Inside the Vatican

Womyn, criminalized

Not a bad article by a secular newspaper. The Vatican has made it a crime against the Sacraments for women to attempt to be ordained as priests. I say "attempt" because ordination of a woman to the priesthood is an impossible feat. That doesn't seem to stop them though.

Holy, holy, holy

Pope Benedict XVI, ordination Mass at St Peter's Basilica, June 20, 2010

Tiger on the loose?

The Peacemaker

Pope Benedict XVI has decided to send one of the staunchest supporters of his liturgical reform in the Roman Curia away from the Eternal City. Why?

By Robert Moynihan

VATICAN CITY, June 12, 2009 — The Pope has decided that Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith (photo), the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments and one of the strongest supporters of Benedict's liturgical reform, will be transferred this summer to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka (his native country), where he will become archbishop, reliable Vatican sources confirmed today. The decision will be announced publicly in the next few days, the sources said.

According to veteran Vaticanista Andrea Tornielli (but this has not been confirmed), Ranjith will be replaced by the American Dominican J. Augustine Di Noia (photo), who has been Undersecretary of the Congregation of the Doctrine for the Faith (CDF) since 2002, where he was in daily working contact with then-Cardinal Ratzinger, the Prefect of the CDF before he became Pope. "After having been the number three of Ratzinger, he (Di Noia) will now become the number two of the 'little Ratzinger,' a nickname given to Spanish Cardinal Cañizares Llovera, who leads the Congregation of Worship," Tornielli wrote in Il Giornale recently. "The liturgical dicastery is the Vatican office that has most oft en changed its Secretary in recent years: Di Noia will be the fourth in just seven years."

Many Vatican observers believe that the decision to send Ranjith away from Rome is a "victory" for liturgical progressives, and a "defeat" for liturgical traditionalists, since Ranjith has been a prominent champion of more solemnity and decorum in the celebration of the Mass in the new rite, and a supporter of wider use of the old rite, and this interpretation can be found in numerous articles and blogs on the internet.

However, it is not certain that this is the true interpretation. And there are reasons to interpret the appointment in a different way.

Colombo is not presently a cardinalatial see, but there has been a cardinal in Colombo in the past, so it is certainly a possibility that Ranjith could receive the red hat in an upcoming consistory — something he could not have received if he had remained as a secretary of the Congregation.

Ranjith was a bishop in Sri Lanka in the 1990s, but in 2001 Pope John Paul II called him to Rome, appointing him secretary under Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (Propaganda Fide). Due to tensions between the two, in April 2004, Ranjith — who was not a Vatican diplomat — was named the nuncio in Indonesia and East Timor. Then, after Pope Benedict was elected, in April 2005, he called Ranjith back to Rome, making him secretary of the Divine Worship Congregation in December, 2005.

Some thought that Ranjith would succeed Cardinal Francis Arinze as head of the Congregation upon Arinze's retirement for reason of age, but, Tornielli writes, Ranjith was "considered by his adversaries too close to the traditionalists and Lefebvrists."

Tornielli sums up the consensus view: "Ranjith's presence on the front lines in Asia will be important, because there the Church faces a decisive challenge. But it is difficult not to view his appointment as a 'promoveatur ut amoveatur' ('let him be promoted that he may be removed')."

Still, there is a Sri Lankan proverb: "The tiger who is outside of his cage is more dangerous than the tiger who is inside of his cage."

Ranjith, once in his own archdiocese, will have a chance to help bring true peace to his war-torn country, and to fight for social and economic justice in his homeland, something he has written and spoken about often in the past.

It is known that the president of Sri Lanka twice visited Rome in recent years, and twice told Pope Benedict that he would appreciate Ranjith's contribution to the peace process in his country, as Ranjith is respected by all sides.

In this perspective, one could perhaps imagine that Benedict has actually followed the opposite logic from that which most Vatican watchers see here: "amoveatur ut promoveatur" ("let him be removed that he may be promoted").

Only time will tell whether Ranjith will rise to the challenge his new post poses, and become a true peacemaker, binding up the wounds caused by a long civil war, as well as continuing to be a supporter of reverence and decorum in the Church's liturgy, as desired by Pope Benedict.

Note: Inside the Vatican will soon publish an in-depth interview with Archbishop Ranjith.

