Saint Raphael

Profile
The name of this archangel (Raphael = "God has healed") does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in the Septuagint only in the Book of Tobias. Here he first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". The story of the adventurous journey during which the protective influence of the angel is shown in many ways including the binding "in the desert of upper Egypt" of the demon who had previously slain seven husbands of Sara, daughter of Raguel, is picturesquely related in Tobit 5-11, to which the reader is referred. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobias, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tob., xii, 15. Cf. Apoc., viii, 2). Of these seven "archangels" which appear in the angelology of post-Exilic Judaism, only three, Gabriel, Michael and Raphael, are mentioned in the canonical Scriptures. The others, according to the Book of Enoch (cf. xxi) are Uriel, Raguel, Sariel, and Jerahmeel, while from other apocryphal sources we get the variant names Izidkiel, Hanael, and Kepharel instead of the last three in the other list.
Regarding the functions attributed to Raphael we have little more than his declaration to Tobias (Tobit 12) that when the latter was occupied in his works of mercy and charity, he (Raphael) offered his prayer to the Lord, that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sara, his son's wife, from the devil. The Jewish category of the archangels is recognized in the New Testament (I Thess., iv, 15; Jude, 9), but only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name. Many commentators, however, identify Raphael with the "angel of the Lord" mentioned in John 5. This conjecture is base both on the significance of the name and on the healing role attributed to Raphael in the Book of Tobias. The Church assigns the feast of St. Raphael to 24 October (since moved to September 29th). The hymns of the Office recall the healing power of the archangel and his victory over the demon. The lessons of the first Nocturn and the Antiphons of the entire Office are taken from the Book of Tobias, and the lessons of the second and third Nocturns from the works of St. Augustine, viz. for the second Nocturn a sermon on Tobias (sermon I on the fifteenth Sunday), and for the third, a homily on the opening verse of John, v. The Epistle of the Mass is taken from the twelfth chapter of Tobias, and the Gospel from John 5:1-4, referring to the pool called Probatica, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved.And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Thus the conjecture of the commentators referred to above is confirmed by the official Liturgy of the Church.

Vigouroux, Dict. de la Bible, s. v. Raphael.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XII
Nihil Obstat, June 1, 1911, Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Saint Gabriel the Archangel

Profile
"Fortitudo Dei", one of the three archangels mentioned in the Bible. Only four appearances of Gabriel are recorded:
In Dan., viii, he explains the vision of the horned ram as portending the destruction of the Persian Empire by the Macedonian Alexander the Great, after whose death the kingdom will be divided up among his generals, from one of whom will spring Antiochus Epiphanes.
In chapter ix, after Daniel had prayed for Israel, we read that "the man Gabriel . . . . flying swiftly touched me" and he communicated to him the mysterious prophecy of the "seventy weeks" of years which should elapse before the coming of Christ. In chapter x, it is not clear whether the angel is Gabriel or not, but at any rate we may apply to him the marvellous description in verses 5 and 6.
In N.T. he foretells to Zachary the birth of the Precursor, and to Mary that of the Saviour.
Thus he is throughout the angel of the Incarnation and of Consolation, and so in Christian tradition Gabriel is ever the angel of mercy while Michael is rather the angel of judgment. At the same time, even in the Bible, Gabriel is, in accordance with his name, the angel of the Power of God, and it is worth while noting the frequency with which such words as "great", "might", "power", and "strength" occur in the passages referred to above. The Jews indeed seem to have dwelt particularly upon this feature in Gabriel's character, and he is regarded by them as the angel of judgment, while Michael is called the angel of mercy. Thus they attribute to Gabriel the destruction of Sodom and of the host of Sennacherib, though they also regard him as the angel who buried Moses, and as the man deputed to mark the figure Tau on the foreheads of the elect (Ezech., 4). In later Jewish literature the names of angels were considered to have a peculiar efficacy, and the British Museum possesses some magic bowls inscribed with Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac incantations in which the names of Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel occur. These bowls were found at Hillah, the site of Babylon, and constitute an interesting relic of the Jewish captivity. In apocryphal Christian literature the same names occur, cf. Enoch, ix, and the Apocalypse of the Blessed Virgin.
As remarked above, Gabriel is mentioned only twice in the New Testament, but it is not unreasonable to suppose with Christian tradition that it is he who appeared to St. Joseph and to the shepherds, and also that it was he who "strengthened" Our Lord in the garden (cf. the Hymn for Lauds on 24 March). Gabriel is generally termed only an archangel, but the expression used by St. Raphael, "I am the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" (Tob., xii, 15) and St. Gabriel's own words, "I am Gabriel, who stand before God" (Luke 1, 19), have led some to think that these angels must belong to the highest rank; but this is generally explained as referring to their rank as the highest of God's messengers, and not as placing them among the Seraphim and Cherubim (cf. St. Thomas, I, Q. cxii, a.3; III, Q. xxx, a.2, ad 4um).

In addition to the literature under ANGEL and in the biblical dictionaries, see PUSEY, The Prophet Daniel (London, 1868); EDERSHEIM, Jesus the Messiah (London and New York, 1890), Append. XIII; H. CROSBY, Michael and Gabriel in Homiletic Review (1890), XIX, 160-162; BARDENHEWER, Mariä-Verkündigung in Bibl. Studien, X, 496 sqq.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VI
Nihil Obstat, September 1, 1909, Remy Lafort, Censor
Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

St. Michael the Archangel

Profile
St. Michael is one of the principal angels; his name was the war-cry of the good angels in the battle fought in heaven against the enemy and his followers. Four times his name is recorded in Scripture:
(1) Daniel 10:13 sqq., Gabriel says to Daniel, when he asks God to permit the Jews to return to Jerusalem: "The Angel [D.V. prince] of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me . . . and, behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me . . . and none is my helper in all these things, but Michael your prince";
(2) Daniel 12, the Angel speaking of the end of the world and the Antichrist says: "At that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who standeth for the children of thy people."
(3) In the Catholic Epistle of St. Jude: "When Michael the Archangel, disputing with the devil, contended about the body of Moses", etc. St. Jude alludes to an ancient Jewish tradition of a dispute between Michael and Satan over the body of Moses, an account of which is also found in the apocryphal book on the assumption of Moses (Origen, "De principiis", III, 2, 2). St. Michael concealed the tomb of Moses; Satan, however, by disclosing it, tried to seduce the Jewish people to the sin of hero-worship. St. Michael also guards the body of Eve, according to the "Revelation of Moses" ("Apocryphal Gospels", etc., ed. A. Walker, Edinburgh, p. 647).
(4) Apocalypse 12:7, "And there was a great battle in heaven, Michael and his angels fought with the dragon." St. John speaks of the great conflict at the end of time, which reflects also the battle in heaven at the beginning of time. According to the Fathers there is often question of St. Michael in Scripture where his name is not mentioned. They say he was the cherub who stood at the gate of paradise, "to keep the way of the tree of life" (Genesis 3:24), the angel through whom God published the Decalogue to his chosen people, the angel who stood in the way against Balaam (Numbers 22:22 sqq.), the angel who routed the army of Sennacherib (IV Kings 19:35).
Following these Scriptural passages, Christian tradition gives to St. Michael four offices:
To fight against Satan.
To rescue the souls of the faithful from the power of the enemy, especially at the hour of death.
To be the champion of God's people, the Jews in the Old Law, the Christians in the New Testament; therefore he was the patron of the Church, and of the orders of knights during the Middle Ages.
To call away from earth and bring men's souls to judgment ("signifer S. Michael repraesentet eas in lucam sanctam", Offert. Miss Defunct. "Constituit eum principem super animas suscipiendas", Antiph. off. Cf. "Hermas", Pastor, I, 3, Simil. VIII, 3).
Regarding his rank in the celestial hierarchy opinions vary; St. Basil (Hom. de angelis) and other Greek Fathers, also Salmeron, Bellarmine, etc., place St. Michael over all the angels; they say he is called "archangel" because he is the prince of the other angels; others (cf. P. Bonaventura, op. cit.) believe that he is the prince of the seraphim, the first of the nine angelic orders. But, according to St. Thomas (Summa Ia.113.3) he is the prince of the last and lowest choir, the angels. The Roman Liturgy seems to follow the Greek Fathers; it calls him "Princeps militiae coelestis quem honorificant angelorum cives". The hymn of the Mozarabic Breviary places St. Michael even above the Twenty-four Elders. The Greek Liturgy styles him Archistrategos, "highest general" (cf. Menaea, 8 Nov. and 6 Sept.).

