IS CATHOLIC PROGRESSIVISM THE CULPRIT IN THE DECLINE OF THE CHURCH IN ITALY AND THROUGHOUT THE WORLD? IN A WORD, YES

An Italian study poses some conclusions as the why there is a catastrophic decline in the practice of Catholicism in Italy. You can read a summary of that study HERE.

In part, it states that women are ceasing to practice Catholicism the way more so than men in Italy. I am not sure this can be blamed on the liturgy, but on progressive Catholicism’s bowing to secular secularism and promoting an anthropology of marriage and Holy Orders at odds with Catholic identity. Women are told that one day they can be bishops, priests and deacons and that the LGBTQ+++ ideology will triumph over traditional Catholic morality. 

We know in liberal Protestantism which approves of all these things, especially in the inverted image of Catholicism found in the Anglican Communion, that approving of all of this has not stopped the bleeding numbers leaving that communion but increased it. They have no identity as a Christian communion any longer compared to more traditional and orthodox forms of Protestantism.

But the study also blames the revision of the Mass and the loss of Catholic liturgical identity. I found this part rather fascinating:

Exploring the possible causes of such a catastrophic abandonment of Catholicism in a land which lies at the heart of the Church, the Roman professor surmised that among the likely causes are the liturgical abuses and upheavals to which the Church in Italy has been subjected. He particularly pointed to the “progressive spectacularization of Vatican liturgies that has occurred over the past three pontificates” in Rome, as well as the liturgical innovations with which Italian clergy have scandalized faithful Catholics.  

“Many of the nominally still highly institutionalized and centralized (‘liturgy-centered’) rituals may now have been transformed, in part or entirely, into ‘performance-centered rituals.’” Diotallevi wrote. “For Catholic liturgies, a push in this direction may also have come from the progressive spectacularization of Vatican liturgies that has occurred over the past three pontificates, from the substantial deregulation of increasingly large sectors of ‘Catholic’ liturgical offerings, as well as from many of the solutions adopted by clergy during the lockdowns that have recently taken place to counter the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.” 

The public liturgical abuses that Italy has seen in recent include a Mass sacrilegiously offered on a surf board, in the water, at the beach, with the priest bare-chested, an outrage that prompted local civil authorities to consider charging the priest with the crime of a public offense against religion. Another priest offered Mass at a park in a rainbow “pride” stole and a skin-tight cycling outfit, and joked when hosts were blown by the wind onto the ground after the consecration. 

My own experience with the Modern Mass and my own changing attitudes about it are somewhat summarized in the quote above. Music is horrible and there is no tradition of Catholic music as it constantly changes. Gregorian chant is rare in the Modern Mass. Contemporary sounds constantly changing are prevalent. Liturgies are sloppy and banal. Homilies long and dismal. 

But, where the liturgy is “done well” this means you have what is written above. The Mass is “spectacularized” with triumphal music, loud instrumentation, trumpets, tympani and cymbals. I have heard this for ordinations and weddings. It’s all veneer and no substance. 

I can compare that to a EF or OF Mass celebrated with only Gregorian Chant for the propers and parts of the Mass even if the core parts of the Mass are in the vernacular.  The Traditional chanted Mass is sober, filled with spirituality and devotion and not geared toward shallow entertainment and music used to excite hormones.   

The Traditional Latin Mass bespeaks of Catholic identity now lost in the Modern Mass. The Modern Mass is so Protestantized that many can’t tell the difference between a Catholic Mass, an Anglican or Lutheran liturgy. Catholics attending a Lutheran or Episcopal Liturgy would say that there are no differences. Most Catholics now receive Protestant communion when attending a Protestant liturgy/service. And they like their music better. 

And now some Catholic parishes are trying to imitate the music and style of worship of the Non-denominational churches. Praise and worship music which is fad oriented and constantly changing and like a rock concert or any other kind of concert is mimicked in the Catholic Mass. Anyone immersed in this nonsense in a Catholic Mass would feel at home in a non-denominational setting and more than likely to prefer the Protestant version of their service verses the “catholic” one. 

Everything that progressive Catholicism has touched has ended in disaster. Think of the once great women’s religious orders who through synodality dumbed down their life, community, habits and charisma and became a collation of individuals doing their own thing, living alone in apartments and no longer identifiable as religious sisters or nuns. 

That was done to religious life is now on steroids as it concerns the Church in general, synodality, that will accelerate the demise of the Church already declining in so much of Western Europe and Italy in particular. And yet this pope and his progressive cardinals and bishops gleefully go forward with their destructive policies never looking backwards to the evidence that progressivism is the cause for the decline and fall of this particular Roman Empire. 

