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"Most of the priests Cardinal
John Dew is hearing from are saying people are happy."
This astonishing claim was made on RNZ's Checkpoint yesterday in an interview with Cardinal John Dew. People are happy, the
Cardinal seemed to be saying, about their priests not celebrating Mass or the
Sacraments for the faithful.
 |
| Cardinal John Dew |
As Viewpoint observed, the Mass has been "off for eight weeks and may not return as parishioners know it, until there is a Covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, "hundreds of mall shoppers are free to arguably worship at the altar of consumerism".
And "most of the priests" the cardinal is hearing from "are happy"?
Let's stop and think. "Most of the priests" the cardinal would hear from are the yes men, priests of the liberal/modernist persuasion who share that bent with the cardinal.
The priests the cardinal won't be hearing from are the faithful priests, traditional priests who've been stuffed into the pocket of backwater parishes, priests who have no inclination or ambition for promotion in the woesome pontificate of Pope Francis - who a couple of days ago re-ignited fires of schism by calling for a multifaith day of prayer asking God "to end this pandemic".
"Syncretism!" "Blasphemy!" "Sacrilege!" cried thousands of Catholics around the world (as reported on this blog Saturday).
Faithful priests, sickened by syncretism, blasphemy and sacrilege, will not I suspect be on the phone to Cardinal Dew or emailing him to say how happy they are.
While we're still sitting on the sofa with the remote control watching Mass online, idly wondering when or if there will ever be a Covid-19 vaccine and whether we'd be stupid enough to fall for it, Jacinda Juggernaut's government has condescended to indicate to Cardinal Dew and the NZ Bishops that it will reconsider rules that cap the number of people at religious services at 10.
Cardinal Dew has told Checkpoint he is "hopeful change will come
soon".
"While
it's hard for people, and it's been hard for all of us, we've been
disappointed, we're prepared to go along with it in order to keep people safe,
in the hope that it will change fairly soon."
Dear
Cardinal Dew, it is not your job to "keep people safe"! Your task as
Head Shepherd of God's flock in New Zealand is to keep people's souls
safe!
In this dire crisis you can do this only by insisting on your people's right to freedom of religious expression, to ensure your flock is fed on the divine Food of the Eucharist, lest their souls die of starvation.
In this dire crisis you can do this only by insisting on your people's right to freedom of religious expression, to ensure your flock is fed on the divine Food of the Eucharist, lest their souls die of starvation.
Dear Cardinal Dew, we've got a drought on in Hawke's Bay - and in other parts of the country. Farmers are terribly stressed by the lack of a blade of grass to feed their sheep. So stressed, that at least one local farmer has taken his own life.
Can we imagine any one of these farmers shutting himself up in his office while his shepherd lets the stock starve, claiming that some petty bureaucratic regulations stopped him feeding out? Farmers would rather shoot their cattle than let them starve to death for any reason, let alone on the order of some pen-pusher with a clipboard. They would never be bullied into starving their stock by some bureaucrat's threat that his whole herd would die otherwise.
"There's
a few people," said Cardinal Dew, "who are not (happy), and who are
emailing and saying, 'we want the churches open to get back to Mass as soon as
possible'. But it's a small minority. "
Maybe it's
a small minority emailing, your Eminence, because in the past so many people emailing
the bishops and clergy have been ignored.
But hey,
it seems that's changed, because now Cardinal Dew says "we're listening to
them and I've responded to lots of people just trying to explain."
Ahem. I personally know of one layman
to whom the good cardinal refuses to listen any longer.
"Most
people have actually appreciated the online Masses", says the
cardinal.
Talk about stating the obvious. Of course
we appreciate the online Masses! What starving man will not stretch out his
hand and be pathetically grateful for a crust of bread?
Dear cardinal, you might be surprised to know that some people have particularly appreciated the online Latin Masses. In fact they appreciate them so much, they doubt they can bring themselves to endure the banalities and the anthropocentrism of the 'New Mass', the eccentricities and egoism of some Novus Ordo priests, any longer.
Dear cardinal, you might be surprised to know that some people have particularly appreciated the online Latin Masses. In fact they appreciate them so much, they doubt they can bring themselves to endure the banalities and the anthropocentrism of the 'New Mass', the eccentricities and egoism of some Novus Ordo priests, any longer.
