Exile of Father Lanzetta of Franciscans of Immaculate At End

(London) Father Serafino Lanzetta, one of the most brilliant minds of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, has been appointed the parish priest of Saint Mary in Gosport, England. For the last few weeks he has been already in place and has begun to make a biritual of a  New Rite parish. The end of his exile coincided with the agony and  death of Commissioner Volpi.[God rest his soul]

Father Lanzetta was among the first victims of the provisional administration of the until recently thriving Order. By August 11, 2013 he and all the priests of the Order had been banned from celebration of  the traditional rite  of the Holy Mass by  the Congregation for Religious. At the same time the Capuchin Father Fidenzio Volpi took control as Apostolic Commissioner of the Order.

Florence Tyrol to England

With the beginning of autumn 2013, all the leading figures of the Order were dismissed from  their offices  and relieved of their duties. Father Lanzetta, then pastor of Ognissanti in Florence had to leave his parish on 4 October.  Due to bureaucratic difficulties he received a grace period  until October 21. While others were exiled to Latin America, Africa or Asia, his place of exile was the only monastery of the Order in the German-speaking world.

Since then, he had  lead a reclusive life in the monastery Kitzbühel in Tyrol. He took advantage of this time to complete his doctoral studies.  His thesis was supervised by the famous German dogmatist and Mariologist Manfred Hauke  "Il Vaticano II, un Concilio Pastoral" (Vatican II, a Pastoral Council. Hermeneutics of Council Teachings) was approved at theTheological Faculty of Lugano  in Switzerland.

How it is this religious priest, who worked in Italy, is led to England to say the traditional Rite,  is not known, but the news gratifying yet in any case.

Parish journal of St. Mary, Gosport from June 28, 2015

Building a Biritual Parish 

According to website of the Diocese of Portsmouth in southern England, Father Lanzetta is to officially assume his pastorate on  September 8  on the Feast of the Nativity of Mary. In fact, it has been already since the feast of Corpus Christi that he is already filling his new place of work and the duties of the parish priest. In parish journal of Gosport he is already listed as such.

The parish of Gosport is run by Franciscans of the Immaculate under the guidance of Father Lanzetta since  a few weeks ago. The parish also hosts a branch of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate.

The current parish journal informs that starting next week at the St. Mary's Church, Holy Mass will be celebrated from Monday to Friday at 7 o'clock in the morning and on Saturday at 9:30 o'clock in the extraordinary [sic] form of the Roman Rite: "All are invited to attend".  A Sunday Mass in the old rite is not provided, but that seems to be only be a matter of time.

Father Lanzetta also offers a weekly introduction to the traditional form of the Mass, which intends to make a transiction of the birituelle parish to the neurituellen parish.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Rorate Caeli / Gosport Parish Newsletter (Screenshot)

French Carmel Returns to the Immemorial Rite of All Ages

(Paris) The Carmel of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and the Immaculate Conception in Alençon returned to the Immemorial Rite of the Catholic Church.

Already in 2008 the Carmelites made the first step in the direction of traditional liturgy. "We prefer the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite" which the newspaper La Nef reported in 2010 on the religious. The Holy Mass on Sundays and public holidays has therefore celebrated in the traditional form of the Roman Rite for several years. The Holy Mass on weekdays initially remained the ordinary form. Now Bishop Jacques Habert Sées has allowed the complete return to the Immemorial Rite. The Holy Mass will be celebrated in the Old Rite on Sundays and holidays at 9 clock and on all working days at 8 clock in the Carmel. The Chaplain of the monastery is a diocesan priest, assisted by priests of the Fraternity of St. Peter.

