What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

Here is the sermon… in Italian.  Sorry… I read it.

♦ CAPPELLA PAPALE NEL TERZO ANNIVERSARIO DELLA MORTE DEL SOMMO PONTEFICE GIOVANNI PAOLO II

Questa mattina, alle ore 10.30, il Santo Padre Benedetto XVI presiede, sul sagrato della Basilica Vaticana, la celebrazione della Santa Messa con i Cardinali nel III anniversario della morte del Servo di Dio il Sommo Pontefice Giovanni Paolo II.

Pubblichiamo di seguito l’omelia che il Papa pronuncia nel corso della Celebrazione Eucaristica:

? OMELIA DEL SANTO PADRE

Cari fratelli e sorelle!

La data del 2 aprile è rimasta impressa nella memoria della Chiesa come il giorno della partenza da questo mondo del servo di Dio Papa Giovanni Paolo II. Riviviamo con emozione le ore di quel sabato sera, quando la notizia della morte fu accolta da una grande folla in preghiera che gremiva Piazza San Pietro. Per diversi giorni la Basilica Vaticana e questa Piazza sono state davvero il cuore del mondo. Un fiume ininterrotto di pellegrini rese omaggio alla salma del venerato Pontefice e i suoi funerali segnarono un’ulteriore testimonianza della stima e dell’affetto, che egli aveva conquistato nell’animo di tantissimi credenti e di persone d’ogni parte della terra. Come tre anni fa, anche oggi non è passato molto tempo dalla Pasqua. Il cuore della Chiesa è ancora profondamente immerso nel mistero della Risurrezione del Signore. In verità, possiamo leggere tutta la vita del mio amato Predecessore, in particolare il suo ministero petrino, nel segno del Cristo Risorto. Egli nutriva una fede straordinaria in Lui, e con Lui intratteneva una conversazione intima, singolare e ininterrotta. Tra le tante qualità umane e soprannaturali, aveva infatti anche quella di un’eccezionale sensibilità spirituale e mistica. Bastava osservarlo quando pregava: si immergeva letteralmente in Dio e sembrava che tutto il resto in quei momenti gli fosse estraneo. Le celebrazioni liturgiche lo vedevano attento al mistero-in-atto, con una spiccata capacità di cogliere l’eloquenza della Parola di Dio nel divenire della storia, al livello profondo del disegno di Dio. La Santa Messa, come spesso ha ripetuto, era per lui il centro di ogni giornata e dell’intera esistenza. La realtà "viva e santa" dell’Eucaristia gli dava l’energia spirituale per guidare il Popolo di Dio nel cammino della storia.

Giovanni Paolo II si è spento alla vigilia della seconda Domenica di Pasqua; al compiersi del "giorno che ha fatto il Signore". La sua agonia si è svolta tutta entro questo "giorno", in questo spazio-tempo nuovo che è l’"ottavo giorno", voluto dalla Santissima Trinità mediante l’opera del Verbo incarnato, morto e risorto. In questa dimensione spirituale il Papa Giovanni Paolo II più volte ha dato prova di trovarsi in qualche modo immerso già prima, durante la sua vita, e specialmente nell’adempimento della missione di Sommo Pontefice. Il suo pontificato, nel suo insieme e in tanti momenti specifici, ci appare infatti come un segno e una testimonianza della Risurrezione di Cristo. Il dinamismo pasquale, che ha reso l’esistenza di Giovanni Paolo II una risposta totale alla chiamata del Signore, non poteva esprimersi senza partecipazione alle sofferenze e alla morte del divino Maestro e Redentore. "Certa è questa parola – afferma l’apostolo Paolo – se moriamo con lui, vivremo anche con lui; se con lui perseveriamo, con lui anche regneremo" (2 Tm 2,11-12). Fin da bambino, Karol Wojty?a aveva sperimentato la verità di queste parole, incontrando sul suo cammino la croce, nella sua famiglia e nel suo popolo. Egli decise ben presto di portarla insieme con Gesù, seguendo le sue orme. Volle essere suo fedele servitore fino ad accogliere la chiamata al sacerdozio come dono ed impegno di tutta la vita. Con Lui visse e con Lui volle anche morire. E tutto ciò attraverso la singolare mediazione di Maria Santissima, Madre della Chiesa, Madre del Redentore intimamente e fattivamente associata al suo mistero salvifico di morte e risurrezione.

