Posted on 08/22/2003 5:31:18 PM PDT by Land of the Irish
WEST ALLIS — The connection between radical changes in the liturgy and widespread disobedience to the church’s teaching on contraception is the most serious moral problem in the church today, according to Fr. Ignacio Barreiro.
Fr. Barreiro, director of the Rome office of Human Life International, spoke to over 50 people on “The Mass of All Times” at St. Mary Help of Christians Church on Aug. 2. Prior to the lecture, Fr. Barreiro celebrated a Tridentine, or Latin, Mass for the group. The gathering was sponsored by the St. Gregory the Great chapter of Catholics United for the Faith.
“The Mass had had an unchangeable nature for generations,” said Fr. Barreiro in an interview with the Catholic Herald. “In the 1960s, there were drastic changes in the liturgy” and people “wrongly expected that the church would change on many other issues. The church did not. On certain issues, you know, it is improbable the church will change.”
The papal commission that Pope Paul VI put together to study the contraception issue issued a non-binding report in favor of ending the church’s ban. The report was leaked to the media, and so it was somewhat of a shock when Pope Paul VI upheld the ban.
Because European Catholics, in particular, have continued to use contraception, “Europe is in a ‘demographic winter,’ Fr. Barreiro said. There are not enough children to replace those dying.
“In Italy, the population has decreased 20 percent,” Fr. Barreiro said. “Nobody’s going to pay your pension or push your wheelchair if you don’t have children.”
The Rome office of Human Life International helps to establish a link with pro-life Vatican offices such as the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Pontifical Academy for Life. It also provides scholarships for four priests from South America and Africa to work on doctorates in bioethics. Those students will then be able to teach in seminaries and universities, as well as serve as advisers to Catholic hospitals.
“Bioethical questions will become more important in the future to the development of life science,” said Fr. Barreiro. “People will have to decide if things are morally possible or not.” For example, one of the students is completing a dissertation on the moral possibility of women adopting frozen embryos, which live for only 10 years.
The office has a library of over 4,000 volumes on bioethics. “Priests must know reasons as well as teachings,” Fr. Barreiro said. “That’s the whole point of theology, to show reasons for our belief. We are not asking something absurd, but for the good of man.”
In his Aug. 2 lecture, Fr. Barreiro emphasized that the “new Mass,” or novus ordo, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, is “perfectly valid” and that those who still choose the Tridentine, or Latin Mass, are not promoting division within the church.
“These are complementary differences that enrich the church,” he said. “We are all marching together. Liturgy opens the window to heaven if said in accordance with the rubrics.”
Fr. Barreiro noted one difference that novus ordo followers often mention — the fact that in the Tridentine rite, the priest’s back is to the congregation.
“If the mayor of Milwaukee wants to see the governor of Wisconsin, he will talk to the governor face to face and his delegation will be behind him. He will not give his back to the governor and talk to the delegation. We localize God in the east (and establish) the relationship between God and the rising sun, which is a symbol of the risen Christ.”
Ping for brilliant analysis of the connections between the liturgical chaos and the moral chaos.
The N.O. has the same pinnacle as the Latin Mass: The Holy Eucharist! It is simply erroneous to say there is NOTHING enriching about the Novus Ordo!
All pinnacles have different heights.
The Tridentine Mass is the equivalent of Mount Everest:
The Closest Thing to Heaven.
