Latin Mass Society

Chairman's Blog

22/12/2023 - 11:15

Reactions to Fiducia Supplicans

I'll try to keep this up to date: not with the reaction of every bishop in the world, but groups of bishops and other significant groups.
The text of the Declaration Fiducia supplicans

Bishops of Kazakstan

'To bless couples in an irregular situation and same-sex couples is a serious abuse of the most Holy Name of God, since this name is invoked upon an objectively sinful union of adultery or of homosexual activity.'

Bishops of Ukraine
'We see the danger in ambiguous wording that causes divergent interpretations among the faithful. What we missed in the document is that the Gospel calls sinners to conversion, and without a call to leave the sinful life of homosexual couples, the blessing may look like an approval. '
Bishops of Zambia
'In order to avoid any pastoral confusion and ambiguity as well as not to break the law of our country which forbids same sex unions and activities, and while listenig to our cultural heritage which does not accept same sex relationships, the Conference guides that the Declaration from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of December 18th 2023 concerning the blessing of same-sex couples be taken as for further reflection and not for implementation in Zambia.'
Bishops of Malawi
'...to avoid creatuig confusion among the faithful we direct that for pastoral reasons, blessings of any kind for same-sex unions of any kind, are not permitted in Malawi.'
Bishops of Nigeria

' In conclusion, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria assures the entire People of God that the teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage remains the same. There is, therefore, no possibility in the Church of blessing same-sex unions and activities. That would go against God’s law, the teachings of the Church, the laws of our nation and the cultural sensibilities of our people. The CBCN thanks all the Priests for their accompaniment of married couples, asking them to continue in all they do to sustain the sacrament of holy matrimony and never to do anything that would detract from the sacredness of this sacrament.'

Cardinal Ambongo of Congo, President of Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa & Madagascar (SECAM)

'The ambiguity of this declaration—which lends itself to many interpretations & manipulations—is causing much perplexity among the faithful & I believe that...we need to speak out clearly on this issue in order to give clear guidance to our Christians.'

'I very much welcome this document and am grateful for the pastoral perspective it adopts. In Fiducia supplicans it is explained that, in principle, it is possible and permissible for the ordained pastor to respond to the wishes of couples who ask for a blessing for their partnership, even if they do not live in all respects according to the norms of the Church. This means that couples who do not have the opportunity to have a church wedding due to a divorce, for example, and same-sex couples can be given a blessing.' (machine translation)


'It turns out that theological honesty and a sense of faith are important milestones on the way to changing the Church. A mere bondage to prohibition is not Catholic.'

'To be Catholic in these times means to expect change.' (machine translation)
Bishop Robert Baron, Auxiliary Bishop of Winona-Rochester, USA
'I believe that the declaration is very much congruent with the pastoral instincts of Pope Francis,
who always wants to remind those who are living the Christian life in a less than perfect way that
they are, nevertheless, loved and cherished by God. To all of Jesus’ brothers and sisters, the
Church should never fail to be a source of welcome, compassion, and blessing.'
Archbishop O'Toole of Cardiff, Wales

'I invite all in the Archdiocese of Cardiff and the Diocese of Menevia to read and reflect on Fiducia supplicans carefully, so that they are aware of the parameters in which clergy may impart a blessing to others who seek it from them.'


'It’s surprising that (they did not) proceed in a synodal manner, in line with the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council. We would have been spared the dissenting reactions of episcopal conferences that we are witnessing, for example.'
Implementation will be 'chaotic'.

'We note the noble pastoral desire to assist people to move forward by renewal of life and the call to conversion, building on all aspects of natural good will and virtue. Nevertheless, we see no situation in which such a blessing of a couple could be properly and adequately distinguished from some level of approval. Thus, it would inevitably lead to scandal – to the individuals concerned – to those involved directly or indirectly in the blessing – or to the minister himself. Furthermore, we fear that the practice of these blessings would confuse the faithful over the actual theology of marriage and human sexuality. Indeed, from the comments in the media over the past few days, and from concerns passed on to us by the faithful, we can already see such misunderstandings. We believe that genuine charity always follows true doctrine and that such blessings would work against the legitimate care a priest owes is flock. With honest parresia and from our own experience as pastors we conclude that such blessings are pastorally and practically inadmissable.'

