Portland, Ore., Aug 14, 2019 / 04:00 pm (CNA).- Parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Parish in the Archdiocese of Portland staged a protest against their pastor during a June 30 Mass.
The Oregonian uploaded a video of the protests Aug. 11. The video shows elderly parishioners dressed in white, carrying signs into the assembly during the Eucharistic consecration, and attempting to shout down the pastor, Fr. George Kuforiji, during the Mass. Other parishioners are shown looking visibly uncomfortable at the disturbance.
The protests reportedly concern Fr. Kuforiji’s decision to remove unauthorised changes to the liturgy which had become common in the parish over previous years, and to take down a sign at the entrance to the church saying “Immigrants & Refugees welcome.”
Fr. Kuforiji, himself a Nigerian immigrant who was ordained in 2015, was installed as pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in 2018.
Prior to his arrival, The Oregonian reported, St. Francis was known for “progressive liturgy” that “embraced folk music” during Mass.
After arriving at the parish, Kuforiji reportedly insisted on using only Church-approved liturgical texts during the Mass. The texts refer to God as “He,” “Lord,” or “King,” instead of the gender neutral terms “God,” and “Creator” that had become customary replacements during parish liturgies.
Kuforiji also stopped the practice of reading a “community commitment” after the recitation of the Nicene Creed.
The video shows protesters shouting their own intercessory prayers over the pastor’s voice, and reciting the community commitment during Mass as a form of protest against Fr. Kuforiji’s changes. Some parishioners have also reportedly refused to refuse to kneel during the Eucharistic consecration, in defiance of a recent instruction from Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample.
The protests began in late June, when some of the parish’s handmade vestments were found in a trailer slated for the dump. According to The Oregonian, Fr. Kuforiji insisted that he had not intended to throw away the rainbow-bordered chasuble and other liturgical garb, but had intended that the vestments be placed in a storage box.
A parishioner, Albert Alter, found the vestments and accused Kuforiji of “trying to destroy the parish.”
“I don’t know anyone that would come to a parish and go to the vestment closet and take all the vestments, still on hangers, and throw them into a trailer without somebody of authority having instructed them to do so,” Alter told The Oregonian.
“We have been wanting real dialogue. I said that we are being abused. We are being abused in the Catholic Church by this priest, and by this archbishop,” said Melinda Pittman, a 30-year parishioner of St. Francis, filmed speaking at the lectern after Mass on June 30.
In the video, cries of “yes,” along with the sound of shaking maracas, are heard from the pews after Pittman states the parish is being “abused” by the priest.
At the end of the speeches following Mass on June 30, a group of parishioners confronted the priest, who can be heard saying “we are reverencing God.”
The demonstrators then linked arms and sang “We Shall Overcome,” a Gospel song typically associated with the civil rights movement in the U.S., in protest of the African-born priest.
Another attendee supporting Fr. Kuforiji as a “holy priest,” was told “you don’t belong here” by others in the assembly.
Tom Hogan, a 76-year-old parishioner of St. Francis and one of the few remaining parishioners who attended its grade school, told The Oregonian that many of the liturgical deviations at the parish were instituted by former pastor Fr. Donald Durand.
Durand’s priestly faculties were withdrawn shortly after his retirement from active ministry in 2001. He has been accused of molesting more than a dozen preteen and teenage boys, some of whom were students at St. Francis Assisi School, and numerous lawsuits against him have reportedly been settled.
Durand was pastor at St. Francis from 1970 until 1983. He has denied all allegations of misconduct.
A statement from the Archdiocese of Portland said that the archdiocese is “happy to be working with Fr. George Kuforiji, Pastor of St. Francis Parish, to revitalize the parish so that it is able to better serve the growing population in the area as well as future generations of Catholics in Portland.”
The Oregonian also reported that since late June, Mass attendance at St. Francis has dropped, and the entire choir quit and that Catholic Charities of Oregon took control of the parish’s St. Francis Dining Hall, which feeds local homeless people, in early August for a temporary, three-month period.
