2010 November archive at Being Frank

Archive for November, 2010

Nov

Ordinariate in England and Wales

By Marty Rethul 26 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

In only two months, the Ordinariate for those Anglicans who wish to become Catholic will be alive and kicking. This is very welcome news and, if it comes to fruition, will have been realised only 14 months after Anglicanorum Coetibus. The following comes from the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales:

In collaboration with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in Rome, the Bishops of England and Wales have been preparing for the establishment of an Ordinariate early in January 2011. Although there may be practical difficulties in the months ahead, the Bishops are working to address these at a national and local level.

Five Anglican Bishops who currently intend to enter the Ordinariate have already announced their decision to resign from pastoral ministry in the Church of England with effect from 31 December 2010. They will enter into full communion with the Catholic Church early in January 2011. During the same month, it is expected that the Decree establishing the Ordinariate will be issued and the name of the Ordinary to be appointed announced. Soon afterwards, those non-retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood for service in the Ordinariate.

It seems clear, then, that the Church is not prepared to recognise that Anglican orders are valid. Excellent.

It is expected that the retired former Anglican Bishops whose petitions to be ordained are accepted by the CDF, will be ordained to the Catholic Diaconate and Priesthood prior to Lent. This will enable them, together with the Ordinary and the other former Anglican Bishops, to assist with the preparation and reception of former Anglican clergy and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church during Holy Week.

Before the beginning of Lent, those Anglican clergy with groups of faithful who have decided to enter the Ordinariate will then begin a period of intense formation for ordination as Catholic priests.

At the beginning of Lent, the groups of faithful together with their pastors will be enrolled as candidates for the Ordinariate. Then, at a date to be agreed between the Ordinary and the local diocesan Bishop, they will be received into the Catholic Church and confirmed. This will probably take place either during Holy Week, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday or during the Easter Vigil. The period of formation for the faithful and their pastors will continue to Pentecost. Until then, these communities will be cared for sacramentally by local clergy as arranged by the diocesan Bishop and the Ordinary.

Around Pentecost, those former Anglican priests whose petitions for ordination have been accepted by the CDF will be ordained to the Catholic Priesthood. Ordination to the Diaconate will precede this at some point during Eastertide. Formation in Catholic theology and pastoral practice will continue for an appropriate amount of time after ordination.

In responding generously and offering a warm welcome to those seeking full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church within the Ordinariate, the Bishops know that the clergy and faithful who are on that journey of faith will bring their own spiritual treasures which will further enrich the spiritual life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. The Bishops will do all they can to ensure that there is effective and close collaboration with the Ordinariate both at diocesan and parish levels.

Finally, with the blessings and encouragement they have received from Pope Benedict’s recent Visit, the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales are resolved to continue their dialogue with other Christian Churches and Ecclesial Communities on that journey towards the communion in faith and the fullness of unity for which Christ prayed.

The welcome home party will be a joyous one, I should think.

Nov

Of Monday morsels, mines, and muddying the waters

By Kereopa 45 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Perhaps the only good thing about Monday’s is that there’s always a heap to talk about. The weekend has a habit of bringing up interesting morsels to chew and reflect on.

First, my thoughts and prayers are with the miners caught in the Pike River Mine. It must be an awful existence down there, without food, water, warmth, light, and maybe even air. After three days in the dark, without any contact from the surface, one would be forgiven for wondering what people were doing up there. I pray that the miners are safe, well, and alive, but also that they retain their hope of rescue and their faith in God.

I did find incredible hopefulness in the fact that the Prime Minister stated that he was praying to God for their survival. Beside the fact that its refreshing to have a PM who’ll accept more than just the possibility of God, its also encouraging to have one willing to pray to Him (and admit it).

The other story making headlines around the world is the comment the pontiff made to Peter Seewald, a German journalist, for the book “Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times” (which will be a fascinating read I imagine).

The comment that is exciting mainstream media and AIDS groups worldwide is that the Pope said:

There may be a basis in the case of some individuals, as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralisation, a first assumption of responsibility.

