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Showing posts with the label SSPX

Muslims block Paris streets for Friday prayers

CBN (the Christian Broadcasting Network from Virginia) have compiled this report on an Islamic show of strength in Paris:



Apparently this has been going on for some years every Friday between 3 and 5pm. There are some more videos at the French blog Bivouac ID. The places where the videos are taken seem to be mainly up in the 18th Arrondissement not far from Montmartre.

In France, this islamisation is opposed strongly by the proponents of laicité, those who work against any influence of religion in the public square and have been vocal in opposition to the influence of Islam. This is an interesting contrast with England where the secularists seem to focus their energies much more on attacking the Catholic Church.

Last year, I wrote about how the SSPX were prevented from ending their Pilgrimage from Chartres as they had often done before, in front of the Basilica of Sacré Coeur. Rorate Caeli carried the letter of Fr L Duverger in response. The authorities seem disinclined to to anythin…
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SSPX advice on the sales

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A notice that I saw in the porch of St Nicolas du Chardonnet (my translation):The season of the sales is a good time to make sensible and economical purchases.

Ladies who, for praiseworthy motives of thrift, have kept skirts from their childhood, might profit from the sales to obtain, at a good price, clothes corresponding to their adult measurements.

In other words, the dress of majorettes is not welcome at Saint-Nicolas; which is not to say that they should dress as men ...
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St Nicolas du Chardonnet

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It is Passiontide and the New Liturgical Movement has been posting pictures of Churches that have veiled their statues from the 5th Sunday of Lent or Passion Sunday, (depending on whether you are following the usus antiquior or recentior.) I was surprised that this was considered a rare practice but visiting Churches in Paris, I did not see any statues veiled. Except the one in the above photo which I visited the other day. It was a strange experience compared to visiting most Churches in France (or elsewhere in Europe.) The Church was being cleaned but there were people there praying. The notice board had plenty of the expected initiatives for catechesis, social work and devotional events.

Unusually, there was no forward-facing altar, so the original plan of the Church could be seen without distraction, leading the eye to the High Altar and the tabernacle.


There were plenty of side altars. Normally these are used as storage spaces or display rooms. In this Church all the altars had …
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A remarkable French Bishop

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Bishop Dominique Rey of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon is a remarkable man. Before entering the seminary himself, he obtained a doctorate in economics and worked at the French Ministry of Finance. As a priest in the diocese of Paris, he also worked with the Emmanuel Community. From 1986-1988, he was superior of the chaplains at Paray-le-Monial, then exercised a post of pastoral responsibility for the seminarians and priests of the Emmanuel Community. He was a parish priest in Paris for five years before being appointed to Fréjus-Toulon in 2000.

Pope John Paul II's promotion of the "new evangelisation" has always been a priority for him, something that is reflected in the fact that his diocese celebrates on its website the presence of 27 new communities in the diocese, such as the Community of St John, the Franciscans of the Immaculate, Shalom, and Points-Coeur.

He has written a book on the incompatibility between Catholic doctrine and freemasonry, and has resolutely spoken o…
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A comment on unity

Joe at Catholic Commentary has posted a follow-up comment to my remarks on unity and the SSPX in the context of State interference in funeral of Chinese Bishop. It is well worth reading in view of Joe's familiarity with the Holy Father's Letter to Chinese Catholics.

See: A Comment on Unity
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SSPX talks confirmed

Just over a month ago, I reported the fairly widespread speculation on the Vatican Team chosen for talks with the SSPX. This has now been confirmed by the Press office of the Holy See.

The talks are to begin on Monday 26 October. they will take place at the Palazzo del Sant’Ufficio, the home of what is now called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. I expect that the morning coffee break will be even more of a buzz than it normally is.

If you want to prepare a Novena to pray for the success of the process, you could begin this coming Sunday.
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Vatican team chosen for fixture with SSPX?

Rorate Caeli has picked up a rumour of the names chosen for the Vatican team to be involved in doctrinal discussions with the SSPX. I was especially interested to see the name of Fr Karl Becker SJ included since I did his course many years ago at the Gregorian University.

