Posted on 08/14/2007 5:35:36 AM PDT by maryz
Yes, it is highly unusual for a Bishop to be transferred to a new diocese with a smaller population and an even smaller number of nominal Catholics. Yet, Birmingham, the new diocese of Robert Baker, the former Bishop of Charleston, includes one specific Catholic institution, which deserves special treatment (for better or for worse).
From our collection of episcopal reactions to Summorum Pontificum:
In a letter to priests of the Diocese of Charleston, SC, Bishop Robert J Baker takes a warm and positive position. Among the many good things he says are the following, "Let us use this time of reflection on the rich liturgical heritage of the Catholic Church to renew our commitment as priests, deacons, Religous, and lay faithful to ensure that our parish liturgies are celebrated well, whether in the 'ordinary form' or the 'extraordinary form' of the Roman Missal." Bishop Baker also addresses the issue of training and knowledge of Latin in a much more genuinely supportive way than do several other Bishops of recent note. "I would further request that any priest who may wish to celebrate Holy Mass according to the Missal of 1962 be certain that he has mastered the rubrics of the ancient Roman Missal and has a suitable grasp of the Latin language." He goes on to note that there are priests who have "graciously agreed to train others in the proper manner in which the traditional Mass is celebrated".
Wonderful news! This was a very important appointment, and the Holy Father has put in a good bishop.
Vatican chooses bishop for Catholic Diocese of Birmingham
The Catholic Diocese of Birmingham will introduce South Carolina Bishop Robert J. Baker as its new bishop-elect this morning in a press conference at 10:30 a.m. at the St. Paul's Cathedral Life Center.
Pope Benedict XVI has chosen Baker, 63, to fill the job in Alabama, where the diocese includes EWTN, the global Catholic satellite network founded by Mother Angelica.
Baker, a native of Ohio, has close ties to EWTN. He recently was co-author of the book, "When Did We See You, Lord?" with EWTN personality the Rev. Benedict J. Groeschel.
Baker attended the Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio, and was ordained a priest March 21, 1970, for the Diocese of St. Augustine. From 1970 to 1972, his first assignment was as assistant pastor at St. Paul's Parish, Jacksonville Beach, Fla., where he also taught at Bishop Kenny High School. From 1972 to 1975, he studied at the Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, where he received a degree in dogmatic theology. From 1975 to 1999, he served as spiritual director of college seminarians at the Pontifical College Josephinum, pastor of the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Augustine, and pastor of Christ the King Church in Jacksonville, Fla.
He also directed the Catholic Student Parish at the University of Florida in Gainesville and taught sacramental theology at St. Vincent de Paul Seminary in Boynton Beach, Fla. On Sept. 29, 1999, he was ordained and installed as the bishop of the Diocese of Charleston. He is currently chairman of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on Stewardship.
He co-wrote, with Tony Sands, "Cacique: A Novel of Florida's Heroic Mission History." His latest book, "The Questioner's Prayer," was released in April 2007 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Co.
Down here in the southeast we've been blessed with good bishops; Donoghue in Atlanta (now sadly retired and replaced by Wilton Gregory), Baker in Charleston, Jugis in Charlotte and Boland (not the one who was in KC) in Savannah.
We're still holding our breath about Gregory.
Good news bump!
It's sort of the "Does any good thing come out of the USCCB?" syndrome. He hasn't done anything outrageous, but I keep watching him out of the corner of my eye.
Revive me if I turn blue with all this breath holding, 'K?
ping
Yes, I'd heard that! Nothing like a good bishop to make a difference! :)
IIRC, the even-worse Oscar Lipscomb preceded Bp. Baker’s predecessor.
EWTN has had great crosses to bear...
I like some of EWTN’s more intellectual approaches to God rather than - God forgive me - sitting around listening to Mother Angelica reciting the Rosary where the only visual stimuli are pans of her charges, wondering - God forgive me - at the faces of the prettier ones less framed by their habits.
Add to your honor roll Bishop Joseph Kurtz, lately of Knoxville, TN and tomorrow (the Feast of the Assumption) to be received as Archbishop of Louisville, KY.
I believe he held the record of highest rate of ordinations to the priesthood AND to the permanent diaconate of any bishop in the US. In a Diocese where Catholics are a small minority (something like 3% of the population of East Tennessee) his ordinations outnumbered those of huge dioceses like Chicago and LA.
I’m in East TN! I’ll miss him!
EWTN is HUGE, thus Birmingham is VERY important. EWTN is the face of the Church that Rome wants America and the world to see. It has been key to the reform of the reform of the liturgy. People see Mass as celebrated on EWTN and ask why their parishes seem more like a floor show. Also, EWTN is instrumental to the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. The best way to learn the old mass is to see it. On the tv it can also be explained.EWTN makes the diocese of Birmingham one of the most important in the nation.
Indeed it is.
To date, I believe, the three indult masses allowed in Bishop Baker's diocese are all Sunday afternoon liturgies. This is better than an outright stonewalling, but not much. People committed to the spirituality of the 1962 missal take the eucharistic fast seriously. Asking them to put off Sunday Mass until an untraditional and inconvenient hour, denying themselves meanwhile the innocent pleasure of a little breakfast and a cup of coffee, is insensitive to a point approaching insult. I sincerely hope I'm wrong about Bishop Baker, but this meagre provision for traditionalists -- including some who may be struggling to remain in communion with their bishop -- strikes me as decidedly second-class.
Does the bishop determine the time of an Indult Mass?
It's a good question. I guess it all depends. But here are two beliefs I can't shake: One is that, somewhere in his diocese, at least one pastor can be found who, granted permission, would leap at the chance to schedule one 1962 Mass at a reasonable hour. The other is that a bishop in his own diocese carries enough clout to persuade a priest to see things his way.
But this is not really the heart of the matter for me. What troubles me is the idea that a bishop should acquiesce in the marginalisation of the 1962 Mass, as an extra, a quaint artifact for throwbacks and liturgical tourists, rather than show leadership in arranging a place of honor for this holy and venerable rite. It suggests a shallowness on his part, a lack of discernment, and a disturbing indifference to tradition.
I watched EWTN last night, and there was nothing but happy talk about the new ordinary. Well as I said, I would like to be wrong about this.
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!!
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