If you haven’t filled out the online survey about Pray Tell, go do so. All responses will be read with great interest.
In the first 72 hours we got just shy of 100 responses. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive about this blog, and the tone of the comments is consistently respectful (and this from all sides, which is nice to see).
- Regarding the balance of “academic” and “practical/pastoral” content, most seem to like it. 53% would like more pastoral content, 47% more academic.
- Similar with Catholic and ecumenical content, though 57% would like more ecumenical content.
- Slightly more than half (55%) would like less non-liturgical content, with the rest wanting more. Several say they want us to stick to liturgical content of non-liturgical things, e.g. liturgies at the synod or liturgy in Laudato Si’.
- 32.3% of respondents so far see Pray Tell as more on the so-called “liberal” side, with only 2.1 seeing us on the “conservative” side. But the biggest group – 54.2% see us as right in the middle.
Here is a representative sampling of comments on the good, the bad, and the suggestions for Pray Tell.
The Good: What People Like
Expert perspectives on the liturgy, the ecumenical input, variety of contributors…Posts about the issues we face in parish settings – especially from experts I trust and respect…One of the few places to get serious middle of the road input on liturgy…Keeps me up on the latest in Catholic liturgical news, as well as provides the opportunity for discussion… Articles tend to be respectful and considerate…Thoughtful and respectful dialogue…Exposure to various schools of thought… Challenge me to think beyond my traditional/conservative Catholic perspective…Is a counterbalance to more conservative/traditionalist voices on the Internet…Without PTB’s voice, mainstream Catholicism would be drowned out by reactionary positions… Father Anthony is thoughtful and balanced in his presentation of the various issues of the day (this isn’t from my mother, she doesn’t read blogs)…Covers an expansive range of topics…Succeeds in facilitating a real conversation between people with widely divergent views on liturgy and church order…Standard of comment is generally high…Discusses not only the theoretical but the practical… Pray Tell’s only “agenda” is the promotion of good liturgy and a church united…The banter of the comments section…Bias toward straight talk as opposed to the snarkiness I find on too many sites…A range of opinion, no holding a party line…Willingness to listen to the other view…Provides good conversation fodder for dinners among Catholics, where my occasional bits of esoteric knowledge of random liturgical stuff give me a varnish of Catholic culture that may impress my dinner guests…One of the few liturgy blogs where the reformed liturgy is the acceptable, normal prayer of the church…Summaries from various liturgical publications which I don’t have time to read all of myself…Comment box. Inimitable…One of the few Catholic liturgical websites firmly invested in the spirit of liturgical reform…Respectful and informed dialogue… When Fr. Ruff kinda “stirs the pot”…When it breaks liturgical news even if just gossip… More objectivity than I might get elsewhere… Is “right in the middle”…A refreshing, necessary voice in an ocean of reactionary, traditionalist websites focused on liturgy…Enough folks post from a conservative perspective that I learn from them…Without PTB’s voice, mainstream Catholicism would be drowned out by reactionary positions.
The Bad: What People Don’t Like
Too many negative comments bantered about, especially when the topic is about the ordinary/extraordinary form…Pope who just kept saying the same negative things over and over… Several of its more progressive, closed-minded commenters… So many threads get hijacked by a small but loud grip pushing a reversion to the pre-concilliar liturgy…Appearance is aesthetically boring…The tendency (among some) to turn every conversation into a defense of the “Extraordinary Form” or an attack on the reformed liturgy, which is frustrating and, frankly, boring…Tiresome contributions from conservative quarters… Its progressive ideologies and one-sided censoring of comments…Its repetitiveness concerning its negative evaluation of the revised English… A lot of the repeat respondents are EF fans who seem to be lacking in understanding of liturgy… Font size. (It’s just a joke. Of course everyone can adjust it himself.)…The extent of censorship, esp. on the part of Bro. Ruff. What exactly are you folks afraid of?… Some who keep saying the same damn thing over and over, namely, “Vatican II didn’t really call for this…the novus ordo is a mess.”
Suggestions
Wider input from mainstream denominations…Remove snarky comments…More women commenters… A bit more fidelity to the liturgical norms and rubrics of the Church … A bit more respect for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite …Stay true to yourself…More satire…A limit on the number of comments from the same person…More use of multimedia…More posters with experience with parishes in the Southwest where bilingual communities are flourishing…Broaden your horizons to Catholic liturgy beyond America, and that includes non-English speaking countries…Reject the insulting comments that some people make…Invite more contributors who share Benedict XVI’s vision for the liturgy, including those who embrace Summorum Pontificum and the Reform of the Reform…More posting of sermons…Is orthodox, intelligent, and faithful and should stay that way…You’re not VERY liberal. I think you need to loosen up a bit!…The only people who can seriously call PT liberal are the ultra-right conservatives…Do what you are doing…Long live Pray Tell!…There should be a regular traditionalist contributor added to the blog….You are pitching things correctly, there are enough horrid and spiteful conservative blogs…The Benedictine charism of moderation should be emphasized daily…Is slightly on the progressive side, but not excessively so. Don’t see a need for this to change…If I wanted it to change I would tend toward “be more liberal”… Do allow for reasonable criticism in the liturgy. There is room in the Roman Rite for many diverse opinions. Just don’t let the council ever seem to be optional…Best wishes and God bless your endeavors as they are strongly needed…I wish the comments were closed more often…Women could be encouraged to post more often…More international…Less overt hostility to traditionalism, and less complaining about the “new” translation…Don’t change anything.
awr
Huzzah!