A Time To Choose

 

No doubt many of you in Ireland will have heard of the TD (member of the Irish parliament) who has been told by his parish priest that he can no longer serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion following his support for the recent abortion bill.  The TD, as has become the norm now, has gone to the media to express his woes and pain.  In one article he is quoted as saying that he is horrified by attempts to intimidate him by "ultra right-wing elements in the Church" (by which I presume he means Catholics who reject abortion).  It also appears that the same TD was using Church premises to hold his clinics (where a TD meets constituents) and he has now been told that he can no longer do so.

 

First of all no TD should be permitted to use Catholic Church property for meetings.  Given we hear so much of the separation of Church and State, Catholic parishes should never facilitate politicians in their political work regardless of who that politician is, upstanding parishioner or not.

 

Secondly, I understand why the TD in question does not realise why he cannot be pro-abortion, or at least support the introduction of an abortion bill, and not continue to be a Minister of Holy Communion.  Given that the Church representatives in Ireland, and many other places, have dodged the issue of abortion and the consequences for Catholics who support and facilitate it, it is understandable that there is a lot of ignorance out there. 

 

Thirdly, what this TD's parish priest has done is entirely correct: this TD, having facilitated the introduction of abortion into this country, can no longer serve as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion at Mass nor should he be receiving Communion at all, not until he has made a public repudiation of his position having sought the Sacrament of Confession and perhaps even after doing some public form of penance.  The same goes for all Catholic TDs in the Dail who supported the bill.  Whether they like it or not they had a choice and they made the choice to support the bill and that has consequences for their souls and for their place in the Church.

 

Reading what the TD has to say I get the impression that he thinks he has a right to be an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion and that the priest has no right to exclude him.  This attitude is not unknown in Ireland today as some of those who are Extraordinary Ministers do actually believe it is their right.  This again is not always the fault of lay people who serve in this role, but rather reveals another failing at the heart of the Church in Ireland - another failure of catechesis.  No one has a right to be an Extraordinary Minister, it is a role whereby lay people may assist the priest with the distribution of Holy Communion at the priest's request if he honestly recognises that the distribution of the Eucharist will take an inordinately long time.  There are a lot of conditions in there you'll note.  But they are the conditions laid down by the Church for this role. 

 

Finally I note with interest, in the Irish Independent's article on this issue, what the spokesman for the Irish Bishops had to say - there is no diktat with regard to politicians and Communion nor to their current relationship with the Church i.e. excommunication.  There is a terrible fear in many Churchmen today to confront and challenge, a fear of offending people and a fear of the media.  Walking the tightrope between pastoral charity and defence of the faith can sometimes be a precarious thing, but it is certainly made more difficult when it is being conducted down in the trenches with heads held as low as physically possible. 

 

There are times when the truth most be proclaimed and action taken even if it offends people, even if people leave the Church, even if it means the media are going to drag you through the newspapers - that's the price we have to pay for proclaiming the Gospel.  If Jesus had stayed in the trenches he would never have been crucified, and we would not have been redeemed.  And today, how many souls are being lost because Churchmen and women are afraid to proclaim the truth?  If that TD had heard the Gospel of Life properly proclaimed he may well have been aware of the choice he was making on the day of the vote and the consequences for him with regard to the Church.  He may well have made the same choice but he would have been under no illusion that things could dandy along as per usual unchanged.  But then again he may have thought twice about it and may have chosen life instead of death.

 

On this issue I would suggest a good meditational reading of St Augustine's Sermon to the Shepherds (Office of Readings, Monday Week 24 to Thursday Week 25).

Annus De Fide

Today Cardinal Levada of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith released its Note with Pastoral Recommendations for the Year of Faith in response to the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio, Porta fidei, see here for the text of the Note.

The Year begins on the fifieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council and twenieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism: 11th October this year, and ends on Solemnity of Christ the King the following year, 24th November 2013. 

As the Cardinal points out: 'The Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today - capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the "door of faith".'  At the heart of the Year, then, will be the person of Jesus Christ, a renewal of our faith in him, a radical catechesis based on the Catechism, and a major push to all involved in the New Evangelisation.  

The Note offers a number of recommendations for the Year for the various levels in the Church: universal, episcopal conference, diocesan and parish.    A Synod of Bishops in October 2012 will be devoted to it, and World Youth Day in Rio in 2013 will take it as its theme.  

At the episcopal conference level, I note a recommendation with regard to local Saints - Ireland should take careful note of this.  As I have often said, and as my friend over at Fr Willie Doyle's blog noted just a few days ago, there has been an appalling lack of interest in the holy people of our country.  As the Note correctly points out: "the Saints and Blesseds are authentic witnesses of faith".

