Trautman: Not In My Diocese

It should come as no surprise that the statement issued by Bishop Trautman of Erie, PA on the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum is as weasily as the politically-correct translations he would have us suffer. The bishop issued a statement that is clearly a shot across the bow for priests and pastors in his diocese. “Don’t even think of trying to celebrate a Latin Mass without my say so.” is the message. You be the judge. My emphases and [comments].

Statement from Bishop Trautman on Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic letter “Summorum Pontificum”

Most Reverend Donald W. Trautman, S.T.D, S.S.L., Bishop of Erie, issued the following statement on July 9, 2007 regarding Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic letter “Summorum Pontificum”:

The recent apostolic letter of Pope Benedict XVI on widening the use of the liturgical books of 1962 is prompted by his desire to reach out to those Catholics in schism [It seems that no matter how many times this gets corrected, they still say it. So it must be true.] because of their non-acceptance of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. [Only the crazies you see, nobody who accepts V-II wants it.]

The Second Vatican Council, an ecumenical council of the Church [in case you didn’t know], restored and adapted the liturgy recommending vernacular languages for the worship life of the Church [ he must have forgotten about V-II mandating the retention of Latin, oops.] Pope Benedict, sensitive to those still clinging [what are the young clinging to?]to the Tridentine Latin Mass (the 1962 missal) and liturgical rites prior to Vatican II, now grants a more generous application of that former liturgy.

Since the Diocese of Erie already permits the celebration of the Tridentine Mass in two locations, St. Ann Parish in Erie and St. Bernadette Parish in Saegertown, I do not foresee a pressing pastoral need on the part of our people. [The diocese of Erie is composed of the thirteen counties of Northwestern Pennsylvania with a Catholic population of about 225,000. Geographically, it is the largest diocese in the state covering 9,936 square miles! Yup, two is plenty.]

In the future, I will be issuing diocesan norms to help apply and order the specifics of the pope’s letter. Priests who might want to celebrate the Tridentine Mass [before being banished to the smallest coal town in Pennsylvania] will be given a rubrical and Latin exam to comply with the pope’s own statement, “The use of the old missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language.” [One can only imagine the type of exam that the good bishop will concoct…Please translate the entire Webster’s dictionary into Latin, you have 30 minutes…starting now.]

Further, there will be need to ascertain that the common good of the parish prevails and to ascertain what constitutes a stable community [Oooh, the hurdles he will think up for this one!] of those requesting the 1962 missal. We must keep in proper perspective [read, my perspective] the pope’s more generous use of the liturgical rites prior to 1962. The pope himself has said: “It is clearly seen that the new missal will certainly remain the ordinary form of the Roman rite.”

Remember, according to Bishop Trautman we are too stupid to understand ‘sullied’, ‘unfeigned’, ‘ineffable’, ‘gibbet’, ‘wrought’, and ‘thwart’. There is no way you would understand Latin. Priests will need to pass a 17-part exam in triplicate before being allowed to celebrate this mass for schismatics. Any bets on what the bishop will consider a ‘stable’ community?

Bishop Trautman’s message to his priests, “Not in my diocese.” My ineffable revulsion for what the Bishop has wrought to thwart the motu proprio is unfeigned.