Bravo, Father Anthony Ruff, OSB
Friday, February 4, 2011
By Bryan Cones
Comments (58)
Finally a national-level liturgist has refused to any longer be a part of the translation fiasco. Father Anthony Ruff, OSB of St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota has long provided on his PrayTell blog a forum for people to discuss the coming translations and had been scheduled to deliver several talks on the new Missal's implementation in preparation for its Advent 2011 debut. He has withdrawn from those engagements in an open letter to the U.S. bishops. (More coverage from America magazine here.)
I am sure this was quite difficult for Ruff, especially since he has now made himself a persona non grata in certain circles. But his analysis of the ecclesiastical situation--"The forthcoming missal is but a part of a larger pattern of top-down impositions by a central authority that does not consider itself accountable to the larger church"--is spot on.
I also applaud Ruff's Benedictine superiors for permitting this public statement. St. John's Abbey is the literal and spiritual center of the liturgical movement in the United States, and it is wonderful to finally have some heft behind the move to resist this imposition on the most important facet of Catholic life: our Sunday celebration of the Eucharist.
It is probably a fool's hope that more will follow Ruff's lead--especially the priest-liturgists who are going around the country on the "new Roman Missal" circuit. Too many are drinking the "it's a good time to catechize about the liturgy" Kool Aid.
But you simply cannot do good liturgical catechesis with rotten liturgical texts, especially those spoiled at the outset by a betrayal of the conciliar principles--notably collegiality--that inspired the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the first place. It is time for a more direct and assertive resistance before this goes any further. The Association of Irish Priests has made a good first start by proposing a five-year study period; perhaps some U.S. diocesan presbyterates will do the same.
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politicians
By Philip Maguire (not verified) on Sunday, June 5, 2011I'm amazed by the number of "politicians" here claiming the Catholic Faith.
True Catholics focus on the love of God and these days that seems to be the preserve of those genuinely attached to the old Mass.
These defenders of the Novus Ordo typically expouse liberal politics and deeply flawed morality. Where, amongst the ranks of traditional Catholics is found support for issues including abortion, contraception, homosexual activity, radical feminism etc?
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is found support for the heresies of theologians like Kung, Schillebeekx and others.
Keep your love affair with the world if you must. I prefer the company of those who conduct their love affair with Our Lord and Saviour.
Traditional Catholics disagree with the Church
By Anonymous (not verified) on Sunday, June 5, 2011Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church's current teaching on capital punishment, that it should only be used when there is no other way to keep violent criminals safely away from the public, never for retribution, and that it is effectively unnecessary in the modern world where most nations have functioning prisons.
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church that it is the proper role of governments through imposition and collection of taxes to help the poor and other individuals in addition to private charity?
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church on the treatment of undocumented immigrants?
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church on the rights of workers to fair wages, conditions and to form unions for collective bargaining?
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church on the excesses of unrestrained capitalism?
Where in the ranks of traditional Catholics is there agreement with the Church on not invading Iraq, the environment etc, etc, etc?
Traditional Catholics are almost always political conservatives who disagree with the Church on these issues.
Fr. Anthony Ruff
By Anonymous (not verified) on Saturday, February 12, 2011Fr. Pat Brennan, in his weekly homily,(Feb. 12/13,)also addressed Fr. Anthony Ruff's stand on the issue of the liturgical changes as well as the hierarchial structure and mandates of the Church. KUDOS to them and other ordained ministers who have the courage to speak from their hearts rather than follow like lemmings.
Tish Petricca, Holiday, Fla.
New Translations
By Margaret Glose (not verified) on Tuesday, February 8, 2011Read today's (2/8/11) gospel Mark 7:1-13 where Jesus quotes Isaiah "This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts." Am I the only one longing to strip away all the balderdash and bickering caused by all the 'human precepts' that have been piled atop the simple message of Jesus?
Fr. Ruffo and new translation
By Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, February 8, 2011I agree with him. We do not need new translations. What we do need are GOOD Homilies.
