugar daddy. It really is disgusting and one thinks that perhaps not only reform is needed but also an exorcism. It is the smoke of Satan and the roar of the lion and the fulfillment of the prayer of St. Michael, that Satan prowls the world seeking the ruin of souls, but not only of souls, but also the Church!

How odd that we would have two scandals simultaneously and from the same source!

 

IT DOESN'T SAY EVERYTHING BUT THIS IS A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR WHAT LITURGY IS

Liturgy can refer to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, but it is a broader term. It refers to any official liturgy of the Church. The Divine Office can be celebrated solemnly as a liturgy.

This is a good general explanation. If the priest were focusing specifically on the Mass, I would suggest that the sacrificial aspect be included in the understanding of the so-called "Eucharistic Liturgy" which I admit is a bland term:

A new video is offered on Youtube on Sunday evening at this site: www.elementsofthecatholicmass.com.

USUALLY DEATH FOLLOWS MARRIAGE BUT NOT AT SAINT JOSEPH CHURCH, MACON, MARRIAGE FOLLOWS DEATH!

On All Souls' we commemorated all the Faithful Departed. We did so with a Solemn Sung Extraordinary Form using Faure's Requiem. We had deacon and subdeacon.

This coming Saturday, I will celebrate a Solemn Sung Nuptial Mass in the Extraordinary Form for two of my parishioners. We'll have the same deacon and subdeacon for this Mass but use Gregorian Chant throughout. 

In the Roman Missal, death follows marriage. But not in practice at St. Joseph, marriage follows death!

I think this will be my fourth EF Nuptial Liturgy, but the first as a Solemn Sung Nuptial. I've also celebrated a number of EF baptisms. And while I have celebrated EF Requiem's for All Souls, I've never had anyone request an EF Funeral yet.

I haven't had any request for the EF Rite of Penance. As I recall, it is the same as the OF except the absolution is given in Latin as the penitent recites the English Act of Contrition. The only part of the Rite of Penance as I recall from my youth that is in Latin is the absolution.

CONFUSION CONTINUES TO REIGN IN THE VATICAN AND IT IS HARD TO TELL WHO IS THE VICTIM, THE POPE OR THE CHURCH

There is a major scandal brewing yet again in the Vatican which is of the same nature as the scandals during Pope Benedict's time. It involves Vatican finances and leaking of private information of the pope's. I'm beginning to wonder if the mafia isn't in control of the Vatican Bank as corrupt as it is and which has such a corrupting effect upon those involved in it.

The more that is revealed about this scandal and that quite possibly it led to Pope Benedict's resignation as he couldn't clean it up himself and that those closest to him where the problem, his hand-picked men, I wonder why in the world we even have a Vatican Bank. Maybe it should be sold to a secular banking institution completely out of the hands of the Vatican?

I suspect in the case of this new scandal precipitated by two books that are being released this week with content from Vatican insiders who are trying to disrupt the Pope's efforts to clean up the finances of the Vatican which resulted in the Vatican arresting a priest-monsignor and a lay woman, both appointees of Pope Francis, who may well have leaked sensitive information to the authors, that Pope Francis is being victimized by them and these books.

However, there were red flags by conservative bloggers when the woman was appointed to her position not the least of which were due to racy photos of her and a male friend that appeared on the internet and some other inauspicious things she had said and done. Pope Francis gave her a pass though!

But there seems to be bigger problems at the Vatican under Pope Francis compared to Pope Benedict. It is clear now that Pope Benedict was not an administrator and disliked it, thus he delegated too much to men he trusted who betrayed him.

But Pope Benedict was a brilliant theologian and teacher of the Faith. He did not confuse anyone with his teachings and he did heroic work in bringing back Catholic orthodoxy and orthopraxis to rank and file Catholics.

Pope Francis on the other hand is no theologian. He is not clear in what he teaches and some of what he teaches seems to come very close to changing doctrine. He is a loose canon when it comes to the interviews he gives and the telephone calls he makes and the words he uses that are used against the orthodox.

