Our Churches Will Be Empty — Part II
In our New Oxford Note “Our Churches Will Be Empty” (Nov. 2006), we quoted Archbishop Albert Ranjith, the Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship for the Holy See, as saying, “In the end, the people will assist at [attend] the Tridentine Mass and our churches [the New Mass] will empty.” The I Media news agency interviewed Archbishop Ranjith, as was reported in The Remnant (July 31, 2006): “After revealing that the Congregation daily receives letters from the people lamenting liturgical abuses in the New Mass, he [Archbishop Ranjith] said: ‘It is our duty to be vigilant…. Because, in the end, the people will assist at the Tridentine Mass and our churches will empty.'” However, when reporting on the same I Media interview with Archbishop Ranjith, The Catholic World Report (Aug./Sept.) did not include that quote. As we said, “This was the bombshell!”
The October Catholic World Report (CWR) did include that quote (our November issue went to the printer before we received the October CWR). Perhaps someone alerted CWR that this could not be brushed off. We’re glad CWR made the correction.
You May Also Enjoy
Everything in the old Requiem Mass forced us to consider death and God’s judgment, Christ’s mercy and our complacency.
Nobody would ever mistake the timid troupe that makes up the majority of Catholic bishops for radical imams who issue fatwas.
What options does a parish that currently offers celebrations of the Mass in the extraordinary form have if it finds itself unable to continue doing so?