A corporal work of mercy.

A corporal work of mercy.
Click on photo for this corporal work of mercy!

Sunday 5 August 2018

What is going on in Oklahoma that faithful Catholics should be so abused?

Vox Cantoris has been banned from posting on Twitter until August 9, 
please Tweet my posts.

A guest post from Mr. Laramie Hirsch on the continuing saga of insult and attack on Catholics faithful to the tradition of the Church and Her liturgy.


After reading Mr. Hirsch's column, I am asking myself, "Does this priest suffer from "gay-rage?"


Catty Priest Insults Minorities In Homily...
By Laramie Hirsch

...And, by minorities, I don't mean brown-skinned people, immigrants, or homosexuals.  Instead, the minorities I mention are the most hated minorities in the Catholic Church: Traditionalists.

If you attended Mass at a certain parish in Tulsa early this July, you'd be pleased to see a good sized group of people at a diocesan Traditional Latin Mass.  While the priest there hardly spoke English at all, being a man from Ecuador, he nevertheless did his utmost to worship the Almighty.  Latin is the universal high language of the Church.  It was such a beautiful service, as it always has been ever since the TLM was brought to the parish about a decade ago.  The people there have been taught the beauty of the Church's tradition like never before.  This is all thanks to now-retired Bishop Emeritus Slattery and the former parish priest who has now left the state.

On that, the seventh Sunday after Pentecost, the parish's Extraordinary Form would feature a reading from Matthew 7:15-21 .  Only it wasn't read by the Hispanic priest.  He dutifully stepped aside, and the passage was instead read by the parish priest himself:

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.  By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?  Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, and the evil tree bringeth forth evil fruit.  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bring forth good fruit.  Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.  Wherefore by their fruits you shall know them.  Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven."

If only the Hispanic priest gave the homily.  By all accounts, he appears to love the Latin Mass.  Or, dare we dream, wouldn't it have been nice if the homily came from the former parish priest who introduced the Latin Mass in the first place?  (It seems that he was actually in town that day)  Or even the retired bishop who always protected the Catholic Tradition in this part of Oklahoma?  No.  The homily was given by the current parish priest.  Yet, surely after a full year of shepherding over the Traditionalist laity, this priest would have grown some kind of fondness for the flock beneath him.  Right?

The congregation waited for the kind-hearted instructions from their shepherd.
 
What Took Place

After reading from Matthew, the sermon took a strange turn.  At first, the priest didn't seem to make sense.  It was as though his words melted into typical post-Vatican II gobbelty gook language.  While he initially seemed to be deconstructing St. Paul's writing style, it all seemed one big incoherent ramble.  After that, the priest then talked about people's athletic ability.  He commented about how the people of Christ's day didn't need to go to the gym because they walked everywhere.

Suddenly, just when it seemed his sermon (?) should be wrapping up, he capped off his ramble by bringing up zip codes.  He talked about the parish' s own poor neighborhood, and that local income was not very high.  This was a common, perennial problem, he explained, as it's been a low-income neighborhood since the 1950s.  But then, he unmistakably complained about laity who drive in from widely divergent locations.  He appeared to scoff at those who would drive one to two hours every Sunday from other towns and counties.  And, of course, the only people doing this were the parishioners attending that diocesan Latin Mass.

Then, just as he did last year, he stated that the Latin Mass group in particular was not giving their proper share of money during collection time.  He told the congregation that he preferred having only a Spanish and English Mass.  They were reminded that the FSSP is across the river on the West side of town.  And then, to qualify himself, he said that he had done his job and kept all of his promises to them for the past year, ever since he took over the parish.

In other words: "I've done everything I was supposed to do for you people.  But really, you're not welcome"

He ended his "homily" abruptly and walked off.  He did not assist the Hispanic priest with distribution of the Eucharist after that.  I have to wonder, was the Hispanic priest aware of the American priest's statements?

Parishioners later noticed that the side chapel had its statues removed, and it looked blander and more Protestant.
 
What Was The Sunday Message?