The Carmel was founded in 1988 at the request of Bishop François-Marie Tregaro Sées. A first Carmel had already existed in Alençon 1780-1792. It was abolished during the French Revolution, however, which is why the bishop has sought re-foundation. When Pope Benedict XVI. issued the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontiicum in 2007, the sisters were soon agreed to return to the Old Rite. The nuns devote six to seven hours a day in choral prayer.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
 Image: French Carmel
Trans: Tancred vekron@hotmail.com
  Link to katholisches....
AMGD

Private Mass of Pope Francis: Crucifix and Candles on the Altar

(Rio de Janeiro) The pictures published by the daily newspaper La Informacion  shows Pope Francis at the private celebration of Mass on Tuesday at the residence of Sumaré where the head of the Church lives during his Brazil visit to Rio de Janeiro.  Accion Liturgica drew attention to the candlesticks and a crucifix  that were centrally placed on the altar.

These were corresponding elements of the liturgical renewal during the pontificate of Benedict XVI.,  to clarify that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was never ad populum , but always celebrated ad Deum  even in the Novus Ordo with a Volksaltar [Cramner Table] and and the attitude of the priest executed facing the nave of the church.

The four candles are in accordance with the prescriptions by Saint Pope Pius V in the "Tridentine Mass", according to the old practice  for a private exhibition of a bishop, and in the specific case of the Pope. According to the regulation, the candles are conformed to the crucifix in the middle altar in materials and workmanship.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Image: Accion Liturgica

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to katholisches...

Rumors of a Coup in the News and Internet to Unseat Hollande Government

Charles Bremner Paris

Published at 12:01AM, June 6 2013

Edit: the French Army hasn't been paid in months, and the sounds of discontent can be heard, bringing with them rumors that the Hollande government should be done away with. There have been several uprisings in France, in addition to May of 1968. Many Frenchmen feel that since that time, they have had enough of the Revolution and want stability.  Perhaps Catholic France wasn't as dead as many suppose?  Here are some of the highlights from La Voix de la Russie:


Movement Bloch. Addressing fellow citizens in a letter published on Francetvinfoin, a group of young officers who define themselves as such, have sworn oaths to belong to a different corps of the French army, pledged to defend their countrymen and the interests of France. Referring to Marc Bloch, these young officers rely on the spirit of resistance within the army, who has became their ideal today. For the record, we read in the letter that the Movement "Bloch denounced the maladministration of the army and the neglect of the French elite in the 1930s. Bloch was also an exemplary officer during two world wars, and part of the Resistance till when he was shot by the Nazis. We claim him because he was a true soldier and a lucid analyst through that precipitated the defeat in France." As a Dreyfusard, it's rather difficult, to say nothing of ironic, to link him to French Traditionalist Catholics, but that won't stop anyone from doing so. Still, it's easy to associate cries for the stability of the nation's defense with the reaction, and with legitimism in France.

Destruction of the French army. Already during 2011,we have read that 10,000 soldiers were deprived of their pay. "Premiums for dangerous missions are not paid, which represents a significant shortfall", complained the soldiers' families. In 2012, there are thousands of soldiers who have not yet received their salaries for the month of December, which could only tap into their savings to pay for Christmas. Regularly, many soldiers receive 150 euros a month to live. Debt, many people have been thrown into a catastrophic financial situation from bank overdrafts and having to live with their parents. The worst is that these civil servants are forbidden to give their personal opinion on the situation subject to disciplinary sanctions. Invideo posted on its website, which also evokes the secret defiance Lys Noir, General General Vincent Desportes explains that "in Mali, the Army fought with 40-year old equipment and with vehicles without air conditioning. Only 10% of the Army is up to standard. The French army is in the hands of the United States. That the United States will soon drop the need to save France and the French army because when you do not have defenses, you are attacked. The version of the White Paper in 2013 shows that the army will not be modernized."

Among the Spring demonstrators for France are the Veilleurs (Those keeping vigil, scroll down) who were arrested by the police, there are children of soldiers of the French army and many Catholics. These children of soldiers whose parents are responsible for sacrifice for France can not now accept and swallow that in their country they are treated like criminals. "The Veilleurs and 750 demonstrators were arrested during the French Spring" they say. Although the discourse in the online magazine Arsenal seems to go far in the hope of a military coup, it does not hide in how much of a deep malaise, the society is actually divided.

New Liturgical Movement --- Worthy Celebration of the Novus Ordo Opens the Way to the Old Mass

(Rome) Some thoughts from Cordialiter to return to the traditional form of Roman Rite, the prerequisites and the relationship between a dignified celebration of the Novus Ordo and this return.

