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If you've seen Leni Riefenstahl's film "Triumph of Will," you will see young people weeping as Hitler passed by. My point is not that the Pope is like Hitler, but that good men and bad can have charisma. It is a gift, that's all, it proves nothing. It can be used for good or for bad. What is important is the message, and I don't think in this case it's getting through to young people. They don't need more rock and roll and woodstocks, they need the Gospel preached to them in more churches, they need to be taught the basic truths of the faith--which I know first hand they aren't getting like past generations.

Where is Amchurch taking us? Just look around. The old Mass is gone. The old saints are out. The rosary is out. The kneelers are going. The tabernacle is tucked away out of sight. Catholics are singing "Amazing Grace" and "Rock of Ages" at the Novus Ordo. The new liturgy itself suppresses all awareness of the Real Presence. Genuflections are out. Communion is in the hands. Thomas Cranmer pulled this in England in 1552. Little by little the old faith was stripped away. After the first few shocks, the English were conditioned to accept anything.

"Where is Amchurch taking us? Just look around."

I have. I've seen it. I've seen the suburbanite, blend in the crowd types swallow the current @#$% hook, line and sinker.

I've seen the independant, think for yourself types resist and make a difference - and somewhat be shunned.

"The old Mass is gone." - not totally. It's creeping back, slowly, but surely.

"The old saints are out." - which old saints? I see no evidence of that, but I have grown up in a sheltered archdiocese.

"The rosary is out." - said every Saturday afternoon in my parents' parish, led by a couple of little old ladies. That's their job.

"The kneelers are going." - not where I am. The fight to get them repaired right and well was ferocious. Some of the weathlier people wanted to do a half-asked job.

"The tabernacle is tucked away out of sight." - not anymore. Our archbishop ordered all of them back to their rightful place. Smack dab in the middle behind the altar.

"Catholics are singing "Amazing Grace" and "Rock of Ages" at the Novus Ordo." Amazing Grace on the bagpipes is unparalleled. At Mass, I could take it or leave it, but on a tall ship as the rig is being hoisted...sends chills down your spine.

"The new liturgy itself suppresses all awareness of the Real Presence" - not having experienced the old, I have no way of knowing.

"Genuflections are out." - only for people with bad knees. Like a few I can name who literally can't get down there.

"Communion is in the hands." - this one I actually like. It came here the year after I made my First Communion.

I guess, after having been in His Holiness's presence, and yes, I confess, having hero worship, I see nothing wrong with youth loving him. The last 20 or so years, we've watched the church pull back from at least some of the insanity of the immediate post-Vatican II shocks. At least, IMO, that's happened. And things are going more conservative, it's just going to be gradual. The more liberal teaching orders are dying out. Now that the seminaries have been exposed, hopefully, they'll be cleaned up. The laity will probably have to prompt this one. That shouldn't have to be, but if we want to save the church, basically from itself, we can't slip away. We have to fight the evil forces.

Oops. I got on a roll. Sorry.

"Where is Amchurch taking us? Just look around. The old Mass is gone. The old saints are out. The rosary is out. The kneelers are going. The tabernacle is tucked away out of sight. Catholics are singing "Amazing Grace" and "Rock of Ages" at the Novus Ordo. The new liturgy itself suppresses all awareness of the Real Presence. Genuflections are out. Communion is in the hands. Thomas Cranmer pulled this in England in 1552. Little by little the old faith was stripped away. After the first few shocks, the English were conditioned to accept anything."

Fortunately for most of us, these depredations have not taken place. We may have the N/O Mass, but it reverently celebrated, sometimes even in Latin. We don't sing Amazing Grace and Rock of Ages (nice, but Protestant, of course), The Real Presence is in the tabernacle behind the altar, we receive Communion on the tongue if we wish, we genuflect and kneel, and would be severely out of place if we stood during the Consecration. We have Benediction in Latin. Rosaries are carried everywhere, prayed frequently, and old saints are honored along with new ones.

I'm sorry if you have had some of the bitter experiences you list above, but the real Catholic Church is alive in America in the hearts of those who are willing to drive a few miles to find a reverent, faithful priest. We attended Mass in Wilber NB on Sunday (Lincoln Diocese). The priest announced before Mass that only faithful Catholics with "proper disposition" would be invited up to receive Communion. It was amazing to see how many people stayed in their seats.

I hope you find a good parish and a holy priest. Sounds like you care a lot. God bless.

Where is Amchurch taking us? Just look around. The old Mass is gone. The old saints are out. The rosary is out. The kneelers are going. The tabernacle is tucked away out of sight. Catholics are singing "Amazing Grace" and "Rock of Ages" at the Novus Ordo. The new liturgy itself suppresses all awareness of the Real Presence. Genuflections are out. Communion is in the hands.

Dear Ultima Ratio,

You have missed out on some of our heated debates on this issue. I am posting a link to the USCCB web site which provides the proper norms for church architecture and liturgical music. It may surprise you to learn that "kneelers" are NOT OUT and Tabernacles are to retain a place of prominence. What has happened though, is that certain bishops have "interpreted" these norms to suit their personal taste. I am also posting a 2nd link to the web site of a very disgruntled catholic who travels around the country, videotaping Fr. Dr. Vosko, the "wreckovator" of cathedrals. Both are worth the visit:

Guidelines of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops

DOMUS DEI - HOUSE OF GOD