Free Republic

It's the day after a historic election and I can't help but worry. I'm one of those people who are pessimistic about the near- and medium-term prospects for our financial markets and our economy. I'm not pessimistic about our country or our capitalist system: They are not the problem. I am pessimistic about whether our next president and the savants in Congress can deal with the massive economic issues we face. Members of Congress, regardless of party affiliation or yesterday's results, will continue to meddle in matters beyond their knowledge. In doing so they will exacerbate our current economic downturn...

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness. The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow....

History will record as one of the hallmarks of this pontificate the renewal of the sacred liturgy currently underway in accordance with a "hermeneutic of continuity", a spirit that is open to legitimate progress but also firmly grounded in the riches of liturgical tradition. This worries a number of liturgists who have propagated the "hermeneutic of rupture and discontinuity" over recent decades (the "Vatican II changed all that" brigade) and who do not want to go "backwards". Among them one may number the recently replaced papal Master of Ceremonies, Archbishop Piero Marini, who has published this slender monograph - oddly...

ROME (AP) - The new leader of the Jesuits met Saturday with Pope Benedict XVI and told him the religious order would study the pontiff's invitation to confirm their «total» adhesion to Catholic teaching, including on divorce, homosexuality and liberation theology. The Jesuits have had a tense relationship with the Vatican on issues of doctrine and obedience. The Vatican occasionally disciplines Jesuit theologians and issues reminders of the their vows of obedience to the pontiff. The Rev. Adolfo Nicolas, a Spanish missionary and theologian with extensive Asian experience who was elected as superior general Jan. 19, had a "warm and...

Worshipers come to St. Mary, Mother of God in downtown Washington, D.C., for various reasons, but many say that a big draw is the Tridentine Latin mass that is said here every Sunday. Soon, St. Mary may be less well known for that distinctive liturgical offering than for the number of big-name government and media types that occupy its pews. Now that Pope Benedict XVI has loosened the restrictions on churches that want to observe the pre-Vatican II rite, more parishes are availing themselves of the option. Call it part of a larger conservative shift within the church—one that...

In a previous post I endeavored to make the point that both forms of the Roman Rite (Traditional and Novus Ordo) share the same structure, and that the difference between the two lay in the presentation of the "ceremonies," the "little rites" that give texture to the Mass as a whole. In his Motu Propio, Summorum Pontificum, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI expressed a certain hope that the two forms or usages of the Roman Rite would "mutually enrich" each other. What exactly the Holy Father meant by this will be a point of much speculation until we see first...

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith Secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, has been keeping a high profile lately, speaking out in a number of interviews about the rebellion of some bishops against Summorum Pontificum and the continued need to reign in the abuses that have taken place in the Novus Ordo liturgy. A recent interview with the Agenzia Fides may give us a clue to what could be next on the horizon(?)--an end to Holy Communion in the hand. In the excerpt translated into English below, note that Archbishop Ranjith does not condemn the New Mass (a common...

CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM, SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 1:25 pm The highly estimable Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, His Excellency Most Reverend Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige gave an interview to Bruno Volpe of Petrus where you can find the original Italian. Rorate has their own translation, but here is mine with my emphases: Your Excellency, what kind of reception has Benedict XVI´s Motu Proprio which liberalized the Holy Mass according to the Tridentine Rite had? Some, in the very bosom of the Church, have got their noses bent out of shape… "There have...

I'm having some problems with music in Catholic America. Part of it is my problem. I spent fifteen years in the Anglican Church with the New English Hymnal--which is probably the finest hymnbook ever published in the English language. Musically and liturgically it was the best that traditional Anglicanism had to offer. Catholic music in England--well we won't even go there. Apart from a few islands of decent church music the Catholic church in England was a wasteland. I am discovering that in the USA it is not much better. My problem is that I am actually unfamiliar with most...

To Each U.S. Roman Catholic Bishop Regarding English Translations For The Liturgy Dear Bishop, We are writing to you, each U.S. bishop, the U.S. Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, the International Committee on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), and the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in regard to the new Vatican-ordered translation of the Liturgy. The Vatican-appointed translators have not produced a translation that is understandable to Catholics in the pews. We understand that, according to a 2005 poll of bishops, 47% of the U.S. bishops rated it "fair or poor". The media has reported...

Love among the ruins, Part I Reading Martin Mosebach's phenomenal book, Heresy of Formlessness, is no easy task. His language (I am reading the German original) is of the utmost quality, his imagery beautiful, his sentiment convincing. He makes the point I've been trying to make, only a thousand times more aptly. His arguments for the classic Roman rite are inaccessible to the bureaucratic of spirit. Whoever approaches liturgy with the logic of a laundry detergent ad ("Now with 30% more Scripture !") or the mindset of a Club Med animateur will never be open to the beauty of the...

