Saturday 16 July 2016

GIRMwatch...with Bill Oddie!


Hot on the heels of an extraordinary intervention from Cardinal Vincent Nichols - who surprisingly wrote to the entire clergy of the Archdiocese of Westminster urging them to defy the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's recent call for ad orientem worship - the BBC has announced its plans to roll out a new series to start in September entitled 'GIRMwatch'.




Extra-liturgical dancing fun: If its not in the GIRM, what is the problem? Let Dr Bill fill you in...

Noting the Sunday night success of Birdwatch and more recently, Springwatch, the BBC has recruited British Catholic legend and journalist Bill Oddie to follow the fidelity of parishes up and down the country to the rubrics of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The exciting new show will occupy a slot on Sunday evenings at 8pm.

However, Both Birdwatch and Springwatch are said by the BBC ratings polls to be past their best days and it is felt by producers that something new is needed. Interest in Catholic liturgical rubrics is said to have risen sharply in recent times, especially in the light of the recent contradiction of the head of the CDW by the Archbishop of Westminster.

Liturgical twitcher: Bill Oddie
Dr Oddie's first show will be presented from a variety of parishes in the Archdiocese of Westminster, before hopping on the tube to the Archdiocese of Southwark, hoping to film Masses which, from beginning to end, are completely faithful to the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.

The first episode, entitled, 'It's Really Simple! You Put Your Right Knee Down!' will focus on genuflection, a key area of the liturgical 'norms' that is yet to be made visibly universal even in a single Diocese, or even a single Deanery.

Dr Oddie, speaking of his involvement in the flagship programme said...

'In my travels up and down the country, I have found such a great diversity in liturgical customs that it is hard to look at two parishes which are even two miles apart and find a great deal that is the same. So much - perhaps more and more - liturgical rules seem to be made up on the spot. The series really puts the liturgical conflicts made public with Cardinal against Cardinal and Pope against Cardinal in a striking light. Whether it is the liturgical vestments - their style, or whether a Sanctuary has male or female Acolytes, or whether Priest and Acolyte genuflect or bow, or whether a Priest genuflects even at the Consecration, or whether the Chalice is drained by the Priest or by a Server or Extraordinary Minister (if necessary), or whether Gregorian Chant is used, or dismissed as obsolete to be replaced by bongos and guitars, the series makes a bold attempt to show that diversity remains one of the few features of the Catholic Church that unites Her liturgy, short of the Presence of the Sacrifice of the Only-Begotten Son of God at every Catholic Mass. Believe me, in some parishes, the use of even the bell has been entirely abandoned.'

The Archbishop of Westminster's office, when asked about the new programme, was unavailable for comment.

GIRMwatch with Bill Oddie begins in September on BBC2 at 8pm




7 comments:

Anthony said...

Allow me to express my despair, as a lapsed Catholic, at the current state of my Church. In truth, the reason for my continued failure to rejoin the faith into which I was baptised is my personal guilt and shame for irreparable misdemeanours which I cannot rectify without greater damage being done. Nevertheless, how can anyone look at a Church riven between Cardinals Sarah and Nichols (a fair representation of the gulf, I suggest) and have any hope?

I suppose we have faced and overcome worse, as a faith, and that we should trust to the Holy Spirit.

Please pray for me.

Jacobi said...

Where do they get these clowns from these dancing priests.

Its surely a big joke, common now, they have to be out of work actors earning a bit on the side!

The Church is going down the plug hole. The quicker we get back to what will be left, because a kernel from which we must re-build will be left, the better.

Pelerin said...

I didn't really believe there were dancing Priests until I had the misfortune to attend a Mass 'oop North'in which the Priest, who told us he was in his 80s, started prancing from one side of the Sanctuary to the other at one point in the Mass. At least this was only one. The posse of Priests in the video is a positive nightmare although they could be members of a Protestant church.

Since then I have seen a different video of another group of dancing Priests elsewhere and a friend confirmed somewhat embarrasingly that she knew some of them and they were indeed Catholic. So they do exist!

Celia said...

It's catching. Pope Francis is convinced that Cardinal Schonborn is or was secretary (or, who knows, prefect) of the CDF, now you've elevated Cardinal Sarah to the prefecture. Cardinal Muller isn't that inconspicuous, especially as his job mostly now consists of correcting the Pope.

Long-Skirts said...


PRELATE
PRANCE

Solidarity
In their dance
Doin', doin'
The Prelate prance.

Fraternal Fathers
At a glance
Doin', doin'
The Prelate prance.

Of it, luv it
Nichol’s romance
Doin', doin'
The Prelate prance.

Traditional Priest
Then takes a stance
Scorned, derided
Left to chance

But Chalice of chance
Consecrates to advance
"Come follow Me..."
True Lords of the Dance!

susan said...

y'know....those guys on stage aren't really that far off from these guys....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2V7KbbfRHA

(btw; the guy in the tan sports-coat, front row, is one of francis' best protestant buddies)

Unknown said...

Well personally I only like to watch novus ordo dancers who actually have a dance background:
Share this video
http://youtu.be/oASYa-Wkroc

Seattle kim

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