Just as honours are given to senior officers in the armed forces. If you are appointed Vice Admiral, Lt General, Air Vice Marshal you get a knighthood; if you get to be Chief of Defence Staff, you get a peerage. So post V2 popes will be canonised. But don't hold your breath regarding pre V2 popes.
But watch out for Luther being canonised. He now appears on the latest Vatican Stamp at the foot of the Cross, replacing Our Blessed Lady.
"He now appears on the latest Vatican Stamp at the foot of the Cross, replacing Our Blessed Lady."
This depiction of Luther and Melanchthon on the Vatican postage stamp is a reproduction of the 19th-Century enameled depiction "art work" over the door of the Wittenberg Schlosskirche upon which Luther supposedly posted his 95 Theses on 31 October 1517. The door itself is a 19th-Century production; the original door was destroyed, along with the church itself, in 1760 in the course of an Austrian bombardment during the Seven Years' War - and, in fact, in all likelihood Luther's posting there of the 95 Theses is mythological rather than historical. Cf. the recently-published books by Richard Rex, The Making of Martin Luther , and Peter Marshall, 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation.
Whatever the source of the artwork on the new Vatican stamp, in Catholic art, Our Blessed Lady and St. John stand at the foot of the Cross. The stamp is an in-your-face insult to Our Lady and St. John and anyone with Catholic sensibilities. It indicates that the wolves now inhabiting the Vatican consider themselves wholly invulnerable. But they will be brought down and we might be surprised at whom God uses as his instrument. As St. Peter's Basilica was the instrument fomenting the Protestant revolt, it might be the price we must pay for freedom from the current apostasy.
John Fannon: in recent years not all officers in the ranks mentioned have received knighthoods. There is a trend against "automaticity" and it has also affected the position of Recorder of London. The last one got a CBE on retirement rather than a knighthood while in office.
I read that the process for the canonisation for John Paul I 'formally began in 1990 with the petition by 226 Brazilian bishops, including four cardinals. The petition was addressed directly to Pope John Paul II.' The only connection I can find with Brazil during JPI's lifetime is that in 1975, as Cardinal-Patriarch Luciani of Venice, he spent a fortnight visiting the country. And that he later supported the papal candidacy of Cardinal Lorscheider (the liberation theology advocate) to be Pope in the Conclave that instead elected Luciani. But the other thing that occurred to me on reading about that Brazilian episcopal petition is that 226 seemed rather a lot of bishops, even for Brazil. For years Brazilian bishops have been (vociferously) soliciting Rome to allow married Brazilian priests and female deaconnesses to help give the Sacraments, despite declining numbers of faithful Catholics in the country - and that 'causa' is the 'latest thing' recently taken up by PF...
On googling a bit further, I see that according to recent figures, there are now more than 400 bishops in Brazil. Might there be perhaps too many chiefs, and not enough Indios?
Roncalli and Montini being made saints is almost sinful. They did more to ruin the Church than anything else. What about Leo XIII? His Saint Michael prayer has blessed the Church for over 100 years. I think all popes who did not consecrate Russia to Mary's Immaculate Heart should not be declared saints.
Perhaps we should dispense with all the fuss and just declare them saints when they are elected at the conclave. This can be used as an assurance to the cattle ... err ... the faithful ... that contemporary popes following His Holiness of 2013 really are oracles.
ABS has received a comforting email from Prof Herman NuDix of Continuity College in Rome;
Dear ABS, I have learned that you, and several others of your irksome ilk, have begun to grouse in the high grass as you bird brains quail in objection to the expected canonisation of Pope John Paul I but let me remind you that this is aught but the ecclesiastical continuity we have all come to live and love in Rome this past one-half century (or whatever).
Think about your beloved Roman Canon, ABS; there was a time when only Mary and martyrs were appealed to in the Canon but we have all lived and loved the changes in the Canon because, well, Canons are made to be broken, and so the proposed canonisation of Pope John Paul I is no biggy because Roman Canon and the somewhat noticeable and recent increase in the frequency of canonisations merely repeat the canonisations of the early church and we are really just reconnecting with the past when the first 49 Popes were canonised (Yes, even Liberius was canonised) and so if the church had been shagged-out after so many canonisations, it is only to be expected that she would be able to catch her breath because she is no longer winded chasing around the world after those who aren't Catholics because how could God not save everyone: do you think he is a God of Hate, rather than Mercy?