The cardinal also shared with Viewpoint his people's appreciation of the "opportunity on a Sunday to do something a little different, to pray a little differently as a family". Making the best of a terrible situation is not something generally thought of as an 'opportunity'.
"And
we've encouraged people to do that, because Catholics have an obligation to
attend Mass on Sunday."
Yes
indeed, your Eminence, and you, the bishops and the priests have an obligation
to offer that Mass.
"Canon 213: The Christian faithful have the right to receive assistance from the sacred pastors out of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially the word of God and the sacraments.
Canon 214: The Christian faithful have the right to worship God according to the
prescripts of their own rite approved by the legitimate pastors of the Church
and to follow their own form of spiritual life so long as it is consonant with
the doctrine of the Church" - Congregation for Divine Worship,
Instruction Redemptionis Sacramentum (March
25, 2004).
Viewpoint then asked Cardinal Dew, "will Covid-19 change the future of Catholic Mass?"
"When the virus first started to
be felt in this part of the world, we put practices in place saying that there
would be in the meantime no sharing of the chalice, with the consecrated
blood," said the cardinal.
"And
also people have the option of receiving Communion in their hand or on their
tongue, we said no Communion on the tongue... And most people have accepted
that. And that may change, even though some people still don't like receiving
in the hand, but the majority do by far. Some people don't like that, that may
change in order to keep people safe."
We must
repeat, Cardinal Dew, that keeping people safe is director-general of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield's job.
Your task as a prince of the Church is to keep souls safe. And so we remind you that:
No priest has the right to demand that we must receive on the hand.
No bishop has the right to demand we must receive on the hand. Even no cardinal
may demand that we receive on the hand.
Only the Pope has the power to modify
what is the universal norm.
"There
have been so many issues facing society and facing the Church. We don't know
just what's going to happen in the future, " Cardinal Dew concluded.
The major issue facing society and the Church, dear cardinal, especially since what's arguably the most evil abortion law in the world came into force - on the Vigil of the Feast of the Annunciation! - is the steady aggrandisement of evil in New Zealand and the world.
"Pope Leo XIII teaches us in his encyclical letter Libertas Praestantissimum that toleration of evil (such as the above-mentioned legislation) is permitted only when the common good clearly demands it and when an evil cannot be overcome in any reasonable manner; that any evil so tolerated may never be approved of, because it is harmful to the life of the community; and that the more a community is driven to tolerate evils, the farther it is from perfection.
"Adapted to the ecclesiastical sphere,
one would have to say toleration of abuses is never a good in itself and is
always only temporary or pragmatic and not a matter of principle, and that the
extent of evil tolerated is the extent of the corruption of a society.
"Hence, those who actually love and care about the Church will strive, with all the reasonable means at their disposal and with prudent gentleness, to root out such evils as they can. A default position of toleration is not and can never be Catholic.
"Hence, those who actually love and care about the Church will strive, with all the reasonable means at their disposal and with prudent gentleness, to root out such evils as they can. A default position of toleration is not and can never be Catholic.
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| Saint Ambrose |
For as St. Ambrose said, “It is not in herself . . . but in us that the Church is injured. Let us take care so that our own failure may not cause injury to the Church”.
Brad Larsen says:
ReplyDeleteYou speak the truth Julia.Alas I’m fairly sure your response will fall on deaf ears. It’s been some decades already that bishops and their advisors ignore the messages they don’t want to hear and instead vigorously pursue their predetermined agenda. Here’s a positive note from the Superior General of the SSPX. We need to remain faithful and patient!
'One day, a pope, against all expectations and against all human calculations, will take things in hand- and all that needs to be corrected will be corrected, because the Church is divine and Our Blessed Lord will never abandon her ~Don Davide Pagliarani'
Teresa Coles says:
It was asked of our Priest last evening by a parishioner if she could receive the Holy Eucharist after his online Mass and his answer was emphatically NO, as he had to obey the Bishops..I was then messaging a person up Auckland last evening and she said her son received along with others the Holy Eucharist after an online Mass on Sunday..Better not mention where..
Just to add..The people that receive Holy Communion have been sitting in their cars along the street watching the Mass on their cell phones then at Holy Communion time and distancing themselves go and receive the Holy Eucharist.