So while it remains that “condoms are not a moral solution”, they are in some cases, justified “in the intention of reducing the risk of the infection from AIDS or HIV”.

People seem to have forgotten the first part and focused entirely on the second. The mischievous media have tried to turn the comments into an about-face endorsement of Durex with the intent to further muddy the waters on what the Church teaches and confuse the values of Catholic teaching. Going widely unreported is that in the same interview the Pope strongly stated that condoms were not the way to deal with the evil of HIV, and reaffirmed Catholic teaching on abstinence and marital fidelity.

So does this mean that condoms are now widely accepted?

No, far from it. The Pope has merely affirmed that the use of condoms may be a sign of moral responsibility in some specific situations when the intention is to reduce the risk of AIDS. This is opposed to their use as contraception or to prevent the conception of life.

The Pope’s remarks underline the church’s teaching against condoms as a form of birth control is different from its position on condom use in disease prevention.

This really isn’t a departure from the norm at all. As cited in Catholic News:

For years, in fact, Vatican officials and theologians have studied the morality of condom use to reduce the risk of AIDS. The Vatican has never proclaimed a “ban” on condom use in AIDS prevention; on the contrary, some Vatican theologians and officials have argued that for married couples in which one partner is HIV-infected, use of condoms could be a moral responsibility.

But that doesn’t seem to matter. This short comment amid a 5-day interview will be seized upon and manipulated to justify the use of contraceptives across the board. On the flipside, perhaps this will spark a real debate over the prevention of AIDS, rather than a morbid obsession with the promotion of condoms.

Sorry about that folks – I accept this week’s morsels are a depressing start to the week.

St. Lawrence, patron saint of miners, pray for us.

Nov

Constantly filtering

By Joan of Arc 12 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

My car radio is tuned into a Christian station. I love music and, although I know that silence is important, I love the fact that I can turn the volume up in my car and use my driving time, my ‘in-between-places’ time, as an opportunity to sing about God or to God, or to reflect on lyrics. I am thankful that there is a radio station which does not require me to be constantly monitoring how appropriate the song lyrics are that are going into my head.

I know I’ve talked about song lyrics before, but I think it’s a really important issue especially since music is such a big part of youth culture. This hit home to me again the other night when I went out with some friends for a karaoke session. A few times we got part-way into a song and then realised that the words were actually quite inappropriate for us to be singing.

A couple of years ago I got rid of a lot of my ‘secular’ music (not that all of it is bad). This has helped me so much in terms of focusing my mind on God throughout the day. I think we need to be careful about what is going into our mind through our ears (most of the time without us even knowing). So for Christians, whether you prefer Gregorian Chant or Praise and Worship, I think that intentionally choosing what you listen to is a pretty good step on the road to holiness. What do you think?

Nov

Bishop John Jerome Cunneen – RIP

By Voice in the wilderness Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

This week in Christchurch saw the funeral (and two vigil masses) of Emeritus Bishop John Cunneen. A much loved and much respected Bishop, who happened to confer the Sacrament of Confirmation on this blogger!

I remember the Confirmation ceremony well. As you should know by my name here on Being Frank, I chose John the Baptist as my saint. When Bishop John saw that I was to be confirmed with the name ‘John’, I remember his eyes lighting up, and the emphasis he put on the words. Also, after the mass in the supper, he continued to call me John, instead of my real first name!

Another story that touched me, was in the press after he died. Bishop Barry recounted how they were travelling together to the West Coast and when they stopped to have lunch at Arthur’s Pass, a queue of people formed just to speak to Bishop John. Although it is hard to really ‘get to know’ a bishop, as they are so busy, I think the people knew they had a friend in Bishop John, even if they had only just met him.

In the words of Emeritus Bishop of Christchurch, Basil Meeking…

As I look back over the 65 years that John Cunneen and I have

been friends, one phrase comes to mind that encapsulates the essential

thrust of his life. It consists of only two words which were used by the Second

Vatican Council in the mid-1960s when speaking of the priestly ministry.

