(AsiaNews) - Financial, not technical or weather factors are behind higher prices. Inflation is the by-product of huge liquidity injected into the markets by central banks, in particular the US Federal Reserve, as AsiaNews has pointed over the years. For a long time, the price of raw materials has for the most part not reflected the interaction of supply and demand for real goods. By far, the main factor in shaping the price of almost all raw materials is trading by financial operators who can quickly shift huge amounts of money from government bonds to securities, stocks and so-called goods. For those with the right connections, profits are huge and risks relatively low. Since they have access to almost unlimited resources, they can get what they want. Market values are systematically distorted in large measure, but not exclusively, by the ‘Plunge Protection Team’, a colloquial term used by newspapers for a little known body with an exclusive membership that has a major impact on markets. Set up in 1988, its official name is the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. It includes the secretary of the Treasury, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In addition, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which oversees the nation's open market operations, is now routinely involved as well. A small number of institutional groups rotate around the aforementioned bodies as well. They include big business banks, like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and hedge funds. Movement of personnel between these institutional groups and big private groups are commonplace; thus, no one should be surprised if a handful of managers in charge of speculative funds can earn huge annual pays, a billion dollars just in fees in some cases.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: It has been said that when America catches a cold the world catches pneumonia. Our financial crisis in the United States, coupled by massive government spending, and the willingness of the Federal Reserve to float the debt with trillions of dollars in funny money, is now coming back to bite us. The world will suffer first, and then Americans are not far behind.
The riots currently going on around the world may have political underpinnings, but it is inflation and food shortages that has sparked them. These economic woes are in great part the direct result of our own government's criminal negligence.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: There is a foreboding spirit in the air lately, the "something big is about to happen" kind of spirit. Something that is likely to change the United States of America forever. We cannot know what exactly it will be, but we can know what the underlying causes are.
The American people are guilty of one great sin which will be our undoing. That sin is APATHY. We have allowed the success of our nation to make us decadent, and in becoming decadent we put our own personal desires above the good of our nation and our people. We stopped going to church (well most of us anyway) and we forgot about God. We elected politicians based on their promises of what they would give us, rather than on what was best for the country. We looked for what we could get out of America and the system, rather than what we could contribute and put back in. We allowed our courts to remove all trace of Christianity from our public schools and public square. We allowed our courts to decide that killing the helpless was "okay" so long as they couldn't speak for themselves. We permitted our courts and our politicians to promote all forms of abominable immorality and we looked the other way. When our politicians committed scandalous acts of immorality we laughed. They became part of our entertainment, while we looked for entertainment everywhere. We tuned into "American Idol" and "ESPN" while the fabric of our nation burned around us. Then in late 2008 the economy completely collapsed, and rather than make the sacrifices necessary to allow for it's slow recovery, we elected politicians that promised a quick fix with more government spending and entitlement programs.
Now the other shoe is about to drop and nothing can stop it. We have amassed a national debt topping $14 trillion with an annual deficit topping $1.4 trillion. This cannot be sustained. The end of our way of life is now upon us.
In a previous blog entry I gave a short summary plan for how to save Europe. Europe's social and cultural problems are far more serious that America's, and so my recommended plan had to be short and simple. For the United States of America, we are in much better shape socially and culturally. Yes, our nation has sustained significant damage, and these things are quickly eroding, however our situation is not as bad as Europe's and in spite of whatever economic and political catastrophe awaits us, America does have the resources to recover both socially and culturally. Unlike Europe, we do not need to import our cultural salvation from somewhere else.
The following points are designed to restore American society and culture to it's historic Christian standard. I honestly don't know if any of these suggestions will ever be implemented, but I do know this. If something akin to them is not implemented soon, the United States WILL FRACTURE into multiple smaller nation-states. Some of those nation-states will implement the suggestions below, and those nation-states will recover and thrive eventually. As an American however, I would prefer my nation stick together, so here is the plan...
Immediately implement a federal subsidiarity plan (i.e. "federalism") in which the federal government gradually turns all social programs and regulations over to the state governments, while the federal government takes a subsidiary role to the state governments. This plan should take no more than five years, and by it's end the state governments will be the supreme governments over the people of the United States, while the federal government will be almost invisible to them.
Remove all federal powers to tax the people directly (namely the income tax and entitlement taxes) and leave these matters for the states, while the federal government receives all of it's funding from tariffs and excise taxes.
Remove all federal court jurisdiction over issues related to religion, marriage, abortion, cloning and euthanasia, allowing the states to decide these issues for themselves.
Close all foreign U.S. bases, except in those countries that are willing to PAY US for our presence, and redeploy our troops to protect and patrol American borders.
Adopt a constitutional balanced-budget amendment for the federal government.
English should be made the official national language, and most-favored immigration status should be given to Mexico, provided immigrants learn English and how to assimilate into American society.
The federal government should enforce antitrust laws vigorously, break up monopolies in all industries including the banks and media, and pull out of NAFTA and GATT.
Each state should then make some formal declaration OFFICIALLY recognizing the historic significance of Christianity in the development of each state and the United States in general. If changes need to be made to the state constitutions to allow for this, than those changes should be made.
Each state should publicly fund alternatives to abortions and work toward eliminating all public funding of abortion. Some states are ready to ban abortion completely, and they should do so immediately.
Each state should adopt Sweden's model of subsidized school choice. If changes need to be made to the state constitutions to allow for this, than those changes should be made.
Each state should adopt a method of taxation that is non-intrusive to the American people and does not impose upon their religious or social freedoms.
Each state should print it's own currency. This is permissible under the U.S. Constitution and U.S. law. What is forbidden is minting coins for legal tender. Paper notes are legal to print under U.S. law, provided the appropriate federal regulations are followed. This is necessary to create alternatives to the U.S. dollar that promote spending at a local level on local goods and services rather than imported and interstate goods and services. This is vital toward the restoration of local economies.
Each state should encourage local cities and communities to adopt regulations (as they see fit) that prevent big corporate takeovers of local economies. The states should vigorously back these communities, while the federal government takes a subsidiary role to the states.
I know it is unlikely these measures will be enacted in the United States, and that is very unfortunate indeed, as they are necessary to save this nation from economic and political ruin. The good news is that American Christian culture and society is still strong enough to rise from the ashes without the need for importing Christians from other countries. The failure to implement the above suggestions will ultimately result in the economic and political collapse of the United States. What will arise from the ashes of the "Late Great United States" will be several smaller nation-states, made up primarily of like-minded states from the former Union. These like-minded states will likely combine to form new political unions, and some of them will likely implement measures similar to the suggestions above. When that happens, those new nations-states will prosper and thrive. As for the others - who knows?
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The fact that Europe is careening toward cultural suicide is indisputable. Muslims are already the fastest growing demographic group in Europe and in many European nations Muslims threaten to become the majority within a matter of decades. The German government has already publicly admitted that Germany is well on it's way to becoming an Islamic republic. While other European nations are not as openly honest about their future, some of them are actually heading toward that goal much faster than Germany. Failure to correct this course now will only accelerate the demise of Europe as we know it. It's not that I expect any of these suggestions to be implemented, but I thought it would be nice to spell out some simple solutions in one blog entry. Now I understand this is not a comprehensive plan, and it omits many key issues that readers of this blog will naturally recognize as necessary to European recovery. Indeed, my readers will recognize that some of these suggestions don't go nearly far enough. I acknowledge that. However, what I'm trying to do is outline a basic framework for the slow long-term and organic recovery of traditional European Christian identity. If the following policies were implemented by the European Union, and European nations respectively, it would (over time) correct the entire course of Europe toward a much more Christian society that is more consistent with European history and culture....
Each European country, along with the general European Union, should OFFICIALLY recognize the historic significance of Christianity in the development of modern Europe.
Each European country, along with the general European Union, should publicly fund alternatives to abortions and work toward eliminating all public funding of abortion.