“The Archdiocese of Portland is excited to work with the City of Portland, Catholic Charities of Oregon and the local community to re-establish St. Francis Dining Hall as a beacon of light and mercy serving those most in need,” the archdiocesan statement said.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Pope Francis meets with the United States bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2015. / Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
CNA Staff, Apr 22, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88, visited the United States just once, nearly 10 years ago, in September 2015.
Despite the brevity of the visit, he accomplished a lot: Attracting hundreds of thousands of participants, he canonized a new saint (St. Junípero Serra), became the first pope to ever address a joint session of Congress, and galvanized the U.S. Catholic community with his presence and his speeches on the East Coast.
Washington, D.C.
Pope Francis began his tour of North America with several days in Cuba. Landing in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 22, 2015, Pope Francis met with President Barack Obama first thing the next morning. The meeting came amid a time of concerns for many American Catholics regarding politics, including the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate and the recent legalization of same-sex marriage nationwide, via the June 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.
Pope Francis is greeted by President Barack Obama on Sept. 22, 2015. Credit: Somodevilla/Getty Images
During the presidential meeting, Francis praised Obama’s commitment to inclusivity and noted that American Catholics have contributed greatly to building a tolerant and inclusive society while also stressing that religious liberty “remains one of America’s most precious possessions.” He also encouraged commitment to addressing the “urgent” issue of climate change, building on his expansive 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’.
Pope Francis says Mass for clergy and religious in Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano.
While in D.C., that same day, the pope addressed bishops and priests at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle and later celebrated Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. At the latter Mass, he celebrated the first canonization on American soil by declaring Junípero Serra, who founded missions along present-day California, a saint.
“He was the embodiment of ‘a Church which goes forth,’ a Church which sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling tenderness of God,” the pope said.
Crowds gather for the Mass canonizing St. Junipero Serra at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 23, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
On the same day, Francis made an unscheduled stop to visit with the Little Sisters of the Poor in Washington, D.C., to support the sisters as they awaited word on whether or not the Supreme Court will hear their case against the federal contraception mandate. (The sisters are still fighting aspects of the mandate, even after more than 14 years in court.)
Pope Francis greets Sister Marie Mathilde, 102 years old, at the Jeanne Jugan Residence in Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2015. Credit: Photo courtesy of the Little Sisters of the Poor
Francis addressed a joint session of Congress the next day, Sept. 24, making him the first pope to ever to do so. During his lengthy speech, he condemned the arms trade and the death penalty — statements that reportedly made some lawmakers in the room squirm.
Francis went on to assert that the family was being threatened like never before and praised American figures, including Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., for their tireless efforts to defend freedom and moral values. He also touched on respect for human life and the environment in the well-received speech.
Pope Francis speaks to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
The pope also visited St. Patrick Parish and met with people experiencing homelessness at Catholic Charities, addressing people who minister to the poor. He offered St. Joseph as their patron and model, because, he said, St. Joseph grappled with injustice and suffering in his care for Mary and Jesus.
“The Son of God came into this world as a homeless person,” the pope said. “The Son of God knew what it was to start life without a roof over his head.”
“We can find no social or moral justification, no justification whatsoever, for lack of housing. There are many unjust situations, but we know that God is suffering with us, experiencing them at our side. He does not abandon us.”
Controversially, while in D.C. Pope Francis met with Kim Davis, a Kentucky county clerk who had become a cultural lightning rod for refusing to issue same-sex marriage licenses. The pope reportedly told her to “stay strong,” offering rosaries to Davis and her husband. The Vatican later clarified that Francis met with Davis and her husband as part of a large group invited by the nunciature, with the Vatican spokesperson adding that the pope “did not enter into the details” of her situation.
New York City
After flying to New York City the evening of Sept. 24 and praying vespers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, Francis addressed the United Nations General Assembly the next day, Sept. 25, the fifth time a pope had addressed the body.
The pontiff issued a call to the countries of the world to reject what he called “ideological colonization” — the “imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles which are alien to people’s identity and, in the end, irresponsible.”