So, did this priest think he appropriately tied his "homily" to the gospel reading from Matthew?  Was he comparing a good tree that produces good fruit to an evil tree that produces bad fruit?  More to the point: does this priest think the Latin Mass produces bad fruit?  After all, according to him, the Traditional Catholic community wasn't generating enough income for the parish.  So, shall we also conclude that, in this priest's mind, good fruit = money?  Bad fruit = less money?  Is money the objective?  Is it cash that should concern us?  Do diocesan Traditionalists produce bad fruit in the form of inadequate collection amounts?  If so, how much more do they need to fork over until they are good and worthy in this priest's eyes?

I always thought that, in post-Vatican II Catholic Church, good fruit = happiness, togetherness, community, fraternal charity, good feelings, and all that emotional hippy dippy stuff.  If so, this tradition-hating priest certainly doesn't value these aspects when it comes to interacting with the Latin Mass parishioners.  Certainly, dare I say, it does not appear as though this priest considers "good fruit" to be wholesome, clean, confessed souls in a state of grace.  (That's just a dusty, triumphalist, pre-Vatican II novelty).  Not in this "homily."  Allegedly, he does not even consistently hear confessions from the Latin Mass group on a monthly basis--as he said he would in the beginning of his tenure.  But even assuming these reports to be wrong: is confession once a month enough?

And what of those poor English and Spanish Mass parishioners, living in that low-income zip code?  Are their contributions inadequate and deserving of a scolding?  Do those communities produce bad fruit as well?  Or are they somehow exempt?  Are those poor folks mystically holy because of their poorness?  Do their low incomes make them virtuous, while the assumed higher incomes of the Traditionalists make them less virtuous?  Is it even accurate to assume the traditionalists have higher incomes, or is that a blanket assumption by the priest?

Did the priest even mean any of this?  Or was he simply ignoring the Sunday gospel reading, preferring to instead deliver a reckless, harsh message to a group of people who've done nothing to him?
 

What This Does To A Community
Modernist post-Vatican II priests have 20th Century liberal values.  They want to sweep the "old dusty Catholic Church" under the rug.  They want to shove all those un-hip, stubborn losers who "can't get with it" into a ghetto.  They are in the middle of transforming the Catholic Church into "a new thing," and laity holding onto how it's always been are in the way.  The New Order uses a sort of federal-government-eminent-domain tactic that runs over communities such as this.

There once was a strong community at this parish.  In fact, it was rather famous, regionally speaking.  People had always praised the good things Bishop Edward Slattery had done, and a lot of it took place in this very parish under a good priest.  But after the retirement and replacement of the good bishop, and after the installation of Pope Francis' new bishop, it has been demonstrated that there has always been a cabal of priests in this town who, under the surface, always vehemently opposed what Bp. Slattery did.  There have always been priests in Tulsa's diocese who have hated Tradition.  At best, these priests view Tulsa's traditionalist laity as an inconvenience.  Judging from the abuse this particular parish has received in the past year, we can conclude that some priests view this group of laity with contempt.  They have therefore tried to destroy this community--and not without results.

If we are going to refer to the fruits of good or bad intentions, then let's see this situation for what it is.  The fruit of this priest and the new bishop is the scattering of Tulsa's Traditionalist community in many directions.  The fruit of their work is angst, both in this community and beyond.  The fruit of these New Order clergymen has been to instill a deep sense of abandonment in laity in Northeast Oklahoma.  Those who hold on to their faith amidst these sorts of trials feel as though the Sword of Damocles hangs over their head.  These people have not been uplifted; they have been tolerated.  They have not been embraced and welcomed; they have been alienated.  They have no intrinsic worth to the local Catholic community.  No one dares ask them what they think.  They are an elephant in the room.  If a priest in the diocese dares to offer to learn the Latin Mass, he becomes a marked man.  Traditionalists are avoided.  They are shunned.  It wouldn't surprise me if they were given their own drinking fountains.  

If this is the fruit of the new bishop, the new priest, and those who agree with their agenda, then let us ask: is this good fruit or bad fruit?
 