Each European country should STOP their liberal indiscriminate immigration policies, and instead implement a fast-track "Law of Return," for the descendants of Europeans who left the continent within the last 100 years. Case in point, American descendants of German immigrants going back to 1911 (one-hundred years ago from 2011), should be permitted to return immediately with entitlement toward basic housing and employment, along with fast-track citizenship within 2 to 3 years. The same would go for English immigrants to America, Canada, Australia, etc. Each country should implement it's own "Law of Return" based on the one-century model and preferential treatment should be given to such people under 50 years of age, as these people are most likely to bring children and/or produce more. Each country should implement it's own "Law of Return" as it sees fit, offering various enticements (as the country feels necessary) to make the law effective. These enticements should take into consideration the "type" of returning immigrants each country wants - preferably professional and skilled individuals with a good work ethic.
The European Union should adopt a model of subsidiarity in dealing with it's member-states.
As I said above, there is so much more that can (and should) be done, but this would be a good starting point. Mark my words, if something like this is not implemented soon, all of Europe will be lost within one generation. Also as I said above, I don't expect any of these suggestions to be implemented, as it seems it is within the very nature of liberal democracies to commit social and cultural suicide.
So with that, understanding that European nations probably WON'T do what needs to be done, The Catholic Knight would like to say one thing to my European brothers and sisters...
THANK YOU
Thank you Europe for everything you have given to the world. Thank you for the middle ages, and the rise of Christendom, which gave us all the technological, social and cultural Renaissance that made Western Civilization possible. Thank you for the invention of the printing press and modern science. Thank you for the social foundation upon which North and South America were built, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa and Asia. Thank you for your great and vast contribution to the history of the world. Thank you and God bless you. You will be sorely missed.
Watch this primer on Judaism by Michael Voris, then read The Catholic Knight's article below.
The Conversion of St. Paul on the Road to Damascus
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Today (January 25) is the Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul. It's generally not one of the major feasts we look forward to in the Church, but it is nevertheless a very important commemoration, and it's one that is extremely applicable to our time. You see, one of the biggest problems in Christianity today is a fundamental lack of understanding of what the Church really is. By "Church" I mean the "Catholic Church" directly, and those who are tied to the Catholic Church through baptism indirectly.
First, let me clarify that last sentence. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explicitly teaches that those who are baptized according to the Trinitarian formula, that is in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, have effectively received an authentic Catholic baptism, even if the baptism was not performed by a Catholic priest or deacon. "Baptism constitutes the foundation of communion among all Christians, including those who are not yet in full communion with the Catholic Church: 'For men who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in some, though imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church. Justified by faith in Baptism, [they] are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers by the children of the Catholic Church.' 'Baptism therefore constitutes the sacramental bond of unity existing among all who through it are reborn.'" - (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1271) So what does that mean? It means that virtually every Protestant has received an authentic baptism recognized by the Catholic Church! It means that virtually every Protestant is in a similar situation to a Catholic who was baptized in the Church, but walked away from the Church before receiving confirmation and holy Eucharist. It means that virtually all Protestants (Evangelicals, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, etc.) effectively have one foot in the door of the Catholic Church, by virtue of their Trinitarian baptism alone. Their communion with Rome does exist, by virtue of our common baptism, but that communion is imperfect and impaired. In addition to that, there are also the Eastern Orthodox Christians, who's sacraments Rome recognizes entirely, who are only separated from Rome simply by canonical issues that can be remedied when the time comes. So when I say the "Church" I am speaking primarily of the Catholic Church directly, and other Christians united to her in baptism indirectly. The Catholic Church can be compared to a great ship with many small rafts tethered to it. There is only one ship, which is the "bark of Peter," but many small rafts tethered to her. The rafts contain groups of Christians, who for whatever reason, are not in full unity with Rome, and the tethered ropes are like the common bond of baptism that unites us. Now that I've defined things a bit, let's move on to the topic at hand...
The Catholic Church is Israel.
I hope that last sentence stands out for you. Here is the scripture reference to back it up. "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And whosoever shall follow this rule, peace on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." - (Galatians 6:15-16) Here St. Paul tells his readers that in Christ neither circumcision (Jewish law) nor uncircumcision (Gentile custom) matters. What matters are those who follow the gospel, and those who follow the gospel are the "Israel of God." It is absolutely essential that Christians (not just Catholics) fully understand this. We, the Church, are the "Israel of God." We are Israel. We are the spiritual remnant of ancient Israel, expanded and multiplied, to encompass the whole world. This was (and is) God's plan of salvation. It has not changed. For in the Church, it matters not whether you are Jew or Gentile. What matters is that you are in full-communion with that one Jew who unites us together. I'm speaking of the Jewish rabbi who is both Messiah and King - Jesus of Nazareth. "In fact, from the beginning of his ministry, the Lord Jesus instituted the Twelve as 'the seeds of the new Israel and the beginning of the sacred hierarchy.'" - (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 877)
Artist Sketch of an Olive Tree
The Church, particularly the Catholic Church, is Israel. There is no other Israel today, in a Biblical sense, than the Church. The Church is also Zion. There is no other Zion, in a spiritual sense, than the Church. The Church is also the New Jerusalem. There is no other "Jerusalem," in a spiritual sense than the Church. This is a fundamental teaching of the New Testament. Without this understanding, everything becomes convoluted. If you read Israel and the Church as being two separate entities than you've missed the boat, and one of the most fundamental teachings of the New Testament just went right over your head. In the eleventh chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans he uses the illustration of an olive tree to make his point. He compares the Church to a tree that has its roots in the patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), and its trunk representing the Law and Prophets in the Old Testament. No tree trunk grows upward into infinity. At some point it must sprout branches, and so St. Paul's "olive tree" does the same. These branches make up the modern Church in Jesus Christ. Some branches are Jewish Christians. Many branches are Gentile Christians. Both are precious in the eyes of God. This is the "Israel of God."
What about those Jews who refused to believe in Jesus Christ? St. Paul himself tells us those are the branches that were cut off from the tree - at least for the time being. These branches can however be grafted back in at any time, and indeed he assures us that someday they all will be, in the fullness of time. As far as we're concerned anyway, Christianity (neither Judaism nor some piece of real estate in the Middle East) makes up the new "Israel of God," and it's been this way ever since Christ initiated the New Covenant some 2,000 years ago.
This is how we Christians are to understand ourselves, and the Church, in the context of Israel and the Old Testament. I cannot stress how incredibly important this is, because if it is not understood, the errors that will arise from it will be nothing short of monumental!
Where does this put the Church in relation to the rest of the Jewish people? Simply put, we (the Church) are Zion! We are Israel! That is what it explicitly says in the New Testament and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To become complete as a Jew is no different than what it takes to become complete as a Gentile. We all must be "grafted in" to Israel - which is The Catholic Church! The path is no different for a Jew than it is for a Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or Wiccan. We are all the same in God's eyes now, and the door is open to all of us equally.
It had to be this way you see. Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant, and established a New Covenant that puts us all on equal footing. He didn't destroy the Old Covenant - he FULFILLED it! The Old Covenant still remains, but is fulfilled in Christ, and must be understood fully in the context of Christ.
