Monday, July 21, 2008

We have a stable group

The Diocesan Planning Commission has issued their Preliminary Recommendations regarding Church closings. What they recommended for cluster No. 3 has a troubling note.

2. You re-evaluate the need for the “extraordinary form” of Mass in the Wilkes Barre area.

First off, isn't the planning commission over-stepping their bounds a bit here? It was my understanding that the commission was responsible for planning the church closures, not determine the way the faithful were to worship.

Sounds as if there are those with an agenda on the commission.

Not surprising though, in a Diocese where it is difficult to find a mass celebrated totally in agreement with the rubrics.

What are rubrics some of you may ask?

Those pesky directions for the priest written in red in the big book up on the altar.

Let me remind the planning commission of something.

In July 2007 POPE BENEDICT XVI (the guy in charge) issued a Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum freeing the the old Latin Mass from it's imagined constraints. In it he gave permission to ANY priest, anywhere to say the Mass.

Without consent of his bishop.

Which is where most of the problems lay. Todays liberal Bishops, especially the American ones were horrorstruck that Dioceses they had spent years destroying with their liturgical dance and clown Masses could now start to be saved by a priest saying what has been termed the "Extraodrinary Rite" of the Catholic Church.

Immediately the USCCB raised questions about five words in the document "...a stable group of faithful". The Holy Father said that "...a stable group of faithful" could ask for the Mass. The roadblocks were put up immediately by the liberals in the church.

What could they mean by that? How many make up a stable group?

Well, our good friend Cardinal Dario Castrillion Hoyos, head of the Pontifical Council Ecclesia Dei rectified it for us.

CC: It’s a matter of common sense … In every bishop’s household there are maybe three or four persons. This is a stable group … It is not possible to give two persons a Mass, but two here, two there, two elsewhere – they can have it. They are a stable group.

So then the group at Holy Rosary are a stable group.

There is a need for the Mass.

People in Cluster 3, let your cluster members know.

I will.

Friday, July 18, 2008

More Pretend (not) Priests

From the intrepid Father Z. I have included his comments cuz they make me smile. Reading stuff like this makes my eyes burn.

3 women to be ordained Catholic priests [Nooo… will pretend to be ordained.] in Boston
Excommunication automatic, church warns

By Michael Paulson, Globe Staff | July 18, 2008

Three aspiring Catholic priests [B as in B. S as in S.] will be anointed and prayed over this weekend in an ordination liturgy that will resemble the traditional in most ways but one: The three [not] being ordained are women.

The [fake] ordination ceremony Sunday, at a historic Protestant church [That’s about right.] in the Back Bay, is the first such event to take place in Boston, one of the most Catholic cities in the nation. [?]

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, in accord with Vatican teaching, [two millennia of Christian tradition] says the participants in the ordination ceremony will be automatically excommunicating themselves.

But the women [not] being ordained say they are acting because they feel called to the priesthood and compelled to resist what they view as a wrong church teaching. [Because they get to make that determination, I guess. Right?]

"We’re part of a prophetic tradition of disobeying an unjust law," [Remember folks: reject premises. This isn’t unjust, because it is not a matter of justice, and it is not a law, but an infallible teaching.] said Gabriella Velardi Ward, a 61-year-old Staten Island architect with two children and five grandchildren, who will [not] be ordained along with Gloria Carpeneto of Baltimore and Mary Ann McCarthy Schoettly of Newton, N.J.

Ward said she has wanted to be a priest since age 5, [And her parents dropped the ball on that one, I guess. They should have taught her better. But, then again.. you can’t always accomplish what you want with kids, can you.] and that she actively considered becoming a nun before deciding that the priesthood was her calling because she wants to be able to celebrate Catholic sacraments. [She can! Just not as a priest.]

"Excommunication or not, I will still be a validly ordained priest [This is simply a wicked lie.] and still will be able to serve the people of God," she said.

The women are to be [fictionally] ordained by Dana Reynolds, a California woman who was [not] consecrated as a bishop in Germany in April.

Reynolds and the others are part of an organization called Roman Catholic Womenpriests, which has been holding [invalid] ordination ceremonies for women since 2002; the organization says there are now 28 women Catholic [pretending to be] priests in the United States.

