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ROAMIN' CATHOLIC







Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LETTERS
November 2005

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CORRECTION TO ROAMIN' CATHOLIC

In his article, "Silence and Reverence" ["Roamin' Catholic," October Faith], Stephen Frankini gave a detailed description of a High Mass at St. Margaret Mary's in Oakland, celebrated in the traditional Roman Rite with permission of the bishop of Oakland. Regarding the incensation of the altar at the beginning, Mr. Frankini unfortunately is mistaken when he writes, "Father solemnly incensed the various parts of the high altar, then the altar boys, who in turn incensed him...." I, being the celebrant in question, did not incense the altar boys after I incensed the altar; I never have never done this in the past, and the rite does not prescribe it to be done so. Instead, an incensation of the ministers (clergy) takes place in the Solemn High Mass with deacon, subdeacon, master of ceremonies etc, but is not performed by the celebrant but by the deacon and the thurifer.

Father Michael Wiener,
Episcopal Delegate for the Latin Rite of 1962 in the Diocese of Oakland, Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

CALL ME OUTDATED, BUT....

Thanks for Christopher Zehnder's well-written and illuminating article on Oakland's new cathedral. [See "Unitarians Begone!" October Faith.] With Bishop Vigneron overseeing the project, I'm confident its architecture will be Catholic and devotional as well as modernistic.

I had one hope that I wished to express. I worship during the week in a nearby church that has no crucifix, just the resurrected Christ over the altar and an identical resurrected Christ on the processional mast. The sacrifice of Calvary minus a visible crucifix always seems incomplete to me. When we look towards Calvary, we expect to see the cross.

Bishop Vigneron states that he has an antique crucifix from South America (which sounds exquisite) that will be hung in the new cathedral but probably not over the altar. If not, could it be hung somewhere where it is visible during the Mass? Call me outdated (my kids do!) but I love crucifixes, and the devotion they inspire seems appropriate when we are gathered around the altar.

Mary Arnold,
Pleasanton

VIGNERON, AN ENIGMA

I thought that the new General Instruction on the Roman Missal, Paragraph 308, required that a cross with a figure of Christ crucified on it be present at all times of the year. Bishop Vigneron seems to have something else in mind. I thought GIRM meant General Instruction on the Roman Missal, not the General Informational Recommendation Manual.

Speaking of Bishop Vigneron, he is an enigma to me. As an expatriate of the Bay Area, I expected something very different from what he is turning out to be. Instead of a "young lion," he seems to be a pussycat. Maybe I'm all wrong. Can you do an article on the "good things" he has done since his coming to the Bay Area?

Jim Roth Ridgefield,
Washington

Editor replies: The paragraph in question from the General Instruction reads, "there is also to be a cross, with the figure of Christ crucified upon it, either on the altar or near it, where it is clearly visible to the assembled congregation. It is appropriate that such a cross, which calls to mind for the faithful the saving Passion of the Lord, remain near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations." Though I am not an expert on liturgical appointment, it seems that Bishop Vigneron's use of a processional crucifix would not be in violation of the instruction, as long as the cross is maintained near the altar even outside of liturgical celebrations.

As to the question of Bishop Vigneron's leadership, it may perhaps be too early to judge his effectiveness -- he's only been bishop of Oakland since 2003. He may yet turn out to be a lion, albeit a careful one. Or, it may be that he does not think being a lion fits with being a shepherd and so will choose rather the way of persuasion than the path of discipline.

A couple of points Bishop Vigneron made in an interview with the Faith in March 2003 may be enlightening. Asked what he saw as the "critical challenges" he faced in Oakland, Vigneron replied, "my first responsibility is to get to know the diocese. Then, once I have a sense of what's going on, to assist people in making the Word of God part of their life. I have the sense that the Bay Area, the Oakland diocese, is a place that has a lot of the dynamics, to a high degree -- intense dynamics -- of American culture; so I think it's about the dialogue between faith and culture." As to his management style, the bishop said, "I depend on learning as much as I can about a situation because I think, if you don't know the facts, it's hard to know how to apply the principles.... If we don't understand the real challenges that people face, then it's very hard to give them leadership. I also try to listen to other people. I like to talk things out with a group of people who can bring wisdom to a problem."

PRO-LIFE APPEAL FOR HELP

This is one of the most difficult letters I have ever had to write. The St. Juan Diego Society has existed for nearly 20 years, of which I have served as its director for 18 years. In all, the St. Juan Diego Society has seen almost 600 babies saved from an abortion. Countless other needy mothers have been assisted in various ways.

