Sunday, November 16, 2014

Tridentine Masses coming this week to the metro Detroit and East Michigan area


Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
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Ironies: showers for homeless in St. Peter's Square, but 500 Vatican employees "cast into poverty"

Pope Francis' initiative on behalf of the homeless in St. Peter's Square has been much in the news of late: "Pope Francis to build showers for homeless in St. Peter’s Square" (Washington Post, November 13, 2014).

The Holy Father's initiative is consistent with his pattern of placing the marginalized at the center of his concerns, his identification and "solidarity" with the poor. We remember the celebrated stories at the beginning of his pontificate about how he cooked his own meals, rode the bus rather than the limo, eschewed pomp, and abandoned the luxurious papal apartments for more modest accommodations elsewhere.

Such initiatives, however, are sometimes accompanied by unforeseen consequences of other decisions that suggest a contravening message. On January 1, 2015, some five hundred workers in the employee of the Vatican Office of Papal Charities will be dismissed. These are calligraphists, painters, and printers who have been in the employee of the Vatican producing decorated parchments for Papal Blessings "for specific persons" ordered and sold in bookshops and stores licenced by the Vatican whose proceeds have gone for the benefit of the Office of Papal Charities for their donations to charitable causes.

Starting next year, the Office of Papal Charities will reportedly arrange of its own initiative with other calligraphists, for the production and selling of the parchments, either directly from the Internet, or through the nunciatures throughout the world. What was the reason for this decision? Cost-cutting measures? Excessive extravagance? No one has said. (Papal Almoner) Archbishop Konrad Krajewski gave notice to these nearly 500 men and women of the imminent termination of their contract in a circular letter dated April 12, 2014.

On June 29 of this year, the five hundred workers reportedly sent a letter to the Pope in which the begged him to not "cast hundreds of families into economic poverty and precarious situations," concluding:
“We are placing our future in Your holy hands, and our plea to revoke this decision, which will have the effect of diminishing the charitable work done by the Office of Papal Charities in the course of years and still being done today, also by means of work offered by so many devoted people.”
Apparently no response to this appeal to the Holy Father has been received thus far.
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Saturday, November 15, 2014

Fr. Dwight Longenecker on Cardinal Burke's reassignment

Fr. Dwight Longenecker, "Good Bye To Burke?" (Patheos, November 8, 2014):

Cardinal Burke’s transfer from being the Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura to be patron of the Knights of Malta is a startling move which will almost certainly prove to be disastrous for Pope Francis.
Whether he likes it or not, Cardinal Burke has emerged from the recent synod on the family as the figurehead for the conservative resistance to Pope Francis. Burke rejects the charge that he is anything but loyal to the Holy Father in this interview at Aleteia, but this is not the perception which either the media pundits on either the progressive or conservative sides are seeing. Burke has said the church seems to be “rudderless”. He has emerged as the most outspoken critic of the Kasperite modernizers and both Michael Sean Winters here and Fr Z. here agree that Cardinal Burke’s new, largely ceremonial role, rather than silencing him, actually frees Burke from real responsibility thus giving him the freedom to become the voice of resistance to what many perceive as an increasingly progressive agenda within the Vatican.
Burke will probably continue to criticize the “Kasperites” like Cardinal Baldisseri–the Secretary of the synod on the Family and the progressive Archbishop Bruno Forte, and his apparent demotion will give him the global megaphone and status as a media figure. The media loves a conflict and they love figureheads and personalities who represent a particular stance. Whether he likes it or not, and whether it is true or not, by transferring Burke in this way Pope Francis has created a media megaphone for his increasingly disillusioned conservative opponents.
Damian Thompson has written a particularly acerbic piece this week saying Watch Out Pope Francis the Catholic Civil War Has Begun while New York Times columnist Ross Douthat reports here on the chaos that took place in the synod and hints of rebellion in the ranks and a looming schism.
All of this is disastrous for the church’s mission, and by seeming to demote Cardinal Burke Pope Francis has not only given the conservatives a clear leader, but he has made Burke a cause celebre and a kind of martyr. Many conservatives who already see emeritus Pope Benedict as their “real pope” will rally around Cardinal Burke. There is nothing that unites a faction more than the sense of being persecuted, and there is little that rallies those who feel marginalized more than the idea that they are being persecuted by a cabal of shadowy figures behind the scenes who are conspiring against them. If it is a Vatican insider circle all the more tantalizing.
Whether this is what is actually happening or not is beside the point. Whether Cardinal Burke sees himself as a latter day Archbishop Lefevbre or not is beside the point. Whether Pope Francis and a gang of cronies really are secret progressives intent on destroying the Catholic Church from within or not–all this is irrelevant.
Burke’s transfer first from the Congregation of Bishops and now from the Apostolic Signatura will appear to be not only a demotion, but one which is very personal in nature. No one has suggested that he has done either job badly and there is no whiff of scandal or impropriety. Therefore people will conclude, rightly or wrongly, that Pope Francis didn’t like the guy so he fired him. Whether this is true or not, does not matter.
What matters is that this is how many conservative  Catholics will perceive what is happening, and it is this perception that will drive their reactions and future events in the Catholic Church.
Furthermore, this is also how the progressives will interpret the transfer. They will rejoice at Burke’s departure, and their chortles of triumph will add to the division in the church causing conservatives to circle the wagons and load their muskets.
In practical terms the actual effect of moving Cardinal Burke from the Apostolic Signatura may be insignificant.
However, the symbolic impact will be huge, and it is difficult to see how it can be anything but a disaster for both Pope Francis’ papacy, the reforms he wishes to introduce, and the church at large.
I may be wrong, and I do not profess to be any kind of expert in Vatican goings on, but if a good number of conservative Catholics do read the events in this way, then as Ross Douthat has observed, Pope Francis may find himself trying to shepherd not a flock of submissive sheep, but a herd of stubborn oxen–not just dumb oxen, but angry bulls with heads down, pawing the ground and ready to charge.
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Marilynne Robinson & Diarmaid MacCulloch: attractive, thoughtful talking heads Catholics can trust?

