Hans Küng joins sedevacantists

In the midst of worry and concern regarding the canonical status of the SSPX, a light-hearted moment is provided by today's post on Rorate Caeli. Hans Küng has complained that the Pope is to include in the Church invalidly ordained bishops (he means those of the SSPX.) Küng cites the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Paul VI, Pontificalis Romani recognitio in which Pope Paul VI laid down the matter and form of the sacrament of Holy Orders according to the postconciliar rite.

In fact, the matter was not changed, and the form, in the case of the ordination of a deacon or priest, was left untouched. The form for ordination of a bishop was based on the Apostolic Tradition. The Constitution refers to this as "of Hippolytus the Roman" and dates it to the beginning of the third century. Both of these assertions have recently been challenged. In case anyone has scruples, the newer form is certainly valid: there have been and still are different rites of consecration or ordination of a Bishop and there is no reason to doubt the validity of the newer form of the Roman rite.

I think we can also regard it as certain that Pope Paul VI did not intend to declare ordinations subsequently carried out according to the older form to be henceforth invalid. Küng's charge that they are, is simply one of the more absurd consequences of the hermeneutic of rupture.

But the fun is only just beginning with this claim. He veers away from the allegation of invalidity of orders to make the further claim that if Pope Benedict accepts the SSPX bishops into the Church, he will be committing an act of schism. Let us not be distracted by Küng's implied assertion that the SSPX bishops are not already part of the Church. (We can all safely accept that they simply lack regular jurisdiction and canonical status.) Küng's target is not the SSPX but the Holy Father.

Not only does he warn the Holy Father that he will become a schismatic, he spells out the consequence of this: "A schismatic pope loses his position according to that same teaching of the constitution of the Church."

Thus the great liberal Hans Küng joins the ranks of the sedevacantists. You may well doubt whether he would agree to the theory of some, that Cardinal Siri was really elected Pope and not Cardinal Roncalli, but you could be tempted to speculate whether a homely Bierkeller in Tübingen might be the place to add to the list of the Popes at large. (Perhaps Martin VI in honour of another German who could tell everybody what was wrong with the Pope.)

Fun as such speculation might be, I think it would be mistaken. I happen to know, from an unimpeachable source inside the Vatican, leaked to an Italian journalist and thence to my late Auntie Eileen, that Hans Küng was indeed invited to become Pope when the conclave of 1978 became deadlocked. When telephoned with an offer of the post, he declined, saying "No. I would prefer to remain infallible."

Praying for the SSPX to enrich the Church

Last Wednesday in the main foyer of the Catholic University of Lublin, someone handed me a printout of the Vatican communiqué regarding the response of the SSPX to the doctrinal preamble. This was illustrative of the fast-moving nature of the story at the moment. Thanks to Rorate Caeli I was able to keep up with the developments via the iPad and a booster for 3G internet access in Poland.

Plenty of others have commented on the leaked letters, the possibility of a split, the re-publication of some of the more trenchant addresses of Archbishop Lefevbre, the likely resolution of the matter, and the essential role of Pope Benedict in the possible regularisation of the SSPX by means of a canonical structure. I accept the advice of several wise statements from those in authority within the SSPX that we should now pray hard. I pray for a good outcome that is pleasing to Almighty God and works for the good of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church founded by Christ on the rock which is Peter.

The outstanding document of the past couple of weeks is the Letter of the General Council of the SSPX which, I am sure, will go down in history as a prudent, charitable and balanced call to "work in the field" according to the will of Divine Providence.

This evening I had time to sit and watch the video made by the Catholic News Service of an interview with Bishop Fellay. First of all it is extraordinary that a mainstream Catholic new service would produce such a sympathetic piece. This is in itself a sign of the times. Secondly it gives us a chance to see something of the character of Bishop Fellay. I have to say that he comes across as a man of great warmth of character who could lead many in the renewal of the Church.

Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

High Mass in Lublin

Last Thursday I was celebrant for High Mass at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Lublin. Here is a view of the outside of the Church:

The digital camera has been flattering: the Church did look a little dilapidated from the outside. Its renovation is one of many projects still remaining after the communist era. However, inside the Church, the visitor is greeted with this:

As with many Churches in Poland, the furniture has been superbly restored and enhanced with gold leaf.

The High Mass was for the feast of the Ascension. I was assisted by two sacred ministers from the seminary of Lublin, both still students. (I will put their names in the post when I can get them - unfortunately I had to rush off after Mass to give my talk at the seminary so did not have much time to chat.) The MC for Mass was Michał Mycka who is 18 and about to go to university in Warsaw. He has closely studied a copy of Fortescue in Polish translation (his English is also excellent). The ceremonies went very smoothly. Deacon and subdeacon needed little prompting and it is always a joy to experience the unity of the Roman liturgy in the usus antiquior. I speak virtually no Polish but from the point of view of the ritual of the Mass, I could have been at home in Blackfen.

Here are some photos from the Mass,

And here is a photo of the excellent schola which sang the Gregorian chant flawlessly. It was primarily according to the conventions of Solesmes, though I think I heard a touch of the "ancient music" style at one point. The schola sing regularly for the old rite Masses in Lublin but I think that one or two students from the university joined them for this occasion.

You can find more photos on the gallery page of the Introibo website (Click on the menu item "Wniebowstapienie, 17 V 2012"). Thanks to Mr Gregory for taking them.

Sitting at the desk of Blessed John Paul

The Catholic University of Lublin was the only Catholic university in the Soviet empire. It continues to flourish, mainly in the humanities, because the communists restricted its activities and founded their own university in Lublin to teach the sciences, in order to give the impression that the communists were more concerned with the "real world." Both universities have now diversified to some degree, but retain their particular emphasis.

The main aula in the university honours Our Lady of Czestochowa and Cardinal Wyszyński. As bishop, he was imprisoned for three years because he spoke against the communist attempts to dictate the appointment of bishops. His sermon is known by his powerful statement "Non possumus."

Blessed John Paul is greatly honoured in Poland - every Church, sacristy, presbytery and hall has a picture of him. One precious memory is that of the day that Cardinal Wyszyński made his obedience to his protege.

A highlight of my guided tour of the university was to visit the lecture room in which Blessed John Paul taught. The desk at which he lectured has been preserved, and I got the chance to sit at it.

Greetings again to the students whom I met. Someone took a photo - I'll post it when I receive it.

The inspiration of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko

The shrine of Blessed Jerzy Popiełuszko in Warsaw is still guarded constantly by volunteers. When he was alive and preaching, young men would keep watch at the house where Blessed Jerzy lived, because of the ominous threat of the secret police. My host in Lublin, also Jerzy (=George) was one of them.

Here is the chapel where Blessed Jerzy preached the sermons that so infuriated the communists that they beat him to death, tied him up, put his body in the boot of their car and then dumped it in the river Vistula.

This monument is also outside the Church, commemorating the suffering of Poles in the various concentration camps set up by the Germans during the second world war.

And here is Piotr, my host for the Warsaw leg of my trip to Poland, in the museum dedicated to Blessed Jerzy. It is well worth a visit if you are in Warsaw. The banners are those of the Solidarity movement.

I was interested to see in the museum that Blessed Jerzy was also an outspoken pro-life campaigner who stood up for the sanctity of human life, opposed abortion, and promoted the family.

That morning, I celebrated Mass at the retreat centre where I was staying. The priest who founded the work was imprisoned for three years during the Stalin era, having fallen foul of the authorities. It is quite moving to realise that so many Poles alive today were involved in protests and opposition to the communist government. Some years ago I was amused by the reaction of the Poles to the daily news as filtered on the main TV channel broadcast of 30 minutes each evening. Everyone decided to go out for a walk at exactly the time it was broadcast. Piotr was involved in this and fell foul of the police as a result, being kept in the cells for a time.

I have put up some more photos at my flickr page. There are plenty more to follow over the next few days.

Getting to know modern Poland

My visit to the Catholic University at Lublin was most enjoyable. My hosts have translated my presentation into Polish so the students could have a summary to hand. They could all understand English to some level so there was not a need for much to-and-fro translating.

I stuck at first to the theme that I have been given for the main talk (to seminarians) which is that of secularisation and the new evangelisation. This is interesting enough because Poland is undergoing its own dive into secularism and this is having an effect on the Church. However the lay students today were also keen to hear more about traditional Liturgy. In fact some of them are coming to High Mass tomorrow.

The Catholic University of Lublin was the only Catholic university in the whole of the soviet bloc and was an important part of Blessed John Paul's life. I visited the lecture room in which he taught. They have kept the desk and my hosts took a photo of me sitting at it! Many thanks to Michael for showing me round the university and for giving me a sense of the love that the students have for it as a place of Catholic student life.

This is just a brief update before supper but I have much to report on. I was very moved by my visit to the tomb of Blessed Jerzy Popielusko and even more by the lovingly preserved and, in some places rather harrowing, museum. The above photo shows the Church in which he preached his famous sermons. My host in Lublin was one of the students who kept guard for him at his residence once it was clear that the security forces were after him.

I should see more of Lublin tomorrow as well as visiting the seminary to speak to some students. I'll also be calling into a shop to buy myself a cassock, saving myself more than the cost of my return flight.

Possible update tomorrow - photos and more detail as possible. (One photo today because I don't have time to edit the size down.)

Quick greetings from Lublin

Just a quick Hello from the main hall of the Catholic University of Lublin where I have been speaking to a fine group of students. Off to visit the class where Karol Wojtyla taught.

More soon from Poland with photos.

In a rush - I'm Spartacus!

Just a few minutes in front of a working computer before I have to go and get on the aeroplane so I thought I would quickly repost the graphic that has resulted in the ludicrous investigation of Cranmer by the Advertising Standards Authority. I am glad that there is at least an update to the story that I can post now that His Grace has responded to the ASA. I'll have to read the full response later but it does look fun.

Off to Poland

The shrine of Blessed Jerzy Popieluszko is on my "must see" list for the next few days. I'm off shortly to Heathrow to catch a flight to Warsaw. I'll be giving a talk at the seminary at Warsaw and then in Lublin. There should be time for sightseeing in both cities as well as a chance to meet some good Polish apostolic lay people.

Not sure how much blogging I will be able to do - but I have packed equipment that should enable me to make use of any opportunities. (I'll certainly take some photos.) Will probably have the chance to do a couple of posts at the airport.

Inspirational photo book with vocational theme

The Southwark Vocations blog has news of a new motivational book that could be given to someone leaving school for college, university, or their first job. It is a very simple idea: good photos produced "lightbox style" with a dark surround, and well-chosen quotations. There are blank pages at the back to collect signatures. The book has photos of key moments in life, especially the life of faith, with photos illustrating vocations at the end. It is £7.95 for a single copy but there are substantial discounts for bulk orders. See the Transitions website for ordering.