Among those already ordained is Jean Marchant, a former director of healthcare ministry for the Archdiocese of Boston, who with her husband presides over a small congregation that has a weekly Catholic Eucharist in a Protestant church in Weston.

The organization says its ordinations are valid because its first bishops were ordained by Catholic bishops in good standing – bishops whose names have not been released because they would face sanction by the Vatican. [Gratis asseritur gratis negatur. Besides, a real bishop can no more ordain a woman than I can transsubstantiate a banana into the Body of Christ. It just doesn’t work.]

But the Vatican says the ordinations are illegal [Not only illegal but invalid. INVALID. NULL! ZERO! VOID! Can they not get why it is "illegal" to attempt to ordain women? Because it is invalid and therefore makes a mockery of the sacrament of Holy Orders!] under church law [The newsie is sticking to the shallow end of the pool.] and yesterday the Archdiocese of Boston sent an e-mail to all priests declaring that women play key roles in the church, but cannot be priests.

"Catholics who attempt to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the women who attempt to receive a sacred order, are by their own actions separating themselves from the church," the archdiocese said. "As a faith community rooted in the loving ministry of Jesus Christ, we pray for those who have willingly fallen away from the church by participating in such activities."

The [false] ordination will be Sunday afternoon in Church of the Covenant on Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay. The church is affiliated with two Protestant denominations, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ.

The interim pastor of Church of the Covenant, the Rev. Jennifer Wegter-McNelly, said the congregation decided to rent its historic space, [sounds like a form of ecclesiological prostitution] with Tiffany windows depicting women of the Bible, at a nominal fee to show support.

"It’s our effort to encourage and celebrate with them," Wegter-McNelly said. "This church’s commitment to women goes back a long time." [As if the Catholic Church doesn’t have a committment to women. Right.]

The ceremony has been scheduled to coincide with the first joint conference of four organizations pushing for the admission of married men, as well as of women, to the priesthood. That conference begins today at the Hyatt Harborside.

In St. Louis, a recent Catholic women’s [fake] ordination ceremony at a synagogue led to a rift in Catholic-Jewish relations. [When you are that rude and obstuse, bad things happen to dialogue.]

The Boston archdiocese declined to comment about the Protestant church’s decision to allow the dissident Catholics to meet there. [Wow. A sentence that got it right!]

The Vatican has repeatedly said that women cannot be priests because Jesus did not have female apostles. [Not the only reason, of course. But notice how this shallow comment leaves the impression that the Church is behind the times, etc.]

In 1994, in the most definitive recent Vatican statement [not a teaching, I guess, just a policy statement] on the issue, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter in which he wrote, "I declare that the church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women."

In its own statement, sent to priests by a vicar general, the Rev. Richard M. Erikson, the archdiocese said, "The ordination of men to the priesthood is not merely a matter of practice or discipline within the Catholic Church, but rather, it is part of the unalterable Deposit of Faith handed down by Christ through his apostles." [Ahhh… clarity.]

But the archdiocese also said it hopes the women involved will seek "reconciliation" with the Catholic Church, and said, "Following our devotion to Mary, the church is committed to, and sustained by the many important contributions of women each and every day."

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Troubling

My cluster, number three, had two "further recommends".

We further recommend that:
1. You locate Hispanic Ministry at Saint Patrick in order to accommodate the growing numbers of Hispanics attending Mass.
2. You re-evaluate the need for the “extraordinary form” of Mass in the Wilkes Barre area.

The Extraordinary Form of the mass has been offered at Holy Rosary for years. Now the cluster recommends closing the church. Instead of planning to move the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to Saint Patrick's, just like they are moving the "Hispanic Ministry" there, they want to know if they should keep it.

In a time when the Holy Father is concentrating on spreading devotion to the Extraordinary Form, the answer should be a resounding "Yes, there is a need for it.".

The "further recommend" should have been "Determine how to best utilize the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to enrich the liturgical and spiritual lives of our parishes."

Not to re-evaluate the need for it.

The recommendations

Here is the document emailed yesterday to parishes in our region.


PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS SUMMARY – SOUTHERN REGION

JULY 16, 2008

INTRODUCTION

The following summaries are excerpts from the full Preliminary Recommendations made by the Planning Commission to each cluster. Four “further recommends” were made to all 50 clusters and are listed here.

1. The rich ethnic heritage of the people in your area be honored and celebrated whenever appropriate.

2. A new Mass schedule be developed that reflects good stewardship of priestly resources and maximizes opportunities for larger assemblies to provide a more robust celebration of the liturgy.

3. You share our Preliminary Recommendations and rationale with each of your parish communities, and invite their questions and feedback on an ongoing basis through September.

4. Upon reception of the Bishop’s directives for your cluster, please establish a Cluster Implementation Team to design ways to fulfill the directives.

All other recommendations are for each specific cluster.

CLUSTER # 1

PARISHES: Gate of Heaven, Dallas; Our Lady of Victory, Harvey’s Lake; St. Therese, Shavertown; St. Frances X. Cabrini, Carverton; Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lake Silkworth

Recommendations

We recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model Two: Linked Parishes between Saint Francis Cabrini, Carverton and Saint Therese, Shavertown leading to consolidation within three years at the St Therese site, pending the facility assessment results. A possible worship site at Centremoreland needs to be further considered.

· Model One: Consolidated Parishes or Model Four: In Solidum (Team), within three years among Gate of Heaven, Dallas, Our Lady of Victory, Harvey’s Lake and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lake Silkworth. If there is a consolidation, we recommend that Gate of Heaven, Dallas be the parish site, with additional worship sites at Our Lady of Victory, Harvey’s Lake and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Lake Silkworth, which will be reviewed after two years.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes among all the parishes in the cluster.

We further recommend that:

1. You consider cooperative efforts including areas of collaboration found on your Suggestion Form.

2. Serious consideration be given to studying current staffing patterns to eliminate duplication and enhance ministries.

CLUSTER # 2

PARISHES: Holy Family, Luzerne; St. Ignatius, Kingston; Holy Name/St. Mary, Swoyersville; Holy Trinity, Swoyersville; St. Mary Annunciation, Kingston

Recommendations

We recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish between St. Ignatius, Kingston and St. Mary, Kingston at the St. Ignatius site, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Two: Linked Parishes between Holy Name/St. Mary, Swoyersville and Holy Trinity, Swoyersville leading to consolidation within three years at the Holy Trinity site, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership with Holy Family, Luzerne partnering with the consolidated parishes named above.

We further recommend that:

1. You begin immediately your collaborative efforts as outlined on your Suggestion

Form: Combining CCD programs; Participating in the Holy Family food pantry;

Developing a strong adult education program; Exploring ways to share administrative

staff, a business manager, groundskeepers, etc; Implementing a program for the

training of liturgical ministers; Exploring stewardship and justice programs .

CLUSTER # 3

PARISHES: Holy Rosary, Wilkes‑Barre; Maternity BVM, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Patrick, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Boniface, Wilkes‑Barre; Holy Trinity, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Joseph, Wilkes‑Barre Township

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parishes among Maternity of the BVM, Wilkes‑Barre; Holy Trinity, Wilkes‑Barre; and Saint Joseph, Wilkes‑Barre Township. We also recommend that the parish site be at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model One: Consolidated Parishes among Saint Patrick, Wilkes‑Barre; Saint Boniface, Wilkes‑Barre and Holy Rosary, Wilkes‑Barre. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Patrick, pending the facility assessment results.

We further recommend that:

1. You locate Hispanic Ministry at Saint Patrick in order to accommodate the growing numbers of Hispanics attending Mass.

2. You re-evaluate the need for the “extraordinary form” of Mass in the Wilkes‑Barre area.

CLUSTER # 4

PARISHES: St. Nicholas, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Mary Immaculate Conception, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Joseph (Slovak), Wilkes‑Barre; St. Aloysius, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Casimir, Wilkes‑Barre (Lyndwood); St. Therese, Wilkes‑Barre

Recommendations

We recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish between St. Joseph, Wilkes‑Barre and St. Mary, Wilkes‑Barre at the St. Mary site, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Two: Linked Parishes between the newly consolidated parish at the St. Mary site and St. Nicholas, Wilkes‑Barre in three years.

