Bishop Sample on the "Lost Generations" (link to full text interview with CWR)

I'm so glad that Catholic World Report offered this interview in full, online.  It was a valuable contribution, and much of what the Marquette, Michigan bishop says will resonate with Catholics who have suffered for the last 40 years. 

Here is an excerpt:

You’ve described yourself as a member of “the first lost generation of poor catechesis,” which “raised up another generation that is equally uncatechized.” What’s wrong with catechesis and what have you done to help solve the problem?


Bishop Sample: My generation was the first in the wake of Vatican II. While I certainly don’t blame the Council, much upheaval occurred in the Church in its aftermath. Culturally, society was experiencing the sexual revolution, the women’s liberation movement, and the anti-war movement, among others. There was an anti-authoritarian spirit.


In this time of great confusion, catechesis suffered. We booted the Baltimore Catechism out the door, but there wasn’t anything to replace it. I was taught the faith in Catholic schools using materials that were weak and insubstantial. I wasn’t being taught my faith. The liturgy suffered from experimentation as well.


When I speak about this publicly, invariably people of my generation come up to me to agree with what I’m saying. This includes many bishops.

My generation raised up the next generation. Since we weren’t taught the faith, we raised children who weren’t either.


We need a renewal in catechesis. I feel passionately about this. In my Diocese of Marquette, I directed the development of a diocesan curriculum for faith formation for grades K-8. It is a solid, substantive, systematic, and sequential curriculum, which builds from one year to the next. It is topical, based on the pillars of the catechism. Every parish is expected to follow this curriculum.


Now I’m turning my attention toward adult faith formation. If we can get catechesis and the liturgy right, we’ll be well on our way to the renewal and growth of the Church for which we hope.

One thing I would encourage Catholics to do, is NOT to dwell in what we were cheated out of.  It is good to take the time to understand that this or that happened, but don't stay there.  It can cause bitterness and anger.  We have to move past that, and move in a constructive direction, forward.  Seeing a bishop affirm, publicly, what we have painfully experienced is the first step to healing open wounds.  This is all just a very hopeful sign to me that bishops are beginning to open up and speak frankly about the problems.   I might add, that I know people who were at the forefront of the "spirit of Vatican II" who now look back, and are questioning things, or having regrets about having done this or that.  It is important to recognize that many people are taking a closer look and rediscovering what was right with Vatican II and what was wrong with how it has been spun for the last 40-50 years.


What he said about the spiritual life also struck a chord with me, and he gives the recipe for an authentic, interior renewal with God.  It is one that I went through very soon after arriving at Assumption Grotto where these very things were emphasized and offered.  It's not uncommon to see priests head to the confessionals outside of posted hours when there is some kind of event.  He also discusses mental prayer, which is something Fr. Perrone has talked about very often.  Sitting silently before the Blessed Sacrament, especially, provides an opportunity for us to "hear" God, above all the other voices in our lives.

What is a basic program of spirituality you recommend to the faithful?


Bishop Sample: That is a good and important question. I emphasize the importance of a strong sacramental life, especially participation in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I recommend frequent reception of the sacrament of penance; the fall-off in its use worries me greatly. We priests and bishops need to preach often about the importance of confession and be available to hear confessions.


It’s important that we learn to pray on a deep level, not just vocal but mental prayer and contemplation. We’re so busy in our lives and the world is so noisy; we need to learn to be quiet and listen. We need to develop a personal, deep relationship with the Lord and pour our hearts out to him in prayer.


And, we need to stay close to the Lord as part of the Body of Christ, the Church. This means being part of the local Church under the diocesan bishop, being docile to the word of God and humbly accepting the teachings of the Church.

See the full interview with Bishop Sample at Catholic World Report. 

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Full Text of Bishop Schneider's Proposals for a Correct Reading of the Second Vatican Council



Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC at the 2009 Call to Holiness Conference in Royal Oak, MI
Photo: Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS



Many of you may have seen a partial or full text translation of a magnificent address by Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC in which he proposes a syllabus to correct minsinterprations of Vatican II (note that it is not Vatican II he is suggesting condemning, but mistaken interpretations of it).

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

More photos can be found in this post of a conference he had at Assumption Grotto in 2008 in which he discussed growing up in Kazakhstan, and the current situation.  It was a most humbling experience.  In the post is also a photo of his Bishop's ring, which is simple, but interesting.

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/

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Bp Schneider calls on Pope for document condemning mistaken interpretations of Vatican II



Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC - Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganda, Kazakhstan speaks at the 2009 Call to Holiness Conference in the Detroit area (photo may be used by fellow bloggers with attribution).