VENERATION

It would have been natural to St. Michael, the champion of the Jewish people, to be the champion also of Christians, giving victory in war to his clients. The early Christians, however, regarded some of the martyrs as their military patrons: St. George, St. Theodore, St. Demetrius, St. Sergius, St. Procopius, St. Mercurius, etc.; but to St. Michael they gave the care of their sick. At the place where he was first venerated, in Phrygia, his prestige as angelic healer obscured his interposition in military affairs. It was from early times the centre of the true cult of the holy angels, particularly of St. Michael. Tradition relates that St. Michael in the earliest ages caused a medicinal spring to spout at Chairotopa near Colossae, where all the sick who bathed there, invoking the Blessed Trinity and St. Michael, were cured.
Still more famous are the springs which St. Michael is said to have drawn from the rock at Colossae (Chonae, the present Khonas, on the Lycus). The pagans directed a stream against the sanctuary of St. Michael to destroy it, but the archangel split the rock by lightning to give a new bed to the stream, and sanctified forever the waters which came from the gorge. The Greeks claim that this apparition took place about the middle of the first century and celebrate a feast in commemoration of it on 6 September (Analecta Bolland., VIII, 285-328). Also at Pythia in Bithynia and elsewhere in Asia the hot springs were dedicated to St. Michael.
At Constantinople likewise, St. Michael was the great heavenly physician. His principal sanctuary, the Michaelion, was at Sosthenion, some fifty miles south of Constantinople; there the archangel is said to have appeared to the Emperor Constantine. The sick slept in this church at night to wait for a manifestation of St. Michael; his feast was kept there 9 June. Another famous church was within the walls of the city, at the thermal baths of the Emperor Arcadius; there the synaxis of the archangel was celebrated 8 November. This feast spread over the entire Greek Church, and the Syrian, Armenian, and Coptic Churches adopted it also; it is now the principal feast of St. Michael in the Orient. It may have originated in Phrygia, but its station at Constantinople was the Thermae of Arcadius (Martinow, "Annus Graeco-slavicus", 8 Nov.). Other feasts of St. Michael at Constantinople were: 27 October, in the "Promotu" church; 18 June, in the Church of St. Julian at the Forum; and 10 December, at Athaea.
The Christians of Egypt placed their life-giving river, the Nile under the protection of St. Michael; they adopted the Greek feast and kept it 12 November; on the twelfth of every month they celebrate a special commemoration of the archangel, but 12 June, when the river commences to rise, they keep as a holiday of obligation the feast of St. Michael "for the rising of the Nile", euche eis ten symmetron anabasin ton potamion hydaton.
At Rome the Leonine Sacramentary (sixth century) has the "Natale Basilicae Angeli via Salaria", 30 September; of the five Masses for the feast three mention St. Michael. The Gelasian Sacramentary (seventh century) gives the feast "S. Michaelis Archangeli", and the Gregorian Sacramentary (eighth century), "Dedicatio Basilionis S. Angeli Michaelis", 29 Sept. A manuscript also here adds "via Salaria" (Ebner, "Miss. Rom. Iter Italicum", 127). This church of the Via Salaria was six miles to the north of the city; in the ninth century it was called Basilica Archangeli in Septimo (Armellini, "Chiese di Roma", p. 85). It disappeared a thousand years ago. At Rome also the part of heavenly physician was given to St. Michael. According to an (apocryphal?) legend of the tenth century he appeared over the Moles Hadriani (Castel di S. Angelo), in 950, during the procession which St. Gregory held against the pestilence, putting an end to the plague. Boniface IV (608-15) built on the Moles Hadriani in honour of him, a church, which was styled St. Michaelis inter nubes (in summitate circi).
Well known is the apparition of St. Michael (a. 494 or 530-40), as related in the Roman Breviary, 8 May, at his renowned sanctuary on Monte Gargano, where his original glory as patron in war was restored to him. To his intercession the Lombards of Sipontum (Manfredonia) attributed their victory over the Greek Neapolitans, 8 May, 663. In commemoration of this victory the church of Sipontum instituted a special feast in honour of the archangel, on 8 May, which has spread over the entire Latin Church and is now called (since the time of Pius V) "Apparitio S. Michaelis", although it originally did not commemorate the apparition, but the victory.
In Normandy St. Michael is the patron of mariners in his famous sanctuary at Mont-Saint-Michel in the Diocese of Coutances. He is said to have appeared there, in 708, to St. Aubert, Bishop of Avranches. In Normandy his feast "S. Michaelis in periculo maris" or "in Monte Tumba" was universally celebrated on 18 Oct., the anniversary of the dedication of the first church, 16 Oct., 710; the feast is now confined to the Diocese of Coutances. In Germany, after its evangelization, St. Michael replaced for the Christians the pagan god Wotan, to whom many mountains were sacred, hence the numerous mountain chapels of St. Michael all over Germany.
The hymns of the Roman Office are said to have been composed by St. Rabanus Maurus of Fulda (d. 856). In art St. Michael is represented as an angelic warrior, fully armed with helmet, sword, and shield (often the shield bears the Latin inscription: Quis ut Deus), standing over the dragon, whom he sometimes pierces with a lance. He also holds a pair of scales in which he weighs the souls of the departed (cf. Rock, "The Church of Our Fathers", III, 160), or the book of life, to show that he takes part in the judgment. His feast (29 September) in the Middle Ages was celebrated as a holy day of obligation, but along with several other feasts it was gradually abolished since the eighteenth century. Michaelmas Day, in England and other countries, is one of the regular quarter-days for settling rents and accounts; but it is no longer remarkable for the hospitality with which it was formerly celebrated. Stubble-geese being esteemed in perfection about this time, most families had one dressed on Michaelmas Day. In some parishes (Isle of Skye) they had a procession on this day and baked a cake, called St. Michael's bannock.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume X
Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1911, Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Ecumenism before Vatican II

Link http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/2010/09/communicatio-in-sacris-ii-tollerari.html

Bishops say boycott did not affect attendance

From www.rte.ie/news

Sunday, 26 September 2010

Catholic bishops have said that this weekend's mass attendance has been as good if not better than usual.
Their spokesperson was commenting on the response to the boycott led by Cork pensioner Jennifer Sleeman to protest against the Church's ban on the ordination of women.
Some massgoers wore green armbands to urge Pope Benedict to allow women to become priests. Ms Sleeman told RTÉ News she was pleased with the very limited feedback she had been getting from neighbours in Clonakilty, Co Cork.
But a spokesperson for the hierarchy and the country's largest diocese, which is in Dublin, said the boycott had no effect on the numbers attending mass.
Ms Sleeman said her boycott campaign had prompted what she called an 'upswelling of women who want to be equal in the church'.
The bishops warned that 'the celebration of the mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (was) essential to the practice of the Catholic faith'.
They also said that every day, lay people, priests, nuns and brothers together made decisions for their parish communities.

