The Pope Bans Enjoyment of Catholic Faith

No Clapping, Dancing at Mass, Vatican to Warn
Tue September 23, 2003 10:07 AM ET
By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - No dancing in the aisles or applause in church, please, we're Catholic. And we'd prefer altar boys to altar girls.

Those are some of the warnings contained in the draft of a document the Vatican is preparing to crack down on what it considers "liturgical abuses" of the mass, the focus of Roman Catholic worship.

According to the authoritative Italian Roman Catholic monthly magazine "Jesus," a draft document urges the faithful to notify their bishop or the Vatican to report suspected abuses.

The magazine released an advance text of the article which will feature in its October edition.

If issued in its draft form, the document, known as a directive, could have wide-ranging ramifications on some worship practices that have come into common use in many developed countries, particularly the United States and in western Europe.

According to the magazine, the draft says the use of girl altar servers should be avoided "unless there is a just pastoral cause" and that "priests should never feel obliged to seek girls for this function."

The Vatican in 1994 gave individual bishops the power to decide whether to allow altar girls in their dioceses. But some conservative Catholics are against altar girls, saying their presence has eroded a traditional recruiting ground for priests.

Traditionalists have also seen altar girls as a foot in the door to a female priesthood, which the church bans.

Italian media reported that the initial reaction to the draft, circulated to the world's bishops, has been negative and the document may have to be at least partially modified.

The draft document also discourages applause during masses and "dances inside the sacred building."

Ironically, Pope John Paul's sermons during masses, even those in St Peter's Basilica, are often interrupted by applause.

Some of the pope's masses in Rome and around the world have included dancing, particularly those celebrations marking Asian, African or Latin American events.

The document, drafted by two Vatican departments which oversee doctrine and liturgy, was ordered by the pope who will eventually have to approve a final version.

The draft also warns against the use of non-Biblical language during the mass, such as readings from poets.

It discourages the practice where the faithful receive the wafer and wine at communion.

Catholics believe Christ is present in the wafer and wine but the document says it is preferable just to receive the wafer.

"Self-service" communion is also frowned upon. This appeared to be a reference to the faithful taking the consecrated host directly from the chalice instead of receiving it on their tongue from the hand of a priest.

reuters.com...

since when was Catholicism enjoyable anyway? in my 15 years of masses I experienced nothing but boredom.

edit: also, parishes have had altar girls long before 1994. I was an altar girl, and it was definitely before 1994.

[Edited on 9/24/2003 by MorningtonCrescent]

Originally posted by MorningtonCrescent
since when was Catholicism enjoyable anyway? in my 15 years of masses I experienced nothing but boredom.

Enjoying being Catholic?? Oh no...that would be something else to feel guilty over...



...yup, I'm a 'recovering Catholic' Though the Church I went to (and still attend with my folks whenever I visit them) would likely be considered outrageous under these new rules/proposals...the Church as an altar girl and an altar boy, has 'happy clappy' songs that the congregation gets into and has fun with.

...and shock horror it even has a few guys cranking out the accompaning music on electric lead and bass guitars...during the lead-up to the Xmas Mass there was some mighty fine jazzy bass guitar riffs, popping and slapping etc going on, the lead guitarist even ripped off a few mean 'pinch harmonics' and finger-tapping with some of the Xmas songs...not to mention many of the old songs being adapted into a native language...

Don't think the Pope would approve of that...or maybe he woulda twisted his cap to the back, snatched up the mic, and represented with some phat beat-box...before dropping to the floor and busting out a few sick windmill combos finishing off with a full inverted flare, b-boy style...

Originally posted by alien
Don't think the Pope would approve of that...or maybe he woulda twisted his cap to the back, snatched up the mic, and represented with some phat beat-box...before dropping to the floor and busting out a few sick windmill combos finishing off with a full inverted flare, b-boy style...

hell, if that happened, even I'd to back to church!

Wait, an all male golf club gets sued for it wouldn't let women in and the women won it. Yet the church is allowed to discriminate millions of women everywhere simply because they are women? Wait, a golf course doesn't allow women, they sued, the church doesn't allow women, then rapes alter boys, and everything is okie dokie?

Hmmm, what the Frock?

Depends how you see it I guess. Evangels get excited by it, sometime too excited. Frankly I like it a little sedate myself.

Why did you bring this up Satyr, when's the last time you set foot in a church?

I suppose I'm a recovering catholic too. Attended till about 14 to a church right across the road. This is one of the things that made first start to seriously question it. They would be singing hymns about rejoicing and celebrating Christ etc and that would e the last thing they were doing. Monotone singing and reserved sermons didn't seem like rejoicing to me. Its really stupid when they want people back in the church, the services I've been to when everyone was singing and dancing and enjoying themselves were great, and always full.

by THENEO
Why did you bring this up Satyr

Because this is a DISCUSSION SITE.

Since when has Christianity ever been a jpyful, happy religion?

My experiences with it were all depressing, panicky, miserable, painful. Christianity is a religion that basically praises death, blood, sacrifice, pain, and suffering, while on the same hand condemns joy, pleasure, happiness, and love of self and humanity.

And of course, is terriblty unbalanced. Only male priests? Christianity cuts out the female spiritual side, which is one reason it lacks. Like islam and Judism, the big htree were started in a patriarichal extreme. Every other religion in the world has had a female half to it, the religions were balanced and whole, that no one was really left out. And while those religions aknowldge pain, death, ect as parts of life and sometimes necessary, they also aknowledge pleasure, happiness, joy, merriment, and the need to find joy in life. They are balanaced, and thus, have had little problems in maintaing thier flocks.

Christianity, on the other hand, is unbalanced and dark sided, and thus, has to force by sword of fear membership and keeping people there, otherwise, it would die out.