Veteran Vatican journalist, Sandro Magister, gives us a partial translation of an address given by Bishop Athanasius Schneider in which he asks the Holy Father to put out a document condemning certain mistaken interpretations of Vatican II (often under the guise of the "Spirit of Vatican II").  This topic is actually in the last half of a greater article worth reading in full.  The first half deals with the Holy Father's meeting announced for Assisi in October. A number of Catholics have voiced concerns that it would be a repeat of 1986 (read Magister's article for specifics on those problems).

Back to Bishop Schneider and his appeal to the Holy Father...  Many things have happened in the name of Vatican II that are not in any of the documents of that council.  Altar rails were jack-hammered out in it's name, and Latin, Gregorian chant, among other things were eliminated when those very documents called for them to have pride of place in the Liturgy.  Several times he refers to the "anthropocentric" turn (people were taught to worship in a more people-centered liturgy than one which is God-centered). Many more things happened or didn't happen due to these "mistaken interpretations". 

He goes outside of the Mass and brings up the emergence of liberation theology in the wake of Vatican II, and offers some other samplings. 

Consider, for a moment, that back in the day, priests and lay people did not have ready access to documents the way we do today, so when bishops told them to do something in the name of Vatican II, they just did it thinking they were doing the right thing.   Today, if a seminary buries documents and books that have the mind of the Church  behind books written by the "magisterium of theologians"  (Richard McBrien, et. al.), seminarians and students can easily find them on the web  (and I wouldn't doubt that a good deal of research starts there).

Bishop Schneider says, in part:

There is the need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against the errors coming from outside of the Church, but against the errors circulated within the Church by supporters of the thesis of discontinuity and rupture, with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application.


Such a Syllabus should consist of two parts: the part that points out the errors, and the positive part with proposals for clarification, completion, and doctrinal clarification.

Amen!

I think this is a grand idea and one that is long overdue.  Lay people and priest alike have been trained to accept these things as authentic to Vatican II which are foreign to it, and will defend them ad nauseum in parishes, in local papers and websites, and in a myriad of Catholic institutions and diocesan departments. 

In the beginning of his article, Sandro Magister discusses the Holy Father's meeting in Assisi which will take place in October.  There has been quite a dust-up online over the ecumenical meeting because of what happened in 1986. 

Let's pray that the Holy Father responds affirmatively to this request by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.  I've often wondered how long Bishop Schneider will be in Kazakhstan.  His Excellency, who has a PhD in Patristics, is a good co-worker in Truth and has just the right kind of holy boldness we laity like to see in our bishops.

Go read Sandro Magsiter: A New Syllabus for the 21st Century [Italian] [French] [Check for availability of Spanish in the sidebar later]



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Bishop Nickless: Ecclesia Semper Reformanda - Post 3 (The Current Context)

This is an ongoing series of posts which breaks down a recent pastoral letter by Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Souix City, Iowa - Ecclesia Semper Reformanda.  This pastoral letter is too good to leave you with just the few snippets making their way around the web right now.  There is plenty to consume in many areas and it gives context to the most popular quotes.

III. The Current Context
There was a great excitement immediately after the Council: excitement for innovation, change, freedom, renewed dynamism. There was a great desire to implement the Council immediately, with the best of intentions. In doing so, the Church after the Council achieved many things. The Council’s aggiornamento brought about a great breath of fresh air, a new freedom and excitement about being Catholic. However, this era of change and freedom took place during a most tumultuous time. The 1960s and 1970s brought about a wholesale change within our culture and society, so that it seemed that everything was “up for grabs.” The Church seemed to be going the same way as society, suggesting that nothing was certain or solid. If the Church could change some things, it could change anything and everything. Sometimes we set out to convert the world, but were instead converted by it. We have sometimes lost sight of who we are and what we believe, and therefore have little to offer the world that so desperately needs the Gospel. A pendulum effect began in the Church and has not yet stopped swinging. In the effort to correct exaggerations or one-sidedness in various areas, the reform often times swung to the exact opposite pole.

