Home! part 1

The first installment of the lecture given by Dr Benjamin Vallejo Jr to the Catholic students ministry of the University of the Philippines, January 25, 2012, Delaney Hall, UP Diliman. 

Home!

Who are the Anglicans?

I always believed that Anglicans do not convert to become Catholics. They just come home. After all the word “Anglican” means “of England” and could also be used to describe the Catholic faith as practiced by the English, especially before the Reformation. But then the Reformation happened.

Father Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk nailed his 95 theses on the west door of Wittenberg Church on October 31, 1517, a date so important in Church history which the Protestant Churches celebrate as Reformation Day. The theses are nothing but academic points of debate on certain church practices that Fr Luther found unacceptable. It is true that the Medieval Roman Church has abused its power to care for souls. Fr Luther objected the “sale of indulgences” simply because another priest Johann Tetzel made the whole idea of praying for the souls in Purgatory a business transaction. The Church needed the money to finish constructing St Peter’s Basilica.

If one day if you have the chance to visit Rome,  I bet that you will marvel at the priceless expression of the Catholic faith in St Peter’s especially in art but was St Peter’s worth the Reformation that made it possible?

Perhaps all Christians whether they be Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox or Anglican may have asked the question. St Peter’s is both a sign of our division and our unity as Christians. St Peter’s Basilica can both repel us with its ostentation and the cost of dividing the church but still unite us since all of this was made for God’s glory. But still we are drawn to St Peter’s and to  most of all to St Peter. St Peter is probably the wimpiest of the Apostles, yet even if he denied the Lord and was hesitant to lead, the Lord selected him and gave him a great responsibility. He was already old when he was crucified like Jesus but upside down exactly on the place where St Peter's Basilica stands today. Jesus foretold of this and even in his weakness Peter accepted the commission.  And for that the great church is built on Peter's grave.

The Church is built on Peter since he received that important commission from Christ which you can read or better yet hear in the Gospels at Mass. What we recall of that commission is the "Keys" and that Hell won't prevail over the Church. But the Reformation made it more difficult to see that truth since there was a Holy Catholic Church but she was run by sinners and the holy alike. But most of the time, it was the sinners who were on top.  But it is Faith that allows us to see beyond the shadows and darkness, thanks to the witness of the Saints, whose vocation was really authentic reformation. For that truth many Catholics gave their lives and for me the most notable would be Thomas More and Cardinal John Fisher, who gave their lives when the Reformation came to England. Many followed Peter to martyrdom. Thus England has been blessed by the witness of hundreds of martrys some of which are known only to God. Of these we know probably at most 80, forty of which have been canonized as the "Forty Martyrs of England and Wales". 

King Henry VIII in 1536 since he had no male heir would do anything to annul his marriage to Queen Catherine who gave him only a daughter. For this he in a series of acts of parliament, separated the Church in England from the Catholic Church and made himself the “Supreme Head of the Church” in England. This is a new title for the Pope never had considered himself as the “Supreme Head” which is a title only for Christ. The Pope as we all know, even today is the Bishop of Rome (his most important title) and with it “Vicar of Christ”, which means only that he only acts in the name of Christ. King Henry appropriated a title which is not by the law of God, his. For this More and Fisher lost their heads and became Catholic saints. 

The Ecclesia Anglicana or the Church of England was created by the King’s wish. It considered itself as a continuation of  the Catholic Church but reformed by doing away with the perceived abuses of the Pope. The doctrine of the Catholic Church was held and Henry did not tolerate the Lutheran doctrine (much earlier the Pope granted his the title Fidei Defensor).  But the Reformed doctrine was influential among the aristocracy who benefitted from Henry’s dissolution of the monasteries. The English people resisted the Reformation for at least three generations that by the time of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, a religious settlement had to be made since the people had shed much blood in matters of religion.  Mary I, Elizabeth’s elder half sister brought the English back to the Roman obedience but it was not to last. The Reformation had made its impact. The Church of England will have the Queen as “Supreme Governor”, a title roughly equivalent to the Pope’s title as “Vicar of Christ”.  Elizabeth’s title was granted by Parliament while the Pope was by Christ through St Peter’s. And as a result of the religious settlement Anglican belief would be defined in such a way that it is possible for it to be understood in both the Roman Catholic and Protestant sense.  The result is a large degree of ambiguity. This is so evident in the Anglican belief in the Eucharist which I shall touch on later.

After King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I, the Roman Church had to meet the challenges of the Reformation in the Council of Trent which successfully reformed the Church in what historians would rather inaccurately call the Counter Reformation. The Anglican Church will go on its separate way and developing its own distinct liturgies and spirituality. Yet in this separate way, many elements of Catholic Church belief and practice were preserved. The Anglican Church preserved the ministries of the bishop, priest and deacons but the Eucharist was said in English and no longer in Latin. Anglican clergy can be married while Roman Catholic clergy can’t. The Roman Catholic Church insisted on Latin until after the Second Vatican Council when the Mass could be celebrated in the vernacular languages. Thus in a way the Catholic Church followed the Anglican reforms in liturgy, although 500 years late.

