Father Orsy At St John The Baptist

Yesterday the periodical "Our Parish Times" was distributed with the parish bulletins.  On page 7 appeared an article on the address given by Father Landislas Orsy, SJ, at St John the Baptist Church in Silver Spring.  I saw he that he is currently at Georgetown.  Right there the combination of "Jesuit" and "Georgetown" raised the proverbial red flags.  The address focused on the Vatican II Council, but first I'll give some other details about his publicized opinions.

I blogged previously on the courageous action of Bishop Thomas Olmsted in pronouncing excommunication on Sister Margaret Mary McBride for her direct aiding and abetting of abortion.  In America magazine (where else?) Father "declared" that excommunication to be "null and void".  I believe the Vatican has given their opinion on this excommunication, but I'll elaborate at the end of this post.

Two months ago America interviewed Father for his comments regarding the council.  Notice how he defines an "ecumenical council" as "human reality and saving mystery".  Hmmm - a rather curious definition for an "ecumenical council"; one might call it overly lofty.  But that's not all!  It's a "tsunami of the faith"!  Why is it that so many people like to co-opt the word "tsunami" for their own pet fantasies?  Now listen closely at the 11:00 mark; it seems that he is claiming that the bishops operate independently of the Holy Father.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.

I am not at all surprised that this church would invite him to offer commentary.  Several years ago I had to attend Mass at St John the Baptist.  Right from the beginning I knew I was in for an atrocity.  Immediately after the priest processed in, he stated that before he would begin Mass, we all had to "greet" each other.  Immediately the musicians broke out into a piece that I can only describe as lounge/elevator music while people milled about the nave, back-slapping and howdy-doing each other.  I cringed, and the worst was yet to come.  It turns out that during that very Mass a little girl was making her First Holy Communion.  She looked like the typical First Communicant with white dress and veil.  As Father began the Canon, he caller her to join him beside the altar.  He then asked her to "help" him with the words of the Consecration!  Naturally her family and most of the congregation were all smiles and giggles over this blasphemy.  Of course the little girl was innocent in all of this; in fact, it was she who was the most ill-served in all of this as she received an abysmal example of how to trivialize Mass - and at a time that should have been one of the most holy in her life.

Here is the news regarding Bishop Olmsted to which I alluded earlier.  The Vatican Insider reports that he is slated to become the new Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Religious Life.  No doubt the Vatican approves of Bishop Olmsted's handling of the Sister McBride scandal (no doubt to Father Orsy's chagrin).  In his new role, Bishop Olmsted will have much influence over the governance of Catholic religious life.  While the Diocese of Phoenix will miss him, we know that Sister McBride, Sister Simone Campbell, and the rest of that cabal will be quaking in their polyester pant suits - and hopefully come to repentance.