[redgolum]

Perhaps I wasn't enough. Let me explain.

If I was to wander to each parish off the street with out looking at the billboard, I would have a hard time believing they were the same denomination. One has kneeler's and a crucifix, the other doesn't even have a permanent cross near the altar. One at least makes an attempt at looking like a RCC church, the other I honestly thought we had wandered into the Presbyterian church across the street (and my apologies to the Presbyterians.)

My LCMS church looks more Roman Catholic than that! We have kneeler's, crucifixes, and don't decorate the church in pastels! If you compare this to the churches (LCMS and RCC) from where we met (Lincoln NE), I just have to wonder how much unity the various Catholic diocese's have between each other, never mind Rome.

[annalex]

That is true, and the fact that some parishes do not have a reverent mass even in Novus Order is very unfortunate. But schism is a term of art, it means validity of the sacraments and communion with Rome. Those wild parishes with clown masses and what have you, -- we don't like them, I avoid them, but they are not in schism. Again, the Easter rites also look not recognizable to an average American Catholic, who only knows Latin rite. If you wandered into an Eastern rite Catholic church you'd think it is an Orthodox church. So what you see and hear per se is not a criterion of Catholicity.

To say otherwise is to say that the look and feel defines the Church. In fact, the sacraments define the Church.

Now, an individual mass may be rendered invalid, for example, if improper elements are used for Communion. I strongly suspect that clown masses are invalid. But the parish as a whole remains Catholic, unless the priest is defrocked and the Church is closed down.