Anglican Orders

It would seem the Anglican church is going with the two track system proposed by Archbishop Rowan Williams, which I mentioned below. In an interesting article, it would seem that a cathedral is offering separate male and female blessed communion.

n Anglican cathedral is trying to accommodate those of its faithful who do not accept female clergy by allowing parishioners to decide whether to accept communion bread blessed by its female canon or by a male priest. Blackburn Cathedral in Lancashire recently installed Rev. Sue Penfold as a residential canon. Cathedral canon Andrew Hindley explained the decision to This Is Lancashire, saying it was agreed by all the clergy that it was the best way to handle what they called a “mixed economy.”

The congregation can choose whether to receive communion bread blessed by Rev. Penfold or bread blessed by a male priest at the main cathedral service on Sundays at 10:30 a.m.

“This situation is not ideal, but we are trying to be inclusive,”[The buzzword of the age.] Canon Hindley said, adding that Rev. Penfold had been appointed to Blackburn Cathedral to reflect the “board views” of the Church of England.

The communion practice was announced to worshipers when it was introduced last year but it is reportedly implemented in a “very discreet manner.”

The practice was attacked by Sally Barnes of the Anglican feminist group Women and the Church. She said it was “unacceptable and disgraceful” to turn communion into “a buffet.” [Interestingly, the Truth is also treated in a buffet style as well, take what you please] She claimed the practice labeled women as “tainted” and that many people in the area have complained about it.

The traditional-leaning Anglican group Forward in Faith, which opposes women bishops, said the practice was unusual. According to This Is Lancashire, group spokesman Stephen Parkinson called it “bonkers” and said he did not understand why the women priests put up with it.

It is a bad sign when both the traditional-leaning and the, say, "progressive" leaning groups both oppose your practice.

The Anglican church's teachings are nebulous at best, when it comes to the nature of communion and the eucharist; the sense of any sort of real presence is left up to the individual to discern. By having a practice such as this, it acknowledges that there is some sort of problem.

I see parallels with the situation in the Catholic Church and the SSPX. One of the serious issues that needs to be hammered out relates to the validity of the Novus Ordo of the Mass. The Church clearly posits the validity of the Mass and the other sacraments under all rites the Church sanctions, but there still are some who, for various reasons, question or flatly deny the validity of these rites. I liken this Anglican situation to keeping separate tabernacles/ciboria for the Sacred Body consecrated at the Traditional Latin Mass and the Novus Ordo Mass, because some people may deny the validity of the new Mass. If the Anglican church teaches that women can be validly ordained, and validly preform their religious services, then it leads them into error by maintaining some separation of the blessed bread.

Of course, since the Anglican Church lacks valid orders (at least for the most part) and lacks valid sacraments, this discussion is purely academic. It is a sign of the times for their church, however, as they slowly lose any sense of identity they may have had. No longer will a set of beliefs or practices define what it means to be an Anglican, now all that is left is a sense of history or (small t) tradition.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 4

JULY 30: HORROR OF SIN

Saint John Mary Baptist Vianney, you were so adamant against sin, yet so sympathetic and so ready to welcome the sinner. I come to you today as if you were still alive, as if I were kneeling at your feet and you could hear me. Bend towards me, listen to the repentant confidence for the weaknesses and miserable deeds of mine.
Priest of the Lord, inexhaustible Confessor, obtain for me the horror for sin. You wanted us First to avoid the occasion of sin. I want totake your advice and make the resolution to break bad habits and to avoid the dangerous occasions of sin. Help me today to examine my conscience.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for... (mention silently your special intentions).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

O St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests!

Anglican Implosion

Breaking into this novena, is some news on the Anglican/Episcopalian front. Archbishop Rowan Williams must be intent on completely dismantling the worldwide Anglican communion, but, of course, the members seem even more committed to the cause.

Article, with my emphasis and [comments].

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, head cleric in the Church of England, has responded to the Episcopal Church’s decision to allow the ordination of homosexual bishops. Saying that a change in Anglican teaching, if necessary, would require broader agreement, he proposed a “two-track” church structure which recognizes “two ways of being Anglican.” [Why two? If there are two possible ways to Truth, then perhaps three, or 756 thousand.]

Writing in a July 27 document titled “Communion, Covenant and our Anglican Future,” Archbishop Williams said the wording of the resolution showed that it did not want to “cut its moorings from other parts of the Anglican family.” [Heretics no longer leave the Church; Catholics also have this problem.] The two most controversial resolutions, he said, do not have the “automatic effect” of overturning the moratoria on homosexual clergy.

However, he said the resolutions do not suggest the General Convention will “repair the broken bridges into the life of other Anglican provinces” and have led to the expression of “very serious anxieties.” [Putting it mildly.]

He said the issue is not simply about civil liberties, human dignity, or the freedom of individual Christians to form their consciences. [I had to read this twice. It would seem that Anglicans have the freedom to form their own consciences. Of course, Catholics, and indeed all persons, have that freedom, but that gives us the ability to be wrong. It is not in the power of Christians in good standing to form their consciences against the mind of the Church.]

“It is about whether the Church is free to recognize same-sex unions by means of public blessings that are seen as being, at the very least, analogous to Christian marriage,” he said.

Based on the Christian Church’s consistent reading of the Bible for two millennia, the archbishop said, an innovation would require “the most painstaking biblical exegesis” and “a wide acceptance of the results within the Communion.”

“This is not our situation in the Communion,” he said, noting that persons living in homosexual unions cannot represent the Anglican Church without “serious incongruity.”

He also counseled Anglicans to recall how a local church decides on a “sensitive and controversial matter” so as not to be “completely trapped in the particularly bitter and unpleasant atmosphere of the debate over sexuality, in which unexamined prejudice is still so much in evidence and accusations of bad faith and bigotry are so readily thrown around.” [The Truth depends on geography.]

He suggested the possibility of a “twofold ecclesial reality,” with a “covenanted” Anglican global body fully sharing a vision of how the Church should be. To this would be joined “in less formal ways” associated local churches in “various kinds of mutual partnership.”

Rather than a “two-tier” system, he suggested, this is a “two-track model” with two ways of “witnessing to the Anglican heritage.” [A Church founded in the Anglican tradition? Perhaps similar to a Catholic school founded in the Jesuit tradition.]

“The ideal is that both 'tracks' should be able to pursue what they believe God is calling them to be as Church, [even if they are believing something wrong. We still believe in absolute Truth] with greater integrity and consistency,” he continued.

“It helps to be clear about these possible futures, however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication,” he said, stating that they are “two styles of being Anglican.”

“All of this is to do with becoming the Church God wants us to be, [as opposed to the Church WE want to be] for the better proclamation of the liberating gospel of Jesus Christ,” the Archbishop of Canterbury’s document concluded. He said the present situation should be seen not as “an unhappy sent of tensions” but rather “an opportunity for clarity, renewal and deeper relation with one another” and with God.

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s conciliatory statement contrasts with the response of prominent biblical scholar and Anglican Bishop of Durham N.T. Wright, who said the Episcopal Church’s recent decision formalized a “schism” and marked a “clear break” with the Anglican Communion. Bishop Wright also criticized those Episcopalians who have “long embraced a theology in which chastity, as universally understood by the wider Christian tradition, has been optional.”

The Anglican Communion is hemorrhaging belief. When they set off from the Barque of Peter in their own dinghy they would have needed a very steady hand at the tiller, just to keep from capsizing in the seas of this world. This action is tantamount to letting go of the wheel and allowing the boat to go adrift. By not clarifying the Anglican Communion's position on these issues, he is basically opening up the Church to any and all sorts of beliefs, sacrificing Truth for unity.

Novena to St. John Vianney - Day 3

JULY 29: TRUE LOVE OF NEIGHBOR

Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney because of your love of God you showed great charity towards your neighbor. You could not preach on the Love of God without burning tears of love. During your last years, it seemed as though you could not talk about any thing else or live for anything else. Thus you sacrificed yourself to your neighbor by consoling, absolving and sanctifying them to the limits of your strength.
Your charity inspires me to greater love of God, a love which is shown more by acts then by words. Help me to love my neighbor generously as Christ loves them.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

O St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests!

Novena to St. John Vianney

Today is Day 2 of the Novena. Same rules apply, same recommendations, same source.

JULY 28 COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD

Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney, what confidence the people had in your prayers! You could not leave your old rectory or your humble church without being surrounded by imploring souls, who appealed to you as they would have appealed to Jesus Himself during His earthly life. And you, O good Saint, gave them hope by your words, which were full of love for God.
You, who had always counted entirely on the heart of God, obtain for me a deep filial trust in His Providence. As the hope of divine goods fills my heart, give me courage and help me to always obey the Commandments of God.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.

Novena to St. John Vianney

Today, it would seem marks the first day of a novena to St. John Vianney, an especially relevant topic in this Year for Priests. This is taken from EWTN, though you could find/adapt your own.

