Betydningen av at messen er et offer

Liturgi /

Jeg nevte tidligere i dag intervjuet med msgr. Nicola Bux om hans nye bok om liturgien. I dette intervjuet sier han også:

«När Benedikt XVI talade om brytning eller ”påhittad liturgi” menade han att denna ”förbindelse” har avbrutits. Mässans betydelse av offergärning har ersatts av en minneshögtid som kommerorerar Skärtorsdagens sista måltid. Det är i detta som den främsta brytningen ligger. Självaste Paulus VI rättade denna heresi i den första editio typica (officiella utgåvan, ö.a.) av det romerska missalet (artikel 7). Mässan är naturligtvis även en måltid, men det rör sig om påskmåltiden, om Guds lamm som offras för oss. Den gudomliga liturgin, som man säger i Östkyrkan, är en ”mystisk måltid” med den offrade kroppen och blodet som gjutits in remissionem peccatorum (för våra synders skull). Även Uppenbarelseboken beskriver den eviga liturgin som på denna jord utförs i kyrkans liturgi. Den broderliga aspekten, eller snarare gemenskapsaspekten, i mässan härrör enbart ur detta mysterium.»

I gårsdagens høymesse i St Hallvard kirke prøvde jeg å vise svært så tydelig at messen er et offer, gjennom en kort innledning i starten av messen, ved å bruke første eukaristiske bønne (og ved hjelp av en dyktig organist og gode ministranter) og gjennom min preken, der jeg delvis bygget på det jeg sa på denne søndagen for tre år siden – se her.

I prekenen sa jeg bl.a.: » … … denne søndagen vil jeg også til å ta opp i min preken temaet om offer og Kristi prestetjeneste fra 2. lesning. I dag hørte vi fra Hebreerbrevet 5: En øversteprest blir alltid tatt blant mennesker og innsatt for å gjøre tjeneste for Gud på vegne av mennesker. Han skal bære fram gaver og offer for synder. … heller ikke Kristus har tiltatt seg den ære å være øversteprest. Han fikk den av Gud som sa til ham: Du er min sønn, jeg har født deg i dag. Likeså sier han på et annet sted: Du skal være prest til evig tid på Melkisedeks vis.»

Melkisedek levde på Abrahams tid, Abraham gav tiende av alt han hadde til denne mannen, som allerede før Abraham, tjente og ofret til den høyeste Gud. Melkisedek er kanskje det viktigste forbildet på Kristus, på en prest som bærer frem offer som Gud gjerne tar imot, og Melkisedek nevnes hver gang vi bruker den første eukaristiske bønn.

I messens andre lesning hører vi nå uke etter uke fra Hebreerbrevet. I dag begynner temaet i Hebreerbrevet om Kristi prestetjeneste og dette fortsetter flere uker fremover. Neste søndag hadde vi hørt – hvis det ikke hadde feiret Allehelgensdag – fra Hebr 7,23-27: «Men Jesus har et prestedømme som ikke tar slutt, fordi han er og blir til evig tid. Derfor kan han også fullt og helt frelse dem som kommer til Gud ved ham, fordi han alltid lever og går i forbønn for dem. Ja, en slik øversteprest var det vi måtte ha: hellig, god og ren, skilt ut fra syndere og opphøyd over himlene. Offeret har han båret fram én gang for alle da han ofret seg selv.»

Dernest på 32. søndag fra Hebr 9,24-28: «For Kristus gikk ikke inn i en helligdom som er gjort av menneskehånd og bare er et bilde av den sanne helligdom. Han gikk inn i selve himmelen; nå skulle han for vår skyld tre fram for Guds ansikt. Han … åpenbarte seg én gang for alle ved tidenes ende for å utslette synden ved sitt offer.»

Den siste lesningen fra hebreerbrevet kommer 33. søndag, og er fra Hebr 10.11-14 og v18: «Alle andre prester står daglig og gjør tjeneste og bærer gang på gang fram de samme offer, som likevel aldri kan ta bort synder. Men Jesus har båret fram et eneste offer for synder og har deretter satt seg ved Guds høyre hånd for alltid.»

Dette offeret som Jesus har båret fram for Gud Fader da han døde på korset, er det som blir gjort nærværende og båret fram for Herre, i hver eneste messe som feires. Derfor er messen så viktig; vi får del i Kristi offer på en helt spesiell måte.»

Msgr Nicola Bux skriver om liturgien: La riforma di Benedetto XVI

Liturgi /

Det svenske, katolske nettidsskriftet Katolsk Observatör har oversatt et intervju med msgr. Nicola Bux, som i starten av oktober kom ut med en bitande skarp bok, La riforma di Benedetto XVI (Benedikt XVI:s reform), som gör rättmätig boskillnad mellan en nödvändig reform och revolution. Ett sådant vinkling kan hjälpa till att öppna vägen för den liturgiska fred som påven önskar. I Italien har boken väckt våldsam debatt. Hur blir det i Frankrike? Vi hoppas att samma sak kommer att ske här och initierar nu debatten genom att publicera nedanstående exklusiva intervju.