Guy Noir - Private Eye, whom we keep on retainer for his subcultural antennae and sleuthing skills, just sent us this three days ago:
The piece from the New Oxord Review on Chicago was good if disturbing. And it has led me back to thoughts the occasional that rumble around in the back of my mind about the relative cluelessness of people to the undercurrent of thought and ideas that moves entire conversations in our own times. And usually moves them away from Tradition. Not only are people usually oblivious to these voices when they are found within the Christian community, but they are also then oblivious to the strong pull those same voices have on their thinking. The will keep listening to them and recommending them even as they contradict what they say they themselves profess! Until finally they are saying the same thing.

This is the same phenomenon that drives me nuts about Pope Francis. In one breath he is a loyal son of the Church, and in the next he is recommending the thought of someone who simply is not. All under the assumption that people know truth, recognize heresy, and can navigate between the two without harm. FALSE.


Marilynne Robinson

We see it in Evangelicalism as well. This month the world is gushing over Marilynne Robinson's novel Lila. Everyone from the New York Times to Calvinist bloggers. So she will be exercising an influence with a long reach. But what of her larger frame of reference? On issues of controversy, is it Christian? I know we can't be heresy hunters and obsess over doctrine, but don't we need to be clear about doctrine if people are going to believe it at all? After all, it is not natural science: it is doctrine! But I had to scour the internet to find any sort of intelligent rebuttal to one of her most famously quoted interviews. See Doug Wilson's "The blinkered Prophetess" (Illinois Family Institute, May 14, 2014). I think everything he says about Robinson and 1956 cold be equally applied to Francis and Argentina.


Diarmaid MacCulloch

Then see Damian Thompson's review of Diarmid MacCollough's book on The Reformation, "Diarmaid MacCulloch on his new series A History of Christianity" (The Telegraph, November 3, 2014). The book is critically acclaimed by even very, very conservative Evangelicals. Why should I care as a Catholic? Well, MacCollough is a self-avowed gay Anglican. Odd then Evangelicals approve his history. But who cares? Should we discard a book because of an author's life, versus his words? Not necessarily. And yet are we supposed to believe such biases do not affect the telling of any tale or history? See Thompson's mention of Benedict XVI in the review. Interestingly, I read MacCullough's widely hailed book on Thomas Cranmer when I was struggling with Catholic conversion. Cranmer was a hero to me, and everyone swore by MacCollough's book. So I wanted to like it. But it left me strangely unmoved. It all seemed O.K. But it all seemed somehow tepid as well. It all makes more sense now. Things are never black and white. True. But then again, may the same should also hold true for polite or knee-jerk endorsements. It amazes me that the same people who say they want to hold true to Tradition can be so cavalier in thinking sources don't matter or don't desperately need to be qualified. Today more than ever any sort of high profile or celebrity status carries weight far beyond its worth. We need to remember that as we are sending people off the sit at the feet of so many attractive, even thoughtful, talking heads. (emphasis added)
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The Beatles' "Obladi oblada," Catholic style

Not exactly professional, but if you know The Beatles and the Catholic scene, pretty funny. Really. Though you have to read the words (it's hard to understand just by listening to the audio). "With Apologies to The Beatles" (That the bones you have crushed may thrill, November 13, 2014).

