Enjoying a lovely early summer day, are you?


Well, I can nip that in the bud for you. This extremely disheartening article appears in the latest number of Los Angeles Catholic Mission.

Ordinarily, The Inn would prefer to leave the topic of this essay alone. There is no shortage of sources for those who need to know more. But a "throw away" paragraph caught my eye. This piece contains the following sentences:

Though Stephens is no longer a priest, he is still involved in Catholic worship. Stephens' liturgical consulting firm, Sacra Forma, operating from Howard Sellers' Irvine address where both men live, still plans the renovations of Catholic sanctuaries across the country. Stephens was recently hired by Mission San Juan Capistrano as a consultant for the "renovation" of its Serra Chapel, the only surviving chapel standing in which Blessed Junipero Serra said Mass.

As mentioned here and here, the Serra chapel is also the Diocese of Orange's last remaining location for the celebration of the indult Mass. The rumors, then, are now in print and presumably true. The Diocese's mean-spirited advice to St. Mary's parishioners that "you can always go San Juan Capistrano" has an extra dose of venom in it. Even if there were room for us in the Serra chapel - which there isn't - it's soon to be attacked by the liturgical termites.

Catholic renovation: When it absolutely, positively has to be destroyed by tomorrow.