How do I know if a church is approved by the Catholic Church

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I’m not sure if this is the correct forum, but I’ll try here since it deals with the liturgy. I’ve gone to a half dozen different churches for daily mass and I cannot find one that suits me. There is a lot of loud talking before and after mass inside the church. Seems difficult to find a church where I can meditate and pray quietly before the mass. Anyway I’ve managed to find the perfect one, but not sure I am doing the right thing by attending it. I would also like to know if it takes care of my Sunday obligation.

This is what the church has on their web page.
the Roman Catholic Traditional Tridentine Latin Mass . . .
is said by a properly ordained Roman Catholic priest
has Holy Communion distributed only by the consecrated hands of a priest, placed on the recipient’s tongue, while kneeling at the altar railing
has sermons reflecting traditional Catholic theology given only by an ordained priest
has the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and other Sacred Liturgies served by trained male Altar Servers & Acolytes
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We believe the Holy Roman Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ is the true Church.
We believe in the Mass, the Sacraments, the Pope and the sacramentals.
We believe that the Mass is primarily a religious service, not a social event.
We believe in the doctrine of transubstantiation: that Jesus Christ is bodily present in the consecrated Host. Therefore,
We believe that the Eucharist should only be distributed by the consecrated hands of an ordained priest or deacon, and
We believe the consecrated Host should be taken on the tongue to insure that it is not subject to disrespect.
We believe in the traditional observance of the rules of fast and abstinence, not necessarily because they are required, but because of an understanding of the benefits of sacrifice.
We believe that the 2000 year history of the Church shows that at times many people, both clergy and laity, strayed

we request that you follow the custom of maintaining silence in the church before, during and after Mass. It is a sign of reverence in the presence of God and demonstrates your spirit of consideration toward those who wish to pray in silence.
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Here’s where the problem comes in. The church is not part of any diocese and refers to itself as “independent” and “privately owned”.

Is it ok for me to go there?
 
I do believe that the Masses offered by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) fulfill our Sunday obligation, but I don’t think they would refer to their church as “privately owned”. Unless it really is the SSPX, I would stay away. Can you give us their website for more info?

Also, if it is not part of the diocese, it is not approved by the Church.
 
It says “independent” and “privately owned”? Sounds like an ultra-right-wing sede group. If it were me, I’d not get involved.
 
Koneko said:
Is it ok for me to go there?
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No, it is not “ok” for you to go to a schismatic church or participate in their liturgy.

You should attend only parishes in communion with your Bishop and the Pope.
 
Koneko said:
Here’s where the problem comes in. The church is not part of any diocese and refers to itself as “independent” and “privately owned”.

Is it ok for me to go there?
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NO. It is essential that you join yourself to a parish that is under the authority of your local Bishop who is in full communion with the Pope. (Not any other Bishop.)

I sympathize with your issues of not being able to find a parish where people keep quiet before and after the Mass - all the talking and noisemaking can be excruciating, at times.

But it is better to go to Mass where the Sacrifice is being offered validly by an obedient priest, no matter how much noise there is, rather than an empty sacrifice that means nothing, due to the disobedience of the priest, even if the surroundings are more pleasant.
 
Spirithound said:
I do believe that the Masses offered by the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) fulfill our Sunday obligation, but I don’t think they would refer to their church as “privately owned”. Unless it really is the SSPX, I would stay away. Can you give us their website for more info?

Also, if it is not part of the diocese, it is not approved by the Church.
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Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.

It doesn’t seem that SSPX would fulfill the obligation-- they are not a Catholic rite, they are schismatic. They are outside communion with Rome.
 
jmcrae said:
But it is better to go to Mass where the Sacrifice is being offered validly by an obedient priest, no matter how much noise there is, rather than an empty sacrifice that means nothing, due to the disobedience of the priest, even if the surroundings are more pleasant.
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Your information is wrong. The mass would be valid if the priest was a Roman Catholic ordained priest. It is not licit. The sacrifice is not an empty sacrifice. You still receive the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ. I’m not codoning the SSPX or any other sede group, but correcting you on that it is a valid Mass. Actually Catholics are allowed to attend a SSPX Mass if there is no licit Catholic Mass available in the area.
 
I didn’t want to post the web page because I don’t like to say bad things about anyone specifically, but they have a public web page, so I suppose it is ok.

stpiusvshrine.org/

They did not say they were SSPX. It is very confusing because on the surface it looks to be just what I want. The part about “is said by a properly ordained Roman Catholic priest” is especially confusing. Although I did not like how they seem to put down the “Novus Ordo Mass”.

