Chicago: Cathedral Rosary Rally for the restoration of the TLM interrupted by an assault

This deserves wider attention.   It underscores the attitude of cruelty unleashed in the tragically ill-conceived, ineptly named Traditionis custodes.

In that unfortunate Archdiocese of Chicago, this … at the cathedral.

From 1 Peter 5:

Chicago Rosary Rally Assaulted

Since February 2022, Cardinal Blase Cupich’s restrictions on the Latin Mass have severely harmed the liturgical life of Catholics in the archdiocese of Chicago, and even led to the complete cancellation of Masses and Confessions at the Shrine of Christ the King. In response, Catholics from around Chicagoland have been coming together once a month for a “Rosary Rally for the Latin Mass” outside of Holy Name Cathedral in downtown Chicago. The number of faithful attending the rallies has fluctuated from 25 to over 250 attendees.

This past Saturday, November 5, a group of about 25 gathered once again outside the cathedral at 11AM. As always, we had two banners, many signs, and our rosaries. The weather was very windy and a little rainy, which precluded us from displaying a statue of Our Lady of Fatima as we normally would.

After singing two verses of “Immaculate Mary” and announcing the intention of the Rosary Rally, we started the Joyful mysteries. This was our 10th monthly Rosary Rally since February, and we expected it to be uneventful.

Suddenly, after a few decades, a professional-looking man (in a suit and tie) walked out of the Cathedral towards us. Followed by Cathedral security, the man came up to me and loudly demanded that we stop the Rosary, since “there is a Mass going on inside the Cathedral.”

Before I could respond, he violently tried to grab the megaphone I was using, shoving the microphone into my face as he did so. I was shocked – this was the first and only time anyone had physically assaulted any of us since we started doing these rallies.

I immediately stopped the Rosary and told the man that what he did was assault, and that I was going to call the police. He continued to argue that we should stop the rally, to which I responded that he should ask Cardinal Cupich to stop what he is doing to the Latin Mass. Before going back inside the Cathedral, the man said “I apologize” to me. You can see footage with the moments directly after the assault here.

Immediately after the assault, my wife called the police. They arrived about 20 minutes later and suggested that we go inside to see if we could find the assaulter.

As the Mass had just ended, we began asking the faithful attending if they recognized the assaulter from the picture I had taken during the incident. When I showed the assaulter’s picture to one of the Cathedral priests, he immediately said “that man is our music director.”

[…]

Read the rest there.

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18 Comments

  1. B says:

    If there was a Mass going on in the Cathedral, it’s not right to be disruptive even with a good cause. I hope the organizers consider Mass times when scheduling anything like this in the future.

  2. tm117 says:

    I think a few things should be done:

    1. Forgive the man, publically, for striking you.

    2. Press charges for assault. Justice demands he answer for it. Forgiving him does not remove the debt he owes.

    3. Contact the Archdiocese through an attorney. State that the man who assaulted you is an employee of the cathedral, and was accompanied by cathedral security at the time of the attack. This could give his assault on you the appearence of being supported by official policy. The cardinal should publicly deny that that is the case.

    4. In the name of unity, demand that the Cardinal cease his heartless implementation of TC. His actions, directly or indirectly, have led to faitful Catholics being ostracized and assaulted by their brethren.

    5. Demand the immediate restoration of the TLM at the Shrine of Christ the King as an offering of peace and reconcilliation on behalf of the cardinal himself. Seems only right that he takes this step to restore goodwill among his flock.

    6. Assure the cardinal of your continued prayers.

    But it must be stated that no further incidents like this will be tolerated. If necessary, harmed Catholics will seek justice through the secular legal process against the archiocese.

  3. Hidden One says:

    At the end of the full article at 1P5, the author indicates that he is unsure as to what to do next.

    My suggestion would be to let things die. Be merciful–authentically merciful.

    If “the assaulter” has learned from his behaviour, well and good. If he repeats it, which I think unlikely, there are already records of his previous conduct.

  4. ex seaxe says:

    I agree that TC was ill-conceived, badly brafted, very badly implemented re the dubia as well as by some diocesan (arch)bishops.
    I do however think that disturbing Holy Mass by a loudspeaker outside the church is also bad. BUT I note that Saturday morning at 11am is not on the the normal Mass schedule for the Cathedral. (If it is true that the loudspeaker was that loud, had I been present without ear-plugs I would have “participated” from 100 yards away!)