SILLY ME, I THOUGHT IT WAS THE THIRD SUNDAY AFTER EASTER

 

I celebrated Savannah’s 1 PM TLM on Sunday. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I realized early Sunday morning that I had prepared a homily for the 3rd Sunday after Easter. In fact, I should have prepared a homily for the Second Sunday after Easter.

I had forgotten in my old age that in the Ancient Rite, the Octave of Easter including the two Sundays in that octave are just one day, Easter Sunday. Thus the Sunday after the entire Octave of Easter is considered the Second Sunday after that Octave, after Easter Sunday which has eight days and two Sundays.

I revised my homily for the 2nd Sunday after Easter, aka, Good Shepherd Sunday in the Ancient Rite!

And the ancient calander is theologically accurate compared to how wrong the modern Catholic calendar got it. Sad.

OUCH, A PROPHET SPEAKS: IS IT POSSIBLE HE COULD BECOME POPE? TIME WILL TELL…

 

African cardinal, papal critic says Western prelates have lost their nerve

By Ngala Killian Chimtom

Apr 15, 2024

|Africa Correspondent

POPE FRANCIS HAS AN “EYE” ON THE PAST—CONCERNING OUR CITIES, BUT WHY NOT THE LITURGY?

Pope Francis had some interesting things to say about cities. I have cleverly revised it to mean our liturgies. That clever revision is in red. The original text of the Vatican News Story can be read HERE.

Vatican News: Pope: Like our (liturgies) we build future with an eye to the (liturgical) past

Meeting with members of the (liturgy) World Heritage (Liturgy) Group, Pope Francis says people build their (liturgies) and cultures by mixing faith in God with their (Liturgical) historical situations.

By Devin Watkins

Pope Francis held an audience on Saturday with members of the  (liturgy) World Heritage Group, which was set up in 1993 to defend their (liturgy’s) historic and cultural heritage.

Welcoming the representatives of various (world liturgies) to Vatican City State, the Pope said the world’s smallest state preserves a rich (liturgical)heritage, as does the (dioceses) of which they serve as (liturgical) guardians.

In his prepared remarks, he noted that humanity’s desire to protect its (liturgical) cultural heritage should encompass both the artistic-cultural field and the “integrity of the person who receives this (liturgical) legacy and of the peoples who have transmitted it to us.”

“Historical (liturgical) situations – with their lights and shadows,” he said, “speak to us of real men and women, of genuine feelings, which should be lessons of life for us, rather than of pieces in a (liturgical) museum (in a locked Vatican dungeon).”

Learning (liturgical) lessons of the past

Pope Francis prayed that God might help the guardians of the (liturgical) heritage of (the Church’s liturgy)  transmit their beauty and the “faith, hope, and charity of your people.”

“It is the sufferings and aspirations of the people who over time have built their (Liturgies in an traditional organic way with) the mixing of cultures and civilizations that have followed one another in them, and naturally their faith in God, that make their hearts beat with passion,” he said.

(Liturgies) and their (liturgical) cultural monuments invite residents and visitors alike to reflect on the strength and prudence of those who built them, (with the 1962 Roman Missal and its other liturgical patrimony persevered and promoted with that which is new out of respect for our liturgical heritage of the past). 

“May they feel challenged by the lesson of justice (of reversing previous authoritarian bans on our liturgical heritage) and temperance that each historical (liturgical) situation encompasses,” he said.

Striving toward the future

Instead of leaving the past (Liturgies) locked in a (Vatican dungeon) museum, the heritage of (the Roman Liturgy) should help people today to build a better (liturgical) future.

“We will thus speak of peoples, of persons, of a history that is not merely contemplated, but realized, with one eye on the (liturgical) past and the other on the future, to always have our hands in the present that questions us every day.”

BOMBSHELL! DID POPE FRANCIS REPENT OF HIS CATTINESS AS IT CONCERNS ARCHBISHOP GAINSWAEIN?

 It appears to be true!

In surprise move, Pope Francis to rehabilitate Benedict XVI’s longtime aide by appointing him nuncio
In a recent interview book, Pope Francis said Archbishop Gänswein “at times made difficulties for me.” Now the former private secretary to Pope Benedict XVI will be made a nuncio in an as-yet-unnamed country.
READ MORE >

WHO TO BELIEVE? WHO TO BELIEVE? OH! WHO ARE WE TO BELIEVE? MORE ON THE HOUSEHUSBANDS OF THE VATICAN…

 I do think it odd that Pope Francis declares that Pope Benedict XVI was like a grandfather figure to him. That is questionable to say the least. They are of the same generation and Benedict was no more than nine years older, more a sibling than a grandfather nor old enough to be a father-figure except in the theological sense. But the truth is always sacrificed in self-promotion.

