Children around Altar

[ERQ7]

Hello,

I have a question regarding a situation at our parish, which is in the Archdiocese of Military Services, located in Japan. One of our priests invites any children in the congregation up to the altar “to come pray with us” for the duration of the Eucharistic prayer and consecration, and through the Lord’s prayer.

Since this is clearly an abuse, I reported this to the head Chaplain and he responded that he wasn’t aware of the situation and that he’d look into it. I never heard back from him so upon following up , he said that he mentioned my concern to the priest and that maybe I should talk to him about it myself and that it would open up an “interesting conversation”. So, nothing has been done and it continues to take place.

My question is: Should I now take the next step in reporting it to our bishop? Our family is distressed about this and has been handling the situation by avoiding as best as possible attending the Mass that this particular priest celebrates. It’s not always easy to avoid, since the chaplains’ schedule is not published and my son is an altar server, so we attend the Masses he is serving.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. This is taking a toll on our family and we’d like some resolution, although I feel like we’re just going to have to suffer through this until we can get back to the states and back to a traditional parish.

AMDG

 

[MarkThompson]

Hi ERQ7–

Seriously? Your first step now should be the step you should have taken in the first place: talk to the priest himself. How you can think it’s appropriate to go behind his back and over his head without ever talking to him like a human being, and then whine about your “distress,” is beyond me. I wonder what kind of distress it would cause your priest if he started getting reports of criticisms and complaints made to his superiors without anybody ever having respected his dignity by speaking to him about it.

 

[JM3]

Hi ERQ7–

Seriously? Your first step now should be the step you should have taken in the first place: talk to the priest himself. How you can think it’s appropriate to go behind his back and over his head without ever talking to him like a human being, and then whine about your “distress,” is beyond me. I wonder what kind of distress it would cause your priest if he started getting reports of criticisms and complaints made to his superiors without anybody ever having respected his dignity by speaking to him about it.

Could have been said with a little more charity, but it is correct.

 

[scimitar60]

Hi ERQ7–

Seriously? Your first step now should be the step you should have taken in the first place: talk to the priest himself. How you can think it’s appropriate to go behind his back and over his head without ever talking to him like a human being, and then whine about your “distress,” is beyond me. I wonder what kind of distress it would cause your priest if he started getting reports of criticisms and complaints made to his superiors without anybody ever having respected his dignity by speaking to him about it.

" I wonder what kind of distress it would cause your priest if he started getting reports of criticisms and complaints made to his superiors without anybody ever having respected his dignity by speaking to him about it "

It’s his own fault I would think, seeing as it’s him making the deliberate liturgical abuse.
Please don’t tell me that he ‘perhaps’ might not have known, they spend 7 years studying in a seminary…

 

[bnbkaine]

I seem to recall that there was a certain someone who said, “Suffer the little children to come to me.” As much as we need to respect the mass, there has to be an aspect of coming home when we arrive.

Beyond all that, which people can argue one way or the other, I am somewhat surprised at the steps you took to deal with the problem. Chain of command. If you are part of the AMS, then you are a part of the military and you should know that there are steps you take. The first step is to the priest. Plus, if your post or base is anything like mine, then the Head Chaplain is Protestant and wouldn’t know what is proper or not. There are a lot of things that I don’t like about the way they do things here, but I joined the Parish Council and I am vocal. Stop complaining behind someone’s back and get involved.

 

[PatrickSebast]

" I wonder what kind of distress it would cause your priest if he started getting reports of criticisms and complaints made to his superiors without anybody ever having respected his dignity by speaking to him about it "

It’s his own fault I would think, seeing as it’s him making the deliberate liturgical abuse.
Please don’t tell me that he ‘perhaps’ might not have known, they spend 7 years studying in a seminary…

Doctors spend more than seven years training and need to check books and computers for information all the time, and even then they still miss tons of things. Priests can forget or grow lax, and it is good to address the issue with them directly if possible. I doubt the mans main intent was to commit a liturgical abuse.

 

[ERQ7]

Wow! I’m really not feeling the love here, folks!

The reasons I didn’t talk to the priest himself are:

1. He obviously thinks what he is doing is perfectly fine. He’s a Captain in the Navy, which puts him at about 50 yrs. old and I don’t buy for one second that he’s unaware of the rubrics. The blatant disregard and disobedience of such are what is distressing.
2. By speaking to the head chaplain, who is in fact a Catholic priest, I was niavely assuming he would be just as alarmed as I was and immediately put a stop to it.
3. This is a small military community, and I was afraid to inadvertantly draw any negative attention on my husband in the workplace through my “complaints”. By going to the head chaplain, it’s anonymous.
4. I sought the advice of a trustworthy priest at home in the states, and was advised to bring the matter to the head chaplain. He could see the writing on the wall as well as I could.

