A New Breed of Priest

Los Angeles Times ^ | July 31, 2004 | Teresa Watanabe

[CatherineSiena]

It's hard to miss Father Marcos Gonzalez, who wears an ankle-length black cassock every day, a garment most priests tossed out decades ago. But it's not just his clothes that bespeak an older, more traditional era of his Roman Catholic Church.

When some priests spoke in favor of optional celibacy at a Los Angeles priest assembly last year — a position supported by most American Catholics today — Gonzalez booed in dissent. In premarital counseling, he tells couples to remain chaste until marriage, plunging into delicate territory some priests prefer to avoid. Gonzalez also believes artificial birth control and gay sex are always a sin and opposes women's ordination.

Such stances conform with Vatican teachings, he says, but are at odds with many American priests and lay people.

Yet Gonzalez, an associate pastor at St. Andrew Church in Pasadena, is hardly a relic from a fading past. At 41, he offers one glimpse of the future as a member of a new breed of younger priests ordained during the 25-year papacy of Pope John Paul II and passionately committed to the pope's orthodox teachings.

As the health of John Paul — now 84 and the third-longest serving pontiff in history — continues to falter, men like Gonzalez stand ready to guard and propagate his legacy. They represent a global trend toward Christian orthodoxy, in contrast to a generation of more liberal priests ordained during the 1960s reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

"We are very, very faithful to the Holy Father and not in any way dissenting from the teachings of the church," Gonzalez says of like-minded colleagues.

The emergence of these young conservatives has set off a flurry of studies, books and debate about what effect they will have on the nation's 62 million Roman Catholics, its largest religious denomination.

[NYer]

If anyone thinks that the Maronite Rite is a safe haven from modernist pressure, think again. All that is NewChurch is alive there just as it is just about everywhere else.

A rather broad statement. Can you provide some specifics? What do you mean by "NewChurch" and "just about everywhere else"?

[NYer]

SSPX has convinced itself that it and only it, is the real keeper of orthodoxy and that one day everyone will come running to it when the Novus Ordo falls in a heap of ashes. I doubt it.

TRADITIONALISTS HAVE GONE TOO FAR

When someone like Monsignor Marceau preaches that if there is no Tridentine Mass available, the Sunday obligation to attend Mass ceases, the Traditionalists have gone too far. When Archbishop Lefebvre refused to admit that the New Mass is a legitimate Mass, he went too far.

None of the early Church Liturgies were Tridentine or even close.

They had different Liturgies in Jerusalem, Alexandria, Rome, Persia, and Edessa. The Liturgy of James the Apostle (Jerusalem) has a different Canon than the Liturgy of Mark, Clement, Chrysostom, Basil, and the two of Peter.

The truth is that many of the Traditionalist Masses are illegal.

Oh! Yes, they are licit, and it is the real Body of Christ. Even in the Greek Orthodox and Old Roman Catholic Churches the consecration is real because, unlike Protestants, they have Apostolic Succession. But those saying and those attending these Masses by choice are committing Sins of disobedience against the Pope, the doctrine of the Church, and the first councils of the Church, especially of Nice.

(De fide) Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma - Ott Page 278

POPE’S POWER OF LITURGICAL DISCIPLINE

Padre Pio offered the New Mass on Pope Paul VI, on a table, facing the congregation. Why? Because "it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff" (Unam Sanctam, 1302, Pope Boniface VIII). "He who obeys the whole law, yet offends in one point, is guilty in all." (James 2:10) In "Cum muta sint" Pope Saint Leo XIII, 1882, states that one is sinning who appeals to past or future popes in order to justify being disobedient to the authority of the present Pope, "since the Church is One, her Head is One, her Government is One."

OLD LATIN MASS

[GirlShortstop]

The Novus Ordo church is supposed to be dying, right? Yet here are these younger priests who are spurning the errors of the modernists, embrace all the teachings of the Catholic Church and love the Pope.

Joyful thanksgiving to God bump.

[GirlShortstop]

As a Latin Rite traditional Catholic I've been sending my kids for several years to the local Maronite Rite parish school. As of this coming school year, they're out of there.

Is there a nearby SSPX school?  They "have it all", or do they?

[ninenot]

Ordained by Mahony...

Almost had a cardiac arrest when I saw this. Likely Mahony's boyzzz are trying to figure out how to erase this character as we type.

