Our Newly Canonized Pope Saints!!

What a wonderful gift to the Church that these two saints are now officially recognized as such.  In heaven, in the presence of Christ, they will certainly be praying for us, and bringing us many blessings.

Saints John Paul II and John XXII, pray for us, bless us and intercede for us to Christ our Lord!

So, You Have an Opinion about the Pope ... ?

Everyone and his brother (not to mention sister, mother and distant cousin) has an opinion about the pope.  These opinions are usually based in an inaccurate media image and fairly ignorant. So ...

Just Mind Your Own Business!

A point of constant annoyance to me has been that so many people who have a strong opinion of the pope are not Catholic, do not intend to become Catholic and really couldn't care less about what the Catholic Church teaches.

My first reaction was this; if you're not Catholic, not going to become Catholic, and not about to start following the teachings of the pope, what on earth makes you think you're entitled to an opinion?  It's unlikely that I would hold any opinion one way or another of the priests, pastors, gurus, television personalities, shamans, guides or leaders of your religion.

Or, on the other hand, why waste your time? Why not spend your time reading up on someone who offers teachings you may choose to believe?  There are, after all, so many religious leaders out there that you could probably find one you like and just leave us Catholics to opine about our pope; we have enough extremes within the Catholic Church, and we don't really need to add more to the mix.

But Wait, It Probably is Your Business!

Then I thought about my reaction a little more.  Is it only really Catholics who have a right to an opinion about the pope? Or do we even have special right that our opinion somehow counts for more?

Probably not.

Let's think about what Catholics claim about his position:

He is Christ's vicar on earth.  A vicar is a representative or deputy, someone who has been left in charge with due authority.

This means not only that as "supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful," he "has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole Church," but also that he has "supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of souls."

If you are a Christian - you are a follower of Christ - we believe that the pope has "full, supreme and universal power over" you as a part of the Church and is your supreme teacher.

Whether you are a follower of Christ or not, we believe that the pope has
"supreme, full, immediate, and universal power in the care of" your soul.

These are pretty bold statements; we don't put any condition on them such as "if you call yourself Catholic," etc. or even soften them with words like "we consider."  We aren't really offering an option.

So, if I am correct about this, it seems that whether I like it or not, you are probably entitled to an opinion about the man that holds such a position.

(Now, I hope that if you hold an opinion about Pope Francis, whether you are Catholic or not, whether you would ever join the Catholic Church or not, that you would take the time to read what he says and writes more in depth and more carefully than the sloppy media representations.  They are worthwhile teachings that I believe could help anyone.)

(By the way, Happy Feast of Saint Stephen, the first martyr.)

What Pope Francis Said about Homosexuality ...

There's a lot of hype in the news today about how Pope Francis is beginning to "change the Church's teaching" on homosexuality.  Let's see what Pope Francis really said:

QUESTION: I would like to ask permission to pose a rather delicate question.  Another image that went around the world is that of Monsignor Ricca and the news about his personal life.  I would like to know, your Holiness, what will be done about this question.  How should one deal with this question and how does your Holiness wish to deal with the whole question of the gay lobby?

FRANCIS: Regarding the matter of Monsignor Ricca, I did what Canon Law required and did the required investigation.  And from the investigation, we did not find anything corresponding to the accusations against him.  We found none of that.  That is the answer.  But I would like to add one more thing to this: I see that so many times in the Church, apart from this case and also in this case, one  looks for the “sins of youth,” for example, is it not thus?, And then these things are published.  These things are not crimes.  The crimes are something else: child abuse is a crime.  But sins, if a person, or secular priest or a nun, has committed a sin and then that person experienced conversion, the Lord forgives and when the Lord forgives, the Lord forgets and this is very important for our lives.  When we go to confession and we truly say “I have sinned in this matter,” the Lord forgets and we do not have the right to not forget because we run the risk that the Lord will not forget our sins, eh?  This is a danger.  This is what is important: a theology of sin.  So many times I think of St. Peter: he committed one of the worst sins denying Christ.  And with this sin they made him Pope.  We must think about fact often.

