WHERE FAITH IS ALIVE IN EUROPE

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From Timesonline: "Religion may well be in decline among European youth but it is by no means dead. This weekend about 6,000 young Catholics will set off on a 75-mile walk from Paris to Chartres Cathedral — and as they walk they will all be praying and singing in Latin."

"This weekend’s annual three-day pilgrimage through northern France, which is in its 26th year, illustrates the appeal that the Tridentine Mass has for some young Catholics disenchanted with what they say is the lack of mystery, beauty and sacredness in the revised Mass.

Gregory Flash, 28, an investment banker from London, explains why he is taking part in the pilgrimage for the second year running: “The pilgrimage is a time of prayer, penance and fellowship. It’s great to be surrounded by thousands of Catholics around the same age who
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AN ALL ENCOMPASSING RETURN TO TRADITION

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A recent article focusing on the return to tradition in all religions appeared in
U.S. News and World Report. It seems that it is not just Catholicism that is returning to tradition-- every major religion is undergoing "a return to tradition and orthodoxy, to past practices, observances, and customary ways of worshiping".

One could have guessed that this would eventually take place since the last 50 years have seen Christianity stripped of all mystery tradition and even orthodoxy. From Catholicism, to the store front inner city Baptist church, to the mega churches that resemble stadiums, we see a "Starbucks effect" where Christianity has became homogenized. The focus has been on feelings and emotions of congregants rather than the sacrifice of Jesus.

But the generation that ushered in the fad of barren and individualistic Christianity is aging and its rebellion against tradition seems like nothing more than an ugly trend to the younger generations. This elderly generation however will not concede loss quietly...

"Some liberal Catholic clergy are completely skeptical about the scope and meaning of the traditionalist turn. "It's more hype than reality," says the Rev. Thomas Reese, a Jesuit priest and political scientist at Georgetown's Woodstock Theological Center. Reese thinks the church should focus less on the Latin
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ITALIAN BISHOP FORBIDS LATIN MASS DESPITE POPE'S MOTU PROPRIO

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The liberal leadership of the Church has consistently demanded obedience from the orthodox faithful yet they so often fail to obey Church teaching and their own superiors. The lack of humility is very unsettling.

Naples, Sep. 17, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Bishop Raffaele Nogaro of Caserta, Italy forbade the celebrate of the celebration of the traditional Latin Mass on Sunday, September 15, despite the permission granted by Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) for all priests to use the older liturgical form.

The Italian daily Il Messagero reports that Bishop Nogaro ordered Msgr. Giovanni Battista Gionta to cancel plans for a Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal at the Shrine of St. Anne. Msgr. Gionta, who had scheduled the Mass at the request of local Catholics, posted a note at the shrine to announce that he was changing plans. "I obey the bishop," he explained.

Il Messagero said that Bishop Nogaro ordered the cancellation of the Mass "so as not to set a precedent." The bishop said that he was taking action to help his people pray properly, since
"to mumble in Latin serves no purpose."

Elsewhere in Italy the effective date
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