The Holy Father's interview with the Italian atheist journalist where the journalist, who has misquoted Pope Francis before (or did he?) adds to even more confusion concerning mercy and morality, sexual morality in particular and those in irregular, illicit marriages.

The just completed synod was spun as an exercise in the messiness of synodality. It was simply a mess and you can put all the lipstick you want on a pig but it is still a pig!

There is more polarization in the Church today then we had since 1968 and much of it caused by Pope Francis and his ambiguities. 

This is a mess for the entire Church, clergy and laity together and it is of Pope Francis' making. The Financial scandal is a mess for the Vatican. I wish the first mess would be cleaned up first--its impacting more people in the Church than the stupid Vatican finances! Sell the damn bank!

AN O.F. REQUIEM FOR CARDINALS AND BISHOPS: IF ONLY PARISH REQUIEMS WERE LIKE THIS!

The Sistine choir continues to amaze us with their improved singing and chanting. Please note that the propers are chanted, the Mass is primarily in Latin and very sober and beautiful. I've concelebrated as the only concelebrant at this altar with the main celebrant when our choir sang at an evening Sunday Mass at the Basilica there. The Mass was in Italian and while I know and understand Italian at a child's level, I've taught myself to read it which I find more difficult that Latin or Spanish to read. So you can only imagine how my heart skipped a couple of beats when the priest-celebrant during the Eucharistic Prayer pointed to the part he wanted me to pray  which was in Italian. I had not looked it over ahead of time but I rose to to occasion, I think and also I think I sounded like a true Tuscano.  Also, I sat in the chair which would be to the right of the pope facing him.

This Mass was this morning:


Vatican Radio: Pope Francis said just as Jesus knelt to wash the feet of his closest disciples, so he calls all his ministers today to renew their commitment to service in his Church. Just as Jesus came to serve and not to be served, the Pope insisted, so his ministers are called in turn to be pastors, ready to give their lives for their flock. In the eyes of this world, he said, those who serve are seen as losers: but in reality it is those who give their lives and lose themselves in the love of Christ who will overcome death and give life to the world.

Pope Francis recalled the words of Jesus that “God so loved the world” that he sent his Son as a servant to take on our sins and to save us from death by dying for us. Just as the Israelites were saved from death, after being bitten by poisonous snakes, by looking at the bronze snake that Moses held up on a pole, so Christ saves us from death through his death on the Cross.

To our eyes, death seems dark and fearful, just as those who died from snake bites in the desert were full of fear and suffering. Yet Jesus took fully upon himself all these contradictions, the Pope said, so that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”.

This style of service and humility, he continued, has much to teach us. Though we find it hard to accept this mystery, he said, the secret lies in the strength of God’s love for us. Through the mystery of Easter, Jesus not only conquered death but transformed evil into good – not through words, but deeds, not on the surface but at the root. He has transformed the Cross into a bridge towards life and we can do the same if we choose to follow his example of service and humility.

LAST NIGHT'S REQUIEM FOR ALL SOULS SIMPLY STUNNINGLY, EXTRAVAGANTLY BEAUTIFUL AND VERY SPIRITUAL

In the next week or so, we'll have the video for on-line consumption and other photos

GIVEN THE LIBERALIZATION GOING ON IN THE CHURCH, I AM ONCE AGAIN LIBERALIZING THOSE WHO POST COMMENTS ON MY BLOG

I have return the blog to its libertine form of posting comments. Just be nice please. Don't denigrate people, don't use rude, crude and undignified language and don't be heretical or you won't be posted!

INTERNAL FORUM REVISTED A LA 1970'S

UPDATE BY EDWARS PENTEN BELOW

I have written about this well before the Synod on Marriage and the Family. This is what I was taught in my canon law class in the seminary. I was taught this around 1978 and really, really believed this was legitimate. I think there can be a case made for it as the Synod fathers seem to do last month.

The internal forum could only be used in the following scenario (as taught by my canon law professor who was a priest and taught canon law for many decades at the seminary prior to and after Vatican II):

1. The external forum had to be used first.
2. The external forum fails because of technicalities, such as lack of witnesses or only the couple themselves know what transpired and no one else does. 
3. With an ambiguous conclusion to the external forum that does not approve or disapprove the annulment, then the internal forum can be a last resort.

