To Give a Defense
Deacon Sandy Sites
If bishops are going to exercise discipline (rightly) against abuses that occur at the Latin Mass, then they need to exercise equal discipline against those that occur at the Novus Ordo.
Case in point: Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. The parish is under the direction of Deacon Sandy Sites. Pat Archbold has been following the story on his blog Creative Minority Report; and you can read his two primary posts here and here.
In case you have not heard about it, Mr. Archbold has all the details, but the gist is this. Deacon Sandy put out a video (watch it on the first of the two posts at CMR) in which he details some of the “unique” aspects one can find at Good Shepherd. The list reads like a very encyclopedia of “Spirit of Vatican II” abuses of the sacred nature of the Mass. They are these.
1. No kneelers. Deacon Sandy justifies their absence under the logic that “we stand for the president.” But sorry: President Obama is not the same as Christ (for which we should all be grateful); and before Christ we kneel. When the president enters the room, we stand because that prepares us to run far away.
2. Open chitchat prior to Mass; a time at which, according to what Sacrosanctum Concilium actually said, there should be the silence of recollection to bring us into the presence of Christ. People can be “in communion with each other” after Mass, once they have first come into communion with Christ. Our communion with Christ is primary.
3. The gross corruption of sacred space with audio visual material to illustrate the homily. This is not a movie theater or a power point presentation; this is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
4. The presence (as a later video shows) of cartoons on the wall where the Stations of the Cross would normally go. The cartoons depict the parable of the sheep and the goats.
5. A novel addition that Deacon Sandy refers to as a “pre-Mass,” never authorized as a part of the liturgy.
6. Bowing not just to Christ in the Eucharist but also to “the assembly,” under the theory that one is bowing to the Christ that is in them. The difference, which Deacon Sandy does not acknowledge, is that Christ is present body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Eucharist (which is why we bow). Whereas, He is not so present in people (which is why we don’t bow to them). People are not transubstantiated into Christ; nor are they equal to Christ.
7. Asking for extra voluntary prayers (by show of hands and shout-out, I guess) after the normal recitation of the Prayers of the Faithful. Once more, this is a novel and unauthorized addition to the liturgy.
8. Use of bread rather than hosts, on the strange theory that ministers are able to “enter more fully” into the consecration when their hands have actually baked the bread. I’m not sure what theological school supports this notion that a priest enters the consecration more fully when his hands have baked the bread as well as merely confected it. Just turning it into the body and blood of Christ is not enough, it seems.
Deacon Sandy was embarrassed enough by the negative publicity this video got on Creative Minority Report that he asked Mr. Archbold to take it down so that he could enter a time of deeper prayer, reflection, and repentance.
But the deacon is now back from his penance. What good has it done him? Well, in the video to your left, he can be seen using those same audio-visual materials to show the sparse crowd a picture of Pope Benedict XVI. The pope is wearing red shoes and—imagine this!—Deacon Sandy actually mocks the pope emeritus for being more concerned about flair of vestments than charity toward the poor. The “crowd” dutifully laughs at the pope.
It was a shameless display of disrespect to Benedict. But Deacon Sandy’s excuse to Mr. Archbold was that he was entirely innocent and did not know that the man in the red shoes and cassock was the pope. (Who else could it have been? Dorothy? Little Red Riding Hood?) Deacon Sandy says he just did a Google search for “fine vestments” and found that picture with no indication at all of who it could be.
But a friend of mine on Facebook ran that very same Google search and found the same picture used by Deacon Sandy. Take a look at it.
You’ll need to click on the image to enlarge it, but you can clearly see that the picture indicates that the man in question is Pope Benedict. One would not like to accuse a deacon of lying, but lying does very much come to one’s mind.
Keep in mind: Deacon Sandy also told Mr. Archbold that he simply cannot afford kneelers; although, the video says that the kneelers were removed precisely so that one could stand to honor Christ. The two stories are at odds.
If traditionally-minded Catholics have it in their mind that this is what a Novus Ordo parish is like, it is no surprise that they seek refuge in the Extraordinary Form. It is no surprise they have the passion they do. This is the kind of—excuse me for being blunt—crap that bishops need to stamp down, immediately and clearly and with no apology. The bishop should investigate, and discipline Deacon Sandy Sites, and ensure that no more outrages and abuses occur at Good Shepherd. Repairing the liturgy there would be the right first step.
You can reach Deacon Sandy Sites at sitess@archmil.org, or by calling 1-262-255-2035.
You can also contact the Archbishop:
Most Rev. Jerome E. Listecki
Archbishop of Milwaukee
archbishoplistecki@archmil.org.
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