Evangelicals and Catholics Together er 20 år

Økumenikk /

Hos First Things leste jeg en artikkel og så jeg et intervju om at samtalegruppen Evangelicals and Catholics Together er 20 år.

SE INTERVJUET HER, og slik starter artikkelen:

In the mid-1990s, facing increasing pressure from the progressive side of the Culture Wars, Father Richard John Neuhaus and Charles Colson founded a remarkable initiative, Evangelicals and Catholics Together. It was controversial from the start. How could evangelicals and Catholics get past their differences on matters of salvation, Mary . . .? What forces from outside the churches imposed this unifying endeavor upon them?

Father Thomas Guarino, professor of systematic theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University, joined Mark Bauerlein recently and explained it. He is co-chairman of ECT (with Dean Timothy George) and co-editor of a 2015 volume that collects ECT’s statements on vital matters on which Christians of different denominations might find common ground.

Given the increase in public and legal hostility to Christian doctrine, we need to recognize ever more diligently the fundamental grounds of faith across the churches. Father Guarino is an eloquent representative of that positive unity. We hope you enjoy the talk. … …

Pave Johannes Pauls hjemby

Katolsk, Paven /

Viewed from his hometown of Wadowice, Poland, Pope John Paul II could be styled as the last and greatest expression of the Habsburg spirit, meaning a a broadly tolerant, open and cosmopolitan view of the world that saw national pride and loyalty not as a threat of imperial cohesion but one of its sources.

wadowice

John Allen skriver slik om pave Johannes Paul og verdensungdomsdagen:

From the beginning, Catholicism in principle has been a universal, global faith, addressed to “the nations” in every corner of the earth. In many ways, however, it was John Paul II who made the Church truly global in practice, first by being the first non-Italian pope in 500 years, second through his staggering commitment to foreign travel – 104 foreign trips covering three-quarters of a million miles, more than three times the distance from the earth to the moon – and third, through his foundation of World Youth Day.

Because of John Paul, Catholics tend to think in more global terms about their Church, realizing that the experiences and priorities of believers in, say, Chicago and London, are not always those of Catholics in Jakarta, or Mumbai, or Riyadh.
Anyone who watched John Paul II during the eight WYD celebrations over which he presided, including Argentina, Poland, the United States, the Philippines, Spain, France, Canada and Italy, was always struck by the delight he took in seeing young people waving the flags of their countries and projecting pride in their cultures. Those instincts resonated with John Paul, because he took such fierce pride in his own Polish roots. … …

Fakta og feil om å vende seg ad orientem

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Den kjente (og ikke spesielt konservative) liturgen og jesuitten John F. Baldovin skriver i magasinet America om hva som er fakta og hva som er misforståelsen når det gjelder prestens retning foran alteret, bl.a.:

Turning toward the East, or ad orientem, is technical liturgical language for the priest and people facing in the same direction. The suggestion is nothing new. The decision to allow Mass facing the people has had its opponents since it was allowed shortly after the end of the Second Vatican Council. And more recently it has been championed by none less than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his many writings on the liturgy. …

… Opponents of Mass facing the people often point out that the Second Vatican Council’s “Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy” contains no provision for the practice. They are correct. The issue was discussed in the commission that produced the document as well as in the debates on the floor of the council. … But shortly after the constitution was approved in December 1963, the first instruction for implementing the reform appeared. “Inter Oecumenici” (1964) stated: “The main altar should preferably be freestanding, to permit walking around it and celebration facing the people. …

The alert reader will observe several things. First, the altar is described as both the place where the “Sacrifice of the Cross is made present” and “the table of the Lord.” … Second, it is interesting to note that facing the people is not mandated. That is, it has never been forbidden, perhaps because too many chapels were built in such a way that having an altar separate from the wall was not architecturally feasible. Nonetheless, the preference is clear that the main altar of a church is to be separated from the wall to make Mass facing the people possible.

Another “fiction” that is sometimes repeated is that the General Instruction presumes that the priest will face East. Critics point to four points in the description of the Mass (Nos. 124, 146, 157 and 165) when the priest is directed to turn towards the people. Two cautions are appropriate here. These directives may be in place to deal with the possibility that the priest can face East, in which case the Instruction makes clear that there are times when he must face the people. But the document does not direct the priest to turn around again to the altar after the prayer over the gifts and the eucharistic prayer—that is, it does not presume that he will be facing East.

One last fact: At the time of Vatican II some argued that the original position of the priest was facing the people. This, too, seems to have been a fiction. All of the evidence we have from the early church shows that facing East whence the Lord was expected to make his final coming was expected. In church building that could not be oriented (e.g., St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome) the priest faced East, which was also toward the people.

Baldovin skriver en hel del mer i denne artikkelen, bl.a. om hvorfor dette spørsmålet er blitt så veldig viktig i Kirken i vår tid: «A reversion to the pre-conciliar position of the priest at Mass would be a profound signal that the forward steps the church took in Vatican II are in question.»

