De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

This morning, Deacon Nick Donnelly announced on his blog the exciting news that a new Centre of Formation for the New Evangelisation has been established by some of the staff who recently resigned their positions at Maryvale in Birmingham.  Dr Petroc Willey, Dr Andrew Beards, and Dr Caroline Farey have embarked on a new adventure, calling their centre the School of the Annunciation . It is based in the grounds of Buckfast Abbey in Devon, thanks to the generosity and collaboration of the Abbot of Buckfast, the Rt. Rev. David Charlesworth and the monastic community. The School of the Annunciation will begin by offering a Diploma in the New Evangelisation as well as short Summer Schools which it is hoped will provide a unique opportunity to study the Catholic Faith in the beautiful setting of Buckfast Abbey, sharing the monastic community’s life and prayer over long summer weekends in August. I have to say it sounds idyllic! Deacon Nick himself is the Director of For...

From Rome Reports: Fr. Lombardi makes it explicit that no Cardinal supports changing Church doctrine, their concern is with how best to communicate Church teachings to the world:

TWO COWS ~{Matthias Varga} SOCIALISM You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbour. COMMUNISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk. FASCISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk. NAZISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both and shoots you. BUREAUCRATISM You have 2 cows. The State takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and then throws the milk away. TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income. ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND (VENTURE) CAPITALISM You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a...

I have often wondered why quite a lot of people at Mass hold their hands out like the priest during the Our Father. I've never heard anything about why it is done or what it means, so personally, I've never done it, since it is my habit to only do things for a reason and once I understand them. Today I came across this video from Fr. Paul Nicholson which I found really interesting because it is not simply remedial, it also explains where this practice comes from and gives some really useful history and context. Fr. Paul has a really gentle way of explaining things like this and really should be applauded for doing this. I would love to hear what you think of his explanation here. Should You Hold Out Your Hands During The Our Father?

Louise and I had a lovely lunch on Sunday with my brothers from the Southend Circle of the Catenian's and their wives. We were joined by my son Michael as well, who wasn't terribly enthusiastic at the prospect initially, but pleasingly, said he really enjoyed the whole experience as we walked the dog together afterwards. He bravely gave the after dinner speech to the gathering, a speech he has honed after several orations, the first of which took place in May last year . His speech is quite personal, and quite deep. It is about the experience of losing his sister in 2009, and how his faith has helped him, and indeed all of us to cope with this tragedy. Michael confidently addressing the gathering. You can probably tell from the faces around the table that the speech doesn't pull many punches. I have read through an earlier draft, but have not heard him deliver it himself. Louise had warned me that I would find it difficult, but enthusiastic and proud of my son, I...

Then Bishop Arthur Roche presents the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI with the new Roman Missal Arthur Roche (born 6 March 1950) is an English Archbishop of the Catholic Church. On 26 June 2012, he was named by Pope Benedict XVI to serve as the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, at which time he was raised to his current rank. Roche had served as the ninth Bishop of Leeds, having served previously as Coadjutor Bishop of Leeds and, before that, as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster. It seems to have fallen to Archbishop Roche to be the latest person to have to try and interpret and explain Pope Francis. During a recent interview reported on CNA , the Archbishop spoke on the significance of the Latin Rite Mass, explaining that the Mass nourishes us, and that the special rite brings us together in a unique way. “It’s a common language, as it were, that brings us together, that holds us together, the Latin M...

Fathers forgive me, for I am about to blog in anger. Well, frustration anyway. How excruciatingly embarrassing for poor Bishop Thomas, at the precipice of a well earned retirement, Fr. Michael Butler, Chairman of Brentwood Diocese Liturgy Commission just will not shut up! On Sunday last, he appeared on BBC Essex , allying himself with Southend Deanery's ACTA leader Tony Castle, in his attack on the New Translation of the Roman Missal. You can listen again to the whole programme here  for another six days. If you're not aware of the story so far, Fr. Butler penned a letter to The Tablet stating that it is legitimate for priests to ditch the new translation, and use the previous missal. Fr Butler’s public rejection of the authority of the Holy See and the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales is in response to The Tablet’s report that ACTA have written to the Bishops’ Conference requesting that they drop the new translation. This was picked up by Protect The Pop...