How the internal forum worked:

1. The penitent initiates it (not the priest) and does so within the Sacrament of Confession
2. The penitent tells the priest that he/she has gone through an unsucessful annulment due to technicalities
3. The penitent believes the first marriage recognized by the Church as a sacrament was not in fact a sacrament due to a number of circumstances known only to the penitent and/or the respondent.
4. The penitent explains that the second marriage not recognized by the Church is a good marriage, children are cared for, strong family life and children from previous marriage are supported
5. The penitent after being asked by the priest says no scandal would be involved if they were to return to Holy Communion as no one knows about their previous marriage
6. The priest tells the penitent that for him/her to return to Holy Communion is a decision of their conscience and only the penitent will be held accountable for doing so if in fact the first marriage is an actual sacrament. 
7. The priest offers a conditional absolution based upon what the penitent has revealed and the penitent is then free to receive Holy Communion although there is not a brother/sister relationship in the irregular marriage but the marital act is a part of the irregular marriage.
8. The priest may not convalidate the marriage in the Church.

I know that this is what I was taught and what I believed to be a pastoral solution only after the annulment procedure failed due to technicalities. I knew too that the penitent had to initiate it, not the priest and if the pastoral solution was given, the burden of conscience was on the penitent and in no way could the priest actually validate the second marriage.

This sound like what Pope Francis is purported to have told a journalist last week. Rorate Caeili is reporting this, but I have not seen it confirmed or denied by any other source, so this quote may be yet another falsehood concerning something the pope has said which in fact he did not say.

At any rate, if he did say it, it sounds awful much like what I was taught in the 1970's and fits with so much of the resurgence of 1970's thinking, theologically and ideologically under this pontificate:

The diverse opinion of the bishops is part of this modernity of the Church and of the diverse societies in which she operated, but the goal is the same, and for that which regards the admission of the divorced to the Sacraments, [it] confirms that this principle has been accepted by the Synod. This is bottom line result, the de facto appraisals are entrusted to the confessors, but at the end of faster or slower paths, all the divorced who ask will be admitted." [Rorate translation, emphasis added]

AND NOW THE VATICAN DENIAL AND THE LOGICAL QUESTION: WHY THE HELL DOES POPE FRANCIS GIVE INTERVIEWS TO A MAN LIKE THIS???

Latest Scalfari Article on Pope 'In No Way Reliable'
Vatican spokesman says La Repubblica article quoting Pope as wanting "all divorcees" admitted to the sacraments "cannot be considered the Pope's thinking"


by Edward Pentin 11/02/2015 Comments (17)

Reports that Pope Francis told the Italian journalist, Eugenio Scalfari, that remarried divorcees “will be admitted” to the sacraments via the confessional are “in no way reliable” and “cannot be considered as the Pope’s thinking", Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has said.

In a Nov. 1 article in La Repubblica, Scalfari, a 91 year-old atheist and Socialist, wrote that he had spoken with the Pope about the Synod on the Family on the telephone last Wednesday, during which Francis allegedly said: “We must not think that the family does not exist any longer, it will always exist, because ours is a social species, and the family is the support beam of sociability, but it cannot be avoided that the current family, open as you say, contains some positive aspects, and some negative ones.”

The Pope, according to Scalfari and translated by the Rorate Caeli blog, went on to say: “The diverse opinion of the bishops is part of this modernity of the Church and of the diverse societies in which she operated, but the goal is the same, and for that which regards the admission of the divorced to the Sacraments, [it] confirms that this principle has been accepted by the Synod. This is the bottom line result, the de facto appraisals are entrusted to the confessors, but at the end of faster or slower paths, all the divorced who ask will be admitted."

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the Register Nov. 2: "As has already occurred in the past, Scalfari refers in quotes what the Pope supposedly told him, but many times it does not correspond to reality, since he does not record nor transcribe the exact words of the Pope, as he himself has said many times. So it is clear that what is being reported by him in the latest article about the divorced and remarried is in no way reliable and cannot be considered as the Pope's thinking."

