Cardinal Burke is coming to London

His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura is coming to London, dare I say, at last.
He has been wanting to come for ages and many of us have been hoping for this visit too - well done Fathers of the Oratory!
from NLM

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Ma "P" and the Tablet Gossiping

Deacon Nick reads the Tablet, he says it is making some extraordinary claims about Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor:

"It would appear that Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor was absent when the congregation settled on Bishop Davies for Shrewsbury. “That’ll teach me to miss the plane”,he is said to have quipped.”

It could just be Cormacism, self deprecating rather than to show unkindness to Bishop Mark, Cormac does not talk about people!
Deacon Nick then goes on to say:

The Tablet also suggests that the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Mennini may be holding off the appointment of new bishops in the UK until Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor turns 80 in August when he loses his place in the Congregation for Bishops.

The ediatrix of the Tablet Mrs Pepinster also writes in the Guardian about the Ordinariate in the light of the Pope's gift of  $250,000. Like many gossip columnists she seems to have lost the plot a bit and done a little bit of embroidery besides. I am told the Tablet is becoming more and more gossipy which presumably shows it is being distanced from mainstream Catholic life.

But this imprimatur from the pope is surely a message to the bishops that they really do need to be backing the ordinariate to the hilt. That's a message that Archbishop Vincent Nichols will no doubt be musing on, as the clock is ticking on Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor's membership of the College of Cardinals, the group who choose the pope. Nichols won't be relying on the notion that he will automatically get the next red hat after Cormac, even if it would be deeply shocking if he didn't. He will know that Rome will have been watching how he is shaping up at Westminster. So being seen to be supporting the pope's own project in England is crucial.

That is pure speculation, other Archbishops are appointed, even if they do not quite share the Pope's vision; Cardinal O'Brien for one, admittedly he had to make a few additional promises besides his Cardinalatial oath to uphold the the Church's teaching.
What I find infuriating about her article is her blindness and failure to understand that the Pope's encouragement of the Ordinariate is much deeper than the shallow presentation she gives, it is not about the Pope's liking for "the beautiful" but has deep ecclesiological significance. It is about gathering those share "the" Catholic Faith, the faith which is presented in the Catechism and substantially in the documents of VII. It is also recognising that there are strong elements of that faith in "ecclesial communities" like the CofE. Perhaps it is her evident lack of any theological formation, or maybe just her inability to understand Catholicism is about given Truth.

Not that I am one to gossip but perhaps Ma "P" should be asking why this particular gift was paid in dollars , surely Bobby Mickens knows.

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David Cameron's former girlfriend becomes a nun.

I missed this story: David Cameron's former girlfriend becomes a nun.

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Cardinal Brady should go

There is an interesting little piece in the Herald this week Al-Qaeda official said Catholics in Ireland were ‘fertile ground’ for conversion, there is not much to suggest why Ireland should be fertile ground for this particular terrorist organisation.
But "nature abhors a vacuum", at the moment there is no credible leadership in the Church in Ireland. Cardinal Brady seems so mired in scandal that will not go away, to such a degree that what ever he has to say is overwhelmed by child abuse cover-up allegations. Despite what the media say there are orthodox, believing priests and people in Ireland they deserve leaders rather than hirelings and placemen.
The Good Shepherd is willing to lay down his life for his sheep, the scarlet a cardinal wears signifies his willingness to give his life for the faith, often it is not the shedding of blood that is necessary but the willingness to suffer opprobrium, humiliation and even false accusations, what we see is a bishop defending himself and his reputation to such an extent that it does discredit to the Church. Cardinal Brady should go and go quickly.

The problem is who should replace him, maybe the answer is a good Nigerian!

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Mgr Andrew Wadsworth: The Future of the Liturgy

Mgr Wadsworth Executive Director of ICEL was the second of our guest speakers to celebrate our 150th Anniversary. I think you might enjoy his rather frank and open assessment of where we are and where we might be going.
As one of the most influential voices in the English speaking liturgical world, what he has to say is worth thought and careful assessment, here of course he shares a personal view but it seems very much a view that is shared many in the CDW and in academic circles.

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Gift to the Ordinariate is shameful

I can't help feeling a little embarrassed that the Holy Father has donated $250,000 to the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, it is money that could have been used elsewhere. I know our bishops feel they are being generous, they gave half a million quid to start them off and have generously allowed them office space at the Square.
However as generous as the Papal gift is shames us and unless it was a gift that was given to the Pope especially for the Ordinariate and passed on shows that the Church here has not been as generous as it should have been.

Over a year on and there is still no Ordinariate Church and they are still struggling with finances, and although individual dioceses and parishes have been generous, in E&W which the Ordinariate is seen as source of augmenting diocesan clergy rather than one of the new movements that should be at the heart of the New Evangelisation.
My reading of Anglicanorum Coetibus is that rather being integrated into diocesan structures it should be outside of these in order to be an effective agent of evangelisation. Its penury keeps it pre-occupied with simply staying alive rather than being able to call others effectively into Communion with Peter.

Pray to Our Lady of Walsingham for some wealthy doners.

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Cyber Bullying

I support what Joe Shaw has said here, I wish I had said it myself.

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