For those who read French or don't mind hacking through a google translation, there is an interesting article at Disputationes by Abbé Claude Barthe discussing the possible direction of the talks. See: Discussions Rome / FSSPX : un point de vue théologique.
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Ecclesia Dei reshuffle

Today, Pope Benedict has issued a Motu Proprio Ecclesiae unitatem, restructuring the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

In this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father observes that although he has freed up the use of the older form of the Roman rite and remitted the excommunications of the four Bishops ordained by Archbishop Lefevbre,The doctrinal questions, however, obviously remain, and, until they are not clarified, the Fraternity does not have a canonical status within the Church, and its ministers cannot exercise any ministry legitimately.Therefore, since the remaining questions are doctrinal, he has placed Ecclesia Dei under the Congregration for the Doctrine of the Faith, something he indicated his intention to do when the excommunications were lifted. The President of Ecclesia Dei is now the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of hte Faith, Cardinal Levada and a new secretary has been appointed, Mgr Guido Pozzi.

Fr Z has some comment on the restructuring, pointing out that thi…
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The other Chartres pilgrimage

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I don't know what the figures are (can anyone help?) but a hefty proportion of the French people who actually go to Mass regularly go to the traditional Mass. Many of these belong to the Society of St Pius X. So at the weekend of Pentecost, the only real argument for sturdy young pilgrims is whether you go to the Paris-Chartres pilgrimage with the traditional Mass or the Chartres-Paris pilgrimage with the traditional Mass.

I picked up on the latter via my stats. Someone kindly posted my stuff on the Paris-Chartres Pilgrimage in the Fish Eaters forum and it drew the reply "Anyone got some pics of the real pilgrimage? :laughing".

Well the Ignis Ardens forum has lots of great photos (scroll down and also go to page 2). Here's one of the Anglo-American chapter - there's ecumenism for you!

I expect there will be more photos over the next couple of days - keep an eye out on the blog of Ignis Ardens.

The SSPX pilgrimage normally ends at Montmartre in front of the hugely si…
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Great letter from Bishop Jarrett

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I met Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett many years ago, before he was ordained co-adjutor Bishop of the diocese of Lismore, Australia in 2001 (he succeeded to the see later in the same year.) Bishop jarrett, who occasionally celebrates Mass according to the usus antiquior, has written an excellent letter to his clergy in response to the Holy Father's recent letter to the world's bishops concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre.

I encourage you to read the whole letter but here is one quotation:I believe that this moment has brought to the fore as no other in recent times a critical question: that of the understanding and interpretation of the Second Vatican Council. Was it to be seen as a rupture with all that went before, so that nothing in the Church’s life and teaching was to be exempt from change, indeed a process of continual mutation to fit in with the perceived demands and approvals of contemporary thinking and behaviou…
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Bishop Fellay continues path of reconciliation

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On the same day as the release of Pope Benedict's letter of clarification (see: Our humble, peaceful Holy Father), Bishop Fellay, the Superior General of the Society of St Pius X, has issued a communiqué which responds generously to the spirit of the Holy Father's letter, saying, for example:The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X assures Benedict XVI of its will to address the doctrinal discussions considered "necessary" by the Decree of January 21, with the desire of serving the revealed Truth which is the first charity to be shown towards all men, Christian or not. It assures him of its prayers so that his faith may not fail and that he may confirm all his brethren (cf. Luke 22 32).The ever-helpful Rorate Caeli blog carries the full text of the communiqué.
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Our humble, peaceful Holy Father

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The big news today is the Holy Father's letter of clarification concerning the lifting of the excommunication of the four SSPX bishops. It is a moving, honest, humble and fatherly letter. Here is the link to the official English translation.

I will draw attention to one or two significant points but encourage you to read the letter in full.

The Holy Father has announced that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is to be joined to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This is something of a surprise since many people expected that it would be joined to the Congregation for Divine Worship. The Holy Father explains:This will make it clear that the problems now to be addressed are essentially doctrinal in nature and concern primarily the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council and the post-conciliar magisterium of the Popes.I think that it is reasonable to draw from this the conclusion that the war over the older form of the Mass is, as far as the Holy See is concerned, ove…
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Radio 4 "Beyond Belief" discusses SSPX

Alcuin Reid was on Radio 4's "Beyond Belief" programme broadcast yesterday. The subject was the lifting of the SSPX excommunications and its various implications.

He was put in a contest against two opponents and came out of it very well. There is much in the piece about Vatican II and Alcuin manages to give some good clarification under fire about the different levels of assent required for different kinds of documents. Since I am sometimes rather negative about the BBC, I should say that the presenter, Ernie Rea, was quite fair and balanced.
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Martin Mosebach on SSPX reconciliation

Thanks to Rorate Caeli for the link to a translation of Martin Mosebach's recent article in Der Spiegel: The Body of the Church. Why the Pope Had to Do What He Did. The translation is provided by Stuart Chessman of The Society of St Hugh of Cluny blog over in Connecticut.

