The Hermeneutic of Continuity

YLE news from Finland reports the remarks of the new Bishop of Helsinki, the Rt Rev Teemu Sippo, regarding Swedish Lutheran proposals to allow religious ceremonies to recognise the partnerships of same-sex couples. He points out that everything that happens in Sweden moves to Finland sooner or later and that marriage should not be regarded simply as an administrative matter but as a sacrament. He fears for relations between the Lutheran Church and the Catholic Church in Finland. He also questions the wisdom of handing out free condoms to young people: Handing out condoms is like telling people to use them. I believe youths should instead be encouraged to practice abstinence. See: Finland’s Catholic Bishop Warns of Rift with Lutherans over Gay Marriage

My good friends Marko and Pilvi in Helsinki have posted photographs of the first communion of their daughter, Beatamaria, at High Mass in Rome today on the feast of St Peter and St Paul at the Church of Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini, the Church of the FSSP. Here you can see Fr Brendan Gerard who was Deacon at the Mass and the dignified prie-Dieu that was decorated for the first Communion: And here is a lovely family photo with Fr Kramer:

The website for the Finnish Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter has announced that Father Benjamin Durham FSSP will visit Sweden, Finland, and Estonia during Passion Week leading to Palm Sunday. He is celebrating Mass, leading the Stations of the Cross and giving a one day retreat. Here is a link to the schedule . The photo shows Fr Durham saying Mass in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of St Henry's Cathedral, Helsinki, on his last visit. I said Mass myself there a year ago and very much enjoyed meeting people and seeing Helsinki.

Fr Benjamin Durham has been in Helsinki again, lucky man! Here he is, celebrating Mass for the 25th Sunday after Pentecost, at St Henry's Cathedral: Mass for the commemoration of All Souls in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of the Cathedral: There was also a Baptism using the older form. My good friend, Marko Tervaportti, was the Godfather. He was very moved by the rite and reminded me of my post last year about Baptism and the usus antiquior . More photos of Fr Durham's visit at the blog Summorum .

One of the benefits of modern technology is that when you are out for lunch with a fellow priest, it is possible to have a quick look at the days "Bolletino" from the Vatican. Very often there is not much to write home about but on Saturday, I was surprised to see the announcement that Bishop Josef Wróbel of Helsinki was appointed as one of the assistant Bishops of the Diocese of Lublin. The Finnish news service YLE news describes it as an " abrupt departure " and a "surprise move". This could just be journalese - most episcopal appointments are a bit of a surprise and happen abruptly. Nevertheless, I did find it intriguing that an Ordinary should be taking up post as an auxiliary Bishop - perhaps there is some special need in Lublin or perhaps Bishop Wrobel wishes to return to his alma mater . My friends in Helsinki will no doubt be wondering who their new Bishop is going to be.

Fr Benjamin Durham FSSP has been visiting Finland. Above is a photo of the Missa Cantata at St Henry's Cathedral last Sunday. The Summorum blog has details (with some text in English) and photos of his visits to Holy Cross at Tampere , the Missionaries of Charity , Maala in the Finnish countryside (with a game of "mölkky"), and today to the Carmelite sisters in Esopo . I was very glad to hear that he also had the opportunity to meet the Bishop of Helsinki.

Pilvi Listo playing the organ at Kallio Church in Helsinki, Finland. May 9, 2008. I was entertained to a most enjoyable dinner at Pilvi and Marko's place on my visit to Helsinki after Easter.

This is the chalice which I was given to use for Mass a week ago in Helsinki. I emailed Marko Tervaportti for some further information about it and he has kindly replied with the information that it was made in Paris, probably around 1870 and is thought to be a gift from the Countess Leopoldina Cicogna (from Milan) who brought it from France together with many other objects, including another precious chalice with standing figures of the four Apostles, and the Way of the Cross which still hangs from the walls of the Cathedral. The Emperor, Czar Alexander II, gave permission for the building of St Henry's Cathedral at the request of Leopoldina's husband, Count Berg. Here is a close-up of the base of the chalice in which you can see the painted glass medallion of Saint Joseph and Our Blessed Lady. The third, hidden from view, is a medallion of the crucifixion. Following the advice of J B O'Connell, I used this to orient the chalice whilst saying Mass so that I knew to drink t...

