Catholic and Loving it!

Archbishop Vincent Nichols has written a foreword for a booklet which will be given to participants at a forthcoming Marriage Care (formerly Catholic Marriage Advisory Service) Conference. The following excerpt is taken from the editorial in this weeks The Tablet...

Terry Prendergast put in his place

His message is unambiguous, and may not please some of those hoping to attend the conference. First, he has insisted that the conference is officially sponsored by the Diocese of Westminster, “in conjunction with Marriage Care”, thereby keeping it under his control. In church teaching and canon law, he states, bishops are responsible for the pastoral care of married people.

...

Conference participants “will wholeheartedly learn about authentic Catholic teaching on Marriage”, he instructs them bluntly, adding: “The view that cohabiting parents are just as good for children as married ones finds no place here.” People who hold that view are “inexorably distancing themselves from the Church”, he says.

...

This timely display of clear leadership from the new president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales bodes well.

No wait...

I seem to have misread it.

Archbishop Vincent Nichols was actually writing a foreword for a booklet to be given to priests at a training conference for priests learning the extraordinary form of the Mass.

Here's what The Tablet article really says...

The old rite put in its place

His message is unambiguous, and may not please some of those hoping to attend the conference. First, he has insisted that the training conference is officially sponsored by the Diocese of Westminster, “in conjunction with the Latin Mass Society”, thereby keeping it under his control. In church teaching and canon law, he states, bishops are responsible for the oversight of the liturgy.

...

Conference participants “will wholeheartedly celebrate the Mass in each of these forms”, he instructs them bluntly, adding: “The view that the ordinary form of the Mass, in itself, is in some way deficient finds no place here.” People who hold that view are “inexorably distancing themselves from the Church”, he says.

...

This timely display of clear leadership from the new president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales bodes well.

[link]

So...

It seems Archbishop Vincent Nichols is more than willing to get his hands dirty and use his authority as a Bishop to keep things "under his control".

It's just a pity he only seems willing to do it against a minority group in the Church who he knows do not necessarily enjoy widespread support.

To oppose the comments of Terry Prendergast would be counter-cultural and would involve widespread criticism from the media as well as dissident Catholic pressure groups (also known as diocesan curial offices) across the country.

To take oppose the comments of Terry Prendergast would take courage and resolve, in the absence of such resolve, his move to get the Latin Mass Society "under his control" looks a lot like cowardly bullying.