The Hermeneutic of Continuity

The Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory have commissioned Fr John Hunwicke to compose a new Latin hymn in honour of Blessed John Henry Newman whose feast day is tomorrow. At the Birmingham Oratory website, you can view the text and translation . It will be sung at first Vespers at the Oratory this evening, and after High Mass tomorrow. (I confess to a tinge of disappointment at the © underneath. Would the Fathers perhaps consider making the text available under a creative commons licence?)

People have asked me to post the texts of these prayers which I currently say each morning. For the Pope Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum Franciscum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Dominum Nostrum Iesum Christum Filium Tuum, Qui Tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen. O God, the Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, mercifully look upon Thy servant, Francis, whom Thou hast chosen as the chief Shepherd to preside over Thy Church; grant him, we beseech Thee, so to edify, both by word and example, those over whom he hath charge, that he may attain unto everlasting life, together with the flock committed unto him. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, for ever and ever. Amen...

Various questions have arisen recently concerning the assent that we ought to give to the words of the Holy Father. I thought it might be helpful to give a few notes concerning the papal magisterium from classical Catholic theology. I have referred to the excellent Jesuit manual Sacrae Theologiae Summa published by BAC. When the Pope defines ex cathedra a doctrine concerning faith or morals, he enjoys that infallibility with which Our Lord willed the Church to be endowed. To these definitions, we must give the assent of faith. Obvious examples are the definition of the Immaculate Conception by Blessed Pius IX in 1854 and the definition of the Assumption by Pope Pius XII in 1950. The Pope also teaches with an authentic magisterium (teaching authority) that is not infallible. Examples of such teaching are the encyclical letters of the Pope, and decrees issued by the Holy See in forma specifica . Decrees of the Holy See may be issued merely in forma communi . This approval means...

The Catholic Medical Association is active in Blackfen and have organised a talk on NFP to give some  updated information. Here are the details: There will be a talk on Natural Family Planning at 7.30pm on Friday 18th October at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 330a Burnt Oak lane, Blackfen DA15 8LW. This talk will be of interest to all medical, nursing ad health staff, but will also be suitable for parents to bring teenagers. Representatives from Couple to Couple League, Billings, Napro and FLI will run small groups to explain the various methods of charting. It will include a brief presentation of the work of Mr John Kelly, who died recently. He was behind the National Association of Natural Family Planning Teachers, and started the Birmingham NFP service. In addition to his work as an obstetrician-gynaecologist in Birmingham, he set up hospitals in the poorest areas of the world. He was a highly skilled surgeon, repairing the lives of women with childbirth injuries, and t...

News.va today reports on the Holy Father's address to participants in a three day conference, organised by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Encyclical Letter of Blessed John XXIII,  Pacem in Terris , issued on Holy Thursday, 1963. Seeing this item, I re-read the encyclical letter of the Pope who is soon to be canonised. As Pope Francis rightly notes, the immediate context of the letter was the cold war and the fear of a third world war even more terrible and destructive than the previous two which had brought such horror to the world. We can also see in the great encyclicals of former popes much that is relevant to our own time and our own culture, since the encyclicals build on the constant teaching of the Church and the wisdom that has been handed on to us. I have copied and pasted a few quotations that struck me as being pertinent to us in England today: First of all, a fundamental principle: "Peace on Ea...

The other day, the Holy Father, in his interview published in La Repubblica , said that that he did not have any intention of converting the atheist Eugenio Scalfari. This has rather puzzled some of the faithful on account of the command of Jesus in Matthew 28.19 and elsewhere. One of my brother priests today offered me humorous explanation. He said that Pope Francis is a Jesuit and he was making a mental reservation . Although not intended as a serious explanation, it seems to me more pleasingly parsimonious than blaming the translation or saying that La Repubblica didn't report the interview accurately . Incidentally, Fr Lombardi today confirmed that the Holy Father's interviews are not magisterial documents. You knew that, of course, but it is helpful to have it definitely stated. We do not have to give all of the Holy Father's opinions in these interviews that "religious submission of mind and will" ( religiosum voluntatis et intellectus obsequium ) ment...