Det er et langt og svært interessant interju og jeg tar her bare med litt (og oppfordrer leserne til å lese hele intevjuet HER):
… jag ägnat hela tredje kapitlet åt ”slaget om den liturgiska reformen”, och detta slag har utkämpats två gånger, först gången under Andra Vatikankonciliet och därpå efter konciliet. Skälet till konflikten är tolkningen av liturgin. Är den – liksom själva tron som kyrkan äger – i kontinuitet med traditionen eller utgör den ett brott? Det parodoxala ligger i att nyskaparna använt sig av urkyrkans modell för att ge stöd åt sin uppfattning att liturgin behövde förnyas, och det har traditionalisterna också gjort, men dessa har gjort det för att lämna saker och ting i det tillstånd som var. Vi befinner oss inför samma ”synd” i det ena och det andra fallet: den att betrakta det som är äldre som något omgivet av särskild pietet (”arkeologism”) (som något man vill fasthålla till varje pris utan hänsyn tagen till den helige Andes verkan, ö.a.) och som redan påven Pius XII avslöjade i Mediator Dei (1947). …

… … Alltsedan ursprunget och fram till våra dagar, firar prästen i den östliga kyrkan mässan ad Dominum och människorna har aldrig trott att han vänder ryggen mot dem! Hur kan vi lyda ”sursum corda”, det vill säga vara riktade mot Gud, om prästen är mitt emot oss och tar upp all vår uppmärksamhet? Det är mycket svårt ur psykologisk synvinkel. Vi kan tänka, liksom påven gör, att tron och bönen återfinner den riktiga orienteringen om Korset på nytt sätts i centrum, och prästens och de troendes uppmärksamhet riktas mot det. Och vi kan tillägga att om mässfirarna börjar vända sig ad Dominum så är detta även en ekumenisk gest gentemot den ortodoxa kyrkan!

Det ser ut til at den nye ordninga for anglikanerne gir en permanent åpning for gifte prester

Økumenikk /

Jeg er blitt gjort oppmerksom på et intervju i ei australsk avis med lederen for hele TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion), erkebiskop John Hepworth, der han bl.a. sier følgende om det nye personal-ordinariatet:

JH: Bishops in the new Anglican structure will be unmarried. This is out of respect for the tradition of Eastern and Western Christianity. But priests who come from Anglicanism will be able to serve as priests in the new structure, whether married or not, after satisfying certain requirements. The truly radical element is that married men will be able to be ordained priests in the Anglican structure indefinitely into the future. It is anticipated that Anglican bishops who are married when they joined the new structure will still be able to serve as priestly ordinaries, exercising some of the responsibilities of bishops. … …

Qr: Critics … will be hard pressed to explain the fact that the Pope is prepared to create a parallel jurisdiction with married Catholic priests. Even more surprisingly, the option won’t just extend to the present crop of married men in Anglican orders, which most observers expected, but to future generations of clergy.

JH: The Anglican tradition has had married clergy for 500 years. It has a long experience of having a clerical family at the heart of the parish. Apart from Ireland, it was only with the expansion of the British Empire that the situation arose where married Anglican clergy worked in the same place as celibate Catholic clergy. The two traditions will continue to live side by side. Indeed, it would be hard to imagine how an Anglican tradition within Catholicism could sustain itself in the long term without married clergy. Permitting it is not in any way intended as a challenge to the rule of celibacy, but it is allowing the vision of a family at the heart of the parish to flourish at a time when the family is under great stress. On the other hand, Anglican Catholics are going to have to relearn the value of the celibate vocation. The TAC already has a number of celibate bishops and celibate communities of priests and nuns, so perhaps the lesson has begun to be learned.

Det fins også flere andre interessant ting i dette intervjuet, bl.a. dette om pave Benedikts økumeniske holdning: It is, I think, a product of the serene confidence of this Pope, someone who passionately believes that unifying the Christian world is something demanded by God.

Pavens motu proprio om den gamle messen skal ikke tolkes restriktivt

TLM /

Msgr. Guido Pozzo, den nye sekretæren i den pavelige kommisjonen Ecclesia Dei (som har å gjøre med feiringa av den tradisjonelle latinske messen), blir spurt om pave Bendikts motu proprio fra 2007 om å «frigjøre» den gamle messen, skal tolkes restriktivt – slik at bare de som tidligere har hatt en lengsel etter denne messen (fra før 1969) her får muligheten til å oppleve denne. Nei, er svaret, også unge mennesker etc. som ønsker å delta i denne messen, har et krav på å få sine ønsker oppfylt – av sin sogneprest eller biskop. Fra NLM-bloggen:

Monsignor, a widespread restrictive interpretation of the motu proprio argues that the Papal provision is primarily if not exclusively, directed towards those groups and institutes that were already attached to the traditional form, and is not, by contrast, intended in any way to promote the extraordinary form. To this had already answered Card. Castrillón Hoyos, saying in London, in June 2008, that the Pope would actually like to have the ‘Gregorian Rite’ in all the parishes. What is your opinion?

