Some might consider a literal reading of the Holy Father's Chirograph On Sacred Music to be out of step with modern liturgical practice. And that would be correct. However, what is actually out of step is not the chirograph itself, nor its reading, but the greater portion of modern liturgical practice. Let me explain.
There has been a good deal of interesting discussion about organs vs. pianos vs. keyboards at the Recovering Choir Director blog. From the level of sophistication in the discussion, it was easy for me to see that most of the contributors have more experience than I in liturgical music. If my thoughts seem overly simplistic, I hope you'll forgive my naivité. However, I make no such excuse for the expertise of those on whom I draw to support my argument.
The more I read from this lady, the more I like her. In Maggie Gallagher's most recent column, she notes this from Child Trends: "Research clearly demonstrates that family structure matters for children, and the family structure that helps the most is a family headed by two-biological parents in a low-conflict marriage. Children in single-parent families, children born to unmarried mothers, and children in stepfamilies or cohabiting relationships face higher risks of poor outcomes. ... There is thus value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents." But you already knew that.
[Via Summa Mamas]
One might wonder why the Baby Boom ever ended. It certainly needn't have. Upon their return from World War II, soldiers settled into family life, and thus began the longest, virtually uninterrupted, stretch of prosperity in American history. It is easy to see the blessing of Almighty God on a nation who trusted in Him. Then, two severe blows were dealt to the nation.
[Via LifeSiteNews.com]
When the Holy Father first released his chirograph last month, it was available only in Italian. I relied heavily on the translated bits and bites, reported through the various Catholic news agencies, to get an understanding of what the document actually said. I'm sure many others did as well.
Now, thanks to the Adoremus Society and Daniel Muller, we finally have an English translation of the document, in which we can sink our teeth.
[Via Daniel Muller]
Father Peter Schineller, an American Jesuit who has authored a "Handbook on Church Music -- for Choirs, Priest and Catholic Faithful," offers this commentary on the primacy of the priestly role in fostering the participation of the congregation in the chants of the Mass.
It makes sense to me that, if the dialogue between the priest and the faithful is given added solemnity through the use of chant, then the congregation will more readily participate in the other chants and hymns as well.
Twelve myths every Catholic should be able to dispel:
[Via Dr. Philip Blosser's Homepage]
"Cardinal Pio Laghi-- who served in Washington for 10 years, as the first nuncio after the establishment of full diplomatic ties between the US and the Holy See-- told the Italian daily Corriere della Sera that relations were generally good... The US was very late to open formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See, the cardinal observed, 'because of the anti-Catholic prejudice that is deeply rooted in American history.' He said that the resistance to accepting a papal envoy was gradually overcome... The crucial breakthrough, however, came with the Reagan presidency, he said."
Popes Leo XIII and John Paul II are two of the longest serving popes in history. In comparing their pontificates, Father Raymond de Souza has more in mind than trivia. So do I. The similarities are striking, but there is even more at work here than meets the eye. Here is a brief sample:
Anyone interested in the use of the Anglican Rite, under the authority of the local Roman Catholic Bishop, should see the trailer for the new video produced by Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church (San Antonio, TX). Those interested in the indult Mass, or traditional liturgical music, will want to take special note. I watched it in awe.
[Via Dappled Things]
At yesterday's Mass, I heard an OCP hymn with syncopated rhythm and a few interesting chord progressions. Couple that with an instrumentation of electric piano plus flute and "Voilà!" I was momentarily transported back in time to the days when I used to listen to Jethro Tull. The thought of this happening at Mass made me feel ill. I suspect most listeners don't recognize the problem, but if the music you hear reminds you of something secular, then it is secular.
Richard Chonak has been generous enough to set me up with a Movable Type account at StBlogs.org. Thanks to him for all his help in getting me set up and ready to go; and thanks also to all who gave best wishes upon my entry into the community of Catholic bloggers.
Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley does not mince words when he diagnoses one of the fundamental problems of our society: "Perhaps our idolatry of freedom has led to the belief that we can all choose our own truth because the truth as an absolute is rejected as too confining, too demanding on the autonomous self." It goes to show that, something as sacred and good as liberty, can be abused. Freedom rightly permits whatever is in the will. However, we've forgotten our sinful nature, and the necessity to train the will to seek and do good. Of course, this pre-supposes an objective standard for determining truth - the Church. The founding fathers of America were unanimous in believing that religion is the necessary foundation for a right-ordered society. Only in remembering this will we begin to find solutions to society's most intractable problems.
