MacMillan's Fourth Symphony

Someone on Twitter had a link to a BBC performance of this, and following I found myself on a page which reminded me that I was, um, in America, and not to listen to the BBC page.

But, James MacMillan's Symphony No. 4 is available on the Tube of You, here.

Excellent, I thought.
I had only ever listened to his sacred and liturgical music before.

But I began to listen with some disappointment, that is not a tonal language I "like," oh, I can't understand that, and certainly not for 2/3 of an hour, what is he trying to do -- and then suddenly it burst into beauty.

Modern yet neo-Romantic, richly orchestrated, surprising...

I certainly don't entirely "get" it on first hearing - which is wonderful!

I intend to listen several more times in the next few days.

Bravo!

The Divine Liturgy

I love the Roman Rite.

But there is a special joy in attending the Eastern Church's Divine Liturgy. I have heard people joke about the need to "sing for your supper," but the fact is, one is so invested in the execution of the liturgy, it is almost impossible not to enter prayerfully into the Other Time, Other Place, Other Reality that rite worship entails.

I think every Roman Catholic should somehow be required to make periodic visits to other rites, of those who belong to the same One Church, Ruthenian Catholic, Anglican Use, Maronite Catholic...

So many of us belong to St Thewaywedoithere's parish, and ignore legitimate diversity while worshipping in the Expedient Rite.

I am far from perfect, and have made many mistakes over the years, but I realized recently that in all the times I was scolded, or asked in a backhanded way by someone after a Mass or LotH, whether choir member, liturgy committee rep, priest, or PIP; whether at my parish or someplace I was subbing, or even volunteering an helping out - I have never been called to account on anything that actually was wrong.

Not only not wrong, but never, as far as I can easily recall, in a matter where there were legitimate options and I had simply chosen an unfamiliar one.
No, people are most eager to complain and attempt correction when they are most certain of something -- and they are never more certain of something than when they are wrong.

Why did you start the communion song before Father had finished his communion? You're supposed to wait, count to five and then announce the hymn!
We're not supposed to do the Creed on Sundays in Ordinary time.
You left out the alleluia on Ash Wednesday!
It's not called the Offertory anymore.
What was that song about David during the palms?
I waited and waited, but you skipped the Lord Have Mercy! 
Why don't you ever do the Memorial Acclamation that starts, "we remember how you loved us..."?
The Church did away with the Reproaches!
We always used that hymn for the psalm before...
It's wrong to sing Marian songs during Mass.

But I've drifted off topic.

The Divine Liturgy.

GO!

 

Of Gardens, and Growing Beauty

It's too late tonight to finish reading David Clayton's article, on "Christian Environmentalism," I've just come across. (My word, but New Liturgical Movement abounds in riches!)

We need more people in the world, not fewer, if we are to solve the world’s problems. And we need more gardeners - I am serious here. For the true gardener is the man transformed in Christ who works in the world to raise it up to what it is meant to be

Not only is it late, but my mind is wandering to the musical staging I saw with children several years ago, of Oscar Wilde's exquisite Selfish Giant
The songs were all genuine folk tunes, of a sort I thought children no longer learned, except, I think, for the closing anthem. I was not alone crying in the audience as Christ asked not just the Giant, but everyone on stage and in the audience, "Won't you help me plant my garden?" to a borrowing of Hyfrydol. Seriously, if you don't know it, go read that story and see if you can keep from weeping.

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, 'You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.' 

'Stop Asking “Is the music religious?” Ask Rather, “Is the music liturgical?”

Terrific and surprisingly comprehensive column by Hilary Cesare on the musical tradition of which too many of us have been cheated.

