CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES. HAPPY EASTER TO ALL OF US.

CATHOLIC RITES AND CHURCHES Christ, having been lifted up from the earth has drawn all men to Himself. Rising from the dead He sent His life–giving Spirit upon His disciples and through Him has established His Body which is the Church as the universal sacrament of salvation. Sitting at the right hand of the Father, He is continually active in the world that He might lead men to the Church and through it join them to Himself and that He might make them partakers of His glorious life by nourishing them with His own Body and Blood. [Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium 48]

RITES A Rite represents an ecclesiastical, or church, tradition about how the sacraments are to be celebrated. Each of the sacraments has at its core an essential nature which must be satisfied for the sacrament to be confected or realized. This essence – of matter, form and intention – derives from the divinely revealed nature of the particular sacrament. It cannot be changed by the Church. Scripture and Sacred Tradition, as interpreted by the Magisterium, tells us what is essential in each of the sacraments (2 Thes. 2:15).

 When the apostles brought the Gospel to the major cultural centers of their day the essential elements of religious practice were inculturated into those cultures. This means that the essential elements were clothed in the symbols and trappings of the particular people, so that the rituals conveyed the desired spiritual meaning to that culture. In this way the Church becomes all things to all men that some might be saved (1 Cor. 9:22).

There are three major groupings of Rites based on this initial transmission of the faith, the Roman, the Antiochian (Syria) and the Alexandrian (Egypt). Later on the Byzantine derived as a major Rite from the Antiochian, under the influence of St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom. From these four derive the over 20 liturgical Rites present in the Church today.

 CHURCHES A Church is an assembly of the faithful, hierarchically ordered, both in the entire world – the Catholic Church, or in a certain territory – a particular Church. To be a sacrament (a sign) of the Mystical Body of Christ in the world, a Church must have both a head and members (Col. 1:18).

 The sacramental sign of Christ the Head is the sacred hierarchy – the bishops, priests and deacons (Eph. 2:19–22). More specifically, it is the local bishop, with his priests and deacons gathered around and assisting him in his office of teaching, sanctifying and governing (Mt. 28:19–20; Titus 1:4–9). The sacramental sign of the Mystical Body is the Christian faithful. Thus the Church of Christ is fully present sacramentaly (by way of a sign) wherever there is a sign of Christ the Head, a bishop and those who assist him, and a sign of Christ's Body, Christian faithful.

 Each diocese is therefore a particular Church.

The Church of Christ is also present sacramentaly in ritual Churches that represent an ecclesiastical tradition of celebrating the sacraments. They are generally organized under a Patriarch, who together with the bishops and other clergy of that ritual Church represent Christ the Head to the people of that tradition.

In some cases a Rite is completely coincident with a Church. For example, the Maronite Church with its Patriarch has a Rite not found in any other Church.

In other cases, such as the Byzantine Rite, several Churches use the same or a very similar liturgical Rite. For example, the Ukrainian Catholic Church uses the Byzantine Rite, but this Rite is also found in other Catholic Churches, as well as the Eastern Orthodox Churches not in union with Rome.

Finally, the Church of Christ is sacramentaly present in the Universal or Catholic Church spread over the entire world. It is identified by the sign of Christ our Rock, the Bishop of Rome, Successor of St. Peter (Mt. 16:18).

 To be Catholic particular Churches and ritual Churches must be in communion with this Head, just as the other apostles, and the Churches they founded, were in communion with Peter (Gal. 1:18). Through this communion with Peter and his successors the Church becomes a universal sacrament of salvation in all times and places, even to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20).

 Western Rites and Churches Immediately subject to the Bishop of Rome, the Supreme Pontiff, who exercises his authority over the liturgy through the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

 ROMAN/LATIN FAMILY OF LITURGICAL RITES

The Church of Rome is the Primatial See of the world and one of the five Patriarchal Sees of the early Church (Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem).

Founded by St. Peter in 42 AD it was consecrated by the blood of Sts. Peter and Paul during the persecution of Nero (63–67 AD).

 It has maintained a continual existence since then and is the source of a family of Rites in the West. Considerable scholarship (such as that of Fr. Louis Boyer in Eucharist) suggests the close affinity of the Roman Rite proper with the Jewish prayers of the synagogue, which also accompanied the Temple sacrifices.

 While the origin of the current Rite, even in the reform of Vatican II, can be traced directly only to the 4th century, these connections point to an ancient apostolic tradition brought to that city that was decidedly Jewish in origin.

 After the Council of Trent it was necessary to consolidate liturgical doctrine and practice in the face of the Reformation. Thus, Pope St. Pius V imposed the Rite of Rome on the Latin Church (that subject to him in his capacity as Patriarch of the West), allowing only smaller Western Rites with hundreds of years of history to remain. Younger Rites of particular dioceses or regions ceased to exist.

 As a consequence of the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Pope Paul VI undertook a reform of the Mass of the Roman Rite, promulgating a revised rite with the Missal of 1970. This Missal has since been modified twice (1975 and 2002).

Mass celebrated in accordance with this missal is the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. At the time of the revised Missal's promulgation in 1970 almost all Catholics assumed that the previous rite, that of the Missal of 1962, had been abolished.

By decision of the Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI this general assumption has been declared false and the right of Latin Rite priests to celebrate Mass according to the former missal has been affirmed (Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, 7 July 2007). Mass celebrated in accordance with the Missal of 1962 constitutes the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

 • Roman – The overwhelming majority of Latin Catholics and of Catholics in general.

 – Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Mass celebrated in accordance with the Missale Romanum of 1970, promulgated by Pope Paul VI, currently in its third edition (2002). The vernacular editions of this Missal, as well as the rites of the other sacraments, are translated from the Latin typical editions revised after the Second Vatican Council. – Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Mass celebrated in accordance with the Missale Romanum of 1962, promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII. The other sacraments are celebrated according to the Roman Ritual in force at the time of the Second Vatican Council. The Extraordinary Form is most notable for being almost entirely in Latin. In addition to institutes which have the faculty to celebrate the Extraordinary Form routinely, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, any Latin Rite priest may now offer the Mass and other sacraments in accordance with norms of Summorum Pontificum.

