Former assistant bishop of Newcastle becomes a Catholic

I read last night on Damian Thompson`s blog about bishop Paul Richardson, the former assistant bishop of the Anglican diocese of Newcastle, being received into the Catholic Church at Durham university Catholic chaplaincy last month. (The Telegraph also has the story.) I came across him in 2007 at the induction of the new vicar of Killingworth back in September 2007 and blogged about how impressed I was by his sermon on St Gregory the Great. I`m only sorry to read that he no longer lives in the North  East but in London. Damian also reports that Paul Richardson has said he is not looking to be part of the ordinariate which is a shame given the provision for former Anglican bishops to maintain their episcopal insignia which is one of the more intriguing parts of the provision.

Congratulations to the former bishop!

Lent Retreat

Fr de Malleray is giving a retreat for lay people next month. Full details below.

Come and meet us soon at the Lenten week-end of recollection: 5-7 March 2010
on ‘The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell and Heaven’.

*Address: All Saints Conference Centre, Shenley Lane, London Colney, Herts, AL2 1AF.
*Website: www.allsaintspc.org.uk.


*Starts on Friday 5th March 2010 at 5pm (later arrival possible) – ends on Sunday 7th March 2010 at 4pm.
*Holy Mass in the EF on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday.


*Confession / spiritual direction on request.


* Retreat Master: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP

*Price: £126 everything included (for: £116 as Centre’s fees + £10 as FSSP fees).


*Please bring your traditional hand missal + your own towel and soap.


*Booking: please send to us a £15 deposit cheque made payable to FSSP ENGLAND. Please kindly book now.


Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP


Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in England

179 Elgar Rd, RG2 0DH, Reading, Berkshire, UK


Tel: +44 (0)118 987 5819 - E-mail: malleray@fssp.org -


Community: www.fssp.co.uk - Youth: www.juventutem.org - Culture: www.lartpourlame.com


FSSP England is a registered charity n° 1129964

Pilgrimage to Lyon and Ars

On Monday I set out for Stanstead to meet the rest of the party of priests heading out to Lyon for a pilgrimage under the direction of Fr de Malleray of the FSSP. After an epic journey from Lyon airport which took three hours using a bus, tram, underground and (very crowded) bus again we reached our base: the FSSP house at Francheville on the outskirts of the city. This house also accomodates a small primary school and when we arrived workmen were still busy on the refurbishing of the house. It is dedicated to St Padre Pio and has a rather nice stained glass window in the chapel dedicated to him. On the hill behind the house is a seminary of the diocese of Lyon which is now up for sale.

On Tuesday morning we woke to find it was snowing: it continued to snow most of the day. I had hoped to leave the snow behind in England!  Our programme began with a visit to the Gallo-Roman museum which was quite spectacular. There was a special exhibition on Roman burial rites which was very well done. After this we made for the basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, which has one of the most breath-taking interiors I have ever seen. After a bouchon lunch we headed off to see the church of St Georges where the FSSP had their original apostolate in Lyon, the cathedral of St John the Baptist and the church of St Nizier which was built on the site of the first Christian place of worship in the where Mass was celebrated from 150AD.

On Wednesday we had a day of silent retreat in the house. Fr de Malleray gave us four conferences on the priestly life and we had readings at meals from St Pius X`s exhortation on the priestly life Haerent animo. Fr de Malleray recommend to us Bl. Columba Marmion`s Christ the Ideal of the Priest as the best book he has read on the priesthood. I have had a copy for many years and intend to read it in this Year of the Priesthood. Father`s talks were both practical and challenging and gave me at least, much food for thought.

On Thursday we headed of to Ars for the day. I`m delighted to report that not only was there no problem arranging for our group to celebrate the EF in the church at Ars but the sacristy even provided altar cards and missals. As we entered the church I could hear a Missa Cantata being celebrated on the altar above which the body of the saint is on display. This was being celebrated by a priest of a new group, the Missionaries of Divine Mercy from Toulon,  which seem to be modelled on the White Fathers. There were a number of priests of the group with a large group of faithful. I`d never been to Ars before and hadn`t realised that while the nave of the original parish church has been preserved the sanctuary has been removed and replaced with a much larger, elaborate one which included the shrine of the saint on the right hand side. This shrine is not visible from the old nave. In the sacristy the first four of our group prepared to celebrate their Masses. I was lucky to be allotted the altar with the relic of St John Vianney. Once I left the sacristy and entered the new part of the church I caught sight of the altar for the first time and found it a most moving experience to see his body above the altar. There is not a lot to see in Ars but we made a visit to the presbytery where the saint lived. Later in the day the archbishop of New York and a group of his priests celebrated Mass at the altar of the saint. I looked through the book in the sacristy where priests who have said Mass sign and saw there had been a group of priests from Hexham and Newcastle there a fortnight before our visit and also a pilgrimage of priests from Nottingham diocese with their bishop had been in January.

And so on Friday afternoon we left Lyon ( and the snow) to return to England. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to visit Ars in the Year of the Priest and seek the intercession of St John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests. Many thanks to Fr de Malleray for organising it and making it possible.

News from Ecclesia Dei

For anyone who missed yesterday`s clarification from Ecclesia Dei yesterday, these are the five points which were clarified in a response to the diocese of Rzeszów. ( Many thanks to the NLM for this.)

1. If there is no other possibility, because for instance in all churches of a diocese the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum are already being celebrated in the Ordinary Form, the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum may, in the same church in which they are already celebrated in the Ordinary Form, be additionally celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, if the local ordinary allows.

2. A Mass in the usus antiquior may replace a regularly scheduled Mass in the Ordinary Form. The question contextualizes that in many churches Sunday Masses are more or less scheduled continually, leaving free only very incovenient mid afternoon slots, but this is merely context, the question posed being general. The answer leaves the matter to the prudent judgement of the parish priest, and emphasises the right of a stable group to assist at Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

3. A parish priest may schedule a public Mass in the Extraordinary Form on his own accord (i.e. without the request of a group of faithful) for the benefit of the faithful including those unfamiliar with the usus antiquior. The response of the Commission here is identical to no. 2.

4. The calendar, readings or prefaces of the 1970 Missale Romanum may not be substituted for those of the 1962 Missale Romanum in Masses in the Extraordinary Form.

5. While the liturgical readings (Epistle and Gospel) themselves have to be read by the priest (or deacon/subdeacon) as foreseen by the rubrics, a translation to the vernacular may afterwards be read also by a layman.

I can think of a number of parish priests of my acquaintance who will feel supported by this as they have introduced an EF Sunday Mass where there was an OF one before. It is also very useful to read that a parish priest may introduce an EF Mass without waiting for a request from a `stable group`.

