The Erotic Decoy

So the first Encyclical is out, and it's pure Ratz. He hasn't changed his style one bit, hasn't gone all Papal, so to speak. No, it's the old Joe we used to know, thank God. And there is good hope that he has not changed in any other regard either. I can just see that Encyclical on the liturgy... But before then, I dream of a Curial purge. And in my fantasy, the Erotic Encyclical is but a decoy. While the world rejoices in this loving Pope, and everyone is praising his wisdom and insight into the deep mysteries of God and man, letters of re-assignation are being posted in the Vatican, and monsignori are waking up to the news that they will never be vescovi, and vescovi to their horror are realising that the sacred purple will never be theirs; the mighty are cast down from their thrones, and the humble are exalted. Let's see. But answer me this. How long did it take the Pope to write this encyclical. I'd say about an afternoon or two. So what is he spending his days at? He's not meeting many people, nor travelling, nor lying in bed watching TV. No, he's working away at something. Yeah, the purge!

Cantalamessa and Limbo

In today's Zenit bulletin Fr Cantalamessa tries to clarify the remarks he made earlier this month about the fate of unbaptised children. He begins by referring to his "affirmation that unbaptised children will not go to limbo but to heaven". Fr Cantamessa continues to affirm that unbaptised children will go to heaven. The problem with this affirmation, however, is that it goes beyond the teaching of the Catechism, which Fr Cantalamessa quotes. The Catechism does not say that the unbaptised will go to heaven. It says that we are allowed to hope for this. And between these two affirmations there is a great difference. Fr Cantalamessa, while trying to exalt the mercy of God, in fact devalues Baptism. The Catechism succeeds in preserving both teachings.

Media monoculture

Benedict delivered a masterly critique of the media this morning. Yes, he has the usual positive angle as well, but here is the meaty, negative bit:

"[C]ertain tendencies within the media engender a kind of monoculture that dims creative genius, deflates the subtlety of complex thought and undervalues the specificity of cultural practices and the particularity of religious belief. These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven, losing the sense of accountability to the common good. Accurate reporting of events, full explanation of matters of public concern, and fair representation of diverse points of view must, then, always be fostered. The need to uphold and support marriage and family life is of particular importance, precisely because it pertains to the foundation of every culture and society (cf. Apostolicam Actuositatem, 11). In cooperation with parents, the social communications and entertainment industries can assist in the difficult but sublimely satisfying vocation of bringing up children, through presenting edifying models of human life and love (cf. Inter Mirifica, 11). How disheartening and destructive it is to us all when the opposite occurs. Do not our hearts cry out, most especially, when our young people are subjected to debased or false expressions of love which ridicule the God-given dignity of every human person and undermine family interests?"

Hopes of Sedia Dashed

This morning the Holy Father met with his Sediari, the men who used carry the Sedia Gestatoria. He told them that their name reminded them of their duty to be always united to the See (Sede) of Peter. Well, that may be so in a secondary sense, but the name first of all recalls their links with the Sedia. However, it looks as if we shall not see Benedict being carried aloft. For the Pontiff continued: "The ceremonial has been simplified to bring it back to a greater sobriety, better attuned to the Christian message and to the demands of the times." Well, I'm sorry, your Holiness, but having recently attended a Papal ceremony, the whole thing would have been so much more beautiful, and no less reverential, or modern, or "Christian", if you had been carried in. What is certain is that far more of the faithful would have seen you, which is why they, and you, were there.

Neo-Catechumenal Liturgy

This morning Pope Benedict met members of the Neo-Cat. Way, and left them in no doubt that he expects recent directives from Divine Cult to be taken seriously. This is about as stern as the gentle Benedict can get:

"...recently the Congregation for the Divine Cult and the Discipline of the Sacraments has given you, in my name, some norms concerning the Eucharistic celebration, after the period of experimentation which the Servant of God John Paul II had granted. I am certain that these norms, which repeat what is stated in the liturgical books approved by the Church, will be attentively observed by you. Thanks to the faithful adherence to every directive of the Church, you will render even more effective your apostolate, in harmony and full communion with the Pope and the Shepherds of each Diocese."