Biblical parting of the Red Sea 'could have happened'

From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8015908/Biblical-parting-of-the-Red-Sea-could-have-happened.html

Published 21 Sep 2010

A new computer modelling study suggests a powerful wind could have divided the waters just as depicted in the Book of Exodus.
The likely location of the ''miracle'' was not the Red Sea as such, but a nearby spot in the Nile Delta region.
In the biblical account, Moses and the fleeing Israelites are trapped between the Pharaoh's advancing chariots and a body of water identified from translations as either the Red Sea or Sea of Reeds.
Thanks to divine intervention, a mighty east wind blows all night, splitting the waters to leave a passage of dry land with walls of water on both sides.
The Israelites make their escape, but when the Pharaoh's army tries to pursue them the waters come crashing back and drown the soldiers.
Scientists in the US studying ancient maps of the Nile Delta region pinpointed where the crossing may have occurred, just south of the Mediterranean Sea
Here, according to some experts, an ancient branch of the Nile flowed into a coastal lagoon then known as the Lake of Tanis.
Analysis of archaeological records, satellite measurements and maps allowed the researchers to estimate the water flow and depth at the site 3,000 years ago.
An ocean computer model was then used to simulate the impact of a strong overnight wind on the six-foot-deep waters.
The scientists found that an east wind of 63 mph blowing for 12 hours would have driven the shallow waters back, both into the lake and the river channel.
For a period of four hours, this would have created a land bridge about two miles long and three miles wide.
The waters really would have been parted, with barriers of water raised on both sides of the newly exposed mud flats.
As soon as the winds dropped, the waters would have rushed back, much like a tidal bore. Anyone stranded on the mud flats would have been at risk of drowning, said the scientists, whose findings are reported today in the online journal Public Library of Science ONE.
Lead researcher Carl Drews, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado, said: ''The simulations match fairly closely with the account in Exodus.
''The parting of the waters can be understood through fluid dynamics. The wind moves the water in a way that's in accordance with physical laws, creating a safe passage with water on two sides and then abruptly allowing the water to rush back in.
''People have always been fascinated by this Exodus story, wondering if it comes from historical facts. What this study shows is that the description of the waters parting indeed has a basis in physical laws.''
The set of 14 computer simulations showed that dry land could also have been exposed at two other nearby sites during a wind storm from the east.
Those events did not fit so well with the Biblical account, since both involved a single body of water getting pushed to one side rather than being parted.
Several previous theories have been put forward to explain the the parting of the Red Sea.
One involved a tsunami, which can cause a body of water to retreat and then advance rapidly. But such an event would not have caused the gradual overnight divide of the waters as described in the Bible, or been so associated with winds.
Other experts have focused on a phenomenon linked to strong persistent winds known as ''wind setdown'' which can lower water levels in one area while piling up water downwind.
One study found that winds blowing from the north-west at a near-hurricane force of 74mph could in theory have exposed an underwater reef near the present-day Suez Canal, providing a walkable land passage.
Mr Drews' team found that the reef would have had to be entirely flat to allow the water to drain off it in 12 hours. A more realistic reef with lower and deeper sections would have retained water-filled channels that would have been difficult to wade through.
It was also unlikely that the refugees could have made the crossing in almost hurricane-force winds, said the Colorado researchers.

Exorcist says Satan exists but without 'horns, wings or a tail'

Bogotá, Colombia, Sep 20, 2010 (Catholic News Agency).

Spanish exorcist Fr. Jose Antonio Fortea Cucurull stated in an interview last week that though Satan does indeed exist, he does not have “horns, wings or a tail.” The priest recommended that the faithful seek the counsel of a priest if they suspect someone is possessed.
Fr. Fortea is a priest and theologian who specializes in demonology and is now studying for his doctorate of theology in Rome
In an interview with the newspaper El Tiempo during his recent visit to Colombia, Fr. Fortea said, “The devil does not have a body, a color, or a visual form, nor does he have horns, wings or a tail. He is an invisible, bodiless entity.”
“Believing in God means believing in what he has said. And he has spoken of the existence of the devil,” the priest remarked, recalling that “at the end of the 'Our Father' he warned, ‘Deliver us from evil’.”
Fr. Fortea then explained that though he has never seen a demon, he knows they exist, saying he has felt the presence of evil. “I have approached this like a scientist: even though I wear a habit, I am not void of reason.”
“On a certain number of occasions, alone at my house or other places, I have felt an evil presence.” He continued. “I would be lying if I did not acknowledge that I felt that evil presence in an intense and powerful way.”
The priest said that during one of these instances, his cat quickly scurried behind the curtains, staring at a particular spot in the room.
“It is not normal for a cat to hide, tremble and stare at a particular point,” he added.
“Although we tend to speak of the demon, in reality there are many demons, each one is different, but there is one who is head over all the demons, the most powerful one: Satan,” the priest continued.
Fr. Fortea went on to say, “Anyone who resorts to spiritism, witchcraft, or worse yet, Satanism, is in danger of being possessed. That is the general norm, but there are cases that have no explanation, even if someone has not engaged in these practices.”
“When someone possessed receives an exorcism, it takes a reasonable amount of time for him or her to be liberated. A number of sessions are required. The devil resists because he knows he is condemned to leave,” he added.
Fr. Fortea said he does not feel “especially harassed, but reason does tell me that since he exists, the devil does have outstanding issues with me.”

Britain Gobsmacked by Pope Benedict

By Hilary White
ROME, September 20, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)

