Posted on 05/17/2004 8:11:45 AM PDT by Mike Fieschko
The battle between traditional and "progressive" Catholics is now on view in a local controversy over the use of the Tridentine Mass.
Even readers without a trace of interest in Roman Catholic liturgical and theological debates might want to follow an ongoing controversy in the Diocese of Orange surrounding the future of the Tridentine Mass. The issues at the center of this debate are issues that shed light on the ongoing sex-abuse scandal, the roots of which still confuse some observers today.
To traditional Roman Catholics, there are few things more pious than this mass, which is an old-style Latin Mass known for its deep meaning and great beauty. This is the real deal, complete with vestments, incense and Gregorian Chant. It's more pious than the modern mass and the polar opposite of - this really happened in Orange County - a mass given by a dancing priest wearing a black leotard.
Now that a veteran priest at a traditional Huntington Beach parish has retired, the diocese is stamping out the Tridentine Mass at that location, forcing devotees to drive to the overcrowded Mission San Juan Capistrano, where it is still officially sanctioned.
[snip]
Now the diocese is taking away the Tridentine Mass at St. Mary's. In a letter to a parishioner, the diocese said the parishioners should accept the decision with an obedient heart. But given the Vatican has said dioceses should be generous in allowing such masses, a reasonable question is raised about who is not being obedient.
"Bishop Tod Brown has sent out a survey asking O.C. Catholics for suggestions ... to help him accomplish Thesis No. 4 of his 'Covenant With the Faithful,' the pledge to 'work collaboratively with all members of the diocese,'" said St. Mary's parishioner Teri Carpentier. "If Bishop Brown sincerely cares about his people, why will he not listen to the hundreds of parishioners at St. Mary's by the Sea and hundreds of other faithful Catholics who signed a petition to retain the Tridentine Mass at St. Mary's. ... What is the harm that is done in retaining it?"
Such is the divide within the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, the church leadership lacks the courage and wisdom to bridge it.
(Excerpt) Read more at 2.ocregister.com ...
Very good article! I am glad I registered just for the article.
Excellent article. But it is currently posted on the Lew Rockwell website, and the link there doesn't require any registration:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/ (third article down)
Here is the link they provide:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/ocregister/catholic-divide.html
Thanks Max!
"That's a strange disconnect: apparent laxity toward misbehavior, yet intolerance toward attempts at holiness."
I don't think it's strange. It's exactly what one should expect from Satan's catamites.
All in all, though, a great column. I'm surprised to see it in the lamestream media.
Weak ending, though:
"Unfortunately, the church leadership lacks the courage and wisdom to bridge it."
You don't "bridge the gap" between God and Satan--you reject Satan and all his works. The problem with the leadership is not a lack of courage and wisdom; it is that they do not serve God, and have no intention of serving God.
I'm glad that I called that priest on trying to make my daughter stand.
(Now, if I only had someplace to attend Mass...sheesh, talk about your phyrric victories...)
That's a strange disconnect: apparent laxity toward misbehavior, yet intolerance toward attempts at holiness.
That's the problem of today's Catholic Church in a nutshell. At the extremes, it's represented by the widespread failure to discipline pedophile priests alongside the similarly widespread supression of the old Mass. But it has everyday applications that are just as pervasive: the plainclothes priest who shuns his collar and tells his parishioners not to bother with Confession anymore; the social justice committees who condemn homophobia, and support pro-abortion politicians; parishes with poor Mass attendance and empty confessionals railing against the repression of "non-inclusive language" in the liturgy.
Now the diocese is taking away the Tridentine Mass at St. Mary's. In a letter to a parishioner, the diocese said the parishioners should accept the decision with an obedient heart. But given the Vatican has said dioceses should be generous in allowing such masses, a reasonable question is raised about who is not being obedient.
There is a point at which a bishop is simply no longer in unity with Rome, no matter what he claims. Under the current pope, the bishops have been given almost unlimited leeway to pick and choose which statements by the pope they want to obey. But lack of discipline cannot change the underlying hard facts. When a bishop openly and repeatedly refuses obedience to the pope, even when the pope chooses to ignore it, at some point it is legitimate for his flock to withold obedience from the offending bishop as well.
Technically, a universal indult for the Traditional Latin Mass has already been granted by Pope St. Pius V, when he issued "Quo Primum."
I understand, but that does not appear to be the current interpretation by the Magisterium, so it must be clarified.
Thanks to the internet, the devil is once again being exposed. Let's pray this bishop has a conversion to the Faith.
"a mass given by a dancing priest wearing a black leotard."
What is this about?
When Mel Gibson's "The Passion" was released, traditional Catholics were ecstatic. But the Diocese of Orange spokesman called the movie tedious and offered this snide review in the newspaper: "If you are of the bent that feels that graphic suffering makes you feel the terrible sinner that you are and Jesus is saving you, then this is going to be a very big plus in your favor when you see the movie."
This statement provides the overall picture of where the bishop has taken his diocese. How truly unfortunate! The number of catholics attending the Indult has grown; the bishop's response is "go somewhere else". In a previous post on this story, it mentioned that the bishop would allow the Novus Ordo Mass to be said in Latin. That would confirm the fact that there are diocesan priests trained in Latin. The bishop's message is clearly a snub at the adherents to the Indult.
Whoever wrote that review is not a believer, at least not a believer in Catholicism.
The St. Mary's indult Mass is the victim of its own success.
If the original 400 had dwindled as old-timers died or moved away, the indult would have been continued as a gesture of diversity, an expression of sentimentality toward an invisible and powerless remnant. It's because the exact opposite has happened that Bishop Brown realised he'd miscalculated the power of the Traditional Mass to effect conversions. This is why it must be stamped out.
That bishop sounds like a agent of Satan. His flock should beware.
Obedience is the weapon of the Modernists.
What is this about?
I don't know but it cries out for a picture.
Basically, the forces of liberalism that are crushing traditional Roman Catholic piety are the same forces that unleashed the sex-abuse scandal within the church. As long as the leadership rejects traditional ideals of holiness and piety, nothing will be done to assure that holy men, and not those with lax sexual attitudes, dominate the priesthood.
At Easter I went to a Franciscan church where they had women dressed like Isadora Duncan dancing around the alter with the gospel. I can't believe that that is an approved part of the liturgy.
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