[Hat tip to L.S.]
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Friday, November 14, 2014

Pope Francis commissions showers for the homeless under St. Peter’s colonnades

So reports Andrea Tornielli in Vatican Insider (November 13, 2014). The work to renovate the public restrooms for pilgrims reportedly will begin on Monday, November 17th, creating a space for the homeless people to wash. Ten parishes in Rome reportedly plan to do the same.

One excerpt was highlighted by a reader who reportedly found it "hysterical." See for yourself:
Monsignor Krajewski, known as Father Conrad, has been taking provisions and aid to those who live on the streets for years. Pope Francis has chosen him for this reason, appointing him bishop and entrusting him the Almonry; he has the task of being the Pope’s «first responder»: of providing small economic help to those who are enduring hardships. The Polish bishop tells of the meeting at the beginning of October, which opened his eyes: «I had just come out of the Church of the Holy Spirit, where I go to hear confessions. In the Via della Conciliazione I met Franco, a homeless man. He told me that he was turning fifty that day and that he had been living on the street for ten years». The bishop invites him for dinner at a restaurant. The man answers: «But I smell…». Monsignor Krajewski continues, «I took him with me nonetheless. We went to a Chinese restaurant.
Our reader remarks: "Man, you smell like a sack filled with old jocks, but I know just the place where we can go that nobody will notice." Um-hmmm. Right. A Chinese restaurant.

[Hat tip to L.S.]
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Clarity from the CDF

"Four Days After Synod Closes, CDF responds officially: NO COMMUNION FOR "REMARRIED" DIVORCEES WHO LIVE AS IF THEY WERE MARRIED, PERIOD. - Full text - " (Rorate Caeli, November 14, 2014).
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Who would have dreamed of such things?

[Advisory & disclaimer: See Rules 7-9]

An article, now, by James V. Schall, S.J., "On Heretical Popes" (The Catholic Thing, November 11, 2014); and even a "Petition to the Cardinals of the Roman Church regarding the grave improprieties of Pope Francis." (ipetitions, November 11, 2014). Unbelievable. Who would have dreamed of such things appearing in print only several years ago?

And here is Michael Voris promoting, and trying to walk, The Razor's Edge dividing errors of the two opposite extremes:


[Hat tip to L.S.]
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If sex can be sacred, is it possible to overdose? Could sushi be better than sex?

Dusty Gates, "Is Sexual Desire Holy" (Crisis, November 10, 2014)


Rachel Lu, "Can Married Couples Have Too Much Sex?" (Crisis, July 25, 2014)


Our underground correspondent we keep on retainer in an Atlantic seaboard city that knows how to keep its secrets, Guy Noir - Private Eye, was provoked by these two Crisis magazine articles to wire me the following telegram:
Frankly, the hyperventilating Christopher West-ian strain of enthusiasm that currently embarrasses too many Catholic apologetic and devotional presentations attempts to meet the culture on its own terms and ends up stripping the faith of latent qualities of prudence and dignified circumspection. Certainly the suggestion that sex is "not secret but sacred" can backfire into a sanctimoniousness that tries to petrify passion or kill "the joy of sex." But hardly less problematic is this new conception of sex as a candy-coated sacrament best dispensed in bulk quantities, even by 55 year olds aping King Solomon. Here are two articles confirming what tend to forget: over-reactions are usually understandable, and rarely helpful.
I couldn't help remembering a good book on the subject that talked uncommon sense by Christopher Derrick, Sex and Sacredness: A Catholic Homage to Venus(Ignatius, 1982), about which Peter Kreeft says that when he used the book once as a text at Boston College, he concluded that his students knew everything about sex but nothing about sacredness. Another book of uncommon sense about the dangers of underestimating irreverence in intimate relations is the irrepressible Alice von Hildebrand's The Dark Night of the Body: Why Reverence Comes First in Intimate Relations(Roman Catholic Books, 2013).

Once when I was teaching students the basic principles of logic, I asked them to give me a major premise in order to help construct a syllogism. So I asked them what they thought was the most wonderful thing in the world. Almost unanimously, the wretched little libidinous pagans chimed in: Sex! Which gave me the perfect opportunity to have a little fun with their sophomoric presumption.

Okay, I replied, and wrote their major premise on the board: "Nothing is better than sex."

