Smoky Mountains Sunrise

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

The 'Pope Francis Effect': The War on Conservative Catholics in New York

Apr. 17, 2014: Rev. Justin Wylie celebrates Mass at the Church of the Holy Innocents in New York. (Courtesy Arrys Ortanez)

When Cardinal Bergoglio was elected pope in 2013, many traditional Catholics were wary. Recently, their pessimism is being justified as "The Francis Effect" makes itself felt across the world and in America, most notably in the Archdiocese of New York.

So-called "traditional" Catholics prefer to attend the Mass as it was celebrated before and during the Second Vatican Council (1962-5), before the liturgy was radically reformed in 1969.

The Tridentine Mass, which was the ordinary form of the Mass from 1570-1969, is said in Latin, often accompanied by Gregorian Chant and incense, and emphasizes the sacrificial aspect of the Mass.
I hope both Pope Francis and the New York Archdiocese will cease their attack on a community of people that mean no harm and who support the Church through thick and thin.
In contrast, the post-1969 Mass simplifies prayers, places more emphasis on the communal and removes language deemed to be an ecumenical barrier to Protestants. Many celebrations also use the vernacular instead of Latin, and have a more simplistic style and are frequently accompanied by modern music.

Although suppressed immediately after the reform, the older rite was legalized by Pope St. John Paul II in limited circumstances in 1988, and then freed up entirely by Pope Benedict XVI in his groundbreaking 2007 document "Summorum Pontificum," in which he also expressed his desire that the solemn celebration of the traditional rite would consequently rub off on the way the new rite is celebrated.

Yet Pope Francis is having none of it. In his Archdiocese in Buenos Aires, the traditional rite was non-existent, and he was described by an Argentinian journalist as "a sworn enemy of the Traditional Mass." Since he ascended to the papacy this has been shown to be true in a global sense.

Read more at Fox News >>

 

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Pat Buchanan: Nixon — Before Watergate


By Patrick J. Buchanan

It has been a summer of remembrance.

The centennial of the Great War that began with the Guns of August 1914. The 75th anniversary of the Danzig crisis that led to Hitler’s invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939. The 70th anniversary of D-Day.

In America, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And this week marks the 40th anniversary of the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Once again, aging liberals will walk the children through the tale of that triumph of American democracy when they helped to save our republic from the greatest menace to the Constitution in all of history.

Missing from the retelling will be the astonishing achievements of that most maligned of statesmen in the 20th century. And as this writer was at Nixon’s side for more than eight years before that August day in 1974, let me recount a few.

Monday, August 4, 2014

"Christian Unity Not about Christian Uniformity" says Ordinary

 Mgr Newton and Bishop Philip Egan.
The Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, Monsignor Keith Newton, has preached to hundreds of Mass-goers in Portsmouth Cathedral, where he spent the weekend of 26/27 July, about the vision of Christian unity held out by the Ordinariate.

He said that people sometimes asked members of the Ordinariate why they couldn't become "proper Catholics" . "What they mean", he said, is "why can't you just be absorbed into the wider Catholic Church so that what you bring disappears like sugar dissolved in water". The answer , Mgr Newton said, was that Christian unity was not about Christian uniformity; rather it was about exploring the possibility of sharing a common faith in communion with the successor of Peter and yet having different liturgical, devotional and pastoral practices which enriched the wider Church. This, he said, had "important ecumenical implications".

The Ordinary spoke of the Ordinariate Use Mass, approved by Rome last year, which integrates elements of the Church of England Book of Common Prayer into the Roman rite. He said the Book of Common Prayer was one of the "treasures to be shared"  with the Catholic Church. People in Portsmouth who were interested to find out more could go to an Ordinariate"exploration day "event being held by the local Portsmouth Ordinariate group at St Agatha's Church on 6 September where they could experience the Ordinariate Use Mass.