Some of the most divisive conversations amongst Catholics today arise over music at Mass. Most arguments revolve around the style of music or the instrumentation. However, these arguments generally don’t focus much on the texts of the music. The majority of us have grown up in parishes that are unaware of or lacking an essential part of Church’s musical heritage: The Propers. We should stop asking “Is the music religious?” but rather, “Is the music (and its text) liturgical?” The Church assigns specific chants/texts to each day of the liturgical year, just as she assigns certain readings and psalms to each day of the year. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal says that these scriptural, liturgical texts (called “the Propers”) are the ideal and most desirable thing to be sung at Mass (see GIRM 48, 74, 86-87). 

It is remarkable to me, how many otherwise well-informed  and zealous Catholic are COMPLETELY UNAWARE OF THEIR EXISTENCE.

I had been leading music at Masses for about five years before anyone ever introduced me to singing the Propers. I had studied them in Music History in college, but thought they must not apply to Novus Ordo Masses because I had never heard them in any parish or been asked to sing them. I had tried to prepare choirs with “sacred” or “traditional” music and hymns, but I felt like I had been cheated out of a great musical tradition that had been present in past centuries of the Church.

Well, no polemics from Miss Cesare, just information, gentle persuasion and a lively discussion begun in her combox.

Step by step!

Biscuits? Sausage? What Could be Bad?

Is it pathetic that I'm so glad McDonalds will start serving breakfast all day?
Probably.

The Numbers Game

Every time results of a new poll or survey are released what we "knew" yesterday seems turned on its ear.
No, no, this isn't about Republican presidential; hopefuls - a new Pew study tells us about what "Catholics" in America believe.

And yeah, it's pretty depressing, but not surprising, especially when you consider the catechesis of the last five decades, and how difficult Catholic religious education becomes when the average elementary school Catholic kid seems to have four parents, one of whom identifies but doesn't practice, two of whom identify but don't believe, and one of whom is a functional pagan.

1.I don't think you hafta go to church to be a good person.
2. No one's gonna tell ME --
3. I think you gotta follow your own conscience, but I do like the palms, and bells, and incense, and statues, especially the statues -- you should see this Buddha I just got on vacation!
4. But the Redskins have a home game this Sunday and the tailgating is always AWESOME! Sometimes you just need to prioritize and let the less important stuff go...

one finding of the Pew study has given me great hope.
The study found that Catholics who regularly attend Mass are more likely to adhere to the teachings of the Church.
One could argue the chicken-or-egg question.
Do those who regularly attend Mass do so because they already are committed to the teachings of the Church?
Or, does regular Mass attendance encourage greater commitment to the Church’s teachings?

Now, how can anyone answer that question without the phrase "Source and Summit"?

And yet she does.

I definitely think that folks go to Mass because it’s what the Church teaches.
I also think, however, that the Mass has a power of its own to foster a desire to love Jesus and adhere more closely to his Church’s teachings. The closer you come to Christ – and you can’t get much closer than in Mass – the more closely you will want to follow him.
The Eucharist has the power to transform hearts.
When you go to Mass, you receive the strength and courage you need to more fully live your Catholic Faith and to be able to more faithfully and joyfully adhere to the Church’s teachings.

Repeat after me - Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit. Source and Summit.

Sometimes I misread subject lines....

You know, and accidentally open SPAM?
Or almost discard something from a brother?

Or mistake a newsletter from a Catholic periodical for sweepstakes news, as in, you can enter ever day to win one of these fabulous....!

Register Daily: Pope Francis’ Year of Mercy Indulgence

Yes, you too can have a chance at one of these indulgences by just going to our website and regi---

Come to think of it, that fits right in with MSNBC's monumental FAIL the other day, huh?

But act fast, 'cause when they're gone, they're gone!

Eye of the Tiber Author Unveiled

I knew I liked this guy.

I can't remember exactly which article caused the most controversy, but I know that the ones written about the Mass typically get the most heated. If I write an article titled, 'Report: Some 2nd Century Roman Christians Hated Latin Mass Because It Was Said In The Vernacular,' I know I'm gonna piss off liturgical traditionalists. If I write one titled, 'Clown At Circus Mass Reprimanded For Honking Sanctus Horn At Wrong Part Of Consecration,' I know it's gonna piss off whatever the complete opposite of a liturgical traditionalist is. I think they're called Protestants, actually.