Father Lombardi said he would not be issuing a statement about the matter as those who have “followed the preceding events and work in Italy know the way Scalfari writes and knows these things well.” Over the past two years, Scalfari has written several such articles following conversations with Pope Francis, each of which has drawn controversy.
This exchange appears no different, which raises the question: why does the Pope continue to speak to someone such as Scalfari, and discuss such sensitive subjects with him, when he knows he is unreliable but likely to report his words without reference to a recording or transcript?


Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/fr.-lombardi-latest-scalfari-article-on-pope-in-no-way-reliable/#ixzz3qMUdddMr

I DON'T ASK FOR MUCH, BUT CAN'T SOMEONE SEND ME THIS TO COMPLETE MY ALL SOULS' ENSEMBLE?

For tonight's Extraordinary Form Faure's Requiem for All Souls, we have this:

I have this:

But I want this:

But until someone sends me the above, free of charge, as a gift, I'll have to wear this:

Because of benefactors' gifts we do have this for the EF and our OF Masses!

And speaking of gifts, how about receiving the Church's gifts of indulgences for the Faithful Departed. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about indulgences but because of Martin Luther were afraid to ask:

[ All Souls Day]

Explaining indulgences and practices Catholics can do during the month of November for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.

DIRECTIONS

It is during November that the Church meditates on the Communion of Saints, which is the charitable link with the faithful who have already reached heaven (Church Triumphant), the faithful departed who are still expiating their sins in Purgatory (Church Suffering) and of the pilgrim faithful here on earth (Church Militant). "In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1475).

On November 1st the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints, a Holy Day of Obligation, honoring all those faithful in heaven. Throughout November the Church also remembers our Faithful Departed. The need and duty of prayer for the departed souls has been acknowledged by the Church at all times. It is recommended in the Scriptures of the Old Testament: "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."(2 Macch. 12, 46). This duty has found expression not only in public and private prayers but especially in the offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the repose of souls.

Throughout November the Church prays for all who are in the purifying fires of Purgatory, waiting for the day when they will join the company of the saints in heaven. The celebration of Mass is the highest means the Church can provide for charity for the dead, but we can also relieve their sufferings through our prayers, sufferings and penances. We can also help the Poor Souls by doing acts and prayers that have indulgences attached to them. There are many indulgences, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, that can be obtained during the month of November.

An indulgence is "the remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned." To obtain this remission there are proper dispositions and certain conditions predetermined by the Church that must be met by the faithful. The remission is acquired through the intervention of the Church, who has the power to loose and bind granted through Jesus Christ. "As minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the Saints" (Enchiridion of Indulgences).

To understand this practice of indulgences, the Catechism explains:

[I]t is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.

The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains. While patiently bearing sufferings and trials of all kinds and, when the day comes, serenely facing death, the Christian must strive to accept this temporal punishment of sin as a grace. He should strive by works of mercy and charity, as well as by prayer and the various practices of penance, to put off completely the "old man" and to put on the "new man." (1472, 1473)

An indulgence can either be partial or plenary. It is partial if it removes only part of the temporal punishment due to sin, or plenary if it removes all punishment.

To be able to gain an indulgence, one must have the intention to gain them, and perform the works at the time and in the manner prescribed.

The traditional conditions to attain a Plenary Indulgence:

A Plenary Indulgence can be gained only one per day. The faithful must be in the state of grace and these three conditions must accompany the prescribed act:

the faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the pious act is performed,
receive Holy Communion on that day
and recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary is the minimum, but any other additional prayers may be added).

All attachment to sin, even venial sin, must be absent. If one's disposition is less than perfect or if some of the above conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence becomes partial.

In the Year 2000 Jubilee Year the Apostolic Penitentiary relaxed the conditions for confession and communion:

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence (only one per day), the faithful must, in addition to being in the state of grace:

– have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin, even venial sin; — have sacramentally confessed their sins; — receive the Holy Eucharist (it is certainly better to receive it while participating in Holy Mass, but for the indulgence only Holy Communion is required); – pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.

