Suppress Everything Now!

This just in from a loyal reader:

Did you see that the head of the Pontifical Council for Migration, Antonio Maria Sveglio, told the ANSA that the Vatican agrees with the Swiss bishops conference in denouncing the ban on minarets in the Switzerland? He's a bishop of course.

He offers a solution:

SUPPRESS EVERYTHING!!! NOW!!!

[Caps in the original]

I believe I have mentioned that one of my little axioms in life, along with "never join anything," is "abolish everything".

I note that while this perhaps could be considered a little drastic, a case might be made for the Holy Father to consider suppressing the Swiss Bishops' Conference after this:

Catholic bishop calls for married priests
A Swiss bishop says that married men should also be allowed to be priests in the Catholic Church and that celibacy should be voluntary.

Norbert Brunner, who takes over as head of the Swiss Bishops Conference at the start of next year, told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper that most Swiss bishops were in favour of the move.

"There should be the possibility of making married men priests," Brunner said.

There was no fundamental link between celibacy and the priesthood, maintained the Bishop of Sion, but added that it should remain a choice for those who wanted it.

Brunner said that the Swiss bishops were "quite unanimous" in their support.

He had proposed the move to Rome several times, but admitted that he had, as yet, been unable to push his solution forward.

I wonder if the Vatican will issue a statement noting favourably the generous broadmindedness of the good bishop in allowing priests to remain celibate if they choose.

But my imagination balks at at attempt to picture the shotgun ceremonies that would ensue if it became the policy of the Swiss Catholic Church to force priests to marry against their will.

See y'all Monday

I'll leave you all with this cheery thought:

“In the world it is called Tolerance, but in hell it is called Despair, the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” - Dorothy Sayers

I've run out of saints

I've been spending a little time each morning reading the saints legends for the day in the Anglican Brev, both the general ones and the English-region ones. It's some good reading and quite inspiring. But this week, being so close to the end of the year, I came to the end of the list. There aren't any more Anglo saints until Dec. 3rd and nothing more in the general Kalendar until the new year.

So now I'm stuck praying the Rosary.

I'd forgotten just what an awful snore the Rosary is.

I think I must be a bad Catholic.

Ancient stuff on Youtube

Hey, I just discovered that there is a bunch of videos of ancient Greek and Roman music on Youtube. No idea if it really is ancient, or Greek and Roman, but it sounds pretty good. In a soundtrack-to-the-BBC-version-of-the-Odyssey way.

Plus, they tell you what the names of those instruments are, so you can impress people by pronouncing them incorrectly at parties.

How to behave towards intelligent accomplished

feminists.

The Minefield of Caddishness

Feminists could use a dose of Harry Enfield, and so could gentlemen.

You know who you are.

Doxies

TTony, a regular reader here for some time, is taking a break:

...the LMS created a fortress of insularity because it needed to. I think that time has gone, but I sometimes sense a new insularity online, that seems to value an idea of ultratrad heteropraxis. "My praxy is better than your praxy" is less bad than "my doxy is better than your doxy", but it isn't good.

Some years ago, I abruptly stopped being interested in the Liturgical Issues and have more or less stopped blogging about them. Some of my friends here think this is odd, considering I came to Rome with the express purpose of being able to worship in the traditional rites of the Latin Church. But it just tires me, bores me, leaves me feeling ennervated and kind of like a doll with not enough stuffing. It sometimes makes the after-Mass luncheon a bit of a trial, being the only one there not interested in dissecting the minutiae of styles of candlesticks, numbers and depths of bows and genuflexions etc.

But I just can't help it. Every time they get going the same thing pops into my mind. I picture some billious cleric screeching in a panic in the sacristy, "I can't wear this biretta! It's got the wrong kind of pompom on it. This is a novus ordo pompom!"

I'll just take that away and burn it for you then, shall I?

Of course, this is not to say that I will be returning to the glad-handing and banal kindergarten Masses where Father acts like a gameshow host with his microphone (yes, I've seen a bishop at a confirmation walk up and down with his microphone interviewing the kids and making jokes with them...)

I have worked out a way to avoid the Gladhand 'o Peace in Roman churches which are usually extremely large, very old, full of art and don't really have pews. You see, in Roman churches, tourists are constantly wandering around looking at the walls and taking pictures of the statues while Mass is going on. One has to pay attention, but the trick is to wait until the build-up - you know, when they all stand up after the Pater Noster and start wiping their greasy palms on their coats - and just wander over to the side aisle and pretend you're looking at the frescoes. They'll think you're a tourist and leave you alone. Helps to bring a camera.

But it's a funny thing that in all this time of being a Mad, Rad and Bad Trad, I'm really just more or less fed up with the whole thing. It just seems silly to waste one's energies trying to explain that Bach is better than Duran Duran. If they can't see it, why are we bothering?

A nicer one...

...and a great deal more like what I think Narnian music would be like.

Hans Memling (1435/40(?) - 1494)

Nice outfit.

I know from personal experience how hard it is to make one of those truncated cone henins stay on your head.

Once, a long time ago, I had a gorgeous black satin and black velvet parti-coloured dress a lot like this one, with crimson silk collar and cuffs. It made one sit bolt upright and reduced your ability to move to the point where you could barely reach the salt cellar at dinner. The four foot train made any dancing more vigorous than a sedate pavane impossible.

but it was gorgeous.

When I saw this

Narnia (Swedish band), a Swedish Christian melodic metal band

on a Wikipedia disambiguation page, well,


how could I possibly resist such temptation?

No, it's OK. You don't actually have to listen to it.

One doctor has found the solution

As an increasing number of women delay motherhood at the risk of losing their fertility, one doctor believes he has found the answer: pausing biological time by freezing ovarian tissue by telling them, "Suck. It. Up. Sweetheart. You made your choices and now you have to live with the consequences of your actions like a real grown-up. You can't expect us to keep throwing research money away on finding new ways for you to have babies when you were too selfish to live like a normal woman. Cancer is still out there.

"I'm sure your career will give you all the comfort and care you need in your old age."

I wish I ran the world.