Pages

Monday, August 8, 2011

A bishop witnesses a liturgical abuse

And decides not to confess to the priest who did that.

Because he is afraid he might change the formula of absolution.

The bishop also further opines why there is a rise in the interest in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

I just wondered why he did not approach the priest and asked him what he did.

Just wondering.

Head on over to What Does the Prayer Really Say to read about this great blog post.

2 comments:

  1. Some in the comments section have the same question about the bishop not correcting. A response from the Father Z, the blogger, to that point follows.

    One additional thought: maybe he did but didn't blog about it. It woud be hard for a new bishop to go up to a brother priest that he didn't know (new bishop) that is the same age and correct him (and that may not be appropriate given that he is not the ordinary) but discretion would forbid him from reporting that.

    He also may not have had the (rather long) time. Remember this is the US. Americans debate with their supposed betters more.

    Finally, I am not sure that it is his diocese. Episcopal courtesy, at least, would suggest bringing such matters to the priest's ordinary and not correcting "somebody else's" priest, so to speak.

    Fater Z's comments:

    [I want to add a note of caution, and not directed just to you. Remember that a) this is a brand-spakin'-new bishop and he is an b) auxiliary bishop. That means that he has spent most of his days as a priest so far and other than the fancy suit he can wear, he has in some respects less authority than a pastor of a parish, unless his Ordinary of the place gives him a role such as Vicar General. Also, there is an old priestly cultural reticence - at least among solid priests of a certain old school - which makes them cautious about telling another priest how to say Mass. Abuses are one thing, but we are careful when addressing them. So... the bottom line is, cut the guy a little slack... at least for now.]

    ReplyDelete
  2. The bishop also responds on his blog to some of the comments from his post:

    http://thoughtsofacatholicbishop.blogspot.com/2011/08/addenda.html

    ReplyDelete