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Cardinal Sean, the blogging cardinal, also the Archbishop of Boston, tells us that “. . . in the United States the number of people who participate in the Latin Mass even with permission is very low. . . . Indeed, interest in the Latin Mass is particularly low here in New England. . . . This issue of the Latin Mass is not urgent for our country . . . .” I beg permission to disagree, in a qualified way, with His Eminence.
The Bishop of Syrcause, James Moynihan, would, I imagine, if asked, say that the number of “Latin Mass” faithful in his diocese is extremely low. So low, in fact, that St. Stephen of Hungary’s parish was among those recently slated for permanent close down at the end of the summer. He could show the Holy Father the numbers and would shake his head saying, “Your Holiness, motu proprio all you like, there just isn’t much need or interest.”
But what Bishop Moynihan would be ignoring - similar to what Cardinal Sean, the blogging cardinal, is ignoring - is the very large and thriving SSPX chapel immediately across the street from St. Stephen of Hungary. It’s not just a chapel, but also a school - and they’re about to rebuild and expand the facility for the school. Now around Boston, there are at least six illicit Masses in the old rite; is the blogging Cardinal aware of those people or interested in bringing them back into the canonical structure of the Church? Sure, some of them would never come, despite the cardinal’s best efforts, but has he reached out to them or tried? And if he invited them to return, would they have a parish home to welcome them?
Cardinal Sean, the sad fact is that many of the folks who mosey into Mass - they do, I’ve seen them here in Ithaca at Immaculate Conception parish, moseying up the aisle, slightly distending the knee, and then slopping into the pew - don’t care a fig whether Mass is in Latin, Swahili or Urdu; they don’t know what Mass is about, they’ve never read a single book about the Catholic Faith, and probably don’t even know that they have to go to Confession once a year. Whether Father is vested in a glorious Roman chausable & maniple or in a clown’s costume, it doesn’t make much difference to them.
In short, my impression is that people aren’t at the English Mass because they said to their wives on Sunday morning, “Oh, gee, sweetheart, which shall we do, Latin or English today?” They don’t even know that there’s an old rite Mass, located in some corner of the diocese, which they might drive an hour in order to attend either extremely early in the morning or late in the afternoon. They are at the banal, boring, often littered with liturgical abuses Novus Ordo Missae in English because that’s what the Holy Father and the bishops of the world, in their wisdom, decided to give them. Not in all cases, but in most, I imagine, their presence at the English Mass is certainly not an expression of interest or desire in an English versus a Latin Mass.
But, Your Eminence, if you build it, they will come. Why, Cardinal Sean, have you not followed the example of so many other bishops around the country and allowed into your diocese one of the priestly fraternities dedicated to the old rite? Have you seen the works of beauty that the Institute of Christ the King has created through gloriously restored churches? Have you seen the large families with many children in the thriving parishes of the F.S.S.P.? Do you hear the beautiful chant and pipe organ which accompany their Masses? Have you looked at the numbers of their vocations and the young men interested in joining their ranks?
Cardinal Sean, what happened when Bishop DiMarzio of Camden, NJ established the only diocesan Latin Mass parish in the country? Catholics moved from all over the country to be there at Mater Ecclesiae. The reality is that the bishops have many times failed to apply generously the provisions of Ecclesia Dei afflicta and then report to the press and to the Holy Father that there is no interest or very little, at any rate, in the Latin Mass in their dioceses.
Your Eminence, Catholics who adhere to the traditional liturgical forms of the Church need not only a roof and a 98 year old priest with little knowledge of Latin, but also those things which every faithful Catholic would like in a parish home. That’s why it’s unfair to say that there is little “interest” when no provision has yet been made for Catholics adhering to the traditional liturgical forms. Setup an old rite parish and then, if it goes belly up, no one shows, no one cares, etc., then tell the world with your blog that there’s no interest, especially there in New England.
St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
This is truly the heart of the problem. What a great post.
Very good points made. Thanks for a terrific post.
I fully support your opinions…and facts!
Whoever left the last comment, wasn’t me. I do agree, though, with Iosephus’ fine post.
How about this for a fun mental exercise! Let’s put a typical Novus Ordo Mass at 2 PM in a bad part of town (with a parking lot that needs an off duty policeman paid by the congregation to watch the cars during Mass)– let’s have the priest arrive just in time for the Mass, so that there is not much time for confession before. Let’s have the Church needing to be cleared out ASAP after the Mass on account of the Boy Scouts meeting at 3:30, so there is no time for “fellowship” except in the fenced in parking lot as the families walk to their cars. Now — let’s put the Tridentine Mass at every Church at all the normal times. Hmm. I wonder if that lone Novus Ordo Mass would fare nearly as well as the Tridentine Masses in this situation do? I think not. I think that the ease-lovin’ folk would schlep their way to the most convenient Mass nearest to them. If it was the Tridentine — well, they’d just get used to it. I doubt few of the Joe Pew Catholics would sacrifice for their “familiar” Novus Ordo as described!