With England becoming a world power in the 17^th to the early 20^th centuries, she planted Anglican Churches in her colonies including what became the United States. These churches eventually became independent of the Church of England headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury. They became the Anglican Communion since they are in communion with Canterbury. In the United States, the Anglican Church is called the Episcopal Church since this church had its first bishop consecrated by the Scottish Episcopal Church (which is not under the Church of England).  When the Philippines became under the Americans in 1898, The Episcopal Church sent its missionaries to the Philippines and later on the Anglican/Episcopal church in our country became the Episcopal Church in the Philippines (ECP). The ECP is notable in our church history since right from the start in 1902, she refused to convert Roman Catholics instead focused her missionary efforts on non-Christians. The first Episcopal Bishop of the Philippines the Rt Rev Charles Henry Brent would not “build an altar over another”. Of all the non- Catholic (Protestant) missionaries in the Philippines, only Bishop Brent recognized that Roman Catholics were Christians too!

But with so much in common even if we are separated, it would be inevitable that many Anglicans would feel an affinity for the Church of Rome. Thus in the five centuries of separation, Anglican theologians would take great care in differentiating what they believed in from Protestantism while maintaining their difference from Roman Catholicism. They believed they are the middle way or in Latin “Via Media”.  Fundamental aspects of Protestant (Puritan) practice were suppressed as well as Roman Catholic devotions like those to the Virgin Mary. The Anglican Church is the church of the English state and any excessive emphasis on Protestantism (Puritan) or Catholicism was considered a threat to the state. Elizabeth I famously said she “won’t look into men’s souls” which meant that one can hold Roman Catholic or Puritan beliefs as long as one keeps this private.  If not Elizabeth I considered these grounds for treason.  Many martyrs both on the Roman Catholic and Puritan side lost their heads for their conscience since they rejected the idea that they should live their faith in private.

Of course the Via Media won’t hold as John Henry Newman realized. The Rev Dr Newman, perhaps the most renowned 19^th century Anglican theologian or Divine as the English would say it, was one of the founders of the Oxford Movement in the  mid 19^th century which sought to restore the Catholic element in the Anglican Church.  The Oxford Movement restored to the Church of England the Devotion to the Blessed Virgin especially in her title of Our Lady of Walsingham. It also restored a more sacramental way of celebrating the liturgy.  Thus many Anglicans today have a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother.  While this led many Anglicans to believe in many things Catholics believe in, but even so Newman in his studies and prayerful reflection realized that the idea of a Church of England would make no sense unless it is united with the Church of Rome, where she came from.  [It was a Pope, St Gregory the Great, who sent St Augustine to Canterbury to preach the Gospel to the English].  Newman also rejected the idea that the state should have anything to do with Christian doctrine. Newman became a Catholic, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood and became a Cardinal. Pope Benedict XVI beatified him in 2010. It was not only Newman who came home but many Anglican clergy and laypeople, some very famous, some are celebrities but most are ordinary men, women and children. And they are still coming home as of this minute. They reached the same conclusion as Newman did more than 150 years earlier.

And most of them don’t consider themselves converts but just people who came home!

Ad orientem, worshiping to the East and English church ordering

A medieval English priest offers Mass according to the Sarum Use

Mass celebrated with priest and laypeople  facing the geographical east is really an English custom. In the 7th century, Catholic churches in England were built on the feast day of the saint on which the church when completed will be dedicated. The earliest churches in Rome had the sanctuary at the western end and the entrance at the eastern end due to peculiarities of Rome's geography. The priest thus celebrated mass ad orientem and versus populum.  A prime example is mass in St Peter's Basilica and St Paul's Outside the Walls. However,  the Apostolic Constitution of 472 mandated the worship of the True God to the east which later became universal in the Latin Church until the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.  In England where there was a pagan cult of the Sun, in 597 Pope St Gregory counselled St Augustine of Canterbury, the first Archbishop of that see to deal gently with these customs and henceforth the first Archbishop of Canterbury ordered all English churches be ordered with the altar at the east end and that the celebrant should be bathed in the full light of the morning sun through the East window. Since then this has been a feature of the English parish church.

A  defining feature of the English church is a square chancel which is often rounded in continental European medieval churches. In the medieval Slipper Chapel shown above which is now England's Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham in Norfolk, we see the great East window and the square chancel. These medieval churches had their orientation to the East where the sun will rise at the Spring and Autumn equinoxes. How did the medieval masons figure this out?

Masons will patiently wait for sun to rise and with the use of a gnomon placed at the centre of the proposed church site, the shadow lines at dawn or dusk of the gnomon were marked off on a circle, giving a true east west axis. The resulting east and west points were used as centres marking off two circles that intersect forming a fish shape or vesica pisces. A line drawn between the vertices of the vesica pisces gives the true north south axis. The church plan can now be executed and the church built. Usually the chancel and choir are built first and consecrated

English medieval plan to orient a church

Even the Episcopal Church cathedral in Quezon City show traces of this English ordering of a square chancel and an East window although in this cathedral these are three small windows. The Cathedral of St Mary and St John is oriented to the geographical east like its predecessor in Ermita, Manila which was destroyed in World War II.

St Mary and St John Cathedral in Quezon City

Old St Mary and St John in Ermita, Manila (destroyed in WW 2)

Thus when some cradle Catholics (who have been habituated to versus populum masses) asked the Ordinariate Catholics why they insist on an ad orientem way of worshiping, the reason they gave is that this way is part of the Anglican patrimony which predates the Reformation. Thus it is authentically Roman Catholic.