While anti-Catholic, secularist and homosexualist activists, with generous help from the media, have spent most of the last year attempting to derail the papal visit, the smart money was always on Benedict XVI taking every fight without breaking a sweat. And when the bell rang, and the eyes of the world were trained on the little island ring, it became clear from the first moment that Benedict’s opponents were hopelessly outclassed.
From the first moments of the trip, while his plane was in the air, it was clear that Benedict knew exactly what he was doing. He pre-empted much of the criticism over Vatican handling of the sex abuse scandals by issuing, again, a strong statement expressing his personal shame and sorrow, but indicated, at the same time, that he was well-prepared and unafraid.
“Benedict Bounce”: warmth and gentleness wins over the media
In the words of the NYT’s Ross Douthat, the pope held Britain spellbound, with the anti-papal rallies and demonstrations as nothing more than “a sideshow to the visit,” with a brief assassination plot scare to show the British “what real religious extremism looks like.” Journalists tweeting from the plane on the way back to Rome on Sunday evening reported that there was an “air of celebration among the papal entourage.” They said, “This time they won with the Pope.”
After months of hearing the increasingly shrill attacks (as one journalist put it, the devil himself could hardly have had worse press), the British people were ready to hear the other side. Before the visit was even over, Keith O’Brien, the cardinal archbishop of Edinburgh, had already spoken of the “Benedict bounce,” in which the very harshness of the attacks contributed to the turn-around in public opinion in the pope’s favour.
But it was Benedict’s personal warmth, gentleness, and the sheer rationality and sense of his message, that hit the cynical British media and political establishment right between the eyes. All the talk in Rome today is of how well the BBC handled the commentary, with positive guests and few fumbles, even on fairly obscure Catholic terminology.
And Britain’s tabloid press, not usually known for backing the side of the angels, are left in awe. The News of the World, England’s largest circulation Sunday paper, and one that often acts as a bellwether for genuine public opinion, ran the headline, “Bene’s from heaven” with the subhead, “People’s Pope leaves Britain with a smile on its face.”
At a conference in Rome this evening, barrister and president of Britain’s Catholic Union, Jamie Bogle, told me, “The secular atheist liberals and their friends in the media are going to take a long time to get over this visit. Because they thought they were on a winner. They thought they were going to, if not arrest the pope, at least seriously embarrass him.
“And this little guy in white just flattened them. His gentle, calm, soft-spoken approach just won everybody over. And the demonstrations faded away.”
Bogle warned not to give too much credence to media claims of 20,000 at the anti-papal rally, the organisers’ main event in London on Saturday. The unofficial police count, he said, was no more than 2,000, and organized protests were cancelled during the pope’s time in Scotland due to lack of interest, “while hundreds of thousands lined the route to wave to the pope. There were people chasing him down the streets to keep up. It was a knock-out.”
“I don’t know how he does it,” a smiling Bogle said, “but there’s something about that guy. It’s plainly sanctity.”
And now that Benedict is home, even the hostile media are having difficulty trying to pursue their campaign because “they’ve discovered that the vast majority of people don’t hate the pope, actually, they quite like him. And some of them really love him. Because he’s a lovable guy, and it’s very hard to hate somebody’s lovable grandfather.”
“It was really quite astonishing to see the change that took place,” in the media coverage. “They may be up to it again in the future, but I have to say, I think he just knocked them sideways.”
And how did the British people, millions of whom followed the papal events on the BBC’s live feed on the internet and on television, react to the pope? “They listened,” said Fr. Hugh Allan, the superior of a community of priests, called Norbertine canons, in Chelmsford, Essex, who attended some of the events.
“They really wanted to hear him, and that is going to make the difference. I’ve heard it from so many people.”
On the phone today, Fr. Allan confirmed that the anti-pope crowd have badly lost the argument, and the sympathy of the British public with their months of shrill, fever-pitch attacks. The British people, he said, wanted to hear what the pope had to say.
“One of the most beautiful things has been to see an eighty-three year old man completely taking the wind out of the sails of the Peter Tatchells and the rest of the crowd,” Fr. Allan said.
The pope’s addresses, delivered barely above a whisper, made his detractors look “ridiculous, like children throwing their toys out of the pram because they couldn’t have their own way.” And today the pope’s opponents are left with little to say. “They’re nonplussed and confused” Fr. Allan said, “astonished.” “They didn’t expect people to respond as they have done.”
“They don’t understand why the British people listened to him. Why they wanted to see him. Everything the pope said is outside their mindset.”
The pope’s messages, that Christianity has a foundational place in the building of a just society, one that cannot be suppressed without destroying the foundations of freedom, were delivered fearlessly but gently, in a tone that one had to strain to hear and with an accent one had to concentrate to understand.
“He was just stating the truth,” Fr. Allan said. “It’s really swept people off their feet.”
The part that was perhaps most surprising, to those who don’t know Benedict, was the spirituality. Here was not just another politician in a cassock. This was a religious leader, interested in the hearts and souls of his listeners. And the greatest moment was the silence in the park. At least 150,000 were at the Mall on Saturday evening, lining the pope’s route leading up to Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park, in many cases only to have the briefest glimpse. Well over the officially ticketed numbers of 80,000 were in the park for the evening service of Exposition and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.
While Dr. Richard Dawkins and the Independent’s Johann Hari harangued the pope, calling him an enabler of pedophilia and demanding that the police go over and arrest him, the people in Hyde Park, most of whom had waited all day, knelt and prayed in “absolute silence.”
I was watching on two live internet feeds simultaneously, one from the BBC with commentary and the other from the UK bishops’ website without and as the ornate monstrance was placed on the altar, and for that brief time, even the BBC chatterers fell silent.
A member of Fr. Allan’s community was at the park and said that almost no one was on their feet. He called it “astonishing” that nearly 100,000 people knelt and prayed. “The response, the silence... To go from ecstatic cheers one moment, welcoming the pope, to profound silence the next, it was really remarkable.”
If nothing else comes of this visit, one service Pope Benedict did this weekend in Britain was to answer the anti-religious accusations. For years, the secularist hard core have held the floor without challenge. The bishops have made polite noises, in the tradition of English Catholic recusants keeping their head down after centuries of persecution, leaving the Evangelicals to do the heavy lifting in the rational defense of public Christianity.
In interview after interview the British bishops have equivocated, circumlocuted and generally sidled away from giving straightforward Christian answers, backed up by the immemorial teaching of the Church, the witness of the great minds of Christendom. This weekend, Pope Benedict put an end to it.
Even though we had already called it, the completeness of Benedict’s triumph in Britain was astonishing to watch. The spell lasted up to the last possible moment, with Prime Minister David Cameron and a large government and ecclesiastical entourage assembled at Birmingham airport to see Benedict off. Among the last shots from the BBC’s live broadcast was of the group of dignitaries and bishops waving to the departing plane, as if seeing off an old friend.

Cardinal Newman blessed by Benedict XVI with beatification

Birmingham, England, Sep 19, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).

The Holy Father has declared that John Henry Cardinal Newman will "henceforth be invoked as Blessed." Despite inclement weather, tens of thousands of faithful attended to celebrate the life of Newman, revered for his intellectual contributions to Christianity.
Cool weather and sporadic sprinkles of rain were no obstacle to the pilgrims in attendance for the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman in Birmingham's Cofton Park on Sunday. Multi-colored ponchos and umbrellas peppered the vast 55,000 person crowd who cheered for the Pope upon his arrival and joined in with a massive choir to warm up the atmosphere.
Beginning the rite, the Archbishop of Birmingham, Bernard Longley, made the official request of the Pope "that the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman be beatified." A short biography was then read by the vice postulator for the Cause for the Canonization of Cardinal Newman, Fr. Richard Duffield
Fr. Duffield, also provost of Newman's Birmingham Oratory, read the brief description of the life of the 19th century celebrated Catholic convert from the Anglican Church. He was remembered as a prominent figure in the Church of England, a preacher, theologian and leader of the Oxford movement as an Anglican in the first half of his life.
Drawn to full communion with the Catholic Church, he converted at 44 years old. He founded the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in Birmingham in 1847 with encouragement from then-Pope Pius IX. Fr. Duffield summarized his contributions throughout his life, saying, "(h)e was a prolific and influential writer on a variety of subjects, including the development of Christian doctrine, faith and reason, the true nature of conscience and university education."
The vice postulator also remembered him as being "(p)raised for his humility, his life of prayer, his unstinting care of souls and contributions to the intellectual life of the Church." He was created cardinal by Pope Leo XIII in 1879 and lived with the oratorians until his death in 1890.
"Acceding to the request" of the Archbishop of Birmingham, the bishops and faithful, Pope Benedict XVI declared that "venerable Servant of God John Henry, Cardinal, Newman priest of the Congregation of the Oratory, shall henceforth be invoked as Blessed and that his feast shall be celebrated every year of the ninth of October."
At that point an image of the Blessed appeared in the digital altarpiece to the right of the Pope, punctuating the moment, also met by the cheers from the faithful. Following the declaration a song written by Blessed Newman was sung praising "the Holiest in the height" and thanks were given to Benedict XVI for presiding over the celebration, his first beatification ever.
The rite concluded with a reliquary procession which included some of Newman's family members and oratorians.
Among the many prelates present for the beatification from England, Wales and beyond was Cardinal Edwin Egan, Archbishop-Emeritus of New York and many other "red berets."

Sept 19th: Our Lady of La Salette

Remember, dear Lady of La Salette, true Mother of Sorrows, the tears which thou didst shed for me on Calvary; be mindful also of the unceasing care which thou dost exercise to shield me from the justice of God; and consider whether thou canst now abandon thy child, for whom thou hast done so much. Inspired by this consoling thought, I come to cast myself at thy feet, in spite of my infidelity and ingratitude. Reject not my prayer, O Virgin of reconciliation, convert me, obtain for me the grace to love Jesus Christ above all things and to console thee too by living a holy life, in order that one day I may be able to see thee in Heaven. Amen.

