Thursday, October 14, 2010

Liturgical Dancer tries to kill Cardinal

Hamdan Mohamed Abdurrahman, a Moslem, joined a troupe of liturgical dancers in Khartoum and attempted to kill Cardinal Zubeir Wako.
read more here

21 comments:

gemoftheocean said...

!!! EQually mind blowing is that a Mass with "liturgical dancers" would have an MC. I expect Mohammed failed to curtsey or something.

Left-footer said...

When I read your blog, I thought it was a very funny spoof.

Not, so, and not at all funny.

Physiocrat said...

All of which goes to prove that the only people allowed on the sanctuary should be correctly vested men performing their respective functions in accordance with the rubrics.

There is a reason for these things. When will they learn?

Anagnostis said...

Yes Physiocrat, there is a reason for such things: the possibility that a dancer might otherwise stab the celebrant isn't one of them.

georgem said...

Hold my tongue. Suffice to say another reason why . . . .

PS That woman gets around. She's in every liturgical dance picture I see anywhere in the world.

Left-footer said...

Now if the headline had read: "Cardinal tries to kill liturgical dancer", I would be contributing to His Eminence's defence fund."

No such luck!

SPQRatae said...

God forgive me for saying this, but I long for the day we see a headline that says: 'Cardinals try to kill liturgical dancers'!

pelerin said...

Left-Footer - I did too until I read the link. Visions of death by Cha Ca Cha came to mind or perhaps the dancer tripped the Cardinal up doing the Paso Doble. Very sad to see it was a serious attempt on his life but another good reason against liturgical dancing.

pelerin said...

Left-footer and SPQratae - exactly! And georgem - she sure does!

RonRon said...

If I recall correctly, Cardinal Arinze once said that though Liturgical Dance does not have any place within the Mass in Europe or North America (a comment with which I am in full agreement), Africa is a different case.

For Africans - both before and after the arrival of Christianity- dance has a much deeper spiritual association. Western 'liturgists' have tried to incorporate this into celebrations of the Mass, only to fail because for us dance has far more informal connotations and, frankly, looks naff.

Is there any chance you could make it clear on the post that the photo is from the LA Religious Education Congress, and not any kind of African celebration of Mass? Frankly I think it is insulting to Cardinal Wako to let a story about an attempt on his life to degenerate into a standard 'Don't Liturgical Dancers look silly!' post.

Having said that, I rarely comment but I do read your blog regularly and enjoy it immensely- I almost always find it more balanced and fair than most Catholic blogs :)

RonRon said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rJFdmmqj_s

Cardinal Arinze's answer to a question on liturgical dance in different cultures

Dilly said...

Summed up by a West Indian friend, once, when tipsy:

"Whitey can't dance".


I was not offended. My aunt had often said the same thing about my slip jig.

Of course - certain formal types of dance can be done by Europeans - but liturgical dancing apes an african dance movement - and it just doesn't come naturally.

parepidemos said...

I agree with Roy and am saddened that some think it acceptable to make light of an assassination attempt by making sarcastic and bitter comments. Not long ago there was an attack on Benedict XVI as he was processing into St. Peter's - with no liturgical dancer in sight; any jokes to offer on that one, people?

Roy, I like your take on liturgical dance; I think you are spot on when you say it fits in Africa as dance has a deep spiritual connotation on that continent. Somehow, it does not quite fit with our European sensibilities and looks rather contrived, even silly. Sadly, many of us have a Euro-centric view of how things should be done in the Church in spite of the fact that the vast majority of Catholics live in Africa, Latin America and Asia.

Seraphic said...

The jokes write themselves, but I'm glad the Archbishop is okay.

Anthony Bidgood said...

I agree with Roy and Parepidemos this is a very serious matter, not an occasion for jokes. If Europeans and North Americans wish to 'import' something from Catholicism in Africa could it be African support for the magisterium, as the Cameroonian bishops demonstrated last year

Anagnostis said...

How many Latin rite Catholics are there in Sudan? Why is the Latin rite in Sudan at all?

I notice even the Catholic Copts are beginning to complain about Latin rite expansionism - introduction of the Novus Ordo in Arabic, and so on. It's not good.

Anonymous said...

It's only amusing, needless to say, because it was unsuccesful and because 'liturgical' dancers are inherently ridiculous. Chill people!

If you wish to show your solidarity with the Sudanese Church, donate to the outstanding Catholic charity, Aid To The Church In Need!

Giles

Richard Collins said...

Roy and others...the great thing about the Catholic liturgy is that it stems from the time of Christ and is in His image as far as is humanly possible.
Just because African countries have dance styles in their culture does not make it an acceptable form for inclusion in worship. If you followed that principle we would have Russian leg kickers, Native American Shuffle steps and
Spanish Flamenco incorporated into the Mass. All of these are of the world, the Extraordinary Form of Mass is in the world but not of it.

Unknown said...

>Just because African countries >have dance styles in their >culture does not make it an >acceptable form for inclusion in >worship. If you followed that >principle we would have Russian >leg kickers, Native American >Shuffle steps and
>Spanish Flamenco incorporated >into the Mass.

I don't know about Native Americans, but in Russia and Spain those are secular dances. Some African countries have a tradition of sacred dance - dance is naturally associated with worship. Whether or not using this assocation is feasible or desirable in the Liturgy is a question to be debated. However, comparing such a thing to the tacky 'liturgical dance' here in the West, which has no roots at all, and is generally done by people who do not associate dance with the sacred, is, IMHO, not really fair.

Sadie Vacantist said...

As a defensive measure local ordinaries should demand that a preemptive strike be launched against all liturgical dancers and their agents.

Anonymous said...

lex orandi lex credendi

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