Pope Francis’ historic address to the U.N. in New York City on Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
Like his predecessor, Benedict XVI, Pope Francis made a solemn visit with other religious leaders to Ground Zero, the site of the 9/11 attacks, later on Sept. 25. He met with families of first responders, saying at the site museum that acts of destruction always have “a face, a concrete story, names.” He offered a “prayer of remembrance” for all those killed that day, along with a prayer for the survivors and those who are mourning the loss of their loved ones.
Pope Francis speaks during an interreligious prayer service at Ground Zero, Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Addie Mena/CNA
Later that day, after visiting Our Lady, Queen of the Angels School in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City, Francis celebrated Mass at Madison Square Garden. He encouraged people to remember those in the city who are often forgotten, including “foreigners, the children who go without schooling, those deprived of medical insurance, the homeless, the forgotten elderly.”
Madison Square Garden prepares for the papal Mass, Sept. 25, 2015. Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA
“Knowing that Jesus still walks our streets, that he is part of the lives of his people, that he is involved with us in one vast history of salvation, fills us with hope. A hope which liberates us from the forces pushing us to isolation and lack of concern for the lives of others, for the life of our city,” the pope said.
“A hope which frees us from empty ‘connections,’ from abstract analyses, or sensationalist routines. A hope which is unafraid of involvement, which acts as a leaven wherever we happen to live and work. A hope which makes us see, even in the midst of smog, the presence of God as he continues to walk the streets of our city.”
Philadelphia
Pope Francis’ visit included an appearance at the 2015 World Meeting of Families (WMF) in Philadelphia, an event that focuses on celebrating the gift of the family.
Pope Francis at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: L’Osservatore Romano
After flying to the “City of Brotherly Love” the morning of Sept. 26, Pope Francis took part in a Mass for clergy and religious at Philadelphia’s Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. In his homily address, the pope challenged the clergy and religious to inspire new vocations.
He called for women to take on a greater role in the Church, highlighting the example of St. Katharine Drexel — a Philadelphia native — and he reminded the priests and religious present of their role in ministering to families, couples preparing for marriage, and young people.
He later addressed a crowd of some 50,000 people at Independence Mall, the site of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, for a religious freedom rally with Hispanic and other immigrants.
Speaking to thousands of families gathered on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia that night, a visibly moved Pope Francis ditched his prepared remarks and instead gave an impromptu reflection on the beauty and dire importance of family life. He voiced his thanks at “the presence of all of you — who are a real witness that it’s worth being a family!” A society “is strong, solid, and edified on beauty, goodness, and truth,” he added.
Pope Francis addresses the Festival of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26, 2015. Credit: EWTN
On Sept. 27, the next day, Francis had an unscripted meeting with five abuse survivors — three women and two men — all of whom had been abused in childhood either by members of the clergy, family members, or educators. He promised accountability for perpetrators and expressed sorrow for the victims’ suffering.
In the face of such heinous acts as sexual abuse, “God cries,” he said, adding that “the criminal sins of the abuse of minors can’t be kept in silence any longer … I promise, with the vigilance of the Church, to protect minors and I promise [that] all of those responsible will be held accountable.”
He told a gathering of international bishops afterward that the survivors’ stories of suffering “have aggravated my heart” and said that crimes of abuse must never be kept in silence.
Later that morning, Francis visited a Philadelphia correctional facility, saying at the meeting with a group of 100 inmates and their families that every person is marked and bruised by life, but Jesus washes away our sins and invites us to live a full life.
Pope Francis embraces a man at Curran-Fromhold Correction Facility in Philadelphia on Sept. 27, 2015. Credit: EWTN
Reflecting on the trip, the Holy Father said it was “particularly moving for me to canonize St. Junípero Serra, who reminds us all of our call to be missionary disciples.”
He added that he was touched “to stand with my brothers and sisters of other religions at Ground Zero, that place which speaks so powerfully of the mystery of evil. Yet we know with certainty that evil never has the last word, and that, in God’s merciful plan, love and peace triumph over all.”
