Q. We recently celebrated the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. Why does the Church celebrate a church building in Rome? — P.R., Massachusetts.
A. Because the Basilica of St. John Lateran is the oldest church in Christendom and is the church of the Pope, not St. Peter’s Basilica. The Lateran Basilica was built in the fourth century and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324, just 11 years after Roman Emperor Constantine granted Christians religious freedom. He gave the former palace of the Laterani family to Pope Miltiades, and the Popes resided there for a thousand years. We honor this sacred building as a way of expressing love and veneration for the Church of Rome, which St. Ignatius of Antioch said “presides in charity” over the whole Catholic world.
In marking the feast on November 9, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI said that “today’s feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships Him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community, therefore, has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this, we call upon the intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the ‘house of God,’ living temple of His love.”
Q. I understand that in the early Church one received formal Confession only once after Baptism. Extreme Unction was the next opportunity for forgiveness. By the eighth to the tenth centuries, the Irish allowed more formal Confession. What did one do in the interval? — S.C., California.
A. While some Catholics in the early centuries of the Church chose to postpone Confession for grave sins until shortly before death (a rather presumptuous choice since one might not always know when death was imminent), that was not the norm. According to Fr. John Hardon’s Catholic Catechism (cf. pp. 481-500), private Confession of one’s sins was practiced in the early years of the Church.
In the year 459, Pope Leo I censured those who demanded public manifestation of sins, saying that “it is sufficient that the guilt which people have on their consciences be made known to the priests alone in secret confession.” From the time of St. Patrick in the fifth century, there were in existence Penitential Books, said Fr. Hardon, that contained “directions to confessors in the form of prayers, questions to be asked, and exhaustive lists of sins with the appropriate penance prescribed.”
Depending on the gravity of a sin, he said, “the works of satisfaction would be prescribed accordingly. For the graver crimes — parricide, perjury, adultery, abortion — they prescribed such penances as exile, going on a distant pilgrimage, or seclusion in a monastery for life or for ten or seven or three years. For lesser sins the satisfaction might consist in fasting either for a long period or periodically, or again in certain prayers, scourging oneself with knotted cords, or almsgiving.”
These extraordinary acts of satisfaction, said Fr. Hardon, became less severe later due in part to “development of doctrine on the nature of penance in Catholic thought and partly by the gradual practice of indulgences.”
In 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council mitigated the rule of public penance that had been in effect for a thousand years and said: “Let everyone of the faithful of both sexes, after he has reached the age of discretion, devotedly confess in private all his sins at least once a year to his own priest, and let him strive to fulfill to the best of his ability penance enjoined upon him.”
This has pretty much been the practice of the Church since the 13th century, with such clarifications as requiring annual Confession once a year only if the penitent is conscious of having committed a mortal sin.
The frequency of people coming to the Sacrament of Penance waxed and waned over the centuries, but the necessity of frequent Confession was affirmed by the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which also defended the practice against the attacks of the Protestant reformers, and by Pope St. Pius X in 1910, who specifically said that children ought to go to Confession “when a child begins to reason, i.e., about the seventh year, more or less.” In the document Quam Singulari, the Holy Father said that “the custom of not admitting children to Confession or not giving them absolution when they have already attained the use of reason must be entirely abandoned.”
The practice of postponing the Sacrament of Penance for children to the fourth grade and beyond came into vogue in the late sixties and still persists in some places despite many official statements reprobating such a delay. Thus, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “children must go the sacrament of Penance before receiving Holy Communion for the first time” (n. 1457).
Q. Recently the bishops of the world completed the first phase of their Synod on Marriage and Family Life. The synod was called by Pope Francis. Is it likely that the Pope wants to find out the extent of apostasy in our beloved Church? — J.D.H., California.
A. First of all, apostasy means the total rejection by a baptized person of the Catholic faith. Heresy, on the other hand, is the obstinate denial by a baptized Catholic of some truth which must be believed by divine and Catholic faith, or the obstinate doubt about some truth. The reports coming out of the recent synod — about possible changes in the Church’s teaching on such things as homosexuality, same-sex unions, and Holy Communion for divorced and remarried couples — would involve heresy if in fact some bishops obstinately denied the truth of the Church’s teaching on these matters.
We don’t know from the reports, however, if any bishops obstinately doubt one or more of these truths, or whether they were floating trial balloons to see if these teachings might be modified in some way. We don’t think that’s going to happen, but maybe Pope Francis called the synod to get the issues on the table so that the ancient teachings of the Church can be reaffirmed to a skeptical world. Time will tell.
Q. In our parish, extraordinary ministers dispense the Body and Blood of the Lord at the rear of the church with their backs toward the tabernacle. Some of us find this unnecessary and disrespectful. Also, many of the people who receive at the back of the church walk right out of Mass without having a qualm about offering thanksgiving. Finally, there has been the practice of asking if anyone is celebrating a birthday or anniversary and then singing to those people before the final blessing. Please comment. — M.D.G., New York.
A. First of all, any minister of Communion at the front of the church also has his back to the tabernacle. There is no other way to distribute Communion, and we don’t find this practice disrespectful. However, you are correct that it is highly disrespectful to walk out of church immediately after receiving the Eucharist. We doubt if these people would finish eating dinner at a friend’s house and immediately walk out the door without saying thanks. Doesn’t God deserve the same respect?
Finally, celebrating birthdays or anniversaries during Mass is most inappropriate. It makes the Mass about the people, and not about God. Those kinds of celebrations can take place after Mass, say, in the parish hall.
Q. With the “firing” of Raymond Cardinal Burke from his posts in Rome, with the appointment of Bishop Blase Cupich (who is not opposed to giving Communion to pro-abortion or pro-same-sex “marriage” politicians ) as archbishop of Chicago, and with Timothy Cardinal Dolan’s involvement in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade scandal in New York City, I am greatly concerned for my Catholic Church. Can you give me some positive input? — R.B.K., via e-mail.
A. We can only add to your dismay after observing the virtual canonization of former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino at his recent funeral Mass by his parish priest and the cardinal archbishop of Boston. It’s one thing to pray for the soul of the deceased, and we would never judge the state of a person’s soul; it’s quite another to heap effusive praise on a man who was a vigorous supporter of abortion and the homosexual lifestyle, even to the point of marching in “Gay Pride” parades.
In spite of these disappointing examples, the Church is still that of Jesus Christ, who promised to be with her all days, until the end of the world. Be not afraid!
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress