Another Excellent Letter To The Editor
H/T to the Yankee Clipper

EDITOR: One doesn't know whether to laugh or cry after reading the reactions of Jesuit Thomas Reese and local professional Catholic Paul Wilkes to news the U.S. Catholic bishops have accepted the "new" English translations of the Novus Ordo mass.

Reese claims there will be "chaos" among the faithful, and Wilkes opines that "…the very melody of Catholicism's rich liturgy, voiced in our native vernacular …" will be destroyed by this return to wording that nourished centuries of vibrant spiritual growth for Roman Catholics. Wilkes ignores the fact that in the 40 years since the "New Order" vernacular mass was adopted, we have experienced what Pope Paul VI described as a veritable "self-destruction" of the faith for millions of Catholics.

Mass attendance has declined. Only 30 percent of American Catholics now believe in church teaching on the Holy Eucharist. We have endured clown masses, balloon masses, rock masses, applause, masses with dancing girls and masses that have become more entertainment than worship, presided over by priests who embellish the worship service with jokes.

There is an ancient Catholic axiom, lex orandi lex credendi - (which translates roughly to) "the way we pray shows what we believe."

Perhaps the "authoritarian" theologians in Rome are returning (finally) to prayer and a God-centered worship that will revive Roman Catholicism and true Church unity, Deo gratias!

Charles A. Connell

Wilmington