A Scots priest contacted us recently to urge discussion on our blog about the forthcoming Ad Limina visit. He is very keen that the laity write to the Vatican well in advance of the Scottish Bishops’ Ad Limina visit, which is to take place during the first week in February.
There’s no shortage of problems in the Scottish Church for which the bishops must be held to account. This thread should serve to remind us all of the many scandals in the Church in Scotland at the present time. Many of them have been debated on this blog – like, for example, the case of the American priest, Father David Cotter, serving in the Diocese of Paisley, who announced on Radio Scotland that he supported the anti-life policies of the then presidential candidate, now President Barack Obama, for whom, Father Cotter cast his vote by post. Click here to read that thread
Sadly, there are plenty more scandals in the local Church – Fr Cotter’s support for a pro-abortion, pro-gay rights politician whom he helped achieve the most important and powerful governmental post in the world, is but one cog in a very big wheel of dissent and scandal.
But enough from me – here’s the piece submitted by the Scottish priest who asked for this thread:
In approximately 8 weeks the Scottish Bishops will be going to Rome for an Ad Limina visit, something which normally happens every 5 years but which due to the change of Pope has been 7/8 years since last happening.
At this the bishops will be asked to give an account of themselves, their actions, events in and plans for their Diocese and the Catholic Church in Scotland.
Over recent years, especially the last 2/3/4 years we have repeatedly seen actions by bishops which were not in obedience to Papal instruction/wishes, Roman Curia/Commission’s instruction/directions. Action/s have been taken by individual bishops/the Scottish Bishops Conference which have been disobedient and so failed to be part of the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church”. As a result we’ve witnessed some actions/policies which are clearly schismatic. Here’s a brief overview of the goings on in the Church in Scotland.
In Glasgow, there was a murder in a Glasgow church. The priest, if you remember, was giving out rooms in the parish house. This murder of a young girl in a Catholic Church made headlines that brought the Scottish Church into disrepute. Bloggers should send details of this scandal to Rome, enclosing newspaper cuttings if possible.
In Dundee, the Vicar General had girl friends over a period of 18 years. Again, national headlines resulted. Headlines that should be sent to Rome.
In Glasgow there was a negative response to the papal Moto Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, when Archbishop Conti stated that priests ordained after 1970 would not get permission to say the Tridentine Mass; this was outright rejection of the permission Pope Benedict had given to every priest in the world.
In Summorum Pontificum, bishops were told to encourage younger priests to learn the old Latin Mass, help them, so that its beauty and reverence would not be lost to future generations. Has any Scottish bishop done this? So far, one only hears of certain bishops’ deliberate suppression of the old Latin Mass, not their encouragement. Rome needs to be told that Summorum Pontificum has been mostly ignored in Scotland.
Then there is the increasingly common practice of priests administering the Sacrament of Confirmation instead of the Bishop. Yet, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994 we read:
1313 In the Latin Rite, the ordinary minister of Confirmation is the bishop.
Although the Bishop may for grave reasons concede to priests the faculty of administering Confirmation, it is appropriate from the very meaning of the Sacrament that he should confer it himself, mindful that the celebration of Confirmation has been temporally separated from Baptism for this reason. Bishops are the successors of the apostles. They have received the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders. The administration of this sacrament by them demonstrates clearly that its effect is to unite those who receive it more closely to the Church, to her apostolic origins, and to her mission of bearing witness to Christ.
What grave circumstances have there been each year that bishops in certain dioceses confer this sacrament only 3-5 times? But they will go to Ecumenical services more than 5 times over the year! Rome needs to be told about this. If your child was ordained by a priest instead of the Bishop, write to tell the authorities in Rome so that they can raise the matter with the Bishops.
In 2000 in Scotus Seminary the Scottish bishops built a chapel. In it was placed a “crucifix”, claimed to be a work of art, which was strands of metal formed together to represent Christ’s body on the cross, naked, which looked like the leftovers from the previous night’s spaghetti bolognaise – it did not in any way show the real suffering and sacrifice of Christ on the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. This was, in fact, a naked man who had modelled for the “cruciform”. Students were faced with this “cruciform” every time they entered the chapel. Imagine trying to pray with that naked man hanging above the altar. Little wonder that the seminary closed.
In this Chapel right up to closure students were discouraged from kneeling in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, yet from the Year of the Eucharist came clearly the message that we urgently needed to get back to an awareness of the Real Presence, something shown by reverent actions. Again, I say, little wonder that we have no seminary in Scotland. Remind Rome of this background to the closure of Scotus.
The highly unsuitable, virtually doctrine-free “Alive O” Religious Education curriculum was implemented by the Scottish Bishops Conference late 80s/early 90s while Ireland was waiting for Rome to give approval to it; such approval was never given, in fact the opposite – according to Rome it is not suitable for teaching Catholic pupils and yet the Scottish Bishops have it in our Catholic Schools. Why? We need to tell Rome that children in Catholic schools are being denied a solid Catholic education.
Are things so bad here because the papal nuncios are part of the Bishops Club, members of the Magic Circle in the country to which they are posted; not wanting to rock the boat, therefore not reporting matters to Rome which are a betrayal of Catholic Faith/Teaching/Principals? Ask Rome why the papal nuncios are not passing on the truth about the state of the Church in Scotland.
If Bishops are not acting in obedience to Rome, shouldn’t this be reported by a papal nuncio? This certainly does not seem to happen in our present times – bishops allowing/advocating masses for homosexual groups to make them feel at ease, where there is no attempt to make clear they must repent and sin no more, is but one present day example in the UK. Masses for the Quest organization have been held in a Glasgow parish (Ed: we reported this in the newsletter at the time) so this is clearly a scandal that should be reported to Rome.
Within the last 2/3 days we have seen Rome’s/Pope Benedict’s outrage and betrayal, something brought about by Bishops in Ireland not properly and truthfully addressing matters. Why was Benedict/John Paul not informed of such matters? Unless Rome is kept informed about the reality of the local churches, similar scandals could break out elsewhere, including Scotland.
Rome, must act in an authoritative way when Bishops do not act in unity with the “One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church” but they can only know about these scandals if we tell them. They seem to think Scotland is in a good condition. We must correct their misconceptions.
The above are but some issues that you may wish raised and investigated at the Scottish Bishops Ad Limina visit to Rome this February; you may have others of your own. If so they should be raised with/made known to the appropriate congregations/authorities in Rome within the next 3-4 weeks (they will need them by early January so that questions raised may be looked into prior to the February meeting) so bloggers are encouraged to write without delay to the relevant Congregations in Rome. END
Editor: Click here for the Vatican addresses and get those keyboards working. Costs very little to post a letter to Rome, so no excuses.
Click on ‘comments’ to post questions and comments. If you’d like help with your letter email us via the website and we’ll gladly advise.
