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My source was written in 1998 by Paul Turner, pastor of St. John Regis Parish in Kansas City, MO. He holds a doctorate in sacramental theology from Saint Anselmo University in Rome.

The online version of the Catholic Encyclopedia is a transcription of the 1913 edition. The last pope mentioned in that encyclopedia is Pius X! Under a discussion of war, it gives examples of attrocities from the Civil War because WWI had not happened yet!

A Ph.D. from San Anselmo!!

Ranks up there with Liturgy MS from Notre Dame!!

Use the Cath. Ency., dated 1913. Fortunately, neither doctrine nor the definition/history of the communion rail will EVER change.

Of course, LiturgyWonkBedwetters will be perfectly happy to lie like hell about things--as long as they can get away with it.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, (1908) article on the Sanctuary ('altar rail' is a rather short and uninformative essay.) From these quotations, you can infer clearly that the sanctuary was separated from the faithful to a greater or lesser degree from antiquity, although obviously not during the period before Constantine.

(Early:) a portion of the middle nave was often enclosed with rails and added to the sanctuary, as may be seen today in the San Clemente at Rome

(After 1000 AD) The walls of this sanctuary, which had thus become a formal enclosure,

(Gothic) Gothic architecture, which, in consequence of the improved vaulting, found it easier to conduct the side aisles around the choir, as the Romanesque architects had already done in individual cases. The sanctuary indeed was not thereby essentially altered, but it was now accessible on all sides, and the faithful could attain to the immediate vicinity of the high altar, When it was not separated by a wall, an entirely free view of the sanctuary was offered. For the most part, however, the termination of the sanctuary with walls was retained, while in front was still erected the screen, which enjoyed in the Gothic period its special vogue.

Side by side with this "cathedral type" was retained the old simple type, in which the sanctuary was not accessible on all sides; this was found especially in parish churches and in the churches of the mendicant orders.

(Renaissance) In its preference for bright and airy spaces, the Renaissance also abandoned the method of separating the sanctuary from the rest of the church by means of a screen; at a subsequent period, the latter was replaced by the low Communion bench.

(Conclusion:) In the medieval church the sanctuary was shut off from the congregation and was as inaccessible as the Holy of Holies in the Temple of the Old Testament; the sanctuary of the Renaissance church stands out before us in a brilliance of light like Mount Tabor, but without blinding our gaze. We believe that we are nearer the Deity, our hearts are filled with joyous sentiments, so that we might cry out with the Apostle Peter "It is good for us to be here". In the medieval church, on the other hand, we are penetrated with a mysterious awe and like Moses feel urged to take off our shoes, for this is a holy place.

BEDA KLEINSCHMIDT.

Transcribed by Douglas J. Potter

Dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IV

Nihil Obstat. Remy Lafort, Censor

Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York

Your Ph.D.'s remarks sound similar to the offhand slurs emitted by Rembert the Vandal shortly after he became the Archbishop of Milwaukee. In speaking of pipe organs, Rembert the Vandal stated that 'they were originally found in French whorehouses.'

This typically profane statement (matched by your Ph.D.'s "cowguard" remarks,) betrayed Rembert the Vandal's REAL and utter dis-belief in the nature of the sacred--but it was only several years later that his disbelief became crystal clear to his priests and a growing number of the Faithful.

During his reign, parishes and schools closed, the Diocese became financially unstable, Ordinations dropped to an average of less than 1/year, etc., etc., etc.

Lack of fidelity has a price--and we are paying it here in Milwaukee.