SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (9) - Re: Pastoral Letter, Advent, 2015; limited remarks only; Notes #10

The underscored emphases are ours.

"What does the Jubilee of Mercy have to do with our preparations for ‘the coming of Jesus’? Well, let us think what happened to the world at the first Christmas. We say it at Mass every Sunday: the Son of God "was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man"; in the Apostles' Creed it is simpler: Jesus Christ was "born of the Virgin Mary". It does no harm to let that sink in, because it is astonishing to claim that God "shared our human nature" (Eucharistic Prayer IV). God can seem so far from our daily life, but he could not have come closer to us than by becoming one of us."

– Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP Archbishop of Liverpool; Pastoral Letter for the Second Sunday of Advent, 2015

–

We refer readers back to the first, and what we believe was one of the most telling, posts we have published thus far in our year-long and ongoing "search". A far from insignificant instance.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (8.2) - Re: His Grace's Men - those invited to mark this archdiocese's formal commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the closure of the Second Vatican Council; on the eve of the arrival of the FSSP at Warrington; Notes #9

PREAMBLE

A lengthy scrutiny, which we'd like to have written in just 15 words:

Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP should not have been 

invited to speak in this archdiocese last week.

Sadly, we have to go to the lengths and methods below to demonstrate why.

Because, for whatever reason, it seems so patently beyond the grasp of so many.

Much further down in this post, we're going to include a deliberately de-activated web-link to an online source which provides information of the gravest, most shocking and most eye-opening kind imaginable. We cannot overstate that enough.

The facts conveyed by this respected (by British society at large, not us) web-source – which also enjoys the backing of the UK Government and the considerable largesse of both the British public and some of its most renowned charities, and probably the sympathy and support of many, apparently practising, Catholics in this land – are so telling and revealing that we'd rather you didn't avail yourselves of the detail therein. We'll let you know when we post it; so that you can bypass it.

Eh?

"My Jihad - moving, beautiful, emotional and instructive"

Screengrab (below) taken from an online version of a major Liverpool archdiocesan "parish cluster" newsletter (i.e. an amalgamation of several parishes) - July 2015.

We have amended nought, save for blocking-out the name of the parish priest, a man of very significant influence in this archdiocese. Yes, a Catholic parish priest wrote the words above.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (7) - Re: One Year Ago This Week; episcopal welcome to the Archdiocese for the dissenting ACTA group; call to find "new pathways to dialogue"; limited remarks only; Notes #7

A timely reminder that exactly one year ago to the week, this happened (all in bold below we quote directly from the ACTA - A Call to Action website). We would make one remark at this juncture (n.b. ahead of a very busy post-Synodal autumn in this Archdiocese): it's Gospel.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (5) - Re: Los Angeles Religious Education Congress (LAREC) "liturgies" 2013, 14 and 15; including "Didgeridoo Mass"; YouTube and photos; limited remarks only; Notes #5

His Grace, the Most Rev. Malcolm McMahon OP, the ninth Archbishop of Liverpool, is a devotee of LAREC having attended its annual event eight times as guest speaker and concelebrant (2004, 05, 06, 07, 11, 13, 14 and 15). We include links (at the foot of this post) to the official YouTube footage of the 2015 (the so-called "Australian Culture Liturgy" - aka the "Didgeridoo Mass" - screen grab above), 2014 and 2013 major "liturgies" – as per the LAREC schedules for those years.

Amongst its "liturgical" offerings, LAREC now boasts "Masses" and other "services" described as: Black, Celtic, “From the Islands”, Spanish, Vietnamese, Jazz, Urban Fusion, Young Adult and Australian.

Remember, that it is the Extraordinary Form of Mass (aka the Usus Antiquior, the Vetus Ordo, the Traditional Latin Mass, the Tridentine Mass, the Mass of Ages, the Old Rite Mass etc.) that is considered to be "divisive".

You are encouraged to watch as much of the following as you can. If you can't quite stomach the contents, then you should ask yourself why – and moreover ask yourself who could possibly endure such an event (footage of which is freely available on the Internet as part of the LAREC evangelisation programme)? We would also draw attention to the comments underneath the YouTube videos (double clicking the YouTube link at the foot of the video takes you directly to the YouTube site - we're not precious about you leaving this site in order to do so).

At the very least, we would ask you to start watching the "Australian Culture Liturgy" (again, that's the "Didgeridoo Mass") from the start and as far into it as you're able to.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (4) - Re: "I would like to see it developed"; BBC Radio 4 interview, May 4th, 2014, with Edward Stourton; fuller transcript, without additional commentary: Notes #4

Three days after his enthronement as Archbishop of Liverpool, in May 2014, His Grace, the Most Rev. Malcolm McMahon, was interviewed by the broadcaster and journalist, Edward Stourton, a known Catholic progressive. Amongst other things, the pair spoke about the, then forthcoming, Synod on the Family due to take place at the Vatican in October 2014 and their expectations of the event. Stourton exhibited a received knowledge that His Grace had already expressed a view that he was "expecting great things" from the Synod. This undoubtedly referred to an interview His Grace had given, whilst he was still Archbishop-designate of Liverpool, several weeks earlier, to the liberal, London-based, weekly Catholic news magazine, The Tablet, of which Stourton is a trustee. The Archbishop did not challenge Stourton's assertion regarding the attributable "expecting great things" quote. The blog The Sensible Bond, provided a good commentary at the time on certain salient extracts from His Grace's interview with Stourton and for good measure offered some (admittedly unsupportable) insights into what may have been the background process behind the appointment of His Grace as the ninth Archbishop of Liverpool.

