What's in a name?

While I am glad that a number of bishops are now speaking out in support of the Church's teaching on marriage, I have been a little surprised that it is this issue that has fired them up.  There are any number of issues that, shall we say, have not necessarily been highlighted and defended with all the vigour that could be brought to bear.  Not all our bishops have been fired up for all areas of the Church's teaching - from morals to liturgy.

However, that aside, in the reporting over Christmas one (of my many) pet peeves has been rubbed up the wrong way.  Again and again the TV news and the print media refer to Archbishop Nichols as the "Head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales"( eg the Guardian) or "the Leader of the Country's Roman Catholics".  Of course, he is not and I'm sure would not lay claim to such a title. He is one of the Archbishops whose sees cover the capital and because the UK is covered by more than one hierarchy, he is not even the senior cleric, as at this point in time he has not been elevated to the cardinalate   It may be that the Archbishop of Westminster has a a higher profile by virtue of being in the capital and that he is usually a cardinal; he may chair the meetings of the Bishop's Conference of England and Wales.  For all these reasons, we might expect a certain leadership from whoever occupies the see of Westminster.  However, he has no direct control over any other diocese than his own; he not the CEO of the various provincial branches of a company, as if the diocese of Liverpool were a regional branch of Tesco. He cannot lead any diocese other than his own anywhere.  (as a Metropolitan he has certain oversight duties over his province in very limited ways - not the whole country and Westminster is not a Primatial See - and even if he were, Canon 438 makes it clear that the title of "Primate gives a prerogative of honour, but in the latin Church does not carry with it any power of governance").  If someone had a complaint against the bishop in their own diocese, they cannot take it to the Archbishop of Westminster.  If they cannot resolve it with their own bishop then the next level of authority is is in Rome with the appropriate Congregation representing the Holy Father.

Each bishop is a successor of the Apostles and apart from Peter, none was marked out with any governance over the others.  It is, I think, another ill-effect resulting from the rise to prominence of bishop's conference within each nation state - making national churches in some countries think of themselves as semi-autonomous bodies from the wider universal Church.  Although in the United Kingdom we have three hierarchies - which again militate against referring to the Archbishop of Westminster as "Head" or "Leader".   In fact, the only Primate, who would therefore have a prerogative of honour, resides in Northern Ireland, as the Primate of all Ireland. At this point in time Scotland has a Cardinal - again who could with more legitimacy have a leadership role ascribed to him.  While obviously some collective approach within a country can have uses at a practical level, the primacy of the Bishop's Conference mentality has robbed the individual bishop of the power to act alone; it appears to have made individual bishops beholden to the national conference instead of to the wider Church, to Rome, to the Holy Father or even to their own flock.  They must issue a statement through the bishop's conference and inevitably, in getting 20+ individual bishops to agree to something, the statement has to be a compromise and is watered down or policy making is farmed out to committees, who again would have to have an eye to keeping everyone on-board.  The "Leader" or "Head" in any diocese is only the bishop of that diocese.

A Blessed and Holy Christmas

For while all things were in quiet silence, 

and the night was in the midst of her course, 

Thy almighty Word leapt down from heaven 

from thy royal throne, 

as a fierce conqueror into the midst of the land of destruction.

Wisdom 18:14-15

Forbidden Reading

I came across an article on the Zenit News agency today on Michael Davies, the author and apologist for traditional Catholicism.  I can recall reading some of his books whist still at seminary - hidden away secretly, for they would definitely not have been approved reading. I always particularly liked the illustration on the front of the above book, which is not that easy to see, showing the bishops processing into St Peter's Basilica in copes and mitres but emerging casting these off and donning jeans, T-shirts and guitar.  Fr Tim Finigan has been re-discovering him recently as well. You can read the whole article on Zenit but here are the highlights:s. 

Michael Davies Was a 'Man of the Church'

By Edward Pentin

ROME, DEC. 20, 2012. 

"The immensity of the man will only be fully appreciated in the years and decades to come," said Leo Darroch at a recent Rome conference. "He will be recognized as a true son of Holy Mother Church and a giant among men in a period when the Church was in turmoil."

Darroch, president of the International Una Voce Federation, a group supporting Mass in the Extraordinary Form, was referring to the relatively unknown Welsh author and primary school teacher, Dr. Michael Davies. 