Mer om ad orientem

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Hos Corpus Christi Watershed kan vi lese at en biskop i USA har nektet alle feiring av messen ad orientem i sitt bispedømme, men et dokument fra Vatikanet fra år 2000 nekter biskoper å komme med slike bestemmelser:

When the 2000 (2002) Missal was promulgated, the Vatican’s CDW was asked whether bishops have authority to forbid “ad orientem” celebration. Dated 10 April 2000, the CDW response was unequivocal:

HIS DICASTERY [i.e. the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship] wishes to state that Holy Mass may be celebrated versus populum or versus apsidem. Both positions are in accord with liturgical law; both are to be considered correct.

There is no preference expressed in the liturgical legislation for either position. As both positions enjoy the favor of law, the legislation may not be invoked to say that one position or the other accords more closely with the mind of the Church.

This letter (PROTOCOL NO. 564/00/L) specifically addresses whether a bishop can forbid “ad orientem.” They stated that, while exercising his rightful role as “moderator of the Sacred Liturgy in the particular Church entrusted to his pastoral care,” the Diocesan Bishop can neither “exclude nor mandate the use of a legitimate option.”

This letter was sent by the same congregation responsible for drafting the 2000 (2002) Missal and GIRM, which was approved by Pope St. John Paul II. The letter was signed by Cardinal Medina, CDW Prefect, and Archbishop Tamburrino, CDW Secretary. I have no idea why so many people commenting on this issue refuse to make reference to it.

Bør messen synges eller sies?

Liturgi /

Andre dag under Sacra Liturgia konferansen var det også en interessant sesjon (foredrag og videre samtale) om sangen som naturlig hører (hørte) med i messen:

After lunch, Dr Jennifer Donelson (of NLM) gave her paper, Origins and Effects of the Missa Lecta: Priestly Musical Formation in a Low Mass Culture. She began with an examination of solemnity, noting that the reference and norm in Sacrosanctum Concilium is the Solemn Mass (cf. SC 112-113). However, these sorts of Masses were rare before the Second Vatican Council, and are rare today. The general experience today is effectively that of a Low Mass with hymns replacing the Propers, and perhaps some singing of the Ordinary. The notion of solemnity is informed more by civic considerations than by liturgical ones – more people, more flowers, more applause sometimes seem to be what makes liturgical celebrations «solemn».

The Low Mass, however, cannot be understood properly without reference to the Solemn Mass …

Dr Donelson went on to look at the history of the relationship between speaking and singing in the liturgy. Up until roughly the end of the first millennium, liturgical texts were either spoken in near silence (as the Roman Canon is in the EF), or sung aloud. The number of texts spoken in a quiet voice increased between the 9th-11th centuries – for example, the prayers at the foot of the altar – and by the 12th century the rise of the missa lecta for various reasons had caused a rupture between text and music in the Western Church.

Why did this rupture persist? Low Mass made daily Mass possible, and an increased devotion to the Blessed Sacrament was thus also nourished, enabling more frequent reception of Holy Communion. Considerations of validity/liceity also contributed to the increasing neglect of music in the Roman Rite, resulting ultimately in minimalistic celebrations and a mechanistic, overly-rubrical approach to the liturgy: «It is in this way that one comes to think of the sacred liturgy in terms of power and control rather than in humble reception of what has been handed on.» (Dr Donelson)

Dr Donelson argued passionately against what she termed «liturgical sloth», the idea that if it takes 1 hour 15 minutes to sing a Solemn Mass, but 45 minutes to say a Low Mass, then why bother singing? Such an attitude is damaging and corrosive, as well as lacking in love. …

Liturgidiskusjonene under Vatkankonsilet

Liturgi /

Andre dag under Sacra Liturgia konferansen holdt Dom Alcuin Reid et interessant foredrag han hadde kalt: On the Council Floor: The Council Fathers’ Debate of the Schema on the Sacred Liturgy. Der stilte han spørsmålet: «What did the Fathers of Vatican II think they were approving in Sacrosanctum Concilium – liturgical evolution or revolution?»

Dom Alcuin began by outlining the hermeneutical principles to be borne in mind: «What happened in the interpretation and implementation of the Constitution is an important and potent area for study, but we shall be unable to do that well if we do not read the Constitution in a manner that is consistent with the minds of the Council Fathers. We must be good historians: understanding the historical context of the principles and measures they laid down is crucial. An a posteriori isogesis of the Constitution, as is fashionable in some circles, is simply bad scholarship.»

