New Roman Missal Cover

Here is a lovely picture from Father Tim Finegan's blog, The Hermeneutic of Continuity coming soon to a parish near you except in Canada where it has not yet been approved by the Holy See because...

Roman Missal for Canada: Still waiting...

Lest I be accused by any diocesan authorities of being a "conspiracy theorist" I've now had it confirmed by another source that the delay in the Recognitio from Rome for the corrected translation of the Roman Missal (2000) in Canada is the universal posture.

If you are unfamiliar with this topic, click on the Roman Missal medallion on the left to take you to the series of articles. You will also find there the email addresses of Canada's bishops.

I will not, as demanded on another blog, reveal my sources, suffice to say that they are from within the clergy and the laity.

If the Recognitio is not granted soon, then the printing process will be greatly in peril for the beginning of Advent. The responsibility for this will lie with the bureaucrats at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. They can proffer that they have "asked for nothing out of the ordinary" but that simply makes no sense. If they did not, then Rome would not be taking so long.

The calendar and differing dates for feasts between Canada and the United States is also an issue, two being Canadian/North American Martyrs and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha as an example.

This is no place for Canadian nationalism or Quebecois episcopal posture preference dictates to the rest of Canada.

My prediction?

Meetings are being held now in Rome with CCCB officials; Rome will rule and it won't be in favour of what was submitted.

Now, get on with it!

One year ago...

One year ago today, the announcement came that the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter had come to an end. It as the First Sunday of Lent, 2010. Since that time, the Archbishop of Toronto appointed a diocesan priest to celebrate the traditional Latin liturgy at St. Theresa's Church in Scarborough in addition to his other parish duties as Associate Pastor at large and demanding parish north of Toronto. The Mass is no longer a Missa Cantata and attendance has dropped as well since the departure of the FSSP with no signs of growth to be had. The location remains a problem, little transit, not much parking and the time of day at 1:00 is still problematic.
On the positive side, the traditional Mass continues to grow, albeit slowly at St. Vincent de Paul under the Fathers of the Oratory and the Toronto Traditional Mass Society, soon to be known as Una Voce Toronto, has a new Board and is planning more regular programs and opportunities to move the agenda forward.
In my own opinion, the Fraternity will come back to Toronto some day, but on their terms. That would be no more bouncing from one parish to another and one rectory to another. They must have their own parish and rectory to develop live their charism and serve the people desiring to worship and live the Catholic culture in accord with the traditional liturgy and fully united to the Holy Father.
That day will come when the inevitable closing of parishes occurs, particularly in east Toronto where many struggle to survive amidst changing demographics and immigration patterns and general apostasy of Catholics from the faith.

Originally posted on February 21, 2010.

 TORONTO--Only three weeks after a Solemn High Mass was held on Candlemas assisted by transitional Deacons and Seminarians of St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto; and less than a week after a column appeared on Rorate Caeli Blog extolling the provisioning of the Traditional Latin Mass in Ontario, it was announced today after the Mass for Quadragesima Sunday that effective next Sunday, February 28, 2010, the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will come to an end.

Apostolate Chaplain, Father Howard Venette, FSSP addressed the nearly 100 congregants following the Mass advising the shocked congregation that the departure was due to "internal personnel" matters. Father Venette will be reassigned to Orlando, Florida following his 19 month stay in Toronto.

The FSSP was invited to Toronto by Archbishop Thomas Collins with the hopes of establishing a personal parish for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In September 2009, a public announcement was made by the Fraternity and on the Archdiocese of Toronto web page that Canadian Martyrs parish would be the location over a six-month transitional period. Within days of this announcement and without public explanation, the situation changed and the parish plan did not materialise.
Recently, the Fraternity was advised that while a parish was not currently available, its provision would depend on the continued growth and financial viability of the community. In the last 19 months, attendance at the Sunday Mass at St. Theresa Shrine Church increased over 100% from the attendance under the former indult at the Missa Lecta to the Missa Cantata.

Upon arrival in Toronto, Father Venette was in residence at Holy Cross parish where the Mass was celebrated daily and on High Holy Days. Following the situation in September over Canadian Martyrs, Father was moved to St. Brigid's where the daily Mass schedule changed from week to week and the High Holy Day liturgies were split between St. Brigid's and St. Theresa's Parish.
According to officials from Una Voce Toronto, Archbishop Collins had indicated that he desired no less than "five" Extraordinary Form Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto every Sunday.

An Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Canada

First Asia Bibi in Pakistan and now Said Musa in Afghanistan:

'pm@pm.gc.ca'; 'Cannon.L@parl.gc.ca'

Dear Prime Minister Harper and Minister of Foreign Affairs Cannon,

Re: http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/02/15/afghan-christian-faces-death-penalty-for-his-faith/

I am sure by now you are aware of the story in the National Post originating from the National Catholic Register of Mr. Said Musa, a Christian, persecuted and sentenced to death in Afghanistan. As Canadians, I am sure that you share my outrage over this injustice, particularly given the loss of life of Canadian troops and those of other NATO countries fighting for the Afghan people.

How can this be allowed to continue?

I urge you in every possible way to express to President Karzai of the need to personally intervene and have this man pardoned. Further, this continual persecution of Christians due to a flawed constitution must be prevented from happening again.

Your urgent action is required.

Yours truly,

Discourse and the rights of Catholics

At the risk of being considered an authority on anything I must respectfully disagree with the Prince of the Church quoted here. The Cardinal opines that the climate of discourse in the United States directly led to the murder of a nine-year old girl and others whom he did not even mention, he only spoke of the shooting of Congresswoman Gifford as if she was somehow the only victim in this tragedy. The Cardinal set up a straw man. The reason was not the media or certain politicians or grass-root movements or the public discourse over health-care, economics or whether or not the President is a native born. It was a crime against God and man undertaken by one man who, without God in his heart, committed a terrible crime and heinous and evil act. He could have chosen another way.

In this week's Catholic Register, Father Scott Lewis, S.J. reflects on the Book of Sirach and he comments on the scholarship view of this Book of the Holy Bible as "two-way spirituality". To quote Father, "As individuals we are given opportunities each day to choose between life and death." That man in Arizone chose death. He chose it of his own free-will and not because of Fox News, Sarah Palin, the Tea-Party Movement. I expect more from a Prince of the Church then the usual hyperbole that this was all the fault of someone else in the same way as CNN or the Puffington Post concluded.

As for the public discourse gossip is always wrong as is detraction of an individual. Ideas in the public square and the questioning of what is going on in the Church today by those Shepherds and bureaucrats is on the table for debate as it should be.

If we had the Internet forty or fifty years ago would the sexual abuse crisis inflicted on thousands have been allowed to continue unabated? Would those homosexual pederast priest been allowed to go about their evil?

Would those who destroyed churches and the ars celebrandi and our liturgical praxis and Catholic culture through a hermeneutic of rupture with tradition and false interpretation of the Second Vatican Council have gotten away with it?

It is easy for those in command of Catholic newspapers and Catholic television media and Catholic chanceries to criticise the unwashed bloggers and new media television personalities.

It has been said here in Toronto that the new Mayor, Rob Ford, is a child of the old Mayor, David Miller. Miller's elitism, arrogance, secrecy and abuse of process; his cuddling up to the unions lack of respect for property owners and tax payers and his insane tax increases brought Rob Ford to power.

Perhaps the bloggers and Internet TV network personalities are a result of the behaviour and attitude of bishops, priests, clericalist Catholic television producers and newspaper editors and writers and church bureaucrats and other professional Catholics who for decades have dismissed the concerns of John and Mary Catholic as being no-nothings.

Candlemas

Today is Candlemas, when we celebrate the traditional conclusion of Christmastide. This is the day of the Presentation of the LORD in the Temple and the Purification of Mary.

Last year in Toronto was an occasion not to be forgotten part of which is captured below. The first Solemn High Mass on Candlemas for generations. The celebrant was Father Howard Venette, FSSP. The Deacon and Subdeacon were transitional Deacons and are now priests in parishes in the Archdiocese of Toronto and the Diocese of Hamilton. Many of the Acolytes and Servers were Seminarians at St. Augustine's Seminary and others at Serra House in Toronto.

In a few weeks we will recall the one year mark since the loss of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Toronto.

London Catholic Foundation to host Anti-Catholic Speaker

Why has a Catholic charitable foundation invited an anti-Catholic bigot to speak at a fundraising dinner? The group is the Monsignor Feeney Foundation for Catholic Education in the Diocese of London. The anti-Catholic bigot is Stephen Lewis, former leader of the Ontario Socialist Party, also known as the NDP (New Democratic Party) and Canadian Ambassador to that other Internationalist Organization, the United Nations. Lewis also heads a foundation, humbly named after himself to promote condom use in Africa. Lewis once accused the Pope of "complete indifference to the vulnerability of women, who are so hugely and disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS." For more of Lewis' quotations about the Pope, Ian Hunter has summarized them on Catholic Insight. Herman Gooder also writes frankly about the matter in today's London Free Press. The issue was also brought to the news by the ubiquitous LifeSiteNews.com.