Some years ago the traditional Abbé Claude Barthe was connected militant association Paix Liturgique for an interview. In it he said that the traditional Mass can not hope to return on a broad basis without a favorable climate in ordinary parishes. In this sense, he expressed the hope that the rite of Paul VI. will be celebrated as traditionally as possible and in accordance with the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council (ad Deum, kneeling Communion, Roman canon, Gregorian chant, etc.), thereby creating that friendly environment for the transition to the Tridentine rite.

I agree with Abbe Barthe, because experience shows that many of those who are in the past have focused around a worthy celebration of the Missal of Paul VI, have taken the step to the Roman Rite through the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite or are going to see it through. We think only of those like Don Alfredo Morselli, Don Nicola Bux, Father Stefano Manelli and many others. If all priests were celebrating the new Mass in its expected traditional sense, the Tridentine Mass would be today again the "ordinary" form of the Roman rite.

Moreover, it is, without a miracle, probably unthinkable that a priest who is used to torment the Sacred Liturgy by various abuses and disrespect, would suddenly decide to move to the traditional Mass.

Translation: Giuseppe Nardi Image: Una Fides Translation: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com ADMG

Benedictine Abbey of Wisques Returns Back to Traditional Rite -- Colonization From Fontgambault with Bishop of Arras’ Approval

(Paris) The Bishop of Arras, Boulogne and Saint-Omer, Jean-Paul Jaeger and the Abbot Dom Jean Pateau of the Benedictine Abbey of Notre-Dame de Fontgombault, have sealed the takeover of the Benedictine abbey of Saint-Paul at Wisques. The Benedictine Abbey of Wisques is being repopulated by monks from Fontgambault at the end of the year. Thus this will also allow that this Abbey will return to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite.

As previously reported , a group of monks from Fontgombault has already spent several weeks in January at Wisques to consider making a takeover concrete. The main point of consideration are difficulties in  ensuring the survival of the Abbey of Saint Paul Wisques by its own power. The average age of the monks in Wisques is more than 75 years.

The abbey was founded in the second half of the 19th Century by Fontgombault. For this reason Fontgombault now been asked to ensure  with monks there the continued existence of the Abbey of Wisques and start with a new beginning of the abbey. Towards the end of the year monks from the Abbey Fontgombault will colonize and form a new convent with 18 monks, such as the website of the diocese of Arras, Saint-Omer Boulanger has announced. The new convent will elect its own abbot and prior.

The Abbey of Wisques thus joins the ranks of the monasteries of a tradition in which the  Holy Mass and the whole Divine Office,  the entire liturgy will be maintained in the traditional form and Gregorian Chant.

Link katholisches….

Gregorian Chorale Makes the Vocations Grow

(Washington) The regular Choir Brothers of the Premonstratensian Abbey of St. Micheal in California have published a new CD with Gregorian Music from the liturgical hours of their community. The Abbey of Silverado in Orange County is biritual and preserves the "Old Mass" as awell as the Novus Ordo according to the prescriptions of the Second Vatican Council for Liturgy. The Canons Regular make a special consideration for the special value. Additionally they seek to presever the living content of their own order's special forms. Gregorian and Liturgy has offered a growth of vocations thorugh the years for the abbey. In an ineterview with the Catholic News Agency (CNS) the Premonstratensians have explained why the brothers have taken this particular manner for the spreading of Gregorian Chorale.

It is not so much a musical point of view, which they are seeking after, rather a conscious apostolate for the New Evangelization and the promotion of vocations.

The Abbey has led to numerous voations in its fostering of Gregorian Change and Liturgy.

"The beauty is made through the lifting up of the faithful, in order to build them, so that the Father can be praised in Mass" said Father Ambrose Criste, Noice Master of the Abbbey.

The 13 tracks of “Gregorian Chant: Together on the Way,” includes liturgical texts, hymns, and a litany. The songs were recorded in the St. Michael Abbey chapel, located in Silverado.

