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| File Photo from Maundy Thursday, 2015 at Assumption Grotto |
It's not your imagination that this blog has 'resurrected' itself before Easter of 2025. It's been 8 years since I've posted here, but I feel compelled to offer some thoughts on a local subject in a way that can be shared.
Yesterday, April 16, 2025, the
Archdiocese of Detroit issued a statement regarding the celebration of Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) permissions expiring on July 1, 2025 in parish churches, with the exception being St. Joseph's downtown which is run by the ICKSP priests, and some possible regional celebrations outside of diocesan church buildings. It all stems from the Holy Father's 2021 Apostolic Letter,
Traditionis Custodis (TC)
.
I've known about this since April 9th as it came to me from someone who was at the meeting, but who was not affiliated with Assumption Grotto. I didn't say anything publicly because I didn't want to get ahead of my pastor, whom I presumed didn't want to get ahead of any official, public pronouncement by Archbishop Weisenburger. I also assumed my pastor wanted to get through Easter without the rush of panicked parishioners. I didn't even tell him that I knew about this.
I'm also aware of a letter to priests by the archbishop circulating online, but would prefer to not publish that at this time.
Why now?
I question the prudence of even saddling the priests with this highly sensitive subject ahead of one of the most stressful weeks in the priesthood and expecting word to not get out. One parish posted about it on their website and in their social media which then went viral in Catholic circles online on April 15th. This seemed to force the AoD to put out the statement with more details on April 16th, Spy Wednesday, during Holy Week. So, the jeannie is out of the bottle.
After some reflection this past week and reading the statement, I can only wonder if Archbishop Vigernon would have been able to renew the permissions, or not. At this time, I do not know if he had permission from the Holy See or if he extended permission of his own accord using his conscience and understanding of his rights as an archbishop under canon law. So, if Archbishop Vigneron had not been replaced by Archbishop Weisenburger, would we be in the same place on July 1st? Hopefully, if someone knows they can email me: TeDeumBlog (at) gmail (dot) com.
One thing I would caution people on is to avoid letting emotions lead to
rash judgment. There are simply some facts I do not have. Church teaching is clear: We cannot read the souls of any other person. I can't presume Archbishop Weisenburger is doing this out of spite, or out of any immoral reason without possibly committing rash judgment, or even engaging in objective calumny. I can't even judge him rashly on this matter because I disagree with some past statement he has made on a political figure, or on political topics, or even on other matters of faith where people might disagree; or because I believe him to be theologically incorrect on something (theoretically). I have to judge this issue by the facts I have about this issue. Given that the statement by the AoD follows TC to the letter, the only presumption I can make is that he believes this is how he must act. It doesn't mean I have to like it or agree with it, but it's the only way I see to avoid rash judgment.
Are you leaving Grotto for St. Joseph's?
Several people have asked me: Are you leaving Grotto for St. Joseph's? The answer is a resounding, "no". If I make it to heaven, I owe it to the priests and parishioners of Assumption Grotto. I will not abandon them over something outside of their control. Put another way, my love for the TLM does not surpass the love I have for the priests and people of my parish. Like many at Assumption Grotto, I have preferred the depth of words in the usus antiquior over the new Mass, but I often find myself at one of the other Mass time-slots for one reason or another. So I go to both forms, as do many others at the parish. In fact, the words in the 1962 Missal have given me a greater understanding of the Novus Ordo so, when I do go to it, I know more fully what is happening. This has been one of the fruits of the TLM.
Those of you in other parishes facing this decision of whether to abandon your current pastor and parish need to think about how life will be when that parish is closed because numbers fell below critical levels as families left for St. Joseph's or a regional site. This is nothing against St. Joseph's but they have a thriving community already.
Also, I do not want to go further into Detroit than I already am at Grotto. It's a 20 minute ride for me and just 2 miles into one of the worst zip-code in Michigan. We have security and I've never had an issue while there. But, I don't need a 40 minute ride with more distance in this zip-code. While the lot and streets people park on to go there are guarded, as well, I don't like the parking situation at St. Joseph's and I can't walk far, especially in cold weather due to asthma. My alternator died at Gratiot and State Fair one Sunday a few months back on the way to Grotto - that was bad enough. That's why I don't go to late night Masses anymore. Stuff happens. But I digress.
What about regional TLM's that Archbishop Weisenburger is considering?
TC allows for some celebrations of TLM's as long as they are not in a diocesan church, the way I understand it. So he is suggesting he will allow one such location in each region.
While this is well and good, there are several problems with this:
- First, it pulls people from their current parishes, potentially lowering numbers that could eventually lead to its closing.
- Second, since priests are tied up at their own parishes during regular Sunday morning Mass times and we are low on priests, I'm betting these regional Masses will be at off times as they were in the past, like at 2:00 in the afternoon. There's nothing like breaking up an entire Sunday just to have a TLM option. Forget family dinner - there's no time to cook, unless you like nuked, frozen dinners.