Most Rev. Ronald Peter Fabbro, C.S.B.
Bishop of London
1070 Waterloo Street
London, ON N6A 3Y2
Tel: (519) 433-0658 #224
Fax: (519) 266-4353
E-mail: bishop@dol.ca

Mary Anne Foster, Executive Director
Monsignor Feeney Foundation
4474-135 Blakie Rd.
London, ON N6L 1G7
Phone: (519) 652-3033
Fax: (519) 652-3077
E-mail: m.foster@ldcsb.on.ca

It is worth noting that the email contact has been removed from the Foundation's web site. Rumour has it, that if you raise the matter by telephone, you will be hung up on.

Is this the Canadian GIRM and the reason for the delay in the Roman Missal?

Is this what the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops submitted to Rome for adaptations to the new Roman Missal for Canada?

Is this what is holding up the approval or disapproval of the GIRM and implementation of the Roman Missal?

It seems that both of my sources as in the post below, were correct.

The bold is in the original document presumably indicating Canadian "adaptations."

43. The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance
Chant, or while the Priest approaches the altar, until the end of
the Collect; for the Alleluia Chant before the Gospel; while the
Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the
Universal Prayer; from the invitation, Pray, brethren (brothers and
sisters), before the Prayer over the Offerings to the end of Mass,
except at the points indicated below.
They should, however, sit: while the readings before the
Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm are proclaimed; for the
homily and while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is
taking place, and, if appropriate, during the observance of sacred
silence after Communion.
In the dioceses of Canada, they should kneel from the
singing or recitation of the Sanctus to the Memorial
Acclamation, except when prevented by reasons of health, lack
of space, the large number of people present, or some other good
reason. Those who do not kneel at the Consecration, however,
should make a profound bow when the Priest genuflects after
Communion. The diocesan Bishop may allow the common
practice of kneeling at the Consecration only.Where it is the practice for the people to remain kneeling
after the Sanctus until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and
before Communion when the Priest says, Behold the Lamb of
God, it is laudable to retain this practice. (53)
To achieve uniformity in gestures and postures during one
and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the
instructions given by the Deacon, lay minister, or Priest in
accordance with what is laid down in the Missal.

(53) Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy,
Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 40' Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of
the Sacraments, Instruction Varietates legitimate, 25 January 1994, no. 41: AAS 87
(1995), p. 304.

Kneeling in Canada: What is your experience?

The implementation date for the new Roman Missal has still not been announced by the Canadian bishops. Sources indicate that there are two items that may be holding up Rome's approval of the "adaptations" as well as the "Proper" for Canada which is preventing publication of the Roman Missal. One is the "French Question." This is a desire to have no new GIRM implemented in English until the French translation is ready for Quebec. The second is the question of kneeling and on this there are two possibilities both disharmonious to the United States and Great Britain, but also to Toronto, where I reside.

• Consistent with the 1975 GIRM (as I note below), kneeling ONLY at the Consecration;
• A "Grey Book" instruction to kneel from the "Sanctus to Memorial Acclamation";

In the GIRM in English for the United States (the only English translation) kneeling is from the Sanctus to the Great Amen.
A few people have written me privately since the post, two below, about the kneeling situation. As well, a personal friend formerly living in Halifax has advised me that the kneeling situation there is as the Canadian bishops have apparently asked for in the new GIRM which is not in accord with the United States or Great Britain. A reader in Ottawa writes, "I feel that a few issues need to be clarified. Archbishop Prendergast never made any "rules" about posture in Ottawa. He did ask one of the parishes to put in kneelers. Also, to place and fill the chalices on the altar before Consecration. He also changed the order of the initiation sacraments for the English sector, to have unity, but I won't get into this now." My impression from the media reports is that the Archbishop instructed all parishes to have a unified posture; if this was only for one renegade parish, then I stand corrected.

Imagine my surprise further, when a reader advise me and through my own, more detailed research of the 1975 GIRM states, [21]..."They should kneel at the consecration unless prevented by the lack of space, the number of people present, or some other good reason."

In the interests of accuracy, I am quite surprised, though I find it interesting that in this case, there is a desire to be obedient; if that were the case with the Propers or Ad orientem worship or not changing any words or the restricted use of Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, I might find it easier to accept.

I suppose that I am clouded by the more reasonable, if not slightly banal, liturgical situation in Toronto and the overall Archdiocese and its suffragan dioceses. While we have had a some incidents of liturgical weirdness, for the most part, we have not had the disaster present in many other places.

In Toronto, we kneel from the end of the Sanctus to the end of the Amen at the Doxology and we then stand and kneel again from the Agnus Dei and remain kneeling or sitting until after Communion.

I would ask my Canadian readers to make a comment in the comment box, Anonymous if you like.

What is your city?

What is your diocese?

What is the kneeling tradition?

But remember this; the 1975 GIRM also states, "...but it is up to the conference of bishops to adapt the actions and postures described in the Order of the Roman Mass to the customs of the people."
And in Toronto, the custom of the people is to kneel!

New Roman Missal for Canada- No Kneeling, We're Canadian, eh?

What's the difference between a terrorist and a liturgist? You can negotiate with a terrorist! Given what I am going to disclose, you'll see the appropriateness of that old joke.

Two sources have now confirmed what I suspect is one of the two reasons for the continued delay from Rome in approving the submission of the Canadian Proper with Adaptations for Canada by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops for the Roman Missal.

Leaving aside the "French question" for now, the matter is, kneeling. We are of course, an Easter people and we don't need to kneel anymore, as the liturgical terrorists have been telling us.

The General Instruction on the Roman Missal from the Vatican's website in English is that which is approved for the United States of America. It is the same in England.

Let us take a look at the whole paragraph so that you'll get an understanding of its purpose, I have highlighted in bold the relevant instruction:

43. The faithful should stand from the beginning of the Entrance chant, or while the priest approaches the altar, until the end of the collect; for the Alleluia chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Prayer of the Faithful; from the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren), before the prayer over the offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated below.

They should, however, sit while the readings before the Gospel and the Responsorial Psalm are proclaimed and for the homily and while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is taking place; and, as circumstances allow, they may sit or kneel while the period of sacred silence after Communion is observed.

In the dioceses of the United States of America, they should kneel beginning after the singing or recitation of the Sanctus until after the Amen of the Eucharistic Prayer, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. The faithful kneel after the Agnus Dei unless the diocesan Bishop determines otherwise.

This is identical to what we do in Canada now, at least in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Further, the 1975 General Instruction on the Roman Missal which is currently in force in Canada prescribes this very kneeling posture.

I have it from a direct source that the Grey Book submitted to the Holy See by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops included the following:

In the dioceses of Canada, they should kneel from the singing or recitation of the Sanctus to the Memorial Acclamation.

There you have it. Do you see the glaring difference?

The Canadian bishops don't think we should kneel until after the Amen following the Doxology as we do now. I say as we do now, because this is what we do in Toronto and have since the implementation of the Novus Ordo in 1970. In fact, this is the norm as prescribed in the 1975 General Instruction on the Roman Missal currently in force and frequently ignored.

Two years ago, Archbishop Terence Prendergast of Ottawa, in an effort to end discord, ordered all parishes to follow the format quoted above for Canada. This has long been a trend in Quebec and other French speaking parishes and it became a serious problem in Ottawa with which the previous Archbishop would not deal and Archbishop Prendergast was treated harshly by dissidents over this.

I can imagine that the Roman Canon or First Eucharistic Prayer will become even rarer given that people will need to stand for such a long period. At a time when belief in the Real Presence has never suffered as much is this the right approach of the Canadian bishops?

The Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments must not allow this to be forced upon Canadian Catholics. We have had enough of the liturgist tale wagging the dog and the Holy Father must look after the interests of all English-speaking Catholics in Canada and in the world, not the liturgical terrorists from the Outaouais!

Relevant reading:

http://www.catholic.com/library/liturgy/cag_changes.asp

http://www.adoremus.org/0402kneel.html

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06423a.htm

New Roman Missal for Canada-III

This is number three in an ongoing series. It is my intent that this blog, Vox Cantoris, will be the most authoritative in Canada on this issue and I will attempt to provide you with the most up-to-date information on the implementation of the new Roman Missal in Canada with the resources necessary to educate yourself and your friends on this great gift to the people of God.

Over the last few days, I've posted two articles about the new Roman Missal and its implementation in Canada. You can find them below or by clicking here on New Roman Missal for the entire series.