· Model One: Consolidated Parish in three years among the three Wilkes‑Barre parishes St. Aloysius, St. Casimir and St. Therese at the St. Aloysius site, pending the facility assessment results.

We further recommend that:

1. You collaborate on a religious education program for high school students.

2. You develop a collaborative adult education program

CLUSTER # 5

PARISHES: Blessed Sacrament, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Francis, Wilkes‑Barre; St. John the Baptist, Wilkes‑Barre; St. Dominic, Wilkes‑Barre

Recommendations

We agree with your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish among St. Francis of Assisi, Wilkes‑Barre; St. John the Baptist, Wilkes‑Barre; Blessed Sacrament, Wilkes‑Barre; and St. Dominic, Wilkes‑Barre. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Dominic, pending the facility assessment results.

We further recommend that:

1. You share your response regarding plans for evangelization which were not included in the current report.

CLUSTER # 6

PARISHES: Sacred Heart/St. John Evangelist, Wilkes Barre; St. Stanislaus Kostka, Wilkes‑Barre; Holy Saviour, Wilkes‑Barre

Recommendations

We recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One, Consolidated Parish between St. Stanislaus Kostka, Wilkes- Barre and Sacred Heart/St. John’s, Wilkes‑Barre at the St. Stanislaus site, pending the facility assessment results. However, we recommend that St. Christopher Mission, Wilkes‑Barre be closed.

Model Two: Linked Parishes between Holy Saviour, Wilkes‑Barre and the newly consolidated parish at St. Stanislaus, and be consolidated within three years.

CLUSTER # 7

PARISHES: Our Lady Help Christians, Dorrance; St. Jude, Mountain Top; St. Patrick, White Haven

Recommendations

Given the various sizes of the parishes in your cluster, we recommend that you study the following options and in your response respond with one that will make better use of priestly presence in your cluster:

· Model Two: Linked Parishes with all three parishes St. Jude, Mountain Top; Our Lady Help of Christians, Dorrance and Saint Patrick, White Haven to be served by one pastor with assistants.

OR

· Model Four: In Solidum (Team) with all three parishes St. Jude, Mountain Top; Our Lady Help of Christians, Dorrance and Saint Patrick, White Haven to be served by a team of priests.

OR

· Model Two: Linked Parishes between St. Jude, Mountain Top, and Our Lady Help of Christians, Dorrance, while another Model Two: Linked Parishes between Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Freeland, and Saint Patrick, White Haven.

We further recommend that:

1. You activate the finance and pastoral councils to be more effective.

2. You explore the sharing of pastoral staff.

CLUSTER # 8

PARISHES: Holy Trinity, Nanticoke; St. Stanislaus, Nanticoke; St. Mary Czestochowa, Nanticoke; St. Francis, Nanticoke; St. Joseph (Slovak), Nanticoke; Holy Child, Nanticoke

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish among Holy Trinity, Nanticoke; St. Stanislaus, Nanticoke; St. Mary’s Czestochowa, Nanticoke; St. Francis, Nanticoke; St. Joseph (Slovak), Nanticoke; and Holy Child, Sheatown. We also recommend that the parish site be at Holy Trinity, pending the facility assessment results. There will be an additional worship site which will be reviewed after two years.

We further recommend that:

1. You continue this process of collaboration in all areas of ministry.

CLUSTER # 9

PARISHES: St. Cecilia, Exeter; St. John the Baptist, Exeter; St. Anthony Padua, Exeter; Our Lady of Sorrows, W. Wyoming; St. Joseph, Wyoming; Immaculate Conception, W. Pittston; Holy Redeemer, Harding

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years between Holy Redeemer, Harding, and Immaculate Conception, West Pittston. We also recommend that the parish site be at Immaculate Conception, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years among St. John the Baptist, Exeter; St. Cecilia, Exeter, and St. Anthony, Exeter. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Anthony, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years between Our Lady of Sorrows, West Wyoming, and St. Joseph’s, Wyoming. We also recommend that the parish site be at Our Lady of Sorrows, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes among the three consolidated parishes immediately to accomplish your stated goals.