At parish level, I see the Cardinal is aiming at a major catechesis - priests should offer cycles of homilies on the various aspects of the faith, the creed, encounter with Christ, and faith and the Church.  That is badly needed.   We will have to get thinking.  It might be no harm for groups of priests to get together and help each other in this.  Any takers, brothers?

The Year of Faith is a great opportunity, I hope the Church in Ireland takes it.  The various other Years passed us by - Rosary, Eucharist, Pauline - I do hope we won't let this pass: it is a marvellous gift to us as we work towards reform and renewal.   And not only for Ireland, for the whole Church.

We Are Still Alive...For Now

The fact that I am writing this, and you, dear reader, are reading it, means the world did not end on Saturday last at 6pm.  Now we do have strong winds and torrential rain here in Ireland, and another Icelandic volcano is erupting but, as one wit said to me, that is probably because Obama is coming. Quite.  Anyway, apparently the prophet who predicted the end, Harold Camping, is very confused these days and is at a loss for words.  But I suppose he'll come up with something: you can't keep these evangelical preachers down, nor do their minions lose faith.

While the media people were laughing, I always get the sense they feel a little nervous because, though they do not believe, they are not quite sure either and there is always a chance something might happen.  G.K. Chesterton once wrote than when you stop believing in something you end up believing in anything.  How true that is: modern man rejects God, but then runs around worshiping nature, feeling the power of crystals (aka bright stones) and reverently consulting their horoscopes or tarot cards.

For us Christians, we are reminded of a few things.  First, we will not be able to predict the coming of the Lord - the end of the world.  There will be signs, as Jesus said, but his coming will be sudden.  It will take many by surprise, but it should not take us by surprise: following Jesus' words, we have to be ready at a moment's notice.  The end, the Second Coming, will be our moment of triumph when we look up and see Our Lord and Saviour.

Second thing: we must be aware that death can take us at any moment, and that our lives must be in order so as to go as Christians, faithful servants of the Gospel.   There should be no leaving things until tomorrow for, as Garth Brooks once reminded us, what "if tomorrow never comes"?    And we shall die as we live now:  sudden death bed conversions are rare. 

Thirdly, while Mr Camping was wide off the mark, he does remind us that we need to think about the Last Things.  At one time Catholics were aware of the Last Things, priests preached on them, retreat directors included them in their talks and pious spiritual exercises led us to meditate on them.  But no longer, a presumptious people do not like to be reminded of such negative things, nor do they accept the reality of purgatory and hell.   When I was teaching, just up last year, my students (Secondary/High School students) knew nothing about the Last Things.  Despite having had years of Catholic formation, been prepared for and recieved the sacraments, they knew nothing about basic Christian doctrine. 

In my years with them I tried to remedy that, and they were interested.  They loved the Last Things.  Brought up believing that there is only heaven and everyone goes there the second they die, they were challenged by the concept of Judgement - they had signed up to the modern Catholic concept that no one, not even God, is allowed judge you or your actions.  Purgatory was problematic - though they could see the logic of it.  As for hell - they did not believe it existed and did believe.  This is the interesting contradiction which we find in contemporary Christians - they do not believe hell exists because of a loving God, but then evil people do not go to heaven, they go to....hell.

Of course all of this betrays a dismal failure in catechesis, and the resolution of this requires solutions far beyond the classroom.   So time to address that.

Catholic Education In Ireland

The future of Catholic education is now exercising the minds of many in Ireland today.  No doubt you have been following Caroline McCamley's posts on the St Genesius Blog: as a Catholic parent of four school-going children she is more qualified than most to speak, but, as experience teaches, she and those like her will be the last the powers that be will listen to in the debate. Why?  Because of agendas.   With a country that has the most liberal approach to education - allowing parents decide and our Constitution demanding that the government support them and provide finance for the schools parents have chosen, there seems to be little desire on all sides to actually respect this liberal approach.  Instead, it seems to me, many movers and shakers want to impose a State system which will restrict choice.  Now there's a thing - I'm pro-choice....when it comes to education.  Why?  Because that system allows for and respects religious freedom.

That said, the Catholic Church does have a lot of schools, and it is unfair for the Church to have to carry the burden of providing education for all the children of the state.  Now that, of course, is no problem if there is no other provider, but there is, or if the majority of the parents in the state want a Catholic education for their children.  This burden is even more unfair when you have a system where government insists on secularising Catholic schools in the name of "equality" to cater for non-Catholics who have no choice but to go to these schools.  There is also the problem of sacramental preparation which takes place in school and that has not been as successful in recent years as it has in the past.  Part of the problem there is an awful catechetical programme which should be consigned the flames and a new team of orthodox catechists appointed to write a new one.