Furthermore, he promised his prayers for the U.S. people, saying: “This land has been blessed with tremendous gifts and opportunities. I pray that you may all be good and generous stewards of the human and material resources entrusted to you.”
“I thank the Lord that I was able to witness the faith of God’s people in this country, as manifested in our moments of prayer together and evidenced in so many works of charity.”
Concluding, he asked those present: “Do not let your enthusiasm for Jesus, his Church, our families, and the broader family of society run dry.”
“May our days together bear fruit that will last, generosity and care for others that will endure!” he said. “Just as we have received so much from God — gifts freely given us, and not of our own making — so let us freely give to others in return.”
Washington D.C., Jul 24, 2017 / 03:13 am (CNA/EWTN News).- For some, it was a health-conscious decision. For others, it was environmental. For still others, it was faith-based.
But no matter the reason, more and more women are ditching the pill and opting for fertility awareness methods as a natural way to achieve or delay pregnancy.
“In the US, there does seem to be an increase in the interest in fertility tracking and understanding the signs and symptoms of our bodies to plan and prevent pregnancy,” said Dr. Victoria Jennings, director of the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University.
“Our work has shown that simple fertility awareness messages are extremely attractive to a wide range of women and can address their family planning needs,” Jennings told CNA.
July 23-29 is national Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, coinciding with the 48th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humane Vitae, which laid out the Church’s long-understood teachings on the sanctity of human sexuality.
The Catholic Church has always taught that contraception is immoral, because it divorces procreation from the sexual act. However, the Church approves of Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods, which allow couples to remain open to life.
Through Natural Family Planning, a woman learns to understand her body’s natural monthly cycle. By tracking the signs of her own fertility each day, she is able to determine when she is fertile and infertile. Decisions about whether to engage in sexual activity can then be made, based upon this knowledge, and the couple’s desire to achieve or postpone a pregnancy.
While NFP is sometimes mistaken for the primitive “calendar method” of generations past, it is actually an umbrella term for a collection of modern fertility awareness methods. Carefully evaluating each woman’s individual body and cycle, modern methods are rooted in science and are 99.6 percent effective when used correctly – a number that competes with the pill, according to the Couple to Couple League, a group that promotes Natural Family Planning.
Additionally, these methods are free from the host of side effects and health risks accompanying hormonal contraception. They don’t pollute the environment. And they can even help women identify underlying health problems that may otherwise go undiagnosed.
And Catholics are not alone in their use of Fertility Awareness Methods (FAM). Increasingly, they are being joined by women of various faiths and no faiths at all, as the benefits of natural methods draw new awareness.
In recent years, many Evangelicals and other Protestants have started to find fault with artificial birth control, and are turning to natural fertility-based methods instead.
“All women – Protestant, Catholic, Atheists, and nones – can appreciate this hormone free (and conscience free) alternative to chemical contraception,” said Chelsen Vicari, the Evangelical Program Director for the Institute on Religion and Democracy, in an article last year.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the University of Utah found that more women, religious or not, are seeking alternatives to hormonal birth control without turning to surgery. And a 2015 study from the University of Iowa found that more than 1 in 5 women would be open to using fertility monitoring instead of the pill if they knew how it worked.
Methods for understanding fertility are also on the rise, and thanks to the help of modern technology and research, women are able to re-think the long list of side effects that can accompany hormonal contraception, such as depression, increased risk for stroke, and reported lower quality of life.
“Specifically in the app world, the use of fertility apps to track cycles or plan/prevent pregnancy is increasing exponentially,” Jennings said, noting that there are more than 1,000 fertility apps available on Apple and Google Play stores.
However, Jennings did warn that some of the apps have been proven to be inaccurate or “make claims that are either unsubstantiated or misleading, making it difficult for women to know which apps are most likely to meet their needs.”
Among the most well-respected fertility apps is Kindara. Launched in 2012, the iOS app offers charting tools to help women track when they are fertile by highlighting the ovulation period of a woman’s monthly cycle.
