Kansas City Bishops and Newspapers

Bishop Finn of KCMO has performed as a true leader of the Church in mobilizing Catholics to oppose the Stem Cell Initiative on the Missouri ballot innext Tuesday's vote. I'm hoping that a strong "no" vote on the initiative also will allow Senator Jim Talent to retain his seat.

The Catholic Key focuses on the Stem Cell Initiative, too, and notes the attacks against the Catholic church for opposing embryonic stem cell research. It's good we are being condemned for being Catholics in action. Does anyone remember that Jesus was also condemned?

Archbishop Naumann of KCKS was on KCNW 1380 AM -- Catholic Family Radio -- yesterday discussing the anti-life record of KS Governor Kathleen Sibelius. Now that's another brave Catholic bishop that our area hasn't seen the likes of for a very long time!

The Leaven is definitely improving. This week's edition contains a great story on pornography called The Perfect Storm. Moreover, Archbishop Naumann's column again addresses a great concern of mine--cohabiting couples without marriage. He advises them gently, but firmly, on what is wrong with this common modern practice. Wonderful!

Babies are a Blessing

When the youngest of our children was born, my husband remarked the new baby was such a great blessing. I responded that, indeed, he was a beautiful and good baby. My husband quickly said that this was not what he meant. What he meant was that the new baby was encouraging the older children to take on more responsibility and to love more. The blessing of the new baby was that he improved the personalities and characters of the older children!

Translating News in Italian

I've been watching Rorate Coeli because they seem to have the best information on what is going on in Rome, especially with regard to the liberalization of the old Latin Mass by Pope Benedict XVI. Obviously someone knows how to read and understand the Italian newspapers, such as Il Giornale that keep current on Vatican politics and happenings, including appointments and possible policy decisions.

Translating news in Italian can be done by anyone using the Babel Fish Translator and inserting a web page to translate from Italian to English (or any primary language to another). The translation is very bad, but you can derive most of the meaning.

For example, take the Il Giornale news mentioned by Rorate Coeli. A good translation (provided by Rorate Coeli) is:

In the past few weeks, several French bishops have sent to Rome their lamentations of protest against the "Motu proprio" which would liberalize the pre-Conciliar Mass, but, as it seems, Benedict XVI is decided to move forward, even if with due caution, to heal the mini-schism of archbishop Lefebvre and to assure to the Traditionalist faithful, with an act of liberality, the use of the old missal.

The corresponding translation by Babel Fish is:

In last weeks many French bishops have made to arrive to Rome theirs lamentele in order to protest just against the "Motu" that he would have to liberalize the putting to preconciliate, but to how much he seems, Benedict XVI is decided to also go ahead, with the due cautions, in order to heal the miniscisma of monsignor Lefebvre and to guarantee, with an action of liberalità , to the tradizionalisti faithfuls the use of the old putting them.

Not a very good translation, but you can get the meaning. Of course it is always nice to have a direct translation to English, such as is provided by La Chiesa Online, one of the news sites recommended on my sidebar.

Carcass of the Church in France

Kenjiro Shoda posted one of the 30 comments in The New Liturgical Movement that responded to possible liberalization of the traditional Latin Mass. His information is too important to remain hidden in the comments area, and comes from surfing the web of Catholic sites daily, and compiling stats from websites all over the world. He explains he is writing a book that will graphically show the collapse of the Catholic Church since Vatican II.

It is very true that of the 5% of French Catholics who actually attend Mass, most go to traditionalist groups such as the SSPX and participate in the Tridentine Latin Mass. Given that, the number that actually participate in the Novus Ordo Masses in France is probably about 3%. That makes 3% of French Catholics who actually attend Mass according to the standard Novus Ordo. The Pope had better allow the Tridentine Latin Mass back with full freedom universally soon...or there will be no more "Novus Ordo" Catholics left in France.

Of the less than 1,000 French seminarians left, a good percentage (30%) are seminarians in traditional monastic foundations, the SSPX, FSSP, of a handful of other new traditionalist or at least very orthodox Novus Ordo communities. There are 4 new traditionalist Benedictine foundations in France which have more vocations than they can handle, The Abbaye Ste. Marie Madeleine de Barroux, Fontgombault, Abbaye St. Joseph (Flavigny-sur-Ozerain), and Bellaigue(affiliated to the SSPX). There is a tiny monastery (less than 20 monks) affiliated to the SSPX which is a new Carthusian foundation which uses only the Tridentine Latin Mass. They already have more novices (6), than any other Carthusian house in France. The Institute of the Good Shepherd is only in existance for a month, and already has 1 major Church, 1 priory, and 1 seminary. From what I read, they are having problems dealing with the surge of vocations inquiries.

Most diosecean seminaries in France are dead, and have been for 30 years. Yet the FSSP which of course says only the Tridentine Latin Mass is flourishing. Religious Orders (except for traditionalist ones) are dead in France. The Blessed Sacrament Fathers, Picpus Fathers, Capuchins, Redemptorists and White Fathers ("Peres Blanc") are all at the point of extinction in France, and it is conceivable that the Jesuits at only 500, and the Dominicans at half of that could be extinct in France by 2020. When I read that before Vatican II there were nearly 3,000 Jesuits in France, and now only 500 with a median age of 76, I was really appalled at what the Church has become since Vatican II.

Among nuns, the situation is worse (if that could be possible). There are hundreds of Orders that all went secular like their American counterparts and are now facing extinction. Even some cloistered convents adopted the radical reforms. Layclothes and highly dissident and secular cloistered Benedictines, Poor Clares, and Discalced Carmelite nuns have helped their Order die out in much of France.

Seeing all this, the French Bishops are still against the Tridentine Latin Mass and Catholic traditions, the only thing that can save the Church.

That is truely sick.

Kenjiro Shoda | 10.27.06 |