In regard to your blog, “It’s Not A Bug…” , Small Ball vs Long Ball is how this Diocesan Catholic thinks about it, but I can roll with the film analogy…It's worth pointing out that the position of the Anglicanorum Coetibus Society, based on Ms Gyapong's enthusiastic endorsement of Mr Schaetzel's post, is that diocesan parishes are somehow detrimental to the ordinariates' mission.I somewhat agree with your idea that various groups are watching the same movie and seeing very different films but I think the reason is because the “The Church has admitted there are certain groups who are holier/smarter than the pope” crowd has only seen the first part of the film. I also think this same crowd does not realize this film is a variation of other, similar films, one in particular, a cautionary tale about the Society of St. Pius X.
The few Diocesan Catholics who have been watching this movie have not only seen the SSPX film and ad nauseam variations, but they have also read the spoiler alerts for this AC adventure on IMDB and know how the film will end. Either AC will be a glorious success at bringing many new sheep into the fold or, the new sheep brought in will eventually see how green the pasture is in truth, on the Diocesan side of the fence.
The box office gross seems to be declining. Maybe word of mouth can revive it. Maybe it will cease its theatrical run and go straight to DVD for archival purposes. It seems only the Diocesan Catholics know how it will end. It’s like betting on a sporting event, Small Ball vs Long Ball. I think games can be won by playing Small Ball but the series goes to the team playing Long Ball. And guess what? Diocesan Catholics are playing Long Ball.
Let's look at this. While you can't generalize about diocesan parishes, there are successful ones that can be found with some effort in any diocese. These offer a wide range of activities, such as LifeTeen, Steubenville, rosary, adoration, Bible study, pilgrimages, schools and school-related activities, music programs, fellowships, catechism, RCIA, and of course the sacraments, including frequent confession. I don't believe any parish in any ordinariate offers anything like this range (in fact, I assume some of the successful diocesan parishes that host OCSP groups might count a DW mass as just another option among the wide range available.)
Beyond that, I've certainly heard and read comments by priests that it's an advantage for Catholics to worship with Catholics from other traditions. In our part of our archdiocese, there will be many Latino and Filipino members, as well as Armenians and a wide range of others -- Catholics from India, for instance. The Anglicanorum Coetibus Society specifically endorses the idea of cutting little ordinariate groups off from such influences.
My regular correspondent points out that the ordinariates just recently celebrated the OLSC's fifth anniversary.
Last Sunday, Bishop Lopes celebrated Mass with Sydney’s fledgling Ordinariate community of St Bede in Lewisham, together with the leaders of the UK and Australian Ordinariates, Mgr Keith Newton and Mgr Harry Entwistle, respectively.There were 80 people at this joyous event!Around 80 people attended the Lewisham Mass, held at its regular time of 12pm in the parish of St Thomas Becket.
In the week prior, the three leaders had attended the Australian Ordinariate’s annual residential in Brisbane along with 25 other priests, celebrating five years since the foundation of the Australian Ordinariate on June 15, 2012.
Reminds me of all too much that we've seen in the OCSP.