Helsinki is covered in snow this morning and everybody says that winter has come late. Finnish public transport is renowned for being scrupulously on time and apparently snow causes some upset because the buses might be a minute or two late. I did have a bit of a problem getting a taxi over to the Church this morning (I had to take my suitcase) but apparently there are relatively few taxis in Helsinki because public transport is so reliable and inexpensive. Low Mass this morning was in the Blessed Sacrament chapel of St Henry's Cathedral. Marko Tervaportti took photos during the Mass and has already posted the above photo and another at the Summorum blog. After Mass, we had some excellent Finnish coffee in the Catholic Information Centre which is the hub for the administration of the Catholic Church in Finland. They have the Catechism of the Catholic Church on sale in Finnish along with Finnish translations of papal encyclicals and various other useful books. Another Marko shepherd...

There are some pictures from yesterday's Missa Cantata at the Summorum blog on the post Fin-igan Day Two . I have been staying at the Studium Catholicum which is run by the Dominicans, Fr Antoine from Paris and Fr Bill from Edmonton, Alberta, for whose hospitality and kindness I am very grateful. Currently, the facilities are being worked on but there is already an excellent library in place which will be available for use by any students who are interested. We are just round the corner from the main square so it is an excellent location, too.

This evening's Mass at the Cathedral of St Henry in Helsinki was sung with a very competent small schola executing the chant flawlessly. I was very grateful for the opportunity to celebrate with a choir singing the Missa Lux et Origo . There will doubtless be some pictures at the blog Summorum fairly soon. (The title of course recalls the Motu Proprio but has another slight reference in that the Finnish name for Finland is Suomi.) In the meantime, courtesy of Summorum , here is a picture from yesterday's Low Mass. The windows behind the altar were donated by an Irish lady, Mary Ryan 1n 1907, in memory of Fr von Christieeson. Either side of the Crucifixion, there stand St Patrick and St Bridget. After Mass, Marko Tervaportti and his wife Pilvi treated a small group of us to dinner at their house. They say a decade of the Rosary with their two little girls before bedtime and it was a great privilege to be able to join in with this and to give a blessing afterwards. The Finns...

As you can see from the ice floating in the harbour, Helsinki is quite cold in comparison to England; although apparently there has been a mild winter and the recent snow was the first that has fallen this year. I was glad to have remembered to bring some warm clothing. My very English shoes look silly here where it seems that everybody has walking boots on. This morning I had an opportunity to visit the Ataneum, the National Gallery of Finland which currently has an exhibition of the work of Pekka Halonen (1865-1933). (There is an article in English at Finnguide about the exhibition.) After the Treaty of Tilsit between Napoleon and Tsar Alexander I, Russia attacked Finland in 1808. The following year, Sweden conceded Finland to Russia as an autonomous Grand Duchy. In 1812, the Tsar moved the capital to Helsinki and initially, Russian rule was of some benefit to Finland. Some of the architecture in the centre of the City bears more than a passing resemblance to St Petersburg. This is ...

I was off early on Monday morning to Heathrow airport for a flight with Finnair to Helsinki where I am visiting the Schola Sancti Gregorii Magni . The Wikipedia article on the Roman Catholicism in Finland estimates the number of Catholics in Finland as about 7000 although local sources here indicate that it is probably nearer 10,000. Nevertheless, Finland is still the European country with the smallest proportion of Catholics. The majority of the population, about 84%, declare themselves to be Lutherans but the rate of practice is very low. Reading the page Churches and religions in Finland , I was astonished to find that it was only with the 1923 Freedom of Religion law that a Finn was officially allowed to be Catholic. The whole of Finland is one diocese, centred on the Cathedral of St Henry in Helsinki. In recent years, the Society of the Sacred Heart from Poland have had a strong presence in Finland and the Bishop is Bishop Józef Wróbel SCJ. Here you can read his excellent sermon ...