He then moved to the conciliar discussion of article 37 of the schema, which would later become article 50 of SC, demonstrating the importance of reading the Council Fathers’ interventions in their entirety. To take two examples: Cardinal Spellman and Cardinal Ottaviani are often depicted as arch-conservatives, liturgical dinosaurs, resistant to any sort of possible liturgical reform, but this is based on a certain cherry-picking of their interventions regarding the liturgy constitution. If one reads the whole of their speeches, it is clear that they both accepted the need for genuine liturgical reform. The principle of enhancing actual participation in the liturgy «cannot be disputed» (Spellman), and the positive effect of «the pastoral work on the liturgy» (Ottaviani). They, along with other Council Fathers, were concerned that article 37 needed some clarification, but they were not opposed to genuine (one could say organic) progress in the area of liturgical reforms.

Only one bishop, Wilhelm Duschak, made an intervention that was revolutionary, in which he outlined his idea for an ecumenical «Mass of the World». But, as Dom Alcuin mentioned: «If we do read the Fathers’ interventions—all of them—it is simply impossible to assert that revolution (Duschakian or otherwise) was what they intended. Indeed, the debate on article 37 (50) proves the opposite. It shows that the Fathers accepted the principle that, so as to achieve a greater participatio actuosa a moderate reform of the Order of Mass was desirable.»

Dom Alcuin went on to point out that the work of Group 10 of the Consilium, who were responsible for the reform of the Ordo Missae, seems to have gone a long way beyond the intentions of the Council Fathers as expressed at Vatican II – where, almost right at the start of the discussion about the liturgy constitution, Bishop Henry Jenny, a member of the Preparatory and Conciliar Commissions on the Liturgy (and later of the Consilium) said that «The current Ordo Missae, which has grown up in the course of the centuries, certainly is to be retained» (General Congregation XII). ….

Referater fra Sacra Liturgias konferanse i London

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Sacra Liturgia UK har nylig hatt en interessant konferanse i London, og på NLM-bloggen har de offentliggjort referater fra konferansens fire dager.

Her er referatet fra første dag med (det svært mye omtalte) innledningsforedraget til kardinal Robert Sarah. Hele dette foredraget kan leses her.

Andre dag inneholder følgende referater:
The day began with Dom Alcuin Reid and his paper entitled On the Council Floor: The Council Fathers’ Debate of the Schema on the Sacred Liturgy, in which the question was posed: what did the Fathers of Vatican II think they were approving in Sacrosanctum Concilium – liturgical evolution or revolution? …

Dom Charbel Pazat de Lys then gave a paper entitled The Public Nature of the Liturgy, in which he examined the practical, sociological, institutional and christological meanings of the word «public». …

Prof. Peter Stephan’s paper was entitled The Vicissitudes of Liturgy and Architecture Shown at the Example of Berlin’s Cathedral of St Hedwig, in which he explored the «anti-liturgical modification» of historical churches. …

After lunch, Dr Jennifer Donelson (of NLM) gave her paper, Origins and Effects of the Missa Lecta: Priestly Musical Formation in a Low Mass Culture. …

A panel discussion on Sacred Music followed, which included Prof. William Mahrt, the publisher of NLM. There were lively discussions and exchanges regarding the best ways to introduce into a parish the singing of the propers and the resources available to help with this, along with other topics. …

Tredje dag er det referat fra:
Dr Clare Hornsby gave a lecture with the title: The Council of Florence of 1439: Diplomacy, Theology and the Arts in Early Renaissance Italy.

Fr Uwe Michael Lang was next to speak, with a paper entitled The Tridentine Liturgical Reform in Historical Perspective.

The next paper was delivered by Bishop Alan Hopes, entitled Sing a New Song to the Lord: Towards a Revised Translation of the Liturgy of the Hours.

The fourth paper of the day was by Prof. Joris Geldhof, entitled Liturgy Beyond the Secular.

The final paper of the day was «Especially in Mission Territories» (SC 38)? New Evangelisation and Liturgical (Reform of the) Reform was given by Dr Stephen Bullivant,

Fra fjerde dag er det følgende referater:
Prof. Helmut Hoping’s paper on one of the most fundamental aspects of our liturgy, Liturgy and the Triune God: Rethinking Trinitarian Theology.

Fr Michael Cullinan then gave us a slightly different perspective as a moral theologian in his paper The Ethical Character of the Mysteries: Observations from a Moral Theologian.

The next paper was given by Prof. David Fagerberg on Doing the World Liturgically: Stewardship of Creation and Care for the Poor.

The fourth talk was given by Mgr Andrew Burnham, on Divine Worship: The Missal and «the liturgical books proper to the Anglican Tradition» (Anglicanorum Coetibus, III).

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone then offered some concluding reflections, summing up the talks and liturgies of the conference. He urged patience with regard to the upcoming work of the CDWDS regarding the question of the reform of the reform, but said that the celebration of the Mass ad orientem in the usus recentior would go a long way towards preparing the way for it, and reiterated Cardinal Sarah’s appeal to priests to begin celebrating Mass eastwards from the 1st Sunday of Advent this year. He encouraged all present to pay attention to the details of the liturgy in the celebration of it, holding up the London Oratory as an model and exemplar.