Now the Gospel was given first to the Jews - that is to the apostles and disciples of Jesus - and then to the rest of the world. It was delivered to the synagogues first, where the apostles would gather a small remnant of faithful Jews who would in turn help them deliver the gospel to the Gentiles. "The Church keeps ever in mind the words of the Apostle about his kinsmen: 'theirs is the sonship and the glory and the covenants and the law and the worship and the promises; theirs are the fathers and from them is the Christ according to the flesh' (Rom. 9:4-5), the Son of the Virgin Mary. She also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people." - (Nostra Aetate, 4; Second Vatican Council, October 28, 1965) The one and only boasting privilege of being a Jewish convert to the Church is knowing that God came in the flesh as one of your own kinsmen, and he gave the Gospel to your kinsmen first, and they in turn gave it to the world. That is what it means to be a Jewish Christian - a Hebrew Catholic. Yet there is more, St. Paul tells us that the rejection of the gospel by the majority of Jews is actually a blessing to the world, because by doing so, the gospel has been given to the Gentiles, and it has allowed the Church (God's Israel) to expand to the farthest reaches of the earth. That is not the end of the story though, St. Paul gives us a prophetic glimpse of the future of the Jewish people. While the Church gains more Jewish converts in every era, Paul tells us that a day will come when the Jewish people will accept the gospel en mass, thus completing the Church and bringing the final epic of human history to a close. He more than hints that the fullness of Israel (the Church), by the inclusion of all the Jewish people together with the Gentiles, will result in the Second Advent of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the life everlasting! But there is more, the apostle also tells us that there will never be a time in human history when the Church will be vacant of faithful Jewish Christians. He assures us that throughout all of history, God always has a remnant of his original covenant people in the Church. No other race or ethnic group has been given such a promise. It is unique only to the Jews. So we Gentile Christians must never be haughty or nasty toward the Jewish people, whether they are believers or not, for God has promised their tribe more than any of us. One day they shall ALL be our Christian brethren, so we must treat them appropriately, and until that day comes, there will always be a faithful remnant of them in God's Israel - that is The Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church (Israel) has soundly condemned all forms of hatred or bigotry toward people of Jewish heritage and culture. Specifically, some corrupt individuals throughout history have tried to collectively blame ALL Jews for the crucifixion of Christ. This is unfair. The only people responsible for this were the people who actually condemned Jesus Christ to death - meaning the Jewish Sanhedrin of 33 AD. We're talking about a group of no more than 71 men here - and not all of them agreed. Some of them actually rose to Jesus' defense. However, the majority of these 71 men (at least 37 to 50 men) found Christ "guilty" of blasphemy and condemned him to death. These are the only men we should ever hold fully responsible, and all of them have been dead for some 20 centuries now. To hold the Jewish people of today collectively responsible for a crime that was committed by about 50 men some 2,000 years ago is irrational and prejudice. The Catholic Church has categorically condemned such irrational prejudice and specifically teaches: "although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures" and "furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone." - (Nostra Aetate, 4)
A great fallacy has been circulating the globe for the last century and a half. It has particularly taken root in Anglophone (English-speaking) countries. It is the fallacy called Dispensationalism. It is a heresy that not only permeates many Protestant denominations and affiliations, but it has even penetrated the Catholic Church. Yes, there are Dispensationalist groups even among Catholics. The fallacy teaches that God has formed two covenant peoples. There are the Jews of the Old Covenant, and the Church of the New Covenant. The fallacy continues to teach that the modern day Jews of today are still "Israel" and that Israel is a completely separate entity from the Church. So the fallacy goes, God has one plan of salvation for ethnic Israel (the Jews), and another for the Church (primarily Gentiles). As the fallacy of Dispensationalism has played out over the last century and a half, the national State of Israel is incorrectly assumed to be the "true Israel" while the Church is simply considered "the Church" having no real connection. Some Christians use this rationale to blindly support the State of Israel, regardless of it's politics that often harm both Palestinian Christians and Muslims. This ideology is called "Zionism" and it is contrary to the gospel. Jesus, the rightful King of Israel, plainly stated that his Kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), because if it were his servants would fight. Jesus however, did not instruct his apostles to fight. He instructed them to pray and to teach instead. This teaching upset some of his followers, perhaps even Judas Iscariot (who eventually betrayed him), because they were waiting for years for a Messiah that would violently take back the old Kingdom of Israel from the Romans. They dreamed of a glorious battle of liberation not seen since the time of the Maccabees. Jesus had different plans. The Kingdom of God (Israel) is not about a piece of real estate and who owns it. That is not why God gave them the promised land in the first place. The promised land wasn't about the promised land, it was about providing a nursery suitable for God to raise up his people for a much greater task ahead. That being the task of taking the gospel to the world, and expanding Israel (the Church) to cover the whole planet. It was not to be a kingdom of laws and men, but rather a Realm of Spirit and Truth, founded on Jesus Christ and built on Peter the rock. To focus on real estate in the Middle East is to completely miss the point. The ancient Land of Israel was merely a nursery to raise God's people for something bigger and better. It was a means to an end, not an end in and of itself. The problem with Zionism is that it focuses completely on the land - real estate - and ignores the role of the Church.
Some Christians use the Dispensationalist rationale to seek religious fulfillment in modern Jewish ceremonies and liturgies. This is a very ancient error called "Judaizing," an error strongly condemned by St. Paul. (Most Christians who do this today are Evangelical Protestants who often call themselves "Messianics" or "Messianic Jews.")
The above are the modern manifestations of the fallacy of Dispensationalism, but it is the fallacy itself that is most dangerous, because it denies the Biblical place of the Church in the divine plan of God.
Christians would do well to remember that St. Paul, and the apostles, thought the Greek version of the Jewish scriptures (Septuagint) was just as authoritative as the Hebrew and Aramaic versions. In fact it can be said they even thought it far more relevant to the New Covenant than any other version, as the majority of quoted Old Testament passages in the New Testament come from this Greek version. Christians would do well to remember that the word most commonly used for the Nation of Israel in this Greek Old Testament is "Ecclesia" which means literally "a called out people." It's the exact same word used in the original Greek New Testament for the Church. In the eyes of St. Paul and the apostles, Israel and the Church were one in the same. This was in perfect continuity with the Old Testament as demonstrated in St. Paul's "olive tree" illustration (Romans 11).
Let us remember today why St. Paul was on the road to Damascus some 2,000 years ago. Back then he was known simply as "Saul," a pious Jew who took it upon himself to persecute the Church. He was knocked off his horse and blinded by an apparition of the Lord Jesus Christ - who asked him "Saul, why are you persecuting me?" St. Paul was persecuting the Church, using Jewish laws, in a form of inquisition sanctioned by the scribes and pharisees in Jerusalem. These scribes and pharisees had no recognition of the Church being part of Israel, but the irony was that the reason why they did not recognize Israel in the Church was because the scribes and pharisees were no longer part of Israel - at least not in a spiritual sense. They had cut themselves out, through self-excommunication, by denying Jesus as the promised Messiah. In turn, Jesus revoked the authority of the Jewish leadership, by giving the "keys of the kingdom" to St. Peter (Matthew 16:18-19) effectively making the fisherman the King's prime minister - spokesman for all Israel. St. Peter later went to Rome and founded the Church there where he eventually met up with St. Paul, and together they led the Church there, and ultimately shed their blood for her.
Today a new kind of persecution of the Church is going on, and it's rooted in the fallacy of Dispensationalism. This fallacy leads to the worst form of anti-Catholicism, as is evidenced by the volumes of anti-Catholic writings produced by Dispensationalist authors. While in some cases, Dispensationalism actually causes Christians to support some very unChristian things - such as Zionism and Judaizing for example. Let's not beat around the bush here. Dispensational theology is physically harming Christians! How? This is how it works. Dispensationalism leads Christians to support Zionism. Zionism in turn leads to the blind support of the Nation of Israel and all its policies, regardless of their effect. Many of those policies are directed against the Palestinian people, regardless of their religion, and many of those Palestinian people are Christians. Those Palestinian Christians suffer poverty and physical infirmity because of those policies. The strange irony of our time is that many Christians in the West, (mainly Evangelical Dispensationalists), are blindly supporting a regime that is directly persecuting their Christian brethren (Palestinian Christians) in the very homeland of Jesus Christ, and they do this thinking Jesus somehow approves. The strange irony is that while St. Paul instructed Western Christians to take up collections to help Palestinian Christians during his time, Dispensationalist pastors actively take up collections to support a regime that persecutes them in our time. Dispensationalism is a fallacy that must be resisted, but this can only be effectively done by knowing and understanding the place of the Church as the new "Israel of God." This is what the New Testament teaches. It is not "replacement theology" as some have incorrectly labeled it. This is authentic "olive tree ecclesiology" as understood by the man who invented it - St. Paul himself - and has been historically called by the name "Covenant Theology."
