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Christian Witness, PNCC,

PNCC – Roman Catholic Dialog

From the USCCB website: Vatican Documents Focus Of Recent Roman Catholic, Polish National Church Dialogue

The fall Roman Catholic —“ Polish National Catholic Dialogue in Buffalo, September 25-26, focused on recent Vatican documents on the Mass in Latin and the way the Catholic Church views other church groups.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo hosted the meeting, which was presided over by Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo and Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the Polish National Catholic Church (PNCC) Central Diocese.

Part of the session centered on old business, including a discussion of the relations between Catholic and PNCC military chaplains, the possibility of further incremental steps towards unity, and a proposal regarding Canadian participation in the dialogue. The bulk of the meeting was devoted to two recent Vatican documents.

Bishop Kmiec offered a summary of Summorum Pontificum, the —motu proprio— Pope Benedict XVI issued in July regarding the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the 1970 reform, and reflected on its implications for the life of the Church.

Msgr. John Strynkowski presented —Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine of the Church,— the document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that was released in August. The second document in particular provided an occasion for an in-depth discussion of the way our churches view one another.

The meeting concluded with a presentation by Father Robert Nemkovich Jr. on the new PNCC Missal. There was also a discussion of the status of former Roman Catholic laity and clergy who belong to the PNCC, a question to be revisited at the next meeting. Sessions of the dialogue in 2008 are slated for May 19-20 in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and November 6-7 in Baltimore…

The USCCB now features a webpage with links to PNCC-RC dialog documents as well as citations.

One little mistake, Bishop Mikovsky is the Rt. Rev. Dr. Anthony Mikovsky not the Most Rev. Anthony Mikovsky. Most Reverend is the title proper to the Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church.

Perspective, , ,

Global South

A friend and occasional correspondent referred the following article to me and asked that I include it in my blog.

From the National Catholic Reporter: Global South underrepresented in college of cardinals

In naming 23 new cardinals on Wednesday, Pope Benedict XVI chose to acknowledge one bit of demographic reality, but largely ignored a much bigger one.

Americans have noted, and rightly so, that the nomination of Archbishop Daniel DiNardo in Houston accurately reflects a shift in Catholic population in the United States away from the East Coast, towards the South and Southwest. From a global point of view, however, the new crop of cardinals is remarkably unrepresentative of where Catholics are today.

To understand that, it’s essential to recall that Catholicism experienced a demographic revolution in the 20th century. In 1900, there were 266 million Catholics in the world, 200 million of whom lived in Europe and North America. Just a century later, there were 1.1 billion Catholics, only 380 million of whom were in Europe and North America, with 720 million in Latin America, Africa and Asia. The global South accounted for 25 percent of the Catholic population a century ago; today it’s 67 percent and climbing.

You wouldn’t know that, however, from looking at Benedict’s appointments. Focusing just on the 18 new cardinal-electors, meaning those under 80 with the right to vote for the next pope, ten are Europeans and two are from the United States. (Three of the five over-80 cardinals named by Benedict XVI are likewise Europeans. Had Bishop Ignacy Ludwik Jez of Poland lived to receive the honor, it would have been four of six.) After these new cardinals join the church’s most exclusive club in a Nov. 24 consistory, 60 of 121 electors will be European. Adding the cardinals from the United States and Canada, the total for the global North rises to 76 electors out of 121, meaning 63 percent.

To put this into a sound bite, two-thirds of the cardinals come from the global North, while two-thirds of the Catholic people live in the South.

Such disparities do not go unnoticed. The pope’s announcement was made at roughly 11:30 a.m. Rome time, and within a half-hour I had an e-mail from La Tercera, a newspaper in Santiago, Chile, asking for a reaction to the following question: “Two-thirds of the nominees are from Western Europe or the U.S. Why?”

Why indeed? At least three reasons suggest themselves…

This didn’t jump out at me, so thanks for the referral.

I think that the author covered the issues well, and that this was an interesting analysis.

This does bring up an interesting aside in relation to the current crisis in the Anglican Communion.

As we know, the global South is leading the charge for a traditional understanding of Christianity within the Anglican CommunionMy understanding is that global South Anglicans tend to be more Evangelical in their Churchmanship and that their “traditional” understanding of Christianity does not preclude women as clerics.. I would think that that fact is not lost on the Bishop of Rome. At the same time, the South presents its own set of problems, from Liberation Theology to challenges to celibacy, problems with overdone efforts at inculturation, and occasional failings in confronting and opposing evil.

