Ecclesia Dei Society of New Zealand

Dear Brother Priests,

On the forthcoming Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Friday 19 June 2009 – a day traditionally devoted to prayer for the sanctification of the clergy –, I have decided to inaugurate a “Year for Priests” in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the “dies natalis” of John Mary Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests worldwide.[1] This Year, meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal for the sake of a more forceful and incisive witness to the Gospel in today’s world, will conclude on the same Solemnity in 2010. “The priesthood is the love of the heart of Jesus”, the saintly Curé of Ars would often say.[2] This touching expression makes us reflect, first of all, with heartfelt gratitude on the immense gift which priests represent, not only for the Church, but also for humanity itself. I think of all those priests who quietly present Christ’s words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world, striving to be one with the Lord in their thoughts and their will, their sentiments and their style of life. How can I not pay tribute to their apostolic labours, their tireless and hidden service, their universal charity? And how can I not praise the courageous fidelity of so many priests who, even amid difficulties and incomprehension, remain faithful to their vocation as “friends of Christ”, whom he has called by name, chosen and sent?

Read full text at:
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2009/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20090616_anno-sacerdotale_en.html

PASTORAL LETTER FROM THE NEW ZEALAND CATHOLIC BISHOPS CONFERENCE ON ACTIONS IN RELATION TO THE SPREAD OF INFLUENZA A (H1N1), 16 JUNE 2009

‘We Catholics have a deep love of the Mass. It is at the heart of our Catholic life, identity and practice.’

When we gather in our churches each Sunday, we do so not as individuals, but as the Body of Christ, God’s holy Church. It is as the sisters and brothers of Christ that we attune our ear to the Word of God that gives us life. It is as the sisters and brothers of Christ that we draw near to the Altar of the Lord to be nourished by his Body and Blood. It is as the sisters and brothers of Christ that we go forth to live what we proclaim.

This is what we do as Catholics. This is who we are as Church.

Restrictions on certain practices during Mass

Because the Eucharist means so much to Catholics, bishops are charged by the Holy See with ensuring that the Church’s liturgy is celebrated with the utmost care. We take this responsibility very seriously. Only for a serious reason would we ever consider placing restrictions on certain practices during Mass.

As bishops we have a responsibility of care for both the members of the Church and for people in the wider community. When there is a health threat in the community which has the potential to reach, or has reached, pandemic status, we need to take steps to manage the potential risk to the public, and safeguard those in our communities who are most vulnerable because of age or pre-existing medical conditions.

We have taken medical advice in relation to the health issues facing our country at present. We are concerned about the good of our parishioners, and we must also be concerned about the good of the community at large. One infected person at a Mass, possibly not showing signs of infection, may result in a number of other participants carrying the virus out into the community. As the convenor of regular, often large, public gatherings, the Church has responsibilities to the community with regard to health.

Given the spread of the H1N1 influenza virus which is now occurring in the community, we ask that priests and parishes cease the following actions:

• Distribution of Holy Communion from the chalice (this includes intinction);
• Giving Holy Communion on the tongue;
• Holding Anointing Masses for the Sick.

It is important to remember that Christ is truly and fully present even when we receive only the sacred host.

Where concelebration takes place it should be done according to instructions which bishops will communicate to their priests. Bodily contact during liturgical celebrations should be avoided eg during the Sign of Peace.

People who are unwell should stay home rather than attending Mass, and Ministers of Holy Communion who are unwell should not take communion to the sick. If you feel the need to cough or sneeze during Mass please take care to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve. Be aware that when you cough or sneeze into your hands they become a potential source of infection for someone else if you touch them. We cannot stress enough the importance of washing hands, and we urge all priests and Ministers of Holy Communion to use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer before and after distributing communion.

Options for those who receive communion on the tongue

For some in our community, not being able to receive Holy Communion on the tongue will be a big sacrifice. We ask that, for the common good, those who would normally receive communion on the tongue accept the need for this action to cease during the time of the emergency. This does not mean that you cannot receive Holy Communion. We ask that you receive Holy Communion on the hand until the restrictions are lifted.

