THE BISHOP OF IDAHO CAUSES AN EARTHQUAKE WITH HIS ILL ADVISED LITURGICAL DIRECTIVES AND FALSE INFORMATION ABOUT VATICAN II

UPDATED! UPDATED! A PLEA TO BISHOP PETE TO BE MORE PASTORAL AND INCLUSIVE OF THOSE WHO WISH THE ORDINARY FORM AD ORIENTEM AND TO KNEEL FOR HOLY COMMUNION:

But bishop, it was not the Second Vatican Council that mandated the changes you speak of, but liturgists who did so after Vatican II and Pope Paul VI chose to support. Don’t blame Vatican II, but those who acted in an authoritarian pre-Vatican II way to implement what you are doing in a similar way with your flawed letter.  Vatican II simply did not say one thing about the Mass facing the people, not using altar railings or not kneeling for Holy Communion and when bells should or shouldn't be rung.

All of those things came from liturgists and were post-Vatican II developments.

One is puzzled too, at the lack of respect for the Pontiff Emeritus, Benedict XVI who mandated kneeling for Holy Communion at His Masses and recommended highly ad orientem for the Ordinary Form.

Bishop Pete, wouldn't it have been better to show kindness and hospitality, to be inclusive, of those who prefer to kneel by providing a kneeler, or, better yet allow people to stand or kneel before the altar railing according to their preference rather than dogmatizing what Vatican II DID NOT TEACH?

Bishop Pete, wouldn't it be better to recommend to pastors that they be pastoral in implementing ad orientem and make sure that Masses facing the people are provided as well?

And Bishop Pete, wouldn't it serve your diocese better to look at all the liturgical abuses that occur from those who say they are following Vatican II but nonetheless improvise, show little reverence for the Sacred Rites and "informalize" the Mass?

The Bishop of Idaho:

Dear Brothers in Christ,

It has come to my attention that matters addressed below may be causing confusion in our Diocese. I would like to provide clarification.

In order to reduce the confusion among the faithful and the increasing disinformation regarding liturgical matters in the Diocese, and to promote harmony and unity that is reflected and strengthened in our Eucharistic celebrations, I am promulgating this Instruction. As bishop, I request that clergy carefully reflect upon and adhere to the following.

1. Priests must take special care in forming the faithful: In general, priests are to refrain from providing the faithful with incorrect information in order to promote a particular approach to worship. Specifically, they must never imply a particular superiority or greater holiness of approach amongst the valid forms of worship in the Roman Catholic Church. In instructing the faithful regarding questions of posture, gensture, reception of Communion, etc., clergy are to refer always to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal,  the Order of Mass, and other officially promulgated ritual books for the form of liturgy they are celebrating, or to documents propagated by the Holy See or the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and approved by the appropriate authorities. Sources such as independent websites and social media platforms that are unaffiliated with the Holy See or the USCCB are not to be considered trustworthy or appropriate for catechesis. Elements from the Missal used at the Extraordinary Form liturgy are not to be imported into Masses celebrated under the Ordinary Form.

Pastors, whose responsibility is to form the faithful, should undertake this task with utmost seriousness and care. Your authority as shepherds of your flocks – trusted fathers of your faith family – resides in your integrity and humble sincerity in providing the souls in your care with accurate theological, moral, and catechetical guidance to the best of your ability, and should not be undermined by a careless or deliberately misleading approach to formation.

2. Priests in the Diocese of Boise will face the people when presiding at the Ordinary Form of the Mass: Paragraph 299 in the General Instruction to the Roman Missal  makes it plain that the universal Church envisions the priest presiding at Mass facing the people. (#299: The altar should be built separate from the wall, in such a way that it is possible to walk around it easily and that Mass can be celebrated at it facing the people, which is desirable whenever possible.”)  This is unambivalent, and I am instructing priests in this diocese to preside facing the people at every celebration of the Ordinary Form of the Mass.

There are priests who prefer ad orientem.  I am convinced that they mean well and find it a devout way to pray. But the overwhelming experience worldwide after Vatican II is that the priest faces the people for the Mass, and this has contributed to the sanctification of the people.

There has been an attempt to justify the ad orientem  practice because the Order of Mass indicates places when the priest should face the people. (However, it never asks him to turn away, as the preconciliar Missal did.) There are some historical churches with fixed altars where the priest does not have the option of facing the people. I conclude from this that the indications to have his back to the people remain only for those circumstances where the priest presides at historical churches where the main altar or side altars are against a wall. The GIRM presumes that the priest is celebrating Mass at a freestanding altar. It was clearly the mind of the Council that the priest should face the people.

It is most affecting that, during the funeral rite, the Catholic Church maintains that the coffin of a deceased cleric is to be positioned in the way he was in life at Mass: facing the people.

3. Posture at Communion and the use of prie dieus (kneeling bench) or altar rails: I have directed that the posture for receiving Communion in this Diocese is standing, in accord with GIRM #160: “The norm is established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling.” While it is the right of the faithful to kneel to receive, nor may any communicant be denied Communion based on posture, given that the norm in this country is standing. I am instructing that priests do not use furniture or items such as prie dieus  or Communion rails, as these may seem to undermine this norm or to imply a preference for kneeling to receive.

4. Celebration of the Extraordinary Form: With the publication of Pope Benedict XVI’s Summorum pontificum,  it became permissible for priests to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the eucharist without applying for permission to their local ordinary. I am requesting, however, that as a matter of courtesy, I am made aware of any such celebrations. As well, this information must be made available to the Holy See in a formal report during each  ad limina visit. So, for accurate record-keeping, I request that you report this practice to me, along with frequency and attendance. Remembering always that the Ordinary Form is just that, the ordinary accepted way in which we are to regularly celebrate Mass a faithful Catholics.

5.  Priests are not to add elements (words, gestures, actions, etc.) to the liturgy that are not found in the appropriate Missal: No priest should take it upon himself to adapt the liturgy to his particular preferences. Just as he should not insert words such as “God is good…all the time!” into the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer, neither should he insert actions – such as ringing the bells during his own Communion – that are not found in the rubrics of the Missal under which he is celebrating (the Missal of John XXIII for Extraordinary Form; the 3rd edition of the Missal of Paul VI for the Ordinary Form). Liturgy is not an expression of private devotion, as you are all aware.

My Brothers, it is a great trust that I and the Faithful of our Diocese place as you in order to promote the one body in Christ as reflected in our unity and harmony at worship.

 + Pete

Largest earthquake in decades strikes Idaho | TheHill.

7 hours ago - The U.S. Geological Survey reported a 6.5 magnitude earthquake in central Idaho at approximately 5:52 pm on Tuesday. The quake struck approximately 72 miles northeast of Boise, originating at a depth of 6.2 miles. No injuries or damage have so far been reported.