Just in time for Advent: Una Voce Carmel

Talk about a stocking stuffer...

Last week, a new Una Voce chapter was founded within the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana: Una Voce Carmel.

Despite the name, membership in the organization is open to anyone in the diocese, although the initial focus will be on getting the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite celebrated somewhere within the well-populated Carmel Deanery, which includes the towns of Carmel, Noblesville, Fishers, Westfield, Cicero and Zionsville. Members are being recruited from other parts of the diocese to initiate a similar program of action in their locales.

Clerics and other religious may join the organization free of charge.

A website is available at www.uvcarmel.org, which includes a free subscription to get email updates.

The Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana & Una Voce, Part II

An update for everyone...

There is currently a verbal agreement among a number of people to found an Una Voce chapter within the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana. We have had initial communication with Una Voce America on the requirements to do so.

While no timetable is in place at the moment, the expectation is that we will move quickly to get something in place before year's end, if not sooner.

Below is an open letter, intended to reach out to all those Catholics within the Diocese of Lafayette, from Carmel to Kokomo and from Monticello to Muncie, who are interested in joining with us.

A list of parishes within the diocese can be found here.

Specifically, we would like to hear from anyone at St. Mary's in Muncie, as we know you have been "fighting the good fight" for some time now.

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I'd like to once again advocate the founding of an Una Voce chapter for our diocese.

Rather than going into a long narrative, I'd ask everyone to consider the following advantages to founding an Una Voce chapter:

• Founded in 1964, Una Voce is the oldest Catholic lay organization advocating the traditional Mass and sacraments.
• Una Voce has member organizations on six continents, including more than 60 chapters in the United States.
• Una Voce America recently implemented a priest training program in cooperation with the Fraternity of St. Peter to teach priests the Extraordinary form, which has been "sold out" for each session they've held.
• A low financial and organizational barrier to entry. A mere $50 fee to establish the chapter (taken from the collected membership fees as established by the board) and align with the national organization. Membership fees and chapter meeting times are established and scheduled at the discretion of the board/members. We can establish a new chapter with less than ten members if necessary.
• Instant "legitimacy". By that I mean, Una Voce is an internationally recognized and respected lay organization that has long-existing contacts with many local ordinaries in our region, with members of the Roman Curia and even the Holy Father himself. Taking a more novel organizational approach towards acquiring what are now our canonical rights according to Summorum Pontificum will likely require a more arduous financial and public relations effort on our part...and may meet with even more skepticism from our diocese than we're already facing.
• The ability to coordinate our efforts with other like-minded Catholics in our diocese.

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I'd ask anyone interested in joining us, "getting in on the ground floor" so to speak, contact us at the email address below:




(unavoce @ michaelectric.com -- please remove the blank spaces around the @ sign, which I've included in an attempt to thwart spammers)

The Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana & Una Voce

While cold weather may be about to hit central Indiana, the blogging world is certainly warm, if not hot, with regard to to something posted over at Father Z's about our fair diocese...

A simple report about a news story -- redacted by the editorial staff at The Catholic Moment -- has brought some passionate replies.

Based on some of the comments, both pro and con the usus antiquor, in that post, not to mention the response some lay folk have received from parish priests when requesting the Latin Mass in this diocese over the years, methinks it may be time to up the ante in our quest for a more widespread use of the extraordinary form of the Roman rite.

Should we write more letters? Make more phone calls? Join a parish and just hope for the best? It hasn't worked so far, so it's hard to believe we don't need a change of tack to be successful.

One way to gain instant "muscle", so to speak, would be to found a local chapter of Una Voce.

Not only would this help to better organize some of the excellent individual efforts being made across the diocese, but also let us lay persons in the diocese avail themselves of the reputation and resources of the oldest lay movement dedicated to the Church's liturgical heritage.

So, all you traddies out there north of Indy, south of San Pierre and east of Otterbein...quo vadis?