Should the reception of Holy Communion on the hand still present a difficulty for some Catholics, then we recommend that you make a ’spiritual communion’, a practice that is a centuries old tradition in the Church. A ’spiritual communion’ can be made by making a heart-felt prayer expressing your faith in Christ present in the Holy Eucharist, and uniting yourself to him.

Infectivity and consecrated wine

The question has been asked: ‘If the bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass, how could God allow people to get sick from receiving Holy Communion?

The Church has always taught that during Mass the ‘essence’ or substance of the bread and wine changes: they become the Body and Blood of Christ. However, the ‘form’ of the bread and of the wine do not change: the bread and wine continue to look like bread and wine; and taste like bread and wine. Because the ‘form’ does not change, the elements retain all the properties of bread and wine. For this reason the consecrated bread and wine can carry bacteria and viruses, and people can become sick.

Some people have asked if dipping the host in the consecrated wine (intinction) can be used. This action risks contact between fingers and the lip of the chalice and with the consecrated wine, so should not be used.

More serious phases of an epidemic

If a virus being transmitted in the community becomes a threat to life or the health system is overwhelmed by cases, health authorities may take further steps in order to limit deaths and serious illness. Should this happen, health authorities may ban all public gatherings. This will mean that the Church must make the added sacrifice of not gathering for Mass or receiving the Lord in Holy Communion. In such an event, all of us will be required to make a ’spiritual communion’.

This does not mean, however, that we as Church cease to pray. More than ever, we will need to pray for those who are sick, those who are dying, those who have died, and those who have lost loved ones.

Communication

In parishes Ministers of Holy Communion should be regularly reminded of the importance of hand hygiene, and parishioners should be reminded not to receive from the chalice if they are even slightly unwell.

If further restrictions are to be put in place, or the restrictions are to be lifted, an emailed instruction will be sent directly from the President of the Bishops Conference (Bishop Denis Browne) to all parishes and institutions where Mass is regularly said. Priests will also receive an individual message by email if they have an email address. Parishes should not institute additional restrictions unless they receive an instruction from the President of the Bishops Conference.

The provisions of this pastoral letter replace the 2006 “Protocols to be followed in the Event of an Avian Influenza Epidemic in New Zealand”, and take effect immediately

Conclusion

Our response to the threat of an epidemic gives us the opportunity to show what we do as Catholics in times of difficulty, caring for others and responding with compassion to the needs of the vulnerable. When people’s health and safety are at risk we have an opportunity to witness to who we are as Church.

+ Denis Browne, Bishop of Hamilton
+ John Dew, Archbishop of Wellington
+ Colin Campbell, Bishop of Dunedin
+ Peter Cullinane, Bishop of Palmerston North
+ Patrick Dunn, Bishop of Auckland
+ Bishop Barry Jones, Bishop of Christchurch

From NZ Catholic http://www.nzcatholic.org.nz/viewDocument.aspx?DocumentID=1782

*From:* Angela Pyke [mailto:apyke@nzcbc.org.nz]
*Sent:* Thursday, 21 May 2009 1:05 p.m.
*Subject:* Influenza update

*Bishops lift influenza restrictions*

The bishops have consulted with Ministry of Health and Public Health officials and lifted the restrictions put in place to prevent the spread of influenza.

Ministry of Health retains the status of Code Yellow, but has advised the bishops that the restrictions are no longer strictly necessary.

This means the following actions can now be resumed: Communion on the tongue; Communion from the chalice; shaking hands at the Sign of Peace.

Ministry of Health and Public Health officials commended the bishops for the caution taken and suggested that while the precautionary protocols are no longer necessary, they should be ready to implement in case the influenza situation escalates.

The bishops reinforce that priests and ministers of the Eucharist should continue to practise good hygiene procedures.

Archbishop John Dew, Secretary of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference, suggests that anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms should be aware of others and exercise their judgement as to whether or not they receive Communion on the tongue or from the chalice, or shake hands during the Sign of Peace.

Advice will be given by the bishops if any changes are required.