Dr. Joaquin Navarro-Valls, the Press Office Director of the Holy See, released a statement this morning of the Vatican's official position on the Holy Father's alleged comment on Gibson's Passion; among which is this: "It is the Holy Father's custom not to express public judgments on artistic works, judgments which are always open to diverse evaluations of an aesthetic nature."
I've never been into the grunge scene; but if I were, I'd say this was pretty good. If Howard loses the nomination, he may still get tapped for a big-time record deal.
[Via et cetera]
[Via Recovering Choir Director]
Not to be outdone by others, who have received various endorsements of their blogs, I felt compelled to reveal that I recently received an email from the Holy Father himself, with this attachment, showing himself reading my blog.
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After all, he does need a reliable source of information and opinion on the state of the American Church. Although Dr. Navarro-Valls denies it, an inside Vatican source confirmed that the Holy Father said, upon reading my blog, "It is as it shall be."
[Via The Curt Jester]
Some may not be aware that the Winnipeg Statement, issued by the Canadian Bishops in 1968, had been used as an excuse by Catholics to justify the use of contraception. Today, the contraceptive mentality has become so pervasive in our society, that one might be hard-pressed even to detect any controversy at all. Now, a group called The Rosarium is trying to organize a petition to urge the Canadian Bishops to retract the statement: "While the undersigned earnestly petition for the withdrawal of the Winnipeg Statement, we assure you, our bishops, of our constant prayers. Although our obedience and fidelity are assured, our pleas for retraction will continue year after year, if necessary, until the Bishops of Canada retract this Statement. And our movement, because it is founded on the divine law of love and faith, will only increase in strength. One day the Winnipeg Statement will fall. Although its end is inevitable, we pray that its retraction comes sooner rather than later." In my opinion, there is enough nuance in the document that a clarification could instead be issued. In it, the bishops would still need to come clean about the Church's constant teaching on contraception, but without having to declare the document erroneous.
[Via My Domestic Church]
Vincent Phillip Muñoz, Civitas Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and Assistant Professor of Political Science at North Carolina State University, makes a case for Supreme Court decisions on the basis of religious liberty. He reminds us that, even though the Court has sometimes upheld the principle of freedom of religion, they have actually done so on the must less contentious grounds of free speech. So, the Court has decided cases by balancing establishment of religion on the one hand, versus free speech on the other. This has had the gradual effect of eroding the constitutional right to free exercise of religion: "If the Supreme Court does rethink its establishment jurisprudence, it should do so with an eye toward religious free exercise. In the past, the First Amendment's two religious provisions (note, there is only one clause) have been read independently of one another. If the First Amendment is internally consistent, however, any plausible interpretation of establishment ought to be consistent with free exercise. Free exercise, in fact, is the more fundamental value. Too often it is forgotten that the reason why Congress and the states (since incorporation) are prohibited from making an establishment is that religious establishments tend to abridge religious liberty."
We're all familiar with Catholic "personally opposed" politicians who fail to work for legislation consistent with Catholic teaching. Here is a bishop who, after a written exchange with various politicians in his diocese, decided there was no evidence his behind-the-scenes efforts were doing any good. He then released a Notification on January 8, banning priests from giving Holy Communion to any such politicians. Now, we read of the tremendous popular support for this move: "Bishop Raymond Burke has received a flood of supportive e-mail following his decision to ban pro-abortion Catholic lawmakers from receiving Communion. 'Our e-mails are running 9 to 1 in support of the bishop,' Rose Hammes, diocesan director of communications, told the La Crosse Tribune. 'We've gotten well over 500 and they're from all over the world.' On Jan. 8, he made public a decree banning diocesan priests from giving Communion to Catholic lawmakers who support abortion or euthanasia. He hasn't said if he plans a similar decree in St. Louis, where he will be installed as archbishop next week." (emphasis added) God bless the courage of the good Bishop.
Our Lord had a different way of saying it: "For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." (Luke 6:38) There are some who came into power in the Church in the last few decades, who are finding that their many labors, attempting to sow the seeds, first of discontent and then of dissent, among the People of God, have not borne the fruit they had hoped. They were laying the groundwork for a radical new Future-Church, which never materialized. They were hoping the flame they ignited would catch like wildfire, and it did for a time; but now, it is largely smouldering beneath their feet.
