"EPISCOPAL/PRIESTLY TE REO COVER-UP FOR UNBELIEF IN REAL PRESENCE"

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A nice old codger in Dannevirke is unhappy with his bishop (+Charles Drennan). Actually, with his bishops (plural).

What got him going was a question from Palmerston North's Bishop Emeritus, +Peter Cullinane: "Where were you last Sunday?"

He was elsewhere, at a Vigil Mass, because the Mass in Dannevirke was in Maori. He told me every fourth Sunday's Mass in Dannevirke is celebrated in Maori (by +Cullinane or Fr Earl Crotty). He said it hadn't improved Maori attendance on the other Sundays, and he believed that on the fourth Sunday attendance was down overall. 

He told +Peter, "I don't go along with that" (the Mass in Maori).  +Peter was not pleased. 

He wouldn't have been thrilled with what came next either, which was the question, "Where's the Bishop?" (meaning of course, +Drennan). He complained that "Dannevirke never sees him". 

+Peter explained that Palmerston North is a large diocese. My new friend, who shall remain nameless and is obviously a fellow Rad Trad, replied that +Charles spends too much time overseas. What he added (to me I think, not to the bishop) I shall not repeat.

Palmerston North New Zealand is not the only Catholic Diocese in the world that is unhappy with its bishop. Yesterday I signed an international petition urging lay people everywhere to protest in person to their Ordinary (as a bishop is correctly called) about the crisis in the Church, the scandal of active homosexuality in the clergy (my elderly Rad Trad said an ex-priest of this diocese, now deceased, had told him 40% of priests were of homosexual inclination), confusion and division, and above all the silence of the bishops when it comes to defending the precepts of Christ and his Church.

Now, what epiphets might be hurled at me for promoting an objection to the Mass being celebrated in Maori? Racist, of course. But  at least you can't call me politically correct. 

I had an experience of a 'Maori Mass' last October, at an Ecclesia Dei Retreat at the Home of Compassion in Island Bay, Wellington. It was a non-event.

Bishop Basil Meeking, Bishop Emeritus of Christchurch and definitely not one of the current episcopal in-crowd, led the Retreat with three wonderful conferences, the timing of the last of which had to be rejigged, actually during the Retreat I think, to accommodate a Maori Mass. 

Bishop Meeking is an old, frail, man. He patiently accepted the rejigging and gave his final conference at the time requested, having already celebrated the Traditional Latin Mass for the third time during the Retreat. 

I was in the chapel at the time hastily advertised for the Maori Mass, alone except for Jesus in the tabernacle. The altar as far as I can remember wasn't dressed for Mass. Then a group of half a dozen or so straggled in, not particularly identifiable as Maori. They chatted for a while and then they left. There was no Maori Mass that day. 

My one other experience of a Maori Mass was beautiful and 'right and just' in its setting, a historic little Maori church at Porirua, with its usual Maori congregation swelled by Pakeha from the Lay Carmelite Community of Palmerston North. We were celebrating the Final Profession in the Order of Our Lady of Mt Carmel of a dear friend of mine, who wore a magnificent korowai for the occasion.

So my participation in the Maori Mass, although on that day joyful and blessed, doesn't really make me well-versed in its mysteries. But having attended the Latin Mass in Latin all through my childhood and adolescence I know it well enough to compare it with the Novus Ordo (the 'New' Mass). 

Look at the fruits of the Vatican II hierarchy's decision to celebrate Holy Mass in the vernacular, which was a wonderful thing because we would all understand what was being said. The result was a spectacular downturn in Mass counts worldwide. So what do the local hierarchy decide to do now? To celebrate the Mass in the language of a tiny fraction of the congregation. 

You might well ask, so what about celebrating the Mass in Latin when no one understood it? 

• None of the congregation spoke Latin, so everyone was on the same footing.
• We'd celebrated the Mass in Latin since childhood.
• We were taught what the Mass is: primarily the Sacrifice of the Cross, not a Special Meal to be eaten with grubby fingers. 
• Many Massgoers - probably most adults - had a Missal, with the English translation provided.

The English translation never varied. The texts were not a smorgasbord,for the priest to pick and choose what took his fancy on the day, choose-your-own-adventure stuff. You became so familiar with the Latin and the English, you got to know it almost off by heart.

Remember that chilling movie, The Silence of the Lambs? What we have in the Church internationally now, it seems, is The Silence of the Shepherds. 

Go to LifesiteNews to find that petition asking the world's bishops to SAY SOMETHING, and sign. 

PC says: Keep up the great work. xx God's holy work.

Bruce Tichbon says:

Your nice old codger is not the only one who is confused by the bi-cultural agenda that seems to be getting rapidly integrated into our local Church, in many cases by seemingly unseen forces.  Bi-culturalism has profound political, cultural, spiritual and ecumenical implications for Catholic life, and NZ as a whole.

We welcome all groups and races into the Church, Christ told us to.  But in the context of bi-culturalism this becomes at least vexing, at worst dangerous.

The NZ Catholic Bishops Conference have stated they support both biculturalism and multiculturalism.  I've asked a lot of people about that dichotomy, they cant figure it either.

I hope someone is going to soon give us proper guidance on this challenging area of local 'doctrine'.

Zaccheus the Taxman says:

In applying the principles of fairness and courtesy to common worship one can see a jarring of purpose in situations where bishops and priests are offering parish Masses in Te Reo Maori.

            From the situations previously described in this blog, one could say the Bishops and priests concerned are: 

•  showing off their knowledge
•  using Te Reo Maori out of context - these Masses are being offered with very few Maori attending
• covering up their intent at the Consecration of the Sacred Species.

The third point arises because Diocesan authorities profess the error that 'all presences of Christ are the same'. This Diocesan view has not changed since the Liturgy Symposium of 2010. 

Further, Fr Joseph Grayland, PP of Our Lady of Lourdes PN, says (unrestrained by Bishop Drennan) that the Blessed Sacrament is an 'ocular concept'. Referring to the Consecration, he says, "Jesus did not say those words", when Jn 6, Mk 14 and the Church itself clearly show and teach that Jesus did indeed say those words.

Further still, Fr Grayland has been pronouncing the words of the Consecration in Maori and refusing requests to translate.

I contend that Bishops Cullinane and Drennan, and Fr Grayland, are using Te Reo Maori to cover up their own unbelief in the real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Sacred Host. They are effectively denying the Real Presence and saying, "You can't catch us , we're saying it in Maori". Otherwise they would be providing full translations of the words they are actually pronouncing.

                

One thing Maori culture is big on is protocol. There is a distinct absence of protocol here. 

It is not appropriate to treat Parish Masses as primary exercises in cultural engagement. 

It is not incumbent upon parishioners to try to learn a language at Mass. 

We are not expected to tolerate priestly/episcopal experiments in social upheaval at Mass. 

It is a disingenuous and deceptive use of one of N.Z.'s very great treasures- the Maori language and culture.

            

To the bishops we say, "Answer!'