Many parishioners in Kohler, WI are upset. Why? Well, some because they think that we are personally attacking Father Bob Lotz the new pastor at St. John Evangelist in Kohler. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Those of us who have attempted to dialog with Father Lotz about the Liturgical Abuses are really concerned for his immortal soul and we really do want to help him in his vocation as a priest.
What created this big problem was that Father Lotz was caught pouring the Precious Blood down the Sacrarium after Mass one Sunday. You see, at that time Father Lotz was consecrating the Precious Blood in the glass cruet and pouring the Precious Blood into two Chalices for distribution. When confronted with this, he said to me that he had consecrated so much of the Precious Blood that Sunday that he could not consume all of it so he decided to pour the excess Precious Blood that he could not consume into the Sacrarium. Father Lotz seemed to think that it was perfectly okay to pour the left over Precious Blood into the Sacrarium and indicated to me that this is a common practice among the priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. He said to me that that is what the Sacrarium is for. Now, the document Redemptionis Sacramentum has this to say:
“[107.] In accordance with what is laid down by the canons, “one who throws away the consecrated species or takes them away or keeps them for a sacrilegious purpose, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See; a cleric, moreover, may be punished by another penalty, not excluding dismissal from the clerical state”.[194] To be regarded as pertaining to this case is any action that is voluntarily and gravely disrespectful of the sacred species. Anyone, therefore, who acts contrary to these norms, for example casting the sacred species into the sacrarium or in an unworthy place or on the ground, incurs the penalties laid down.[195]“
Now prior to speaking with Father Lotz about this incident of pouring the Precious Blood down the Sacrarium, I contacted Dean Daniels at the Archdiocesean Office of Prayer and Worship. He told me via email that the Precious Blood is to never been poured down the Sacrarium but must be completely consumed at the point of distribution. Eventually, due to other Liturgical Abuses it was necessary to contact the Archbishop who directed me to Father Curt Frederick the Vicar of Clergy. I was assured by Father Frederick that he would speak with Father Lotz about the abuses.
Well, the last time I attended Mass at St. John Evangelist in Kohler, I discovered that Father Lotz is still consecrating the Precious Blood in the Glass Cruet but is now pouring the Precious Blood into Four Chalices for distribution and not two. I assume that he started doing this after speaking with Father Frederick. One has to wonder if Father Lotz is now consecrating twice as much Precious Blood and if this will lead to even more instances where he might be tempted to pour the Precious Blood down the Sacrarium.
Also, given that the penalty for pouring the Precious Blood down the Sacrarium is a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See, does this mean that the Liturgies at St. John Evangelist Parish are being lead by a Priest who is no longer in communion with Rome? I have asked this question of the Archbishop in a letter hand delivered to him but have yet to receive a reply. In other words, the silence is deafening……
Of course, maybe the Archbishop would be more inclined to respond if enough of us called the Archdiocese or wrote the appropriate authorities telling them that we are not sure if the Liturgies in the Archdiocese are licit. Here are some places to write if you are so inclined:
His Excellency Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
PO Box 070912
Milwaukee, WI 53207-0912
His Excellency Archbishop Pietro Sambi
Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W
Washington, DC, USA
His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze
Prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship and Sacraments
Palazzo delle Congregazioni
00193 Roma, Piazza Pio XII, 10
His Eminence Giovanni Baptista Cardinal Re
Prefect for the Congregation of Bishops
Palazzo della Congregazioni
00193 Roma, Piazza Pio XII, 10
His Eminence Claudio Cardinal Hummes
Prefect for the Congregation of Clergy
Palazzo delle Congregazioni
00193 Roma, Piazza Pio XII, 3
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
The Apostolic Palace
00120 Vatican City, Europe
I have to say as a convert to the Catholic Church I am really scandalized at the way in which many of our priests and bishops behave when it comes to the way they treat the Eucharist and their insistence in being disobedient to legitimate Church authority.
October 18, 2007 at 5:31 am
Of course, the question devolves to whether Father did what he did out of ignorance, which IS exculpatory.
And, by the way, since you’re a convert, you missed about…how many years?….of watching these characters “do their thing…”
Consider yourself lucky.
Finally, ponder again on the fact that the Church has survived 2000 years (more or less) with this kind of thing going on (and it has, one way or the other.) You’re in the right Church. Think of it this way: if your Parish were perfect, and the priest were perfect, you’d likely either be under the influence of something illegal, or have passed from this vale of tears without knowing it.
Gives us all reason to pray, no?
