Bp Lopes has inherited some very damaged goods in the leadership department, IMHO, and it will be a test of his abilities in this area to discern who can be rehabilitated and who needs to be mercifully put down. I gather that the plug is being pulled on at least two micro-groups. The function of OCSP military chaplains is another issue: do these men ever encounter an Ordinariate member, or say a mass from Divine Worship? What about OCSP communities that use the Ordinary Form? Are they in step with the mission?Presumably one group on which the plug will not be pulled, based on yesterday's post, is the one in Springfield, MO.Going forward, I gather the policy under Steenson was to direct any men (not ex-Anglican clergy) considering attending seminary to their local diocese, on the grounds that the Ordinariate did not have funds to support their studies. This was clearly a form of slow suicide, and has to change.
One thing I'm beginning to learn as a new Catholic is that vocations are a sign of a parish's success. The modernist parish from which we escaped last year had only one vocation in its 90-year history. Our new one has a fair number, including one transitional deacon from the parish scheduled to be ordained a priest in June. It doesn't appear to be a coincidence that the archdiocese's associate director of vocations was taking masses at the parish during Holy Week.
If a parish or diocese has a shortage of vocations, it seems to me that one problem is there aren't inspiring examples for those considering vocations to follow. I don't see any of those in the current roster of prebendaries at Houston.
