Imagine that you are now the pope. What are the top three things that you would change about the Church?

[benedictgal]

Sell Off Everything, The Vatican, Statues , Paintings ,properties,and So On, And Give To The Poor, Then Pick Up My Cross And Follow Jesus. As Originally Planned.

Actually, if one were to have read Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, one would find that Yahweh had mandated that the implements, instruments and the Ark, be made of the finest material since it would be used for His cultic worship.

These things of beauty are designed and used primarily for the worship of God. That is why they are of noble and sacred quality. Furthemore, remember that it was Judas who was pretty much mkaing the same argument as meandean because Mary had spent lots of money on the costly oil to annoint him. Jesus told Judas, “The poor you will always have with you, but, not me.”

Now, regarding the top three this is what I would do:

1. Clean up what constitutes Sacred Music and make it applicable for all Masses, as well as ensure that all hymns fit a standard as dictated by the writings of Pope St. Pius X and the writings of Pope Benedict XVI.
2. Greatly reduce the number of EMHC, especially for smaller and daily Masses.
3. Bring the movements in line with authentic Church teaching and not allow for any deviation from the norms prescribed for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
4. Require that all seminaries teach Latin to future priests, as well as how to properly celebrate the Mass. Also, establish the posture of facing liturgical East as the norm for the Liturgy of the Eucharist.
5. Have greater oversight over the episcopal conferences and require that ordinaries and metropolitans have some sort of continuing liturgical and doctrinal training.
6. Make an ex-cathedra ruling banning women from being ordained prests and make it perpetual.

 

[Lepanto]

Sell Off Everything, The Vatican, Statues , Paintings ,properties,and So On, And Give To The Poor, Then Pick Up My Cross And Follow Jesus. As Originally Planned.

Oh, right. So the artistic and historical patrimony which belongs to all of mankind will be bought and sold to the highest bidders and then scattered and hidden away in private collections never to be seen by the public again. Sorry, but the thought of seeing Michaelangelo’s “Pieta” on Ebay just does not appeal to me.

Before you dismantle and sell the Vatican, will you sell off your own home first?

 

[cheese_sdc]

insert evil laugh here

1. Ordain the first woman priest.
2. Repeal Humanea Vitea.
3. Issue an encyclical which entitled “Judge Not, lest you be judged”, in which priests would be instructed to administer the sacraments to any Catholic who presents themselves for it, even communion.
4. Administer Baptism, Eucharist, and confirmation all at once, to infants.
5. Issue another encyclical entitled “Make a Joyful Noise” in which explicit instructions would be give that all musical instruments - stringed, percussive, brass, woodwind, etc. would be acceptable for Mass.
6. Allow priests to marry, and allow the ordination of married men and women.

 

[SenorSalsa]

1. I would standardize the Mass, such that it indicated parts that must be in Latin, and parts that must be in vernacular. Latin parts would include pryaers said at every Mass(Our Father, Creed, etc) As well as at least some parts of the Eucharistic Prayers. Vernacular parts would mostly be readings, homily, and parts that change at every Mass(prayer at the beginning, petitions, etc)
2. Make a list of what instruments can and cannot be used (can: organ, piano, acustic guitar, violins, trumpets, etc) (cannot: drums! electric anything, etc) and include an encyclical reiterating the focus of the music should be on the words, not the music, relagating the instruments to the background, and as such, promoting Chant and whatnot
3. Change/undue/never do the first two if the Holy Spirit tells me to

 

[JuanCarlos]

Take the name Pius XIII. The rest would flow naturally

 

[SenorSalsa]

Take the name Pius XIII. The rest would flow naturally

Ive always figured if i enter a Religious Community or become Pope, im keeping my baptismal name. After all there are three thousand St. Pauls, but where is St. Tyler?