At time of writing, the interview is still available on BBC iPlayer: 

His Grace features from 36 mins 25 seconds.

Without further commentary from Liverpolitanus, we provide a fuller transcript of the discussion as it pertains to Church matters (part of the conversation referring to the 1989 Hillsborough Disaster, and the ongoing inquests into the same, has not been included).

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (3) - Re: Invitation to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to the Archdiocese: Notes #3

As alluded to in a post last month, an anticipated slice of good news – for those attached to the Usus Antiquior in the Archdiocese of Liverpool – seems to have arrived.

His Grace The Archbishop of Liverpool, Most Rev. Malcolm McMahon, has invited into the Archdiocese the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP) – a Traditionalist Catholic clerical Society of Apostolic Life, enjoying Pontifical Right, canonically established by Pope St. John Paul II in the tumultuous summer of 1988 under the papal motu proprio Ecclesia Dei adflicta.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (2) - Re: Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King - Altar Girls (lots)...and Boys (not lots!) back in cassocks and surplices: Notes #2

Strange being almost at the midsummer point of the year and still reporting on the winter – but, as stated, we've had a delay in proceedings.

Anyway, to add to our earlier report of His Grace The Archbishop, the Most Rev. Malcolm McMahon, "genuflecting in the right direction" during the sung Latin Credo of the 2014 (Novus Ordo) Midnight Mass of the Nativity at the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King, we'll record another positive word about the suddenly improved attire of the regular altar servers at our mother church (albeit a seemingly endless array of girls and the token-presences of clearly bossed-about young boys).

You can find representative images of the cathedral's altar serving team via the following photo link (taken at the 2015 Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/liverpoolcatholic/16468454083/in/album-72157651436631289/

We'd show one here but the photo "sharing" facility within the "Liverpool Catholic" account has been disabled.

SEARCHING FOR THE ARCHBISHOP (1) - Re: Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral of Christ the King - Midnight (Novus Ordo) Mass (Nativity of the Lord) 2014: Notes #1

As previously stated, if Liverpolitanus is to chronicle the seemingly endless effects of the unrestrained Modernism that has run like poison through the Archdiocese of Liverpool for over 50 years – and to specifically monitor developments from now onwards – it will also look, in charity, and in the interests of unity, for any positives.

However small.

This very post, therefore, is to record one such instance. It came as a welcome surprise and perhaps also an eye-opener for anyone who witnessed the fleeting moment that occurred in the Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral early on December 25th, 2014 (our bet is that not many did - and that not too many others have been made aware of it).

But first some context.

From the "Catholic Who's Who & Year Book 1915" - excerpts from: "The Catholic Year" (January to November 1914: January - Post #1); and "The Roll of Honour" (UPDATED - June 19, 2015)

Oh for the foresight to have started these posts a year ago today.

Still, here we are, on the first day of 2015 aptly recording excerpts from the 1915 "Catholic Who's Who & Year Book" (Burns & Oates; Edited by Sir F. C. Burnand; 3/6 NET) – but naturally recounting aspects from 1914, as per the publication itself.

Why are we doing this? Well, simply because we're blessed with immediate access to these treasured Year Book volumes – and it is not only good to breathe a little digital-life back into such rare titles, but also, we hope, it will prove a small web-service for those interested in the Catholic history and heritage of our lands over the last century. Also, what more fitting time to start this series than during these years commemorating the centenary of World War I (an atrocity which, inevitably, features prominently in the Catholic Who's Who & Year Book volumes of that period)? Moreover, we would hope that as we episodically highlight the names of those who populated our Catholic sanctuaries and pews 100 years ago that prayers will be offered aplenty for their souls.  

So, without further ado, verbatim, we start from the first line of the first entry of the 1915 Year Book's annual diary section entitled "The Catholic Year" looking back on 1914:

Those pictures there...on the background

They represent what Liverpolitanus will hopefully reflect. This substantial initial post, therefore, can fulfil this blog's "About" section.

First things first, a description of the events they depict:

The sepia image is from newsreel footage of the 1934 Corpus Christi procession on the site of the, then unbuilt, Metropolitan Cathedral in the centre of Liverpool, England. It's the see at the heart of the Archdiocese and Ecclesiastical Province of Liverpool (founded in 1850 under H.H. Pope Pius IX's bull Universalis Ecclesiae), which covers much of north west England along the Irish Sea coastline, and the Isle of Man.

The colour image shows "Liturgical Dance". It's from Gloria TV's footage of the hosting, in January 2013, of the relics of St John Bosco inside the, then 46-year-old, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral.

It may not seem so, but both images depict events, 77 years apart, on the very same spot.

However, as even an untrained eye may see, it's not just a near eight decade gap and the existence of walls and a roof that distinguishes the contrasting worlds of these images.