This is an important matter for Catholics in Canada and you have heard little or nothing about it from your pastor or bishop.

I am instituting this to provide as much up-to-date information on the situation in Canada for its implementation.

Just to remind you; this will be happening in England in September and the United States in November on the first Sunday of Advent.

It is time friends for your voice to be heard.

You must ask your Pastor (but don't pester him, he knows little more than you).

It is however time to write your bishop and the officials at the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops and raise this issue to ensure that English speaking Canadians are not deprived of the corrected translation to the English Novus Ordo Liturgy.

When writing to an Archbishop, the salutation is "Your Grace" and for a Bishop, it is "Your Excellency."

You should also copy, on this web page, Monsignor Patrick Powers, P.H., General Secretary of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. Monsignor Powers does answer his email.

Your Grace, Archbishop....:

As a practicing Catholic living in your diocese and I am very pleased to know that the Third Edition of the Roman Missal issued by Pope John Paul II in 2000 and its General Instruction has finally been translated and approved by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Reports in the media indicate that the new Missal is going to be used in Great Britain in September 2011 and in the United States of America on the First Sunday of Advent 2011. Yet, there has been no announcement made in my parish or in the diocesan press in Canada for its implementation.

It is my fervent hope and desire that we English-speaking people in Canada will also reap the spiritual benefits from the new Missal and the corrected translation of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass from its Latin original. Yet, I am confused as to the delay and lack of communication on this most important matter. When can we expect this new Missal and its General Instruction to be implemented in Canada?

Yours in Christ,

Most Rev. Jacob ANGADIATH Eparchial Bishop of the Syro-Malabarians Catholics in the United States Apostolic Visitator to Canada	bishop@stthomasdiocese.org
Most Rev. Manuel BATAKIAN Eparchial Bishop of the Catholic Armenians in Canada and the United States	mbexarch@aol.com
Most Rev. Bryan BAYDA , C.Ss.R. Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of Saskatoon	bbjbayda@mac.com
Most Rev. Gerard P. BERGIE Bishop of St. Catharines	bishop@stcatharinesdiocese.ca
Most Rev. Jean-Pierre BLAIS Bishop of Baie-Comeau	chancelleriedbc@hotmail.com
Most Rev. Daniel J. BOHAN Archbishop of Regina	chancery@archregina.sk.ca
Most Rev. John A. BOISSONNEAU Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto	bishop.boissonneau@rogers.com
Most Rev. Donald BOLEN Bishop of Saskatoon	bishop@saskatoonrcdiocese.com
Most Rev. Luc BOUCHARD Bishop of Saint-Paul	diospaul@mcsnet.ca
Most Rev. Vincent CADIEUX , O.M.I. Bishop of Moosonee Bishop of Hearst	vincentc@ontera.net
Most Rev. Vincent CADIEUX , O.M.I. Bishop of Hearst Bishop of Moosonee	vincentc@ontera.net
Most Rev. Claude CHAMPAGNE , O.M.I. Bishop of Edmundston	mgrchampagne@nb.sympatico.ca
Most Rev. Murray CHATLAIN Bishop of Mackenzie-Fort Smith	chatlain03@gmail.com
Most Rev. Stephen Victor CHMILAR Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada	eparchto@bellnet.ca
Most Rev. Fred J. COLLI Bishop of Thunder Bay	bishoptb@dotb.ca
Most Rev. Thomas COLLINS Archbishop of Toronto	archbishop@archtoronto.org
Most Rev. John CORRIVEAU , O.F.M. Cap Bishop of Nelson	corriveau.john@gmail.com
Most Rev. Douglas CROSBY , O.M.I. Bishop of Hamilton	bishopsoffice@hamiltondiocese.com
Most Rev. Martin William CURRIE Bishop of Grand Falls Archbishop of St. John's	archbishopmwcurrie@gmail.com
Most Rev. Martin William CURRIE Archbishop of St. John's Bishop of Grand Falls	archbishopmwcurrie@gmail.com
Most Rev. Luc CYR Bishop of Valleyfield	eveque@diocesevalleyfield.org
Most Rev. Robert Anthony DANIELS Auxiliary Bishop of London	tdaniels@dol.ca
Most Rev. Nicola DE ANGELIS , C.F.I.C. Bishop of Peterborough	chancery@peterboroughdiocese.org
Most Rev. Louis DICAIRE Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil	louis.dicaire@dsjl.org
Most Rev. Brian DUNN Bishop of Antigonish	bishopdunn@dioceseofantigonish.ca
Most Rev. Paul-André DUROCHER Bishop of Alexandria-Cornwall	padurocher@alexandria-cornwall.ca
Most Rev. Roger ÉBACHER Archbishop of Gatineau	eroger@videotron.ca
Most Rev. Thomas Mar EUSEBIUS Bishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in the United States Apostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malankara Catholics in Canada and Europe	bishopeusebius@gmail.com
Most Rev. Ronald Peter FABBRO , C.S.B. Bishop of London	bishop@dol.ca
Most Rev. Pierre-André FOURNIER Archbishop of Rimouski	pierre-andre.fournier@dioceserimouski.com
Most Rev. Richard GAGNON Bishop of Victoria	chancery@rcdvictoria.org
Most Rev. Jean GAGNON Bishop of Gaspé	diogaspe@globetrotter.net
Msgr. Edwin J. GALE Diocesan Administrator Corner Brook and Labrador
Most Rev. André GAUMOND Archbishop of Sherbrooke	agaumond@diocesedesherbrooke.org
Most Rev. André GAZAILLE Auxiliary Bishop of Montréal	agazaille@diocesemontreal.org
Most Rev. Lionel GENDRON , P.S.S. Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil	eveque@dsjl.org
Most Rev. Gary GORDON Bishop of Whitehorse	bishopgary@me.com
Most Rev. Richard GRECCO Bishop of Charlottetown	bishop@dioceseofcharlottetown.com
Most Rev. Yousif HABASH Bishop of Our Lady of Deliverance Syriac Catholic Diocese	marbarnaba@yahoo.com
Most Rev. Robert HARRIS Bishop of Saint John	rharris@dioceseofsaintjohn.org
Most Rev. Frederick B. HENRY Bishop of Calgary	bishop.henry@calgarydiocese.ca
Most Rev. Lawrence HUCULAK , O.S.B.M. Ukrainian Eparchial Archbishop of Winnipeg and Metropolitan of Catholic Ukrainians in Canada	chancery@archeparchy.ca
Most Rev. Peter HUNDT Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto	barriebishop@rogers.com
Most Rev. Ibrahim M. IBRAHIM , O.B.S. Eparchial Bishop of the Catholic Greek-Melkites of Canada	bishop@melkitecanada.org
Most Rev. Joseph KHOURY Bishop of the Catholic Maronite Eparchy of Canada	beitmaroun@videotron.ca
Most Rev. Gérald Cyprien LACROIX Auxiliary Bishop of Québec Diocesan Administrator of Québec	gerald.c.lacroix@ecdq.org
Most Rev. François LAPIERRE , P.M.E. Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe	lapierre@ntic.qc.ca
Most Rev. Donald LAPOINTE Auxiliary Bishop of Saint-Jérôme	diocesesj@citenet.net
Most Rev. Sylvain LAVOIE , O.M.I. Archbishop of Keewatin-Le Pas	slavoie@keepas.ca
Most Rev. Albert LeGATT Archbishop of Saint-Boniface	alegatt@archsaintboniface.ca
Most Rev. Gilles LEMAY Auxiliary Bishop of Québec	gilles.lemay@ecdq.org
Most Rev. Paul LORTIE Auxiliary Bishop of Québec	paul.lortie@ecdq.org
Most Rev. Gilles LUSSIER Bishop of Joliette	france@diocesedejoliette.org
Most Rev. Anthony MANCINI Apostolic Administrator of Yarmouth Archbishop of Halifax	amancini@catholichalifax.org
Most Rev. Anthony MANCINI Archbishop of Halifax Apostolic Administrator of Yarmouth	amancini@catholichalifax.org
Most Rev. Paul MARCHAND , S.M.M. Bishop of Timmins	dioctims@ntl.sympatico.ca
Most Rev. Vital MASSÉ Bishop of Mont-Laurier	vmasse@diocese-mont-laurier.org
Most Rev. William Terrence McGRATTAN Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto	auxcent@rogers.com
Most Rev. Michael MILLER , C.S.B. Archbishop of Vancouver	mmiller@rcav.bc.ca
Most Rev. David J. J. MONROE Bishop of Kamloops	monroe@rcdk.org
Most Rev. Dorylas MOREAU Bishop of Rouyn-Noranda	dorylas@cablevision.qc.ca
Most Rev. Yvon-Joseph MOREAU , O.C.S.O. Bishop of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière	diocese@diocese-ste-anne.net
Most Rev. Pierre MORISSETTE Bishop of Saint-Jérôme	diocesesj@citenet.net
Most Rev. David MOTIUK Ukrainian Bishop of Edmonton	bishop@edmontoneparchy.com
Most Rev. Michael MULHALL Bishop of Pembroke	bishop@pembrokediocese.com
Most Rev. Vincent NGUYEN Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto	vnguyen@archtoronto.org
Most Rev. Kenneth NOWAKOWSKI Ukrainian Eparchial Bishop of New Westminster	nweparchy@telus.net
Most Rev. Brendan M. O'BRIEN Archbishop of Kingston	obrien@romancatholic.kingston.on.ca
Most Rev. John S. PAZAK , C.Ss.R. Eparchial Bishop of the Catholic Slovaks of the Byzantine Rite in Canada	byzslovakeparch@sympatico.ca
Most Rev. Gérard PETTIPAS , C.Ss.R. Archbishop of Grouard-McLennan	gpettipas@serbernet.com
Most Rev. Jean-Louis PLOUFFE Bishop of Sault Ste-Marie	jlplouffe@diocesecentre.com
Most Rev. Terrence PRENDERGAST , S.J. Archbishop of Ottawa	archbishop@archottawa.ca
Most Rev. André RICHARD , C.S.C. Archbishop of Moncton	chan.diocesemoncton@nb.aibn.com
Most Rev. André RIVEST Bishop of Chicoutimi	diocese.chicoutimi@videotron.net
Most Rev. Reynald ROULEAU , O.M.I. Bishop of Churchill-Hudson Bay
Most Rev. Noël SIMARD Auxiliary Bishop of Sault Ste-Marie	nsimard@diocesecentre.com
Most Rev. Richard SMITH Archbishop of Edmonton	rstrauss@caedm.ca
Most Rev. Raymond ST-GELAIS Bishop of Nicolet	eveque@diocesenicolet.qc.ca
Most Rev. Donald J. THÉRIAULT Bishop of the Military Ordinariate of Canada	don.theriault@forces.gc.ca
Most Rev. Albert THÉVENOT , M. Afr. Bishop of Prince Albert	apthevenot@sasktel.net
Most Rev. Eugène TREMBLAY Bishop of Amos	eveque@diocese-amos.org
His Eminence Jean-Claude TURCOTTE Archbishop of Montréal	seccard@diocesemontreal.org
Most Rev. Martin VEILLETTE Bishop of Trois-Rivières	mveillette@evechetr.org
Most Rev. Valéry VIENNEAU Bishop of Bathurst	valeryv@nb.aibn.com
Most Rev. V. James WEISGERBER Archbishop of Winnipeg	archbishop@archwinnipeg.ca
Most Rev. Gerald WIESNER , O.M.I. Bishop of Prince George	bishop@netbistro.com

