Sandro Magister reports today on the forthcoming beatification of Antonio Rosmini on Sunday 18 November in Novara, Northern Italy. (Chiesa: Blessed Liberty: The Posthumous Miracle of Antonio Rosmini) Magister observes:Of his books, the one still most widely read and translated is "Delle cinque piaghe della santa Chiesa [Of the Five Wounds of the Holy Church]." One of the wounds that he denounced was the ignorance of the clergy and the people in celebrating the liturgy. But it is a mistake to view him as a standard bearer for the abandonment of the use of Latin. He wrote, instead, that "reducing the sacred rites to the vernacular languages would mean resorting to a remedy worse than the disease."Magister also points out that Rosmini was condemned by the Holy Office in 1887 and this condemnation was only finally rescinded by Cardinal Ratzinger in 2001. He therefore refers to the forthcoming beatification as a miracle. Perhaps it is, but not such an unusual one in the history of the Church. Many saints have been rejected during their lives and subsequently rehabilitated. Contrary to popular assumptions, the Church is not only able to forgive but also to admit mistakes.
It is significant that he is to be beatified during the reign of Pope Benedict who is an admirer of his work and a theologian of note in his own right. This is not an unmitigated advantage for a Pope but Pope Benedict shows an awareness of the humility required in such a combination of roles.
8 comments:
Unless I'm mistaken, it was priests from Rosmini's order who brought Roman collars to England.
"a theologian of note in his own right"?
Surely, the understatement of the year....
I think I will have to respectfully disagree with Fr. Tim. I do not see this case as one similar to St. Joan of Arc.
Rosimin's Five Wounds of the Church are a blueprint for the Second Vatican Council. That is why the ban on him could only be lifted in 2001 by Cardinal Ratzinger because there has been an overhaul in areas such as Religious Liberty. It would be impossible to canonise Rosmini before Vatican II. I fear this beatification is a theological-political one with no value for the devotion of the faithful. There is nothing heroic or miraculous about Rosmini's life except the foundation of the Charity Society founded by him and that's about it. Instead the Catholic faithful will be lead to believe that one can teach errors (or heresies in the words of the ignorant media) and still become a saints etc. The people pushing for Rosmini's canonisation are the ones who want to canonise everything that came out of Vatican II.
I personally believe Rosmini was not an heretic and in itself was a good man, but I fear his beatification will have very negative consequences. Liberals are going to look up to and use Rosmini to further their ideas in the church. It is very imprident to rush his canonisation and another reason why we need the Devil's Advocate back.
For a list of the condemned propositions of Rosmini see here
Sadly the only Mass i attended celebrated by a 'lovely' Rosminian Priest was a 'personality' 'emotional' medjugorje type..the year before he celebrated mass on the dining room table rather than the nearby chapel & asked everyone to hold a piece of the host...i hear the little church is to close..i wander why?
Ho ho, Andrew, you'd better hope he is not canonised then because that would be infallible. Unless you do not believe in the infallibility of canonisations :-)
Agree with you about the restoration of the Promotor Fidei. I hope Pope Benedict has this on his list.
Of course canonisations are infallible. A canonisation is merely stating that someone is enjoying the beatific vision in Heaven - which I think Rosmini is.
But I think that the "saint factory" trend started by JP II was an imprudent and rash one. It is disgraceful that saints like Padre Pio had to wait over 20 years to be canonised and other people like Blessed Anna Emmerich waiting over 112 years to receive the title of beati, whereas Rosmini gets an easy seat.
I state again that this process for Rosmini is driven by political agenda to make the propositions of the Council legitimate - "Look! Even a saint predicted Vatican II and he was persecuted by the big bad mean pre-conciliar church!!!"
I look forward to the beatification celebrations tomorrow:
http://www.liturgy.co.nz/worship/matters_files/antoniorosmini.html
Fr Tim, although it's true that the Holy Father is "a theologian of note in his own right", it's worth noting that so is Card. Martini, so is Rowan Williams - being noted is one thing, being orthodox is quite another. I think we have to understand that much of his earlier theology (and how much of that he still holds is unclear) is quite other than Catholic. And much of what he's been coming up with more recently would make the Holy Office of yore see red. Thank God he has the prudence not to make his own theology into the Church's theology. Thank God also that one's strengths as a theologian are not necessarily linked to sanctity. I say that with reference to Rosmini and Papa Ratzinger.
I somewhat agree with Andrew that this is a political move, given how Rosmini has been perceived. However, as with so many cases, the 'Rosmini' that the liberals admire is not someone that he himself would recognise. It speaks volumes that Rosmini was a personal friend of Pius IX (hardly a 'liberal') and that the Pope himself personally intervened in his trial in 1854. It was only many years after his death that certain propositions, drawn from Rosmini's works were condemned, and these propositions are taken out of context from their own philosophical framework. Reading the decree from CDF in 2001 ought to set make most minds at least a little more restful!
Final point is that whereas Newman, the other great 'liberal' and 'Father of "the Council"' was under suspicion in the reign of Pius IX and then in favour under Leo XIII, Rosmini's fortunes were the reverse.
Post a Comment