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Email to the Editor

Proposing a new translation for an ancient ritual
To: Editor et al.
From: Siege of Constantinople

I just recently came across this old, pre-ICEL ritual. It does one’s heart good to recite it, and gives one a warm lasting glow inside. Teach it to your children.

This is from the Roman Pontifical of Pope Benedict XI (Tertia Pars, Mecklenburg 1862, pp.114f). The rubrics are in square brackets.

The Degradation of a Bishop

[If the degradandus be an archbishop, the degrading prelate removes his pallium, saying:]

We deprive thee of the rights and privileges of the episcopal dignity, symbolized in this pallium, since thou hast abused them.

[Then, even if the degradandus be a mere bishop, the degrading prelate removes his miter, saying:]

We strip thy head of this miter, emblem of the episcopal dignity, since thou hast befouled it by thy ill government.

[Then one of the ministers brings the Book of the Gospel to the degradandus, which the degrading prelate takes from his hands, saying:]

Give us back the Gospel! Since thou hast spurned the grace of God and made thyself unworthy of the office of preaching, we rightly deprive you of this office.

[Then the degrading prelate removes the ring from the finger of the degradandus, saying:]

Rightly do we pull off thy ring, the sign of fidelity, since thou hast made bold to rape God’s own bride, the Church.

[At this time one of the ministers brings the degradandus a crosier, which the degrading prelate takes from his hands, saying;]

Thy shepherd’s staff we take from thee, that thou shalt be powerless henceforward to exercise that office of correction, which thou hast brought to disarray.

[Then the ministers take off the gloves of the degradandus, and the degrading prelate lightly scrapes his thumbs and hands with a knife blade or a shard of glass, saying:]

We hereby deprive thee, to the extent of our powers, of the grace of blessing and of dispensing the mysteries, that thou shouldst forfeit the office of sanctifying and of blessing, and their effects.

[With the same knife blade or shard the degrading prelate lightly scrapes the head of the degradandus, saying:]

We utterly erase and eradicate the consecration, blessing and anointing bestowed upon thee, and we put thee out of the episcopal order, whence thou returnest unclothed.

[The ministers remove the shoes from the degradandus.]

Here, for reference, is the original Latin text:

Degradatio ab ordine pontificali

[Si degradandus sit Archepiscopus, Pontifex degradator aufert ab eo pallium, sic dicendo:]

Praerogativa pontificalis dignitatis, quae in pallio designatur, te exuimus, quia male usus es ea.

[Deinde, vel si degradandus sit Episcopus tantum, Pontifex degradator amovet ei mitra, dicendo:]

Mitra, pontificalis dignitatis videlicet ornatu, quia eam male praesidendo foedasti, tum caput denudamus.

[Deinde unus ex ministris tradit degradando librum Evangeliorum, quem Pontifex degradator aufert de manibus degradandi, dicens:]

Redde Evangelium; quia praedicandi officio, quo spreta Dei gratia te indignum fecisti, te juste privamus.

[Deinde Pontifex degradator amovet annulum de digito degradandi, dicens:]

Annulum, fidei scilicet signaculum, tibi digne subtrahimus, quia ipsam sponsam Dei Ecclesiam temere violasti.

[Tum unus ex ministris tradit degradandus in manus baculum Pastoralem, quem mox Pontifex degradator tollir de manibus degradandi, dicens:]

Auferimus a te baculum Pastoralem, ut inde correctionis officium, quod turbasti, non valeas exercere.

[Deinde extractis sibi per ministros chirothecis, Pontifex degradator abradit degradando pollices et manus leviter cum cultello ut vitro, dicens:]

Sic spiritualis benedictionis, et delibutionis mysticae gratia, quantum in nobis est, te privamus, ut sanctificandi et benedicendi perdas officium, et effectum.

[Post haec Pontifex cum eodem cultello aut vitro abradit leviter caput degradandi, dicens:]

Consecrationem, et benedictionem, atque unctionem tibi traditam radendo delemus, et te ab ordine pontificali, quo inhabilis es redditus, abdicamus.

[Tum degradando per ministros extrahuntur sandalia.]

To: Siege of Contantinople et al.
From: PioNono

I think I have found a draft of the same ritual, as translated and revised by ICEL:

The Rite of Affirmation of a Pastoral Minister

In the name of the Creator, Sanctifier and Redeemer. Have a nice day.

[If the pastoral minister to be affirmed is an archbishop, a collaborator in ministry embraces his pallium, saying:]

The Christian community with great pain invites you to consider the diversity of ministries, symbolized in this pallium, since we feel you may have been exclusive of the needs of women and men in your ministry. But we do not want to be judgmental.

[Then, if the pastoral minister is a bishop, the collaborator in ministry reaches out and touches his miter, saying:]

We feel that, in wearing this miter, you have made it an emblem of male domination and a cause of divisiveness. We challenge you to prayerfully consider the real life issues so carefully considered in the mission statements of the diocesan offices of “Social Justice” and “Gay and Lesbian Outreach.”

[Then one of the collaborators in ministry brings the Book of the Gospel to the pastoral minister to be affirmed, which the collaborator takes from his or her hands, saying:]

We feel uncomfortable with your devotionalism! According to recent NCCB documents, preaching is a very important part of ministry. Despite the Conference’s concrete norms, we feel you have failed to observe the consultative process with the laity in homily preparation.

[Then one of the collaborators in ministry removes the ring from the finger of the pastoral minister to be affirmed, saying:]

In the name of the Christian community, we embrace your ring, the sign of fidelity to one’s significant other. As we enter the new millennium, we feel its value in cash could be better used for the poor, such as the women religious who have taken a vow of poverty and live in condominiums near the USCC.

[At this time one of the lay ministers brings the pastoral minister a crosier, which the collaborator in ministry takes from his hands, saying:]

This shepherd’s staff is a sign of diversity. We feel that you have been unable to respect the American bishops’ call for pastoral pluralism, which represents where we are as church today.

[Then one of the lay ministers takes off the gloves of the pastoral minister, and the main collaborator in ministry gazes into the eyes of the pastoral minister, saying:]

It has always been an unwritten but assumed pastoral policy that a full-time minister is to celebrate community. We gently remind you to be inclusive and sensitive to the needs of the entire Christian community, regardless of race, color, creed or sexual preference.

[With the same friendly and caring demeanor, the lay minister hugs the head of the pastoral minister, saying:]

We affirm you as a person but challenge you to new growth as we hereby decree that you learn to deal with a diversity of pastoral approaches.

Addendum

To: PioNono
From: Ireneus

You must have overlooked the final page of the ICEL draft:

[In those cases where the combined legal damages likely to be incurred by the pastoral minister exceed the annual diocesan budget, the foregoing ceremony may be omitted. Instead, the collaborator in ministry issues this pronouncement:]

We thank our brother N. for his years of faithful and generous service to our faith community. We know that he is dealing with some difficult personal issues, and our thoughts go out to him. We regret that, because of the possibility of painful misunderstandings, he will not be available to speak with reporters or process servers today; he is staying at an undisclosed location, planning out the future of his pastoral ministry.

We know that the members of his vibrant faith community will persevere in their ministry, following the best traditions of stewardship and the faith witness of our brother N.

[The lay ministers pass through the congregation, handing out smiley-face buttons.]

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