Reference: Paul NP (1995) Enjoying Old Parish Churches. Vol. 1 Pentland Press, Durham, England.

An Anglican in Japan joins the Catholic Church

I'm a sucker for conversion stories. I'm always interested in why one person changes churches or religions. I find that my knowledge and my thinking are greatly improved by looking at and reading about the area that divide beliefs, worldviews, and paradigms. Different beliefs and denominations can have very different ways of looking at the world, and reading about those that change often clarify the differences.

Russell Stutler is one person who has gone on such a journey. He writes:

I live in Tokyo. I was born in Japan to an American father and Japanese mother, and was raised in Ohio.

In 1987 I was sent to Japan by a small missionary board (sort of a renegade organization comprised of evangelical Episcopalians). I was their only missionary assigned to Japan, and my task was to find a place to live, learn Japanese, and find a way to serve God here.

On August 14, 2011, I joined the Catholic Church. I had previously been a member of the Anglican Church and was a non-denominational evangelical Protestant before that. I'm still thoroughly evangelical, and always will be. Why did I do such a crazy thing? I wrote an explanation for those who are curious.

That explanation is here. It is a detailed intellectual exploration of the issues and that appeals to me. While lengthy for a blog post, it is not overly long and is broken into different sections.  To give you a fair idea of all the various sections would require much too much space, but here is an excerpt from one:

But can I trust them?

When I first took a serious look at the Catholic Church I had the major obstacles that all Protestants have, such as the pope, Mary and the saints, and I began my investigation like any Protestant would, by looking for evidence in the Bible. Then I turned to the early Church Fathers, church history, and also a big fat book called The Catechism of the Catholic Church to see what the Catholic Church actually taught about these issues. Even as I came up with enough evidence to overcome some difficulties, other issues popped up that I needed confront. I suspected that even more issues might surface later on, and the quest could go on forever if my goal was to pursue every difficult teaching to a satisfactory conclusion.

My problem was I was going about it the wrong way because I had missed the main issue which was whether or not the teaching authority of the Catholic Church is trustworthy. I wouldn't have to prove every doctrine that I came across if I could just trust the Church and accept that it has been guided all along by the Holy Spirit...

If you are like me and like such stories or if you are interested in an intellectual and Bible-based summary of a key Catholic-versus-Protestant issues, read the whole thing.

The Portal Magazine, "an independent review in the service of the Ordinariate"

The Portal is an online magazine for the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, the Anglican Ordinariate of England and Wales (and Scotland).  It describes itself on its masthead as "an independent review in the service of the Ordinariate."  More fully, on its website they say:

Welcome to The Portal Magazine the free monthly on-line magazine
. . . for those in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
. . . those Anglicans who are interested in the Ordinariate
. . . and all Catholic friends of the Ordinariate

The Portal Magazine, is published on the first of every month.

It covers News, Events, Personalities, Catholic teaching, Letters, Features, Catholic and Anglican history, the Ordinary's Page and information about Ordinariate Parishes

You can either read it online or download a PDF of each issue.  They have been publishing since the Ordinariate was established in January of this year and are a good source of news about going-ons in the U.K. Go and read this month's issues, as well as past months'.  You can also sign up to receive an email when the new issues are published.


Some may be wondering why it is independent and not an "official" publication of the Ordinariate.  The short answer is that I don't know.  But more importantly, there is no need for it to be.  It being ofiicial would just complicate the work of the Ordinariate and the Ordinary at a time when they have much to do. Independent publications are just easier to administer and to raise funds for.  They also are more flexible and able to seize opportunities as they come up. And finally, independent publications have more credibility.  Indeed, many of the world's best religious publications–Catholic, Anglican and other denominations–are independent.

Decentralization and independence should be preferred unless there is a very good reason.  Catholic teaching talks of subsidiarity, which is defined by Wikipedia as "is an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. Political decisions should be taken at a local level if possible, rather than by a central authority."  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Edition) discusses subsidiarity here. The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace discusses the concept here in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.

Canada Ordinariate

There are four countries–four Catholic bishops' conferences–that are working towards being the first four Anglican Ordinariates. One has been established, in England, Wales and Scotland. Australia, the United States and Canada will likely be established within the next year or so. For an update on the U.S., see the earlier posts on Cardinal Wuerl's report to the USCCB. Cardinal Wuerl's counterpart in Canada is Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto.

Over the last few months, Archbishop Collins has been as busy as Cardinal Wuerl. In March there was a conference in Canada on the Ordinariate (another report here and here for the schedule).  A DVD was made for which the Archbishop taped an introduction where he summarizes the state of affairs and the process that he is following. You can view the intro on YouTube:

If you would like to hear the Archbishop's address to the March conference, you can download an MP3 here, provided by the Anglican Patrimony blog through its podcast.

The Archdiocese has also established a website dedicated to the Canadian ordinariate:

http://www.archtoronto.org/ordinariate/

The Canadian ordinariate is not as far along as the British or the American but it is still likely to be formed within the next 12 months or so, if I had to put a timeline on it.  Of course, the establishment of the Canadian ordinariate has not been without controversy.  Perhaps you have read blogs or online news stories purporting to report on various discussions.  Some of these reports have sources; some are based on rumor.  None are of great interest to me. In the daily ups and downs of relationship-building, there will be misunderstandings, wrong information, and even insults, intentional and unintentional.  People of good will will find a way through, a way over our human failings.  A Canadian Anglican Ordinariate will be established.  I pray that God will be pleased.