As a good friend of Davies (1936-2004), Darroch at a conference in November paid tribute to this highly respected, but little known, defender of the Church's Tradition. 

The meeting, held by the Centro Culturale Lepanto, marked the fifth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio that further opened the way to celebration of the Extraordinary Form.

Davies, Darroch recalled, was a prolific author and a convert to Catholicism who, after only 10 years as a Catholic, "could see immediately the damaging effect" the liturgical abuses that ensued after the Council would have on the faith of young people.

"He was to be their champion and he threw himself entirely into the battle," Darroch noted, adding that "his life's work" was spent questioning and scrutinizing the new liturgical innovations that were not prescribed in the Council documents. 

"He had discovered in his late teens and early 20s that the Truth existed in the Catholic Church and he was not prepared to allow anyone to take it away from him or his children," he said. "For Michael, the truth was everything and he was appalled at the way the modernist pseudo-intellectuals and their fellow travelers had infiltrated the Catholic media, the seminaries, and the publishing houses, and were introducing a new religion to our churches and schools to the detriment of the faith."

Furthermore, Darroch added, Davies was "equally appalled" not only that many bishops had allowed these abuses, but that many "actively supported them, while condemning as divisive those Catholics who were not prepared to abandon the faith of their parents and grandparents."

Being a school teacher also made him acutely aware of the damage being caused. He "deeply resented" that the faith he taught his own pupils would later be usurped by a version of the Catholic faith that "had been adapted to the secular spirit of the age and was watered down to be acceptable to everyone, but in fact was rejected by most," Darroch said.

"This theme of checking information in the search for truth became the cornerstone, the constant thread, of everything he produced subsequently," said Darroch. "It became a continual source of irritation, and more, to those 'experts' who wished to steamroller liturgical change upon a disbelieving laity, that their spurious claims were put under the microscope and found, in the most part, to be without foundation."

Moreover, according to Darroch, Davies's writings encapsulated the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity. "He was possessed of a wonderful faith that even in the darkest moments never wavered," he said. "He never lost hope that tradition would be restored to our altars, and, though he criticized endlessly the disastrous reforms inflicted upon the Church, he never resorted to personal abuse of those who were responsible for them... He was kindness and patience personified to everyone who wished to speak to him but was deeply uncomfortable when compliments were being paid to him."

Darroch said that Davies, who was elected president of the International Una Voce Federation in 1995, became a welcome visitor to the Vatican in later years. "For many in the hierarchy, he was deeply unpopular but in this time of great change, his constant theme was loyalty to the Holy See and to the traditions of the Church," he said. And on his death in 2004, the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger paid tribute to him, saying he had been "profoundly touched" by the news of his passing. 

"I found him as a man of deep faith and ready to embrace suffering," Cardinal Ratzinger wrote. "Ever since the Council, he put all his energy into the service of the Faith and left us important publications especially about the Sacred Liturgy. Even though he suffered from the Church in many ways in his time, he always truly remained a man of the Church. He knew that the Lord founded His Church on the rock of St. Peter and that the Faith can find its fullness and maturity only in union with the Successor of St. Peter. Therefore we can be confident that the Lord opened wide for him the gates of heaven. We commend his soul to the Lord's mercy.'"

It could be argued with some conviction, Darroch said, that Davies has been directly responsible for "perhaps hundreds of thousands of concerned Catholics around the world remaining faithful to Rome and the Holy See despite their disaffection with the direction the Catholic Church has taken since 1965."  

Yet Davies remained, and to a great extent still remains, unknown to the majority of Catholic faithful, despite many attributing his great body of work to a resurgence in support for the Old Mass and Tradition, and for the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. For this reason, many would like to see his works becoming more widely known. 

"This may well be his lasting legacy to the Church; the provision of books and papers that rallied the faithful and educated them in a period of time that will truly be called one of the dark ages of the Church."

Carol Concert

A belated report on the Order of St Lazarus Carol Concert held here last Saturday. The standard of singing was excellent.  As well as traditional Carols we had some medieval pieces and some modern "schmooze".  (Strictly speaking I don't really approve of carols before Christmas itself but getting people out to an Advent Concert is pretty difficult and we were trying to raise money for SUROL - a charity in Sri Lanka assisting those with Hanson's disease, under the patronage of Cardinal Ranjith. It was also a concert, rather than a service, so the blessed sacrament was elsewhere for the evening.)  As well as a decent amount raised through the collection etc, we had a fantastic donation of £10,000!