October 18, 2007 at 7:10 am
Hi Dad29:
Yep, Father could be ignorant but I have mentioned to him that it is inappropriate for him to change the words of the Eucharistic Prayers and that the Archdiocese even said he should not be doing that and he continues to do it…….so it makes me wonder why the Archdiocese tolerates such nonsense.
In addition, all of this nonsense makes me wonder, do our priests in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee REALLY believe in what the Church teaches when it comes to the Eucharist? Do they really care about the salvation of souls? I run an apostolate that assists individuals in coming home to the Catholic Church but it is very difficult for me to recommend parishes in this area as I have heard all kinds of things promoted here from a rejection of God as Father to the ordination of women and the promotion of so-called homosexual “marriage”.
I really do not think it is too much for us laity to demand that Mass be celebrated according to the instructions given by the legitimate authority of the Church and that our leaders teach us the fullness of the authentic Christian faith including those things that might not be very popular among our secular culture. This might sound funny, but I do not want perfection (as that is impossible this side of heaven) but I do want to be a part of a parish that is authentically Catholic where the Liturgy is celebrated reverently and obediently and the Catholic faith is taught in its fullness. I know that this is possible since I have belonged to parishes who, while they had their problems, by and large fulfilled this Catholic mission pretty well.
October 18, 2007 at 10:07 pm
The usual source of these issues is that a priest believes he and like-minded colleagues know better than anyone “above” them in the hierarchy or administration, and know better than anyone “below” them among parishioners, and know better than all generation of priests before and after them. Grant the premise that a pastor’s opinions are the source and summit of the Christian life, and the liturgical conclusions follow.
October 19, 2007 at 12:26 am
“Grant the premise that a pastor’s opinions are the source and summit of the Christian life, and the liturgical conclusions follow.”
And this is how the Lutheran Church got started.
October 19, 2007 at 2:19 am
There is the St Joseph Foundation, which will file a Canon-law complaint for you.
http://www.st-joseph-foundation.org/
Obviously, KNOWING it is wrong and doing so makes the Mass illicit, but not necessarily invalid. Changing the formula of the Consecration may invalidate the Mass altogether.
October 19, 2007 at 3:30 am
“Changing the formula of the Consecration may invalidate the Mass altogether.”
Even if the presider uses that trying out for the school play voice to make it more meaningful?
October 20, 2007 at 12:38 am
Some presiders (are they also priests?) shoulda stood in grade-school.
That’s about where their minds stayed.
October 20, 2007 at 1:23 am
Come on, Dad, grade school? Do you think, for example, that a pastor would say he was switching to general absolution because the kids had been too fidgety in the lines for confession, as if confession was his ball and he was taking it home?
Oh, wait, that was what happened.
October 25, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Come on, do you really think that using glass means that Jesus will not become present in the wine or least disdains having to become present within in it. Jesus:”Well, the the Pope said, ‘No glass,’ so I guess I’ll skip this Mass.”
And I’m sure in the first decades of the church before the Mass became standardized, that people substituted all sorts of words for Father. According to this logic, I bet Peter and Paul themselves said a few illicit or invalid Masses. And since the synoptic Gospels portray Jesus as using different words and such, perhaps two of the Gospels have taught us illicit or invalid consecrations.
Where does the legalism end?
October 29, 2007 at 11:56 am
“Where does the legalism end?”
Actually, a better question is when will obedience begin? Demanding that priests follow the rules of legitimate religious authority is not legalism it is demanding that priests, religious, and laity be obedient to those who God has placed in charge of the Liturgy and the Congregation For Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. This legitimate authority has spoken many times on these and other abuses perpetrated against the Liturgy. The most recent document Redemptionis Sacramentum is very clear in these matters. If one fails to recognize the legitimate authority of the Church and follow her lead, then one fails to be a “faithful” Catholic.
October 30, 2007 at 8:38 pm
“Come on, do you really think that using glass means that Jesus will not become present in the wine or least disdains having to become present within in it. Jesus:”Well, the the Pope said, ‘No glass,’ so I guess I’ll skip this Mass.””
Actually, it is precisely because Jesus is present at these Masses where these Priests disobey the liturgical rubrics that we as lay people need to insist that our priests and bishops be obedient to the legitimate authority of the Church.
November 1, 2007 at 4:42 am
What some of these poor fellows don’t seem to understand is that ‘obedience is transitive.’
That is, while they thumb their noses at the Pope and other licit authorities, they really cannot expect the Faithful to kiss their…. and obey THEM, can they?