The Motu Proprio is addressed to all the Catholic faithful who desire the extraordinary form of the Roman liturgy, not just to those who, prior to its promulgation, were attached to the ancient form of the Roman rite. Certainly it does intend to accomodate these latter and to heal old wounds, but the purpose of the document is also to allow the spreading of the extraordinary form, for the benefit of those who do not know it yet (for being too young to have had it experienced), or of those who rediscover with joy the Mass of their youth. The ever increasing spread of this liturgical treasure, [sc. which is] the Church’s patrimony, can bring many benefits, spiritual and vocational, also through the mutual enrichment between the two forms of the Roman rite.

Rapport fra Forward in Faith’s generalforsamling fredag og lørdag

Økumenikk /

En leser sendte meg en mail med følgende åpning i går kveld: Ikke noe snikk-snakk – Pavens økumenikk, takk!
Deretter skriver han at den viktigste gruppen høykirkelige anglikanere i England har hatt generalforsamling denne helgen.
Her er lenke til generalforsamlingen med lydfiler av talene. http://www.forwardinfaith.com/news/na09-10.html

Jeg hørte på et par av talene fra konferansen (som utelukkende behandlet pavens siste utspill) uten å bli så veldig klok, men leste siden et par rapporter, som gjør ting en hel del klarere – bl.a. her. Forfatteren skriver at han nå håper at noen tusen anglikanere blir katolikker, men ikke de hundretusener som egentlig tenker på det.

At the Outset, let me say that if I sound more optimistic than some of the other people who’ve written about this process thus far, it’s probably because I started from a place of greater skepticism about how the offer would be received. I never believed that whole dioceses and provinces within the Anglican Communion would suddenly realize that they wanted to enter communion with the See of Peter mostly because they were unhappy about the direction of the Anglican Communion. True conversion has to be a running to, not a running from. Again I remind Catholics that this is a time to practice the fruits of the Spirit, especially patience, kindness, and self-control. Jesus stood dumb before his accusers. I hope that we all can at least manage to remain civil in discussing a process that doesn’t involve most of us directly. …

Archbishop Hepworth made a very successful speech praising the Holy Father’s generosity, assuaging doubts and taking naysayers. He actively put the best possible face on the future for the delegates saying that they had be assured that they would be treated as Anglican Catholics, just as there are Roman, Ukranian, and Maronite Catholics–that while the ordinariates were not a rite, they looked an awfully lot like one. … … he had to reassure the assembly and those listening that this was what they had asked and prayed for for decades and now it had been generously given to them. To Catholics and to especially my fellow converts, since we often carry the biggest chips on our shoulders, who want to rage about the evils of Anglicanism and want people to come crawling, chastened, and cowed, remember that it is the Holy Father himself who has chosen to kill the fatted calf. It seems that the least we can all do is make merry. Reviewing the parable of the wages of the laborers in the vineyard might do us all some good.

The session with young priests and ordinands was the most heartening. Naturally you have to temper this a bit given that those who are yet to start their careers and those near the end have the fewest issues to deal with in joining the ordinariates, but it was still incredibly heartening. Here are a few quotes: «I am in absolute awe of the Holy Father.» «First I am a Christian, then I am a Catholic, and then I am an Anglican. I look forward to the day when I can fully be a Catholic Christian.» «It is time we said thank you to the Holy Father. I look forward to the day we can say ‘our Holy Father. Pope Benedict, thank you for all of us.» …

The Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali played the spoiler role I had expected but with consumate Anglican style. After a long opening of very bishopy musing on the nature of the church, he raised questions (I’d say doubts) about the Holy Father’s offer in several areas, …

The last word went to the Bishop of Fulham, John Broadhurst, who handled a tricky task with great adroitness. He praised the Holy Father to the skies; he shed tears for his love of the Church of England; but closed saying he said he wasn’t going until he could find a way for everyone could go together. Was this the ringing endorsement I wanted to hear? Certainly not, but the key in the speech, to my mind, was his stating very clearly that any doubts he had previously held about the universal jurisdiction of the papacy had been quashed as he’d watched the developments in the Church of England, signaling that he no longer has theological objections. …

So after two days, it seems we know that TAC has its bags packed and ready and that a good number of FIF members within the Church of England are coming on the fast track regardless of what the C of E offers them and that more are likely to follow. We know that FIF in the US and the Anglo-Catholics in the Anglican Church in North America are taking a pass as are most of the large Anglican provinces in the developing world. I’d say that, realistically this is about as good an outcome as was possible.

En katolske prest som vet hva han snakker om uttaler seg om pavens initiativ overfor anglikanerne

Katolsk /

Father Dwight Longenecker er katolsk prest i USA, gift med flere barn, og tidligere var han ti år anglikanske prest i England, og også lekmann i ti år, da han i stor grad arbeidet med å hjelpe anglikanske prester som ønsket å konvertere. Han vet altså hva han snakker om når ser på hvordan slike konvertitter i parksis har blitt mottatt, og hva som nå kan skje med pave Benedikts nye initiativ. Først skriver han:
For ten years I was an Anglican priest, and for ten years I was a Catholic layman in England. I worked for the St Barnabas Society–a charity that quietly assists convert clergy as they convert to the Catholic Church. At the same time I was on a long road to ordination myself. I therefore got to meet and discuss issues with the major players, and I can confirm virtually everything Damien asserts about the background politics in the case.