 – Anglican Use. Since the 1980s the Holy See has granted some former Anglican and Episcopal clergy converting with their parishes the faculty of celebrating the sacramental rites according to Anglican forms, doctrinally corrected.

 • Mozarabic – The Rite of the Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal) known from at least the 6th century, but probably with roots to the original evangelization. Beginning in the 11th century it was generally replaced by the Roman Rite, although it has remained the Rite of the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain, and six parishes which sought permission to adhere to it. Its celebration today is generally semi–private.

 • Ambrosian – The Rite of the Archdiocese of Milan, Italy, thought to be of early origin and probably consolidated, but not originated, by St. Ambrose. Pope Paul VI was from this Roman Rite. It continues to be celebrated in Milan, though not by all parishes.

 • Bragan – Rite of the Archdiocese of Braga, the Primatial See of Portugal, it derives from the 12th century or earlier. It continues to be of occasional use.

 • Dominican – Rite of the Order of Friars Preacher (OP), founded by St. Dominic in 1215.

 • Carmelite – Rite of the Order of Carmel, whose modern foundation was by St. Berthold c.1154.

 • Carthusian – Rite of the Carthusian Order founded by St. Bruno in 1084. Eastern Rites and Churches The Eastern Catholic Churches have their own hierarchy, system of governance (synods) and general law, the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches. The Supreme Pontiff exercises his primacy over them through the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

 ANTIOCHIAN FAMILY OF LITURGICAL RITES The Church of Antioch in Syria (the ancient Roman Province of Syria) is considered an apostolic See by virtue of having been founded by St. Peter. It was one of the ancient centers of the Church, as the New Testament attests, and is the source of a family of similar Rites using the ancient Syriac language (the Semitic dialect used in Jesus' time and better known as Aramaic). Its Liturgy is attributed to St. James and the Church of Jerusalem.

 1. WEST SYRIAC

• Maronite – Never separated from Rome. Maronite Patriarch of Antioch. The liturgical language is Aramaic. The 3 million Maronites are found in Lebanon (origin), Cyprus, Egypt, Syria, Israel, Canada, US, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Australia.

• Syriac – Syriac Catholics who returned to Rome in 1781 from the monophysite heresy. Syriac Patriarch of Antioch. The 110,000 Syriac Catholics are found in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Canada and the US.

 • Malankarese – Catholics from the South of India evangelized by St. Thomas, uses the West Syriac liturgy. Reunited with Rome in 1930. Liturgical languages today are West Syriac and Malayalam. The 350,000 Malankarese Catholics are found in India and North America.

 2. EAST SYRIAC

 • Chaldean – Babylonian Catholics returned to Rome in 1692 from the Nestorian heresy. Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans. Liturgical languages are Syriac and Arabic. The 310,000 Chaldean Catholics are found in Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and the US.

 • Syro–Malabarese – Catholics from Southern India using the East Syriac liturgy. Returned to Rome in the 16th century from the Nestorian heresy. Liturgical languages are Syriac and Malayalam. Over 3 million Syro–Malabarese Catholics can be found in the state of Kerela, in SW India.

 BYZANTINE FAMILY OF LITURGICAL RITES

1. ARMENIAN Considered either its own Rite or an older version of the Byzantine. Its exact form is not used by any other Byzantine Rite. It is composed of Catholics from the first people to convert as a nation, the Armenians (N.E. of Turkey), and who returned to Rome at the time of the Crusades. Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians. The liturgical language is classical Armenian. The 350,000 Armenian Catholics are found in Armenia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, Greece, Ukraine, France, Romania, United States and Argentina. Most Armenians are Orthodox, not in union with Rome.

  2. BYZANTINE

• Albanian – Albanian Christians, numbering only 1400 today, who resumed communion with Rome in 1628. Liturgical language is Albanian. Most Albanian Christians are Albanian Orthodox.

 • Belarussian/Byelorussian – Unknown number of Belarussians who returned to Rome in the 17th century. The liturgical language is Old Slavonic. The faithful can be found in Belarus, as well as Europe, the Americas and Australia.

• Bulgarian – Bulgarians who returned to Rome in 1861. Liturgical language is Old Slavonic. The 20,000 faithful can be found in Bulgaria. Most Bulgarian Christians are Bulgarian Orthodox.

 • Czech – Czech Catholics of Byzantine Rite organized into a jurisdiction in 1996.

 • Krizevci – Croatian Catholics of Byzantine Rite who resumed communion with Rome in 1611. The liturgical language is Old Slavonic. The 50,000 faithful can be found in Croatia and the Americas. Most Croatians are Roman (Rite) Catholics.

 • Greek – Greek Christians who returned to Rome in 1829. The liturgical language is Greek. Only 2500 faithful in Greece, Asia Minor (Turkey) and Europe. Greek Christians are almost all Orthodox, whose Patriarch is the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople.

 • Hungarian – Descendants of Ruthenians who returned to Rome in 1646. The liturgical languages are Greek, Hungarian and English. The 300,000 faithful are found in Hungary, Europe and the Americas.

 • Italo–Albanian – Never separated from Rome, these 60,000 Byzantine Rite Catholics are found in Italy, Sicily and the Americas. The liturgical languages are Greek and Italo–Albanian.

 • Melkite – Catholics from among those separated from Rome in Syria and Egypt who resumed Communion with Rome at the time of the Crusades. However, definitive union only came in the 18th century. Melkite Greek Patriarch of Damascus. Liturgical languages are Greek, Arabic, English, Portuguese and Spanish. The over 1 million Melkite Catholics can be found in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Canada, US, Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Australia.

 • Romanian – Romanians who returned to Rome in 1697. The liturgical language is Romanian. There are over 1 million Romanian Catholics in Romania, Europe and the Americas. Most Romanian Christians are Romanian Orthodox.