Moseach, author of "The Heresy of Formlessness", makes an interesting point about the role of the SSPX in preserving the Liturgy of the Church. Usually, people point out that the dispute with the SSPX is "not just about liturgy" but about Vatican II, religious freedom, ecumenism, or the Catholic state. Nevertheless, it is true that the most distinctive feature of the SSPX is its preservation of the traditional liturgy. Mosebach asks,Must he [Pope Benedict] not, however, have felt a sense obligation to the SSPX; that, for all its faults, it had become an instrument for preserving the Holy of Holies of the Church in a time of crisis? Whether the SSPX succeeds in finding a place in the multiplicit…
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Seminarians killed in avalanche

The sad news has come through today that three third year seminarians of the Society of St Pius X were killed today in an avalanche while walking in the Swiss mountains. A fourth was rescued and taken by helicopter to hospital.

Abbé Christian Thouvenot asks for prayers for the repose of their souls and prayers for their families and for their confreres at the seminary community.
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"The paths of hope are opened"

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Rorate Caeli reports on an interview given by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos to the RCN RAdio Network of Colombia. Here is a link to a report of the interview (in Spanish).

His Eminence reiterated that any honest man would reject viscerally what happened in the holocaust, that he personally rejected it and agreed with the Church that we should never forget, so that humanity never repeats these atrocities.

He also spoke of how the Holy Father wanted the Church to move forward to ensure that the unity of the Church be rebuilt, and added:"[W]hat is important at this moment is that the Pope has stopped a schism. The charity that Christ wanted to exist in the Church has been remarkably reestablished, and paths of hope are opened."For the record, Bishop Williamson has been removed by the SSPX from his post as Rector of the Seminary of La Reja in Argentina.
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Circular Firing Squad

Diogenes has a good analysis of the (continuing) Public Relations mess at the Vatican. See: The Circular Firing Squad. As he says:May I offer a word of advice, to any beleaguered Vatican official who might be ready to chip in with his own opinion?

Don't.

This mess was the result of a communications plan that was badly conceived, badly designed, and badly executed. It won't be solved by ad hoc announcements that have all those same characteristics.
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"We are sorry if we did over react"

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Rabbi Irwin Kula has written about the extreme reaction to the Williamson affair. At the Washington Post you can see the full text of the article. (H/T Fr Z). Rabbi Kula concludes:Finally, when the Pope as well as key Vatican officials said within a day that Williamson’s views are "absolutely indefensible" and that in the Pope’s own words, the Church feels "full and indispensable solidarity with Jews against any Holocaust denial" where was a little humility in response? Wouldn’t it have been interesting, yet alone ethically compelling, for those who initially lashed out to have acknowledged that perhaps they did overreact and that they do know that the Church and specifically this Pope are very sensitive to these issues. But that we ask the Pope and church hierarchy to please understand that, whether fully justified or not, we are still very very raw and very vulnerable regarding the Holocaust and so we are sorry if we did over react and we are deeply grateful for …
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Rehabililtated? Not.

Many of the news stories and political comments about the lifting of the excommunications of the four bishops of the SSPX have said something along the lines of "Pope rehabilitates holocaust denier." It has been explained (and ignored) time and time again that this is not what has happened. Today, the Secretariat of State issued a statement making this even clearer.

Here is a link to the original text (Italian), and here is a link to an English translation at Rorate Caeli.

As they say:Bishop Williamson, for an admission to episcopal functions in the Church, will also have to distance himself, in an absolutely unequivocal and public manner, from his positions regarding the ShoahListening to the 10pm news report from BBC Radio 4 on my way home this evening, I was glad to see that even the BBC now seems to get it.

I suppose the Holy Father will now have to appease the Islamic media who are saying that the figure of 6 million is "questioned by many European historians and inte…
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Archbishop McDonald in the Times on SSPX

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The Rt Rev Kevin McDonald, Archbishop of Southwark (my own Archbishop), has written to the Times to offer clarification on the question lifting of the SSPX excommunications and the Church's commitment to Catholic-Jewish relations. The website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales carries the full text of the letter and here is the edited version published by the Times.

The Archbishop wrote in his capacity as Chairman of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales Department of Dialogue and Unity. His letter gives the necessary reassurances regarding Catholic-Jewish relations (in response to the recent rant on the leader page) without being negative about the initiative of Pope Benedict.

