As we see, the selective tolerance issue is alive and well not only in the secular but also in the ecclesiastical world! ;-) From the might pen of Eric S. Giunta: The draft text of the letter we hope to send Bishop Parkes in the coming weeks: Your Excellency: Happy Eastertide! On behalf of nearly 100 practicing Catholics of the dioceses Eastern Deanery who have signed a petition and submitted it to both your immediate predecessor and the Holy See, we write requesting re-establishment of a Latin Mass apostolate, which we have been without for nearly a year. For your convenience, wed like to recall some of the history that led to the establishment of just such an apostolate at St. Thomas the Apostle parish in Quincy by Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, toward the close of his tenure as administrator of the diocese during the interregnum between your predecessorss episcopacy and your own. From June 2008 to January 2010, the Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More hosted five celebrations of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, one Missa Cantata and four low Masses, with an average attendance of 210 persons at each celebration, more than enough faithful evincing the existence of a local “stable group” of faithful desiring this liturgy (as required by the moto proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI). After such celebrations ceased and it became clear that no establishment of a regular apostolate was forthcoming, nearly 100 of the faithful (many of them heads of household representing entire families) signed a petition, which we submitted to your predecessor, only to have it rebuffed, on several occasions, in no uncertain terms; we then appealed to the Holy See, which directed Archbishop Wenski, who in turn sought the assistance of Fr. Hector Perez, to provide for our aspirations. From December 2012 to June 2013, Fr. Nicholas Schumm celebrated a Tridentine Low Mass once-a-month at St. Thomas the Apostle. Unfortunately, both the location (Quincy) and time (9:00 am) proved debilitatingly inconvenient for the majority of the faithful – especially those with children – attached to traditional forms of liturgical expression, and the apostolate was a failure (so far as sheer attendance was concerned). Since Fr. Schumms transfer to Pensacola in July 2013, the Eastern Deanery has been without a liturgy that is celebrated according to the traditions that have historically informed Catholic worship. The liturgies that prevail in every parish here are characterized by banality and tackiness. Ironically enough, the most “Catholic” liturgies on offer, aesthetically speaking, are those offered by St. Johns Episcopal Church, where alone one finds pride of place given to traditional plainchant, sacred polyphony, and the choral musical tradition. Because all of the faithful associated with Una Voce Tallahassee are committed to the magisterium of the Church (both local and universal), weve been left to quietly suffer this state of affairs, though now that your episcopacy is approaching its second anniversary, we believe now is a good time to ask what steps we should take to re-establish a Latin Mass apostolate at a reasonable time and location. We know that normally it would be our duty to approach a local pastor before bringing this matter directly to your attention; but given the aforementioned history, we thought it best to submit our request directly to you. Four years ago we suggested, both to your predecessor and to the Holy See, that the 11:45am Mass at the Co-Cathedral would make for an ideal time and location for just such an apostolate; we offered then, and we re-offer today, to make ourselves available as servers and cantors for the weekly celebration of a Missa Cantata; all we need is a priest willing to celebrate, or to learn how to celebrate, this form of the Mass. Our association includes at least two experienced servers of the traditional rite, and two graduate Music majors with background in chant and sacred polyphony; the nearby Dioceses of Venice and Orlando both have active apostolates of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, and the priests of the Fraternity have on previous occasions offered their assistance in setting up a Latin Mass apostolate in our deanery. We know the diocese has a history of hostility toward traditional modes of liturgical expression – in whichever form of the Roman rite – and that those whove pushed for more faithful conformity to the Churchs decrees on sacred music and ars celebrandi have tended to be branded as radicals and malcontents, but we insist that such caricatures do not correspond to reality. We are faithful Catholics committed to the Second Vatican Council and the postonciliar magisterium, and are convinced that wider celebration of the 1962 Missal will eventually redound to the liturgical “reform of the reform” our local Church so desperately needs and for which our Pope Emeritus has so long advocated. We welcome the chance to meet with you personally at your earliest convenience; otherwise, we await your pastoral counsel concerning what steps we should be taking to re-activate the apostolate the Holy See has directed to be established in our deanery. Entrusting ourselves to your prayers, and assuring you of ours in return as we continue to celebrate Our Lords glorious Resurrection during this Paschal season, we are and remain Sincerely yours in Christ, etc.
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 03:30:01 +0000
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