Updates And Comments

I see via a Facebook post at the St Mary the Virgin site that Bp Lopes has suspended the celebration of public mass is in the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. The Facebook post quotes the bishop's letter:

Let me first acknowledge the heaviness of heart that I feel in “canceling Mass.” As a pastor myself, I grieve for our people who feel themselves denied the intimacy of Our Lord’s presence in Holy Communion. But let us also be clear: our action now in suspending Mass is a pastoral response! We are caring for our most vulnerable parishioners in this way. I know many of you have creatively tried—I have tried!—to keep Mass available for as long as possible. But the time has come for this pandemic to run its course and for all of us to follow the guidance of the experts.

However, from what I'm told, this letter was addressed only to clergy, and how clergy will spread the news to their parishes isn't consistent. And this leaves out the "members" of the ordinariate who aren't in parishes but are registered in Houston and receive the Ordinariate Observer and mail for the bishop's appeal. We must assume they attend mass at diocesan parishes, which by now are mostly closed, but there's so far been no general announcement that the bishop has commuted their mass obligation, As of this morning, the ordinariate website still carries no news on the shutdown.

Regarding the dialogue with Peter Smith on the ordinariate informal discussion Facebook forum that I excerpted yesterday, a visitor noted, "A communications director would not earn $100k, not in Texas." Beyond that, in any small organization, staff wear multiple hats. Updating news on a website requires a minimal level of technical ability and familiarity with basic grammar and style. News items would be prepared subject to review in any case. This is all within an administrative assistant's skill set -- such a person would not have to have a director of corporate communications position on his resume.

In that context, another visitor commented,

Remember Bishop Lopes said at some point that there really was no blueprint for the Ordinariate to follow? They then decided to act as though they were not like a regular diocese and now they are attempting to reinvent the wheel regarding dispensing the faithful from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass.

After reading a few of your recent posts. I'm reminded of a facetious saying which goes something like

The Lambeth Conference is considering a resolution to consider creating a study group, to study a potential working group to consider work on creating a commission to possibly explore a document explaining a potential theology of water.

The above is indicative of the Ordinariate in these times of Coronavirus... There needs to be no discussion, conversation or parsing of words. His Excellency could sign a decree that says in short,

I Steven Lopes, Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter hereby grant a dispensation to the faithful of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass and any up coming Holy Days of obligation.

I do this in accordance with Canon Law specifically [Insert Canons relating to the local ordinary’s ability to issue dispensations here]. The duration of this dispensation is [insert length of time or time frame for revisiting the decree].

I encourage the faithful of the Ordinariate to exercise acts of piety and charity, along with fasting and abstinence as they are able. I expect the clergy of the Ordinariate to offer private masses for the Universal Church and to implore the mercy of God the Almighty.

In Christ,

+Steven Lopes
Ordinary of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter

Since they clearly don’t have a writer among them, perhaps the above might work as a good template. How they would post it to the OCSP website is another matter since clearly the password to the program to make website edits and changes was not shared with current staff.

The whole thing about commuting the obligation and other stuff is superfluous, in my 37 years as a Catholic I’ve never seen ANYONE from a diocese write that... Who ever is coming up with this stuff has no idea about what they are doing. This dispensation is no different than a natural disaster (snowstorm, tornado, flood, hurricane, earthquake). . .

It sounds as though Bp Lopes has been doing his job only belatedly -- he canceled mass fully a week after diocesan bishops began doing this, at a time when it had become nearly universal. The reference in his most recent letter to having "tried" to keep mass available suggests he finally did it only under pressure. And as yet, he's still made no announcement for the benefit of ordinariate members not in parishes or who haven't heard from their priests.

And again, even if Bp Lopes's medical situation made it impossible to address these matters himself, his vicar general should have taken the initiative, certainly subject to the bishop's approval from his sickbed, to fill in. Instead, Fr Perkins appears to have sheltered in place and self-quarantined. But that seems to be what he does anyhow, pandemic or not.

It concerns me that from all appearances, nobody in that organization has a basic competence in his job.

UPDATE: My regular correspondent comments, "Nothing on the Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston site about coronavirus. Mass schedule posted as usual. Last Sunday’s bulletin has nary a mention of any developing situation. No one has been updated on situation regarding the Chrism Mass scheduled in Houston for early April." The parish has ten lay employees plus clergy.