The Portsmouth event is one of some 40 different events being held on 6 September by Ordinariate groups across the country aimed at helping people - especially those in the Church of England who may feel that God could be calling them into communion with Rome - to understand the Ordinariate better. Pope Francis has sent a message to the Ordinary in which the Holy Father sends good wishes and says he is praying for the success of the day.

Mgr Newton's visit to Portsmouth was arranged as part of an appeal by the Friends of the Ordinariate, which was set up to assist the Ordinariate and support its work. By kind permission of Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth, the Ordinary celebrated three Masses and preached at all the Masses over the weekend. There was a retiring collection for the Friends of the Ordinariate.

The Ordinary's homily included an appeal for prayers for the persecuted Catholic Christians of the Eastern Rite who are suffering in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

To read the full homily, click here


Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Standing Firm in the Face of Russian Aggression

America can only look forward to a President who is once again a bulwark of stability, peace and justice in the world.  While the illegitimate Kenyan plays 180+ rounds of golf and attends endless fundraisers, the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, has boldly and decisively stood up to the Russian despot in a way once typical of an American President.


"Our duty is to stand firm in the face of Russian aggression" 

~ Prime Minister Stephen Harper

The world is saddened and rightfully outraged by images of the charred remnants of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, and by the loss of almost 300 people from 11 countries, strewn across fields in eastern Ukraine. While the grim work of identifying victims’ remains and tracking down the perpetrators of this appalling crime is just beginning, the world can be certain of one thing: There can be no weakening of our resolve to punish the Putin regime for threatening the peace and security of eastern and central Europe.

Although we may refer to militants in eastern Ukraine as “pro-Russian separatists,” we are not confused by who, and what, they really are: an extension of the Russian state. They derive their material, political and logistical support from the Putin regime, and their criminal aggression and recklessness reflect the values of their Russian benefactors. Some have suggested that these agents of the Putin regime may have shot the plane down by accident. We do not, and may never, know. But accident or no accident, the blood is on the hands of the men who took such a risk and of the government that encouraged them to do so. Even if they did not intend to kill hundreds of innocent civilians, there is no denying their intent to continue waging a war on behalf of a regime that remains in violation of international law for its illegal occupation of Crimea.

Russia’s aggressive militarism and expansionism are a threat to more than just Ukraine; they are a threat to Europe, to the rule of law and to the values that bind Western nations. Canada will not stand idly by in the face of this threat.

That is why we have taken a strong stand, imposing a broad range of sanctions against those entities and individuals responsible for the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, Canada has imposed sanctions on nearly 150 individuals and entities. Earlier this week we broadened our approach, announcing economic sanctions against key sectors of the Russian economy.

It is why Canada has pledged more than $220-million in loan and loan guarantees which, once the appropriate conditions have been met to ensure that the funds are being used for their intended purposes, will help Ukraine to stabilize its economy and promote economic and social development. It is why we are providing training for the Ukrainian military, as well as Canadian military personnel and equipment to NATO’s reassurance package in eastern and central Europe.

It is also why, last spring, G7 leaders decided to suspend preparations for the 2014 G8 Summit scheduled to take place in Sochi and convened instead as the G7 in Brussels. Through its actions, Russia under President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated that it does not share the values of this community of nations, dedicated as we are to democracy, international security, and the rule of law. Given this, it is difficult to foresee any circumstance under which Mr. Putin’s Russia could be readmitted to the family of G7 nations.

Along with the sanctions imposed by our American and European allies, the measures undertaken by the international community are having an impact on the Russian economy. Investments are dropping and capital is leaving the country.

The steps Canada has taken have not been made without careful consideration of their potential impact on Canadian business interests abroad and at home. Like our allies, we will put our national interests first, but we will not allow business interests alone to dictate our foreign policy. With Mr. Putin’s Russia increasingly autocratic at home and dangerously aggressive abroad, now is not the time to ease the diplomatic and economic pressure on the regime. Sustained, strong and co-ordinated action among like-minded countries is the best way to ensure that our actions have the maximum impact on the Putin regime.