Traditional Latin Mass in Maryland

Thomas Peters of American Papist links to a fascinating story by Sandro Magister on the "ad libs" made by our Holy Father when he preaches to the faithful Patrick Archbold of Creative Minority Report has a story on Bishop Williamson of the SSPX Father Zuhsldorf of WDTPRS has a story on the continuing "confusion" on the precise words required for valid baptism from Brisbane, Australia Father Zuhlsdorf of WDTPRS has a nice story on turning a parish "eastward" in Greenville, South Carolina

The issue of the change to the petitions within the Extraordinary Rite made by Pope Benedict XVI in the Passion Service of Good Friday has now abated a bit. Sandro Magister of Chiesa.com reports on some interesting developments as reported today . Some leading representatives of the Jewish world had protested vociferously against the new formulation ordered by Benedict XVI for the prayer for the Jews in the liturgy of Good Friday according to the ancient rite. An authoritative response has now come to these protests, in a note published in the latest edition of "La Civiltà Cattolica," the magazine of the Rome Jesuits printed after line-by-line scrutiny by the Vatican secretariat of state. Moreover, in recent days important personalities of the Catholic Church and the Jewish world have spoken out in defense of the new formulation: from one side, archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the pontifical council of culture, and from the other, rabbi Jacob Neusner (in the

Sandro Magister has been posting in Chiesa.com the "running discussion" over the inclusion of "abstract art" in the new Italian Lectionary . The first post was a discussion by two experts, one "pro" and the other "contra. " The second post is a contribution from Archbishop Giuseppe Betori, Secretary of the CEI who defends including the abstract art in a letter. I am far from an expert on art. I will allow you to click on either or both posts, to see examples and to decide for yourselves. I only report...you decide!

Sandro Magister in Chiesa.com r eports on the meeting "behind closed doors" with heads of Religious Orders on February 18t h. The article documents the situation with respect to the Jesuits and Dominicans that has been reported widely, but also documents some startling rebirths : As for the blossoming of "new experiences of consecrated life" faithful to doctrine and rich in spirituality in vocations, here also Benedict XVI did not cite any specific cases. But there are many of these. Some, although not very well known, are astonishing. One of these, for example, is the Institute of the Incarnate Word. Founded by Fr. Carlos Miguel Buela in 1984 in Argentina, in the city of San Rafael in the province of Mendoza, after just a quarter century it counts today, in its men's branch, 302 priests, 21 deacons, 195 seminarians studying philosophy and theology, 51 novices, and 95 students in the minor seminary. Its generalate house and its center of formation are in

Sandro Magister writes a marvelous article in www.chiesa on the changes in the Roman Curia and how those are assisting Pope Benedict XVI. Here are just a few snippets from this excellent review. First: 1. In "L'Osservatore Romano" on January 5, cardinal Cláudio Hummes, prefect of the congregation for the clergy, announced that he had sent to bishops, pastors, religious superiors, and seminary rectors all over the world a letter to ask that in every diocese "cenacles" of perpetual Eucharistic adoration be established, with the aim of "sanctifying" priests through prayer. Among the motivations for the initiative, Hummes explicitly referred to the sexual "sins" committed on the part of a "minimal" but still significant part of the clergy: "We ask all to do Eucharistic adoration in order to make reparation before God for the grave injury that has been done, and to recover the dignity of the victims. Yes, we wanted to think of