Thursday, July 4, 2013

Unfolding Events Concerning the Traditional Latin Mass in Arkansas

H.E. Anthony Taylor, Bishop of Little Rock is attempting to reduce the number of Extraordinary Form masses in Batesville, AR from twice a month to once a month. The attendees at this Mass generally number slightly under fifty participants, with a large number of occasional visitors. They include longtime members of the parish, a Parish Religious Education instructor, a former president of the Parish Pastoral Council; most of the families have well-established ties to the Batesville community. We certainly consider ourselves sufficiently stable to support a Mass, and have the financial means to do so. 

In making this public, it is my intention solely to involve other people in helping the Bishop to make a just decision to continue and expand the availability of the Extraordinary Form in the Batesville area. We certainly do not wish to be antagonistic or unjustly critical, but rather seek a lawful, equitable, and charitable solution to this crisis. 

I ask for your prayers.

PAX

5 comments:

  1. I'm sure if you tied it in with immigration issues you would have a TLM every Sunday. The Bishop is like a broken record on that subject. I am surprised that 45 people would not constitute a "stable community." If you don't get anywhere with the good Bishop, send a letter to Rome. At some point it is time to stop playing nice all of the time.

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  2. Well, unfortunately, Bishop Taylor is known for a certain frigidity toward the TLM - I'm sure our host knows the history here as well as anyone.

    I will observe that it does not make it easy to build a solid "stable group" when you don't have a Mass every Sunday. That's really the minimum needed to really make a go of it. Two Sundays are better than one; but I hope that Batesville can build toward a weekly Mass. That might be a tall order in this diocese, and it will require a lot of lay initiative and support, I fear.

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  3. We have had a weekly TLM in Tontitown (west AR) for almost 2 yrs. It is regularly attended by 80-100 people. Unfortunately most families that attend drive 50+ miles one way from other parts of AR, OK, and MO to attend so it is not like it is a growth out of the local parish, it is an island of refuge. A few families consistently offer a potluck lunch after every mass in hopes of building a community. It is well attended by regulars and new families stick around to meet people, it has been nice. The drawback is that there is no traditional religious ed or other parish sponsored activities to draw the traditional minded back for anything but mass. Because of this we lose people to the Tulsa FSSP or to Springfield.

    Jay P

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  4. 50 participants is not a lot when a diocese has over a hundred thousand Catholics. Speaking of "crisis" when the local Ordinary reduces TLMs from twice a month to once a month is a bit dramatic, considering that ultimately the extraordinary is and must remain out of the ordinary.

    The idea of "expanding" the Latin Mass comes from an existing agenda - the idea that it must slowly reach every parish and eventually overtake the Ordinary Form ("Novus Ordo"). Whether we like or hate this idea, the issue is that it contradicts the Magisterium to which we owe obedience.

    Coming to the public with a statement that in essence says "We're in a crisis because they halved our TLMs and it's not fair because we're rich enough to afford them" is exactly why many Ordinaries have an issue with the traditionalist movement - they come with a sense of entitlement backed up by financial strength (two things that the Church has always frowned upon). This impression is only reinforced by some of the comments your post drew.

    Ultimately I am certain that there are plenty of parishes offering the Catholic mass around. There would be a crisis if you were living in the Middle East and the only church in a radius of 50 miles had just been turned into rubble. As it is, the American Traditionalist is not making a good impression with other Catholics.

    http://good-wine-or-ashes.blogspot.com/

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