But returning to your question more concretely: in this case [Ricca] I did the required investigation and we found nothing.  That is the first question.  Then you spoke of the gay lobby.  Agh… so much is written about the gay lobby.  I have yet to find on a Vatican identity card the word gay.  They say there are some gay people here.  I think that when we encounter a gay person, we must make the distinction between the fact of a person being gay and the fact of a lobby, because lobbies are not good.  They are bad.  If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?  The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this point beautifully but says, wait a moment, how does it say, it says, these persons must never be marginalized and “they must be integrated into society.”

The problem is not that one has this tendency; no, we must be brothers, this is the first matter.  There is another problem, another one: the problem is to form a lobby of those who have this tendency, a lobby of the greedy people, a lobby of politicians, a lobby of Masons, so many lobbies.  This is the most serious problem for me. And thank you so much for doing this question. Thank you very much!

(credit for text: Fr. John Zuhlsdorf)

Let's just review the main points of what Pope Francis said:

• Homosexual acts are sins.
• If someone who previously committed such sins "experiences conversion" and confesses that sin, the Lord will forgive it.
• We must forget the sin after that.
• It is wrong to go digging up sins from a person's past to tarnish their name, even if those sins were real. (standard Catholic teaching - the sin is called "detraction" and, like homosexual acts, is a mortal sin)
• We must love and accept people who have a homosexual tendency (my note: whether they are active or not, or have repented or not)
• Experiencing such a tendency is not a problem
• Forming "lobbies" is a "serious problem" (I would assume this includes gay pride and activist groups.)

Now compare to what the Church's teachings have been on the matter:

2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,¹⁴¹ tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered."¹⁴² They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2358 The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

(CCC 2357-9, my emphasis)

Pope Francis is simply reiterating what the Church has already been teaching.  He advocates love and compassion, but is very direct in identifying sin and the need for repentance, as well as the Gracious result of that repentance.

So far it looks like the Pope is Catholic.  What a surprise.

Pope Francis and Gregorian Chant?

Most people, for obvious reasons, aren't making any strong ties between Pope Francis and older traditions of the Church, like Gregorian chant.  Yet, here's a very interesting (and compelling) post from Jeffrey Tucker at the Chant Cafe, starting with the story of a priest who has already been inspired to action by our new pope:

I just got off the phone with an older priest in Wisconsin who was ordering the Parish Book of Chant for his small congregation. He told me that he is inspired by the sensibility of Pope Francis to rediscover the roots of our faith, strip away artificials, and just simply sing what’s true. To this priest that means that his congregation must rediscover the core music of the Catholic people.

He concluded in his talk with me: “Maybe the new Pope and his call for simplicity will help fix the musical problems in the Church too.”

Are you surprised at such a reaction? Many people would be. People have tended to associate Benedict XVI with chant, and rightly so. At the same time, in the last few days since the elevation of Pope Francis, people have wondered: is Benedict’s musical reform in danger? There is a real worry out there. It is palpable. It is happening among the many who are dedicated to uniting the Roman Rite with its native music, both in its proper texts and its chanted style.

Many people worry that Pope Francis will not continue the support for the Gregorian revival that has made such enormous strides in the last five years.

The new Pope’s emphasis on austerity, humility, and simplicity -- underscored by his choice of name and his tendency to eschew material signs of wealth or position -- shouldn’t necessarily be a cause for concern. No music is so simple in structure as plainsong, nothing can compare with its austerity., and every musician is profoundly aware of the humility required to defer to its role in the Church’s liturgy.

There was a faction at the Council of Trent that took the idea of austerity so seriously that it wanted to legislate against all music in Mass except the Gregorian chant. They wanted polyphony out. They were against organs. Popular hymnody would have been banned completely. This was all in the name of reform to purge conceit and opulence after the crisis of the Reformation. Fortunately -- and mostly thanks to the intervention of the Spanish Bishops and King -- this faction did not get its way.

