www.byzcath.org Forums Faith & Christian Life Faith & Theology What EWTN really thinks of us

Dear Dolly,

But that's just it - Easterners had bad experiences with the triumphalistic, monolithic views of Tridentinists in the past.

As Arturo illustrates, how was Christ being witnessed to in the views of those who asserted that the old Latin Rite was superior over all others because it was the Rite of the Pope?

Christian witness - or Latin triumphalism?

Alex

Alex said:
One of my all-time favorites. Thanks Alex for making my day with it!

Yours,

hal

Dear Hal,

Bardzo Prosiem!

We Halychany stick together!!

Alex

... except when we find out that one of us is a Banderivets and the other a Melnykivets'.

Vash,

hal

Well, Alex, was that the *official* view of the Catholic Church, or was it those peoples' *opinions*?

I think my adorable niece is superior to every other kid on the planet, because she's MY niece and therefore has inherited all my best qualities . That's my view and I intend to stand by it (unless she robs a bank or something )!

I also *personally* think the Latin Rite is the best rite in the Catholic Church, because that's the rite in which I *personally* have been fed and nurtured for most of my life.

I'm entitled to my opinion, just as you're entitled to say, "Hey Dolly, you're wrong, MY rite is superior to YOUR rite!"

At which point the official teaching Church steps in, breaks us apart and says, "All right, stop that, the both of you - BOTH your rites have equal status! Now stop fighting, you're giving me a headache!" :rolleyes:

I will grant you that the official teaching Church has probably not stepped in this way often enough. But come on, it *is* getting better!

Slava Isusu Christu, dorohi Halychaniy...

My experience teaching in an SSPX school was that the majority of the priests and Bishop (then Father) Williamson were firm believers in the error of praestantia ritus Latinae or the preeminence of the Latin liturgical tradition.

I lost count long ago about how many times SSPX people tried to sermonize me about the superiority of the Latin Rite. One fellow even tried a theory on me based on Dante that the Latins would be in a higher canto, us Greek Catholics somewhere below...

To them we are only a "Ukrainian Mass" or a "Byzantine Mass" or a "Maronite Mass", etc. There is absolutely no recognition of particularity, of a unique spiritual and theological tradition. One can just read Fr. Schmidberger's sermon in which he calls the Orthodox not only schismatics but heretics at http://www.sspx.org/Negotiations/fr_schimdbergers_talk.htm (section on partial churches).

Needless to say they didn't like a troublemaker vostochnik hreko katolikli like me around their school.

And, not to sling mud in any way in toto to the Latin Church as Dolly has expressed concerns, these comments are directed at the Tridentine Mass crowd, and even more specifically at the SSPX. In my experience the Fraternity of St. Peter clergy, while the "praestantia" line of thought is alive and well with some of them, they are on the whole better educated and much more sympathetic towards the Greek Catholics.

Outside of the SSPX, in our area we have generally good relations with the Latin (NO) parishes, and we are often asked to give talks and even classes at the local Catholic colleges about the Byzantine tradition. With them it is more a lack of understanding about the Byzantine tradition, not an inherent bias and triumphantalism like the SSPX.

I do hope in the future EWTN shows more respect towards the Eastern Catholics, and in doing so will show more sensitivity towards the desires and decrees of the Holy Father regarding Eastern Catholics. We have lots of smart people who can answer their questions instead of Dr. Gregson.

Yesterday in one of those "chats" (that are usualy filled with kids talking about silly topics, I found someone from Britain who knows about the SSPX there and I visited their site.
It's interesting how these Traditional tridentinist priest has gradualy become "Orthodox minded" (you see the first letter, very ultra-latin and firmly believing the superiority of his rite, and then the next one having a different view). At then end they even blame the Ukranians for Latinization!

http://fp.brian.f9.co.uk/easterneurope/russia.htm

http://fp.brian.f9.co.uk/easterneurope/ukraine.htm