Pope meets with clergy abuse victims as thousands protest

From http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/09/18/uk.pope.visit/index.html?hpt=C1

London, England (CNN)

Pope Benedict XVI met with five clergy abuse victims while on his official visit to the United Kingdom, the Catholic Communications Network said Saturday, the same day the pope expressed his "deep sorrow" for the scandal that has rocked the Catholic Church.
But his acknowledgement of the abuse suffered by children within the church -- the first time he has publicly addressed the issue during his four-day trip to Britain -- was not enough to dissuade thousands of protesters from expressing their anger on the streets of London.
Thousands gathered Saturday near Hyde Park, the site of an afternoon prayer vigil led by the pope for the beatification of British Cardinal John Henry Newman, a Catholic convert who died in 1890 and is credited with helping rebuild Britain's Catholic community.
A wide variety of sometimes expletive-laced signs could be seen dotting the crowd of demonstrators, which included atheists, clergy abuse victims and gay rights campaigners. One poster accused the pope of being the boss of the "world's largest sex gang." Another sign asked if he "fancied the baby Jesus."
The protests came hours after the pope addressed the abuse scandal during Mass at Westminster Cathedral.
"I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the church and by her ministers," he said. "Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives.
"I also acknowledge with you the shame and humiliation which all of us have suffered because of these sins; and I invite you to offer it to the Lord with trust that this chastisement will contribute to the healing of victims, the purification of the church, and the renewal of her age-old commitment to the education and care of young people.
"I express my gratitude for the efforts being made to address this problem responsibly, and I ask all of you to show your concern for the victims and solidarity with your priests."
Later Saturday, the pope met with victims of clerical sexual abuse, according to the Catholic Communications Network, the media office of the Bishops' Conference. Three of the victims were from Yorkshire, one from London and one from Scotland, CCN said. The pope is also expected to meet Saturday with people involved in the National Catholic Safeguarding Commission at St. Peter's Residential Home in Vauxhall, London.
A board member of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, expressed hope that the outcome of the victims' meeting will be positive.
"We hope each of these brave individuals feels better as a result of the meeting, both now and years from now," Mark Serrano wrote in a statement. "It takes real courage to disclose your pain to others, especially those in authority. We hope the risk these victims have taken will prove to be fruitful, for them, for other victims and for children being molested today and in the future."
But Serrano also echoed other SNAP members' statements made earlier in the day that the pope needs to take action against abuse, not just make apologies for it.
"Today's meeting is more of the same from the Pope: all talk, no action," he wrote. "With literally the stroke of a pen, of course, he could radically change deeply-rooted, centuries-old destructive patterns of recklessness, callousness and deceit within the Catholic hierarchy that have directly led to hundreds of thousands of trusting children and vulnerable adults being raped, sodomized and fondled by clerics. But he refuses."
The Mass at Westminster Cathedral came on the second day of the pope's visit to London, and the third day of his visit to the United Kingdom.
Crowds lined the street outside the cathedral, the mother church for Catholics in England and Wales. Afterward, the pope greeted a crowd of 2,500 children gathered in the cathedral's piazza; later, he was due to visit the residents of a Catholic care home.
The pope spent Thursday in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland, and planned to travel to Birmingham, England, on Sunday.
Six men remained in custody Saturday after their arrests a day earlier on terrorism charges -- incidents that prompted officials to review the pope's security arrangements.
Some news reports said the arrests involved a potential threat to the pope, but the Metropolitan Police declined to say whether the case was directly linked to the pontiff's visit.
Five of the men are street cleaners who were arrested before dawn on suspicion of the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism. They appeared to be Algerian, a high-ranking source familiar with the investigation said, adding that some or all of them were probably in the country illegally.
A sixth man was arrested later in the day by counterterrorism detectives investigating the possible plot against the pope, police said.
All were arrested under the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to hold them without charge for 28 days.
Police said Saturday that their searches in the case were complete.
The arrests did not lead to any changes in the pope's schedule, which on Friday included events rich in history and symbolism. He met Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams at his residence, Lambeth Palace -- the first time a pope has ever visited there.
Benedict then spoke to members of the British Parliament at Westminster Hall, which dates to 1097 and is the oldest building in the parliamentary complex. It was there in 1535 that Thomas More, a Catholic, was convicted of treason and sentenced to death for refusing to accept King Henry VIII's marriage annulment and repudiate the pope after Henry broke with the Vatican and created the Anglican Church.
The pontiff stressed to the political audience that reason and faith can and should co-exist.
"Religion," he said, "is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a vital contributor to the national conversation."
Later, at nearby Westminster Abbey, an Anglican church, the pope prayed alongside the archbishop of Canterbury at the tomb of Edward the Confessor, the English king who built the abbey and was buried there after his death in 1066. He spoke once again about the commitment to unity among Christian churches while noting the obstacles.
CNN's Melissa Gray, Carol Jordan and David Wilkinson contributed to this report.

Six men arrested in London during pope's visit

From http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20100917/ts_nm/us_pope_britain
LONDON (Reuters)

Anti-terrorism police, on high alert during a visit by Pope Benedict to the British capital, arrested six men on Friday on suspicion of preparing an attack.
Police moved quickly to make the pre-dawn arrests of five men who worked as street cleaners in the area in central London near parliament where the pontiff later spoke.
A sixth suspect was arrested about eight hours later but it was not clear if he worked for the same cleaning company contracted by the Westminster area of London.
British broadcaster Sky cited unnamed sources as saying the six were Algerian but police said they could not comment on the report and the Algerian embassy said it had not been notified of the arrests of any of its nationals.
Police, who searched eight homes and two businesses in London, reviewed security arrangements after the arrests but decided they remained "appropriate."
The BBC reported that the men had posed "a possible threat to the pope" but police refused to confirm or deny that. The Vatican said the trip would go ahead as planned and that the pope was calm.
Security is expected to be tight on Saturday when demonstrators protesting against the pope plan to march from Hyde Park to Downing Street, the prime minister's official London residence. Pope Benedict is due to meet British Prime Minister David Cameron, his deputy Nick Clegg and acting opposition leader Harriet Harman, before attending a prayer vigil at the park.
The pope on Friday visited the parliament area, where he met with the Archbishop of Canterbury and addressed British leaders.
Hundreds of protesters along the route called him the "anti-Christ" and shouted "shame" as they held up pictures of children who were sexually abused by priests in a scandal that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church worldwide.
Similar protests were held at a Catholic university the pope visited on Friday morning.
The six unnamed men, aged between 26 and 50, were arrested on "suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism," according to police statements.
The pope has been heavily protected during his four-day visit to Britain, traveling in a custom-built bulletproof car surrounded by security officials.
Benedict has not been the target of any serious attacks but his predecessor was almost killed in an assassination attempt in 1981 and was the subject of several other attacks.
When the pope travels outside the Vatican he is protected by the host country's police forces plus a small contingent of about a dozen Vatican security men.
In July 2005, four British Islamists killed 52 people and wounded hundreds by setting off suicide bombs on London's transport system.
An Islamist cell attempted a car bomb attack on Glasgow airport in June 2007, in which one of two would-be suicide bombers was killed.
"We are totally confident in police and there are no plans to change the program," said Father Federico Lombardi. He said the pope was calm and looking forward to the rest of the visit.
The pope held talks at Lambeth Palace with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual head of the world's 80 million Anglicans.
Williams and the pope, whose Churches split in 1534, both spoke of the importance of faith in society and agreed that Christianity should not be seen as a threat to freedom.
In a joint statement, they said they were committed to continued dialogue but acknowledged obstacles to unity "from within the Christian community," a reference to divisions over Anglican women priests and gay bishops.
Later, the pope told British leaders, including four former prime ministers, that religion had to be a "vital contributor" to national debate on a host of issues.

