Fireworks over the "Latin Mass" in the Diocese of Baton Rouge

It seems that the remarks of a important priest in Baton Rouge is causing a stir.

Enter stage right FatherJohn Carville(yes he is related to you know who) who had some not very helpful remarks about the Holy Father's Summorum Pontificum. The Summorum Pontificum blog has the full piece. This ran I hate to say ran in the recent edition of the Baton Rouge diocesan newspaper.

I will not say too much about Father Carville. I like him and of course he doesn't know me or remember me from Adam. He also has helped a Catholic group on the LSU Campus I think is important. However these remarks I hate to say I can see coming from him. Father Z that is monitering this situation has quite few excellent remarks as to this screed.

This is all quite unfortunate in my view. For all this talk about the "Spirit of Vatican II" and reaching out when the rubber hits the road we see how limited that is. Let us hope Father Carville has a change of heart.

Of interest is what a priest blogger from Louisiana on my link list has to say. Father Ryan does not mince words. For those that are concerned, Father Ryan is safely in the Diocese of ALexandria and not Baton Rouge.

I wish this was my priest. I f this is the new kind of priest we are ordaining bring them on. He says in part(be sure to read the whole thing):
I'm angry with him because - as far as I can see - he's not looking for the truth and his concern for what the people are actually saying is about as genuine as my concern for my car getting a new horn that plays a Brittany Spears song. It's about an ideology. A theory... A theory! C'mon. It's not fair of me to question his motivation. But I know, for a fact, that people have tried to stand up to the communistic regime in the diocese of Baton Rouge and have been crushed down by Fr. Carville in the name of what? In the name of what the people really want? Arbeit Macht Frei - we shall tell them what they want. It's part of the great sadness right now that good people - like Fr. Carville - who have devoted their whole life to this new world order are now looking around and seeing that it has in fact not come true. Mission and Social Justice and the golden calf of active participation have not borne the good fruit of a utopian society which marxism promised - rather they have born an anti-culture which is committing demographic suicide and which has become so complacent with the heart-breaking belief that all will go to heaven, that no one real cares and the precious few that do are volunteered to death to keep up with a thousand programs and committees.

He also says:
"Active Participation" is not occurring. Busyness is. The Casual - whatever comes naturally - mentality has not brought people into the fold - it's shipped them out to the protestant groups who have now come to believe that Catholics are barely distinguishable from any other denomination. The smoke of Satan that is the spirit of Vatican II has failed and my heart goes out to those who have devoted their life to it with good - if naive - intention. My heart and intellect also go out to those who are courageously reading what the documents actually said. Specifically those parts which explain that Latin, Gregorian Chant, and "the smells and bells" which Father decries are to remain the norm. The parts which explain that participation is primarily a spiritual matter - the parts which speak of the bishops drawing their authority from unity and respect for Peter - not just a tongue-in-cheek minimalism which arrogantly tosses Peter's efforts to the side...

I agree 100 percent. The Diocese of Baton Rouge has a lot of good folks and priests. However, I remember a conversation I had with a old guard priest a few years ago at the LSU Catholic Student Center at Baton Rouge(not Father Carville or anyone there now so quit guessing). I was looking at a copy of the Alexandria Catholic newspaper. I was astonished how many people they had in the seminary. When I brought this to the attention of the priest his answer astonished me. Basically those seminarians were not of the same quality. He stated there was a alot of Univ of Steubenville in them. In others words they were pretty Orthodox!!! Goodness we don't want that. I have wondered that during that time period how many vocations might have been lost because they didn't make it past the review board. That is sad in this day and age. Again that was a few years back and the situation today is hopefully very different.

Father Rev. John Carville is Parochial Vicar currently at Christ the King on the LSU campus. I suppose this doesn't bode well at this time for a possible Mass of John the XXIII starting there. That is a shame because a college campus like LSU with all it resources would be perfect for that. I also suspect that there would a number of students that would support it. It might horros gain in attendance.

I do hope Father Carville has a change of heart. For years I have heard how the Holy Spirit speaks through the "community". Well it is speaking now.