Civil unions gravely erroneous

A fine statement by Pope Benedict on civil unions (="gay marriage"), contained in his address today to Italian political administrators:

"It is a grave error to obscure the value and the functions of the legitimate familly, founded on marriage, by granting improper legal recognitions to other forms of union, recognitions for which, in reality, there is no effective social necessity."

A liberal mode of thinking would consider that there would be no difficulty in granting such recognitions; the Pope says, however, that this would be a GRAVE ERROR. Why? Because it would take from the value of true family life.

Face or Feet?

A remark in the liturgy section of today's Zenit has drawn my attention to what the new Pontifical says about the position of the remains at a funeral Mass: "It is laudable to retain the custom of placing the deceased in that position which was commonly his in the liturgical assembly, namely, an ordained minister with his face towards the people, a layman with his face towards the altar." [My trans.] Yes, the new Pontifical would have us standing caskets on their ends (presumably with the deceased well strapped in, to prevent sagging). How much more direct and sensible was the rubric from the old ritual: "...unless he was a priest, the feet of the deceased should be towards the altar." Does anyone else suspect that the silly language of the new Pontifical is the product of the silly versus populum ideology?

Orations

I have begun a web log on the Latin orations, which may be of interest; click on the title of this post!

Cresco no more

During the Jubilee Year we witnessed the meteoric rise to fame and power of a certain dark, squat, and rotund prelate, Crescenzio Sepe. Those of us who know some Latin couldn't help associating his name with a motto: Cresco Saepe, "I grow often", since there seemed to be no end to the man's accumulation of position and prestige. He now heads Propaganda Fidei, and as 'red pope' is second in influence only to the great Sod; when it comes to having access to the loot, he is second to none, not even the white Pope. But oops, we made a wee miscalculation, now didn't we. You see, our second-in-command, a certain Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don didn't like the way we were handling the funds, did he, and wouldn't play along, and so we decided to have him put out to pasture, back to his native soil. But we didn't realise, did we, that the said interfering Sri Lankan was such a good friend of the then Cardinal Ratz, who very uncharacteristically intervened to keep his Don within the Vatican service, albeit as a nuncio. And as soon as he got a chance, the now Big Ben recalled the Don and gave him a rather important job in the Vat. And now we see that our own position might not be so secure. And we have heard we might be going somewhere where there may not be just as much cash floating about. And we suspect that we shall grow no more. O Crescens, crevisti!

Roman rumblings

For months little has happened in the Vatican, and I have thought: "Good! It is the calm before the storm." Some are growing impatient, but I am still confident. We should not imagine that Benedetto is twiddling his thumbs all day, or slouched in front of the television. No, he is hard at work, having been a hard worker all his life. So what is he doing? Preparing his addresses? They will occupy little of his time; his heart speaks from its very abundant abundance. No, Benedetto is working on his master-plan, you can be sure. We are to expect a total reform of the Roman Curia, and some interesting appointments to key positions. In an earlier post I wondered about the significance of Archbishop Malcolm Don's appointment; I now know that it is an excellent one, and promises much for the reform of the deform. On the subject of the liturgy, the first vespers for the feast of the Theotokos were very interesting indeed. The talk after the last vespers (first of first Sunday of Advent) was that Benedetto was very annoyed with the innovative format, with all its silly explanations and psalm prayers, and directed that next time it should be a straightforward Latin vespers. Which is precisely what we got. Pity about the truncated Te Deum, and the interminable (te-dium!) wailing of the Sistine choir, but a very significant return to tradition occurred. How glum Marini looked! I do believe there are many signs of hope for 2006. But it is also clear that many within the Curia are opposed to reform, and that Benedetto is quite a solitary figure. Let us pray very hard for him, and offer many sacrifices, that this year will be a blessed one for the Church of God.