I apologize for my stupidity and I’m sorry I bothered to post on this thread. I was honestly hoping for a bit of guidance rather than a scolding.

Peace and blessings to you all.

 

[thistle]

Wow! I’m really not feeling the love here, folks!

The reasons I didn’t talk to the priest himself are:

1. He obviously thinks what he is doing is perfectly fine. He’s a Captain in the Navy, which puts him at about 50 yrs. old and I don’t buy for one second that he’s unaware of the rubrics. The blatant disregard and disobedience of such are what is distressing.
2. By speaking to the head chaplain, who is in fact a Catholic priest, I was niavely assuming he would be just as alarmed as I was and immediately put a stop to it.
3. This is a small military community, and I was afraid to inadvertantly draw any negative attention on my husband in the workplace through my “complaints”. By going to the head chaplain, it’s anonymous.
4. I sought the advice of a trustworthy priest at home in the states, and was advised to bring the matter to the head chaplain. He could see the writing on the wall as well as I could.

I apologize for my stupidity and I’m sorry I bothered to post on this thread. I was honestly hoping for a bit of guidance rather than a scolding.

Peace and blessings to you all.

I don’t anyone is trying to scold you. You asked for advice but you don’t seem to like it.
The consensus is that the first step is ALWAYS to have a polite chat after Mass with the priest about your concerns and never to go behind his back.

 

[roadsend]

Wow! I’m really not feeling the love here, folks!

The reasons I didn’t talk to the priest himself are:

1. He obviously thinks what he is doing is perfectly fine. He’s a Captain in the Navy, which puts him at about 50 yrs. old and I don’t buy for one second that he’s unaware of the rubrics. The blatant disregard and disobedience of such are what is distressing.
2. By speaking to the head chaplain, who is in fact a Catholic priest, I was niavely assuming he would be just as alarmed as I was and immediately put a stop to it.
3. This is a small military community, and I was afraid to inadvertantly draw any negative attention on my husband in the workplace through my “complaints”. By going to the head chaplain, it’s anonymous.
4. I sought the advice of a trustworthy priest at home in the states, and was advised to bring the matter to the head chaplain. He could see the writing on the wall as well as I could.

I apologize for my stupidity and I’m sorry I bothered to post on this thread. I was honestly hoping for a bit of guidance rather than a scolding.

Peace and blessings to you all.

As a military retiree I understand and concur with your rationale of consulting the head chaplain. Anything that you say or do can potentially reflect on your husband/sponsor and his standing in the military community, especially when overseas.
Unfortunately the liturgical practices of those in the chaplain corps often reflect those of the territorial diocese in which the military base is located. For example, the first place I ever saw “altar girls” was in a military chapel when on TDY. Where overseas assignments are concerned, the padres often follow the practices prevalent at their last stateside assignment. These practices are often geared toward what those in charge feel that young people desire.
If possible, I would recommend that your family attend Mass as often as possible in the local civilian community, even if there are language issues. It could easily be explained as cultural enrichment.
When you get back, find a good traditional parish.

 

[Like]

As a military retiree I understand and concur with your rationale of consulting the head chaplain. Anything that you say or do can potentially reflect on your husband/sponsor and his standing in the military community, especially when overseas.
Unfortunately the liturgical practices of those in the chaplain corps often reflect those of the territorial diocese in which the military base is located. For example, the first place I ever saw “altar girls” was in a military chapel when on TDY. Where overseas assignments are concerned, the padres often follow the practices prevalent at their last stateside assignment. These practices are often geared toward what those in charge feel that young people desire.
If possible, I would recommend that your family attend Mass as often as possible in the local civilian community, even if there are language issues. It could easily be explained as cultural enrichment.
When you get back, find a good traditional parish.

I second this!There is nothing wrong it what you did while you are in a military family situation. Some may not believe it, but the priest in question could effect your husbands military career.

 

[scimitar60]

Doctors spend more than seven years training and need to check books and computers for information all the time, and even then they still miss tons of things. Priests can forget or grow lax, and it is good to address the issue with them directly if possible. I doubt the mans main intent was to commit a liturgical abuse.

‘Doctors spend more than seven years training and need to check books and computers for information all the time’

That’s because theres hundreds of different things in the body each with various things that could go wrong.

The Mass is one thing.

What happened to the priests that knew the Latin Mass off by heart?