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Learning to “exorcise” the so-called “spirit of Vatican II”

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, October 16, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Catholics must learn to “exorcise” the so-called “spirit of Vatican II” to end the secularization that has “wreaked havoc” on the Church since the Council, says Bishop R. Walker Nickless of Sioux City, Iowa.

In a pastoral letter issued Thursday to the lay and religious of his diocese, Nickless wrote that he has “no other desire” than to see the reforms of Vatican II implemented properly. However, he said, “It is crucial that we all grasp that the hermeneutic or interpretation of discontinuity or rupture, which many think is the settled and even official position, is not the true meaning of the Council.”

The “hermeneutic of discontinuity,” under the guise of the “spirit of Vatican II,” sees “the Second Vatican Council as a radical break with the past,” explained the bishop. However, “There can be no split … between the Church and her faith before and after the Council.”

“We must stop speaking of the ‘Pre-Vatican II’ and ‘Post Vatican II’ Church,” continued Nickless, who agreed with Pope Benedict XVI that the Council’s meaning “must be found only in the letter of the documents themselves.” “The so-called ‘spirit’ of the Council has no authoritative interpretation,” Nickless said.

“It is a ghost or demon that must be exorcised if we are to proceed with the Lord’s work.”

Kathleen Gilbert at LifeSiteNews

Reminds of something Russell Shaw said in his latest book:

For progressive Catholics the beauty of the spirit of Vatican II was precisely that it allowed themselves to dismiss the Council’s teachings while declaiming themselves the Council”s champions.

I once wrote a “Rite of Exorcism of the Spirit of Vatican II” some years ago in a parody.

I have received a copy of a proposal for a new rite of exorcism currently being considered by the by the Congregation for Divine Worship. This is not a revision to the Rite of Exorcism issued in 1999, but a brand new document for an especially pernicious spirit. The new document is called The Rite of Exorcism for the Spirit of Vatican II. The Spirit of Vatican II Exorcists will be designated as one of the minor orders and these priests will be drawn from those who have already been designated to the Exorcistate and are experienced in expelling demons. The reason behind this I assume that expelling demons is a breeze compared to expelling the spirit of Vatican II from subjects. I will posts parts of this new document with some commentary.

The Bestowal of the Office. The candidates now come up to the bishop, and each touches the book and the actual documents of Vatican II which he presents to them, saying:

Receive, and commit to memory the documents of Vatican II, and have the power to lay your hands upon those possessed by a modern spirit and another gospel, be they baptized or catechumens.

Prayer. The bishop rises and prays for the candidates kneeling before him:

Let us, dearly beloved brethren, humbly beseech God, the Father Almighty, that He may graciously bless these His servants for the office of Spirit of Vatican II exorcist. May they be spiritual commanders, to cast out of the false ideas and heresies that have lead them and others astray. Through His only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with Him in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. R. Amen.

The rite speaks of exorcists as spiritual physicians endowed with the power of healing. This may also refer to bodily afflictions caused by the devil; once the influence of the devil is broken by the exorcism, the affliction ceases.

One of the discussions in the new document, which is definitely in the draft phase, is what to do when the bishop themselves are possessed with the spirit of Vatican II? Some of the drafters have considered an Episcopal intervention done by other bishops or perhaps a single bishop designated for these cases. Some of the drafters expressed concerns about collegiality, but other put forth the example of St. Paul. Whatever the solutions posed it must be better than waiting for a bishop to turn 75.

As with a normal exorcism an investigation is required first. The investigation is required to determine if a person is actually possessed by the sprit of the age instead of mental illness or an attachment to a liberal political party. Mental illness might be a charitable prognoses, but the investigator should take care to find the actual root of a possible possessed persons outbursts.

There are specific signs to look for in discerning Spirit of Vatican II possession. This is not an exhaustive list and a possessed person may or may not hold one or more of the following:

  • Advocacy for women priests. If they spell women as womyn proceed to the exorcism immediately.
  • If the subject has vocal outbursts in a foreign language they do not speak. The exception is if they speak Latin. Latin is a sure sign that they are not possessed by this specific spirit.
  • Denial of the supernatural. If they refer to the miracle of the bread and fish being multiplied as the miracle of sharing do not delay in starting the rite.
  • Advocacy of homosexual acts or same-sex marriage. Outright advocacy is an easy case for this rite. Though normally the exorcist will have to discern for themselves when the subject crouches their underlying belief by concentrating on respect for the homosexual person or their anger at the document on not admitting those with deep-seated homosexual tendencies to the seminary. Asking them straight-forward whether they believe that homosexual acts are intrinsically immoral can cut through the obfuscation.
  • Advocacy of abortion and/or contraception. Appealing to the “seamless garment” is not a certain test for possession, though it is a indicator to dive deeper.
  • If they believe that the document Environment and Art in Catholic Worship which was never approved by the Bishops conference must be held de fidei, but Humanae Vitae and Ordinatio Sacerdotalis can be safely ignored.
  • If when making the sign of the cross they repeat Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
  • Has subscriptions to the National Catholic Reporter, Commonweal, America, and St. Anthony’s Messenger.
  • Can not say obedience, male hierarchy, Pope Benedict XVI without grimacing