JULY 27: ARDENT FAITH

Saint John Marie Baptist Vianney you were born of a deeply religious mother; from her you received the Holy Faith; you learned to love God and to pray. At a young age, you were seen kneeling in the front of the statue of Mary. Your soul was supernaturally carried towards the things on High. Despite the high cost, you answered your vocation!
Against many obstacles and contradictions, you had to fight and suffer to become the perfect priest which you were. But your deep spirit of faith supported you in all these battles. 0 Great Saint you know the desire of my soul; I would like to serve God better; from Him I have received so many good things. For this, obtain for me more courage and especially the depth of faith.
Many of my thoughts, words, and actions are useless for my sanctification and for my salvation, because this supernatural spirit does not stir up my life. Help me to be better in the future.
Holy Priest of Ars, I have confidence in your intercession. Pray for me during this novena especially for ... (mention silently your special intentions).
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be

O St John Vianney, Patron of Priests, pray for us and for all priests!

I recommend praying in a special way for your parish priest, or perhaps if you have a priest spiritual director, for him, or really any priest(s) who have touched your lives. Mention them by name.

A Morning Offering

This is another in my unnumbered and non-regular series on my own personal spirituality.

Today I will discuss the morning offering. This is one of a list of things I hope to fully incorporate into my daily life. It is a wonderful practice which helps to orient one's life to the will of God. By offering our day, in its actions and thoughts, to the Lord, we both serve to turn our day into a prayer, and also remind ourselves of the presence and providence of God.

There are many formulas for the morning offering, and a quick internet search would yield many different, good ones. I recommend choosing one that resonates with your own life and spirituality. The one I presently recite follows.

LORD GOD Almighty, Thou hast brought us safely to the beginning of this day. Defend us today by Thy mighty power, that we may not fall into any sin, but that all our words may so proceed and all our thoughts and actions be so directed, as to be always just in Thy sight. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I found this in my handy handbook of indulgences, it is the Latin Domine Deus omnipotens prayer, and has a partial indulgence attached to it.

If you are interested in developing your personal spirituality, I recommend reciting some form of a morning offering. It is quick and easy, and reminds you to direct your actions to God in all you do.

Post overdue

This post is way overdue, but unfortunately, real life got in the way. Yes, I do intend to continue with this. Yes, I'm working on Caritas in Veritate, and I do intend to reflect on it. No, I don't know when I will post next.

Ss. Peter and Paul

After a long hiatus, I'm back. I have some news to discuss, but will leave that for a little bit.

Today is the Feast (Solemnity, really) of the apostles Peter and Paul. This ends the Pauline Year, and leaves us completely to focus on the Year for Priests.

The Handbook of Indulgences lists this:

The Christian faithful obtain a partial indulgence when they make devout use of a devotional object (such as a cricifix or cross, a rosary, a scapular, or a medal) which has been rightly blessed by any priest or deacon.

If the devotional object has been blessed by the Pope or by any bishop, the Christian faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence while making devout use of it on the solemnity of the holy apostles, Peter and Paul, provided they add to its use a profession of faith made by any legitimate formula. (EI 35)

There is a footnote that says that to be rightly blessed, a proper formula ought be used from the Book of Blessings, but notes that a sign of the cross, even without words, is sufficient, assuming the intention to bless was present.

The normal requirements for indulgences are also, of course, in play.

As an aside, the only object I have that I know was blessed by a bishop is an old and broken scapular, but it still holds sentimental value, and can still be devoutly used, just not in the same way as before.

Corpus Christi Indulgence

I think indulgences are great. They codify the good works and special prayers and remembrances which can act as special reparation for the temporal punishment we all deserve for our sins. And more than that, we can apply this reparation to those who have died, both those we know and those we've never met.

There are many specific grants in the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, the Handbook of Indulgences, and some of then are attached to specific days. In the dioceses of the United States, the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) is transferred to this Sunday. The grant in the Handbook attached to this feast is the recitation of the Tantum Ergo.

A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly recite the above verses [the Tantum Ergo]. The indulgence will be a plenary one ... on the solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ during its liturgical rites. [EI 59]

Keep this in mind come Sunday (or if you happen to be reading in a country where the feast is not transferred, Thursday). Remember, the standard requirements for obtaining a plenary indulgence: sacramental confession, eucharistic communion, a prayer for the pope's intentions, and the exclusion of all attachment to sin.

Incidentally the Pope's intentions for the month of June are

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: "That international attention towards the poorer countries may give rise to more concrete help, in particular to relieve them of the crushing burden of foreign debt"

His mission intention is: "That the particular Churches operating in regions marked by violence may be sustained by the love and concrete closeness of all the Catholics in the world".

Spain and Abortions

It has been a long time since I have written about Spain. Indeed, at one point in history I wrote so often about the goings-on over there that I decided to have a specific tag "Spain". This has fallen by the wayside in recent months, but I have come across some quite disturbing news. See if you can count the ways this is wrong.