Father Chrysostom Baer, the abbey's cantor, said he chose the selected pieces as “the most Catholic things I could get my hands on.”

The selections were originally sung by the Norbertine canons to introduce and complement three performances by the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Costa Mesa, Calif.

“We were going to give them some Catholic prayers,” said Fr. Baer, “and hopefully through the beauty of the moment, they would join their hearts to ours.”

The selections sang by the Norbertines at the concert hall in February of last year were then recorded so as to bring the music to a wider audience.

“It's a really excellent vehicle for evangelization,” said Fr. Baer. “I ran into someone just two weeks ago who recognized our habits from one of those concerts, who had more questions and wanted to come visit.”

Fr. Criste noted that their music is so beautiful because chant plays a major role in the Norbertine life. “It's something we do throughout the day, every day,” he said.

The abbey's public mass is chanted four days a week, and every day the Liturgy of the Hours is chanted. The seminarians of the order have choir practice five days a week, “which consists almost entirely of Gregorian chant.”

Fr. Criste said that chant is not just for religious communities. In the parish, “ideally, I would think it should play a daily role,” he reported.

“The (Second) Vatican Council was clear that pride of place goes to Gregorian chant, and that's just following in the tradition of the 20th century, all the way back to Pope St. Pius X.”

While acknowledging that not all parishes can have as wide or difficult a repertoire as can abbeys, he said, “everybody could sing some chant.”

Fr. Baer said the community hopes that its dignified, traditional liturgy “gives people an experience of what we know the Council was asking for in the public celebration of the liturgy.”

St. Michael's Abbey was founded by a group of refugees from a Norbertine abbey in Hungary in the 1950s which was threatened by Soviet control. The community currently numbers 76, including both priests and seminarians.

“God has blessed us immensely with constant vocations,” Fr. Criste said. “Every year we get a handful of young men who want to join our way of life, and given today's culture where they can do anything else that would be more 'exciting', that really says something about the grace of God.”

Norbertines are an order of canons regular also known as Premonstratensians. Though they are based in an abbey, they have pastoral ministry as well.

The primary apostolate of St. Michael's Abbey is its prep school for boys, though it also teaches and ministers at schools and parishes in the Orange and Los Angeles dioceses. Nearly all the public celebrations of Mass in the extraordinary form are celebrated by canons of St. Michael's Abbey.

“Together on the Way” will be St. Michael's fourth CD release. All are part of an effort to get the word out about the community, as they aim to build a new monastery and school to accommodate their vocations boom.
H/t Katholisces Source:Catholic News Agency Buy the LP here: none.

Traditional Benedictine Appointment to Office of Divine Worship in Rome

Edit: this is from Father MacDonald at Southern Orders about the new Capo Ufficio, Office Manager  for the Congregation of Divine Worship, Abbot Dom Micheal John Zielinski, OSB Oliv.

He has spoken on the importance of Beauty, as for CNA, and on the Heritage of the Roman Rite.   He is also friendly to the SSPX.  The Gay, Tell blog of the Modernist Monastery has only a laconic, indeed sepulchral post about him with weeping and gnashing of the teeth from some commenters.   In short, he's hated by the right people, and loved by those of us who want for the health of the Church.

Here's an excerpt from Father MacDonald with his boldface:

Yet today, we are acutely conscious of the fact that all has notbeen well in recent decades in respect of the cultural life of the Latinrite of the Catholic Church. Western society has been suffering froma profound cultural crisis for some time and this has impacted onthe Church. Indeed, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI himself, as Cardinal Ratzinger, expressed on a number of occasions his profound
concern for the crisis in the cultus of the Church that we have experienced
in the decades following the Second Vatican Council, from the “fabrication” of new rites, to the banalization of ecclesiastical music
and the unprecedented re-ordering of the spatial arrangements of
churchesCardinal Ratzinger, expressed on a number of occasions his profound concern for the crisis in the cultus of the Church that we have experienced in the decades following the Second Vatican Council, from the“fabrication” of new rites, to the banalization of ecclesiastical music and the unprecedented re-ordering of the spatial arrangements ofchurches (see The Ratzinger Report [Ignatius, 1985], The Feast of Faith[Ignatius, 1986], The Spirit of the Liturgy [Ignatius, 2000]). 

