Is this Bishop Pilla?
Posted on 08/29/2003 10:38:28 AM PDT by Akron Al
Bishop Anthony M. Pilla's "Live On In My Love" column
Mass changes: Deeper reflection on Eucharist
The new General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM, as it is called in shorthand) is presenting our local Church and the universal Church with an opportunity to do some quality and authentic Christian reflection upon our spiritual lives. As the ministers of the church were instructed last week, the few revisions called for are those that speak of our reverence for the Body of Christ – the Body of Christ UPON the altar and AROUND the altar.
Sadly, however, our instant and functional culture tempts us and demands of us that we just “get to what the changes are.” The difficulty that such a demand poses is that the “what” is nowhere near as important as the “why.” Simply expecting people to obediently conform to new gestures at mass is not only bad leadership style, it expresses a poor theology and understanding of the Church as well.
Maybe in a former age some leaders expected the members of the faithful to conform without explanation or question. Today, nothing could be farther from the truth or the expectation. Today, we understand ourselves as a community of believers in which each person is called to holiness and is challenged to understand and respond to the legitimate teaching of the Church. Thus, simply listing “changes” to be imposed is not what the implementation of the new GIRM is all about.
What we began on August 19, 2003 with parish leaders was the first step toward educating the whole Church in regards to the nature of the Mass. It was truly inspiring to listen to our enlightened speakers “re-tell” the story of what the Eucharist is, what it has always been, and what was intended by the reforms of Vatican II. In the update of the GIRM there is truly nothing new ABOUT the Mass. What was refreshing about the presentations was the rich understanding of the Eucharist that has come from nearly 40 years of celebrating it the way we do.
That deeper understanding of the Eucharist was inspirational for me to hear and it is something that I wish every Catholic could reflect upon. That is why, before we talk about any changes in what we do, I have asked the ministers of the Church to sincerely and carefully catechize all the faithful about why we celebrate the Mass as we do. This catechesis will take place through parish bulletins, special adult education sessions, parish and diocesan websites, preaching and good example.
This approach to the revised GIRM is slower; more involved, and takes more energy. But I think it’s worth it. The Eucharist is our greatest inheritance as Christians and it is important that we understand it and celebrate it to the fullest. The holiness of the Church depends upon the Eucharist – and the Eucharist prayed well. Someone asked me if these “changes (which had not yet been explained)” were mandatory. My answer then and my answer now is “these changes are only mandatory to the extent that we as a Church desire to be one in the Eucharist and through the Eucharist.”
For those who see “communion” as something only between God and the individual, I don’t see much chance of a deepening appreciation of the Mass. But for those who love God AND their neighbor as the Lord commands, and for those who recognize and reverence the Body of Christ on the altar and standing “around” the altar as the Church has always taught, I have no doubt that the new gestures we are invited to use will make perfect and holy sense to them. No doubt it will take some time getting used to, but I think we can handle that.
What are the changes? First and foremost we are going to reflect more deeply upon what the Eucharist means to us as a community and how we might more reverently and uniformly express that meaning. We’ll all be challenged by that. We will all be blessed in as much as we do that well.
(Note from the Editor: The above column can be found in the Friday, August 29, 2003 issue of the Catholic Universe Bulletin, the official newspaper of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland.)
http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/events/index.htm
With the pink triangles:
http://www.dioceseofcleveland.org/gayandlesbianfamilyministry/other_support/index.htm
Here are the e-mails for three Cleveland bishops, Pilla, Quinn and Pevec, as well as these e-mails for Sister Harwood and Father Jurcak, the two people who actually run the Diocese of Cleveland. I would appreciate if people could send these folks a short note: (just cut and paste these addresses)
bishop@dioceseofcleveland.org , bpaepevec@dioceseofcleveland.org , ajquinn@dioceseofcleveland.org , rmharwood@dioceseofcleveland.org , ljurcak@dioceseofcleveland.org
Until you ask Bishop Pilla and his minions certain awkward questions, in which case the response will be "SIT DOWN! SHUT UP! SCHISMATIC! TRAITOR! YOU ARE NOT OF THE BODY!"
Don't you just love how our new spititual leaders so casually dump on the generations that preceeded them? Our new age is just so enlightened by comparison. Let's not pay any attention to statistics that show basics like belief in the real presense, hell, and even the incarnation are quite a bit more lacking among our "enlightened" era than previously.