Ushaw Conference

I received this notice from the LMS regarding the forthcoming Ushaw training conference. I`m sorry to hear that there have not been so many applications so far. It was a marvellous week last year and I hope we can repeat it this year. Even if many priests learnt how to celebrate Low Mass last year, surely there must be still quite a few who would enjoy learning how to celebrate Missa Cantata or how to be a subdeacon or deacon at High Mass.Apart from anything there was the company of good priests and wonderful liturgies and the splendid architecture of Ushaw. There is also a notice about training for Masters of Ceremonies.

Latin Mass Society
Priests’ Training Conference
Ushaw College
12th to 16th April 2010

The Latin Mass Society has announced that, although a good number of bookings have been received for the Priests’ Training Conference to be held at Ushaw College in Co Durham during Low Week, about 12 places are still available; and it is expected that these will be taken in the next few weeks.

The conference will provide tuition for priests wishing to learn to celebrate Mass in the usus antiquior, or traditional form, with classes for beginners and more advanced students, as well as those wishing to learn to sing at a Missa Cantata or to celebrate a Solemn Mass. The conference will also include a range of liturgies which will be examples of best practice in the traditional rites. There will also be a spiritual lecture.

Ushaw College is an ideal location for this conference because of the range of facilities it offers, including numerous chapels and side altars for practice Masses. A schola and polyphonic choir will be in attendance to provide the music at all services which will take place in the magnificent St Cuthbert’s Chapel.

As an innovation this year, a simultaneous course will be run for servers wishing to learn how to be an MC at a Missa Cantata or Solemn Mass. Applications are invited from men or boys who already have a basic knowledge of how to serve at Low Mass.

The conference fee is £115 inclusive of full board and lodging. Further information and application forms can be obtained from:
The Latin Mass Society
11 -13 Macklin Street
London WC2B 5NH
020 7404 7284
thelatinmasssociety@snmail.co.uk


Latin Mass Society
Training for Masters of Ceremonies


The Latin Mass Society will be providing training for men and boys who wish to learn to be Masters of Ceremonies at Sung and Solemn Masses. The first training course will take place during the Priests’ Training Conference which will be held at Ushaw College in Co Durham from 12th to 16th April 2010. A further training opportunity is planned for later in the year in a more southerly location.

The rubrics of the Roman Rite require that there is a Master of Ceremonies at a Missa Cantata and at a Missa Solemnis. It is his job to take charge of all that happens on the sanctuary, including giving discreet directions to the priest. In the case of a Solemn Mass, there is also a deacon and a sub-deacon and generally more servers who may require some supervision. This requires a level of knowledge of the rubrics far in excess of that needed to serve at a Low Mass. It also requires a degree of confidence beyond that of ordinary servers.

As more priests are being trained in the usus antiquior, and more Masses are occurring in the traditional rite, the shortage of servers is becoming more acute. This is especially so in the case of Sung Masses which require a greater number of servers, and also servers with greater skills. At present, it is very difficult to find a well qualified and experienced MC in most parts of the country.

Men and boys who have already mastered the art of serving at Low Mass, and who think they may be able to cope with the job of MC, are invited to attend one of the training sessions. In the case of the one at Ushaw College, which is residential, there would normally be a fee; although in cases of hardship, this may be waived.

Contact: The Latin Mass Society
Tel 020 7404 7484

Fr Carola`s Book

I got back last night from Lyon where I had been with eight other  priests from England on a pilgrimage/retreat led by Fr de Malleray FSSP. I hope to write a report soon. Among my emails I found one from the Midwest Theological Forum with the news that Fr Carola`s book which I mentioned in writing about the Rome conference is available from their website for $10. You can find the details here.

Lent Course

Last year I reviewed bishop O`Donoghue`s Fit for Mission? Church for the LMS magazine Mass of Ages. This year I`m proposing to see how it works and to run it as a Lent course for the parish. Meetings will take place on the Thursdays of Lent at 7.30pm at St Mary`s and I hope we have some lively discussion and deepening of our understanding of the faith in a relaxed atmosphere.

Rome Conference Day 4: the talks, Day 4

Sorry to say that this blog has somewhat ground to a halt over the last couple of weeks. Part of the problem was thinking about this post. The trouble is that I never thought to take notes during the conference. If I had thought about it at all I would have realised I should have for the purposes of blogging but I hadn`t given any thought as to how I was going to write about it.

So here goes with the fourth day. The first talk was given by the Irish Dominican, Fr Paul Murray. I had first come across Fr Murray at Ushaw in probably 2001 ( although I could be wrong on the date) when he gave the annual retreat to the priests of this diocese. I remember enjoying his talks more than I usually enjoy these things and was delighted to see him in this context. I had the chance to talk to him a couple of times during the week and found him most encouraging. Father`s talk to us was entitled `Preaching to priests: wisdom from the Middle Ages` in which he focussed on St Bernard of Clairvaux and St Catherine of Siena.

The next talk was gioven by Fr Paul Gunter, a monk of Douai who is a professor at the Pontifical Institute S. Anselmo in Rome as well as Consultor of the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff since 2008 and a member of the Editorial Board of "Usus Antiquior", a journal dedicated to the Sacred Liturgy. Father spoke on `The Genius of the Roman Rite in the identity of the priest` the first half of which was devoted to looking at the work of the nineteenth century liturgist Edmund Bishop in identifying the `genius` or guiding spirit or essence of the Roman Rite, which was the subject of his doctorate. The second half of the talk I mainly remember for the happy way it spoke of the Extraordinary Form as much a part of the everyday life of the modern church as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Apologies to both speakers for my sketchy recall of their talks. I did have a conversation with Fr Gunter after his talk and was impressed by his knowledge of all the parishes in Hexham and Newcastle which were formerly staffed by Douai monks and the details of the church buildings with their good and bad points.

That was the last of the talks in the conference. At 11.30 we split into national groups to discuss what we could do next.

Latin Mass Society Full-Time General Manager

From the LMS.

The LMS wishes to appoint a full-time General Manager will be responsible for the day to day administration and development of the Society as directed by the Committee. The post is based in the LMS’s office in Holborn, London WC2. Applicants will have excellent managerial and communication skills and a proven track record of success. They will also have a knowledge and love of the Traditional liturgy and movement. The salary and pension package is in the range of £35K to £40K.

Much of the work involves the co-ordination and organisation of flagship national/international events including training conferences, the LMS AGM and the production of the annual Accounts, major Masses and liturgical events with national importance. It also involves maintaining and developing contacts with the hierarchy, diocesan authorities, Traditional Catholic bodies in England and abroad and the Traditional priestly and monastic orders. The General Manager will develop the LMS’s Seminarians Fund in order to assist vocations.

The General Manager will also make strategic recommendations to the Committee, particularly concerning development, the generation of increased publicity, membership and income, and the timely control of expenditure. He/she will oversee and administer legacy generation work and will support the Society’s network of diocesan representatives.

