Posted today on the preceding page:
Calendar of Papal liturgical events from Dec. 31-Jan. 13- Starting with 6 p.m. Vespers, Te Deum and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament today, eve of tHE Feast of Mary's Maternity.
What the Pope faces in 2008 - A situationer from Apcom. Translated.
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DON'T BISHOPS VOW OBEDIENCE TO THE POPE?
Speaking of forms of disobedience or at least open 'defiance', of Pope Benedict XVI, Damian Thompson, editor of the British Catholic weekly newspaper, Catholic Herald ('conservative' compared to the liberal progressivist The Tablet), has compiled a list of, to say the least, questionable actions by the bishops of England and Wales who are not fully in tune with the Pope.
'Unwavering fidelity' of English bishops
Posted by Damian Thompson
Holy Smoke! (blog)
Daily Telegraph (UK)
21 Dec 2007
In the past few months, Holy Smoke has occasionally hinted that the Bishops of England and Wales have been less that totally enthusiastic in their response to recent papal initiatives.
But perhaps I’ve been too harsh. Judge for yourselves. Here is a little review of the year that I’ve drawn up.
March: The Pope releases
Sacramentum Caritatis, a historic, 60-page statement on the Eucharist. The English and Welsh bishops ignore it for two days, before finally posting three paragraphs on their website.
June: It is revealed that Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor has written to the Vatican arguing against moves to allow Catholics greater freedom to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass.
On June 19, the
99 Names of Allah are sung in Westminster Cathedral.
July: Pope Benedict publishes
Summorum Pontificum, his Motu Proprio removing the power of bishops to block celebrations of the Tridentine Mass. From now on it will be known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, or the traditional Latin Mass.
In his accompanying letter, the Pope emphasizes that he has liberated the ancient liturgy for the benefit of young people who have grown to love it.
[Well, that was not the only reason, nor the principal one given! Let's be truthful here!]
The Bishops of England and Wales publish a muted response to the document. Unlike other bishops’ conferences, they do not issue a statement explaining its implications.
August: An agency of the Bishops’ Conference publishes
Catholic Social Justice, a volume of essays that contains a withering attack on Pope Benedict and refers to the atrocities of 9/11 as “the 'terrorist attacks' ” in inverted commas.
September: The “director of liturgy” of Portsmouth Diocese, a layman called Paul Inwood, announces that most Catholics in the diocese are not even allowed to ask for the old Mass, as only traditionalist communities existing before the Motu Proprio was published are entitled to it. (The Pope’s document says no such thing.)
October: The Bishop of Leeds, Arthur Roche, writes to his priests saying that the underlying purpose of the Motu Proprio is to cater to Catholics who have not accepted “the liturgical reforms and perhaps the teaching of the Second Vatican Council”. Decisions about the Old Mass are still up to him, and that he is “not aware” of extra demand for it. Bishop Roche’s letter arouses outrage among traditionalists, who accuse him of misrepresenting the Motu Proprio.
November: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor issues a “commentary” on the Motu Proprio that is very similar to Bishop Roche’s. He also says that the local bishop must be consulted about celebrations of the Traditional Mass – a stipulation
not contained in the Motu Proprio.
It is revealed that the Bishop of Arundel and Brighton, Kieran Conry, has dismissed Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio as an “opinion” that is contrary to that of previous popes.
Sir Stephen Wall, former senior policy advisor to Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor, writes an article accusing the Church of turning away from the message of Christ and heading towards “aggressive fundamentalism”.
December: The liberal Archbishop Piero Marini, dismissed as director of Vatican ceremonies by Pope Benedict, publishes a history of liturgical reform that contains coded attacks on current papal policies. The book launch is hosted by Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor in the throne room of Archbishop’s House, Westminster.
The Pope brings out his historic second encyclical,
Spe Salvi, a stunning exploration of the theology of hope that reformulates the doctrine of Purgatory. There is a great excitement in Rome, but no press release from the Bishops of England and Wales.
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QUOD ERAT DEMONSTRANDUM!
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And thanks to Gerald Augustinus, there was a sort of follow-up item on another Catholic blog, this one by Fr. Ray Blake in the online magazine of the Parish of St. Mary Magdalen in Brighton, England, which I will post here just to keep things together:
Cardinal wants to curb journalist
Magdalen, Brighton
Friday, December 28, 2007
I thought you might be interested to know that attempts are being made to shut up a certain Catholic journalist; no it is no-one on the dreadful Tablet, not even the ghastly sneering Bobbie Mickens.
Apparently the Cardinal, and maybe others, the Papal Nuncio's name has mentioned, has made representations to the owner and chairman of the Catholic Herald and the editors of two national newspapers.
They want the scalp of Damian Thompson, or at least they want his fingers broken so he can't criticise the hierarchy, Eccleston Square, inaction on the Motu Proprio, Church bureaucracy, or make suggestions on Cormac's successor, or criticise the dreadful Tablet.
Damian Thompson, once described as "a blood crazed ferret" by the Church Times, is a commentator on the Daily Telegraph, and Editor-in-Chief of the Catholic Herald. He can be outrageous at times, but that in a healthy society, or Church, should be the function of a journalist.
I find it truly worrying if senior clergy are trying to silence the press - not of course The Tablet, that is beyond censure by the hierarchy.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/01/2008 01:49]