It is not listed anywhere in the Chicago archdiocese, and their web page states they are privately owned, so I’ll definitely stay away. Tough to find, but I’ll keep searching for the right church for me.
 
Call your Diocese and ask if the parish in question is in Communion with the Bishop.
 
I noticed the web page also says this “We profess filial devotion and loyalty to Pope Benedict XVI and pray for him at every Mass at the Shrine. The Shrine has received a Papal Blessing from Pope John Paul II.”

Does that make a difference?
 
NO. It is essential that you join yourself to a parish that is under the authority of your local Bishop who is in full communion with the Pope. (Not any other Bishop.)

This is not quite true, and can even be misleading.

Most of the Eastern Catholic Churches (note, I said Eastern CATHOLIC, not Orthodox) are not under the local Latin bishop, especially in Canada and the United States.
 
Please be advised that Father reserves the right to refuse Holy Communion to anyone who, in his prudent judgment, is not dressed appropriately.
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The shrine has explicit dress code requirements. Since when are Catholic priests permitted to deny Holy Communion to women who wear pants?
 
I live in the Chicago arch and can absolutely tell the parish in Lake Zurich is NOT in union with Rome and is not SSPX but as they state an indepedent group. The arch does on occasion warn against attending. You will not find it in the diocese directory. You can call the arch to learn more. If you are looking for a TL mass in that area you can go a little north to Volo, St. Peter. They are staffed by the priests from St. John Cantius.
 
Koneko said:
I’m not sure if this is the correct forum, but I’ll try here since it deals with the liturgy. I’ve gone to a half dozen different churches for daily mass and I cannot find one that suits me. There is a lot of loud talking before and after mass inside the church. Seems difficult to find a church where I can meditate and pray quietly before the mass. Anyway I’ve managed to find the perfect one, but not sure I am doing the right thing by attending it. I would also like to know if it takes care of my Sunday obligation.

This is what the church has on their web page.

Here’s where the problem comes in. The church is not part of any diocese and refers to itself as “independent” and “privately owned”.

Is it ok for me to go there?
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No, if it’s not listed on your diocese website as a parish of the diocese.
 
Koneko said:
I didn’t want to post the web page because I don’t like to say bad things about anyone specifically, but they have a public web page, so I suppose it is ok.

stpiusvshrine.org/

They did not say they were SSPX. It is very confusing because on the surface it looks to be just what I want. The part about “is said by a properly ordained Roman Catholic priest” is especially confusing. Although I did not like how they seem to put down the “Novus Ordo Mass”.

It is not listed anywhere in the Chicago archdiocese, and their web page states they are privately owned, so I’ll definitely stay away. Tough to find, but I’ll keep searching for the right church for me.
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The Church is not “owned” by anyone! It belonge to Christ and is under the authority of the local Biahop. A parish cannot be “privately owned”.
 
The fact that it is listed on this website listing which in its preface indicates that these are churches which “reject the heresies of Vatican II,” and the popes following Pius XII, is not a good sign. I would avoid it. But check with the local diocesan chancery office to be certain.
 
Cluny said:
Unless it’s an Eastern Catholic Church–because these would NOT be listed on the Latin diocese’s website.
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If it’s an Eastern Catholic Church it will still be listed on the Eparchy’s (Eastern Diocese) website that covers your area.
 
I don’t want to talk about the specific church because it seems clear it is not in communion with your diocese. I want to discuss what I bolded in your original post. What time of day are you going to daily Mass? You will usually find that the early morning Masses (before the workday) are quietest. At a noon Mass or evening Mass you may find some people chatting as they are likely to have a bit more time. Finding a corner away from the main dorrs, or sitting in the first few pews is usually much quieter.

Daily Mass never satisfies our Sunday obligation–even if you go to Mass every day of the week. I strongly recommend that you start to regularly attend the most convenient parish and as you see who the regular Mass attendees are, ask them nicely to be more quiet. You can also say something to the priest if it is really out of hand, but I can’t imagine people are really noisy at a daily Mass!
Koneko said:
I’m not sure if this is the correct forum, but I’ll try here since it deals with the liturgy. I’ve gone to a half dozen different churches for daily mass and I cannot find one that suits me. There is a lot of loud talking before and after mass inside the church. ** Seems difficult to find a church where I can meditate and pray quietly before the mass. Anyway I’ve managed to find the perfect one, but not sure I am doing the right thing by attending it. ** I would also like to know if it takes care of my Sunday obligation.
Click to expand...
 
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