LETTERS
1998 LETTERS
November
October
September
July/August
June
May
April
March
February
January
ARTICLES
NEWS
ROAMIN' CATHOLIC
Contents © 1998
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.
LETTERS
MARCH 1998
UNFAIR, UNKIND, UNWARRANTED
Due to the negative and inaccurate article about Archbishop Cardinal Mahony, about our pastor, Father James Ford, and about our parish ["Neither Wine and Cheese Won't Stop Them," February 1998 Mission], I request that you stop sending your unsolicited newspaper to our school.
Your choice of titles: "Neither Wine nor Cheese Can Stop Them, Revolt at San Roque" reveals both your hurtful journalistic intent and lack of research regarding our parish life. For example, what is the point in describing Kathy Lindell, liturgical guest speaker, as having been a secretary for (a priest) who "left the priesthood"? What is the implication? Also, Father Ford has long been known for his hospitality, so the statement by parishioner, Barbara Najera, that he was attempting to "soften" resistance by serving wine and cheese was an unfair, unkind and unwarranted remark.
I attend Mass at San Roque every Sunday, serve on the parish council, and, as principal of San Roque School, I am on the campus daily. There is not a revolt of the people, as stated in your headline. But, apparently, there is a concerted effort by a small minority to not only dictate the future of our parish worship area, but even to regress to pre-Vatican practice... for example, returning the altar to the wall of th church and having the priest celebrate Mass with his back to the people.
Concerning your 90-100 figure for people leaving our church, you must be including deceased members and parishioners who have moved. Parishes and schools in this area have a higher than average turnover due to the high cost of living in Santa Barbara; Father Ford has been here over three years. Where do you get your figures, and what are the area comparisons? I see you were careful not to include the numbers of new parishioners to San Roque. That would have put some balance in your article.
In my time as teacher and principal at our school I have experienced the terms of four pastors. In my opinion, we have grown and become more positive as a community over this time. Currently we are enjoying excellent liturgies with well-planned and effectively delivered homilies, quality music, and the involvement of a healthy cross-section of parishioners in the different areas of service for our parish.
As the principal of San Roque Catholic School, and as a ten-year member of this parish, I fully support the educational process provided to us by our pastor and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. I respect Cardinal Mahony and the vision he is providing his flock to provide a more communal Sunday worship experience. I see that he and our pastor are targets for a well-organized and well-financed effort by a few to control our church... both of these men have my admiration and continued prayers of support.
Anne Marie Omweg
Principal
San Roque School
Santa Barbara
REPLY TO OMWEG
The following is a response to Ms Omweg's letter. Ms Omweg had sent copies of her letter to Cardinal Mahony, Bishop Thomas Curry, Father James Ford, Dr. Garvin Kusky, and Barbara Najera. A copy of the letter had come into the hands of the writer of this response.
In her letter, Mrs. Omweg writes: "...apparently there is a concerted effort by a small minority to...dictate the future of our parish worship area..."
She has it backwards. The vast majority want to leave our beautiful church the way it is. It is a very "small minority" who want to liturgically "renovate" San Roque Church. In fact, there were audible gasps of dismay and disbelief when the architect showed us pictures of the churches he had renovated. It's no wonder Cardinal Manning banned Armando Ruiz from doing any work in the Archdiocese. His approach seems to be to strip away as many Catholic features from a church as he can get away with. This is contrary to Vatican II.
Mrs. Omweg next writes that those who oppose the renovation want to "regress to pre-Vatican [sic] practice...for example, returning the altar to the wall of the church and having the priest celebrate Mass with his back to the people." This is an odd statement, in view of the fact that our pastor plans to install the choir in the sanctuary after, of course, he tears out the high altar, takes down the crucifix, and moves the table "altar" down into the middle of the church. This in itself will place the priest's back toward the people in the choir. That aside, both Mrs. Omweg and Father Ford seem to be unaware that neither the rubrics of Pope Paul VI's new Mass, nor the General Instruction, call for a Mass facing the people.
Regarding her comment about those in the parish who wish to "regress to pre-Vatican [II] practice," there are probably those who would like to "regress" to the liturgical practices actually called for in Sacrosanctum Concilium, the only liturgical document voted upon by the bishops attending the Second Vatican Council.
Mrs. Omweg presumably has not read paragraph 4 of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy which states that "Holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way." This includes pre-Vatican II liturgies.
Mrs. Omweg then writes, "Currently we are enjoying excellent liturgies with well-planned and effectively delivered homilies, quality music..." Well, not exactly. While Father Ford's homiles are generally quite good, the same cannot always be said for his liturgies. It is distracting enough when he adds his own words to the Mass, but he really obliterates the sense of the sacred when he has a large and sometimes unruly group of children crowd around the altar during the Eucharistic Prayer. I've seen them wrestle each other to the floor, and one child even tried to pull the altar cloth off the table. I don't think this is what the Council Fathers envisioned when they urged more participation by the laity.
Unfortunately, our music is often banal, and certainly contrary to the standards called for in Chapter VI of the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Possibly this is because our $40,000 per year liturgy/music director is a Protestant.
The sad divisions at San Roque Church which have caused so many long-time parishioners to depart appear to be the result not only of the proposed "liturgical" wrecking of our church, but also because Father Ford prevented us from expressing our opinions at the final meeting which he had promised would be "an open discussion on topics of general concern to San Roque parishioners about our possible church renovation." He lost the trust of many loyal people when he broke his word to us. This is reflected in weekly collections that have dropped so much that the amount is no longer published in the church bulletin. This, and not Mrs. Omweg's assertions to the contrary, is the measuring stick of the revolt at San Roque.
Finally, Mrs. Omweg's claim that new parishioners compensate for those being driven away is unkind and insensitive. Some of these are people who have been parishioners since San Roque Church was built. Father Ford will eventually move on, but he has no right to leave a destroyed church in his wake.
Name withheld
Santa Barbara
SALT IN THE WOUNDS OF HERESY
A line is being drawn in the sand; the rights of God vs. the rights of man; love of God vs. love of the world; realism vs. secular insanity; and the Mission rubs salt in the wounds of heresy. No wonder some people want you to delete their name from your mailing list. God help us!
Brian de la Torre
Granada Hills
YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO CHRISTIANITY
I have already written to your "newspaper" once before to cancel the copy that has been sent to me. You are a DISGRACE to Christianity and the Gospel message of Jesus. You do nothing but seed hatred in the Church. I am a former Roman Catholic and when I read your words of disunity and hatred in the Church, I'm glad I have sought Christ elsewhere.
Please make an effort to discontinue any mailing to me.
Malcolm Smith
Orange
YOUR GOAL IS TO TEAR DOWN
PLEASE REMOVE ME FROM YOUR LIST. The enclosed names also do not live here--you must have gotten them from an old list. It is clear they, like me, would not subscribe to your publication. Truth is not to be found in your paper. I am sad when I see it--it always is about attacking people in our church. Your goal is to tear down.
I can only pray that you will one day return to the Roman Catholic church of the Holy Father. Cardinal Mahony seems to be orthodox for him along with the U.S. bishops that are in union with Rome. There are so many real needs in our communities and parishes--your funds could be better used. Matthew 25.
Be assured of my prayers for your change of heart--remove us from your mailing lists.
Father Chris Ponnet
Saint Camillus Catholic Center for Pastoral Care
Los Angeles