{"id":25221,"date":"2016-10-06T06:00:54","date_gmt":"2016-10-06T10:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/?p=25221"},"modified":"2016-10-05T20:48:14","modified_gmt":"2016-10-06T00:48:14","slug":"liturgy-shaming-for-liturgical-abuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/geneveith\/2016\/10\/liturgy-shaming-for-liturgical-abuse\/","title":{"rendered":"“Liturgy shaming” for “liturgical abuse”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Many Catholics are indulging in\u00a0\u201cliturgy shaming\u201d as a response to \u201cliturgical abuse.\u201d \u00a0That is, they are taking to the internet to mock and criticize priests whose liturgical innovations go beyond the pale (e.g., clown masses, Cheesehead liturgies, priests presiding while riding hoverboards or bicycles). \u00a0Such services are being called \u201cliturgical abuse,\u201d on the grounds that\u00a0they violate the solemnity of the mass and harm Christians in need of true worship.<\/p>\n

Some Catholics are saying that liturgy shaming\u00a0is a good thing, while others are saying that it is a bad thing. \u00a0What do you think? \u00a0Is any of this going on in Protestant circles? \u00a0In Lutheran circles? \u00a0Should it?<\/p>\n

Read about the phenomenon and the controversy it has stirred up after the jump.
\n<\/p>\n

From David Gibson, \u00a0\u2018Liturgy shaming\u2019 is a growing internet phenomenon. But is it a vice or a virtue? | Religion News Service<\/a>:<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

(RNS) William Bornhoft is a Catholic who admits that he sometimes cringes at the liturgical novelties he sees at Mass and has himself been tempted to post a complaint or a photo of the offending innovation.<\/p>\n

But Bornhoft, a 24-year-old writer from Minnesota, has also seen where that temptation can lead, and he didn\u2019t think he was being especially outrageous when he penned an essay lamenting what he saw as a growing penchant for \u201cliturgy shaming\u201d \u2013 that is, furious believers using social media to denounce and target pastors or parishes that in the critics\u2019 eyes have done something beyond the pale.<\/p>\n

The impetus for his column at the Catholic website Aleteia seemed to be a cut-and-dried example of a digital mob in action: A Seattle parish had posted a photo album on Facebook showing liturgical dance at Mass, including streamers and the sort of modern flourishes that make traditionalists see red.
\nSure enough, another Catholic site shared the album with the intent of making fun of the parish. But the online criticism quickly accelerated \u201cto particularly nasty allegations of heresy and satanic worship,\u201d as Bornhoft put it, plus personal attacks on the looks of the dancers.<\/p>\n

It got so bad that the parish deleted its Facebook page entirely, and it all prompted Bornhoft to do some soul-searching.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we feel the urge to make a nasty comment or post a scandalous photo of liturgical abuse online, we should ask ourselves whether it\u2019s love of the Church that is guiding our hearts, or a sense of entitled judgement,\u201d Bornhoft wrote in his essay last February, appropriately enough during the penitential season of Lent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

[Keep reading. . .]\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many Catholics are indulging in\u00a0\u201cliturgy shaming\u201d as a response to \u201cliturgical abuse.\u201d \u00a0That is, they are taking to the internet to mock and criticize priests whose liturgical innovations go beyond the pale (e.g., clown masses, Cheesehead liturgies, priests presiding while riding hoverboards or bicycles). \u00a0Such services are being called \u201cliturgical abuse,\u201d on the grounds that\u00a0they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1281,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,25,47],"tags":[1310,4849,2386],"class_list":["post-25221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","category-language","category-theology","tag-liturgy","tag-roman-catholics","tag-worship"],"yoast_head":"\n"Liturgy shaming" for "liturgical abuse"<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many Catholics are indulging 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