New Cardinals for the Holy Roman Church

Pope Benedict XVI made a much-anticipated announcement today. He announced that a Consistory will be held in Rome on 18 February 2012. During that gathering of Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church he will create 22 new Cardinals. Eighteen of whom are men under the age of 80, who will, upon becoming members of the Sacred College, join the ranks of Cardinal-electors and be eligible to participate in the Conclave to select the next pope.

Among those named are two U.S. prelates: Edwin O’Brien, Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Cardinal-elect O'Brien previously served as Archbishop of the U.S. Military Archdiocese and as Archbishop of Baltimore before being named as Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre) and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York. It is customary not to elevate the current bishop of a cardinalatial see to the Sacred College until after his successor, assuming he is a cardinal, becomes superannuated, that is, reaches the age of 80, at which time he is no longer a Cardinal-elector. Cardinal-elect Dolan's predecessor in New York, Cardinal Egan turns 80 this year, a few months after the Consistory. This rule is also why Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles was not selected this time around.

Additionally, Archbishop Thomas Collins of Toronto was also chosen. The Holy Father will also give the red hat to four honorary members of the Sacred College for their devoted and notable service to the Church. All of these Cardinals-elect are over 80. While I was very gratified to see the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church named as a Cardinal, I was surprised not to see Patriarch Mar Bechara Boutros al-Rahi of the Maronites on the list. While it is a bit ecclesially odd and awkward to name Patriarchs as Cardinals it is presently the only way for them to participate in the governance of the Church Universal. I hope that some day soon Patriarchs in communion with the Bishop of Rome will have their patriarchal dignity fully recognized, which would permit them, among other things, to participate in Conclaves without first having to be created Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church.

For the complete list, see John Allen's blog post, Pope names 22 new cardinals, including Dolan and O'Brien.

ἐπιφάνεια

Epiphany means something like a striking appearance. Of course, nothing in human history was more striking in appearance that God becoming man borne of woman. So, today, which is Epiphany (except where it isn't for reasons I don't understand), our traditio is one of my favorite Christmas carols, We Three Kings of Orient Are sung in Cambridge. The Anglican tradition has such an amazingly lovely tradition of sacred choral music.

Happy Epiphany!

Bl. Pope John XXIII and the convening of Vatican II

I can't help but share how exciting it was today to read something inspiring for the very first time. What I read today for the first time, as I gear up for the 50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, is Bl. Pope John XXIII's Humanae salutis. Humanae salutis is the name of the Apostolic Consitiution promulgated on Christmas Day 1961 formally announcing that he was convening the twenty-first (at least by Catholic reckoning) Ecumenical Council. His first public announcement that he was convoking an Ecumenical Council was in 1959 on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. He made this first pronouncement in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, in the presence of seventeen curial cardinals. The reaction, according to those who were present was, understandably, silence.

My source for reading this document in English is the website Conciliaria, which my brother, Deacon Eric Stoltz, recently launched, albeit softly. Humanae salutis is not available in English on the Holy See's official website. It is available, however, in Latin, Italian, Spanish, and Portugese. The English translation was done by the Rev. Joseph Komonchak, a great theologian and someone who has been very kind to me personally. It is not too much to say that during his many years at the Catholic University of America he has been a teacher and mentor to very many current Church leaders and scholars.

In Good Pope John's formal announcement one hears many precursors to his address to open the Council. For example, after fleshing out the rapid spread of what he called "militant atheism," he observed,

While distrustful souls see nothing but darkness falling upon the face of the earth, we prefer to restate our confidence in our Savior, who has not left the world he redeemed.