• Russian – Russians who returned to communion with Rome in 1905. The liturgical language is Old Slavonic. An unknown number of the faithful in Russia, China, the Americas and Australia. Most Russian Christians are Russian Orthodox, whose Patriarch is the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow.

 • Ruthenian – Catholics from among those separated from Rome in Russia, Hungary and Croatia who reunited with Rome in 1596 (Brest–Litovsk) and 1646 (Uzhorod).

 • Slovak – Byzantine Rite Catholics of Slovakian origin numbering 225,000 and found in Slovakia and Canada.

 • Ukrainian – Catholics from among those separated from Rome by the Greek Schism and reunited about 1595. Patriarch or Metropolitan of Lviv. Liturgical languages are Old Slavonic and the vernacular. The 5.5 million Ukrainian Catholics can be found in Ukraine, Poland, England, Germany, France, Canada, US, Brazil, Argentina and Australia. During the Soviet era Ukrainian Catholics were violently forced to join the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Their hierarchy, which continued to exist outside the homeland, has since been re–established in Ukraine. 

 ALEXANDRIAN FAMILY OF LITURGICAL RITES The Church of Alexandria in Egypt was one of the original centers of Christianity, since like Rome and Antioch it had a large Jewish population which was the initial object of apostolic evangelization. Its Liturgy is attributed to St. Mark the Evangelist, and shows the later influence of the Byzantine Liturgy, in addition to its unique elements.
 • Coptic – Egyptian Catholics who returned to communion with Rome in 1741. The Patriarch of Alexandria leads the 200,000 faithful of this ritual Church spread throughout Egypt and the Near East. The liturgical languages are Coptic (Egyptian) and Arabic. Most Copts are not Catholics
. • Ethiopian/Abyssinian – Ethiopian Coptic Christians who returned to Rome in 1846. The liturgical language is Geez. The 200,000 faithful are found in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Jerusalem. revised 22 August 2007 Answered by Colin B. Donovan, STL

A Great Asset for Oregon's Catholics - New faith formation chief wants people to 'encounter Christ'

3/25/2016 9:15:00 AM  from the Catholic Sentinel. Parents must practice faith zealously if children are to follow, says Rolando Moreno
Archdiocese of Portland photo Rolando Moreno works in his office on Ash Wednesday. In the corner is an image of St. John Bosco, patron of youth. Moreno, new director of the Archdiocese of Portland’s Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation, says the focus of teaching the faith should be an encounter with Jesus. The church needs to teach people that Christian belief matters in their everyday existence, says the new director of the Archdiocese of Portland’s Office of Catechesis and Faith Formation. “We have to place a strong emphasis on the encounter with Christ,” explains Rolando Moreno, who took the post in December. “Christ has to be proclaimed as real and that he has a plan for our lives.” Moreno sees catechesis in part as a confrontation of what he calls a “post-Christian worldview” — relativism, uncertainty and self-centeredness. Parents and catechists themselves need to be transformed by the gospel before they can help children move past cultural malaise, he says. “I think that to reach young people today you have to be real to them, taking their lives and questions seriously,” says Moreno, a 39-year-old member of St. Joseph Parish in Salem. “We have to speak directly to them and not speak down to them. We have to present the faith in a beautiful and dynamic way, in language that speaks to their hearts.” It’s crucial for parents to bring their children to Mass from day one, says Moreno, who with wife Angela is a parent of five, including an infant girl born in late February. “It builds a family culture centered on the faith,” he explains. Moreno embraces what Pope Francis said about catechesis in “Joy of the Gospel”: It’s about accompanying people. Moreno received a master’s degree of Theological Studies from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America in 2005. In 2003, he received a bachelor’s degree in theology and philosophy with a concentration in religious education from the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Archbishop Alexander Sample has identified catechesis and faith formation as a top pastoral priority for the Church in western Oregon. Before taking the new role, Moreno worked as pastoral associate in massive St. Joseph Parish in Salem, 2005-2014. Then he taught theology for a year at Central Catholic High School. Since 2008, he has been a part-time theology instructor for the Archdiocese of Portland Ministry Formation Program. For Moreno, catechesis in the family and the need to strengthen marriage and families makes up “the most important challenge facing the Church today.” Calling parents “the first witnesses of the Gospel to their children,” he challenges them to live out their baptism and live what they profess. If parents do so, he says, the chances are better that children will, too. “We are convinced that the work of catechesis has to be strong in the family in order for the church to be strong as a whole,” Moreno explains. “The first step in this task is to call the family/parents to conversion. Parental catechesis is only effective if the parents are actively living the faith with humility and sincerity.” He says families need to center their lives on Sunday Mass, Holy Days of obligation and family prayer. “In my experience, this has to go beyond just a routine adherence,” he says. “When we encounter the Lord in the Eucharist with openness, it begins to shape our lives and we then take on our role as parent-catechists.” Moreno says nine years in the bustling Salem parish taught him about parish ministry among a culturally rich — and diverse — population. The task of reaching different cultures in the church is not something new, he explains. “The church has been living its catholicity — universality — from its very beginning,” Moreno says. “The universality of the church —meant for all peoples, of every time and space — is a concept that is imbedded in the church’s theology, in its very nature. From this point of departure, the unity of faith can be lived because the church knows how to reach humanity with all of its varieties of peoples and cultures.” Moreno says experience has taught him that “the human heart is the same across the board.” No matter our heritage, we all have the same need to encounter the infinite, the same need for love, fulfillment, joy and truth. On a practical level, he says, the church does need to respect the particular needs of different communities. Moreno grew up in Michigan in a mostly English-speaking neighborhood. He is not fluent in Spanish, but can converse and understand quite a bit. He promises to continue working on his Spanish.  As the Spanish-speaking community of Catholics grows, parishes are short on trained Spanish-language catechists, Moreno says. That’s a problem he’d like to address. It will be his job to offer support and resources to help parish ministers flourish, no matter the language. He will train and form catechists, hoping especially to boost faith formation among young families. The end game for Moreno is “a renewal of Catholic life and culture in the archdiocese.” Moreno is humbled by his new post and by the trust Archbishop Alexander Sample has placed in him. The new job, he says, has prompted new prayer in him.