This position will entail some evening and weekend work, and travel, both UK and internationally.

A job description and details of the application process are available from the LMS office at 11-13 Macklin Street, London WCB 5NH. Tel: 020 7404 7284.

E mail: info@latin-mass-society.org

The closing date for receipt of applications is Thursday 4 March 2010. Interviews will be held in London from mid to late March.

British government retreats after Pope's critique of Equality Bill :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

British government retreats after Pope's critique of Equality Bill :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

For a useful look at the issues see this article by Br Lawrence Lew OP.

Benedict XVI: Church must participate in life of society

Mgr Marini and Forest Hall

Today the bishops of England and Wales set off for Rome for their ad limina visit where they submit reports about their dioceses and discuss them with the various Vatican departments. I`m sure our prayers will be with them that the whole process will be helpful in strengthening the Church in England and Wales. The Scottish bishops follow next month.

As bishop Seamus Cunningham goes off he has two saintly predecessors who made the journey before him when travel was not quite so easy: St Wilfrid and St Benet Biscop. These two Northumbrian saints made many visits from this part of the world to the Holy See. St Benet Biscop mainly seems to have gone for the shopping in that he brought back items to enhance the life and worship of the monasteries of Jarrow and Monkwearmouth. His greatest coup was to persuade John the arch-cantor to leave St Peter`s, Rome and come to these Monkwearmouth to teach the monks how to sing chant in the authentic Roman way. This is a recurring obsession of mine and I see I blogged about it just over a year ago.

Well, this weekend at St Mary`s Forest Hall the words of Mgr Marini, the papal MC were heard at Mass. I read out part of the talk we had heard at the conference: the part on active participation. I`ve been keen to share something of that talk with the parish since getting back and the Mass readings at the OF seemed to lend themselves to the topic as we had St Paul`s first letter to the Corinthians on the complementary roles of the members of the Church while the first reading from chapter eight of Nehemiah and the Gospel from Luke chapter four (14-21) laid the ground for talking about the liturgy.

I mentioned in a previous post the whole talk can be found here.

Why I mention this is that I was quite tacken aback by the reaction afterwards. Normally I don`t get much reaction or if I do it is people wanting to disagree with me. This morning it was different, people were queuing up (well not quite) to say how much they enjoyed it. Even one of my regular critics said it was so good to hear something like that from the pulpit. (We don`t have a pulpit but it, like altar rails, seems to have stuck in popular ways of referring to church life.)

I was so glad that there was such a warm response to Mgr Marini`s words. I`m now thinking of sharing what he said about music and adoration and may get on to his section on orientation and liturgical prayer.

New Priest Blogger

As others have commented, in this year`s message for World Communications Day, the Holy Father has encouraged priests to use blogs and other modern means of communication to promote `dialogue, evangelization and catechesis`.  I am glad to say that another priest of Hexham and Newcastle, who has always kept up with new technology, has started a blog. Fr Elkin is parish priest of Barnard Castle in Co Durham. His blog is called Let the Welkin Ring.

Fr Elkin started saying the Extraordinary Form again in about 1994 if my memory serves me right, helping with Masses at St Dominic`s in Newcastle where the `indult Mass` had been established on a Sunday in 1992. I`m glad to see that his latest post is a reminisence about his time in the priesthood. It must have been in about 1995 I had the privilege of celebrating a Missa Cantata at St Patrick`s, Consett. The large church was packed and the Missa de Angelis sung lustily by a full congregation raised the roof: I`ve never heard anything like it since. Unfortunately there was never another EF Mass again at St Patrick`s. However Fr Elkin preached and he spoke about an issue that always fascinates me: what were the hopes of young priests for the liturgy in the 1950`s and 1960`s? Basically Fr Elkin described how he had been full of hope for a great revival of the faith through the introduction of the vernacular and other reforms but how disillusionment set in and how he has happy to come back to the Latin Mass. I hope I`ve got the drift of this right and hope Father will maybe blog on this topic now he is reminiscing.

I hope to be finishing of my account of the talks at the Rome conference very soon.

Rome Conference Day 3: the talks, Day 3

This is all taking me longer to get round to writing up than I imagined. On the third day we had two talks. However the day had to be re-arranged in that we were supposed to be having EF Vespers in the church of St Stephan of the Abyssinians in the Vatican but since it was discovered that the Abyssinian church was closed with the Epiphany being a holiday in the Vatican, Vespers were re-scheduled to be in the FSSP church of Santissima Trinita dei Pellegrini which I had wanted to see any way. This meant that Fr Lang`s talk on the new translation of the OF missal had to be moved to after dinner. Fr Lang works for the Congregation for Divine Worship.

So the first talk of the day was given by Mgr Guido Marini, the Pope`s Master of Ceremonies. Monsignor does not speak English well enough to give talks in it so he spoke in Italian. However he spoke so clearly and calmly that this listener whose Italian is rather rusty was able to understand almost everything. An English translation of the talk had been prepared the day before and copies were available for people to follow. Much has already been written on the internet about this talk which was entitled Introduction to the Spirit of the Liturgy. It is available here. This talk was the highlight of the conference for me and I`m sure for many others. It was wonderful to hear about the ideas for the `reform of the reform` from one so close to the Holy Father. Many of the conference members had commented how the morning`s Mass with the Pope in St Peter`s had shown how far things had come in quite a short time in improving the qualilty of papal Masses. At the end of the session the conference gave Mgr Marini a standing ovation. I`m hoping to share some of the ideas from his talk with the parish to introduce some of the principles governing modern liturgical thought.

After dinner we had Fr Lang`s rescheduled talk. This was the most intellectually demanding talk of the week and as it did not start until after 9pm some of the Fathers were beginning to wilt after a long day. Fr Lang`s talk was entitled Liturgy and language: The "Sacral Vernacular" (Liturgiam authenticam 47) of the new English Translation of the Roman Missal. Father began by demonstrating the nature of sacral language in the Roman Rite, referring to the work of Christine Mohrmann. In the second part of the talk, Father took us through the new translation of the first half of the Roman canon explaining each section. The text has been available on the internet for quite a while now. It will be wonderful to use a translation which is close to the original instead of the current version. Talking to many priests there is some reluctance to embrace the new translation but then religions tend to be conservative. At seminary I lost count of the number of times we were quoted Newman`s saying about to live is to change! Any liturgical change always arouses opposition but surely it is better to have a translation of the Mass which is accurate and captures the spirit of the original rather than our current version which used the now discarded notion of `dynamic equivalence`

Father Lang was unable to say exactly when the new translation will come into use. It was hoped that it would be ready by 2010 but it looks as if it will now be Advent 2011. That at least gives time for preparations to be made to introduce it to the clergy and faithful. In the question session one priest voiced my thoughts when he said how much training does there need to be for someone to read a text? It is hard to see what the training for using the new missal will involve: not all priests will have the linguistic background to enable them to appreciate what has happened and there is no question of the new translation being the subject of debate as it is definitely going to happen. However it will be useful to have an opportunity for things to be explained as far as they can given the level of anxiety there appears to be about it all.

