Posted on 11/09/2024 3:50:08 PM PST by ebb tide
When Bishop Joseph Strickland was removed as bishop of the Diocese of Tyler, TX in November 2023, one of the reasons given for his termination by Apostolic Nuncio Christophe Pierre was that he refused to "implement the motu propoio Traditionis custodes," i.e. cancel Latin Masses throughout his diocese. Bishop Strickland refused to do so because he could not, in good conscience, hurt well-meaning, faithful Catholics in his diocese: "As a shepherd and protector of my Diocese, I could not take actions which I knew with certainty would injure part of my flock and deprive them of the spiritual goods which Christ entrusted to His Church."
Strickland's successor and the new "Apostolic Administrator" of the Tyler Diocese, Joe Vasquez, has no such qualms. After Pierre sacked Strickland, Vasquez wrote to the Vatican asking for "guidance on how to implement Traditiones Custodes in this diocese." The answer that came back from the Dicastery for Divine Worship was cruel indeed: cancel all five Latin Masses in the diocese, except for the Latin Mass at the FSSP Parish in Tyler, St. Joseph the Worker. Diocesan Latin Masses in Tyler, Malakoff, Texarkana, Gilmer, and Nacogdoches are to end as of November 30, 2024. No other priests in the diocese will have faculties for the Latin Mass except those at St. Joseph the Worker. Everywhere else, the Latin Mass is "discontinued."
Like most FSSP parishes, St. Joseph the Worker in Tyler, TX is quite crowded. At a time when the Church in Western Europe (so familiar to Cardinal Pierre, who hails from France) is in the process of disappearing entirely, Latin Mass parishes in Tyler and across the globe are packed with young families and converts. Cancelling all five of the Latin Masses in the Diocese will place an enormous strain on its single FSSP parish. Traditional Catholics in far-flung Texarkana are further out of luck, as they now face a two-hour drive to Tyler if they wish to pray as Catholics have for thousands of years.
Such practicalities are of no moment to Vatican leadership. Indeed, a situation where the Church is growing is scarcely conceivable to Western Europeans like Cardinal Pierre, who have witnessed the Church in their native countries collapse within their lifetimes. And the notion of the Vatican micro-managing a parish in rural Texas would seem antithetical to the principles of "synodality," which supposedly emphasize the need for local churches to govern themselves. But under the leadership of Western European Cardinals Hollerich and Grech, the Synod entirely-- and deliberately-- ignored the chorus of voices urging the Church to return to its own traditional liturgy and rescind the horrible, destructive Traditionis Custodes.
We need more shepherds like Bishop Strickland, who bravely stood for the Church's unchanging teaching and liturgy at the expense of his job. Someday, this brave bishop will be celebrated for the care he showed for his flock and the love he showed for Christ and his Church. Let us keep him, and the Catholics of the Diocese of Tyler, in our prayers.
Ping
I simply don’t see the harm in offering mass in Latin. They say mass in lots of other languages.
Being an international traveler Latin masses mean I can understand the mass in whatever country I am.
The Church tried this in Italy and then a short time later had to close 150 parishes. The only retribution parishioners have is to leave their wallets at home and the Italians did.
At some point, dissenting Catholics will form their own denominations.
“I simply don’t see the harm in offering mass in Latin. They say mass in lots of other languages.”
It’s not really the Latin language they have problem with. Rather it’s the *people* who like Latin Mass that they’re after. See, the thing is that the Latin Mass subculture is filled with conservative, MAGA-type Catholics who oppose abortion, LGBT, etc etc. The boys in the Vatican just want to kick such people in the teeth.
The language isn’t the only difference. The prayers are different and the focus of the traditional mass is on God rather than on ourselves.
It nourishes a different faith than the novus ordo. I know several non-traditional families who with God’s grace have held onto the Catholic Faith- but it is in spite of the novus ordo -not because of it. And they would all go to the traditional mass if it was made more available to them.
Lex orendi, lex credendi, lex vivendi.
Dissenting liberals won’t leave for another denomination until the Church leadership actually enforces Catholic teaching. As it is now they can believe and teach what they want and enjoy the buildings and office and staff that the Church supports and has inherited.
Traditional Catholics won’t form a new denomination because they are traditional Catholics -the very idea is repugnant to them. Although many more may leave diocesan parishes to find shelter in SSPX or other traditional groups.
The dissenting Catholics are the modernists and they have already found their own denomination: Bergoglio’s “Syndodal Church”; even Montini’s “Conciliar Church” wasn’t good enough for them.
Meanwhile, faithful Catholic will simply stick to the “Catholic Church”.
Vatican is the enemy of traditional Catholics just as much as some militant Muslim caliphate is.
Thanks for the insights, everyone.
It's not just the language. The order of the Mass is different and more perfectly demonstrates Catholic theology. Consequently, the culture surrounding it exhibits a greater understanding of and devotion to The Father and The Son and The Holy Ghost ... and a rejection of the evils exhibited by the present secular culture.
This, of course, is intolerable and must be suppressed.
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