Canon 838 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states quite clearly:
Within the limits of his competence, it belongs to the diocesan Bishop to lay down in the Church entrusted to his care, liturgical regulations which are binding on all.
So what is the problem? The bishop is clearly acting lawfully and in the interests of the unity of faith and has said that there is a "TLM" already provided in another locale of the diocese. Let the students go thither if they want that rubbish! But I was forgetting Summorum Pontificum, that sloppy document which set the authority of bishops at naught. But what does that matter these days? That was seven years ago; this is now, the trendy, relevant reign of pope Francis. If it transpires that the students of Fisher More College, them that are attached to the TLM, make an appeal to Rome, who's going to care? Certainly not pope Francis! As I said in my previous post, nothing accentuates the fallacy of the traditionalist position more than the present incumbent of the Roman see!
May I offer my sincerest congratulations to Bishop Olson for this wise move and express my hope that other diocesan bishops, acting lawfully according to their authority within their own dioceses, follow his apostolic and Christ-like example.
The Bishop is the Vicar of Christ in his diocese.
ReplyDeleteThere really is no such thing as a bishop in the Roman church. Synodality, collegiality, etc are dead words.
DeleteIt seems they won't be celebrating Mass at all now: http://fishermore.edu/chapel/
ReplyDeleteA tacky pseudo-gothic chapel with a "stunning" emotionalistic crucifix, a very traditional™ altar and ugly statues. And those vestments... It's even worse when compared to that Thomas More College that was often featured on the New Liturgical Movement in its better days.
It'll be interesting to see how this develops. I do hope they keep in mind that Bishop Olson was made a Monsignor by Benedict before being appointed by Francis.
Tom, you've just reminded me of that ridiculous mantra at the top of John Zuhlsdorf's blog: "reading Francis through Benedict."
DeleteBrick by brick! Say the black, do the red! Save the liturgy, save the world! Catholic and faithful, American and free!
DeleteFr. Zuhlsdorf really sounds like a door-to-door salesman.
Unless I am quite mistaken, he lives off the "donations" his feeble-minded readers kindly send him via the channels on his blog. I'd like someone to tell me how that is different to fortune telling or prostitution?
DeleteThat man really is a carbuncle on the backside of this world. And yet thousands of traddies think he is the super star of their cause!
An example Cardinal Nichols will hopefully aspire to follow.
ReplyDeleteWell, with these kind of odd confusing chaotic days in western christianity, It certain seems it would easier to be Eastern Orthodox (or maybe Eastern Catholic) and just give in to the fun of the byzantine rite exclusively.
ReplyDeleteYeah, francis pontificate seems as if it's going to stink.
Back when Benedict was the Pope I had the concern that he was this really odd exception to the average bishop and priest of the Church. So what if his ideas are basically good ones, in regards to the '62 mass, they don't much matter because almost all hierarchy spent the last 35 years saying how bad the old liturgy and old church ways were...
What a gigangtic mess !!!!
The easterners have other problems and politics, but at least they leave their liturgy and basic ideas customs alone and dont reinvent them (except for a few of those in communion with rome who novus ordo/latinize things). If you can't have that much, where else can you go..that's the bedrock of the faith. In the west, a protestant earthquake seems to have broken up that bedrock, both within Rome and outside of Rome, save further east.