Indeed, making our own Jesus’ recommendation that we learn to discern “the signs of the times” (Mt 16:4), it seems to us that we can make out, in the midst of so much darkness, more than a few indications that enable us to have hope for the fate of the Church and of humanity. The successive bloody wars of our times, the spiritual ruins caused by many ideologies, and the fruits of so many bitter experiences have not been without useful lessons. Scientific progress itself, which has given man the ability to create catastrophic implements for his own destruction, has raised anxious questions; it has forced human beings to become thoughtful, more aware of their own limitations, desirous of peace, alert to the importance of spiritual values; it has accelerated that progress o closer collaboration and of mutual integration of individuals, classes and nations toward which, even amid a thousand uncertainties, the human family seems already to be moving. All this facilitates, no doubt, the Church’s apostolate, since many people who in the past did not realize the importance of her mission are today, taught by experience, more disposed to welcome her teachings

He ended his pronouncement by calling upon the prayers of the faithful and provided a prayer to pray, which is worthy of praying again as we observe the 50th Anniversary of this Divinely-appointed event in the Church's history-

"Renew your wonders in our time, as though in a new Pentecost, and grant that Holy Church,
united in unanimous and intense prayer around Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and guided by Peter,
may spread the Kingdom of the divine Savior, a Kingdom of truth, of justice, of love, and of peace. Amen."

Reality: Positively Mysterious

A new year has begun with new challenges and new opportunities. I was reminded earlier this week of something that is easy to forget, namely the positive nature of reality. Since I am writing about reality, I don't mind mentioning that at least for now I am not going to pressure myself to write, primarily because I'm not that good at it, meaning the product of my effort is often not worth my effort. This is okay. I do not write nor do I ever intend to write for a living, or even for money. We'll see what that means both here and elsewhere. My genre remains uncreative non-fiction.

I read a short story today in the current issue of Commentary by Joseph Epstein, "Remittance Man." The story is about a not overly ambitious writer, but one whose talent is nonetheless not up to his ambition. In the story, while at his father's funeral the writer, Lenny, comes "to understand that he is one of life’s spectators, with a seat on the sidelines watching other people do their dance. He lives, as he has always lived, in his mind, in his imagination." This brings me back to the positivity of reality, which can only be understood through experience. In The Religious Sense, Msgr. Giussani wrote about the necessity of being involved with life in order to understand life, to grasp reality. Involvement with life inevitably brings about problems, difficulties, issues, situations, etc. "But," Giussani insisted, "a problem is nothing other than the dynamic expression of a reaction in the face of these encounters." This is not to say about life what someone once said about history, that it is "one damn thing after another." Rather, all of our experience is an opportunity to experience the positivity, the purposeful nature, of reality, especially as it pertains to me, in a specific and highly personal way.

It is easy to get syrupy and sentimental about such observations. In order to avoid this I turn to an excerpt of a poem by Czesław Miłosz, which I came across reading Gustaw Herling:

       "If I had to tell what the world is for me
       I would take a hamster or a hedgehog or a mole
       and place him in a theater seat one evening
       and, bringing my ear close to his humid snout,
       would listen to what he says about the spotlights,
       sounds of music, and movements of the dance."

In other words, I think the positivity of reality arises, at least partly, from the mystery it often veils. Once in awhile there is an unveiling (an epiphany, or apocalypse). In my experience, such moments pass quickly before slipping away again. Lest I slip from engagement back into merely watching, plus never being able to resist alluding, even if obliquely, to Von Balthasar, I will appeal to the theo-drama of reality via Shakespeare's As You Like It (Act II Scene 7), or, more honestly, via Rush's song "Limelight": "All the world's indeed a stage..."

St. Stephen glorified through martyrdom

Even though we observed his glorious feast a week ago, on Monday, 26 December, I did not see this amazing depiction my lifelong patron, who is also the patron of Καθολικός διάκονος, St. Stephen, until today, when I saw it as the Facebook photo of my brother deacon Michele Onesti, who is a permanent deacon of the Diocese of Verona, Italy.

Michele was ordained a permanent deacon in 2003. He was in his late twenties when he was ordained, which is permitted as long as the ordinand is not married and is at least twenty-five. An unmarried man who is ordained a permanent deacon is required to take a public vow of celibacy. Michele and I have a connection because he spends a lot of time with the LDS missionaries who proselytize in the part of Italy in which he lives and serves.

He told me, "My vocation's story is a bit original: I began my theological studies to became priest then I decided to stop my presbyteral ordination to better live my diaconate and finally I decided that permanent diaconate was my life!" Having spent the past two years researching the role and necessity of married permanent deacons, one thing became clear, that when the diaconate was updated and restored, in addition to married deacons, Pope Paul VI envisioned more deacons like Michele.