This pendulum swing can be seen in the areas of liturgy, popular piety, family life, catechesis, ecumenism, morals, and political involvement, to name just a few. It seems to me that in many areas of the Church’s life the “hermeneutic of discontinuity” has triumphed. It has manifested itself in a sort of dualism, an either/or mentality and insistence in various areas of the Church’s life: either fidelity to doctrine or social justice work, either Latin or English, either our personal conscience or the authority of the Church, either chant or contemporary music, either tradition or progress, either liturgy or popular piety, either conservative or liberal, either Mass or Adoration, either the Magisterium or theologians, either ecumenism or evangelization, either rubrics or personalization, either the Baltimore Catechism or “experience”; and the list goes on and on! We have always been a “both/and” people: intrinsically traditional and conservative in what pertains to the faith, and creative in pastoral ministry and engaging the world.
My brothers and sisters, let me say this clearly: The “hermeneutic of discontinuity” is a false interpretation and implementation of the Council and the Catholic Faith. It emphasizes the “engagement with the world” to the exclusion of the deposit of faith. This has wreaked havoc on the Church, systematically dismantling the Catholic Faith to please the world, watering down what is distinctively Catholic, and ironically becoming completely irrelevant and impotent for the mission of the Church in the world. The Church that seeks simply what works or is “useful” in the end becomes useless.

Our urgent need at this time is to reclaim and strengthen our understanding of the deposit of faith. We must have a distinctive identity and culture as Catholics, if we would effectively communicate the Gospel to the people of this day and Diocese. This is our mission. Notice that this mission is two-fold, like the Second Vatican Council’s purpose. It is toward ourselves within the Church (ad intra), and it is to the world (ad extra). The first is primary and necessary for the second; the second flows from the first. This is why we have not been as successful as we should be in bringing the world to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ to the world. We cannot give what we do not have; we cannot fulfill our mission to evangelize, if we ourselves are not evangelized.9

With all this in mind, how do we, the Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa, reclaim and strengthen our faith, identity and culture as Catholics so as to engage more effectively in our mission?

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Bishop Nickless: Ecclesia Semper Reformanda - Post 1 (Introduction)

A pastoral letter penned by Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Souix City, Iowa, has been circulating well on the web here in the US, and abroad.  

This bishop took on the so-called, "Spirit of Vatican II", which has long been used by some to distort what is actually in the documents of Vatican II. 

I spent my lunch hour reading the entire pastoral letter and I can tell you that it is rich and worth spending time on.  Don't look at excerpts and move on.  Rather, come here and read one more small segment each day that I post.  In fact, several are already scheduled to appear just after midnight local time the next few days.
He introduced this to his diocese on October 15, 2009 - the Memorial of St. Teresa of Avila. 

As I publish this pastoral letter, I do so on the Memorial of Saint Teresa of Jesus. On this day, the Church prays: “O God, you raised up Saint Teresa by your Spirit so that she could manifest to the Church the way to perfection. Nourish us with the food of her heavenly teaching and fire us with a desire for holiness.” May Saint Teresa be an inspiration to all of us in our desire to grow in holiness.

In this first post, we will simply look at the Introduction.  He is just warming up here, but brace yourself for some real meat and potatoes in subsequent postings. 

I. INTRODUCTION

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever! It has now been almost four joyful years of being your bishop. It has been a time of learning and growth for me as a priest, called beyond my desires and talents, not without God’s grace making up for all that is lacking in me, to be the shepherd for the flock in northwest Iowa. As shepherd, I am called to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), the truth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, inseparable from His Church, “at the same time holy and always in need of renewal and reformation.”1 In order to do this, I have traveled to meet the priests and people of the diocese, always listening, asking questions, studying and, of course, praying about the current state of the Church. Now I offer my understanding of the state and direction of the Church, both universal and particular, at this juncture in her history. I propose this pastoral plan—a vision, so to speak—for the future of our diocese, and some practical guidance for achieving our goals.



My understanding begins with these personal reflections. I studied and was ordained a deacon and priest during the exciting, almost intoxicating, time of the Second Vatican Council. I am thoroughly a product of that momentous time, the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit to the Church in centuries. It has formed the context and culture of my entire ministerial life. Like Pope John Paul the Great, I have no other desire for my ministry than seeing the hopes and reforms of the Second Vatican Council fully implemented and brought to fruition.2 Like Pope Benedict XVI, I know that, while we have worked hard, there is still much work to do.3 My understanding of this work has grown and deepened over the past forty years. So it must be for all of us. The Church is always in need of renewal because it is made up of us, imperfect human beings. This is the deepest reason: as individuals and as a Church, we are always called to grow, change, deepen, repent, convert, improve, and learn from our successes and failures in the pursuit of holiness and fidelity to Jesus Christ and the mission He has given us. Moreover, we need to do this in the midst of an ever changing world, culture and society.


I have experienced this as a priest and now, through the biggest change of all for me, as a bishop. Despite my own unworthiness, I have been blessed abundantly by the Lord Jesus Christ in his call to me, in the graces of my episcopal ordination, and in your support and cooperation. I am happy and blessed to be your bishop. Having been called by God and the Church, I want to do my part to fulfill His mission among you. Thus, we need serious reflection and evaluation of the current state and direction, challenges and opportunities, for faith and ministry in our Lord Jesus Christ in our Diocese.