“Over the past couple of decades, fertility awareness has been studied a lot. We know scientifically, based on evidence now, that it does work, and it works very well if you use it correctly,” says Lauren Risberg, the Content Lead for Kindara.
Another fertility app, Natural Cycles, was started by a nuclear physicist in Sweden and was recently approved by the European Union as a certified method of birth control.
The growing interest in fertility awareness also comes at a time of concern over false expectations of reliability with artificial birth control.
New statistics released this month indicate that more than half (51%) of the abortions performed in the UK last year were due to failed contraception from the pill, implants or patches.
In an interview with the Telegraph, chief executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service Ann Furedi said that by encouraging women to use contraception, “you give them the sense that they can control their fertility.”
“Our data shows that women cannot control their fertility through contraception alone,” Furedi stressed.
In contrast, Church teaching surrounding Natural Family Planning emphasizes an openness to life, steering away from the notion that women control their fertility and instead empowering them with the knowledge to understand their bodies and cooperate with them to the fullest possible extent.
Emphasizing the gift of fertility and the ability to be co-creators with God to bring about a new human life, the Church teaches that couples should only avoid pregnancy through NFP when they have a just reason to do so.
With fertility awareness continuing to grow in popularity, the medical community would do well to pay attention, Jennings told CNA.
“Significant numbers of women worldwide don’t use birth control due to fears of side effects, negative beliefs about contraception, and because they don’t think they need it at the time,” she said.
“We believe the reproductive health community must take women’s concerns seriously – and also take seriously evidence-based methods that rely on people knowing their own fertility.”
Montgomery, Ala., May 10, 2019 / 07:00 pm (CNA).- The Alabama Senate has delayed a vote on a bill to outlaw abortion, following a disagreement between Republican and Democratic state senators on Thursday over whether an exception for cases of rape or i… […]
9 Comments
We read from the surely-scripted Melinda Pittman, a 30-year parishioner of St. Francis [Parish]: “I said that we are being abused. We are being abused in the [2000-year young!] Catholic Church by this priest, and by this archbishop.”
Sounds like she’s sorta right (or Left?) about the hackneyed “abuse” thingy. BUT the real abuse has been going on for probably decades, and now finally is being lifted. John Paul II’s New Evangelization of the moribund West is finally showing results! And from faraway Africa!
As in another script: Dr. Zhivago, in the darkest night of the “ice castle” on the far side of the Urals, and against the howling of other wolves, protested thusly into the frozen and moonlit wasteland: “It’s a good time to be alive!”
Fr. Kuforiji—-who is guilty NOT of changes but of UNchanges—-is from Nigeria, a land of greater strife than anything in the Rose City. Within the context of interreligious complexity and from the Muslim Hadith, we find this cross-cultural assessment or the latest Portland tantrum: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.”
Father Kuforiji seems like a faithful priest. I hope his bishop supports him. Once I joined a parish that had just been assigned a new priest. He was a perfectly fine priest. I witnessed them run this pastor off and then high five each other. Needless to say, I left that parish and have never returned. After they ran their priest off, they were not assigned a pastor in residence any longer and had to take a priest that came in from a distance.
Ah. So, by their own left-wing standards, the protesting parishioners are racists.
Father “Kuforiji reportedly insisted on using only Church-approved liturgical texts during the Mass.”
Oh, the horror, the horror!
“The video shows protesters shouting their own intercessory prayers over the pastor’s voice, and reciting the community commitment during Mass as a form of protest against Fr. Kuforiji’s changes. Some parishioners have also reportedly refused to refuse to kneel during the Eucharistic consecration, in defiance of a recent instruction from Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample.”
I can imagine what they’re shouting: “Non serviam!”
“The Oregonian also reported that since late June, Mass attendance at St. Francis has dropped,”
As the faux-Catholics stomped out?
“and the entire choir quit”
And took their guitars and maracas with them, presumably. Small loss.
