Reason 2 should be switched with Reason 1 ... ultimately, no boys, no priests. Ping!
**The second and more important reason, Illo said, is that “altar service is intrinsically tied to the priesthood and serve as feeder programs for the seminary.”**
BTTT!
I’ve only been to one Mass that featured an “altar girl” - naturally, a family event not my usual St. Agnes jaunt. That damned brat ran all over the place until the priest corralled her. How different from the little well-trained boys of my youth! That convinced me that No. Altar. Girls. Ever.
The Laos tou Theou, are the guardians of orthodoxy...not hierarchs or the lower clergy. The Latins have a problem here, one of their own making.
Thank you for the info about a way to support Fr. Illo. He is an excellent priest and role model who serves college students with humility. The Star church in SF is beautiful and I’ll try to make it for the 4/25 evening mass.
Acolytes should be males in order to be in tune with the priest who is consecrating. Canon law gives the power to staff the acolytes with the Bishop and the pastor.
I will say a rosary on your behalf. I love what you are doing.To this day, people see altar service as a kind of apprenticeship to the priesthood. And that is right. Boys should be around the altar. The girls can join me in the rosary.
... but the sign-up thing didn't work for me. I tried several times and then gave up.
I wonder if they've been sabotaged by some cyber-bully?