Father Tucker's recent post, regarding the ongoing reform of the English translation of the Roman Missal, contains this refreshing remark: "I am, unsurprisingly, among those who strongly desire a thorough retranslation both to make the English a true translation of the Latin original and to render the language more beautiful". His post elicited from me the following comment by email: " 'And with thy spirit' would be an even better rendering, in light of the argument you just made. Accurate translations are important, but don't give up on reverent language in the process. If we can teach our children to say 'Hallowed be Thy name,' and they quite readily know Who they are talking about, I think adults can manage as well. Many have become too accustomed to speaking colloquially in liturgical and devotional practices; whereas the sense of awe at the mystery of our religion needs to be re-discovered. Re-training ourselves to use reverent language is one concrete way to accomplish this goal."
I had no idea that The Cantus Project even existed. What they are doing goes a long way toward satisfying the hopes I had expressed in a previous post. Instead of adapting the chant to the language, they have decided that the chant melodies themselves are, in a manner of speaking, inspired. As a result, they have chosen to adapt the English text to the fixed melodies of the Graduale Simplex, even keeping the accents intact. They will eventually publish Latin and English texts under an identical melody line, permitting small parishes an easy entry-point to our heritage of Catholic chant. Marvellous.
[Via Recovering Choir Director]
Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, gives us his interpretation of Church norms: "The GIRM reminds us that the choir is fulfilling a specific and worthy liturgical service yet at the same time remains a part of the assembly. Thus the choir's location should avoid being so prominent as to distract the rest of the assembly or give the impression of its being mere entertainment. At the same time, the location should safeguard the choir's mission to guide and uplift the assembly through its music, while allowing its members full, conscious and active participation in the eucharistic mystery. The choir should thus seek to strike a balance between the demands of acoustics and the far more important element of full liturgical participation." I think this statement contains a mixture of good and potentially misleading advice.
Father McNamara emphasizes that participation must be "full, conscious and active," and implies that these descriptors signify a type of participation which is outward. He seems to discount, by omission, that people can participate fully, consciously and actively by maintaining an inward disposition, which unites one's personal sacrifice to the One Sacrifice, made manifest on the altar. Of the two, the latter is clearly superior.
The article discusses the reasons why it is not appropriate to place the choir in the sanctuary, directly behind the altar. He argues that acoustical concerns are insufficient to warrant such a configuration. By making this argument, he rightly discourages the celebrant/choir configuration, also found in many non-Catholic worship services, as being inappropriate for Mass. (I could argue that the post-Conciliar change permitting Mass versus populum easily leads to a worship-in-the-round --> We Are Church --> self-worship mentality, but that's another subject. See an excerpt from Cardinal Ratzinger's Spirit of the Liturgy for a detailed explanation of the issue; or Rev'd Dr. Peter Toon for a non-Catholic view. Even our own illustrious Recovering Choir Director weighs in on the matter.)
However, I believe Father McNamara misses the mark when he tries to ground his argument on the Conciliar requirement for "liturgical participation"; the implication being that the optimal configuration for the choir is physically proximate to the congregation. In doing so, he misses the obvious alternative: that the acoustical features of church buildings are also optimized by locating the choir in the loft (where available).
In the loft configuration, how is it that choir members, who participate vocally and maintain an interior disposition proper to the Mass, can be found lacking in participation? That assessment would be both superficial and arbitrary. Why should physical proximity supercede concerns of acoustics, when the solution to the original problem is obvious?
In my view, a choir in the loft more clearly represents the reality of angelic participation in the eucharistic mystery, as voices coming down from heaven, both naturally and supernaturally filling the worship space. On the other hand, a visible choir, near the sanctuary, often requires electronic sound reinforcement to mitigate the problem of acoustical dead space. This effect is solely the result of poor positioning of the choir. Aligning the choir instead along the central axis of the nave permits the church structure itself to be used as a naturally-resonant acoustic chamber.
Equally important, as Father McNamara concurs, and as further support for my argument, is that a visible choir too easily risks being seen as entertainment by the congregation; a possibility which, in and of itself, detracts from the sacredness of the atmosphere. All the more reason to locate the choir in a loft, wherever it is structurally feasible to do so. The placement of the choir within the congregation should be considered a sub-optimal alternative, taken only when the church building itself is constrained from permitting the construction and use of a loft as the ideal configuration.