From the outset and at every stage in his life Bishop Cunneen was a man of

unwavering “pastoral charity”. Pastoral charity – before the Second Vatican

Council we used call it zeal. “A good priest is a zealous priest”, we would say.

That remains true. A priest should be zealous for the salvation of the world.

But the reinterpretation of zeal as pastoral charity is an advance in

understanding of the attitude and the habits a priest needs in order to carry

out his ministry. Pastoral charity indicates not only zeal for the salvation of

the world but love for the world. It does not mean adopting the standards of

the world or being taken in by the world. It is just that you can’t really

evangelise someone you don’t love. You can’t speak of evangelising a culture

unless you are able to take part in it and can show that you love it. Only

someone whose life is marked by love has the ability to reveal the self giving

of God the Father in a redemptive love for the world. Pastoral charity is not

some general kind of love; it is always love for persons, particular persons

made in God’s image. If a priest is truly pastoral it means he never offers his

own kind of salvation for people; it means rather that he brings the one God

in three Persons to his people and that he is prepared to sacrifice himself in

doing so.

Nov

“A homemaker? I might as well be dead!”

By Methuselah's Beard 4 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

It’s been all over the news since Tuesday. I can only be talking about the recent engagement of Prince William to Kate Middleton (sorry Catherine Middleton now, got to sound posh you know). Since it was announced on Tuesday it’s been all over all papers and television, in fact the evening of the engagement there was a show on TV tracking their romance through to their engagement which was either a product of extremely quick editing, filming, and interviewing, or the product of some executive’s foresight. Well done that man/woman.

Anyway the inevitable wave of souvenir plates, mugs, rugs, rings, spoons, and other miscellaneous objects has flooded the market and been snapped up readily by the masses. There’s even a souvenir rooster which retails for around 3,000 pounds – what the?? The replica engagement rings are selling like hot cakes, and at Harrods there are only two copies left of the Brazilian designed dress that Kate Middleton wore at the engagement announcement. It seems like everyone loves a royal engagement / wedding and will mindlessly snap up and consumer product linked with said royals. Heck I’m even tempted to get a commerative plate.

That got me to thinking, Great Britain was a Catholic country once a long time ago. Maybe all that’s needed to turn it back that way is royal marrying a Catholic commoner. Think of the implications! Commerative rosaries, tea towels, holy water holders and the like. Being Catholic will become a cool viable option and thousands will flock back to the Church.

Yes that’s what we need. Either that or more women bishops in the ole Church of England.

Nov

Calling workers to the harvest

By admin Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

We interrupt our regular programming — Inkling’s Wednesday post — for a little word from Being Frank admin, and indeed, Icon Media, the company behind this blog and The 15th Station podcast network.

Icon Media was established last year with the goal of using technology to spread the message of Christ. The purchase of Being Frank and The 15th Station was part of that mission, and we are looking to grow our stable of online properties. A visit to our website will show a couple of other worthy projects that we have worked on.

As we start planning in earnest for the months ahead, we are issuing a call for people who can be “Workers to the Harvest”. If you want to start a blog or a podcast and just need some technical advice on how to do that, we can help. If you want to pray for the success of our projects, we’d be grateful. If you want to offer your talents in terms of marketing or accounting advice or any other skill, we could put you to good use. If you’d like to offer some money to support projects that are ready to launch but need a small financial injection, we’d certainly be appreciative.

In the interim, we’ve set up a Facebook group for people to join and there’s a discussion there for people who want to suggest projects, volunteer to help or offer any other thoughts on Icon Media and where we’re going — or where we should be going.

Our next website should be launched by the end of the month, so join the Facebook group to make sure you’re alerted to that.

Thanks for all you do to contribute to the success of Being Frank, one of the most visited Catholic sites in New Zealand and a great place for people to be, well, frank.

