Journeys of a Catholic Poster Girl

(h/t: Amy

From Fr. Z: yes, I posted the whole thing. Yes, it is long. But it is good.

You are wondering about the Motu Proprio, I am sure.

There are factors in Italy and in the Church at large which are probably influencing the release date.

Let’s move toward this with a not irrelevant tangent.

In the Italian daily Libero there is today an article by Marcello Veneziani in Latin. It isn’t good Latin, but it’s readable Latin. There is a rather amusing typo of the name Caesar in the very first sentence, for example. First, and second part.

Veneziani argues for the return of the use of Latin in two phases, first, in his Latin letter, then, in a postscript in Italian. The former for the use of Latin to help Italians understand who they are, recover what they have lost, and to help Europe be whole. The latter, argues for Latin in church. I will focus on the latter.

In the second part, the postscript in “the vulgar tongue”, Veneziani shares memories of a solemn Mass he attended as a child. He has never forgotten.

“Seeing as this is Easter, I would like to call to mind a Mass in Latin during my childhood, in the cathedral of my city, with an offering of 20 lire to sit in the choir with my father. I still have it before my eyes, in my nose, in my ears, the beauty of the rite, the scent of incense, the mystery of the words. It seemed to me I was truly linked to the Lord’s own network. The priest addressed himself to God and didn’t turn his back on Him in order to humor the faithful. The words, whispered and ancient, the mystery of those phrases, exuded the sacred and drew you closer to God.

Because Mass is not a soap opera, it in not necessary to understand the words; it is a rite of communion with God and not an instruction sheet for installing a washing machine. Whoever says that the mystery of those words only made power inaccessible to the people, isn’t taking into account all the obscure, esoteric, incomprehensible jargon used today in the fields of technology, economy, and physics to make them impenetrable and necessitate a caste of mediators. No. Better to have Latin, which above all wouldn’t be obligatory, but a free choice, as if by a democratic committee (the request of 30 devout souls, the Cobas* of the faith, would be enough). And so it is wonderful to think about the Resurrection of Latin at Easter of 2007, 30 years after the savage attacks on it by “Cursore Vespertino”’s (alias Corriere della Sera’s) Giorgio Manganelli, now reprinted in the book Mammifero Italiano (Adelphi, 2007). Let’s reinstate Latin also in view of the dies familiae – which sounds better than “family day”** (though “gay pride” sounds bad even if you translate it as idem sexus amator superbia).”
* “Cobas” – “Comitati di base” are radical trade unions which control nearly everything in Italy.
** “Family day” is a demonstration, a confrontation really, schedule for May about legislation proposed on civil unions, homosexual marriage, taxation rates for families, etc.
Veneziani deftly slides into the discussion of Italian politics and the influence of the Church in public life. There are references to Italian political life all through the pieces he wrote. For example, the reference to “mani pulite”, or “clean hands” isn’t just about what the Pope told young people in his homily on Palm Sunday. It is also a reference to the Italian political scandal in the 90’s (and still going on) of corrupt government officials receiving kick-backs for favors. When the Pope speaks about anything, it has a big impact on the press in Italy, and the intertwining of Church and state here is more tangled than a plate of long spaghetti.

These factors are of huge importance to anyone who wants to understand how decisions are being made about the life in the Church, both in Italy and abroad. Remember, the Pope is the Bishop of Rome. He has the good of the whole Church to consider, but he is also a bishop here in Italy, the Primate of Italy. As I have tried to explain to people for years, you have to grasp what is going on in Italian Church/State relations to really get what is happening even with decisions and documents of global importance.

The “Family Day” reference is crucial right now even, I think, for the date of the Motu Proprio.

Very bad legislation has been introduced in Italy about homosexual marriage, taxation rates for families, etc. The Pope and CEI (Italian Bishops Conference) have said clearly and repeatedly that Catholics must oppose this bad legislation every way possible. They have been very vocal about this and the lefties all going completely bananas. In their view of things, the Church is supposed to be a silent partner in reshaping society (after all… that’s the purpose of the Church, right? an instrument of social activism and change?).

Various Catholic groups suggested a demonstration, against these legislative projects, in favor of the family properly understood. Tension is building. The simmering hostility toward Benedict and the Church is starting to boil. I posted in another entry about posters put up in Genova, which is where the new president of the CEI, the Italian Bishops Conference is the Archbishop and soon to be cardinal.

In light of the importance of “Family Day” in resisting the evil legislation, it was decided by the Pope and the CEI that bishops should not participate in the May demonstration, though priests could.

“But Father! But Father!” you are saying with furrowed brow, “Why no bishops? Shouldn’t they be out there in the front lines?”