5. It is appropriate, but not necessary, that the sacramental Confession and especially Holy Communion and the prayer for the Pope's intentions take place on the same day that the indulgenced work is performed; but it is sufficient that these sacred rites and prayers be carried out within several days (about 20) before or after the indulgenced act. Prayer for the Pope's intentions is left to the choice of the faithful, but an "Our Father" and a "Hail Mary" are suggested. One sacramental Confession suffices for several plenary indulgences, but a separate Holy Communion and a separate prayer for the Holy Father's intentions are required for each plenary indulgence.

Although this was given for the Jubilee Year, these "remain in effect, since it was contained under the "General remarks on indulgences," and not under those specific to the Jubilee Indulgence." See Indulgences – General Conditions for further explanation.

Indulgenced Acts for the Poor Souls A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8. These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.

A plenary indulgence, again applicable only the Souls in Purgatory, is also granted when the faithful piously visit a church or a public oratory on November 2. In visiting the church or oratory, it is required, that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.

A partial indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, can be obtained when the Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam) is prayed. This can be prayed all year, but especially during the month of November:

Requiem aeternam dona ei (eis), Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei (eis). Requiescat (-ant) in pace Amen.

Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Many families add to the "Prayer Before Meals" the second half of the "Eternal Rest" prayer:

Bless us, O Lord, and these thy gifts, Which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ, our Lord, Amen. And may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Other families recite the "Eternal Rest" prayer in between decades of the rosary.

We should pray for the departed all through the year, not just November. After these souls in Purgatory are in heaven, they will intercede for us. Developing prayerful habits, such as praying the "Eternal Rest" prayer when passing cemeteries, will remind us of our eternal destiny and increase charity towards others.

For more information on the Church's teachings on indulgences, read the Enchiridion of Indulgences given by the 1968 Decree of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary.

Also see The Catechism of the Catholic Church section on Indulgences, Part 2, Section 2, Chapter 2, Article 4, Subsection 10, 1471-1479..

ON THIS ALL SAINTS' DAY AND FOR ALL THE SAINTS

IS ROSS DOUTHAT OF THE NEW YORK TIMES (AND HOW IRONIC IS THIS) ANOTHER SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA BUT THIS TIME A POST-VATICAN II LAY CATHOLIC MAKING HIS VOICE HEARD?

My Comment First: Ross Douthat responds in this morning's Sunday New York Times to academics who think he, because Ross isn't an academic, should NOT being making academic arguments that challenge Pope Francis' pastoral theology which Ross and many others in higher places think will damage the Catholic Church and turn her into something Christ did not and does not intend for her to be.  Ross thinks that it is heresy when a pastoral vision actually changes defined doctrines and dogmas that come from natural law, Scripture and tradition and neuters these teachings on many, many different levels. He says you don't have to be an academic theologian or a bishop, to smell heresy when you smell it. 

Pope Francis has a disdain for academic theologians or at least the Holy Father's rhetoric indicates this. His Holiness, of "who am I to judge" fame judges theologians, religious, priests and bishops regularly and uses a 1970's hermeneutic of interpreting the Pharisees of Jesus' time by applying their peccadilloes to cardinals, bishops and priests in particular. I know that this is 1970's thinking as I was taught this exactly by our liberal theologians at my most liberal seminary in the late 1970's. It was a way to undermine particular bishops who didn't want the liberal devolution of the Church into a NGO. It was a way to shame these bishops. 

And this is what those academic theologians tried to do the Ross Douthat by asking the New York Times not to allow him to bloviate about Catholic theology or accuse them of heresy. They used the tactic of shaming him, typical of liberal academics. It is a form of violence.

In Macon, we have the reverse of Ross Douthat in a commentator who is no reporter. His liberal views of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular are regularly ridiculed as they should be but he has every right to write it as long as his paper allows it. In the end, clarity comes from challenges and authentic change that is good evolves.

Letter to the Catholic Academy

OCT. 31, 2015

Ross Douthat

My dear professors!

 I read with interest your widely-publicized letter to my editors this week, in which you objected to my recent coverage of Roman Catholic controversies, complained that I was making unfounded accusations of heresy (both “subtly” and “openly”!), and deplored this newspaper’s willingness to let someone lacking theological credentials opine on debates within our church. I was appropriately impressed with the dozens of academic names who signed the letter on the Daily Theology site, and the distinguished institutions (Georgetown, Boston College, Villanova) represented on the list.

