Novena for the Pope

Start it today.


V: Let us pray for our Pope Benedict.
R: May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

V. Thou art Peter,
R. And upon this Rock, I will build My Church.

Let us Pray,
Almighty and everlasting God, have mercy upon your servant, Benedict, our Sovereign Pontiff, and guide him in your goodness on the way of eternal salvation; so that, with the prompting of your grace, he may desire what pleases you and accomplish it with all his strength. ThroughChrist Our Lord.

V. Mother of the Church. R. Pray for us
V. St. Peter. R. Pray for us


Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP
Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England
179 Elgar Rd, RG2 0DH, Reading, Berkshire, UK

New Yorks new Archbishop

People say that the Pope's intention was to appoint mainstream men as Archbishops to three influential Sees Munich, Westminster and New York. Well the rumour mills are suggesting New York is to be announced shortly. Munich has already been apointed, I am not quite sure why Westminster is seen as so important but...

Il Riformista, mentions today, that Archbishop Timothy Dolan is about to be named as Archbishop of New York. He is presently Archbishop of Milwaukee. He replacing the notorious Rembert Weakland, who retired after admitting to having had a sexual relationship. In 2003, after a group of Milwaukee priests petitioned to make clerical celibacy optional, the Archbishop expressed his belief in celibacy "not just because I'm 'supposed to,' or reluctantly 'have to,' but because I want to."

He further defended celibacy against its critics, saying, "The recent sad scandal of clerical sexual abuse of minors, as the professionals have documented, has nothing to do with our celibate commitment."

In the 2008 presidential election, Dolan rebuked Democratic vice-presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for "misrepresenting timeless Church doctrine" on abortion, which the Archbishop called the "premier civil rights issue of our day."

It makes one wonder what has happened to the Westminster succession, I can't help thinking that it is unlikely to be one of the present Archbishops, partly because of the time it seems to be taking. This would suggest that investigations into the candidates are taking place, Rome doesn't like skeletons tumbling out of closets, enough fingers were burnt with Archbishop of Warsaw's appointment and resignation. Files on Metropolitans are readily to hand and reasonably extensive, so their transfer is relatively easy, so maybe Archbishop Murphy O'Connor's successor is diocesan bishop, or a simply priest, or maybe an abbot.
That said, the last time Westminster was vacant it took 18 months to find a successor. Sorry, I have been corrected by those making comments, it was only 8 months!

People of God

One of the "models of Church" that Vatican II gave us was the notion of "People of God", it seemed to replace, in the popular mind, the idea of the "Mystical Body". It shouldn't have, but it did. We should hold every "model" we have in tension, orthodox is about "both, and".

It has been seen as something nebulous, or wishey washey terms, no-one who taught theology in the seminary when I was there wanted to define the concept, seeing it for example, as everyone, or all people of good will. Pope Benedict has clarified it by saying it is actually the Church,

The idea goes back to the Old Testament, to Abraham, to the people called out of Ur of the Chaldees. It is most clearly seen in the Sinai Covenant, "I will be your and you shall be my people, if you keep my commandments". Here the connotation of "people" is seen in the idea of "gens" of a tribe or a nation, even a clan, identified in contrast to other nations or tribes or clans. In the case of Israel, its identity comes from its being "a people" belonging to, or "of God", it is that relationship which is important. In the New Testament this "people" is the Church, "a holy nation, a people set apart to sing the praises of God". It is a specific people, with a particular origin, a history and an identity, with a particular function in the world and ultimately with a particular destiny, it is established through the blood of Christ, and its identity comes from its union with the Trinity.

Our Servant of God: she was an Angel

The Catholic Herald has more on Mother Mary Richard including some recollections by the present Vicar General of the Bridgettines. She was received into the Church at the age of four, here, at St Mary Magdalen's
Pray for her cause for Beatification to move swiftly to a successful conclusion.

...............

Pope Pius was severely criticised after his death for not speaking out directly against the Holocaust, but he was convinced this would have backfired both against the Jews and the Church. However, his policy of opening up the churches to those fleeing persecution enabled an estimated 85 per cent of Roman Jews escaped the Nazis.