- Third, TLM's are often filled with sacred polyphony and Gregorian chant which relies on the superb acoustics in parish churches, especially older gothic ones. It's not the same in a small chapel or community building.
- Fourth, TLM's often use organ with similar acoustic effects which is a huge loss.
- Fifth, the feeling of regional TLM's basically feels like being told to go to the back of the bus and be grateful about it. If it feels like the back of a bus, it is the back of the bus.
What I'm praying for
I pray for the Holy Father to get a better understanding of the TLM community than someone has given him. I pray his successor will reverse TC if he doesn't. TC is one of the most unmerciful and uncharitable Apostolic Letters I've read and I cannot relate to the concerns he has raised through it in my experience with the TLM community.
I pray that Archbishop Weisenburger will consult with his fellow Michigan bishops, some of whom know Detroit very well. "Listening sessions" are buzzwords of the day. I pray the archbishop will come into our sheep-pens to see we do not smell any more than any other sheep. There is the TLM community at St. Joseph's, but there is another community outside of St. Joseph's. The latter is broken-up into more communities - the one at Assumption Grotto, the Oakland County Latin Mass Association, and the many ordinary parishes that offer an occasional TLM. It is actually one TLM community, but there are some slight cultural nuances within them. I've never studied it in depth, but I just know it's there. Personally, I think they are all good and I know people in all of them, and have visited at times. Some prefer one over the other just as other Catholics prefer one parish community over another. My point is that St. Joseph's does not represent the TLM community as a whole.
I pray the archbishop will recognize that for every caustic-crank he can find in a TLM community, we can introduce him to one caustic-crank in a non-TLM community. For any one person in the TLM communities who might reject the Novus Ordo, we can find ten at any other community who reject dogmas, doctrine, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church openly in their parishes (mostly through ignorance, but some willfully). For any one TLM-goer who has a misunderstanding of worship, we can find someone in the charismatic community who is equally confused, but in a different way. I could go on, but I think you get the gist of it.
I pray the archbishop will get to know where all of the SSPX chapels are in southeast Michigan, including those that may be bordering the AoD. Equally, I pray he gets to know about the many churches with traditional trappings around town that are in varying degrees of schism. I personally know a lapsed Catholic who went to the schismatic chapel not far from me because she had a desire to return to Church and the traditional nature of it lured her. But, it then left her scandalized with what she experienced there until I explained they left Rome so long ago the last pope they recognized died many decades ago. I don't think she ever returned fully because she couldn't find a TLM close to her and did not want to drive through unsafe neighborhoods. The
Polish National Church is in town too, and there are others. I question whether any diocese in the world has more in one area than do we. The AoD may lose some people who don't understand the nature of these churches if TC is followed to the letter, and/or by not finding a way to renew permissions. What one pope binds another could loosen, but the damage will already be done. We could dismiss these lambs as being weak of faith in leaving for places like this, but do they not need the care of a patient shepherd who will work through this weakness rather than try to take away the one thing that has them in the right place for that care?
How I'm going forward
I'm not going to let emotions guide me or rule me despite the pain and the feeling of being in a class of people very misunderstood by the Church hierarchy, going all the way up to the Holy Father. The baby is being thrown out with the bath water, to be sure.
But, my belief is that it is ever more important for all of us affected to remain pure and humble as we discuss it because the Holy Spirit can do more to fix what is broke this way than if we try to wield a sword. Jesus did not want to be defended this way, nor should we use the sword of our tongue to deal with this. This is outside of our control. I know it's outside of my pastor's control. And what I don't know is if it is outside of the archbishop's control (in the absence of some aforementioned information). All I have left is to seek the truth, appeal to reason, pray and fast, and be grateful Assumption Grotto has a most reverent Latin Novus Ordo. Then, leave it to the Holy Spirit and to the Blessed Mother, who has a way of helping shepherds who don't understand a part of their flock.
I don't need to crowd Fr. John over this as I still believe he will bring it up at a time of his choosing. This is an exhausting week - he doesn't need emotional people hitting him with something not in his control and no amount of huffing and puffing is going to change what is happening.
I do know this much. Archbishop Weisenburger is my bishop. Despite differences of opinion we may have on things where people can disagree, he is the bishop we have to work with. Fr. John Bustamante is my pastor and I've known him long enough to know he is an obedient son of the Church. He will also do as he is told, even if he doesn't like it, and he will do it with grace as I've always seen him do. I plan to act on grace too and humbly accept the liturgy that he and the retired priests there can offer us.
Keep calm, and carry on. That is what I plan to do - all the while praying for the Holy Father, the archbishop, my pastor, parishioners and all affected by this very sad development.
[post updated for clarity]
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