Fr Dylan James defensor

Say a prayer today for Fr Dylan James, a priest of the Diocese of Plymouth. He is defending his doctoral thesis in the viva voce examination today. I don't know the exact title of his thesis but he has been working on the concept of personhood, especially as it relates to the personhood of the embryo.

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1962 Missal pdf online

The Church Music Association of America and Jeffrey Tucker of the New Liturgical Movement have made available the 1962 Missal online in pdf format (72Mb). The file is hosted at Musica Sacra , the website of the CMAA, thanks to a generous gift from Fr Robert Skeris While you are at it, take a look at the articles clarifying the rules for music at Low Mass and music at High Mass .
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On the Attempted Cancellation of Father Zuhlsdorf

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Since the US election, Fr Zuhlsdorf has been subjected to a concerted attack from some liberal catholic publications. This would not be noteworthy except for the fact that as a result, he has been asked to move from the diocese where he currently works and has now to find accommodation. It is therefore reasonable to speak of an attempt to “cancel” him as the saying is nowadays. The Character of Fr Z’s Blog As an outspoken blogger, Fr Z is accustomed to opposition from Catholics who object to his promotion of the traditional Latin Mass, gays who object to his unequivocal defence of Catholic moral teaching, and modernist priests and theologians whose theology he criticises for being contrary to the magisterial teaching of the Church. In the online “wild west” of the blogosphere, he is happy to give as good as he gets. This makes his blog enjoyable for his followers and probably annoying for his opponents. At the same time, of
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The pitfalls of censoring Catholic bloggers

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Pope Benedict's message for the 44th World Communications Day (2010) had the title "The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word." In it, he said [...] priests can rightly be expected to be present in the world of digital communications as faithful witnesses to the Gospel, exercising their proper role as leaders of communities which increasingly express themselves with the different "voices" provided by the digital marketplace. Priests are thus challenged to proclaim the Gospel by employing the latest generation of audiovisual resources (images, videos, animated features, blogs, websites) which, alongside traditional means, can open up broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis. I quoted this in my post Holy Father encourages us to blog - with a priestly heart : Pope Benedict also gave the wise advice that priests should be "less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart.
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Inside the Domus Sanctae Marthae

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How do I have a collection of photos from inside the Domus Sanctae Marthae ? you ask. Have the Blackfen papal ninjas organised a black op to get photos for the Hermeneutic of Continuity? The answer is more prosaic, I'm afraid. Back in 2010, for the International Colloquium of the Confraternities of Catholic Clergy I stayed there along with most of the other priests. I thought that I should take some photos of the room I was allocated (one of the better ones as it happens) since they might come in useful one day. Well I suppose today is that day. Above you can see the house chapel. Here is the study part of my superior room (the Cardinals are allocated the rooms by lot.) and here is the bedroom part: There are good, tall, cassock-friendly wardrobes with plenty of space (it has to be assumed that the Cardinals might be staying for a few weeks, even if most recent conclaves have been short) An interesting point for Americans; here is the small organ in the chape
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Enjoying the Feast of the Holy Trinity

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The weather in London today finally broke into just above 20 degrees centigrade, or just tipping 70 if you are using old money. It was a beautiful day to celebrate the feast of the Most Holy Trinity. This weekend and last, I have been helping at St Bede’s, Clapham Park. In a most pastorally sensitive swap, the late Archbishop Smith allowed Fr Basden to move from Clapham Park to Ramsgate, and Fr Holden to move from there to Clapham Park. Thus, continuity was secured for both parishes. The parish choir at St Bede’s has been going from strength to strength. On several recent visits I have heard them sing polyphonic masses with aplomb. Today we had Victoria’s Missa O Quam Gloriosum .  As is the way with many traditional Masses in parishes, the older servers have had children who are now competently taking over. More than one young teenager that has served me as MC has asked his parents for a vintage copy of Fortescue for his birthd
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