Fr. Wacko Progressive Condescending Dinosaur (aka Fr. Richard McBrien. I know name calling is often considered immature at worst and bad form at best, however I contend that name calling, when accurately and creatively done, ought be considered a public service.) writes in the Tidings lambasting the motu proprio and anyone who desires the traditional Latin Mass. Oh, to be sure, we have the typical insults and condescension. Fr. Obnoxious writes “[it] has stirred some measure of debate within the Roman Catholic Church, especially in letters-to-the-editor and on blogs written by individuals who seem not to have day-jobs.” Right Father. We should leave the commentary to those who really have no day time responsibilities, liberal academics. Leaving that aside, I wish to take issue with Fr. “I doth protest too much” claim that nobody cares about this issue.
The overwhelming majority of Catholics, however, are apparently unaware of, or have already forgotten, the July 7 papal letter, entitled Summorum Pontificum (Latin, “Of supreme pontiffs”). Indeed, those who attend Mass regularly would never prefer Mass in a language other than their own.
Those who do claim to prefer the Latin Mass, whether Tridentine or Novus Ordo (that is, in keeping with the reforms of Pope Paul VI), constitute a tiny minority of the Roman Catholic Church, which is not to say that they have no right to speak their minds about the matter or to take advantage of the concessions which the Vatican has offered them.
But if such Catholics are under the ages of 45 or 50, they have little or no hands-on experience of the pre-Vatican II Mass. It is a mystery how one can be nostalgic for something one had never experienced.
Fr. Angry Hippie goes on at some length defending fellow dinosaur retired auxiliary Bishop Emil Wcela who wrote a piece about the TLM (Which I wrote about here) of equal mendacity and condescension.
The point that both Fr. Stegosaurus and Bishop Gasosaurus are so desperate to convince you of is that, (paraphrasing)”There is only a very tiny group of right wing, wild eyed, jobless, pajama wearing bloggers who even care about this topic. The overwhelming vast whopping majority either don’t know or don’t care about this subject and would never attend the traditional liturgy even if you paid them.”
Hmmm. Were that the case, why would these Cretaceous era cranks be writing multi part series in leading progressive publications on a topic about which no one cares? Once again, hmmm? (To be fair, these publications often expound upon topics of little interest.)
Frankly, I think Father doth protest too much. The simple truth is that these dinosaurs have looked to the sky and seen the approaching meteor. Unable to deal with their impending extinction they howl at the meteor (all the while claiming it is just a pebble, no worries) and curse the little traditionalist mammals that are destined to inherit their position at the top of the food chain. Evolution is a bitch.
October 27, 2007 at 5:42 pm
I do not support Father McBrien or his views at all but we do our “side” no good by personal vituperation. It might be better to stick to refuting what he is saying without the hyperbole. Just my 2 kopeks 🙂
October 27, 2007 at 5:56 pm
Anon,
Vituperation is defined as “verbal abuse or castigation; violent denunciation or condemnation”
A little light hearted name calling (Angry hippie, dinosaurs, etc) is hardly vituperative. I didn’t suggest they are evil or call for their extermination. In addition, name calling is fun.
Plus, he started it with the “day jobs” comment.
Peace out!
October 27, 2007 at 6:23 pm
oh Patrick, Patrick. “He started it”??? 🙂
October 27, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Anon,
All in good fun. Besides, name calling is a lost art. Name calling, while much maligned today, has a long and storied pedigree. The founding fathers were pros at it. Why if you want to see some really good name calling, one need look no further that Matthew Chapter 23. In that chapter alone, Christ calls the scribes and Pharisees names 16 times. The names are “hypocrites” (7 times), “son of Hell” (once),”blind guides” (twice), “fools and blind” (3 times), “whited sepulchres” (once), “serpents” (once), and “offspring of vipers” (once).
I am simply an amateur!
October 27, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Brilliant fun! I love the imagery. It really is “sour grapes” for the “Kum-ba-yah” (sp?)crowd and the more they whine the more I believe that they’ve seen the future and it doesn’t have the applause and hand-holding they’ve come to expect. Bless their dear litte cretaceous hearts!
October 27, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I do think a lot of the name calling goes beyond “good fun”. There is a respect due to priests and bishops even when they are liberal.
October 27, 2007 at 9:52 pm
Randy,
Which particular name do you feel goes over the line?
Wacko Progressive Condescending Dinosaur
Obnoxious (This one is merely descriptive.)
Angry Hippie
Stegosaurus and Gasosaurus
or
cretaceous era cranks (I am really proud of this one!)
P.S. Does the respect thing also apply to Jesuits? I thought maybe there is an exemption for them.
;-}
October 27, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Mr. McBrien is now a discredited intellectual.
A poll done long before S.P. found that over 15% of faithful would attend the T.L.M. regularly on Sundays were it reasonably convenient for them to do so. That’s a sizable minority, not a tiny one. It is impossible to assess demand for the old Mass because there is very little access to it (duh!). In order to assess demand, it would have to be available on the same basis as the New Mass is. McBrien’s illogic runs like this: they can only want it if they are nostalgic for it, and they can’t be nostalgic for it because we have cut off their access to it.
How can people be nostalgic for something they never knew? First of all, many newcomers are not nostalgic at all. They prefer a Mass that is Catholic rather than Protestant in spirit. They recognise quality and dignity when they see it. They yearn for the mystery that any serious consideration of God must entail. At the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they look for God not in themselves but beyond; He is transcendent.
Others are indeed nostalgic because they have had limited access to the old Mass by means of the 1984 Indult. This McBrien character needs to exercise the little grey cells more. Time to return to his University and compose something worth reading, preferably without taking it from others.
P.K.T.P.
October 28, 2007 at 7:41 am
Ja, ja, Patrick,
What was it someone said?…
For those who posses a sense of humor no explanation is necessary. For those who do not, no explanation is possible.
tede
tede@operamail.com
October 28, 2007 at 8:47 pm
The one “kudo” I see for the Novus Ordo is that it does bring protestants back to the true church. I heard Rob Evans “The Donut Man” speak on his own journey home. He said that he loves the Latin Mass, but it was the Novus Ordo that brought him home. Many protestants have been told that Catholics do not read the Bible. The entire Mass, however, is based on scripture. If the Mass was available only in Latin, many of our separated brothers and sisters in Christ would remain separated. I believe both rites have their place, and only time and opportunity will reveal the truth about which is more popular.