Text of Papal Sermon at Westminster Cathedral

I greet all of you with the joy in the Lord and I thank you for your warm reception. I am grateful to Archbishop Nichols for his words of welcome on your behalf. Truly, in this meeting of the Successor of Peter and the faithful of Britain, "heart speaks unto heart" as we rejoice in the love of Christ and in our common profession of the Catholic faith which comes to us from the Apostles. I am especially happy that our meeting takes place in this Cathedral dedicated to the Most Precious Blood, which is the sign of God's redemptive mercy poured out upon the world through the passion, death and resurrection of his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In a particular way I greet the Archbishop of Canterbury, who honours us by his presence.
The visitor to this Cathedral cannot fail to be struck by the great crucifix dominating the nave, which portrays Christ's body, crushed by suffering, overwhelmed by sorrow, the innocent victim whose death has reconciled us with the Father and given us a share in the very life of God.
The Lord's outstretched arms seem to embrace this entire church, lifting up to the Father all the ranks of the faithful who gather around the altar of the Eucharistic sacrifice and share in its fruits.
The crucified Lord stands above and before us as the source of our life and salvation, "the high priest of the good things to come", as the author of the Letter to the Hebrews calls him in today's first reading (Heb 9:11).
It is in the shadow, so to speak, of this striking image, that I would like to consider the word of God which has been proclaimed in our midst and reflect on the mystery of the Precious Blood. For that mystery leads us to see the unity between Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, the Eucharistic sacrifice which he has given to his Church, and his eternal priesthood, whereby, seated at the right hand of the Father, he makes unceasing intercession for us, the members of his mystical body.
Let us begin with the sacrifice of the Cross. The outpouring of Christ's blood is the source of the Church's life. St John, as we know, sees in the water and blood which flowed from our Lord's body the wellspring of that divine life which is bestowed by the Holy Spirit and communicated to us in the sacraments (Jn19:34; cf.1Jn1:7; 5:6-7).
The letter to the Hebrews draws out, we might say, the liturgical implications of this mystery. Jesus, by his suffering and death, his self-oblation in the eternal Spirit, has become our high priest and "the mediator of a new covenant" (Heb 9:15).
These words echo our Lord's own words at the Last Supper, when he instituted the Eucharist as the sacrament of his body, given up for us, and his blood, the blood of the new and everlasting covenant shed for the forgiveness of sins (cf Mk 14:24; Mt 26:28; Lk 22:20).
Faithful to Christ's command to "do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19), the Church in every time and place celebrates the Eucharist until the Lord returns in glory, rejoicing in his sacramental presence and drawing upon the power of his saving sacrifice for the redemption of the world.
The reality of the Eucharistic sacrifice has always been at the heart of Catholic faith; called into question in the 16th century, it was solemnly reaffirmed at the Council of Trent against the backdrop of our justification in Christ.
In England, as we know, there were many who staunchly defended the Mass, often at great cost, giving rise to that devotion to the Most Holy Eucharist which has been a hallmark of Catholicism in these lands.
The Eucharistic sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ embraces in turn the mystery of our Lord's continuing passion in the members of his Mystical Body, the Church in every age. Here the great crucifix which towers above us serves as a reminder that Christ, our eternal high priest, daily unites our own sacrifices, our own sufferings, our own needs, hopes and aspirations, to the infinite merits of his sacrifice.
Through him, with him, and in him, we lift up our own bodies as a sacrifice holy and acceptable to God (cf Rom 12:1). In this sense we are caught up in his eternal oblation, completing, as St Paul says, in our flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, the Church (cf Col 1:24). In the life of the Church, in her trials and tribulations, Christ continues, in the stark phrase of Pascal, to be in agony until the end of the world (Pensees, 553, ed. Brunschvicg).
We see this aspect of the mystery of Christ's precious blood represented, most eloquently, by the martyrs of every age, who drank from the cup which Christ himself drank, and whose own blood, shed in union with his sacrifice, gives new life to the Church.
It is also reflected in our brothers and sisters throughout the world who even now are suffering discrimination and persecution for their Christian faith. Yet it is also present, often hidden in the suffering of all those individual Christians who daily unite their sacrifices to those of the Lord for the sanctification of the Church and the redemption of the world.
My thoughts go in a special way to all those who are spiritually united with this Eucharistic celebration, and in particular the sick, the elderly, the handicapped and those who suffer mentally and spiritually.
Here, too, I think of the immense suffering caused by the abuse of children, especially within the Church and by her ministers.
Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these unspeakable crimes, along with my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives.
I also acknowledge with you the shame and humiliation which all of us have suffered because of these sins; and I invite you to offer it to the Lord with trust that this chastisement will contribute to the healing of victims, the purification of the Church and the renewal of her age-old commitment to the education and care of young people.
I express my gratitude for the efforts being made to address this problem responsibly, and I ask all of you to show your concern for the victims and solidarity with your priests.
Dear friends, let us return to the contemplation of the great crucifix which rises above us. Our Lord's hands, extended on the Cross, also invite us to contemplate our participation in his eternal priesthood and thus our responsibility, as members of his body, to bring the reconciling power of his sacrifice to the world in which we live. The Second Vatican Council spoke eloquently of the indispensable role of the laity in carrying forward the Church's mission through their efforts to serve as a leaven of the Gospel in society and to work for the advancement of God's kingdom in the world (cf.Lumen Gentium, 31; Apostolicam Actuositatem,7).
The Council's appeal to the lay faithful to take up their baptismal sharing in Christ's mission echoed the insights and teachings of John Henry Newman. May the profound ideas of this great Englishman continue to inspire all Christ's followers in this land to conform their every thought, word and action to Christ, and to work strenuously to defend those unchanging moral truths which, taken up, illuminated and confirmed by the Gospel, stand at the foundation of a truly humane, just and free society.
How much contemporary society needs this witness! How much we need, in the Church and in society, witnesses of the beauty of holiness, witnesses of the splendour of truth, witnesses of the joy and freedom born of a living relationship with Christ!
One of the greatest challenges facing us today is how to speak convincingly of the wisdom and liberating power of God's word to a world which all too often sees the Gospel as a constriction of human freedom, instead of the truth which liberates our minds and enlightens our efforts to live wisely and well, both as individuals and as members of society.
Let us pray, then, that the Catholics of this land will become ever more conscious of their dignity as a priestly people, called to consecrate the world to God through lives of faith and holiness.
And may this increase of apostolic zeal be accompanied by an outpouring of prayer for vocations to the ordained priesthood. For the more the lay apostolate grows, the more urgently the need for priests is felt; and the more the laity's own sense of vocation is deepened, the more what is proper to the priest stands out.
May many young men in this land find the strength to answer the Master's call to the ministerial priesthood, devoting their lives, their energy and their talents to God, thus building up his people in unity and fidelity to the Gospel, especially through the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice.
Dear friends, in this Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood, I invite you once more to look to Christ, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection (cf Heb 12:2).
I ask you to unite yourselves ever more fully to the Lord, sharing in his sacrifice on the Cross and offering him that "spiritual worship" (Rom 12:1) which embraces every aspect of our lives and finds expression in our efforts to contribute to the coming of his Kingdom. I pray that, in doing so, you may join the ranks of faithful believers throughout the long Christian history of this land in building a society truly worthy of man, worthy of your nation's highest traditions."

The Pope in Parliament and Westminster Abbey: a day that shook the foundations of Britain's Protestant myth

From http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/damianthompson/100054166/the-pope-in-parliament-and-westminster-abbey-a-day-that-shook-the-foundations-of-britains-protestant-myth/

