[Pyro7480]

The Pope's a liberal? I don't think so. He's a staunch defender of the Vatican II Council, but he is no liberal. Remember, the Council was only less than forty years ago, and we're still dealing with the resulting arguments over how to implement it. Most church-going Catholics acknowledge that reverance is the huge problem with the NO Mass, or any Mass said these days. I think the large cause of this lack of reverance is lack of parental involvement in the religious upbringing of their children, plus the subversive influence of infiltrators in the Church who have their own agenda.

[Desdemona]

I think the large cause of this lack of reverance is lack of parental involvement in the religious upbringing of their children, plus the subversive influence of infiltrators in the Church who have their own agenda.

You know what's weird, where I attend Mass, the more irreverent people are not the young, but those who lived through the upheaval. The younger people are the ones who are actually quiet before Mass. It's really bizzare. Other than the people with toddlers (who are naturally irreverent, the little cuties), the young people are not the offenders. ANd most parents I see are teaching their children well.

[Longshanks]

The Pope's a liberal? I don't think so.

Some of the Pope's appointments are openly heretical like Cardinal Kasper. However, most are smooth-talking "moderate conservatives" that surround themselves with an aura of orthodoxy while continueing the policies of their more honestly liberal predecessors.

The Pope is definately tainted by the still-going, world-wide sex scandal. That should undermine any credibility that would otherwise remain.

[Maximilian]

Most church-going Catholics acknowledge that reverance is the huge problem with the NO Mass, or any Mass said these days.

I have to disagree. What if the Episcopalians were more reverent -- would it make their Mass valid? What about the Lutherans and the Methodists -- is reverence going to change the nature of their services? What really matters is the reality of what is taking place. Reverence is the response to that reality and it tends to occur spontaneously in the presence of the divinity. Of course some people will be irreverent anywhere. But most people know when they are in a sacred place.

In a New Mass church they act appropriately for that venue. A horizontal service calls out a horizontal reaction. People interact with each other. In a church for the traditional Catholic Mass they act appropriately for a different venue where a different reality is taking place. They are interacting with God, at least we hope they are.