{"id":45924,"date":"2019-02-19T10:03:44","date_gmt":"2019-02-19T16:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?p=45924"},"modified":"2019-02-23T19:30:13","modified_gmt":"2019-02-24T01:30:13","slug":"of-deck-chairs-and-semantics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/","title":{"rendered":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I\nhave lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve been accused of \u201cre-arranging deck\nchairs on the <em>Titanic.\u201d<\/em> This happens\nnearly every time I happen to notice a small detail in what someone has said or\nwritten. My usual counter is that the deck chairs are likely to be one of the\nfirst signs that something larger-scale is wrong\u2014noticing the deck chairs doesn\u2019t\nmean you\u2019re not going to attempt to fix the larger problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In recent days, I\u2019ve noticed some liturgically-connected skittering deck chairs in connection with the events surrounding the laicization of the former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. These were not only in the secular media, but in religious media, and the discourse of knowledgeable Roman Catholics as well. Here are three, all related to one another:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One:\nHe can still celebrate the sacraments, as can any baptized Roman Catholic. The repeating\nsacraments of Eucharist, Reconciliation, and Anointing are celebrated regularly\nby all the baptized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Two:\nLaicization is not the worst punishment that can be given to a\npriest\u2014excommunication is, as it is for any disciple. While no longer being able\nto minister within holy orders surely is serious, to be <em>ex-communio<\/em> doesn\u2019t only exclude one from the ordained office, but\nfrom the entire mystical Body of Christ in the Roman rite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Three: The system that empowered and enabled this situation is still very much in place. This lone laicization is not a \u201cremedy\u201d for what caused it. This will not be the last person to use this ecclesial\/sacramental system\u2014one with no concrete, horizontal accountability to the whole Body\u2014for unhealthy, then evil ends. Nor is this the only area in which this systemic structure is harmful. This is an important filter for all of us to have in place as this week\u2019s Vatican meeting convenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Along with deck-chair arranging, I\u2019m also accused of \u201cplaying semantics\u201d when I insist upon things such as the former Cardinal still celebrating the sacraments. The accusation is often followed up with \u201cYou know what I mean.\u201d In this instance, my reply would be that yes, I do know what you mean: that the entire Body of the baptized faithful gathered does <em>not<\/em> truly celebrate sacraments, that only those ordained to the presbyterate or episcopate do. This meaning is wrong, and it signals (one of the things that semantics does) that we need to get below decks and see what needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those of us who focus our ministry in the area of liturgy, it can be tempting to think that what is occurring at this moment in regard to the sexual abuse crisis and cover-up has little, if anything, to do with us. It is in the Church\u2019s liturgy, however, that the baptized faithful have most of their contact with Church, and through which we derive understanding of the Church in its sacraments and ministries. In my view, it behooves us to keep our eyes and ears open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those of us who focus our ministry in the area of liturgy, it can be tempting to think that what is occurring at this moment in regard to the sexual abuse crisis and cover-up has little, if anything, to do with us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":45926,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3119,1081],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-plaza-new-ws","category-church-reform"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For those of us who focus our ministry in the area of liturgy, it can be tempting to think that what is occurring at this moment in regard to the sexual abuse crisis and cover-up has little, if anything, to do with us.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"992\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"584\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Alan Hommerding\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Alan Hommerding\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Alan Hommerding\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b\"},\"headline\":\"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":505,\"commentCount\":10,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"4_THE PLAZA\",\"Church Reform\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/\",\"name\":\"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg\",\"width\":992,\"height\":584},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/19\\\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"description\":\"Worship, Wit &amp; Wisdom\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Home\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg\",\"width\":1340,\"height\":209,\"caption\":\"Home\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b\",\"name\":\"Alan Hommerding\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/08\\\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Alan Hommerding\"},\"description\":\"Alan Hommerding has been with World Library Publications (WLP) since 1991, most recently as Liturgical Publications Editor for the WLP division of GIA Publications. He is also a composer of numerous published choral and instrumental works, and is well-known as an author of hymn texts. Alan has served the North American Academy of Liturgy as convener of the liturgical music seminar, and as a member of the executive group for the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has been a regular contributor to the PrayTell blog since 2016.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/praytellblog.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/ahommerding\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home","og_description":"For those of us who focus our ministry in the area of liturgy, it can be tempting to think that what is occurring at this moment in regard to the sexual abuse crisis and cover-up has little, if anything, to do with us.","og_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/","og_site_name":"Home","article_published_time":"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":992,"height":584,"url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Alan Hommerding","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Alan Hommerding","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/"},"author":{"name":"Alan Hommerding","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b"},"headline":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics","datePublished":"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/"},"wordCount":505,"commentCount":10,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","articleSection":["4_THE PLAZA","Church Reform"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/","name":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics - Home","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","datePublished":"2019-02-19T16:03:44+00:00","dateModified":"2019-02-24T01:30:13+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","width":992,"height":584},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/2019\/02\/19\/of-deck-chairs-and-semantics\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Of Deck Chairs and Semantics"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","name":"Home","description":"Worship, Wit &amp; Wisdom","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#organization","name":"Home","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/cropped-BlogHeaderFinal2.jpg","width":1340,"height":209,"caption":"Home"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/#\/schema\/person\/29da6922696c3bded94a79a08d2f630b","name":"Alan Hommerding","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/AJHphoto-96x96.jpg","caption":"Alan Hommerding"},"description":"Alan Hommerding has been with World Library Publications (WLP) since 1991, most recently as Liturgical Publications Editor for the WLP division of GIA Publications. He is also a composer of numerous published choral and instrumental works, and is well-known as an author of hymn texts. Alan has served the North American Academy of Liturgy as convener of the liturgical music seminar, and as a member of the executive group for the Catholic Academy of Liturgy. He has been a regular contributor to the PrayTell blog since 2016.","url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/author\/ahommerding\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/PTB-deck-chairs.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45924"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45934,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45924\/revisions\/45934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45926"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praytellblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}