This Reuters story, No Clapping, Dancing at Mass, Vatican to Warn, points to a disconnect between the Vatican and its flock in what “abuses” demand attention:
No dancing in the aisles or applause in church, please, we’re Catholic. And we’d prefer altar boys to altar girls.Those are some of the warnings contained in the draft of a document the Vatican is preparing to crack down on what it considers ‘liturgical abuses’ of the mass, the focus of Roman Catholic worship.
According to the authoritative Italian Roman Catholic monthly magazine ‘Jesus,’ a draft document urges the faithful to notify their bishop or the Vatican to report suspected abuses.
Make up your own joke:
According to the magazine, the draft says the use of girl altar servers should be avoided “unless there is a just pastoral cause” and that “priests should never feel obliged to seek girls for this function.”