MM, my point exactly and you’ve said it far better than I !
Alas! Has Cardinal Sean been living under a rock or is he simply misinformed or worse about interest in the Traditional Latin Mass within his own archdiocese? Within the Archdiocese of Boston there can be found, in addition to the poorly treated indult Mass congregation at Mary Immaculate of Lourdes, an SSPX presence every week in Dedham, an independent chapel in West Roxbury, and a mission of the Congregation of Mary Immaculate Queen, a sedevacantist group.
Indeed, if, as Mater Marci suggests, the Tridentine Mass were put into every parish, the good Cardinal would probably be surprised by the turnout. Perhaps that is what he fears.
One of archbishops at the Council (I believe it was Bugnini) at a press conference announcing the new liturgy was asked whether there was a big demand for the new liturgy. He responded that there was not, but that he though the people would grow to appreciate it. Hmmmm …
Fr. Ralph Wiltgen recounts this in his excellent book, The Rhine Flows into the Tiber.
Exactly. The average Mass goer’s contentment with the status quo and complete lack of interest in matters of liturgical or theological (let alone ability to comment competently on such things) says absolutely nothing about the merits of the New Mass or the desirability of making the old more widely available.
Folks,
I posted this yesterday morning to the Cardinal’s Blog and it was removed in the early afternoon by presumeably the blog’s manager. Was this too shrill or is there no room for disagreement?
:
http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/?p=1752
“This issue of the Latin Mass is not urgent for our country, however I think they wanted us to be part of the conversation so that we would be able to understand what the situation is in countries where the numbers are very significant.”
Your Eminence, with all due respect, with upwards of 70% of Boston Catholics not involved in the sacramental life of the Church, I believe every avenue to evangelize should not be minimized. The Holy Father most certainly is directing this Motu Proprio to the entire Universal Church. Many of the Flock suffer from a great spiritual impoverishment exacerbated by secularism and its proclivity toward relativism. The Classical Roman Rite is not the entire answer but a significant source of Grace that can serve as a leaven in our troubled times.
May God bless you in His work. My prayers are with you.
In nomine sancto ejus.
Comment by Serviam — July 2, 2007 @ 7:17 am
I know for a fact that Cardinal O’Malley resides within a seven minute walk of Holy Trinity Church while the TLM was offered there and never once darkened its door. Earlier this year His Eminence visited Holy Trinity’s Rectory that houses “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”, a home for at risk youth and was asked if he would like to see the interior of the church. He responded that he was not interested. The Indult was removed on April 22nd to Mary Immaculate of Lourdes in Newton Upper Falls, a suburb of Boston. A church that underwent an unfortunate renovation in the wake of Vatican II.
Meanwhile a small community of German Catholics remain at Holy Trinity despite the loss of their Indult parishioners (250 strong). Unfortunately, His Eminence remains resolute in his plans to suppress a treasured part of our Catholic architectural patrimony. A patrimony that includes arguably one of the best preserved extant interiors remaining in the Archdiocese of Boston, suited perfectly for the Classical Rite. Instead we are told the “Church is not buildings…Mission before mortar”.
Holy Trinity/Boston, MA
http://www.holytrinitygerman.org
Mary Immaculate of Lourdes/Newton Upper Falls, MA
http://members.aol.com/maryimmoflourdes/maryimm.htm
We are living in a wasteland, indeed and I pray that we may change hearts and heads in Boston.
I don’t know why it would have been taken down: it looks like many of the other comments up there. I’m glad that people are letting the Cardinal know what they think about his stance on this matter.
“This issue of the Latin Mass is not urgent to our country.” I don’t think anything is urgent to casual Cardinal Sean. Six weeks after being installed in Boston, he agreed to pay out 85 million dollars to settle more than 500 sex abuse cases. With equal facility, he closed down 80 churches, sold the chancery, the seminary and plans to move headquarters well out of the city. It took the intervention of the Pope’s representative to the U.S. to get the Cardinal to put an end to Catholic Charities of Boston of giving away children to homosexual couples for adoption. Two years ago, under the Cardinal’s watch, it became legal for homosexuals to enter into “marriage.” It took a local Non-Catholic Group to lead the battle for a amendment to the State Constitution. After ineffectual statements from Cardinal Sean to the effect that the people have a right to vote and decide how marriage should be, children do best in a family of one man and one woman, the democratic process must be upheld, etc. http://www.macathconf.org/issues.htm#Fam&Mar the predominantly Catholic State House catered to the Governor and homosexual lobby. O well, life goes on.
