More on Fisher-More – UPDATED

Heh.  Love that lede.

Anyway, Fr. Z had some important tidbits regarding the situation at Fisher-More, which has certainly been the topic de jure.

These tidbits include some comments from priests close to the situation, to which I will add comments:

A priest friend forwarded information from HIS priest friend in Dallas.  Thus, I will edit a great deal and use bullet points. These things either happened or they didn’t and can be verified one way or another:

• In May a prof of FMC (Fisher More College) gave a talk and denied aspects of Vatican II [To my knowledge, this has occurred more than just once.  And by denied,you could take that to mean repudiated or claimed as heretical various aspects…..]
• The FSSP priests withdrew their services at FMC some time ago. [True. Issues 1 and 2 are not unrelated]
• Taylor Marshall, married with several children, resigned his job at FMC without another job. [Ditto]
• At Thanksgiving, 2013, Fr. Nicholas Gruner, the suspended Fatima Priest, said Mass at FMC.  [Not sure on this, would not be surprised, not that I have a huge problem with Fr. Gruner, but he is suspended at present]
• These things took place when the Diocese of Fort Worth was vacant.
• “This is NOT about hatred for the TLM.”  [I think this is the key]

I think I can say with assurance that this last bit is their honest opinion.  These priests saw the direction rhetoric regarding aspects of the recent Council was headed and had to terminate their relationship.  I’m not sure who is offering Mass there, now, the Fathers of Mercy pulled out as well.

I had thought – but I could be wrong, because I cannot recall where I learned this – that TLMs were getting infrequent at Fisher-More due to lack of priests to offer them.  Or at least that they were not as regular as before.  Or maybe they got a retired priest to offer them?  It would be great if a commenter could fill in on this.

The priests in question are ones you are accustomed to hearing on AudioSancto (or used to be, in one case).  So, these are men who have sacrificed a great deal to bring the glorious TLM to others and who aren’t exactly apologists for the revolution against the Church.

I know it looks bad. Re-reading that letter from Bishop Olson a few times……..well, I pray its tone and even parts of the content are a factor of his being a new bishop, and not reflective of how he’s going to administer the Diocese of Fort Worth.  It was very impolitic.  It was wide-open to a very negative interpretation – which perhaps it intended to convey.  It reeked of the kind of harshness progressives have loved to use against faithful Catholics.

So, it could be Olson is an “enemy” of Tradition and the Traditional Latin Mass, but I would just caution folks, again, to perhaps wait until more data becomes available before reaching that conclusion.  All those – let me repeat, ALL those – I know who are truly close to the situation are saying this is not about hatred for the TLM, but about a traditional university that has gone too far into what one commenter termed “Toxic Tradition.”

In practical terms, this matter will probably be moot in a matter of months, anyways.  The college has been mismanaged to a degree that is almost certainly irrevocable.  And as I said in the comments, there aren’t more than a couple dozen on-campus students at present. Hundreds are not being affected here. That doesn’t lessen the impact on these souls, nor detract from the principle involved, but we should understand this is not like the ongoing FFI situation where a vibrant, growing order was viciously crushed.  I say this as one who really wanted this to be a good local alternative for my children, but it just doesn’t seem possible under the present leadership.

UPDATE:  I had an update, but it now appears questionable. There is a lot of confusing info out there. It is amazing how much passion there is about this college that doesn’t even have 25 students.  

Thanks, I’d rather send my kids to UT.