More from a 77 year-old Archbishop

Archbishop Conti of Glasgow, Scotland, is at it again. It really is time this man's resignation was accepted.

Glasgow, Scotland, Aug 30, 2011 / 12:56 pm (CNA/EWTN NEWS). - The Archbishop of Glasgow, Scotland has told Catholics in his archdiocese not to kneel to receive communion.

“The Faithful should follow the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, namely coming to communion in procession and standing to receive Holy Communion,” wrote Archbishop Mario Conti in a letter to all his priests, dated August 25.

“Standing in our Western culture is a mark of respect: kneeling at the altar rails (where they continue to exist) is not the practice envisaged by the instructions in the Missal,” he stated.

The archbishop’s letter was issued ahead of the introduction of the new translation of the Roman Missal, which comes into effect throughout the English-speaking world this coming November.

Ironically, his instruction comes only a year after Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in Glasgow. At that papal Mass, all those receiving communion from the Pope did so kneeling on a prie-dieu.

“This is really awful,” one Glasgow priest, who wished to remain anonymous, wrote to CNA.

“The bishop is indeed the moderator of the liturgical life of the diocese. However, what concerns a number of the priests in Glasgow is that our Archbishop knowingly exceeds his legitimate authority when he attempts to remove liberties foreseen by the Roman Missal itself.”

Bishop Bill's Farewell

The deposed Bishop of Towoomba, Australia, William Morris, celebrated a farewell Mass in his former Cathedral yesterday.

Why was it, again, that he was removed?

Pro Ecclesiae unitate

Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X, has been called to Rome with his two Assistants for a meeting with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on September 14th.

It's time to get out those purple vestments and offer votive Masses "pro Ecclesiae unitate" folks. Some of those at the table may not think they can bring about a reconciliation, but God sure can.

Deus, qui errata corrigis, et dispersa congregas, et congregata conservas:

 quæsumus, super populum christianum tuæ unionis gratiam clementer infunde;

ut, divisione reiecta, vero pastori Ecclesiæ tuæ se uniens,

tibi digne valeat famulari.

Per Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum Filium tuum,

qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti,

Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum. 

Amen.



Prayer and ritual for (some other) religious women

The Pimpernel offers these religious women as an antidote to the good sisters of the LWCR.

 

These nuns released a CD Voices last year that's great. Give your local LWCR sister one as a gift.



Servers wear surplices not albs

The responses to Many things right and one thing terribly wrong are amazing. The first response was correct. In the traditional rite servers wear surplices not albs. Those who want to look up the exact rules can find them on page 353 of O'Connell's excellent reference book  The Celebration of Mass: A Study of the Rubrics of the Roman Missal.  

There's a bit of a trend among those who prefer ample Roman vestments and all things gothic to put servers in albs. But that is not the tradition and it is contrary to the law of the Church. The alb is a vestment that belongs to the sacred ministers, not to servers.

To say that to put servers into albs was a monastic practice is also questionable as these photos taken in the 1940s at Prinknash Abbey, England,  show. The servers are wearing nice gothic surplices at low and high Mass, for sure, but they ain't albs folks.

 

Bishop Hugh Gilbert OSB

Once upon a time bishops, even abbots, knew how to dress for Mass. This is the brand new Bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland. Apparently he was a Benedictine Abbot of a liturgically conservative monastery for 19 years before.

It seems that during that time he never learnt how to wear a pectoral cross when pontificating or that the amice is required when other clothing shows through. There's probably no point asking if he wore the pontifical dalmatic. Perhaps he'll be better at running his diocese.

Many things right and one thing terribly wrong

The NLM recently posted on a church down under in Australia that celebrates according to the 1962 Missal. If that's so, these folks deserve a lot of cudos for the many things they get  right. But this photo shows that they get (at least) one thing about the traditional rites very wrong. Answers in a comment please.

Update: Keep the responses coming, folks. Answer on Monday.