Et veldig kontroversielt tema

Katolsk, Liturgi /

Det er litt underlig at hvilken vei presten står ved alteret har blitt så veldig kontroversielt i Den katolske kirke; i den lutherske og den anglikanske kirke (der prestene ofte(st) vender seg ad orientem) er det ikke slik. Og det handler jo også bare om hvilken vei presten vender seg ca 10 minutter i løpet av messen. På (den nokså liberale/ moederne) liturgibloggen Pray Tell fikk et innlegg om kardinal Sarahs forslag om at prestene bør vende seg ad orientem 148 kommentarer på tre dager før debatten ble stoppet.

I et annet innlegg på samme liturgiblogg kan vi lese ganske treffende i kommentar 35 og 36:

#35
… Cardinal Sarah said nothing controversial about ad orientem, unless ad orientem, the ancient and traditional Catholic practice, which is alive in the Church today, is controversial.

Eastern Catholics celebrate ad orientem. Catholics who offer the Mass of Pope Saint John XIII celebrate ad orientem. Catholics in the Ordinariates celebrate ad orientem. Catholic bishops and priests offer the Ordinary Form ad orientem.

Pope Francis has celebrated ad orientem.

The Orthodox celebrate ad orientem.

Never did Cardinal Sarah say even one word that should have led anyone to say that Pope Francis planned to implement ad orientem Mass at Advent.

There wasn’t anything “controversial” (unless an ancient and totally acceptable Catholic liturgical practice, which is alive today) about ad orientem. There isn’t anything controversial about promoting ad orientem.

Cardinal Sarah did nothing wrong. I also don’t accept the interpretation that the press release indicated that Pope Francis “slapped down” Cardinal Sarah. …

#36
If the explosion on the blogosphere in the last few days have shown anything, it is that promoting ad orientem it is highly controversial!

Note, I am not one to condemn ad orientem, nor have I done so. I have celebrated ad orientem. But I’m perfectly aware that promoting it – which I don’t do – is highly controversial.

I suppose one should that that it SHOULDN’T be controversial, that there’s NO REASON why it should be. But yet, it is. I state that as a fact, apart from my judgment of it.

Ny leder av Vatikanets pressekontor

Generelt, Katolsk /

GregBurke
Johan Allen skriver at pave Frans slo tre fluer i ett smekk da han utnevnte den amerikanske legmannen (og medlem av Opus Dei) Greg Burke til ny leder av Vatikanets pressekontor, etetr p. Federico Lombardis, SJ:

… First, he’s helped lay to rest perceptions that he’s anti-American. It’s well known that Francis had never traveled to the United States before his papal voyage in September 2015, that much of the most strident criticism he’s drawn since his election has come from American circles, and that his comfort zone is mostly defined by Spanish and Italian-speakers.

Up to this point, Francis had not turned to an American for a single truly significant Vatican post, and the longer that drought went on, the more pronounced impressions would have become that the pontiff had imposed a “no American need apply” policy.

A native of St. Louis (and a lifetime Cardinals fan), Burke is as American as they come. Granted, he’s spent much of his adult life in Rome, he speaks multiple languages, he’s traveled widely and is a citizen of the world, but his personality and outlook are still quintessentially American. By naming Burke to one of the most visible Vatican positions of all, Francis effectively has inoculated himself against impressions that Americans don’t have a significant place in his Church.

Second, Francis has also demonstrated that subject-matter competence is important in making important Vatican personnel choices. Burke came to Rome as a journalist working for Catholic news outlets, which gave him a deep understanding of the story. Because he was exceptionally talented, however, he quickly transitioned to the big leagues, first to Time magazine and then to Fox News.

That background means Burke has an insider’s understanding of the dynamics of the news business, and he speaks the language of professional journalists. Burke was hired by the Secretariat of State in 2012, and took over as the number two official as the Vatican Press Office in February. At the senior levels of the Vatican today, there’s simply no one better positioned to engage the media.

A similar observation could be made about Garcia, by the way, a veteran journalist who’s well-liked and well-respected in the Vatican press corps, and who brings enormous good will to the post. In that sense, Francis will get credit for naming the right people to the jobs.

