Well not this one and I have the stats to prove it.
An interesting comment on Loving it from someone who claims that those important people who go to meetings and make 'policy' do not now consider how their decisions will be played out on blogs.
That sounds like the a comment by the 'chaplain' of the Catholic secondary school where I was the Head of Music, who wanted the school's feast day Mass in the school hall rather than the church 5 mins down the road because her liturgical ideas we somewhat out there. A church a constricting location for Mass. Right...
Of course most of the Catholic constituency is beyond their reach anyway; they would be the millions of lapsed.
As to the bloggers many are in the world doing various important things - bringing up children, looking after sick parents, that sort of thing, invisible on the interweb.
Other invisible activities that carry on even when you break all the interweb everywhere are the stoic Catholics like me who will go to Mass every Sunday however awful. I can now attend a Mass and tune out completely everything that is being said, sung and done. ( I am lucky in that I don't have to do that very often, but know that if I had to, I would all the time.) I will forget to put money in various collections. ( My diocese allows ACTA to meet in Amigo Hall, so they don't need my money. ) I will turn out for the relics of Ste Thérèse of Lisieux however little publicity. I will turn up at Cofton park for the Beatification Mass, even when I have to leave at midnight and sit in a rainy field from before dawn. Lots of other things that really are invisible. Actions speak louder than words.
The reason St John Fisher and St Charles Borromeo are outstanding saints is because of what they did, who they are and because they stand in stark relief compared to their contemporaries.
Whilst Deacon Nick has been blogging, lots of other things have been happening. In five years, I have provided the music for over 300 EF Masses.
The parish have learnt another five ordinaries. Lots of other people have done lots of other things.
In his letters from prison, Blessed Titus Brandsma describes how he divides his day up into a monastic t/t. He just carried on his Carmelite life.
We should be under no illusions that within the company of Catholics we will be treated well. In my experience - that is a lifetime of going to Mass, 14 years a pupil in Catholic education, and 12 years as a teacher, that is precisely where you will have people at you all the time. No wonder it's so hard to get anything done. (Aside from my lovely choir and a few others, you try doing anything musical in the Catholic Church. Watch the queue of people forming to bash you over and over and over.) All whilst telling you how well we treat each other. Really? Not compared to where I have worked for nearly a decade. Not compared to orchestras I am in. I have a clearly defined role. I do it. I have authority over some matters. I use it. I defer to the decisions of others where they exercise authority. The allegedly hierarchical Catholic Church has people in positions of authority who do not use it when they ought and then when other people step into the vacuum seek to close them down. Some people really need to get out into the outside world.
