reorganisation and destruction of irish catholic churches
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@samuel j wrote:
Well said…..Novelties not the way to go….. never were and never will be…..
Some folk wouldn’t get the drift though standing in a blizzard!
It is a shocking state of affairs when a bishop and his curia are so far out of touch not only with the immemorial custom of their own liturgical tradition but also with the very flock entrusted to their care that they continue to flog rocks and scorpions instead of nourishing the faith of their people and giving them the unfiltered patrimony that is their due as members of the Mystical Body of Christ.
The old saw of “pray, pay, and obey!” has spent itself in Ireland.
Instead of afflicting the People of God with more ideology (or ‘guff’ as Prax so eloquently puts it), it would behove ecclesiastical authorities to protect the Church’s patrimony and to educate the faithful in the truths of Catholicism. Benedict XVI actively encourages the Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church. Is this being used in the institutions of Catholic education in Ireland?
Is there a bishop anywhere in the Emerald Isle with sufficient instincts of leadership to found a liturgical institute that would teach authentic liturgical science and frame it in relationship to all the other branches in theology? Such an institute would provide education as well in liturgical art and architecture – and not just the various schools of such but provide a deep understanding of the historical development of liturgical art and architeture. After all, how can a tradition be maintained if it is not understood and appreciated?
Given the kind of concerted effort made in the nineteenth century to educate and form clergy and laity in the liturgy, Ireland would see a return to the practice of the Catholic religion. Perhaps, though, the very fear of this lies at the heart of the current ecclesial paralysis.
How many ad limina visits must it take before the penny finally drops?
ACCOUNTABILITY???
@Rhabanus wrote:
Some folk wouldn’t get the drift though standing in a blizzard!
It is a shocking state of affairs when a bishop and his curia are so far out of touch not only with the immemorial custom of their own liturgical tradition but also with the very flock entrusted to their care that they continue to flog rocks and scorpions instead of nourishing the faith of their people and giving them the unfiltered patrimony that is their due as members of the Mystical Body of Christ.
The old saw of “pray, pay, and obey!” has spent itself in Ireland.
Instead of afflicting the People of God with more ideology (or ‘guff’ as Prax so eloquently puts it), it would behove ecclesiastical authorities to protect the Church’s patrimony and to educate the faithful in the truths of Catholicism. Benedict XVI actively encourages the Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church. Is this being used in the institutions of Catholic education in Ireland?
Is there a bishop anywhere in the Emerald Isle with sufficient instincts of leadership to found a liturgical institute that would teach authentic liturgical science and frame it in relationship to all the other branches in theology? Such an institute would provide education as well in liturgical art and architecture – and not just the various schools of such but provide a deep understanding of the historical development of liturgical art and architeture. After all, how can a tradition be maintained if it is not understood and appreciated?
Given the kind of concerted effort made in the nineteenth century to educate and form clergy and laity in the liturgy, Ireland would see a return to the practice of the Catholic religion. Perhaps, though, the very fear of this lies at the heart of the current ecclesial paralysis.
How many ad limina visits must it take before the penny finally drops?
ACCOUNTABILITY???
AND HOW ABOUT THE HERMENEUTIC OF CONTINUITY???
@Praxiteles wrote:
Now we are on to something…MEGALOMANIA. That was the driving force in the Cobh debacle.
That and unbridled clerical ambition lie behind most of the ecclesial wreckage witnessed unremittingly over the past 40 years. Just notice who were rewarded (and quite handsomely, too) for their efforts at iconoclasm and desacralisation, and who were punished for their perceived recalcitrance in upholding and preserving the Church’s teachings.
If those in positions of responsibility are rewarded for their misfeasance, then more of the same can be expected. If, on the other hand, they are made to face correction and the just desserts of their miscreance, then a corner will have been turned.
Pope Leo X dismissed the budding reformation in Germany as “a mere quarrel among friars” and would continue to feed with his own hand his pet elephant, Hanno (gift of the King of Portugal). He also liked to erect bridges (as a good pontifex ought to do). Now, I like elephants up to a point, and I use bridges whenever possible, but, really, they find a place somewhat lower on my list of priorities than the depositum fidei and the unity of Christendom.
The question arises inexorably: WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY??
