| Home >> Lost Sermons

Please, Mr. Cardinal, Could You Leave Us One Parish?

Wladimir Jegorowitsch Makowski. Death in Snow.
(Wladimir Jegorowitsch Makowski. Death in Snow. Source)

Note: This text contains criticisms of Cardinal Marc Ouellet. If this seems inappropriate, please see: Should a Catholic Publicly Criticize Some Decisions Taken By His Superiors?.

1) Introduction

Mr. Cardinal Marc Ouellet,

Would it be possible to make an exception, out of pity for those laypersons in your Diocese who, for whatever strange reason, just want to be faithful to the Pope? Could you leave us one Parish?

2) Some things we find "distasteful", to say the least

We are not asking for much, Mr. Cardinal. Just one Parish where the Liturgy, the Sacraments and the Homilies would be compatible with the official teachings of the Catholic Church.

Indeed, some of us actually find it very stressful, even painful, to have to sit through Masses that are openly unfaithful to the teachings of the Catholic Church.

A few examples I've witnessed:

- Priests who say that we don't have a soul (on a Sunday Mass, with the whole children's choir in attendance!);

- Priests who make up the Liturgy as they go along;

- Leaflets, distributed to the faithful before Mass, that attack the dogma of Transubstantiation, or that promote books that are heretical, or that encourage pro-choice organizations;

- Collective absolution given in a way which is specifically forbidden by the Pope (replaced by individual absolution without confession in certain Parishes, after your Letter);

- Shops that sell trinkets, at the back of churches (not in the basement, or in a corridor, or in the entrance hall, but really inside the church itself!), and that operate the cash register during Mass;

- Laypersons saying the Homily;

- Total boycott of any document (Catechism, Encyclicals, etc.) coming from Rome;

- Special religious ceremonies created especially for Atheists, where any reference to essential Catholic teachings are ripped out of the Liturgy;

- Etc., etc.

3) Some advantages of having at least one "weird" Parish

We are really not asking for much. In fact, it wouldn't cost a cent! In every Parish I know, there is always at least one Priest who is faithful to the Pope, and who obviously suffers from being where he is. All you need to do is pick a Parish, any Parish, and swap a few Priests with a few surrounding Parishes. All you need to do is gather, in one place, these Priests who just want to be boring, no-frills, ordinary Catholic Priests. "Boring" Priests who just want to be totally, cheerfully faithful to the Pope.

Those Priests are out there. We have names.

This simple relocation of Priests would have many advantages:

- Many faithful in the Diocese of Quebec would all of a sudden feel liberated, rescued, saved! Finally, there would be a Parish where we could adore God in the way our conscience tells us to! Isn't freedom of religion a wonderful thing?

- You could perform scientific experiments. The recent Diocesan Demolition Derby is trying to come up with "new means of evangelization". So this Parish could be an experiment, although it would be a very strange and unpopular experiment, according to some of your subordinates. But good scientists are fearless, and daring!

- We could refer young persons to this Parish. It's very frustrating to talk to non-believers about Jesus, to talk to them about the good teachings of the Catholic Church, and then have those innocent people walk into a church where they are told that they don't have a soul, or that sin doesn't exist, etc.

4) Conclusion

New logo for the Diocese of Quebec
New logo for the Diocese of Quebec

The Quebec Diocese has just adopted a new logo [broken link: www.diocesequebec.qc.ca/actualite/logo_communique.htm] "to update its practices and streamline its image". The Diocese says it "expresses openness and accessibility", as well as "meaning that differences are not only recognized, but accepted".

Would it be possible to accept that some Catholics in your Diocese are different, that some Catholics actually want to be faithful to the Pope?

Please, Mr. Cardinal, could you leave us just one Parish?

5) Post-Scriptum

This letter was personally given to the Cardinal on Saturday, November 7th, 2004, in the church of Saint-Michel-de-Sillery. I'm still waiting for an answer...

Once in a while, some persons tell me about a Parish which might be good (or at least less bad). Here are a few, with my comments:

5.1) FSSP at Saint-Zéphirin-de-Stadacona. For more information, see The FSSP In Quebec City.

5.2) The Community of the Emmanuel at Saint-Thomas-d'Aquin. Unfortunately, a mixed bag. Flashes of devotion (like today's Saint John the Baptist's Mass, 2009-June-24 with Fr. Martin Lagacé, or Fr. Frédéric Verscheure's presence at the 2009 National March for Life), but also flashes of mediocrity (like my first visit to the Parish, or their refusal to mention the Life Chain to their parishioners, or to mention the Developement and Peace scandal, or the incredibly inappropriate and noisy PowerPoint presentation about window repairs that was going on in church, in front of the Tabernacle, just before Sunday Mass, instead of the perfectly appropriate Parish hall, on 2009-June-21. It was still going on when I left in disgust after the Mass was supposed to have started! I guess I just needed to prayerfully prepare for Mass outside the temple of prayer, where there was peace and quiet!)

| Home >> Lost Sermons