So I'll put my cards on the table.  I favour Catholic schools primarily for Catholic children.  If we have to lose some of our schools to achieve that, well and good, but we do not let go without getting a very good deal from the state and cast-iron guarantees that we can have Catholic schools with a Catholic ethos with Catholic teachers, or at least those who support and will implement a Catholic ethos.  I do not think getting palsy-walsy with the government is a good idea - we have to have our wits about us to get a good deal and the freedom we require, so doomsday speeches and homilies and a quick rush to the solicitors to sign over properties is a bad idea.  If that is the way things are going to go, then we will be a pushover and we will lose our schools, even those we are "allowed" to keep.  The Constitution allows us to keep our schools and our freedom - time we used that wise document to our favour. And we do not give away schools if we have a Catholic population to fill them - so the numbers game is a no-no for now.  We do not hand over 50% or 40% or 90% unless the Catholic parents do not require these schools. 

Regarding sacramental preparation.  Well my personal opinion is that it needs to be taken out of the schools and returned to the parish.  In our Catholic schools we should have a strong catechetical programme taught by those who know and practice the faith, but the preparation for sacraments should then require additional catechises in a parish context.  Now some may say that is unreasonable - it will take too much time: exactly, that's the idea.  Such a programme might finally finish the "rite of passage only" dimension to the sacraments where those who are not committed to the faith go through the programme for the day out, the dressing up, the photographs etc.  This system will also provide for children who cannot get into Catholic schools but who are committed to their faith.   Will this system exclude people?  Yes, of course it will - it will exclude those who do not really want to be included. 

We can look to the US and the UK for examples of how all this can be done.  Now the Church in the UK is having difficulties at the moment, the old guard, left-wing by nature, is trying to enforce its own agenda and it seems that they having some success, as recent developments in London's Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School affair reveal. So we have to be careful.  If we play our cards right and stick to our guns, and get the right people involved, we will be successful and we will find that our schools, as in every other country, will rise to the top.  Of course there will be accusations of elitism, and our socialists in the Church may not like that, they may prefer "bog comprehensives", but such ideas and those who insist on them will just have to be pushed to one side.  We must give our Catholic children the best education we can - in faith, and for the world.   If we bear that in mind we will do well.  Indeed if we put half the energy we have put in to the Child Protection procedures into building a new Catholic educational system and exorcising the old, then we will have one of the best in the world.  But will the Church in Ireland bother........?

One Year Today

This day next year the new translation of the Missal will come into use in Ireland and other English speaking countries.  It will be interesting to see how it will fare. The translation has its virtues and, yes, we have to be honest and admit it, it has some awkward phrasing in parts - but then the translation we are using now has a number of problems, one of them being accuracy of translation.   I will also be interested to see how the priests take to it.  Certainly the celebration of the Mass will change - the formulation of the prayers will conspire against the rushed Mass and that will be no harm.  The Mass will be more obviously transcendent, and I can see that causing problems for some who are more comfortable with emphasising the community meal aspect of the Eucharist, and that will be no harm either - time to be more balanced in our approach to the Mass.

I hope the new translation will bring and end to the coffee table Masses I and so many of my generation had to endure.  Certainly the language of the new translation will not suit the atmosphere of the priest in ill-fitting, multi-coloured jumper and baggy corduroys waving a piece of sliced pan and glass of wine in the air and proclaiming liberation and self-affirmation.  It's a wonder I have any faith left never mind a vocation!  However being a realist, there will be some reactionaries that will hold out.  These same reactionaries have been doing a lot of grumbling lately, and I have even read that the self-styled progressives are looking for their own indult to allow them stick to the "traditional" translation.  Ironic given that they opposed the various indults given to allow the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form.  I have even heard Summorum Pontificum mentioned by some, they're thinking they might be able to invoke it to hold on to the old translation, or to put it more correctly, to allow them to reject the new, official translation.   Ironies of ironies: how things turn around. 

But back to reality.  Veritas, our bishops' publishing house is preparing to print the new Missals, I only hope they do a good job.  I have that niggling feeling in that regard.  What will the Missal look like?  Will it be a throwback to the seventies with that awful graphic art we see so often in liturgical books, or will they try and produce a work of art.  I know CTS in the UK, and the American Bishops both aim to produce beautiful Missals, can the Irish rise to it?  They can when they want.  We will have to wait and see.  

In the meantime, we begin the last year of this translation.  Someone suggested that as we progress through the current Missal for the last time, we should tear out the pages as we go as a symbol of our moving on.  (Must get the Liturgy office on to design a paraliturgy for that!)  But I could not agree with it - the books deserve respect.  But what shall we do with them?  Will we leave them in the top cupboards of our sacristies, just in case Rome eventually grants an indult?  Recycle - keep the greens happy?  Bury them next time a grave is opened just as our modernist friends buried the relics of saints (sometimes whole bodies) in the graves of deceased parishioners after V II?   Burning them does not seem appropriate or respectful. 

Anyway, more pressing work - we have to prepare our parishioners.  Pray for us priests who have to do this.  In reality we are about to embark on a new, full scale catechesis on the Mass, and that will have its hairy moments.