And I'm glad he made a joke about hard liquor.
What can I say, the ideas that come to people when they're stotious are hee-larious. And when they try to put them into words pretending to still be sensible - well, that's gold.

I'm feeling a bit off about another of my guilty pleasures - Drunk History. The thing about it is, it doesn't have to be so obscenity-laden, the real humor comes from the anachronistic phraseology.

"So Alexander Hamilton calls his girlfriend, er, his wife...."

Yeah, that was your mistake, identifying the nature of the relationship between these people, barely out of the 16th century.

Then I Guess I'm Looking Forward To His Presidency

"I will be so good at foreign policy it will make your head spin.

”But obviously, I’m not meeting these people, I’m not seeing these people.
“I think by the time we get to office, they’ll all be changed. They’ll be all gone....Those are like history question – do you know this one, do you know that one?"
This guy will know thisstuff  "when it’s appropriate. I will know more about it than you know, and believe me, it won’t take me long."

Well all righty, then.

I can't help it, I like tenors....

Oh my, I am in love. 

I would feel that way even if he didn't look the way he does.

There is an older recording of  the title track which is... pretty awful. So I'm not utterly in thrall to Kaufmann's looks and acting, (which is stupendous,) I can be discriminating.

I would quibble with NPR's critic, Tom Huizenga, who says, "While he may not project the thrilling Italianate muscle of Franco Corelli in Puccini's biggest hit, Kaufmann's brawny, burnished tone is gorgeous."

That's exactly what I thought as I listened to the title track, omw, the best aspects of Corelli in his prime! (Without any of the, sorry, Franco, extravagant gulping.)

 

"Well, I Read It On the Internet, So It Must Be....."

I have heard over and over, from many people, that in the olden days, (that's right, during which I was alive,) many, many Catholics -- mostly lay people, but some priests, and it wouldn't surprise me to learn some bishops could be included in this group -- got their ecclesiastical news from the secular media.

"Time Magazine says that Vatican Two ordered us to..."

"The Star Ledger says Pope John XXIII wants us to..."

"According to the Gazette-Journal, Catholics no longer have to...."

"From now on, it said on WCBS, Catholics don't believe...."

"A guy on the radio said that from now on Catholics are allowed to..."

I don't think anyone would deny this led to a great deal of confusion, and the dissemination of disinformation, and some bald untruths -- utter, agenda-driven LIES that "everybody knows" to be "true."

And I wouldn't say it was the fault of media or of the Church structure itself, since the Church was used to moving slowly, and there was a protocol to who needed to be informed and in what order that information was to come, that was not always observed or even known by people in the press, (this was taken advantage of by the unscrupulous fringes of the Church, but I digress.)

It isn't only in matters ecclesiastical that such protocols obtain.
I remember standing in my Mother-in-law's kitchen, having just told her that we were going to be married, when I hung up the phone Himself was trying to dial, (no, not really "dial", but push buttons,) with a very firm, No. I don't care who you're trying to call, sibs, or ex-wife, or best friend, but not before I get my Mom on the phone to give HER the news.

So, is the Catholic Church reliving the sixties?

I mean, it seems unlikely, in this day and age of instant communication, but can it be that the Holy Father's letter regarding, no, revealing his indulgences for the Year of Mercy was so off-the-cuff that,

"a question also arises as to why there was not a direct communication to the SSPX. The communique from the SSPX indicates that they only learned about it via the press. Generally, grants of faculty are communicated directly to the cleric to whom the faculty is being granted or to the cleric’s superior where appropriate." [emphasis added.]

I get that canon law and that kind of thing has changed since the Holy Father studied for the priesthood, but, um... isn't that the reason why people in positions of ENORMOUS authority and influence and responsibility have advisors?

