The announcement that Archbishop Jose Gomez of San Antonio has been appointed co-adjutor archbishop for Los Angeles and successor to Cardinal Mahony leaves the mainstream media very confused.
The media is alternately ecstatic and apoplectic over Pope Benedict’s choice for the city of Angels. Several news outlets, notably the LA Times, have already written several articles about what to expect from Archbishop Gomez and have even tried to send thinly-veiled warnings. But in most of the coverage, the media makes the same mistake that it always makes when it tries to cover religion like politics. They attempt to view all matters through the lens of politics and feel compelled to attempt to classify everything in terms of the modern political definitions of ‘progressive’ or ‘conservative.’
Trying to do this with Archbishop Gomez has left their collective heads spinning.
Archbishop Gomez is a Mexican-born hispanic. Hooray!
Archbishop Gomez is a full member of Opus Dei. Gasp!?!
Archbishop Gomez is… Continue Reading @ National Catholic Register
April 8, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Beautiful piece. Insightful and witty. And if I may add a detail about love, it would be the order. Loving God first brings about true love for people. That will make it real and burn-out proof. The other way around, “loving” people first without regard to God ends up in failure as Judas, a vocal advocate of the poor, had shown.
April 8, 2010 at 7:09 pm
I'm hoping the Raj Mahal will be bull-dozed and the land sold within 5 years of his Episcopacy. I also wish Opus Dei weren't so loopy, wishy-washy and self-protecting when it came to taking public stands. It would be nice if this group, which markets itself as "traditional" would finally come out in support of the Tridentine mass now that JP II is dead. This is the perfect opportunity for them and for the Archbishop-to-be to make a stand for the better.
April 8, 2010 at 7:27 pm
With one stroke the Pope ties many of his liberal foes into knots. Pretty neat trick.
April 8, 2010 at 7:31 pm
It would be nice if this group, which markets itself as "traditional" would finally come out in support of the Tridentine mass now that JP II is dead.
Priests of Opus Dei normally say Mass according to the rite that is, as of right now, the "Ordinary Form" of the Mass. One phrase you'll hear a lot among people in the Work is that the Work seeks to "serve the Church as She wishes to be served."
So if anything came from the Pope, nothing as strong as an order, just a suggestion or a hint that he would prefer priests of the Work to use the Extraordinary Form on a regular basis, you can have no doubt but that's exactly what would happen. In the meantime, the priests will continue to celebrate the Mass in a deeply reverent manner…
April 9, 2010 at 3:26 am
Margaret – heard it. Not buying it. They don't need the Pope to tell them to celebrate the EF. They can make that decision all by themselves. My assessment stands.
April 9, 2010 at 5:59 am
I'm hoping the Raj Mahal will be bull-dozed and the land sold within 5 years of his Episcopacy
Hoping that a Catholic cathedral — whatever one thinks of the architecture — will be bulldozed and razed is a perverse thing to say, if you're a Catholic as I assume you are.
April 9, 2010 at 3:06 pm
Great article Patrick! It shows how the Catholic with conviction will stand alone, swimming upstream if you will. Much like our Beloved Pope right now!!!
Viva la Papa!
April 9, 2010 at 4:11 pm
JChristian – spare me the crocodile tears. The Roj Mahal is merely a monument to Mahoney's ego and vision of conquering the church. Of course I am not insinuating that LA should go without a Cathedral. St Vibbiana's SHOULD be the Cathedral of LA. But the church has been selling off its property left and right, obviously. So, run off and snivel somewhere else as it's really quite tedious.
April 9, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Early Riser,
On the contrary: The Cathedral isn't "merely" a monument to Mahony. I get that you don't like the architecture or the man who happened to be behind the building; fine. But it's quite another thing to wish for — even in jest — the destruction of a consecrated space. St. Vibiana was NOT viable as a Cathedral church for such a large archdiocese. Now we have CoLA, and the city is much better for it. If any place needed more sacred space, it's L.A.
And your condescending tone is not appreciated, either. "Sniveling" <> "Someone who registers an opinion contrary to mine." Please consider that you're talking to a fellow human being when you type these things.
April 9, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Early Riser,
You must be having a tough week or something. In all sincerity, my sympathies.
April 9, 2010 at 9:08 pm
Margaret – LOL! So, because I point out facts and state the truth, specific to Summorum Pontificum, you decide to go for a personal attack? What does that say about your own character?
Have a blessed Friday. I know I will.
April 9, 2010 at 9:11 pm
J Christian – I don't deal well with hypocrisy, and you have it coming out of every orofice, apparently. You said my statement was "perverse" for wanting to have the present Cathedral bulldozed. My pointing out that church buildings are sold and "bulldozed" all the time under the DIRECTION of the church made you look like an idiot. I get it. You can dish it out but can't take it.
April 9, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Early Riser,
Your statement *was* perverse. You said that a newly-built Catholic church should be razed. What kind of Catholic hopes for such things?
I wasn't talking about the disposition of other church property; I was talking about your advocacy for the destruction of a specific building, apparently on the grounds that you don't agree with the Cardinal or his taste in architecture. There is no hyprocrisy in anything I said, and the only one looking like an idiot is you, I'm afraid.
April 9, 2010 at 10:45 pm
JChristian LOL. Yes, be afraid, be very afraid. I'm not going to play into your sniveling liberal, modernist ploy. You say you weren't talking about the disposition of church property…BUT I WAS. I said VERY SPECIFICALLY "I'm hoping the Raj Mahal will be bull-dozed and the land sold [by Archbishop Gomez'] within 5 years of his [Archbishop Gomez'] Episcopacy". It is not my decision, obviously. It is my HOPE that the new archbishop will raze this monstrosity in favor of a new and traditional Cathedral worthy of the centuries of Catholic church art and architecture.
You really are pathetic. Not only are you a hypcrite, but have a hideous lack of reading comprehension.
April 9, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Early Riser,
Clearly, you don't know what the word "hypocrite" means. If I lack reading comprehension skills, you lack a basic command of the English language.
You're a sad, sick individual.
April 9, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Early Riser– when I compose a non-aggressive response to a somewhat hostile statement, and get more hostility back– yeah, actually, my response *is* sympathy.
I do hope you realize, though, that these kinds of on-line exchanges make it much less likely that I will ever check out my local TLM. I've been thinking about it, but have been hesitating because so many of its on-line defenders come off so angrily. I really don't need to encounter angry people like yourself in real life.
April 10, 2010 at 12:38 am
LOL. "I'm a liberal hypocrite who can only attack ad hominem. I WAS planning to attend my local TLM, but now I'm not going to, because you're just a big meanie head!"
April 10, 2010 at 12:40 am
J "christian" being called a "sad, sick individual" by a modernist liberal hypocrite is a badge of honour.
I'll take it.
April 10, 2010 at 12:43 am
Keep digging that hole deeper, Early Riser, so that everyone at CMR can see who you are.
April 10, 2010 at 12:45 am
By the way: You don't need to put scare quotes around my real last name.