WORSHIP TIMES
April 1996

New at the BCL

ML's good friend James Moroney has been named as associate director of the U.S. Bishops' Secretariat for the Liturgy. Jim appeared - recently in ML (23:1) and has served as the chairperson of the FDLC. He is also pastor of Mary, Queen of the Rosary in Spencer, MA.

--NW

Old at the BCL

In other news from the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, the Hispanic Liturgy Subcommittee sent clarifications on the Spanish translation of the Order of Christian Funerals to the Congregation for Divine Worship. The U.S. bishops sent the translation for Vatican approval in 1993. ML hopes none of the members of the BCL subcommittee will be in personal need of the translated rite - before it returns from Rome.

--NW

Courage from the BCL

"We must struggle to avoid one-sided simplistic approaches such as traditionalism with its emphasis on the Latin Mass, clericalism with its non-collaborative ministry, congregationalism with its forced isolation from the broader church, radical feminism with its blurring of distinctions for sacramental ministry, biblicism, and the like," said Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, PA, in an October 27 address to the annual liturgy conference of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Trautman, who is the current chairperson of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy, went on to say, "Future directions for the liturgy must be loyal to the faith, which it seeks to express, and at the same time be relevant to the cultural environment, which it seeks to transform."

Trautman called for boldness when he said, "Let us have the courage to tell it the way it is: A pre-Vatican II liturgical theology has no chance of speaking to a post-Vatican II world." He then suggested two principles to guide liturgists: The first principle requires that, no matter what is done, it leads to a full, conscious, and active participation in liturgical celebrations. The second principle speaks of substantial unity but not rigid uniformity."

Trautman added, "Those who oppose ongoing liturgical reform and adaptation are not true traditionalists. The true traditionalist is one who applies the lived tradition of the church in every age."

--NW

Pilloried

Perhaps ML readers are familiar with those whom Archbishop Rembert Weakland, OSB, refers to as "behind the pillar" Catholics. At least one correspondent tells of a family -- dad, mom, teenage boy, pre-teen girl -- who would show up ten minutes late for every Saturday evening Mass, stand in the vestibule until the communion procession started, and then exit.

Weakland, who shepherds the Milwaukee archdiocese, says in the December 1995 issue of U.S. Catholic, "Now there is no space for such people. Since it is expected that everyone participate fully, no one is permitted to be anonymous. You are dragged into the action. The liturgists are right in saying that there are no spectators at Mass and that it is not the time for private devotional prayer. But what happens to the people who are not totally ready for full participation? Must they leave?"

Weakland goes on to describe his own (non) participation in Masses in other dioceses when he is traveling. He goes in lay clothes and tries to look inconspicuous. Inevitably someone asks him to help with the collection or take up the gifts (he politely refuses) or hands him a hymnal.

He goes on to say, "I was asked once if I could be the first reader. Perhaps I look like a reader. I am waiting to be asked to distribute Holy Communion -- of course only if there is no priest present. I sit in dread when the Mass begins because some celebrants ask those who are there for the first time to stand and introduce themselves. I never do."

When ML stopped laughing long enough after imagining the archbishop introducing himself as a first-timer in some small parish in Averagetown, U.S.A., Weakland's main point began to make sense. This bishop, who would lay the dark side of participation at the feet of the "liturgists," has been one of the strongest promoters of the liturgical reform in the hierarchy. He surely could not be suggesting a retreat from the Vatican II mandate for full, conscious, and active participation?

No, indeed. But he does go on to suggest that perhaps full participation can be nuanced to mean "that everyone should strive to participate to the fullness of their capability at the stage of their spiritual journey."

ML thinks this is a wise course. (Does this mean we can stop holding hands during the Lord's Prayer?) The family that stood in the vestibule every Saturday evening was participating in the way they could at that time in their lives. Regular requests to join us up front or to assist with the duties of the liturgy would surely have driven them from the church. As Weakland says, we must allow room for the "behind the pillar" Catholics.

Weakland, who is 68, has planned a sabbatical for the first six months of 1996. During that time he will reflect on some of the - important issues facing the church. He will also finish his doctoral work on medieval Ambrosian chant. Weakland has been archbishop of Milwaukee since 1977. Previously he was the abbot primate of the worldwide Benedictine confederation.

--NW

Rallying the faithful

Pope John Paul II will have made yet another visit to Latin America by the time this issue of ML goes to press. Part of his goal is to call Catholics to a more active faith in the face of a growing Protestant evangelism. Fundamentalist, evangelical, and Pentecostal churches in particular are attracting large numbers of believers -- many of whom were formerly Roman Catholic. The Mormons, who do not consider themselves Protestant, are also attracting new members. In a report for the Los Angeles Times, Juanita Darling notes that one-third of the populations of Brazil and Guatemala are now Protestant. In El Salvador the number is 18 percent. In Mexico, 5 percent of the faithful are Protestant.

--NW