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Kerfuffle! Wisconsin parish nixes altar girls - predictable outrage ensues before sanity prevails
This story from the Capital Times of Madison, WI came to my attention through the intermediary of a kind reader. My emphases and comments:
Mazomanie church nixes altar girls
Pat Schneider — 6/25/2008 5:07 pm
Members of St. Barnabas Parish in Mazomanie say they are stunned to learn that the priests leading their Catholic community will no longer allow their daughters to be servers at Mass. From now on, only boys will be able to assist priests in the ancient religious rite. [Do you catch a tone of outrage yet?]
The new policy was announced at a meeting with parents Tuesday by Rev. John Del Priore, who was assigned to the parish on June 1. [Wow. He moved quickly!]
"It’s an outrage," said Tammy Parks. [As I mentioned, "outrage", which I wrote above before I even read this line. Heh heh.] "They said it was a good way for boys to be indoctrinated [HAH!] into being a priest."
After letting her 11-year-old daughter know that she would no longer be allowed on the altar, Del Priore asked her 8-year-old son about his interest in becoming an altar boy, Parks said in an interview.
"Not only is the priest discriminating against my daughter, he’s teaching my son that that is appropriate behavior," she said. [I see. For Tammy this is about social engineering. Tammy doesn’t understand that no lay person has any RIGHT to server in the sanctuary. No one is being discriminated against. It is possible there could have been more tact, but let’s not forget the facts and underlying issues. Service at the altar is not a right. No priest can be forced to have altar girls or women serving. The custom of service by boys and men is to be given first priority and fostered.]
Parents at St. Barnabas are so distressed that there is talk of having the boys boycott altar duty. ["Having the boys boycott". That means instrumentalizing the boys for political purposes. Nice parenting.]
The Catholic Church broke with centuries of tradition in 1994, when the Vatican said girls would be allowed to join "altar boys" in assisting priests at Mass.
It is up to the local bishop to decide whether to allow lay women, or girls, to serve when needed, said Brent King, director of communications for the Madison Diocese. Female servers have been allowed in the Madison Diocese, King said, but it is ultimately up to each individual priest to decide whether he needs help at the altar. Priests may ask whomever they wish to assist them, so long as that person is a Catholic in good standing, King said. [You know, I am liking this Bishop Morlino more and more and more.]
He stressed that servers take on the duties of acolytes, traditionally a low clerical rank.
"Neither lay women nor lay men have the right to carry out the function of acolyte," King said. [I like this guy. He gets it. I hope he has been reading WDTPRS! o{];¬) ]
Altar service is being reserved for boys to promote vocations to the priesthood, Rev. Jared Hood, one of a group of priests that serves the St. Barnabas cluster, said in an interview. Hood said he is a member of the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest, a religious order that ministers to boys to inspire them to become priests. The order offered its services to the Madison Diocese, which is consolidating parishes because of a shortage of priests.
"Very many priests began as altar boys," Hood said. "Without contact with a priest it’s difficult for boys to even think about a vocation as a priest." He first learned about the order of which he is now a member as an altar boy in New Jersey, he said.
Four priests from the order now oversee a cluster of five parishes: St. Barnabas, St. Aloysius in Sauk City, St. Norbert in Roxbury, St. John the Baptist in Mill Creek, and St. Mary in Merrimac. Hood said boys only will be servers for each of the parishes.
That’s been the case at St. Aloysius for more than a year, and the furor that met the change in policy has evaporated, said Ann Cicero, a secretary for the parish whose sons serve as altar boys. [Of course. Fluctus in simpulo!]
The commitment by parish boys to altar service is proof that it’s right to reserve it for boys, she said. When girls were allowed to be servers, it became less popular among boys. Now that it’s a thing for boys only, they revel in it. [Of course!]
Besides, having girls on the altar is misleading about what the church is about, she said.
"Women are not ordained," Cicero said.
The boys meet weekly with priests for training, spiritual growth and outings as the group, St. Michael Altar Guild, a practice that strengthens their ties to the church and parish community, she said. Girls, too, meet regularly and do things "more appropriate for girls."
Cicero said several young boys have begun to talk about vocations to the priesthood. [Of course! They may not ultimately choose that direction, but at least they will have considered it!]
Jim Schmitt of Mazomanie said that for his 11-year-old daughter, being an altar girl was a way to give back to the church. [There are other ways.]
Today a Madison firefighter, Schmitt said he was an altar boy at Queen of Peace parish in Madison. He took pride in that role, but never thought of it as preparation for a vocation as a priest. It was a tradition, though. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all had served as altar boys. [Fair enough.]
"If someone has a vocation, how does serving with a girl interfere with that?" Schmitt asked. "I don’t see why we’re regressing." [Partly because of the way boys develop and what their needs are.]
Parks, [remember Tammy from above?] an attorney, [Yah… that’s about right.] said discrimination is significant issue for her personally.
"To have it in my own by parish, by my own priest, is repugnant," she said.
I think Tammy should be the recipient of the special WDTPRS Sour Grapes Award for putting the worst possible spin on what has happened, having imposed exactly the wrong criteria on the Church’s worship and our active participation.
At the same time, huge WDTPRS kudos, with gold star, to the priests in those parishes.
At my former parish, the former priest had 184 altar boys. New priest arrives. Initiates an altar girl. The boys ceased coming. The experience was sad.
Comment by Christopher Mandzok — 26 June 2008 @ 11:14 amAnd may this be repeated in parish after parish after parish after parish…
Cheers!
