March 3, 2009
The Legion…
Those in the Legionnaires of Christ (and their lay organization Ragnum Christi) have my greatest sympathy. Regardless of your views of Fr. Marciel, and on the leadership who should have noticed his deception, the VAST majority of the Legion seems to be filled with Catholics of good will, who have been greatly deceived.
I do wish the leadership would come clean, but were I to guess, they’re ready to act… just awaiting permission from Rome… who is distracted by other matters. The delay smells to me more like an organizational snafu rather than a deliberate attempt to (deceive|whitewash|hide) the challenges, as their detractors seem to think.
God grant that this challenge passes quickly, and a good resolution is come to swiftly. May the holy work of the Legion continue, and that which needs to be discarded be quickly tossed aside.
The only acceptable thing for Bp. Williamson to say:
(and if he doesn’t believe it, or isn’t sincere, then unfortunatly there will be trouble.)
“I have been woefully and deeply wrong about the Holocaust, and the Shoah. I have failed to understand the gravity of the attempted genocide of the Jewish people in Europe, and worse, I have perpetuated these myths to those around me.
To my superior Bp. Fellay, to the Holy Father, and to all people of good will, I offer my most heartfelt and anguished apologies. I will ask my superior to suggest a life of seclusion and penance for the rest of my days.”
Should Bp. Williamson offer an apology along these lines, the issue would disappear for most people. It also will allow a graceful exit from the stage of someone who has caused great harm to the Church.
February 20, 2009
A notice to the members of the SSPX
And others of the ‘extremely liturgically conservative’ camp:
You might call me a NeoCon. You might call me misguided, you might think that I don’t attain to the fullness of appreciation of Catholicism.
But I’m the best friend you didn’t know you had.
I and lots of my friends are deeply in love with the Church. Some of us are fans of Life Teen, some of us like a more somber liturgy. We’re all big fans of Eucharistic Adoration, Holy Hours, Benediction, the ‘O salutaris Hostia’, etc. We love praying rosary’s, serving in the community, and raising our children in the faith.
We’ve lived our whole lives with Vatican II. We have no memory of the Extrordinary Form of the Mass. But almost universally, we are curious about it, and want to participate in one.
But I’m incredibly turned off by the arrogance displayed by the people I’ve interacted with from the SSPX or even the ‘Latin Rite’ parish in my diocese. And I’m not alone.
I bumped into Owen after a few years of not seeing him, and discovered he was going to said ‘Latin Rite’ parish. I wanted to ask him some questions about it, but all he was interested in doing was shooting me down based on the verbage I was using.
Here’s a hint: I’m the only one of my friends who has a CLUE that the normative name of the current Mass is Novus Ordo. If you predicate all of your discussions with people on knowing the exact meanings of Novus Ordo, Usus Antiquar, Ad Orientum, Pater noster, etc, etc, YOU WILL NEVER HAVE A CHANCE TO REACH US. Because you jump on the slightest wrong term, and won’t let it go.
It seems to me that first, those who try to guard the Extrordinary Form are guarding something valuable. However, the guards treat it as the Holy of Holy’s (that is, something which only they are privy too) rather than guarding it as something in a Museaum (that is something which needs to be protected, AND be viewed by anyone).
Second, those in the rank and file of the SSPX need to rid themselves of the attitude of Sedevacantism. The attitude that they are the ONLY guardians of the ‘true faith’. This assumption seems to be behind lots of their statements… Their newsletter is called The Remenant, etc, etc.
Finally, when people throw you an olive branch, pick it up with grace and charity, and use it as an opportunity to teach, rather than an opportunity to preach.
Remember, those tossing you the olive branch (like me and my friends) can be your greatest allies in bringing the Extrordinary Form of the Mass to greater popularity. We’re the ones who will be leading parish councils in the near future… we can’t affect Catholicism at large, but we can help nudge priests and pastors that way, aid you in forming ‘Stable Groups’ etc.
February 17, 2009
A Catholic thinks outloud.
Hey. Welcome.
I look out, and I see challenges for the Church. The historian in me says this is nothing new, but hey, now I can at least start a blog and talk about it.
