 |
| Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB |
With a heavy heart, I have recently made a difficult decision concerning the new English missal.
I have decided to withdraw from all my upcoming speaking engagements on the Roman Missal in dioceses across the United States.
After talking with my confessor and much prayer, I have concluded that I cannot promote the new missal translation with integrity. I’m sure bishops want a speaker who can put the new missal in a positive light, and that would require me to say things I do not believe.
.
Link (here) to the full open letter by Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB published at America the leading Jesuit publication in the English speaking world. Fr. Ruff is the publisher of a website Pray Tell which focuses on Catholic liturgy
5 comments:
Fr. Ruff should put the missal in a positive light and say things that he does not believe.
There are values that are more important than truth and integrity.
There has always been scandal in the Holy See. There have always been structural problems in the authority of the church. There have always been secret, top-down impositions by an unaccountable central Church authority.
Nothing has really changed.
And there is still a need for those who would communicate God’s values – and that includes those who are role-models for good judgment. Such judgments must weigh trade-offs and try to maximize the good, rather than simply leave the Church to those whose values do not really reflect God’s values.
TonyD well said - given this logic we should ask Fr. Ruff why he is a priest given he admits to not believing in what he is saying.
Thank your Fr. Ruff--you are an example of priestly service for truth and conscience.
When the new missal becomes mandatory to use in the novus ordo, will Fr. Ruff not be able to celebrate the Mass with integrity? In that case, perhaps he should start learning how to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Fr. Ruff is a whiner. He's the kid who, when he doesn't get his way in the local pick-up game of baseball at the park, quits and takes his bat and ball home with him. He's confusing ideological intransigence with a principled conscience.
Saying the Mass with integrity is unimportant relative to being a role-model for God’s values and judgment. That teaching role is far more important than the integrity involved. There are very few role-models for values, and even fewer for judgment.
Describing him as a “quitter” is incorrect. Rather, he is coming to a judgment that is incorrect.
Clearly, he cares about truth and personal integrity. And he is concerned about making the Church more perfect. He fails to properly weigh the importance of his role, and that leads him to a judgment that is mistaken. He underestimates his ability to help others. I should say that especially because he would make this mistake in judgment, he is in a position to help others.
Post a Comment