Bishop Bans Belief, Promotes Paltry Participation Pledge
Recently, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC has taken it upon himself to fully implement the Motu Proprio "Traditionis Custodie" of the late Bishop of Rome. Apart from banishing all adherents of the Latin Mass to a single parish as of July 8th, which won't even open until late in the Fall; an even more disturbing document was leaked from the bishop's office this week.
In the letter that Bishop Martin had planned to issue to the diocese, he makes a multitude of uninformed and personal liable claims against traditional liturgy and people who worship in that manner; as well as theological arguments which have no basis in Catholic teaching, and would be more at home in a Baptist church than a sacramental one. He has a desire and plans to ban every semblance of tradition from all parishes in the diocese: From banning altar rails, to telling priests they cannot cross their stoles or say vesting prayers for specific vestments (which he claims causes clericalism), down to telling parishes they can't ring a bell to signal the start of service. The list of "thou shalt nots" exceeds even the dictates of the Mosaic law in regard to ritual; which is stunning given the claims that there are already sufficient rules and regulations in place on the novus ordo liturgy.
However was is most disturbing is the bishop's absurd theological reasonings and understandings. He (and others like hin) claims that traditionalists want a return to the old ways where there was only one form of mass, which they don't understand was never the case: that there were always historically a number of approved forms of mass. While they are correct that there have always been a number of approved rites of mass, it is ironic they make this argument about traditionalists; when they themselves are the ones who are attempting to FORCE a singular form of worship on the entirety of the church, demanding a sense of 'uniformity' which has never existed in the history of the church. What they claim as the goal of the traditionalists, is actually their own goal.
What is the most horrendous part of this insane letter to me personally though, is that the bishop denigrates the sacrifice of the mass as though it were nothing more than a memorial meal; which evangelicals would recognize. Several times he explains that they must do away with traditional piety, because since the people understand the Eucharistic liturgy as a "ritual meal", they are to be encouraged in this manner of thought. Yes, a Roman Catholic bishop actually encourages a heretical view of the theology of Holy Communion. He calls the sacrifice of the Mass "the ritual meal" several times; making it clear that he does not believe in the sacrificial nature of his own priesthood; much less the sacrifice of Christ which has made our partaking of communion possible. By calling the mass nothing more than a "ritual meal", he has expressed his lack of faith in the true presence of Christ in the sacrament; and that he intends to encourage this heresy to proliferate in the diocese.
Long story short, this is a man after Bergoglio's own heart. Ban tradition, ban piety, encourage absurdity.
But then again, this is exactly what they did in the 1970's.