Oh! I think you do Leo X an injustice. Have you never seen the frescos on the ceiling of the Sala Leonina in the Vatican Library depicting him, among other things, as the castagator hereticorum?
@Praxiteles wrote:
Oh! I think you do Leo X an injustice. Have you never seen the frescos on the ceiling of the Sala Leonina in the Vatican Library depicting him, among other things, as the castagator hereticorum?
Self-praise is no recommendation. I suppose, too, that the current episcopate of Ireland think they are on the cutting edge of all things theological and liturgical. When you pay your diocesan news staff, as Leo paid Raphael, you tend to get the desired result rather than the unvarnished truth.
Leo’s motto was: “God has granted Us the papacy – and We intend to enjoy it.” Had the Lutheran fracas erupted in the pontificate of Alexander VI (no rose of budding virtue by any means, but not one to suffer fools gladly), Luther would likely have ended up as Savonarola did – a crackly crisp dipped into the Arno.
Leo bears his share of responsibility for the reformation through sheer insouciance and lack of zeal for the honour of God and the good of the Church.
My point remains. WHERE IS THE ACCOUNTABILITY??
@Rhabanus wrote:
. When you pay your diocesan news staff, as Leo paid Raphael, you tend to get the desired result rather than the unvarnished truth.
aka a mutual admiration society…a common occurance in all organisations…..
Here is the man himself: Leo X with his nephews Giuglio de’ Medici (the future Clement VII) and Giovanni Rosi painted in 1518 by Raphael, who had become the architect for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s following the death of Bramante in 1514. Here we see the myopic Leo X with his magnifying glass as he reads from the opening page of St. John’s Gospel -an oblique reference to his own baptismal name, Giovanni. The bronze bell in the foreground is quite exquisite and a hint at the troubled times of his reign is to be seen in the distorted image on the ball of the chair-back. It should not be missed that both of his nephews are placed behind the throne indicating their influence on the pontificate.
This portrait of aphael’s set the iconographic scheme for all subsequent papal portraiture. Some PR man that!
ANd the next great papal portrait was Titian’s 1546 picture of Pope Paul III (who did decide to do something to sort out the mess by calling the Council of Trent in 1546) and his nephews Alessandro and Ottavio Farnese:
@Praxiteles wrote:
The next great portrait is Valazquez’s portrait of Innocent X painted in 1650.
Don’t forget the other compelling portrait of Innocent X, and I am not referring here to that by El Greco, but to that by Guido Reni. It is found in the last lateral chapel on the Epistle side of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rome. St Michael battles the devil. Reni searched for months and months for the model of the Archangel – a face that combined virility with angelic purity, courage and humility, valour and self-effacement. For the face of Satan, he had no trouble whatsoever finding the model – he gave the fallen angel the face of Innocent X (Pamphili), who refused to patronise Reni.
A lesson here: let churchmen great and small alike exercise wisdom and generosity in the selection of artists. They often have the last word in historical terms.
The famous painting of St Michael the Archangel in the Church of the Immaculate Conception figures in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Roman novel,The Marble Faun.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Here is the man himself: Leo X with his nephews Giuglio de’ Medici (the future Clement VII) and Giovanni Rosi painted in 1518 by Raphael, who had become the architect for the rebuilding of St. Peter’s following the death of Bramante in 1514. Here we see the myopic Leo X with his magnifying glass as he reads from the opening page of St. John’s Gospel -an oblique reference to his own baptismal name, Giovanni. The bronze bell in the foreground is quite exquisite and a hint at the troubled times of his reign is to be seen in the distorted image on the ball of the chair-back. It should not be missed that both of his nephews are placed behind the throne indicating their influence on the pontificate.
This portrait of aphael’s set the iconographic scheme for all subsequent papal portraiture. Some PR man that!
Note that Pope Benedict XVI has revived the camauro (the papal red cap trimmed in fur) and the velvet mozetta likewise trimmed in ermine. Leo’s tailor did a better job than the current papal haberdasher – observe that the items actually fit the sixteenth-century pontiff.
Again, churchmen do well to patronise worthy artists and artisans, as well as competent tailors and craftsmen.
@Rhabanus wrote:
Note that Pope Benedict XVI has revived the camauro (the papal red cap trimmed in fur) and the velvet mozetta likewise trimmed in ermine. Leo’s tailor did a better job than the current papal haberdasher – observe that the items actually fit the sixteenth-century pontiff.