More Than Words: External Signs of Faith by the Celebrant

The Significance of Genuflections and Other Gestures

By Father Nicola Bux

ROME, JAN. 21, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Faith in the presence of the Lord, and in particular in his Eucharistic presence, is expressed in an exemplary manner by the priest when he genuflects with profound reverence during the Holy Mass or before the Eucharist.

In the post-conciliar liturgy, these acts of devotion have been reduced to a minimum in the name of sobriety. The result is that genuflections have become a rarity, or a superficial gesture. We have become stingy with our gestures of reverence before the Lord, even though we often praise Jews and Muslims for their fervor and manner way of praying.

More than words, a genuflection manifests the humility of the priest, who knows he is only a minister, and his dignity, as he is able to render the Lord present in the sacrament. However, there are other signs of devotion.

When the priest extends his hands in prayer he is indicating the supplication of the poor and humble one. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GRIM) establishes that the priest, "when he celebrates the Eucharist, therefore, he must serve God and the people with dignity and humility, and by his bearing and by the way he says the divine words he must convey to the faithful the living presence of Christ" (No. 93). An attitude of humility is consonant with Christ himself, meek and humble of heart. He must increase and I must decrease.

In proceeding to the altar, the priest must be humble, not ostentatious, without indulging in looking to the right and to the left, as if he were seeking applause. Instead, he must look at Jesus; Christ crucified is present in the tabernacle, before whom he must bow. The same is done before the sacred images displayed in the apse behind or on the sides of the altar, the Virgin, the titular saint, the other saints.

The reverent kiss of the altar follows and eventually the incense, the sign of the cross and the sober greeting of the faithful. Following the greeting is the penitential act, to be carried out profoundly with the eyes lowered. In the extraordinary form, the the faithful kneel, imitating the publican pleasing to the Lord.

The celebrant must not raise his voice and should maintain a clear tone for the homily, but be submissive and suppliant in prayer, solemn if sung. "In texts that are to be spoken in a loud and clear voice, whether by the priest or the deacon, or by the lector, or by all, the tone of voice should correspond to the genre of the text itself, that is, depending upon whether it is a reading, a prayer, a commentary, an acclamation, or a sung text; the tone should also be suited to the form of celebration and to the solemnity of the gathering" (GRIM, No. 38).

He will touch the holy gifts with wonder, and will purify the sacred vessels with calm and attention, in keeping with the appeal of so many saints and priests before him. He will bow his head over the bread and the chalice in pronouncing the consecrating words of Christ and in the invocation of the Holy Spirit (epiclesi). He will raise them separately, fixing his gaze on them in adoration and then lowering them in meditation. He will kneel twice in solemn adoration. He will continue with recollection and a prayerful tone the anaphora to the doxology, raising the holy gifts in offer to the Father.

Then, he will recite the Our Father with his hands raised, without having anything else in his hands, because that is proper to the rite of peace. The priest will not leave the Sacrament on the altar to give the sign of peace outside the presbytery, instead he will break the Host in a solemn and visible way, then he will genuflect before the Eucharist and pray in silence. He will ask again to be delivered from every indignity not to eat and drink to his own condemnation and to be protected for eternal life by the holy Body and precious Blood of Christ. Then he will present the Host to the faithful for communion, praying "Dominum non sum dignus," and bowing he will commune first, and thus will be an example to the faithful.

After communion, silence for thanksgiving can be done standing, better than sitting, as a sign of respect, or kneeling, if it is possible, as John Paul II did to the end when he celebrated in his private chapel, with his head bowed and his hands joined. He asked that the gift received be for him a remedy for eternal life, as in the formula that accompanies the purification of the sacred vessels; many faithful do so and are an example.
Should not the paten or cup and the chalice (vessels that are sacred because of what they contain) be "laudably" covered (GRIM 118; cf. 183) in sign of respect -- and also for reasons of hygiene -- as the Eastern Churches do? The priest, after the final greeting and blessing, going up to the altar to kiss it, will again raise his eyes to the crucifix and will bow and genuflect before the tabernacle. Then he will return to the sacristy, recollected, without dissipating with looks and words the grace of the mystery celebrated.

In this way the faithful will be helped to understand the holy signs of the liturgy, which is something serious, in which everything has a meaning for the encounter with the present mystery of God.

* * *

Father Nicola Bux is professor of Eastern Liturgy in Bari and consultor of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith, for Saints' Causes, for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, as well as of the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

[Translation by ZENIT]

Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council

Given at a conference of cardinals and bishops held in Rome, December 17, 2010. The author is auxiliary bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan His Excellency Athanasius Schneider, ORC; it is translated here by Richard Chonak courtesy of EWTN.

The primacy of the worship of God as the basis of all true pastoral theology.

I. The theological foundation of pastoral theology

To speak correctly of pastoral theory and practice, it is necessary first to be conscious of their foundation and their theological aim. The aim of the Church is the aim of the Incarnation: “propter nostram salutem.” This is how the faith and the prayer of the Church are expressed: “Qui propter nos homines et propter nostram salutem descendit de caelis et incarnatus est.... et homo factus est.” This salvation means the salvation of the soul for eternal life. The purpose of the Church’s whole juridical and pastoral order also consists of this salvation, as the last canon of the Code of Canon Law tells us: “prae oculis habita salute animarum, quae in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse debet.” (can. 1752)

The content of the salvation of the human soul consists of holiness, of renewal and indeed perfection of the original human dignity in Christ. God has created man according to His image and His likeness (Gen. 1:26) and this work is marvelous, as the Church says in the liturgy. “Deus, qui humanae substantiae dignitatem mirabiliter condidisti”. But more marvelous yet is the renewal and the perfecting of this image that has come by the work of the Redemption: “mirabilius reformasti”. Renewal, new perfection, holiness consist of the unimaginable grace of man’s participation in the Divine nature itself: “Divinitatis esse consortes”. This participation in the divine nature means being adopted sons of God, being sons in the Only Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ, the only Son of God by nature, made himself the first-born of many brothers by His true incarnation: “primogenitus in multis fratribus” (Rm 1:29). By means of His redemptive sacrifice Christ offers man the grace of Divine life. The same Divine life in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity is present in the humanity of the Son of God: “in ipso inhabitat omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter”, in Him all of divinity dwells bodily (Col 2:9). Christ incarnate is full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14). The Holy Spirit shares the grace of Divine sonship and all the other necessary graces of holiness from this font of Divine life by means of the Church, which is the Mystical Body of Christ, in the liturgy of the sacraments. Thus we can better understand what the Second Vatican Council taught:

Liturgia est culmen ad quod actio Ecclesiae tendit et simul fons unde omnis eius virtus emanat. (Sacrosanctum Concilium 10)

The liturgy is the summit toward which the action of the Church tends, and, at the same time, the fountain from which all her energy flows. Apostolic work, in fact, is ordered so that all who have become sons of God by means of faith and baptism may join in assembly, praise God in the Church, and take part in the sacrifice and at the table of the Lord. (SC 10).