This painting of St. Stephen is by the contemporary Italian master Ulisse Sartini and was commissioned by an anonymous benefactor. Sartini depicts St. Stephen dressed in a golden dalmatic with the palm of martyrdom in his right hand and the Book of the Gospels held between his left arm and his body. At the top of the picture the Cross is barley detectable. The original is in the Church of St. Stephen, Martyr in the city of Rivergaro, Italy. It was presented by the artist to His Excellency, Gianni Ambrosio, bishop of the Diocese of Piacenza-Bobbio, the diocese to which Rivergaro belongs, on 14 June 2009. Sartini is perhaps best known outside of Italy for his portraits of both Bl. John Paul and Pope Benedict XVI.

St. Stephen, pray for all deacons, that, like you, we may witnesses, that is, martyrs, of Jesus Christ.

Anglican Ordinariate for the U.S.

The Holy See announced today that the Anglican Ordinariate of the United States has been established. Lest there be any doubt about the Ordinate's affiliation, it bears the name The Chair of St. Peter (the one in England was dubbed Our Lady of Walsingham). The Personal Ordinariate of The Chair of St. Peter is basically a nationwide diocese composed of Anglican-use Catholic parishes. Hence, they are not Roman Catholics, but genuine Anglo-Catholics in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.

Fr. Jeffrey Steenson, who was formerly the Episcopalian bishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico, will serve as the first ordinary. Steenson, a patristic scholar, converted to the Catholic Church in 2007. He was ordained a deacon in 2008 and a priest in 2009. Since 2009 Steenson has held the Carl and Lois Davis Visiting Professor in Patristic Studies at the University of St. Thomas/St Mary's Seminary in Houston, Texas. Because he is married, Steenson will not be consecrated a Catholic bishop. However, because he was ordained a bishop in the Anglican communion, he will be permitted to exercise a ministry that is pratically, if not formally, episcopal. According to Anglicanorum Coetibus, Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution governing the establishment of various Personal/Anglican Ordinariates throughout the world, former Anglican bishops may:

- be appointed as the ordinary and thus exercise ecclesiastical governance equivalent to that of a bishop

- if appointed as an ordinary he is an ex officio and full member of the episcopal conference regardless of the degree of holy orders to which he is ordained

Dr. Jeffrey Steenson, ordinary for the Personal Ordinariate of The Chair of St. Peter

- a former Anglican bishop who is a member of the ordinariate may be called upon to assist in its administration

- a former Anglican bishop called upon to assist in the administration of the ordinariate serves in a role analogous to that of an auxiliary bishop within a diocese or as the "delegate" in charge of a "deanery"

- be invited to participate in the meetings of the episcopal conference, with the status of a retired bishop

- receive permission to use episcopal insignia

- these provisions do not extend to former Anglican bishops who are in so-called "irregular" marriages

Bl. John Henry Newman, pray for us. Having just finished re-reading his Apologia, I can't help but think what relief such an option would have brought the future-Cardinal Newman in his day. What a wonderful gift for the new year! May this be but one step towards healing the divisions among all who bear the name Christian. Since it was established today, the Solemnity of Mary, the Mother God, it will have a special affiliation with her, too. I am very interested to follow the developments of the Personal Ordinariate, The Chair of St. Peter.

Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God

Writing about the events surrounding the Incarnation of our Lord, the author of Luke's Gospel, in the passage we read at Mass today, tells us, "And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart" (Luke 2:19). So, the new year begins as the last year ended, reflecting on the mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God. However, today we are reminded that Jesus is Mary's son, too.

St. Paul, writing to the Galatians, states the matter simply, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons" (Gal. 4:4-5). Paul is not content to leave us with an abstraction. Rather, he insists that our adoption as God's children, which is only possible in and through the Incarnation, can be verified in reality, that is, through experience: "As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, 'Abba, Father!'" (Gal. 4:6)

Especially since New Year's Day falls on a Sunday this year, let us, like Mary, the Mother of God, who is also our mother, spend some time reflecting on these things in our hearts. In this light, we can begin to discern how to live as children of God in this new year, giving birth to Christ ourselves, making Him present in and for the world together.

Peace and joy to one and all on the first day of 2012!