As the great celebration of embracing gratitude for His Most Serene Eminence, Thomas "No Mass For You" Collins approaches, it behooves us to recycle some posts from the past.
The FSSP was invited to Toronto and promised a parish. The parish was to be Canadian Martyrs and was publicly announced on the diocesan web page. Outrage happened and the usual suspects ganged up on a weak and ineffective leader and he took back the public offer. Neil MacCarthy, his spokesman, blamed the Pastor for publishing it. I asked Neil, "Oh, and when did Father become your webmaster?" In November of that year, 2009, the H1N1 pandemic fraud began and Thomas Cardinal Collins banished Holy Communion on the tongue. The Fraternity priest did not comply, publishing in the bulletin, "At this Mass, in accord with the universal law of the Church, Holy Communion is only distributed on the tongue." I know, I was there. I was the Schola and Choir Master. In January 2010, the Fraternity met with Collins about the need for their own church. The meeting did not go well. A few weeks later the announcement was made after Mass. It was, I recall, the Second Sunday of Lent. They were gone after the next Sunday. The Fraternity issued a statement to cover for Collins. But we all know what happened. It was an early example of: "I WILL SHUT YOU DOWN."
Sunday, 21 February 2010
FSSP APOSTOLATE IN TORONTO COMES TO AN END!
TORONTO--Only three weeks after a Solemn High Mass was held on Candlemas assisted by transitional Deacons and Seminarians of St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto; and less than a week after a column appeared on Rorate Caeli Blog extolling the provisioning of the Traditional Latin Mass in Ontario, it was announced today after the Mass for Quadragesima Sunday that effective next Sunday, February 28, 2009, the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will come to an end.
Apostolate Chaplain, Father Howard Venette, FSSP addressed the nearly 100 congregants following the Mass advising the shocked congregation that the departure was due to "internal personnel" matters. Father Venette will be reassigned to Orlando, Florida following his 19 month stay in Toronto.
The FSSP was invited to Toronto by Archbishop Thomas Collins with the hopes of establishing a personal parish for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In September 2009, a public announcement was made by the Fraternity and on the Archdiocese of Toronto web page that the Canadian Martyrs parish would be the location over a six-month transitional period. Within days of this announcement and without public explanation, the situation changed and the parish plan did not materialize.
Recently, the Fraternity was advised that while a parish was not currently available, its provision would depend on the continued growth and financial viability of the community. In the last 19 months, attendance at the Sunday Mass at St. Theresa Shrine Church increased over 100% from the attendance under the former indult at the Missa Lecta to the Missa Cantata.
Upon arrival in Toronto, Father Venette was in residence at Holy Cross parish where the Mass was celebrated daily and on High Holy Days. Following the situation in September over Canadian Martyrs, Father was moved to St. Brigid's where the daily Mass schedule changed from week to week and the High Holy Day liturgies were split between St. Brigid's and St. Theresa's Parish.
According to officials from Una Voce Toronto, Archbishop Collins had indicated that he desired no less than "five" Extraordinary Form Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto every Sunday.
A Solemn High Mass was being planned for St. Theresa's for March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, Patron Saint of Canada, and has now been canceled. After the departure of Father Venette, the only daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Archdiocese of Toronto will be at The Toronto Oratory Church of the Holy Family. The Oratorians continue to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite Missa Cantata or Missa Solemnis Sundays at St. Vincent de Paul Church at 11:30AM.
1 comment:
The timeline of their departure just never made sense, and I always suspected there was something going on behind the scenes that wasn’t being disclosed. This didn’t sound like something that came from Collins himself. There must have been clergy in the diocese who just wanted to see the FSSP gone. Who exactly were they?
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