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Medjugorje commission announced

From the Vatican Bollettino today confirms the widespread rumour of a new commission on Medjugorje: COMUNICATO DELLA SALA STAMPA DELLA SANTA SEDE: COMMISSIONE INTERNAZIONALE DI INCHIESTA SU MEDJUGORJE È stata costituita presso la Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede, sotto la presidenza del Cardinale Camillo Ruini, una Commissione internazionale di inchiesta su Medjugorje. Detta Commissione, composta da Cardinali, Vescovi, periti ed esperti, lavorerà in maniera riservata, sottoponendo l’esito del proprio studio alle istanze del Dicastero. My translation: Communiqué of the Press Office of the Holy See: International Commission of Enquiry on Medjugorje An international Commission of Enquiry on Medjugorje has been set up at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under the presidency of Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The Commission, composed of Cardinals, Bishops, experts and those with experience, will work in a a confidential manner, placing the outcome of their study at the di...
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Fr Manfred Hauke on Medjugorje

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The renowned German theologian Manfred Hauke has given an interview on the subject of the alleged supernatural phenomena at Medjugorje. ( Mariologist Hauke on Medjugorje: "Don't let the devotees fall into the void" ) The article is particularly valuable because of Fr Hauke’s sound theological judgement, something apparent illustrated in his introduction to the theology of Marian apparitions in general. After explaining the prophetic nature of such revelations, he takes issue with Rahner’s explanation of all such phenomena as “imaginative visions”, saying that such a subjective approach does not account for phenomena such as the apparitions at Knock where the place in which Our Lady and the saints stood remained dry despite the pouring rain. Having rejected this reductionism, he draws some useful distinctions highlighting the relative role of subjective influence and the intervention of God or of the saints. On the question of Medjugorje, he highlights the difference bet...
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Visions vademecum?

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Petrus has reported that a directory will soon be issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith setting out procedures for the investigation of alleged apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The story has been picked up by the Telegraph and the Indie but the best source to read is the article from Petrus or the English translation which can be found at this link: Benedict XVI to crack down on Alleged Apparitions . The rumour has an important bearing on the question of Medjugorje and particularly on the relationship of the shrine to the local Ordinary who "some time ago requested the alleged visionaries to live a hidden life and not disclose any message attributed to the Madonna."
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CDF notification on Fr Tomislav Vlašić

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The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has written to the bishop of Mostar-Duvno to inform him that they are investigating the case of Fr Tomislav Vlašić and asking him, for the good of the faithful, to inform the community of his canonical status; that is, having fallen into a censure of interdict latae sententiae . Full details from the official site of the Diocese of Mostar-Duvno: The canonical status of Rev. Fr Tomislav Vlašić OFM . One of the alleged seers of Medjugorje, Marija Pavlovic, in 1988 repudiated any approval for Fr Vlašić's co-ed religious community in Italy.
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Popular posts from this blog

Bernini's elephant Inscription

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Here's the elephant. (That's the Pantheon in the background.) And here is the inscription: It reads: SAPIENTIS AEGYPTI INSCULPTAS OBELISCO FIGURAS AB ELEPHANTO BELLUARUM FORTISSIMA GESTARI QUISQUIS HIC VIDES DOCUMENTUM INTELLIGE ROBUSTAE MENTIS ESSE SOLIDAM SAPIENTIAM SUSTINERE Which is to say "Whoever sees here that the symbols of the Egyptian sage, inscribed on the obelisk, are carried by the elephant, the strongest of the beasts: understand that it is a proof of a robust mind to sustain solid wisdom." I first read this inscription on a tour of the twelve obelisks of Rome, led by the incomparable Fr Reginald ("Reggie") Foster. He was the best teacher of anything that I ever knew and I always try to call in at the beginning of his class. 25 years on, he teaches at the same time, in the same room, with the same dry sense of humour and the same passionate love of Latin. The obelisk is outside the Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva where St Catherine of Sien...
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Hippolytus and Eucharistic Prayer II

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When I was a student in Rome, I remember going with a priest for Mass in one of the ancient Churches. The priest said that he was going to use Eucharistic Prayer II because it was the most ancient of all the prayers and was specifically Roman, composed by Hippolytus. This was the standard view at that time (early 1980s) but has since been called into question. A number of people have recently mentioned the matter to me and so here are a few notes for you. In the 19th century, a number of ancient texts were discovered that were similar to the "Apostolic Constitutions", (of which the first modern edition was published in 1563). Among these texts was a document which came to be referred to as the “Egyptian Church Order”. In addition, the Canons of Hippolytus and the Testamentum Domini were discovered. The scholarly consensus in the early 20th century on the dependence of these documents was that the “Egyptian Church Order” was in fact the "Apostolic Tradition" of Hipp...
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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 ...
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CD 275: Paying cash for work done

A handyman who does work for me prefers for me to pay him in cash. Am I committing a sin if I agree to do so? It is fascinating to see how virtually the whole country has become engaged in the intricacies of moral debate on this issue, including the complex question of material or formal co-operation in evil. The broad consensus is correct according to Catholic moral teaching: there is absolutely nothing wrong in itself with paying somebody using cash, which is, after all, legal tender. However if we pay cash because of an explicit offer to reduce the cost of the work, and because this reduction is due to the evasion of income tax or VAT, then we are formally co-operating in evil, and committing a sin (probably a venial sin given the amount of tax normally involved.) If we simply have a suspicion that cash is requested in order to avoid tax, then we ought (within reason) to ask whether this is the case or not. The costs that small businesses incur with bank charges, credit card me...
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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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