Ci guidano in questa riflessione rievocativa le Letture bibliche appena proclamate: "Non abbiate paura, voi!" (Mt 28,5). Le parole dell’angelo della risurrezione, rivolte alle donne presso il sepolcro vuoto, che ora abbiamo ascoltato, sono diventate una specie di motto sulle labbra del Papa Giovanni Paolo II, fin dal solenne inizio del suo ministero petrino. Le ha ripetute più volte alla Chiesa e all’umanità in cammino verso il 2000, e poi attraverso quello storico traguardo e ancora oltre, all’alba del terzo millennio. Le ha pronunciate sempre con inflessibile fermezza, dapprima brandendo il bastone pastorale culminante nella Croce e poi, quando le energie fisiche andavano scemando, quasi aggrappandosi ad esso, fino a quell’ultimo Venerdì Santo, in cui partecipò alla Via Crucis dalla Cappella privata stringendo tra le braccia la Croce. Non possiamo dimenticare quella sua ultima e silenziosa testimonianza di amore a Gesù. Anche quella eloquente scena di umana sofferenza e di fede, in quell’ultimo Venerdì Santo, indicava ai credenti e al mondo il segreto di tutta la vita cristiana. Il suo "Non abbiate paura" non era fondato sulle forze umane, né sui successi ottenuti, ma solamente sulla Parola di Dio, sulla Croce e sulla Risurrezione di Cristo. Via via che egli veniva spogliato di tutto, da ultimo anche della stessa parola, questo affidamento a Cristo è apparso con crescente evidenza. Come accadde a Gesù, pure per Giovanni Paolo II alla fine le parole hanno lasciato il posto all’estremo sacrificio, al dono di sé. E la morte è stata il sigillo di un’esistenza tutta donata a Cristo, a Lui conformata anche fisicamente nei tratti della sofferenza e dell’abbandono fiducioso nella braccia del Padre celeste. "Lasciate che vada al Padre", queste – testimonia chi gli fu vicino – furono le sue ultime parole, a compimento di una vita totalmente protesa a conoscere e contemplare il volto del Signore.

Venerati e cari fratelli, vi ringrazio tutti per esservi uniti a me in questa santa Messa di suffragio per l’amato Giovanni Paolo II. Un pensiero particolare rivolgo ai partecipanti al primo Congresso mondiale sulla Divina Misericordia, che inizia proprio oggi, e che intende approfondire il suo ricco magistero su questo tema. La misericordia di Dio – lo disse egli stesso – è una chiave di lettura privilegiata del suo pontificato. Egli voleva che il messaggio dell’amore misericordioso di Dio raggiungesse tutti gli uomini ed esortava i fedeli ad esserne testimoni (cfr Omelia a Cracovia-?agiewniki, 18.8.2002). Per questo volle elevare all’onore degli altari suor Faustina Kowalska, umile Suora divenuta per un misterioso disegno divino messaggera profetica della Divina Misericordia. Il servo di Dio Giovanni Paolo II aveva conosciuto e vissuto personalmente le immani tragedie del XX secolo, e per molto tempo si domandò che cosa potesse arginare la marea del male. La risposta non poteva trovarsi che nell’amore di Dio. Solo la Divina Misericordia è infatti in grado di porre un limite al male; solo l’amore onnipotente di Dio può sconfiggere la prepotenza dei malvagi e il potere distruttivo dell’egoismo e dell’odio. Per questo, durante l’ultima visita in Polonia, tornando nella sua terra natale ebbe a dire: "Non c’è altra fonte di speranza per l’uomo che la misericordia di Dio" (ibid.).

Rendiamo grazie al Signore per aver donato alla Chiesa questo suo fedele e coraggioso servitore. Lodiamo e benediciamo la Beata Vergine Maria per avere vegliato incessantemente sulla sua persona e sul suo ministero, a beneficio del Popolo cristiano e dell’intera umanità. E mentre offriamo per la sua anima eletta il Sacrificio redentore, lo preghiamo di continuare a intercedere dal Cielo per ciascuno di noi, per me in modo speciale, che la Provvidenza ha chiamato a raccogliere la sua inestimabile eredità spirituale. Possa la Chiesa, seguendone gli insegnamenti e gli esempi, proseguire fedelmente e senza compromessi la sua missione evangelizzatrice, diffondendo senza stancarsi l’amore misericordioso di Cristo, sorgente di vera pace per il mondo intero.

Tonight I had supper with one of the ten smartest people I know.

A parish priest from St. Paul. 

This is one of the most highly intelligent, but also one of the finest gentlemen I have ever met.

We had grilled filet mignon which I had marinated in garlic, lemon and olive oil, and green salad with a touch of blue cheese with well toasted sourdough bread slices and a ‘97 Nebbiolo.

The conversation revolved around many issues both foreign and domestic.  

It was great to have such stimulating discussion.  When not in Rome… these are my real chances!

This is a fellow who can move from the Schoenberg’s use of the tone row, to quoting Baudelaire in French from memory, to commenting on details of an Athenian red figure vase in the NY Met, to quoting Aristophanes in Greek, to discussing novels by Alan Furst and and latest editorials in three major newspapers.  Last night we watched an Alfred Hitchcock film and have discussed it after and again today, down to the level of its sources and the screenplay.