James Hitchcock, professor of history at St. Louis University, reflects on why he thinks the basic understanding of religion and morality in America is different than in other countries: "There is such a thing as 'American exceptionalism' - the claim that there is something unique about the United States. The idea that America might be specially favored by God is indeed a dangerous one. But from a historical point of view it is simply true that America is distinctive among the nations of the West in its moral traditionalism, at least in terms of what people believe. The key to understanding this lies in not treating religious practice as one among a number of cultural differences between the United States and other countries, but in recognizing that religion underlies all the others. However shallow it may seem, Americans far exceed all other Western people in their professed belief in religious doctrines and in their religious activity. In some European countries virtually nobody goes to church. Why this should be so is not clear. One possible factor is that almost alone we have never had a state church, so that religion has always been something freely chosen and political liberty did not entail rejecting religion." There are many who are ready to condemn American society for her general state of sinfulness. Prof. Hitchcock shows that there are good reasons to believe that, because of the underpinnings of the idea of America, the road leading back to God's favor - though sometimes dimly lit - is far less encumbered for travel than in many other countries; even "Our Good Neighbor to the North".
Comments on [my previous Blogger] blog are now implemented using Haloscan.
In this recent First Things column, Father Neuhaus reviews a newly published book by Robert H. Bork, Coercing Virtue: The Worldwide Rule of Judges. In it, we get a glimpse of the wide and ever-expanding powers of un-elected judges in the West. Here are a few quotes from the book itself: "Judicial activism results from the enlistment of judges on one side of the culture war in every Western nation. Despite denials by some that any such conflict exists, the culture war is an obtrusive fact. It is a struggle between the cultural or liberal left and the great mass of citizens who, left to their own devices, tend to be traditionalists. The courts are enacting the agenda of the cultural left... The political revolution in Western nations is the gradual but unceasing replacement of government by elected officials with government by appointed judges... The crucial question for all nations that desire to remain self-governing is how to tame and limit the antidemocratic aggressions of their judiciaries and of the international tribunals and forums we are so blithely and thoughtlessly creating."
In the wake of the events surrounding the Episcopal Communion last year, we read this: "A society to promote the use of elements of the Book of Common Prayer as authorized for use in the Catholic Church was formed last [November] according to society president, Joe Blake. The society is reaching out to members of the Anglican Communion seeking to reunite with the Holy See. 'The fathers of the Second Vatican Council singled out the legitimate patrimony of the Church of England for special mention and expressed the hope that these elements would eventually find a home in the future, reunited Church. To help achieve this goal, John Paul II established the Pastoral Provision' says Blake. The Anglican Use Society seeks to promote an understanding of the Pastoral Provision among Catholics and Anglicans. According to Blake the provision provides for the creation of 'common identity' personal parishes which preserve the distinctive qualities of Anglican worship and parish life." Let's all pray that the society spreads far and wide among Anglicans.
[Via The Contrarian]
OK, so this looks like fun.
Pholph's Scrabble Generator           My Scrabble© Score is: 39. What is your score? Get it here. |
I thought it might be possible, even desirable, to try to apply a reverent English translation of the propers to the Gregorian melodies of the Graduale Romanum. However, it seems that Colin Donovan, of the EWTN Liturgy Forum, does not agree. In his response to my question, he thinks I'm going down the wrong road: "Gregorian Chant is most suited for the structure of Latin, anyway, and is adapted to other languages often unsatisfactorily." It's no wonder we're having a hard time preserving chant. If no one has even tried to capture the beauty of the Graduale in the vernacular, and the liturgical experts are saying it should not even be attempted, then we're faced with a zero-sum game. It's either chanting the Gregorian melodies in Latin or "anything goes" in English: two mutually exclusive alternatives. Don't get me wrong. I love the chants in Latin, and even prefer them. But how can we bridge the gap between the beauty of the Gregorian melodies, and the widespread desire to hear the propers in English? Even Pope Paul VI said, "Since the vernacular is admitted to worship in every country, it ought not to be denied the beauty and the power of expression of religious music and appropriate chant" [Address to Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae, 12 October 1973]. So, if this has yet to be attempted, how do we go about doing it?
You've probably noticed the new feature. I got the idea from visiting the Recovering Choir Director. However, my list is not automated, so there may be a time lag between your comment posting and my displaying it in the list. Thanks for your patience. It's a cool new feature that will help you streamline your time visiting my blog. And we all know how important that is.