[pascendi]

Yes I can. Are you sure you want them?

[pascendi]

"Is there a nearby SSPX school? They "have it all", or do they?"

I'm not really sure what you mean.

[pascendi]

Btw, if you are going to quote Richard Salbato, you may want to have a look at some of his more recent writings.

He seems to be changing his mind.

[pascendi]

From Richard Salbato's own site, the very same one you quote from, NYer:

"In 1986, the Holy Father appointed a commission of nine Cardinals to examine the legal status of the traditional rite of Mass, commonly known as the "Tridentine Mass". The commission of Cardinals included Cardinals Ratzinger, Mayer, Oddi, Stickler, Casaroli, Gantin, Innocenti, Palaz-zini, and Tomko was instructed to examine two questions:

1) Did Pope Paul VI authorize the bishops to forbid the celebration of the traditional Mass?

2) Does the priest have the right to celebrate the traditional Mass in public and in private without restriction, even against the will of his bishop?

The Commission, the account stated, unanimously determined that Pope Paul VI never gave the bishops the authority to forbid priests from celebrating the traditional rite of Mass.

Regarding the second question: The Commission stated that priests cannot be obligated to celebrate the new rite of Mass; the bishops cannot forbid or place restrictions on the celebration of the traditional rite of Mass whether in public or in private."

The link to the article is here.

To be honest, the article as a whole is kind of lousy. Imho Salbato is a decent and honest person, but he doesn't always have it all together. I like the way he refers in that article to "Feenitism" and the "sedivicantists"; that's funny. But at least he admits to the above bolded text.

Salbato: just another layman. He does a good job banging on what I call the Medjugorje Schism and he gets bonus points for not liking the Legionnaire's of Christ, too. I like the guy; he'll most likely end up being a fully traditional Catholic eventually, and learn to spell on top of it. The future isn't that bleak. All in all, this is just more of your LayMagisterium stuff, though.

[pascendi]

Here's an example of what I DO like about Salbato:

"So, please, my fellow conservatives, my fellow traditionalists, don’t leave the Church. Stay with me and fight. Maybe all these changes were allowed by God to test the elect, maybe to expose the unfaithful."

See, I agree with that statement 100%. That's exactly what we're going through. Salbato has a good general sense about what's going on, but many times when it comes to the details, he has his facts and his reasonings all goofed up.

We need people to stay and fight, but we don't need people goofing up the details taking and the long way home when it comes to putting together a case for doctrine and tradition.

[pascendi]

The article is hollow. It speaks of a restoration of tradition in terms of a weak display of smells and bells, while pretending that what attacks the Church isn't related to the Modernist's assault on the Deposit of the Faith and ignoring the fact the Pope John Paul II's legacy basicly consists of doing nothing to stop these Modernists.

Restoration of Holy Mother Church won't be coming from this direction. They speak of tradition in juvenile terms. Hope could only come from these priests if and when they become truly traditional Catholics. There is no other Catholicism than traditional Catholicism, and that kind of Catholicism has always permeated each and every one of the various Catholic rites within the Universal Church for 2,000 years.

The Catholicism of tradition does not pertain only to the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass for the Roman rite. It's more about doctrine that anything else. Thinking that it solely revolves around the restoration of the TLM is a superficial treatment, whether it's done be NeoCatholics or traditional Catholics. Issues concerning the old rite are only the liturgical tip of the heretical Modernist iceberg only representing the visible portion of the problem for one out of many Catholic rites.

[ninenot]

That's an interesting post.

Pinging the Canonist, because I believe that he is familiar with that Commission's findings under Canon Law.

[ninenot]

I can agree with you that 'restoration of the TLM,' even if it were universally mandated tomorrow, is NOT the answer in and of itself, despite the screeching from the SSPX bunch, all 120 of them...

OTOH, I would not be too quick to decide that the priest in the thread-head article is 'shallow.' Remember that newspaper reporters tend to be shallow...

[NYer]

As a Latin Rite traditional Catholic I've been sending my kids for several years to the local Maronite Rite parish school. As of this coming school year, they're out of there.

Is there a nearby SSPX school?  They "have it all", or do they?

The school that 'pascendi' is referring to is the first Maronite Catholic School in the US.

