There is a chess strategy whereby you can win with just two bishops.
Here are two who might be just the men for the job.
Two American Bishops this week have made strong statements reinforcing the actual teaching of the Church in the light of Vatican II instead of the nebulous "spirit" of the Council, which has so often been deformed to lend spurious support to all manner of inappropriate and ill-conceived ideas.
I met Archbishop Cordileone last year in London.
First, an interview carried by the New Liturgical Movement, given by the Most Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco. This concentrates on the language of the liturgy mandated by the Second Vatican Council - Latin; and the music mandated by the same Council - Chant and polyphony.
"It was not the mind of the Council to abolish the use of Latin in the liturgy by any means; quite the contrary."
Second, the Most Rev. Thomas Paprocki of Springfield in Illinois, has issued a has issued a pastoral letter called Ars celebrandi et adorandi… The art of celebrating and worshipping. This tells his priests in no uncertain terms to put the tabernacles back in the centre of the church.
"In order that more of the faithful will be able to spend time in adoration and prayer in the presence of the Eucharistic Lord, I direct that in the churches and chapels of our diocese, tabernacles that were formerly in the center of the sanctuary, but have been moved, are to be returned as soon as possible to the center of the sanctuary in accord with the original architectural design. Tabernacles that are not in the center of the sanctuary or are otherwise not in a visible, prominent and noble space are to be moved to the center of the sanctuary; tabernacles that are not in the center of the sanctuary but are in a visible, prominent and noble space may remain."
3 comments:
Couldn't do it at the Catholic cathedral in Sheffield. The bishop's throne,which our recently-departed bishop was too humble to use when it was at the side of the sanctuary, was replaced in 2013 by a stone monstrosity plumb in the middle of the sanctuary and obscuring the tabernacle, which has been empty for many years. But then as someone told me, the Blessed Sacrament had to be moved to a side-chapel so that it 'didn't distract from what's important about the Mass'.
Celia,
Just remove the monstrosity.
Ah yes! But what about the ubiquitous collegiality and the concept of (C)atholic National Churches - as evidenced on the Continent. Not to mention the Eccleston Square mafia in E&W - what chance have our own "two bishops" against that lot and the Conference?
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