Bishop Robert Morlino, the Bishop of Madison in the United States, has announced that, starting in October, whenever he celebrates a Sunday Mass in in his cathedral, it will be celebrated ad orientem. The bishop does not say what will happen on those Sundays when he is not there. Neither does he say what will happen during the week.
Nevertheless, this is a very clear statement in support of Cardinal Sarah, the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, who has called on all priests to consider offering Mass ad orientem from the beginning of Advent. Bishop Morlino is to be congratulated on making such a clear statement.
This is an example of how the bishops of the United States differ from those of England and Wales. In the US, bishops have a range of views, and are prepared to step out of line to express them. In this country, it is rare for any bishop to make a public statement that is likely to be controversial, or differ from the collective view of the Bishops' Conference. The Archbishop of Westminster has, of course, made it clear that there will be no return to ad orientem in the Diocese of Westminster, and a few bishops have made similar statements with regard to their own dioceses.
I disagree with the assertion that the English and Welsh Bishops are so united that not one of them wants to break ranks and that US Bishops are so different in this context.
ReplyDeleteArchbishop Malcolm Patrick McMahon, OP is an English prelate is going to 'break ranks' next June by ordaining men to the priesthood according to the 1962 books.
Bishops Davies, Campbell and Egan have also carried out actions within their own particular dioceses which would suggest they are not timid when it comes to promotion of tradition.
Yes you have a point. The bishops that you mention have indeed courageously stepped out of line on the issues that you mention. However, I would still maintain that the US bishops have been far more willing to break ranks than their English and Welsh counterparts. For example, in the USA, the FSSP have been granted more than 30 personal parishes. This side of the Atlantic we have none. Also, the FSSP have their own seminary in the USA, something that we do not have.
ReplyDeleteI acknowledge that the English bishops are becoming more tolerant/enthusiastic about the traditional movement in the church, but they are decades behind the Americans.
I would suggest that financial sustainability of those FSSP parishes in the US may be something to do with it, granted, not exclusively.
ReplyDeleteThe other consideration is the size of England and Wales compared to the US. They don't compare and quid pro quo, there are as many if not more 'questionable' bishops on the other side of the pond as there are here.