Celebrating Babies on this very Special Day.

Hi everyone! Guess what?! Today is World Down Syndrome Day (21.03 - 3 x 21 chromosomes, get it?!)! As such, we thought...

Posted by Ollie & Cameron on Monday, March 21, 2016

Requiem Mass for Our Dear Friend, Fr. Robert Palladino, on Friday, March 11 at 11 AM

CANTORES IN ECCLESIA BULLETIN - March 7, 2016
Cantores Website About Cantores About Blake Applegate, director Directions to Holy Rosary Church Directions to St. Stephen's Church Donations Contact Us CANTORES IN ECCLESIA P.O. Box 2783 Portland, Oregon 97208-2783 Telephone: 503.295.2811 Email: cantores@ cantoresinecclesia.org Cantores in Ecclesia is also on	The Requiem Mass for our dear friend, Fr. Robert Palladino, will be celebrated in St. Mary's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, March 11, at 11 am. Although his sudden death came as a shock, we are grateful that years ago he had given Dean Applegate instructions for the music he wanted sung by Cantores in Ecclesia. In his beautifully calligraphed hand, he indicated the readings, plainsong and motets he had chosen for his funeral, when that time came. Sadly, that day arrived far too soon for us all. Fr. Palladino died in his home on Friday, February 26. We will always be indebted to him for his decades of support, encouragement and friendship. To say he will be greatly missed only understates our loss. St. Mary's Cathedral is located at 17th and NW Davis in Portland. The above picture of Fr. Palladino was published as part of a substantial and deeply deserved tribute to him in The New York Times on March 4 (online), and in the print version of the paper on March 6. To read this tribute in full, please click HERE.

LA’s Religious Ed Congress hosts transgender Catholics -

VOCAL helped  the gender terms of Patti, born male and Mateo, born female in this article.  Another note of interest, during this workshop there was apparently no one giving the Church's side of transgenderism.  Mr. FitzMaurice who is a homosexual, organized this workshop. 

Archbishop José Gomez during the closing Mass of the 2013 Religious Education Congress. (photo credit: Victor Aleman/Angelus)

The following comes from a March 7 Crux article by Michael O’Loughlin:
LOS ANGELES – Tens of thousands of Catholics descend on Los Angeles each winter to sharpen their ministry skills, partaking in dozens of workshops and seminars about liturgy, prayer, Bible, and parish life as part of the LA Religious Education Congress. With close to 40,000 participants, it’s the largest annual gathering of Catholics in North America, a celebration of all things Catholic.

But event organizers this year took a cue from popular culture and included a new session, one that attracted a standing room only crowd of 750 people, nearly all of whom jumped to their feet for a sustained round of applause after talks from two young, committed Catholics.

The name of the session? “Transgender in the Church: One Bread, One Body.”

Father Christopher Bazyouros, director of the office of religious education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles

The Rev. Christopher Bazyouros, the director of the office of religious education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, said including the discussion in the program was an important first step for the Church in grappling with an issue that exploded onto the national consciousness last June when Caitlyn Jenner appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair, announcing to the world that she is transgender.
“There aren’t many places for Catholics to discuss these things that are thoughtful, intentional, and that gathers people who have had this experience,” he said. “Many Catholics want information about this topic, they want things to help them understand this situation.”

To that end, conference organizers invited two transgender Catholics to speak, both of whom were surprised and gratified that they were included. And both used their presentations to urge acceptance by the wider universe of Catholics.

Anna Patti (born male), a 23-year-old Michigan resident, told the crowd she didn’t believe “God made a mistake” with her, as some have said of transgender people.

In an interview after her presentation, she said having the opportunity to speak freely about her struggles and her joys was “an unexpectedly affirming experience.”

“I hadn’t realized how silenced I felt within the Church,” she said. “At Mass I always sit in the back row in the back corner, making myself as visibly small as possible. Here was the opposite, where people wanted to learn about an issue that is so often immediately condemned.”
“It was beautiful,” she said of the crowd’s reaction.

Mateo Williamson (photo from Dignity USA‘s giveoutday.org page)

Mateo Williamson (born female), a 24-year-old medical student at the Jesuit-run Loyola Medical School in Chicago, described with joy his deeply Catholic upbringing, part of a family that included several priests and nuns.

After his talk, he said many young people thanked him for sharing his story about living as a transgender man in the Church.

“Pope Francis’ charity, compassion, and call to mercy, it’s changed the tone in the Church,” he said. “He hasn’t been explicit about trans people, and there’s nothing in the Catechism, but there’s been a change among people in general to understand something they maybe haven’t encountered before.”
Pope Francis has spoken out repeatedly against so-called gender ideology, but Patti said she doesn’t interpret those comments as hostile to trans people.

In fact, she thinks the pope’s remarks about gender not being just a social construct actually support the transgender community by pointing out that gender identity is innate.

The LA Congress workshop sold out quickly, and some of the audience, which included several priests, seminarians, and nuns, said the fact it happened at all gave them hope about the future of the Church.

Arthur FitzMaurice, who speaks frequently about LGBT issues in the Church and who organized the workshop, said he believes it was the largest discussion devoted to transgender issues and Catholicism in the Church’s history. He said that organizers have already asked him to plan a similar workshop next year.

NEW VIDEO. Planned Parenthood OC Changes Abortions to Harvest Intact Fetuses for Lo...

Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis Disbands Girl Scouts For Doing What CRS *Actually* Does - Could other Dioceses Follow?

*VOCAL is a member of Reform CCHD Now which is now part of the Lepanto Institute.                                                             

"For months, Catholic Relief Services have been playing the role of the wizard in The Wizard of Oz: nothing to see behind the curtain!  Pay no attention!

