beng said:
+Flynn needs to be removed to oversee some museum at Vatican. St Paul Parish needs to be demolished.
Careful there, this is a massive improvement over what has happened here in the past. I am a member at the Cathedral, and despise the scandal of the Sashers, but I also realize that my rector is caught between a rock and the chancery.
(See the other thread that I had started about this.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=19938)
Personally, as it happens I am proud of our associate pastor for taking a chance and speaking on his own initiative, requesting at the Our Father that the Sashers remove their sashes so as not to be in public protest. There were six Sashers present, and three of them did remove their sash as he requested.
It was a crappy situation, our Archbishop will not deny them Communion under any circumstances for the present time (subject to review as to whether or not they are “really protesting” Church teachings… sigh).
Our rector and associate are trapped in a certain sense, they cannot disobey the direct order of their bishop, yet of course they are not happy with the situation and perhaps would desire to handle it differently (though of course they have to be careful what they say, so they have never really expressed it). Rock and a chancery…
I truly think things might be different at the next Pentecost “appearance” of the Sashers, because their leader was one of the ones who refused to remove his sash – something that screams loudly and clearly that “yes I am protesting the Church and will continue to be defiant no matter what”. I have high hopes that we could see something develop by Pentecost along the lines of Cardinal George’s policy - Holy Communion to be denied to those wearing the sash, if the sash is removed then no questions will be asked.
Now, however, is the time to write to the Archbishop! This has come hot on the heels of
Vatican intervention at the St. Joan of Arc parish in his archdiocese (something that the Rainbow Sash individuals directly referenced in their press release),
and immediately following a national election that was likely decided on the basis of moral issues, including gay “marriage”. The pressure is mounting…
We need to ask Archbishop Flynn
now to celebrate the Mass on Pentecost, and we need to remind him of what this demonstration is really for – a politicalization of the Eucharist, which is exactly his reason for not denying them Communion. The problem is, he seems to think that if he ignores them they will go away – instead, they are going to keep gnawing away and growing more bold.
Pray for us and our Archbishop!!! More than anything else, pray for him!
+veritas+
