[ninenot]

I'm not as easily convinced.

While a patriarchate is the easy solution, that's not necessarily the best solution. Balkanizing the Roman Catholic church will make the Church like, ah, the Balkan states.

And it will take a fair amount of capital to effect this, albeit such will be 'in-house' trading with no immediate net effects.

I'd rather work towards some sort of unification. Wouldn't bother me to see those who are NOT going with Rome to depart--make it simple and sweet. And that would be from both sides of the table.

[sinkspur]

I'd rather work towards some sort of unification. Wouldn't bother me to see those who are NOT going with Rome to depart--make it simple and sweet. And that would be from both sides of the table.

You know that is not John Paul II's style. He will go after the one sheep to the point of exhaustion.

I'd guess that there will not be the luxury of "anathemas" from either side, for a very long time from the successors of JP II.

The Hound of Heaven will pursue every soul.

We MUST facilitate His delicate touch.

[JNB]

I agree here, having a seperate rite for the Tridentine mass would further balkanise the church and also further hamper efforts to restore reverence to the Novus Ordo. One thing about traditionalists, who have used the internet to get organised in many cases, is they have lit a fire under the back end of many to improve the present liturgical situation.

While having a seperate rite would have some advantages for traditional Catholics, such as the ability to set up shop whereever they want, more resources to gain more vocations and ordain more and more priests, it would not be good for the overall chruch, and it would derail overall liturgical restoration. The reason why Catholics did not have their right to kneel for communion taken away was because traditional leaning Catholics attending the Novus Ordo wrote many letters to Rome, this very well may not have happened if they were attending Tridentine only parish'.

[Tantumergo]

"While a patriarchate is the easy solution, that's not necessarily the best solution. Balkanizing the Roman Catholic church will make the Church like, ah, the Balkan states."

I can see a lot of merit in what sinkspur is proposing - not least that the seeds of a traditional Patriarchate are already there: the arrangements that have been made for Bishop Rifan and the priests of the Diocese of Campos in Brazil.

It need not "Balkanize" the Church any more than the existence of all the Eastern Catholic Churches does.

If a traditional Patriarchate was allowed to operate world-wide, I think you would find that it would cause the N.O. bishops to take their own liturgy more seriously. Where there was a legitimate orthodox option for Latin Rite Catholics, it would be the worst N.O. dioceses that would suffer most in terms of loss of parishioners and income.

A vital and thriving Tridentine Rite could have a very beneficial effect on the future development of the N.O.

(If sinks had been drinking, I was going to ask him for the recipe ;)!)