Captain Picard Has Left Star Fleet For the Catholic Priesthood

I kid.
It's actually some good news about someone I'd forgotten about, (although Himself's dead-on vocal impression of Fr Corapi sometimes gets trotted out when there is Church news about any priest, or we hear a speaker with a particualrly rotund declamatory presence.)
Not sure how reliable any of the links in the source chain are, but there you have it -

At Renew America Catholic reporter Matt Abbott makes a statement about Father John Corapi, who dropped off the radar screen about four years ago after apparently leaving the priesthood.

A bit of good news to share: A reliable source has informed me that Father John Corapi, a popular priest among orthodox Catholics who departed public life after a tumultuous period a few years ago, remains in the priesthood and is re-establishing his spiritual life.

What does this mean?  Is father permitted to say Mass or hear Confessions?  Is he living in a monastery?  At some point will we hear something vindicating Fr. Corapi?  Will he return to public life one day?  I would have to guess that if he could he would.

There's no indication he'll be returning to public life anytime soon, if ever. However, it's nice to know that Father Corapi can at least be a quiet prayer warrior during this extremely difficult time in the Church and world.
I won't go into the particulars about what transpired in the past – it's water under the bridge – and I'm sure there's information on the Internet (some of it more reliable than other information, obviously) for those who may not be familiar with the situation. Plus, those who really didn't pay attention to him in the first place likely don't care one way or the other about his current status.

Father Corapi was very popular.  Many thousands were catechized and strengthened through his ministry.  He was not politically correct.  He was a conservative Catholic and a military man.  He was not reluctant to call out his superiors if he thought necessary.

The bottom line is that we all are wounded and spiritually/morally fall often (I know I do!). We just have to try our best to keep moving forward in faith in this "valley of tears." A very difficult task, I must say. That doesn't mean condoning moral corruption or remaining silent about it, but we all need God's mercy.

I've never seen anything convincing about the accusations against Fr. Corapi but it isn't surprising that his own leadership moved against him.  That kind of thing happens to faithful and effective Catholics at times.  Slander, false accusations, bogus proceedings and judgments.  It's entirely possible.  I did however, see an entire Catholic media fall on him based on the internal conclusions.  I'm not satisfied that a bishop, a tribunal, and some hearsay are the last word on him.  I think few people know what actually happened.
It's true he acted quite odd and he's not saying anything.  What would you do if your enemies tried to crush everything you'd built and forced you to end your life confined in some facility run by heretics, homosexuals, and cutthroats?  He might have been looking at that possibility.  I'm not concluding he's a victim.  I'm just saying that it wouldn't be so unusual if he were....
In order for Father Corapi to be a fraud he would have to have been a fraud all along.  I can see a man sinking, but he was once faithful priest and a clear thinker.  Sin can darken a mind, but it doesn't easily conquer someone with faith and with a conscience formed like that.

If the Liturgy Does Not Compel You To Be a Better Person..

...then you fail in the service you are commanded to render to your fellows, (man, woman,; black, white, pink, tan; born, unborn, living, dead.)
If serving your fellows, does not compel you to a more profound and solemn worship of the Triune God, than you are failing in the service you are commanded to offer God.
The two greatest commandments in a nutshell.
More than worth your time.
Father Nix, (new to me.)

"Planned Murderhood and Liturgical Abuse"

(You thopught they were unrelated?)