Although the Archbishop of Canterbury is dismayed that the Personal Ordinariate project was popped on him as a surprise move at a ‘very late stage’ it can’t have come as much of a surprise. This thing has been cooking for years. We can trace the development of it back to the early 90’s when the Church of England was debating the ordination of women. When the Church of England’s General Synod voted to ordain women in 1992 high level Anglicans were already in discussions with Rome. The retired Bishop of London–Graham Leonard was not only in talks with Cardinal Basil Hume, but also with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger at the CDF. I believe Ratzinger was sympathetic to the Anglo Catholics even then, and I know that a personal friendship developed between Cardinal Ratzinger and (now) Mgr. Leonard.

At the same time the Catholic convert journalist William Oddie wrote a book called The Roman Option in which he argued for an Anglo Catholic ‘church’ in communion with Rome which looks very like what we now have as the Personal Ordinariate. Oddie also criticized the Catholic bishops in England for inhibiting such an option because it was ‘unworkable’ and ‘damaging to ecumenical relations with the Anglicans’. Oddie was subsequently marginalized and treated as a pariah by the English Catholic establishment. …

Han skriver et annet sted også hva pavens dokument vil kunne innebære:
1. The Personal Ordinariate cuts across the powers of liberal, ignorant and unimaginative bishops. Those of us who work with convert clergy can tell horror story after horror story of how they are ignored, sidelined and dismissed by Catholic bishops who either do not understand, do not want ‘dangerous conservatives’ or simply cannot figure out what to do with convert clergy.

2. The PO establishes a new precedent in Church governance. This could mean that the church is freeing herself from strictly geographical boundaries of governance. With the Eastern Rite Churches and military and religious orders this has already been the case, … …

3. If the PO establishes this precedent for Anglicans why could it not also work for high church Lutherans? Could it work for High Church Methodists? …

For det tredje skriver han om de mulighetene denne åpningen for anglikanere har for å lykkes, eller ikke lykkes – først og fremst ser det ut til å avhenge av de katolske biskopenes respons:
Option No. 1 The Catholic bishops are enthusiastic about this creative new possibility for their dioceses. Experiencing a shortage of good priests they see that the Anglicans are well educated, mature men with long pastoral experience and solid liturgical sense. They immediately appoint a personal ordinary for them and encourage as many as possible to enter into full communion. They don’t have a problem with married men being ordained, and realize it could bring variety, strength and new blood into the presbyterate. …

Option No. 2 The liberal Catholic bishops are horrified at the idea of an influx of conservative ‘misogynistic homophobic’ former Anglicans. They quietly put the project of a ‘personal ordinariate’ on the back burner. Another category, and probably the largest, are the Catholic bishops who simply do not have the competence, imagination or courage to do anything at all with such a radical idea. They don’t understand Protestants. …

Trykk gjerne på de tre lenkene over, og lese hele dokumentene.

COMPENDIUM EUCHARISTICUM

Liturgi /

Vatikanet har nå utgitt et grundig (flere hundre sider) dokument om hvordan messen bør feires. Så langt fins det visst bare på latin, men Father Z skriver litt om det he – og her kan det bestilles fra Roma:

1. It is divided into 3 sections: doctrinal, liturgical, and devotional.
2. It has number of appendices: Book IV of the Imitation; section of 1983 Latin Code; section of 1990 Eastern Code on the Eucharist.
3. The preface is by the Prefect of the Cong. for Divine Worship, Card. Canizares. It clearly speaks of both forms of the Roman Rite being of equal importance.
4. The doctrinal section contains excerpts from the the decree of the Council of Trent on the Eucharist; Vatican II; the Compendium of the Catechism on the Eucharist; a commentary on the Four Eucharist prayers.
5. The liturgical section contains the Ordo Missae of the Novus Ordo; the Ordo Missae of the 1962 Missale Romanum; the Office of Corpus Christi from the Liturgia Horarum; the complete Office for Coprus Christi from the 1961 Breviarium Romanum; two Votive Masses of the Holy Eucharist; the Order of Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament; 7 Litanies; and a number of Eucharistic hymns.
6. The devotional part contains the prayers before Mass, the prayers after Mass, vesting prayers for the priest and for the bishop, and other devotional prayers.

Ikke alle katolikker er glade for pavens generøsitet

Økumenikk /

Damian Thompson har skrevet en grundig artikkel om dette i the Telegraph – og der sier han bl.a.:

«The faces of many Church of England bishops have turned as purple as their cassocks,» said one commentator. They knew nothing about this Apostolic Constitution in advance: the first official notification was a letter from Dr Williams published yesterday, in which he apologised for the short notice but explained that «I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage».