I would wonder how many of those lessons and issues played into the mix of choices.

For more on issues confronting the Roman Catholic Church in Africa check out Christianity in Africa South of the Sahara, Roman Catholic Christianity, The Church in Africa since Vatican II from African Christianity, A History of the Christian Church in Africa.

Perspective, , ,

+Albany (NY) seeks unity, others not so much

The Episcopal Bishop of Albany, NY issued a statement calling for unity amid the discord in the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Love is trying to hold together a diocese commonly known as a conservative. Today’s story from the Albany Times Union explains his thinking.

I found two things “interesting” in the article.

You can read the full thing at Bishop wants unity amid discord: Leader of Albany Episcopalians affirms opposition to same-sex unions and ordaining gay clergy

The interesting bits:

[Bishop William Love] also criticized the Episcopal Church for “creating a new class of victims — the traditional orthodox believers.

“If there is to be a turnaround in the Church, there must be a viable place for the conservative orthodox voice,” he wrote.

One of the keys to reasonableness is having something that everyone can agree on – like a creedal statement. Unfortunately, and sadly, the response to Bishop Love’s statement shows that key elements that are foundational for that sort of oneness do not exist.

Locally, one lay leader in the Albany diocese has a much different worry: that there is no place for the substantial progressive voice.

Marya Dodd describes herself as probably the only progressive on the Diocesan Council, an oversight panel. She says many people won’t donate money to the Albany diocese because they feel disenfranchised. She praised Love for “making a real effort to communicate with us” in the new letter but said that wasn’t enough.

“He’s not publicly recognizing the fact that there are a lot of different segments of the Episcopal Church represented in Albany,” she said. “This is not a diocese that has one vision, or one approach to the faith.Emphasis added.”

I think that it would be hard to find a parish, much less a Church, that did not have a variety of voices and opinions in it. It is funny what people believe, as made up in their own minds. However, in a Church, there are touchstones, markers as it were of unity. The Creed, sacraments, the definition and understanding of God, adherence to the totality of the faith, that is Scripture and Tradition. The folks who run the faith side of the house tend to preach that common understanding.

All of those are the check points. If the membership cannot agree on those key elements, or if they have to redefine them to suit their own purposes, they are not Church, just a bunch of folks who like to get together. But whyI recall the Monty Python bit about going to an argument clinic just to argue.?

Even certain social clubs have a more defined set of beliefs or norms upon which their members agree.

Visions are fine, but if disconnected from the things which have defined the Church (of which you are a member) at least be honest enough to define your own “faith community.” Then again, isn’t that what seems to be happening.

Current Events, Media, Perspective, PNCC, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political,

Of comments, heat, and the Rev. Rydzyk

My recent posting on the possibility of an Indian National Catholic Church (INCC) elicited a few comments.

It seems that when I post something slightly provocative I get a few comments.

I’ve often wondered if my homilies are too staid. They don’t tend to obtain comments or criticism to any extent (by-the-way, I appreciate Fr. Martin Fox’s and Deacon Dan Wright’s occasional comments on my homilies). I’m thinking that my homilies should be more provocative, contain more heat, ne pas?

Now obviously my commentary on the possibility of an INCC was slightly tongue-in-cheek.

The real point was an exhibition of issues faith communities face when dealing with an administrative bureaucracy that evolves into a roadblock to faith and a detriment to communal interaction – for the faith.

That bureaucracy is the self-same faced by the founders of the PNCC so many years ago. It is the same bureaucracy Luther faced down. The same bureaucracy that any genuine reformer has had to deal with (and remember Bishop Hodur tried to work from the inside on reasonable reform).

Now the Rev. Tadeusz Rydzyk, CSsR is another case-in-point.

This priest has built an enormous empire that is centered around his media outlet, primarily Radio Maryja. With down-to-earth appeals (the Holy Mass, Rosary, children calling in to recite prayers), he has appealed to working class and rural listenersThe MSM characterization of those who follow Radio Maryja as poor and uneducated Poles (read dumb Pollacks) is deeply insulting and incorrect. I’ve personally seen children come from these villages, enter an American High School, and come out a year later as valedictorians. I hope that the MSM gets a clue someday about the people they put down so willingly. who have a strong grounding in their faith. I say, nothing wrong with that.

