Posted on 03/02/2023 9:36:14 AM PST by ebb tide
COMMENTARY: In forcing the hand of local bishops, Pope Francis has even undermined his own repeated calls for collegial and synodal administration.
A dispute about dispensations developed into a diktat from the dicastery that has put dioceses in a difficult dilemma.
Liturgical discipline is delicate. The request to Pope Francis, from the Dicastery for Divine Worship (DDW), to tighten the screws on the implementation of Traditionis Custodes — granted by the Holy Father on Feb. 20 — means that Rome has decided that it is a priority to get the “extraordinary form” or Tridentine Mass out of parish churches.
Hence the dilemma for diocesan bishops.
In most dioceses, the number who frequent the older form of the Mass is very small, even tiny. In the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, which has one of the largest traditional Mass presences, Bishop Michael Burbidge estimated that 2.5% of Mass-goers attended the usus antiquior, or older form, of the Mass. In almost every other American diocese it would be a small fraction of that 2.5%, likely less than half of 1%.
Such Catholics are thus rarely of sufficient size to create problems in the diocese, even if they wished to do so, which they generally don’t. To the contrary, while small, such congregations often offer an inspiring witness of young families striving to live a vibrant sacramental life, building up Catholic culture. If the congregation has been stable or growing for some time, they would enjoy the support of a number of priests.
If the bishop wishes to be obedient to Rome, he now has to expel that congregation from a parish church, perhaps into school facilities nearby, as was done in some places in Arlington, or simply eliminate the usus antiquior altogether, as was also done in Arlington.
(Excerpt) Read more at ncregister.com ...
Ping
One begins to wonder if this Pope will ever find time to worry about the actual human soul and salvation above all this other stuff.
I just called my parish today to ask about their stance and to request it keep going. Want to see what they say. Probably won’t be good, our bishop here came from Sf.
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