Why, I had to force myself not to stand up on the spot and shout from the pew, "WHAT ABOUT BISHOP STEVEN J LOPES? HAVE YOU NOT HEARD OF THIS MAN, WHOSE ENTIRE MISSION IS TO EVANGELIZE IN ENGLISH?"
But I thought better of it, even before my wife sensed any need to shush me or settle me down. And of course, personal experience has already taught me that to mention Anglicanorum coetibus to a diocesan priest will bring only a quizzical expression.
And I thought in fact to search out Bp Lopes's Letter to a Suffering Episcopalian, but so far, nothing like it has turned up on Amazon. And actually, it seems as though through his clergy, Bp Lopes has tacitly acknowledged that he's no longer even trying to evangelize Anglicans. The new line is his diocese (he seems to prefer this term to "ordinariate" now) is there to reheat lukewarm Catholics and deepen their faith.
Except that with Letter to a Suffering Church, Bp Barron seems to have that market already covered as well. But of course, he addresses other secular figures like Jordan Peterson in the Areopagus. And he speks to other topics in the larger culture, as well as the Church, via regular YouTube presentations. He's shown an erudite ability to outline St John Henry Newman's place in Catholic thought in the context of Newman's canonization -- to a YouTube audience of over 25,000 so far.
Meanwhile, Bp Lopes displays no special understanding of Newman, and I'm not sure if he has much to say about B C Butler, Ronald Knox, G K Chesterton, or Frederick Kinsman. He's shown no particular interest in that sort of intellectual appeal, which is a little strange for someone who at least theoretically was tasked with evangelizing Anglicans.
Instead, his position seems to be that he and this Viennese professor worked up a heavy-furniture version of the OF mass, and that should be enough. And if the Anglicans haven't come streaming into the school cafeterias, basement chapels, and rented storefronts, then maybe some disgruntled Catholics will. What else does he need to do?
Something's deeply wrong here. I hope 2020 will see changes.