Where I feel for Pope Francis is that he is the first pope in quite a long time to have a beloved predecessor still living and breathing down his neck in Pope Francis’ backyard. That was sure to create resentment in the new pope and I can understand that.

Benedict XVI biographer pushes back on Pope Francis’ claim they had a ‘cordial relationship’

Peter Seewald slammed Pope Francis’ characterization of Benedict XVI as a ‘transitional pope’ and said that Francis has sought throughout his papacy ‘to break away from the continuity of the popes’ and create ‘chaos.’

I AM SO GLAD THAT VATICAN II DEMANDED THAT ALTAR RAILINGS BE BANNED, REMOVED AND DESTROYED…

 AND I AM SO GLAD THAT VATICAN II DEMANDED THAT HISTORIC HIGH ALTARS NO LONGER BE USED BECAUSE THESE ARE SO FAR REMOVED FROM THE PEOPLE AND NEW SMALLER AND SAFER ALTARS MUST REPLACE THESE, BUT NEVER GATED OFF WITH A GOD-SEPARATING ALTAR RAILING. 

GOD’S HOLY PEOPLE, AS VATICAN II DEMANDED, MUST NOT BE FENCED OFF FROM THE TABLE OF THE LORD AS THOUGH THEY ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS TRYING TO GAIN ACCESS ILLEGALLY TO THE ALTAR, AS VATICAN II CLEARLY TAUGHT.

I LIKE IT AND UNDERSTAND ITS STYLE BUT AT THE SAME TIME I DON’T LIKE ITS STYLE COMPLETELY

 The Pillar has a “live update” of its original article on DI by various theologians. You can read it HERE. 

It is a good and comprehensive moral document. It is very strong and unambiguous, odd for Pope Francis, in many places especially at it concerns what God has defined a the crown of His creation being humanity, created in His image and likeness, male and female he created them. 

While some areas could have been tweaked better for clarity, there isn’t much to complain about. For Pope Francis, we dodged a bullet of grotesque ambiguity. That’s a miracle!

HERE’S MY EXCEPTION:

I think the document speaks about sin only twice. That’s the fly in the ointment for me. Let me explain.

I understand that this document is aimed not only at Catholics but to a worldwide audience of believers and nonbelievers. Thus it is an apologetic for the Church’s teaching on the dignity of life trying to convince the skeptical in worldly terms and appealing to the moral good in people often tainted by politics, polls, and how people feel about this, that or the other. In other words, there are for many Catholics and for most non-believers no moral imperatives set in stone that can’t change with the times and people’s opinions. 

While I understand this approach and appreciate it to a certain extent, I think the Magisterium of the Church has to declare moral teachings that affect the world not only in the here and now, but as a preparation for heaven or, failing to follow the narrow road of God’s salvation, affecting people not only here but in the afterlife in terms of either damnation or salvation. 

Yes, the Kingdom of God is here but not yet. That’s the irony of salvation. And yes, in this life, we must be workers for Christ in bringing heaven to earth as a sign of the salvation that awaits us.

There is no warning to the world, the flesh and the devil, that failing to promote the dignity of life in all its aspects not only damages the world in which we live bringing death and destruction to those who are defenseless, but will affect the final destination of the choices they make that harm the common good and the most innocent but also the guilty, and that destination is damnation or the fires of hell.

There is no “soteriology” in this document as I understand the study of salvation apart from trying to make life better in the here and now. 

And to that end, post-Catholics like our current President Biden, are idealists too, in terms of the political ideologies which become like a fake religion in the moral realm. All that they promote that is opposed to this document, DI, they think too they are improving the world, by allowing a woman to kill her baby up to the end of her pregnancy and even afterward. They think it will create a better world to euthanize those who are compromised in any way to include assisted suicide. They think that a non-binary approach to huaman sexuality and making the choice of being sexually what ever someone feels they are is for the common good.

They are wrong, dead wrong. And for a Catholic president and any Catholic who buys into the political agenda of certain political parties throughout the world who promote these post-Christian evils, eternal damnation awaits.

There needs to be a better call to eternal salvation in Jesus Christ in this document and it is lacking. It reads like just one more political statement in a world of multiple moral, immoral or amoral political ideologies. 