This anger is widely shared by Catholic bishops of England and Wales – and not just because they feel that the Anglicans have been insulted by the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI decided not to consult the English Catholic bishops about his dramatic offer. Indeed, the Vatican’s own professional ecumenists in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were also kept out of the picture until «a very late stage».

But it is precisely the exclusion of liberal Catholic bishops that has delighted traditionalist Anglicans. It helps explain why, yesterday, Forward in Faith, the umbrella group for conservative Anglo-Catholics, welcomed the Pope’s decision effusively. They do not know how this arrangement will work in practice – «A lot depends on the fine print but so far there is no fine print,» says Stephen Parkinson, director of Forward in Faith – but they know what it will not contain: any provision for a local Catholic bishop to make their services trendy and «relevant».

I kommentaren til Thompsons stykke referes det også til ei bok som kom ut i 1997 (og som jeg leste da), om katolske biskoper og presters respons til de mange engelske preste-konvertittene i England i 1992/93 – og en mulig måte å løse den unfordringa på om den skulle oppstå på nytt. Slik kan vi lese:
Dr Oddie, a biographer of G K Chesterton and former editor of The Catholic Herald, outlined a possible future development in which disaffected Anglicans sought to move en masse to the Catholic Church. He defined this movement as “the Roman Option” and suggested it would result in a decisive “Realignment” within English-speaking Christianity.

The book, which is currently out of print, is starting to be talked about again. Some speculate that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith may even have studied it as it worked on the new Anglican provision.

Realignment should be understood as a way in which the two main Christian traditions in England – and ultimately in the other English-speaking countries whose Christianity derives partly or entirely from the English experience – could become more internally coherent without losing the variousness which is the sign of spiritual life.

A movement of Catholic-minded Anglicans into the Catholic Church, in a gradual and manageable way over time, paralleled by a convergence of Methodists and Free Churchmen around the Church of England – all this would be part of the same process. Two great Christian traditions, the Catholic and the Reformed, growing into ever greater internal coherence, the wounds of the past finally healing; and then, one day, possibly in as little as a century or two, errors and apostasies having fallen away like dead skin-cells, the union of all Christian people: that is the ultimate vision that Realignment opens up now.

Enda en gang om de såkalte folkets alter

Liturgi /

Fra vår vinterferie i Italia i 2008 skrev jeg om helt upassende bordalter i mange av Italias nydelige kirker – og jeg viste et par bilder jeg hadde tatt på turen:

Først et bilde fra St Adrea della valle i Roma.

Så et bilde fra St Maria supra Minerva – også sentralt i Roma.

På NLM-bloggen leste jeg i dag om en person som hadde tatt en lignende tur i Spania, og konkluderte med at «Alterne må snus igjen nå»:

I’ve long been convinced of the case for the celebrant’s facing East during Mass, to preserve the symbolism of a people led by the priest in procession, and also because facing the people has given the impression that the celebrant is performing for the people. It is not just the direction that he faces that is reoriented. It is the focus of the liturgy itself that becomes reoriented.

However, it is not until just today that I full appreciated the negative and revolutionary effect that Mass facing the people had on the historic experience of the faith. I’m touring chapels and cathedrals in Salamanca, Spain. It is heartbreaking to see these grand and glorious high altars and then a tiny little table in front, put there in 1970-something, for the priest to stand facing the people. In the stunning chapel of the St. Esteban Convent, it would appear as if the high altar was actually removed and replaced with a table, therefore removing the theological rationale for the entire wall behind the altar and even refocusing the purpose and goal of the entire structure itself.

In short, this just isn’t working. It makes no sense architecturally, theologically, or liturgically. Being here, amidst structures 1000 years old, you realize what incredible implications the turn around truly had, almost akin to an act of violence.

Gratulerer biskop Bernt Eidsvig!

Katolsk /

I dag er årsdag for bispevielsen i Oslo katolske bispedømme, og i alle bispedømmets kirker takker vi for biskop Bernts tjeneste og ber spesielt for ham – slik også i messen jeg nettopp feiret i St Hallvard kirke. (Bildet over er tatt mens prosesjonen kommer ut av Trefoldighetskirken i Oslo etter messen.)

Les mer om biskopen HER og om bispevielsen 22. oktober 2005 HER.

Nyheten om anglikanere som vil bli katolikker er viktig først og fremst i England

Økumenikk /

Det bor anglikanere over hele verden, men aller flest i England, og derfor skrives det mest der om pavens avgjørelse. Damian Thompson i The Telegraph skriver bl.a.:
New era begins as Benedict throws open gates of Rome to disaffected Anglicans
This is astonishing news. Pope Benedict XVI has created an entirely new Church structure for disaffected Anglicans that will allow them to worship together – using elements of Anglican liturgy – under the pastoral supervision of their own specially appointed bishop or senior priest.

The Pope is now offering Anglicans worldwide “corporate reunion” on terms that will delight Anglo-Catholics. In theory, they can have their own married priests, parishes and bishops – and they will be free of liturgical interference by liberal Catholic bishops who are unsympathetic to their conservative stance.

There is even the possibility that married Anglican laymen could be accepted for ordination on a case-by-case basis – a remarkable concession. (Men er dette siste rett forstått?)

