Monday, August 28, 2006

Disco for altar servers

CathNews reports on a story in the SMH. The SMH headline is No booze, no groping and the youngsters love it. CathNews headline is Disco fever as DJ prepares for ordination.

Here are exerts from the CathNews story which I found rather amusing.
A little kissing is allowed at fundraising dances for Sydney altar servers, says "DJ Father Dan", a Sydney seminarian who is preparing for his ordination as a deacon this weekend.

...

Mr Penollar preaches disco without the fever, where courtship is strictly controlled.

"As a minimum, hands have to be above the hips - hands aren't allowed to wander. If they do, chaperones will tap them on the shoulder. And if they're kissing for too long, a chaperone will tap them on the shoulder," he said. "You have a real risk of passions rising after the dance and we don't want that to happen."

But the Herald report says that Mr Penollar has relaxed since the early days.

"There was a no-kissing rule at the dance and I would tell the guards they are not doing their jobs if they allowed it to go on, but the parents persuaded me to allow a little bit," he said.
Hmmm. They didn't state otherwise but in the present climate I'll have to assume it's altar servers of both sexes at the dances! Anyway, I hope they are all getting up for morning Mass and don't have to get to the confession box first!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dude, read the article again. The disco raises funds for altar servers, but the actual participants at the disco are regular school kids. They don't have to be altar servers in order to go to the disco.

I hope that clears things up for you, I wouldn't want you to be fretting over the prospect of two male altar servers having a smooch!

Mulier Fortis said...

As Fr Tim over at Hermeneutic of Continuity is fond of reminding me, the Cure of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, was always fulminating about immoral behaviour at the local dances. He had a picture of St John the Baptist with the caption "This man lost his head as the result of one dance"

aaron said...

mac mcleron. I love that! Fantastic.

Dad. You were just a sick man in the young days. Glad I'm far more mature and sensible.