You will recall that the Pope had another talk-back session with his priests while on holiday in July. Up till now, it has only been available in French and Italian (except for the section translated by Sandro Magister), but here it all is in English.
He covers the following topics:
Conscience
Priorities in the priesthood
Internal evangelisation
Divorce and remarriage (again!)
The mission ad gentes
Despair among the young
New Evangelisation
and most importantly: What happened after Vatican II!
I propose that
1) We replace the absentee monarch of Australia (who is also the Monarch of Great Britain) with an elected Australian monarchy.
2) The elected monarch exactly replaces the current monarch in the current constition.
3) The elected monarch has exactly the same powers, duties and responsibilities as those of the current absentee monarch. All the monarch's functions are carried out by his/her personal representatives (as is currently the case): federally by the Governor General, and in the states by the State Governors.
4) The Governor General and the Governors continue to be selected and appointed as they currently are, that is, by the premier with the approval of the monarch.
5) The monarch is elected to sovereignty over Australia for life, but his/her sovereignty is strictly non-hereditary.
6) The elective body is the "college of electors" comprised of the state governors and federal governor general.
7) The election of the monarch must be a unanimous decision on the part of the college of electors.
Loved the what happened after Vatican II. Let’s see, two great watersheds and both failed — but press on, it’s going to work!
The watershed of 1968 brushed aside the Brave New Church with its modernity for a 19 century ideology, then the watershed of 1989 brushed aside the Brave New Church with its modernity for post-modernism. Brilliant guys. You were really on top of things, really with the authentic council came up with answer.
Maybe the next watershed — the first two being about twenty years apart and the last of them about twenty years ago, maybe it’s just around the corner! — someone will say What a huge mistake. Nah. Failure is success just ahead! The Roman church will go ahead joyously and full of hope with the conciliar signpost for the journey to blow the next one too.
I predict this will happen when the conciliar generation has died off and the first pope or two formed in the post conciliar age appear.
You’re impossible, some times, PE. You know that, don’t you?
No Council is clairvoyent, it can’t predict the future. There is no way that the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council could have known what would happen in 1968. No-one expected or predicted it.
Just the same, no-one expected or predicted the sudden collapse of European Marxism.
Papa Benny’s comments are about the interpretative reaction to the Council, not about the Council itself. For goodness sake, you yourself are “an interpretive reaction” to the Council. Are we to blame the Council Fathers for YOU?
Since I usually attend the early a.m. Mass on Sunday mornings I have a chance to watch “Rome Report” on EWTN when I get home. That is one of EWTN’s programs that I watch regularly. Very interesting.
The coverage of the Catholic Church in China was so uplifting, God bless our brothers and sisters there, some wonderful things are happening for them.
The story about the Catholic orphanage in the Middle East that takes in the babies born to unwed Palestinian girls (ay, were those babies beautiful!!), my own Diocese which through Catholic Charities has brought Sudanese refugees to the U.S. and helped them find education and jobs. I could go on and on.
The excellent homily on Sunday when Father expounded on the readings again made me realize what is really important in life –my relationship with Jesus Christ as a Catholic Christian.
Past Elder’s comments have no impact on my view of the Catholic Church or my place in it.
Good for you, Christine!
Vot? No-one expected or predicted it? Pig’s. Every single “traditionalist” voice sounded the alarm expecting and predicting EXACTLY that. And then exactly that happened.
No-one expected or predicted the sudden collapse of European Marxism? Pig’s. There wasn’t anything sudden about it. Ask any Reagan Republican (I’m one) — we expected and predicted it for years.
“Papa Benny’s” comments remind me of the old anti war (as in Vietnam) song — knee deep in the big muddy, and the big fool says to press on.
If there’s anything worse than the “spirit” of Vatican II it’s Vatican II selbst, and Benedict and his predecessor make and made it abundantly clear that the latter is what the Roman Church has irrevocably become.
Which is why, should I lose my Lutheran faith to-morrow, on the basis of the Roman Catholic faith I was taught and believed, I would never be able to join the Roman Church, or in any sense whatsoever identify it as “home”.
I am reminded of the reaction of those who remembered the First Temple when they saw the Second — tears, and not of joy.
PS for American readers: I meant pig’s, not pigs. An Aussieralianism that is among my favourites from the legacy of rooming with Crocodile Dundee in the 70s. Our host may produce the full phrase at his discretion. My only personal experience of the interface between Australians and Lutheranism is when Croc married a Minnesota Norwegian Lutheran girl, and five Aussies and I made more noise than the entire churchful of them combined.
I think it is safe enough to say it this far down the comments column, PE, without losing my “exalted” position in the Melbourne Archdiocese… Here goes.
The phrase to which you refer is (and I give it only in the spirit of cultural enrichment for those of you the other side of the Big Puddle):
“Pig’s Arse!”
“Pig’s” is a suitable abbreviation.
Now you feel like home, brother!
Although, as Croc said it, it was “Pig’s Bum”, generally followed by “mate” — he was from Tasmania, so maybe it’s a regional thing.
I have no position in LCMS so I guess I’m safe — well, I’m on the stewardship committee of my parish, but I don’t think any of them read this blog!
Yes, but what do you think of the Pope’s remarks, David? (I’ll read them when I get a chance).
As you can see by my Statistics and Majorities blog above, Louise, I will be returning to the subjects he covers in the months to come.