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Monday 9 March 2015

No salt, no light, nothing to see and pay no attention to the man behind the curtain

On June 7 of 2014, a glorious event occurred in Toronto which many, your writer included, will never forget. Early in December of 2013, I was approached to put some organisational muscle into getting it rolling and to develop the music program and choir for an exceptional event - the 75th anniversary of a priestly ordination, yes you read that correctly -- 75 years a priest. 
Msgr. Vincent Foy

This Mass would be according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite - the Roman Missal of 1962 and the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Collins, knowing this, had graciously accepted to attend and Preside. If you know the details of the traditional liturgy this would be no easy task. There were two options for His Eminence he either would Celebrate a Pontifical Mass or he would Preside from the Throne in what is technically known as a "Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate." All you liturgical geeks out there will ooh and ah in understanding. What this means is that the Ordinary "presides" but does not "celebrate." He says the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, blesses the incense and water, kneels at the faldstool during the Canon, gives the final blessing amongst other details but he does not perform the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Cardinal Collins did a splendid job considering he was ordained in the early 1970's; though he had been amongst the very last Subdeacons for the Diocese of London, he had never celebrated the Mass of all ages.

It was a glorious day, the Vigil of Pentecost, not a cloud in the sky and the Church, St. Lawrence the Martyr in Scarborough was resplendent and the Schola and choir well rehearsed. Mass began with a glorious procession to Vaughan Williams' Come Down O Love Divine as a processional which included over 50 priests. Then came the Sacred Ministers - Priest, Deacon and Subdeacon all Toronto diocesan priests one under 50 one under 40 and the other under 30 - does that tell us anything? They were not even born when Paul VI celebrated that mass on a table facing the people at All Saints in Rome fifty years ago this past weekend in what was known when I was a boy as the New Mass. Little did we know that we were to get the New New Mass in 1969 and when they made me shake hands and thought they could play guitars better than Jimi Hendrix, I promptly left and didn't return for decades! In came the Cardinal lead by a Subdeacon carrying the new Metropolitan Cross used for the first time outside the Cathedral. He wore a glorious cope which the MC and I found in a museum in a glass case. You have no idea how hard it was to put together red vestments for a Solemn Mass with all the copes and of fine enough quality for the event. We actually borrowed from museums and High Anglicans. What does that tell you!


The priest in question was the wonderful pro-life hero Monsignor Vincent Foy. Msgr. Foy was born in Toronto on the Vigil of the Assumption in 1915. He was the youngest priest ordained in the history of Toronto and he is loved and admired by all. 

Well, not quite all.

Monsignor was a great opponent of the schismatic Winnipeg Statement of Canada's bishops and suffered for it.

He also wrote a scathing assessment of Gregory Baum a notorious Canadian heretic born in Berlin after the Great War of a Jewish mother and Protestant father he later converted and to the Catholic faith, became an Augustinian monk and a peritus at Vatican II and eventually, dissented from the faith. Commonweal, on February 15 1974, published an article where the heretic priest Baum declared that Catholic teaching on homosexuality would change and embrace homosexuality in a few years and he openly advocated so-called same sex "marriage. Gregory Baum states that "I am a person of the left, I am surrounded by left-wingsocial and political scientists, and I am in touch with active members ofleft-wing political parties in Canada and Quebec." Baum later left the priesthood and married (a woman) and is greatly admired by the world with numerous degrees, honourary degrees and even the Order of Canada which is something he shares with notorious baby-killer Henry Morgentaler and water-bottle opponent Archbishop Weisgerber Emeritus of the non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Winnipeg.

Mr. Gregory Baum, dissenter from the Catholic faith, one time speaker at Toronto's Newman Centre, (more on that another time), Canada's Vatican II heretic, I mean peritus was lionised in this glowing video at Salt + Light Television "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope."

Which leads me to a question.

When the oldest living priest in the Archdiocese of Toronto, a Monsignor for that matter and made one by Venerable Pius XII; a man who knew and paid the pricecelebrates the 75th anniversary of his priestly ordination and the only one in Canada to ever attain such a milestone; whilst at the same time a Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate is held for the first time in over 50 years, is that not news that you might think might be featured on Salt + Light Television - "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope?"

Nevermind, nothing to see here.



Monsignor Vincent Foy,99 wearing the rochet knitted by his mother with Thomas Cardinal Collins following the Mass.

For more on Gregory Baum, please visit:
http://msgrfoy.com/?s=baum.

Courtesy of Brian in the combox, there is also this: 
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3012

 

11 comments:

Unknown said...

The question I would have is this: was Salt and Light TV informed of this event? Were they asked to cover it?

In other words, an omission is not necessarily a sign of bias and merely because it was not covered is not proof of cause and effect.

Salt and Light gave great coverage to us when we were part of the Traditional Anglican Communion and we were hardly representative of anything liberal. We were like the SSPX of the Anglican Communion. Frankly, it took courage for Salt and Light to give us the coverage we received at that time on our quest for unity with the Catholic Church---2006, long before Anglicanorum coetibus.

As for the Gregory Baum interview, I would have preferred that he was introduced as a peritus of the Second Vatican Council, and that his subsequent deviations from Church teaching were also mentioned, as a casual viewer might have found the interview misleading otherwise. However, because of Baum's historical role with the Church as one of the drafters of Nostra Aetate, that is reason for Catholic media to cover him, in context.