Angela Pyke

Communications Adviser

New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference

apyke@nzcbc.org.nz

According to a media release from the Catholic Church in Aotearoa New Zealand April 30, 2009 :

The following actions are to cease: Communion on the tongue; Communion from the chalice; shaking hands at the Sign of Peace.
The bishops emphasise that ceasing these actions is a precautionary measure only and hope that they will not have to take stronger action. An update will be issued by the bishops if stronger action is needed and advice will be given when these actions can be resumed.

The matter of receiving Communion on the tongue specifically concerns the rubrics of the 1962 Missal, as the practice of Communion in the hand was introduced only with the use of the 1970 Novus Ordo (New Order) Missal. This practice in fact requires more handling of the consecrated Host.

In April 2008, the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales sought a ruling from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei [PCED] aimed at the celebration of certain Holy Days of Obligation in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The bishops had transferred these Holy Days to specific Sundays. They wished to ensure that these Holy Days were also kept on Sundays by those using the 1962 Missal [i.e. the Missal containing the Extraordinary Form of the Latin Rite].
Consequently, the Bishops’ Conference submitted a dubium to Rome but declined to release the full text or the PCED’s reply. The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales [LMS] therefore submitted its own dubium to Rome in July and a reply, dated 20 October, was received.
The reply from the PCED confirms the calendar for the Extraordinary form and that the right to use this calendar is intrinsic to the right to use the Extraordinary Form.

The LMS’s letter requested confirmation that:
I. The legitimate use of the liturgical books in use in 1962 decreed by the Sovereign Pontiff in Summorum Pontificum includes the right to the use of the calendar intrinsic to those liturgical books.
II That, whilst in accordance with Canon 1246 The Episcopal Conference with the approbation of the Holy See legitimately transfers Holydays of Obligation or suppress the Holydays of obligation, it is legitimate to celebrate the Mass and Office of those feasts on the days prescribed in the calendar of the liturgical books in use in 1962 with the clear understanding that, in accordance with the legitimate decision of the Episcopal Conference, there is no obligation to attend Mass on those days.
III. That, in accordance with nn. 356-361 of the Rubricae generales romani Missalis of 1962, it is appropriate to celebrate the external solemnity of Holy Days on the Sunday to which they have been transferred by the Episcopal Conference as has been customary in many other countries Hitherto.
Ecclesia Dei’s reply stated:
“1 The legitimate use of the liturgical books in use in 1962 includes the right to the use of the calendar intrinsic to those liturgical books.
2. While in accordance with Canon 1246 § 2 of the Code of Canon Law the Episcopal Conference can legitimately transfer Holydays of obligation with the approbation of the Holy See, it is also legitimate to celebrate the Mass and Office of those feasts on the days prescribed in the calendar of the liturgical books in use in 1962 with the clear understanding that, in accordance with the legitimate decision of the Episcopal Conference, there is no obligation to attend Mass on those days.
3. Thus, in accordance with nn. 356-361 of the Rubricae Generales Missalis Romani of 1962, it is appropriate to celebrate the external solemnity of Holy Days on the Sunday to which they have been transferred by the Episcopal Conference, as has been customary in many other countries Hitherto. ”
Ecclesia Dei’s reply is signed by its Vice-President, Mgr Camille Perl.

Consequently the Ecclesia Dei Society New Zealand [EDSNZ] will to continue to organize Masses on the days prescribed in the 1962 calendar for Holy Days.
EDSNZ applauds this ruling [and the initiative of LMS] as it confirms that the calendar for the Extraordinary form is integral to the rite and can not be suppressed or altered by bishops’ conferences. It also confirms the right of those attached to the Extraordinary form to continue to celebrate the traditional feast days.
Information courtesy of LMS - www.latin-mass-society.org

Decree Lifting Traditionalist Bishops’ Excommunication

A Sign for the Promotion of Unity in Charity

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the decree released Saturday by the Congregation for Bishops, advising of the lifting of excommunication of the four bishops ordained without papal permission by Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.* * *

With a letter of Dec. 15, 2008, sent to His Eminence Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Monsignor Bernard Fellay, in his name and in that of the other bishops consecrated June 30, 1988, again requested the lifting of the excommunication latae sententiae formally declared by decree of the prefect of this Congregation for Bishops on July 1, 1988.