Conclusions: Money, Money, Money...?
Let's recap what the three congregations were contributing last October, the last time this very same priest complained about money.  According to that church bulletin, the figures were as follows:

Anglos (28% of the parish) contribute 40%
Hispanics (60% of the parish) contribute 46%
Latin (12% of the parish) contribute 24%
(The term "Anglos" is the priest's terminology, not mine.)

As you can see, the Latin Mass congregation was contributing twice the amount that they represented for the pleasure of having this priest spit in their face.  Today, thanks to a steady diet of nasty, passive-aggressive discouragement, the Latin Mass community has been reduced to 60% of what they once were.  Yet, these people continue to provide more money than they actually represent.

Even more interesting is the fact that some of the Hispanic laity have also witnessed this priest's actions.  After all, it was a combination of the English, Spanish, and Latin Mass congregations who helped to build and complete the St. Toribio Shrine.  Yet, this new priest is undoing many of the Catholic reforms the former priest brought to the parish.  This hasn't gone unnoticed by the Hispanic community.  No es bueno.  They don't like it.    Some have even left for another Tulsa Spanish-speaking parish.  Some tried attending the TLM at one point--perhaps longing for traces of their former shepherd.  I can't help but wonder what changes took place in that congregation since last year.

If money truly was the end goal of this priest, he would stop being ugly to the Latin Mass laity.  Why?  Because they've been carrying a large portion of the parishes' finances on their shoulders.  If and when they go, the parish will be all the poorer for it.  In effect, this new priest will have driven out a large source of income.  But ultimately, does he really care about the money?  Or does this priest value the removal of those Trads over everything else?

In this situation, at best, we can assume that this priest is materialist.  But what is more likely is that this priest is acting in malice towards these people.  He wants them gone.  Period.

19 comments:

Michael said...

The glory of Tulsa is Holy Family Cathedral, a beautiful, traditional structure. It is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the country. When I was a child, long before I had any real interest in religion, I would go by the cathedral in downtown Tulsa, and it always intrigued me. Their new neocon bishop hasn't really helped matters, but thankfully the previous bishop was the one who renovated the Cathedral.

My experience of the priests in Tulsa are that they are mostly-foreign-born priests with progressive ideas, and a handful of homosexuals. There are exceptions though. Clear Creek, for one. There was also a young-ish priest at the Cathedral when I went there who was excellent. He was very reverent, and an outstanding confessor.

Restore-DC-Catholicism said...

Please name that parish and its location so that we can take appropriate action.

Osusanna said...

Malice? Yes. I felt it just reading this.
And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution."
[2 Timothy 3:12]

TLM priest said...

The money percentages add up to 110%

John F. Kennedy said...

Please name that parish and its location.

Nancy Reyes said...

What is missing? Where are the Native American parishoners? They tend to be more traditional.

I lives in Tulsa while back. The previous bishop encouraged tradition, Eucharistic adoration, etc. Our Osage people had prayer groups, often had their houses blessed, etc.

The new bishop is Texan and only seems to see the newfangled suburban feel good Catholicism. He seems to think the area is merely "white"/Hispanic. Huh? Our area was Osage, and the tribe helped build the church, and the locals helped fund a Kateri Shrine.

Yet when the bishop awhile back held a Kateri festival, he held it in the Benedictine monastery. Now I am sure the Benedictines are holy but they have little or nothing to do with the Osage/Delaware/Cherokee people.

Essentially he is busy destroying the pious Catholic community in the name of what? Reform?
Reminds me of a story I was told about how a priest started removing the statues etc. from the church after Vatican II: The tribal council sent him a warning, saying they paid for the church and that he had no right to destroy it. The one who told me this story said alas, that a lot of the decorations had been removed, but the church did not get the full desecration that I have seen in other post Vatican II churches.

Tom A. said...

While I certainly sympathize with traditionally oriented Catholics who still seek Rome approved TLMs, at some point they must wake up and realize that they and their Novus Ordo counterparts are two distinctly seperate religions. Yes, we all heard Ratzinger proclaim them being two forms of the same Rite but that is all nonsense. The Roman Mass of the Ages and the Divine Liturgies of the East are two Rites of the same essence, but the Novus Ordo is a man made conconction to appease protestant heretics. That is why the Diocesan structures will alway be opposed to the TLM and will confine it to small ghettos. At some point those who attend these Rome sanctioned masses must come to that conclusion.