Then the Archdiocese of St. Louis did something so absolutely extraordinary...

I had to share it.

The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis finally gave the boot to the Girl Scouts of America because of  its intimate relationships with abortion and contraception providing organizations, such as Planned Parenthood. Specifically, the Archdiocese of St. Louis mentioned a favorite of Catholic Relief Services -- OxFam -- as a reason why Catholics could no longer trust them:

4. Organizations that GSUSA promotes and partners with are in conflict with Catholic values, such as Amnesty International, Coalition for Adolescent Girls, OxFam and more. This is especially troubling in regards to sex education and advocacy for “reproductive rights” (i.e. abortion and contraceptive access, even for minors)

What’s interesting about this is that according to a list of grants dispensed by Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for fiscal year 2014, CRS gave nearly half-a-million dollars to Oxfam.  We are currently analyzing the latest list of CRS grants for fiscal year 2014, but on average, between 86% and 90% of CRS’s grants to domestic organizations go to agencies that are acting in direct conflict with Catholic moral and social teaching.

To date, Catholic Relief Services has responded with "internal investigations" -- intimating that Catholic organizations investigating their practices are involved in "slander" and are "maliciously" raising questions as to why CRS is giving hundreds of thousands of dollars to an organization that is now condemned by at least one Catholic bishop.

CRS is clearly and deliberately intimidating the Lepanto Institute and other Catholic laypersons, religious, priests and bishops in order to silence any analysis of their anti-Catholic and prejudicial giving processes.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ON OXFAM AND WHY CATHOLICS NEED TO SPEAK UP.

To date, CRS has been very happy to attack and destroy anyone who even dares raise the question as to why Catholic donations are going to unCatholic organizations.  Now that the Archdiocese of St. Louis has marked OxFam as one of the bad guys, will CRS finally end the marketing campaign and threats of intimidation?  Or will they simply ramp it up?

We suspect CRS will simply double down on the attacks.  Which is why I am writing to you today: to please send us your maximum possible contribution so we can end once and for all the deceptive funding practices at Catholic Relief Services!

For some time, the Lepanto Institute has made it our mission to bring these facts to light, in service to our priests and bishops, in order to restore Catholic sanity and fulfill our Catholic mission -- to "restore all things in Christ" for the salvation of souls.

Millions of Catholics who faithfully work for and in service to Holy Mother Church are being deceived by a coterie of well-heeled bureaucrats willing to compromise what you and I believe as Catholics.  But when our donations and charity are used to fuel the fires of the culture of death, that is WRONG.

Without your gift of $35 or more, these facts might never come to light.  Our bishops and priests might very well be kept in the dark by these professional bureaucrats, and faithful Catholics every Sunday would give in charity to support things such as contraceptives, abortifacients, or worse when they believe they are feeding the poor, helping families, or building up the Catholic Faith.

It's time we -- as Catholics -- stood up with a clear voice and give our priests and bishops the support they need to investigate "institutionalized Catholicism" at places such as Catholic Relief Services -- organizations that serve themselves, but hedge on our Catholic faith.

That's the reason why the Lepanto Institute exists, to warn our priests and bishops and remain true to the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.

It has been said that the solution for what ails the Catholic Church isn't diversity or community or dissent... but one word: FIDELITY.

If you believe as I do that the universal call to holiness is not a mere abstraction, but something our Blessed Mother desires most ardently for the souls of mankind, then I need your help -- and I need to show your support so we can continue to take on the enemies of Mother Church and keep the attention up and focused.

For one, I am so glad to see that the Archidiocese of St. Louis took this step!  We need to continue to show support for our priests and bishops who take courageous stands such as these in the face of the intimidation tactics, threats, and lies that are so often used to promote evil.

Can I count on your support for $35 or more today?

Please pray for the Church and for Lepanto's mission as we continue to unearth the truth and "restore all things to Christ." (1 Col. 1:20)

Christus Vincit!"

Michael Hichborn
President
Lepanto Insititute

PS:  REMEMBER that nothing we do here at the Lepanto Institute is done without the prayers and support of faithful Catholics such as yourself.  Bringing this information to light is hard -- we know it's hard to see -- but unless it is done, more victims of this senseless and outrageous pattern of deception will emerge.  Such deception is dangerous to our faith, our priests, and to Holy Mother Church, and we here at the Lepanto Institute remain dedicated to prayerfully and faithfully raising the tough questions -- all in faithful service to our bishops and priests.  Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

Seven quick thoughts on the most recent papal presser. by Edward Peters, JD, JCD, Ref. Sig. Ap.

 VOCAL.  This article explains difficult things of late.  Dr. Ed Peters is a brilliant Canon lawyer.  Here is a short bio. 
 
Dr. Peters has held the Edmund Cdl. Szoka Chair at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit since 2005. He earned a J. D. from the Univ. of Missouri at Columbia (1982) and a J. C. D. from the Catholic Univ. of America (1991). In 2010, he was appointed a Referendary of the Apostolic Signatura by Pope Benedict XVI. For more information on Dr. Peters, see CanonLaw.Info.


           "Frankly, I don’t know how he does it. When I fly to Europe I have to sleep all the way over.  Not Pope Francis. Anyway, may I offer some comments on some topics mentioned in the latest mid-air papal presser?

  1. Pope Paul VI, as I understand it, did approve of religious women threatened by rape using contraceptives. It is obvious, though, that such measures were taken in self-defense against criminal acts and, more importantly, would have occurred outside the context of conjugal relations. Avoiding pregnancy under outlaw circumstances is not only ‘not an absolute evil’, it’s not an evil act at all. I hope that mentioning this unusual episode in a press chat will not contribute unduly to the world’s misunderstanding of the limitations of Paul VI’s position in this case and of the episode’s non-applicability to firm Church teaching on contraception within marriage.