Relax, ABS, it is all good and everything is continuity. Amen?
I recently watched "On the Waterfront" from 1954. A striking film in so many ways. Produced under the influence of both McCarthyism and the old production code (the latter was a front for the Catholic Church) which interestingly forced the director Kazan to change the ending.
With that in mind, Marlon Brando's famous speech to his brother in the back of a taxi cab from the aforementioned film reveals not only his character's own tragic and pathetic past. He is inadvertently predicting our futures.
Now come on. A lot of people have long had a devotion to Pope John Paul I, and many of them are quite good Catholics. I know his letters have helped a lot of folks, and his life is supposed to have been one of heroic virtue.
Now, of course, it is true that a lot of the opponents of Pope John Paul II were forever saying that X would never have happened if Pope John Paul I had still been reigning, insinuating that he was murdered by Evul Traddies, and turning him into a little liberal angel. But these weren't the folks who actually quoted him, or explored his spiritual comments and life.
So yes, it's probably too much of a good thing, to run so many papal sainthood causes so closely together; but I don't have any problem with this particular cause.
(And as many people seem to need reminding, remember that project success is not part of the evidence of sainthood. There are a lot of saints who were complete and utter failures at many or most of their projects, and whose contemporaries were sure that they were incompetents who just ruined everything. Think of all the religious founders who got imprisoned by their successors. Some were even wiped out of their orders' histories! Think of all the holy fools who warned people not to put them in charge of anything, and how often they were right!)
(The qualities that make a saint are not the same as the gifts of prudence and administration, although they can go together in many cases. It would be nice if every pope were a Pope St. Gregory the Great, but the Lord in His wisdom has not chosen to give us that.)
I'm waiting for the beatification of Pius XII.
ReplyDeleteWhen will this happen?
Just as honours are given to senior officers in the armed forces. If you are appointed Vice Admiral, Lt General, Air Vice Marshal you get a knighthood; if you get to be Chief of Defence Staff, you get a peerage. So post V2 popes will be canonised. But don't hold your breath regarding pre V2 popes.
ReplyDeleteBut watch out for Luther being canonised. He now appears on the latest Vatican Stamp at the foot of the Cross, replacing Our Blessed Lady.
ReplyDelete"He now appears on the latest Vatican Stamp at the foot of the Cross, replacing Our Blessed Lady."
This depiction of Luther and Melanchthon on the Vatican postage stamp is a reproduction of the 19th-Century enameled depiction "art work" over the door of the Wittenberg Schlosskirche upon which Luther supposedly posted his 95 Theses on 31 October 1517. The door itself is a 19th-Century production; the original door was destroyed, along with the church itself, in 1760 in the course of an Austrian bombardment during the Seven Years' War - and, in fact, in all likelihood Luther's posting there of the 95 Theses is mythological rather than historical. Cf. the recently-published books by Richard Rex, The Making of Martin Luther , and Peter Marshall, 1517: Martin Luther and the Invention of the Reformation.
Whatever the source of the artwork on the new Vatican stamp, in Catholic art, Our Blessed Lady and St. John stand at the foot of the Cross. The stamp is an in-your-face insult to Our Lady and St. John and anyone with Catholic sensibilities. It indicates that the wolves now inhabiting the Vatican consider themselves wholly invulnerable. But they will be brought down and we might be surprised at whom God uses as his instrument. As St. Peter's Basilica was the instrument fomenting the Protestant revolt, it might be the price we must pay for freedom from the current apostasy.
ReplyDeleteJohn Fannon: in recent years not all officers in the ranks mentioned have received knighthoods. There is a trend against "automaticity" and it has also affected the position of Recorder of London. The last one got a CBE on retirement rather than a knighthood while in office.
ReplyDeleteI read that the process for the canonisation for John Paul I 'formally began in 1990 with the petition by 226 Brazilian bishops, including four cardinals. The petition was addressed directly to Pope John Paul II.'
ReplyDeleteThe only connection I can find with Brazil during JPI's lifetime is that in 1975, as Cardinal-Patriarch Luciani of Venice, he spent a fortnight visiting the country. And that he later supported the papal candidacy of Cardinal Lorscheider (the liberation theology advocate) to be Pope in the Conclave that instead elected Luciani.
