By Tim Rohr
So is the guy on the right, the infamous para-priest at Bishop Baumgartner (from 2/27/25), an altar boy or a priest or a deacon or a...?
It "ain't clear." Sort of looks like a homemade wannabe priest outfit.
But, apparently it's okay with Msgr. Ruben Espino, the (real) priest in the picture. And since Msgr. Espino is the Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Agana, it's apparently okay with the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Agana.
Unless we hear otherwise.
So we know he is not a priest of deacon, and at best is altarboy. What exactly about his outfit would be against what is allowed? Or are we just going to throw the Chancellor and Archbishop so casually into accusing them of accepting abuses?
ReplyDeleteThe outfit is a problem because the man wearing it isn't a priest nor seminarian, and has had a history of performing duties out of his league (please read on the Blessed Sacrament scandal at Bishop instead of blatantly questioning what he did wrong).
DeleteAs for the Chancellor and Archbishop, think about it. Isn't it their responsibility to address liturgical abuses like these? The Chancery has already proven their complicity when it comes to such issues by continuing to allow people like him to roam free at the altar. If this is the case, what more of the bigger issues that surround our Church here on Guam?
Clerical dress, especially relative to the celebration of the Sacraments, require specific and identifiable dress. In fact, everything relative to the celebration of the Sacraments requires specifics, from the actual words, to the rubrics, to the vestments, the vessels, the cloths, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe main reason is due to the dignity of the Sacrament itself, but it is also so that the sacred roles of the liturgical actors are clearly denoted.
Altar servers are to vest clearly as altar servers, in most cases with a cassock over which a surplus is worn. There are exceptions with some servers whirring something resembling an alb.
Relative to the matter at hand, Msgr. Espino’s “assistant” is not only not wearing appropriate altar-server vestments, but is apparently wearing a costume of his own making and in fact is wearing what appears to be a “rochet,” a white-laced vestment under another vestment, resembling a chimere. This sort of dress is not only NOT appropriate for an altar-server, it is a type of vestiture normally reserved for bishops.
There is also the issue of the actor wearing a white collar protruding over the dark thing he’s wearing over his shoulders, which imitates a certain type of Roman collar, as often worn by members of the Redemptorists.
If this actor wants to be a priest then he should go to a seminary, and not play one at a Catholic highschool. We already have enough confusion and abuses going on amongst the already ordained.