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Anglican Missal is an alternative to the Book of Common Prayer used by many Anglo-Catholics. It's based almost entirely on the pre-1962 Roman Missal (Tridentine mass), but revised slightly to reflect Anglican heritage. It is profoundly Catholic in form and style, as one would expect of a pre-1962 Roman liturgy. In many respects, the Anglican Missal is a perfect complement to the Anglican Breviary referenced in the previous blog entry. These in turn are prefect complements to the Roman Missal and Roman Breviary (pre-1962). It is widely speculated that these two texts (Anglican Missal and Breviary) will play a foundational role in the creation of a universal liturgy for the emerging Anglican ordinariates.
Various editions of the Anglican Missal are used by Traditional Anglican parishes throughout the world, this in conjunction with their older prayer books. Roman Catholics would do well to at least skim over this particular version of liturgy, as it will likely be one major foundation for the future mass of the emerging Anglican ordinariates. The Anglican Missal may be viewed online here should the iframe version below not function properly on your computer, or downloaded as a PDF here.
A Spanish version of the Anglican Missal has also been produced as well, and is used by some Traditional Anglican churches in Central America. Interestingly enough, the Anglican Missal is also used by some High-Church Lutherans in various European nations.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The Anglican Breviary is based on the old Roman Breviary (1962, Tridentine, Extraordinary Form), except is it slightly revised in accordance with the Daily Office from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. All seven day-offices (plus Matins) are condensed into this one volume which is no larger than a standard personal Bible. It is perfect for personal or family devotion. (Official parish use of this book is not possible at this time.)
Both Anglican Catholics and (Traditional) Roman Catholics will love this Breviary. The arrangement of the book is a little different than the usual breviary, and takes some getting used to. However, once you've become accustomed to the method, it's actually more logical and reasonable than the usual Breviary. Certain portions of the breviary ought to be committed to memory for ease of use, such as the opening and closing prayers for example. One great advantage is that it's all contained into one book, as opposed to three, as is the case with the usual Roman Breviary. However, all the elements of the (Traditional) Roman Breviary are present. The language is set to Old English, and there is no Latin text. This is how space is saved. It's a highly functional book that is ideal for both personal and family devotion. The typeset is excellent, and though it is relatively small, it is gentle on the eyes. The book is currently priced under $70 U.S.D., which is considerably cheaper than most full breviaries of similar caliber. You need not take my word for it though, here's the link: www.AnglicanBreviary.net
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: One thing we've learned from the Anglican Use experiment is that calling an Anglican Use parish simply a "Catholic Church," helps to make the parish grow. Case in point, "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" in San Antonio Texas is an Anglican Use parish. In every sense it is fully high-church Anglican or "Anglo-Catholic," yet it is in full communion with the pope and the Roman Catholic Church. You'll notice that nowhere is the word "Anglican" mentioned in the official name. When mentioned at all, it is simply a subtitle - "Anglican Use of the Roman Rite." That's because the word "Anglican" simply describes what type of Catholic Church it is. Regardless of the type, it is still a "Catholic Church." That's important. Most Roman Catholic Churches these days no longer specify the word "Roman" in their parish signs either. They simply say "St. Joseph Catholic Church" usually with the subtitle "Diocese of ______" (fill in the blank). In the case of an Anglican Catholic parish, it might be prudent to simply list the official name as "St. _____ Catholic Church" (fill in the blank) with the subtitle "Anglican Ordinariate of the United States." This both specifies what type of Catholic Church it is, and it plainly lets people know it is a Catholic Church.
Few things will help the Anglican Catholic parishes grow faster than simply being listed as "Catholic" churches, with "Anglican Ordinariate" as the subtitle. Anglicans will know exactly what that is, while general Catholics will be more likely to visit and possibly make it their parish home. This is what happened to "Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church" as she drew in both Anglicans and Catholics in the San Antonio area, as well as people from other Christian traditions, and some with no religious background at all. It is now a full sized parish with it's own full sized academy. Here's their website.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Our newly arriving brethren from the Anglican Communion are more than familiar with the evils of Modernism. The Modernist Rebellion was widespread throughout Christianity during the latter half of the 20th century. Churches most closely tied to the state succumbed to this especially, such as the Evangelical (Lutheran) Church of Germany for example, and the Church of England. Though the Episcopal Church USA was not officially tied to the state, it's connection to American politics is unmistakable, as a large portion of American presidents have been Episcopalians as well as an enormous amount of Congressmen and Senators. All of these have succumbed to the errors of Modernism to the point where the organizations themselves are nothing more than activist clubs for the Modernist movement.
What is Modernism anyway? Popes Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius X railed against it as the greatest heresy of the modern world. There are plenty of books written about their crusades against Modernism, but for our purposes I think the Anglican explanation better suites us. As we welcome our Traditional Anglican brethren back into the Catholic Church, let us view for a moment what their experience with Modernism has been. These good chaps have been virtually persecuted by Modernism. It has destroyed their institutions, ravaged the faith of their young, and marginalized anyone who dared cling to the doctrinal conservatism of the 19th century Anglo-Catholic Oxford Movement. Brits have a wonderful sense of humor, if you can learn to appreciate it. It's terribly dry, and that's what makes it so funny. Keep in mind that if you're not English, you're probably only going to laugh at about 40% of the jokes, but the overall message of it is blisteringly accurate, hence the humor.
In the Church of England, it is the duty of the state prime minister to recommend to the queen an appointment of a bishop for a vacant diocese. (Yes, in England the church and state really are that intertwined.) So here we have a situational comedy in which a fictional prime minister is being advised on episcopal candidates for a vacant diocese. Enjoy....
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: I really didn't want to blog on this. Seriously, I didn't. I wanted to keep my blogging limited to religious issues over the next few weeks. Unfortunately, I am now compelled by current events to speak my mind - at least while it's still legal to do so.
By now we should all be familiar with the tragic events surrounding the attempted assassination of U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in what has now been named the "Tucson Massacre." Six people were killed, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old little girl (both Catholic). Fourteen people were injured. The alleged shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, was apprehended by police and charged with murder and attempted assassination. Congresswoman Giffords now fights for her life in a Tucson hospital having sustained a bullet wound to the brain.
The events surrounding this case are beyond tragic. They are down right frightening. However, that in itself would not be enough to get me to blog on it, as the news media is doing a fine job splashing images and headlines all over the evening news. If you don't know about this event by now, either you're not living in America, or else you've been camping deep in the woods for the last week. No, what provokes me to blog on this is not the terrible event itself, but what has happened afterward. Within MINUTES (not hours or days) after the shooting, the Internet and blogosphere erupted with political opportunism, mainly from the Left, blaming right-wing radio, politicians and TEA parties for the shooting. Within hours after that, the mainstream news media erupted with the same unfounded and ridiculous accusations. Sarah Palin was the primary target of this blood libel, and that is why I've given her a forum on this blog. It is not because of any political favoritism I do this. She is the target of a Left-wing hatchet job in the media, which affects us all in the realm of free speech. Already Democrat members of the U.S. Congress are calling for a return of the so-called "Fairness Doctrine" which limits free political speech on radio and television. All of this is because of the Leftist Democrat blood libel against political conservatives for doing nothing more than exercising their God-given First Amendment rights. I'm not a right-wing Republican. In fact, I'm not even a member of the Republican Party, and to be quite frank with you, conservative talk-radio bores me. Nevertheless, I am an advocate of our God-given right to freedom of speech, especially political speech, which is clearly under attack by the Leftist Democrats in the media and government. Now don't think for one minute that this is limited to political speech, but religious speech has already been attacked. Within hours after the shooting, the blood libel turned against Pro-Life Christians as well. It's all connected you see, not the shooting, but the libel that follows. Leftists suffered a hefty political defeat last November in the U.S. Congressional election, now it's payback time. The problem here is that this isn't just politics. We're talking about free speech here. We're talking about an American tradition, and a God-given right, that has been the bedrock of our way of life for over 200 years. It would seem Leftists in the media and congress would trash that in a heartbeat for a little political payback right here and now. That is indisputable. It's all over the news today, both in broadcast and in print.
