Underground Churches

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31862, 14 December 1968, Page 13

Underground Churches

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) NEW YORK, Dec. 12. Thousands of oncefaithful Catholics and Protestants are giving up the established religious rituals of their churches to try to find God in the “underground” church, the “Saturday Evening Post” reported today.

“All across the country . . . Catholics are forming their own religious communities,” according to the “Saturday Evening Post” article, “The Underground Church,” by Michael Novak. “They seek to worship their own Lord in their own way, ignoring the traditions of centuries to bring joys and vitality to Catholic practices.” The report said that in

“rare instances these ‘underground’ groups are supported by their bishops, but more typically the bishops are ignorant of their existence or unhappy about them. “Yet, more and more younger priests—nearly all those ordained within the last 10 years, according to some estimates—are unwilling to celebrate the new ‘illegal’ Masses for small groups meeting in secret,” the article said. The underground movement has grown in the Protestant churches as well as the Roman Catholic Church, Mr Novak reports. Roman Catholics, according to Mr Novak, “are most often drawn to the underground through their desire for a more idiomatic liturgy,” but Protestants “usually join the underground as a way of escaping the pressures that established society brings to bear upon the organised churches.” “Some 2000 to 3000 such ‘underground’ groups now meet regularly in the United

States,” according to Mr Novak’s article. “Organised by • engineers, lawyers, media men, such groups may number from six to 100 families, although the average size is about 20 persons. Larger groups tend to split up in order to retain their spirit of close communion. Some bishops object so strenuously to any break from conventional patterns that secrecy is often elaborate.”

The report cited Chicago as one “of the most difficult cities in which to find out about the underground church. Cardinal Cody is so mistrusted that even ordinarily communicative people are cautious,” the article said. The new services sometimes replace the formal liturgy with guitar-playing, singing and dancing, discussions and formal dinners, the article stated.

“Reportedly, attendance at regular parish Masses is dropping rapidly at many dioceses,” according to Noyak.