Rite of Exorcism of the Spirit of Vatican II

The priest delegated by the Ordinary to perform this office should first go to confession or at least elicit an act of contrition, and, if convenient, offer the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and implore God’s help in other fervent prayers. He vests in surplice and purple stole. Having before him the person possessed (who should be bound if there is any danger), he traces the sign of the cross over him, over himself, and the bystanders, and then sprinkles all of them with holy water. After this he kneels and says the Litany of the Saints, exclusive of the prayers which follow it. All present are to make the responses. Do not be surprised if during the Litany of the Saints if the subject becomes uncomfortable with so many pre-Vatican II names. The person might try ot interject other names like for example Gandhi.

It might also be necessary to gag the possessed person. The possessed will often appeal to dialoguing and will attempt to do it for countless hours and then days on end. This faux dialoguing in not an attempt to get to the truth, but to wear you down in sophist arguments. Appealing to Holy Scripture, Apostolic Tradition, and reason are fruitful avenues in most situation, but only the most patient exorcist should try to employ them in this situation since the possessed are normally immune to them.

The next step in the exorcism has been known to produce especially strong reactions from the possessed person. Even if the person is bound it is suggested that a minimum of two people be on hand to hold them down and to assist you. The exorcist after appealing to the Holy Spirit begins to read the actual texts of the documents of Vatican II. As mentioned above be prepared for a violent reaction especially while reading Sacrosanctum Concilium. If the possessed person is not gagged be prepared for obscene outbursts like “Your mother is a homophobe.” Rainbow colored projectile vomiting has also been known to occur. While the text is read the bystanders chant “The power of the text compels you.” Make sure that a medical team is on hand in case the possessed person goes into shock during the reading. They will no be spinning of their head or displaying supernatural phenomenon, but the logic they will use in defending the spirit of Vatican II might make your own head spin.

The following invocation is then chanted:

From all evil, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From the spirit which denies the text, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From modernist interpretations, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From inclusive language, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From the pride of independence, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From liturgical abuses, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From disobedience to the magisterium, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From an unformed conscience, Deliver us, 0 Lord.
From the spirit of the age, Deliver us, 0 Lord.

The exorcist than commands the spirit of Vatican II to come out

Therefore, I adjure you every modern spirit, every specter from academia, every dissident power, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who was led into the desert after His baptism by John to vanquish you in your citadel, to cease your assaults against the creature whom He has, formed from the slime of the earth for His own honor and glory that you leave this soul. I command you moreover that you leave immediately so that this person can not only come to enjoy the actual documents of Vatican II, but that he (she) may appreciate and accept in obedience all of the Church’s councils and magisterial teachings of Holy Mother Church. That he (she) may see the Second Vatican Council as an organic growth and not a starting point of a new church.

Depart, then, impious one, depart, accursed one, depart with all your deceits, for God has willed that man should be His temple. Why do you still linger here? Give honor to God the Father almighty, before whom every knee must bow. Give place to the Lord Jesus Christ, who shed His most precious blood for man. Give place to the Holy Spirit, who by His blessed apostle Peter openly struck you down in the person of Simon Magus; who cursed your lies in Annas and Saphira; who smote you in King Herod because he had not given honor to God. Depart you mischievous spirit that denies sin and calls right wrong and wrong right. I order you depart deceitful spirit to leave and to never return.

All the above may be repeated as long as necessary, until the one possessed has been fully freed.

It will also help to say devoutly and often over the afflicted person the Our Father, Hail Mary, and the Creed, as well as any of the prayers given below.

The Canticle of our Lady, with the doxology; the Canticle of Zachary, with the doxology.

The exorcist then looks for signs that the evil spirit of modernity has truly departed. Have the subject read from the Catechism of the Catholic Church and VII documents and observe their demeanor. If they look comfortable doing this let the person read some scriptural texts. If they can do this without injecting inclusive language for references to God, then this is a further sign of healing. As a final test have the person as a test of obedience recite the Affirmation of Personal Faith. If they can read this without breaking a sweat, screaming in terror, or any sign of discomfort then this is a very good sign indeed. “The devil can imitate humility but he cannot imitate obedience.” St. Faustina

The new rite looks pretty interesting and I certainly hope they approve it soon and make it broadly available. Of course there will be a problem getting the large number of these exorcists considering the extremely large demand. I also heard that they are considering a similar rite for schismatic traditionalists, though they might combine the two since they are just two sides of the same coin of disobedience and misunderstanding of Vatican II.

