Sunday, October 28, 2007

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Roman Catholic bishop consecrated in Russia

Posted:

Sat Oct 27, 2007 9:20 pm (GMT -5)
http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=11761

Roman Catholic bishop consecrated in Russia

For the first time since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, a Roman Catholic bishop has been consecrated on Russian soil. An Italian, Paolo Pezzi, takes over from Belorussian Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
By Robert Moynihan


Today in Moscow, for the first time since the Communist Revolution in 1917, a Catholic bishop was consecrated on Russian soil.

The ceremony, held in a packed Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in central Moscow, marked the end of one era and the beginning of another for the Catholic Church in Russia, as the new bishop, Paolo Pezzi, a 47-year-old Italian theologian, took over the leadership of the Catholic Church in Russia's capital from the Belorussian Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, 57, who will move to a difficult assignment in Minsk, the capital of Belorussia.

Kondrusieiwicz, who has led the Catholic Church in Moscow since 1991, when the Soviet Union fell, through the period of its slow re-emergence from the catacombs of the communist period, was the principal consecrator of Pezzi, who has served for many years as the rector of the Catholic seminary in St. Petersburg.

Dozens of Italians came from Moscow, and from Italy, including Pezzi's mother and a number of relatives, to witness Pezzi's consecration to the episcopacy.

The other two consecrators were the Italian Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Holy See's nuncio in Russia, and Bishop Joseph Werth, a Russian of German ancestry, the bishop of Novosibirsk in Siberia.

The ceremony, which last from 4 pm until 7 pm, was marked by the use of three languages: Russian, Italian, and Latin. The Epistle, Gospel and the questions asked of the new bishop were spoken in Russian. The homily, given by Kondrusiewicz, was in Russian and then in Italian.

The consecration was in Latin.

The Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow sent two representatives, Father Igor Vyzhanov and Father Vsevolod Chaplin, who were given seats of honor in the front of the church.

I was present eight years ago, on December 12, 1999, when Archbishop Kondrusiewicz consecrated the altar of the basilica in a moving ceremony together with the Vatican Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, and so I had mixed emotions as I watched Kondrusiewicz on the eve of his departure from Moscow -- sad to see Kondrusiewicz, whose ceaseless labors allowed the Catholic Church in Russia to get back onto her feet again, depart; and happy to see Pezzi, a personable and profoundly spiritual man, take the torch from his predecessor, and the opportunity now to extend his hand beyond his own flock, in respect and friendship, toward the Russian Orthodox Church, here in its homeland.

What opens up now with Pezzi's succession here is a chance for a next stage in the relationship between Rome and Moscow, and so between the Roman Catholic Church and Russian Orthodoxy.

Pezzi, a member of the Communion and Liberation movement founded by the late Italian priest Luigi Giussani (which Pope Benedict XVI has highly praised), will likely focus his efforts on the cultural, spiritual and theological riches of the western and eastern traditions which can mutually enrich one another.

Robert Moynihan PhD writes for Inside the Vatican Magazine.

Tridentine Mass in The Virgin Islands

Posted:

Sat Oct 27, 2007 12:03 pm (GMT -5)
SOURCE: The Catholic Islander, Oct. 2007

TRIDENTINE LATIN MASS

Responding to the July 2007 publication of Pope Benedict XVI's Motu Propio on the Tridentine Mass, Fr. Patrick Lynch, CSsR, Pastor of Holy Cross Church on St. Croix, will celebrate a Latin Mass at his parish on Sunday, October 28, at 11:00 a.m. The choir has begun rehearsing the Gregorian Missa de Angelis.

The Motu Propio eased the way for more widespread use of the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in 1962. This will be the first Latin Mass in the diocese in at least 10 years, and the first Tridentine Mass in decades.
_________________
IN CORDIBUS JESU ET MARIÆ

SECRETMAN

Interpretations are subjective, but should lean toward God

Posted:

Sat Oct 27, 2007 10:45 am (GMT -5)

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Columns
Print Edition: 10/26/2007
Interpretations are subjective, but should lean toward God
By Bishop Robert Vasa

BEND — It has been my lifelong experience that each of us is very insistent on having things go "our way." It is also very clear that we tend to give an interpretation to documents and events which most closely aligns with what we would like those documents or events to mean. In other words, we all tend, more or less, to subjectivity. At the same time, in our self evaluation we are inclined to imagine that our thoughts or positions are really much more objective than those of our neighbor. I have experienced this over the past several months in regard to our conditional use permit application with Crook County. It seems perfectly clear to me that the zoning laws permit the building of the structures we hope to build for our new Catholic Center. That, however, which is crystal clear to me is not nearly so clear to others. Though we read the same statutes, the breadth of proposed interpretations are as varied as the minds of those reading the words of the statutes.

