LA Times rethinks role as Mahoney mascot
Someone at the The Los Angeles Times must have taken a hard look at the numbers -- those pesky non-lying entities-- and decided to stop a coddling Cardinal Mahoney's regime.
The apparent loss of The Times as a reliable Mahoney enabler is a major plot twist in this saga. The Cardinal's teflon coating is starting to look like cheap plywood. Maybe one day it'll be exposed as nerf.
Imagine a third of seminary graduates (in two different years) -- 10% overall since 1950 -- being accused of molestation. I'm sure there are better words for it, but breathtaking is a start. St. John's Seminary has cranked out perverts like a full-tilt sausage factory.
I want a new archbishop for Christmas. ("Dear Santa: I know you've heard of Bishop Tom Olmsted....)
posted by Patrick at 11:16 AM
18 Comments:
Leave Bishop Olmstead to the good people of Phoenix.
1:18 PM
Come on. Be generous with your gifts, like the Bible says.
1:27 PM
The Cardinal's teflon coating is starting to look like cheap plywood. Maybe one day it'll be exposed as nerf.
And the whole institutional Church in Los Angeles will be brought to its knees; bankrupt and lacking any real leadership. Maybe then Rome will have the cajones to send out the clowns and send in some real men of leadership.
full-tilt sausage factory.
A bad choice of words considering the context.
Patrick Prescott
1:41 PM
Patrick,
"I want a new archbishop for Christmas. ("Dear Santa: I know you've heard of Bishop Tom Olmsted....)"
Good luck with that. The Cardinal is made out of industrial strength teflon. I'm sure his spin master, Tod Tamberg, has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Things are going to have to heat up a lot more here in LA before Mahony gets pushed out.
3:01 PM
PDP:
Oh, and "on its knees" is more appropriate?
:-)
Joe:
Cease with thy realistic assessments!
3:21 PM
It was a temporary lapse.
Won't happen again.
Actually it is encouraging to see the Times finally wake up.
3:33 PM
Is hell freezing over?
8:25 PM
Patrick,
Pray harder is my advice - and on your knees. Maybe Angelinos should start kneeling down during Consecration.
12:04 PM
Anon:
You're not from these parts, are you? A sample fo life on the ground here:
The other Sunday, I genuflected before receiving Holy Communion. The person in front of me was still receiving and I did it discretely with my toddler daughter in my arms. When I stood up, the priest barked (with his body mike on), "You don't genuflect. You BOW your HEAD."
I was too stunned to object and didn't want to cause a scene. He's the associate pastor so I sent an brief email to the pastor, telling him what happened. Such events get poo-poohed. "Oh, well, yes, I can see your point. But per the cardinal, the practice here in LA is to bow. What can you do? blah blah blah."
Even though the Holy See has already taught that genuflecting immediately before receiving Communion is entirely permissible, local priest are more afraid of not implementing Mahoney's nonsense than they are of standing up for the universal Church.
But here in Rodgerland, liberal liturgical "norms" are issued right and left. Those among the faithful who still bother going to Mass are confused; those with half a religious education are demoralized by the lack of priestly devotion to orthodoxy and for Christ; and those who love the Church are heartbroken and angry.
A generation of Angelinos is being taughht by word and example that there's not much worth kneeling for to begin with. The rot starts at the top and flows down. The sdame way holiness does. The health of a dicoese is frequenty gaughed by the health of the bishop and his priests.
More prayer? Absolutely. But Cardinal Mahoney must also be held accountable for much of the mess that is the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
5:09 PM
Patrick,
Mahoney et al are correct in saying that the new norm is to bow one's head before receiving Holy Communion but, as you say, no priest is ever to deny Communion to someone who genuflects or kneels.
It's also the norm that no one is supposed to be holding hands during the Our Father. If it's a long-standing and widespread parish tradition, they can let it go but other than that it's forbidden. Are there any known cases of a priest 'going postal' on a hand-holder after the Our Father?
(crickets chirping)
Uh, yeah.....I didn't think so.
10:04 PM
Patrick,
I'm the "Anon" that suggested you kneel during Consecration. Although I'm not from L.A. (thank God!), I'm fully aware of your Cardinal's (mis)directives. The suggestion stands - let all the faithful who truly understand our Faith kneel during Consecration. I don't think the ushers would dare jerk you up your feet. It's a silent protest, and a proper way to observe the sacredness of the mystery ---- unless your Cardinal believes it is "cookie worship".