Through the center's efforts, committed volunteers and I refer women to appropriate community services. Aside from helping mothers in a crisis pregnancy, we promote abstinence, natural family planning, offer moral support, and encourage a spiritual life in keeping with Church teaching.

Our center has been tossed like a little boat in these economic waters. There were many good years for which we are grateful, but we have now come to an alarming crisis. This is the first time we are seriously considering closing our doors as we have very little time -- a few weeks -- to stay open if relief does not come immediately.

I appeal to you for your prayers. I also ask you to reflect on how you might be able to come to Juan Diego's financial assistance. Our collective efforts can keep the center open.

Robert Rodriguez,
Juan Diego Society
P.O. Box 21522
San Jose, CA 95151-1522

RESPONSE TO EWING

I hope your correspondent, Cindy Ewing of Novato, writing in your October issue, will forbear one more issue so that her concerns might be addressed. She essentially wrote that the article on Father Sparks and his Pride Mass was disrespectful and denigrated the gifts those with homosexual inclinations bring to the Church.

There is no doubt that many of those with such inclinations are wonderful people. That doesn't take away from the fact that what they do in the bedroom is outside the order God has created for man and is thus sinful. It is sinful in the same way that an adulterer's actions are sinful or that unremitting pride is sinful. Sin is sin. God doesn't say to the wife abuser, "well, at least you're putting your genitals in the right place and not doing like the homos do. But try not to hit your wife, bub, OK?" Or "boy, girl, you have about as much humility as the Dead Sea has life in it, but at least you're not swapping body fluids with someone of the same sex, so that makes you hunky-dory."

By the same token, God doesn't say to the homosexual, "gee, you are such a wonderful person. You're talented, creative, and so gifted. That more than makes up for the fact that you use your genitals in a way I never intended for them and, indeed, which I have explicitly said through the Holy Spirit in sacred writ is forbidden."

We must turn away from whatever sin, whatever mode of vice in which we find ourselves engaging. We have no choice. That's the whole point of Romans 8:5-17. Otherwise, we will have no part in the Kingdom of Heaven (cf., Galatians 5:21).

And it is a priest's job to lead us, to help us form and develop our souls so that we may more readily turn away from sin. Yet Father Sparks does not do this. He confirms people in their sin. His message is not one of, "you are wonderful! You are great! You are lovable! In fact, you are so lovable, I can't stand quiet while you do tremendous damage to your souls and threaten your eternal salvation." Instead, he says, "you are wonderful! You are great! You are lovable!" and leaves it at that. No call to repentance (except, maybe, for your garden-variety venial sins?), no call for transformation, no nothing.

Living a chaste life is hard. It requires heroic sacrifice, even for those of us who are heterosexual and married. But that is the message of the cross, isn't it? We were baptized into Christ's life? No, into His death (cf., Romans 6:3). We are heirs of God, "provided we suffer with Him" (Rom. 8:17). We must pick up that cross daily (Luke 9:22). The cross is not a feather. It is not soft and cushioned. It is hard, rough, and heavier than we of our own power can bear. All of us have crosses to bear. For some it is lack of humility (including, "I know better than the Church, the authority God gave to us in His absence"). For others it is lack of temperance. For others it is a lack of chastity proper to their state in life. No matter what, transforming that cross into something salvific requires heroic love and generosity, as modeled for us by Our Lord and Savior Himself.

The Church teaches that homosexual genital acts (as opposed to inclinations) are disordered and objectively wrong and thus sinful. Father Sparks professes to be a priest of this Church. There is a disconnect from what he professes and what he preaches. Maybe, Ms Ewing, the article's author could have described the situation more artfully. This doesn't take away from the fact, however, that what this priest is doing is wrong and not Catholic and, therefore, not Christian.

William Ross,
received via e-mail

YOUR ARTICLE HELPED

The subscription to the San Francisco Faith that you sent me is very much appreciated. When I received the June issue of the newspaper, I read the article, "Passionate about Death, Catholic Assemblywoman Pushes Suicide Bill," and planned the upcoming catechism class around it.

In the class, we were able to discus the Fifth Commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," from a unique perspective, thanks to the article. The guys in the group were excited about the new resource that we were able to use. We all thank you very much. It's nice to know that there are people like you out there who are willing to help.

Dominic Smith
Lay Catechist
California Men's Colony State Prison
San Luis Obispo

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