Rather than focus on those core themes, and activating people through prayer, self-sacrifice, and charity, he has corrupted his empire into a money making political machine. He has not activated Catholics, he has activated politicos.

He holds sway over a large sector of “conservativeAs the Young Fogey would point out, not at all like real conservatives” voters; and much in the same manner as Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, etc., he has ushered in political leaders, from whom he expects allegiance.

The threat of censure has been hung over his head by the Polish Bishops, but in reality they do nothing.

This, like the INCC issue, is meant to point to the weaknesses in a bureaucracy that is in need of reform. Maybe you would call it another stop, a sign post in the Twilight Zone of reform.

As to the Rev. Rydzyk, in my opinion he is in need of strong medicine, so that he might recall who and what he is, a priest, a member of the Redemptorists, and a servant of Jesus Christ and His Church. The Roman Church, being true to what She represents, would do well to have the Superior General of the Redemptorists call him to repentance, and remove him from his empire. A good priest would walk away, sic transit gloria mundi. Should he refuse, suspend him. Should he further refuse, excommunicate him.

But, all that is dependent upon the action of a bureaucracy.

A story on the Rev. Rydzyk’s most recent foray into identity politics and his reach into the political arena follows:

From the AP via the UJF of Tidewater: Israel urges Poland, Catholic church to condemn priest over anti-Semitic comments

WARSAW, Poland – Israel is urging Polish and Roman Catholic authorities to condemn a prominent priest over reported anti-Jewish comments, which its ambassador described Monday as the worst case of anti-Semitic speech in Poland in decades.

The Rev. Tadeusz Rydzyk, who runs a conservative media empire that includes the Catholic station Radio Maryja, was allegedly caught on tape suggesting that Jews are greedy and Polish President Lech Kaczynski is subservient to Jewish lobbies.

The remarks allegedly were made in the spring, but they only surfaced this month in the weekly magazine Wprost. Rydzyk himself has rejected accusations of anti-Semitism and said he “didn’t intend to offend anyone.”

Israel’s ambassador to Poland, David Peleg, said the statements mark a setback in the progress Poland has made toward Jewish-Catholic reconciliation and in fighting anti-Semitism since Communism fell, and said extensive diplomatic efforts were under way to persuade Warsaw to condemn the priest.

…

“I hope to see a condemnation from the Catholic Church of Poland,” Peleg said.

So far, Poland’s leaders have withheld comment, saying they were waiting to see if the tapes were authentic.

But the Rome-based Redemptorists – the missionary order to which Rydzyk belongs – supported him in a statement published last week in Nasz Dziennik, a daily newspaper that belongs to Rydzyk’s media empire.

“Concerning the content of the ‘tapes,’ which bear signs of compilation, Father Tadeusz Rydzyk does not confirm the anti-Semitic attitude ascribed to him. And as his brothers who know him, we know that such an attitude is alien to him,” the order’s chief representative in Poland, the Rev. Zdzislaw Klafka, wrote in a statement printed on the front page of Nasz Dziennik.

Klafka also called Wprost’s scoop a “serious provocation” and “media manipulation” and said Wprost has a history of offending Catholics.

Rydzyk himself has suggested the tapes were doctored.

The tapes allegedly caught Rydzyk accusing President Kaczynski of subservience to Jewish lobbies. He also allegedly called the nation’s first lady, Maria Kaczynska, a “witch” for supporting abortion rights and said she should be euthanized for that.

Oh, and bring on the heat…

Current Events, Perspective, PNCC

Seeds of the INCC?

From The Hindu: Call to democratise Catholic Church

KLCA rejects pastoral letter by Archbishop

Says the clergy interested only in amassing wealth, maintaining power

Alleges inaction on the part of church in matters concerning the laity

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Latin Catholic Association (KLCA) has called for radical reforms to democratise the [Roman] Catholic Church and check the amassment of wealth by a section of the clergy.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, KLCA president Anto Marcelene and leader of the women’s wing Cordial Stephen rejected the pastoral letter issued by the Thiruvananthapuram Archbishop on Sunday.

—It is only when the leadership of the Church senses a crisis in the education sector that it issues a pastoral letter. They remain inert when it comes to offering assistance to fishermen families reeling under the impact of coastal erosion and contagious diseases or to ensure reservation for the Latin community,— they said.