Rome Conference 2: the talks, Day 2

When looking at the conference programme before setting off I saw that the first morning was due due to begin at 8.30am with a lecture on Three Patristic Texts on the Priesthood. This looked like a daunting topic for an early morning start. However Fr Carola`s talk brought to life the teaching of Ss Gregory Nazianzus, John Chrysostom and Gregory the Great and made them relevant to our age and situations. Fr Joseph Carola SJ has been Professor of Patristic Theology at the Gregorian University (in Rome) since 2002. When the opportunity for questions came after the talk the topic of priests facing a crisis in their vocation and leaving active ministry came up. Fr Carola spoke of how quite a number of his former pupils at the Greg have left active ministry. It is a question of knowing that a priest will eventually face a crisis and for there to be support systems to help a priest at that stage to help him get over this and remain faithful to his vocation. Unfortunately this is still not well provided for and priests are left to sink or swim. I`m glad I was one of the many who bought a copy of Fr Carola`s new book ( just published this month) entitled Conformed to Christ Crucified: Meditations on Priestly Life and Ministry which consists of Father`s sermons and reflections on this theme. The book is published by the Gregorian and Biblical Press.

Next we heard from Fr Dodaro OSA the director of the Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome. His talk was entitled The Priest as sinner in the thought of St Augustine and dealt with the Donatist view of the clergy as spiritual superstars such that if a priest was found to be less than perfect it greatly troubled the Donatist laity as for them the efficacy of the sacraments if not their validity depended on the sanctity of the minister. While it is easy to fall back on the theory of ex opere operato, Fr Dodaro spoke of Augustine`s awareness of the priest as sinner and the need to avoid putting the priest on a pedastal in today`s Church. There must be a way for the priest to convey that he too needs forgiveness from God and needs the prayers rather than praise of his congregation.

The third talk of the morning was by Mgr Feichtinger of the CDF who spoke on The Hermeneutics of the Inquisition which was not as might be deduced from the title a look at the work of the CDF but an exploration of the philosophical background to the `Hermeneutic of Continuity`.

In the evening, after dinner (where we were joined by the Australian ambassador to the Holy See) we were treated to a talk by Blackfen`s Fr Tim Finigan ( pictured above in mid-speech). Fr Finigan`s experiences as a seminarian seemed familiar to the conference. (`Take a stone out of a bag and pretend you are that stone and what do you want to say` etc) He recounted a visit by Mother Teresa to the English College where she caught sight of what was the must-have book of the time, `I`m OK. You`re OK` which moved her to say `Well I`m not OK and you`re not OK. That`s why we need Jesus.`! Fr Finigan echoed the thought I often have ( and the last words I ever said to bishop Kevin Dunn before his death) which is that I wake up every morning and no matter how bad the weather or whatever problems there are, I thank God that Ratzinger is Pope. Father also asked us to thank God for Pope John Paul II who started the fight back against the collapse of the Church. Father`s speech was very warmly received.

And after that I retired for the night.

Rome Conference 1: the Talks, Day 1

Sorry to have been so slow to getting down to writing about the conference for English-speaking priests in Rome last week. I think it was only on Tuesday that I recovered from the 3am start we had to make on Monday 3rd January to get the 6am flight from Newcastle to Amsterdam and from there to Rome. (I went with another priest of this diocese who prefers not to be named.) There is only a direct flight from Newcastle in the summer nowadays. Although I slept most of the flight it never seems to make up for getting up in the middle of the night and once we got to the conference the pace was quite intense so I was mainly operating on adrenalin. However there was a lot going on to keep the adrenalin flowing.

After an introduction to the conference by Frs John Trigillio and John Walsh (chairmen of the CCC and ACCC respectively) we had Vespers in the Domus chapel at 5.30pm. I`ll be doing another post about the liturgies. This was OF Vespers in English celebrated with the Blessed Sacrament exposed. It was our first encounter with the Lassus Scholars who provided the music during the week and from the start we knew that we were in for a musical treat. They sang a Lassus Magnificat. However I`m trying to stay away from talking about the liturgy. The sermon was given by Bishop Geoffrey Jarrett of Lismore, Australia. What I enjoyed about this was that bishop Jarrett soon made it clear that he had suffered what we had suffered. It was encouraging to hear a bishop talk like this and I think it is the first time I`ve heard a diocesan bishop talk like this. Bishop Jarrett is a member of the ACCC so it should have come as no surprise but I`m so used to hearing how wonderful everything is from bishops that it was at the very least refreshing to hear a different point of view and one which reflected much of my and I`m sure most of the other particpiants` experience of life in the church as regards problems over catechesis and all the rest.

After dinner there was a talk by Mgr McDaid of the Congregation of Clergy which was probably the most stirring talk of the conference. He clearly had faced the same obstacles as many of us. He sounded the theme which was to be taken up by many talks during the week: that the priest is to be conformed to Christ. For couples who wanted to know how to be good parents his advice was that they love one another. For the priest his advice was to love God. I didn`t take notes but I think I remember him talking about a lady in a position of responsibility in the Church who made it known that she did not believe in the divinity of Christ. If anyone challenged this they were accused of having problems with relating to women! (I hope I have this right: if anyone can tell me if I`ve not, then do let me know.)

There was an oppprtunity to enjoy the first convivium of the conference after this but after such a long day I couldn`t wait to get to my bed.

Habemus Papam

I spent New Year`s Eve with two friends, one of whom kindly cooked an Indian meal for us. I should have taken some pictures à la Fr Z. After this we played the board game Vatican ( `Unlock the secrets of how men become pope`). I`d bought this quite some time ago but had never had an opportunity to play. As it was all new to us our understanding of the rules took a bit of time to settle down. Players get cards as they pass the corner squares which are either challenges to take a stand on the issues facing the Church today or incidents affecting their career. Many of the latter seem to involve the players being kidnapped by guerrilla groups although that only involves getting or losing a few points and doesn`t delay progress around the board. However it took a while to realise that the purpose of going around the board is to collect sufficient jobs in either the local episcopal conference or in Vatican congregations to move on to the next stage which is the nine day interregnum between the death of the pope and the opening of the conclave. The conclave when it happened was over after one day and I am happy to announce that I became pope although I`m still mystified as to how it happened as it all seemed rather quick compared to the first stage. However the game kept us entertained and I look forward to having another try.

The picture above is a recreation of the scene in the dinning room as I forgot to take pictures last night.