Additional thoughts on Cardinal Wuerl's report to the USCCB

Last week, I posted about Cardinal Wuerl's report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. I had some further thoughts, in random order:

• From the comments it appears that many of the bishops are unaware of the details of Anglicanorum Coetibus, which is exactly what one would expect from busy bishops. Despite the history being made and the subsequent news stories, the Anglican Ordinariates will always be a small part of the world-wide Roman Catholic Church. At the beginning, and for perhaps the first few years, the number of Catholics in an American Ordinariate will likely be fewer than the largest of Catholic parishes. Indeed, some of these bishops are responsible for more Christians than all of Anglicanism in the United States, of all stripes – Anglican Communion, Anglican Continuing Churches, and all the others – combined.

• There will be initially, roughly, 100 clergymen and 2,000 members of the American Anglican Ordinariate. That is a large number of priests and is probably due to Anglican congregations being much smaller than Catholic (a few dozen to a few hundred versus a few thousand) and to clergyman being further along in their discernment process. Religion is their full-time job. Many interested laymen may have taken a wait-and-see approach, not wanting to leave a church they value for a (current) hypothetical. Once there is a place to go on Sunday morning, that will change.

• The historical importance of Anglicanorum Coetibus is out of proportion to its size, as is evidenced by the attention paid to it by the Vatican and the various bishops conferences.

• Some of the questions asked were clearly part of ongoing conversations among the bishops, conversations that have been going on for years and in both formal and informal settings, that I am not familiar with.

• The openness and transparency demonstrated by the live broadcast of speech and Q&A is wonderful and should be duplicated and expanded by conferences worldwide. Through the broadcast, we can see what bishops are discussing and how, and that strengthens the church by:

• Having more of the universal church involved in the conversation;
• Reducing the secrecy that plagues all such large bureaucracies, thereby increasing trust
• Modeling open, transparent decision-making for other institutions–religious, governmental, voluntary, profit-making, etc.; and
• Providing a teaching moment, a chance for them to be pastors, by allowing those interested to learn more about the Catholic Church.

• I wonder if the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines also records and shares their meetings. If they don't, I hope that they will start soon. It would be a great opportunity for them to teach interested Catholics a bit more and to model transparency in a culture that needs more openness.

He who has no and/or doesn't want an SUV cast the first spike! (to ensure a flat!)

Now methinks I have to comment on the recent scandal involving some Philippine Catholic bishops and SUVs and allegedly "Pajeros". But please note that this blog post is the opinion of this writer and not the Anglican Use Philippines.  I recently spoke to a lay Catholic leader who has a devotion to Our Lady of Walsingham. We talked aside from other things, this brewing scandal. The scandal has seriously damaged the credibility of the Catholic Church in the Philippines.

The bishops allegedly received the SUVs from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office which together with the state gaming company PAGCOR is the biggest donor for charity in the country.

One Mindanao bishop reportedly asked the PCSO through ex President Gloria Arroyo for an SUV as a birthday present. He has publicly apologized but the other bishops said they received the donations in good faith. The bishops have said they used the SUVs for reaching difficult to reach places in their dioceses. It does not surprise anyone that these dioceses are located in the poorest regions of the Philippines.

The bishops have decided to return the controversial SUVs. But the secular press and the "Freethinkers" have had a field day with some calling for jail time and proposing "Bantay Bishop". Well I have news for them.

If they want to see the bishops jailed, then file the appropriate charges and let justice take its course. Also if they want a "Bantay Bishop" program to work, well they have to attend regularly Sunday Mass! By this I mean they should be  active in their parishes and dioceses (and help in the ministry and charitable work). The clergy are accountable to their congregations. Unfortunately we don't have this culture of having clergy accountable but in Anglican parishes with their vestries, the priest has to be accountable to the parish especially in temporal matters.

But of course it is plain to see that the bishops themselves have fallen short of Christ's standards as stated in Matthew 23! As Christian leaders and focus of unity in their dioceses the people (Catholic or otherwise) look up to them and so they have to exhibit more discreetness in facing political convenience.  It is on a particular church level as if the Pope did something really really bad! Think of how that will rock the global Christian community and not just the Catholics?

I honestly think that the bishops had this coming since they badly mishandled the response to the RH bill. When I heard the threat of excommunication bandied around, I know that they would lose to secular politicking.

Bishops are simply priests who have the fullness of the priestly ministry. Like any priest, they can hear the confession of anyone. I dare say priests are "professional forgivers" even if this is not entirely accurate. They can hear the worst sins confessed by the most debased penitent but if the penitent is really repentant, they have no choice but to absolve him/her. It is the Christ who forgives the sinner through them. This is a fact that people forget, especially Catholics. A priest is a human being, how then can he absolve when his human wits tell him it is impossible? And this is the reason why the confession is sealed and that we must pray for priests to continue to receive the special grace to absolve.

But bishops have other responsibilities much of with are in administrating a bureaucracy and they themselves need our prayers. But for the "birthday gift SUV" bishop, I have no opinion except that he should send his resignation to the Holy Father. And while he may not be legally liable, he is morally culpable and the only remedy for this is reparation which is the first step to authentic justice. I have to agree with Conrad de Quiros. Resignation is the best expression of reparation here. And he should tell all about his cozy relationship with the former President. And after which we will have to leave him alone to confess his sins to his confessor.

