Over the course of about forty years of liturgical abuse, with all of its narcissism and ancient heresies packaged up in hip, "new age" clothes, I have often thought it would be helpful if Catholic laymen had some easy to use calculator that would help them determine how much or little they would contribute to their local parish, based on the quality of services offered.
Such a calculator would take into consideration the quality of liturgical celebrations and their faithfulness to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. The calculator might permit one to base contributions on a fixed percentage of family income and then calculate how much of that to give when one considers the quality of preaching and sacred music, the availability of the sacraments and devotions, the beauty of sacred objects and vessels, and the solemnity and reverence with which the sacraments are administered.
Other considerations in determining one's support might include the accessibility of the pastor and other clergy, their responsiveness when questions or concerns are raised, the quality of youth and adult cathechesis, and the spiritual and community life of the parish. Those parishes planting the seeds of faith through high quality religious education programs, and particularly those operating quality schools with a strong Catholic identity, should receive more compensation than those that do not.
Another idea might be to print promissory notes with messages about the liturgical or doctrinal abuses being experienced. These promissory notes could be redeemed for real cash if and when the pastor decides to return to orthodoxy. Such tools would let the pastor know exactly where he stands and what he might do to improve the parish.
When Catholic churches and schools are to be closed, we never hear that the closing is due to a failure to successfully transmit the Gospel message and build up the Kingdom of God. The explanation for a closing is usually focussed on what motivates too many of our bishops, the almighty dollar. With that understanding, the introduction of financial incentives and market forces would empower the person in the pews and allow them to vote, with their dollars, on what is good and what is not.
Such a calculator would take into consideration the quality of liturgical celebrations and their faithfulness to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. The calculator might permit one to base contributions on a fixed percentage of family income and then calculate how much of that to give when one considers the quality of preaching and sacred music, the availability of the sacraments and devotions, the beauty of sacred objects and vessels, and the solemnity and reverence with which the sacraments are administered.
Other considerations in determining one's support might include the accessibility of the pastor and other clergy, their responsiveness when questions or concerns are raised, the quality of youth and adult cathechesis, and the spiritual and community life of the parish. Those parishes planting the seeds of faith through high quality religious education programs, and particularly those operating quality schools with a strong Catholic identity, should receive more compensation than those that do not.
Another idea might be to print promissory notes with messages about the liturgical or doctrinal abuses being experienced. These promissory notes could be redeemed for real cash if and when the pastor decides to return to orthodoxy. Such tools would let the pastor know exactly where he stands and what he might do to improve the parish.
When Catholic churches and schools are to be closed, we never hear that the closing is due to a failure to successfully transmit the Gospel message and build up the Kingdom of God. The explanation for a closing is usually focussed on what motivates too many of our bishops, the almighty dollar. With that understanding, the introduction of financial incentives and market forces would empower the person in the pews and allow them to vote, with their dollars, on what is good and what is not.
If the Diocese of Portland, Maine can assess The Latin Mass Community $72,000 for Sunday Mass, Catholics in the pews need tools to better empower them in the contractual arrangement. It is, after all, their contributions that house, clothe and feed the bishop and priests and provide their salaries and those of the chancery staff.
When the contributions of Catholic laymen are thoughtfully and strategically directed, much of the nonsense will fall by the wayside.
I hope these ideas might spark a discussion about how to use market forces to correct what many of the bishops will not address. Please let me know your ideas. With your permission, I will post them and perhaps we could promote the project through the many hundreds of other Catholic blogs.
The following video inspired this post. Perhaps if it inspires you, we could call this our "Dancing Queen Project." Please let me hear from you.