2. An individual becomes “Christian” by, and only by, (valid) baptism. Donald Trump was apparently baptized Presbyterian, which faith community has valid baptism. Donald Trump is, therefore, as a matter of canon law (c. 204), Christian. Trump might be a good Christian or a bad one—I cannot say, and neither can anyone else. Trump might do and say things consistent with Christian values or in contradiction to them, but his status as baptized, and therefore as Christian, is beyond dispute.

3. There is no legitimate “principle” by which a “lesser of two evils” may ever be licitly engaged in. It is fundamental moral theology that even a small evil action may never be licitly engaged in—no matter how much good might seem to result therefrom and no matter how much evil might seem to be avoided thereby. There are, to be sure, principles by which a good or neutral action that has two effects, one good and one evil, might be licitly engaged in under certain circumstances despite the evil effects; and there are principles by which “lesser evils” may be tolerated (not chosen). But parsing these matters accurately and responsibly requires more time than can be devoted to them in a press conference.

4. Abortion (assuming we are talking about doing an action intended to kill a human being prior to birth, and not just suffering ‘abortion’, i.e., miscarriage) is, Francis observed, always evil. Abortion is not, however, “evil” because it is a “crime”. Not all criminal acts are by nature evil and not all evil acts are crimes. Other factors must be considered lest moral principles and legal principles become confused.

5. The Vatican City State, a sovereign nation, has the right to build, and has chosen to surround itself with, a giant wall. Evidently, building or using a national wall is not a non-Christian act nor a stance contrary to Gospel values. The pope’s criticism of building walls on part of a national border is probably better understood as prudential in nature, not principled.

6. It is important (though some might say it is too late) to distinguish between a Catholic’s stance toward “same-sex unions” and that toward “same-sex marriage”. These are not equivalent terms. Legal recognition of “same-sex unions” might be a good idea, a tolerable idea, or a bad idea, but, per se, “same-sex unions” are things over which reasonable minds (including Catholic minds) may differ; in contrast, Catholics may never approve or support “same-sex marriage”, this, upon pain of contradicting infallible Church teaching, if not of committing heresy.

7. The pope said nothing suggesting confusion about “celibacy” and “continence” (c. 277), although the Crux reporter seems to regard the former as another word for the latter. Anyway, I do not know whether there is such a thing as a (priest) who does not have the “friendship of a woman”, but I would not think the “friendship of a woman” is necessary to make a man ‘complete’."

 Feb. 18, 2016

“…cry out…”

“We’ve had enough of exhortations to be silent! Cry out with a hundred thousand tongues. I see that the world is rotten because of silence.”
– St. Catherine of Siena 

             A Saint of the Passion

 

"LentSanity": An Illustrated Guide to the Paschal Candle aka The Easter Candle

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From Archbishop Sample's Last Diocese - Michigan Bishop Inaugurates Program to have Chant at all Parishes.

This story was suggested by a VOCAL reader.

Catholic World News

January 29, 2016

Bishop John Doerfler of Marquette, Michigan, has issued directions for all parishes in the diocese to institute programs that will lead to the congregation chanting the Ordinary parts of the Mass.
Following up on the work of his predecessor in Marquette, then-Bishop Alexander Sample (who is now Archbishop of Portland, Oregon), Bishop Doerfler has called for the action to carry out the vision of Vatican II, which encouraged the use of Gregorian chant and congregational involvement in the singing.

In a pastoral letter released in 2013, Bishop Sample had also called attention to the Council's directives on liturgical music, as well as similar directives from post-conciliar Pontiffs and from the US episcopal conference. "Given all of this strong teaching from the Popes, the Second Vatican Council, and the US bishops, how is it that this ideal concerning Gregorian chant has not been realized?" he asked. Bishop Doerfler said that he was taking action to realize his predecessor's ideal.
Therefore, the bishop said, all parishes in the Marquette diocese will be expected to teach chant to the faithful, and introduce the regular chanting of the Ordinary parts of the Mass. These steps, Bishop Doerfler said, "can be taken by the smallest parishes in the diocese." He ordered that all parishes have chant programs in place by the end of the year 2020.

Bishop Doerfler also announced that the diocese would prepare its own hymnal, and only music from that hymnal will be approved for use at Mass in the diocese. He said that a diocesan director of sacred music will be appointed, to help parishes instruct the faithful and prepare for the new programs.

The Archdiocese Now Serving Only Fair Trade Coffee.

Years agos, before Archbishop Sample's arrival, the second floor of the Pastoral Center had a coffee cart filled with air-pots of Starbucks coffee. (Starbucks is across the street as is Whole Foods).  There were different flavors of syrup for the coffee as well as Lindor candies wrapped in colorful paper.  Extra-sized cookies were also available.  

This was observed twice and months apart.  Others noticed the same thing so it seemed to be the norm. 

Having "Fair-trade" coffee that is more expensive, probably, shows more of a mentality of wealth and doesn't seem to put  "collection plate money" to good use.  In fact, bringing a thermos of coffee from home is more "Catholic" than using Fair trade coffee and might be more appropriate to put on the front page.   But this might be just a matter of opinion. 

Here are some links on the subject.

http://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_problem_with_fair_trade_coffee

https://www.organicconsumers.org/news/pros-and-cons-fair-trade-coffee

 http://www.explainthatstuff.com/fairtrade.html


                                   Archdiocese Serving Fair Trade Coffee

Employees at the Archdiocese of Portland pastoral center stop for a coffee break.

The Archdiocese of Portland will serve only fair trade coffee at the Pastoral Center in Northeast Portland. The move is meant to help the archdiocese live consistently with Catholic social teaching, since fair trade coffee benefits the poor and vulnerable instead of large corporations.

“Fair trade coffee supports farmers in developing countries who are socially and economically marginalized,” says Matt Cato director of the archdiocese’s Office of Life, Justice and Peace. “Fair trade guarantees that small-scale coffee bean farmers in Third-World countries achieve a fair price for their beans.”