II. A pastoral vademecum of the Second Vatican Council

In the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, in the context of the discourse on the primacy of worship and adoration that is to be rendered to God, the Council presents a solid synthesis of a sound and theologically valid pastoral theology, a sort of pastoral vademecum with the following seven characteristics:

The Church announces the good tidings of salvation to those who do not believe, so that all men may know the true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent, and may be converted from their ways, doing penance [Jn. 17:3; Lk. 24:17; Ac 2:38]. To believers also the Church must ever preach faith and penance, she must prepare them for the sacraments, teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded [Mt. 28:20], and invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate. For all these works make it clear that Christ's faithful, though not of this world, are to be the light of the world and to glorify the Father before men. (SC, 9).

From this brief synthesis given to us by the Council we can establish the following seven essential notes of pastoral theory and practice.

1. The duty to proclaim the Gospel to all non-believers (SC, 9).

Such a proclamation must be explicit: that is, faith in Jesus Christ, to which one arrives by the grace of conversion and repentance. Therefore there is no room for a theory and a practice of so-called “anonymous Christianity”, there is no acceptance of alternative ways of salvation other than the way of Christ: Christ is the one Mediator between God and men. This is what the Council teaches in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, saying:

The Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. (n. 14)

In paragraph n. 8 of the same Dogmatic Constitution, the Council says: “Unicus Mediator Christus” (see also ibid., n. 28). Human beings who are saved in eternity are saved by their acceptance of the merits of the one Mediator, Jesus Christ, in their earthly life (ibid., n. 49). The Second Vatican Council teaches, presenting the following quotation from the Council of Trent: “per Filium eius Iesum Christum, Dominum nostrum, qui solus noster Redemptor et Salvator est” (ibid., n. 50). In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council teaches that every man is redeemed by Christ the Savior and is called to Divine sonship, which can be received only by means of the grace of faith (Dignitatis humanae, n. 10).

Pope Paul VI, in his address at the opening of the second session of the Council in 1963, taught: “Jesus Christ is the only and the highest Teacher and Pastor, and the one Mediator between God and men.” (Sacrosanctum Oecumenicum Concilium Vaticanum II. Constitutiones, Decreta, Declarationes, Città del Vaticano 1966, p. 905). The same Pope repeated at the Council the following year: “Jesus Christ is the one Mediator and Redeemer” (ibid., p. 989). The teaching of the Council continues: “Now, since he who does not believe is already judged, the words of Christ are at one and the same time words of judgment and of grace, of death and of life.” (Ad gentes, n. 8). Missionary activity is a sacred duty of the Church, because it is the will of God Himself who insists upon the necessity of faith in Christ and of baptism for eternal life (ibid., n. 7).

2. The duty of proclaiming the faith to the faithful (SC, n. 9)

The primary task of the Church consists in taking care that the faith of the faithful grow and be protected from the danger of error: therefore this means to take care for the purity, the completeness, and the vitality of faith. Already in his address at the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed Pope John XXIII declared unequivocally, in a yet more effective way, how the principal duty of the Council was to be the protection and the promotion of the doctrine of the faith: “ut sacrum christianae doctrinae depositum efficaciore ratione custodiatur atque proponatur” (loc. cit., p. 861). The Blessed Pontiff continues, maintaining how, in the exercise of this her duty in our time, the Church may never take her eyes away from the sacred patrimony of the truth, received by Tradition. The Council must transmit Catholic doctrine in its integrity, without diminishing it and without distorting it: “integram, non imminutam, non detortam tradere vult doctrinam catholicam.” Pope John very realistically observes how this may not be appreciated by everyone. It is therefore necessary, says the Pope, that the whole of Christian doctrine be received in our days by all, without omitting a single part: “oportet ut universa doctrina christiana, nulla parte inde detracta, his temporibus nostris ob omnibus accipiatur.” (ibid., 864)

In receiving and promoting the entire doctrine of the faith, we must follow a way that is accurate as to its form and concepts, following the example of the Council of Trent and the First Vatican Council, as as Pope John XIII reaffirms. In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council admonishes the faithful to “let them be about their task of spreading the light of life with all confidence and apostolic courage, even to the shedding of their blood.” (DH, n. 14) Furthermore they have “a grave obligation... ever more fully to understand the truth received from Him, faithfully to proclaim it, and vigorously to defend it.” (ibid.) In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council exhorts: “Love and good will, to be sure, must in no way render us indifferent to truth and goodness. Indeed love itself impels the disciples of Christ to speak the saving truth to all men.” (n. 28). Pope Paul VI, in the address at the opening of the second session of the Second Vatican Council affirmed: “The foundation for renewal of the Church must be a more exacting study and a richer promotion of Divine truth.” (loc. cit., p. 913)

In the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity the Council expresses itself in these terms: “In our own times, new problems are arising and very serious errors are circulating which tend to undermine the foundations of religion, the moral order, and human society itself.” (Apostolicam actuositatem, n. 6). In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council observed how grave moral errors were being spread, already then, and exhorted all Christians to defend and promote the natural dignity and the high, sacred value of the matrimonial state (n. 47). The Council, in the same document, reproves immoral customs in relation to marriage and to the virtue of chastity, saying that “polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love and other disfigurements have an obscuring effect” on the dignity of marriage and the family. “In addition, married love is too often profaned by excessive self-love, the worship of pleasure and illicit practices against human generation. Moreover, serious disturbances are caused in families by modern economic conditions, by influences at once social and psychological, and by the demands of civil society.” (ibid.) The Council gives an unequivocal teaching on marital chastity: “Relying on these principles, sons of the Church may not undertake methods of birth control which are found blameworthy by the teaching authority of the Church in its unfolding of the divine law. (Pius XI, Casti Connubii). All should be persuaded that human life and the task of transmitting it are not realities bound up with this world alone. Hence they cannot be measured or perceived only in terms of it, but always have a bearing on the eternal destiny of men.” (ibid., n. 51).

In the Decree on Missionary Activity, the Council exhorts that every form of indifferentism, syncretism, confusion be excluded (AG, 15). In the Constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Council rejects a purely worldly and anti-religious humanism (n. 56). The same conciliar document speaks of atheistic humanism which not only threatens the faith, but even exercises a negative and globalizing influence on all the spheres of social life:

Growing numbers of people are abandoning religion in practice. Unlike former days, the denial of God or of religion, or the abandonment of them, are no longer unusual and individual occurrences. For today it is not rare for such things to be presented as requirements of scientific progress or of a certain new humanism. In numerous places these views are voiced not only in the teachings of philosophers, but on every side they influence literature, the arts, the interpretation of the humanities and of history and civil laws themselves. As a consequence, many people are shaken. (ibid., 7).

Pope Paul VI, in his homily at the last public session of the Second Vatican Council, affirms that the Council is proposing to the people of our time a theocentric and theological doctrine about human nature and the world (loc. cit., pp. 1064-1065). In the homily given at the seventh public session of the Second Vatican Council, October 28, 1965, Pope Paul VI explains that despite the general pastoral nature of the council, it intends to propose the perennial and authentic doctrine of the Church, excluding doctrinal relativism; the Council is fulfilling a work

that does not historicize, does not relativize, according to the metamorphoses of secular culture, the nature of the Church, always the same and faithful to herself as Christ willed her and as authentic tradition perfected her, but makes her better suited to carry out her mission of doing good in the renewed conditions of human society. (loc. cit., pp. 1039-1040).