The State Coordinator of Feminist Organizations in Spain said this week that since 13-year-old girls can legally engage in sexual relations in Spain, “then they should also have the right to decide about the consequences of those relations,” without input from their parents.

The State Coordinator of Feminist Organizations sent 12,145 signatures to the Spanish Congress this week opposing the proposed reform of abortion laws, arguing that abortion on demand up to the fourteenth week is “clearly insufficient” and that the proposed reform does not guarantee legal protection for women and health care professionals who perform abortions.

Yolanda Iglesias, the spokesperson for the office, said one of the organization’s complaints is that the law should be broader. “We want the government’s reform not to be so restrictive, so that it truly can be one of the most advanced norms in Europe, as Socialist lawmakers assert it is,” she said.

The feminist groups also oppose requiring doctor’s approval for abortions between the fourteenth and twenty-second week of pregnancy, claiming the requirement leaves “the decision about health and maternity in the hands of others.” “For this reason we are sure that many pregnant women will travel to more permissive countries or will seek out clandestine abortions,” they said.

Here's what I found.

1. The age of consent is 13? How does that remotely even make sense?
2. If 13 is the age of consent, then that implies a certain maturity, but is it really warranted to assume a 13-year old girl has the emotional maturity to make such a decision without even consult of her parents. Would the laws in Spain allow a 13 year old to choose to not receive medical treatment for diabetes against her parents wishes? This should be no different.
3. Considering abortions are legal, what sort of "legal protections" do they mean?
4. Up to the 14th week not enough? What would be enough? I'm sure that any limit would be too restrictive.
5. "Advanced" is apparently the new word to mean liberal, or something of that nature. This is not the way I learned the word.
6. Wouldn't you think doctors would need to approve of an abortion? It would seem doctors need not even be involved in Spain.
7. For that matter, isn't the health of the patient the concern of a doctor in the first place?

Did I miss anything?

Fr. Peyton, CSC

As usual, I am a day late. Yesterday, June 3, marks the anniversary of the death of the Servant of God, Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC. I think he is someone you should know about.

I first looked into his story when I ended up with a rosary with his face and name on it. He is known as "the rosary priest" and founded the Family Rosary Crusade. Believe it or not, he coined the phrase "the family who prays together stays together."

His cause was opened in 2001, and so we can pray for his intercession and canonization.

Dear Jesus, Father Peyton devoted his priestly life to strengthening the families of the world by calling them to pray together every day, especially the Rosary. His message is as important for us now as it was during his life on earth. We beg you, therefore, to hasten the day of his beatification so that your faithful people everywhere will remember his message that the family that prays together stays together, will imitate him in his devotion to your Mother and ours, and will be inspired by his holy life to draw ever closer to you with childlike confidence and love. Amen.

UPDATE:

The Vice Postulator of his cause is Fr. George Lucas, CSC. This is not the same George Lucas who was just appointed Archbishop of Omaha. Neat.

After Tiller

I wasn't originally going to discuss the whole Tiller murder, because the mainstream blogs seem to be doing a good job of it. It is a tragedy, as all murders are. The fallout has been as predicted, and that is what I'd like to discuss.

I was surprised when the US Marshalls were called out to protect high profile Abortion advocates. This after a murder of one person, who was caught fairly quickly and who seems to be a lone gunman. This is a bit extreme, says I. I wonder if a Catholic leader (a bishop, perhaps, or a high profile priest, maybe in California) were killed by, say, a radical gay rights extremist if such measures would be put in place to offer protection to the Bishops, for instance.

I read an article today from the wonderful Lifesite News, with some disturbing comments from a professor at a Catholic university. (emphasis mine)

Marquette University theology professor and former Jesuit priest Daniel Maguire published a statement on The Religious Consultation website lamenting the fact that Tiller was murdered "for honoring the law of the land."

"He is not the first doctor to so die and unless we get serious about this form of terrorism, he will not be the last," wrote Maguire. "Religious and political leaders who fan the flames of anti-choice, anti-woman fanaticism are not without guilt."

How, might I ask, is violating the laws, which Dr. Tiller allegedly had in a number of circumstances, honoring the law? How, even, is performing an action protected by law honoring it. Do I honor the smoking laws of the country each time I light up my pipe? Do I honor the alcohol laws of the country each time I drink some whiskey?

Just because an action is permitted by law does not mean it is good. Honoring a law means not violating it; I honor the smoking law when I take my pipe outside and away from building entrances, and I honor the drinking law when, for instance, I don't drink while driving, or while underage.