Anonymous said...

Trads will adjust. The 100 mile ride to Oklahoma city sspx or to clear creek.and they'll take their money with them.

Kathleen1031 said...

Tom A., what should those trads do. I'm agreeing with you on your points made here. What should trads do who realize they are ghettoized and are being thrown a bone with a trad Mass. Especially those who feel really rotten about giving this Commit/Sodomite church any money at all. How do you support the TLM and not the Commie/Sodomite Church.

Tom A. said...

You cannot support the diocesan TLM without supporting the Commie/Sodomite Church.

Ian B. said...

My family attended Sts. Peter and Paul (the parish in question) for a little while when we moved back to Tulsa because it had a sizable cry-room (side chapel) for the kids and its location and time were more convenient than Most Precious Blood. The new pastor started swooping in with rambling and completely unrelated homilies (he made no attempt to tie it in with the TLM readings opting for the NO ones an sorta relating it to those). His lack of fondness for the TLM was readily apparent. We have since happily gone back to Most Precious Blood (FSSP) and occasionally Clear Creek. Let's not forget that the new Bishop Konderla wasted no time in giving Mother Miriam and Fr. Ripperger the boot.

Tom A. said...

Ian, is there an SSPX or independent mass center nearby?

Laramie Hirsch said...

"is there an SSPX or independent mass center nearby?"

A year or more after the SSPX sold the laity's church building, they left Tulsa.

-LH

Tom A. said...

Wow!

Irenaeus said...

Kathleen asks: "What do we trads do?"

I'm afraid I can't answer that question for you. We live in interesting - sad, also, but interesting nonetheless - times. What we do from here on out will determine where we stand when our own times come.

The best "answer" I can offer is to look at the situation in your diocese and ask yourself, "Can I trust these men?" It's an awful question to ask, but in light of the awful things coming to light, it's a question we must ask. In my diocese, I - and others - have come to the conclusion the hierarchy cannot be trusted. In my case, it comes not only from my hardened cynicism, but my extensive association with the diocese in various capacities over the years, which I will not detail here. (Vox has also helped me in understanding just how little the hierarchy can be trusted here - in a good way.)

Nor does this question apply, I think, to the diocese as a whole. Look at the parishes and the priests who run them. Can they be trusted? Here, I have five TLMs offered on at least a Sunday basis. I have not been to one, but the others I have had sufficient exposure to. In one case, I am all too familiar with the consistent put-downs of tradition by the priests, and have come to view their actions with a sense of suspicion (I shouldn't, but it has come to form a pattern). I do not donate to that parish. Off all five TLMs and their priests, I have only really come to trust one priest, who has become like a friend to me as he has helped my family and I through some difficulties in the past. Catholics are not Donatists, but we have to use our sense of prudential judgement when donating to certain places. Do the priests of a parish deserve our money?

Money is what speaks to many priests now. I'm sorry, but even among those who offer the TLM, more than once have I seen a statement of parish shortfall. Yes, money is what keeps the Church go round and round (other than Her foundation in the Truth), and we should support Her. But be careful who you give it to.

In light of my experiences here in my diocese, I have elected to only give to that one priest I trust, and have started giving to certain orders in Canada and am even considering one abroad.

It takes a good deal of discernment with deciding what to do from here on out. Look carefully and gather together what you know. I am unlucky in the sense in that I was exposed to the underbelly of the traditional "movement" so early on in my journey, but it has only made me more resolved to stand with Christ and His Church, irrespective of the demands I may hear otherwise from other Catholics who may berate me for not doing my share to continue the sanctioned TLMs in my diocese - often financially.

I hope it helps.

Joseph Ostermeir said...

There is only one diocesan TLM in Tulsa, so a Google search will ID the parish and pastor.

I write The Okie Traditionalist blog, and can verify from several reports from their parish that this priest has been delivering messages from the pulpit to the traditionalists like the one Hirsch described.

