Finally, Abraham said, "Lord, please don't be angry with me if I speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?" And the LORD replied, "Then I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."But I can't ignore Fr Kelley's remark on this passage, that although the Almighty said he wouldn’t destroy the city if there were ten righteous people there, he did in fact destroy it! But this raises an intriguing question. To what extent are the tiny groups in the OCSP cutting themselves off from nearby Catholic resources? Do they go to available Catholic masses at other times than the limited schedules of their groups allow? How about confession?
How about when they travel, since OCSP parishes don't exist in most places? If a group of a dozen or so can't support a music program, do they ever go to parishes that have a good one? Do the groups of a dozen or so have other educational opportunities like Bible study? If nearby Catholic parishes support Catholic speakers, do any group members attend these?
But if these groups would need only to attend mass at a different time at a host parish, or drive a few miles to find these things nearby, what on earth is the reason for camping out the way they are? It might be possible to argue that they're building for the future, but frankly, I don't get that impression about most of these groups.
Is the OCSP doing any of these people any favors if it allows them to think they can stay apart from the greater Church because they've somehow got things right? Apparently Bp Lopes and Fr Perkins do tell groups that are going inactive that they should take advantage of the diocesan resources available to them in those cases. But what damage are they doing to the laity entrusted to them if they delay unnecessarily in shutting other groups down?