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21/12/2023 - 10:00

A conversation with Sebastian Morello and Charles Coulombe

We talk about monarchy and democracy, 're-enchantment', clerical abuse, Catholic education, Chesterton, and a few other things.

 

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20/12/2023 - 10:00

2024 Ordos from the LMS and the FIUV

  

The Federation's own Ordo, giving the Mass to be said every day of the year according to the Universal Calendar (1962), is now available as a pdf download here.

Hard copies will be available to buy in the New Year, from the LMS online shop.

The FIUV took up the publication of this Ordo when the PCED, which used to do it, ceased to exist. It is modelled on the old PCED Ordos.

Do support the FIUV by becoming a Friend!
The Latin Mass Society's Ordo, which has the feasts of the dioceses of England and Wales, be be purchased in hard copy here. It will be available online here.
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19/12/2023 - 17:34

LMS Chairman's Briefing No3: on blessings for irregular unions

I have recently started something new: occasional, short, news-driven briefings from me as Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, to anyone who would like to receive them.

We already have a monthly email newsletter, which goes out to the same mailing list.

Today I have used this format to comment on Fiducia supplicans, the issue of the hour; this is the third of the series. It begins:

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On Monday the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a Declaration, called Fiducia supplicans, on the possibility of blessing people in irregular unions: the divorced and civilly remarried and same-sex couples.

The document points out that priests giving blessings do not in general refuse to bless sinners (e.g. when blessing a group of pilgrims, or a stranger who has asked for a blessing in the street (40)). Further, it says that asking for a blessing is itself ‘a petition for God’s assistance, a plea to live better, and confidence in a Father who can help us live better’ (21).

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Read the whole thing here.

Subscribe to these briefings by putting your email address in below.



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19/12/2023 - 10:00

2024 Dates for Server Training

Cross-posted from the website of the Society of St Tarcisius.

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Enrolments at the November Training Day

We are pleased to announce new server training dates.

These will take place at St Mary Moorfields: more about the venue here.

There is no charge. Please book, and please be on time: both of these really help us in organising the training on the day.

Saturday 3rd February (booking page)

Saturday 20th April (booking page)

Saturday 8th June (booking page

)

Doors open at 10am for a start at 10:30am. The day concludes with the ceremony of enrolment for new members, if there are any, at 3:30pm; we depart at 4pm. We have a break for lunch.

The Guild of St Clare's Vestment Mending Days take place in the basement of St Mary Moorfields at the same time as the training in the church. Adults accompanying children to the training are welcome to meet the Guild and join their activities: there are things for people of all levels of sewing experience to do. If you are interested, email the Guild at guildofstclare@lms.org.uk

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The Guild of St Clare hard at work in the basement, while the server-training
continues upstairs.

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18/12/2023 - 10:00

Talk on clerical abuse, by me

In November I gave a talk for the Iota Unum monthly series we have in London, on the subject of clerical abuse. The talk developed a chapter of my book, The Liturgy, the Family, and the Crisis of Modernity, which you can buy here (more about the book here).

What is distinctive about my approach to this topic--apart from the fact that I wade into it at all, as part of a traditionalist analysis of the crisis in the Church--is that I reject the idea that bishops and others inside and outside the Church cover up abuse as part of a risk-averse strategy to save the reputation of their institution. 
This idea is repeated so often that it has become habitual, but on examination it is obviously false. It would be far safer, for the reputation of the institution, to get the perpetrator to go away quietly once the accusations start piling up. This does happen, in fact, in many cases. What needs to be explained is why, instead of doing this, so many people in charge over so many years chose to fob off the victims and move the abuser to another position where he can abuse.
To find out what I think, listen to the talk, or better still, buy the book. That link will take you to the talk on a special website, but you can also find it on all the podcast platforms, if you search for 'Latin Mass Society'.