Fr. Rosica has also interviewed SSPX Bishop Fellay on Salt and Light. He has interviewed a whole range of cardinals and archbishops, many of whom would probably share a conservative view on the synod of the family: Archbishop Chaput and Cardinal Ouellet come immediately to mind.

I appeal to you to use your new international platform for good. You have much to say on traditional liturgy and doctrine that could be helpful and instructive in the fraught atmosphere in between the two synods on the family.

My prayers continue for full reconciliation and restoration.

Deborah Gyapong

Barona said...

The interview with Bp. Fellay to my recollection mentioned division and difficulty with the Second Vatican Council. Whereas the approach was somewhat different with Baum.

Anonymous said...

Wow...you got a lot of sympathy from the blogosphere lately, and now you describe a person as being born of a Jewish mother, implying that's a negative? Try not to reinforce those stereotypes....'kay?

Brian said...

Deborah

Gregory Baum's deviations from Church teachings were well on the way during the council. He was, in spirit, very much part of the Rhine gang, that poured its polluted waters, into the Tiber. Fr. Joseph Fenton, longtime editor, of the American Ecclesiastical Review, provides a penetrating assessment of Baum's 1963 trashing, of our theological manuals.

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=3012

There was no Modernist epiphany after the council. It simply became safe, for him and so many others, under the chimerical penumbra, of the so called Spirit of Vatican II, to go forth and boldly proclaim his dissent, which he has done, with remarkable success. So much for his oath against Modernism. Sacrorum Antistitum be damned.

Fr. Rosica's salivating deference (in the video interview) to Baum is truly disgusting. It is almost as if Rosica is saying to Baum. "Speak, O Lord, your servant is listening."

Vox Cantoris said...

Anonymous said...
Wow...you got a lot of sympathy from the blogosphere lately, and now you describe a person as being born of a Jewish mother, implying that's a negative? Try not to reinforce those stereotypes....'kay?

Whoa, hold on here a moment!

I added another fact, "and a Protestant father" and that he later "converted" to Catholicism. One can ask how deep his conversion was given that he was not a cradle Catholic and given his later actions.

One cannot accuse me of fomenting something which I am not.

I may be Lebanese but I am no anti-Semite! In fact, I probably have Hebrew blood along with Phoenician running in my veins.

Besides, Our Blessed LORD was "born of a Jewish Mother" in case you haven't noticed.

Oh and while I do not consider myself a Christian Zionist as that would be a heresy, much to the chagrin of the Palestinians in my family, I stand with Israel as anyone can attest!

So, what is your next question?

TH2 said...

Vox,

When I read statements appealing that you should "use your new international platform for good" - what is that to infer? That, given what recently eventuated, you really should not have submitted this post criticizing S+L? That what you have posted in the past, criticizing this and other matters in the Church in Canada, was not really the "good " thing to do at all? That you are now playing with "us big boys" and should tread more carefully?

Ah!, but now - you have international status, prompted not by your seeking of it, but for rightfully and simply defending yourself against an unprecedented action taken by a "company man" cleric who for years has been indefatigable in vilifying Traditional Catholics (e.g. "Taliban Catholics") whenever they have identified whatever Modernist aspect manifesting in the Church. Out of evil, God brings out good.

And now you have the attention of the Catholic MSM. Good. I am very pleased for your increased stature and wish all the more and will not subtly suggest to you - under a banner of false charity and conciliation - that you stop or in whatever way mitigate your criticisms of the heretical (or heretically-inclined) public actions/words of Salt+Light specifically and of the Establishment Church in general.

Please continue, remain not silent.

Arthur P. said...

In response to Deborah,

I was at the mass. What a surprise to see such goodwill towards a wonderful gentleman-priest from everyone up there. Kudos to His Eminence - he must have put in a lot of effort.

I think the question about Salt and Light's lack of involvement is not "were they asked?" but "why did they not even report on the 75th anniversary of ordination of a priest in the Archdiocese where they are headquartered?" They didn't need to be asked to simply commemorate such an occassion. The fact that a priest is observing this kind of anniversary is itself newsworthy.

Radical Catholic said...

I would enjoy hearing about Msgr. Voy's impressions of the Mass itself. Also, was this form chosen at his request?

Unknown said...

Dear Heresy-Hunter,

Using it for good means just that, speaking up for the Truth. But I would also caution all bloggers against jumping to conclusions, engaging in innuendo and unproven assumptions. And I would add, that reacting to things out of anger and writing in intemperate ways---not saying this blog post is guilty of that, I'm speaking in general here---gives ammunition to people who say the traditionalist and conservative side of the Catholic world is full of bitter, unreasonable and angry people. Of course, admittedly, there are people who will use Alinksy-ite tactics to paint all traditionalists and conservative Catholics that way and sadly they often have the ear of unsuspecting prelates who do not read blogs and only hear about our communities through the complaints they receive in their chanceries. I also hope that now that this side of the blogosphere has flexed its muscles that it does not become a source of bullying. Right now I am glad there has been a great deal of restraint and I hope it continues.

Vox Cantoris said...

Dear Radical Catholic,

Yes; the Mass was in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at his specific request and the Toronto Traditional Mass Society-UNA VOCE TORONTO did considerable work and raised the financial resources necessary to get it off the ground.

Monsignor was delighted and joyous and a link below will take you to his own web page with the details.


http://msgrfoy.com/category/75th-ordination-anniversary-june-7th-2014/

Unknown said...

Who cares what Salt and Light TV does or doesn't do.