Oh and a Happy New Year to everyone. 2010 should be a special year for English Catholics with the visit of the Holy Father in September and the beatification of Cardinal Newman as well as the setting up of the Anglican Ordinariate and the preparations for use of the new translation of the OF Roman Missal.

Christmas

A very Happy Christmas to everyone.

Lost Antiphons

I have given up trying to find the antiphons for the vigil of the Nativity for the minor hours in my lovely new 1962 breviary and have had to use the wonderful Divinum Officium site. Any clues would be appreciated. While I`m here can anyone tell me where the invitatory antiphon for the common of a virgin, non-martyr is to be found? There seems to be no option but to say that all virgins are martyrs.

UPDATE: Thanks to Gregor and Mark for the information on the antiphons. All is clear now. Thanks for your swift responses.

St Wilfrid: not entirely forgotten.

I didn`t post anything about St Wilfrid on his feast day (October 12th) as it seemed the general policy was to ignore this saint even in the year of the 1300th anniversary of his death. People I`ve mentioned it to say `Well he`s more of a Yorkshire person`. It`s true he was bishop of York but he was also bishop of Hexham and was bishop of Hexham when he died in 709. Of all the Northumbrian saints he was the one who most exemplifies unity with Rome. Maybe this is why he is unpopular.

Yet not everyone forgot. In this month`s Northern Cross there is an article (p.9) about the choir of Hexham abbey making a trip to Rome to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the saint`s death. They sang a Mass in St Peter`s. So at least the Anglicans think he is worth remembering.

On the subject of Anglicans and English bishops, in a recent interview , Mgr Faley, the assistant general secretary of the episcopal conference of England and Wales spoke to the BBC about the new ordinariate for former Anglicans. While the complementary norms for Anglicanorum Coetibus say the bishops of the Ordinariate are to be chosen from a terna presented by the Governing Council of the Ordinariate and thus would be expected to be a member of the Ordinariate, Mgr Faley thinks it is unlikely that this will be the case.

"I really don't know," says Mgr Faley. "There is the possibility that he would be - but within the culture of the bishops' conference I think that's highly unlikely."

I keep thinking about the phrase `the culture of the bishops` conference`. There is no mention of it in canon law as regards the suitability of a candidate for episcopal consecration. The code asks that a candidate be `outstanding for his solid faith, good morals, piety, zeal for souls, wisdom, prudence and human virtues and endowed with other talents` as well as having a good reputation, be at least thirty-five years old and have a doctorate or at least a licence in theology, canon law or scripture or be at least `truly expert` in these disciplines.

I can`t help wonder whether St Wilfrid would have fitted into the culture of the episcopal conference?

PS I`m delighted to see Mgr Mark Davies of Salford has today been appointed as coadjutor bishop for the diocese of Shrewsbury. That`s cheered me up.

Breakthrough at St Peter`s, Rome.

I`ve been sent news that things are improving at St Peter`s with regards to priests being able to say Mass in the Extraordinary Form. My information says:

Cardinal Comastri, Arch-Priest of St. Peter, has ordered the sacristy of the Vatican Basilica to have four 1962 Missals available for priests wishing to celebrate the Holy Mass according to the usus antiquior. The whole story is in this Italian link.

More of the background to this and the recent FIUV conference in Rome can be read on Joseph Shaw`s blog here.

The background to the icons at St Mary`s

I thought the notes Sr Petra Clare sent explaining the symbolism used in the icons may be of interest.

The icon draws on the account of the childhood of Mary of the Protoevengelion of James. Although from time to time there are questions about the historical veracity of the events, the tradition has been maintained in the icons because it underlines certain important mysteries in the life of the Mother of God.

The protoevangelion tells us that Joachim and Anna were left childless and the elderly Anna conceived, in a similar miracle to the conception of Isaac. The parents made a vow to give the child to the temple. I found from another source that there was a place for women - old women like the prophetess Anna and virgins given into their care to be brought up piously, serving the needs of the temple, including sewing.

After Mary is espoused to Joseph, the temple needs a new veil, and the tradition is for the undefiled virgins of the house of David to spin the veil. The priests cast lots to choose who was to spin gold, white, linen, silk, blue, scarlet and purple. Mary was drawn for the scarlet and purple spinning. In the protoevangelion, Mary is actually sitting and spinning the scarlet and purple when the angel visits her.

Whatever the material truth of the story, later exegesis takes it as a symbol that the flesh of Christ - the veil both revealing and concealing the godhead - is woven from Mary's body. I have followed an icon pattern which indicates the mountain of Sinai topped with cloud on the case of the spindle.

In the icon Mary, as a daughter of David, sits on the throne of the house of David, who will bear the new Godking of David's line. This is why her seat is always so thronelike. The MP OV is Mary Theotokon ( Mother of God). The letters are kept in Greek because the gospels were written in Greek. They are always in red and shortened, which links then to the similarly shortened name of Christ IC XC, and derives from the way of indicating the name of God in the Hebrew Bible.

The angel is always depicted below Mary, and at a distance from her. As the throne of God, she is higher than the angels. Because the angel only indicates that a divine birth will come about and the mystery is concealed from the messenger i.e. 'at a spiritual distance' from him, the space between the two, composed of gold, indicating the presence of God, is vitalling important. It is God who stands between the two. In your church, God literally is enthroned between the two in the tabernacle, and the central pillar forms the decisive division between the messenger and the Mother of God which is a feature of the icon.

Sr Petra Clare

North East Catholic History Society

I really should write these notifications rather earlier but this afternoon we have the December talk for the NECHS. The topic today is Mary Ward 1585-1645 Foundress and Educator and the speaker is Sr. Patricia Harriss cj. As always we meet at St Andrews, Worswick St, Newcastle and begin at 2pm. All welcome.

The icons arrive at St Mary`s

I`m delighted to say that the icon of the Annunciation arrived today for St Mary`s and I was able to get it installed straightaway in time for the Immaculate Conception tomorrow. This is the work of Sr Petra Clare who lives in the Sancti Angeli Benedictine Skete in Cannich, Inverness-shire. Many thanks to Davey and Derek who fitted them today: the same team that installed the hanging crucifix in SS Peter and Paul`s Longbenton a couple of weeks ago. Here are a few pictures although my camera doesn`t get the colours exactly right all the time

Many thanks to the parishioners of St Mary`s who have made this possible by their donations over the last few years.

Mrs. Beamish

I`ve just heard this on the radio and it made me smile.

Directory on the Canonical Status of the Clergy

Last week our dean came round with a copy of the new Directory on the Canonical Status of the Clergy. An event in itself as the last statutes on clergy life I can find in this diocese were published in 1962. This is a national publication and serves as a guide for dioceses to produce their own diocesan statutes for clergy life. Most of it consists of canons from the code but other sections in italics are meant to serve as models for diocesan legislation.

