Lent 09 issue of The Flock

The Lent issue of The Flock, the newsletter of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, is available on-line.

Contents:

CAN CATHOLICS DISSENT FROM CHURCH TEACHING?

AN OPEN LETTER TO BISHOP CONRY OF ARUNDEL AND BRIGHTON

BISHOP CONRY IS NOT ALONE IN HIS DISSENT

‘LOONEY LEFT' VERSUS ‘CONSERVATIVE RIGHT'!

“. . . and the trumpets sounded for them on the other side!”

DEAR FRIENDS

OBEDIENCE TO OUR BLESSED MOTHER

GOOD RESOURCES WE CAN USE

A PRAYER TO OUR LADY

WRITING TO ROME.

Highlights: Daphne MacLeod's article on 'Loony left vs. conservative right' is excellent, and contains a number of amusing anecdotes, such as this one:

Another time, at a talk in Portsmouth for catechists, I inadvertently upset a priest by saying I found Mass and Holy Communion helpful when the Speaker, a crazy Australian, wanted suggestions like hugging a tree which he finds spiritually uplifting. Father told me in no uncertain terms to go and he would refund my fee. I didn't go so he smouldered all day and as I finally set off home I could still hear him shouting “whitened sepulchre” down the street after me.

we paste in below the article 'Bishop Conry is not alone in his dissent'.

SADLY, Bishop Conry's stance differs very little from that of his brother bishops, with Bishop Patrick O'Donoghue the one notable exception. All the others betray the Catholic Church and its members by

1    their consistent failure to ensure that the Catholic schools they are responsible for, teach the faith according to the 1994 Catechism;

2     uniting our Catholic schools with Anglican schools and arranging joint Anglican/Catholic religious instruction, often given by non-Catholic teachers;

3     permitting explicit classroom lessons on sex even in Catholic primary schools, in spite of the Vatican ruling that such lessons are always unlawful and sex should never be taught to children of primary age:

4     agreeing to install Moslem Prayer Rooms and ritual washing facilities in Catholic schools although these are not required by law and are not found in state schools;

5     insisting that Catholic schools must accept children who have been baptised without considering Sunday Mass attendance or reception of the Sacraments. This goes further than Government requirements and it means that good schools like Cardinal Vaughan Senior School may have to refuse faithful Catholics while admitting those who do not practice;

6     producing a leaflet urging parish priests to welcome homosexuals in Homilies and Bidding Prayers expressing “appreciation of the gifts homosexuals bring to their faith community” without mentioning that all single Catholics are called to celibacy. This has caused particular distress to Catholic homosexuals striving to live chaste lives;

7     knowingly allowing openly practising homosexuals to hold Conferences and to celebrate Masses where Holy Communion is given, in their dioceses. Perhaps the most glaring example is Warwick Street Church in Westminster Archdiocese where every other Sunday Masses for openly practising homosexuals are permitted at 5 p.m. followed by a Social. These have continued for two years now and we still pray the Rosary outside in reparation for the sacrileges committed.

8     ignoring instructions from Rome on the Liturgy and other points saying “This doesn't apply to England”! Even contradicting the Holy Father, as H.E. Cardinal Cormac did recently when he insisted that the Pope's clear insistence that the Church teaches homosexuals are unsuitable for ordination was “very much misrepresented.” His Eminence claims that the Pope was merely discussing “human ecology”! See The Catholic Times for 11th Jan. 2009.

9    allowing General Absolution condemned by Rome as a serious abuse of the Sacrament of Penance, to continue unabated and openly advertised on web-sites and in parish newsletters in many dioceses.

10    permittimg marriage preparation programmes which fail to mention Church teaching on marriage and sometimes Our Lord Himself – for an example visit:

http://www.torchofthefaith.com

There is much more, but these examples show how low we have sunk, partl y 
due to a misunderstanding of collegiality which leads to majority rule instea d 
of each bishop individually taking responsibility for the Faith in his diocese.

However, any diocesan bishop is free to exercise his rightful authority any time he chooses. Bishop O'Donoghue has shown the way in his Diocese. The Vatican, in the person of Archbishop Luis Ladaria, Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, endorsed Bishop O'Donoghue's Fit for Mission Documents. His Grace also expressed the hope that “Catholics throughout Britain will find hope and encouragement in these Documents” . If you have not yet seen the Documents, we still have copies of the Summary which you can order from us for a small donation.  

You can also view them here:

Bishop O'Donoghue's two Mission Documents.

See also the other recommended publications in the Pro Ecclesia Et Pontifice shop at:

http://www.proecclesia.com/page_pro%20ecclesia%20shop.htm