 

[Tim_c]

I would make a very unworthy pope but for the sake of this thread:

1. Reform the reform. Much like our current Holy Father, I would not take us backwards but properly implement the reforms called for by the Second Vatican Council.
2. Reform Catholic Education. I would start by issuing a new catechism written like the Baltimore Catechism, requiring Catholic school children to study and memorize it. The new catechism would not be intended to replace the current catechism (like the Compendium).
3. Write many letters and encyclicals reaffirming Catholic Doctrine and Dogma.

Pray for our Holy Father

 

[Layman]

On priests getting married:

Many married men wish they weren’t; that’s why the pubs are full.

I’ve read that even in Orthodoxy, while a priest can marry, only a celibate can be a Bishop.

Celibacy is a sacrifice. If you want to impress God, I reckon it’s a good 'un.

===

My major changes:

1. Stop ecumenism. They’re not going to convert, and we’ve already changed too much.
2. Promote the Latin Mass as much as possible, but without seeking direct conflict with NO supporters. Whatever is of God will thrive, whatever is not will die out in time.
3. Be more forthright about defending our faith. Ignore or take on critics, especially non-Catholic ones. The Church has the authority and the history; her critics have only their opinions.

That’ll do.

 

[Dauphin]

Not really my top three, but good ideas:

1. Order Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors nailed to the door of every Church in the world.
2. Reinstate the Oath against Modernism
3. Depose Cardinal edited and send him to a monastery to do penance for the remainder of his life.

 

[sancte_joseph]

Examine all indults concerning the Holy sacrafice of the Mass

Latin Consecration
Priest must learn how to say Mass in Latin…they can read vernecle(Sp?)
Ad Orientam

 

[jeff417]

1. Require a more accurate translation of the mass in every language or the use of the Latin Mass.
2. Eliminate creativity in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Follow the Rubrics
3. Write an Encyclical which authoritatively links the reforms of Vatican II with previous teachings of the Church regarding issues such as Ecumenism and Liturgy

 

[richardwy]

As pope, I think that the best thing I could work on changing for the good of the Church would be:

1. Me
2. Myself
3. I

When I saw the thread’s title, I thought of what you posted. Not as perfectly put though.

Well done!

 

[nsper7]

1. Declare the Anglican Communion a valid and concurrent (alongside Roman Catholicism as it were) expression of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and officially recognize Anglican Holy Orders, Sacraments and Apostolic Succession as valid and concurrent
2. Adopt the Anglican Use Rite as a valid a Rite within the Roman Catholic Church and replace the Novus Ordo (English) Rite with it.
3. Implement strongly Traditional liturgical reforms (i.e. no clapping at the end of Mass, no ‘handing off’ the Cup to individuals [people can guide Chalice to their lips and touch the Chalice, but they do not need to be holding it…it works in the Anglican liturgy quite well], no Chalice Bearers and such in ‘street clothes’, promote the TLM).

 

[jmcrae]

1. Declare the Anglican Communion a valid and concurrent (alongside Roman Catholicism as it were) expression of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church and officially recognize Anglican Holy Orders, Sacraments and Apostolic Succession as valid and concurrent

Not physically possible, sorry!

1. Adopt the Anglican Use Rite as a valid a Rite within the Roman Catholic Church and eliminate the Novus Ordo (English) Rite (one can either go Tridentine or Anglican Use…aesthetically, I find the Anglican BCP Rite more pleasing and ‘traditional’ than the NO Rite)

This would be good!

1. Implement strongly Traditional liturgical reforms (i.e. no clapping at the end of Mass, no ‘handing off’ the Cup to individuals [people can guide Chalice to their lips and touch the Chalice, but they do not need to be holding it…it works in the Anglican liturgy quite well], no Chalice Bearers and such in ‘street clothes’).

I’m not sure how you would prevent spilling, if the minister is pouring it into your mouth instead of letting you drink from it.

 

[nsper7]

Not physically possible, sorry!

If Pope Anglicus I says it is, who are you to argue?

I’m not sure how you would prevent spilling, if the minister is pouring it into your mouth instead of letting you drink from it.

