Readers will remember the scandalous occasion a few years ago when the CBCEW endorsed a resolution of the German bishops, attacking the Prayer for the Jews which Pope Benedict had himself very recently composed sua manu for the Good Friday Solemn Prayers in the Extraordinary Form. Today, the festival of the Conversion of S Paul, I find myself wondering if their Lordships and their Graces have yet agreed to something like the following. If not, I humbly offer my draft for their use.
Paragraph 5. The Conference supports the demand of the German Bishops that reconsideration be given to the existence on the calendar of a commemoration called The Conversion of S Paul.
We understand that this commemoration is gravely offensive to our Jewish bretheren, and we share their hurt and their pain. So soon after the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, it is particularly inappropriate that our liturgical life should retain within it any suggestion of the propriety of 'converting' any member of the Jewish People, whether by a 'voice' purporting to be from 'heaven' or by any other means. We remember the teaching of Pope Francis that our Jewish brethren already possess a Covenant which is both sufficient and irreplaceable. And we associate ourselves wholeheartedly with the Holy Father's frequent and decisive repudiations of proselytism.
Accordingly, this Conference calls upon the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments to reconsider the appropriateness of this liturgical anomaly.
We believe that such reconsideration should take into account the Spirit of the Second Vatican Council (Nostra Aestate) as well as the current Universal Ordinary Magisterium of the Catholic Chuch; together with the sensitivities of our beloved Elder Brethren, the People of Israel.
A big problem about the current life of the Church is that reality so often outstrips any attempts at satire. I am probably already behind the news! If so, I apologise for being such a bore.
If not, remember: you read it first here!
ἐγώ εἰμι ἀνὴρ ἰουδαῖος,
ReplyDeletePerhaps St. Paul himself answers this quandry
Yes, you deserve credit for breaking the story Fr. H.
ReplyDeleteIt is only natural that the renunciation of the conversion of St. Paul is on the agenda.
The Conference of Catholic Bishops for England & Wales is one of the big problems in the Church. Particularly egregious is its Catholic Education Service and their support for the Government's plans for sex education in Schools and promotion of homosexuality. The corruption of the young 'en masse' by our Bishops will make the abuse scandal seem a triviality.
ReplyDeleteYou had me checking the date there, but it's not spring yet.
ReplyDeleteOffensive to the Jews or to the german "bishops"?
ReplyDeleteDear Father. Do the Jews regard us christians as their brethren?
ReplyDeleteI'm not Fr, but the answer is likely no, some insincere 'inter-faith' event excepted.
ReplyDelete