If they haven't already, I think it's a good idea to form a representative group of the laity there to sit down with the pastor, and nail down precisely his problem. Ask him to continue the TLM there, perhaps with a signed petition. If he is hostile, have a similar meeting with the bishop. Stand up for the right to traditional Catholicism. If he gives you the snub, then it's a useless fight to continue. Write the Ecclesia Dei commission to complain, but time to get out of Dodge.

And maintain civility and charity at all times, not giving the modernists any ammunition. In the end, the Truth will prevail.

Tanya said...

+JMJ+

Now a few things make sense. My Husband and I were driving through Tulsa on our way to Texas in March of this year and we decided to stop at the church in question. I went to school there and my family and I went to Mass there in 1975-1977. The Priest at that time had a true hatred for anything that even approached Traditional Catholicism. A couple of the nuns joined in a "Bra Burning Assembly" and one literally wore "daisy duke" shorts and halter tops to teach her class.

My family was told to leave when the exasperated Priest wasn't going to tell us again to quit wearing veils to Mass, stop sitting in the corner in front of the Tabernacle, and to stop pestering him every 2 weeks for confession. If I remember correctly, confessions were by appointment only at that time. They had the ones where a group of people sat in a circle with the Priest and made their confessions together. Anyway, according to him, by doing these things, we were making a spectacle of ourselves and causing a disturbance and he was done tolerating it.

A week after this, my parents found out about the SSPX Masses being held in various places around the city. Sometimes in someone's basement, and other times in hotels. We eventually ended up moving to St Marys, Kansas so my sisters and I could attend the school there.

Fast forward to my visit to the Tulsa parish in question. My Husband and I didn't want to alarm anyone by just walking around and seeing the changes, even though school was out for spring break. We went into the administration office and there were 3 people sitting there talking. A woman, a man, and a Priest. After a couple of minutes of waiting to be acknowledged, my Husband interrupted their conversation about eating salads for lunch, to explain why we were there and to ask for permission to go into the church and walk around the grounds a bit. He told them that I had been told they have a TLM now and things had turned more toward Tradition again. I was anxious to see the church looking like it was supposed to after many years of modernist nonsense. I had also heard about the St. Toribio Shrine and was very interested in seeing it. The Priest said, "Oh, you are one of THEM, then? Go see what you want while you can." I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but it didn't sound good. He was very dismissive and then he turned to the other two who were laughing and returned to their salad conversation.

Going into the church, I couldn't believe my eyes. There were beautiful statues, the shrine was amazing, and there was even a little basket with various veils in it. I almost cried. I had heard that the TLM was in danger of being discontinued. This blog post by Laramie Hirsch is proof. Once again going backward. Shoved back into basements and Scottish Rite hotel rooms. It's Christ's passion all over again. While still keeping this Bishop and Priest in your prayers,if at all possible, go to one of the other TLMs. Your soul is worth the extra time and money to get there. God bless.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a regular reader of this (or any) blog, but I thought I'd chime in here to say that my family attended Ss. Peter & Paul for several years under the previous pastor and bishop before we moved out-of-state several years ago. Since then, our closest TLM is now four hours away in Oklahoma City. We attend the SSPX chapel there with Fr. Patrick McBride, the same priest who once offered the Mass bi-weekly in Tulsa. Since we anticipate a return move to the Tulsa area, Fr. McBride was sad to report to us the SSPX could not continue offering Mass there due to a dwindling community. However, speaking for himself as the priest assigned to travel from St. Mary's to offer Mass in OKC, he would love to return to offering the TLM in Tulsa if the community would resurge. We pray that is the case before our next move (transfer)! A shame as it may be, perhaps the division of Ss. Peter & Paul will inspire the SSPX's return to the area.

Unknown said...

Ben
The TLM is still in northeast Oklahoma. It is Our Lady Of Fatima. North of Claremore on 28A. SSPX may have sold our building but not our faith. Mass is at 1:30 PM every Sunday and on holy days. Confession is at 1:00 PM. From what I read, Confession should be every time Mass is said.
Thanks Ben