I have both served Mass for him, this week, and concelebrated (Novus Ordo) with him in the Sabine chapel. [It is good for priests to serve Mass at least occasionally.] Entirely in Latin, of course. 

What a great thing to be able to have a Novus Ordo Mass, with readings, everything, entirely in Latin without the slightest hesitation or self-consciousness… since our grasp of spoken Latin is so comfortable.

This priest, this great gentleman, is a living icon of what is possible for culture in a priest.

At The Crescat we find… 

"you know you have a blogging problem… when you have weird blogger dreams about making a pilgrimage to meet Fr. Z with other fellow bloggers and the first thought you have when you wake up is that you have to blog about this. Then you come to work and you do."

I wonder how her Awards are going?  Check out the right side bar over there. 

Some time ago I posted about the response of the Archdiocese for the Military in the USA to requests to implement Summorum Pontificum.

In my opinion, as I wrote before, the Military Archdiocese responded in a pretty reasonable way.  Essentially they said that because military personnel are not, by definition, fixed in a place indefinitely, thus they are not "stable", and they cannot constitute a group that is present continuously or in a stable manner over a reasonable period of time, it would not be reasonable to established celebrations of the TLM on a fixed or regularly scheduled basis.  There is also the matter of shortage of priests.  However, the Archdiocese said, very reasonably, that TLMs could be celebrated ad hoc, which really could be quite often if you think about it.   

The traditionalist publication Catholic Family News has published its own reaction to the Military Archdiocese.  I am a little steamed about it.  I think we might look at this with my emphases and comments.

Military Archdiocese
Says No to Latin Mass [This title is duplicitous.  The MilArchd. did NOT say "no" in an absolute way.  As a matter of fact, it seems supportive of TLMs celebrated in an ad hoc manner.]

By Edwin Faust

     Since the publication of the motu proprio “Summorum Pontifcum”, [Pontificum] requests have been made to the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, to provide Tridentine Mass at military installations. To demonstrate the widespread desire for such a provision, a petition was briefly posted on a Web site during the Veterans Day holiday in the U.S. and more than 150 military personnel signed the petition and added their heartfelt comments. [WDTPRS also advertised this petition.   However, 150 people signed it… for how many military installations? I think there may be more than 150 installations in the USA alone!] This information was forwarded to the new archbishop, Timothy Broglio, who delegated the matter to one of his subordinates, Msgr. James Dixon, whose disappointing response appears (at the bottom) on this page. According to Msgr. Dixon, there will be no attempt made to implement the motu proprio in the archdiocese on the grounds that the military do not constitute a stable community. [Again, this is duplicitous.  The MilArchd. is implementing the Motu Proprio according to the circumstances faced on military installations!  If there can be no identifiable group continuously present at, say Fort Ipsidipsy, then it is hard to imagine how a Mass schedule can be permanently changed.  On the other hand, Summorum Pontificum has a specific provision for Masses celebrated "occasionally", which does NOT mean "rarely", as it might sound to some ears in English.  This means that Masses can be inserted into schedules without changing the permanent schedule of a base chapel.  That is a way to implement Summorum Pontificum!]

    We cannot accept such reasoning, as it would also preclude celebrations of the Tridentine Mass on college and university campuses, where students also come and go; [This is like comparing apples with oranges.  The military have an Archdiocese to see to the spiritual needs of their personnel and dependents.  There is no diocese for college students.  Also, students have a reasonable expectation of being at a school for a period of time according to their own choice, whereas military personnel are simply transferred.]  yet, we have seen several such Masses being offered on a regular basis and attracting large followings. The refusal of the archdiocese also appears to presume that no such Masses can be offered without a request by what it considers a stable community. [That is a false statement.  The MilArchd. said "the Archdiocese cannot stipulate as a requirement [NB: which does not exclude that it can be done!] to those assigning priest-chaplains that a certain installation must have a priest-chaplain able to celebrate the Mass and the Sacraments according to the 1962 Missal. ... It would also be appropriate for a military installation, where the priest-chaplain and the community desire to do so, to have a celebration of the Mass, announced beforehand, with servers and choir properly trained, for the edification of the faithful."  That could be EVERY SUNDAY if they can make it work!  But priests get reassigned and the population of an installation is shifting.] This is simply not the case, as in many locales Masses have been initiated by priests, even with the help of their ordinaries, and drawn many of the faithful. [This opens up the question of whether, according to Summorum Pontificum priests can simply schedule Mass on their own initiative without previously having received requests.  I am inclined to think they can, but that opens up all sort of practical problems for the blow back the priest will probably get.]  The community request appears to require a response, but not to be a sine qua non.  [First, yes… according to Summorum Pontificum reasonable requests do require a response!  They can’t be ignored.  However, Summorum Pontificum also says that when the priest or bishop are unable or unwilling to acceed to the request… I repeat… unable… then everyone should contact Rome.   However, the MilArchd seems to have provided for this already by saying that if people who want TLMs can get their act together with the priests, they by all means can have celebrations with the older Missal whenever they want!]

    In any event, there is a demonstrated widespread desire for the ancient Mass in all branches of the military. [A couple things.  First, I don’t think that a petition with 150 names for the whole of the Catholic population reading blogs in the military constitutes "widespread" anything.  However, my personal experience of meeting  Catholic military personal here and abroad suggests to me that there could be very great interest, given some time and catechesis and careful attention to procedure, which is important in a military environment.] The previous ordinary, Archbishop O’Brien, refused implementation of the 1988 indult, despite repeated requests; his successor seems intent upon continuing this policy, [No!  I don’t think that is fair.  The MilArchd Vicar General wrote a pretty positive letter at the direction of Archbp. Broglio.  He even said, "I would be happy to hear directly again from you on this subject with suggestions about how we can continue this great work."] suggesting that those who want the Latin Mass look elsewhere. [NO!  That is not the whole story.  Sure the MilArchd said that priests should let people where in the area the TLM is being celebrated, but he also said that TLMs could be celebrated ad hoc if people can get their acts together.] But this is not possible in many cases. My son, a cadet at the military academy at West Point, is restricted to post most weekends and, were he not, there is no Latin Mass available within a reasonable distance. His situation is quite common.  [And let’s hope that, as more younger priests learn the older forms, cadets won’t face that in the future!]

     Despite its somewhat unctuous tone, Msgr. Dixon’s letter makes it evident that the military archdiocese has bent its mind, not to finding ways to provide Traditional Latin Masses, but to preventing them.  [This is unfair and whiny.  Nothing of the sort is "evident".] There is no provision in the motu proprio that allows an ordinary to send those who want the Tridentine Mass on a search through neighboring dioceses. [Nor is there any provision in the Motu Proprio that requires regularly scheduled TLMs outside of a regular parochial structure!  Some flexibility and reason are needed.] And many in the military, for one reason and another, cannot travel far from their duty station. [So rather than whine, people should get busy and work something out!  The MilArchd has said explicitly that TLMs CAN BE CELEBRATED.  What is hard about this?]         

    There have been generous responses to the Holy Father’s motu proprio, such as that of Archbishop Burke in St. Louis, who is providing training for those priests who wish to say the Tridentine Mass. [For priests who "wish" to do so.]  Several workshops have also sprung up in various dioceses and those orders specially dedicated to offering the Tridentine Mass have been providing help to the many priests who want to learn this ancient and beautiful rite. There is no reason that the military archdiocese should not take steps to conform itself to the mind of the Holy Father [a grossly unfair statement] and satisfy the legitimate aspirations of those in its spiritual charge. The problem is not the lack of a stable community, [um… yes… it is] but the lack of good will in high places.  [the writer simply desire to interpret the letter of the MilArchdVC in the worst possible light.  However he raised a good point: Could not the MilArchd also provide possibilities for chaplains to learn the older form of Mass?  Perhaps some thought could be given to that.  The MilArchdVC Msgr. Dixon said he was open to suggestions.  However, when people are determined simply to write unfair and poorly thought through attacks on the statement of the same MilArchd, one wonders just how long the MilArchd will keep that door open!]

    I would ask all of you who are reading this to please speak up for those members of the military who want the Tridentine Mass offered at major military installations.  [But don’t speak to them along the lines of this article!  Be reasonable, patient and prudent, not misreading the facts, but understanding that there is a lot of room to work in within that statement of the MilArchd for people of good will.] Below is the contact information for the Archdiocese for Military Services and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. There is also an interactive Web site offering information, updates and comments on this situation: milmotu.lyon.edu  I have also included a brief sampling of the comments we have received from members of the military.

    These brave people in our military are willing to lay down their lives for us. Surely, it is not too much to ask that their shepherds provide them with the spiritual nourishment they need in the legitimate form in which they request it.  [No disagreement there!  The problem is how to get it for them without screwing everything up!]

Over at the blog called feminine genius there are some reactions to my entry concerning women wearing chapel veils (or better keeping their heads covered in church).  Let’s have a look with my emphases and comments.

Cultural artifact or trancendent item?

