Reporting abuses

[mercygate]

OK. We’ve all read Redemptionis Sacramentum. :dancing: Presumably our Pastors and Liturgical Coordinators have all read it also. We have been encouraged to report liturgical abuses to the Bishop.

Right. That’ll help. The Bishop will refer the report to the Worship Officer, who will issue a form letter saying that RS must be interpreted according to pastoral necessity, and that lay people shouldn’t bother their pretty little heads about matters pertaining to the clergy.

Am I right? Or is there hope?

:banghead:

 

[Dr.Colossus]

It depends on the bishop. Technically, the bishop has the power to correct and/or sanction priests of his diocese which are not in compliance with Redemptionis Sacramentum. Whether he will or not is a different story. I would imagine someone with a bishop like Chaput, Burke or Bruskewitz would have some hope in the appeal. Then again, it is likely that their diocese would not have such abuses in the first place.

 

[theMutant]

Abuses should be handled in a specific way.

1: Make sure that it is, in fact, an abuse.

2: Talk with the priest and explain in a respectful and charitable manner why you think there is a problem. Encourage others to do the same (many voices may have an effect where one does not).

3: If the priest cannot explain why it is not an abuse and it continues, write a formal letter to the bishop explaining what the abuse is and that you have discussed this with the priest. Again, be respectful and charitable to both the bishop and when referring to the priest. And, again, encourage others to do the same.

4: Give the bishop time to address the issue. If you write a letter on Monday, don’t expect it to be handled by the next Sunday.

5: If nothing happens for a while, follow up with another letter to the bishop which explains that the abuse is still occuring.

6: If (and only if) you truly feel that the bishop is not responding, you can write to the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments.

 

[space_ghost]

mercygate:

OK. We’ve all read Redemptionis Sacramentum. :dancing: Presumably our Pastors and Liturgical Coordinators have all read it also. We have been encouraged to report liturgical abuses to the Bishop.

Right. That’ll help. The Bishop will refer the report to the Worship Officer, who will issue a form letter saying that RS must be interpreted according to pastoral necessity, and that lay people shouldn’t bother their pretty little heads about matters pertaining to the clergy.

Am I right? Or is there hope?

:banghead:

if i really thought it might get swallowed up by the authorities of the church… bypass them and report it directly to the police then report it to the bishop and let him know (if you want) that the civil authorities have already been notified…

 

[T.A.Stobie_SFO]

One addition to theMutant list

theMutant:

Abuses should be handled in a specific way.

1: Make sure that it is, in fact, an abuse.

2: Talk with the priest and explain in a respectful and charitable manner why you think there is a problem. Encourage others to do the same (many voices may have an effect where one does not).

2A. If the priest is not the pastor of the parish where it occured, talked to the pastor next prior to talking to the bishop.

theMutant:

3: If the priest cannot explain why it is not an abuse and it continues, write a formal letter to the bishop explaining what the abuse is and that you have discussed this with the priest. Again, be respectful and charitable to both the bishop and when referring to the priest. And, again, encourage others to do the same.

4: …

 

[mercygate]

theMutant:

Abuses should be handled in a specific way.

1: Make sure that it is, in fact, an abuse.

2: Talk with the priest and explain in a respectful and charitable manner why you think there is a problem. Encourage others to do the same (many voices may have an effect where one does not).

3: If the priest cannot explain why it is not an abuse and it continues, write a formal letter to the bishop explaining what the abuse is and that you have discussed this with the priest. Again, be respectful and charitable to both the bishop and when referring to the priest. And, again, encourage others to do the same.

4: Give the bishop time to address the issue. If you write a letter on Monday, don’t expect it to be handled by the next Sunday.

5: If nothing happens for a while, follow up with another letter to the bishop which explains that the abuse is still occuring.

6: If (and only if) you truly feel that the bishop is not responding, you can write to the Congregation for the Discipline of the Sacraments.

Whoa. You sound like you’ve had experience!

 

[theMutant]

T.A.Stobie:

One addition to theMutant list
2A. If the priest is not the pastor of the parish where it occured, talked to the pastor next prior to talking to the bishop.

Great additional point.

mercygate:

Whoa. You sound like you’ve had experience!

I haven’t had to go all the way to step 6, but I’ve gone through step 4. In that process, I was very careful on finding out how to proceed. Since the priest in question was the pastor, I didn’t encounter step 2A.

 

[buffalo]

Educate parishioners. Try going through your parish council if Pastor isn’t listening.

Once the Priest knows all in the pews know about the abuses, he has to publicly admit disobedience to his flock through his actions on the altar.