ORGANIC EASTERTIDE DEVELOPMENT: BEFORE AND AFTER AT SAINT ANNE CHURCH, RICHMOND HILL, GEORGIA

 Eastertide before:

Eastertide after:

I JUST DON’T GET ALL THIS BRU-HA-HA ABOUT THE MOON HIDING THE SUN—CLOUD ECLIPSES OF THE SUN ARE JUST AS SPECTACULAR, MORE FRQUENT AND NO ONE GETS HYSTERICAL ABOUT THEM —I JUST DON’T GET IT

 In my neck of the woods, cloud eclipses of the sun are frequent and bring almost total darkness to our surroundings. Does anyone make a big deal out of these? But if the moon hides the sun, you’s think it’s the end of the world! I just don’t get it. 

NOTHING HETERODOX HERE THAT WILL CAUSE FURTHER DIVISION IN THE CHURCH, BUT NOT MUCH TIME TO REVIEW THE FOOTNOTES—TIME WILL TELL

Overall it is traditional Catholic moral theology, footnotes not withstanding. And Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI are quoted in their magisterial teachings signaling that some at the Vatican realize that the papacy did not begin with Pope Francis. Overall it is a relief, but those tricky footnotes, we’ll see.

 From Vatican News:

New Vatican document lists ‘grave violations’ of human dignity

The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new document 'Dignitas infinita' took five years to complete, and builds on the papal magisterium of the last decade: from war to poverty, from violence against migrants to violence against women, from abortion to surrogate motherhood to euthanasia, from gender theory to digital violence.

By Andrea Tornielli

Three chapters offer the foundations for the fourth, which is dedicated to "some grave violations of human dignity".

That’s the structure of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s new Declaration "Dignitas infinita", which commemorates the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirms "the indispensable nature of the dignity of the human person in Christian anthropology " (Intro.)

The main novelty of the document, which is the fruit of five years' work, is the inclusion of a number of key themes from the recent papal magisterium that accompany the bioethical ones. In the 'non-exhaustive' list that is offered, abortion, euthanasia and surrogate motherhood are listed as violations of human dignity alongside war, poverty and human trafficking.

The new text thus contributes to overcoming the dichotomy that exists between those who focus exclusively on beginning-and-end-of-life issues, while forgetting so many other attacks against human dignity and, conversely, those who focus only on defending the poor and migrants while forgetting that life must be defended from conception to its natural conclusion.

Fundamental Principles

The first three parts of the Declaration recall fundamental principles.

"In the light of Revelation, the Church resolutely reiterates and confirms" the "ontological dignity of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God and redeemed in Jesus Christ" (1).

This is an "inalienable dignity”, corresponding to "human nature apart from all cultural change"(6). It is a "gift" and therefore present in "an unborn child, an unconscious person, or an older person in distress (9).

"The Church proclaims the equal dignity of all people, regardless of their living conditions or qualities" (17), and she does so on the basis of biblical revelation: women and men are created in the image of God.

Christ, by becoming incarnate, "confirmed the dignity of the body and soul" (19), and, in His rising, revealed to us that man's dignity man rests “above all on the fact that he is called to communion with God" (20).

The dignity of every person

The document highlights the misunderstandings of those who prefer the expression "personal dignity" to "human dignity", “since they understand a person to be only ‘one who is capable of reasoning’" (24).

Thus, according to them, "the unborn child would not have personal dignity, nor would the older person who is dependent upon others, nor would an individual with mental disabilities. On the contrary, the Church insists that the dignity of every human person, precisely because it is intrinsic, remains in all circumstances" (24).

Furthermore, the document stresses that "the concept of human dignity is also occasionally misused to justify an arbitrary proliferation of new rights … as if the ability to express and realize every individual preference or subjective desire should be guaranteed." (25).

The list of violations

The Declaration then presents the list of "some grave violations of human dignity".

This includes "all offences against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, and willful suicide” must be recognized as contrary to human dignity ", but also "all violations of the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture, undue psychological pressures ".

And, finally, it includes "all offences against human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, degrading working conditions where individuals are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons".

The death penalty is also cited, since it "violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances" (34).

Poverty, war and human trafficking

The first issue mentioned is poverty, "one of the greatest injustices in the contemporary world" (36).

Then there is war, "another tragedy that denies human dignity", and always a “defeat of humanity" (38), to the point that "it is very difficult nowadays to invoke the rational criteria elaborated in earlier centuries to speak of the possibility of a ‘just war.’"(39).

The Declaration also discusses the "travail of migrants", whose "lives are put at risk because they no longer have the means to start a family, to work, or to feed themselves" (40).

The document then dwells on "human trafficking", which is taking on "tragic dimensions" and is described as " vile activity, a disgrace to our societies that claim to be civilized ". The Declaration invites "exploiters and clients" to make a serious examination of conscience (41).

