Institute of Christ the King in Shrewsbury

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest is to have a foundation in Shrewsbury.  It has been announced that Bishop Davies has invited the Institute to have a second permanent presence in his diocese.  Canon Smith, who comes from Arcansas in the USA, along with a seminarian will be taking up residence at St Winefride's Church, which is part of the Cathedral parish in Shrewsbury.  Besides celebrating Sunday and weekday Masses at St Wilfrede's, Canon Smith will have some duties at the cathedral. 

Although the Institute of Christ the King already has charge of three churches in England (one at New Brighton and two in Preston), it is a new development for any traditional order of priests to have  regular duties at a cathedral.  This is further evidence of the integration of the Latin Mass into Catholic life in this country.

Canon Smith will be arriving in England before the end of September.

Is This Why We are Short of Priests?

The recent revelations about abusing clergy in the United States are immensely disturbing.  What makes matters worse is the emergence of similar stories in Germany, Australia, South America and elsewhere.  A common thread to all these stories is that many of the depraved acts took place in seminaries often by superiors of the seminary.

If this behaviour is as widespread as it seems to be in several countries,  one would expect most decent seminarians attending such a depraved institution would soon leave, and probably not continue their priestly vocation.  This could well be an explanation of why so many seminaries have had to close, and indeed for the diminishing number of ordinations in recent decades.  One wonders how many young men have been put off pursuing a priestly vocation specifically because of experiencing depraved activities at their seminary.

Most of us, who are disgusted and depressed after reading the recent revelations, would probably think that such behaviour does not go on in this country.  We tend to think that all the priests that we know, or have ever met, are fine men who would never indulge in such bad behaviour.  However, anyone who reads the newspapers also knows that unsuitable men have been ordained to the priesthood in the past, and it is likely that some of these are still around today.  It also seems to be the case that a disproportionate number of these people find their way into positions in seminaries. This prompts the question: Have any of the seminaries serving England and Wales been infiltrated by such undesirables?  Of course we all hope that the answer is no, but we should allow for the possibility that there are some. 

The likelihood is that such infiltration has occurred in the past and this could be a reason for the current shortage of priests.

Pope Francis

On 31st August, I wrote a short piece about the  Testimony of Archbishop Vigano, and his allegations against Pope Francis and other high ranking clergy.  I was reluctant to say categorically that the Archbishop had proved the case against Pope Francis,  as there were one or two gaps in the evidence; although I did say that I found the testimony convincing,  and all the counter evidence rather defensive.

I have now seen a short video that is totally convincing, and which puts Pope Francis at the centre of the cover up of abuse cases in Argentina.  I believe that no one seeing this video can have any doubt about the matter.    The video was reproduced on Fr Zuhlsdorf's blog on 17th September.  Have a look at it there.

First Latin Mass Personal Parish

It has been announced that Bishop Egan of the Portsmouth Diocese is to erect a Personal Parish for those attached to the traditional form of the Mass.  It will be centred around Reading, where the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter have their own house and have been offering Mass at the Church of St William of York for the last 17 years. 

Fr Matthew Goddard of the FSSP will be the Parish Priest, and the announcement states that the new parish will be based at the Church of St William of York until a permanent home is found.  At present, use of the church is shared between the FSSP and the the local novus ordo parish.

The new personal parish, which will be dedicated to St John Fisher, will be the first Latin Mass personal parish in Britain, and only the fourth in Europe, although there are about 40 in the United States.  It will differ from the shrine churches in New Brighton, Warrington and Preston, in that a parish has certain duties, including maintaining baptismal and marriage records.

The suggestion that St William's is a temporary home, will lead to speculation that the FSSP will be handed a church for their exclusive use at some future date.  Presumably, this will happen as a result of some reorganisation and amalgamation of parishes in the Reading area.

Next Mass at Hedon

There will be a Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form offered by Fr Mark Drew at the Church of St Mary and St Joseph, Baxtergate in Hedon on Sunday 9th September at 5pm.

The Testimony of ArchbishopVigano

If anyone has not yet read the testimony of Archbishop Vigano, I recommend it as an important piece of evidence.  The 11 page document is easily found on the internet in written form, or may be listened to read by Fr Zuhlsdorf on his blog.

I read it on Tuesday after returning from a weekend in Walsingham and elsewhere, and thought that it was explosive evidence very detrimental to Pope Francis and several other high ranking clergy.  I then searched the internet for comment and analysis, and found that almost everyone was defending Pope Francis and picking holes in Archbishop Vigano's evidence.  Some fairly reasonable points were raised which did cast some doubts in my mind about the adequacy of some parts of Archbishop Vigano's evidence.  Finally, I reread the testimony, and my ultimate conclusion is that the Archbishop is correct in every detail.  

The testimony is, for the most part, very detailed, giving dates, places and the actual words of some of his conversations.  My first reason for believing Archbishop Vigano is because of the amount of detail given.  Secondly, I believe the details of the evidence because they contain so many surprises.  There are episodes recounted that, at first sight, seem unlikely, and on reflection are indeed so unlikely that it is difficult to believe that anyone would have made them up.

The numerous people who have come to Pope Francis's defence, led in this country by Austen Ivereigh, have not impressed me with their arguments.  Some of the arguments are well presented, but they all have the hallmark of being orchestrated and very much on the defensive.  It seems as if someone has been managing the responses.

As a rule, I do not comment on controversial issues on this blog, preferring to keep to purely factual matters.  On this occasion, I have made an exception because the subject matter is so grave, and because, after several days consideration I have become convinced of the reliability of Archbishop Vigaro's testimony.

St Margaret Clitherow & the Martyrs of York

The pilgrimage in honour of St Margaret Clitherow and the Martyrs of York will take place on Saturday, 1st September.

Pilgrims should assemble at the Bar Convent at 10.30am for a 10.45 departure on foot for Ouse Bridge, where Margaret Clitherow was executed, and The Shambles, where she lived and a house has been made into a shrine to her.

The procession will continue to St Wilfrid's Church where there will be Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 12.10pm.  Benediction will follow.

Latin Mass for Prisoners

The following story has been reported in New Liturgical Movement, where a more detailed account can be found.

It seems that Archbishop Cordilione of San Francisco, along with the Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship, visited the San Quintin State Prison for an evening of Music and Meditation.  Apparently the event, which included both polyphony and plainsong, was well attended and and enjoyed by the inmates, to the extent that 25 of the inmates, presumably with the approval of the prison authorities, decided to form their own schola.  Members of the Institute returned to provide tuition, and the schola has progressed to the extent that it is able to sing at Mass competently.

The sequel is that there is to be a Sung Mass in the prison later this month, and that this is intended to be the first of a series.

Feast of the Assumption

There will be a Sung Latin Mass for the Feast of the Assumption at St Wilfrid's Church in York on Wednesday 15th August at 6pm.

For Those Not Able to Walk 57 Miles

Those who do not feel able to walk the 57 miles from Ely to Walsingham, there is another option.  Pilgrims can make their own way to Walsingham on the Sunday.  There will be a Solemn Mass in the Chapel of Reconciliation at 2.00pm on the Sunday.  Pilgrims can then walk the Holy Mile to the Abbey grounds where there will be devotions.