In 2004 Blessed Mary Elizabeth was recognised by Yad Vashem as one of the Righteous Among the Nations for her work in helping Jews. She died in 1957 and Mother Riccarda succeeded her as abbess until her own death on June 26 1966 at the age of 79. The pair are buried in the same grave in the convent church where they hid people from persecution.

Elisa Famiglietti, the vicar general of the Bridgettines' order in Rome, said the formal opening of the Cause would be "such a great honour for England".

She said: "Mother Riccarda was a wonderful woman. I knew her well and met her in 1954 and was with her up until her death in 1966.

"She was an angel who did so much to help our Jewish brothers during the war and I know they want to honour her as well. There are about a dozen or so sisters here in the convent in Rome who remember her and we are all very excited at the fact she is being considered for sainthood.

"Mother Riccarda was full of the spirit of God and was a very humble woman, she sang beautifully from the heart and she was devoted to God and she left a mark on all of us.

"Mother Riccarda was humble and discreet and she provided safety and charity for our Jewish brothers during the war but she very rarely spoke about it.

"What I always remember about her is that despite living for so long in Italy she never forgot she was English and always spoke English to us."

Once the nuns have established that Mother Riccarda lived a life of heroic virtue the file on her life will be passed over to the Vatican.

Two miracles are then needed before she can be made a saint - the first for her beatification when she will be declared Blessed and the second for her ultimate canonisation. A file is also being prepared on the cause for sainthood of Katherine Flanagan, a Londoner who joined the Bridgettines a year before Riccarda.

Fr Ray Blake, the parish priest of St Mary Magdalen Church in Brighton, where Riccarda was baptised, said he was "terribly excited" a bit of an understatement at the prospect of having a saint associated with his church.

I am pleased the Jewish Chronicle picked up the story too.

Holy Father Meets US Jewish Delegation

The Pope met with American Jewish leaders today:
From today's Deutsche Welle

Pope Meets Jewish Leaders to Calm Storm Over Holocaust Denier

Pope Benedict XVI condemned Thursday, Feb. 12, all forms of anti-Semitism in his first face-to-face-meeting with Jewish leaders since the start of a row over a bishop who said Jews were not killed in Nazi gas chambers.

The pope told the delegation of the Conference of American Jewish Organizations that the Catholic Church remained "profoundly and irrevocably committed to rejecting all anti-Semitism and to continuing to build good and lasting relations between our two communities.

"It is beyond question that any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable and altogether unacceptable," the pontiff said at the Vatican, referring to the mass-murder of Jews by the Nazis during World War Two.

During the private audience Benedict also said he was "preparing to visit Israel, a land which is holy for Christians as well as Jews, since the roots of our faith are to be found there." The visit is provisionally set for May, the AFP news agency reported.

The pontiff was addressing a delegation of about 60 representatives headed by Rabbi Arthur Schneier, a Holocaust survivor who in April 2008 hosted the pontiff at his New York synagogue.

....

Several Jewish leaders speaking before the meeting said they hoped Benedict would use the opportunity to announce steps against British-born Bishop Richard Williamson, who in a television interview in late January denied Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers.

.....

It makes one wonder really whether informed Jews were or are so shocked by thye Pope's action, as oppposed to Williamson's words, as many have suggested. Never has there been an suggestion of the cancellation of the Israel visit for example, in fact some rabbis have been quite supportive of the Pope, the threats of breaks in dialogue with Holy See seem to be short lived.

What I find worrying, almost as worrying as holocaust denial, is the use of the holocaust by non-Jews as a political tool, it is the exploitation of 6,ooo,ooo innocent deaths. I think is precisely what the secular press have done, so often with the encouragement of "liberal" Catholic commentators who have their own agenda, in order to attack the Holy Father, this is what Rabbi Levan indicates.

No, you will not be excommunicated but...