Third, Burke is a member of Opus Dei – in their parlance, a “numerary,” meaning a lay person who nevertheless is celibate – which is a Catholic group typically seen as fairly conservative. By conventional standards, Burke’s personal politics (which, by the way, have never interfered with his job) could probably best be described as center-right. At a time when some see Pope Francis as a liberal stacking the deck with like-minded progressives, this appointment runs counter to the stereotypes and invites observers to consider whether for Francis, it’s ultimately more the quality of the individual than their ideology that actually matters. …

Ferming og tradisjonell pontifikalmesse i København

Liturgi, TLM /

På nettsidene til Den katolske kirke i Danmark ble det kunngjort en messe som skulle feires lørdag 25/6 i St Augustins kirke på Østerbro i København:

For kun anden gang i Danmark siden liturgireformen i 1969 fejres højtidelig pontifikalmesse (bispemesse) efter den ældre (ekstraordinære) form af liturgien. Koret vil blandt andet synge William Byrds smukke messe for fem stemmer.

I forbindelse hermed meddeler biskop Czeslaw Kozon også firmelsens sakramente efter det ekstraordinære ritual til 14 unge fra Danmark, Sverige og Tyskland.

En video viser deler av seremonien (se under) og på nettsidene til Sankt Karl Borromæus gruppen kan vi lese mer. Også på Jylland, i Randers litt nord for Århus, feires den tradisjonelle messen regelmessig, organisert av Sankt Knuds selskab.

Rydder kontoret, gamle papirer kastes

Generelt, Teologi /

Jeg holder på å rydde kontoret, siden jeg skal flytte inn i nytt kontor (i Akersveien i Oslo) om en måneds tid. Denne gangen kaster jeg flere ting enn jeg har gjort ved tidligere oppbrudd, og beholder nesten bare ting jeg har skrevet de siste 20 år (også her kaster jeg en hel del). Bl.a. kastet jeg for noen dager siden alle prekener jeg holdt før 1995; det var ganske mange søndagsprekener (og -programmer) og bibeltimer fra mine seks år i Arendal Frikirke. Jeg så bl.a. at jeg hadde holdt en serie bibeltimer over Paulus’ brev til galaterne min første høst i Arendal. Jeg så at jeg hadde gjort grundig arbeid, men nå er det bare en kort oversikt igjen:

BIBELTIMENE I ARENDAL. FRIKIRKE H0STEN 1988

OVER GALATERBREVET

1. TORSDAG 1/9 GAL 1,1-9 – TEMA: Bare ett evangelium

2. TORSDAG 15/9 GAL 1,10 -2,10 – TEMA: Paulus’ apostelkall og kamp for de hedningekristne

3. TORSDAG 6/10 GAL 2,11-21 – TEMA: Korsfestet med Kristus, liv i Kristus

4. TORSDAG 20/10 GAL 3,1-14 – TEMA: Frelst ved tro

5. TORSDAG 3/11 GAL 3,15 – 4,7 – TEMA: Loven og løftet om barnekår

6. TORSDAG 17/11 GAL 4,8-31 – TEMA: Den gamle og den nye pakt

7. TORSDAG 1/12 GAL 5,1-26 – TEMA: Ånden og menneskenaturen

8. TORSDAG 15/12 GAL 6,1-18 – TEMA: Ansvar for andre og seg selv

Leder av liturgikongregasjonen ber prestene vende seg mot øst

Liturgi /

Leder av liturgikongregasjonen, kardinal Robert Sarah, foreslo nylig (ganske overraskende må man nok si, og muligens også noe urealistisk) at alle prester bør «snu alteret» allerede fra første søndag i advent i år:

Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Vatican’s liturgy chief, has asked priests to begin celebrating Mass ad orientem, that is, facing east rather than towards the congregation.

The proposed reform is arguably the biggest liturgical announcement since Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum gave greater freedom for priests to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass.

Speaking at the Sacra Liturgia conference in London on Wednesday, the Guinean cardinal, who is Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, addressed priests who were present, saying: “It is very important that we return as soon as possible to a common orientation, of priests and the faithful turned together in the same direction – eastwards or at least towards the apse – to the Lord who comes”.

The cardinal continued: “I ask you to implement this practice wherever possible.”

He said that “prudence” and catechesis would be necessary, but told pastors to have “confidence that this is something good for the Church, something good for our people”. …

Kardinal Sara sa også noe mer i dette foredraget:

… In his talk, Cardinal Sarah also said that Pope Francis had asked him to begin a study of “the reform of the reform”, that is of adapting the liturgical reforms that followed the Second Vatican Council. The cardinal said the study would seek “to enrich the two forms of the Roman rite”.

Cardinal Sarah said that much liturgical study had suggested that some post-conciliar reforms “may have been put together according to the spirit of the times” and “gone beyond” of the Fathers of Vatican II, in Sacrosanctum Concilium, the constitution on the liturgy.

He said that some “very serious misinterpretations of the liturgy” had crept in, thanks to an attitude to the liturgy which placed man rather than God at the centre. …

Flere TLMer i Oslo?

TLM /

Siden jeg ved utgangen av august skal avslutte mitt arbeid i St Hallvard menighet, er det uklart hvor, når og om jeg fortsatt skal feire den tradisjonelle latinske messen offentlig i Oslo. På nyhetssidene til tlm.oslo.katolsk.no har jeg skrevet følgende:

Etter juli 2016 er det foreløpig ikke planlagt noen tradisjonelle latinske messer i Oslo, men fremtidige messer vil bli kunngjort her.