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis eBook – Volume 12

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller


This is the 12th volume of The Weekly Francis ebook which is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. The post at Jimmy Akin’s site contains a link to each document on the Vatican’s site and does not require an e-reader to use.

This volume covers material released during the last week from 22 May 2013 – 2 June 2013.

The ebook contains a table of contents and the material is arranged in sections such as Angelus, Speeches, etc in date order. The full index is listed on Jimmy’s site.

There is an archive for all of The Weekly Francis eBook volumes.  This page is available via the header of this blog or from here.

Omnibus Edition: In addition to The Weekly Francis I am also maintaining an Omnibus edition that contains all of Pope Francis writings, speeches, etc. At the end of the year an annual edition will be released along with maintaining the full omnibus.

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Book Review

Book Review: “The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows”

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

The Ear of the Heart: An Actress’ Journey from Hollywood to Holy Vows is the new biography written by Mother Dolores Hart and Richard DeNeut.

Much has been made of the actress who was Elvis’ first kiss in a film that went on to enter a Benedicine monastery. Yet the Elvis aspect is probably the least interesting part of her story.

The format of this biography is a bit different in that her lifelong friend and Hollywood writer Richard DeNeut mostly tells the story along with her own comments and remembrances interjected throughout (especially in the second half of the book). Included are also direct stories from those who know her. These multiple contributors give this book more depth, but also at times leaves you confused about who is writing at the time.

The first half of the book looks back at her childhood and family life including her acting career. The term dysfunctional family is often over used, but this is quite accurate here. Her parents troubled mariage, divorces, and remarriages was a backdrop to her life. Often I was reminded of Mother Angelica’s story, although while different in many aspects, had a common thread. Her family was non-religious and yet her path led her to join the Catholic Church at a young age while she was attending a Catholic school for the education.

While she had a difficult relationship with her mother and often vacant father, there is frustration but not bitterness concerning these parts of the biography. Her parents are painted warts and all without being a one-dimensional portrait. The stories of her grandmother, who was quite a character, are also rather fun. She spent time shifting between living with mother and her grandparents.

It was rather amazing that despite these problems her entrance into Hollywood and also Broadway did not go down the paths that are so familiar. She describes Elvis as a total gentleman and this is mostly true regarding most of the men she worked with. The exception being Peter Sellers and the story she tells regarding him is worth the price of the book in how she handled this situation.

I quite enjoyed her reflections on this time of her life in Hollywood and Broadway and the people she got to work with who she so admired. Many of these friendships continued on after she entered the Benedictine Abbey of Regina Laudis in Bethlehem, Connecticut. There is much of interest in this period of her life and her friends and acquaintances including the period where she was engaged to be married.

As interesting as this period of her life was, what really draws you in is how she first learned of Regina Laudis and what kept drawing her back there despite here career being in full swing. The period of discernment and the acceptance of her vocation to the religious life was not a straight path, but a path we often hear of regarding such discernment. It is easy to imagine the reaction by those her knew her who could not understand this choice.

The second half of the book deals with her life in Regina Laudis. Parts of it could seem to come right out of a novel or screenplay. The young nun who adjusts to life in a strict monastery and the communication clashes they entail could seem like a setup. Yet this was a case where under obedience she learned and responded and was able to contribute with her own gifts regarding these communication clashes. I’ve read enough about religious life to have no idealized vision of religious life and the difficulites are certainly shown.

Mother Dorcas Roselund, in describing the pitfalls of monastic life, summed it up another way. A gastroenterologist before she entered Regina Laudis, she is now the Community’s baker. Life in a monastery is “the new martyrdom”, she said. “they used to throw Christians to the lions. Now they make us live together.”

An aspect of the second half of the book that I really liked was the portraits of the other nuns and their widely varied experiences and contributions they made to the monastery. They were encouraged to take what professional skills they had into community. I also found it fascinating that in the wake of the Second Vatican Council and the turbulence in so many religious orders, that there were smaller ripples at Regina Laudis. This was a monastery that did not just throw everything away, but also did not stagnate. There was an openness to new ideas, but evaluated in context of their Benedictine tradition. Their obedience provided an anchor that so many other orders had cast off.

