Please Stop Scaring the Clergy

Awhile back I had a delightful conversation with a certain padre, we’ll call him Padre Jo*. We were talking about Summorum Ponitficum, imagine that. Padre Jo loves the Extraordinary form and is thrilled to pieces over the MP. What he isn’t thrilled about are the tyrannical bat shit crazy Trads that have been unleashed on the clergy since the Motu Proprio came to be.

You know who I’m talking about. The kind of people that critiqued the way Fr. Bob* genuflected at mass but never bothered to consider the knee injury he received in the Navy. We wondered, do some of these people show up to mass with pencils and papers and make note of every mispronunciation and improper arm twitch?

Those are the kind of Catholics that Padre Jo and his counterparts are scared of, in their zeal they dampen any desire a priest may have to celebrate the Latin mass. Rumors of their existence are widespread, this vicious breed of Trad, and many a priest are afraid to even attempt to perform the extraordinary form publicly under such scrutiny of the ever watchful eyes of a hundred separate anti popes.

Can you honestly blame him?

I am sure some of these self proclaimed Liturgical Watchdogs have the best of intentions at heart, a love for the Liturgy. Others may be just stoking the fires of their own intellectual pride. Whatever the reasons, you’re scaring the clergy. Stop it! Bad Trad! Bad! Bad! Do not scare the clergy. We should all be united in the effort to see the extraordinary form brought back in abundance. Please stop countering these efforts by going bat shit crazy. Thank you.

*Names have been changed by request.