Similarly, it calls for the fight against phenomena such as “the marketing of human organs and tissues, the sexual exploitation of boys and girls, slave labour, including prostitution, the drug and weapons trade, terrorism, and international organized crime” (42).

The document also mentions sexual abuse, which leaves “deep scars in the hearts of those who suffer it”: these are “sufferings that can last a lifetime and that no repentance can remedy” (43).
Discrimination and violence against women are then discussed. Among the latter are listed "coercive abortions, which affect both mother and child, often to satisfy the selfishness of males" and "the practice of polygamy" (45). Femicide is also condemned (46).

Abortion and surrogacy

The condemnation of abortion is strong: "Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable", and reference is made to the fact that "defence of unborn life is closely linked to the defence of each and every other human right" (47).

The Declaration’s rejection of surrogacy, by means of which "the immensely worthy child becomes a mere object", is also strong. This is a practice that "represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child …  A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.” (48)

The list goes on to mention euthanasia and assisted suicide, confusingly defined by some laws as " death with dignity". The document stresses that "suffering does not cause the sick to lose their dignity, which is intrinsically and inalienably their own" (51).

The Declaration then speaks of the importance of palliative care and the avoidance of “aggressive treatments or disproportionate medical procedures”, reaffirming that “Life is a right, not death, which must be welcomed, not administered” (52).

A further serious violation of human dignity is the marginalization of differently-abled persons (53).

Gender theory

The document begins the section on this topic by stressing that "every sign of unjust discrimination” against homosexual persons “is to be carefully avoided, particularly any form of aggression and violence".

It is “contrary to human dignity", the Declaration says, that in some places “not a few people are “imprisoned, tortured and even deprived of the good of life solely because of their sexual orientation" (55).

Gender theory, which is “extremely dangerous since it cancels differences in its claim to make everyone equal", is then criticised (56).

The Church, we read, recalls that "human life in all its dimensions, both physical and spiritual, is a gift from God. This gift is to be accepted with gratitude and placed at the service of the good. Desiring a personal self-determination, as gender theory prescribes … amounts to a concession to the age-old temptation to make oneself God" (57).

Gender theory "intends to deny the greatest possible difference that exists between living beings: sexual difference” (58).

Therefore, " all attempts to obscure reference to the ineliminable sexual difference between man and woman” are “to be rejected" (59).

Sex change is also judged negatively since it "risks threatening the unique dignity the person has received from the moment of conception". This does not mean, however, excluding the possibility that “a person with genital abnormalities that are already evident at birth or that develop later may choose to receive the assistance of healthcare professionals to resolve these abnormalities" (60).

Digital violence

The final item on the list is “digital violence”. “New forms of violence are spreading through social media”, we read, such as cyberbullying, and “the internet is also a channel for spreading pornography and the exploitation of persons for sexual purposes or through gambling” (61).

The Declaration ends by urging that “respect for the dignity of the human person beyond all circumstances be placed at the centre of the commitment to the common good and at the centre of every legal system” (64).

IS THE PRESENTATION OF THE OFFERINGS REALLY NEEDED AND IS THE SYMBOLISM UNDERSTOOD BY THE ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS OF THE MASS?

Some who bring up the offerings hide their faces:

Others have no shame:

Okay, I’ve been ranting about things added to the “noble simplicity” of the Modern Mass that don’t need to be added, either because it is alien to the Roman Mass or makes no sense to anyone or the symbolism intended is lost.

Some of these added things, make the Mass seem as though it is lasting for an eternity. 

The one thing that adds time and makes no sense to modern minds, like mine, is the offertory procession. 

Let’s talk about the normal one, the presentation of the offerings.

Why do the laity need to drag the bread and wine, and only a portion to be used, to the altar from the entrance of the church and usually behind a server with the Processional Cross. And because of fears of embezzlement or theft, the financial offering is no longer brought forward as it is sealed in a tamper proof bag and placed in a safe in the usher’s locked closet. 

Why not just have a server or two, who, by the way, are laity, drag the offerings from the credence table to the altar? Wouldn’t that save time? Does anyone really get a high from the supposed symbolism of the offerings being brought by procession to the altar and if a long aisle it takes forever to get to the altar? Are the laity thinking to themselves, with chills going down their spine, “wow, these came from my blood, sweat and tears, how kool!”

And what about the times the usher failed to find someone so the ushers do it????

And what about the Chrism Mass. Do the various oils to be blessed need to be processed down the long, long aisle of cathedrals and presented to the bishop? What the “H” is that all about? And the time it takes to do so! It seems like an eternity!