Again, churchmen do well to patronise worthy artists and artisans, as well as competent tailors and craftsmen.
😎 There was no lack of master tailoring or craftsmanship in Pope Benedict’s recent address to the Irish Bishops. Indeed it hit the headlines in Italy and elsewhere – but emerged in the Irish media as nothing more than a cosy and pious little chat. Now how did they manage that, one wonders….
Good point Pete-
If you did not see it, here’s the link:
@Rhabanus wrote:
Don’t forget the other compelling portrait of Innocent X, and I am not referring here to that by El Greco, but to that by Guido Reni. It is found in the last lateral chapel on the Epistle side of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Rome. St Michael battles the devil. Reni searched for months and months for the model of the Archangel – a face that combined virility with angelic purity, courage and humility, valour and self-effacement. For the face of Satan, he had no trouble whatsoever finding the model – he gave the fallen angel the face of Innocent X (Pamphili), who refused to patronise Reni.
A lesson here: let churchmen great and small alike exercise wisdom and generosity in the selection of artists. They often have the last word in historical terms.
The famous painting of St Michael the Archangel in the Church of the Immaculate Conception figures in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Roman novel,The Marble Faun.
Well, I would not be too inclined to take Guido Reni’s attitute as typical towards an undoubtedly great patron. Take for instance the the case of El Greco and Philip II of Spain. Philip II did not like El Greco’s work and he systematically excluded him from the decoration of the Escorial preferring oftertimes third rate Genovese painters instead. Clearly, El Greco did not like Philip II’s attitude to his work. But that did not prevent his including Philip among the Apostles in Heaven in his great work: the Burial of the Count of Orgaz in the church of San Tom
@descamps wrote:
Good point Pete-
If you did not see it, here’s the link:
“Yet above all, it falls to you, the Bishops, and to your clergy to offer young people an inspiring and attractive vision of the ordained priesthood. Our prayer for vocations “must lead to action so that from our praying heart a spark of our joy in God and in the Gospel may arise, enkindling in the hearts of others a readiness to say ‘yes’” (Address to Priests and Permanent Deacons, Freising, 14 September 2006). Even if Christian commitment is considered unfashionable in some circles, there is a real spiritual hunger and a generous desire to serve others among the young people of Ireland. A vocation to the priesthood or the religious life offers an opportunity to respond to this desire in a way that brings deep joy and personal fulfilment.”
Young people easily detect pretension and hypocrisy (as well as guff) in their elders . They are inspired, on the other hand, by authentic apostolic witness in the proclamation of the Gospel, dedication to carrying out the demands of the Gospel in union with the Apostolic See, and coherence in conducting liturgical worship.
@Praxiteles wrote:
Well, I would not be too inclined to take Guido Reni’s attitute as typical towards an undoubtedly great patron. Take for instance the the case of El Greco and Philip II of Spain. Philip II did not like El Greco’s work and he systematically excluded him from the decoration of the Escorial preferring oftertimes third rate Genovese painters instead. Clearly, El Greco did not like Philip II’s attitude to his work. But that did not prevent his including Philip among the Apostles in Heaven in his great work: the Burial of the Count of Orgaz in the church of San Tomé in Toledo:
Is it an honour to appear in any painting by El Greco (whether in heaven or in hell)?
@Rhabanus wrote:
“Yet above all, it falls to you, the Bishops, and to your clergy to offer young people an inspiring and attractive vision of the ordained priesthood. Our prayer for vocations “must lead to action so that from our praying heart a spark of our joy in God and in the Gospel may arise, enkindling in the hearts of others a readiness to say ‘yes’†(Address to Priests and Permanent Deacons, Freising, 14 September 2006). Even if Christian commitment is considered unfashionable in some circles, there is a real spiritual hunger and a generous desire to serve others among the young people of Ireland. A vocation to the priesthood or the religious life offers an opportunity to respond to this desire in a way that brings deep joy and personal fulfilment.”
Young people easily detect pretension and hypocrisy (as well as guff) in their elders . They are inspired, on the other hand, by authentic apostolic witness in the proclamation of the Gospel, dedication to carrying out the demands of the Gospel in union with the Apostolic See, and coherence in conducting liturgical worship.
Rhabane!
Bene de me scripsisti!!
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