Mr. Marcelene said the clergy had appropriated minority rights for their own benefit. —They are only interested in amassing wealth and maintaining power and authority. The laity does not benefit by the stand adopted by the Church. Believers have no say in the management and administration of institutions under the Church. Yet, they are expected to participate in agitations for minority rights.—

Mr. Marcelene accused the Archbishop of shedding crocodile tears for the deprived sections of the laity. —Poor fishermen families have to shell out hefty donations to get their children admitted to educational institutions under the Church. It is this craze for money that has driven the Church to set up shopping complexes. Foreign funds and revenue from commercial activities are not properly accounted.—

The association accused the Church leadership of commercialising both education and faith…

It seems that these same themes appear and reappear throughout history. I can imagine Bishop Hodur saying the same things in 1897, speaking to the Poles of Scranton, the poor coal miners who were told to pray, pay, and obey.

Power, authority, money, control, ties to the political machine. It is not the Church per se, but her administrators.

When you think yourself the possessor of the keys, you must keep your ego and your lusts in check. Otherwise the faithful will leave in tears once again – this time to form the Indian National Catholic Church.

Of course, we would welcome them as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective, PNCC,

Congratulations, on your documents

A hearty congratulations, and welcome back:

I would like to begin by offering a hearty congratulations to my Roman Catholic brothers and sisters on the occasion of the issuance of Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The Bishop of Rome has taken steps to reclaim something very precious, something that was lost for the vast majority of Roman Catholics, especially in the United States. That is, a spirit of deep and abiding reverence and Godwardness in the Liturgies of the Church.

I pray that your reclaiming of the Church’s patrimony will enrich your faith, deepen it, and strengthen it. I pray that this small seed will grow, and in its growth that it will support and nourish all the Rites of the Church.

A note on language:

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, "ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et "ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae».

Ummm, ok.

Mean much to you?

Me neither.

Many have posited that the Tridentine Mass is not about Latin. They continually repeat, ‘it is not about Latin.’

I understand the point. It is about focusing the congregation, the entire Church, on God.

Our relationship with God, as members of the Church, is completely interwoven with the Liturgy, most especially the Holy Mass. The Holy Mass, performed properly and devoutly, changes our perspective and enriches us.

That being said, based on my personal experience, rambling on in Latin, while quaint, will cause many of the pew dwellers to draw away, leaving behind geeky church types. The intended lesson will be wasted.

While still a Roman Catholic I attended indult Masses in Buffalo (at St. Vincent de Paul parish, since closed). I remembered it fairly well, because my very traditional Polish parish kept the old Mass alive up to 1974. I had my old missal and I was psyched for the experience.

They were very nice Masses, reverent and all, but they left me cold. I followed along, tried to be prayerful, understood what I was supposed to experience, but eh… I was looking for the glory, honor, and praise of God, and I got eh… Nice Mass, but I don’t get it…

Reading in silence is a great activity for evenings at home. It’s wonderful when you can delve into the experience of words, but it doesn’t quite work when reading distracts from focus, and focus is useless without the fullness of the context (that is culturally, linguistically, and aurally made present).

Another example.

I love Gorzkie Żale devotions during Lent. I grew up with them.

Gorzkie Żale are sung bitter lamentations reflecting on the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, as seen though Mary’s eyes and emotions, and as seen by us, in our complicity in what occurred.

The context for these Lamentations was explained to me by my mother. I was young, but I understood. I would serve at these devotions. I would reflect on the context, listen to the beautiful singing, and was often moved to tears. I didn’t understand a word… they were sung in Polish.

When I joined the PNCC, which still actively promotes these devotions, I was overjoyed. I went to Gorzkie Żale one Wednesday evening, and it was sung in English.

I was crushed. Not because it was in English, but because I understood every word and every nuance. I was guilty, He bore my sins. It hit me full force and I will never forget it.

A third example.

While I was dating the future Mrs., she was still an Episcopalian. She took me to St. Boniface in Guilderland, NY. It was the first time I had ever been in an Episcopal church.

I didn’t know what to expect. My limited knowledge of Protestants left me thinking that I was in for long winded sermonizing and happy-clappy music.

The Albany Episcopal Diocese is very High Church (didn’t know what that meant at the time), and I got the Mass. I think my jaw hit the floor. The Tridentine Rite in English?

Again, the experience was enriched by my ability to understand.

