Someone may be able to clear up any misunderstanding here or provide a better explanation of what's going on -- but the big news from OLOTA recently has been Fr Lewis's cancellation of the Sunday evening OF Latin mass, which, since it'll be replaced with an English mass, makes no change in the availability of the Sacrament there. But that was the issue that got James Henry Schweiter Lowe and the others on Facebook all bent out of shape. In other words, as far as I can see, OLOTA is focused on issues of style -- maybe kneeling to receive the Sacrament, wearing a chapel veil, or having a Latin mass are nice to have, but hardly essential -- but a much more critical piece, religious education for the next generation, is missing.
How much catechesis did those dozens of kids receive at Holy Martyrs, the girls kneeling in chapel veils, before their confirmation last Pentecost, anyhow? A visitor commented on yesterday's post,
No Catholic school curriculum can substitute for or cover all knowledge needed to be a good Catholic, it can only HELP lay the foundation. I would like to think that between the school and my family, we gave our kids a pretty solid Catholic foundation.That may be so, but the visitor continues, referring to the recent Pew numbers that allege 70% of Catholics do not believe in the Real Presence (I'm highly skeptical, but that's off topic for now):
In a true Catholic sense, priests and Bishops and Catholic Educators should be in full-on panic mode to correct this embarrassing, deadly defect that undercuts the entire foundation of Jesus’ sacrifice and restoration of salvation and our Catholic Faith.But as best I can see, Fr Lewis and Bp Lopes are doing nothing about that embarrassing defect in one of the showcase parishes in the North American ordinariate. An incomplete CCD program is one thing. No CCD program at all is another -- but the bone of contention there is the Sunday evening Latin mass in any case. The visitor continues,
I agree it seems a little strange that the Ordinariate would confirm so many children and, again, call me jaded, it could be some parents are just checking the “got my kid confirmed by the quickest, easiest route” box but, in all fairness, it could be those folks are in the 30% of Catholics who believe in the Real Presence and do not find that sentiment in the local diocese. Call me jaded, are they are trying to fix the Barque of Peter or setting sail in a completely separate life boat? I think I know what you think.Well, my view is that chapel veils for one's daughters are far cheaper than full Catholic school tuition, and the evidence we have at OLOTA is that the parents don't seem to care much if there's a CCD program for them for free, either.
One might argue that maybe those families are in fact sending their kids to CCD at a diocesan parish, but wouldn't that contradict a view that the diocese is unfriendly to the Real Presence? I would say that if a major ordinariate parish neglects CCD, that undermines any position that the ordinariate is doing much to keep the Barque of Peter afloat.