When I was sidewalk counseling at an abortion clinic last Friday, it hit me that it’s good that there’s actually a few priests and bishops speaking out against Planned Parenthood, but there’s still something worse than abortion.
“For no crime is there heavier punishment to be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use [of the Holy Eucharist.]”—Council of Trent, De Euch v.i., 16th century.
This could either refer to sacrilegious Masses or sacrilegious reception of Holy Communion.
Of course, the interior state of a person who is receiving Holy Communion can never be judged by another, especially based on exterior indications.  However, a priest or a bishop who publicly tramples the rubrics of his rite commits a public act of sacrilege, calling down upon him “the heaviest punishment to be feared from God.”
Consider four frequently-broken rubrics found in a post-Vatican II document called Redemptionis Sacramentum:
1) “When Holy Mass is celebrated for a large crowd – for example, in large cities – care should be taken lest out of ignorance non-Catholics or even non-Christians come forward for Holy Communion, without taking into account the Church’s Magisterium in matters pertaining to doctrine and discipline. It is the duty of Pastors at an opportune moment to inform those present of the authenticity and the discipline that are strictly to be observed.”—Redemptionis Sacramentum 84
2) “The chalice should not be ministered to lay members of Christ’s faithful where there is such a large number of communicants that it is difficult to gauge the amount of wine for the Eucharist and there is a danger that more than a reasonable quantity of the Blood of Christ remain to be consumed at the end of the celebration.”—Redemptionis Sacramentum 102
3) “Only out of true necessity is there to be recourse to the assistance of extraordinary ministers in the celebration of the Liturgy.”—Redemptionis Sacramentum 151
4) “If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful.”—Redemptionis Sacramentum92....
We should return to my original topic:  What does obedience to Redemptionis Sacramentum have to do with ending abortion? Read Exodus 25 and Exodus 26.   The chapters contain God’s instructions to Moses regarding Divine Worship.  The Ark and the Tabernacle had to be fabricated exactly as God said—down to the centimeter.  In Exodus 25-26, following the “legalistic rules” of worship does indeed come before social justice.   Hence, in the New Covenant, for “no crime is there heavier punishment to be feared from God than for the unholy or irreligious use [of the Eucharist.]”—Trent.   Redemptionis Sacramentum is a lot easier to follow than the Trent, and yet it’s still being ignored by “conservative” pastors.  If we eschew the minimum of God’s request on worship, how can we ask Him to end abortion?
In fact, any priest or bishop who preaches the hard truths of marriage while not fulfilling the minimum found above in Redemptionis Sacramentum may be the very person Jesus spoke of when He said: “You load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers.”—Luke 11:46.  So-called “conservative” pastors are often the worst culprits in persecuting the few priests and laity who wish to hold to all of Redemptionis Sacramentum.   At least, I have to honor the “progressives” for their consistency:  They don’t hypocritically pretend to fight the Unborn Holocaust or this Liturgical Holocaust.  Some even have genuine zeal for their own pet-projects.
I don’t think we priests can sincerely ask God to end the Unborn Holocaust until we have collectively become obedient to Him in ending this Liturgical Holocaust.  It would cost us little more than short-lived popularity.  Until then, it may be costing unborn babies their lives.

"But the Birds... SIng"

Mons. [I don't care what Facebook says,] Charles Pope reflects most wonderfully on the voices of creation, and Joseph Ratzinger's proposition regarding them and the right order of our worship of the All in All.

As an unacceptably loud person, I know I have much to learn and much to accomplish in this regard.

It's a noisy world in which we live, and I find I seldom help to alleviate it.

Consider, then, this remarkable analysis by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, written back before the Internet and social media had turned up the volume even more. He paraphrases an insight by Gandhi, applies it to his analysis of our times, and then proposes a healing remedy to restore balance:

I would like to note a beautiful saying of Mahatma Gandhi … Gandhi refers to the three habitats of the cosmos and how each of these provides its own mode of being. The fish live in the sea, and they are silent. The animals of the earth scream and shout; but the birds, whose habitat is the heavens, sing. Silence is proper to the sea, shouting to the earth and singing to the heavens. Man has a share in all three of them. He carries the depths of the sea, the burden of the earth, and the heights of the heavens in himself. And for this reason, all three properties also belong to him: silence, shouting, and singing.
Today—I would like to add—we see only the shouting is left for the man without transcendence, since he only wants to be of the earth. …
The right liturgy, the liturgy of the Communion of the Saints, restores totality to him. It teaches him silence and singing again by opening him to the depths of the sea and teaching him to fly, the angels’ mode of being. It brings the song buried in him to sound once more by lifting up his heart. …
Right liturgy … liberates us from ordinary, everyday activity and returns to us once more the depths and the heights, silence and song … Right liturgy … sings with the angels … is silent with the expectant depths of the universe, and that is how it redeems the earth (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Collected Works, Vol 11, Theology of the Liturgy, Ignatius Press, p. 460).