Teresa,
DeleteGood man and good priest that one.
Some Bishops will just have to keep smiling whatever the government proposes, for a few, including the Wellington Archdiocese, have been part of the Wage Subsidy scheme. Wellington Archdiocese has been assisted by the scheme to the tune of over $450,000 in order to pay its staff. This is reported by New Zealand Catholic. I don't know the ins and outs of the scheme but perhaps it is not 'free' money? Regardless, its alarming. The Church is in hock to the State.
ReplyDeleteWill Covid-19 change the future of Catholic Mass? Catholic sociologist Stephen Bullivant, who had sufficient information at hand following a study on the effects of Vatican II on Church attendance, has commented on the current issue. He calculates that the effect of Covid-19 will mean that the consistent reduction of numbers attending Mass over the years will be exacerbated. Where the Church might have been in 10 years without the Covid effect, will be the situation when the Churches offer Mass freely again.
Pope Benedict famously predicted a smaller, poorer, but more faithful Church. All in all many, including the Vatican, are financially sailing close to the wind. Faced with the spectre of even more empty pews, because people enjoy doing something else on Sunday, then catch up won't be possible. We live in interesting times.
Bob Gill says:
ReplyDeleteIn talking about parishioner requests: My request for ongoing Eucharistic Adoration during our now daily 10 am – 12 noon church opening was to have been discussed at a Pastoral Committee meeting yesterday. I had pointed out that Exposition was the next best thing for us to the Mass and didn’t involve any length of time by our parish priest to set up. With all the very limited and negative responses we’ve been getting from our priests and bishops lately, it will be interesting to see if my request receives a positive response.
Philippa O'Neill says:
ReplyDeleteTeresa, that's nothing . We are not allowed to hold adoration and Rosary... outside, with social distancing, of the few that would come along....not a huge congregation, and not being allowed to use the lift or internal stairs to reach this area would mean some could not attend anyway. Unbelievable. Scary times in our church. Satan is having a grand old time.
Teresa Coles says:
Just to add..The people that receive Holy Communion have been sitting in their cars along the street watching the Mass on their cell phones ,then at Holy Communion time and distancing themselves go and receive the Holy Eucharist.
Bob Gill says:
In talking about parishioner requests: My request for ongoing Eucharistic Adoration during our now daily 10 am – 12 noon church opening was to have been discussed at a Pastoral Committee meeting yesterday. I had pointed out that Exposition was the next best thing for us to the Mass and didn’t involve any length of time by our parish priest to set up. With all the very limited and negative responses we’ve been getting from our priests and bishops lately, it will be interesting to see if my request receives a positive response.
Philippa O'Neill says:
That's nothing . We are not allowed to hold adoration and Rosary... outside, with social distancing, of the few that would come along....not a huge congregation, and not being allowed to use the lift or internal stairs to reach this area would mean some could not attend anyway. Unbelievable. Scary times in our church. Satan is having a grand old time.
Teresa Coles says:
Just to add..The people that receive Holy Communion have been sitting in their cars along the street watching the Mass on their cell phones ,then at Holy Communion time and distancing themselves go and receive the Holy Eucharist.
Sharon Crooks says:
Only THE MINORITY want the proper Mass - the rest want ‘safety’ with their secular sanitisers and secularised Mass(es) with cheery pop songs and ‘be kind’ kind of homilies, and let’s face it, they now get this from JaSINda daily. What need is there for a Mass, period if this is what you think? However, I say Jesus came as THE physician and called His House, a House of prayer (with Holy water - not sanitizers and registers). He instituted the sacraments and called us to pray for Our Daily Bread (not a French sticks or croissants in cafes and restaurants). Let those with ears to hear, hear and those with eyes to see, see.
Cardinal Dew might be listening and seeing everything from Sindy’s perspective and not from God’s, which I think is better reflected in this article.
Dew should ONLY give to Sindy what is due her, but to God what is due to God, which is the daily sacrifice of the Mass, with the people and return His House to an open house of prayer, not a sanitary station with a register and a limit of 5 or 10 minutes with Our Lord. If you put your your faith in such a sanitised Church, you’ve made it also like the white-washed tombs Our Lord referred you when he spoke to the Pharisees more worried about how things looked to the outside world than they did in the eyes of God.