Knock kerfuffle

From a reader:

People,

I very much regret having to bring this to your attention, but it is something I have to do.

Today at Knock, Father John Loftus celebrated the annual Extraordinary Form Mass at the Shrine. Father Wulfran Lebocq ICRSS sat in the sanctuary and assisted with communion. The Mass was served by John Heneghan and an Institute of Christ the King seminarist. At communion, John Heneghan held the paten for Father Lebocq as he distributed communion. So far, so good.

As happens frequently at extraordinary form Masses, particularly in places where they take place rarely, a number of communicants will stick out their hands. The vast majority of these have no problem receiving in the tongue when they see that this is the rule in the extraordinary form. One man at the Mass today was not prepared to do so. Father Lebocq discreetly asked him to open his mouth and received the reply "You're in Ireland now", which aside being racist is ignorant of the fact that the Irish Bishops applied the indult allowing communion in the hand much later here than most episcopal conferences in western Europe had done so. Following that, he grabbed a host from the ciborium which was thrown on the floor. Some people took him into the sacristy to restrain him from causing another scene in the church, though he protested that he was being held against his will. He was informed that the exit door of the sacristy was open and he was free to leave, but not to return to the church. He intends to protest to Archbishop Neary about the way he was treated. My understanding is that he is a laicised priest.

First of all both Father Lebocq and John Heneghan conducted themselves very well in the circumstances, but both are understandably very upset. ... [Personal e-mail information edited out by Rorate] I wish to express my utter gratitude and admiration for their behavior in this most testing of circumstances. Secondly, I wish that this sort of incident should not happen again at any venue in which an extraordinary form Mass takes place and so I am open to any suggestions or feedback. Thirdly, I will work with John to see that the Tuam Archdiocesan authorities and those at Knock Shrine to see the entire matter is understood in its proper context. There were several Masses at Knock Shrine today where this man could have received communion in the hand - some going on in the basilica and other chapels of the Shrine at the same time and 364 days of the year, no public extraordinary form Mass takes place publicly in Knock.

My dearest hope is that this incident never repeats itself, anywhere. I have not known anything of the sort to take place at an extraordinary form Mass in Ireland since 1984.

In Domino & Domina,

Peadar Laighléis

President

Latin Mass Society of Ireland.