I have great respect for your vocation. Let me try to explain mine.

A columnist has two tasks: To explain and to provoke. The first requires giving readers a sense of the stakes in a given controversy, and why it might deserve a moment of their fragmenting attention span. 

The second requires taking a clear position on that controversy, the better to induce the feelings (solidarity, stimulation, blinding rage) that persuade people to read, return, and re-subscribe.

I hope we can agree that current controversies in Roman Catholicism cry out for explanation. And not only for Catholics: The world is fascinated — as it should be — by Pope Francis’ efforts to reshape our church. But the main parties in the church’s controversies have incentives to downplay the stakes. Conservative Catholics don’t want to concede that disruptive change is even possible. Liberal Catholics don’t want to admit that the pope might be leading the church into a crisis.

So in my columns, I’ve tried to cut through those obfuscations toward what seems like basic truth. 

There really is a high-stakes division, at the highest levels of the church, over whether to admit divorced and remarried Catholics to communion and what that change would mean. In this division, the pope clearly inclines toward the liberalizing view and has consistently maneuvered to advance it. 

At the recent synod, he was dealt a modest but genuine setback by conservatives.

And then to this description, I’ve added my own provoking view: Within the framework of Catholic tradition, the conservatives have by far the better of the argument.

First, because if the church admits the remarried to communion without an annulment — while also instituting an expedited, no-fault process for getting an annulment, as the pope is poised to do — the ancient Catholic teaching that marriage is “indissoluble” would become an empty signifier.

Second, because changing the church’s teaching on marriage in this way would unweave the larger Catholic view of sexuality, sin and the sacraments — severing confession’s relationship to communion, and giving cohabitation, same-sex unions and polygamy entirely reasonable claims to be accepted by the church.

Now this is, as you note, merely a columnist’s opinion. So I have listened carefully when credentialed theologians make the liberalizing case. What I have heard are three main claims. The first is that the changes being debated would be merely “pastoral” rather than “doctrinal,” and that so long as the church continues to say that marriage is indissoluble, nothing revolutionary will have transpired.

But this seems rather like claiming that China has not, in fact, undergone a market revolution because it’s still governed by self-described Marxists. No: In politics and religion alike, a doctrine emptied in practice is actually emptied, whatever official rhetoric suggests.

When this point is raised, reformers pivot to the idea that, well, maybe the proposed changes really are effectively doctrinal, but not every doctrinal issue is equally important, and anyway Catholic doctrine can develop over time.

But the development of doctrine is supposed to deepen church teaching, not reverse or contradict it. This distinction allows for many gray areas, admittedly. But effacing Jesus’ own words on the not-exactly-minor topics of marriage and sexuality certainly looks more like a major reversal than an organic, doctrinally-deepening shift.

At which point we come to the third argument, which makes an appearance in your letter: You don’t understand, you’re not a theologian. As indeed I am not. But neither is Catholicism supposed to be an esoteric religion, its teachings accessible only to academic adepts. And the impression left by this moving target, I’m afraid, is that some reformers are downplaying their real position in the hopes of bringing conservatives gradually along.

What is that real position? That almost anything Catholic can change when the times require it, and “developing” doctrine just means keeping up with capital-H History, no matter how much of the New Testament is left behind.

As I noted earlier, the columnist’s task is to be provocative. So I must tell you, openly and not subtly, that this view sounds like heresy by any reasonable definition of the term.

Now it may be that today’s heretics are prophets, the church will indeed be revolutionized, and my objections will be ground under with the rest of conservative Catholicism. But if that happens, it will take hard grinding, not just soft words and academic rank-pulling. It will require a bitter civil war.

And so, my dear professors: Welcome to the battlefield.

ONCE A YEAR DO YOU ARRIVE FOR MASS TOO EARLY?

Silly Catholic, you forgot to change your clock and fall back one hour.

Press HERE and just substitute "It is earlier than you think!"