Motu Proprio: Truth Is Crazier Than Fiction

I wrote an article parodying the Ordinary Ministers of the Media’s coverage of the Motu Proprio which has been very well received. Thank you. However the Belfast Telegraph does me one better. Check out the headline from this genuine news article:

Right to the point, eh? The opening paragraphs are worth the price of admission. My emphases and comments:

A plan by the Pope to authorise the widespread return of the controversial Latin Mass, despite concerns that parts of it are anti-Semitic, has provoked a backlash among senior clergy in Britain and [queue dramatic music] threatens to divide the Catholic Church worldwide.

The 16th-century [Just in case you didn’t know it is a relic] Tridentine Mass – which includes references to [wait for it….] “perfidious” Jews – was abandoned [abandoned…Like a worn out pair of jeans] in 1969 and replaced with liturgy in local languages, to make worship more accessible to the bulk of churchgoers. But the Pope announced on Thursday that a long-awaited document liberalising the use of the Mass, which some clergy fear will also limit the Church’s dialogue with Jews and Muslims, will be released next week.

If I didn’t know that this was a serious news piece, I would be commending the author for lampooning all the various different misunderstandings and stereotypes. He hit most them in two short paragraphs. Well done.

Read the full article here to get a taste of the craziness we can expect after the release of the documents.