This book just engaged me on many levels beyond the straight biographical storyline. There is a gentle humor throughout and an obvious attempt by Mother Deloris Hart to not airbrush out her own difficulties. I would have liked to have more details on Mother Deloris Hart spiritual life, but it is an area touched on at times and you do see the fruits of it. There are just so many stories packed in this book and while close to 500 pages there are not wasted pages.

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News

Fr. Lombardi’s Statement on Questions Regarding Pope’s Daily Homilies

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

By Fr. Federico Lombardi

VATICAN CITY, May 29, 2013 (Zenit.org) – The very great interest aroused by the Pope’s brief homilies in the course of the Masses celebrated every morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, poses and continues to pose often the question from different parts on the possibility to access such celebrations or such homilies fully and not through the syntheses published every day by Vatican Radio and L’Osservatore Romano.

The question is understandable and has been taken several times into consideration and made the object of profound reflection, and merits a clear answer. First of all, it is necessary to keep in mind the character that the Holy Father himself attributes to the morning celebration of the Mass at Saint Martha’s.

It is a Mass with the presence of not a small group of faithful (generally more than 50 people) but whose character of familiarity the Pope intends to preserve. Because of this, despite the requests received, he has asked explicitly that it not be transmitted live on video or audio.

… After careful reflection, therefore, it was decided that the best way to make the richness of the Pope’s homilies accessible to a wider public, without altering their nature, is to publish an ample synthesis, rich also in original quoted phrases that reflect the genuine flavor of the Pope’s expressions. It is what L’Osservatore Romano is committed to doing every day, whereas Vatican Radio, on the basis of its characteristic nature, offers a briefer synthesis, but accompanied also with some passages of the original recorded audio, as well as CTV which offers a video-clip corresponding to one of the inserted audios published by Vatican Radio.

I can understand the reasoning, but am a bit disappointed. I really would have liked to see the full texts of these daily homilies for my own edification. I’ve seen more stories generated around these than his Sunday homilies.

There is a tension between the public aspect of the papacy and the more loose off-the-cuff daily homilies. Trying to make somewhat private what is not private I think will only lead to more difficulties. For example stories like last weeks “Atheists who do good works go straight to Heaven’ media-created flap will continue to be generated.

Yet like I said last week, most religion reporting never requires the context given by the full text. Just the juicy-bits that could generate a headline regardless of the facts.

(ZENIT)

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The Weekly Francis

The Weekly Francis eBook – Volume 11

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

This is the 11th volume of The Weekly Francis ebook which is a compilation of the Holy Father’s writings, speeches, etc which I post at Jimmy Akin’s The Weekly Francis. The post at Jimmy Akin’s site contains a link to each document on the Vatican’s site and does not require an e-reader to use.

This volume covers material released during the last week from 15 May 2013 – 27 May 2013.

The ebook contains a table of contents and the material is arranged in sections such as Angelus, Speeches, etc in date order. The full index is listed on Jimmy’s site.

There is an archive for all of The Weekly Francis eBook volumes.  This page is available via the header of this blog or from here.

Omnibus Edition: In addition to The Weekly Francis I am also maintaining an Omnibus edition that contains all of Pope Francis writings, speeches, etc. At the end of the year an annual edition will be released along with maintaining the full omnibus.

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Punditry

So how do I get a badge for political correctness

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

It is quite easy to complain about something, quite another to respond in a positive way.

So props to Taylor Marshall Why I’m Starting a New Boy Scouts: My Catholic Scouting Manifesto.

It is sad that the Boy Scouts of America caved to political correctness.

Still I find it odd my own reaction since I quit the scouts as a kid. Even in grade school I was a fervent atheist. The boy scout oath started to annoy me with the “To do my duty to God” part. I had enjoyed the outdoor scouting aspects and was almost willing to subsume my atheism to take part. Thankfully what I said when I resigned has gone down the memory hold, although I do remember having worn my Boy Scout nekerchief that was threaded together with a peace sign at that last meeting.

Now I am mad at the scouts for a totally different reason. Funny how things change.

So how long until “Being prepared” for the Scouts means carrying a condom?

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News

When you want to know what the Pope didn’t say

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

There is one thing the media is quite useful for regarding coverage of the Catholic Church. If I want to know what the Pope hasn’t said then they are my go to source.

The latest media coverage led to outrage from Protestants and Catholics suspicious of this pope along with more liberal elements being delighted. The media meme of the week is that Pope Francis said that atheists could be saved purely by good works.

As usual Jimmy Akin cuts through the errors regarding this with his thoughtful analysis.

Still this episode does illustrate a problem.

Pope Francis is in the habit of saying daily Mass for the people at St. Martha’s House and invited guests, and when he does so he gives an off-the-cuff homily (rather than reading from a prepared text).