This is a remarkable analysis and application of liturgy and cosmology to the issues and imbalances of our day! It is in the vein of “Save the Liturgy, save the world.” For indeed, only in the worship of God do we find our true selves. Only in the liturgy is our true personality formed. The human person in his glory unites the material and spiritual orders. We are capable of pregnant, expectant silence; of the joyful shout of praise and the Gospel going forth; and of the song of Heaven.

Some TV, For Instance, Is "Eroding My Inner Sea Wall"

Brilliant phrase from Quentin Letts:" 

There is a danger, when reporting trash, of elevating that trash, of normalising it and eroding our inner sea walls of revulsion."

And I don't even have the excuse that I must watch ion order to on the coarseness that passes for family entertainment.

Reading Fr Hunwicke

I am always sorry when I realize I have forgot to check in on Liturgical Notes, that is, Father Hunwicke's Mutual Enrichment, in some time, but then delighted because there is so much to read.

And some of it is even within my understanding!!!!!

Anyway, some thoughts of his connecting John the Baptizer, (who came up with that silly sounding translation, which we heard for a while?) and Synods  and bishops and what a jolly thing it is letting bygones be bygones:

Off with his head?

As History and S John Paul II both teach, the Rosary has been/is a flexible devotion. I sometimes recall my great Patron by saying these decades: The Annunciation to Zachary; the Visitation; the Nativity of S John Baptist; the Baptism of Christ; and the Decollation of S John Baptist.

In this delightfully hypersynodical age, what a very topical festival today's commemoration is. How sad it never occurred to S John Baptist to make clear to Herod and Herodias that all would be tickety boo about their interesting and fulfilling 'union' if only they performed an episcopally-authorised 'Penitential Path'.

Anyway, the Good News is that nobody has decapitated Cardinal Marx.

"Tragedy," "Unjust," "A Defeat," "Agonizing Decision"

Yes, yes, all of those, and women do experience and remember their abortions as an "existential and moral ordeal."
But as I expected, or at least feared, Pope Francis has not couched his beautiful gesture in language of a precision to forestall the distortion we know the enemies Enemy of life will attempt to disseminate.

Be sober and watch: because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goeth about seeking whom he may devour.

One of the serious problems of our time is clearly the changed relationship with respect to life. A widespread and insensitive mentality has led to the loss of the proper personal and social sensitivity to welcome new life.

The tragedy of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not realising the extreme harm that such an act entails.

Many others, on the other hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe they they have no other option. I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision.

What has happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable one not to lose hope. The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father.

For this reason too, I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to concede to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek forgiveness for it.

May priests fulfil this great task by expressing words of genuine welcome combined with a reflection that explains the gravity of the sin committed, besides indicating a path of authentic conversion by which to obtain the true and generous forgiveness of the Father who renews all with his presence.

"Changed relationship with respect to life"?
Really?
And other priests provide "a reflection that explains the gravity of the sin committed," so we need never go into that?
I understand that in the extension of this [eternal] lifeline, it may not be the acceptable time to do so, but does he ever really go into it?
I wonder if this merciful gesture also offers accessories, purchasers and abortionists themselves a new path to absolution and the lifting of latae sententiae excommunications which were incurred through their "insensitive mentality"?

Well, God's ways are not my ways, and I would make a lousy pope, so what do I know?

Our Evolving Definition of Marriage

I. Can't. Even.
(Couldn't open the NYTimes article which this photo accompanied, but i believe it's about courthouse, or bureau, or civil marriages?)

If Only the Establishment Clause's Power Could Be Used For Good and Not Evil?