This is probably a good decision. In Spain on a similar occasion the leftists emphasized the conflict among the bishops on these matters, and that seriously undermined the Church in Spain, took away it’s voice. They are trying to rebuild their moral capital there. So, in Italy it was decided that LAY PEOPLE had to make themselves the force for change in the public square. The Family Day demonstration would not be led by clergy. It is better than lay people do this themselves, to test the wil of lay movements. Having bishops step aside is not going to be the best scenario in all social issues, but on this one, in ITALY, it probably is. People are divided on this, but there it is.
In Italy, Pope Benedict is making a huge splash. Since he was elected, the left-wing has gone nearly insane with confusion and rage. The main-stream press is waging a bitter campaign against him and the Church. The problem is that he is hugely popular especially among young people who are beginning to ask questions of their teachers and others about things they are not supposed to question (the left-wing agenda). Since the education system in Italy has been run by Communists for decades, this question asking trend is a very bad development. And… it is the Pope’s fault! If John Paul captured the imagination of young people and drew them in, they are now listening to Benedict with rapt attention. He is the only great public figure saying anything new or that makes sense. While the secularists are all shrieking about “thinking outside the box”, the Pope is the only one really doing it.

Benedict XVI is handling a great number of very difficult issues both in Italy itself, in larger Europe, and within the Church. There is huge tension now because he just isn’t doing what every splinter group thinks he ought to be doing. Instead the Pope is being the Pope. When you thnk about why we haven’t seen the Motu Proprio yet, consider that when he released Sacramentum caritatis it wasn’t enough for some people and it was ignored by others. He increases the use of Latin and it isn’t enough. If he releases the MP, it won’t be enough for many who will be the chief beneficiaries of what the Pope is trying to accomplish. I think if I were the Pope, I too would be very careful with the release of this document.

The Motu Proprio will be interpreted in a larger context of what Benedict is doing on many levels in Italy and Europe.

When Benedict does this, he must get it as right as he possibly can. The stakes are high in other sectors of the life of the Church.

And B XVI’s Easter Vigil Homily:

These words of the Psalm, read as a dialogue between the Risen Christ and ourselves, also explain what takes place at Baptism. Baptism is more than a bath, a purification. It is more than becoming part of a community. It is a new birth. A new beginning in life. The passage of the Letter to the Romans which we have just read says, in words filled with mystery, that in Baptism we have been “grafted” onto Christ by likeness to his death. In Baptism we give ourselves over to Christ – he takes us unto himself, so that we no longer live for ourselves, but through him, with him and in him; so that we live with him and thus for others. In Baptism we surrender ourselves, we place our lives in his hands, and so we can say with Saint Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” If we offer ourselves in this way, if we accept, as it were, the death of our very selves, this means that the frontier between death and life is no longer absolute. On either side of death we are with Christ and so, from that moment forward, death is no longer a real boundary. Paul tells us this very clearly in his Letter to the Philippians: “For me to live is Christ. To be with him (by dying) is gain. Yet if I remain in this life, I can still labour fruitfully. And so I am hard pressed between these two things. To depart – by being executed – and to be with Christ; that is far better. But to remain in this life is more necessary on your account” (cf. 1:21ff.). On both sides of the frontier of death, Paul is with Christ – there is no longer a real difference. Yes, it is true: “Behind and before you besiege me, your hand ever laid upon me” (Ps 138 [139]: 5). To the Romans Paul wrote: “No one … lives to himself and no one dies to himself… Whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom 14:7ff.).

Dear candidates for Baptism, this is what is new about Baptism: our life now belongs to Christ, and no longer to ourselves. As a result we are never alone, even in death, but are always with the One who lives for ever. In Baptism, in the company of Christ, we have already made that cosmic journey to the very abyss of death. At his side and, indeed, drawn up in his love, we are freed from fear. He enfolds us and carries us wherever we may go – he who is Life itself.

snip

Truly Christ puts the lost sheep upon his shoulders and carries it home. Clinging to his Body we have life, and in communion with his Body we reach the very heart of God. Only thus is death conquered, we are set free and our life is hope.

This is the joy of the Easter Vigil: we are free. In the resurrection of Jesus, love has been shown to be stronger than death, stronger than evil. Love made Christ descend, and love is also the power by which he ascends. The power by which he brings us with him. In union with his love, borne aloft on the wings of love, as persons of love, let us descend with him into the world’s darkness, knowing that in this way we will also rise up with him. On this night, then, let us pray: Lord, show us that love is stronger than hatred, that love is stronger than death. Descend into the darkness and the abyss of our modern age, and take by the hand those who await you. Bring them to the light! In my own dark nights, be with me to bring me forth! Help me, help all of us, to descend with you into the darkness of all those people who are still waiting for you, who out of the depths cry unto you! Help us to bring them your light! Help us to say the “yes” of love, the love that makes us descend with you and, in so doing, also to rise with you. Amen!