But I have good news for the "Freethinkers", the CBCP was able to deftly defuse the ecclesiatical side of the scandal. And this proves that our separation of church and state really works. Now it is up to the PNoy government to make good its promise of cleaning up corruption in the government!

Talks on Anglicans and the Catholic Church at UP

Please keep posted on a series of talks on the ecumenical developments between Anglicans and Roman Catholics at the University of the Philippines. Coming soon!

And at the end of each talk will be a service of Evensong!

Filipino Episcopalians debate about purgatory while Catholics no longer bother about it!

This is how the Medievals thought about Purgatory!

At the Pinoy Episcopalians Facebook group, someone posted if "Episcopalians are to believe in purgatory". This post sparked a lively discussion which has touched on the relationship of Scripture and Tradition and how classical Anglicanism has received these and if these are relevant to the 21st century. Of course the debate extended beyond Purgatory but to the importance of Authority in the Church. This is so related to the troubles plaguing Anglicans now and how the Anglican Communion may be able to preserve her unity.

Here is how one Filipino Episcopal priest has it

"Luther did not oppose the idea. he only opposed the wrong means on how to pass through it. Purgatory is not for the lost, only for believers already on the way to heaven yet have to take the long journey to life because of their attachment to the world that they live in and a world they are leaving. Purgatory is connected to fire purification, which is really meant the fiery trial a Christian has to experience due to sanctification."

Thanks to depictions by countless artists throughout the ages, many Catholics and Protestants think Purgatory is a place where there is fire to cleanse sinners. This has led to many misconceptions but the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1030-1032) states that Purgatory is a condition rather than a place and states Scriptural references that support this understanding. Blessed Pope John Paul II restated the teaching in a papal audience. The Church however teaches that there is a "cleansing fire" in Purgatory and tradition is that this is understood not in a metaphorical sense but in a real sense. Mystics have understood this as a purifying inner fire, an understanding that Pope Benedict XVI appears to endorse.

The Thirty Nine Articles of Religion of the Church of England in Article XXII explicitly reject the doctrine of Purgatory as being without "warrant in Scripture" However, the Articles are not binding on Anglicans as the CCC is upon Catholics. For many Episcopalians, the Articles are of historical interest. Thus there is a wide spectrum of belief among Anglicans as as the debate on Pinoy Episcopalians would suggest, many still adhere to the idea that Purgatory is indeed a condition where  souls are purified. However many Episcopalians will still have difficulty in accepting the Roman Catholic belief on indulgences. This is at the root of medieval abuses that brought upon the Reformation. A famous Anglican, CS Lewis accepted belief in Purgatory in the way the Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman understood it.

But as I had posted I am amazed that Filipino Episcopalians debate about Purgatory when Filipino Roman Catholics hardly bother about it! In fact I have never heard the doctrine being the subject of a Sunday Mass homily in the last 20 years! It must be that the subject is too pre Vatican II and it deals with the afterlife rather than this life. And many priests don't want to scare the worshipers out of their wits with talk of eternal damnation and purification!

Some Roman Catholic priests tend to believe that we are experiencing Purgatory  right now, since we have a corrupt government and we ourselves are party to this and we have cut down all the trees and so we are in an environmental mess etc. Perhaps that is true but it misses out on what the Church teaches about it and the real costs of God's purifying love.

And so it takes our Anglican brethren to remind Roman Catholics of this teaching, at least to me. I have not bothered with that doctrine ever since I was received into the Church 25 years ago!

What the Pope did to the BCP, TEC parish swims the Tiber and the Photoshop argument

What the Pope did to the BCP

Dr William Oddie has written something that makes for interesting reading at the Catholic Herald. Dr Oddie writes that the Pope has made the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) (well much of it) into a Catholic liturgy! This was something no one would have thought possible as late as 30 years ago.

Evensong is now sung at Roman Catholic places of worship in England, the United States, Canada and Australia, and soon, the Philippines. We prayed this office at the University of the Philippines.  What was considered quite Protestant is now wedded with a traditional Roman Catholic devotion, the Benediction. Evensong is now the Ordinariate's evening office .  Dr Oddie sums up what I have consistently reminded my Anglican/Episcopal friends. Anglicans will restore to the Roman Catholic Church what has been lost or forgotten.

Reformation historian Diarmid MacCulloch was more blunt. He was quoted saying that "The Anglican Communion preserved much of what the post Vatican II Catholic Church threw out"

And here writes Dr Oddie "these Anglican converts are bringing with them derives from Catholic sources that we have lost or at least temporarily mislaid"


Well that is what it really is. The BCP is as everyone knows was influenced by older Catholic liturgies such as the Sarum Use and the reforms of the Roman Breviary by Cardinal Quiñones of Spain.  While Archbishop Thomas Cranmer made sure that the denial of Catholic belief in the Mass was explicit, this was placed in a liturgical setting that resembled the Mass, but really wasn't. And only the theologically astute among the churchgoers could detect the difference. Thus the Anglican Eucharist could be celebrated with Tridentine panoply, or even in the most Protestant way of celebrating the valid Catholic mass called the Novus Ordo, which the present Pope calls the "Ordinary Form". While the former may impress 21st century Tridentine traddies, the latter does give them apoplexy!