Since the news media has been so reluctant to report the actual facts, and so eager to jump to bogus conclusions, it once again falls on the shoulders of basement bloggers (like myself) to do the mainstream media's job for them. So without drawing any conclusions, here are the known facts...
Jared Lee Loughner was a registered Independent voter. He participated in the 2006 and 2008 elections, but not the 2010 election.
Jared Lee Loughner listed Karl Marx, Ayan Rand, Plato and Adolph Hitler as his favorite authors on his YouTube page.
Jared Lee Loughner did not watch television, hated the news, and did not listen to conservative talk-radio according to his friend Zach Osler. According to Osler, Loughner DID NOT take political (Republican or Democrat) sides.
Jared Lee Loughner was physically removed from his college for acting erratically in class and appearing to be under the influence of drugs. His classmates stated that they felt threatened by him, and his teacher stated that he was concerned for the safety of the class.
Jared Lee Loughner produced a number of YouTube videos which seemed to demonstrate a bazaar and unusual thought process.
Jared Lee Loughner has a history of drug and alcohol abuse.
Jared Lee Loughner was a conspiracy theorist according to his posts on Internet forums. He believed the government was behind 9-11 and has faked the space program. He also believed the government was using mind-control by influencing people's grammar.
Jared Lee Loughner was influenced by the film "Zeitgeist: The Movie," which his friend Zach Osler said had a profound influence on his life. The film promotes the conspiracy theory that Christianity is myth used for political control.
Jared Lee Loughner kept an occult style "shrine" in his backyard, complete with a human skull placed atop rotting fruit in a planting pot.
Jared Lee Loughner disliked Representative Gabrielle Giffords, according to his friend Bruce Tierney, and accused the congresswoman of being "fake."
Gabrielle Giffords is a Democratic U.S. Congresswoman from Tucson Arizona.
Gabrielle Giffords is Pro-Abortion and has a 100% "Pro-Choice" rating from NARAL.
Gabrielle Giffords has a liberal voting record on most issues, but is pro-gun rights and opposes illegal immigration.
Gabrielle Giffords is Jewish and attends Congregation Chaverim, a Reform synagogue, in Tucson.
Gabrielle Giffords is a former member of the Arizona regional board of the Anti-Defamation League.
Gabrielle Giffords was periodically interviewed together with Illinois Republican Peter Roskam on NPR's All Things Considered.
Gabrielle Giffords is married to U.S. Navy Captain and space shuttle astronaut Mark E. Kelly.
These are the facts, as known at this time. Feel free to draw from them whatever conclusions you like, but that is for you the reader to decide. I don't know why Jared Lee Loughner went on a shooting spree and attempted to assassinate Congresswoman Giffords. I don't know why he shot the other people, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old little girl. I can't get inside this guy's head, and frankly I don't want to. However, I do know this. The reason why we have the First Amendment in this nation is to protect CONTROVERSIAL speech. Non-controversial speech doesn't need protection because it's not threatened. In fact, the ONLY kind of speech that is threatened by those who would seek to ban it is CONTROVERSIAL speech. This tragic event in Tucson has led to this. Those who hate free speech are now coming out of the woodwork, putting blood-libel on politicians, talk-radio and the TEA parties. They're doing it right now on the television news and print media, using their own free speech to condemn the free speech of others. They're proposing legislation in the U.S. Congress right now. Yes, it's happening, and these enemies of free speech all seem to have one thing in common. They're Left-Wing "Liberal" Democrats. No, I'm not blaming the Democrats for the Tucson Massacre. I'm blaming them for using the Tucson Massacre to push their anti-freedom and anti-American agenda.
This thread is open. So post whatever you like. In honor of the free-speech I'm defending here, it will not receive the usual moderation.
Westminster (Catholic) Cathedral - where the three Anglican bishops were received into the Catholic Church and will be ordained into the Catholic priesthood.
(Telegraph) - According to the Friends of the Ordinariate website, the former bishops of Fulham, Ebbsfleet and Richborough will be ordained Roman Catholic priests in Westminster Cathedral at 10.30am on Saturday, 15 January, a fortnight after they were received into the Church. Everyone is welcome to attend. By that stage they will already be Catholic clergy, having been ordained deacons on Thursday 13 January...
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The creation of the Anglican ordinariate in England is now upon us. The United States and Canada will likely follow immediately thereafter, as well as Australia and others. The time has come for Pope Benedict's "Reform of the Reform."
REFORM OF THE REFORM...
PHASE 1: Restore the 1962 Missal of Saint Pius V (Traditional Latin Mass) - check √ PHASE 2: Reintroduce traditional Anglo-Catholicism to the worldwide Catholic Church - check √ PHASE 3: Reform vernacular translations of the ordinary mass - check √ (later this year) PHASE 4: Return of pre-conciliar liturgical traditions - in progress PHASE 5: Revision of the Missal of Pope Paul VI - in progress (quietly) PHASE 6: Clarification of disputed conciliar documents - in progress (discussions with the SSPX)
The first three phases are enough to reform the Church all on it's own over the next ten to fifteen years, however, phases four through six will accelerate the reform considerably.
Three Anglican bishops, with their wives and three Anglican nuns, are received into the Catholic Church at Westminster Cathedral on January 1, 2011
For now Phase 2 is gearing into high gear. The Anglican ordinariate in England will likely be erected this month, with one of these three former Anglican bishops being named the new English ordinary. The other two priests will likely be his assistants if they are not named ordinaries for other countries, such as the USA and Canada. Regardless of how this plays out, ordinaries will be named for all three countries, and what will follow will be nothing short of the creation of a whole new rite within the Catholic Church (even though it's technically just a "use" and not a full rite - not yet anyway). Over the next ten to fifteen years, this new "Anglican Catholicism" will engage in a game of fraternal competition with the ordinary form of Roman Catholicism, drawing in Protestant converts on the one hand and pulling in traditionally-minded Catholics on the other. This will be similar to the kind of friendly "German thumb-wrestling" the Holy Father used as an analogy to describe the relationship between the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Roman mass. Catholics will be free to move back and forth between traditional Anglican and contemporary Roman liturgies within the Catholic Church. This is designed to force bishops and priests within the Roman Rite to once again embrace their traditional liturgical heritage in the hope of drawing more parishioners in the years ahead. Pure necessity will demand it, that is, if the bishops want to keep the collection plates filled. The effect of Latin traditionalism pulling on the Roman Rite from one side, and English traditionalism (Anglican ordinariates) pulling on the Roman Rite from the other side, will force traditional reform of the ordinary Roman Rite. It may be a slow process, but it is inevitable. What we are witnessing here is not an earthquake, but something more akin to a tectonic shift. The whole direction of the entire Catholic Church has just changed. It's more subtle than an earthquake, and probably not even noticed by the majority of people, but the long-term effects will be undeniable, and far more profound than a mere "earthquake" within the Church.
I should point out here that the reintroduction of Anglican Catholicism to the Catholic Church is far more comprehensive than just the English-speaking world. The Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), which was the body that originally petitioned Rome for the ordinariates, has large non-English affiliates in India, Pakistan, Africa, Latin America, Japan, and the Pacific islands. These metropolitan affiliates celebrate the Anglo-Catholic liturgies in their own native languages. So what we are looking at here is a whole new Catholic liturgy, highly traditional, that will have vernacular translations in multiple languages around the world!!! Stop and think about that for a moment. What does this mean for the Novus Ordo liturgy?