I remember reading an article in 2000 in the Catholic Herald by a priest who said he was not going to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the restoration of the hierarchy until the restoration of the canonical status of parish priests had also occurred! It is true that priests promise obedience to their bishops but sometimes this is misunderstood as an absolute obedience of the kind one finds in a monastery whereas the obedience of the secular clergy is as set out in the code of canon law. Thus while a priest will want to be as obedient as he can to his bishop he does nonetheless have rights as well as obligations and these are not to be ignored.

One of the most difficult events in a parish priest`s life can be when he is asked to move parish. The new directory gives a useful reminder of how this is meant to happen. Although I am a canon lawyer, I must admit I had never given sufficient attention to the canon that deals with this. Nor in my experience have bishops, even those with a doctorate in canon law!

The canon (1748) reads:

If the good of souls or the need or advantage of the Church requires that a pastor be transferred from his parish which he is governing usefully to another parish or to another office, the bishop is to propose the transfer to him in writing and persuade him to consent to it for the love of God and of souls.

The next canon reads:

If the pastor does not intend to yield to the counsel and persuasion of the bishop he is to explain his reasons in writing.

From there it goes on to explain what the bishop still wants to move the priest: the bishop is to send two priests round to try to persuade him to accept the move. If the priest still refuses, the bishop is to issue a decree declaring the parish vacant. The priest however is then at liberty to appeal to Rome and the bishop in his decree is to inform him of how this is done. This is not as far-fetched as it sounds as a number of years ago a few priests in Scotland did this and their appeal against transfer was upheld by the Vatican.

All of this is because if a priest is appointed parish priest he has canonical possession of the parish and can only be moved if there is a serious problem or if he consents to a move. Our bishop reminded us recently in the Northern Cross that all the priests he had moved had consented to move. However I look forward to the implementation of the canon regarding the need for a written request to be made to the priest regarding the move with the reasons for it outlined. There have to be real reasons for the move. Also having it on paper gives the priest time to think things through clearly rather than in an interview where the proposal is sprung on him when he knows nothing about the parish which is being offered to him. Of course this all means a slower process but it also means respecting the rights of the priest according to canon law.

The Directory deals with other matters of clergy life as well. Its publication is good thing and I hope will serve to ensure that the secular clergy know their rights and obligations under canon law.

Ushaw Conference 2010

One of the highlights of 2009 was the LMS training conference at Ushaw. I`m delighted to hear that it is happening again in 2010 and will be the LMS`s main training conference of the year. What made it special on a personal level was having spent five years there as a seminarian and never thinking to ever see let alone celebrate Solemn High Mass in St Cuthbert`s chapel. The LMS have sent the following information about next year`s conference. As well as gaining or refreshing knowledge about celebrating the Extraordinary Form it will be a good week in the company of like-minded priests. I was particularly glad to catch up with some people I`d not seen in twenty years.

Here`s the press release:

LMS Residential Training Conference for Priests Wishing to Learn the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) at Ushaw College, Durham.

The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales (LMS) is organising a residential training conference for priests wishing to learn the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) at Ushaw College, Durham, one of England’s most prestigious seminaries.

The conference will run from Monday 12 April to Friday 16 April 2010 (i.e. Low Week) and will feature Traditional liturgies in Ushaw’s magnificent neo-Gothic St Cuthbert’s Chapel together with a Gregorian Chant schola and polyphonic choir.

Expert tuition in the celebration of Mass in the Usus Antiquior will be provided on a small group basis. There will be tuition in Low Mass, Missa Cantata and Missa Solemnis and there will be streams for beginners and more advanced students. There will be a keynote lecture and 1962 Missals and altar cards will be available.

There will be opening and closing High Masses, daily Mass and Devotions, and Rosary. There will also be a closing Conference dinner with guest speaker.

The subsidised fee to participants is only £115.00 which includes all accommodation, meals and training materials. There are limited places and priests are asked to register as soon as possible.

Further details and registration forms can be obtained from the LMS office (Tel: 020 7404 7284, e mail: info@latin-mass-society.org) or from the conference organiser, Mr Paul Waddington (Tel: 01757 638027, e mail: paul@gooleboathouse.co.uk).

Paul Waddington said, “This is the second time the LMS has organised such a training conference at Ushaw College and we are delighted to be going back. I hope the laity will tell their priests about this wonderful opportunity to learn the Usus Antiquior in the setting of one of England’s finest Catholic seminaries.”

Latin Mass Society, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH
Tel: 020 7404 7284
E mail: info@latin-mass-society.org
Website: latin-mass-society.org

. . . . ENDS . . . .

For further information, please contact John Medlin, General Manager, or James Murphy, LMS Office Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284;
(F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) info@latin-mass-society.org

Irish child abuse scandal

In the light of yesterday`s report in Ireland regarding sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy and the subsequent cover up, I thought Mary Kenny`s piece in the Times today was useful.

In particular she argues that this is not just something involving errant clergy but the whole of Irish society. She writes:

Yet this clerical power in Ireland is often misunderstood by intellectuals, who analyse it as a top-down social structure, as if the clergy kept an iron hold on an unwilling populace. I would suggest that it was what we would call market driven. It came from the peoples’ faith, and the peoples’ desire to exalt their faith.

Especially after the disappearance of British rule, with all the gorgeous panoply that the Crown displayed, the people wanted the priests to be “a native nobility”. Irish politicians in the 1950s tumbled over themselves in their eagerness to kneel before a bishop and refer to an archbishop as “His Grace.

and concludes:

Yet to be fully understood, these scandals must be seen within the context of Irish history. The Catholic church in Ireland wasn’t “them”, it was “us”. It was our fathers and mothers and sisters and cousins and aunts. It was all those families and kin who must have covered up abuse — as families do.

Swine `Flu and Holy Communion

Thanks to Rorate Caeli for publishing this letter from the CDW written to a British Catholic explaining that no bishop can forbid people from receiving Holy Communion on the tongue. This letter does not mention the H1N1 virus bit apparently thhe sender of the letter did. To be fair the bishops issued recommendations that Communion on the tongue cease but people may have understood this to be a command rather than just a recommendation. When our bishop came here in October he gave Holy Communion on the tongue to those who wished to receive in that way.

An extra Mass due to popular demand

Just to say that there will be an EF Mass at St Mary`s at 7.30 am on weekdays of Advent. At the last Council of Priests the bishop asked the priests of the diocese to consider having an early Mass for people going to work and I`m happy to oblige in this parish.

Beauty Brings Joy to the Human Heart

New shroud discovery

I was interested to see this story in the Times. Dr Barbara Frale, a researcher in the Vatican secret archives has deciphered the letters on the shroud of Turn which make up the notice attached to the shroud to say the deceased had been condemned as a criminal. Apparently the bodies were to be put in a common grave for a year after which they could be given to their family. The notice was still fixed to the shroud of Christ even though permission was given for him to be put in the tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea

It`s all explained in Dr Frale`s new book which looks at the lettering that was first noticed in 1978. The notice was in Hebrew, Latin and Greek.

