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Apologetics

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by Catherine Frakas 01 Sep 2001

re: Declaration the Lord Jesus on the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church, published 9-5-00 QUESTION from anon December 11, 2000 Hi Brother John-Paul Ignatius!
We are still praying for you to overcome your illness. I am hoping that by the grace of God you recover soon.
The postings in the Liturgy Questions section on this website, concerning the proper way Mass is to be celebrated, would be helpful to people like Mr. McKnight. I used to attend that particular parish. I am assuming nothing has changed since I left, in 1993. The Mass there is considered illicit and sinful to attend. For example:
A) The priest omits the Creed
B) omits the Gloria
C) has the pastoral associate (female) read the Gospel and give the homily on occasion
D) tabernacle (small and movable)is located in a separate chapel used as a crying room during Mass
E)I have heard, cannot confirm, that standing is the norm during the consecration
F)hand holding during the Lord's Prayer
G)communion for the sick-- lay people come up to the altar to take home the Host in little plastic pouches to their ill (with common colds, flu, etc) family members
H)DRE (at the time) has said that there are no such things as indulgences, Vatican 2 changed everything, told me not to read anything from before Vatican 2! She also told me that it was no longer a sin to miss Mass on Sundays or Holydays.
I)Extraordinary ministers remove and restore Eucharist to the tabernacle (and of course there is a whole army of EXTRAORDINARY Eucharistic Ministers!!!)
J)Pastor has told people that contraception is between you and God,--and his meaning was clear!
K)Pastor allowed anyone of any religion to receive the Body and Blood of Christ at a First Holy Communion Mass, knowing that the guests were not Catholic
L) resurrected Christ above the altar, not a Crucifix
M)Lots of innovations, finally got rid of welcoming Sunday, which took place during the Mass, where people who had birthdays, were new to the parish, etc stood up for a clapfest in their honor
N) Last I heard, there was a Catholics for a Free Choice Chapter in the parish
O)Inclusive language is used
I could go on but I won't....some of what I have said is heresay---in particular N and E, the rest I have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears.
This parish is generally termed AmChurch by those who are familiar with the GIRM, the Catechism and ANYTHING the Pope has written.
There is a penalty of sin for those who attend Mass where the rubrics are disobeyed. If the priest KNOWS what he is supposed to doing but improvises and omits anyways, he may be guilty of mortal sin. The lay person, who knows that these inovations are considered abuses and still attends Mass at that parish is also in sin, albeit probably venial. But the soul is in danger nonetheless. The Church has the God-Given authority to make these laws and expect the faithful to comply with Love and Obedience. Personally, I would not trust my soul to a priest who willfully disobeys God's Church. The priest then becomes like a Pharisee, making up his own man made laws and expecting Catholics to follow those instead.
PLEASE read the GIRM, Inaestimable Donum, VATICAN 2!!! And also be warned that the materials used in Renew 2000 aren't always so orthodox. I am informing you all because I wish that I had known, that someone would have told me. I wouldn't have done you all any favors by keeping silent. PEACE++++++ Thanks BR John-Paul for everything!
ANSWER by John-Paul Ignatius, O.L.S.M. on March 4, 2001 Dear Mrs. anon:
That is quite a litany of liturgical abuses. Thanks for the info. And thanks for your concerns about my health. It is appreciated.
I do need to make one correction. I is NOT sin for a member of the faithful to attend a liturgy that is being abused. In fact, in some cases it may be a moral obligation for the faithful to attend a liturgy that is being abused.
For example, I have a person call me once telling me that all the Masses in his area were seriously abused. The only mass done properly was an Illicit Tridentine Mass. I told him that he could not attend a Mass that had not been approved by the Bishop and that if he did so he would be in a state of rebellion against the Church.
In this case he HAD to attend the Masses that were approved but that contained abuses.
I suggested to him and as long as the Mass was valid, Jesus was there. If Jesus was there, why leave Jesus alone with the abusers? We should be there with Jesus to stand up against the abusers. Give Him support.
Because our local parish may have a sinful priest, does not mean that we are sinful for attending a licit (approved by the Bishop) and valid Mass that happens to contain illicit elements (the Mass itself is licit even if elements of it are not).
Perhaps going to another parish is the answer for a person, but I am just saying let us not so automatically abandoned a parish with a priest who abuses the Mass. Let us not abandon Jesus with the abusers unless and until we have seriously prayed about it and got the go-ahead from God to transfer elsewhere (that elsewhere must be to a Mass approved by the Bishop).
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