Naturally, only time will tell what the future holds. However, we must remember that in spite of everything the current Holy Father has done, he is not finished yet. What he has done so far will correct the Church over the next one to two decades regardless, but the Holy Father is only just beginning his operations. Already the ball is moving on more reforms that will run their course even after he is gone. Remember, the translation reform of the English mass began under Pope John Paul II. When our Polish pontiff expired many people thought that would be the end of his English reform. Not so! What John Paul II start, Benedict XVI has finished, and so it is reasonable to assume that Pope Benedict's reform processes will likely outlive his pontificate, with lasting effects stretching generations into the future. Could this pope be "Benedict the Great?" - the "Glory of the Olives" we've heard about in a prophecy of old? I'll let you be the judge of that.
Pagans fed Christians to lions for entertainment during ancient Roman persecutions.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: Christianity is by far the single most persecuted religion in the world and in history. In spite of this, it is also the largest religion in the world and in history. This can only be attributed to the hand of God, for as the old saying goes "the blood of the martyrs are the seeds of the Church".
It's always been this way you see. Christianity was first persecuted by ancient Judaism, which directly led to the persecution of the early Church by the ancient Roman empire. The party of the Pharisees approached Caesar in the late 1st century and notified Caesar that the Christians no longer practiced the Jewish religion (as the Pharisees defined it) and were therefore no longer entitled to the same religious exemptions Jews enjoyed under the ancient Roman empire. (Jews were exempt from Caesar worship so long as they prayed for Caesar to God.). Once the Jewish exemption was removed from Christianity, the early Church fell under the same laws as the Roman pantheon of Pagan religions. Thus Christians were required to worship Caesar along with all the Pagans. Of course Christians refused, and so began one of the most ferocious periods of Christian persecution by the state. It lasted over 240 years! In spite of this the Church grew and eventually became the dominant religion in the empire. Only the hand of divine providence can explain this.
Perhaps one of the longest periods of rest from persecution was during the early middle ages, before the rise of Islam in the middle east. With the "prophet" Mohammad however, came the end of relative peace and tranquility. For the centuries to follow, to this very day, Christianity has suffered under the yoke of Islam. Periods of Islamic persecution against Christians had actually reached such extremes that European kings (including the pope) at some times even saw it necessary to wage retaliatory wars (crusades) against Muslim jihads deep into Christian territory. In spite of the crusades however, Christianity has lost some two-thirds of it's territories to Islam. (All of Northern Africa and the Middle East, up trough Turkey were at one time Christian countries.)
Christianity enjoyed relative security in Europe, Russia and the Americas for centuries following the fall of Christianity to Islam in the Middle East and Northern Africa. The late middle ages were are period of missionary expansion for both Christians and Muslims in the new worlds. For Christianity, missionary expansion was found in the Pagan regions North and South America. Muslims saw most of their new converts in Africa and Asia. By the 20th century that era officially came to a close.
The 20th century was an era of dichotomy. On the one hand, the people of the 20th century enjoyed unprecedented technological development with the expansion of knowledge and education. There has been no previous era in history like it. On the other hand, the 20th century was the most bloody and barbaric period of world history ever known. More people died from wars during the 20th century than all previous centuries combined. Entire cities were leveled and civilizations upturned. The world is still reeling from the 20th century, and the full effects will not be known for centuries to come.
It was during the 20th century that Christianity's last "safe haven" in Europe, Russia and the Americas was thrown into upheaval. The rise of Marxism, in various forms (communism, socialism and fascism) brought with it direct persecution of the Church. Nations that turned to communism (China, Russia and Eastern Europe) persecuted Christians most severely, imprisoning virtually all believers and confiscating church property. Next in line were the fascist nations that persecuted Christians who dared to resist the influence of the state, confiscating church property and imprisoning Church leaders. Finally, nations that embraced socialism (Western Europe and the Americas) persecuted Christians through means of defamatory propaganda, creating public intolerance, and gradual state intrusion into Church business. By the early 21st century, Christianity was so reviled by public opinion that western society thought nothing of threatening to remove the tax exemption status for Christian churches, all the while using those same tax regulations to control what pastors say behind the pulpit. Lawsuits were filed against churches for "discriminating" against the new Marxist morality, and legislation was passed to criminalize basic Christian teaching on sexual morality. Of course, much of this was spurred on by the news and entertainment media which virtually encourage anti-Christian sentiment.
By the late 20th century to early 21st century Islam reared it's ugly head again in the form of radical fundamentalism. Once again, Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East began to be persecuted in force. Now there seems to be no end to the violence.
So by the early 21st century, between Marxist ideology and Islamic fundamentalism, Christianity has once again seen the most persecution since the days of the ancient Roman empire. More Christians have died for their faith over the last 100 years than in all previous centuries combined. If history is any indication of the future, and the blood of the martyrs really are the seeds of the Church, than we can only assume that a great worldwide Christian Renaissance must be on it's way, or else if not, this really is the end of time.
(NewsBusters) - In a stunning ten-page declaration recently submitted to the Los Angeles County Superior Court, veteran attorney Donald H. Steier stated that his investigations into claims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests have uncovered vast fraud and that his probes have revealed that many accusations are completely false.
Counselor Steier has played a role in over one hundred investigations involving Catholic clergy in Los Angeles. In his missive Mr. Steier relayed, "One retired F.B.I. agent who worked with me to investigate many claims in the Clergy Cases told me, in his opinion, about ONE-HALF of the claims made in the Clergy Cases were either entirely false or so greatly exaggerated that the truth would not have supported a prosecutable claim for childhood sexual abuse" (capital letters are his).
Mr. Steier also added, "In several cases my investigation has provided objective information that could not be reconciled with the truthfulness of the subjective allegations. In other words, in many cases objective facts showed that accusations were false."
Mr. Steier's declaration is a stunner. He is as experienced as anyone in studying the claims of abuse against Catholic clergy in the Los Angeles area.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: So where is the press? I mean where is the outraged press? Where is the media frenzy and news extravaganzas? Where is the live coverage of the next bishops' conference? What's that? Not a peep from the news media? Not even a single report on the national evening news? Why does this not surprise me?
If you've been reading this blog for the last few years, you would be one of the few people in America who has actually been educated on this matter. Only THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT blog, and other similar Catholic media outlets, have bothered to report the truth in perspective. If you're a regular reader here, congratulations, your knowledge has just been vindicated by NewsBusters. But don't expect the anti-Catholic mainstream news media to report a word of it.
Just to review, The Catholic Knight has consistently reported that less than 5% of Catholic clergy had credible accusations of sexual abuse made against them over the last 50 years. That means 95% of Catholic clergy have had NO credible accusations made against them - none, nill, zip, nothing! So the untold story is that 95% of all Catholic clergy are completely innocent, but of course, you would never know that by watching the mainstream news media.
Now let's move on. This recent report from Los Angeles confirms what many of us have suspected all along. No less than half of all credible accusations against Catholic clergy are fraudulent. This type of fraud may be due to mental illness on the part of the alleged "victim," or it could be as insidious as deliberate fraud in an attempt to extort money from the Church. In both cases the accused priest becomes the real victim here, but in the latter case, what we have going on is nothing less than criminal activity on the part of the alleged sex-abuse "victim." Does the mainstream news media report any of this? Of course not.
So what this means is our statistic of less than 5% can now be safely reduced to less than 2.5%. What I'm saying here is less than 2.5% of Catholic clergy are likely guilty of sexual abuse, while about 2.5% have been falsely accused, and the remaining 95% of clergy have had no credible accusations made against them at all. These are the statistical FACTS, as best as we can ascertain them, and they are considerably different than what the mainstream news media has been reporting for the last seven to eight years.