Han skriver også et annet sted:
… … apparently both Lambeth Palace and elements in the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity were “implacably opposed” to Pope Benedict XVI’s dramatic new arrangements for Anglicans.

Hvordan skjedde det, og hva vil skje nå?

Økumenikk /

Ruth Gledhill i TimesOnline skriver om reaksjonene på pave Benedikts invitasjon til anglikanere som vil bli katolikker, om hvordan avgjørelsen ble tatt, og litt om hva som nå kan/vil skje:
His decree is a serious blow to attempts by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to save the Anglican Communion from further fragmentation and threatens to wreck decades of ecumenical dialogue. … …

Anglicans privately accused Rome of poaching and attacked Dr Williams for capitulating to the Vatican. Some called for his resignation. Although there was little he could have done to forestall the move, many were dismayed at his joint statement with the Archbishop of Westminster in which they spoke of Anglicans “willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church”.

In a letter to bishops and clergy, Dr Williams made clear his own discomfiture. He wrote: “I am sorry that there has been no opportunity to alert you earlier to this. I was informed of the planned announcement at a very late stage.”

The Bishop of Fulham, the Right Rev John Broadhurst, chairman of Forward in Faith, which opposes women bishops, hailed it as a “decisive moment” and predicted that, based on his group’s membership, up to 1,000 Church of England clergy could go. … …

This deal was done with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, formerly the Holy Inquisition that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger himself headed before he became Pope.

The Council for Christian Unity was not represented at simultaneous press conferences in Rome and London, suggesting that the Pope has had enough of dialogue focusing on canonical moves towards unity. Dr Williams was briefed formally only when Cardinal William Levada, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, flew to London at the weekend to tell Anglican and Catholic leaders of the plans. It is understood that leading members of the council and other senior Anglican and Catholic figures tried desperately to block the decree. … …

Erkebiskop Nichols er overrasket over pave Benedikts generøsitet

Økumenikk /

Dette skriver erkebiskopen i The Catholic Herald i dag:
The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution has come as a surprise. So, too, has the generosity of its measures. It is important to understand its context as well as its content.

The Apostolic Constitution is the response of Pope Benedict to the approaches which have been made to the Holy See by groups of Anglicans, in different parts of the world, asking for full visible communion within the Catholic Church. It is, then, a response, not an initiative, by the Holy See. It is a response designed to establish a provision which will be equitable and uniform in whatever part of the world it may be taken up.

It has a particular purpose: to permit those who wish to live their faith in full visible union with the See of Peter to do so while also preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. So this is a response to those who have declared that they share the common Catholic faith and accept the Pope’s ministry as something Christ willed for the Church. In the words of Cardinal Levada: «For them, the time has come to express this implicit unity in the visible form of full communion.»

… This is an extraordinary moment. It is a challenge and an opportunity on many fronts. I salute the courage and generosity of Pope Benedict who has again shown an open and loving heart, just as one would expect of a Holy Father.

Pavens svært generøse svar får meg til å tenke 15 år tilbake

Økumenikk /

I 1992/3 konverterte mange anglikanske prester til Den katolske Kirke, og Vatikanet (og kardinal Hume) var da villige til å gå svært langt for å gjøre denne overgangen smidig for dem, men de mange andre katolske biskopene i England ville ikke være med på dette. Derfor måtte alle disse prestene konvertere og forberede seg til katolsk ordinasjon individuelt, og møtte ofte lite hjelp og vennlighet. Men om man tålte en trøkk eller to, og ikke ikke ga seg, så ble man katolsk prest omsider – men man fikk ikke ta med seg noen av sine åndelige og liturgiske tradisjoner. (Leserne forstår kanskje at jeg delvis også snakker om meg egen konvertering og forberedelse til katolsk prestetjeneste 1994-99.) Men om den lokale katolske geistligheten klarte å stoppe pavens ønske om å være generøs i 1993, så skjer ikke det samme igjen i 2009. Slik skriver den engelske presten Fr Tim Finigan:

The Holy See has been working for years on this matter and has always been in favour of generous provision, in accordance with the historic attitude of the Holy See to include those whose traditions are not necessarily entirely Roman. In 1993 (after the ordination of women was approved in the Church of England), it was local Catholic Bishops who opposed any arrangements for corporate reunion, however, the radical liberal agenda at work in the Anglican Communion has so changed the landscape in the intervening period that even the most liberal of Catholic Bishops are no longer a priori opposed to such a corporate provision.

The process leading to the new Apostolic Constitution has been an extraordinarily complex, in-depth study, involving widespread consultation, and including communications with sitting Bishops of the Anglican Communion who were in favour of some such arrangement. The Holy See could not simply refuse to talk to such parties clamouring for full canonical union with the Catholic Church. Naturally the process of consultation involved the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, whose Secretary (Bishop Brian Farrell) is a Consultor of the CDF, and whose President (Cardinal Kasper) is one of the 15 Cardinal Members of the CDF. Some elements within the Pontifical Council were obviously not too happy with the whole notion of corporate reunion, however, in the end they were outvoted.

