Scalfari and the Pope on the Divinity of Christ

My latest on LifeSiteNews.

Earlier this month, journalist Eugenio Scalfari claimed that Pope Francis believes, "once incarnated, Jesus ceases to be a God and becomes a man until his death on the cross."

Scalfari’s claims about the beliefs of Pope Francis have been puzzling Catholics for six years, and from time to time elicit some form of denial from Vatican spokesmen. On this occasion, they pointed out that Scalfari’s apparently direct quotations of the Holy Father are a mere "personal and free interpretation" of his words, and, furthermore, Scalfari has not met Pope Francis for two years.

Neither statement is exactly decisive, especially as Scalfari claims to have telephone conversations with Pope Francis, a claim that has never been denied. Nevertheless, I was inclined to sympathize with the spokesman, Matteo Bruni, who expressed some exasperation. This claim is so ridiculous, he suggested, that it just goes to show how little we should trust Scalfari’s claims.

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Oxford Pilgrimage this Saturday: Mass at 11am in Blackfriars

This Saturday, 19th, is the annual Latin Mass Society Oxford Pilgrimage, with a High Mass in the Dominican Rite at 11am, and a procession at 2:15 followed by Benediction.

It is the feast of St Frideswide, the Patron of the City of Oxford, and the Mass will be hers.

Blackfriars is in St Giles in the centre of Oxford, postcode OX1 3LY: click for a map.

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Our Lady of the Rosary in Holy Trinity, Hethe

If these photographs look as though they were taken through a gradually thickening fog, they were. There was a lot of incense left over from the previous Mass when we started, and the view from the choir loft became steadily more obscure as Mass proceeded. Nevertheless, it was a lovely occasion, the first time - probably, the first time ever - that the traditional Dominican Rite has been celebrated in this venerable church.



Fr Richard Conrad OP followed the Mass with a blessing of roses, which is a Dominican tradition on this day. Roses, and lilies, are very much a theme of the chants.

LMS Aylesford Pilgrimage, 26th October

The St Catherine's Trust Summer School at Aylesford in July

Saturday 26th October will see the Latin Mass Society's annul pilgrimage to the Carmelite Priory at Aylesford, home of the Brown Scapular. We have Mass in the Relic Chapel, which houses the cranium of St Simon Stock, the recipient of the promises of Our Lady on the scapular.

Schedule of the 2019 Pilgrimage

12:45 pm – Confessions (Fr Neil Brett)

1:30 pm – Missa Cantata (Votive Mass of the Blessed Virgin Mary) (Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP)
Sung by Schola Cantorum Sancti Johannes Houghton (Director: Clifford Lister)

3:00 pm – The Rosary Way (led by Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP)

3:45 pm – Enrolment in the Brown Scapular (administer by Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP)

4:15 pm – Vespers (Little Office of Our Lady) and Benediction (Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP)

Enrollment in the Brown Scapular in the Relic Chapel

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Good Counsel Network: annual ball

From the Good Counsel Network.

I am really pleased to invite you to Good Counsel’s Annual Pro – Life Fundraising Ball on the 9th November, and being held at the Royal Garden Hotel in South Kensington. This is our biggest event of the year and helps raise thousands of pounds for our life-saving work.

We would really love as many of our supporters as possible to come and have a great night out. We can promise a great night with a superb 3 course, 5 star meal, a brilliant live band, with even more time for dancing than last year and lots of fun throughout the night with games, a silent auction and an opportunity to continue supporting the vital pro-life work of the Good Counsel Network.

The following are the key details:

DATE: Saturday 9th November 2019

TIME: Arrival from 6pm with dinner starting at 7pm, please don't be late as we will not be able to wait for you!

LOCATION: The Royal Garden Hotel, 2-24 Kensington High Street, London, W8 4PT. Please look for the Palace Suite (The Palace suite has its own exclusive entrance to the right of the main doors.)

TICKET PRICE: £95 per person. Tables of 10 cost £900.

TO BOOK TICKETS YOU MUST EMAIL GCNBALL@GMAIL.COM OR CALL 07886000882.

DIETARY REQUIREMENTS: All dietary requirements can be catered for, but these requirements must be given to us at the time of booking.

DRESS CODE: Black Tie

We look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you soon.

God bless

Conor

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Sir James MacMillan: London performances

Sir James MacMillan is a Patron of the Latin Mass Society, and I am pleased to pass on this notice about a forthcoming performance of his work, from the man himself.

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Le grand Inconnu is coming to London on 14 October. (The BBC Radio 3 broadcast of the premiere is below.) 

Performed by The Sixteen, Genesis Sixteen and the Britten Sinfonia at the Barbican that evening it is paired with my The Sun Danced, based on the miracles at Fatima. 

Also two of my favourite composers in the programme - Arvo Part and Benjamin Britten. 

Come and join us! 

https://www.barbican.org.uk/whats-on/2019/event/the-sixteen-le-grand-inconnu

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008j31

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'Breaking with the Pope'

My latest on Life Site.

The canon lawyer and journalist Edward Condon declared to his Twitter followers the other day, ‘If someone tells you the only way to be authentically Catholic is to break with the pope and the bishops, they are — at best — a Protestant’.

I and many others asked him to explain what he means by ‘break with’ the bishops or the pope, but to no avail. Mr Condon prefers to keep it vague, but he presumably means something which applies or might apply to real people, people who continue to think of themselves as ‘authentic Catholics’.

Perhaps I can help him out. Like Condon, I believe that Jorge Bergoglio was validly elected as pope and reigns today, as a matter of the law of the Church, as Pope Francis. Also like Condon, who has written extensively and often very well on recent crises in the Church, I have some concerns about some of the things which Pope Francis has done and said. Perhaps he and I also agree that it would be good if Pope Francis were to clarify some of his more puzzling remarks, even if Condon prefers not to clarify his own. 

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