Ta kontakt med p Oddvar Moi om dere har spørsmål om disse messene (som har blitt feiret stort sett hver måned siden 2009). Kontakt gjerne også sogneprester o.a. med ønsker om at de tradisjonelle latinske messene fortsatt kan feires i Oslo.

Om reformasjonen og prestetjenesten

Katolsk, Paven, Teologi, Økumenikk /

Sandro Magister skriver i forbindelse med Joseph Ratzingers markering av presteordinasjonen 29/6 1951 en artikkel med følgende ingress: «“And so on the Catholic priesthood fell the fury of Protestant criticism.” At the anniversary of the priestly ordination of the future Benedict XVI, Cardinal Müller recounts his unyielding resistance to Luther’s followers.»

Til Ratzingers jubileum var det utgitt ei bok med 43 av hans prekener, og i bokas innledning skriver kardinal Gerhard L. Müller en del om reformasjonens og den moderne bibelkritikks uheldige virkning på forståelsen av prestetjenesten, bl.a.:

Vatican Council II sought to reopen a new path to the authentic understanding of the identity of the priesthood. So why in the world did there come, just after the Council, a crisis in its identity comparable historically only to the consequences of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century?

I am thinking of the crisis in the teaching of the priesthood that took place during the Protestant Reformation, a crisis on the dogmatic level, by which the priest was reduced to a mere representative of the community, through an elimination of the essential difference between the ordained priesthood and the common one of all the faithful. And then of the existential and spiritual crisis that took place in the second half of the 20th century, which in chronological terms exploded after Vatican Council II – but certainly not because of the Council – the consequences of which we are still suffering from today.

Joseph Ratzinger highlights with great acumen that, wherever the dogmatic foundation of the Catholic priesthood declines, (it) does dry up that spring from which one can in fact drink of a life of following after Christ, …

…. Joseph Ratzinger subjects to detailed critical examination, in its turn, the historical criticism imprinted on Protestant theology and does so by distinguishing philosophical and theological prejudices from the use of the historical method. In this way, he succeeds in demonstrating that with the accomplishments of modern biblical exegesis and a precise analysis of historical-dogmatic development one can arrive in a very well-founded way at the dogmatic statements produced above all at the Councils of Florence, Trent, and Vatican II.

That which Jesus means for the relationship of all men and of the whole of creation with God – therefore the recognition of Christ as Redeemer and universal Mediator of salvation, developed in the Letter to the Hebrews by means of the category of “High Priest” (Archiereus) – is never made to depend, as a condition, on his belonging to the Levitical priesthood.

The foundation of the being and mission of Jesus resides instead in his coming from the Father, from that house and that temple in which he dwells and must be (cf. Lk 2:49). It is the divinity of the Word that makes Jesus, in the human nature that he assumed, the one true Teacher, Shepherd, Priest, Mediator, and Redeemer.

He makes participants in this consecration and mission of his through the call of the Twelve. From them arises the circle of the apostles who found the mission of the Church in history as a dimension essential to the ecclesial nature. They transmit their power to the heads and pastors of the universal and particular Church, who operate on the local and supra-local level.

65 år siden pave Benedikts prestevielse

Katolsk, Paven /

I dag er det 65 år siden den unge Joseph Ratzingers presteordinasjon. I en samling i går i Vatikanet snakket han offentlig for andre gang på over tre år, se under.

Catholic News Agency skriver om dette:

On Tuesday, Benedict XVI gave his second public speech since his final day as Pope, expressing gratitude for a lengthy priesthood and for Pope Francis’ “goodness,” which he said moves him deeply.

Speaking to Pope Francis and members of the College of Cardinals gathered inside the Vatican’s small Clementine Hall for the 65th anniversary of his priestly ordination, Benedict said the Greek word “Efkaristomen” (let us give thanks), expresses “all that there is to say” for the occasion.

“Thank you, thank you everyone! Thank you Holy Father – your goodness, from the first day of your election, every day of my life here moves me interiorly, brings me inwardly more than the Vatican Gardens.”

“Your goodness is a place in which I feel protected,” he said, and voiced his hope that Francis would be able to “move forward with all of us on this path of Divine Mercy, showing Jesus’ path to God.”

Since his resignation from the papacy in 2013, Benedict XVI has made only a handful of public appearances, speaking only at his reception of an honorary doctorate from the University of Krakow last year in Castel Gandolfo. …

Father Z skriver også om dette.