  5. Mike says:

    Of course it was!

    Sad, and I will pray for all involved, but especially for the faithful who want their traditional rites back.

  6. Kevin Fogarty says:

    OK the music director was clearly intemperate but I wonder: was the megaphone audible inside the cathedral? Was it distracting to the Mass?

  7. Senor Quixana says:

    The use of a megaphone to address a group of 25 strongly suggests this was an attempt to disrupt the mass being celebrated and the worshipers assisting, not an attempt to ask for Our Lady’s intercession. Short-sighted acts of disrespect do not advance the cause.

  8. TheCavalierHatherly says:

    A megaphone outside would be the least distracting thing at the average Novus Ordo liturgy.

  9. Charivari Rob says:

    Wow!
    The Cardinal and the rector clearly need to straighten out that music director, but…

    There isn’t really any way a megaphone of that size – more accurately, one set to so high a volume – is necessary for a group of 25 people to recite the rosary.

    Out of curiosity, a question for anyone who has actually been inside that cathedral – is it massive enough to mute the general outside sounds, or is it one of those that a ridiculous amount of sound penetrates with ease?

  10. Matthew says:

    What a horrible situation for all involved. I have no special insight or wise opinions, I only have my humble prayers that I shall offer for all involved.

  11. Cornelius says:

    I was completely sympathetic with the protester until I saw the word “megaphone”. He was using a megaphone outside while Mass was going on inside? Huh? A Catholic did that?

    Regardless of the righteousness of the cause, people should be allowed to worship in peace. It sounds to me like they were disrupting the Mass. (Why would you even need a megaphone for 25 people anyway?)

    The physical attack is still not justified, of course.

  12. Rob83 says:

    I’ve been at outdoor rosary gatherings, the megaphone is usually just loud enough for the group to hear to keep in unison, I’d be shocked if the sound got through the walls.

  13. Archlaic says:

    Methinks that if e.g. Fr. Pfleger was out there with a 500w PA system signing “We Shall Overwhelm” during midnight Mass of Christmas, no such fuss would be made!

  14. DCLex says:

    @B Holy Name Cathedral bulletin for that day shows no Mass scheduled at 11am or any other time that morning, only Confession from 9am-12pm. An evening “Vigil” Mass is the only Mass that Saturday. Incidentally, is it me or are Saturday morning NO Masses disappearing?

  15. PatS says:

    The “assault” this man claims was a very light weight physical confrontation (if this man claims a push was an assault, he’s not much of a man in my book).

    I’m all for the Latin Mass (and getting rid of N.O. mass), and agree protests must be waged the TLM oppression, but if a valid Mass (even though it’s N.O.) is being presented, then the Latin Mass crowd should not be protesting at that time ESPECIALLY if it is disturbing the mass. This is dis-respect of the Mass itself (again, even the corrupted NO form – it is a valid Mass that even Christ continues to endure and even present Himself!).

    It sounds like a lack of manhood in this Latin Mass crowd. This 1P5 article seems more like a plan to get webcount hits and not really report on a story.

    Also, it is disrespectful to the Church to bring police inside to find someone whereby a real crime was not committed (see my comment above about this being a real “assault”)… OK, search the church if a capital crime is committed and the person may be in there, but not for a petty crime!

    I fear that if this Latin Mass protests have this thin of a skin, they will be easily crushed. This was a perfect time to take the “assault” and then turn the other cheek for the next “assault”.

    TLM – things are going to get a lot more rough, MAN UP!

  16. Not says:

    Maybe the guy with the megaphone sounded better than the NO choir.

  17. Archlaic says:

    Has anyone ever been at a weekday morning Mass in the spring, summer or fall and been disturbed by the loud noise of mowers and landscape blowers right outside the (open) windows? Anyone been to a church in the city and had to contend with sirens, loud diesel trucks, cars with over-amplified subwoofers, etc.? I’ve never heard of a “music director” rushing out in high-dudgeon to confront such nuisances. I will refrain from speculation as to whether the amplified Rosary was more edifying than the music that was being performed inside, but this totally smacks of selective indignation. (Unless of course they were praying in Latin, which would obviously have been incomprehensible and, indeed, frightening to the folks inside who might have construed it as an attack by terrorists or some sort of riot!)

  18. Annie says:

    The OP did not mention the fact that there was a FUNERAL Mass going on. He is lucky the “assault” only consisted of the music director just trying to grab his megaphone.

Comments are closed.