… … The arrangements offered by the Holy See are courageous and to be welcomed. They show yet again the determination of Pope Benedict XVI to promote unity within the Church without insisting on uniformity of rites or customs. The Holy See’s provision of the new arrangements is a historic landmark for genuine Christian Unity as envisaged by Vatican II understood genuinely as in continuity with the tradition of the Church.

Katolsk.no skriver om pave Benedikts nye økumeniske initiativ

Katolsk, Økumenikk /

Katolsk.no skriver grundig og innsiktsfullt om gårsdagens nyhet (se nedenfor), men jeg er ikke enig i at det er så veldig overraskende. Man har ventet spent de siste månedene på svaret til TAC, på et spørsmål de kom med for to år siden, så at det kom et svar var ventet og svært etterlenget. Men det er vel korrekt at man ikke hadde regna med at paven skulle utvide muligheten til å beholde enkelte anglikanske tradisjoner – som TAC hadde bedt om for seg selv, og som allerede eksisterer i noen «anglican use» menigheten i USA.

Gårsdagens nyhet om at Vatikanet godkjenner en ny apostolisk konstitusjon, som åpner for de tradisjonelle anglikaneres ‘hjemkomst’ til Roma, kom som et sjokk på mange. Aktiviteten på blogger og nyhetssider, både på katolsk og anglikansk side, har vært kokende. Hva er så de praktiske konsekvensene?

Den nye apostoliske konstitusjon kommer i følge kilder som et svar på en to år gammel forespørsel fra TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion), som brøt med Den anglikanske kirke i 1991 grunnet striden rundt ordinasjon av kvinnelige prester.

Konstitusjonen åpner for at anglikanske biskoper, prester og legfolk kan oppnå full kommunion med Den katolske kirke, og samtidig får beholde særskilte anglikanske skikker og liturgi som er i samsvar med katolsk tradisjon.

Mens man tidligere måtte sørge for individuelle ordninger ved konvertering, åpnes det nå altså for kollektive ordninger, det vil si at hele menigheter og bispedømmer i fellesskap kan konvertere til Den katolske tro. …

Det nye personlaprelaturet for tidligere anglikanere kan få svært stor betydning

Økumenikk /

Dette skriver John Allen i dag – det kan bli en vei inn til Den katolske Kirke for inntil 80 millioner anglikanere:
In a move with potentially sweeping implications for relations between the Catholic church and some 80 million Anglicans worldwide, the Vatican has announced the creation of new ecclesiastical structures to absorb disaffected Anglicans wishing to become Catholics. The structures will allow those Anglicans to hold onto their distinctive spiritual practices, including the ordination of married former Anglican clergy as Catholic priests.

Those structures would be open to members of the Episcopal Church in the United States, the main American branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion. American Episcopalians are said to number some 2.2 million.

I en grundigere artikkel skriver Allen at dette svaret fra Vatikanet til spørsmålet fra TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion) var litt annerledes enn venta, siden det ikke bare svarer disse 400 000 anglikanerne, men egentlig alle anglikanere i verden:

The announcement came this morning in Rome in a news conference with two Americans: Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Though the announcement did not single out any specific group of Anglicans, it responds to a request made two years ago by a breakaway group known as the “Traditional Anglican Communion,” a network claiming to represent some 400,000 Anglicans worldwide, including more than 5,000 in the United States, unhappy with liberalizing moves in the Anglican Communion, including the ordination of women as priests and bishops, the ordination of openly gay clergy and bishops, and the blessing of same-sex unions.

Rather than absorbing that bloc en masse, today’s move creates the possibility that bishops’ conferences around the world can create personal ordinariates, a special structure that’s tantamount to a non-territorial diocese, to accept Anglicans under the leadership of a former Anglican minister who would be designated a bishop.

According to a Vatican “note” released this morning, former Anglican clergy who are married may serve as priests in the new ordinariates, but they may not be ordained as bishops. Seminarians for the new ordinariates must be trained alongside other Catholic seminarians, though they may have separate houses of formation.

The details will be presented in a new apostolic constitution from Pope Benedict XVI, expected to be issued shortly. …

Økumeniske samtaler en forutsetning for at tradisjonelle anglikanere kan bli katolikker

Økumenikk /

Eller ettere sagt; de er en nødvendig historisk bakgrunn for at disse anglikanerne kan få med seg en del av sin tradisjon, liturgi og prester inn i den katolske kirke. For hvis ikke en stor grad av enhet hadde kommet fram gjennom 40 års økumeniske samtaler, hadde ikke den katolske kirke ønsket å ta opp i seg disse anglikanske tyradisjonene.

Slik leser i alle fal jeg uttalelsen fra erkebiskokop Vincent Nichols og anglikanske erkebiskop Rowan Williams i dag:
The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church. It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution.

The Apostolic Constitution is further recognition of the substantial overlap in faith, doctrine and spirituality between the Catholic Church and the Anglican tradition. Without the dialogues of the past forty years, this recognition would not have been possible, nor would hopes for full visible unity have been nurtured. In this sense, this Apostolic Constitution is one consequence of ecumenical dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.