* * * * *

ST. EPHREM MARONITE CATHOLIC ACADEMY, the parish school for grades K-10 of St. Ephrem Maronite Catholic Church, opened on September 5 in El Cajon. The church, which is located at 750 Medford Street, is under the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles and pastored by Father Nabil Mouannes. The academy, in its first year of operation, has 20 students from 10 families. It is staffed by two full-time teachers, one part-time science teacher, and volunteer part-time aides.

According to principal Michael Horvath, "Each school day begins with Holy Mass. The Academy is loyal to the Holy Father and the traditions of the Church. The curriculum is as Catholic as possible, utilizing solidly Catholic texts from the past and present.

"The philosophy of the school is the salvation of souls through excellence in education. St. Ephrem Academy is an extension of the Gospel witness in the home, whereby parents are the primary educators of their children.

"St. Ephrem Academy is grateful to the El Cajon planning commission for granting it the proper conditional use permit for a school, the neighbors for their support, the Eparchy for their approval, and the benefactors who have come forward with their financial help. It is most especially grateful to Father Nabil Mouannes for his vision in the founding of the first Maronite Catholic School in the United States."

St. Ephrem Academy has room for more students this year. To inquire about enrollment, please call the school at (619) 462-2487.

* * * * *

How many catholic parents wish they had such a school in their community!

* Daily Mass
* Loyal to the Holy Father
* Solidly Catholic texts from the past and present.

[Land of the Irish]

As a Latin Rite traditional Catholic I've been sending my kids for several years to the local Maronite Rite parish school. As of this coming school year, they're out of there.

If anyone thinks that the Maronite Rite is a safe haven from modernist pressure, think again. All that is NewChurch is alive there just as it is just about everywhere else.

Out of the pan, and in to the fire.

[NYer]

Out of the pan, and in to the fire.

ROFL .... and which fire would that be? What is your experience with the Maronite Catholic Church? Did you read the post regarding the school?

[Land of the Irish]

Did you read the post regarding the school?

Yes, I wasn't impressed.

[pascendi]

Make no mistake, those who ran the school did a very good job of teaching.

But the Maronites are getting hammered by NeoCatholicism.

[pascendi]

And they permeated the teaching with honest Catholicism, too. But that's not the issue; the school wasn't the issue. Those who ran the school weren't the issue.

The issue is the Novus-Ordoization of the Maronites.

[pascendi]

I had no intention of bringing particular people's names into the conversation on the net, but now that you did, I'm going to explain in general terms and be done with it. Except in regards to the principle, who the world should no is a fine Catholic person who I hold in very high regard. He's not there anymore.

But the school was falling from 49 students last year down to I think 16 last I heard, and that's before we threw in the towel. Why? Bickering or something, who the hell knows. I still don't know.

I went to their board meeting, sat and listened about suggestions, what to do, how to refocus, blah blah etc. When it was nearly through, I stepped in with my 2 cents. I said the reason they were having problems is that since they were trying to do something good, which they were, that the Old Man would try to cause plenty of friction to frustrate their efforts. I told them they needed as a parish to instute adoration of the Blessed Sacrament specifically for the wellbeing of the school, maybe once a week for a couple hours. They liked the idea, but it seemed novel to them. Yeah, let's do it, I would help it get up and running, etc.

I told them that if they didn't do this, the school would not make it. Believing strongly enough in that solution, I pushed the envelope said that our return this fall was conditional upon that, and that I would do it all until people started coming to help out. They said they'd get back to me.

No answer, so I called; no return call. When I saw them, they said they call to arrange it. Last I heard through a 3rd party, they weren't going to do it for fear that they wouldn't be able to provide the manpower. Three hours a week, and an offer to fill them all myself. So I don't know what they could be thinking. I don't even know who the "they" was that made the decision.

I didn't wait for confirmation from what I heard from the third party. I just said forget it. So I did my job; I stayed and offered what I could; I have no regrets. But when people are not going to enthusiastically implement the only possible solution, there's nothing more I can do.

Let that be a lesson on the guts of Novus-ordoization. Novus ordoization manifests itself in lots of pretty talk, but when it comes to the prayer and the sacrifices that are the integral life and health of the Universal Church, they're out of there.

I walked in on an ecumenical shindig there once. That was interesting. And then they had the rapping priest show up once, too, you know that guy?

Look, there's a lot of good people there. But we need to get a grip on the Novus-ordoization of our Catholic Church, which is really at the root nothing more than an ungodly blending of the things of this world with the things of God. There's a barrier between the two, you know.