The Times article says:

Dr Frale said that many of the letters were missing, with Jesus for example referred to as "(I)esou(s) Nnazarennos" and only the "iber" of "Tiberiou" surviving. Her reconstruction, however, suggested that the certificate read: "In the year 16 of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius Jesus the Nazarene, taken down in the early evening after having been condemned to death by a Roman judge because he was found guilty by a Hebrew authority, is hereby sent for burial with the obligation of being consigned to his family only after one full year". It ends "signed by" but the signature has not survived.

I look forward to seeing the English version of the book. In Italian it is La Sindone di Gesu Nazareno.

The crucifix in state schools

I don`t like the determination of secularists to see that all outward signs of religion are removed from public life: Christians are citizens too and also have rights. However I do struggle with the recent furore in Italy over the order to remove the crucifix from the classrooms in state schools. After all these are state schools. No-one is saying (yet) that they must be removed in Catholic schools. Actually in my experience Catholics are quite good at removing them themselves. They often seem to remove statues etc from Catholic establishments and replace them mostly with houseplants. I know of one where that happened almost twenty years ago.

However I thought Dignitatis Humanae, at Vatican II, called for the abolition of the Catholic church as the state religion in those places where this was the case. If Catholicism was the state religion of Italy then I could see some point in protesting about state schools having to remove crucifixes. Maybe I have misunderstood.

The Italians are fighting back. I`m glad to see it and hope they win but do we need to think about Dignitatis Humanae again?

Of course from a purely secular point of view if the majority of Italians want to have crucifixes in state schools and the EU really does believe in subsidiarity then I don`t see why their wishes should be defied by the EU in this way.

Ss Peter and Paul`s Longbenton

For quite a while now I have had a crucifix ready to hang in the church to replace the figure I inherited on the back wall. When the La Sagesse convent closed in Newcastle I heard they had a large crucifix they were willing to let us have and it being from a La Sagesse house I expected it to be tasteful which it is. The figure on the back wall of the risen Christ standing in front of the cross with a large smile just didn`t work for me and the parish council were also happy with the suggestion of putting up the La Sagesse cross as there had been a crucifix hanging there in the original design of the church. The workmen who put it up visited a couple of other Newcastle churches which have the same arrangement to see how it could hang from the arch and made a very good job of it.

There is now an outline of the former cross on the back wall. I tried to pass this off as having mystical significance and representing the risen Christ. It reminds me of the cross in the iconoclastic church in Istanbul on BBC4`s History of Christianity this week! However as you may remember there is an icon of Christ on it`s way which may be here for Easter which will occupy that panel. From the main aisle this will be partially blocked by the crucifix but I`m happy about that as it signifies that the way to glory is through the cross. The icon of the Annunciation for St Mary`s Forest Hall should finally arrive in time for December 8th.

Before:

And after:

This second photo was taken rather quickly and I may go back and try to get a better one.

More LMS: annual Requiem

A report this time from the LMS on the annual Requiem at Westminster cathedral with bishop Alan Hopes. I think it is good that it now seems to be a requirement to be an auxiliary bishop in Westminster that you can and are willing to celebrate the Extraordinary Form. Then I suppose they get farmed out as diocesan bishops and so a diocese gets a bishop ho can celebrate the whole Roman rite which is still not the case everywhere. However it would still be encouraging to see the archbishop of Westminster himself celebrate this Mass. I suppose it will take time to bed down and at the minute they still have the excuse that Pope Benedict has neither celebrated it as pope nor attended a celebration. Let`s hope at least one of the northern bishops will accept the invitation of the LMS to attend the next Ushaw training week in 2010. Surely a bishop is a bishop for all the Catholics in his care not just the ones that share his own tastes.

I see this week`s Tablet is tipping bishop Hopes to be the first Ordinary for the Anglican ordinariate in England.

Here are the pictures and report.

Bishop Hopes at the Altar

Bishop Hopes Giving Communion at the Rail

Bishop Hopes and His Ministers in the Sacristy (from left: Gordon Dimon, LMS MC; Fr Michael Cullinan, Deacon; Bp Hopes; Fr Michael Dunne, Sub-deacon; Fr Andrew Southwell, Assistant Priest

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY


23 November 2009

* Westminster Bishop celebrates Traditional Mass for the First Time
* Latin Mass Society Celebrates Its Annual Requiem Mass in Westminster Cathedral

The Rt Rev. Alan Hopes, auxiliary bishop in Westminster, celebrated a High Mass of Requiem in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 14 November for the repose of the souls of all deceased members and supporters of the LMS. Father Andrew Southwell was Assistant Priest, Fr Michael Cullinan was Deacon and the Sub-deacon was Fr Michael Dunne of the cathedral staff. Gordon Dimon of the LMS was MC. Bishop Hopes also preached on the theme of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass as a bridge between the saving events of Our Lord’s Passion and the men and women of our own time with all their hopes and fears.

A congregation of some hundreds heard the men of the Cathedral Choir sing the plainsong Requiem Mass together with the plainsong Adore Te Devote at Communion.

The Mass was followed by the traditional ceremonies of Absolutions at the Catafalque and before Mass, a wreath was laid by Mr Kingsley Lewis, Deputy Chairman of the LMS, and other LMS members on the grave of Cardinal Heenan in the cathedral nave in thanksgiving for the Cardinal’s efforts to preserve the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Father Andrew Southwell read prayers for the occasion.

John Medlin, General Manager of the LMS, said afterwards: “This was the first time that Bishop Hopes had celebrated the Traditional Mass and the LMS is most grateful to him for the great care he took in learning the Rite. We also thank Canon Christopher Tuckwell, the Cathedral Administrator, and his staff for the friendly welcome we always receive in the cathedral”.

Note: The Extraordinary Form has now returned to many of our cathedrals throughout England and Wales and the LMS is actively seeking to introduce further Masses.

LMS Confirmations.

I received the following information from the LMS regarding the recent confirmations in London. Good to see that these are still going on and I`m sure part of the excitment for the children is a day out in London, if they are from outside the city, but I hope we will see this happening elsewhere round the country before too long. Well done LMS.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY


12 November 2009

* Westminster bishop confers Traditional Rite confirmations

Bishop George Stack, auxiliary bishop in Westminster, administered Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Rite) at St James’ Church, Spanish Place, London W1 on Saturday 7 November. 32 candidates received the sacrament – 27 children and 5 adults. This was the sixth year of the annual ceremony organised by the Latin Mass Society.

As usual, permission for the Old Rite Confirmations had been given by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, now Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster.