The on-going official dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion provides the basis for our continuing cooperation. The Anglican Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and International Anglican Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) agreements make clear the path we will follow together.

Tusenvis av anglikanere vil nå bli katolikker

Katolsk, Økumenikk /

Jeg leste i dag tidlig (bl.a. her) om en pressekonferanse som skulle holdes kl 11 i Vatikanet i dag, ang. anglikanerne. Man regnet med at nyheten ville være at TAC (Traditional Anglican Communion) ville få svar på sin forespørsel om å bli opptatt i sin katolske kirke – og til en viss grad få beholde sine tradisjoner og deler av liturgien, og sine gifte prester.

Man gjettet riktig, for så langt vet vi følgende: The Vatican has announced that Pope Benedict is setting up special provision for Anglicans, including married clergy, who want to convert to Rome together, preserving aspects of Anglican liturgy. They will be given their own pastoral supervision, according to this press release from the Vatican:

“In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony.”

More on this very important story later. But this is clearly a historic gesture by Pope Benedict which will encourage thousands of disaffected Anglicans to become Roman Catholics.

Mer informasjon på italiensk her.

OPPDATERING kl 1315:
Notatet fra Troskongregasjonen på engelsk.

Den tradisjonelle latinske messen feiret i Peterskirken

TLM /

Messen ble feiret søndag morgen i sakramentskapellet, og var en pontifikal høymesse feiret av erkebiskop Raymond Burke.

Messen ble feiret som en del av en konferanse i Roma sist helg om den tradisjonelle latinske messen (les mer om den her), og noen sier at det var første gang på 40 år at den tradisjonelle messen ble feiret i Peterskirken.

Her kan man se mange bilder fra messen, her også – og her ser man videoer fra åpning og avslutning av messen.

En som var til stede under messen nevner hvordan Credo ble avsunget: The most moving moment of the Mass (perhaps of any Mass I have ever attended) was the Credo. After Archbishop Burke intoned the Credo, the organ and schola proceeded as usual with the Mass setting. However, during the «Et incarnatus est…» the organ was silenced and the large schola broke into a mesmerizing harmony, swelling gradually to a full-throated, thundering «ET HOMO FACTUS EST.» By the time we rose from the genuflection, several near me were weeping openly.

Egentlig burde dette ikke være nytt for noen, siden det ble kunngjort flere steder, bl.a. på Rorate cæli 23. juli.
… as the culminating activity of the Second Convention on Summorum Pontificum organized by Giovani e Tradizione, a Solemn Pontifical Mass according to the classical Roman Rite will be celebrated in the Chapel of Eucharistic Adoration in St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, October 18, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. The Mass will be offered by His Excellency, Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura. Music will be provided by a mixed choir of Franciscans of the Immaculate.

Bør vi gi opp offisielle økumeniske samtaler?

Økumenikk /

Det mener Fr. Dwight Longenecker tydeligvis. Han er tidligere anglikansk prest, er gift og har flere barn – og er en ganske aktiv blogger.

Den «katolske ordinasjonen» av en kvinne i en luthersk kirke i Chicago – se her – (og sikkert også andre ting) har gjort ham mektig irritert: (Some people) are hopping mad about something, and I am too. They refer to a report from Chicago where a Lutheran congregation allowed their church to be used for a service purporting to be an ordination of Roman Catholic women priests. At the same time in today’s news over at CNA is this report that Cardinal Kaspar (the friendly ghost) has got Pope Benedict to visit a Lutheran Church in Rome.

When is the Vatican going to wake up to the reality about Anglicanism and Lutheranism? I know from my time in the Anglican Church that the theologians they send to Rome to engage in ecumenical discussions are those who are already friendly towards the Catholic Church and are very good at dressing up their Protestant beliefs in Catholic terminology. They’re a suave and slippery lot, and I expect the Lutheran ‘partners in dialogue’ are much the same.

Catholic bloggers have reported that the Vatican is one of the places their blogs are read. If anybody over there is reading this blog will you please do something about this? If you are reading this blog and you know your blog is read in the Vatican, will you link to this post?

The message to the powers that be is real simple:

1. Mainstream Anglicans and Lutherans do not want to be in communion with the Holy See. Despite their smooth manner and diplomatic form and seeming admiration for Rome they can’t really stomach the Catholic faith at all.
2. This is proved by the regular and repeated slaps in the face they give Rome.
3. Continued ecumenical discussions with mainstream Anglicanism and Lutheranism is not only a waste of time, it’s dishonest to all involved.
4. It’s more than a waste of time. It is helping people who only want to use their good relations with the Vatican as icing on their corrupt cake.

Selv syns jeg nok man skal skille mellom det gledelige faktum at katolikkers forhold til mange kristne har blitt svært mye bedre de siste 40 år, og på det like klare faktum at de offisielle økumeniske samtalene ser ut til å ha kjørt seg ganske fast – og at våre samtalepartnere faktisk beveger seg bort fra katolsk tro på enkelte områder.

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