Evelyn Waugh, interviewed in 1960 by John Freeman, shows his contempt for the BBC and must count as one of the most difficult guests in TV history. Often, the interviewer asks the "closed" question to which there is a yes/no or other one word answer. Hilariously, Waugh obliges almost every time. The introduction by Joan Bakewell is best watched after the interview itself (which starts at 04'03") simply to see how misleading it is. My favourite exchange is at 17'39" when Freeman asks Waugh what is the greatest gift that his Catholic faith has brought him, "in terms of tranquility or peace of mind or whatever" to which Waugh replies "Well it isn't a sort of lucky dip that you get something out of, you know ... it isn't a sort of added amenity of the welfare state ..." The closing exchange is also quite fun. H/T Ave Maria Philosophy

A book on business management that I once read in order to see whether there were any insights that could help in pastoral work, rewarded me with one observation, namely that rumours can sometimes have positive effects. If a company allows a rumour to go round that there are redundancies in the offing, people who are subsequently made redundant will be prepared to some degree, and those who keep their jobs will be relieved. This is a brutal example but it has some relevance for the Catholic blogosphere. There is a rumour (and I understand from various sources that it is not a wild one) that Archbishop Piero Marini may be appointed as the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Archbishop Marini ( not to be confused with the papal MC Mgr Guido Marini) was removed as papal MC by Pope Benedict. He is a disciple of the late Archbishop Bugnini and published a book "A Challenging Reform. Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal" which I wrote about briefly in 20...

The picturesque snow scene above was taken at St John fisher House in Reading, the home of thee Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England . Fr de Malleray just sent me information about their retreat in December for young men considering a priestly vocation. Vocation discernment weekend in Reading 13-15 December For Catholic men between 18 and 32 years of age (under 18 please contact us). Starts on Friday 13th December at 6pm (arrivals from 5pm) – ends on Sunday 15th December at 3pm. Led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, assisted by Fr Matthew Goddard, FSSP Location: St John Fisher House is the residence of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England & Wales. Address: 17 Eastern Avenue, Reading, RG1 5RU, England. Programme: Spiritual conferences, socials, Holy Mass each of the three days (Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite), walks, silent prayer, private talk with Fr de Malleray, FSSP. Fr de Malleray will explain what a vocation is in general and to the priestho...

As ever, I recommend Family and Youth Concern which campaigns on many issues that are addressed on this blog. The latest Bulletin for Autumn 2013is now available at the website: Bulletin No. 152 . Here is a list of the articles: ‘Legislation built on pretence’ Coming soon! A new booklet from Family Education Trust Government to ask gays, ‘What can we do for you next?’ Fractured Families: Why stability matters Marriage DVD Context matters in the discipline of children Sweden : criminal assaults on children rise following ban on smacking The pitfalls of ‘positive parenting’ Parliamentary inquiry demands review of abortion law More contraception = more repeat abortions New volumes in the Core Knowledge curriculum series Sexuality Explained - a guide for parents and children Risky business: the association between casual sex and emotional problems Prime Minister calls for action to protect children from internet pornography ‘Named person’ for every child: ‘disproportiona...

The comments feature for this blog will now be disabled. I have been thinking about this for some considerable time, and discussing it with other bloggers. Rorate Caeli have recently  made the same decision  and, as far as I know, the uber-blogger Rocco Palmo of Whispers in the Loggia has never had comments. Rorate receives far more comments than I do, and I fully appreciate the difficulty that there must be in moderating all of them. In my case, there is much less work involved (although it is one more social media interaction that does at times require some effort and some borderline decisions.) My main reason is to marshal my time more efficiently by removing one social media chore. My primary duties as a pastor and teacher mean that I do have to ration my use of social media. In making this decision, I would like to record my thanks to the many commenters who have over the years made kind and supportive comments, as well as those who have provided interesting and h...