There is a second discussion on chapel veils at WDTPRS. I love the good work of Father Z, but was miffed at his comment a couple weeks ago that he liked women to cover their heads at Mass. [To be clear, I maintain that there is no longer any obligation under the Church’s law for this, but I think it is a good custom that recommends itself for various reasons.] At the original thread, these were two of my various responses:

As a convert, I’ve had to sort out this chapel veil thing and decided for several reasons that it was not necessary to wear one any longer. I cannot think of a just reason [The writers sees this in terms of "justice".] why it’s honourable for a woman to cover her head but not a man (Believe me, I’m no feminist. I just addressed the international congress in Rome on Mulieris Dignitatem.) I understand the complementarity of the sexes (as well as we can, this side of the veil) but haven’t seen an argument that works. The letter of Saint Paul isn’t authoritative on that because his intention was a particular abuse in a particular place.  [This is the argument that runs that certain things no longer pertain in the Church today because they were, in ancient times, "culturally conditioned".]

If it’s a sign of virtue, then I can see why Fr Z would like to see it. But I’m more inclinded to think it’s an indication of an older piety that he can recognise as bearing a “code,” then that’s a cultural construct in which I don’t want to take part.  [Fair enough.  I do, in fact, think that the chapel veil thing is also helpful for reivigorating our Catholic identity in a society that seeks to sweep visible or vigorous Catholicism from the public square.  That is not my only reason, of course, but it is one that I have considered in the wake of watching what Pope Benedict is doing to reestablish Catholic identity in our modern world.  That said, I wonder if the writer sees "piety" has being a bad thing.  I get that sense, but I don’t have enough information from what she wrote here.  I don’t think "piety" is bad, by the way, though it, like so many other things can get a little strange when it is out of balance.]

And later,

Methinks that we are straining at gnats here, while ignoring the camels. A vast number if not the majority of women of child-bearing age in the pews are contracepting. Sexual license is rampant, theology of the body is not understood by most, divorce and remarriage is the same as other communions, Mass attendance is not taken seriously, families are in disarray, etc. To even think that mandating chapel veils (and suits for men) would be anything other than laughable is to be delusional.  [Wow.  We jumped from veils being commendable to being "mandated".  I have sure never made that jump.  In fact, I have taken heat from some of the hard core because I argue exactly that they are not mandated, at least by the Church’s law.] There is so much to do in order to win the hearts and minds of women, so that they understand their inherent dignity but beginning with frivolous accidents (which have no meaning to them other than a sense of playing “dress up”) would be to lose any possibility of serious discussion about more important matters. [That is fair.] Veiling [I think veiling, when it comes to women, and not statues during Passiontide, is actually a techincal term, refering to women religious.  Perhaps that word isn’t the best choice, but that is nitpicking on my part.  At the same time, perhaps some people try to make the connection between the veils lay women wear in church and the veils of women religious.  Complicated.] may come later—much later—after motherhood has won its rightful esteem and families are recognised as the domestic churches they are, but not before. [I wonder what she thinks of "churching"?] Thus, if one woman says, “a ha! I get it!” and dons a veil, bully for her. But she cannot then cast her aspersions on the rest of her unwashed pew-mates as “less holy.”  [Hmmm… on WDTPRS I think I have been a pretty strong critic of the traditionalist "sneer" at those who don’t conform to a certain paradigm imagined to be sufficiently Catholic.  I have worked farily hard to reduce that censorious condescension newcomers sometimes – rarely I hope – experience when going to a "traditional" Mass.]

This thread, though, is a specific request from a woman who is discerning whether she is called to wear one, and the responses are interesting. The reference to the "mandated veils" comes from Latin Mass chapels that require them, [If they do, they are violating the rights Catholic women have under canon law, that is, the right not to wear a head covering.] and shun women who don’t comply. Obviously that’s a very different situation than the average Novus Ordo woman at Our Lady of Third Avenue who is figuring out whether covering her head would be appropriate given the state of her personal journey. She would in no way be lumped in with the judgemental crowd I’ve referred to as a portion of Fr Z’s flock.  [And the other portion?]

I’m still not convinced that there’s more imagination than theology involved, but then imagination is important, too.  [Yes, it is.  I wonder if the book The Heresy of Formlessness by M. Mosebach could shed more light on this.]

Very engaging stuff, to be sure.   The comments to the entry are also interesting and worth reading.  I am putting this blog on my left-sidebar blog roll.

FWIW… JTA (a Jewish news service) reports:

Interfaith official: Pope will clarify prayer

Published: 04/02/2008

Pope Benedict XVI is preparing to clarify the Vatican’s position on the controversial Good Friday Prayer for the Jews, a Jewish interfaith official said.

The Vatican will issue a letter within a week [advance spin before the USA trip?] aimed at easing Jewish fears that the Catholic Church wants to convert them, said the chairman of the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations, Rabbi David Rosen.  [Right… because it is so unreasonable that Catholics think people should be Catholic.]

Rosen, who has seen a preliminary draft of the letter, said it will come from the pope via the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Last summer the German-born Benedict decided to bring back a Mass [that never really went away] that includes the prayer that "our God and Lord may illuminate [the Jews’] hearts." The change was poorly received by Jews, and German and Italian Jewish leaders threatened to cut ties with the Vatican.