The candidates’ day began with a catechetical meeting in the Lady Chapel with Bishop Stack. The Confirmation ceremony followed and the liturgical ceremonies were concluded with Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The choir and organist of Spanish Place provided the music, and a large congregation of over 400 family and friends joined them in singing the Veni Creator Spiritus and other traditional hymns. During the anointing, the choir sang polyphony and plain chant.

After the ceremonies, a reception for the bishop and congregation was held in the crypt. Bishop Stack met and chatted with the newly-confirmed and their families and cut the celebratory cake.

Doctor Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, thanked Bishop Stack for his pastoral concern for those attached to the Extraordinary Form and led the families and children in a rousing round of applause.

Bp Stack greets the children in the Lady Chapel.

Bp Stack conferring Confirmation

Ceremonies and the crowded nave


Children helping Bp Stack to cut the celebratory cake

Sign of the Times?

This morning`s post brought a vestment catalogue from church suppliers, Ormsby of Scarisbrick. Another supplier sent a catalogue a few weeks ago and I remember pointing out to anyone would listen, after Mass, that they always seem to have a picture on the front of these things of a beautiful, intricately-decorated vestment and then the usual horse-blanket style chasubles inside.

I browsed through the Ormsby catalogue and was surprised to see for the first time I can remember, a number of Roman-style chasubles included. Now I know that the EF does not require Roman vestments. I happen to prefer them myself but it isn`t the end of the world if I wear a Gothic vestment and normally I will choose to wear something Gothic a couple of times a week. However it is fair to say that a few years ago there would have been no demand for such things so they must be responding to requests and those requests must come from people looking for something more hermeneutically continuous. (Before I get a deluge of comments, I should say I know about the history of vestment design and am using the term in its loosest sense.)

The advertised vestments come with stole, veil and burse but alas no maniple so are not that useful for the EF anyway. I also have to say that I am quite particular about the vestments I buy and none of the designs on offer appealed to me but I thought it was worth blogging about. Some of the Gothic examples they have are rather attractive.

Oh and the picture on the front of the catalogue has a priest and deacon in Mass vestments with their backs to the viewer. Maybe next year there will be a subdeacon too!

Last call for Rome priests` conference

This week I booked to go to the conference for the Year of the Priesthood to be held in Rome between 4th and 8th January. I had mentioned this many months ago. It is being organised by the Conference of Catholic Clergy from the USA and the Australian sister organisation. You can see the impressive programme here. I believe it is still possible to book places. The venue was originally the Casa Pastor Bonus but now the conference has access to the Domus Sanctae Marthae built in the Vatican city to accommodate cardinals during the conclave but used for other events too. However as accommodation is booked on a first come, first served basis those of us booking this week will probably still be in the Casa Pastor Bonus which I`m told is only ten minutes walk away. As you will see from the programme, the renowned priest-blogger, Fr Tim Finigan, is the guest speaker at the main conference dinner. Plenty of cardinals are involved as well as archbishop Burke of the Signatura. Liturgies will be in both the ordinary and extraordinary forms. An accomplished choir have been employed to provide glorious music.

I believe that 60 priests have booked to go so far. It should be a wonderful occasion and provide an opportunity for meeting priests of sound outlook.

Mgr Langham on Anglicanorum Coetibus

The former dean of Westminster cathedral who now works in Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity offers his thoughts about the Apostolic Constitution on Vatican Radio here: click the audio link (under the words Anglicanorum Coetibus) to hear the interview.

Anglicanorum Coetibus

So now we have the document for the reception of Anglican groups into the Catholic Church. I wonder when we will see it start to take shape? The question of celibacy of future ordinands is left slightly open in that while celibacy is the norm the local Anglican Use ordinary can petition the Holy See for the admission of a married man to Holy Orders. The text runs:

§ 2. The Ordinary, in full observance of the discipline of celibate clergy in the Latin Church, as a rule (pro regula) will admit only celibate men to the order of presbyter. He may also petition the Roman Pontiff, as a derogation from can. 277, §1, for the admission of married men to the order of presbyter on a case by case basis, according to objective criteria approved by the Holy See.

One other question that occurs to me, thinking ahead. If a convert comes to the Catholic Church from an Eastern Orthodox background, they become members of whichever equivalent Eastern Rite is in communion with the Holy See, even if they were received by a Latin rite priest. Will the same apply now for converts from an Anglican background? Will they become Anglican Use Catholics or will they still be able to choose to become members of the local Latin rite Catholic diocese?

Interesting times ahead.

Una Voce and Leo Darroch

You may have seen elsewhere on the blogosphere that the committee of the International Federation Una Voce went to Rome recently and their president was introduced to the Pope. This may not mean a lot to some people so let me explain. The Federation is the umbrella organisation for the many branches of Una Voce around the world. The federation has existed since 1967 although its roots go back to 1965. It is a lay movement which exists to preserve the traditional form of the Roman liturgy. The English Latin Mass Society is a member. For a full explanation see here.

Naturally with the promulgation of Summorum Pontificum their work has assumed a higher profile and the committee submits reports to Rome about its implementation. In this picture we see the Holy Father being presented with the latest report on October 28th.

The current president is Leo Darroch. He is well known among Latin Mass supporters in this diocese as he lives here. Hexham and Newcastle has a very high profile layman in the person of Leo. Let`s hope his good work bears fruit.

Northern Cross

The diocesan newspaper, the Northern Cross, which comes out on the first weekend of the month, takes a bit longer to get to Forest Hall: we got ours during the week. I was intrigued to see an article on page 12 about the celebration held here on October 3rd for La Virgen de Pilar. I hadn`t sent anything in but from the article it looks as if it was lifted from my account on this blog. I suppose it would have been nice to have had the blog acknowledged as the source but it`s not that important.

There is a large article on page two which gives an account of the bishop`s meeting with the `Council of the Laity` which has a picture of him and five female members of the council. In it the bishop sets out some of his ideas for leading the diocese. It is stated that the aim should be to `have everyone feeling valued and using their gifts and talents`. I hope this extends to the clergy too!

London Colney

The LMS magazine, Mass of Ages arrived today. The front cover reminded me that I had received a few photos of the London Colney training conference which I had forgotten to publish. All seems to be in place for the Ushaw conference in April next year. Here are the pictures.

North East Catholic History Society

This afternoon at 2 pm at St Andrew`s, Worswick St, Newcastle upon Tyne, the distinguished Newman scholar, Dr Sheridan Gilley, will speak on Newman and the crisis of Capitalism. All welcome. Non-members £1.

All Souls

Just a reminder that there is a Mass in the Extraordinary Form at St Mary`s tonight at 7pm.

Today I went to Benton cemetery to bless graves. I wanted to do this on All Souls itself but wondered if many people would come because of it being during the day but I`m glad to say there was a much bigger turn out than last year of people who wanted to pray for their departed relatives.