Vatican Bans Alter Girls And Liturgical Dancing

[oakleyswitch]

[color=red]buh bye.[/color]

[Fides_et_Ratio]

[quote name='drewmeister2' date='Nov 28 2005, 07:37 PM']Does anyone know where exactly it is condemned in Redepmtionis Sacramentum?
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[79.] Finally, it is [b]strictly to be considered an abuse to introduce into the celebration of Holy Mass elements that are contrary to the prescriptions of the liturgical books[/b] and taken from the rites of other religions.

--you don't find liturgical dancing in any liturgical book (and most liturgical dance comes from old religious traditions, not Christian ones).

[Cam42]

[quote name='drewmeister2' date='Nov 28 2005, 07:37 PM']Does anyone know where exactly it is condemned in Redepmtionis Sacramentum?
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It is not specifically mentioned in Redemptionis Sacramentum, however, it would be included in the general prohibition against introducing elements not contemplated by the liturgical books; furtherore, any changes in the rites that may be proposed by any conference of bishops must always have prior approval by the Holy See.

Francis Cardinal Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has publicly criticized introducing dance into the Liturgy, as it risks reducing this sacred rite to a spectacle. In an address in 2003, for example, the cardinal responded to a question on "liturgical dance":

[quote name='Francis Cardinal Arinze' date=' Cardinal Responds to Questions on Liturgy; Adoremus Bulletin, October 2003']"There has never been a document from our Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments saying that dance is approved in the Mass"; and he noted that "the tradition of the Latin Church has not known the dance. It is something that people are introducing in the last ten years -- or twenty years".[/quote]

But the Holy See has addressed the matter of dance, constantly stressing the proper distinction between permitting indigenous cultural traditions and introducing innovations into the celebration of the Liturgy.

First is the 1975 commentary on "religious dance" in an essay in Notitiae, the official publication of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The essay appeared in Notitiae, 11 (1975) 202-205; and was published in English translation, "The Religious Dance - an Expression of Spiritual Joy", in The Canon Law Digest, Vol. VIII, pp.78-82.

This article, which appears below, is called a "qualified and authoritative sketch", considered by the Congregation "an authoritative point of reference for every discussion on the matter", thus it is commended for study by diocesan liturgical commissions and offices of worship.

"The Religious Dance" was later reprinted in the Newsletter of the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy in April/May 1982. The BCL also published directives that dancing, (ballet, children's gesture as dancing, the clown liturgy) is not permitted to be "introduced into liturgical celebrations of any kind whatever".

[quote name='Pope Benedict XVI' date=' The Spirit of the Liturgy, p. 198']Dancing is not a form of expression for the Christian liturgy. In about the third century, there was an attempt in certain Gnostic-Docetic circles to introduce it into the liturgy. For these people, the Crucifixion was only an ap­pearance. Before the Passion, Christ had abandoned the body that in any case he had never really assumed. Danc­ing could take the place of the liturgy of the Cross, be­cause, after all, the Cross was only an appearance. The cultic dances of the different religions have different pur­poses—incantation, imitative magic, mystical ecstasy— none of which is compatible with the essential purpose of the liturgy of the “reasonable sacrifice”. It is totally ab­surd to try to make the liturgy “attractive” by introduc­ing dancing pantomimes (wherever possible performed by professional dance troupes), which frequently (and rightly, from the professionals’ point of view) end with applause. Wherever applause breaks out in the liturgy be­cause of some human achievement, it is a sure sign that the essence of liturgy has totally disappeared and been re­placed by a kind of religious entertainment. Such attrac­tiveness fades quickly—it cannot compete in the market of leisure pursuits, incorporating as it increasingly does various forms of religious titillation. I myself have expe­rienced the replacing of the penitential rite by a dance performance, which, needless to say, received a round of applause. Could there be anything farther removed from true penitence? Liturgy can only attract people when it looks, not at itself, but at God, when it allows him to enter and act. Then something truly unique happens, beyond competition, and people have a sense that more has taken place than a recreational activity. None of the Christian rites includes dancing.[/quote]

[Cam42]

Also, this is a huge pet peeve, but there is a difference between alter and altar.

The place of sacrifice is an altar. It is not an alter. When we speak of the altar of sacrifice, can we please call it an altar and not an alter.

[drewmeister2]

Thank you, everyone!

[MC Just]

I hope they do ban them. I hope they ban everything that doesnt "belong".