This has really had me thinking over the weekend. On Saturday, I read on Rorate Caeli that Pope Francis had commented to Czech Bishops on their ad limina visit that the growing call for the old Mass throughout the world was nothing more than a fad: Yesterday (Friday, Feb. 14), Pope Francis held an audience with the Bishops of the Czech Republic who came to Rome for their ad limina visit. In the visit, as it usually happens in such cases, other than the formal address, the Pope heard the questions and comments of the bishops. Archbishop Jan Graubner, of Olomouc, told the Czech section of Vatican Radio what the Pope told him: [Abp. Jan Graubner speaks:] When we were discussing those who are fond of the ancient liturgy and wish to return to it, it was evident that the Pope speaks with great affection, attention, and sensitivity for all in order not to hurt anyone. However, he made a quite strong statement when he said that he understands when the old generation returns to what i...

You may recall the antics of 'The Dancing Vicar' Rev Kate Bottley? It was one of those videos that flew around the internet here a while back. It was the sort of thing my wife loves, and I smile too...But I also felt VERY uncomfortable. In this recently posted presentation from Premier TV's Christian New Media Conference back in November Kate talks about the media furore that surrounded her wedding dance video (I have tried to embed her speech below, but I'm not convinced it's worked, so I've added the original video as well for your information). The video went "viral" and can still be seen on Youtube. You'll smile, I'm sure you will! <a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/products/video-platform-features">Video Platform</a><a href="http://corp.kaltura.com/Products/Features/Video-Management">Video Managem...

It's hard to do anything but shake one's head at the unbelievable arrogance of muddle-headed hippy, Hans Küng. It wouldn't be a problem if he wasn't so shouty. But he is. Very shouty. For me, his shoutiness means that unless there is a voice to put his opinions in some sort of proper context, all the faithful hear is  dissidents and schismatics seeking to diminish the faith, like The Tablet , The ACP and ACTA expressing how heroic he is and describing his position as a much respected theologian, and such like. Of course ACTA  and The Tablet love him! He is their leader!! Probably this stems from his consistent opposition to much of what the Church teaches and most recently, and most vocally, Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI's papacy. In 2012, Küng called for open revolt to unseat Pope Benedict, which, of course, went nowhere. Because the only people listening are people his age, who stand against the transformative truth of an authentic, orthodox, Catholic li...

There have been a couple of really quite serious disagreements in the Pro-Life movement over the last few days. First of all, John Smeaton, Director of SPUC . On his personal blog, he asserted that Bishops everywhere should follow the Nigerian bishop's lead in defense of families. Smeaton stated that, as a Catholic, a parent, and a pro-life leader "Standing up against the worldwide homosexual agenda is crucial for the protection of children."   Smeaton goes on to explain that  SPUC have produced a paper about the impact that same-sex marriage will have on schools, yet he fears that many Catholic schools are also likely to be open to the homosexual agenda. I have to concur, most people are really struggling to understand why there is a problem with SSM, indeed, in America, it is said that Catholics are the greatest supporters of SSM! Why? Well, I think the first reason is that we all want to live and let live. Our first disposition is to charity, and shou...

A friend has asked me to spread the word about this great opportunity. From June 16-29th, the St. Albert the Great Center for Scholastic Studies will hold a summer session in Norcia. In partnership with the Monasterro San Benedetto, this will be the third year they have held the Summer Institute. The St. Albert the Great Center is dedicated to the revival of higher studies in theology undertaken according to the mind and method of the great scholastics, and in particular the work of St. Thomas Aquinas. This summer's program is focusing on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans. With the sacred text as our primary source, we will also follow along the interpretive tradition of the Church by reading commentaries of the Fathers and in particular St. Thomas's commentary on the epistle. In many ways, the epistle is already an early synthesis of the Faith that the Evangelists witness to, and it offers us the opportunity to explore in depth many theological questions suc...