Posted on 09/23/2004 1:21:15 PM PDT by tridentine
Latin Mass brings more people to church Bishop Fernando A. Rifan, the apostolic administrator for traditionalist Catholics in a diocese in Brazil, visits East Providence and speaks of the resurgence of the traditional Mass.
EAST PROVIDENCE -- The Catholic bishop who was tapped by the Vatican as the pastoral leader for thousands of Catholics in Brazil who remain attached to the old Latin Mass says he's convinced the rite will play a crucial role in the renewal of the church.
"Because the guidelines and structure of the Tridentine rite are so much more strict, I believe it will protect us from many of the liturgical abuses that we see in churches today," said Bishop Fernando A. Rifan, before a lunch meeting with Portuguese-speaking clergy at St. Francis Xavier Church.
He was in town to visit friends and to celebrate the Tridentine Mass Tuesday night at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Providence. He was a guest this week of Holy Name's administrator, the Rev. Joseph Santos, a native of Fall River who was ordained in Braga, Portugal.
In January 2002, as a sign of reconciliation between the Vatican and many traditionalists who followed the Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, the late French-Swiss prelate who was excommunicated for ordaining bishops without permission, Pope John Paul II authorized a special apostolic administration for an estimated 30,000 traditionalist Catholics in the Diocese of Compos, Brazil.
After the first administrator, Bishop Licinio Rangel, died of cancer after six months, Bishop Rifan was named to take his place.
The 53-year-old prelate said Tuesday he strongly doubts that the Tridentine rite, which was superseded in many dioceses by a vernacular Mass after Vatican II, will die. He sees increasing numbers of young families attending the Latin Mass.
"They come because they see the difference," he said. "They are looking for a Mass where they see reverence and recollection, silence and respect, and they find all of it in the Latin Mass."
Bishop Rifan is seen as a bridge-builder, encouraging Catholics to recognize that the pope supports the right to worship according to the older rite, and that traditionalists should not be treated as second class faithful.
At the same time, he has repeatedly warned those in the traditionalist camp that the liturgy is not to be used as a weapon to push their own agenda on the church.
"There are people who try to do that. But those I know don't come for those reasons," the bishop said. "They come because it's a better expression of their feelings of adoration and reverence."
Bishop Rifan noted that church attendance in Brazil at parishes with the Latin Mass hovers around 50 percent of the congregation, compared to 10 percent at other Catholic churches.Church attendance in the United States is about 30 percent of a congregation.
Father Santos, who began as pastor at Holy Name in July, says he's been in the parish too short a time to make any assessments, but he believes that the number of Catholics attending Holy Name's Latin Mass at 11 a.m. on Sundays is growing, and that many people who had left the church have returned because of the Latin Mass.
"One of the things I notice is the number of children," the priest said. "And it's interesting how well-behaved they are. These are not people with an agenda, but people who like the Latin Mass because it's the way they pray best."
Bishop Rifan's administration includes 13 parishes, 30,000 Catholics, 3,000 Catholic school students, seminaries and hospitals, and oversight of 20 large churches and 150 chapels in other parts of Brazil.
"traditionalists should not be treated as second class faithful"
Rifan should tell that to the USCCB - especially those on the left coast.
You said it Father!
Bishop Rifan is seen as a bridge-builder, encouraging Catholics to recognize that the pope supports the right to worship according to the older rite, and that traditionalists should not be treated as second class faithful.
Nothing can be accomplished without optimism. Apparently, Fr. Rifan is hip to that.
At the same time, he has repeatedly warned those in the traditionalist camp that the liturgy is not to be used as a weapon to push their own agenda on the church.
Seems fair and just. Dittos hopefully for the 'let's demolish the Altar Railings, turn the Altar into a stage, and other half-baked ideas by the un-traditionalists.
Father Santos, who began as pastor at Holy Name in July, says he's been in the parish too short a time to make any assessments, but he believes that the number of Catholics attending Holy Name's Latin Mass at 11 a.m. on Sundays is growing, and that many people who had left the church have returned because of the Latin Mass.
I didn't come back specifically for the Latin Mass, but when I decided to come back, the Latin Mass was my beacon. God bless the Priest who heard my confession after all those years and helped me recall my Act of Contrition. God bless his merciful soul, and God bless his ability to pick out which sin led to all my other ones. I won't forget him.
"One of the things I notice is the number of children," the priest said. "And it's interesting how well-behaved they are. These are not people with an agenda, but people who like the Latin Mass because it's the way they pray best."
Seeing children is always a good, fruitful sign. As I'm sure the Good Father knows, THE FUTURE BELONGS TO THE FERTILE!
Thankfully more and more people are joining the counter-revolution....
http://www.traditioninaction.org/History/F_001_RCR_ASG.html
Thankfully more and more people are joining the counter-revolution....
Deo Gracias! May it be for a rich harvest of souls!
Welcome! I hope this article can stimulate an honest debate on the merits of Tradition without the screeching lefts cacophonous chanting of "schismatic!"
Those who don't, should continue to worship as now.
BUMP
I agree, so long as the Mass is orthodox and not the mess pawned off on so many by the enemies of the Church within.
There is no left on FR. If you think so, perhaps you should examine how far off the edge you are.
There is no left on FR. If you think so, perhaps you should examine how far off the edge you are.
You may say that, but that is simply your opinion. There certainly is a heterodox element that screeches "schismatic" every time a Latin Mass article is posted. In my book, heterodoxy = left wing, at least insofar as Church politics is concerned.
Let's play dominoes.
Those who like to cry "schismatic" are merely calling a spade a spade. It's not my opinion. It's the opinion of anyone who understands the issues and obeys the teachings of the church through it's Holy Pontiff.
There certainly is a heterodox element that screeches "schismatic" every time a Latin Mass article is posted.
Oh come on. I don't know of one Freeper who is opposed to the Tridentine mass. It is the tendancy of of some Tridentine-or-nothing types to calumniate their fellow Catholics, especially the pope. Those most adament in their objections are mostly Tridentine worshippers or sympathyzers, like myself, ninenot, and Black Elk. To label us as heterodox or on the left is really inaccurate.
Of course there is. There are those who defend every Modernism that comes along. All you need do is watch and read.
Name one.
Sorry, but baiting won't work. If you haven't seen the Modernist defenders here, your haven't been looking. But they exist. And they screech.
The truth. Those who screech 'schismatic' at posts from the Latin Mass magazine exist here. You know that. You also know, or should know, that the Latin Mass Magazine is NOT schismatic.
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