When Summorum Pontificum was issued, Archbishop McDonald said to the Council of Priests that he welcomed it, cautioning only that it should be implemented with pastoral sensitivity. There are several parishes in the Archdiocese that offer the Extraordinary Form every Sunday and sev…
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Academy of the Annunciation: a new initiative in Bournemouth

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I am very happy to pass on news of the founding of the Academy of the Annunciation in Bournemouth. The Academy plans to offer conferences and study days for lay people to equip students to evangelise effectively in the vineyard of the Lord. It is also looking to provide conferences for priests, religious, and seminarians.

The Academy will be based at the Sacred Heart, the home of the Bournemouth Oratory-in-Formation which is a beautiful setting: stunning Church and lovely environment with the beach and gardens only a few minutes' walk away. The Angel of the Annunciation logo (above) is taken from an image on the reredos of the Lady Chapel at Sacred Heart.


Bishop Philip Egan is seen here with Dr Denise Oliver (left) and Dr Christina Pal (right) who taught in Rome at the Pontifical North American College (seminary) and other places – Dr Pal at Christendom College and Dr Oliver at the Angelicum, the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas and elsewhere.

The first offering of the …
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How to make an act of perfect contrition

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How can you go from imperfect to perfect contrition? Gabriella D from Australia asked me this on Twitter today and I want to give an answer because I think that many people misunderstand what we mean when we talk about “perfect contrition.”

Perfect contrition is sorrow and detestation of sin arising out of the love of God. One way of exciting this contrition in our hearts is by considering the passion of Jesus Christ and making acts of love for Him. We can also think of the infinite love which God has for us, and express sorrow in our heart in the presence of this great love which we have offended.

Imperfect contrition is sorrow and detestation for sin arising from a consideration of the ugliness of sin or out of the fear of hell. Disgust at the ugliness of sin is more common today than fear of hell. That is because we do not preach enough, or with sufficient conviction about the four last things.

If a person commits an act of impurity, for example, perhaps by deliberately looking at a…
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Commemoration of Abbe Edgeworth

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A commenter passes on this interesting snippet from the Latin Mass Society of Ireland.

Bishop O'Reilly of Ardagh & Clonmacnois will the Latin Mass (Extraordinary Form) on Sunday, 23 September 2007 at St Mary's Church, Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford as part of a commemoration of the Bicentenary of the death of Monsignor Henry Essex Edgeworth de Firmont.

Bishop O'Reilly of Ardagh & Clonmacnois to offer Latin Mass at Monsignor Edgeworth commemoration

Although born in Co. Longford, Mgr Edgeworth was the confessor of Louis XVI and Vicar General of Paris at the height of the French Revolution. There is an article summarising his extraordinarily eventful life in the Catholic Encyclopaedia: Henry Essex Edgeworth.
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Our Lady Immaculate, our model for preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.

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Listening with respect to the message of the angel, and prudently questioning him on how it was possible for her to be the Mother of Christ, Our Lady gave her immediate, willing and whole-hearted consent. From then on, her prayerful expectation of the birth of Christ is a model for us of the devout attitude we should endeavour to adopt during the season of Advent.

From the moment of her conception in the womb of Saint Anne, Our Lady, by a singular privilege, was free from original sin and never committed a single venial sin. Educated in the Temple from childhood, she faithfully and obediently followed the law of God as it was then in force for the Jewish people. She took part in the worship of the synagogue on the sabbath and went to Jerusalem for the great feasts. She observed those feasts with devotion, aware of their meaning which pointed to the Messiah, her own child, the One who is to come.

At those feasts, the psalms formed a major part of the liturgy. She would have known them…
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Bishop Budd on Summorum Pontificum

Fr Z has text and comments on the statement issued by Bishop Christopher Budd of the Plymouth Diocese.

I agree with Fr Z's comments and would add that Bishop Budd is a fair-minded man. I liked the last part of his statement:May I urge you to celebrate the present liturgy (the ordinary rite) of all the sacraments of the Church ‘attente et devote’. The quality of the parish celebration of the renewed liturgy is an important context for the permitted use of the rite now designated `Extraordinary’.The use of the older form of the rite should help and encourage priests in the proper celebration of the newer form. In fact, as Dr Hemming pointed out at the Merton Conference, the older form provides a necessary anchor for the newer form.
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