It is possible to say that, in recent decades, much of the cultural heritage of the Church – from venerable rites to the many goodsemployed in their service – has been endangered by an ideology ofnovelty that has misunderstood if not rejected the profound respectfor the tradition that genuine creativity in continuity with tradition had always understood.  

This of course, has not simply left us with an impoverished cultural experience in our churches. Most crucially, any impoverishment of the sacramentals themselves carries with it the danger of weakening the very encounter with the incarnate Lord which these rites and ritual things facilitate.an impoverished cultural experience in our churches. Most crucially,any impoverishment of the sacramentals themselves carries with itthe danger of weakening the very encounter with the incarnate Lordwhich these rites and ritual things facilitate. We creatures of fleshand blood ordinarily require these cultural goods in order to enterinto the life of grace and to persevere in it until the end. They serveto raise our minds and hearts to Almighty God, and to lead us into that encounter from which we receive grace. Devaluing or dismissing them may have – indeed has had – an adverse effect on the life offaith of many in recent times.

Episcopal Consecration Celebrated "Facing God" in Italy

(Rome) The news is not new, yet it is subsequently newsworthy. On the occasion of the consecration of the new bishop of the Diocese of Carpi, Italy, Monsignor Francesco Cavina removed the main altar from the chancel and celebrated ad Dominum Cathedral of Imola. This report on tradition is associated website Messa in Latino. The consecration was in the presence of Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, the Vatican Secretary of State.

The consecration took place on 22 January 2012 in the Cathedral of St. Cassian instead. It must have been a one-time process that is still remarkable, and not least because of the importance of the event. Two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI. also celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in the Sistine Chapel ad Dominum.

Destruction of the High Altar

Back in 2006 there was an episcopal ordination in Italy ad orientem, as on 25 June 2006, the new Archbishop of Oristano was ordained in the local cathedral. The consecration was before the then President of the Italian Bishops' Conference, Cardinal Camillo Ruini. The Parish Priest Msgr Costantino Usai had decided to end the "provisional solution" of a popular shrine. He justified the decision to the cathedral chapter, among other things, that the initiative that had been was not caused by the Second Vatican Council. The main altar is hindering the full enjoyment of the great dynamic power of the liturgy, and it runs the risk of a reduction in the danger of self-celebration in itself. The outgoing Archbishop Monsignor Pier Giuliano Tiddia had welcomed the decision.


As the newly appointed Archbishop Msgr Ignazio Sanna was consecrated and enthroned, he was forced to celebrate ad Dominum. Immediately after his enthronement the new Archbishop explained then that the "experiment" ad orientem is "not successful" and "this form of celebration" will lead back "to a pre-Conciliar dimension", "which, as I must assure, does not correspond to the sensibility of the people of God." The people's altar was rebuilt, this time the high altar was permanently bricked up and broken off from the possibility of another "restoration trial".

Text: Giuseppe Nardi Images: Messa in Latino / Fides et Forma

Growing Mariawald Trappist Monastery Gets New Altar

A new altar in the Trappist abbeys Mariawald

Webseite der Abtei Mariawald mit dem
 Bild des neuen Altares
© Screenshot

Dealing with the Past: The altar is the successor to a block of stone that was an eloquent testimony to the failure of the liturgical reform after the Second Vatican Council.

(Kreuz.net) Since the 6th of September there has been a new altar in the church of the Trappist Abbey of Mariawald. The Abbey is located in the vicinity of the 4400-population town of Heimbach - fifty kilometers southeast of Aachen.

A block of stone as a symbol of the pastoral council

The church was blown up in World War II. During a renovation in the years of 1963/64, a grinding table in the form of a rudely hewn stone block was installed.

In the neo-Gothic space of the church, it looked like chalk and cheese.

A gift from heaven has now been given to the Abbey, a neo-Gothic wooden altar with matching six chandeliers. It harmonizes perfectly with the church.

