Moreover, if your bishop hates/and or is against the Extraordinary Form, should you really be attending it? He is your bishop.
In my particular case I have no idea if our bishop supports or discourages the TLM and can't even remember his name, frankly. In fact, the whole idea of "diocese" has no meaning to us whatsoever. We just seek (and hopefully) find a TLM within driving distance. I may or may not be aware of which diocese in which it resides. I'm not even registered in any parish. Guess we aren't supposed to be like that but we are.
For your Brick by Brick file.
Someone sent me news about a development in the Diocese of Greenburg.
Bishop Brandt implements Mass in extraordinary form in Latrobe
GREENSBURG — Bishop Lawrence E. Brandt announced that he is implementing the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form in the Diocese of Greensburg and has appointed Father Daniel C. Mahoney, V.F., pastor of Holy Family Parish, Latrobe, and Dean of Deanery 4, as the bishop’s representative for the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form.
This Mass will be celebrated at Holy Family Parish every Sunday as one of the parish’s regularly scheduled Masses.
The date of the first Mass in the extraordinary form and the regular starting time of the Mass are expected to be announced next month. This is the Roman Liturgy of 1962 which was promulgated by Pope John XXIII.
Bishop Brandt made the announcement Dec. 20 and said that the date of the first Mass in the extraordinary form will be set after Father Mahoney has completed the many preparations needed to celebrate the Mass in Latin, including recruiting and training Mass servers; organizing and training a choir; and securing other items such as a 1962 Roman Missal and altar cards, as well as other appointments necessary for this celebration.
Bishop Brandt’s announcement corresponds to a Vatican directive that instructed every Catholic diocese in the world to make the Mass in the extraordinary form available to the faithful.
[...]
A couple points should be made.
At first glance, this move seems to be a return to an obsolete model, the provisions of the now defunct Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei adflicta, which stated that the bishop makes the determination about all scheduling of the of the use of the older form of Holy Mass. That model was overturned with Summorum Pontificum, which states that pastors of parishes can make their own determinations about the use of the older forms.
In short, the bishop did not have to make this appointment so that the parish priest could start celebrating the older Mass regularly. The pastor could have done this on his own.
Fathers! You do not have to ask for permission. Okay? Read Summorum Pontificum.
After what I have been through and have seen I guess I am a little cynical when it comes to bishops. My first reaction was that the bishop’s unnecessary intervention was an attempt to control. Back in 2007 when Summorum Pontificum went into force it was amazing to see how many bishops who don’t like the traditional Roman forms were suddenly happy to implement the superseded Ecclesia Dei adflicta.
On reflection and some consultation, I think, rather, Bishop Brandt’s involvement is a sign of benevolent support. Note the last line I quoted from the longer story:
Bishop Brandt’s announcement corresponds to a Vatican directive that instructed every Catholic diocese in the world to make the Mass in the extraordinary form available to the faithful.
I don’t think such a line would have been included were this not a positive show of support.
Furthermore, from what I understand, Bishop Brandt has had an uphill battle in Greensburg.
So, while this seems somewhat more Ecclesia Dei adflicta than Summorum Pontificum I don’t think His Excellency is trying to deny the right of priests or lay people to getting Masses in the Usus Antiquior started. He is showing a strong support for getting at least one place up and running with the Usus Antiquior.