Rosen said he thinks the pope’s letter, which Vatican spokesmen could not confirm to JTA, will help mend ties.

"If we have confirmation that it is an epistomological prayer and implies no change in Jewish-Catholic relations, then I think we should be content with that and continue dialogue as before," Rosen told JTA.

Rosen said that Cardinal Waltar Kaspar, the head of the Vatican Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, recently explained in writing that the prayer from the Latin, or Tridentine, Mass, relates to theology concerning "the end of time,” not present-day proselytizing.  [Though no one doubts that these are connected!]

“It has no bearing on Jewish-Catholic relations, and certainly in no way compromises the Church’s total opposition to proselytizing," Rosen said.  [Hmm… Rosen is making a policy statement for the Catholic Church?]

There is an interesting article in Topeka’s Capital-Journal Online about the SSPX venture in St. Mary, Kansas.

This is fairly inflammatory stuff.

Let’s have a look with my emphases and comments.

St. Mary’s home to conflicting views

Flap over female referee is just latest in a string of controversies tied to St. Mary’s Academy and College

By Jan Biles
The Capital-Journal
Published Sunday, March 30, 2008

Five months ago, Charles Baylor severed his ties with St. Mary’s Academy and College in St. Marys. He agreed with the academy’s traditionalist Catholic beliefs, attended its Latin Masses and was a member of its St. Joseph Businessmen’s Association.

But things changed.

Baylor said he made the mistake of hosting a fundraiser for Congresswoman Nancy Boyda’s re-election campaign on Oct. 20, 2007, in his St. Marys apartment. Although he is against abortion and disagrees with Boyda on that issue, he shares her views on the Iraq war and the NAFTA super highway.

Parishioners became incensed when they learned he was supporting Boyda and organized a protest that drew from 15 to 25 people outside his apartment the day of the fundraiser, he said. The protestors included parishioners as well as other St. Marys residents.

"People wanted to lynch me," he said.  [How these Christians love each other!]

At first, [!] he said, the Rev. Vincente Griego, rector at St. Mary’s Academy, wasn’t upset over the fundraiser and even called the uproar a "Phariseeical scandal."

"But the day before the fundraiser his tone had changed," Baylor said.

When he talked to Griego again, he said, "it was clear he thought I was wrong." In the course of their discussion, Baylor offered to not attend Mass anymore at the academy. He said Griego didn’t argue with the suggestion.

"My interpretation was I was no longer welcome at the parish," he said. 

Baylor said some parishioners later told him if he made a public apology and renounced his actions, he could probably get back into the parish.

He didn’t.

Baylor said he was surprised and disappointed when St. Mary’s Academy and his church friends turned on him. He had moved from his home in Nebraska to St. Marys in June 2001 to become a part of the parish after members told him about the traditionalist views promoted there.  [Remember this discussion?]

"I thought, ‘They’re kicking me out of the parish (when) I moved down here for the parish," he said.

Attempts to reach Griego for comment were unsuccessful.

Baylor, who relocated to Topeka, now attends Latin Masses at St. Joseph’s Church in Topeka.

The academy’s core

St. Mary’s Academy and College, established in 1978, is owned and operated by the Society of St. Pius X, headquartered in Platte City, Mo. The society was founded in 1970 in France by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in the late 1980s because he opposed the liturgical reforms and doctrinal teachings of Vatican II.  [No!  That is not why the late Archbishop was excommunicated.  Archbp. Lefevbre incurred excommunication because of his actions and not his opinions.  When Lefevbre consecrated 4 bishops without permission of the Holy See, under the Church’s law he automatically incurred the censure which was then confirmed by the Congregation for Bishops.]

The private, nonaccredited Catholic school, which sits on 465 acres on the east side of town, had an enrollment of 50 students in grades K-12 and 60 students in its two-year college in 2003. The academy’s Web site states the parish had grown to include "2,450 souls" by that year.

St. Mary’s Academy is conservative in its views and teachings. For example, female parishioners are instructed to dress modestly in long skirts and long sleeves. Boys and girls attend separate classes and are to have little, if any, interaction with each other on or off its campus.

Nearly half of the population of St. Marys — about 1,250 people — have ties to St. Mary’s Academy. Most of the parishioners have moved into the small community from other towns across the United States. A small number have married people outside of the parish. Many have set up successful businesses.  [Isn’t this what the folks at Ave Maria in Florida were trying to do?]

Joseph Trummer, who owns Tully’s Pub, moved to St. Marys 19 years ago with his wife and two children from an area near Lake Placid, N.Y. They made the move because they heard about St. Mary’s Academy and liked its curriculum and "moral-based atmosphere."

Since then, Trummer said, the family has grown to include seven children, who are now home-schooled because the academy’s fees exceed their budget.