By Damian Thompson September 18th, 2010
How odd that it should be the Guardian that grasped the magnitude of what happened yesterday. Andrew Brown, religion editor of Comment is Free, and the possessor of an intellect as mighty and muddled as that of Rowan Williams, writes:
This was the end of the British Empire. In all the four centuries from Elizabeth I to Elizabeth II, England has been defined as a Protestant nation. The Catholics were the Other; sometimes violent terrorists and rebels, sometimes merely dirty immigrants. The sense that this was a nation specially blessed by God arose from a deeply anti-Catholic reading of the Bible. Yet it was central to English self-understanding when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1952 [sic], and swore to uphold the Protestant religion by law established.
For all of those 400 or so years it would have been unthinkable that a pope should stand in Westminster Hall and praise Sir Thomas More, who died to defend the pope’s sovereignty against the king’s. Rebellion against the pope was the foundational act of English power. And now the power is gone, and perhaps the rebellion has gone, too.
This was indeed a day of unthinkable events. Many Protestants will have been disturbed to see Pope Benedict XVI in Westminster Hall praising St Thomas More (who incidentally died to defend what he saw as the sovereignty of God). I don’t agree, however, that rebellion against the Pope was the “foundational act of English power”. Brown is a Left-wing agnostic whom one would expect to be suspicious of a national myth; but here we go again – we’re told that England discovered its identity as a result of the Reformation. Actually, English industry and culture flourished under the spiritual patronage of Rome; if the country had remained Catholic, they would have continued to do so. (In Germany, cities that remained Catholic were as prosperous as those that become Protestant.)
Indeed, if you want evidence of the self-confidence of our Catholic national identity, look no further than Westminster Abbey and Westminster Hall. For at least the first 500 years of its existence – we can’t be sure when it was founded – the Abbey was obedient to Benedict’s predecessors. So for the Pope to enter it today was an affirmation of its own “foundational act”. Not for nothing did he point out in his address that the church was dedicated to St Peter. Even Catholics who would never be so crude as to say “the Abbey belongs to us, not to you” sensed that history was being re-balanced in some way. They realised that the Pope had as much right to sit in that sanctuary as the Archbishop of Canterbury (who, to be fair, showed the Holy Father a degree of respect that implied that he, at least, recognises the spiritual primacy of the See of Peter even if he rejects some of its teachings).
Of course I’m not denying that for centuries anti-Catholicism was central to English self-understanding, even if it took nearly a century of harrassment and persecution to suppress the old religion. And there are still pockets of intense hatred of Rome in English society today. The difference is that the only anti-Catholics with influence are secularists who aren’t interested enough in the papal claims even to find out what they are. (I’m thinking of Peter Tatchell’s amazingly ignorant Channel 4 documentary.) They hate religion and they pick on Catholics because they’re the softest target. Protestant anti-Catholics, in contrast, don’t have mates in the media or useful allies in the Church of England. All they can do is watch in horror as the Pope of Rome processes into the church where Protestant monarchs are crowned, declares unambigously that he is the successor of St Peter with responsibility for the unity of Christendom, and then walks out again – to hearty applause.
To be honest, I’m still not quite sure what to make of it all myself. Benedict XVI’s speeches are worth reading several times; they often turn out to be more radical than they first appear. But one thing is for sure. Despite the unassuming courtesy of the Pope’s manner, he didn’t give an inch.

Massgoer in Eucharist incident at Latin Mass in Knock restrained

From http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0916/1224278995071.html

The Irish Times - Thursday, September 16, 2010
TOM SHIEL

A MASSGOER who objected to receiving the Eucharist on his tongue at a Latin Mass in Co Mayo had to be restrained when his protests led to a scuffle in the church. The incident at Knock Shrine was described by the Latin Mass Society of Ireland as "sad" and "disturbing".
It occurred when a man approached the altar of the parish church and insisted he get communion in his hand rather than on the tongue.
Fr Wulfran Lebocq, who was assisting on the altar, quietly told the communicant to take communion on his tongue. This is in accordance with the traditional Latin rite.
According to onlookers, the communicant told the priest: "You're in Ireland now".
Before being restrained, the communicant grabbed a host from the ciborium, and in the process the host fell on the floor.
According to Peadar Laighléis, president of the Latin Mass Society of Ireland, the man had to be escorted into the sacristy to "restrain him from causing another scene in the church".
The man protested that he was being held against his will. He was informed he was free to leave but not to return to the church.
A spokesman for the Archbishop of Tuam, Dr Michael Neary, said the archdiocese had been informed of the incident which occurred during the annual pilgrimage of the Latin Mass Society of Ireland to Knock on September 4th.
Describing the incident as "somewhat unfortunate", the spokesman added it had occurred "spontaneously".
He went on to say that Fr Richard Gibbons, a curate in Knock, had spoken to those involved and dealt with the incident at the time.
As far as the archdiocese was concerned the matter had now been dealt with.
The incident occurred during Sung Latin Mass in the old parish church which is sometimes called the Apparition Church as the 1879 visions took place there.

Celebration of Cardinal Newman's feast day will break from tradition

Vatican City, Sep 10, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).

Differing from the traditional practice, the feast day of Cardinal John Henry Newman will not be celebrated on the day of his death. Instead, in his memory the Church will celebrate his feast on the day he converted to Catholicism.
With Cardinal Newman's beatification just nine days away, the missal has been published by the Holy See on its website and in print by Magnificat. Included in the missal's nearly 500 pages of information on the papal visit and liturgical details is the Rite of Beatification for the famous cardinal on Sunday, Sept. 19.
During the Eucharist celebration at Birmingham's Cofton Park, the Holy Father will pronounce what is called the "Formula of Beatification," in which he declares that Cardinal Newman should "henceforth be invoked as Blessed."
Following these words, Benedict XVI will also proclaim that from here forward Cardinal Newman's feast is to be celebrated on October 9.
In general the feast days of blesseds and saints are marked on their "dies natalis," or the day they died. In his case, despite the fact that he died on Aug. 11, 1890, the Church has decided to select the day he converted to Catholicism, Oct. 9, 1845, as the day to celebrate his feast.
Saying he knew little about the decision during a press conference on Friday, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi joked that the Church already celebrates too many great saints in August so placing the date in October seemed like a good idea to him.
Incidentally, the Church already celebrates Sts. Denis and John Leonardi on the same date, while Aug. 11 is the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi.

Catholic priest urges European Christians to combat Islam by having more children

From http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/09/08/2010-09-08_catholic_priest_urges_european_christians_to_fight_off_islam_by_having_babies.html?print=1&page=all

BY Meena Hartenstein
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Wednesday, September 8th 2010

A prominent Catholic priest wants European Christians to fight off Islam with a unique weapon: babies.
Father Piero Gheddo, an Italian missionary priest, said Wednesday he believes a declining birth rate among Europeans combined with a rising tide of Muslim immigrants could mean that Islam will soon dominate Europe.
"Certainly from a demographic point of view, as it is clear to everyone that Italians are decreasing by 120,000 or 130,000 persons a year because of abortion and broken families; while among the more than 200,000 legal immigrants a year in Italy, more than half are Muslims and Muslim families, which have a much higher level of growth," he said, according to Rome's Catholic news service Zenit News Agency.
Gheddo's solution? Christians need to start having more children.
"The fact is that, as a people, we are becoming ever more pagan and the religious vacuum is inevitably filled by other proposals and religious forces," he said. "If we consider ourselves a Christian country, we should return to the practice of Christian life, which would also solve the problem of empty cradles."
Father Gheddo is a well-respected member of the Vatican's Pontificial Institute for Foreign Missionaires.
His comments were made in response to Libyan chief of state Moammar Khadafy, who said this week that Europe should convert to Islam.
Khadafy, on an official visit to Italy, laced his speech with controversial remarks, such as, "Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in."
"We don't know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions," Khadafy added, before handing out free copies of the Koran.
Incensed that Muslims could one day outnumber Christians in Europe, Gheddo vowed to bring more attention to the issue.
The media hasn't "seriously taken into consideration how to respond to this challenge of Islam," he said, "which sooner or later will conquer the majority in Europe."
Gheddo intends to change that.
"The challenge must be taken seriously," he said.

Feast of the Nativity of Mary

Today is one of the only three birthdays honored in the liturgical year (the others being that of St. John the Baptist and that of Jesus Christ Himself. While all three born without original sin, only Mary and Jesus immaculately conceived). This feast takes places exactly nine months before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception on December 8th.

Prayer to the Infant Mary:

Hail, Infant Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou forever, and blessed are thy holy parents Joachim and Anne, of whom thou wast miraculously born. Mother of God, intercede for us.
We fly to thy patronage, holy and amiable Child Mary, despise not our prayers in our necessities, but deliver us from all dangers, glorious and blessed Virgin.
V. Pray for us, holy Child Mary.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us Pray: O almighty and merciful God, Who through the cooperation of the Holy Ghost, didst prepare the body and soul of the Immaculate Infant Mary that she might be the worthy Mother of Thy Son, and didst preserve her from all stain, grant that we who venerate with all our hearts her most holy childhood, may be freed, through her merits and intercession, from all uncleanness of mind and body, and be able to imitate her perfect humility, obedience and charity. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pope highlights call for 'firm' and 'planted' youth in WYD 2011 message

Castel Gandolfo, Italy, Sep 5, 2010 (Catholic News Agency/EWTN News).

