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| Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC at the 2009 Call to Holiness Conference in Royal Oak, MI Photo: Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS |
On January 14th, Italian journalist, Sandro Magister who offers his posts in multiple languages provided a partial translation of that address given by His Excellency in Rome on December 17, 2010 (link will be added at the bottom). At roughly 7100 words, it was understandable that a full translation was not given and we were grateful for the shorter version Sandro Magister and his translator, Matthew Sherry went through to get us that much.
In the address, Bishop Schneider proposes a syllabus that would condemn mistaken interpretations of Vatican II. Those errors may be obvious to some Catholics, but others continue to propogate that which is truly foreign to the documents of the Second Vatican Council. It has affected many things: How the Mass is celebrated, how churches are built, sacred music (or lack thereof), and what is taught (or not taught) in catechism. It affects lessons in universities and water cooler discussions. People of every level are impacted from the laity to Cardinals and everyone in between.
We need to proceed cautiously when judging others about these things. I would like to point out that only God can judge the motives of those who hold errant views. Many clerics were malformed in earlier years when information was not as readiliy available as it is now. They trusted what they were being taught verbally soon after the Council, and others trusted them. There was no internet for them to just "look it up" in those days. Other people are simply misinformed - some because they really do not want to know. A few may indeed know the truth and are wilfully distorting it to suit their desires. We, however can only judge someone else's words and actions against objective material and leave the judging of motives to God (ref CCC #2247).
As I read that truncated version of the address offered by Magister late last week, I wondered about the rest of the address. I turned to Richard Chonak, who has translated a number of things from German and Italian. His feedback was very positive soon after he began reading it. It left us all the more curious about the rest.
As Richard worked on the translation, I worked on reaching Bishop Schneider, whom I know from his visits to Assumption Grotto - for permission to share the translated text with EWTN for the purpose of making it available online. I wanted the broadest possible exposure for it and felt this was a much more fitting place than launching it on a blog. Everything fell into place. I managed to get a bonus: He provided his address on the Church Fathers and the Liturgy from the 2009 Call to Holiness, at which I took the photo at the top of this post. This I will probably work on getting online within the next few weeks.
If you have read the partial translation (about 3 pages), I would encourage you to read the full translation, which prints nicely from the EWTN site at 13-14 pages.
Bishop Schneider, who has a doctorate in Patristics, lays a good foundation before getting to what is probably the most quoteworthy section. Reading the first 3/4 gives greater context to what is at the end. In classic fashion, the address is loaded with references to Church documents, Scripture, the Popes and Church Fathers.
There are plans to update the text to include English next to the Latin at the EWTN page. Keep in mind, this was an address given in the presence of other priests, bishops and cardinals and one would expect them to understand the few Latin quotes offered. You may also find some big words considering the same audience. My advice: Blow the dust off your dictionary.
I am overjoyed to see the enthusiasm on the internet with this address and the many people supportive of Bishop Schneider's proposal. This was probably the first time that I participated directly in bringing something to the english speaking world online and had to wait several days before I myself could find time to blog it.
The biggest thanks goes to Richard Chonak for translating the piece, to EWTN for hosting it, and to Bishop Schneider for the work itself and for granting the requested approvals.
It is my hope that people will follow copyright and fair use rules by introducing the address, excerpting parts of it if desired, and then linking directly to source page at EWTN for the full text. This way, everyone will have the benefit of potential updates and have printing capabilities (blogs do not print well and take half a forrest worth of paper).
I have many photos of Bishop Schneider which I do not mind my fellow bloggers using, provided they are attributed with my name so the origin is known. News organizations looking to use them in print, contact me for high resolution (see profile for email address).
Go read: Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council
by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC
Reference: A New Syllabus for the 21st Century (Sandro Magister)
Photo collections:
- 2009 Call to Holiness in metro Detroit (photos of Bishop Schneider begin half way through)
- 2008 Visit to Assumption Grotto, Detroit, Michigan
- 2008 Visit to Ss Cyril & Methodius, Sterling Heights MI
I also have a blog dedicated to the works of Bishop Schneider which will continue to evolve. It was started soon after he visited Detroit in 2008 and was mainly focused on his book, Dominus Est. I intend to post about this address there too - hopefully soon. Go visit: http://bishop-schneider.blogspot.com/
For interesting news items I don't have time to blog on, check out my Twitter Feed: @TeDeumBlog
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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!
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