Richard Morris ranks among the world's greatest organists. Jeffery Tucker interviewed him, back in 1999, discussing the collapse and (hopefully imminent) re-birth of sacred music in the Catholic Church. Here are a few excerpts: "Catholic liturgical music, it would seem, is everywhere but in the Catholic Church itself. Only the Catholic Church seems blind to its power. This is one of the greatest travesties of the post-Conciliar period. We've abandoned the sacred treasury and replaced it with drivel... Catholics taught the world what music is supposed to sound like, and, more importantly, what it is supposed to mean... All over the world, choirmasters, professors and performers had been going about their business, forming choirs and making some progress in spreading the chant and polyphony. Musical societies were thriving. Then one day they woke up and it was all over... Once the Mass is restored to its rightful place, we will again see choirs being developed. New compositions will be written because the composers, like their forebears, will see the setting of the Mass text to music as a means of possibly expiating their sins and assuring their music's immortality." There's an incentive for musicians to get the ball rolling.
As faithful Catholics, we are worried about passing along our faith as a tradition to our children. However, we don't often give much thought to what implicit message is being handed on to those children who are not being raised in a religious tradition. Maggie Gallagher sums it up like this: "Fathers are optional. Children are resilient. Adults are fragile, and their emotional needs come first." It seems to me that kids raised this way have little chance of doing much better with kids of their own.
Via Catholic and Enjoying It
Via Summa Minutiae
Here's a new post to see how my blog looks using the explicitly defined title field. I can't believe I missed that switch in the template setup, when I launched my blog last month. I've been adding h3-level titles manually until now. I now seem to be having a slight problem permalinking to some of my archived posts, but it should be OK from here on.
I am quite surprised that there is no discussion about Father McNamara's Zenit article, which I posted yesterday - either here or on any other blog I've checked. I guess his wish is coming true - that the whole issue of the Holy Father's recent chirograph, and hopes for an imminent reform of liturgical music, seem to be fading away into the sunset. If this does happen, it will be quite a loss. The Holy Father's document is likely the best excuse, in quite some time, to give some much-needed momentum to the chant movement.
Yes, it does seem to be a slow news day; at least in terms of those items on which I feel led to comment. So, instead, I spent some time sprucing up my blog template. I just wanted to make it a bit easier on the eyes, since I find stark background colors to be quite loud, and sans serif fonts intolerable for paragraph text. I hope these changes make your surfing experience a bit more enjoyable. Now, I can actually use italics, since Bookman Old Style renders them much nicer than under that horrid Helvetica italic style that came as a default with this blog template.
Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, seems to be trying to quell any rumors that the Holy Father wants to see a change in the status quo of liturgical music. Actually, he goes out of his way to minimize the scope of the document: "I am not privy to the inner workings of the Holy Father's intentions. But I believe it would be out of character for him to publish a letter with a hidden agenda beyond its stated aims, which in this case, was to commemorate the centenary of St. Pius X's famous letter 'motu proprio' (on his own initiative) by making some brief reflections on the current state of liturgical music in the light of tradition." So, according to Father McNamara, the Holy Father's chirograph was a cordial remembrance of Pius X's document, and nothing more. He contends that, if the Holy Father is dissatisfied with the state of liturgical music, he has nothing more to do than snap his fingers, and musicians around the world will fall into line: "If [the pope] desires a change in the Vatican, musically or otherwise, he does not send messages, he simply gives orders." I can't imagine anyone saying such things, after having read either the document itself, or at least the excerpts in English that have been widely circulated. Even the Vatican press release, clarifying the nature of the letter, had this to say: "A chirograph is a papal document which bears the signature of the Pope and which provides instructions on an administrative order... John Paul II asks the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments 'to pay closer attention to the sector of sacred liturgical music.' [Further], the Pope urges the episcopal conferences to examine the texts of liturgical hymns and to 'pay close attention in evaluating and promoting songs that are truly appropriate for sacred use.' " Are these messages or orders? It looks like Father McNamara's clarification has succeeded only in further muddying the waters.
Father Tucker has an excellent list of things that people ought to observe out of common courtesy, upon entering a church. Would that not a few of my fellow parishioners see this list. I also do not hesitate to add that I think he's done a superb job handling delicate matters in ways that should be offensive to no one.