Why can’t the oils be dragged by the servers without ceremony, who, by the way, are laity,  to the place where the bishop blesses these? Do we have to make a ritual out of everything especially when it makes the Mass seem like an eternity to complete? 

Can’t we have some liturgical Common sense and noble simplicity in the modern Mass?

I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE ELSE WAS WONDERING ABOUT POPE FRANCIS CONSTANT GOSSIP WHICH HE CONSTANTLY CONDEMNS AND FINALLY SOMEONE CALLS HIS REALITY SHOW “REAL HOUSEWIVES OF VATICAN CITY!”

I know, I know, we all do it, gossip, but when the pope does it constantly and as constantly as he condemns it, it makes me wonder. Not only does Pope Francis “cattily” lash out against Archbishop Ganswein, he also throws under the bus Cardinal Sarah. Technically, they are both Pope Francis’ former employees. In the USA if a boss talked nastily in a public forum about one of his former employees, he could be sued. Confidentiality about employee/employer relationships is the norm.

Pope Francis has also publicly used examples of his past to deride the person who did not live up to his standards. Think of the couple who were having children like rabbits. Can you imagine how they felt when the pope publicly humiliated them? Or what about the poor elderly woman who took her pet dog to a Vatican audience in a baby carriage. The pope used her as a negative example. There are other examples he used that publicly humiliated the person being used as an example.

But in a longer Crux article, this is what others have said about the Pope’s interview book. I’m glad I am not alone in thinking the very same thing!

As Italian journalist Massimo Gramellini put it, reading the (Pope interview) book is a bit like watching reality TV – think “Real Housewives of Vatican City.” Among other things, the pope openly dishes on the inner details of two conclaves, and he cattily lashes out at Benedict’s top aide, German Archbishop Georg Gänswein, claiming he lacks “nobility and humanity” for the way in which Gänswein allegedly tried to put the two popes at odds.

Lucetta Scaraffia, a renowned Italian journalist and the former editor of an insert to the Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano dedicated to women’s issues, has noted the irony that Pope Francis has often warned against the dangers of slander and gossip. Yet, as she put it, to judge from the new book, “One suspects Bergoglio thinks a pope can do without obeying these healthy rules.”

ONLY ONE OF THE PLETHORA OF PROBLEMS WITH INCULTURATION AND THE CATHOLIC MASS…

In the photo above is a tribal Native American spiritual custom attached to the Mass at the Cathedral in Superior, Wisconsin.

If you look at the congregation, they look as though they are watching a performance of some kind attached or hung onto the Mass. I suspect that 99.9 percent of the Catholics in the cathedral, to include the actors, are clueless as to what this means in a Catholic liturgical context. To most it seems quaint and precious to include an aspect of this tribe’s Native American spiritual customs, many of which predate Christianity. 

Like liturgical dance and metrical hymns and other cultural adaptations foisted on the “noble simplicity” of the Modern Mass, it is precisely that, ornaments attached to the foundation of the Mass, like tinsel on a Christmas Tree.

And it becomes performance for the congregation to like, hate, feel ambivalent or befuddled because they aren’t sure what the connection of any of this is to prayer, worship, prayer, sacrifice or anything else essential to the noble simplicity of the Modern Mass.

Modern Liturgists who ruthlessly promoted their unique understanding of the Modern Mass bitterly complained about the accretions that were added to or foisted upon the Ancient Mass over the centuries. They were glad to be iconoclasts and strip these prayers, gestures and ritual from the Modern Mass as an exercise in getting back to how the Mass was during Apostolic times. Talk about backwards looking!

But, when it comes to inculturation of non Roman culture in to the Roman Mass, these liturgists rush forward with their own apologetic as to why it must be done even though the majority of people who might or might not enjoy what they are watching are clueless as to what it means other than entertaining them. We might tell the befuddled Catholics that pagan practices of whatever culture are baptized and now  of Catholic use. But who baptized these and when?

And if this isn’t useless accretion that needs a new iconoclasm to strip the Modern Mass of, I don’t know what is.

Just my most humble opinion. 

  

THE GREAT VIGIL OF EASTER—HOW CAN WE IMPROVE WHAT SEEMS LIKE AN ETERNITY TO COMPLETE?

Don’t get me wrong, I love the Great Vigil of Easter. I am just glad these are rare, but how can we make them safe?

As a disclaimer, when I was a young priest, an eternity ago, I insisted that we do all the long forms of every thing and all the readings, Responsorial prayers, collects, etc. 

As I have entered senior citizen status, which seems like over night, I have grown weary of a liturgy that seems never to end. 

This year I filled in at Holy Family Church for the Easter Triduum including the Great Vigil of Easter.