You let the person touch and guide the Chalice to their lips and angle it when they drink, but they do actually hold it on their own.

 

[jmcrae]

If Pope Anglicus I says it is, who are you to argue?

Maybe I am St. Judith of the Sacred Heart, following in the footsteps of St. Catherine of Sienna.

You let the person touch and guide the Chalice to their lips and angle it when they drink, but they do actually hold it on their own.

I still think there would be a high risk of spilling.

 

[nice2000]

We need EMHC’s. We have 10 Masses on Sundays to accommodate all the parishioners that attend Mass. All 10 have much more than 500 people attending.
Our parish has 14,000 parishioners and we get about 80% Sunday attendance.

Wow !
That’s a lot of people.
ditto to the poster who responded awesome !
Are you in another Country?

My three things are.

1. Consecrate “Russia” to the Virgin Mary’s Immaculate heart.

Please don’t tell me it’s been consecrated because it has not.
The Pope consecrated the “world” instead of the country “Russia”
Jesus and Our Lady was very specific in their request. When God asks us to do something. We must do it exactly like he requested.

1. Reveal to the world the entirety of the Third Secret. Our Lady of Fatima (1917).

Please don’t tell me that the full secret has been revealed to the world because it has not. We were given bits and pieces.

1. Like other posters before me stated, return to receiving the Body of Christ via the tongue and kneeling.

 

[nsper7]

Maybe I am St. Judith of the Sacred Heart, following in the footsteps of St. Catherine of Sienna.

I still think there would be a high risk of spilling.

Not if you train the Chalice Bearers properly. Also, it should be noted at most Anglican services, the Chalice Bearers are either:

A) Standing a step or so higher than the recipient, thus it is easier for the recipient to bring the Cup to their lips and angle it to take their sip, but it is at the normal chest/stomach level of the Chalice Bearer so it is more stable and less awkward

OR

B) Recipient are kneeling at the rail at the altar and the Chalice Bearers are going from person to person, with again the Chalice is at the level of the recipient’s lips, but at the Bearers chest/stomach level and thus easier to control and more stable

 

[benedictgal]

You let the person touch and guide the Chalice to their lips and angle it when they drink, but they do actually hold it on their own.

Actually, that is probably the best way to ensure that there will be spillage. That is why it is best to hand the chalice to the communicant, or, for better safety, go to the priest to receive through intinction.

Something else to bear in mind is that the Eucharist can only be confected by a validly ordained priest or bishop. With all due respect, the Church does not recognize the validity of the orders of the Anglicans because they broke the line of Apostolic Succession. Therefore, Anglicans do not have a valid Eucharist.

Nsper, every Catholic bishop traces the line of his ministerial ancestry back to the Apostles. That is why the Church, especially during this Benedictine period, refers to the Protestants as ecclesial communities; however, She refers to the Orthodox as Sister Churches because they do have valid orders due to the continuity of the line of apostolic succession, stemming from St. Andrew.

The Holy Father is doing just fine with the way the Benedict express is moving. We are already seeing a return to a greater degree of reverence in the reception of Holy Communion. The recent document concerning the usage (or, lack of) of the name Yahweh and the release of the first part of the new translation of the Roman Missal are excellent signs.

I do not, however, share in the notion that Anglicans would be restored to full communion, as the Church does not recognize the validity of their orders since they broke the line of Apostolic succession, as I indicated earlier. There was a lot of blood shed during the regimes of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Many holy priests and faithful gave up their lives to remain faithful to the Church.

 

[JaMc]

(1) Convene a “Third Vatican Council” to conduct a full review of Vatican II 40+ years later, how it has been interpreted, what has gone according to plan and what has gone awry.

(2) Latae sentiae excommunication for any priest, deacon, or other person acting under Church authority who sexually abuses a child.

(3) Re-centralize authority in the Vatican, and reduce the power of the individual conferences of bishops.