With its modest beauty it is appropriate in a special way to the celebration of the traditional rite.

Even then thought of as reform

The altar, according to the website of the monastery, is probably from a French-speaking region. Its exact age is unclear. It follows in the tradition of the Nazarene movement. This effort in the 19th Century was to reform the religious art.

The donor of the altar does not wish to be known.

Bishop Victorious Against the Consensus in Alaska

Edit: another defender of the good, who is victorious in the culture wars, bringing many trophies.

[California Catholic] Anchorage residents rejected a ballot initiative that sought to add “sexual orientation” and “transgender identity” to the list of protected legal classes in the city code.

With nearly 98 percent of votes counted, the measure was failing 58 percent to 41 percent. More than 54,000 residents voted on the April 3 ballot — far more than city officials had expected….

One Anchorage, a coalition of homosexual rights advocates, pushed the initiative behind the backing of several national gay rights organizations. According to state records, the group raised about $350,000 in support of the initiative — three times more money than opponents raised.

Original article by Joel Davison at Anchor Catholic....

Catholic Laity Can't Find the Faith in Official Church Structures in El Paso

Edit: Fifty Catholics get together to understand the Catholic Faith in the Diocese of El Paso because they can't get that in the official structures of that Diocese.

This is the Diocese that recently disciplined an orthodox priest who says the Latin Mass for expressing the truth of the Catholic Faith on homosexuality.

German Bishops' Conference Fires Dissident Journalist

Edit: "Wir Sind Kirche" or "We Are Church" is what you'd expect it to be. It's like its American counterpart, which Cardinal Bernardin once treated so daintily in times past.

The "We Are Church" President sits as a journalist for the German Bishops Conference, working for "Kirche In" and there he advertises for his own personal organization at the same time. Now the GBC is pulling his credentials.

Bonn (kath.net) The German Bishops Conference is announcing to the "We Are Church" - President, Chrsitian Weisner, who works officially as a German Correspondent of the paper "Kirche in", that by the action of the Conference, he is no longer accredited. This is according to Mattthias Kopp, the speaker of the German Bishops' Conference on Tuesday afternoon for kath.net.

"Mr. Weisner has been accredited for the paper, but then used our press offering and facilities for the publicity of his association. It is not good style, when Mr. Weisner gave interviews by us -- that I wouldn't have allowed him to give", explained Kopp and stressed, that the newspaper doesn't have the problem, rather "it's the completely unusual behavior of Mr. Weisner.

"Kirche in" is an Austrian monthly, which above all, poses itself through especially aggressive anti-Roman reporting.

Link to kath.net...

Algiers: The Most Important Pilgrimage Church in North Africa Newly Consecrated

The Church of Notre Dame d'Afrique was closed for three years during renovation -- Is counted among the most remarkable edifices in a land dominated by Islam.

Algiers (kath.net/KAP) The most important Catholic pilgrimage Church in North Africa, Notre-Dame-d"Afrique in Algiers is to be newly consecrated in the presence of the Religion Minister Bouabdalla Ghamallah as well as the Church and Diplomatic guests from the EU and Africa.   This was reported by the French Internet-site, "Tout sur l'Algerie".  The 140 Year old Church was closed in 2007 because it was badly in need of necessarily renovations.

The Basilica was consecrated in 1872.  It stands at a height of 124 Meters on the hill above the bay of Algiers and counts among the msot remarkable edifices in the Islamic dominated land.  It corresponds to the concept of the Basilica of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde in the French port city of Marseilles.

The around five million Euro expensive renovation was undertaken by the city of Algiers, the Province of Algeriers, the city of Marseilles, the French Department of Bouches-du-Rhone, Algerian State Companies and French corporations active in Algeria.  Even the EU has supported the undertaking financially.  Sea winds and earthquakes have damaged the Church in the course of the years.  The work of restoration has been accomplished under the direction of the Marseilles Architect Xavier David, who was also responsible for the restoration of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde in Marseilles.

