Mary Kochan has her head screwed on right

So she doesn’t waste any time at all worrying about curial appointments because she has real things to do in the real world that need her attention and so does not live in the fantasy world of people who believe that by griping in a combox or predicting certain doom for the Church if so and so get such and such and appointment then all is lost (or saved).

One of the many evils to befall the Church in our time has been the birth of the Internet-based Curia Fretter Community, busying itself with checking the pulse of crap it can do nothing about and has no business worrying about anyway. A huge timesuck and waste of energy. I can think of no more useless waste of time than laypeople having panic attacks about curial appointments they cannot influence or change and speculating about outcomes they cannot foresee or alter. All it leads to is evil gossip and worry about the future. “What is that to thee? Follow thou me” are the operative Dominical words here. Incredibly, when I said as much, a panicker replied, “I can think of no more useless waste of time than [Catholics] having panic attacks about [secular developments] they cannot influence or change and speculating about outcomes they cannot foresee or alter. All it leads to is evil gossip and worry about the future.”

Rubbish. Precisely what we lay people can influence are secular developments since our proper sphere of influence is the world, which we are to teach, govern and sanctify after we leave Mass. In the liturgy, the priest (not you or I) presides. But in the world, we laity preside. To waste enormous time on the absolutely futile hobby of bitching about stuff we have absolutely no power (or business) wasting time on is a dereliction of duty from what is properly our sphere as laity.

To which the panicker replied that if Francis appointed so and so to such and such a position the Eucharist will surely be desecrated by this evil bishop.

Yeah. Because only somebody having hysterics in a combox can save the Eucharist from desecration at the hands of evil Pope Francis’ wicked minions. No hubristic messianic fantasies there.