In his speech given the same year, 1965, on the occasion of the eighth public session of the Council, Pope Paul VI criticized the behavior of those who incorrectly and abusively misinterpret the intention of Blessed Pope John XXIII on the Church's pastoral adaptation to the new needs of our time (“aggiornamento”). Furthermore, the Pope expounds the spirit of the Council in this regard and puts everyone on guard against doctrinal and juridical relativism, stating that Pope John XXIII

certainly did not want to attribute to this programmatic word the meaning that some are trying to give it, as if it were to agree to ‘relativize’ everything in the Church according to the spirit of the world today: dogmas, laws, structures, traditions, whereas the sense of the Church's doctrinal and structural stability was so alive and firm in him as to make it the cornerstone of his thought and of his work. Aggiornamento will mean from now forward, for us, wise penetration of the spirit of the Council celebrated and faithful application of its norms issued in happy and holy wise. (loc. cit., pp. 1053-1054).

In the original Latin text, Paul VI does not use the word “aggiornamento” but the word “accommodatio”. The famous expression “aggiornamento” of Blessed John XXIII has become legendary by now. In his original intention, this expression has nothing to do with a doctrinal, legal, or liturgical relativism.

The new pastoral and benevolent attitude of patient understanding and of dialogue with society outside the Church does not involve doctrinal relativism. Pope Paul VI defends the Council from such a possible accusation in the aforementioned homily during the seventh public session: “This attitude ... was strongly and continuously operating in the Council, to the point of suggesting the suspicion to some that a tolerant and overpowering relativism toward the outside world, to fleeting history, to cultural fashion, to temporary needs, to the thoughts of others, had dominated persons and acts of the ecumenical synod, at the expense of the fidelity owed to tradition and to the detriment of the religious orientation of the council. We do not believe that this misfortune should be imputed to it, in its real and deep intentions, and in its authentic manifestations” (loc. cit., p. 1067). Here, Paul VI is defending only the real and deep intentions and authentic manifestations of the Council, not entering into the merits of persons.
The Council expressly rejects any kind of religious syncretism in missionary activity and requires that the particular traditions of peoples be enlightened by the light of the Gospel, always leaving intact the primacy of the Chair of Peter (AG, 22).
3. The duty of preaching repentance to the faithful (SC, n. 9)

One cannot speak of a true pastoral doctrine and practice without the essential element of repentance in the life of the Church and of the faithful. Every true renewal of the Church in history took place with the spirit and the practice of Christian penitence. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium n. 8 states that the Church must continually advance on the road of penitence and of renewal. Then it says that the faithful have to conquer in themselves the reign of sin by self-denial with a holy life (ibid., n. 36). In missionary activity the children of the Church must not be ashamed of the scandal of the Cross (AG, n. 24).

We can understand the true spirit of this conciliar teaching about the necessity of penance better if we consider the fact that, on July 1, 1962, the Feast of the Most Precious Blood, in view of the imminent opening of the Council, Blessed Pope John XXIII dedicated an entire encyclical to the necessity of penitence under the title “Paenitentiam agere”. It deals with a pressing invitation to the Catholic world and an exhortation to a more intense prayer, and a penitence beseeching Grace upon the coming Council. The Pope indicated the thought and the practice of the Church, as in the example of preceding councils, recalling the need for interior and exterior penitence as a cooperation with the Divine redemption. Concretely Pope John XXIII recommended in each diocese a penitential intercessory event, explaining how

with the works of mercy and of penance all the faithful seek to beseech God almighty and implore of him that true renewal of the Christian spirit which is one of the principal aims of the council. (n. II, 2)

The Pope continues:

In fact, Our predecessor Pius XI of venerable memory rightly observed: «Prayer and penance are the two means set at the disposition of God in our era to redirect to Him poor humanity which is wandering without a guide; it is they that take away and repair the first cause and principle of our confusion, which is the rebellion of man against God.» (Encyclical Caritate Christi compulsi)” (ibid.)

John XXIII directed the following ardent exhortation to the bishops: “Venerable brothers, make every effort without delay by every means that is in your power, so that the Christians entrusted to your care may purify their spirit with penance and arouse themselves to greater fervor of piety.” (n. II, 3)

The spirit of penitence and expiation must always animate every true renewal of the Church, as Pope John XXIII hoped would be produced by the Second Vatican Council. This attitude protects the Church from the spirit of worldly activism. As the Pope taught in the end of his encyclical:

What a wonderful, what a heartening spectacle of religious fervor it will be to see the countless armies of Christians throughout the world devoting themselves to assiduous prayer and voluntary self-denial in response to Our appeals! This is the sort of religious fervor with which the Church's sons and daughters should be imbued. May their example be an inspiration to those who are so immersed in the affairs of this world as to be neglectful of their duties towards God. (ibid.)

In the following words we can grasp that true spirit that animated the Pope of the Council and certainly the pars maior et sanior of the Conciliar Fathers:

They must repudiate it [worldly hedonism] with all the energy and courage displayed by the martyrs and those heroic men and women who have been the glory of the Church in every age of her history. If everyone does this, each in his own station in life, he will be enabled to play his individual part in making this Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, which is especially concerned with the refurbishing of Christian morality, an outstanding success. (ibid., n. II, 2).

4. The duty to prepare the faithful for the sacraments (SC, n. 9) The Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, teaches that the sacraments are the principal means by which all the faithful of every state and condition are called by the Lord to the perfection of holiness (n. 11). The principal end of the sacraments consists, according to Sacrosanctum Concilium n. 59, in the sanctification of men, the edification of the Mystical Body of Christ, and in the worship due to be rendered to God. Rarely in the history of the Church has the supreme Magisterium so insisted on the importance and the centrality of the sacred liturgy, and particularly of the Eucharistic Sacrifice, as the Second Vatican Council in fact has done. The fact that the first document of the Council to be debated and approved was dedicated to the liturgy, that is, to Divine worship, is meaningful and manifests this clear message of the primacy of God: God and the worship of adoration which the Church renders to Him must occupy the first place in all the life and activity of the Church. Sacrosanctum Concilium teaches us: “Sacra Liturgia est precipue cultus divinae maiestatis” (n. 33), and by this the worship of the Divine majesty must be the summit of all the activity of the Church: “Liturgia est culmen ad quod actio Ecclesiae tendit et simul fons unde omnis eius virus emanat” (n. 10).

The sacred liturgy is primarily and necessarily the true font of the Christian spirit, says the Decree on the Formation of Priests (Optatam totius, n. 16). The purpose of all the sacraments is found, in turn, in the eucharistic mystery, maintains the Decree on the Life and Ministry of Priests, quoting St. Thomas Aquinas: “Eucharistia est omnium sacramentorum finis” (Summa Theologica, III, q. 73 a.3 c) and adds: “In Sanctissima enim Eucharistia totum bonum spirituale Ecclesiae continetur” (St. Thomas, Summa Theologica, III, q. 65, a. 3, ad 1), (Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 5). The same document says again that the Eucharist is the source and summit of all evangelization, and with all the more reason, the Eucharist is the source and summit of all the pastoral life of the Church. In Sacrosanctum Concilium we find this synthesis: “Particularly from the Eucharist, Grace is derived in us, as from a spring, and the sanctification of men and the glorification of God in Christ toward which all the other activities of the Church converge as toward their end, are obtained from it with the greatest efficacy.” (n. 10).

5. The duty to teach the faithful all the commandments of God (SC, n. 9)

Another element of pastoral activity is this: “To believers also the Church must ... teach them to observe all that Christ has commanded” (SC, n. 9). The Pastors of the Church therefore have the duty to teach the Divine laws and commandments in all their integrity. In the Declaration on Religious Liberty the Council states: “the highest norm of human life is the divine law – eternal, objective and universal – whereby God orders, directs and governs the entire universe and all the ways of the human community” (DH, n. 3). The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes maintains: “Man has in his heart a law written by God; to obey it is the very dignity of man; according to it he will be judged.” (n. 16) The same pastoral document states: “Spouses should be aware that they cannot proceed arbitrarily, but must always be governed according to a conscience dutifully conformed to the divine law itself, and should be submissive toward the Church's teaching office, which authentically interprets that law in the light of the Gospel.” (Gaudium et Spes, n. 50)

The Council continues, saying: “This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age.” (ibid., n. 43) Such an error has become even more manifest in recent years in which one observes the phenomenon of people who, while professing to be Catholics, at the same time support laws contrary to the natural law and to the Divine law, and openly contradict the Magisterium of the Church. These words of the Council echo now: “Let there be no false opposition between professional and social activities on the one part, and religious life on the other.” (GS, n. 43) Moral, domestic, professional, scientific, social life must be guided by the faith and so ordered to the glory of God. (ibid.) Let us observe again, in these teachings of the Council, the importance of the primacy of the will of God and of His glory in the life of every one of the faithful and in all the Church. The Council affirms this not only in a document on the liturgy, but in the pastoral document par excellence: the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes.