I did the short form of everything (although I did pray the Roman Canon with the proper inserts).

We did three short form Old Testament readings.

I chanted, and marvelously I might add, the short form of the Exultet.

I think I did the short form of the Consecration of the Easter Water. 

I did not catch myself on fire, my greatest Easter Vigil anxiety, at the blessing of the fire, despite hurricane force ocean winds. 

What I failed to do as I have failed to do every year is to tell the music director to only chant one verse of any Responsorial Psalm. For example, chant the refrain, allow the congregation to repeat, chant one verse and repeat again the refrain (technically that is four verses!).

However, most of the dang psalms have five and six verses! Yes you read the correctly and if there are five verses, with the refrains that’s 11 verses. These are interminable! Interminable! I say!

Do only one verse or better yet usethe Gradual in place of the Responsorial Psalm. 

Anything else I can do to shorten eternity?

THE HYPOCRISY OF PROGRESSIVE CATHOLICS AS IT CONCERNS THE LITURGY

 The hypocritical mantra of progressive liturgists since Vatican II is that Catholics must accepted unity in diversity as it concerns the “renewal” of the Mass after Vatican II.

Yes, that means we are to accept all kinds of novelty as it concerns the Mass, especially inculturation. But the inculturation that is forbidden or mocked and derided is the Roman inculturated tradition with over 1,500 years of organic development.

This diversity excludes anything that smacks of traditional Roman inculturated Catholicism. Thus the hypocrisy of these progressives is revealed and has been out in the open ever since 1969. 

I am sure progressive cardinals, bishops, clergy and laity had a good belly laugh at this. How outrageous that Pope Benedict used lace, Roman vestments and the papal fannon and that there were cardinals acting as cardinal deacons. (By the way, when Pope Benedict first wore the papal fannon at a public Mass, your truly was the first blog in the world to report it! Yes, you read that correctly, my blog was the first in the world to report it!)

This splendid liturgy is mocked and derided by post-Catholics. But they embrace with gusto burlap and felt banners!

JUST AS THE CHURCH IS LEADING THE WAY TO CONTROL CLIMATE CHANGE, SO NOW THE CHRUCH MUST CONTROL EARTHQUAKES AND OTHER “ACTS OF GOD”

If we put our minds to it, like climate change, we can control it and with earthquakes, we can too. With us, all things are possible! 

But still, I wonder how we can control the climate and earthquakes?

I HAD NOT NOTICED THIS UNTIL NOW…

Scholars have suggested that when Jesus was crucified, that more than likely the nails were not placed into the palms of the hands of our Lord as the weight of His Body hanging on the cross would cause our Lord’s Hands to rip and come off the cross. 

Thus they propose that the nails were hammered through our Lord’s wrists, providing a stronger support to keep our Lord’s Arms attached to the cross. 

This discovery or theory was/is controversial since our Lord’s scars have always located the wounds on His palms not at the wrists. But I think this is a little “t” tradition, not a capital “T”. 

At the Easter Vigil at Holy Family Church on Hilton Head Island, I baptized an adult Elect. This is the photo that was taken after the Vigil. 

This has to be the largest crucifix I have ever seen inside any church. However, many traditional crucifixes have a stand at our Lord’s feet for them to rest upon. Scholars believe that this is historically accurate as those who crucified our Lord and others wanted to prolong the agony of the crucified person who could lift his sagging body up to help with breathing as the lungs filled with fluid. Without the support of a foot pedestal, the person crucified would die more quickly usually from fluid gathering in the lungs as the person sagged.

 I had not paid attention to the “modern” placement of the nails into our Lord’s wrists. While that may be historically accurate, there is no foot stand for our Lord in Hoy Family’s crucifix. What do you think?

I HAVE WORRIED ABOUT THIS EVERY YEAR AND DEMAND THAT A BUCKET OF WATER BE NEARBY!

This is the first time that I have heard of this happening, but every year at the Easter Vigil I tell those who are preparing the outdoor fire that a fire extinguisher and a bucket of water must be nearby in case my vestment or anyone near the fire sets their clothes on fire. 

Well, it happened in Spain this Easter Vigil. God bless the priest and eternal rest grant unto him:

‘Rocker’ Spanish Priest Dies From Burns Suffered During Lighting of Easter Fire

When he was blessing the Easter fire as part of the Easter Vigil, the priest’s vestments caught fire, burning 50% of his body, according to diocesan sources.

I DON’T THINK HE HAS THE PERSONALITY OR ENERGY TO BE THE NEW POPE, BUT HE MIGHT BE A GOOD INTERIM PAPABILITY

 Crux has an article on Cardinal Parolin and his possible election as the next pope. In some of my posts, I have written that I felt he was positioning himself as the next pope.