Tomorrow I will have another section of this great pastoral letter. 

If you prefer to read it all at once:  Get the PDF from the Diocese of Souix City, IOWA for Ecclesia Semper Reformanda.

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Footnotes applicable to this section:

1 Lumen Gentium #8



2 E.g., Christifideles Laici, #2: “In looking over the years following the Council the Synod Fathers have been able to verify how the Holy Spirit continues to renew the youth of the Church and how he has inspired new aspirations towards holiness and the participation of so many lay faithful. This is witnessed, among other ways, in the new manner of active collaboration among priests, religious and the lay faithful; the active participation in the Liturgy, in the proclamation of the Word of God and catechesis; the multiplicity of services and


tasks entrusted to the lay faithful and fulfilled by them; the flourishing of groups, associations and spiritual movements as well as a lay commitment in the life of the Church; and in the fuller and meaningful participation of women in the development of society. At the same time, the Synod has pointed out that the post-conciliar path of the lay faithful has not been without its difficulties and dangers. In particular, two temptations can be cited which they have not always known how to avoid: the temptation of being so strongly interested in Church services and tasks that some fail to become actively engaged in their responsibilities in the professional, social, cultural and political world; and the temptation of legitimizing the unwarranted separation of faith from life, that is, a separation of the Gospel's acceptance from the actual living of the Gospel in various situations in the world.”


3 Homily of 8 December 2005, on the 40th Anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council; e.g., “If we live in opposition to love and against the truth - in opposition to God - then we destroy one another and destroy the world. Then we do not find life but act in the interests of death. All this is recounted with immortal images in the history of the original fall of man and the expulsion of man from the earthly Paradise. Dear brothers and sisters, if we sincerely reflect about ourselves and our history, we have to say that with this narrative is described not only the history of the beginning but the history of all times, and that we all carry within us a drop of the poison of that way of thinking, illustrated by the images in the Book of Genesis. We call this drop of poison ‘original sin’.”

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Swiss Bishop corrects errors advanced in the name of Vatican II

Call it disinformation, misinformation, trash-talk, or anything else you want. Regardless of the label, the bottom line is that much error about Vatican II has been spread by parties who do not have the mind of the Church, but want the Church to mind their wishful thinking. The Church, through her bishops, has been working to dispel some common myths through efforts like the one below.

Fr. Z has a translation of an article in a July 2009 newsletter to priests by Bishop Kurt Koch of the Diocese of Basel, Switzerland. The Bishop reacts to some of the negativity lobbed at Pope Benedict XVI by some in the media, and in the Church about Vatican II related issues.

As an aside, I am not sure who did the translation, or how accurate it is. If you are interested in the original German, click here to go directly to the Diocese of Basel webpage.

Bishop Koch writes:

What moves me?

More honesty please!

In the last few weeks a lot of journalists, and also some clergy, have been expressing their opinions of Pope Benedict. In these opinions were also contained many half-truths, untruths, and slanders.The worst accusation asserts that the Pope wishes to go back to before the Second Vatican Council. This accusation is the worst because it implies that the very person who possesses the teaching authority of the universal Church would work to undermine the authority of the council. This verdict, however, would be completely mistaken. As a young theologian, in fact, Benedict XVI contributed very much to the council. Anyone who seeks to understand the Pope now—not just from the media—but also by reading what he writes, would come to the conclusion that he has oriented his entire magisterium on the council. How should we then understand the accusation being made?

Many people have signed a petition for the unqualified acceptance of the council. Right from the start, the expression "unqualified acceptance" irritates me because I don’t know anyone—myself included—to whom it would apply. A few arbitrarily chosen examples will suffice:

– The council did not abolish Latin in the liturgy. On the contrary, it emphasized that in the Roman Rite, apart from exceptional cases, the use of the Latin language must be maintained. Who among the vocal defenders of the council wishes "unqualified acceptance" of that? [Right. Hey, you liberals out there! Wanna sign on to that?]

– The council declared that the Church regards Gregorian Chant as the "music proper to the Roman Rite", and that it must therefore "be given primary place." In how many parishes is this implemented "without qualification?"

– The council expressly requested that governmental authorities voluntarily give up those rights to participation in the selection of bishops, that had arisen over the course of time. Which defender of the council advocates "without qualification" for that?