Women and the Swiss Guard

Women may soon be allowed into the ranks of the world's smallest army, the Swiss Guard, whose job is to protect the Pope. What do you think of this? Take a moment and take the poll! You can choose more than one option when you vote.

What do you think about the possibility of women entering the Swiss Guard?
	It's about time. 500 years of opression is too long!
	The Pope should not break the 500 year tradition of the Swiss Guard
	The role of protecting the Pope belongs to men, not women
	Allowing women in the Swiss Guard will cause more trouble than its worth
	What? those are men in those uniforms? EEK!
pollcode.com free polls

In case you haven't heard

The Bishops of Society of Saint Pius X are no longer considered excommunicated. God bless Pope Benedict! Almost two million rosaries wereoffered by the Society for this intention, and heaven was definitely listening. Aparently, and according to the article, the Society of Saint Pius X is still considered to have an irregular status within the Church, reverting to the penalties given by Rome prior to the excommunications, with the priests suspended a divinis, and without faculties to offer the sacraments of matrimony and penance validly. But at least now, they are on their way to full communion.

Source: Inside the Vatican Newsletter

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Document repealing excommunications

CONGREGATIO PRO EPISCOPIS

By way of a letter of December 15, 2008 addressed to His Eminence Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Mons. Bernard Fellay, also in the name of the other three bishops consecrated on June 30, 1988, requested anew the removal of the latae sententiae excommunication formally declared with the Decree of the Prefect of this Congregation on July 1, 1988. In the aforementioned letter, Mons. Fellay affirms, among other things: "We are always firmly determined in our will to remain Catholic and to place all our efforts at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept its teachings with filial animus. We believe firmly in the Primacy of Peter and in its prerogatives, and for this the current situation makes us suffer so much."His Holiness Benedict XVI -- paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and faithful in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the matters still open, so as to achieve rapidly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin -- decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, which arose with their episcopal consecration.With this act, it is desires to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, wishes also to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to end the scandal of division.It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Society of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.Based in the faculty expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit to Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that date.Rome, from the Congregation for Bishops, January 21, 2009.Card. Giovanni Battista RePrefect of the Congregation for Bishops

=====

Bishop Fellay's letter in response to the decree:
Letter of the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X Dear faithful,As I announce in the attached press release, "the excommunication of the bishops consecrated by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on June 30, 1988, which had been declared by the Congregation for Bishops in a decree dated July 1, 1988, and which we had always contested, has been withdrawn by another decree mandated by Benedict XVI and issued by the same Congregation on January 21, 2009." It was the prayer intention I had entrusted to you in Lourdes, on the feast of Christ the King 2008. Your response exceeded our expectations, since one million seven hundred and three thousand rosaries were said to obtain through the intercession of Our Lady that an end be put to the opprobrium which, beyond the persons of the bishops of the Society, rested upon all those who were more or less attached to Tradition. Let us not forget to thank the Most Blessed Virgin who has inspired the Holy Father with this unilateral, benevolent, and courageous act to. Let us assure him of our fervent prayers.Thanks to this gesture, Catholics attached to Tradition throughout the world will no longer be unjustly stigmatized and condemned for having kept the Faith of their fathers. Catholic Tradition is no longer excommunicated. Though it never was in itself, It was often excommunicated and cruelly so in day to day events. It is just as the Tridentine Mass had never been abrogated in itself, as the Holy Father has happily recalled in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007.The decree of January 21 quotes the letter dated December 15, 2008 to Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in which I expressed our attachment "to the Church of Our Lord Jesus-Christ which is the Catholic Church," re-affirming there our acceptance of its 2,000-year-old teaching and our faith in the Primacy of Peter. I reminded him that we were suffering much from the present situation of the Church in which this teaching and this primacy were being held to scorn. And I added: "We are ready to write the Creed with our own blood, to sign the anti-modernist oath, the profession of faith of Pius IV, we accept and make our own all the councils up to the Second Vatican Council about which we express some reservations." In all this, we are convinced that we remain faithful to the line of conduct indicated by our founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, whose reputation we hope to soon see restored.Consequently, we wish to begin these "talks" -- which the decree acknowledges to be "necessary" -- about the doctrinal issues which are opposed to the Magisterium of all time. We cannot help noticing the unprecedented crisis which is shaking the Church today: crisis of vocations, crisis of religious practice, of catechism, of the reception of the sacraments ... Before us, Paul VI went so far as to say that "from some fissure the smoke of Satan had entered the Church", and he spoke of the "self-destruction of the Church". John Paul II did not hesitate to say that Catholicism in Europe was, as it were, in a state of "silent apostasy." Shortly before his election to the Throne of Peter, Benedict XVI compared the Church to a "boat taking in water on every side."Thus, during these discussions with the Roman authorities we want to examine the deep causes of the present situation, and by bringing the appropriate remedy, achieve a lasting restoration of the Church.Dear faithful, the Church is in the hands of her Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. In Her we place our confidence. We have asked from her the freedom of the Mass of all time everywhere and for all. We have asked from her the withdrawal of the decree of excommunications. In our prayers, we now ask from her the necessary doctrinal clarifications which confused souls so much need.Menzingen, January 24, 2009 +Bernard Fellay

