Earlier this month, Bishop Crispian Hollis wrote to all the priests of the Portsmouth Diocese to make it clear that the conditions do not exist in this country for a licit celebration of “Rite 3” of the Sacrament of Penance (i.e General Absolution.) He urged priests to find ways in which individual confession could be made available to the people.In the same letter, he re-iterated the norms regarding the admission to Eucharistic Communion of those who are not in communion with the Catholic Church. The Ordinary may grant permission for a particular person to receive Communion on a particular occasion according to conditions laid out in “One Bread One Body.” After referring to this restricted exception, he made it clear that “general invitations to all and sundry to receive Communion should never be offered.”
He also emphasised the importance of being faithful to the discipline of the Church:
In the matter of General Absolution and Sacramental sharing with other Christians, I ask you, therefore, to be faithful of the norms of the Church which govern these celebrations.Since I have not always been in complete agreement with Bishop Hollis, I feel that it is only fair to draw attention to this excellent letter to clergy which, as I understand him to have affirmed, has been sent on his own initiative and without any pressure from Rome.
8 comments:
I am very surprised, I myself delated him to the Congregation for Bishops when he issued a letter contradicting the Holy See on non-Catholics receiving Holy Communion "at times of sorrow and times of joy" in a pastoral document in 2006.
I wonder what has caused him to re-examine his positiion.
That clarification is welcome. I know orders (or some of them) who practice hospitality! How ludicrous is that? (Definitely not The Oratory i might add!)
God bless,
Jackie
thank you for publicising this - it is very good news and pleasantly suprising.
Fr. Tim, knowing Crispian Hollis, he probably started his letter with the words “Dear sisters and brothers in Christ..” ;-)
Just to reassure everyone, it would be nice to have another letter from Bishop Hollis re-affirming, for the avoidance of doubt: (a) the concept of papal infallibility generally; (b) the role of the Holy See as the focus and guarantor of the unity of the Catholic Church; (c) the binding nature of “Humanae Vitae” and the importance of bishops defending it robustly when interviewed on television; (d) the teaching of “Ordinatio Sacerdotalis” that “the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful;” (e) the magisterial affirmation of priestly celibacy in “Sacerdotalis Caelibatus" and follow-up pronouncements; and (f) the ruling in “Apostolicae Curae” that Anglican orders are “absolutely null and utterly void.”
Just so that everyone's clear.
A reconciliatory post which is heartening.
The English Catholic Church is not like a sea liner where 'traditionalists' can stand on one side of the ship with 'liberals' on the other. Both of them mouthing off at each other.
We are, in fact, more like a rowing boat (increasing in size of course) where left and right need to row together.
The tiller, of course, directed by the magisterium.
sorry the document came out in in 1999, not 2006
Maybe he's getting with the spirit of the age. I doubt it though. Whatever the motivation it's a good letter. Nuff said.
thank you johnson for this nice comment !
Post a Comment