So, it is about Latin in a very big way. Latin will be the disconnect for all but a few, most particularly in the United States where education in the classics, and a wider view of world history, is lacking.

As the Young Fogey rightly points out, Godward and understandable work. That will move the pew dwellers, and ease a more thorough integration.

Documents, we don’t need no … documents:

A Motu on the election of the Bishop of Rome, a Motu re-integrating the old mass, and a forthcoming document cited at Reuters and elsewhere:

The Vatican will issue another text on Tuesday [July 10, 2007] expected to declare Roman Catholicism the only true church of Jesus Christ

Quite a few documents in a three week period (by the by – I was wrong here).

The problem with documents is that they do not replace discipline. How do the Orthodox or the PNCC retain Church discipline and the faith once handed down?

To be sure, we have documents, but besides our shared heritage built upon Sacred Scripture, the Fathers, and the commonly held Councils, how do we all do it?

With the forthcoming document stating that the rest of Catholicism (not to mention Christianity) is a conglomeration of schismatics, heretics, and other such bad/misguided people, I’d wonder if it would not be so, if we had documents ❓

On a more serious note, everyone is entitled to his self declaration (why I don’t buy into the whole – oooh, the Tridentine Rite will offend the Jews – as if they have a right to define another’s core beliefs).

The Roman Church is entitled to Her own declaration and to further clarify that declaration.

That defining is not for us, nor against us. It is Her own.

A final thought:

In all, faith is the key element. It is the binding and the salve that joins the Catholic faithful.

I have found the fullness of Catholic expression in the PNCC. Godward, faithful to tradition, understood by the people. In the end I am thankful to be part of Christ’s one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. May I be granted the grace that it ever be so. As we pray before communion:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
by the will of the Father
and the work of the Holy Spirit
Your death brought life to the world.
By Your holy Body and Blood free me
from all my sins and from every evil.
Keep me faithful to Your teaching and
never let me be parted from You.

Christian Witness, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political

Against the priest politician

From the Catholic News Service: Stop politicizing homilies, Vatican nuncio tells Catholic Polish clergy

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) —“ The Vatican’s ambassador to Poland has called on Catholic clergy to stop preaching politicized homilies.

“I wish liturgical services in Poland would not turn into public rallies and just dispose people to be more human and more Catholic,” said Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk, the Vatican’s ambassador, or nuncio.

“We need priests, not politicians —“ and if politicians, then politicians of God’s word,” said the archbishop, whose sermon was carried by Poland’s Catholic information agency, KAI. “We also need evangelists, not economists —“ we have enough of those already in Poland to do the job. Let’s work on their spirit and conscience so they’ll become true professionals in serving all society. This is the mission of a priest…”

To which my friends in Poland, going to church and looking for spiritual sustenance would say, Deo gratias.

Christian Witness, Current Events, Perspective

OK, I’m confused

As I noted in my article, Rules are rules, especially if we don’t like you, The Roman Catholic Church uses its prerogative (which it is perfectly entitled to) to discharge folks who don’t follow its beliefs.

There have been numerous articles on the subject. Examples include the firing of unmarried pregnant teachers and the subject I wrote on, the firing of a devoted church youth music director (who happens to be the wife of a PNCC priest on active duty with the U.S. Air Force), and so on.

My feed reader caught two articles today that show the discrepancies and unequal treatment practiced from diocese to diocese.

From NineMSN: Catholic schools in bid to ban non-Catholics

Tasmanian Catholic schools have applied for an exemption to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Act in a bid for the power to turn away non-Catholic students.

Archbishop Adrian Doyle has outlined the new plan, which aims for all Catholic schools to have at least 75 percent Catholic students.

He said the policy would ensure “very strong Catholic ethos and vision” in Tasmanian Catholic schools, and would be slowly rolled out across the state…

— versus —

From RTí‰: Presbyterian gets top Catholic Church post

The Catholic Church in Ireland has appointed a Presbyterian as the head of its child protection unit.

Ian Elliot, Director of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Belfast, is to become the first Chief Executive of the Church’s National Board for Child Protection.

When he takes up his duties in a month’s time, he will have completed two years on secondment to Northern Ireland’s civil service where he has led a major reform programme for child protection services.
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Church sources say he is the first non-Catholic to be appointed to such a senior post in Irish Catholicism.

OK, so there’s a shortage of Roman Catholics in Ireland!?!

