Wednesday, October 20, 2010
My Opinion
I have been taken to task by 2/3 people regarding my comments regarding Bishop Cunningham's unavailability to attend the cathedral Mass & about the closure of Ushaw College.
I wish to make it perfectly plain that whatever postings appear in this blog they represent my own PERSONAL opinions & feelings on the subjects & may in no way be attributed to the Latin Mass Society even though Theresa & I are Joint Diocesan Representatives.
I accept that my postings may not sit comfortably with some readers but, as I accept other opinions, so must mine be accepted.
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David,
ReplyDeleteYou have set the record straight as far as your postings on the LMS blog are concerned. So everyone can now rest assured that your comments are your opinions. But we all knew that anyway, it is the nature of blogging in a free society.
I feel personally responsible for your problem. Maybe I should have tempered my comments on your Cathedral Mass entry, or better still, said nothing. Maybe we should all say nothing, and curl up in a corner to contemplate our navels.
You never know, by saying nothing, we might, just might, get some sort of entry on the Diocesan web site. Don't hang around, though.
Even though blogs are meant for sharing one's own news and opinions (and even frustrations), the best way for us to resolve this situation is - for those of us who are most able to do so - to discuss it directly and sensitively with Bishop Seamus when the time is right... and for all of us to pray for him every day and to give him concrete acts of support. As a bishop, he will be getting attacked from all directions, probably more so than any of us are. He has an immensely difficult balcing act to play. I doubt that I would be able to undertake his role, even with the daily prayers of hundreds of people in the diocese. He needs our support and encoragement. We need to be building each other up in the Lord. The early Christians attracted followers through their love for each other. When Bishop Seamus starts experiencing our love for him, and not just our opinions and judgements, he may well "warm" to our cause.
ReplyDeleteI comment on the last several entries on this blog and seek to do so in charity to all concerned.
ReplyDeleteFirst, while I accept a person’s right to express their personal opinion, this Blog claims the title of the LMS and as such it ought to limit itself to Bulletin-style news about Masses, Pilgrimages, Days of Recollection etc as organised by the LMS rather than be used as a vehicle for personal opinions. The difficulty we have now is that each time we represent ourselves to the Bishop as members of the LMS this personal opinion –which I feel improperly questions the integrity of our Bishop- can spring to mind as typical of the LMS and impact upon our exchanges with the Bishop.
Further, while it is sad that Bishop Cunningham will not be physically present, we should remember that this Mass is being celebrated with his knowledge and in his Cathedral Church, as such he is morally present. How often have we read blogs criticising Bishops for allowing their Cathedrals to be used for Masses we would describe as full of liturgical anomalies even when they are not present? We cannot have it both ways.
As for priests formed by Ushaw being rubrically deficient, most priests are not ill-willed in this but simply unaware of the ways in which they break liturgical norms (I could mention a dozen ways they do this in 99% of the parishes) because they tend to learn from one another rather than from study of the liturgical books. This causes me personal and pastoral difficulty in that I work hard to implement the norms yet visiting clergy dismantle them, leaving me to be questioned by parishioners who feel ‘we are not doing it right here’.
Finally, I too wish the Youth Village had been formulated in the Junior Seminary at Ushaw. To my mind this would have provided some great cross-pollination: think how the seminarians could have developed skills for working with the youth and how many young men might have been attracted to the seminary and to priesthood.
Regarding praying for the bishop. Might I say that I am 1 of only 2 in this diocese who has promised to pray the Rosary for the intentions of the bishop.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Fr Dickson.
ReplyDelete