John Konstantin Tee

I will be travelling to London on Saturday to attend the priestly ordination of John Tee.  He is to become a priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham.

John Te served as a Military Chaplain for the Church of England before his conversion to Catholicism.  He has also been a regular attender of the Latin Mass in York in recent years.

The soon to be Fr Tee started an Ordinariate Group in York a couple of years ago, and he expects to develop this following his ordination.

No July Mass at Hedon

Due to Fr Drew being away from the parish, there will be NO Latin Mass at Hedon on Sunday 14th July.

Three more Seminarians for the Priestly Society of St Peter

The Priestly Society of St Peter has announced that three young men from England have been admitted to the FSSP seminary in the USA.   They will be starting their studies there later in the year.  They will join several other English seminarians.  This is evidence of the continuing popularity of the traditional priestly orders amongst young men considering a priestly vocation.

As the number of diocesan priests continues to decline, a stream of traditionally trained priests will play an increasingly important role throughout the country.  May the FSSP continue to attract many vocations.

Cardinal Pujats

The following is copied from the blogsite, The Eponymous Flower.  It is a transcript from a interview given on Gloria TV by the Latvian Cardinal Pujats.

"I'm a traditionalist and I informed the Pope of this in a letter I sent to him through the Nunciature," Latvian Cardinal Janis Pujats told Polonia Christiana on 4 June. Pujats added that the discipline of the sacraments should be observed in the Church, especially regarding the Sacrament of Matrimony. He pointed out that the Church must not imitate the sins of the world and, for example, bless homosexual couples. Pujats also explained that sexual atheism is more dangerous than Communist atheism.

Pujats criticized that in many churches very few stand in line for confession, but all go to communion. Quote: "I never allowed that in my church." The communion queues introduced after the Council produce a group pressure so that the people feel obliged to go to communion in order not to stand out, the Cardinal explains. Pujats warned that the priests will be held responsible before God for this abuse.

Pujats is critical of the transition from Latin to the national languages because many things have been lost in the process. Many teachings regarding the liturgy, dogmatics or morality were formulated very precisely in Latin over the centuries. These pearls were only translated to a limited extent. After the Council, the professors in the seminars did not take these things very serious and their seminarians cared even less about them.

The Cardinal explained that discipline and order have to prevail in a seminary. The environment in the seminary must be different from that in the world. Otherwise, the candidates for the priesthood enter the seminary as laymen and also leave it as such. Pujats wishes a monastic discipline in the seminary where the best spiritual fathers are educated. Future priests should be holy. Only then we will see positive effects.

James Baxter

I read on Fr Brown's blog, Gateshead Revisited, about James Baxter, who is seeking funding for his seminary training at Gricigliano.  James is (or was) a student at Newcastle University studying linguistics. He was introduced to the Latin Mass a couple of years ago when Fr Dominic White OP took a group of students to St Joseph's church in Gateshead so that they could experience the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.  James was so impressed that he started to attend St Joseph's every Sunday.

As part of his course, he spent some time in Spain, where he encountered the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.  The experience prompted him to consider joining the order. During the past year, he has been spending time at the Institute's House of Discernment in Preston, and is due to start his studies at their seminary in September.

Since all Institute students are expected (wherever possible) to pay their own tuition fees, James is seeking funding with go fund me.  The link is below

https://www.gofundme.com/help-another-english-icksp-seminarian?fbclid=IwAR1CGy18sP2XsXy5FRf_TQ-zNwAkFmauuW_VpxPK_X0trWBzgD3q6CLMj7g

Alternatively, read all about it on Fr Brown's blog, Gateshead Revisited.  Here is the link;

https://www.gofundme.com/help-another-english-icksp-seminarian?fbclid=IwAR1CGy18sP2XsXy5FRf_TQ-zNwAkFmauuW_VpxPK_X0trWBzgD3q6CLMj7g

Mass at Hedon

On Sunday 9th June, being the second Sunday of the month, there will be a Low Mass in the traditional Rite at 5pm at the Church of St Mary & St Joseph in Hedon, which five miles to the east of Hull.  Fr Mark Drew will be the celebrant.

Feast of the Ascension

Thursday 30th May is the Feast of the Ascension.  There will be a Sung Mass at 6pm at St Wilfrid's Church in York.

No Mass at Hedon this Coming Sunday

There will be no Mass at The Church of St Mary & St Joseph in Hedon on Sunday 12th May.  This is because Fr Drew is not available.

Fr Nicholas Rynne

Readers may have been following the story of Fr Nicholas Rynne on various internet sites, or possibly in the Daily Mail which has covered the story.

Fr Nicholas Rynne is a young Australian priest, ordained in 2013, and appointed earlier this year to be the pastor of Meander Valley Parish in the Hobart Archdiocese in Tasmania.  It seems that, even before his arrival in the parish, an unwelcome reception had been planned, but few could have predicted the scale of the row that has developed.

Matters came to public attention when a rather unpleasant letter, written by one Maureen Bennett and addressed to Fr Rynne, was "accidentally" leaked, and subsequently published on numerous websites around the world.

The story is that some outspoken parishioners took exception to Fr Rynne wearing a clerical collar and cassock.  They also objected to his introduction of a Latin Mass in the weekly schedule, despite the fact that it was an additional Mass and did not displace any other Mass.  A complaint was lodged with Archbishop Julian Porteous, who decided to request the retired bishop, Peter Elliott, to conduct an enquiry.  It seems that he did not do this very evenhandedly, as he failed interview Fr Rynne and gave little opportunity for supporters of Fr Rynne in the parish to present their views.  The result was that Fr Rynne was suspended, and the following statement issued:

"Fr Nicholas Rynne has ceased his role as administrator of the Meander Valley Parish, and other associated roles in the Archdiocese. We pray that a process of healing and restoration of unity may be achieved in the parish and among all affected."

The matter was taken up first by the local press, then by the national and even international press.  Not surprisingly, the story spread around the world on social media.  The latest is that an internet petition has been launched in support of Fr Rynne, which gained more than 1000 signatures in the first day.

The petition can be found at:
www.change.org/p/archbishop-julian-porteous-reinstate-fathe…

Mass in Hedon

There will be a Latin Mass celebrated at 5pm on Sunday 14th April (Palm Sunday) by Fr Mark Drew at the Church of St Mary & St Joseph in Hedon