I get that I’m being sarcastic, but doesn’t the Roman Church’s inconsistent treatment of folks make it look all subjective and vindictive?

Again, no problem if the Church chooses to solely hire Roman Catholics, and solely Roman Catholics who follow Church teaching. That might actually represent something – a strength of witness. Instead it looks like it is all ends justify the means Machiavellian. That’s unfortunate.

Perspective, ,

Pontifically Ecumenical

I’m not really sure as to what happened to Fr. Al Kimel’s Ponifications Blog, but it appears to be gone. He had a temporary space at WordPress.com, and perhaps, that is where he’s going, but who knows.

I recall reading that he was planning on moving the blog – and he well may have, but I’m not going to perform an exhaustive search for it.

As one of my web design mentors, Dean, at Heal Your Church Website might say, mystery meat navigation is bad enough, but non-navigation is completely wrong. If you are going to move a site, at least leave clues (Col. Mustard in the library with a pipe 😉 ).

I searched a few of the usual suspects like Sacramentum Vitae, but no news. While there I did find a pointer to an argument Fr. Kimel and his Orthodox correspondents were engaged in (see: Not talking about God) which pointed to Not Yet Ecumenical from Energetic Procession.

It was the typical point and counter-point of the filioque, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, etc. Nothing I want to cover in this post though. The PNCC and Orthodoxy are on the same page on these issues anyway.

The quote from Not Yet Ecumenical that struck me was as follows:

Third, Fr. Kimel’s —ecumenical— approach isn’t yet ecumenical. To be ecumenical he needs to recognize the legitimacy of the other in terms of the other. Orthodoxy has to be seen to be legitimate on its own terms. It cannot be ecumenically engaged by either reducing its teachings to some other Latin expression in a dismissive fashion or arguing contrary to fact that its distinctives don’t hold the weight of the teaching authority of the Orthodox Church. These are both strategies that Fr. Kimel has employed rather routinely.

Nor is it ecumenical to dismiss Orthodox commentators as —polemicists— who are only interested in seeing Rome as heterodox. It never enters Fr. Kimel’s mind that they might have some measure of rational justification for thinking so. And yet the Orthodox are supposed to take seriously the dogmatic claim by Rome that the Orthodox are at least materially heterodox. What Fr. Kimel’s whine amounts to is the old canard that the Orthodox are just instrinisically [sic] sinful and schismatic. To even speak of the same common faith that we are to work towards presupposes the Catholic view of things, that we do in fact have a common faith. That has to be demonstrated, from the Orthodox view, rather than assumed. And this I think picks out a major difference between us. Communion for the Orthodox will depend on a demonstration and not the judgment of a singular authority.

That’s it in a nutshell. That is why great care must be taken when speaking of dialog with the Roman Church.

The table you sit at, with the Roman Church, allows for the dialog – it is conducive to that. The table allows for on-going grievances and difficulties to be aired, but the table, regardless of its shape, still represents sides and positions.

The Roman Church, by its sheer size, weight, and attachment to certain stumbling block dogmas, while at the same time adhering to (albeit in an unspoken way) extra ecclesiam nulla salus is not in a position to bind up wounds and heal divisions. All of us, in the Catholic fold, excepting Rome, are inherently schismatic in their eyes, and anyone who lives apart from the Pope is not fully Catholic.

I’m not saying these things because of Fr. Kimel’s positions. He is certainly a top notch apologist and polemicist. He has personal axes to grind with the folks in TEC that let him down. He found solace in the strictures and rule books of Roman Catholicism, which is fine for him. At some point the hurt will lessen, the polemics and staunchness will wear down, and faith, the core element of hope will come out on top.

As to the general theme of dialog, the final quote from the Not Yet Ecumenical post sums up the problem of ecumenical dialog with Rome:

And to even ask when Orthodoxy dogmatized this question is to measure Orthodoxy by [Roman] Catholic standards. It didn’t and doesn’t need too because it is in the Fathers and the Liturgy. It’s called Tradition, not a dictionary.

Indeed the Roman Church’s sine qua non for unity is adherence to its terms, conditions, and definitions.

When the PNCC, or Orthodoxy for that matter, are admitted in the door as full living Churches with their own character and practices, which are at heart fully Catholic, then I’ll believe it is otherwise. Else wise we must continue to pray and talk.

