For about 25 years now I have attended an Institute of Christ king oratory. I have always had respect for all of them in what they do and the sacrifices they make for the church. They know the Catholic faith upside and down. My respect for them will never change.
That being said I only wish they would just stick to doing the job they are well trained for and leave the politics outside. By that I mean church politics.
I belonged to a SSPX chapel in Oak Park for 5 great years where thanks to Fr. Scott I relearned my faith that I had forgotten thanks to Vatican II. I would still be going there if it was not for the horrible white knuckle drive into the city on the Congress expressway that seems more unbearable the older you get. When they started the school there I volunteered to haul furniture in and got a chance to know the people in the congregation. No one had pointed ears or a forked tong. Just regular Catholics trying to find their faith.
So the Sunday after the consecrations in the sermon I heard about the Institutes ordinations in Florence and the growth of the Institute. Unfortunately after that I heard “the sad events in encone”. I heard all about how if we relished in the consecrations we were committing sin and should be ashamed of ourselves, this I took personal. These people were my friends that he was insulting. Yes I did relish in the consecrations and I do not think of it as a sin. Just gratitude to an organization just trying to save the Catholic faith.
Then last Sunday it was how its a sin to seek out negative information about the church and another sin to share it. Obvious damage control for Leo’s blunder. I don’t think we seek out negative information, it just all seems to be negative information. Even Leo is pushing Synodalty wanting the layity to get more involved in the running of the church (something else that will probably backfire in his face).
The canon before our current one had a tyraid the Sunday after the Conclave about people not thrilled with the election of Prevost. According to him, “Cardinal Burke said he would make a wonderful Pope”. Burke, ya right, The popes own cheerleader with the Truman Capote voice.
I think a lot has to do with the age of these young priests. Most have not really experienced life outside the rectory so their outlook are all golden ideals. Thats great, I admire them and envy them as well, but hard to apply those ideals in this dog eat dog world we live in no matter how hard we try to be Catholic its always a pressure cooker.
This is not the Catholic church I grew up in in the early 60s. Ask any priest or nun a question and you got the same answer every time. For most people there was a parish in walking distance. Not so today, if you want to attend a Latin mass your in for a cross country journey.
Last week canon complained about people arriving late and not preparing for mass. For one thing most of us travel great distances just to get there. I travel 65 miles one way. I am there early only because I try to get there for confession. What about these large young families with mom try to get the kids dressed and ready to go. Then having to sit in the car for an hour to get to mass. Can you maybe cut them a little slack.
As far as prepping for mass I say my daily rosary and prayers in the car on the way to mass. I have heard many other do the same. Families recite rosarys and such. Sometimes I think these canons just don’t have a clue what goes on in the real world. Again not their fault, they are young, not seasoned yet, good priests and like wine will only get better with age, but at least get off of the high horse and cut people some slack. These are trying times to be a Catholic let alone a Traditional Catholic. We are trying but the last thing we need is to be accused of more extraneous sins.
So enough with the politics already, do the jobs you were well trained and experts at. Reading the mass, administering the sacraments and leave politics out of this. Also please show a little more compassion for the SSPX. If it was not for them you would never exist today. Understand too that your being used as a shill from Rome to destroy the SSPX and if they ever fall, then its game over, so falls Catholic tradition. One other thing to think about is what will you do if Leo forbids bishops to ordain your priests? Will the SSPX still look that bad?