German bishop slams liturgical abuse

Cathcon translation of kreuz.net – Ekelhaft: Moralin in der Epiklese- Disgusting: self-righteousnous at the epiclesis

Whoever has to deal with liturgy everyday, wallows in a swamp - said the Bishop of Eichstaett and that prayers according to the "knitting bobbin model" make him full of rage

Anger.

Since his time as a young student, the Benedictine bishop of Eichstätt, Monsignor Gregor Maria Hanke, has experienced liturgical abuses when he was outside his monastery to attend church services. Vatican Magazin reports in its January issue.

"Eucharistic prayers using the knitting bobbin model (Cathcon- where threads are drawn together) made him especially angry" - that is to say: prayers written on the evening before, the theological language of which was well beneath the liturgical requirements.

"If you mix self-righteousness into the epiclesis, I find it simply disgusting" - said the former English teacher (Cathcon- he said Disgusting in English to emphasise his point!)

Bishop Hanke finds behind such liturgical experiments “a misdirected endeavour to be as close as possible to the people and the desire to introduce everyday language into the liturgy. " Nothing could be more full of error.

Thereby liturgy is degraded into a mirror, "in which I always consider my own misery."

Moreover, heaven is no longer open. The descent of God "is hampered or prevented”.

Another problem of the "easy messing about" with the liturgy is that the long chain of tradition, in which the priest is joined in the Canon is broken.

So worship and spirituality are ousted through a bad sociology.

Monsignor Hanke was the only German Bishop who welcomed the Motu proprio 'for the re-admission of the old Mass and issued no restrictions for his diocese.

He will not be a darling

Immediately after his appointment as bishop of Eichstaett, Monsignor Hanke called himself a conservative.

At the same time, he is a "green bishop" - as earlier he was a "green abbot" - a favorite of the liberal press.

A determined Christian must not be "the darling of the contemporary world", warns Monsignor Hanke.

The price for a genuine way of life of the Christians was they were marked out from the world.