Thank you to all who came and to the singers and musicians for giving of their time so generously:

David Scott-Thomas - Accompanist
Ailsa Mainwaring - Soprano Soloist
Simon Woof - Alto
Nick Davis - Tenor
Anthony Dickinson - Bass

The Parish benefited as well for our local Councillor, Mike Otter, presented us with a cheque for £200 from Farington Parish Council, in recognition of the work done in the local community.  We will use to upgrade the outside lighting in the grounds.

Councillor Otter presenting the cheque.

Who is this?

Pictured in the shop in Prague.

Can anyone tell me who this saint is?  I found this oil painting in a bric-a-brac shop in Prague and bought it!  The text he is pointing to is the prayer to Our Lady,  Sub tuum praesidium confugimus, Sancta Dei Genetrix.  The Sub tuum praesidium is probably the oldest Christian prayer dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This prayer was long used in both Eastern and Western rites, even if numerous variants existed. In 1917, the John Rylands Library just nearby me in Manchester, managed to acquire a large panel of Egyptian papyrus — the exact area where they were discovered is unknown — including an 18 cm by 9.4 cm fragment containing the text of this prayer in Greek probably dating from circa 250 - 300AD.  It is the basis of the Memorare:

Under thy protection
we seek refuge,
Holy Mother of God;
despise not our petitions
in our needs,
but from all dangers
deliver us always,
Virgin Glorious and Blessed.

My limited research so far suggests that:

It is one of the Fathers of the Church, possibly Eastern - the triple banded cross and the pallium point to a Patriarch or Pope.

Associated with devotion to Our Lady, as he is pointing to the text, or doctrines associated with Her that assist in protecting a correct understanding of Our Lord's nature and being.

That is has most likely been painted in the last 100 - 150 years (or possibly soon after 1917 when the fragment was discovered), so the most likely source for commissioning such a painting would be an Order with a devotion to Our Lady - the Marists (among others) have a particular devotion to this prayer.  Does the blue banner attached to the cross signify anything in particular?

Perhaps the connection to the Czech Lands has some significance?

There is a suggestion that Alexandria was the place of discovery of the fragment so could it be St Cyril of Alexandria?  The difficulty is that there are many paintings of various Fathers of the Church that all look more or less the same with few particular distinguishing features. 

So - any hints from out thee as to who it might be would be welcome.

Bishop Philip Egan to David Cameron

 A change too far in this case

Bishop Philip Egan of Portsmouth has written to the Prime Minister, David Cameron, in terms that I cannot recall any bishop of modern times in this country having the guts to do.  The Church - certainly in this country - has for so long lost confidence in wholeheartedly proclaiming the Christian Mission to the world.  A message that does not need to apologise for itself because it is God's message for the salvation of the world but a message that has not been proclaimed from the rooftops with confidence and an understanding of the philosophy behind it for some years.  Like so much of what passes for politics Bishop Egan points out to Mr Cameron "that behind what you say lurks a basic philosophical misconception."

Here is a confident and certain proclamation of the Christian Faith, rooted in our Tradition and philosophy. I believe it is called leadership and I believe it is the role of a Bishop to be such a leader.  It may have no public effect on Mr Cameron but it should none the less have been said and said by a Catholic.  A senior cleric for whom I have great respect said to me of Bishop Egan's appointment that he was greatly encouraged that someone with a good brain had been appointed to a diocese in this country who would be able to speak out in just this way.

I read it here at Quo Vadis.

Carol Concert Saturday 15th December

For anyone who might be able to make it: tomorrow Saturday 15th December at 7.30pm, we are having a Carol Concert in church followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the Pope John Paul II Room.  The concert is free but through a collection and donations we hope to raise some money for SUROL - a charity in Sri Lanka whose patrons are Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith and the First Lady of Sri Lanka, Shiranthi Rajapaksa.  The Order of St Lazarus in Great Britain has been forging close links with the Cardinal and his charity - we have given £9,000 over the past year.