Comment by Fr Renzo di Lorenzo (Trilogy) — 26 June 2008 @ 11:17 amThis is a good thing. We need more Bishops with Backbones. It could be the latest movement in church. I dont know the latin but I bet it would sound cool
It is right to state that this confuses people, As I have stated before…. what do servers TRADITIONALLY wear. A Cassock and Surplice. Those are MALE clothes. Not female clothes. Men who join religious orders arent wearing veils any time soon. I just dont get it. I was a server when this decree happened, and it did take away from it a bit. It isnt viewed as a priviledge anymore…anyone can do it. Lets all go up on the altar seems to be the mentality. You will notice too the steady decline that has occured. Servers dont even dress appropriately either males (or females), because it isnt a priviledge. So you see jeans and tennis shoes coming our from under the cassocks. When you have things like that, its no wonder people have lots concept of appropriate liturgical respect. It makes it a free for all
Bring back the liturgical norms, not have ever tom dick and charlene on the altar, and you will see a stronger church
Comment by patrick f — 26 June 2008 @ 11:22 amI’d like to see Lawyer Tammy’s certifications in Canon Law…
Comment by Trevor — 26 June 2008 @ 11:23 amOf course, if it is a small parish and the parents effectively pull their boys from the altar server corps, then the priest is worse off than he was before, if his aim is to use the altar server corps as a source for future vocations. It might have been smarter to
Comment by Patrick Rothwell — 26 June 2008 @ 11:23 amerrgrandfather the currently serving altar girls in, but prohibit new altar girls for the future.What a great time to be a Catholic! Fascinating! “Brick-by-Brick”! :-)
Comment by Geoffrey — 26 June 2008 @ 11:23 amJim Schmitt of Mazomanie said that for his 11-year-old daughter, being an altar girl was a way to give back to the church. [There are other ways.]
Today a Madison firefighter, Schmitt said he was an altar boy at Queen of Peace parish in Madison. He took pride in that role, but never thought of it as preparation for a vocation as a priest. It was a tradition, though. His father, grandfather and great-grandfather all had served as altar boys. [Fair enough.]
“If someone has a vocation, how does serving with a girl interfere with that?” Schmitt asked. “I don’t see why we’re regressing.” [Partly because of the way boys develop and what their needs are.].
I think the reference to regression is an indication that, despite Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, a lot of people still think that in the future there will be women priests. And for the moment having altar girls is the best we can do while we all await true enlightenment.
Comment by RBrown — 26 June 2008 @ 11:26 amA lot of little changes are adding up… I’m starting to believe in your ‘brick by brick’ mantra. :-)
Comment by Mark — 26 June 2008 @ 11:31 amI agree with the decision and would like to see every parish choose to use only altar boys except for exceptional situations where for some reason there aren’t enough boys to serve.
At the same time, maybe they could have sold it better. Maybe if they allowed current altar girls to serve out the rest of the liturgical year it would have gone over better. Then again maybe that would have just told people that they’ve got 5 months to protest and get the decision overturned.
Shame on the parents who want to manipulate their boys to protest. First of all they should never use the Mass as a protest and, second, its disgusting that they’re using their boys as their pawns.
Comment by Brian Walden — 26 June 2008 @ 11:31 am“Of course, if it is a small parish and the parents effectively pull their boys from the altar server corps, then the priest is worse off than he was before, if his aim is to use the altar server corps as a source for future vocations. It might have been smarter to err grandfather the currently serving altar girls in, but prohibit new altar girls for the future.”
I beg to disagree. Although it is not the preferred solution by far, I think that the Ordinary Rite allows for a priest to “serve himself”, without much trouble. I have even see conservative liturgists (Opus Dei) celebrating without a server, painstakingly following the rubrics and classic expressions (v.g.: a priest performing the ablutions with his index and thumb still together after communion, wow!).
People will have to learn to comply.
If good ole Tammy doesn’t like it, I’m sure Katherine Jefferts Schori would like to have female attendants to her “episcopal” throne, he he.
JC
Sancti Iosephmariae Escriva, Ora Pro Nobis.
Comment by JC — 26 June 2008 @ 11:34 amFr. Z,
You have to read the comments left by the posters at the original website:
“brown eyes says:
You must understand that this is the conservative ‘old world’ Catholic Church and it is stemming from Bishop Morlino! I have never heard of the priests mentioned in this article. They are not our ‘regular’ diocesan priests. I believe they have been placed here by the Bishop.
The mentality of ranking women and girls so low as to not be included as altar servers is shocking. We pray for vocations to the priesthood during Adoration. Prayers and gentle guidance of our sons in the direction that the Lord would like them to go. That does not mean we should exclude girls, as they may feel a calling, a vocation, too. Recruiting in this manor by excluding females at the altar is not the Catholic Church that I have known. This is stemming from Bishop Morlino and coming from the Vatican where conservative Bishops are placed in more liberal dioceses. Watch out….the return of the Latin Mass is right around the corner!”
.....
Yup. Buckle up…the Springtime is getting cold.
Comment by Trevor — 26 June 2008 @ 11:34 amOur parish has almost all girls at the altar and all women as EMHCs.
My confessor, a retried priest, when he has the Holy Mass has things a certain and proper way and one parish in our valley has the servers boycott his Mass: they do not show up because they have a different idea there how Mass should be served there and the lady who runs the show is mad at Father.
Yes, when it is reinstated for altar BOYS, the numbers will grow. What young man wants to be paired with a 9 year old girl?
Comment by magdalen — 26 June 2008 @ 11:35 amFr. Z, I think there should be more kudos. The people interviewed from the other parishes demonstrated that they have learned and adjusted well to the “tradional” role for boys alone as altar servers. The reporter also deserves some credit for exploring the entire issue from various points of view. “Fair and Balanced” journalism is seldom encountered these days and accuracy in rporting has gone the way dinousaur. This reporter deserves some real credit. While we are at it I do hope that the good priests in these parishes will help develop programs that demonstrate to girls that the Church really does love them