Next, I provided the minor premise: "Sushi is better than nothing" -- you know, I added, like if you were on a desert island and had nothing to eat (this was back when sushi was thought by most Americans to be something close to fish bait).

I then asked them to infer the conclusion. Which meant, of course, that for some minutes I could sit back enjoy their dumbfounded puzzlement.
Major premise: Nothing is better than sex.
Minor premise: Sushi is better than nothing.
Conclusion: Therefore, sushi is better than sex.
I wonder whether some of them have figured out yet exactly what happened there.

[Hat tip to G.N.]
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Desire and Deliverance

Brett McCracken, "Desire and Deliverance" (CT, August 29, 2014): Three new documentaries examine Christian faith, homosexuality, and the question of change.

[Hat tip to JFM]
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Thursday, November 13, 2014

"Former lesbian on why it's 'cruel' for Church leaders to go soft on same-sex relationships"

Life Site News has an article by Pete Baklinski on Robin Beck, as well as a full-length interview and Robin's dramatic story from her tormented childhood, through her lesbian years to her conversion to the Catholic Faith some years ago:
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Wednesday, November 12, 2014

(1) Five conservative prelates removed from Curia; (2) Cologne annual archdiocesan budget tops obscene $1 Billion funded by tax and porn



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Enter the American Bergoglio

"Enter the American Bergoglio" (New Oxford Notes, New Oxford Review, November 2014):

The Catholic world has been abuzz over the news that Blase Cupich will succeed Francis Cardinal George as the ninth archbishop of Chicago. Cupich, who has led two small American dioceses — Spokane, Washington, and Rapid City, South Dakota (where he succeeded Charles Chaput) — will take the reins this month of the third-largest archdiocese in the nation.

An examination of the reactions to episcopal appointments from America’s flagship progressive Catholic weekly often yields a pretty good indication of where a bishop stands. The fact that the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) speaks glowingly of Cupich and has even dedicated a special section of its website to the new archbishop-elect ought to tell us something about George’s successor. The fact that Cupich granted NCR an “exclusive” interview ought to tell us even more.

David Gibson of Religion News Service confirms NCR’s adulatory assessment, describing Archbishop-elect Cupich as “a prelate closely identified with the Catholic Church’s progressive wing.” Although liberal Catholics of the in-with-peace-and-justice/out-with-sexual-morality persuasion may be overblowing Cupich’s lean to the left, Pope Francis’s first major appointment in the U.S. has certainly raised eyebrows in many quarters.

Vatican-watcher Rocco Palmo, whose Whispers in the Loggia blog tends to be reliable, called the appointment “the most shocking major move the American hierarchy has seen since the turn of the millennium.” Though Palmo has not been forthcoming in citing specifics in support of his hyperbolic assertion, he did explain that the choice of Cupich reflects the Pope’s desire for a Church “geared toward the ‘periphery’ as opposed to being locked in its ‘sacristies.’” It’s instructive to note that Palmo’s comment — and his semantics — complies with the curia’s continuing conversational condemnation of Joseph Ratzinger and his decades of influence in moving the Church’s pastoral program toward an embrace of orthodoxy — a change from the more immediate post-Vatican II efforts to explain away most of the Church’s teachings on personal morality.

In the same vein as Palmo, Time magazine believes the nod to Cupich “signaled that the pastoral revolution that has marked [Francis’s] papacy will be institutionalized long after his tenure ends as the Bishop of Rome.”

That, however, is hardly what makes the Cupich appointment either interesting or out of the ordinary.
Read more »
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Tuesday, November 11, 2014

A Tip of the Hat to our Vetrans


... and to Fr. Z.

Related: John Rao, "Why God “Stays His Hand”: A Brief Meditation on November 11th"
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Post-op results: Deo gratias!

I just returned from my post-op appointment to have my eye patch removed and meet with my surgeon to examine the results of the procedure. I am delighted to report that as soon as the patch came off, I could see with perfect clarity. Even without my glasses: 20/20 vision with no obstructions. I couldn't be more grateful.

Some who have had this or other procedures warned that there could be considerable post-operative pain, capable of being managed only with narcotics. Happily, I experienced absolutely no pain -- nothing requiring even a Tylenol. The only minor discomfort was occasional unscratchable itching beneath the eye patch, which, thankfully, is gone today.

I want to heartily thank all of you who have offered prayers and intercessions on my behalf. No prayer goes unanswered, no matter what results one may have; but I am pleased that God in His mercy was willing to indulge me, yet again, with this undeserved blessing. Thank you, one and all.

For anyone interested in the gory details of the procedure, HERE is a video of the same procedure being performed. Don't lose your appetite over it!
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