Speaking to youth in his message for World Youth Day 2011, Pope Benedict XVI said that the young person's relationship with Christ is fundamental to his reaching maturity. Christ, he added, gives young people all they need to confront life.
Having only just returned to Castel Gandolfo from a pastoral visit to Pope Leo XIII's hometown, the Holy Father recited the Angelus prayer with an enthusiastic collection pilgrims and faithful in the palace courtyard. Before speaking about the message for WYD 2011, he thanked the Lord for the opportunity to celebrate Leo XIII's birthday in Carpineto Romano, Italy on Sunday morning.
The Pope's Message for World Youth Day 2011 was only just released by the Holy See on Friday but carries the date of Aug. 6. The theme of the encounter, to be held in Madrid from Aug. 15-21, is "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith."
Calling the theme from the book of Colossians “decidedly against the current,” he asked, “(w)ho, in fact, proposes to the young people of today to be 'planted' and 'firm'?”
Uncertainty, mobility and communication are exalted today, he pointed out, explaining that these are “all aspects that reflect an indecisive culture concerning the foundational values, principles on the basis of which one orients and regulates life.”
Drawing from his own personal experience and his contact with young people, the Holy Father said that he “know(s) well that every generation, indeed, every single person is called to remake the path of discovery of the meaning of life.”
For this reason, he said, the WYD 2011 message employs biblical references to the tree and construction. “The young person, in fact, is like a growing tree: to develop itself well it needs deep roots, which, in the case of a windstorm, keep it well planted in the ground.” On the other hand, he added, “sound foundations” can be seen in the image of the building.
The core of the message, he said, thus lies in the expressions “in Jesus Christ” and “in the faith.”
“Full maturity of the person (and) his interior stability have their foundation in the relationship with God, a relationship that passes through the encounter with Jesus Christ.” This relation of trust and friendship with Christ is capable of giving young people that which they need most to confront life, said the Pope. It's able to give them “serenity and interior light, an attitude to think positively, broad-mindedness towards others (and) availability to give personally for good, justice and truth.”
The fact that the young person is supported in the faith also by the Church is an important aspect to becoming a believer, he said, explaining that “if no man is an island, less so is the Christian, who discovers in the Church the beauty of the shared and witnessed faith together with others in the brotherhood and service of charity.”
Noting the significance of the date of the publication of the Message for WYD 2011, signed on the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, he prayed, “May the light of the Face of Christ shine in the heart of every young person!
“And,” he added, “(may) the Virgin Mary accompany the path of the community and of the youth groups towards the great Encounter of Madrid 2011 with her protection.”

Almost half of UK Mass-goers would attend older form

From http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2010/09/03/poll-almost-half-of-mass-goers-would-attend-older-form/

By Anna Arco on Friday, 3 September 2010
Almost half of English and Welsh Mass-goers would attend Masses in the traditional form of the Roman Rite if it was celebrated in local parishes, a new study has shown.
The survey, which used a sample of 800 people who identified themselves as Catholic, showed that 66 per cent of practising Catholics would be happy to attend the traditional Latin Mass once a month if it were celebrated in their parishes.
Commissioned by the French group Paix Liturgique, the survey also showed that Britain had a higher percentage of regular Mass attendance than France, Portugal and Germany.
Although only 19 per cent of Britain’s population identifies as Catholic, 32 per cent of Catholics attend Mass at least once a month, if not more often, compared with 19 per cent of French Catholics and 10 per cent of German Catholics.
According to the survey, 43 per cent of those Catholics who practice regularly would attend Mass in the Extraordinary Form once a week. Fifty per cent of the Catholics questioned said that they would find it normal if Mass were celebrated in the Extraordinary Form alongside the Ordinary Form in their parishes. The survey also found that 60 per cent of Catholics were unaware of Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum which lifted restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass in 2007.
John Medlin, general manager of the Latin Mass Society, said: “Broadly speaking these results are the same across Europe. They indicate that among Catholics who take interest in their faith, although there is great ignorance, once people are made aware of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum there is a willingness for people in large numbers to accept the Extraordinary Form.
“Once it is explained, there is a willingness on the part of Catholics attached to the Ordinary Form for the two forms of the rite to exist quite happily side by side in the parishes, just as most of those attached to the Extraordinary Form are quite happy to accept the right of those attached to the ordinary form to have Mass celebrated in this way.”
In a statement Paix Liturgique said: “In Great Britain as elsewhere, the argument resting on the lack of interest among the faithful for the application of the Motu Proprio is unfair. When their point of view is solicited in an opinion poll the results are quite different to those obtained when one merely speaks in their name.”

Pro-Life Group Recalls Eerie Run-In with Discovery Channel Gunman

By Kathleen Gilbert WASHINGTON, D.C.,
September 2, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com)

The crazed eco-extremist who flung himself into the national spotlight yesterday after taking three hostages at the Discovery Channel headquarters is no stranger to the pro-life community in the nation’s capital.
Newly unearthed footage shows an unsettling 2009 confrontation between pro-lifers and a man who they say they have identified as James J. Lee, 43, who was destined to be gunned down by police a year later, after acting on his extreme dedication to "stopping the human race from breeding any more disgusting human babies."
The drama began to unfold about around 1 pm. yesterday, when Lee entered the Silver Springs building with a gun and what appeared to be pipe bombs strapped to himself; he confirmed to a CNN producer who called the office building that he was in possession of at least one explosive.
After approximately four hours of negotiations, Lee pointed a handgun at one of his hostages, at which point he was shot and killed by police snipers. The hostages and others in the building were not harmed during the hours-long showdown with police.
As stated in a manifesto published online, Lee hoped to force the Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel (TLC) to "stop all shows glorifying human birthing." Instead the stations should air shows geared toward halting the overpopulation of "parasitic human infants" in order to save the planet from global warming and pollution. Lee was likely targeting TLC programming such as "19 and Counting" and "Jon & Kate Plus 8," both of which follow the daily lives of large families.
TLC is owned by Discovery Communications, which also operates the Discovery Channel.
According to MSNBC, Lee credited his "awakening" to former Vice President Al Gore's 2006 movie "An Inconvenient Truth," which blamed man-made pollution for global warming.
Last year, Lee's passion for suppressing the human race brought him to the steps of the Planned Parenthood building in Washington, D.C., where members of the American Life League were holding a protest against the dangers of the birth control pill.
In a video of the encounter, filmed by Lee himself, and uploaded to his Youtube account, Lee takes issue with the group's "religious" aspect, and criticized Biblical faith as "unsustainable." "You can't say that we can breed as many children as I want, and that the earth is unlimited - the earth is limited. You can't just say we got to fill the earth, have all these children, and nevermind all the other creatures. That's what the Bible says," the man told the group.
"See, personally I don't care if you humans destroy yourselves with your stupid wars. But, you can't destroy the natural world. The atomic bomb hurts other creatures ... Why don't you guys just slice yourselves with knives instead of something, but please don't hurt the wildlife like that, there's only so many of them," he continued.
"Animals are wonderful creatures ... they live sustainable lives. They mean no harm .... But humans are really environmentally destructive and we gotta stop breeding or something."
Katie Walker, communications director with the American Life League, told LifeSiteNews.com that, during the confrontation, she noticed the man's strange sense of disconnection from the human race.
"I was very struck by his disconnection with rational thought and his absolute disdain for human beings' lives," said Walker.
Walker said that "one of the main things that freaked us out at the time" was Lee's referral to the pro-life witnesses as "you human beings."
"He did not count himself one of the human race," she said.
The young pro-life leader said she felt "shock" when she identified the Discovery Channel gunman as the same man she met outside Planned Parenthood - yet, she says, at the time of their encounter, she was "not too terribly surprised" at his disturbing philosophy.
"After all, when you stand in front of Planned Parenthood, you become very used to talking to people who don't believe in the sanctity of human beings' lives," said Walker. "His views on human beings' lives are simply the logical end of the views espoused by many in the pro-abortion movement."