Cato says fair trade promotes the dignity of workers by ensuring fair wages and by helping vulnerable producers maintain their livelihoods when traditional economic structures shut them out.

“Fair trade is Catholic,” Cato says. “Fair trade coffee costs a little but more, but it is the right thing to do.”
 

The Angel of Dachau: Pope Francis declares concentration camp priest a martyr

Vatican City, Jan 26, 2016 / 06:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig, a young priest with Czech roots serving in Germany and Austria, was arrested by the Nazis on April 21, 1941.
His crime? Preaching against the Third Reich from his pulpit, particularly against their treatment of the Jewish people. He encouraged his congregation to be faithful to God and to resist the lies of the Nazi regime.

As punishment, Fr. Unzeitig was sent to what has been called the “largest monastery in the world”: Dachau concentration camp, which became renowned for the number of ministers and priests within its walls.

Venerable Engelmar Unzeitig, CMM, whom Pope Francis declared a martyr last week. 

The camp housed some 2,700 clergy, roughly 95 percent of whom were Catholic priests from Poland, making it one of the largest residences for priests in the history of the Church – hence the name.
Father Unzeitig was just 30 years old, and two years ordained, when he was sent to Dachau. Born in Greifendorf, in what is now the Czech Republic, in 1911, Fr. Unzeitig joined the seminary at the age of 18 and became a priest for the Mariannhill Mission Society, whose motto is: “If no one else will go: I will go!”

While imprisoned at the camp, Father studied Russian in order to be able to help the influx of prisoners from Eastern Europe, and had a reputation at the camp as a holy man.

Treatment of the priests and ministers at Dachau was unpredictable – sometimes they were allowed to worship, at others they were severely treated. On one particular Good Friday, dozens of priests were selected for torture to mark the occasion.

For several years, Fr. Unzeitig was able to remain in relatively stable health despite the poor treatment he received. However, when a wave of the often-fatal typhoid fever swept through the camp in 1945, he and 19 other priests volunteered to do what no one else wanted to – care for the sick and dying in the typhoid barracks, an almost-certain death sentence in and of itself. He and his companions spent their days bathing and caring for the sick, praying with them and offering last rites.

Despite his bleak circumstances, Fr. Unzeitig found his hope and joy in his faith, as evidenced in letters to his sister from the camp:

“Whatever we do, whatever we want, is surely simply the grace that carries us and guides us. God’s almighty grace helps us overcome obstacles … love doubles our strength, makes us inventive, makes us feel content and inwardly free. If people would only realize what God has in store for those who love him!” he wrote.


In another letter he wrote:

"Even behind the hardest sacrifices and worst suffering stands God with his Fatherly love, who is satisfied with the good will of his children and gives them and others happiness."

Eventually, on March 2, 1945, Fr. Unzeitig succumbed to typhoid fever himself, along with all but two of the other priest volunteers. Dachau was liberated by American soldiers just a few weeks later, on April 29.

In recognition of his heroic virtue, Fr. Engelmar Unzeitig was declared venerable by Benedict XVI on July 3, 2009.

On January 21, Pope Francis officially acknowledged Fr. Unzeitig as a martyr, killed in hatred of the faith, which opens the path for his beatification, the next step in becoming a canonized saint.

From 2011. Oregon Catholic Priest and Evangelical Minister: "Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, why does the Archdiocese of Portland belong to this?"

2016 VOCAL. We cannot be blind to the fact that all "Ecumenical and Inter-religious" activities are with progressive churches.  There is no connection with protestant churches that support family values and not same-sex relationships.  There are no Christian churches that are pro-life included in EMO. 

With Matt Cato, our Office of Life, Justice and Peace on the steering committee of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, which is our "outreach" to other churches,  what are we afraid of to include Oregon Family Council churches that are very confused about the Catholics in Oregon.

Below are letters, one from a Catholic priest and one from a prominent Protestant minister from a few years ago, but things have not changed. 
                                                                +++++++++++

Dear Father and Pastor... Thank you for giving me your observations of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.   You represent true ecumenism.  Maybe by your words Oregon Catholics will now understand the problem.......God Bless, VOCAL


 "To Whom it may concern, (from anonymous Oregon Catholic priest),

While it would be tough for me to weigh in on an internal Catholic issue, I can have a personal opinion overall.  The biggest problem I have is that if you believe what you claim to believe, why would you put time and energy into an Organization that actively works against that belief?  EMO, clearly and unequivocally, has the position that gays and lesbians are not engaged in unnatural sexual relations, essentially they hold homosexual behavior to be OK.

Last time I looked, the Catholic Church still, and rightly so under the bible, believe homosexual behavior to be unnatural and immoral.  While many of their programs for social justice are great, the Catholic Church doesn’t need to belong to advance those noble causes they do promote.

  It is one thing to love and tolerate all sinners, it is quite another to say their sin is ok and free of consequences.  By belonging to EMO the Catholic Church is compromising their own values, for what benefit?  Whatever benefits they believe come from membership can easily be obtained other ways without giving tacit approval to the homosexual lifestyle.

 I am all for having a loving and open dialogue with other Christians about our different interpretations of scripture, but why do I have to join their organization?  Of the five (5) largest denominations in Oregon (by number of members in the State), (Catholic, Mormon, Assemblies of God and Evangelical Lutheran and Foursquare), the Catholic Church is the only one who chooses to be a member.  In looking at the statistics, the EMO, absent the Catholic Church, represents a very small minority of Oregon Church goers, about 10%.  Here is the link to that info, 

  http://www.thearda.com/mapsReports/reports/state/41_2000.asp

Paul and Peter: Icon of True Ecumenism

 The bottom line is, they have an important belief that runs counter to Church doctrine; and without the Catholic Church, they really represent a very small number of Oregon church goers.  So why get involved?"

Thank you for this forum to speak. VOCAL.

True Ecumenism in Action: A leading Evangelical Ministry leader that works across denominational lines in both Oregon, Washington and nationally made these remarks regarding Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO)

"My observations about EMO are very, very bad. They represent everything the Evangelical Church disdains, are not true followers of the Scriptures, and use them only as a useful garment to cover their truly humanistic and misguided perception of 'truth.'