But the other thing that occurred to me on reading about that Brazilian episcopal petition is that 226 seemed rather a lot of bishops, even for Brazil. For years Brazilian bishops have been (vociferously) soliciting Rome to allow married Brazilian priests and female deaconnesses to help give the Sacraments, despite declining numbers of faithful Catholics in the country - and that 'causa' is the 'latest thing' recently taken up by PF...
On googling a bit further, I see that according to recent figures, there are now more than 400 bishops in Brazil. Might there be perhaps too many chiefs, and not enough Indios?
The question is: what shall we do with such abundance of splendour that has outshone first popes of Rome (after all they were martyrs)?
ReplyDeleteRoncalli and Montini being made saints is almost sinful. They did more to ruin the Church than anything else. What about Leo XIII? His Saint Michael prayer has blessed the Church for over 100 years. I think all popes who did not consecrate Russia to Mary's Immaculate Heart should not be declared saints.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should dispense with all the fuss and just declare them saints when they are elected at the conclave. This can be used as an assurance to the cattle ... err ... the faithful ... that contemporary popes following His Holiness of 2013 really are oracles.
ReplyDeleteABS has received a comforting email from Prof Herman NuDix of Continuity College in Rome;
ReplyDeleteDear ABS, I have learned that you, and several others of your irksome ilk, have begun to grouse in the high grass as you bird brains quail in objection to the expected canonisation of Pope John Paul I but let me remind you that this is aught but the ecclesiastical continuity we have all come to live and love in Rome this past one-half century (or whatever).
Think about your beloved Roman Canon, ABS; there was a time when only Mary and martyrs were appealed to in the Canon but we have all lived and loved the changes in the Canon because, well, Canons are made to be broken, and so the proposed canonisation of Pope John Paul I is no biggy because Roman Canon and the somewhat noticeable and recent increase in the frequency of canonisations merely repeat the canonisations of the early church and we are really just reconnecting with the past when the first 49 Popes were canonised (Yes, even Liberius was canonised) and so if the church had been shagged-out after so many canonisations, it is only to be expected that she would be able to catch her breath because she is no longer winded chasing around the world after those who aren't Catholics because how could God not save everyone: do you think he is a God of Hate, rather than Mercy?
Relax, ABS, it is all good and everything is continuity. Amen?
I was told that the last words of Pope John Paul I were "God, this cocoa tastes funny".
ReplyDeleteI recently watched "On the Waterfront" from 1954. A striking film in so many ways. Produced under the influence of both McCarthyism and the old production code (the latter was a front for the Catholic Church) which interestingly forced the director Kazan to change the ending.
ReplyDeleteLooking back at the era, the naiveté of the Italian curia and papacy is baffling to the modern mind. Italy was a protectorate of the USA from at least 1947 onwards and one might expect some understanding, in the land of Gramsci, as to the nature of hegemony. Before sneering at "V2" popes perhaps we need to consider that the Italian Church feared civil war, persecution and economic disaster unless they made concessions to the hegemon.
With that in mind, Marlon Brando's famous speech to his brother in the back of a taxi cab from the aforementioned film reveals not only his character's own tragic and pathetic past. He is inadvertently predicting our futures.
If "there is no Catholic God" today, then may we assume a fortiori that there are no Catholic saints?
ReplyDeleteNow come on. A lot of people have long had a devotion to Pope John Paul I, and many of them are quite good Catholics. I know his letters have helped a lot of folks, and his life is supposed to have been one of heroic virtue.
ReplyDeleteNow, of course, it is true that a lot of the opponents of Pope John Paul II were forever saying that X would never have happened if Pope John Paul I had still been reigning, insinuating that he was murdered by Evul Traddies, and turning him into a little liberal angel. But these weren't the folks who actually quoted him, or explored his spiritual comments and life.
So yes, it's probably too much of a good thing, to run so many papal sainthood causes so closely together; but I don't have any problem with this particular cause.
(And as many people seem to need reminding, remember that project success is not part of the evidence of sainthood. There are a lot of saints who were complete and utter failures at many or most of their projects, and whose contemporaries were sure that they were incompetents who just ruined everything. Think of all the religious founders who got imprisoned by their successors. Some were even wiped out of their orders' histories! Think of all the holy fools who warned people not to put them in charge of anything, and how often they were right!)
(The qualities that make a saint are not the same as the gifts of prudence and administration, although they can go together in many cases. It would be nice if every pope were a Pope St. Gregory the Great, but the Lord in His wisdom has not chosen to give us that.)