Anfin Skaaheim er død

Generelt, Økumenikk /

16juni_skaaheim
Vårt Land skriver at Anfin Skaaheim døde tidligere i dag, ikke lenge før sin 77-årsdag 7. juli. De skriver bl.a.:

Fra 1975 til 1987 var han generalsekretær i Lagsbevegelsen og fra 1987 til 2000 i Indremisjonsselskapet. Skaaheim sto sentralt i forbindelse med fusjonen mellom Indremisjonsselskapet og Santalmisjonen, og ble ved siste århundreskifte også den første generalsekretær i Normisjon (og var generalsekretær der fram til 2003). ….

Også etter at han sluttet som Normisjonsgeneral, for ni år siden, har Skaaheim hatt almanakken full av avtaler.

Etter at jeg ble pensjonist, har jeg fått gjøre noe av det jeg liker aller best. Jeg reiser Norge rundt og forkynner. Mange ønsker bibelundervisning, så annenhver helg er det oppdraget mitt. Forkynnelse og veiledning er det jeg liker best, fortalte han til Vårt Land da han fylte 70 år i juli 2009. …

Jeg kjente Skaaheim godt på slutten av 70-tallet, og hørte bl.a. hans gode bibeltimer i Blinderns største auditorium og på det nordiske studentmøtet i Trondheim. Siste gang jeg traff ham illustrerer siste punkt i artikkelen; jeg fløy hjem til Oslo fra familiebesøk på Jæren, og bli sittende ved siden av ham på flyet fra Sola, der han hadde vært på en av sine mange prekenturer. Det er trist at han skulle dø såpass tidlig.

Juridisk problematisk å fjerne støtte til trossamfunn

Generelt /

Dette skriver Vårt Land i dag, og bakgrunnen er at Stortinget har bestemt «å utrede muligheten for å frata trossamfunn økonomisk støtte dersom de oppfordrer til lovbrudd, finansieres av stater som bryter fundamentale menneskerettigheter, eller begår «andre alvorlige forhold»».

Jeg oppfatter spørsmålet som en del videre enn som så; det handler i stor grad også om likebehandling av Den norske kirke og andre trossamfunn. VL har intervjuet Ingvill Thorson Plesner, seniorforsker ved Norsk senter for menneskerettigheter, som bl.a. sier:

Utgangspunktet er at staten har valgt å støtte Den norske kirke. For ikke å bli tatt for diskriminering, får andre tros- og livssynssamfunn samme støtte per medlem som kirken.

Selv om staten har løsnet på båndene til kirken, slår Grunnloven fast at den skal støtte kirken slik at den kan fungere som «folkekirke», og andre tros- og livssynssamfunn tilsvarende.

– Det er ikke stilt bestemte krav til støtten i Grunnloven. Det er naturlig å tolke det som grunnlovsfestet å videreføre dagens romslige ordning, sier Plesner.

SV-forslaget kan altså kollidere med menneskerettighetenes vern mot diskriminering – du må støtte alle eller ingen – og med Grunnlovens bestemmelser om støtte til kirken og trossamfunn.

– Det må trolig grunnlovsendringer til hvis man skal innføre slike krav, sier Plesner.

– Det vil også være problematisk av hensyn til trosfriheten dersom staten skal overvåke «sosial kontroll» i trossamfunn, fortsetter hun. …

Pave Frans i Armenia

Paven, Økumenikk /

16jun_francis_armenia John Allen skriver om pavens besøk i Armenia, at han på alle måter behandlet Karekin II, Den armenske apostoliske kirkens leder, som likemann, bl.a.:

… By any worldly measure, a comparison between Pope Francis and His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians, is a total mismatch.

A pope leads a global faith made up of 1.2 billion people, presides over a sovereign state in the Vatican that has diplomatic relations with pretty much everybody, and is a media rock star all around the world.

The head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, on the other hand, has at most 9 million followers, and is a rock star in exactly one spot: Armenia, a nation of around 3 million people. Otherwise, take off his clerical vestments, and he could move through airports unrecognized.

Despite its history as the world’s first officially Christian nation, Armenia is, frankly, something of a bit player even within Orthodoxy. It’s one of six Oriental Orthodox churches that don’t recognize the Council of Chalcedon, and thus tends to be overlooked in comparison to better-known Orthodox groups such as the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Russian Orthodox Church.

Yet over the past three days, the choreography of the trip, over and over again, has projected the idea that Francis and Karekin are complete equals, both heads of ancient churches and both invested with spiritual authority.

Everywhere Francis has gone, Karekin has been at his side; everywhere Francis has spoken, so too has Karekin; and anything Francis has blessed, prayed, over, or put flowers in front of, he was joined in doing so by Karekin. Francis stayed in Karekin’s Apostolic Palace, sharing meals and prayer every day. …

On Saturday, Francis and Karekin visited the northern Armenian city of Gyumri, and before leaving they stopped at both the Armenian and Catholic cathedrals. Francis offered the final blessing in the Armenian place of worship, while Karekin did so in the Catholic setting.