The Trummers continue to attend Mass at the academy and accept the guidance Griego gives them in and outside of the church, he said.  [That sounds like the role of a pastor, so long as there are boundaries.  If there aren’t boundaries, then it sounds more like a sect or a cult of personality in the darkest sense.]

A while back, Trummer had booked a blues band to play at his pub. The advertisement for the band included language that Griego found objectionable. The priest sought out Trummer to discuss the matter.

"The priests, being pastors of our souls, they’re just concerned," he said. "I don’t see anything wrong with that." [Indeed!]

The Society of St. Pius X and St. Mary’s Academy are not in full communion — good standing — with the mainstream Roman Catholic Church, according to Archbishop Joseph Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kan.

While the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the validity of the Eucharist performed at the academy, Naumann said, "We question the validity of confessions and marriages because they have to have the approval of the appropriate bishop who has jurisdiction for the area, which is me.  [For a priest to hear confessions validly, be must have faculties (official permission) from the proper authority to do so.  In danger of death, the law itself gives faculties even to men who have been "laicized" or who are under censure.  But in normal cases, if the priest doesn’t have faculties to hear confessions, the absolution he gives is probably invalid.  Similarly, for a marriage to have the proper "form", which is necessary for validity, certain conditions must be met, including that the minister who witnesses the marriage actually have the Church’s approval to do so.  Again, if a priest is not given that approval by the church, or it hasn’t been delegated to him properly, there is a problem of "lack of form", which raises questions about the validity of the marriage.]

"My desire would be to bring all of them back into full communion," he continued, "but the leaders at St. Mary’s don’t accept my authority."  [Folks… there it is in a nutshell.]

In the news

St. Mary’s Academy has made its share of headlines over the years. Here are a few found in The Topeka Capital-Journal archives:

• March 1993: After he and 15 families of about 93 people broke away from the academy, the Rev. John Rizzo said he received a death threat from a caller who said, "If you come near us, you are a dead priest." After the threat, a $1 million life insurance policy was taken out on Rizzo.  [Nice!  There are wackos out there who make threats.  It happens more often than you think, though perhaps not this dramatically.]

Rizzo was ordained a priest in the Society of St. Pius X in 1985. He left the order and St. Mary’s Academy in the spring of 1993 because he felt "there was something sick or dysfunctional taking place there."

He continued to say Mass, often in vacant downtown buildings, for anyone who wished to attend. In late March, police said someone used super glue to fill the locks of the doors at a community center where Rizzo was to say Mass for the breakaway followers.

"The Society is losing its credibility," Rizzo said at that time. "There are people — professional, educated people — who are observing these things, such as the denouncing of people from the pulpit and the denying of sacraments. Intimidation is one of the worst tools. There is no room for that in a Catholic community."  [But let it be said that this is not typical of traditionally minded Catholics.  The problem is that certain things tend to attract people who are happy only when they are unhappy.  Think also of the wierd stuff that goes on with the far left lunatic fringe, kooks disturbing Masses and throwing fake blood around, etc.  That isn’t much different.]

Rizzo guided the 15 Catholic families in establishing a traditional chapel and school in Maple Hill, now part of the St. John Vianney Latin Mass Community, which is in good standing with the mainstream Roman Catholic Church.

• May 1995: Federal agents questioned three St. Marys residents but found no evidence linking them to the Oklahoma City federal building bombing. The FBI agents were looking for information on John Doe 2, an unidentified man thought to be involved in the bombing on April 19, 1995.

The FBI was looking into activities of homegrown militia groups and reportedly conducted interviews with three staff members at St. Mary’s Academy and College. Local law enforcement said no apparent link was found between the academy and the bombing.

• June 1997: St. Marys Police Chief Howard Bishop had a Texas arrest warrant for former St. Marys resident Richard Keyes III, a member of the Republic of Texas separatist movement who had fled into the mountains after a standoff with law authorities. Keyes was being sought on two counts of aggravated kidnapping and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity.

The Rev. Ramon Angles, the rector at St. Mary’s Academy at the time, told the newspaper the Keyes family was among 20 families who joined a "breakaway group" he described as "militant."

"The Freemen types, all that militant mentality was floating around this town and in that group," Angles said. "It is total nuts, the conspiracies, the militias, the too much government and too much taxes. I tried from the pulpit to bring sanity to all this nonsense. It’s harmful, it’s anti-Christian, and it’s not wanted.

"But (the Keyes family) was antagonistic toward what I was doing. First, they pulled their children out of school, then they left the church."

Referee controversy

St. Mary’s Academy was back in the spotlight recently when academy officials told Michelle Campbell she couldn’t officiate a boys basketball game at their school because she was a woman. [If they had said she couldn’t preach at Mass, I would have greater sympathy.]

