tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349030660517093328.post4492544844191668120..comments2023-05-26T15:38:42.673+01:00Comments on Let The Welkin Ring: To Be .... or Not To BeThe Welkinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08745923858650389376noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349030660517093328.post-64221799767531557822011-03-14T14:40:48.464+00:002011-03-14T14:40:48.464+00:00For years we have been subjected in this diocese t...For years we have been subjected in this diocese to various initiatives to reinvigorate parish life and get people back to church. I remember Bishop Ambrose produced his VISION which was lauded as the answer. What happened? It bombed. The problem just got worse and worse. There is absolutely no point in launching new initiatives until the problem is identified. Sadly, the powers that be do not want to admit what the real problem is because it will expose that the policies which have been pushed upon the laity (and priests) over the past 40 years have been the dominant cause of the falling Mass attendances. This latest initiative is also destined to fail, as the others have done, because the root cause is not being addressed. The faith is not being taught in the schools, and the emphasisis on creativity in the liturgy at first drives people to leave their own parishes in search of other parishes where it is more palatable, and then finally leads to abandonment of the faith when people just get fed up with scouring the diocese for something recognisable as Catholic liturgy. I speak from experience and know of many others of like mind. <br />Bishop Bruskewitz has obviously realised that if the priests are not allowed to be 'creative' then all parishes will be offering the same liturgy and thus no one will feel the need to drive around the countryside looking for something better. This produces solidarity in each parish, and parish life will flourish - as appears so in Lincoln. There would be no more comments that Father X's Mass is better/worse than Father Y's. It would also be hugely beneficial for the priests themselves. Those priests who are 'creative' can find themselves unpopular when they are moved to a more conservative-minded parish, and the opposite applies - the more conservative priests are not popular when they are moved to a 'trendy' parish and try to restore some kind of orthodoxy. Comparisons are being made all the time and when priest moves are announced in the Northern Cross anxious laity scan the names to see who they are going to get, depending on their liturgical point of view. <br />Bishop Cunningham would save himself a great deal of energy and anguish if he simply calls all his priests together and tells them to stick to the missal and preach the faith. Then he calls all the school heads together and says all RE books must conform to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. He then does his duty and makes sure it happens. After a few grumbles and tears everything will sort itself out naturally. Isn't it so simple?Leadership - Not Gimmicksnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8349030660517093328.post-21101844256645022232011-03-13T23:26:48.640+00:002011-03-13T23:26:48.640+00:00Visiting from Tennessee, USA. One thing that was ...Visiting from Tennessee, USA. One thing that was amazing to me was how crowded Ash Wednesday Mass was last Wednesday. It was almost as crowded at Easter Sunday or Midnight Mass. This morning, however, there were many empty seats.Maryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11533317405680450964noreply@blogger.com