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James H Dobbins, PhD's avatar

This document, besides its lack of precedent as noted below, has some hidden bombshells like, "Given the Church’s internal tensions, the final document calls for “clarity and transparency on who can decide which issue should be handled locally, regionally or universally.” They have been working on this for almost three years and still lack clarity and transparency? Do they think that will just magically happen? I thought Jesus decided a long time ago who it was who has the decisional authority in the Church, the one on whom Jesus built His Church (it is still His), and it should be him, and he alone, who decides who can handle which kinds of issues and where. The question is, do we have a Pope with big boy pants who is willing and able to make those decisions and steer the barque of Peter, or do we have to wait for another?

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fr Tad's avatar

Liturgy should not just reflect community tensions, or tensions among sectors of the church. It should be warmly celebrated, but also structured enough, formal enough, without being formally stiff, not so much to expose tensions and weaknesses as to stress the merciful and elevating presence of Christ, and the efficacy of his redemptive graces. Which is why certain kinds of music or certain musical instruments, should not be part of liturgy. Music should enhance the different main functions of liturgical actions, in a spiritually edifying way, so. that its performance is an organic and uplifting process, and, hopefully, powerful as a kind of spiritual and moral grace-conveying therapy that raises its participants above their secular dynamics and concerns, inwardly tends to free them from these.

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