Our Churches Will Be Empty
The newly appointed Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship for the Holy See, Archbishop Albert Ranjith, was interviewed by the I Media news agency. Reporting on the I Media interview, the August/September Catholic World Report (CWR) stated that he supports the “reform of the post-conciliar liturgy,” this according to CWR. The Publisher of CWR is Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., and one of his passions is to “reform the reform” — that is, reforming the New vernacular Mass. Fr. Fessio is not a big fan of the Tridentine Latin Mass.
However, in The Remnant (July 31), in the same I Media interview with Archbishop Ranjith, it was reported: “In the end, the people will assist at [attend] the Tridentine Mass and our churches [the New Mass] will empty,” this according to Archbishop Ranjith himself. That quote was not mentioned in CWR. Wonder why? This was the bombshell!
Before Vatican II in the U.S., Mass attendance per week was 70-74 percent; now it’s ranging around 25-33 percent. (Of course, this is a taboo subject.) For more statistics, all of them declining, see our January 2004 New Oxford Note, pages 22-24, which relies on the book by Kenneth C. Jones, Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II (Roman Catholic Books, 2003; 970-490-2735; www.BooksForCatholics.com). In France the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), with its Tridentine Mass, has greater attendance per week than the New vernacular Mass. Amazing.
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