The highest form of receiving

There you have it - Communion on the tongue is making a comeback from the highest of all offices, the Pope himself. God bless Pope Benedict!

Aide: Pope Prefers Communion on Tongue

Monsignor Marini Comments on Papal Preference

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 26, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI would prefer to distribute communion on the tongue and to people who are kneeling, according to the master of papal liturgical ceremonies.

L'Osservatore Romano noted in an interview with Monsignor Guido Marini, published Wednesday, that the Pope distributed Communion to individuals who knelt and received the host on their tongues during his apostolic trip last week to Brindisi in Southern Italy.

When asked if this could become common practice, the monsignor replied, "I believe so."

"It is necessary not to forget," he added, "that the distribution of Communion on the hand continues to remain, from the juridical standpoint, an exception (indult) to the universal law, conceded by the Holy See to those bishops' conferences who have requested it."

"The form used by Benedict XVI tends to underline the force of the valid norm for the entire Church," clarified Monsignor Marini.

The master of papal liturgical ceremonies said receiving Communion on the tongue, "without taking anything away from the other [form], better highlights the truth of the real presence in the Eucharist, helps the devotion of the faithful, and introduces more easily the sense of mystery. Aspects which, in our times, pastorally speaking, it is urgent to highlight and recover."

Pre and post

To those who accuse Benedict XVI of wanting to return the Church to the way it was before the Second Vatican Council, the master of papal liturgical ceremonies explained that "terms such as 'preconciliar' and 'postconciliar' seem to me to belong to a manner of speaking that is outdated, and if they are used with the objective of indicating a discontinuity in the path of the Church, I consider them to be wrong and typical of very reductive ideological viewpoints."

"There are 'old things' and 'new things' that belong to the treasure of the Church of all times, and as such they should be considered," added Monsignor Marini.

"Not all that is new is true, and neither is all that is old," he added. "The truth is in both the old and the new, and it is to the truth that we should tend without prejudice.

"The Church lives according to this law of continuity, in virtue of which it acknowledges a development rooted in Tradition."

The monsignor continued: "What is important is that everything be pointed toward a liturgical celebration that is truly the celebration of the sacred mystery, of the Lord crucified and resurrected, which makes itself present in the Church -- re-presenting the mystery of salvation -- and calling us, according to the logic of an authentic and active participation, to share to the end in [Christ's] life, which is a life of donation, of love for the Father and for his brothers and sisters, a life of holiness."

A Tridentine Mass in Every Parish?

The pendulum is swinging, my friends - God bless Pope Benedict!

Pope wants Tridentine Masses in every parish, says Vatican official
By Ed West
9 May 2008

The pope wants the Latin Mass to be available in parishes "even if it is not specifically asked for, or requested", according to a senior Vatican official.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, said priests should make the extraordinary form available so that "everyone may have access to this treasure of the ancient liturgy of the Church".

In the latest sign that Pope Benedict XVI wants to make the Mass more widely available, the Cardinal made the comments in a Latin Mass DVD put together by the traditionalist group the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in cooperation with Catholic television station EWTN.

The cardinal added that the Pope wants the old rite to become normal in parishes, so that "young communities can also become familiar with this rite". The Ecclesia Dei Commission is tasked with the implementation of Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum on the 1962 Latin Mass.

It has been claimed that priests may not celebrate a traditional Mass publicly in their parish unless they have first received a petition from a "stable group". Some bishops have tried to limit the public celebrations of the Tridentine Mass by imposing a minimum number of people in such a group.

But Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos's announcement suggests that priests should use the 1962 Missale Romanum in their parishes without such a request. Copies of the instructional video on the 1962 Latin Mass will be available for free to any priest or seminarian who orders it.

It includes over three hours of footage on two DVD discs, giving a step-by-step explanation and demonstration of the Mass in the extraordinary form.

The production includes multiple appendices with instructions on the general principles of gesture and movement, as well as commonly encountered variations in the elements of the Mass.

Also featured is a real-time demonstration of the Mass, which can be viewed from multiple angles on demand. A spiritual commentary is included, as well as an explanation from an FSSP priest on the liturgical_principles of the extraordinary form. The cardinal provides an introduction for the DVD in which he explains that Pope Benedict XVI hoped to foster a "spiritual and theological richness"

Interesting read from Mediator Dei

How many innovations can you spot in today's Church that are warned about here in Pope Pius XII's Encyclical On the Sacred Liturgy published November 20, 1947 , Mediator Dei?

59. The Church is without question a living organism, and as an organism, in respect of the sacred liturgy also, she grows, matures, develops, adapts and accommodates herself to temporal needs and circumstances, provided only that the integrity of her doctrine be safeguarded. This notwithstanding, the temerity and daring of those who introduce novel liturgical practices, or call for the revival of obsolete rites out of harmony with prevailing laws and rubrics, deserve severe reproof. It has pained Us grievously to note, Venerable Brethren, that such innovations are actually being introduced, not merely in minor details but in matters of major importance as well. We instance, in point of fact, those who make use of the vernacular in the celebration of the august Eucharistic sacrifice; those who transfer certain feast-days -- which have been appointed and established after mature deliberation -- to other dates; those, finally, who delete from the prayerbooks approved for public use the sacred texts of the Old Testament, deeming them little suited and inopportune for modern times.

60. The use of the Latin language, customary in a considerable portion of the Church, is a manifest and beautiful sign of unity, as well as an effective antidote for any corruption of doctrinal truth. In spite of this, the use of the mother tongue in connection with several of the rites may be of much advantage to the people. But the Apostolic See alone is empowered to grant this permission. It is forbidden, therefore, to take any action whatever of this nature without having requested and obtained such consent, since the sacred liturgy, as We have said, is entirely subject to the discretion and approval of the Holy See.

61. The same reasoning holds in the case of some persons who are bent on the restoration of all the ancient rites and ceremonies indiscriminately. The liturgy of the early ages is most certainly worthy of all veneration. But ancient usage must not be esteemed more suitable and proper, either in its own right or in its significance for later times and new situations, on the simple ground that it carries the savor and aroma of antiquity. The more recent liturgical rites likewise deserve reverence and respect. They, too, owe their inspiration to the Holy Spirit, who assists the Church in every age even to the consummation of the world.[52] They are equally the resources used by the majestic Spouse of Jesus Christ to promote and procure the sanctity of man.

62. Assuredly it is a wise and most laudable thing to return in spirit and affection to the sources of the sacred liturgy. For research in this field of study, by tracing it back to its origins, contributes valuable assistance towards a more thorough and careful investigation of the significance of feast-days, and of the meaning of the texts and sacred ceremonies employed on their occasion. But it is neither wise nor laudable to reduce everything to antiquity by every possible device. Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive tableform; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See.

63. Clearly no sincere Catholic can refuse to accept the formulation of Christian doctrine more recently elaborated and proclaimed as dogmas by the Church, under the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit with abundant fruit for souls, because it pleases him to hark back to the old formulas. No more can any Catholic in his right senses repudiate existing legislation of the Church to revert to prescriptions based on the earliest sources of canon law. Just as obviously unwise and mistaken is the zeal of one who in matters liturgical would go back to the rites and usage of antiquity, discarding the new patterns introduced by disposition of divine Providence to meet the changes of circumstances and situation.

64. This way of acting bids fair to revive the exaggerated and senseless antiquarianism to which the illegal Council of Pistoia gave rise. It likewise attempts to reinstate a series of errors which were responsible for the calling of that meeting as well as for those resulting from it, with grievous harm to souls, and which the Church, the ever watchful guardian of the "deposit of faith" committed to her charge by her divine Founder, had every right and reason to condemn.[53] For perverse designs and ventures of this sort tend to paralyze and weaken that process of sanctification by which the sacred liturgy directs the sons of adoption to their Heavenly Father of their souls' salvation.