Thus this are Anglican treasures being shared to the Catholics. I wonder if the Catholics will appreciate these?


This we will have to see. In the meantime I was shocked to hear from a Filipino cradle Catholic that he thought the Evening Prayer  we were saying was a Protestant invention!


Episcopal Parish swims the Tiber


St Luke's Episcopal Parish near Washington DC in Blandensburg, Maryland has decided to join the Catholic Church. The parish becomes the second Episcopal parish after Mt Calvary Parish in Baltimore to join the Catholic Church after Anglicanorum coetibus was published. St Luke's is now under the pastoral care of the Archbishop of Washington Cardinal Wuerl.  The parish was under the Episcopal Bishop of Washington John Chane who graciously supported (with the Catholic Archbishop of Washington), the parish discernment process. The parish will continue to worship in their church building, which will be leased to them by the Episcopal diocese with an option to purchase.


Both St Luke's and Mt Calvary will be Ordinariate bound and they will undergo a formation program before formally being received in the Church.


Why women cannot be priests: An image processing analogy!


Both the Catholic and Evangelical wings of the Anglican Communion are against the ordination of women as priests since it has no Scriptural basis and is not in accordance with the ancient tradition of the undivided Church.


Women's ordination is a very divisive issue in the Anglican Communion. However a majority of provinces allow it, with some provinces providing "alternative episcopal oversight" to parishes who don't agree with it.


The consecration of women bishops (which naturally follows if women become priests) has ignited more discord in the Church of England and threatens an irreparable Anglican split if no arrangements are made to protect the conscience of people who can't accept this.


Catholics and the Orthodox hold on to the "alter Christus" argument why women can't be priests. They believe that the Christ who sacrificed himself for us was a man, therefore the priest who offers the same sacrifice on the altar should be a man. The Evangelicals hold on to the "headship of the family" argument which says that the head of a natural order such as the family is a man and by extension, the church should be headed by a man.


Nonetheless I received an email from an Anglican who tends to accept the Catholic argument. He says that since the priest images Christ at the altar, a woman simply can't do. Then he gives the Photoshop argument. If we image process a man, and we expect him to look or do things like a man, then we don't do much to the image. But if we image process a woman and we expect him to look or do things like a man, then we have to tweak the image!


And no wonder why some people are never comfortable with the sight of a woman priest or bishop. She in those vestments made for men, will look male!

The Martyrs of Uganda

Blessed Martyrs of Uganda, Pray for us to God!

In  the late 1800s Christian missionaries (first Anglican in 1877 and then Roman Catholic in 1879) began to preach the Gospel in Buganda (now part of Uganda). The people received the Christian message very enthusiastically and many were baptized. The King of Buganda,m Mutesa at first received the missionaries warmly and even allowed the Christians to preach at court.  However to protect his throne and to balance the political and social influence of the missionaries, he also welcomed Arab traders who preached Islam.

The Roman Catholic White Father missionaries had to walk the diplomatic tight rope as they say, since the King's favour shifted from one religious group or the other. This was a time before Christians had an appreciation of ecumenical principles and the Anglicans were often in competition with the Catholics and both Christian groups were in competition with Muslim missionaries.

After the death of Mutesa his son Mwanga ascended the Bugandan throne. While at first he was warm to the Christians, he later became hostile to them. Mwanga became sold to the idea that it was treasonous to give allegiance to the Christian God. An Anglican bishop James Hannington was consecrated as a missionary bishop for Equatorial Eastern Africa. When he went to the mission areas in Buganda, the King had him killed. The bishop is the Protomartyr of the Christian missions. His last words to his executioners are "Tell Mwanga that I have purchased the road to Buganda with my blood!"

However the King's sexual tastes included homosexual sex with the young pages in his court. The boys refused to bend to his will.

The chief steward at court Joseph Mukasa , who was a Catholic rebuked the King for the murder and for that he was also stabbed and burned to death as an example to all. He became the first of the Catholic martyrs. Mukasa was able to teach the boys the Christian teaching on homosexual acts and for the boys to resist and keep away from Mwanga's whims. Charles Lwanga took over him in looking after these boys.

One of the boys resisted Mwanga's advances and he too was martyred. Enraged, he ordered the execution of all his pages in court, all of whom are Christian, Anglican and Roman Catholic as well as catechumens.

The King gave the boys a choice whether to renounce their faith or not. Mwanga commanded all who pray (the Lord's Prayer) to his left and those who don't to his right. All the boys went to the left and they were led to the place of execution. They were bound with reeds and faggots and these were lit. The boys included the eldest Charles Lwanga and the youngest Kzito was only 14. While on the way they prayed the Lord's Prayer and recited their catechism, Anglicans and Roman Catholics, cheerful on the road to Eternal Life. It was Ascension Day.

Pope Paul VI canonized the Roman Catholic martyrs on 18 October 1964. However the Pope also recognized the martyrdom of the Anglican boys in his homily during the canonization Mass by saying

"And the others are worthy of mention also, who, professing the Anglican religious customs, were afflicted with death for the name of Christ."


The martyrdom of the Ugandan boys became the seed for the rapid growth of Christianity in Uganda. But it was the will of God that many yet will shed their blood for the Gospel in this land. In the 20th Century, the most notable of them was the Anglican Archbishop of Uganda, Janani Luwum,a staunch defender of human rights,  who in 1977 was ordered killed by Idi Amin. It is said that as Abp Luwum was to say the Lord's Prayer, Amin enraged, shot him.


The Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion commemorates the Martyrs on their feast day of June 3. 


Oremus


O God, by whose providence the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church: Grant that we who remember before thee the blessed martyrs of Uganda, may, like them, be steadfast in our faith in Jesus Christ, to whom they gave obedience even unto death, and by their sacrifice brought forth a plentiful harvest; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever, AMEN. 

Anglicans and Contraception

Filipino society is probably the last on earth to seriously debate on artificial contraception as part of the 2011 Reproductive Health bill (RH). However, debate on this is more than a hundred years old when as a result of worsening living conditions in England as a result of migration and the Industrial Revolution, in a classic Malthusian sense birth control was seen as a way to solve the problem.


The Anglican Communion at first opposed artificial contraception as stated in Resolution 68 of the 1920 Lambeth Conference


"We utter an emphatic warning against the use of unnatural means for the avoidance of conception, together with the grave dangers - physical, moral and religious - thereby incurred, and against the evils with which the extension of such use threatens the race. In opposition to the teaching which, under the name of science and religion, encourages married people in the deliberate cultivation of sexual union as an end in itself, we steadfastly uphold what must always be regarded as the governing considerations of Christian marriage. One is the primary purpose for which marriage exists, namely the continuation of the race through the gift and heritage of children; the other is the paramount importance in married life of deliberate and thoughtful self-control."


Then the Anglican bishops held on to the traditional belief on fertility regulation. However in the 1930  Lambeth Conference (Resolution 15), Anglicans approved contraception in particular cases.


"Where there is clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, the method must be decided on Christian principles. The primary and obvious method is complete abstinence from intercourse (as far as may be necessary) in a life of discipline and self-control lived in the power of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless in those cases where there is such a clearly felt moral obligation to limit or avoid parenthood, and where there is a morally sound reason for avoiding complete abstinence, the Conference agrees that other methods may be used, provided that this is done in the light of the same Christian principles. The Conference records its strong condemnation of the use of any methods of conception control from motives of selfishness, luxury, or mere convenience."


One hundred ninety three bishops voted "yes" and sixty seven voted "no".


The Anglican Communion was the first of the non-Catholic churches to allow contraception. Since then most non Catholic churches have allowed artificial contraception. A few small Protestant churches  more or less still hold the Roman Catholic position on the matter. The Orthodox churches hold varying views on the matter with some bishops lauding Humanae vitae and some allowing for a more liberal view. The Roman Catholic Church remains vehemently opposed to artificial contraception on moral grounds even if a sizeable number of Catholics do not agree with her.


However many Anglicans at the time opposed the resolution. You can find various positions opposing it here. Those opposed were mainly from the Anglo Catholic wing with some from the Evangelical wing of the Church of England. It is notable that in all these essays, the writers appealed to the unchanging practice of the Holy Catholic Church.


This opposition crosses into the history of Anglicanism in the Philippines. Father John Staunton of St Mary's Sagada was resolutely against the Lambeth decision and he became a Roman Catholic priest afterwards.


The Anglican Communion has based its stance on the practical difficulties of married couples and that by 1958, the bishops had accepted that many Anglicans use contraception and left the decision to use it on the couples themselves.


Today this is the general position of the Anglican Church. Many Orthodox churches hold a similar position to that of the 1930 Lambeth resolution. Many Roman Catholic laity, priests and even bishops and cardinals privately or publicly hold similar positions to that of the Anglican one.  The Episcopal Church in the Philippines has recently published its position on the RH bill. The ECP's support of the bill is consistent with the Anglican Communion's 1958 stance on the matter that the decision on what contraceptive to use lies with the married couple. This is also the general position of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) which the ECP is a founding member.


Nonetheless in the debates on the RH bill in the Philippines one of the Anglican divines in 1930 asks a question that is valid and relevant for us today.


"How far will the argument for contraceptives logically carry us?"

This same theologian also anticipates the Blessed Pope John Paul II's challenge on his election as pope. "Be not afraid"!

"The Church is right after all; we may not put asunder ends which God has joined together. And, if we think, with some timid persons of long ago, that "if the case of a man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry," we must leave the joy and the pain, the laughter and the tears, of home to those who are not afraid of them."

This is something Roman Catholics in the Philippines have lost in the debate on RH. We may be afraid to live and so we look for the easy way out!


The Anglo Catholic wing of the Church of England in 1930 even had a collect for pro life and against artificial contraception!


O Holy Father, enable us always to think and pursue such things as are pure, lovely and of good report; that by Thy grace we may become fit to glorify and enjoy Thee forever; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Harrowing of Hell

The Resurrection of Jesus and the Harrowing of Hell

The title of this post is not to scare the your wits but to recall an ancient understanding on what Easter really means. This was conserved by the English Church from its very foundation by Saint Augustine of Canterbury and is now part of the Anglican understanding of the Faith. However in the recent decades especially after the Second Vatican Council, this understanding has been downplayed in the Latin Church and too in the Anglican Church. Fortunately it still is central to Eastern Christianity's belief about Easter as seen most clearly in its icons.   The term "harrowing of hell" comes from the Old English word "hergian" which means to despoil or to snatch. Thus before Jesus rose from the dead on the third day, he descended into hell ("the dead" in modern usage). I am old enough to recall the use of "Hell" in the Creed and I always asked why did Jesus have to go to Hell. He didn't commit any sin, did he?