Excellent as always, and right on point.
Why is this surprising? Do not the CATHOLICS of Boston elect the kennedys??
Serviam: I had a comment on Cardinal Sean’s blog as well as a link to this post, and it was up there for a few days, but now it has been taken down. Also my wife’s comment was removed.
At least we traditionalists can be happy that Cardinal Sean or one of his minions supports censorship and the silencing of dissent! :)
PACatholic, I would expect a remark like that from someone from Pennsylvania. While y’ins are surrounded by nothing but woods and coal mines, Bostonians are encircled by Golden-Domed-Monuments of Higher Education and the Eighth Wonder of the World—the Big Dig. Thanks to Mr. Kennedy, the latter project brought into the city of Boston 15 Billion Federal dollars. (On his behalf, I thank you for your personal contribution.) Mr. Kennedy may not be your average All-American Choir Boy but when he goes to Church, he receives Communion from the Cardinal himself. Bostonians are very broad-minded people. They don’t judge pejoratively. Rather than cast cinders and spears they cast votes from a conscience that is both well formed and informed.
Discipulus,
Well formed and informed consciences that continually elect and support a radicalized DNC platform that is at odds with Catholic moral doctrine. Any honest and well formed Catholic can easily discern that a number of popular social causes are morally repugnant to those who fully embrace magisterial Truth. Ted Kennedy must make his poor mother Rose roll in her grave as the poster boy of the radical left’s social agenda. The fact is Massachusetts is a one party state that muzzles any counterpoint
Abortion, partial birth abortion, embryonic stem cell research, birth control, “Gay” marriage…do you see a pattern here?
The sad thing is most voters in the Boston area vote by their genes (perhaps candidates nice Irish name) of which 30% of baptized Catholics bother to go to church on a typical Sunday and think its just fine. Meanwhile the archdioces of Boston has closed 85 churches, can field less than 10 men per year at St. John’s Seminary and is hemorrhaging fiscally. It seems the Boston Globe has greater influence in their formation than Holy Mother Church. So much for well formed critical thinking.
West Roxbury, MA
Serviam, I would expect someone from Rocksbury to cast the first stones. I think I know why your post never made it to the Cardinal’s blog: your reputation has preceded you. You people take not prisoners. Isn’t Roxbury the place noted for its drive by shootings, gang warfare, and drugs? And right across the river from Harvard and MIT, too. And wasn’t Holy Trinity Church in the same high crime zone, just south of the border. No wonder the “Cardinal never once darkened its door.” He valued his life. I could go on but I’m just giving you a hard time.
Sorry for the confusion of my previous post but my point is that the people of Boston are like sheep without a shepherd. They lack leadership from the Church. No doubt the scandals have helped to do that. The Church has been separated from both the State and the Halls of Higher Learning for a long time. And this may be a shock to you, but even from BC. It’s good to see some fighters in Boston; keep up the good work.
Discipulus,
I hope I wasn’t to shrill, but this hit a nerve having been raised in the Boston area and continuing to see the influence of a increasingly secular humanist power structure populated by fellow “Catholic” drag us into a moral abyss.
As a point of clarification: West Roxbury and Roxbury are two completely different parts of of municipal Boston. They do not even share a common border. In West Roxbury (read: traditionally lace curtain Irish blue hairs), politics is a cottage industry where the liberal Democrats reign supreme. It’s a community, of politicians, civil servants, union hacks, professionals, liberal activists and increasingly well heeled “Gays”. Most are not likely to center their lives around the parishes of St. Theresa or Holy Name, as their parents or grandparents once did. In many respects, it reflects the decline that has occurred within Irish Catholic Boston over the last 40 plus years with its support and idenification with the Archdiocese of Boston.
Holy Trinity Church is on the edge of Boston’s Chinatown, a few hundred yards from the Wang Center and New England Medical Center and the Boston Herald Newspaper plant. Aside from one incident of vandalism (to a car) at night, in the 13 years I have attended the Indult, there has been little or no violent crime around the Church. This is particularly true during the day. As in any large city, common sense should prevail at night.
Holy Trinity (HT) has served older homeless men during the day at its Kit Clark Center, in the lower church hall for many years. It is a crucial service to many of the urban homeless in the area which is also served by the Pine Street Inn.
I would venture to say the area of the South End around the Cathedral of the Holy Cross (a seven minute walk from HT) has a higher incidence of crime, juxtaposed next to a BHA/HUD low income project built in the 1950’s.