Build your own Motu Proprio story
With the upcoming release of the Motu Proprio liberalizing the Tridentine rite you can expect a surge of articles in the MSM getting things wrong. As a service to the MSM I will give them a Motu Proprio boilerplate that they can arrange as they want with just the right spin, or is that rite spin, so that it fits into their normal templates. This boilerplate has enough mistakes and biases it make it indistinguishable from any other MSM article that will be appearing in the coming days.
- Some people feel nostalgic for the Latin Mass.
- In the Latin Mass the priest faces away from the congregation and prays, sometimes in a whisper, in Latin, a language unfamiliar to most of the world’s one billion Roman Catholics. Unlike in the new Mass which is celebrated in the vernacular with the priests facing their congregations.
- Because two generations of American Catholics are accustomed to hearing the Mass celebrated in English, it's unlikely most will want to switch to a liturgy that is longer, more formal and celebrated in a language they don't understand.
- Pope Benedict is taking the church back to before Vatican II and removing the reforms of the Council. Liberal, reform-minded Catholics are concerned about these rollbacks to progress made.
- Some prayer for the Tridentine liturgy are offensive to Jews.
- The Rev. <Insert Jesuit of choice> said <insert attack on the Tridentine rite>.
- The groundbreaking Second Vatican Council opened the door to worship in the local vernacular.
- The Latin Mass involves a diminished role for women as altar servers and eliminates progress made in women's equality since Vatican II.
- These changes will only aggravate declining Mass attendance by introducing a liturgy not relevant to the times.
- Insert comment by former America editor Thomas Reese now a fellow at Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University. (Make sure you mention he was forced out of the editorship by Pope Benedict.) If you can't get in touch with Thomas Reese for a direct quote just mention something about clash of cultures between conservative priests and liberal congregations.
- Pope Benedict has been receiving resistance from the Bishops in France, England, and Wales who worry about the change dividing the church.
- But liberals are deeply wary because a number of the rite's adherents are associated with ultra conservative groups that oppose the radical reforms ushered in by the Council.
- The proponents of the old Latin mass are said to number no more than 2 percent of Catholics, and polls show that the majority of Catholics embrace the reforms of Vatican II. There seems to be no demand for it.
- Insert a comment from a proponent of the Tridentine Rite at the bottom of your piece.
Just mix and match and you will have a story ready to go to press in minutes. If you need some more fluff you can always mention once again how no one knows Latin anymore. You can always do a man in the street interview outside of a Catholic Church after Mass. Though contrary to what you might think don't ask younger Catholics their opinion on this, look for someone with gray hair to get a good quote on why this change is bad.
Known as 
For or against, I'm pretty sure the articles covering this are already written. You could probably make a similar list for the pro-MP side. I'm on that side too!
Did you see the NYTimes coverage of it? It's like you wrote the article for them!
Hey Jeff,
Let us know when you've corrected all the misconceptions (via the NY Times, maybe?) so we can read the right stuff and cheer! :):):)
In all fairness to the Jesuits, Fr. Joseph Fessio, SJ has also been quoted on this issue.
-J.
As someone under the age of 25, I would love to see the latin mass make a comeback. I have only been to one. The liturgy and music and most of today's masses makes them seem like bad Christian rock concerts. Its embarrassing to be there have the time.
The Devil has always worked against the church and anything she does to restore morality and sanity in a corrupt world bent on sin and pleasure. The New mass was along those lines, a lot of fun, I got to laugh, hold hands, talk, have my cellphone on, wave across the aisle to my friends, hardly kneel, dress as I please, etc etc
But is that what Our Lord wanted us to do when we went to church, only 45 minutes of our time in the entire week except for prayer devoted to him?
The world, especially the NYT and many of the Jews are going to try and actually paint the TLM as bad and antisemitic because they hate Christ, or else they obviously would be in the pews with us
Hold fast to the faith, the restoration is slow in coming, but it will happen with prayers
My version of the story:
Motu Proprio Signals a New 'Dark Ages'
Rome — Pope Benedict, a former Hitler youth, will tell Roman Catholic priests in coming days that they can say mass in Latin— a dead language the no one knows anymore—as a concession to right wing extremists in the church, known as traditionalists.
The decree by the Pope, a former Hitler youth, is known as a Motu Proprio. This cryptic latin phrase can be loosely translated “I can do whatever I want because I am the Pope and you can’t stop me.”
The Latin Mass, also know as the Tridentine mass, is a product of the ‘dark ages’ and was understandably jettisoned by the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The latin mass is said by the priest with his back to the congregation whispering secret prayers that only he can understand. In the Tridentine mass the laity does not participate at all , so they often turn to knitting, macramé, or checkers to pass the time.