Campbell and two male referees walked off the court at that Feb. 2 game, resulting in national media coverage that ranged from "Good Morning America" to The Washington Post.

The incident was reported to the Kansas State High School Activities Association, and the implementation of a policy that would prohibit its member and approved schools from discriminating against referees was placed on the agenda of its March 11 executive board meeting.

Although representatives of the academy chose not to attend that meeting, they weren’t silent about possible action taken by KSHSAA.

In a Feb. 21 letter, Griego restated the academy’s belief that training of boys and girls is best accomplished by same-sex adults who can act as role models for the children. Thus, only a man should referee a boys sporting contest.  [By that logic, I agree.]

Then he turned the tables and questioned KSHSAA’s motives for the investigation.

"Is our policy under investigation because the Association finds something fundamentally wrong with the principle of non co-education or with traditional Catholic pedagogy?" he asked.  [A very good question!] "Or does the Association feel impelled (sic) to investigate because of media pressure?"

Griego continued, "A ‘disqualification’ of our school’s participating in KSHSAA would certainly seem discriminatory. Should your judgment be negative in regards to our school, I will expect an explanation of the KSHSAA policy that directs you in your choice and that allows you to discriminate against our philosophy of education."

Musselman responded in a Feb. 29 letter that the purpose of the hearing wasn’t to evaluate the decisions made by leaders of St. Mary’s Academy or how they exercise their religion.

"In short, the hearing will not be adjudicative in nature; rather, it will pertain to rule-making," Musselman wrote.

Baylor said he wasn’t surprised by the female referee controversy.

"It reflects the puritanism that is infused in the whole parish," he said.

Jan Biles can be reached

at (785) 295-1292 or jan.biles@cjonline.com.

This is certainly a bit inflammatory.  As I read, it occurred to me that the reporter was doing more than reporting.  I had the idea that she had a bone to pick with this SSPX group. I wonder if the issue of the woman ref wasn’t the real point here, and thus very little of a postive nature was provided in the article.  In other words, I wonder if the reporter didn’t set out to make the people at St. Mary’s look like fanatics and the place sort of like a Waco compound.

The article brings out some interesting points for reflection, however.  As I read I also thought about the Rules of Engagement:

3) Show genuine Christian joy.  If you want to attract people to what gives you so much consolation and happiness, be inviting and be joyful.  Avoid the sourness some of the more traditional stamp have sadly worn for so long.

4) Be engaged in the whole life of your parishes, especially in works of mercy organized by the same.  If you want the whole Church to benefit from the use of the older liturgy, then you who are shaped by the older form of Mass should be of benefit to the whole Church in concrete terms.

What happens when indeed the whole life of the parish is informed by those of the far more traditional stamp?  What will the dynamics of entirely "Tridentine" parishes be like?  So much will depend I think on the priests who are there but also on the attitude of the bishop himself.  If the community was forced to claw its way into something, set something up against great opposition from the chancery, then the chance for resentment and all sorts of behavior coming out "sideways" will be greater.  In a way, I am reminded of the behavior of many of the small children I see at some celebrations of the older Mass: they tend to be very well behaved.  First, the Mass itself helps.  Second, many of them are home schooled.  They seem to have less need to act out or be in control.  I think this same thing could apply to people who, after being "orphaned" for so long in their own church, even looked down on by priests and bishops, when they get into a place where they can finally relax, it takes them years, if ever, to settle in and just be Catholic again with having a chip on their shoulders all the time.

I sure know from personal experience the oppressive hell-holes that can be created when the more "liberal" or "progressivist" types dominate a place, such as a seminary or a school or parish, etc.  I guess it wouldn’t surprise me to find there could be problems in the other direction too. 

It is my hope that people with these strong traditional leanings should strive to show exemplary charity and joy in all their dealings precisely so that reporters can’t write articles such as the one we just read.  Don’t provide ammunition.  Summorum Pontificum is still young and the opposition is still strong and the Pope is not a young man.  Great effort and prudence must be used to build a very good track record even in the eyes of critics of the older form of Mass and traditional doctrine.  They should be forced, one by one, to admit, "I don’t especially like that way of saying Mass, but those people sure are nice!  They must be doing something right!"

I wil not open comments here.  

I am pretty worn out by the way some folks have frequently hijacked threads or dominated entries or simply posted outrageous comments out of keeping with what I want to do with this blog.  I want people to have discussions, but sometimes they don’t have much consideration for me or for the topic of the entires. 

People can send comments by e-mail and I will look them over and maybe post some.   I want to be able to present some issues and my thought about them, but usually when they touch on certain topics, some people leap in and… well… you get the idea.

The guys at Top Gear did a test drive of my car… er um.. the Bugatti Veyron... again.



I think I’d test drive it every week.

They still haven’t delivered it.

DRIVE THE BLACK - DRIVE THE RED.