In the mentioned letter, Monsignor Fellay affirms, among other things:

“We are always fervently determined in the will to be and to remain Catholics and to place all of our strength at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept all of her teachings with a filial spirit. We firmly believe in the primacy of Peter and in his prerogatives and because of this, the present situation makes us suffer so much.”

His Holiness Benedict XVI, paternally sensitive to the spiritual unrest manifested by the interested parties because of the sanction of excommunication, and trusting in the commitment expressed by them in the cited letter to spare no effort in going deeper in the necessary conversations with the authorities of the Holy See in matters still unresolved, and to be able to thus arrive quickly to a full and satisfactory solution of the problem existing from the beginning, has decided to reconsider the canonical situation of the bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta, which arose with their episcopal consecration.

With this act it is desired to consolidate the mutual relations of trust, [and] to intensify and make more stable the relationship of the Fraternity of St. Pius X with the Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the celebrations of Christmas, also aims to be a sign for the promotion of unity in charity of the universal Church, and with this means, come to remove the scandal of division.

It is desired that this step be followed by the solicitous fulfillment of full communion with the Church of the Society of St. Pius X, thereby witnessing to authentic fidelity and a true recognition of the magisterium and the authority of the Pope, with the proof of visible unity.

In virtue of the faculties that have been expressly conceded to me by the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present decree, I lift from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of excommunication latae sententiae declared by this congregation on July 1, 1988, and declare void of juridical effects beginning today the decree published then.

Rome, Congregation for the Bishops,

Jan. 21, 2009Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops

[Translation by ZENIT ZE 09012507 2009-01-25]

• EDSNZ Council Meeting March 2009
• EDSNZ Annual Retreat October 2009 - details coming soon
• EDSNZ Traditional Pilgrimage in New Zealand January 2010 - details coming soon

Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce.
Quae patronum invocat sanctum Gregorium Magnum Papam.

LEO DARROCH, Executive President.

Statement.

Concerning the Decree of the Congregation for Bishops .

The International Federation Una Voce welcomes with joy the Decree of the Congregation of Bishops which remits the censure of latae sententiae excommunication from the four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X.

In his Letter to the Bishops of the Church [7th July 2007] which accompanied the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI said the positive reason which motivated his decision to issue the Motu Proprio was the “matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church.” Pope Benedict explained that in looking back over the past to the divisions which have rent the Body of Christ at critical moments in the history of the Church “not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity.” No one can doubt that our Holy Father, in this courageous decision to lift the excommunications, has made clear his intention to heal the wounds of division.

Our Holy Father has acted as one would expect from a good shepherd who loves his flock. With great pastoral solicitude the Vicar of Christ wishes to unite his family before divisions become too entrenched. The members of the International Federation Una Voce, whose members all over the world attend the usus antiquior Masses celebrated by all the traditional priestly societies, and by priests in their parishes, pray for fraternal cooperation and a unity of purpose across the traditional spectrum. It is now incumbent on everyone, the leadership and priests of the Society of St Pius X, the leadership and members of all the traditional societies, and the bishops of the world, to unite behind the throne of Peter in these difficult days for Holy Mother Church which is under increasing attack from the secular world.

Pope Benedict XVI has shown great moral courage in seeking reconciliation and unity. The International Federation now looks to all the Church’s leaders to show courage and charity in equal measure. There is much work to be done but we can do no other than to respond with fervour and filial obedience to the call of the Supreme Pontiff.

Leo Darroch – Executive President.
24 January 2009.

The excommunications are lifted - Deo gratias! Let the SSPX speak for themselves.

Letter of the Superior General of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X

Dear faithful,

As I announce in the attached press release, the excommunication of the bishops consecrated by His Grace Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, on June 30, 1988, which had been declared by the Congregation for Bishops in a decree dated July 1, 1988, and which we had always contested, has been withdrawn by another decree mandated by Benedict XVI and issued by the same Congregation on January 21, 2009.