Perspective, PNCC,

Lead us not…

From the BBC: French villagers back priest with partner

A Catholic priest in south-west France has been forced out of the clergy after admitting to the Church authorities that he was having a sexual relationship with one of his parishioners. The BBC’s Emma Jane Kirby says this has set off a fresh debate about celibacy in the Church.

There is a wonderful sense of stillness in the mountains overlooking the little village of Asson – a few swallows surf gently on the upwind currents and a shepherd sits quietly watching his flock of fat, thickly pelted sheep graze on the velvet grass.

It is a bit like one of those bucolic woodcut scenes you find in ancient bibles. But, in this religious landscape, those who break the rules are quickly cast asunder.

To a passer by, Fr Leon and his partner Marga probably look like any other middle-aged couple taking an evening stroll together.

He is twinkly eyed and looks a little like Dustin Hoffman. She seems warm and open and is still a very attractive woman. But in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, Leon and Marga are sinners.

‘Closer to God’

For the past 22 years, the couple have been in a sexual relationship, which is forbidden to a Catholic priest who has vowed to remain celibate. Fr Leon admits he has broken his promise but claims that being in love has brought him closer to God and his congregation.

“I haven’t been strictly faithful to all my vows,” he says.

“And I worried that by breaking some of those vows I had hurt Our Lord. But I think God can see that my relationship with Marga has brought real fruits to the Church – far from being a handicap to my mission as a priest, she’s been a great support. I just wish the Church could see that.”

There is no doubt that Fr Leon has been an excellent parish priest…

Let’s do some parsing out of the good Father’s problem.

Now certainly living with and having a sexual relationship with Marga is sinful and improper. Father and Marga are committing adultery – and Father, who is in a position of some authority (including social stature and economic resources) is committing a sin against her by not engendering his love for her in the state of matrimony.

There’s that nagging question though, are Father and Marga completely at fault for their actions? Let’s see if the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church can shed some light on that question.

II. RESPECT FOR THE DIGNITY OF PERSONS

Respect for the souls of others: scandal

2284 Scandal is an attitude or behavior which leads another to do evil. The person who gives scandal becomes his neighbor’s tempter. He damages virtue and integrity; he may even draw his brother into spiritual death. Scandal is a grave offense if by deed or omission another is deliberately led into a grave offense.

2285 Scandal takes on a particular gravity by reason of the authority of those who cause it or the weakness of those who are scandalized. It prompted our Lord to utter this curse: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened round his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mt 18:6; cf. I Cor 8:10-13.) Scandal is grave when given by those who by nature or office are obliged to teach and educate others. Jesus reproaches the scribes and Pharisees on this account: he likens them to wolves in sheep’s clothing. (Cf. Mt 7:15.)

2286 Scandal can be provoked by laws or institutions, by fashion or opinion.

Therefore, they are guilty of scandal who establish laws or social structures leading to the decline of morals and the corruption of religious practice, or to “social conditions that, intentionally or not, make Christian conduct and obedience to the Commandments difficult and practically impossible.” (Pius XII, Discourse, June 1,1941.) This is also true of business leaders who make rules encouraging fraud, teachers who provoke their children to anger, (Cf. Eph 6:4; Col 3:21.) or manipulators of public opinion who turn it away from moral values.

2287 Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged. “Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!” (Lk 17:1.)

We’re getting there.

As I have often said, demanding gifts from the Holy Spirit doesn’t work. The Holy Spirit is not going to give the gift or grace of celibate living to every priest. In addition, I recall no calling down of that gift from the Holy Spirit in the Roman Church’s Rite of Ordination to the Diaconate or Priesthood. There is a promise made in the Ordination Rite to the Order of Deacon, but, that is a human promise, subject to the maturation of the person making that promise.

Priests in the Roman Church are put in a lonely and difficult position. Is the grace given to some, to fulfill their calling as part of a celibatecelibacy means no marriage, as opposed to chastity, which we are all called to practice (i.e., Thou shalt not commit adultery) life actually necessary for all? My Church certainly doesn’t think so, nor do most Catholic bodies in the world.

I fully support clergy members who are given the grace of celibacy. I think we all pray for them and support them in their ministry. However, it is not necessary onto salvation.

In part, the good Father’s sins are his own making. In part, they are not, but caused by a man made system that applied absolutely, damages more than it helps.

Pray for Fr. Leon and Marga.

Father Leon, if you ever come across this article, write to us. Our Church would be happy to welcome you and Marga.

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