The article goes on to quote some other pro-life leaders who are claiming, for instance

"But I'd like to say on this day after a man was murdered in cold blood for performing abortions that I -- and the people I worked with in the religious right, the Republican Party, the pro-life movement and the Roman Catholic Church, all contributed to this killing by our foolish and incendiary words."

Essentially by saying "abortion is murder" we incite murders, even though we say "murder is evil". We cannot, therefore, say anything that indicates abortion is as evil as it actually is, it would seem. By making this concession, the pro-life movement would lose the language battle, which is essential to changing the hearts and minds of the public.

Kimec on Marriage

Doug Kimec, a "Catholic" theologian famous for his dissent, has recently said that the state should stop issuing marriage licenses altogether, rather replacing them with something he would call "civil licenses". Article

Speaking to CNSNews.com, Pepperdine University law professor Doug Kmiec said that although his solution to disputes over the definition of marriage might be “awkward,” it would “untie the state from this problem” by creating a new terminology that would apply to everyone, homosexual or not. “Call it a ‘civil license’,” he said.

A rose by any other name...

Kmiec argued “civil licenses” would address the question. He proposed the state withdraw from “the marriage business” and do licensing “under a different name” to satisfy government interests for purposes of taxation and property.

Under his proposal, “the question of who can and cannot be married would be entirely determined in your voluntarily chosen faith community,” he added, saying that the proposal would reaffirm the significance of marriage “as a religious concept,” which has a much fuller understanding than is found in civil marriage.

A civil marriage is a contractual agreement, essentially, and a Christian marriage is a Sacrament, this is true, but renaming the institution does not change, at essence, what it is. Many years ago, I decided that this was the ideal solution to the civil union/marriage disagreement. This opinion was inspired by my then secularism and libertarianism. I couldn't fathom what the problem would be with this solution, it was win-win. Churches could keep their marriages, homosexuals could get their civil unions, and we wouldn't have a separate but equal situation.

The question is, though, why does the government even recognize marriages in the first place; we must consider this and understand it before we can see the problems here. Married people get a tax break over two separate people, even if they live together. The tax break is given because the government wants to encourage marriage over just casual cohabitation. The institution of the family is, therefore, encouraged. This change, therefore, would shift the focus from the family to simply monogamous relationships, for which there is no necessary gender complementarity.

So, why is Kmiec wrong here? The Catechism says that "Homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered... Under no circumstances can they be approved." (CCC 2357) I seem to recall reading that the state had an obligation to protect marriage, though I can't find a reference. Either way, it is clear that a Catholic politician or theologian ought not support state policies which could be construed to support homosexual acts, at the very least.

This was not the best story to wake up to.

The Catholic Court

So it would seem that President Obama wants to appoint another Catholic to the Supreme Court, which would give us a 6-3 majority, leaving only one protestant on the high court. It makes me wonder how it is possible with so many Catholics on the court that we still have federal legal protections of abortion.

It has made me want, like any good blogger, to comment on something I am neither qualified nor informed to.

Is it possible for a Catholic jurist in good standing to find a legal protection for abortion? It would seem to obviously violate natural moral law in all but the most difficult of cases. So then, let us consider some specific cases. Must a Catholic jurist in this country find in favor of abortion rights if they, for instance, serve on a lower court and are thus subject to the case law developed in Roe? What if they are on the Supreme Court itself; is it proper to vote against finding the right to abortion when Roe is established case law, or on the contrary, would it be improper to vote in favor of a Roe-like case?

I don't think a Catholic jurist could, in these situations given, vote in favor of Abortion rights. I'm not sure that recusal is in order, but careful consideration of the cases at hand must be undertaken to find justly in keeping with this country's legal system and the natural law. As a higher court justice, your primary consideration is usually seeing to the protection of the rights guaranteed by the constitution, which is normally called "interpretation". That natural law is foundational for our country was always assumed, and should be restored.

Again, I find the fact that we will have 6 Catholics (who must oppose abortion) 2 Jews (who, as I understand, really should oppose abortion) and one Protestant (without a Pope, who knows what they believe) on the High Court, and still have the decisions that stand.

Should Catholics on the Supreme Court be denied communion if they find for Abortion in their tenure? This, I think, is a much dicier issue than the question of legislators who make laws in favor of abortion. I do not think this possible action should be sought by the Bishops unless there is something very clearly written into one of their opinions which is obviously opposed to natural law, and a scandal. In that case, and perhaps only then, should this be considered for the justices on the court. I'm not even sure if it makes sense in that case either.

I believe this issue, regarding communion to justices and to politicians, will be important moving forward.