Pray for Bishop Burbidge: He is Obviously Not Going to Question or Challenge the Right of the Pope to Abuse Us!

Virginia diocese announces massive restrictions on traditional
sacraments following Vatican crackdown

From the article:

Thu Dec 23, 2021 - 10:15 am EST

ARLINGTON, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) – A bishop in a U.S. diocese recognized for its ample provision of the traditional liturgy (Latin Mass) has become one of the first prelates to announce a ban on certain sacraments in the Old Rite, following the Vatican’s latest restrictions on the Latin Mass.

Bishop Michael Burbidge, 64, of the Diocese of Arlington sent an email to priests of the diocese December 21, in which he outlined his implementation of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments’ (CDW) December 18 document.

The email read:

In light of the Responsa ad dubia released by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments last Saturday, some priests has asked about the status of their permission to celebrate already scheduled Sacraments in the Extraordinary Form. Please note that if you already received faculties to celebrate a Sacrament in a specific instance prior to last Saturday, you may celebrate as planned. In light of the Responsa, however, no further permissions will be granted for the celebrations of Baptisms, Confirmations, Weddings, etc. 

 The article goes on:

In comments to LifeSiteNews, liturgist and Thomist Dr. Peter Kwasniewski said that Catholics in the diocese had “much to be upset about in the bishop’s unnecessarily rapid ‘implementation’ of the CDW responses.” 

Kwasniewski highlighted the “tremendous amount of commentary that points to canonical flaws, errors, and inconsistencies in the CDW document that make it worthy of critical examination and may result in a judgment that it is not pastorally advisable to implement it in a given diocese – especially one that has so many clergy and faithful who are attached to the usus antiquior, not only the Mass but also the other sacramental rites, which are immemorial and venerable expressions of the faith of the Catholic Church.” [To read the full article click on the headline above.]

Dr. Kwasniewski has a book coming out in February on True Obedience in the Church. I plan to buy a copy for myself and one for the bishop. We are in challenging and difficult times, but bending the knee to the pope rather than to the Holy Spirit is not the right way to go. If eliminating two millennia of Holy Tradition is right, then most of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church were wrong. Everything that is happening illustrates that Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre was a prophet!