By the way, I, too, am a Canadian expat living in New York City. Move to Phoenix - my sister just did (from SF). I, too, am ashamed of what happened (or what didn't happen)at St. Joseph Oratory in Montreal recently.
6:52 AM
Salvacion:
Thanks. Actually....the GIRM states clearly that no one is to kneel after the Our Father until the end of Mass. There is confusion over this since it "feels" correct to kneel for the minor elevation, when the priest lifts up the consecrated Host, ("This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world").
To my knowledge, no one in LA stands druing the Consecration itself. I'm sure it's done somewhere, but then again, **anything** is doen in this Archdiocese somewhere.
MWM: I think you know this already, but regardless of local "norm" or custom, the principle invoked by the GIRM is "sign of reverence". Since genuflection is the perennial practice of honoring the Lord in his Sacramental presence, the Congregation responsbile for the Celebration of the Sacrmanets has decreed -- in light of just this point of dispute -- that bowing has not superseded genuflection, and than the latter is to be considered an appropriate for of "sign."
For a priest to publically bark at a parishioner is outrageous. Imagine a priest barking about...um...hugs after the SIgn of Peace, or as you say hand-holding Luv Festivals.....
4:05 PM
Patrick,
I've seen horrors during reception of the Holy Eucharist here in NYC also. We should pray for them.
We kneel after the Agnus Dei (I will kneel every time the Host is elevated - wherever I am).
PAX
10:20 AM
Salvacion: Not to nitpick, but the local bishop is permitted by the GIRM to forbid kneeling during the Lamb of God. "The faithful [also] kneel at the Ecce Agnus Dei (‘Lamb of God’) unless the diocesan bishop decides otherwise" (GIRM 43:3).
Isn't orthodoxy about -- among other htings -- staying in obedience to what is ordered by a duly appointed bishop in communion with the Roman Pontiff? I definitely prefer to kneel at the Agnus Dei. But I do not. As long as Pope Benedict VXI says otherwise, Roger Mahoney is the Archbishop of Los Angeles.
IMHO, it's a good spiritual exercise to do what's unprefered when it comes to the divine liturgy. I believe we can save souls by our obedience to things we "personally oppose." I know this will sound extreme to some, but I firmly believe that disobeying a bishop -- when it comes to what is legimately aoowed by the GIRM -- on the basis that he's a known liberal is the first step toward embracing the Protestant principle. (Straight with crooked lines."...if I'm allowed to use the word straight in this context.)
If your Ordinary wishes you to kneel at the Agnus Dei, God bless you. I would, too.
11:35 PM
You're right, of course, Patrick. Little mortifications help in our growth to holiness. Just like holding hands during the Lord's Prayer, if someone offers me his/her hand, I hold it, even though I know that it is not proper to do so.
8:12 AM
Salvacion: Actually, I don't do the holding hands thing. If prodded, I politely say, "we're not really supposed to do this." Mahoney actually says so in his otherwise goofy "Gather Faithfully Together" missive.
Veterum: Good to have you aboard. With prayers and perseverance, the light at the end of the tunnel here in LA won't be Pacoima.
12:32 PM
Patrick,
Your knowledge in Church matters is truly humbling. Me I just try to receive the Holy Eucharist daily and welcome the opportunity to pray with the community.
10:49 AM
Salvacion:
I doubt you meant the compliment sarcastically (right?), but for the record, I too welcome the same things you do. I just happen to believe that the faithful *deserve* to have the liturgy celebrated as the Church gives it. While it's silly (and counterproductive) to obsess over every tiny abuse that goes on at Mass, the faithful have a *right* to the Mass the way the Church teaches it ought to be celebrated.
Pretty basic, no?
All of the rubrics are easy to follow. They are written simply and directly, and priests do not have the right to alter or switch phrases, leave things out, or otherwise hijack the Mass to further an agenda. This is not some far-right extremist position. It's the plain teaching of Vatican II in Sacrosanctum Concilium.
I'm unsure how the desire for good liturgy...and desireing the Eucharist and praying with the community...are mutually exclusive. Seems to me they feed into one another.
I don't know where you live, but here in Los Angeles, every Sunday, in most parishes, there are many occasions of grief-provoking and teeth gnashing.
Anyway, I do appreciate your comments and contribution to my little, but ever exapanding, blog universe.
12:12 PM
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