They misconstrue true Biblical Theology to serve their preconceived ideas about what is right and wind up twisting and interpreting the Scriptures to agree with their humanist religious views.

They represent only a small fraction of 'Churches' in Oregon and the Evangelical Church considers them 'apostate.' We do not agree in the least with their support of 'domestic partnerships' nor granting rights to any class of people based on their sexual behavior, which EMO clearly does. 

In fact, we are appalled that Catholic Leadership, after what they have gone through in Oregon and throughout the nation, is even willing to align themselves with any group that supports the homosexual agenda. It sends the signal to any and everyone that the Catholic Church leadership has still not walked away from this sordid relationship.

For the Catholic Church to align with the EMO and in support of homosexual behavior is to deny everything that the Catholic Church teaches, and to alienate many, many Catholics from Catholic Church leadership.

It is actually to be out of step with the Pope and the Vatican, and it castes a long shadow of distrust and alienation from the Evangelical Christian world in working together on other areas of mutual interest."  

From the Holy Father's Own Words.....


Pope Benedict XVI has declared his commitment to the Second Vatican Council's Ecumenism, but has stressed a hermeneutic of continuity in Catholic doctrine so that Ecumenism never really becomes a break from the bi-millennial Church tradition.

St Peter's Square on 7 June 2006

The Virtue Continuum aka Getting Ready for Lent

Guest Post - WORKING IN THE SALT MINES OF POLAND LEAVING BEHIND........

World Youth Day in Poland brings this to mind.  We don't know if the kids would be close to this area, but it's a good history lesson about our Pope Saint John Paul II's homeland. Deep underground in Poland lies something remarkable but little known outside Eastern Europe . For centuries, miners have extracted salt there, but left behind things quite startling and unique. Take a look at the most unusual salt mine in the world. From the outside, Wieliczka Salt Mine doesn’t look extraordinary. It looks extremely well kept for a place that hasn’t minded any salt for over ten years but apart from that it looks ordinary. However, over two hundred meters below ground it holds an astonishing secret. This is the salt mine that became an art gallery, cathedral and underground lake. Situated in the Krakow area, Wieliczka is a small town of close to twenty thousand inhabitants. It was founded in the twelfth century by a local Duke to mine the rich deposits of salt that lie beneath. Until 1996 it did just that but the generations of miners did more than just extract. They left behind them a breathtaking record of their time underground in the shape of statues of mythic, historical and religious figures. They even created their own chapels in which to pray. Perhaps their most astonishing legacy is the huge underground cathedral they left behind for posterity.   It may feel like you are in the middle of a Jules Verne adventure as you descend in to the depths of the world. After a one hundred and fifty meter climb down wooden stairs the visitor to the salt mine will see some amazing sites. About the most astounding in terms of its sheer size and audacity is the Chapel of Saint Kinga. The Polish people have for many centuries been devout Catholics and this was more than just a long term hobby to relieve the boredom of being underground. This was an act of worship. Amazingly, even the chandeliers in the cathedral are made of salt. It was not simply hewn from the ground and then thrown together; however, the process is rather more painstaking for the lighting. After extraction the rock salt was first of all dissolved. It was then reconstituted with the impurities taken out so that it achieved a glass-like finish. The chandeliers are what many visitors think the rest of the cavernous mine will be like as they have a picture in their minds of salt as they would sprinkle on their meals! However, the rock salt occurs naturally in different shades of grey (something like you would expect granite to look like ) ... Still, that doesn’t stop well over one million visitors (mainly from Poland and its eastern European neighbours ) from visiting the mine to see, amongst other things, how salt was mined in the past. For safety reasons less than one percent of the mine is open to visitors, but even that is still almost four kilometres in length – more than enough to weary the average tourist after an hour or two. The mine was closed for two reasons – the low price of salt on the world market made it too expensive to extract here. Also, the mine was slowly flooding – another reason why visitors are restricted to certain areas only. The religious carvings are, in reality, what draw many to this mine – as much for their amazing verisimilitude as for their Christian aesthetics. The above shows Jesus appearing to the apostles after the crucifixion. He shows the doubter, Saint Thomas , the wounds on his wrists.  Another remarkable carving, this time a take on The Last Supper. The work and patience that must have gone into the creation of these sculptures is extraordinary. One wonders what the miners would have thought of their work going on general display? They came to be quite used to it, in fact, even during the mine’s busiest period in the nineteenth century. The cream of Europe ’s thinkers visited the site – you can still see many of their names in the old visitor’s books on display. These reliefs are perhaps among some of the most iconographic works of Christian folk art in the world and really do deserve to be shown. It comes as little surprise to learn that the mine was placed on the original list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites back in 1978. Not all of the work is relief-based. There are many life sized statues that must have taken a considerable amount of time – months, years – to create. Within the confines of the mine there is also much to be learned about the miners from the machinery and tools that they used – many of which are on display and are centuries old. A catastrophic flood in 1992 dealt the last blow to commercial salt mining in the area and now the mine functions purely as a tourist attraction. Brine is, however, still extracted from the mine – and then evaporated to produce some salt, but hardly on the ancient scale. If this was not done, then the mines would soon become flooded once again. Not all of the statues have a religious or symbolic imagery attached to them. The miners had a sense of humour, after all! Here can be seen their own take on the legend of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. The intricately carved dwarves must have seemed to some of the miners a kind of ironic depiction of their own work. The miners even threw in a dragon for good measure! Certainly, they may have whistled while they did it but the conditions in the salt mine were far from comfortable and the hours were long – the fact that it was subterranean could hardly have added to the excitement of going to work each morning. To cap it all there is even an underground lake, lit by subdued electricity and candles. This is perhaps where the old legends of lakes to the underworld and Catholic imagery of the saints work together to best leave a lasting impression of the mine.