CLUSTER # 10

PARISHES: Blessed Sacrament, Hughestown; St. Mary Help of Christians, Pittston; St. Mary Assumption, Pittston; Our Lady Mt. Carmel, Pittston; St. Rocco, Pittston; St. John Evangelist, Pittston

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years among Blessed Sacrament, Hughestown, St. Mary’s Assumption, Pittston and St. Mary Help of Christians, Pittston. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Mary Help of Christians, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years between Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Pittston and St. Rocco’s, Pittston. We also recommend that the parish site be at Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes among St. John the Evangelist, Pittston and the two newly consolidated parishes listed above.

CLUSTER # 11

PARISHES: St. Martha, Fairmont Springs; St. Mary, Mocanaqua; Ascension, Mocanaqua; Corpus Christi, Glen Lyon

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend as a cluster that you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish among St. Mary, Mocanaqua; Ascension, Mocanaqua; St. Martha, Fairmount Springs. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Mary with an additional worship site at St. Martha, Fairmount Springs, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes among Corpus Christi and the newly consolidated parish noted above for a three year time period.

· We also recommend Model One: Consolidated Parish – At the end of three years, the newly consolidated parish at the St. Mary site will consolidate with Corpus Christi. There will be one worship site in each of the three communities: Fairmont Springs, Mocanaqua and Newport Township, to be chosen based on the facility assessment results and geography. The worship sites will be reviewed in two years.

We further recommend that:

1. You develop a strong evangelization program to reach out to the unchurched moving into the area.

CLUSTER # 12

PARISHES: Holy Family, Sugar Notch; St. Charles Borromeo, Sugar Notch; St. Leo, Ashley; Exaltation Holy Cross, Hanover Twp. (Buttonwood)

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish between Holy Family, Sugar Notch and St. Charles Borromeo, Sugar Notch. We also recommend that the parish site be at Holy Family, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes among the consolidated Sugar Notch parishes, the Exultation of the Holy Cross, Hanover Township and the recently consolidated St. Leo, Ashley.

· We also recommend Model Two: Linked Parishes – Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Hanover Township linked to the newly consolidated parish in Sugar Notch.

CLUSTER # 13

PARISHES: Holy Rosary, Duryea; Sacred Heart, Duryea; St. Joseph, Duryea; St. Mary, Avoca; SS. Peter & Paul, Avoca; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Dupont

Recommendations

We recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

  • Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years among Holy Rosary, Duryea; Sacred Heart of Jesus, Duryea and St. Joseph, Duryea at the Holy Rosary site, pending the facility assessment results.
  • Model One: Consolidated Parish within three years between St. Peter and Paul, Avoca and St. Mary, Avoca at the St. Mary site, pending the facility assessment results.
  • Model Three: Partnership Parishes with Sacred Heart of Jesus, Dupont, partnering with the newly consolidated parishes named above

We further recommend that:

1. You consider cooperative efforts including all the ways you have planned to work

together as stated on your Suggestion Form.

CLUSTER # 14

PARISHES: St. Maria Goretti, Laflin; St. Mark, Inkerman; SS. Peter & Paul, Plains; Sacred Heart, Plains; St. Joseph, Hudson

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model One: Consolidated Parish among Saints Peter & Paul, Plains; Sacred Heart, Plains and St. Joseph, Hudson. We also recommend that the parish site be at Saints Peter & Paul, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model One: Consolidated Parish between St. Maria Goretti, Laflin and St. Mark, Inkerman. We also recommend that the parish site be at St. Maria Goretti, pending the facility assessment results.

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes between the newly consolidated parishes named above.

CLUSTER # 15

PARISHES: All Saints, Plymouth; St. John Baptist, Larksville

Recommendations

We affirm your suggestion and recommend that as a cluster you enter into:

· Model Three: Partnership Parishes between All Saints, Plymouth which has recently consolidated and St. John the Baptist, Larksville.

We further recommend that:

1. After three years, All Saints, Plymouth and St. John the Baptist, Larksville, study the demographics and financial statistics for viability and consider whether linkage or consolidation might be an option.