USA Today article on resurgence of the Extraordinary Form
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,500
    http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2015/03/12/catholicism-latin-mass-resurgence/70214976/
    Thanked by 1HeitorCaballero
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    How interesting that this article appears during the LAREC weekend! ;-)
    Wonder if AWR will open this up at PTB as well?
  • mahrt
    Posts: 517
    A few typical misconceptions: the council never prescribed that the priest face the people. In fact, the missal, including the edition of 2002, states rubrics that make it clear that when the priest addresses the people, he turns around.
    Likewise, he doesn't turn his back on them, he leads them by facing the same direction, addressing God.
    Thanked by 7CHGiffen Ben HeitorCaballero francis eft94530 Mark M. ClergetKubisz
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,500
    True, Dr. Mahrt.

    I think that when religion plays in the secular press, it's better to look at the forest rather than the trees. This seems to me to be a friendly forest!
  • ronkrisman
    Posts: 1,388
    Wonder if AWR will open this up at PTB as well?

    Why? Is it truly newsworthy? Are the 10 paragraphs I read the extent of the story, or is there is longer form of it?

    If the 10 paragraphs are it, I'd stay the story is quite lean on the facts about this so-called "resurgence." Compare:

    "In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI formally allowed the majestic Latin Mass to be more accessible to congregations. Since then, participation has mushroomed."

    "Though figures on attendance at Latin Masses are not available, there is evidence interest is growing."

    Is perception the new reality?
    Thanked by 1Gavin
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,500
    http://www.hprweb.com/2014/05/seven-years-after-summorum-pontificum-nearly-500-north-american-churches-offer-the-traditional-latin-mass/

    (For the postivists among us!)
    Thanked by 1CHGiffen
  • ronkrisman
    Posts: 1,388
    Thanks, Kathy.

    Now that is some really hard-hitting journalism! At least we have a figure: somewhere between 1 1/2 and 2 Latin Masses per diocese per Sunday. (Average attendance? And how does that compare with the number of Masses in vernacular languages per diocese per Sunday with their average attendance?)

    Ron the Positivist (not always Logical)
    Thanked by 1Gavin
  • Randolph Nichols
    Posts: 398
    "Mushroomed" is not an apt description but there are nonetheless pockets of deep interest. I attended a Latin Mass (OF) last week in Nashua, NH and to my surprise the church was nearly full. It is successful there, I believe, because the pastor has made it part of the normal Sunday Mass schedule instead of being relegated to some odd hour in the afternoon or evening when nobody wants to go to Mass.

    More typical, however, are the parishes whose pastors who won't touch the Latin Mass with a ten foot pole. And those that do are considered by many to be a bit "odd." (You may be shocked to learn that not everyone is a devotee of Fr. Z.) In short, there is a public relations problem.
  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,500
    One EF Mass that I attend far outstrips all of the other Masses at the parish combined. The other is nearly full. This is in an area that is pretty well saturated with EF Masses. On Corpus Christi Thursday you can't swing a cat without hitting a Missa Cantata. The Ordinariate Mass I attend is about equal to the other Masses at that parish. These Sunday Masses are in addition to well-attended EF Masses almost every night of the week within a 3-parish radius of where I live. But it's more than numbers. There is an engagement at the EF Masses--shall we say a full, conscious, and active participation--that one would have to see to believe.
  • melofluentmelofluent
    Posts: 4,160
    Why? Is it truly newsworthy?

    Well, Father, you're talking about it.
    What mystifies me of late is a perceived antipathy eminating in your commentary here and there on the forum. Que paso?

    [Hi, Charles: I appreciate your concern, but I think personal inquiries should probably be addressed in a more personal way than by posting publicly. --admin]

    My apologies to the forum and to Father.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    Mushroom effect.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pZklcho378
    Thanked by 1Gavin
  • eft94530eft94530
    Posts: 1,577
    francis, you forgot to include the youtube video
    All Your Mass Are Belong To Us
    Thanked by 1francis
  • TCJ
    Posts: 966
    I think one thing to consider when one says that the TLM isn't that popular is that many of the bishops seem to do whatever they can to oppose it without outright saying, "You can't do it." Of course, this varies from diocese to diocese, but I know of some that are not just against it, but are outright hostile to it. And if they aren't then there's a lot of things playing behind the scenes. If there is so much opposition from above it's not surprising that growth is somewhat slow. Still, it's growing. Meanwhile...
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,160
    The organization "Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei" reported the TLM trend from 1988 to 2010; here's their chart showing the growth in TLM Sunday Masses during that time:
    image

    At times I have seen outdated info on the group's web site, so I suspect that their figures may be on the high side, but their data probably gives a fair indication of the growth trend.
    Thanked by 1Adam Wood
  • TimTheEnchanterTimTheEnchanter
    Posts: 195
    Are the 10 paragraphs I read the extent of the story, or is there is longer form of it?


    I used to be a journalist at a big-city paper and followed the stylings of USA Today, so I feel very confident in saying that's the whole article, and it's written that way by design, as the audience (at least for the print edition) tends to be travelers who want quick reads. So when you consider the article, consider it in that context.
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