De Omnibus Dubitandum Est.

 This post follows on from the last one really, prompted by this: “Pope Francis on Saturday blasted Catholics who, hewing to old-school versions of liturgy like the Latin Mass, have made an ideological battleground of the issue, decrying what he described as devil-inspired divisiveness in the church,” reports @AP https://t.co/fLWNqIJ34L — Edward Pentin (@EdwardPentin) May 9, 2022 When you have a Pope who ignores problems, promotes abusers, pushes problematic ideas which are at odds with the faith, AND THEN BLAMES TRADS FOR CAUSING DIVISION, you know you have serious, serious problems.  These comments are utterly indefensible, especially in the context of a huge push from progressive commentators and outlets to say the pope promotes homosexuality: Pope Francis to LGBT Catholics on feeling rejected: “I would have them recognize it not as ‘the rejection of the church,’ but instead of ‘people in the church’. “A ‘selective’ church, one of ‘pure blood’, is not Holy Mother Church, ...

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...

This is a great homily from Fr. John Hollowell about the role that music plays in Mass. Mass, he says is not about eliciting an emotional reaction. It isn't just about seeking to make us feel a certain way. This speaks to the 'emotionalism' which is a product of the 'Spirit of Vatican II' attitude: religion should make us 'feel nice'. No. Rubbish. Mass is an encounter with Our LORD and the music at Mass should stir our minds and souls with faith and give praise to Him. If we add music to elicit an emotional response, we hi-jack the Mass and we fail in the mind of the Church, turning the Mass into a commercial enterprise in order to elicit an emotional response. In other words, the act of worship, which should be ordered to God, becomes an act of self adulation, where we become focused on ourselves and our own cleverness. H/T Creative Minority Report

On August 24th, I was contacted by a concerned parishioner from Arundle & Brighton Diocese, who was shocked and concerned that ACTA were advertising a meeting at Sacred Heart Parish in Caterham. Further, the Parish newsletter states that "Five of our members met with Bishop Kieran recently, and he has approved meetings within his diocese." As a result of this, I wrote to Bishop Kieran, asking him for clarification. I have not, as yet, received any response. This morning, I was contacted by another incredulous parishioner, concerned about ACTA's infiltration of Arundle & Brighton, who pointed me toward St. Dunstan's , Woking, and their newsletter , which states: A Call to Action – ACTA - at the Sacred Heart Church, Caterham. Saturday 28th September 2-5 pm. (Vigil Mass for Sunday to conclude). Guest Speaker: Fr Tom O’ Loughlin. A call to action is simply a movement within the church of England & Wales to keep alive the principles and spirit of ...

I'm no musician, but continuing the theme of looking at what Vatican II actually taught, and further to this hilarious post from Bruvver Eccles I thought we might take a look at music in the Mass. This is all because it is now The Year of Faith and Pope Benedict XVI opened this special year in Rome with a call for a new evangelisation rooted in an authentic interpretation of the documents of the Second Vatican Council. “I have often insisted on the need to return, as it were, to the ‘letter’ of the Council – that is to its texts – also to draw from them its authentic spirit, and (it is) why I have repeated that the true legacy of Vatican II is to be found in them,” the Pope said Oct. 11 to approximately 30,000 pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the opening Mass of the Year of Faith. Speaking on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, the Pope said that “reference to the documents saves us from extremes of anachronistic nostalgia and r...

Last week my Parish Priest took a brief break and we had a retired local priest stand in at daily Mass. I don't make Mass every day- though I wish I did- work makes it difficult. But I have made a commitment to attend every Tuesday. As regular readers will know, I was away last Tuesday, travelling back from Ireland , but it was reported back to me (by my mum) that the stand in priest (who is generally a good old chap and preaches solidly at every Mass he says) spoke in his homily about the use of Latin and Vatican II (a little sense of creeping dread gripped my stomach as soon as I heard that). Basically, I was told that he said, in the context of the year of faith, that the re-introduction of Latin into the liturgy is going backwards and we have to go forwards. That is what Vatican II was all about. This brought to mind Father Tim Finnigan's recent blog post Laity! For heaven's sake don't read the texts of Vatican II  which is a rather amusing look at the way prev...