Poor Fr. Kuforiji. I hope he can stand his ground. This parish has strayed and resists being brought back into the fold. Prayers of exorcism are in order. I wish I were kidding.
Sacrosanctum Concilium (22 §3) states clearly that it belongs to the Holy See to establish the liturgical books and that “therefore, no other person, not even if he is a priest, may on his own add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church repeats the principle that “no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community” (1125). There is no easement allowing the abuses that these people are advocating, not in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the Sacramentary, the Code of Canon Law, any liturgical instructions or encyclicals, nor the archives of Notitiae.
The only explanation is that the protestors haven’t got the faintest notion of what the Church is. The problem is that the Archdiocese of Portland doesn’t think to remind those people of that rule, plainly. And that it doesn’t bother to instruct people who want to be Catholic Christians about exactly what that means.
I take issue with the headline, which suggest that it’s somehow the priest’s personal preferences or “policies” which caused the protests. Maybe the dissident parishioners think so, but in truth he’s only returning the church to authentic liturgy — the Church’s, not his. I notice some of the protesters had an issue with kneeling for the Consecration also. That speaks volumes.
Also says a lot that the person who defended the priest was attacked with “you don’t belong here.” So much for peace, love, inclusion, and tolerance — qualities the dissidents would no doubt claim for themselves, because, after all, they’re “progressive.”
The situation reminds me of a parish near me (not my home parish) where the longtime, much-beloved pastor died. A priest who was pastor of a nearby church was assigned to serve as administrator and say Mass. He was also given the unpleasant but necessary task of preparing that community to merge with other parishes. I had never seen such petty, mean-spirited mistreatment of a priest until then. Case in point: The poor guy chose a more traditional hymn to sing at the recessional of a daily Mass. He wasn’t all the way down the aisle when a woman called out, “Anyone remember this goldie oldie?” and started loudly singing a “hymn” I haven’t heard (thank God) since I was in grade school when VII fever was at its worst. Several people very loudly joined in. It was obviously intended as a protest and a rebuke of this priest who didn’t “belong,” coming from folks who evidently thought they owned the parish. The parish closed some months later; the people who mistreated the priest have gone on to make pests of themselves at other parishes, no doubt.
We, too, had a priest who was run out of the parish by a gossipy, critical secretary who seemed to aspire to the title of sergeant-major. Her mouth was an open window to all the business of the parish, whether it was confidential or not. Eventually, the priest had had enough and fired her. It was then that the “owners” of the parish stepped up and began to call for the bishop to remove the pastor, even calling for a “town meeting”, which became a forum of petty objections, with the bishop in attendance. It was not long that the pastor was transferred. This is a very good priest, actually quite a Catholic scholar who did everything he could to fulfill his vocation. So often parishioners forget the church is not a democracy…….. They want it “their way”
The bishops and priests upholding the teachings of Christ are being persecuted. We need to pray for their courage and perseverance. We also need to write to them to show our support for what they are doing.
We read from the surely-scripted Melinda Pittman, a 30-year parishioner of St. Francis [Parish]: “I said that we are being abused. We are being abused in the [2000-year young!] Catholic Church by this priest, and by this archbishop.”
Sounds like she’s sorta right (or Left?) about the hackneyed “abuse” thingy. BUT the real abuse has been going on for probably decades, and now finally is being lifted. John Paul II’s New Evangelization of the moribund West is finally showing results! And from faraway Africa!
As in another script: Dr. Zhivago, in the darkest night of the “ice castle” on the far side of the Urals, and against the howling of other wolves, protested thusly into the frozen and moonlit wasteland: “It’s a good time to be alive!”
Fr. Kuforiji—-who is guilty NOT of changes but of UNchanges—-is from Nigeria, a land of greater strife than anything in the Rose City. Within the context of interreligious complexity and from the Muslim Hadith, we find this cross-cultural assessment or the latest Portland tantrum: “The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.”
