Posted on 06/04/2004 12:00:16 PM PDT by AskStPhilomena
In his explanation for the decision, Maida cited the growing influence of schismatic groups within his archdiocese.
"We have much activity by schismatic churches in the Archdiocese. We have children in our Archdiocese attending schismatic schools and being drawn away from the Church. Some of our faithful are crossing the border to go into Windsor or other dioceses for the celebration of this Mass," the cardinal is quoted as stating.
Maida did not mention at the meeting that in addition to laity joining schismatic groups, he is also faced with a major emigration of seminarians from the archdiocese, and the crisis shows no signs of abating. In the year 2007 there is only one man scheduled to be ordained for the Archdiocese of Detroit, a native-born Filipino.
During the meeting Auxiliary Bishop Walter Hurley said the Tridentine Mass may be allowed in two parishes before the fall, but neither the parishes nor the frequency of the Masses has been decided.
Hurley is quoted as stating, "We are not looking to catechize new generations into the Tridentine Rite, but we are seeking to respond to those people who have identified this as a pastoral need In moving in this direction, there are certain things that must take place as we proceed. The first is that Vatican II, its authenticity, and its liturgical reforms have to be accepted as a legitimate work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church. We do not want to set up something that would be divisive. We are not seeking to undermine or unravel the reforms of the Council."
The celebration of the Tridentine Mass will be coordinated under the auspices of the Archdiocesan Worship Office. "We do not want to see this as a work of a specific group of people, but rather an extension of Cardinal Maida's ministry as chief shepherd of the Archdiocese," Hurley is quoted as saying. "… All of our regional auxiliary bishops have indicated their willingness to celebrate this liturgy. The framework here is pastoral. We will not identify this as a "specific niche" of a parish; rather, this is simply something that would be offered at a parish."
The decision has been met with guarded optimism by those who have worked for the Tridentine Rite in the archdiocese, mainly because the rite – until now -- has been bitterly opposed by Maida and his chancery since Maida arrived as archbishop in Detroit in 1990. Additionally, the auxiliary bishop and chancery staff who are implementing his new decision are long-time chancery veterans who have no track record whatsoever of embracing traditional initiatives.
Many suspect the Tridentine Mass may be sparingly offered at small parishes in inconvenient locations, perhaps even in parishes hostile to traditional aspirations.
For at least the last 15 years there have been hundreds, if not thousands of requests to Maida to grant permission for the Tridentine Mass. A group of Catholics in the early 1990s filed a canonical lawsuit in the Signatura, the Vatican Court, to force Cardinal Maida to abide by Eccleiasia Dei, in which Pope John Paul II pleaded with the world’s bishops to allow a "generous application" of the indult for the Tridentine Mass. The St. Joseph Foundation assisted in that effort.
Maida opposed the lawsuit vigorously, and the legal effort ended when the Vatican ruled that with the death in 1994 of Thomas Marshall, the main signer of the complaint, the rest of signers of the petition to Rome had no standing to pursue the case.
It is noteworthy that the primary opponent of the Tridentine Mass at that time was Fr. Gerald Shirilla, professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary and director of the Worship Department. Fr.Shirilla told a reporter for the Michigan Catholic that, regarding those who want the Tridentine Mass, "We have to fight them tooth and nail."
Fr. Shirilla was relieved of his post in 1993 when he was identified as a serial child molester, who favored young altar boys, going back more than 20 years. He never quite lost favor with Cardinal Maida, however, and was secretly re-assigned seven years later as pastor of a parish in the Diocese of Gaylord, Michigan.
Meanwhile, as the cardinal and his priests argue about the merits of the Tridentine Mass, the Detroit chapter of gay organization Dignity continues to hold its weekly Masses at Marygrove College every Sunday, and openly advertises that priests of the archdiocese celebrate its Masses. Priests of the archdiocese have never been forbidden to celebrate those gay Masses.
Cardinal Maida has always had different standards for different groups throughout his tenure in Detroit.
(Excerpt) Read more at cruxnews.com ...
"That's not true and you know it."
It may be speculation, but its not necessarily "not true".
Why would anybody, after 2,000 years (longer if you count the worship of the Jews in the tabernacle and temple) want to turn the altar around to face the congregation, if they really understood the biblical concept of worship and sacrifice?
The fact that 74% wanted the priest to face them rather than face East, merely illustrates that 74% were malformed in their faith.
People who are malformed in their faith are far more likely to be members of the 80-90% or so who have ceased practicing their faith in the springtime we have had since the Council.
(Admittedly, 80-90% apostasy are the rough figures for the UK - the situation over there in the US may be much better)
***JPII just doesn't care for the Tridentine Mass***
Too Catholic for him?
No. Maybe he prefers the Novus Ordo. It is the Normative Mass of the Latin Rite.
Yeah, I guess maybe he's just another material pope for the material world.
Did the Lord turn His back on His apostles at the Last Supper?
If we are "doing this in Memory of Me," it makes sense to gather in the faithful, as Jesus did.
In fact, if you know how the Eucharist was celebrated in the Early Church, you know that it was not done in imitation of Melchisedech.
The fact that 74% wanted the priest to face them rather than face East, merely illustrates that 74% were malformed in their faith.
With all due respect, those who prefer the current manner of celebration are not, by that preference, "malformed in the faith."
You know the Didache, do you not?
The worst sexual abusers were all ordained in the pre-Vatican II Church.
"That's not true and you know it."
It *is* true, and you know it.
Going back to the beginning of celebrations of Mass when the disciples would meet for the Eucharist in addition to their Jewish rituals, it is hard for me to visualize that whoever was celebrating the Eucharist would have their back to the other people in these home churches.
Maybe we all need to stop and think -- it's common sense!
***Maybe he prefers the Novus Ordo.***
Isn't that a sad thought.
***Going back to the beginning of celebrations of Mass when the disciples would meet for the Eucharist in addition to their Jewish rituals, it is hard for me to visualize that whoever was celebrating the Eucharist would have their back to the other people in these home churches.***
So the Tridentine Mass had it wrong?
Home churches.... how many home churches that hold mass today?
Not at all. I prefer the Novus Ordo. I have for the last 35 years.
I am not going to defend the typical Novus Ordo, and my preference would be to go back to the 62 missal with all the 62 Rubrics with the options for some Vernacular, but that said, the point of the link was to show that even the 62 missal could be trashed, and it was starting to be trashed by the same group who picked apart(albiet it was easier to pick apart) the Novus Ordo. Albiet the prayers in the Tridentine mass do point more clearly to the sacrafice, I ask this question, if the 62 missal was kept in place, given the same poor translation the Novus Ordo had, with the rubrics the Novus Ordo is typically celebrated with, would liturgical life in the church be all that much better today?
Actually, they weren't. Shanley, Geoghan, and Porter all started abusing a few months after ordination.
Prior to Vatican II.
I thought we Protestants were the preference driven folk!
Is the Novus Ordo more congruent with Catholic doctrine than the Tridentine? Seems like that is the key.
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