On a trad board, one of the forum members said the following: "My brother is in the FFI and he has told me that Francis has admitted making a mistake in appointing Volpe and will soon remove him.
He will also overturn the ludicrous ruling of not allowing the FFI from offering the TLM and the Traditional breviary."
I hope I'm wrong but I believe they're overly optimistic.
Our friend Dorothy adds the amusing comment: "Craziness. The president of Harvard is named Faust, and the nimrod in charge of destroying the FFI is called Volpe. Has life turned into a Harry Potter novel or what?"
Another friend comments:
When this ends, if not with total destruction of the FFI, they will have Volpi lift the restrictions under some pretense that his draconian measures have effected some good in the organization. But I fear that nothing short of total destruction will be the end, for this is their purpose, to send a message that traditionalism is fatal. Anything short of this sends the wrong message. The FFI cannot be allowed to survive.
Hard to argue with this. It is certainly a very visible form of public execution. There really can be no doubt that a clear and hard message is being sent by this "pope of mercy and forgiveness". One might almost be inclined to call it a crucifixion.
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So what's the next step? Suppress the FSSP? I attend a Latin Mass Church in Chicago that has its own order. They are explicitly bi-ritualistic (as they call it), celebrating the Novus Ordo (in English and Latin) alongside the Tridentine Mass. (You don't think the Novus Ordo can be reverent? Attend it at Cantius.) But no one would be fooled into thinking that the Tridentine Mass doesn't so to speak form the backbone of things. We are one of the only parishes that are growing, and out of 100+? or so parishes in Chicago supply 20% of the new priests. But are we to be harassed as well? Or does continuing to offer the Novus Ordo (reverently) protect us? If so, that's not, for now, too high a price to pay.
ReplyDeleteI have assisted at the "high" NO Mass at St. John Cantius. I had obtained a bulletin that said the Tridentine "high Mass" was at such and such a time. So, I showed up, a few minutes early. I was disappointed to see that I had got the time wrong, as the High Mass was obviously just finishing. Latnern bearers, altar servers with humeral veils to touch the vessels, priests in birettas and an orchestra doing Mozart... I spoke with an usher and expressed my dismay that I had missed it, since this was going to be my only day in Chicago. He said, "oh no, this was the NO. The Tridentine Mass starts in 15 minutes."
ReplyDeleteBut it was a bait and switch. When the so-called "high Tridentine Mass" started, it was a pathetic affair of a Missa Cantata; one priest and no server and a few seminarians singing a Missa de Angelis in the choir loft. It turned out as I got to know more people at that parish, that this was deliberate.
St. John Cantius is part of the problem, trying to tart up the NO to draw the Trads into accepting it.
Well, as a 5+ year parishioner who knows many of the priests, brothers, singers and music staff quite well, as well as being a so to speak, veteran attendee of all the Masses, I can say with certainty that you are completely mistaken. I would be happy to say a bit more later when I'm not at work.
ReplyDeleteAs has been said many times, probably the worst thing about the NO is that it _can_ be celebrated reverently...
ReplyDeleteGary Johannes
For ongoing info on the FFI see
ReplyDeletehttp://pray4thefriars.wordpress.com/