If only St. Athanasius had a pollster

CWN News ^ | Diogenes

[narses]

The ubiquitous Father Tom Reese, formerly of America, naturally had some sound-bites prepared about the motu proprio. A few highlights:

If the pope issues a Motu proprio allowing the use of the Tridentine mass without the local bishop’s permission, he is basically saying that he does not trust the pastoral judgment of the bishops.

Hmmm. You said it, Tom. I didn't. But I'm guessing that you think the Pope should trust their pastoral judgment. This is because:

• They have been so successful in maintaining the strength of the faith (as evidenced by high Mass attendance, abundant religious vocations, stable marriages, implementation of Catholic social teaching in local public life).
• They have made every effort to accommodate those traditionalists who do accept the authority of Vatican II, and have demonstrated that those still requesting the Latin Mass are all dissidents.
• They have preserved the faith from any taint of scandal in recent years.
• All of the above.

Our hero sums up the situation:

Other than embarrassing the bishops and pastors who have opposed wider use of the Tridentine mass, the Motu proprio will probably have little effect since public opinion polls show overwhelming support for the new liturgy among Catholics.

Opinion polls. Ah. The Tridentine Mass won't win the New Hampshire primary. Enough said. By the way Father Reese thinks that this issue has "more to do with power and politics than Latin and liturgy." But I guess you knew that by now.

[narses]

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[A.A. Cunningham]

The apostate Reese can’t be trusted and should have been dismissed from the clerical state long ago.

[narses]

I always love the gentle way you dance around the issues, bravo!

:)

(Care to express an opinion on Frs. McBrien or Greeley?)

[maryz]

he is basically saying that he does not trust the pastoral judgment of the bishops.

From Sunday's edition of Il Giornale, an interview of the President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, with Andrea Tornielli, on the main aspects of Summorum Pontificum.

What meaning does the Pope's decision have?

"The Pontiff's letter is clear. It is a decision which comes from the heart and from the mind of a Pope who loves and knows liturgy well. He wishes that the heritage represented by the ancient liturgy be preserved, without this representing any contradiction with the new Mass. Thousands of letters arrived in Rome from those who asked for the freedom to be able to participate in the old rite." [emphasis added]

"Thousands of letters" undoubtedly from people who found their bishops unresponsive!

[narses]

Exactly! The revolution of Bugnini and Weakland is OVER. Deo Gratias!

[Dajjal]

felicissimus bumpus ad summum (esp. about Art. 9)

[Cicero]

It’s going to be a long, hard slog before we see the Catholic Mass being made available to the country as a whole. Those who have access to it are fortunate.

They may be aging, but there are still plenty of Fr. Reeses out there, and they will obstruct genuine reform until their last gasp.

And who did the American bishops choose to lead the liturgical committee as the Pope tries to clean things up? Donald Trautman, enabler of the ICEL mistranslations and patron of the New American Bible. He seems to be delaying the new English translations for the Novus Ordo as long as he can, although I haven’t seen anything specific on why it’s taking so long to come through. (E.g., it will be “I believe” instead of “we believe” in the creed, but at this rate probably not until the 22nd century.)