He is what I would call a truly Vatican II bishop in the shadow of Saint Pope Paul VI. Say what you will about the experimentation Paul VI allowed, he held the line on doctrinal change. He would not tolerate it and Humanae Vitae is a prime example.

Without Humane Vitae, Pope Francis long ago in his papacy would have ordered LBGTQ ordinations and marriages and the overturning of the Church’s anthropology of sexuality, gender and natural law. 

Parolin, like Paul VI, understands well that discipline can be changed but never doctrine or dogma. He understands too that development of doctrine does not mean allowing the ordination of women as deacons but clarifying the anthropology and dogma of the unchanging Ordinary Magisterium of the Church so that modern people can understand what their culture doesn’t. 

Here is Crux’s article:

Is Parolin actually papabile?

As pre conclave jockeying begins, some are touting the Secretary of State as a possible ‘consensus candidate’

ED. CONDON

April 3, 2024

I LAUGHED OUT LOUD WHEN I READ WHAT I THOUGHT WAS SATIRE ABOUT A TRADITIONALIST GROUP REMOVING AN “HISTORIC” POST VATICAN II ALTAR IN A PRE-VATICAN II BUILT CHURCH!

 UPDATE! UPDATE! UPDATE!

 I FOUND THE NEW WEBSITE THE INSTITUTE OF CHRIST THE KING’S TAKE OVER OF SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY CHURCH IN CLEVELAND. YOU CAN LOOK AT IT HERE. THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER POSTED THE CHURCH’S PREVIOUS AND NOW OUTDATED WEBSITE, AS DEVIOUS AS THEY ARE IN DOING SO.

THIS NEW PHOTO I POST IS HOW THIS CHURCH LOOKS TODAY AFTER THE HORRIBLE ICONOCLASM DONE BY THE INSTITUTE OF CHRIST THE KING BY REMOVING AND DISMANTLING THE SO-CALLED “HISTORIC” POST VATICAN II FREE-STANDING ALTAR.

DO SO HAS SO  EMBITTERED DYING BABY BOOMERS WHO RESENT THAT THE SPECTACULARLY BEAUTIFUL HISTORIC POST-VATICAN II FREE STANDING ALTAR WAS REMOVED CAUSING THE HORRIBLE AND NASTY PRE-VATICAN II ALTAR TO BE USED ONCE AGAIN (FORTUNATELY NO BITTER BABY BOOMER REMOVED IT AS THEY DID IN OTHER MAGNIFICENT PRE-VATICAN II CHURHES:

THE HISTORIC FREESTANDING ALTAR BEFORE ITS REMOVAL:

AND A PARISHIONER CRYING CROCODILE TEARS AT THE REMOVED AND NOW DISMANTLED PIECE OF ART OF A HISTORIC FREE STANDING ALTAR. OH! THE AGONY OF IT ALL!

Shaking his head, Bob Purgert tilted one of the pedestals that supported the top of what is now a dismantled altar, stored in an unheated hall on the property of his beloved St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church in Cleveland's economically struggling Buckeye neighborhood.

He showed a visitor the casters under the pedestal that allowed for the altar to be rolled aside for special events. Chipped and splintered wood could be seen atop and along the sides of the pedestal, a second one next to it and the altar top resting on a table nearby.

"They didn't have to do this," a disappointed Purgert, 71, said of the damaged altar. Parishioners are deeply proud of the altar, which parish priest Fr. Julius Zahorszky built in 1966 to accommodate the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Hungarian Cardinal József Mindszenty celebrated Mass at the altar during a 1974 visit to the parish. Pope Francis declared the cardinal, who resisted Hungary's communist government after World War II, venerable in 2019, making the altar a second-class relic if he is canonized a saint.

"They didn't have to do this," Purgert repeated. "They could have moved the altar. They could have moved it to the vestibule if they didn't want to see it, and then it could be moved back for weddings or funerals for our parishioners."

Purgert's ire is focused on the Chicago-based Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, which since July has been establishing its presence at St. Elizabeth for Latin Mass adherents. The group celebrated its first Latin Mass at the shrine on Sept. 24.

———

With all the truly tragic iconoclasm of historic pre-Vatican II works of art in altar and architecture by National Catholic Reporter type progressive post-Catholics, I truly laughed out loud over this headline and story. It is hilarious. But it wasn’t meant to be. How funny! Press the title for the satire and complete NCR article!

A Latin Mass community moved in. Then wrecked a historic Vatican II altar.