Father Kuforiji seems like a faithful priest. I hope his bishop supports him. Once I joined a parish that had just been assigned a new priest. He was a perfectly fine priest. I witnessed them run this pastor off and then high five each other. Needless to say, I left that parish and have never returned. After they ran their priest off, they were not assigned a pastor in residence any longer and had to take a priest that came in from a distance.
Ah. So, by their own left-wing standards, the protesting parishioners are racists.
Father “Kuforiji reportedly insisted on using only Church-approved liturgical texts during the Mass.”
Oh, the horror, the horror!
“The video shows protesters shouting their own intercessory prayers over the pastor’s voice, and reciting the community commitment during Mass as a form of protest against Fr. Kuforiji’s changes. Some parishioners have also reportedly refused to refuse to kneel during the Eucharistic consecration, in defiance of a recent instruction from Portland Archbishop Alexander Sample.”
I can imagine what they’re shouting: “Non serviam!”
“The Oregonian also reported that since late June, Mass attendance at St. Francis has dropped,”
As the faux-Catholics stomped out?
“and the entire choir quit”
And took their guitars and maracas with them, presumably. Small loss.
Poor Fr. Kuforiji. I hope he can stand his ground. This parish has strayed and resists being brought back into the fold. Prayers of exorcism are in order. I wish I were kidding.
Sacrosanctum Concilium (22 §3) states clearly that it belongs to the Holy See to establish the liturgical books and that “therefore, no other person, not even if he is a priest, may on his own add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy”. The Catechism of the Catholic Church repeats the principle that “no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community” (1125). There is no easement allowing the abuses that these people are advocating, not in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, the Sacramentary, the Code of Canon Law, any liturgical instructions or encyclicals, nor the archives of Notitiae.
The only explanation is that the protestors haven’t got the faintest notion of what the Church is. The problem is that the Archdiocese of Portland doesn’t think to remind those people of that rule, plainly. And that it doesn’t bother to instruct people who want to be Catholic Christians about exactly what that means.
I take issue with the headline, which suggest that it’s somehow the priest’s personal preferences or “policies” which caused the protests. Maybe the dissident parishioners think so, but in truth he’s only returning the church to authentic liturgy — the Church’s, not his. I notice some of the protesters had an issue with kneeling for the Consecration also. That speaks volumes.
Also says a lot that the person who defended the priest was attacked with “you don’t belong here.” So much for peace, love, inclusion, and tolerance — qualities the dissidents would no doubt claim for themselves, because, after all, they’re “progressive.”
The situation reminds me of a parish near me (not my home parish) where the longtime, much-beloved pastor died. A priest who was pastor of a nearby church was assigned to serve as administrator and say Mass. He was also given the unpleasant but necessary task of preparing that community to merge with other parishes. I had never seen such petty, mean-spirited mistreatment of a priest until then. Case in point: The poor guy chose a more traditional hymn to sing at the recessional of a daily Mass. He wasn’t all the way down the aisle when a woman called out, “Anyone remember this goldie oldie?” and started loudly singing a “hymn” I haven’t heard (thank God) since I was in grade school when VII fever was at its worst. Several people very loudly joined in. It was obviously intended as a protest and a rebuke of this priest who didn’t “belong,” coming from folks who evidently thought they owned the parish. The parish closed some months later; the people who mistreated the priest have gone on to make pests of themselves at other parishes, no doubt.
We, too, had a priest who was run out of the parish by a gossipy, critical secretary who seemed to aspire to the title of sergeant-major. Her mouth was an open window to all the business of the parish, whether it was confidential or not. Eventually, the priest had had enough and fired her. It was then that the “owners” of the parish stepped up and began to call for the bishop to remove the pastor, even calling for a “town meeting”, which became a forum of petty objections, with the bishop in attendance. It was not long that the pastor was transferred. This is a very good priest, actually quite a Catholic scholar who did everything he could to fulfill his vocation. So often parishioners forget the church is not a democracy…….. They want it “their way”
The bishops and priests upholding the teachings of Christ are being persecuted. We need to pray for their courage and perseverance. We also need to write to them to show our support for what they are doing.
http://www.archdpdx.org/