We understand and agree that the statutes permit the building of "churches" but then the pertinent question, as a recent headline asked, becomes "What constitutes a church?" In the narrow, civil, legal sense one could argue that "church" is that specific building in which the faithful gather for worship. In a broader, ecclesial and canonical sense one could argue that "church" is the entire complex of buildings, duties and responsibilities entrusted to a bishop of a particular diocese. It may come as no surprise that I lean toward the latter definition and that the planning commission, while not rejecting the broader definition, must likewise deal with the narrower definition. The matter comes before the commission once more on Tuesday evening and hopefully we will arrive at a bit more clarity on that occasion. Once again I urge prayer for the deliberative process and while I am faith-filled enough to ask that the prayer be for the fulfillment of God's will, I am also inclined to ask for prayers that the necessary permits be granted. It would be very easy for me to accept God's will if that will is that the conditional use permit be granted, but if the permit is denied I would be less inclined to identify such a decision with God's will.

This is where trusting in God's seemingly crooked lines really challenges the objectivity of faith. It is very consoling to have things work the way we would like them, to work and then to sit back with a kind of smug complacence thinking that we really are doing God's will after all. On the other hand, since things rarely proceed flawlessly according to our plans, our faith is routinely challenged. In this, the subjectivity of our faith is revealed. For myself, I do recognize that my willingness to accept God's will is very much conditioned on whether my particular hopes and aspirations are included in what God wills. In the case at hand, if our permit would be denied then I would have to admit that it was God's will that it be denied. Then I would need to discern if it is God's will that we engage in further petitions and applications and appeals or if it is His will to simply abandon the entire concept. From a purely subjective point of view it is almost impossible for me to envision that God's will is that we not work very assertively for the promotion of His kingdom here in Eastern and Central Oregon. The precise method of evangelization is not spelled out, but it is clearly God's will that the message of the Gospel be spread. It is also clear in the history of the Church that evangelization efforts often encounter significant resistance. Again, notice the subjectivity of this line of reasoning. Swift approval would be very consoling but denial, precisely because it forces greater reliance on God, may be more beneficial.

I pray for the grace to live out a prayer I found decades ago: Lord, I give this day entirely to You — I retain none of it for myself. It is Yours. If on this, Your day, You send me joy — I thank you. If on this, Your day, You send me loneliness — I will draw closer to You. If on this, Your day, You send me sorrow — I accept it. If on this, Your day, You send me peace — I will share it with the anxious. If on this, Your day, You send me pain — I will suffer it with You. If I accept good things from You, should I not also accept unpleasant? Since this is Your day, which You graciously have given to me, and which I now in intention return to You, help me to live it well; not to waste what You have given on idleness but to use it as You have designed. Help me to remember how well the day goes when it is given to You. I trust that You will give to me this day all that I need and that all that is given or withheld is for my good. With all this in mind, help me to live this day with You in joy. Amen.

I see a similar subjective interpretive tendency in relation to the Motu Proprio regarding the celebration of the Mass of Pope Pius V. There are a variety of interpretations about what it says or does not say, what it permits and does not permit, what it mandates and what it forbids. In general, the variety of proposed interpretations are as varied as the minds of those reading the words of the Motu Proprio. In regard to this very significant document it is clear that each of us tends to give an interpretation which most closely aligns with what we would like it to mean. It is important for each to recognize the level to which our personal feelings impact on our interpretation. If this is done then a fruitful discussion between those who insist on different interpretations is possible. Once someone concludes that their interpretation is objective and not at all subjective (which is, of course, already a subjective conclusion) then the ground for fruitful discussion is significantly diminished.

I do wish that the Crook County Planning Commission would see the county zoning statutes as clearly as I do. I am sure that some who are very interested in seeing a fuller restoration of the Mass of Pius V wish that I could see the objectively proper meaning of the Motu Proprio as clearly as they do. Let us pray for a fuller acceptance of God's will and not only His will as refracted by our own very subjective interests.
_________________
IN CORDIBUS JESU ET MARIÆ

SECRETMAN
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