The English Abbot Aelfric of Eynsham (955-1010) used the term "harrowing of hell"in his homilies. Since then a rich tradition has developed about the concept even as it was taught by the early Church fathers. The Eastern Church believes that Jesus snatched Adam and Eve, now forgiven and brought them to Paradise once more. The icon above shows risen Jesus Christ snatching Adam and Eve from the tomb.  This is what the Eastern Church understands about the Resurrection. It is the real snatching of us sinners from Death! The Roman Catholic Church understands this in a slightly different way as said in the Catechism. Christ released the just who preceded him from death and perpetual exclusion from heaven. Many Protestants believe that in Jesus descending to Hell, he broke Satan's power forever.

As for my earlier question about what "hell" means, the meaning has changed in the last 1000 years. The word came from the Norse "hel" which means underneath. Now it means a place for the damned. But whatever the meaning is, Jesus Christ the Risen Lord has triumphed over hell and death.

The pre-Reformation English Church celebrated the "harrowing of hell" in many mystery plays and in the iconography of parish churches. Even the Rood Screen may have a picture of what this means and that is very close to the understanding of the Eastern Church. Sadly the Reformation almost did away with these and in the resulting Calvinist inspired iconoclasm, many representations were lost.

Nonetheless, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer collect for Easter Even or Holy Saturday echoes what the ancient tradition from the East means. In the collect it is prayed that in order to be saved we have to be buried with Him, pass through the grave and the gate of death and rise in our glorious ressurrection, because Jesus rose from the dead!

This understanding is now largely lost to us. We live in a secular world where hell is no longer real since we have lost the meaning of what sin is. And the hells we have made by our works (wars, environmental destruction, injustice, corruption, abortion, disrespect for human life and dignity etc have numbed us. Now will the Risen Jesus snatch as from all of these? How can our Christian faith harrow these hells and release us? The Anglican tradition is a gentle reminder of what is really at stake for our souls. The English Church before and after the Reformation and through the Catholic revival has nurtured many mystics who have dwelt on this reality. The Ordinariates in one sense will restore this understanding to the Roman Catholic Church, as the Eastern Church restores it to the West.

The message of Easter is that Jesus has risen from the dead, destroyed sin and death and shows us the way to eternal life. So death where is thy sting?

A blessed Easter to our readers!

Holy Week news, Episcopal Church in the Philippines in Synod, papal interview

Some Holy Week updates. First from the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England. The first former Anglican congregations will be received into the Catholic Church beginning this week. Some pictures from the reception of the first congregation from London (South) are here. Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary received the congregation. While the reception is very low key media-wise, it is of major importance in the history of the Church.

Our brothers and sisters from the Episcopal Church in the Philippines will meet in Provincial Synod at historic St Mary the Virgin in Sagada from May 3-6. This link has articles on the accomplishments of the ECP since its last Synod as well as proposed amendments to the constitutions and canons of the church. Filipino Episcopalians ask the prayers of all, especially from our readers here, so that their synod will be successful.

As a Holy Week reading, we suggest "Benedict XVI, Light of the World: A Conversation with Peter Seewald" Ignatius Press, Distributed in the Philippines by National Bookstore at PhP 395.00. His Holiness celebrated his 84th birthday last April 16 and marks 6 years of his pontificate on April 19.

It is very rare for a Pope to give interviews with journalists, It is even rarer to read about his views on many issues in one tome. Pope John Paul II gave interviews and much of his were on theological, philosophical, ecumenical, political and social issues that came out in the best selling "Crossing the Threshold of Hope"(1994) But the interviewer did not ask the Pope questions of a personal nature. In "Light of the World" Mr Seewald asks a variety of questions on challenges facing the Church some of which are personal.

Benedict XVI surprises all by being very candid and true to form, razor sharp. Reading the book, one can imagine a conversation with a literate professor, which Benedict XVI really is.

Some excerpts:
On knowledge:
 B16: "Knowledge is power. That means if I know, then I can also control. Knowledge brought power, but in such a way that with our own we can also now destroy the world that we think we have figured out intellectually. ....an essential perspective is lacking, namely the aspect of the good. What is good?"

On the Anglican Ordinariates: 
B16:"The initiative did not come from us, but from Anglican bishops who entered into dialogue with the CDF.... But it is at any rate a sign, you might say, of the flexibility of the Catholic Church. We don't want to create new uniate churches, but we do want to offer ways for local church traditions that have evolved outside the Roman Church to be brought into communion with the Pope."

On personally meeting victims of priest sex abusers:
B16: "Actually I couldn't say anything special at all to them. I was able to tell them that it affects me very deeply. That I suffer with them. And that was not just an expression, but it really touches my heart. And I was able to tell them that the Church will do everything possible so that this does not happen again."

About using an exercise bike as prescribed by his doctor:
B16: No, I don't get to it at all... thank God!

The Pope gives his thoughts more on the engagement of Catholicism with Islam, the Orthodox, secularism, ecumenism, papal infallibility, clerical celibacy, a Third Vatican Council and the SSPX schism.

The interviews allow us to get a closer look at Benedict's papal program and the future direction of the Roman Church.