Once again the evidence shows that if you get the lion's share of your news from any of the syndicated television news outlets (CNN, FoxNews, ABC, NBC & CBS) you remain considerably and consistently uninformed. Perhaps even the word "indoctrinated" might be a better fit. If you want good news, you have to work for it. Cruse the Internet to find independent news outlets, and blogs like this one.
If you want to get the truth out there, feel free to pass this story on using the share links below.
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: The pope's plan for renewal of the Catholic Church in English-speaking nations is about to begin. Let me share with you some insight into the Holy Father's apparent strategy. Of course the pope is working toward liturgical renewal of the entire Catholic Church, as liturgical renewal often assists spiritual and moral renewal (Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi), however it is the English-speaking world that presents a particular challenge to the Holy Father, as the post-conciliar spirit of Modernism has taken such deep root in these nations. Many people see the pope's creation of Summorum Pontificam and Anglicanorum Coetibus as two completely separate and unrelated documents. Not so! They are intimately related on a worldwide level, in multiple languages and regions, but most particularly in relation to the English-speaking Church. Summorum Pontificum, decreed on July 7, 2007, was the pope's first step in this liturgical renewal, as it was designed to reintroduce the worldwide Church to it's pre-conciliar roots in the traditional Latin mass. The reason for this motu proprio was twofold. First, it was because of the continual call of some faithful for it's return on a mainstream level, combined with second, the refusal of many Catholic bishops to provide for this need despite Pope John Paul II's call for "wide and generous" implementation of the traditional Latin mass back in 1988. The call of the faithful, combined with the deaf ear of many bishops, resulted in Summorum Pontificum. (This is the Holy Father's explanation not mine. Look it up if you like.)
The liturgical renewal of the English mass has been underway for almost two decades now, particularly as it relates to the revision of the English translation of the post-conciliar ordinary form of the mass. Previous English translations were very poor, and after two decades of episcopal infighting, a new version of the English mass is about to be released this year (Advent 2011) which has been fully approved by the Vatican. However, a new and improved English translation is not enough to reform the deeply ingrained Modernism in the English-speaking Church. Since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has been privately working on a reform of the entire ordinary form mass behind closed doors. Nobody outside the Vatican knows what the extent of these reforms will be, nor does anyone outside the Vatican know if they will ever see the light of day, but what we do know is that they are being worked on and they are top secret for now. Beyond that, the Holy Father has been leading the Church by example, administering communion only on the tongue while the communicant kneels, arranging altars in the most traditional ways, insisting on Gregorian chant, praying the preface and canon of the mass in Latin, etc. However, not even this is enough to uproot entrenched Modernist influences in the Western Church, particularly in English-speaking countries, which for the most part have completely ignored the pope's lead.
Simultaneously, over the last two decades, something else has emerged. Fairly large groups of Traditional Anglicans, disaffected with the Modernist trends in the Protestant Church of England and the Worldwide Protestant Anglican Communion, have consistently and repeatedly petitioned the Catholic Church for corporate reconciliation with Rome. In effect, these Anglicans were the offspring of the 19th century Oxford Movement which sought to restore English Christianity to it's ancient Catholic roots. Some of the leaders of this movement went on to become Roman Catholics themselves, most notably the Venerable Cardinal Henry Newman. These modern descendants of the Oxford Movement, like Cardinal Newman's example, sought return to the Catholic Church, while simultaneously preserving their highly traditional Anglo-Catholic traditions, liturgy and customs. These Traditional Anglicans are staunchly conservative both liturgically and morally. They've already signed on to the Catechism of the Catholic Church issued by Rome in 1994. Their petition to the Catholic Church, officially made in finality back in 2007, provided a grand opportunity for Pope Benedict XVI. The introduction of thousands of Anglicans back into the Catholic Church might create some healthy competition for the general Roman Rite. Though the ordinary form of the mass already must compete with the traditional Latin extraordinary form (thanks to Summorum Pontificum) this competition is far from universal. The extraordinary form Latin mass was never officially translated into vernacular languages, and for the time being anyway, there is no demand for such translations as most traditional Catholics have no interested in using them. So what to do with millions of Catholics in the English-speaking world who long for a return to tradition, but have no interest in Latin and are trapped under the thumb of Modernist bishops and priests with no intent of ever changing their Modernist ways? Oh sure, the pope could "crack the whip" so to speak, and demand their grudging compliance, but this pope knows that such methods will not result in lasting change and could unintentionally produce a rebellion. So why not use some "friendly German thumb wrestling" (Holy Father's words not mine) to produce the desired ends. By allowing the Traditional Anglicans to return to the Church, while retaining their traditional Catholic rites in Old English, not only would traditional Anglicans benefit, but so would traditionally-minded Catholics who don't care for Latin. The disaffected Catholic, tired of the happy-clappy watered-down mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Parish (Roman diocese) could simply hop over to St. Bede's Catholic Parish (Anglican ordinariate) on the other side of town. Both parishes would offer valid sacraments under Canon Law, and Catholics from either parish could receive these sacraments at the other. The result? Just let nature take it's course! Traditional English masses will be offered at the ordinariate parishes, while Traditional Latin masses will be offered at some diocesan parishes. Ideally, the average Catholic, in any major city, will have three choices to pick from on any given Sunday morning. Those choices being Traditional Latin, Traditional English, or contemporary happy-clappy English. The pope, knowing what the underlying trends of the Church are, understands that Traditional liturgies will prosper in the years ahead, while contemporary Modernist liturgies will continue to suffer and lose parishioners. The introduction of Traditional Latin liturgies, and Traditional English liturgies is der Panzer Pope's pincer move on the Modernist Catholic Church in English-speaking nations.
This is the pope's strategy, as it is playing out, and regardless if we like it or not, the time has come to put down our differences and unite behind the Holy Father's "Reform of the Reform." Therefore it is incumbent upon every Traditional Catholic, and every practicing Catholic of good will, to assist the Holy Father, in every way possible, to make sure this plan for the Anglican ordinariates gets underway without a hitch. This can begin with generous lending of chapels, vestments and liturgical instruments. It can continue with all the help possible for networking, and the distribution of Vatican approved Anglican Catholic liturgies once available. Anglican Catholics will be in particular need for good traditional-friendly printing presses, and computer programmers that can create native iPhone and iPad applications for Anglican Catholic liturgies - particularly Anglican Catholic breviaries, missals and prayerbooks. I say "native" or "resident" applications, as opposed to "Internet based" applications, to help insure wide propagation of the text. The more copies in circulation you have of something, the more likely it is to be preserved. In other words, don't keep "all your eggs in one basket." Generous use of traditional Catholic seminaries will also be a boost - so the time for marketing that is now! In effect, the traditional Anglicans will need all the help traditional Catholics can bring to bear, to make the Holy Father's strategy work well. The time has come. This is the moment in history we've been waiting for! Do not hesitate.ACT NOW!
Our Lady of the Atonement, Anglican Use Catholic Parish, San Antonio Texas
(American Catholic Magazine) - The 1230 Mass today at London's Westminster Cathedral looked like any other. But for the hint in the booklet for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, that after the homily would be a "Rite of reception and confirmation", there was nothing at all to indicate the significance of what was to happen. The celebrant, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, Alan Hopes, said nothing at the start of Mass, and it wasn't until the end of a lengthy homily on Mary as Theotokos, or God-bearer, and the controversies of the fourth-century Council of Nicea which led to this Feast, that Bishop Hopes mentioned that they would be receiving some former members of the Church of England into full communion. They included, he said, three former bishops and their relatives, as well as three Anglican nuns. It would have been hard, if you had just dropped into the Cathedral for Mass, to understand the significance of what was happening.There was nobody around to explain that these are the founding members of the world's first Ordinariate, the scheme created by Pope Benedict to allow for the corporate reception of Anglicans...
