19 March 2009

Many questions. . .

1). How was the Greece trip?

Wonderful! We had a few problems with running late. . .some of the students got very sick. . .the boat was tossed around on the sea rather dramatically. . .two students got pick-pocketed. . .a strike kept us off the Acropolis. . .I was verbally assaulted in Athens for being an American. . .we had to deal with several large groups of loud, obnoxious Italian tourists at various sites. . .the food was good but predictable. . .HOWEVER, the students were fantastic. . .smart, funny, wise beyond their years, compassionate with one another. . .the profs did an excellent job in their presentations. . .the R.A.'s were both professional and caring with the students. . .all the sites were fascinating, especially Delphi and Olympia. . .I would move to Greece tomorrow and never look back.

2). The Pope spoke the truth on condom use in Africa! Now he's in trouble.

Yea, what's new? Never for a second believe that the media are pressing the Church to allow the use of condoms b/c they believe that condoms prevent the transmission of STD's. The media and our dissidents are pressuring the Church to change her teaching on artiufical contraception so that they can then point to this change as a precedent for changing other so-called "unchangeable" teachings, i.e. women's ordination, same-sex marriage, etc. Like petulant teenagers for generations, the media and our ecclesial whiners are testing limits.

Also, dissidents constantly point to the fact that very few Catholics actually follow the Church's teaching on artifical birth-control. If this is the case, why push so hard for a change in the teaching? Simple: the point of the push is to see a change for the sake of change so that more change will be easier down the line.

3). The Pope's letter to his fellow bishops on the SSPX controversy?

A truly classy move. The letter is magnificent in its sense of truly catholic collegiality and shows our Holy Father at his humble-best. This man impresses more and more every day. Of course, the "controversy" is media-made and the hysterical bluster among E.U. bishops is more about reacting so as not to look complicit in the eyes of their "betters." Holocaust denial is plainly stupid, bordering on the freakish; but it isn't a sin. Nor is it a theological error. We do not excommunicate Catholics (or refuse to un-excommunicate them) because they hold stupid opinions about historical events. Williamson's readmission into communion with the Church did not establish him as a Catholic bishop in good-standing. He wasn't given a diocese and put in charge of souls. His Holocaust denial shows him to be imprudent in the extreme, possibly incapable of making sound judgments, and should prevent him from ever serving in the Church as a sitting bishop. However, none of that should prevent him being a Catholic.

4). The new Mass translations being "accidentally" used in South Africa?

Yea, right. Sorry. I don't believe for a second that these new (and unapproved) translations were accidentally used. Yes, it's possible and charity requires that we assume that this was an accident until proven otherwise, but my stipend won't be on the line in that bet! Here's my guess: an opponent of the new translation, possessed by the Spook of Vatican 2, intentionally released the new translations to parishes where the language would be rejected rather dramatically. The controversy that followed was intended to be a "preview" for the Pope of how people more broadly will react to this attempt "to turn back the clock on Vatican Two" (what a tiresome phrase!). This was a staged usurpation. Am I willing to be convinced differently? Yes, of course.

I also find it highly amusing that the every people who shoved the abysmally clunky and trite langauage of the 1970 missal down the Church's throat are the same ones now screaming that the new translation will be unfamiliar to the average Catholic. Where was this concern for average Catholics when these same Liturgical Revolutionaries were wrecking churches and trashing missals, vessels, and vestments in the 70's? Irony, uh?

More later!



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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous4:32 AM

    4. I don't buy that it was a mistake either. And I do believe they tried to high jack the new translation and worse, some will try to use them as an example in the US. But luckily for us, the USCCB keeps dragging their feet so who know when we will see the final translations. By then, everyone will have forgotten about the Africa incident, or we can hope. We are already going over the proposed changes as a family from the USCCB's site.
    I found it ironic too that most of these same people didn't have much sympathy way back in the 70's.
    We so need this especially the prayers. When I read the latin to literal to ICEL version sometimes all the richness and depth of the prayer is gone.
    Still waiting for the new hymnals too.
    The going joke is that we, Catholics our age, may never see or hear the new translations but we will have a fine funeral.

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  2. Anonymous11:01 AM

    My prayer is that those who are fighting against the Holy Sprit, are liberally sprinkled with the "dew" of that same Spirit.

    So liberally sprinkled that they look like drowned rats.

    ReplyDelete