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The Way to The End
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Showing posts with label polemics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label polemics. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Saturday, May 25, 2013
Fr. Z Again: Contrasting Orthodox and Really Bad Catholic Liturgy
Fr. Z has posted a youtube video that ostensibly compares the modern Roman Rite with the Orthodox Byzantine liturgy. The video contrasts clips from the services for Great and Holy Friday in Christ the Savior Cathedral with clips from a "pontifical" Mass from the Archdiocese of LA. It goes without saying that the video was intended as a polemical shot at the Romans. My guess is that Fr. Z saw it as reinforcing his longstanding crusade to restore dignity to the Western liturgy.
As for the video itself, it is grossly biased. On "our side" the producer shows one of the most solemn services of the year being done by the Patriarch of Moscow. And let's be frank here. Say what you will about the Russians, but they do know how to do liturgy right. For "their side" he chooses a liturgy in probably the worst run and most liberal diocese in North America. Not surprising the comments on Fr. Z's post reflect sadness and indignation at everything from the fact that such a liturgical travesty was possible in the Roman Church, to the obviously cherry picked scenes chosen for contrast.
I give it an A for propaganda and polemics. and an A+ for tragic comedy. But for fairness and accuracy it gets a C-. It would have been far better to contrast a typical OCA parish liturgy with a typical Novus Ordo Mass. Of course even that sort of comparison would likely have been jarring for many Catholics. The sad truth is that the once great Western Liturgical Tradition has been battered in the wake of Vatican II. That's not hyperbole or a polemical attack. It is simply an observation of fact. And to the extent that Fr. Z has posted this silly video to drive home the point, I can't argue with him.
I also note from one of the comments that apparently there is a companion video of the same sort which may be seen here.
As for the video itself, it is grossly biased. On "our side" the producer shows one of the most solemn services of the year being done by the Patriarch of Moscow. And let's be frank here. Say what you will about the Russians, but they do know how to do liturgy right. For "their side" he chooses a liturgy in probably the worst run and most liberal diocese in North America. Not surprising the comments on Fr. Z's post reflect sadness and indignation at everything from the fact that such a liturgical travesty was possible in the Roman Church, to the obviously cherry picked scenes chosen for contrast.
I give it an A for propaganda and polemics. and an A+ for tragic comedy. But for fairness and accuracy it gets a C-. It would have been far better to contrast a typical OCA parish liturgy with a typical Novus Ordo Mass. Of course even that sort of comparison would likely have been jarring for many Catholics. The sad truth is that the once great Western Liturgical Tradition has been battered in the wake of Vatican II. That's not hyperbole or a polemical attack. It is simply an observation of fact. And to the extent that Fr. Z has posted this silly video to drive home the point, I can't argue with him.
I also note from one of the comments that apparently there is a companion video of the same sort which may be seen here.
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