If only "shepherds" like Bishop Pilla approached tradition with humility instead of arrogance and contempt.
Is this Bishop Pilla?
Forget the gay stuff (at least momentarily) -- this is just as bad. Every word in this letter just drips modernism. The whole presentation of the eucharist is nothing but heresy and heteropraxis. Look at the first paragraph for example, huge emphasis on Christ "AROUND the altar." Clearly the "process" that he's putting in place has a pre-determined outcome.
As DSC pointed out, note the hostility towards anyone with a traditional Catholic spirituality. The message is clear -- you're outside the fold. Maybe those who do still have some faith left should take the hint.
If bishop Pilla is advocating a return to the first days,he ought to read the Apocalypse. In Chapter Two the first letter to the church at Ephesus warns,"thou has left they first charity"(or love,and the first love is of course God). The letters to the churches contain all sorts of truths to be conveyed to the local churches through the ages.
Reading on,the Ephesians are commended for hating the Nicolaites,which is a group thought guilty of sexual perversions.They are also commended for recognizing false apostles. So bishop pilla's church is not even close to what a local church should be to be pleasing to Christ.They have practically turned the Truth on its head.
As a first step in returning the Church to Christ and His Vicar on earth,Pilla needs to repent,confess and resign.I think I am going to stop dignifying the likes of Pilla by putting the title of bishop en front of his name.I've been using little (b) to connote diminished respect but maybe I'll just do away with the whole title.
An interesting manipulation technique. Are you at all familiar with it?
This is just the standard formula. It's Gramscian method in action. First they have a goal -- let's say getting all the parishes in Cleveland to stress that the reality of Christ present in the community is more important that the "so-called real presence." Then they establish a process to make that happen. They claim that they are consulting with the people. They use words like "sounding the community." The whole process is fake, of course. But then they come out with a pronouncement that "the people have spoken -- they want everyone in the congregation to stretch out their hands during the consecration so that we symbolize the priesthood of all believers." This being what they had in mind all along, or whatever new innovation they're trying to push.
This process is very much in evidence every time a bishop wants to spend a few million bucks to de-sacralize his cathedral. He holds community meetings and then announces that the community wants him to take out the altar and the tabernacle and replace them with a labrynth. If, heaven forbid, anyone in the "community" should dare to voice an opinion not in line with the pre-determined outcome, the wrath of the bishop will fall upon him.
The bishop of Covington Kentucky held such community meetings when he wanted to spend millions to destroy an architectural masterpiece. He was so outraged when he was unable to get the community feedback he was looking for, that he officially "silenced" the leader of the renovation opponents, and forbid him upon his authority as bishop to speak on the subject again.
This is the stuff that ticks me off. Lots of words which mean exactly what? Pilla is stringing together a lot of words that mean exactly nothing.
Nothing here is outright heresy, I don't think, but this is the stuff that makes people shake their heads, throw up their arms and just leave because after a while, you can't remember why you are there in the first place.
Some bishops are doing their level best to say/do/write whatever it takes to make the Church irrelevant.
Quit screwing around with the Mass!!!
Having experienced abominable "careful" catechesis that was contrary to Church teaching I get very suspicious when I see those words. "Consensus building" is probably a more apt term for the so called catechesis planned by the Cleveland diocese.
Sadly, I, too, am suspicious whenever I hear that also, having experienced teachings in Catholic college no less that was completely contrary to Church teaching (don't try to read it yourself, you couldn't understand we were told) that it was schismatic at best. It's the same here in neighboring Erie diocese. One of our new priests was brought here from Cleveland to 'help' us. This was just prior to the new GIRM being spelled out for us. When Fr. J came, I was suspicious and expressed concern. 'Oh, but he's so niiiccce,' was all I heard, as though niceness made it all ok. And he is nice and helpful too. His job is to straighten out our Religious Ed program. Highly successful for the last 6 yrs after previously abysmal enrollment, I wasn't sure what needed 'straightened out', but now I understand a little more. We have all new books this year.
Where did he get the idea that the Church has always taught that the Body of Christ is standing around the altar? Seriously.
(And of course, the Rainbow Gay Pride Banner still flies on bishop Pilla's website.)
And I bet they ain't from Ignatius Press, either!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.