It was the prayer intention I had entrusted to you in Lourdes, on the feast of Christ the King 2008. Your response exceeded our expectations, since one million seven hundred and three thousand rosaries were said to obtain through the intercession of Our Lady that an end be put to the opprobrium which, beyond the persons of the bishops of the Society, rested upon all those who were more or less attached to Tradition. Let us not forget to thank the Most Blessed Virgin who has inspired the Holy Father with this unilateral, benevolent, and courageous act to. Let us assure him of our fervent prayers.

Thanks to this gesture, Catholics attached to Tradition throughout the world will no longer be unjustly stigmatized and condemned for having kept the Faith of their fathers. Catholic Tradition is no longer excommunicated. Though it never was in itself, It was often excommunicated and cruelly so in day to day events. It is just as the Tridentine Mass had never been abrogated in itself, as the Holy Father has happily recalled in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007.

The decree of January 21 quotes the letter dated December 15, 2008 to Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in which I expressed our attachment “to the Church of Our Lord Jesus-Christ which is the Catholic Church,” re-affirming there our acceptance of its 2,000-year-old teaching and our faith in the Primacy of Peter. I reminded him that we were suffering much from the present situation of the Church in which this teaching and this primacy were being held to scorn. And I added: “We are ready to write the Creed with our own blood, to sign the anti-modernist oath, the profession of faith of Pius IV, we accept and make our own all the councils up to the Second Vatican Council about which we express some reservations.” In all this, we are convinced that we remain faithful to the line of conduct indicated by our founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, whose reputation we hope to soon see restored.

Consequently, we wish to begin these “talks” — which the decree acknowledges to be “necessary” — about the doctrinal issues which are opposed to the Magisterium of all time. We cannot help noticing the unprecedented crisis which is shaking the Church today: crisis of vocations, crisis of religious practice, of catechism, of the reception of the sacraments … Before us, Paul VI went so far as to say that “from some fissure the smoke of Satan had entered the Church”, and he spoke of the “self-destruction of the Church”. John Paul II did not hesitate to say that Catholicism in Europe was, as it were, in a state of “silent apostasy.” Shortly before his election to the Throne of Peter, Benedict XVI compared the Church to a “boat taking in water on every side.”

Thus, during these discussions with the Roman authorities we want to examine the deep causes of the present situation, and by bringing the appropriate remedy, achieve a lasting restoration of the Church.

Dear faithful, the Church is in the hands of her Mother, the Most Blessed Virgin Mary. In Her we place our confidence. We have asked from her the freedom of the Mass of all time everywhere and for all. We have asked from her the withdrawal of the decree of excommunications. In our prayers, we now ask from her the necessary doctrinal clarifications which confused souls so much need.

Menzingen, January 24, 2009
+Bernard Fellay

On the eve of the above anniversary it is being widely reported that his holiness Benedict XVI will lift the excommunication of the bishops of the Fraternity of the Society of Pius X.

There will be made public in the next few days a decree with which Benedict XVI chose to cancel the excommunications of four new bishops ordained by [Archbishop] Lefebvre in 1988…

From Italian news agency ASCA, the prudent position of the SSPX, while it awaits an official publication, is as follows

(ASCA) - Roma, 22 Jan -

In the absence of an official declaration by the Holy See, the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius [X] does not discuss the rumors on a possible withdrawal of the excommunication. There will not be any communication before the publication of a text by the Vatican”: it is the response of Father Alan Lorans, director of the information services of the schismatic [sic] Fraternity founded by Archbishop Lefebvre …

According to a number of sources the decree regarding this decision has already been signed -dated 21/91/09 t0 23/01/09.

It is said that Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos and Mgr. Perl [Vice-Presidentof the commission], Luxembourger prelate who will very soon replace him at the top of the “Ecclesia Dei” Commission, were the ones who wrote, together with an Italian prelate, Mgr Mario Marini [Secretary of the Commission], a text of reconciliation in the sense of a removal of the excommunications of the four SSPX Bishops. (rorate-caeli 22/01/09)

The fact of the matter for New Zealand is that the Fraternity of SSPX greatly assisted (several elderly priests) in maintaining, not only the now restored 1962 Missal but also the traditional teachings of the Church, which also were never abrogated. In the oft repeated words of our dearly departed John Paul II “the Church teaches the same today as She did yesterday and will tomorrow”.