65. In every measure taken, then, let proper contact with the ecclesiastical hierarchy be maintained. Let no one arrogate to himself the right to make regulations and impose them on others at will. Only the Sovereign Pontiff, as the successor of Saint Peter, charged by the divine Redeemer with the feeding of His entire flock,[54] and with him, in obedience to the Apostolic See, the bishops "whom the Holy Ghost has placed . . . to rule the Church of God,"[55] have the right and the duty to govern the Christian people. Consequently, Venerable Brethren, whenever you assert your authority -- even on occasion with wholesome severity -- you are not merely acquitting yourselves of your duty; you are defending the very will of the Founder of the Church

Heaven on earth

Words from His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, at the monastery of Heiligenkreutz, where each day 80 Cistercian monks celebrate the divine office in pure Gregorian chant and entirely in Latin:

"In the beauty of the liturgy, [...] wherever we join in singing, praising, exalting and worshiping God, a little bit of heaven will become present on earth. Truly it would not be presumptuous to say that, in a liturgy completely centred on God, we can see, in its rituals and chant, an image of eternity. [...] In all our efforts on behalf of the liturgy, the determining factor must always be our looking to God. We stand before God – he speaks to us and we speak to him. Whenever in our thinking we are only concerned about making the liturgy attractive, interesting and beautiful, the battle is already lost. Either it is Opus Dei, with God as its specific subject, or it is not. In the light of this, I ask you to celebrate the sacred liturgy with your gaze fixed on God within the communion of saints, the living Church of every time and place, so that it will truly be an expression of the sublime beauty of the God who has called men and women to be his friends."

To read the most excellent article in its entirety, go here.

Questions & answers from the Vatican

Below is an easy to read, new Vatican document that one of my readers sent me this morning. If you were involved in the discussions we had here on the EENS doctrine, "Outside the Church, there is no Salvation," then you should read this.

CONGREGATION FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH

RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS

OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH

Introduction

The Second Vatican Council, with its Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, and its Decrees on Ecumenism (Unitatis redintegratio) and the Oriental Churches (Orientalium Ecclesiarum), has contributed in a decisive way to the renewal of Catholic ecclesiolgy. The Supreme Pontiffs have also contributed to this renewal by offering their own insights and orientations for praxis: Paul VI in his Encyclical Letter Ecclesiam suam (1964) and John Paul II in his Encyclical Letter Ut unum sint (1995).

The consequent duty of theologians to expound with greater clarity the diverse aspects of ecclesiology has resulted in a flowering of writing in this field. In fact it has become evident that this theme is a most fruitful one which, however, has also at times required clarification by way of precise definition and correction, for instance in the declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae (1973), the Letter addressed to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Communionis notio (1992), and the declaration Dominus Iesus (2000), all published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The vastness of the subject matter and the novelty of many of the themes involved continue to provoke theological reflection. Among the many new contributions to the field, some are not immune from erroneous interpretation which in turn give rise to confusion and doubt. A number of these interpretations have been referred to the attention of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Given the universality of Catholic doctrine on the Church, the Congregation wishes to respond to these questions by clarifying the authentic meaning of some ecclesiological expressions used by the magisterium which are open to misunderstanding in the theological debate.

RESPONSES TO THE QUESTIONS

First Question: Did the Second Vatican Council change the Catholic doctrine on the Church?

Response: The Second Vatican Council neither changed nor intended to change this doctrine, rather it developed, deepened and more fully explained it.

This was exactly what John XXIII said at the beginning of the Council¹. Paul VI affirmed it² and commented in the act of promulgating the Constitution Lumen gentium: "There is no better comment to make than to say that this promulgation really changes nothing of the traditional doctrine. What Christ willed, we also will. What was, still is. What the Church has taught down through the centuries, we also teach. In simple terms that which was assumed, is now explicit; that which was uncertain, is now clarified; that which was meditated upon, discussed and sometimes argued over, is now put together in one clear formulation"³. The Bishops repeatedly expressed and fulfilled this intention⁴.

Second Question: What is the meaning of the affirmation that the Church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church?

