Anglicans Use Catholic Cathedral For Eucharist - By Martha Collins
St Joseph’s Cathedral in Dunedin, New Zealand, was opened in 1886, its construction funded mainly by poor Irish immigrants.In a strongly Protestant city, the Catholics could be justly proud of what they achieved, even as the Cathedral remains only half complete.
Those early Catholics would not be at all proud of what has taken place there recently.
On Sunday 16 August 2020 an Anglican choral Eucharist with confirmation was held in St Joseph’s Cathedral by the Anglican Bishop of Dunedin along with the tiny congregation from St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral. St Paul’s had suffered some fire damage to its modern chancel roof recently.
According to reports in the Otago Daily Times and in information from St Paul’s, the rector of St Joseph’s Cathedral, Monsignor John Harrison, and Catholic Bishop, Most Rev Michael Dooley, offered the use of the Catholic Cathedral for the 16 August service.
The occasion was revealed to Catholics in the Otago Daily Times (15 August).
Anglican Dean Tony Curtis of St Paul’s notes: “We like to work together closely anyway, we’re all good friends and it’s a really lovely gesture. It’s actually my daughter’s confirmation service so to be able to still have that, just up the road, is very special.”
The St Paul’s website acknowledges: “Due to the fire at St Paul’s Cathedral, and the move to Level 2, our worship this weekend was held at St Joseph’s Cathedral Rattray Street, at the kind invitation of our sisters and brothers of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dunedin. We would like to thank Bishop Michael Dooley, Mgr John Harrison and the congregation at St Joseph’s for this wonderful act of hospitality!”
"It Went Really Well. It Was A Lovely Service"
The day after the service, the Otago Daily Times reported that Dr Steven Benford, Anglican Bishop, was grateful for the hospitality of the Catholic Church, which allowed the celebration to go ahead. He said the church felt very welcome at St Joseph’s.
“It went really well. It was a lovely service.” A photograph from the service shows a sparse congregation of mainly older participants.
Bishop Abdicates?
Video of the service shows Dr Benford seated in the throne of the Catholic Bishop. Using the very seat of authority of the diocesan bishop was unlikely a mistake.
It seems no other chair had been provided for him. Has Bishop Dooley abdicated, or does he see Dr Benford as his equal? The use of mitre and crosier by the Anglican bishop in the Catholic Cathedral only adds to the confusion.
No Other Anglican Churches?
St Matthew’s Anglican Church Dunedin:
Catholics are puzzled as to why their Cathedral was offered to an Anglican congregation in the first place. While fire damage may have rendered St Paul’s out of action, they do have other significant churches in Dunedin.
These churches could easily have hosted the small congregation that gathered in St Joseph’s Cathedral, with or without social distancing.
All Saints Anglican Church Dunedin:
On the very day their Cathedral was hosting an Anglican service, Catholics arriving for Mass in North Dunedin churches discovered Masses were cancelled. This was the message they received:
“Dear parishioners, this weekend 15-16th August all masses in our pastoral area are suspended. Mass will be online Sunday at 10am. Our week day masses will continue in the pastoral area. At 5.30pm tomorrow Friday 14th the prime minister will inform the country if we remain at the current level or if we have to move or down a level.
We will keep you posted on how to access Mass on Sunday and what will next week look like in our pastoral area.
Please keep safe and continue to pray for one another.
Blessings,
Sr Anna”
This despite there being no government order that Masses had to be suspended. They were limited to 100 people per Mass, but no effort was made to facilitate this. The default solution appears to be cancellation.
If the online offering is indicative of the Masses in North Dunedin, it might be best that they are cancelled permanently. Fr Mark Chamberlain, Vocations Director, celebrated Mass on his study table:
35:49
Bishop Dooley recommended people watch the live stream Mass from South Dunedin’s St Patrick’s Church. There, Vicar General Fr Gerard Aynsley, led a sideways liturgy with the involvement of children from the parish school.
Message to Dunedin Diocese from Bishop Michael Dooley on 14 August:
This afternoon at 5.30pm The Prime Minister announced that we will continue at Level 2 for another 12 days. For many the restrictions will be disappointing but we pray for a swift return to our normal Masses and worship.
Staying at level 2 means that Masses will continue in the Diocese with a maximum of 100 people. Social distancing, contact tracing and sanitizing of hands needs to be practiced. Some parishes may cancel Sunday Masses due to issues with management of numbers of people.
The dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation is in place for level 2. There is an online Mass available from Mercy Parish, South Dunedin at 9.30am on Sunday morning. There is a link to this Mass on the parish webpage: www.mercyparish.nz. There is also Mass screened on Shine TV on Sunday afternoon.
Thank you all for your cooperation and support in these challenging days.
We pray at this time for God to bless each one of us and our country with protection and guidance.
+Michael Dooley
Mass from St Patrick’s South Dunedin:
www.youtube.com/watch