– The council described the fundamental nature of the liturgy as the celebration the pascal mystery and the eucharistic sacrifice as "the completion of the work of our salvation." How can that be reconciled with my experience, made in many different parishes, that the sacrificial understanding of the Mass has been completely eliminated from the liturgical language and the Mass is now understood only as a meal or "the breaking of bread?" In what way can one justify this profound change by reference to the council?

– No office of the Church was given more significance by the council that that of bishop. How can we then understand the widespread diminishment in Switzerland of this office of the Church, which is justified by reference to the council? When, for example, Hans Kung denies completely the teaching authority of the bishops, allowing them only the office of pastoral leadership?

It would not be difficult to lengthen this litany. Even so, it should be obvious why I demand more honesty in the current debate about the council. Instead of accusing others, and even the Pope, of wishing to go back to before the council, everyone would be well advised to look over their own books and reassess their own personal position on the council. Because not everything that was said and done after the council, was therefore done in accordance with the council—and that applies also to the diocese of Basel. In any case, the last few weeks have illustrated to me that a primary problem in the current situation has been a very poor, and in part very one-sided understanding and acceptance of the council, even by Catholics that defend the council "without qualification." In this regard we all—once more including myself—have a lot of ground to make up. Therefore I again repeat my urgent request: More honesty please!

+ Kurt Koch
Bishop of Basel

Please pray for our bishops! May they be graced with the kind of wisdom and courage that guided the first bishops who died in their efforts to prevent error from spreading and misleading the faithful.

Related Links:

• A Swiss bishop sounds off about Vatican II (Fr. Z - well worth reading for the inline comments and for the combox chatter on the topic).

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Catholic Culture: Have the Laity been Clericalized?

This is a copy of an email I receive from Jeff Mirus of Catholic Culture - a wonderful website with a wealth of documents, articles, and even Catholic website reviews. Those reviews, which result in a red, yellow or green status, are spot on. They do not give that red status to websites without good reason, such as containing content that is not in accord with Church teaching. Some websites, as you know, have content which is way off base and in our poorly catechized era, it is helpful to look at the specific issues they highlight in such cases.

Jeff notifies us about his column which is up and talks a little about that in his introductory letter. Follow the links accordingly.

Have the Laity Been Clericalized?

I noted with considerable interest the Symposium on Lay Ecclesial Ministry held this month at St. John's College in Minnesota. A featured speaker called the increase in lay ministry one of the most important paradigm shifts in the history of the Church.

Now I'm always on the lookout for the latest paradigm shift, especially when the shift is attributed to Vatican II. So I returned to the documents to read the shift's blueprint, so to speak. But the blueprint and the shift were different.

Perhaps you'll be interested in what I found:

Lay Ecclesial Ministry and the Vatican II Generation

I've posted my column a day early because I have to be out of the office tomorrow. But there are a couple of other items well worth noting. For example, we've just added a speech by Bishop Fabien Bruskewitz of Lincoln on The Development of Doctrine. If you've ever wondered why Bruskewitz is so heartily disliked by Modernists, this will make it very clear.

And I can't resist alerting those of you with small children to a very entertaining web site for Catholic kids called Cat.Chat. Not a bad thing to file away, perhaps, on the long weekend of Summer's last gasp.

Jeff Mirus, President, Trinity Communications

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CDF to clarify Lumen Gentium - July 10th

With the motu proprio now releeased, we have more breaking news on forthcoming document from the Holy See. According to news reports, it is expected July 10th.

The Vatican is on a roll!

The CDF is to clarify an aspect of Lumen Gentium, which is a document of Vatican II. From CWNews:

Coming Vatican doctrinal document will reaffirm role of Church

Vatican, Jul. 6, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican will soon release a new doctrinal document, addressing the unique role of the Catholic Church in God's plan for salvation, according to informed sources in Rome.

The new document, to be released from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will address questions about the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium (doc), that the Church founded by Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church."

Questions about how the true Church "subsists" in the Catholic Church have drawn a series of answers from the Vatican-- most recently the declaration Dominus Iesus (doc), which was released in 2000 with the approval of Pope John Paul II (bio - news) and signed by then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

The document to be released on July 10 will repeat and reinforce the fundamental message of Dominus Iesus that the Church founded by Jesus Christ exists fully in the Catholic Church alone. The document will critique the notion that other religious bodies may also represent the Church founded by Christ, and caution against the "ecclesial relativism" that Pope Benedict has criticized in the past.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will release the document on July 10, reports indicate. The plan for release of the document has not yet been confirmed by the Vatican.

[source]

More on this issue:

Kath.net (German)
Blog of Il Giornale's Andrea Tornielli(Italian)
Gerald Augustinus (who broke the story in the US)
American Papist with additional commentary


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