I had heard from several sources that Bishop Kieran Conry was rather resistant to the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and that, as a result, requests for the TLM in Arundel & Brighton weren't encouraged (to put it politely) despite the provisions of Summorum Pontificum.
Having read a summary of the Bishop's thinking on the Mass at the time of the Reformation, it all becomes clear.
If, as Bishop Conry appears to, one believes that:
"...over the centuries, and especially after the Protestant Reformation, many of the elements of the Mass had become obscured. Much of this was a consequence of the continued use of Latin, which served to alienate and distance people from the action of the Mass"
then obviously one would be very averse to its continuation.
Unfortunately, Bishop Conry appears not to have read Eamon Duffy's classic, The Stripping of the Altars, which paints a very different picture of faith and worship among the laity in England and Wales.
He also doesn't appear to have read The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict (written when he was Cardinal) or else he wouldn't talk about the priest having his back to the people.
Even more unfortunately, the Bishop doesn't appear to have paid any attention to the documents of Vatican II either... you know, the ones which called for Latin to be retained in the Mass, and Gregorian chant to be given pride of place (among other things)...
Pray for the Bishop. And pray for his flock.
If it's true that M'Lord South Coast is resistant to requests to celebrate Masses in the EF then it would be interesting to know whether those who have asked have included diocesan priests who, under the terms of SP don't need to; and if not how he reconciles resistance with law and charity.
ReplyDeleteHe also states that we should only fight battles we know we can win! Hence the reluctance to oppose the government on the matter of Catholic Adoption agencies. His misunderstanding of the Mass and history is, of course, far more serious.
ReplyDeleteFr Ray Blake of A & B bravely provides the Mass in the Extraordinary Form
As a temp parishioner of A&B I am aghast at the serial foot and mouth of this bishop. He doesn't get this Catholicism thing at all. Why he was chosen as a bishops' rep at the Synod is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteTo have said what he said in the heart of the Vatican means that either he is intellectually challenged or he thinks he's untouchable. Possibly both.
Another of CMOC's clangers. Thank God for Fr. Blake and other brave priests of A&B who offer the EF when they can.
I pray for the people under him -- especially the priests. If memory serves, is this the clown that wrote a rapture of love to Barack Abortion Lover Obama when he won election in 2008? I'll have to go back through my correspondence at the time -- but some kind Brit. at the time pointed it out to me -- and I then sent that particular bishop a letter telling him *exactly* [and I mean *exactly*] what I thought of him for such stupid support. I was gratified when said bishop had to tuck his tail between his legs and plead manifest ignorance as to what he he supported. I expect that any priest serving under him gets an automatic 9 billion years worth of plenary indulgences - which should give them an automatic entry past St. Peter.
ReplyDeleteGentry: is it possible the other bishops just wanted him out of the country for a while?
ReplyDeleteWe recently spent eight years of exile in A&B and everything that has been written is only too familiar. Episcopal visitations were so different to what we'd experienced in Westminster under Bishop James O'Brien, who worked the room and tried to speak to everyone. Happily A&B is blessed with some outstanding priests and we were only too happy (and, fortunately, able)to drive up to 14 miles to attend Mass.
ReplyDeleteGem, you may be on the right track, but I couldn't possibly comment . . . .
ReplyDeleteGem of the Ocean...No, I think it was Bishop Crispin Hollis of Portsmouth (now retired)who praised Obama when he was elected.
ReplyDeleteBelieve he had so many emails decrying his words that his email system crashed!