Boston Scandal Has Little Affect on Collections

THE BOSTON GLOBE, Feb. 17 — Officials in the Archdiocese of Boston report little drop-off in the amount of contributions, in spite of reports that parishioners would withhold donations because of the handling of clergy sex abuse cases, the Boston daily reported.

A recent Boston Glob/WBZ-TV poll found that nearly 20% of Catholics in the archdiocese said they would withhold contributions. But Ken Hokenson, the archdiocese's chief development officer, said that only three or four of more than 100,000 pledges for the Cardinal's Appeal have been rescinded.

In addition, less than two dozen of some 4,000 donors to the Promise for Tomorrow fund have rescinded their pledges. Hokenson said the amount involved was less than one-half of a percent, or about $75,000 of the roughly $150 million pledged.

The archdiocese received more than $1 million in pledges in the second week of February. So far, no major donors have pulled their pledges.

Chicago Church Heeds Liturgical Reforms

CHICAGO DAILY HERALD, Feb. 16 — Recent liturgical directives from the Vatican are filtering down to the parish level, as in the case of a Chicago church replacing its Resurrection Cross with a crucifix. The Chicago daily quoted Father Dan Deutsch, pastor of Holy Cross parish, as saying the crucifix is an important reminder of what the Eucharist is all about.

Unfortunately, the article confuses terms when it talks about the ordination of acolytes to assist during Mass. The paper said that Bishop Thomas Doran of Rockford, Ill., ordained seven men as acolytes on a recent visit to the church. It probably meant to say that seven men were instituted as servers. Acolyte was suppressed as one of the minor orders on the way to priestly ordination in the Latin Catholic Church.

The paper also said the men will help the priest purify the vessels for Communion after Mass, but according to the U.S. Bishops' Guidelines for the Concelebration of the Eucharist it is the priest, deacon or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion who is to purify the vessels at the side table or, after Mass has concluded, in the sacristy.

Tridentine Rites Extend Beyond Mass in New Jersey

HERALD-LEADER, Feb. 16 — The Tridentine Mass is alive and well, especially in Berlin, N.J., the Lexington, Ky., daily reported.

While many churches around the country have a weekly or monthly Mass in the form that was the norm until 1969, Mater Ecclesiae Parish in the Diocese of Camden celebrates all Sunday and daily Masses, as well as baptisms, weddings and funerals, according to the ancient rite.

It is also rare that an all-Tridentine parish be administered by a diocesan priest, rather than a member of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter or another religious order.

The article points out that the liturgies are conducted in Latin, but mistakenly suggests that the Second Vatican Council decreed that Mass should be in the “prevailing language of the parish.” In fact, Vatican II said that the use of Latin “is to be preserved in the Latin rites,” but that the vernacular may be used.

Mater Ecclesiae was established in 2000 by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio for “Catholics who feel an attachment to the traditional Latin Mass,” according to the parish Web site.