Posted on 10/06/2005 5:10:27 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 6, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The bishop is the "custodian" of the Eucharist and the one who must ensure that "general absolutions" do not take place except in very special cases, says a Vatican official.
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, emphasized that point in an address today in the Synod of Bishops' new hall.
The cardinal spoke about a bishop's responsibility as the one who must ensure the "decorum and good celebration" of the Mass.
"The very way the bishop celebrates the Eucharist nourishes the faith of the priests and people," said Cardinal Re. "It is important to dedicate special attention to the faithful's participation in Sunday Mass and to see that Eucharistic celebrations are always proper and beautiful."
Cardinal Re called for a recovery of "the pedagogy of conversion that stems from the Eucharist" and added that the bishop must defend "frequent recourse to individual confession."
Thus bishops must see to it that general or collective absolutions not be carried out except for very justified exceptions, as contemplated in Pope John Paul II's letter "Misericordia Dei," the Vatican prefect said.
"The bishop has the obligation not to allow in his diocese abusive recourse to general or collective absolution," he stressed.
Legionary of Christ Father John Bartunek, an English-speaking reporter for the synod, said that Cardinal Re explained that "many dioceses have introduced general absolution and have seen that this has only caused harm to the spiritual life and a loss of the sense of sin."
According to Father Bartunek, the prefect of the Congregation for Bishops added that "the faithful themselves realize that this practice does not move them to conversion."
That's the one I was thinking of. Do you know where to get it?
Another cafepress.com special.
My parish is an Anglican Use. It uses the "Book of Divine Worship" which is basically the BCP reworked with the Roman Canon. If only more of the high church, rosary praying, Anglo-Catholic churches would "cross over", together as an Anglican Use parish, many problems would be on the way to being solved. Individual churches would not have to wait for a large organization to join, the parish would still continue Anglo-Catholic practices (communion kneeling at the altar rail, bells and smells, etc.), and devout Christians would not feel so overwhelmed and discouraged. I wish my old Anglo-catholic parish would "cross over." Many people said that it was "more Catholic than the Catholic church" (Mass celebrated "ad orientum," beautiful liturgy and building, fabulous choir and music, etc. etc.).
I agree that Episcopal apostacy may be a step toward Christian unity. It got me out of my comfortable Anglo-Catholic mindset (i.e., we're just another branch of the one, true church) to realizing that if the Holy Father is crucial for the orthodoxy of Christian belief, then Christ's words about building the church on Peter are as true today as they were then. It was a real "duh" moment for me! Thanks for the welcome, Im4L&L. The only thing my staunch Presbyterian mother said when I told her was, "What took you so long?" haha!!
They're so funny! But where would one wear it? General Convention?
But I don't. (I try my best not to look at car wrecks too.)
I hear you. It's not worth the money, time, or energy.
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