AmericanPapist Comments
They mention "God our Father" so it's all cool with me...
These videos highlight interesting issues in American Catholicism. Some of them are "all about us" and have very little to do with the Eucharist, Jesus Christ, etc.
This may just be my own personal pet peeve, but what's the deal with dinner-plate sized hosts? The one on this video is the biggest I've ever seen -- almost cartoonish! And why has it become so politically incorrect to say "parish" or "church"? Everything's a "Catholic community". What does that even mean?? Other than that, I agree that this video's decent, especially compared to the one from LA. Does the Pope even view these, however?
I think these are shown during the "pre-Mass" show (before he arrives).
Mom, I would suggest the focus on Community indicates that the object of our worship has shifted. We no longer focus on God, but on ourselves.
I like how in the end the (arch)bishops are shown to drumbeats. A beautiful symbol for the apostolic succession...
I think my bias against the Archdiocese of Baltimore is coming out, because I didn't like this video.
When the Pope came to Baltimore in 1995, the entire pre-Mass ceremonies were focused on "look how great our archdiocese is! we were first!". There was no calling people to deeper love of God, appreciation of JPI, etc. It was all about "us".
This video reminds me of that sad event. I also think the exclusion of Jesus Christ was very telling.
I'm inclined to agree with Francis. Shouldn't a video welcoming the Holy Father be about ... welcoming the Holy Father?
Yes, you do need a little bit of "and here's who it is that's doing the welcoming," but maybe not quite so much as that.
I wonder if this was a "rework" of something left over from the recent cathedral celebrations in Baltimore, which were very history-oriented -- after all, the time frame for dioceses to put these videos together was very short.
Commenting by HaloScan