Well lookie, lookie. They can!
(Seriously, I have always thought that - even when I was a kid and didn't, AFAIK, have a single Satanist, Muslim, Wiccan, Hindu or Buddhist among my acquaintance, I wondered if the people who were still fighting the lost cause of "prayer in school" had considered how they would react if their children happened to be in the class of a devout person not of the Judeo-Christian persuasion who led the children in a prayer of which the parents might not approve.)
(I didn't put it like that, don't think I knew the phrase "Judeo-Christian heritage," my thought were actually more along the lines of, wow, what if Mrs. Abercrombie was a pagan and we prayed to Minerva? That would be cool!)
In a society that sometimes seems to be doing its damnedest, (word chosen with care,) to silence certain religious voices in public debate, it is nothing short of bizarre that anyone would seek to deny the expression and action -- perhaps that should read "expression IN action"? -- of a non-religious entity's voice.

Have we not all the right to act in accordance with our morals and ethics, whatever their source, to try to create a society that is moral and ethical, as we define those things?
Not necessarily to prevail, but certainly to call upon them in making our decisions as to what promotes the common good?

A federal judge on Monday sided with an anti-abortion group in its challenge of a key birth control provision of the Obama administration's health care overhaul.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Richard Leon adds to the legal debate surrounding the law's requirement that contraceptives for women be included among a range of cost-free, preventive benefits offered to employees.
The 29-page opinion held that March for Life could be exempt from the requirement, known as the contraceptive mandate, even though it is a non-religious organization that opposes abortion on ethical grounds rather than religious ones.
March for Life, which holds annual anti-abortion marches in Washington, was founded in 1973 following the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade opinion that established the legal right to abortion. The organization contends that life begins at conception and opposes coverage in its health insurance plans for methods of contraception that it likens to abortion.

So legally you can be "not religious, but spiritual", (even if the hearer of such a statement is "not honest, but interested.")
Speaking of being interesting - I wonder how many of the individuals who make up that "non-religious entity" are very religious indeed. I'll bet a high percentage.
(Me, I often if not usually interpret"spiritual but not religious" to mean "I know what I really ought to do, but I prefer to do what I really want to do, and besides, I like to sleep in." Especially since most of the people from whom I happen to have heard it over the years are in professions in which any idiot knew you couldn't really do much of anything if you didn't, whaddya call it? .... oh, yeah,  practice.)

Year of Mercy Shocker

I'm glad I changed my home page to the Catholic World Report, it's far more interesting, and edifying to sign on to than click bait about the latest Jendashian hijinx, or the Secret Insurers/Doctors/Bankers/Car salesmen Don't Want You To Know!

This, while it headlines the more widespread faculty to absolve of the sin of a procured abortion, (not sure why, but my vague impression is that in at least one diocese in which i lived the bishop had already extended it to all his priests. Don't know how widespread this is.)

And I'll be honest, the way the article is written,  I'm thinking yet again that His Holiness could have... parsed? his words a bit better. The full text, which I will look for now, may clear that up for me.

But this, to me, is even more wonderful because it speaks of a reconciliation not just between sinner and the Body of Christ, but reconciliation, a binding up of a deeper wound on the Body of Christ, a rift in its very structure. And frankly, dealing as it does with a wing of the Church with which Francis is too often complained not to be in sympathy, it is beyond amazing.

In another significant move, Francis has also allowed priests from the Society of St Pius X to “validly and licitly” hear confessions during the Holy Year.
“This Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one,” the Pope said in his letter, explaining several bishops have informed him of the society’s “good faith and sacramental practice,” albeit combined with an “uneasy situation from the pastoral standpoint.”...
In his letter, Francis expressed his confidence that solutions to recovering full communion with the priests and superiors of the Society could be found in the near future.
In the meantime, “motivated by the need to respond to the good of these faithful, through my own disposition,” he declared that those who approach priests of the Society for confession during the jubilee “shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins.”

 Let us all find our "holy doors" through which to walk