6. The duty of promoting the apostolate of the lay faithful (SC, n. 9).

Another essential point of pastoral life is this: “To believers also the Church must ever … invite them to all the works of charity, piety, and the apostolate.” (SC, n. 9) In this point lies the great historic contribution of the Second Vatican Council to elevating the dignity and the specific role of the lay faithful in the life and activity of the Church. One can say that this is an organic development and a crowning of the Magisterium of Pope Paul VI regarding the question of the lay faithful. The Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium gives us a formidable synthesis on the question of the lay faithful in the Church and in the world, with a solid theological foundation and a clear pastoral direction, saying:

Moreover, let the laity also by their combined efforts remedy the customs and conditions of the world, if they are an inducement to sin, so that they all may be conformed to the norms of justice and may favor the practice of virtue rather than hinder it. By so doing they will imbue culture and human activity with genuine moral values; they will better prepare the field of the world for the seed of the Word of God; and at the same time they will open wider the doors of the Church by which the message of peace may enter the world. Because of the very economy of salvation the faithful should learn how to distinguish carefully between those rights and duties which are theirs as members of the Church, and those which they have as members of human society. Let them strive to reconcile the two, remembering that in every temporal affair they must be guided by a Christian conscience, since even in secular business there is no human activity which can be withdrawn from God's dominion. In our own time, however, it is most urgent that this distinction and also this harmony should shine forth more clearly than ever in the lives of the faithful, so that the mission of the Church may correspond more fully to the special conditions of the world today. For it must be admitted that the temporal sphere is governed by its own principles, since it is rightly concerned with the interests of this world. But that ominous doctrine which attempts to build a society with no regard whatever for religion, and which attacks and destroys the religious liberty of its citizens, is rightly to be rejected. (n. 36)

Here the Council condemns secularism without using the word, citing Leo XIII (Encyclical Immortale Dei, Nov. 1, 1885: ASS 18 (1885), pp. 166ff. Idem, Encyclical Sapientiae Christianae, Jan. 10, 1890: ASS 22 (1889-90), pp. 387ff. Pius XII, Discourse Alla vostra filiale, March 23, 1958: AAS 50 (1958), p. 220), who said that “the legitimate healthy laicity of the State is one of the principles of Catholic doctrine.” (ibid.) The Pope continued, saying: “the life of individuals, the life of families, the life of greater and smaller collectivities, will be nourished by the doctrine of Jesus Christ, which is the love of God and, in God, the love of neighbor.” This doctrine finds in its essential elements a clear echo both in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and in the Pastoral Constitution of the Second Vatican Council.

On the proper vocation of the laity, the Council says: “It is proper to the laity to seek the kingdom of God, dealing with temporal things and ordering them according to God.” (Lumen Gentium, n. 31) In the Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, the Council speaks of the idolatry of temporal things because of an excessive confidence in the progress of the natural sciences and of technology. (AA, n. 7) The Council continues, affirming that matrimonial and familial life is the place where the Christian religion permeates all the organization of life and transforms it more every day. At the same time, the Christian family proclaims in a clear voice the present power of the kingdom of God and the hope of eternal life. In this way, with its example and with its witness, it accuses the world of sin and illuminates those who seek the truth (ibid.) We can observe here how current is this expression of the Council: the Christian and Catholic family is a living accusation to the world, accusing the world of sin.

The particular form of the apostolate of the laity consists in the witness of the life of faith, hope, and charity: it excludes, therefore, an apostolate of activism and of worldly interests. We can locate within the Decree on the Laity a brief vademecum of the lay apostolate, where the Council teaches that the internal form of the lay apostle must be conformation to the suffering Christ, and that the purpose of his apostolate is the eternal salvation of the people of the world. The Council says: “They should all remember that they can reach all men and contribute to the salvation of the whole world by public worship and prayer as well as by penance and voluntary acceptance of the labors and hardships of life whereby they become like the suffering Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:10; Col. 1:24).” (AA, n. 16). Often the lay apostle puts even his life in danger due to his fidelity, says the Council. (ibid., n. 17)

7. The duty of promoting the vocation of all to holiness (SC, n. 9)

The final essential note of pastoral activity in the Church consists of promoting the vocation of all to holiness, saying that the followers of Christ, being not of this world, must be yet the light of the world. (SC, n. 9) More specifically, the Council deals with this theme in the fifth chapter of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, nn. 39-42: “De universali vocatione ad sanctitatem in Ecclesia”. In this one can see the truly historic and most specific contribution of the Second Vatican Council. Holiness consists fundamentally in the imitation of Christ, of Christ poor and humble, of Christ who carries the Cross, says the Constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 41. The imitation of Christ reaches its peak in martyrdom, in the courageous witness of Christ before men. (ibid., n. 42). The Council says: “All must be ready to confess Christ before men and follow Him on the way of the Cross during persecutions, which are never lacking to the Church.” (ibid.)

III. The authentic intention and purpose of the Second Vatican Council

For a correct reading of the texts of the Second Vatican Council, it is necessary to take account also of the specific characteristics of the time in which it developed. In the homily of Pope Paul VI during the last general congregation of the Second Vatican Council on Dec. 7, 1965, the Pontiff gives the following description of the historical period in which the Second Vatican Council was celebrated:

it is necessary to remember the time in which it was realized: a time which everyone admits is orientated toward the conquest of the kingdom of earth rather than of that of heaven; a time in which forgetfulness of God has become habitual, and seems, quite wrongly, to be prompted by the progress of science; a time in which the fundamental act of the human person, more conscious now of himself and of his liberty, tends to pronounce in favor of his own absolute autonomy, in emancipation from every transcendent law; a time in which secularism seems the legitimate consequence of modern thought and the highest wisdom in the temporal ordering of society; a time, moreover, in which the soul of man has plumbed the depths of irrationality and desolation; a time, finally, which is characterized by upheavals and a hitherto unknown decline even in the great world religions. It was at such a time as this that our council was held to the honor of God. (loc. cit., pp. 1063-1064).

According to an expression of Blessed Pope John XXIII in the speech given at the final general congregation of the first session of the Council, December 7, 1962, the one purpose of the Council and the one hope and confidence of the Pope and the Council Fathers consists in this: “To make ever more known to the men of our time the Gospel of Christ, that it be practiced willingly and that it penetrate deeply into every aspect of society.” (loc. cit., pp. 881-882). Can there be a more authentic and more Catholic pastoral principle and method than this?

In the address for the closing of the first session of the Second Vatican Council, Dec., 8, 1962, Pope John XXIII presented the true purpose of the Council and its desired spiritual fruits in this way: “So that the Holy Church, firm in faith, strengthened in hope, and more ardent in love, may flourish with a new and youthful vigor, and, fortified by most holy laws, be more effective and more resolute in fulfilling the Kingdom of Christ.” (Handwritten letter to the bishops of Germany, January 11, 1962)...Now the Kingdom of Christ on earth will be enlarged with new growth. Now the good tidings of the redemption of man will resound louder and sweeter in the world; thereby the supreme rights of almighty God, the bonds of fraternal charity among men, the peace that was promised on this earth to men of good will shall be confirmed.” (loc. cit., p. 891). According to the intention and desire of the holy pontiff John XXIII the Second Vatican Council was to contribute strongly to the following end: “that in the whole human family the fruits of faith, hope, and charity may grow most abundantly.” According of the words of John XXIII, in this consists the singular importance and dignity of the Council (ibid.)

IV. The challenge of contrasting interpretations

For a correct interpretation it is necessary to take account of the intention manifested in the conciliar documents themselves and in the specific words of the conciliar Popes John XXIII and Paul VI. Finally, it is necessary to discover the thread leading through all the work of the Council, which is the salus animarum, that is, the pastoral intention. This, in turn, depends on and is subordinate to the promotion of Divine worship and the glory of God, that is, it depends on the primacy of God. This primacy of God in the life and all the activity of the Church is shown unequivocally in the fact that the Constitution on the Liturgy intentionally and chronologically occupies the first place in the vast work of the Council. The seven essential notes for pastoral theory and practice are found exactly in the Constitution that deals with the worship of God and the sanctification of men, in n. 9 of Sacrosanctum Concilium, and they are: 1. The urgency to preach Christ to non-believers so that they may be converted; 2. The greatest care about preaching the doctrine of the faith; 3. The essential role of penitence in the life of the Church; 4. The sacraments as principal means of salvation and sanctification, where the Eucharist occupies the central and culminating place; 5. The integrity of moral doctrine; 6. The apostolate of the lay faithful in the Church and in human society; 7. The universal vocation to holiness.