Also on Saturday, Karekin joined Francis for an open-air Mass the pontiff celebrated in Gyumri’s Vartanants Square, and on Sunday Francis returned the favor by taking part in a Divine Liturgy staged in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of the Armenian church in Etchmiadzin.

In both cases, the two men processed in together, side-by-side, and Sunday’s Orthodox liturgy was a rare case of a public event at which a pope was present but not actually the main actor. At one point, a choir intoned prayers for both Karekin and Francis.
The demonstration of common cause among Francis and Karekin reflects not only the corporate commitment of both churches to ecumenism, but also Francis’s personal passion for Christian unity. …

Papyrus som sa at Jesus var gift viser seg å være svindel

Apologetikk, Generelt, Teologi /

I en artikkel hos First Things leste jeg i dag:

… (I was) alerted to a fascinating piece of investigative journalism, published the previous day by The Atlantic. The article details Ariel Sabar’s exposure of the provenance of a Coptic papyrus that, some say, proves that Jesus was married. Sabar demonstrates that it is almost certainly a fake.

This artifact was dubbed “The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife” by Karen King, who staked much of her professional reputation on it. King, an authority on early Christianity and Gnosticism who holds the Hollis Chair of Divinity at Harvard—the oldest endowed chair at our nation’s oldest university—had announced the discovery of this papyrus at a 2012 Coptic conference in Rome. She published the results of her study of the papyrus two years later in the Harvard Theological Review, a first-tier, peer-reviewed journal of religious studies. If the papyrus turned out to be a forgery, the revelation might be discrediting for King and for others who lent it credence. (As King herself said, “If it’s a forgery … it’s a career breaker.”)

jesus_married King, however, is not the focus of Sabar’s article. Sabar investigated the seller of the artifact—a shady German fellow named Walter Fritz, whose varied exploits and proclivities make the characters in the Da Vinci Code seem downright conventional. A university dropout and part-time pornographer, Fritz managed to fabricate a Gnostic artifact that duped one of the world’s leading experts on early, extra-canonical Christianity, plus enough of her peers to satisfy the Harvard Theological Review. How did this happen? Perhaps the appeal of Gnosticism, for a certain type of scholar, made this artifact too good to check. …

Artikkelen over viser til en artikkel i The Atlantic, som åpner slik:

For four years, Karen L. King, a Harvard historian of Christianity, has defended the so-called “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife” against scholars who argued it was a forgery. But Thursday, for the first time, King said the papyrus—which she introduced to the world in 2012—is a probable fake.

She reached this conclusion, she said, after reading The Atlantic’s investigation into the papyrus’s origins, which appears in the magazine’s July/August issue and was posted to its website Wednesday night. …..

Jeg leste også den svært lange artikkelen i The Atlantic, som viser hvordan svindelen ble avslørt – LES DEN HER.

OPPDATERING:
Jeg ser nå (senere 22/6) at Bjørn Are Davidsen skrev om dette allerede 17/6 – SE HER.

Tradisjonell latinsk messe i Oslo søndag 26. juni

TLM /

Denne søndagen feires 6. søndag etter pinse, i St Hallvard kirkes kapell kl 08.00.

Epistelen denne søndagen er fra Romerbrevet 6,3-11, og handler om at vi som troende skal leve et nytt liv. bl.a.:

Brødre, vet dere ikke at alle vi som er døpt til Jesus Kristus, vi er døpt til hans død? For vi er gravlagt med ham ved dåpen til døden, så vi skal vandre i et nytt levnet liksom Kristus er stått opp fra de døde ved Faderens herlighet. For når vi er blitt inderlig forenet med ham i likheten med hans død, så skal vi også være det i likheten med hans oppstandelse, fordi vi vet at vårt gamle menneske er blitt korsfestet med ham, så syndelegemet kan bli tilintetgjort, og vi ikke lenger skal tjene synden. ….

Dagens evangelium er Markus’ beretning om de fire tusen som blir mettet:

… Et accípiens septem panes, grátias agens fregit, et dabat discipulis suis ut appónerent, et apposuérunt turbæ. Et habébant piscículos páucos: et ipsos benedíxit, et jussit appóni. Et manducavérunt, et saturáti sunt, et sustulérunt quod superáverat de fragméntis, septem sportas. Erant autem qui manducavérunt, quasi quátuor míllia: et dimísit eos. – Og Jesus tok de syv brødene, takket og brøt dem og ga dem til sine disipler, så de kunne dele dem ut, og de delte ut til folket. Og de hadde noen få småfisker. Og han velsignet dem også og bød at de skulle deles ut. Og de åt og ble mette, og de tok opp det som ble til overs av stykkene, syv kurver! Og de som hadde ett, var omkring fire tusen; og han lot dem fare.

Les alle dagens tekster og bønner her.

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