And rest assured, normal Inkling-led programming will resume next week :-)

Nov

A people without a Liturgy is not a people

By Marty Rethul 250 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Recently our brilliant Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, spoke about modern communication technologies and the dangers involved therein. There is huge danger of the human intelligence and heart being isolated from the real presence of a friend in these technologies.

In this context Pope Benedict also emphasised the importance of the liturgy in the communication of the Holy Mysteries.

“Today not few young people, stunned by the infinite possibilities offered by information networks or by other technologies, establish forms of communication that do not contribute to growth in humanity, but risk rather to increase the sense of solitude and confusion,” the pontiff warned. He explained that education is needed to promote a “humanizing communication.” The Church can turn to the Gospel and Christian tradition to “guide, purify, clean and elevate” new forms of communications, he explained. “In particular the rich and dense symbolism of the liturgy must shine in all its force as a communicative element, until it touches the human conscience, the heart and the intellect profoundly.”

I met a young man only just a few days prior to reading this stuff from the Pope who had had a profound experience of the Sacred Liturgy at Hearts Aflame (a ten day Catholic summer school that is held annually in NZ), and it had overwhelmed him. It had transformed his whole understanding of Catholic Liturgy, because in it he had profoundly encountered Christ and His love, and this has lead to an incredible conversion. This is the magnificence of the Roman Rite when it is celebrated in its sobriety, with love, reverence, nobility, beauty, and solemnity – it saves us, because it brings Jesus to us.

Adoration and Benediction at Hearts Aflame 2010

The Pope understands how the liturgy converts and touches the human heart through its signs, symbols, gestures, and words. This is why Pope Benedict is so staunch about the Liturgy (he’s written many books on it and delivered dozens of addresses on it). It is vital for the supernatural life, and for the establishment of our Catholic identity. A people without a Liturgy is not a people. In the Old Testament, when the Nations attacked the Israelites, they would shut down their liturgy so that the worship of God would cease, but also so as to take away their identity as the Chosen People.

'Ecce Agnus Dei' during a Mass at Hearts Aflame 2009

I did some research after this and discovered that at this Hearts Aflame thing (I imagine many of you know more about it than I), and those who have organised it have made a very careful discernment as to how they celebrate the Church’s Liturgy, precisely for this reason – because they know that when the signs and symbols of the Liturgy are celebrated beautifully according to the mind of the Church, and the integrity of the Rite is respected, it gives us access to touch the Sacred Mysteries; and they open us up to be caught up in participation of the Heavenly Liturgy. Because we are bodily, and have senses, we need beauty and quality in the signs and symbols in the Liturgy to help dispose us in our heart and mind to receive the richness of what they communicate – Christ. When there is no beauty or quality, only tackiness and tiredness in the Liturgy, these things can become obscured for many people and thus are not communicated effectively or in fullness.

This young man whom I met was changed by his experience of the Liturgy, but not just any old Liturgy, it was the older Liturgy, the traditional Latin Mass that touched him. And he was not alone. Yes, apparently Hearts Aflame has both forms of the Roman rite, and has been doing so for the last two years, and will continue doing so. When I heard this I was overjoyed to discover that a young adults Catholic apostolate in NZ understands how important it is to provide both forms of the Roman rite, celebrated beautifully, reverently, and solemnly, so that our young people can appreciate the riches of their faith, but most importantly, encounter Jesus in the deepest way possible. I just hope that the naysayers (and there will always be naysayers when it comes to following the heart and mind of a traditional pope) don’t get in and try to stop it or reduce it. It’s always the way the devil works; if he can’t stop something good, he will find ways to have it reduced.

Bishop Basil Meeking celebrates the Traditional Mass at Hearts Aflame 2009

This young man would not be where he is today without the prominent and central celebration of the traditional Mass and the faithful celebration of the Novus Ordo at Hearts Aflame. These young Catholics are given rightful and beautiful access to their Liturgy (traditional and modern), and it is forming them into a Catholic people. Thank you to the top leadership at Hearts Aflame for being open to following the Holy Spirit and the Holy Father.