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17/12/2023 - 10:00

A Defence of the Monarchy: book launch

A date for the diary: we will be launching A Defence of Monarchy: Catholics Under a Protestant King on 11th January in the St Wilfrid Hall at the London Oratory.

All are welcome; refreshments provided. Please sign up here so we can keep track of numbers.
I am the editor; the contributors are Sohrab Ahmari, James Bogle, Charles Coulombe, Peter Day-Milne, and Sebastian Morello.

Buy the book from the publisher, Angelico PressAmazon.comAmazon.co.uk, and elsewhere.


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16/12/2023 - 10:00

The Abomination of Desolation: for Catholic Answers

My latest on Catholic Answers, on the Gospel of the Last Sunday After Pentecost.

The traditional lectionary for the Twenty-Fourth, or Last, Sunday After Pentecost has for the Gospel reading Matthew 24:15-35, which begins this way: “When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand. Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains.” This is from what is called the Gospel of Matthew’s apocalypse: mysterious, profound, and troubling.

One mystery about it is why it should be found on that particular Sunday, as we are about to enter Advent. (It is not found anywhere—not even as an option for some category of martyr—in the lectionary produced after the Second Vatican Council.)

The obvious, but wrong, answer is that a treatment of the “Last Things” (death, judgement, hell, and heaven) is called for on the occasion of the end of the Church’s year. This is wrong because the Last Sunday After Pentecost was not, historically, regarded as the end of the Church’s year; there was no such concept. The liturgical year is not a linear thing, but a cycle.

Read the whole thing there.
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15/12/2023 - 13:13

Requiem roundup

DCS-76

There were a few requiems in November I was involved in that didn't get their own blog-posts.
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Above all, I didn't post any photos of the Latin Mass Society's own Annual Requiem, which had to be moved from Westminster Cathedral to Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane, on 7th November. It was accompanied with polyphony from the Southwell Consort and celebrated by Fr John Scott. Photographs by John Aron.

DCS-127

The first Monday of each month is usually offered for the intentions of the Catholic Police Guild, so this requiem was jointly for their deceased members and benefactors as well. The Guild of St Clare is also repairing their amazing banner, which was made for them in 1939. (At that time they were the Metropolitan and City Police Guild, now they cover the whole country.)

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Every year for many years I have organised a Requiem for St Benet's Hall, in Oxford. Since the closure of the Hall in 2021 I've been unsure how best to continue this. In any case, a Mass has been said, though with less solemnity than in the past, and I had the privilege of serving it myself. 

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As every year, in the context of a specific legacy, the Latin Mass Society offers a Sung Requiem Mass for the late Prince Rupert Loewenstein. This year it took place in Maiden Lane.

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06/12/2023 - 11:21

The Tablet on Bernard Wall, and 'The Latin Mass and the Intellectuals'

I'm delighted to see short piece on Bernard Wall in the latest issue of The Tablet, in the 'Word from the Cloisters' column. Wall is a central figure in my book, The Intellectuals and the Latin Mass, as this piece explains. On the one hand he rented a room from Tom Burns, legendary Tablet editor (the one who came out against Humanae Vitae in 1968), and on the other hand he was the chief 'convenor' of the 1971 petition to save the Traditional Mass. The letter of invitation to sign asked signatories to send replies to him, at his address in Ladbroke Grove.


Wall is somewhat obscure figure, and one of his chief claims to fame is as the first translator of Teilhard de Chardin. He was an enthusiast for Vatican II, to start with, but like many others was disappointed by the results. He wrote in a book published in 1969, reminiscing about his naive earlier enthusiasm for reform:
In those days
liturgical reform meant the exact opposite of what it has come to mean since
the Second Vatican Council. It meant a purging of the liturgy of hideous
accretions—sugary nineteenth-century hymns and their counterparts,
mass-produced statues—but also restoring it to its pristine purity of Latin
chanted in the Gregorian manner.
You can see more about the book here. I'd link to the Tablet piece, but it is paywalled.
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