| ...AND PROTECTS HIS CHURCH FROM TEACHING ERROR IN FAITH AND MORALS |
| Jeffrey Mirus |
| Infallibility is the protection given by the Holy Spirit to the pope so that he will never teach error in matters of faith and morals. The First Vatican Council, which defined papal infallibility in 1870, was acting in response to a challenge to the doctrine which has always been true and was accepted and practiced from the earliest times. The evidence for papal infallibility comes from three sources: Scripture, history and logic. First, Scripture clearly shows that Christ intended a special role for Peter in the establishment of the Church, and special divine protection for Peter in the exercise of his authority. This is evidenced in passages such as: "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church and the powers of hell will not prevail against it...to you I give the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:17-19); "Do you love me, Peter... Feed my sheep." (John 21:15-17); and "I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail. You in turn must confirm your brethren." (Luke 22:31-32) Second, history shows that from the earliest times the bishops of Rome acted as if they had special authority in succession from St. Peter, and the rest of the Church accepted their authority as if they knew it was genuine. Thus Pope Clement wrote to settle a problem in the Church of Corinth before the end of the 1st century. The Church Fathers, too, repeatedly attest to the authority of the Roman See. And the Popes always had the decisive word at general councils, as when the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D. accepted the Papal definition of the two natures of Christ and said, "Peter has spoken through Leo." Third, logic tells us that since Peter had a special commission and special powers from Christ, these powers must be essential to the Church. If these special and essential powers were to pass out of existence, it would be proof that Christ was no longer with His Church and that the "powers of Hell" had indeed prevailed. Since Christ knew that Peter would not live until the end of time, he must have intended that the successors to Peter have these powers. Since the successors of Peter have the same authority, which comes ultimately from Christ, to bind and loose, they have the authority to bind the faithful in matters pertaining to salvation that is, in faith or morals. If a Pope could bind the faithful to error, it would be a clear triumph of the powers of Hell, because the entire Church would be bound to follow the error under Christ's own authority. Therefore, the logic of the situation demands that Peter's power of confirming the brethren must be an infallible power. Vatican I clarified what was at that time a confusing issue, but did so by way of stating clearly what Christ's teaching was, not by way of adding anything new. Vatican I therefore carefully enumerated the conditions under which the Pope is in fact infallible the same conditions which logic demands, which Scripture suggests, and which tradition shows us in action down through the centuries. When the Pope (1) intends to teach (2) by virtue of his supreme authority (3) on a matter of faith and morals (4) to the whole Church, he is protected by the Holy Spirit from error. His teaching act is therefore called "infallible" and the teaching which he articulates is termed "irreformable" which means it can never be changed because it is certainly true. Jeffrey A. Mirus holds a Ph.D. in History of Theology |
I don't necessarily buy into that.
The church needs to address why couples no longer want to have large families, and I do not believe it has anything to do with changes in the mass.
I pay no mind to EWTN; it's a sorry excuse for Catholicism. You've got Fr. Serba telling Jews there's no need to convert to Catholicism. And then there's Fr. Popcak recommending that sons record their sisters' and mothers' fertility cycles.
Sure it does. It's called a loss of faith. That is what the church needs to address.
That's too bad. Guess you'll miss the upcoming interviews Raymond Arroyo has planned with Cardinal Ratzinger (9/5) and Senator Rick Santorum (9/12).
Then too there are the new programs lined up for this Fall, including:
GET A LIFE IN CHRIST (SAP) (30:00)
Augustine the Spiritual Guide
In this labor of love, Fr. Benedict Groeschel introduces the viewer to his teacher of over 50 years - St. Augustine. This preeminent Father of the Church left over five million published words- ranging from history and philosophy to scriptural commentary and mystical writings. Fr. Benedict is your guide in this 3-part series on St. Augustine's works as he invites you to climb the heights of the Augustinian Alps with him.
A TWENTIETH CENTURY TESTIMONY BY MALCOLM MUGGERIDGE (60:00)
This engaging encounter with a controversial journalist exposes the twentieth century's idolatries, ideologies, and pretenses, and why they crumble after an encounter with Christ. This documentary follows Muggeridge - who embraced Catholicism in his eightieth year - to his English country estate, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum where he is immortalized, and to the Holy Land.
CATHOLICISM: THE HEART OF HISTORY:
The history of civilization as we know it is intimately linked with the history of the Catholic Church. The Church's history is a gripping and enthralling tale of courage, heroic achievement, sanctity amidst humanity, faithfulness amidst the corruption of this world and the building of the civilization of God in a hostile world, from the humblest of beginnings. It is a heritage of which every Catholic can be rightly proud because it is second to none.
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