The move by the Pope, a former Hitler youth, has raised concern about reviving parts of the old liturgy that Jews consider anti-Semitic, gays consider homo-phobic, women consider sexist, dwarves consider anti-dwarfic (communion rails are too high), and priests consider to difficult to learn. More
Hilarious! The creepy thing is I could see that being reported by some sources :(
As a 59 year old ex altar boy, the church lost me with Vatican II. although a child of the 60's, I could not agree more with the "bad christian rock concert" comment. Mass lost much of its dignity and solemness when we started singing Kum Baya accompanied by bongos and cymbals. A good friend from high school who went into the seminary left the priesthood over all the changes.
I attend the only Tridentine mass in my parish and there are as many young people there as there are old. Unfortunately, your post is too close to reality to funny.
You are missing a few points:
1. African Americans and other minorities are seen by some experts as being further alienated from the Church with any increased use of Latin.
2. The Tridentine Rite is regarded by some critics as potentially exacerbating the present crisis of global warming.
Patrick, I realize I've missed so much growing up Protestant--and a Unitarian at that! Thank God for my Presby grandmother.
You put out the press releases, didn't you? Check these out:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/religion/stories/052707dnrellatinmass.958e9.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19474189
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4928675.html
Pitiful and ignorant reporting.
The Dallas Morning News, ABC, MSNBC, Houston Chronicle etc. received your press release...
OK, how about making your own MSN headliner? I propose:
VATICAN SLAMS LIBERALS WITH NEW DOCUMENT
POPE'S NEW DOCUMENT OFFENSIVE TO JEWS
POPE'S NEW LITURGY DOCUMENT 'A REVERSAL OF TIME' SAY CHURCH CRITICS
NEW DOCUMENT ABOUT THE LITURGY DIVIDING THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
POPE'S LETTER MET WITH WIDESPREAD RESISTANCE
"The world, especially the NYT and many of the Jews are going to try and actually paint the TLM as bad and antisemitic because they hate Christ, or else they obviously would be in the pews with us"
That's a harsh generalization, isn't it? It implies that hatred of Christ is Jewish law or identity. Maybe what many of the Jews hate is hatred that is (or is perceived) directed at them?
but:
"2. The Tridentine Rite is regarded by some critics as potentially exacerbating the present crisis of global warming."
caused too much laughter for my elderly bladder.LOL! You could get enough mileage out of that statement to write a comedy movie, I'd bet. Just by reflecting on HOW, inspirations might come flooding in...
Thank you, Joe e-mail.
If the form is changed to "Rev. said ", I would find that item more agreeable.
Please do not disparage the Jesuits as a whole. The order truly seems a microcosim of the greater Church, with a wide range of views. The built-in flexibility that is part of their founder's charism, yes, contributed to the problems of the mid-late 20th century, but it also is allowing the order to renew itself from within and recapture the original spirit of St. Ignatius. Many good, holy men are among those in formation (no I am not one), and I look forward to the next steps in the society's "way of proceeding" (as Ignatius called it).
AMDG
Sorry, first part meant to read:
If the form is changed to "Rev. said ", I would find that item more agreeable.
AMDG
Blah! Cursed technology!!!
If the form is changed to "Rev. (Insert your average baby-boomer Jesuit of choice) said (insert attack on the Tridentine rite) ", I would find that item more agreeable.
Hahahahaha. THAT WAS BRILLIANT.
You're missing something, however: WHERE IS THE DRUNKEN OUTRAGE OF MEL GIBSON?
The media's crowning of Pope Gibson, LEADER of the Traditionalist movement, will no doubt return ...
Pax tecum,
+Craig Kelso
Reading these comments, I don't see much that I would describe as splendor. A lot of mean-spiritedness on the part of people hiding behind pseudonyms and trying to outdo one another in uncharitable "humor". Is there any hope for the Church in the US if this is the way people carry on?
PULEEZE!! Consider to whom we are being mean-spirited. The media who do all they can to destroy the Church, display her failings, distort her doctrines, and divide Catholics! Our Lord was rather direct when attacking the moneychangers who defiled His Father's House. The media defiles Holy Mother Church, shouldn't we be outraged?!
We are simply using humor to deal with the inevitable onslaught that the Motu Proprio will elicit from the hostile media.
Daniel, you sound unhappy. What is your view of the Traditional Mass? Do you see it's promulgation as a retraction the "Spirit of Vatican II?"
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