The 1700th Anniversary of the Earthly Birthday of the Patriarch of the Western Monks, S Martin.
Perhaps an occasion to give hearty thanks for the solid revival of traditional Monasticism in recent decades ... Papa Stronsay ... Silverstream ... Norcia ... Lanherne ... and to pray for the still-persecuted brothers and sisters of the Franciscans of the Immaculate as well as for the dispossessed brothers of Norcia.
And we should not forget that recent legislation from Rome appears designed to inhibit the flourishing of traditionalist religious, and to do so by restricting the previous freedoms enjoyed by bishops in their own dioceses to erect communities.
How peculiar that Cardinal Marx and his lookalikes have not protested against this piece of bureaucratic Roman centralisation. I thought they were against that sort of thing.
No I didn't ... I have just been a little untruthful. Does the fact that I was writing ironically make it all right?
Ah well, at least we can be glad that the oppressive burden of being supervised by the CDF has been lifted from the back of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in America.
Oh dear. I've just done it again. Why is it so difficult to write about any news during this unhappy pontificate without stumbling into irony?
Is it irony, or parody, or sarcasm?
ReplyDeleteDo you know Father this is the very first time I have commented on your blog although I have read it for some time. Can I just very politely point out that, by constantly criticising and carping about the Pope as you do, you are giving a very bad example. Not only that but you are continuing to behave just like an Anglican; always sniding and rallying agin the government. No one expects uncritical acceptance of everything the Pope says and does but what you have written over the past year or so as well as the manner in which you write it (I particularly remember remember a post in which you cast explicit aspersions about "the character and motivations" of the Pope) is profoundly unCatholic and very unedifying. Worse still it risks giving damage to souls in that those who might have come into the Church may decide not to do so and those who have already done so -possibly inspired by your example- may decide that they might as well go back to being Anglicans.
ReplyDeleteDo you know Father this is the very first time I have commented on your blog although I have read it for some time. Can I just very politely point out that, by constantly criticising and carping about the Pope as you do, you are giving a very bad example. Not only that but you are continuing to behave just like an Anglican; always sniding and rallying agin the government. No one expects uncritical acceptance of everything the Pope says and does but what you have written over the past year or so as well as the manner in which you write it (I particularly remember remember a post in which you cast explicit aspersions about "the character and motivations" of the Pope) is profoundly unCatholic and very unedifying. Worse still it risks giving damage to souls in that those who might have come into the Church may decide not to do so and those who have already done so -possibly inspired by your example- may decide that they might as well go back to being Anglicans.
ReplyDeleteI profoundly disagree with the last comment: it is no secret that many Catholics find the present Pope rather… difficult to comprehend, at the least. Being a Catholic does not imply being a supine, docile papolater!
ReplyDeletePriests tell me that they often field queries from concerned Catholics about the current Vicar of Christ, ever since his election. Pretending that all is happy and glad within the Church would be foolish, especially given the notorious Synods on the Family and the subsequent Papal document, together with the very serious questions arising from it, which occasion much concern to Catholics of every degree within the Church.
Any right-believing Catholic is perfectly entitled to express his own opinions, even and perhaps especially about the well-known unusual antics and utterances of His Holiness, with due charity, supported by rational argumentation, without being accused of behaving like a heretic. Cradle Catholics should not forget that gormless grovelling is not attractive.
Far from pushing away prospective converts, being honest about present difficulties helps such interested persons realise that they needn't leave their brain behind when they swim the Tiber.
One shouldn't convert because of, nor in spite of, the current Pope - one should become a Catholic because one recognises, enlightened by grace, that the Catholic Church is the true Church founded by Our Lord, with which one must unite for the sake of one's eternal salvation.
I thought St. Benedict was the Patriarch of the Western Monks.
ReplyDeleteFr Hunwicke has my support through and through!This Pontificate is disturbing to say the least and Francis is venting his spleen on Faithful Catholics day by day.In my opinion,to paraphrase Pope Paul vi in 1972 -The smoke of Satan has entered the Vatican through its fissures-this is truer now than it was then.Francis is so out of control that i sense he will disappear under a muddled diatribe,or two,and render everything he says incomprehensible, so making him unfit even to speak..Isnt that what we are seeing day by day? Fr Hunwicke is right and has my support.
ReplyDeleteFr Hunwicke, unedifying????
ReplyDeleteC'mon. I can give you hundreds of example of unedifying things in the Church right now, and Fr Hunwicke is certainly not one of them. Plus he has balls. He didn't shy away from signing a certain letter. That's courage.
The papacy is not equivalent to sainthood. Do a bit of research and you'll see that there have been popes of questionable character long before our current Pope Francis. I have been a traditional-type Catholic for many years, and I can tell you that articles such as this have helped many people to enter the Church. Often, they read of the curious comments and behaviors of Pope Francis (and his recent predecessors) and cannot understand why they counter the 2000 years of historical Catholicism they have studied. Then they read such writers as Fr. Hunwicke and are struck by the realization that there is really an ancient Church that has survived and that is really worth devoting one's life to. I meet people like this quite regularly.
ReplyDeleteReading Fr. Hunwicke keeps me sane.
ReplyDelete