I had a conversation with a man a few months ago, who had been married for five or so years, he had two children, he and his wife separated, after less than a year he met another woman and is contemplating “attempting a civil marriage” with her. It might well that he can eventually his marriage can be annulled, possibly there is a case for lack of due discretion, I don’t know, he will have to try.
He asked about going to Holy Communion, as gently as possible I reminded him about what Jesus had said about a man who, “put his wife aside and marries another” and the incompatibility of disregarding this element of Christ’s teaching and the reception of Holy Communion. “So I will be excommunicated, will I?” he responded.
“No”, I said, “but, rejecting Jesus’ teaching in an important aspect of your life and you choosing to receive Holy Communion would be an act of hypocrisy.”
I am not sure how convinced he was but this story illustrates the loss of a connection between being in a state of Grace and Holy Communion.

I actually welcome and delight in those come to Mass without receiving Holy Communion. Nothing fills me with greater joy than a priest who having celebrated Mass himself previously attends in choir.

How times have changed, read Fr Hunwicke:

It is notorious that in most Eastern Christian communities, and throughout most of the history of the West, Confession has been regarded as the natural preliminary to each act of Communion. It is instructive to consider the controversies in seventeenth century France; a period during which such as Madame Louise, a daughter of Louis XIV who became a Carmelite of great sanctity, was allowed to receive Communion daily with the permission of her Confessor. A Jansenist-influenced rigorist of this time, Antoine Arnauld (1612-94), argued that no one should approach communion at all unless he had done penance for all his sins and was sure he had a perfectly pure love of God. On the other side, S Francis de Sales (1567-1622) envisaged frequent, even daily, communion, but wrote " To communicate every week, one must be free from mortal sin, and from all affection to venial sin, and have a great desire of Communion; but to communicate daily, it is necessary, in addition to this, to have surmounted the greater part of our evil inclinations, and to have the consent of our spiritual father". A decree of the Congregation of the Council, confirmed by Pope Innocent XI in 1679, confirmed the anti-Jansenist view that the Faithful had a right to communicate even daily while exhorting bishops and pastors to do their utmost to secure in all who communicate the most pious and fervent dispoitions.

I wonder how or even if it is possible to recover a sense of reverence for Holy Communion, or even for living in communion with Christ and his teaching.

Renewed oppression in China

Father Zuhlsdorf has some interesting articles on the Catholic Church in China, now, after the Olympics, there has been harrassment by the authorities and renewed efforts to seperate them from Rome. The new Bishop of Beijing Joseph Li Shan, who appointment was confirmed by the Holy See seems now to be buckling under pressure.

According to information obtained by "Asian News," Bishop Li Shan has repented of his actions [his favorable relations with Rome] and has justified his behavior on the basis of the pressure that he had to undergo. In effect, precisely because of the pope’s letter and the restoration of unity among almost all the Chinese bishops, the United Front and the Patriotic Association have, for over a year, launched a series of initiatives to bring the official Chinese bishops back into obedience – to them. The United Front and the CPCA summon them constantly, require them to participate in conferences, meetings, study sessions, political sessions, making their pastoral work very difficult. The bishops are not even able to meet among themselves alone, and go from a life in solitude – at the mercy of the CPCA secretaries – to collective gatherings under the control and indoctrination of the United Front and the state administration for religious affairs.

Cardinal Zen encourages his bother bishops to faithful to Rome, and even to risk martyrdom.

In the article, Cardinal Zen says that some members of the Chinese Church are praising compromises and ambiguity. "Some people, talking to the brothers in the underground community, seem to be saying: ‘We are very smart to accept a compromise! We are in communion with the Holy Father and at the same time are recognised by the government. They give us money and we take care of our faithful. You instead prefer to go to prison; you would rather die. And then what of your faithful; abandoned, with no one taking care of them’. "The cardinal continues: "So, martyrdom has become a stupid thing? That’s absurd; a short-sighted view! Reaching compromises might make sense as a short-term strategy but it cannot last forever. Being secretly united with the Holy Father and at the same time affiliated with a Church that declares itself autonomous from Rome is a contradiction."Finally, Cardinal Zen ends with a fraternal appeal: "Dear brother bishops and priests, look at the example of Saint Stephen and all the martyrs of our history! Remember that suffering for the sake of the faith is the basis of victory even if right now it might appear as defeat."