THE CATHOLIC KNIGHT: This new way of being Catholic is going to be a hit in North America, and it's something that many Roman Catholics will identify with. It's extremely traditional, yet extremely practical at the same time. Yes, married men can become priests within the Anglican ordinariates, and it has been made clear that this provision is perpetual. When asked "how long" the Anglican Catholics will be permitted to retain married priests, one Vatican CDF official responded "we'll let you know in a couple hundred years."
Naturally, the Anglican ordinariates are initially designed to accommodate Traditional Anglicans and Anglican Use Catholics, however, the Apostolic Constitution (Anglicanorum Coetibus) is an "open invitation" to all Christians of various denominations, as well as regular Roman Catholics too, if they feel drawn to the Anglican (as opposed to strictly Roman) tradition.
Let me clarify some things here. Practically speaking, Anglican Catholic tradition is so "Catholic" in practice, that it often puts general Roman Catholicism to shame. The Anglican Catholic tradition is part of the Roman Rite. It is, shall we say, a subset or variation of Roman Catholicism. Historically, Rome has always allowed these sorts of things, but this is perhaps the largest exception ever permitted. Anglican Catholics are Roman Catholics, but they have an extra character which comes from the English tradition. Those within the Anglican ordinariates are in full apostolic union with the pope of Rome. The are 100% Catholic, just as regular Roman Catholics are 100% Catholic. Anglican Catholics can lawfully receive communion in any Roman Catholic parish. Likewise, Roman Catholics can lawfully receive communion in any Anglican Catholic parish, and that leads us to an interesting proposition.
Many Roman Catholics are dissatisfied with the current Novus Ordo culture that surrounds the typical celebration of the Novus Ordo ("new order" or "modern vernacular") mass. This is because in the Western world, particularly in English-speaking countries, there has been a tendency to banalize (scale down) the mass to the everyday common culture. Language became remedial (though soon to be improved), celebrations boring, and historic Catholic traditions have been dispensed. The high-church Catholicism of yesteryear is gone. The high altars have been torn down. The canopies were eliminated, and the altar rails have completely disappeared. The statues and icons have been reduced to a minimum. The Catholic parishes of today are barely recognizable from those of ages past. Altar servers once played an essential role in the mass. Today they sit aside and perform only occasional functions. The priest no longer celebrates facing the Lord, but instead the altar has been turned into a common table with the priest facing the people, in what has become something like a performance. Communion is no longer received on the tongue while kneeling. Instead communicants stand and receive the Holy Eucharist on their hands (a dispensation that Rome can revoke at any time). Even worse, many liturgical "experts" have taken it upon themselves to innovate the mass, to "spice it up" a little. They've brought in pop music, with drums and guitars, turning the Catholic mass into something that highly resembles a Protestant service. A whole lot of Catholics are frustrated with this, and have been for some years. Many more young Catholics are for the first time discovering that there is more to their faith than what typically passes for Catholicism in their local parish. They admire the beauty and solemnity found in the Traditional Latin Mass (Tridentine or Extraordinary Form) but find the language barrier difficult to overcome. If only such traditional Catholic worship could be found in the English language.
So enters the Anglican Catholic parishes. They are very traditional, and foster a form of Roman Catholic worship that is beautiful and solemn. The Anglican Catholic mass is perhaps the closest thing to the Traditional Latin Mass one will ever see in English. Not only is it celebrated in English, but High English at that, which is both dignified and beautiful. All of the elements of Traditional Catholicism are present; the high altars, altar rails, iconography, traditional English hymns, chants, priests facing the Lord, communion on the tongue while kneeling, women who veil in the presence of the Lord, and altar servers that actually have an essential role in the liturgy.
In this current Novus Ordo culture, Anglican Catholic worship is sure to attract a lot of Roman Catholics frustrated with the banal and innovative celebrations common in today's world. Rome is okay with that. The invitation of Anglicanorum Coetibus is open, and if some Roman Catholics feel more comfortable worshiping in Anglican Catholic parishes, that's okay, and Rome has certainly foreseen this. In fact, I would dare say Rome is counting on it!
You see Pope Benedict XVI has initiated what many have called the "reform of the reform" of the Roman Rite and the Second Vatican Council. To accomplish this, he has initiated a threefold plan. First, he has restored the Traditional Latin Mass with his motu proprio entitled Summorum Pontificum. This gives all priests, everywhere, the right to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass of their own accord, if they are competent to do so. They may celebrate such masses privately as well as publicly. Second, he is reforming the Novus Ordo mass, slowly and carefully, both through example and edict. The first major change Catholics in North America will notice over the next year will be the reform of the English translation of the mass. Because the current translation (1971 to 2011) is so remedial that it doesn't even capture the meaning of the original Latin text, Catholics in North America are in for some startling changes just in the language alone, and the pope hasn't even begun to reform the order of liturgy yet. Third and finally, he has created the Apostolic Constitution for Groups of Anglicans (Anglicanorum Coetibus) which is an open door for Protestant converts directly into Traditional Catholicism with an English flare. It is also a refuge for Roman Catholics who are sick and tired of the current Novus Ordo culture.
Traditional Catholics of the Latin persuasion should keep in mind that Traditional Anglican Catholics are their natural allies in the reform of the reform. Historically speaking, Anglican Use parishes have been very friendly to the Traditional Latin Mass and Traditional Anglican churches have been known to celebrate the Tridentine liturgy. There is definitely going to be some crossover between the Traditional Latin and Anglican Catholic parishes. This two is inevitable and should be embraced by both parties.
Of course there is also the issue of married clergy. Let me elaborate. The Catholic Church has always allowed married priests. Let me repeat that. The Catholic Church has ALWAYS allowed married priests. However, it has at times restricted the priesthood to unmarried celibate men, and this is the case for the general Roman Rite. The Roman Rite priesthood was restricted to celibate men in 1123 AD, but this only pertained to the Roman Rite. The Eastern Rites were excluded from this, and in fact, married men are continually ordained in Eastern Catholic churches to this very day. In recent times, Rome has also made an exception for married Protestant clergy who wish to convert and be ordained priests, as well as those of the Anglican tradition. Clerical celibacy is not a Church doctrine. It is merely a discipline of the Church, which Rome can amend or rescind at any time. For now, Rome has seen fit to keep celibacy in the general Roman Rite, however Rome reserves the right to make exceptions, and the Anglican ordinariate is one such exception. The one thing Rome wants to make sure doesn't happen is that married men from the general Roman Rite don't take advantage of one of these exceptions and change rites exclusively for the reason of finding a "backdoor" into the Catholic priesthood. This is why Rome screens every married candidate for the priesthood on a case by case basis.
However, for those Roman Catholics who are simply eager to escape the banal innovations of the Novus Ordo culture, a safe refuge of traditional Catholicism awaits them in the Anglican Catholic parishes. They may become members of such parishes simply by attending mass regularly, and if so inclined, they may go through the customary process of transferring parish membership. All children baptized in these parishes will become part of the ordinariate, and male children will be eligible for the priesthood, even after marriage, with the customary training and review.
In the current Novus Ordo culture, it is only natural to expect a growing number of Catholics to cross over to either Latin Traditionalism (via the Traditional Latin Mass) or English Traditionalism (via the Anglican ordinariates). IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. The only question is how much and how many? This will continue until the general Roman Rite parishes return to their historic tradition. Until then, it is likely these Anglican Catholic parishes will grow far beyond what anybody expects in North America, the British Isles and the rest of the English-speaking world.
I should also point out that the ordinariates will not be limited to the English-speaking world, as Traditional Anglicanism can be found in such places as Latin America, Africa and India. Anglican mass is celebrated in the vernacular languages of those areas as well. Likewise, a large percentage of these will be entering the ordinariates too. What we have here is the makings of a whole new rite within the Catholic Church, though it is not officially a rite yet, and Anglican Catholic priests are competent to celebrate both the Roman and Anglican form of the mass. Popularity of the Anglican ordinariates in non-English countries remains to be seen, but it will be something to watch as it develops.