The characteristic of rupture in the interpretation of the conciliar texts is shown in the most stereotypical and widespread way in the thesis of an anthropocentric, secularizing, or naturalistic shift by the Second Vatican Council in regard to the preceding ecclesial tradition. One of the most well-known manifestations of such a confused interpretation was, e.g., the so-called Theology of Liberation and the subsequent devastating pastoral practice. The contrast between that theology of liberation and its practice, and the Council, appears evident in the following conciliar teaching: “the proper mission that Christ has entrusted to His Church is not of the political, economic, or social order: in fact, the end that he has set is in the order of religion.” (GS, 42). The same document then says that the nature and the mission of the Church are not tied to any particular political, economic, or social system. (ibid.) The Constitution Gaudium et Spes quotes the following words of Pius XII:

Its divine Founder, Jesus Christ, has not given it any mandate or fixed any end of the cultural order. The goal which Christ assigns to it is strictly religious. . . The Church must lead men to God, in order that they may be given over to him without reserve.... The Church can never lose sight of the strictly religious, supernatural goal. The meaning of all its activities, down to the last canon of its Code, can only cooperate directly or indirectly in this goal. (Pius XII, Address to the International Union of Institutes of Archeology, History and History of Art, March 9, 1956: AAS 48 (1965), p. 212)

An interpretation of rupture of doctrinally lesser weight is shown in the pastoral-liturgical field. One can cite under this topic the loss of the sacred and sublime character of the liturgy and the introduction of more anthropocentric gestural elements. This phenomenon makes itself evident in three liturgical practices well known and widespread in nearly all the parishes of the Catholic world: the nearly total disappearance of the use of the Latin language, the reception of the Eucharistic Body of Christ directly on the hand and standing, and the celebration of the Eucharistic Sacrifice in the modality of a closed circle in which priest and people continually look each other in the face. This manner of praying, that is: not all facing in the same direction, which is a more natural bodily and symbolic expression with respect to the truth of everyone being spiritually turned toward God in public worship, contradicts the practice that Jesus Himself and His Apostles observed in public prayer at the temple or in the synagogue. Moreover, it contradicts the unanimous testimony of the Fathers and all the prior tradition of the Eastern and Western Church. These three pastoral and liturgical practices, in noisy rupture with the laws of prayer maintained by generations of faithful Catholics for nearly a millennium, find no support in the conciliar texts, but rather contradict either a specific text of the Council (on the Latin language, see Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 36, § 1; 54), or the “mens”, the true intention of the conciliar Fathers, as can be verified in the Acts of the Council.
In the hermeneutical uproar of contrasting interpretations and in the confusion of pastoral and liturgical applications, the Council itself united with the Pope appears as the one authentic interpreter of the conciliar texts. One could make an analogy with the confused hermeneutical climate of the first centuries of the Church, provoked by arbitrary biblical and doctrinal interpretations on the part of heterodox groups. In his famous work De praescriptione haereticorum Tertullian was able to set against the heretics of various orientations the fact that only the Church is the legitimate owner of the faith, of the word of God, and of tradition. With that in the disputes on true interpretation, the Church can drive the heretics “a limine fori”. Only the Church can say, according to Tertullian: “Ego sum heres Apostolorum” (Praescr., 37, 3). Speaking analogically, only the supreme Magisterium of the Pope or of a future Ecumenical Council will be able to say: “Ego sum heres Concilii Vaticani II”.

In the decades past there have existed, and exist to this day, groupings within the Church that commit an enormous abuse of the pastoral character of the Council and of its texts, written according to that pastoral intention, since the Council did not wish to present its own definitive or irreformable teachings. From the pastoral nature of the Council’s texts it is evident that its texts are, on principle, open to further completion and to greater doctrinal clarification. Taking account of the experience of several decades since then, of interpretations doctrinally and pastorally confused, and contrary to the continuity, over two millennia, of doctrine and prayer of the faith, the necessity and the urgency rise for a specific and authoritative intervention by the pontifical Magisterium for an authentic interpretation of the conciliar texts with completions and doctrinal clarifications: a type of “Syllabus errorum circa interpretationem Concilii Vaticani II”. There is need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against errors coming from outside the Church, but against errors spread within the Church on the part of those who maintain a thesis of discontinuity and rupture with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application. Such a Syllabus would consist of two parts: a part marking errors and a positive part with propositions of doctrinal clarification, completion, and precision.

Two groupings that maintain the theory of rupture are evident. One such grouping tries to protestantize the life of the Church doctrinally, liturgically, and pastorally. On the other side are some traditionalist groups that, in the name of tradition, reject the Council, and avoid submission to the supreme living Magisterium of the Church, the visible Head of the Church, submitting for now only to the invisible Head of the Church, waiting for better times.

During the Council, Pope Paul VI explained the meaning of true renewal of the Church in this way:

“We think that the new psychology of the Church should develop along this line: clergy and faithful will find a wonderful spiritual work, to be discovered through the renewal of life and activity according to Christ the Lord; and We invite Our Brothers and Our Sons to this work: let those who love Christ and the Church be with us in professing more clearly the meaning of the truth, proper to the doctrinal tradition that Christ and the Apostles inaugurated; and with that the meaning of the discipline of the church and of the profound and cordial union, which makes us all confident and united, as members of one body.” (Paul VI, Address at the eighth public session of the Second Vatican Council, Nov. 18, 1965, loc. cit., p. 1054)

Pope Paul VI, explaining the mens of the Council, affirmed in his speech during the eighth public session: “So that all may be strengthened in this spiritual renewal, we propose to the Church to recall fully the words and example of Our last two Predecessors, Pius XII and John XXIII, to whom the Church herself and all the world are indebted; and to that end, we direct that the processes of beatification of those Supreme Pontiffs, most excellent and devout and dear to us, be begun canonically. In this way, the desire expressed by both the one and the other will be seconded, in a sense, by countless voices; in this way the patrimony of their spiritual heritage will be secured for history; and it will prevent that any motive other than the veneration of true sanctity – that is, the glory of God and the edification of His Church – would recompose their authentic and dear image for our veneration and for that of future ages.” (Paul VI, Address at the eighth public session of the Second Vatican Council, Nov. 18, 1965, loc. cit., p. 1054)

In substance, there were two impediments against the true intention of the Council and its Magisterium bearing abundant and lasting fruits. One was found outside the Church, in the violent process of cultural and social revolution in the 1960s, which, like every powerful social phenomenon, penetrated within the Church, contaminating vast ranges of people and institutions with its spirit of rupture. The other impediment showed itself in the lack of wise and intrepid Pastors of the Church who would be ready to defend the purity and integrity of the faith and of the liturgical and pastoral life, not letting themselves be influenced either by praise or by fear (“nec laudibus, nec timore”).

The Council of Trent stated in one of its last decrees on the general reform of the Church: “The holy synod, shaken by such grave evils that burden the Church, cannot fail to recall that the most necessary thing for the Church of God is... to choose the best and most suited pastors; with all the more reason, inasmuch as our Lord Jesus Christ will call negligent pastors, unmindful of their duty, to account for the blood of those sheep who might perish because of bad governance.” (Sessio XXIV, Decretum de reformatione, can. 1) The Council continues: “Thus to all who for any reason have received from the Holy See any right to intervene in the promotion of future prelates, and to those who take part in other ways... the holy Council exhorts them and admonishes them to recall foremost that they can do nothing more useful to the glory of God and to the salvation of peoples, than to dedicate themselves to choose good and suitable pastors to govern the Church.” (ibid.)

Thus there truly is the need for a conciliar Syllabus with doctrinal value, and moreover there is need to increase the number of holy, courageous pastors, profoundly rooted in the tradition of the Church, free from any type of mentality of rupture whether in the field of doctrine or of liturgy. In fact, these two elements constitute the indispensable condition so that doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral confusion may diminish notably and the pastoral work of the Second Vatican Council may bear many and lasting fruits in the spirit of tradition, which joins us with the spirit that reigns at all times, everywhere, and in all true children of the Catholic Church, which is the one and the true Church of God on the earth.

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Rome, December 17, 2010

“The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council: a pastoral council. Historical-philosophical-theological analysis.

Conference of studies on the Second Vatican Council toward a right hermeneutic in the light of the Tradition of the Church, organized by the Theological Seminary “Immacolata Mediatrice” of the Franciscans of the Immaculate.

Istituto Maria SS. Bambina, via Paolo VI 21, Roma, December16-18, 2010.

Abbreviations:

AA: Apostolicam actuositatem AG: Ad gentes DH: Dignitatis humanae GS: Gaudium et spes SC: Sacrosanctum Concilium

English translation by Richard Chonak.

Acknowledgements:

The source text in Italian was provided courtesy of L’Espresso newspaper at:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1346289

Englsh translations of the conciliar decrees and constitutions were taken from vatican.va.