Thank You Archbishop O’Brien

The new Archbishop of Baltimore takes action against dissident priest. Thank you for being a true spiritual father.

Are the Masses Performed at St. John in Kohler, WI licit? And the Silence is Deafening!

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.