In this reflection, quoted in First Things and originally taken from the appendix, called "Reflections on a Theological Journey," of a book, called A Testimonial to Grace (Sheed & Ward), by Cardinal Dulles, we read what he thought of some of the reforms after the Council: "While many of the conciliar and postconciliar reforms were no doubt prudent and necessary accommodations to the times, they did not all strike me as improvements. It was difficult for me to accept the virtual banishment of Latin from the liturgy and the substitution of new popular tunes for the imposing Gregorian chant or the mellifluous Renaissance polyphony. The depreciation of devotion to the saints and the removal of shrines and statues from the churches struck me as impoverishments that had to be regretfully endured. It might be necessary, I concluded, to live through a barren season of slovenly improvisation until the Church could experience some kind of cultural revival." There are certainly many who look forward to just such a revival.
Father Saunders reminds us that there were certainly times of persecution for faithful Catholics. In the 17th century, the British monarchs tried, unsuccessfully, to eradicate Catholicism. By something as simple as keeping lit candles in their windows, Irish Catholics were able to keep the sacramental lifeline open: "During Christmas, every faithful Irish Catholic family hoped to have a priest visit their home so that they could receive the sacraments and in return offer him hospitality. So they would leave their doors unlocked and place candles in the windows to signal a priest that he was welcome and would be safe. Sometimes, a single candle would appear in several windows, or three candles in one window, one each representing Jesus, Mary and Joseph." Seems to me that the world stage is again being set for widespread persecution of those who cling to their faith, under enormous pressure to conform to the ways and beliefs of the world. Just think how popular it is to hold Catholic beliefs today. Not very. Gold is purified only by fire.
Terry Mattingly offers this quotation and reflection: " 'The true Christmas carol is anonymous, both the text and the tune. A true carol is something like 'I Saw Three Ships' or 'The First Noel.' Many of them are very, very old,' said scholar Hugh T. McElrath, author of The History of Our Christian Faith In Hymns: 'Hymns tend to be more formal and church-centered and from a particular composer in a particular place and time. Carols just spring up among the people and it's common to find many different versions handed down from generation to generation.' The question now is whether centuries of carols can survive modern trends, from the secularization of public holiday music to the contemporary church's hunger for music that constantly changes to mirror pop sales charts." Another annoying trend, which we encounter in the Liturgy, is the sanitizing of lyrics from long-traditional carols/hymns. Caveat emptor, when purchasing Christmas recordings. Changing the lyrics of old carols/hymns should be a punishable crime. A Lutheran friend once told me that, if anyone tried to change the words to a hymn in his congregation, there would undoubtedly be a riot, right on the spot. I don't blame them one bit.
Via: Curt Jester
In this article by Patrick O'Hannigan, we read a reflection on Thomas Day's book, Why Catholics Can't Sing: "The problem, [Day] said, is not that Catholics can't sing; it's that they won't sing, and who can blame them? Two generations of cultural sellout stuffed hymnbooks with bush-league folk music. As a result, Catholics (indeed, Christians of all confessions) neglect their musical patrimony to regurgitate second-rate hymns that are short on sound doctrine... Like Day, I suspect that this happens partly because old hymns distinguish between creature and creator, but newer ones do not. Enthralled by the brotherhood of man, composers today pay short shrift to the fatherhood of God. Their goal instead is self-affirmation. With the loss of perspective that turns even sublime truths into pep-rally bromides, one contemporary hymn triumphantly declares, 'We are a pilgrim people, We are the Church of God.' " Let's hope the wake-up call is heard by those who most need to hear it.
I can understand the apprehension with the implementation, but I don't understand fear of the concept: "Controversy has broken out over the construction of a new building near the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal. Several Web sites devoted to news about Fatima have expressed outrage at the possibility that the new building might be used for interreligious purposes." We know that Our Lord's will is that divisions among religions be overcome. We also know that the Blessed Virgin is probably the most compeling figure capable of bringing about such unity. And if she is to unite the religions of the world, why not at Fatima? Clearly, any evidence of syncretism must be avoided. The truth about Our Lord and Our Lady must not be compromised. However, it seems to me that Church officials at Fatima must recognize this. We ought to pray that the driving force behind the plans is the true cause of ecumenism, as championed by Pope John Paul II, and not some pragmatic scheme to maximize tourist dollars.