From the beginning on Notre-Dam-d'Afrique was even for the Muslims a place of pilgrimage.  In the apse since 1872 has the golden inscription "Our Beloved Lady of Africa, Pray for Us and For the Muslims".   Of especial importance is the organ of Notre-Dame-d'Afrique:  The powerful instrument was installed in the Villa Georges, which belonged to a private English gentleman.  He was an admirer of the composure and organist Camille Saint-Saens, who died in Algeria in 1921.  After the death of the Englishman in 1930 the organ was donated to the Basilica.


 Link to the original story from kath.net in German...

A Church Space Devastated After the Counci,l Restored

The Diocese of Speyer have renovated a protestant Church for the old believers (traditionalists). The supper table is gone, the tabernacle is back, where it belongs, and the communion rail has been put up.

[kreuz.net, Speyer] Today the Bishop Karl-Heinz Wiesemann (50) of Speyer blessed a new altar in the collegial church in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse. The pontifical office with altar blessing begins at 5pm, according to the website of the Dicoese of Speyer.

Newstadt is located fifteen kilometers northeast of Speyer.

The collegial church has a protestantic and a Catholic part. They are have been separated from each other for 300 years by a wall.

In the course of the last years the church and especially the part belonging to the Catholic community -- renovated the choir.

After the Second Vatican the church head took the altar from the high altar and set up a dinner table.

Now the altar was put back in the place it had previously in the high altar.

In addition the high altar received again the original, in any case ripped out, tabernacle.

Finally a communion rail was erected again.

Further renovations include electric installations of pew heaters and a new paint finish.

In the distant future the Gothic comminition in the arches will be renovated.

From next week the old believing Community of the Diocese will celebrate the old Mass on Sundays and feastdays at 11:00.

Till now the traditionalists were housed in the parish church of St. Laurentius in Dirmstein -- 25 Kilometers from Newstadt.

Irish Bishops to Do Severe Public Penance for their Negligence

We suggested this, being especially inspired by the scene where Henry II was whipped by Benedictine Monks after he had St. Thomas Becket murdered, that the Bishops would do well to make public acts of penance, but you don't have to be a genius to see that was where Holy Father was going. St. Thomas Becket himself walked 20 miles to his Cathedral after he was consecrated, in his bare feet. Nothing inspires so much as when you set the example, especially if it costs something to do it, as Holy Father says, "we must follow Christ into the desert."

@2:30

The Irish bishops will perform an act of penance during Lent, equivalent to putting on 'sackcloth and ashes' to demonstrate their humility and their empathy with victims of clerical child sexual abuse, Cardinal Brady has said.

Speaking after the 24 Irish bishops' meeting with the Pope and flanked by four bishops, Cardinal Seán Brady told the world's media that a victim told him that he wanted the see the bishops humiliated and this is what is happening.

He said that the bishops had discussed penitential acts, such as climbing Croagh Patrick or going to Lough Derg but that whatever they do, it will be the equivalent of ''sackcloth and ashes''.

Link to original...

h/t: LA Catholic....

Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'

You might say that it's an obvious thing to say, but the important thing in this case isn't what's being said so much as who's saying it. We can rest assured that a response will be forthcoming similar to the responses to other problems we've been seeing in the recent past.

Of course, not only is the Vatican looking at the failures, but it will be looking at the successes. Places like Collegeville, St. Meinrad's, the entire Jesuit Order, many Mendicant houses will be judged as failures, no incoming vocations, little or no definitive Catholic witness, frequent liturgical abuses and problems with sex abuse and homosexuality. These will be contrasted by the success stories at the FSSP, Spanish Carmelites, SSPX, Solesme Congregation of Benedictines and what underlies that, just the exact opposite of what you'll find with the liberal houses.

People don't want a flabby, do-nothing Catholicism that is securely and hypocritically aligned alongside the Goliaths of modern politics and Education. They want an ever youthful, manly and vibrant Catholicism that aligns itself alongside the Davids of the fullness of Catholic Educational tradition, the unapologetic proclamation of the Truths of the Catholic Faith and a politics that doesn't play the lapdog to Big Government liberals.

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.

Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.

"The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.

"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.

Read further....