I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't witnessed it for myself! I went to the meeting 9/18/2007 about the implementation of the motu proprio in the Diocese of St. Augustine with guest speaker, Fr. Thomas Willis Diocesan Director of Liturgy. If I had to estimate, I'd say about 70 people were there. Among which were two deacons and three priests. I knew that there may be some controversial topics brought to the floor but I never expected this: First, the man who was MC for the event introduced the topic and ground-rules of the discussion. He stated that there...

The Priestly Society of St. Peter, whom you see in the sanctuary today, would like to thank Mother Angelica, Mother Vicar and the Poor Clare community for their gracious invitation to celebrate this Mass here today in this magnificent church. We are particularly grateful to Bishop Foley of the Diocese of Birmingham for supporting our presence here today and to the members of the EWTN staff and board of directors of this tremendous enterprise, born of Mother Angelica’s faith and wisdom and which has been so fruitful for the needs of the Church all around the world now, for a...

This is the most unbelievable thing I have seen! This Bishop is in open defiance of the Pope, Summorum Pontificum, and blatantly ridicules the Extraordinary form! HT to Amy Welborn Caserta bishop prohibits traditional Mass - Parish priest obeys but says he disagrees By Angelo Agrippa Corriere del Mezzogiorno NAPLES - He is known as the bishop of tolerance. Of immigrants. Of deprived persons. He has opened diocesan structures for Muslims to say their Friday prayers, and Ukrainian/Moldavian Orthodox to use for their worship. But now he has prohibited the celebration of the 1962 Mass restored as of September 14...

Sermon for 14 September at Blackfen (Fr. Zuhlsdorf)I was the homilist for the thanksgiving celebration at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Blackfen, where the great Fr. Finigan is parish priest. There was a very nice solemn Mass for 14 September when the provision of Summorum Pontificum went into effect.I set up my digital recorder to capture the sermon, but found afterward that there must have been a bad sector on the disk. I cannot recover the audio, alas, though I am trying what I know to try. There is still a program I can purchase to work on...

Next Friday, 14 September, the worldwide restrictions on the celebration of the ancient Latin liturgy of the Catholic Church will be swept away. With a stroke of his pen, Pope Benedict XVI has ended a 40-year campaign to eradicate the Tridentine Mass, whose solemn rubrics are regarded with contempt by liberal bishops. In doing so, he has indicated that the entire worship of the Church — which has become tired and dreary since the Second Vatican Council — is on the brink of reformation. This is an exciting time to be a Catholic. Unless, that is, you are a diehard...

The noted sociologist Philip Rieff died in 2006, leaving behind a series of works that offer highly original insights into the general state both of modern culture and of religion. Although he said little about liturgy as such, his theories provide an enlightening way of understanding the liturgical crisis. . . . The Three “Cultures” Rieff’s theory of history broadly identified three successive cultures, each of which had some kind of moral idea at its heart. The First (primitive) Culture regarded law merely as “taboo” — fear of magical forces in the universe. The Second Culture, beginning with the ancient...

CATEGORY: SESSIUNCULUM — Fr. John Zuhlsdorf @ 7:02 pm I got a very interesting e-mail.Emphases and comments mine. Bishop Victor Galeone was on the WQOP Live Show today in the Diocese of St. Augustine, answering questions live from callers. I will record the encore show tomorrow (which will air at 12PM EST) and transcribe his response for you to post (if you like) on your blog. [Is the Pope Catholic?]A caller asked the bishop what sort of "qualifications" he will be expecting the clergy to exhibit before they’ll be "permitted" to use the extraordinary form in this diocese. The caller...

Dear Editor Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi. “Have you ‘heard’ Mass lately?” In recent months I have seen reports of a move in the church to make the Mass of Pope Pius V (Tridentine Mass) more available to the laity. This would include returning to the Mass being “said” by the priest with his back to the people. A recent article on this subject in the Tupelo paper, the Daily Journal, quoted one lay woman who attends this Mass describe the priest as the pilot and the laity as passengers. She said she would not want the pilot flying her plane...

John Allen reports in his blog post of last week that Bishop Trautman of Erie, PA and Chairman of the USCCB's Committee for the Liturgy will be sending a letter to all U.S. bishops letting them know where things stand with some outstanding questions regarding the implementation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. Some open questions according to the Allen piece: [Members of the Bishops' Committee for the Liturgy in the United States recently met to discuss matters that are still up in the air, and sometime soon Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania, the committee chair, will send a...