This is actually something new.

John Paul II and Benedict XVI did not do this. They did not celebrate daily Mass as publicly as Pope Francis, and they did not have daily homilies published in this way. Instead, they occasionally delivered prepared homilies at public Masses on special occasions, and only these were published. As a result, if you look at the Vatican web site, there are surprisingly few homilies listed in their sections!

As a result, the Vatican web people aren’t scaled up for this volume of homilies, and–MADDENINGLY–you can’t find complete texts of Pope Francis’s daily ones on the site.

This is a problems considering also that there has been multiple instances where part of the content of the Pope’s unpublished daily homilies have generated news stories. Not only can’t you find them on the Vatican’s site, you can only find fragments quoted by sources covering the Pope and the Vatican.

These extemporaneous homilies certainly create a difficulty for the Vatican regarding both capturing exactly what was said and providing timely translations. They seem to have a hard enough time providing timely translations of his official homilies and speeches, especially the General Audience. Although this is more of a problem for those like myself who want to read what the Pope actually said then for the media. The media in covering the Church is not interested in context anyway and even with full texts almost infallibly gets things wrong.

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Other

An atheistic aesthetic

by Jeffrey Miller
written by Jeffrey Miller

Recently having read The Church Building as a Sacred Place: Beauty, Transcendence, and the Eternal by Duncan Stroik I was thinking about how my own views towards architecture that have both changed and stayed the same.

I realize in some ways I strived for an aesthetic that was fueled by my atheism. I use to think all government buildings should be the architectural equivalent of the big box stores. Functional and without a concern for beauty or anything that would add cost for merely appearance sake. Humans really didn’t need all that to do work so why bother. I would also have seen rows and rows of cubicles as an efficient no nonsense design.

Spending many years at sea onboard various aircraft carriers I found my aesthetics pretty much satisfied by the way military ships are designed. Wiring is all visible and the bulkheads and frames of the ship are uniformly haze gray. A design based on ease of maintenance with not other concerns. It also use to annoy me that one area that was not based on practical concerns was the linoleum tiled floors. Although part of this dislike was the time spent mopping and buffing such floors and the idea of making a warship pretty.

Part of my outlook was certainly appreciation of the “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” relativism. Since beauty was totally subjective we should not waste time and money on something so subjective. Yet at the same time I didn’t really believe this. I was forcing this view on myself to match my philosophy. I was committed to moral relativism, but not a relativism towards beauty. When it came to art and architecture I was drawn to beauty and totally frustrated with the lack of it in so much art and architecture. So-called modern art should have appealed to my atheism, but instead it repelled me. I could find many forms of art interesting, but I didn’t equate something being distinctive as being the same as it being beautiful.

Still my more utilitarian mindset wanted to appreciate function over form. That in a universe with no ultimate meaning it was ridiculous to try to bring meaning out of art. If I had known Andy Warhol’s quote “Art is anything you can get away with” I would have appreciated it from the mindset I tried to overlay on my thoughts. Yet time and time again I was drawn to what classically was called beautiful.

It was my conversion that led me to finally drop what I didn’t really believe. I did not have pretend to myself anymore that I preferred the utilitarian or that what I found ugly or what had repulsed me was just my own subjective view. That while there are subjective reactions towards beauty this is not to say that all beauty is purely subjective. It is not that you are as likely to find a painting or photo of a mountain scene than one of a garbage dump.

I remember once my late pastor had told me that often reporters assumed that his parish was the diocesan cathedral. Surely this was because it was the most beautiful church in the diocese created along more traditional lines with a beautiful high altar. What had drawn me to this parish church was it’s beauty. I had found it accidentally when driving when I saw the sign for the book store. When I went inside I was stunned by what I saw and recognized the beauty of it. At the time I had rarely been in a Catholic church and certainly not one that couldn’t have doubled as an auditorium. Hollywood also seems to be attracted to the more traditional architecture of Catholic churches in that when you see one in the media it is never of the fan-like auditorium type that unfortunately are so prevalent. They know instinctively what a Catholic church is suppose to look like.

This does make me wonder just how much the loss of the religious sense has contributed to so much utilitarian ugliness that pervades the world? So much art and architecture seems to exist to only glorify the architect or artist. A rebellion against beauty to force a new aesthetic into acceptance. This is understandable to some extent in the secular world, but unfortunately the same is true regarding sacred architecture and art. An attempt seems to be made to divorce themselves from the past instead of building on it. An individualism that creeps into everything yet at the same time an ugly sameness. Aesthetic relativism does not led to people arguing over what is more beautiful, but a destruction of the beautiful.

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