I do not regularly assist at a TLM. My feelings on the TLM and the Novus Ordo and Byzantine Catholic Divine Liturgy have nothing to do with this post. Yesterday I read:
The Diocese of Charlotte, North Carolina will significantly restrict the practice of the Traditional Latin Mass, limiting it to a single chapel in what Bishop Michael Martin said is a bid to “promote the concord and unity of the Church."
But won't the result of this move be exactly opposite of the stated purpose? It will promote dissension and division within the Church.
With TLM being celebrated in a parish, a number of positives occur. First, often the parish priest is celebrating both the TLM and the NO, therefore he gets to know both congregations, and can influence both to unity.
In a parish setting, occasionally (just for practical purposes) some of the TLM community will occasionally assist at the NO and vice versa. In a parish where the TLM is celebrated, most likely the NO is being celebrated correctly and reverently.
Finally, the community will cross over during parish activities: the annual picnic, ccd, pro-life groups. etc.
All these things promote understanding, concord, and unity in the parish and in the Church in general.
But isolate one community? You are dividing the Church purposely - probably with the ultimate motive of suppressing the TLM community.
Oremus pro invicem!
