Question? Did Fr. Rostand read his sermon from paper. We see this with other cultish independent priest who are told what to say.
A very interesting question! This comes to me as a revelation, and it
makes me feel rather inadequate.. I have been listening to sermons all my
life, and have on occasion noticed that a priest will read his sermon from
a printed copy. But whenever I have asked any such priest why he does
this, I get the run-around. No straight answer.
Now, logically, if you put that together, even without other data, one
would think it's not a long stretch to say, "There seems to be something
going on here, but what it is, I'm not quite sure." Well, it's been over 40
years, and I've never asked that question.. Until now, thanks to you,
songbird!
So here are the items:
~ some priests or other speakers use a prepared text giving
a speech or sermon
~ when asked why, they are wont to give superficial or
unclear answers
~ they tend to have a bit of a "canned" expression, as though
it is not from the heart in their delivery: it's not as
convincing as it should be
~ during his first presidential campaign, Obama did this, with
a teleprompter
~ sometimes, when the same speaker tries to speak
extemporaneously, he has a choppy or halting style, as if
he has to correct himself in action
~ whether the hesitation is due to personality or something
else I have no idea
~ sometimes the speaker is part of an organization with a
supervisor
~ supervisors are known to be interested in controlling their
charges
~ when the supervisor then gives his own speech, he tends
to use no script
I shouldn't have to go much further for you to see where I'm headed. In the
SSPX, or any other religious congregation where the speaker has a superior, it is
not beyond the realm of expectation that the superior may want to control the
words spoken by his several charges, such that his preferences or agenda do
not get sidetracked or obstructed, or in the worst case, entirely destroyed.
How does this apply to the SSPX?
Well, isn't it true that +Fellay is attempting to muzzle his priests? Now, when
these priests are getting up to give sermons every Sunday, and +Fellay is bent
on keeping them from saying certain things, how unreasonable would it be for
him to demand that they submit their proposed sermon by e-mail to him by
Wednesday, for example, so he can review it and return a "corrected" copy
cleared for takeoff, as it were?
Also, certain SSPX priests who have been expelled recently are rather well-known
for NOT using prepared texts. Is it too much of a stretch to think that perhaps
the Menzingen-denizens are in a tizzy about that, and say "Na-na-na-na you're
disobedient because you refuse to submit your sermons in advance for approval?"
Edit: almost forgot: +W's ECs were precisely this, unapproved disseminations.
Let's just say it's a "hunch," or, if you prefer, an
Internet rumor! HAHAHAHAHA