Online Edition:
August 2012
Vol. XVIII, No. 5
News and Views
Archbishop DiNoia, VP of Ecclesia Dei – Bishop Roche to CDW | Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization | Pope to Name New Doctors of the Church | Australian Ordinariate Established | UK Ordinariate Publishes Prayer Book
Archbishop DiNoia, VP of Ecclesia Dei – Bishop Roche to CDW
Pope Benedict XVI has named Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, OP, to the post of vice president of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, as announced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) on June 26. The president of the commission is Cardinal William J. Levada, prefect of the CDF.
The CDF announcement said, “the appointment of a high-ranking prelate to this position is a sign of the Holy Father’s pastoral solicitude for traditionalist Catholics in communion with the Holy See and his strong desire for the reconciliation of those traditionalist communities not in union with the See of Peter” [i.e., the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, or SSPX].
Archbishop DiNoia, an American Dominican theologian, former under-secretary of the CDF, and a consultor to the CDF since May 2011, well understands the critically important doctrinal issues involved in the continuing dialogue between the Holy See and the SSPX, as well as correct interpretation of Vatican Council II. Also, the CDF announcement stressed that, “the broad respect that Archbishop DiNoia enjoys in the Jewish community will help in addressing some issues that have arisen in the area of Catholic-Jewish relations as the journey towards the reconciliation of traditionalist communities has progressed.”
The archbishop has served as secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments (CDW) since June 2009.
The Vatican also announced the appointment of Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds, England, as secretary of the CDW, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. Archbishop Roche has been chairman of ICEL (International Commission on English in the Liturgy) since 2002, during the critical years of translating the Roman Missal.
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Synod of Bishops on New Evangelization
The Instrumentum laboris (working document) for the October Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization was presented at a Vatican news conference June 19, by Archbishop Nikola Eterovic and Bishop Fortunato Frezza, respectively secretary general and under secretary of the Synod of Bishops.
The thirteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith” will be take place October 7-28. The Synod coincides with the opening of the Year of Faith, which begins October 11.
Archbishop Eterovic said that the Synod fathers “will reflect upon the transmission of Christian faith, one of the great challenges facing the Church which will be examined in the context of new evangelization…. The work of the Synod will be enriched by its association with the Year of Faith”.
The Instrumentum laboris includes a preface, an introduction, four chapters, and a conclusion. The introduction brings together the views of episcopal conferences, which concur “on the need for new tools and new forms of expression to make the Word of God more understandable in the life of modern man,” Archbishop Eterovic said in his presentation.
The chapter “Jesus Christ the Good News of God to Humanity,” he continued, reiterates “the central nucleus of Christian faith, of which many people are unaware and presents the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Good News for modern man … New evangelization is an expression of the internal dynamism of Christianity, which wishes to make men and women of good will know the ‘depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge’ of the mystery of God revealed in Jesus Christ; it is not a weary response to the crisis of faith and the challenges facing the Church in the modern world.”
The Synod’s working document is accessible on the Vatican web site: vatican. va/roman_curia/synod/index.htm.
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Pope to Name New Doctors of the Church
In his Regina Caeli message on May 27, Pope Benedict XVI announced that on October 7 he will proclaim as Doctors of the Church Saints Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) and John of Ávila (1500-1569).
In making the announcement, the pope said: “The Spirit, who ‘has spoken through the prophets’, with the gifts of wisdom and knowledge continues to inspire women and men who engage in the pursuit of truth, offering original ways of understanding and of delving into the mystery of God, of man and of the world.
“In this context, I am delighted to announce that on 7 October, at the start of the Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, I will proclaim Saint John of Ávila and Saint Hildegard of Bingen Doctors of the universal Church,” he continued.
“These two great witnesses of the faith lived in two very different historical periods and cultural environments. Hildegard was a Benedictine nun in the heart of medieval Germany, an authentic teacher of theology and a profound scholar of natural science and music. John, a diocesan priest in the years of the Spanish Renaissance, shared in the travail of the cultural and religious renewal of the Church and of all society at the dawn of modern times. But the sanctity of their life and the profundity of their doctrine render them perennially relevant: the grace of the Holy Spirit, in fact, projected them into the experience of penetrating understanding of divine revelation and intelligent dialogue with that world which constitutes the eternal horizon of the life and action of the Church.”
Pope Benedict noted that considering the “new evangelization”, these two new Doctors are particularly timely and important. “Even today, through their teaching, the Spirit of the Risen Lord continues to resonate His voice and illuminate the way which leads to the Truth that alone can set us free and give full meaning to our lives,” he said.
(An article on Saint Hildegard by Sandra Miesel recently appeared in AB’s “sister” publication, Voices: wf-f.org/12-1-Miesel.html).
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Australian Ordinariate Established
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross was formally erected by Pope Benedict XVI on June 15, under the patronage of Saint Augustine of Canterbury — simultaneously with the ordination of Father Harry Entwistle, former bishop of the Traditional Anglican Communion, to serve the ordinariate.
Father Entwistle, 72, a native of England who moved to Western Australia in 1988, was ordained to the Catholic priesthood by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Perth. He and his wife have two adult children.
The Australian ordinariate is the third to be established for former Anglicans who wish to become Catholic while retaining certain traditional Anglican liturgical elements and practices. The first, Our Lady of Walsingham, was erected in England in 2011, and the second, the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, on January 1, 2012, for the United States and Canada.
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UK Ordinariate Publishes Prayer Book
The Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham, a daily liturgical prayer book for the Anglican Ordinariate, has been published. The Customary, containing Morning and Evening Prayer and other prayers and readings largely drawn from the Book of Common Prayer, retains the traditional language of Anglican worship. It also includes the Litany and Compline (night prayer) and other prayers. A few alterations were made to the Anglican prayer texts where needed to fully incorporate teachings of the Catholic Church; and it uses the Revised Standard Version– Catholic Edition for scripture. It is expected to be available this summer, and may be pre-ordered.
Though primarily intended for the UK ordinariate, the Customary is expected to have value for ordinariates in other countries, and to be helpful to Catholic laity, whether of Anglican background or not, as a means of celebrating daily prayer.
The appearance of the Customary was announced June 1 by Monsignor Andrew Burnham, assistant to Monsignor Keith Newton, ordinary of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. Monsignor Burnham pointed out that.
The reform of the Roman Office following the Second Vatican Council sought the development of the public celebration of the Office and, truth to tell, that is a reform yet to be realised. In these early days of the Ordinariates, there have been already many celebrations of Evensong and Benediction and it is intriguing to know not only that this has been in accordance with the Holy Father, Pope Benedict’s wish, but also that it has been his great pleasure, that this should have been so.
“Our prayer is that the Customary will be a treasury not only for the Ordinariates but for the whole English-speaking world,” he concluded.
For more information, go to the web site of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham: ordinariate.org.uk/
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