Response: Christ "established here on earth" only one Church and instituted it as a "visible and spiritual community"⁵, that from its beginning and throughout the centuries has always existed and will always exist, and in which alone are found all the elements that Christ himself instituted.⁶ "This one Church of Christ, which we confess in the Creed as one, holy, catholic and apostolic […]. This Church, constituted and organised in this world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, governed by the successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him"⁷.

In number 8 of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium ‘subsistence’ means this perduring, historical continuity and the permanence of all the elements instituted by Christ in the Catholic Church⁸, in which the Church of Christ is concretely found on this earth.

It is possible, according to Catholic doctrine, to affirm correctly that the Church of Christ is present and operative in the churches and ecclesial Communities not yet fully in communion with the Catholic Church, on account of the elements of sanctification and truth that are present in them.⁹ Nevertheless, the word "subsists" can only be attributed to the Catholic Church alone precisely because it refers to the mark of unity that we profess in the symbols of the faith (I believe... in the "one" Church); and this "one" Church subsists in the Catholic Church.¹⁰

Third Question: Why was the expression "subsists in" adopted instead of the simple word "is"?

Response: The use of this expression, which indicates the full identity of the Church of Christ with the Catholic Church, does not change the doctrine on the Church. Rather, it comes from and brings out more clearly the fact that there are "numerous elements of sanctification and of truth" which are found outside her structure, but which "as gifts properly belonging to the Church of Christ, impel towards Catholic Unity"¹¹.

"It follows that these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation. In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church"¹².

Fourth Question: Why does the Second Vatican Council use the term "Church" in reference to the oriental Churches separated from full communion with the Catholic Church?

Response: The Council wanted to adopt the traditional use of the term. "Because these Churches, although separated, have true sacraments and above all – because of the apostolic succession – the priesthood and the Eucharist, by means of which they remain linked to us by very close bonds"¹³, they merit the title of "particular or local Churches"¹⁴, and are called sister Churches of the particular Catholic Churches¹⁵.

"It is through the celebration of the Eucharist of the Lord in each of these Churches that the Church of God is built up and grows in stature"¹⁶. However, since communion with the Catholic Church, the visible head of which is the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Peter, is not some external complement to a particular Church but rather one of its internal constitutive principles, these venerable Christian communities lack something in their condition as particular churches¹⁷.

On the other hand, because of the division between Christians, the fullness of universality, which is proper to the Church governed by the Successor of Peter and the Bishops in communion with him, is not fully realised in history¹⁸.

Fifth Question: Why do the texts of the Council and those of the Magisterium since the Council not use the title of "Church" with regard to those Christian Communities born out of the Reformation of the sixteenth century?

Response: According to Catholic doctrine, these Communities do not enjoy apostolic succession in the sacrament of Orders, and are, therefore, deprived of a constitutive element of the Church. These ecclesial Communities which, specifically because of the absence of the sacramental priesthood, have not preserved the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic Mystery¹⁹ cannot, according to Catholic doctrine, be called "Churches" in the proper sense²⁰.

The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, ratified and confirmed these Responses, adopted in the Plenary Session of the Congregation, and ordered their publication.

Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, June 29, 2007, the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

William Cardinal Levada
Prefect

Signed, sealed & deliverd

Well, it's a Motu Proprio, just not the one the trads are waiting for. This one is to restore the traditional method of electing a Pope. Practice makes perfect!

Too much dialogue, not enough conversion

You know ecumenism and interreligious dialogue have gone too far when heretics are dancing to their god in Vatican palaces for cardinals. Oh well, at least it didn't take place in a Catholic church in front of the Tabernacle.

Still though, can't we just go back to converting the heretics?

Heavenly Protection

In this little video from Timesonline, a man jumps over a barricade to enter the Popemobile, and the Holy Father never even flinches as the man comes to within a meter of him. It's quite remarkable how he just keeps waving to people, never seeming to notice that a crazed lunatic just tried to jump on him.

More on the Motu Proprio

It looks like hell just might freeze over this month, because according to this Times on Line article, the Pope will finally release the Motu Proprio. Looks like it might be modified to exclude the controversial prayers for the conversion of Jews, (I guess they don't need conversion, after all), and there is mention of an “opt-out clause,” which would allow bishops to prohibit it at a local level, most likely to pacify the German bishops who oppose it, as well as the modernist French bishops. Isn't an opt out clause pretty much the same thing as we have right now? It's like being on a merry-go-round, isn't it?

