"Men will surrender to the spirit of the age. They will say that if they had lived in our day,faith would be simple and easy. But in their day, they will say, things are complex; the Church must be brought up to date and made meaningful to the day's problems."
St. Anthony the Abbot - Fourth Century

    A commentary in the April 22, 1999 issue of The Southern Cross titled "Help wanted:   priests needed"  provoked  the letter to the editor that appears on the following pages. It was published in the May 6, 1999 issue. It seemed to its author(s) that  there  are substantially  more  vocations to the  priesthood  than are being credited. A growing number of vocations are to "traditional" orders and these are being discounted and marginalized.

At the same time, there are a number of Catholics, with a growing number among the  younger  segment  of  the  population,   who  have  expressed  a  desire  for a Traditional Roman Catholic Parish in which they can participate as everyone did prior to the mid-1960s.     There have been many requests made to our bishops in recent times for the allowance of a Latin Mass in the Savannah Diocese. All have been refused.

    Since  the  Holy  Father  has even recently asked that the Latin Mass be made generously available wherever there is a need or desire, the door to dialogue and discussion certainly appears not to be shut and bolted.  Furthermore,  the Province in  which  the  Savannah  Diocese belongs has such a parish, albeit in the Atlanta Diocese.     Savannah  is  the second largest city in Georgia and the largest in the Savannah Diocese. The question:  why, under these circumstances, the Latin Mass  is denied in the Savannah Diocese seems reasonable to raise.

    The Southern Cross commentary opened the door for a renewed dialogue on the subject and a possible reconsideration. With the door open ajar, and this thought in mind, a letter was submitted to The Southern Cross requesting the reasons why our petition is denied.  We are informed, that the language and tone of this letter was intentional in that it was intended to provoke comment, but not intended to be what some have claimed to be "libelous" and/or show disrespect for the bishop or any other cleric within the diocese.

Following are letters that were submitted to the Southern Cross.   The first is Fr. Douglas Clark's commentary (May 13th)"Help wanted: priests needed", the second, is from Mr. George Roth in response to Fr. Clark's letter.   It seems that some were offended by the mere suggestion that requests for the Tridentine Mass were denied, and "that Bishop Donoghue is a bit more tolerant of the wishes of the Holy Father than our own good shepherd",  as you can read in the letters following.

A commentary was written by Fr. Michael Kavanaugh, supposedly "to offer a few thoughts regarding the "questions" posed in a letter to the editor appearing in the May 6 edition." In his commentary, Fr. Kavanaugh attempts to convince us that there is a difference between "traditional" and "traditionalist".. In todays society, where many are attempting to redefine the dictionary, (without a dictionary) this comes as no suprise.   I imagine it all depends on what the meaning of "is" is.....  And, still, we are left with no answers to the questions submitted..

Why have the petitions by the faithful of the Savannah Diocese for permission to celebrate the Tridentine Mass continue to be denied?