Homilies that show that care has been taken in the preperation and should be a good reason for people to come to liturgy. This new translation is just another power play. For example: "It is right and just that we give him thanks and praise." has now become "It is right and just." For the simple reason that women have been saying,'It is right and just to give GOD thanks and praise>" instead of him. They would like to exclude women from the face of the earth but they need them to clean the altar cloths, etc. and work for less than minimum wage.
St. John's Collegeville
By T.R.P. (not verified) on Monday, February 7, 2011St. John's Collegeville Masses may not feature balloons, but they're pretty much the standard post-VII Lutheran/Calvinist type liturgy in a Plain bunker-like concrete building typical of the modernist grotesqueries that the Collegeville Benedictines embrace. Just look at what Archbishop Weakland, the shining star of the Collegeville Benedictines, did to the Milwaukee Cathedral.
Speaking of Remberd Weakland... The scandals associated with that man are quite reflective of the scandals that have plagued the Collegeville Benedictines. Google it if you aren't aware. That's why it's so galling to see Father Ruff complain about "the Holy See’s handling of scandal."
That's odd. Father Ruff is put off by the Holy See's failure to stop the scandal, but is not put off by his own order's quite prodigious positive contribution to that same scandal.
In that case, I'm angry that the Holy See didn't stop the Benedictines from building an eyesore and calling it a church, or that the Holy Father continues to tolerate the nonsense that goes on at that university.
See, for example:
http://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/otc.cfm?id=716
St. John's architecture
By Minnesota Julie (not verified) on Tuesday, February 8, 2011TRP may not like the architecture at St. John's but it was designed by noted architect, Marcel Breuer. The Abbey Church and banner bell tower is one of his best-known works.
Churches built in faux-Gothic style are not more holy or spiritual. The long nave in these churches effectively separate the worshippers from the liturgy in the sanctuary. This can result in a "just me and God" attitude which is probably what you want.
Authority is the real issue.
By Blood&HonourUSA (not verified) on Monday, February 7, 2011For many people these days, it would seem that the true issue that is so clearly disturbing them is not so much one of translation or even transliteration. (The current Missal has numerous omissions, 'rewritings' of the Latin, and has always been viewed as suspect by many)
The issue is one of authority.
The language gives light to the intention. "Imposed" liturgical changes? Nothing to compare to the imposition of his Holiness Paul VI's new mass. It was nearly unrecognizable in it's form with the Tridentine Liturgical stuctures and now these individuals speaking with the 'spirity of Vatican II' no doubt, are whining about restorative work to the Holy Liturgy????
I note someone mentioned that this was done without the obligatory nod to the collegiate; who are SUBJECT to the Pope. (The college of bishops, whose head is the Supreme Pontiff [the Bishop of Rome] and whose members are bishops by virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the head and never without this head, is [also] the subject of supreme and full power over the universal church)
You can't pick and choose. I have never been partial to the Novus Ordo, but I have no right to discount it as invalid. Catholicism is an all or none proposition. Period. If one is uncomfortable with the Authority of, and hierarchical structure of the Church, one must either find a way to reconcile themselves to that Authority, or leave the embrace of the Church.
I would hope and pray that anyone's choice be to remain faithful to the Church and Her God given Authority in matters of faith.
B&H USA Neo-Nazi group
By Kurt Peterson (not verified) on Monday, February 7, 2011Hey B&HUSA,
Maybe it's just a coincidence, but when I saw your post it struck a memory chord. I did a search on the web and found Blood & Honour USA ( honor spelled in the British way ). Are you a participant/member of that group? Are you a Catholic and a member of that group?
Does that explain your support of autocratic authority?
Maybe I'm wrong; if so, please forgive my association of you with a neo-Nazi group.
Wow
By Anonymous (not verified) on Monday, February 7, 2011I hope we don't have Catholic neo-Nazi's here.
I looked up Blood and Honour and found this on Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_and_Honour
This from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/groups/blood-ho...
"Blood & Honour, named for the slogan of the Hitler youth movement..."
And this from the Anti-Defamation League.
http://www.adl.org/hate_symbols/groups_blood_honour.asp
Why would someone with a connection to something inspired by the Hitler Youth be interested in anything Catholic?
Hopefully just a coincidence.
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