Regarding Women Priests...

This about sums it up.

From a question posed to Cardinal Arinze at a conference sponsored by the Apostolate for Family Consecration.

Q. In the history of the Church, were there ever women priests? Women can't be made priests, at any time; even the pope can't do that, can he?

A. No, the pope issued a document, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis saying that the Church has no power to ordain women priests. There were never women priests in the Church. If Christ would have wanted women to be priests, His Blessed Mother surely should have been number one.

Could This Be True?

One of my very observant readers happened to notice this in reading the necrology section of the L'Osservatore Romano, N. 15, 11 April 2007, p.10:

Bishop Donald Walter Trautman of Erie, U.S.A., at age 70 (3 Apr.).

I did a little checking and it appears there has been a misprint. It was actually Bishop Murphy, retired head of Erie Diocese, who died at age 91 on April 3. Bishop Trautman was his replacement as Diocesan bishop.

Leading the Flock

I have read two stories in the past few days about how Pope Benedict XVI is taking a harder line in his papacy as he enters his third year. Both articles make mention of the fact that the Pope is taking a tough stance on issues such as not allowing divorced Catholics to fully participate in the Church, preventing negotiations on abortion, euthanasia and homosexuality, and for closing the door on married clergy.

From the Telegraph..."it has become clear that Benedict's agenda remains essentially the same as it was when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. When he was elected, he described himself as "a humble worker in the Lord's vineyard". Where John Paul II roamed far outside the vineyard, Benedict is staying close to the soil, pulling out weeds.

Those weeds are not so much people as bad habits - rambling sermons; smug, self-centred celebrations of the Mass; ugly music and architecture that, in his opinion, insults God."

And from Kentucky.com..."As he approaches the third year of his reign, Pope Benedict XVI is hardening into the kind of pontiff who fulfills liberal fears and conservative hopes.

... as his 80th birthday approached, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has drawn a tougher line.

He has rebuffed calls, including by bishops in his native Germany, to let divorced Catholics who remarry participate fully in the church.

He has warned Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion, euthanasia and marriage that the faith's values are "not negotiable." And he has closed the door on any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.

Benedict's persistent defense of the "traditional family" based on marriage between a man and a woman has emboldened Italy's bishops, who are waging a fierce battle against the government's proposal to extend some rights to unmarried couples, including same-sex unions.

Yes, Pope Benedict is steadfast in the faith. How can Catholics expect any less of their Pope?

Handing out Halos

On the heels of several articles about how the Church is fast tracking the canonization of Pope John Paul II, comes another article, this one saying that now the Church has decided to slow the process of hasty canonization and abide by Canon Law.

John Paul II's case is an exceptional one, of course. He was a media Pope, a "superstar" to some, globally known and loved, and his popularity has not ebbed since his death two years ago. Left to the people, he would have been canonized when chants of "Santo Subito" or "Sainthood Now" erupted during his funeral. Canon law normally only allows a beatification process to begin five years after a candidate's death, but this was waived by Pope Benedict XVI in John Paul II's favour. Public devotion to the former pontiff has put pressure on the Vatican to start the canonization process, and I wonder if this is reflective of the trend in our society for instant gratification.

There's no doubt that John Paul II has received popular acclaim. Even Pope Benedict XVI has referred to him as "the Great." And in the early Church, saints were canonized by popular acclaim. There is much to be gained by waiting, though, and for the sake of those who are less enthusiastic about speeding up the process, I am glad to see the Church is going to respect Canon Law and slow the process to abide by her usual procedures.

"The modern church has always been very prudent in beatifying popes," said Vaticanologist and author Giancarlo Zizola. "The papacy doesn't want to put its credibility at risk with halos handed out today and criticised tomorrow."

It is important for many reasons not to rush things. After all, what's the hurry?

Reform or Revolt: The Mass of Pope Paul VI

Here is a really good video (sent to me by a friend) on the liturgical revolution and the Mass of Pope Paul VI. It is a fair and honest comparison of the Tridentine Mass with the Novus Ordo, and goes back in history to the root of the revolt, and explains how it all started with the Reformation and culminated in the Second Vatican Council. Here is the link to part two. Each video is about 45 minutes long, and well worth watching.