But the point remains: for Catholic who seek a restoration of fundamental and simple truths in faith and worship, the chant tradition has been there as a symbol of what they seek. The text is holy Scripture. The music is evocative of the text. The music is a dedicated servant of the liturgical action and not employed solely to pass the time or entertain.

Even as recently as the late 19th century, the highly influential Caecilian movement in Germany was driven by this ideal of austerity -- in contrast to what they perceived as decadence of the Baroque, Classical, and Romantic traditions -- to demand a central place for Gregorian chant in Mass. Their views had a big influence on St. Pius X’s motu proprio on music that kicked off the 20th century rediscovery of chant.

I think, for example, of the communion antiphon for the 4th week of Lent, Oportet Te. It is tells the story of the Prodigal Son. The melody is light and almost sounds like a dance. It is an beautiful expression of the father’s joy, a song perfectly integrated with its message. It’s this kind of piece that reminds me that Gregorian chant truly does have folk-like origins, a liturgical art form designed to convey truth to a culture where all learning took place by hearing. It is the people’s music -- for 2000 years.

...

Read the rest at Chant Cafe: Is the Chant in Danger?

The First Words From Pope Francis

I have read in several sources that Pope Francis, before appearing on the balcony, called His Holiness Benedict XVI, and they will meet tomorrow (Thursday, Mar. 14.)  To me, this is a very good sign.

These are the words of Pope Francis from the balcony, around 3:10 pm today (EST), as reported on the Vatican news website:

Brothers and sisters good evening. 

You all know that the duty of the Conclave was to give a bishop to Rome. It seems that my brother Cardinals have gone almost to the ends of the earth to get him… but here we are. I thank you for the welcome that has come from the diocesan community of Rome.
First of all I would like to say a prayer pray for our Bishop Emeritus Benedict XVI. Let us all pray together for him, that the Lord will bless him and that our Lady will protect him.

Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory to the Father…

And now let us begin this journey, the Bishop and the people, this journey of the Church of Rome which presides in charity over all the Churches, a journey of brotherhood in love, of mutual trust. Let us always pray for one another. Let us pray for the whole world that there might be a great sense of brotherhood. My hope is that this journey of the Church that we begin today, together with the help of my Cardinal Vicar, may be fruitful for the evangelization of this beautiful city.

And now I would like to give the blessing. But first I want to ask you a favour. Before the Bishop blesses the people I ask that you would pray to the Lord to bless me – the prayer of the people for their Bishop. Let us say this prayer – your prayer for me – in silence.

[The Protodeacon announced that all those who received the blessing, either in person or by radio, television or by the new means of communication receive the plenary indulgence in the form established by the Church. He prayed that Almighty God protect and guard the Pope so that he may lead the Church for many years to come, and that he would grant peace to the Church throughout the world.]
[Immediately afterwards Pope Francis gave his first blessing Urbi et Orbi – To the City and to the World.]
I will now give my blessing to you and to the whole world, to all men and women of good will.
Brothers and sisters, I am leaving you. Thank you for your welcome. Pray for me and I will be with you again soon... We will see one another soon.

Tomorrow I want to go to pray to the Madonna, that she may protect Rome.
Good night and sleep well!

 Please pray that the Lord bless Pope Francis, as he asked us to do.

(see http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/elezione/index_en.htm; there is also a photo gallery)

Pope Francis

May God bless Pope Francis, so that he may be a worthy shepherd for His people.

Habemus Papam!

At about 2:08 - an hour ago - a pope was elected by the cardinals in Rome, and white smoke came out of the chimney of the Sistine Chapel.

Any minute now, the new pope should be introduced, and we will find out first who he is, and then his papal name!  It looks like the door on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica has been opened slightly, and they say there has been movement seen inside.  I will post as soon as I know.