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Over the last several days there has been a certain level of media coverage alleging that the Pope is ordering a specific change in translation of the Our Father.

I find it interesting that even though I realize just how bad media coverage regarding the Pope from secular and even Catholic sources is how easy it is to respond to a headline. My first thought was “Wait didn’t he recently give local bishops more responsibility regarding translations (“Magnum Principium”
) and here he is suggesting his own”. Like most hot takes my first thought was wrong.

As Jimmy Akin explains today No, Pope Francis Is Not Changing the Lord’s Prayer. Beyond showing how this false story got advanced, I also enjoyed his approach in looking at the translation and what it would mean if it was changed. As usual his balanced approach brings out some interesting points.

Msgr. Charles Pope recently wrote Why I Oppose Changing the English Translation of the Our Father where he acknowledges that reports regarding this are incorrect. I basically agree with the subtitle of his article “we should teach, explain and root ourselves more deeply in it.” Still I think Jimmy Akin answers some of his points better.

There are no perfect translations and there will always be some ambiguity and confusion. There are well known translations that often get asked about on Catholic radio such as the line “he descended into hell.” in the Nicene Creed. It would probably be better to translate this using the Hebrew word sheol for the place of the dead. But that wouldn’t end the confusion regarding this. It is not really negative that we have to ask questions about what we don’t understand or that we have to study more to understand something.

So at Mass on Saturday morning I learned that my parish’s pastor had been named a bishop. I know little about him other that that I found his homilies quite worthwhile and that he has actively worked to include TLM going Catholics in the life of the parish. I attend the TLM at the St. Joseph historic church adjacent to the main church.

WASHINGTON (CNS) – Pope Francis has appointed Father Thanh Thai Nguyen, a priest of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, to be an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Orange, California.

Born in Vietnam, Bishop-designate Nguyen, 64, fled the country in 1979 by boat with his family and spent 10 months in a refugee camp in the Philippines before arriving in Hartford, Connecticut, in 1980. After brief studies at Hartford State Technical College, he became a math and science teacher in Hartford public schools.

In 1984, he joined the Missionaries of Our Lady of La Salette, studying at Merrimack College and the Weston School of Theology, both in Massachusetts. He was ordained to the priesthood May 11, 1991.

For the next eight years, he worked in parishes in Georgia and Florida. In 1999, he was incardinated into the Diocese of St. Augustine. He has been pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Jacksonville, Florida, since 2014.

In 1979, Father Thanh and his family escaped Vietnam during the war. They fled by boat, and after 18 days at sea, they landed on the shores of the Philippines. He lived in a refugee camp for 10 months before moving to the United States in 1980.

“Father Thanh knows the plight of refugees, and he understands their journey seeking a safe home and the ability to support their families,” Bishop Estevez said in a statement. “He has a genuine gift when it comes to ministering to people of diverse cultures.”

“Now that reality is beginning to set in, I need to start the process of letting go and letting God,” said Bishop-designate Nguyen in a statement about his appointment. “Yes, letting go of familiar places, familiar faces, Bishop Estevez, the presbyterate of the diocese, parishioners, and staff of St. Joseph and Christ the King parishes who have played an important role in my priestly ministry for more than 20 years.

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Father Thanh Thai Nguyen, a priest of the Diocese of St. Augustine, Florida, is seen in this undated photo. Pope Francis appointed him Oct. 6 to be an auxiliary bishop in the Diocese of Orange, California. (CNS photo/courtesy Diocese of St. Augustine) See POPE-AUXILIARY-ORANGE Oct. 6, 2017.

The one thing worse than political coverage is Church coverage. Almost always the reason for this is that they see everything through the political lens.

Exhibit 2,028,029,329,029,230,902,292,039,023:

This time from Reuters.

Ex Knights of Malta head defies pope order, plans Rome return

The ousted Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Catholic charity will attend a meeting that could elect his successor, the group said on Wednesday, in a direct defiance of Pope Francis’ order for him to stay away.

A spokesperson for the Knights said Matthew Festing, who resigned on Jan. 24, had informed the group that he would come to the meeting this Saturday at its headquarters in Rome.

It was not clear if he would stand for re-election, as some of his supporters have urged him to.

On April 15, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, the Vatican’s deputy secretary of state, who the pope named “special delegate” to the ancient chivalric group, ordered Festing not to travel to Rome for the election.

“Your presence would re-open wounds, only recently healed, and would prevent the event taking place in an atmosphere of peace and regained harmony,” Becciu said in a letter, a copy of which was obtained by Reuters from a Vatican source.

So is it true that Matthew Festing defied the Vatican or the Pope’s order? Nope.

Vatican Reverses Decision, Allows Festing to Take Part in Order of Malta Election

The Vatican has reconsidered an earlier instruction forbidding the Order of Malta’s former Grand Master Fra’ Matthew Festing from attending the election of his successor this week.

According to sources within the order, Fra’ Festing will be coming to Rome to vote in the Saturday election partly because his absence as a professed knight would have invalidated the ballot.

Now I understand the whole debacle regarding the Order of Malta has run more like a soap opera than normal church governance. The whole thing has seemed rather heavy-handed as seen by an outsider such as myself. Still the Reuter’s story is typically bad as the whole emphasis of the story isn’t even correct. What actually happened was much more interesting and Edward Pentin provides his typical excellent coverage.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Even after being robbed, beaten and carjacked in front of his West Brighton church Thursday morning, the priest would not take another day off.

Parish priest Rev. Marc Roselli, of St. Mary of the Assumption-Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta R.C. Church, returned Friday morning to deliver his weekly mass inside the Roman Catholic church.

Sporting a black-and-blue shiner under his left eye, Roselli made light of the situation when addressing the flock of parishioners in attendance.

“It looks way worse than it feels,” he joked. “I know it looks bad, but the eye was not hit.”

The priest skipped the junior morning mass, as to spare the children of his injury – but made sure to return for the 12 p.m. service.

Hours before, police arrested two men in connection with the armed robbery, charging both suspects with robbery and criminal possession of stolen property.

In custody are Kerry Pack, 39, of North Burgher Avenue, and Antwine Lucas, 44, of Gates Avenue in Brooklyn, according to a spokesman for the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public information.

The suspects approached the priest as he exited his car around 5 a.m. Thursday outside 1265 Castleton Ave., police say. A culprit brandished a black firearm and demanded the victim’s wallet, according to police.

After the priest complied with their demands, a suspect punched the victim in the face, and both culprits fled in the victim’s champagne-colored Ford Fusion, police said.

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