Ordinariate Prediction

From my regular correspondent:

I predict that the communities in this list will not be around five years from now:

Good Shepherd, Oshawa, ON *
Our Lady of Good Counsel, Jacksonville, NC *
Our Lady of Grace, Covina, CA
Our Lady of Hope, Kansas City, MO
Our Lady of the Sign, Fredericton, NB*
Our Lady of Walsingham, Maple Ridge, BC *
St Benedict, Edmonton, AB *
St Gregory the Great, Chestnut Hill, MA
St Michael and All Angels, Denison, TX *

The six starred communities were “continuing” groups which came into the Ordinariate in its early days. Since that time they have failed to grow beyond the initial dozen or so members. It is hard to imagine that Bp Lopes will consider it worthwhile to replace any of their clergy, all currently well past retirement age, once they depart. The locations are generally unpromising.

Our Lady of Grace was a group started in Pasadena by Fr Bartus as an ordination ticket for Aaron Bayles. Now in its second location, Fr Bayles seems to have no further connection with it, and Fr Bartus’ other protegé, Fr Baaten, drives many miles to celebrate Sunday mass there. When he retires I think Fr Bartus will be out of surrogates.

Our Lady of Hope was a former PP parish, now with its third leader, for whom it was an ordination opportunity, and in its third location. I think it will have difficulty finding a fourth leader when Fr Wills retires. But in all three cases the OLH PA has shared duties at a diocesan parish with leadership of the group, so one assumes that relations with the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph are good. Perhaps the group can continue to find a home in a local parish.

St Gregory the Great, on the other hand, currently led by the PP Pastor of St Athanasius, Chestnut Hill, Fr Bradshaw, may not be so fortunate. A previous attempt to find a way for the group, then in Stoneham MA, to be led by an Ordinariate priest with a diocesan assignment to support him was stymied by a lack of co-operation from the Archdiocese of Boston. This stance does not seem to have softened. Meanwhile Fr Bradshaw’s retirement is imminent.

My correspondent added this screen shot from Facebook concerning the Our Lady of Good Counsel group in Jacksonville, NC. It raises seriouis questions about whether the program at the small groups does more harm to the ordinariate than good (click on the image for a larger copy):

Which way the celebrant faces, I've begun to see after seven years as a Catholic, makes little difference to the whole scope of parish life. Based on what I see from prominent ordinariate members in these tiny groups, they fall short in areas like catechesis, music, fundraising, Bible study, and social activity. Between severely limited financial resources and the minimal talents of their members, they're unlikely to step up their game.