Peace Prevails At The Our Lady Of Consolation Shrine In Carey, Ohio, Even As The Street Preachers Fellowship Again Shows Up To Protest The Assumption Eve Procession        By Dave Hartline

What a difference a year makes.  Last year bedlam broke out at the Assumption Eve Procession at the Our Lady of Consolation Shrine in Carey, Ohio.  A group of procession attendees, mainly young Chaldean Catholic (Iraqi-American) men took offense at the presence of the Street Preachers Fellowship who were bellowing for Catholics to repent of their beliefs in the Assumption of Mary into heaven as well as various other Catholic doctrine.  This year it was different. Dozens of uniformed police officers and sheriff’s deputies from northern Ohio showed up to keep the peace.  Assisting the officers and deputies, were volunteers from the Shrine and various members of the Chaldean community.  While the street preachers returned in force there were no problems as adult volunteers from the Shrine and Chaldean community urged procession members to ignore the annoying fundamentalists.

I must admit I was tempted to take the advice of Mark Shea and not commit bovine indifference by ignoring their comments. I wanted to engage in a little “street apologetics.” However, actions like these were strongly discouraged by the assembled volunteers.  It was more than a little disconcerting, while attending Mass inside the basilica, to hear the bellowing voices of the street preachers over the readings and homily.   The church isn’t air conditioned so one can easily hear what is occurring outside.  While what the street preachers were saying wasn’t decipherable, it could be heard. I attended the English Mass but it must have been more than a bit ironic to hear the din of the street preacher’s comments during the Chaldean Mass.  The Chaledans say their Mass in Aramaic, the ancient language of Jesus.  Can you imagine a group of fundamentalists, whose primary doctrine concerning such topics as the rapture and salvation that comes from the 19^th or 20^th century, lecturing a group whose traditions and language go back to the Apostolic era?  The Assumption of Mary was one of the earliest traditions of the Middle Eastern Church.

Often Catholics are hit with this question from non-Catholics.  The Assumption of Mary wasn’t made infallible doctrine until 1950.  How do you explain that one? Actually this is quite easy.  The doctrine of Mary being bodily assumed into heaven was so commonly believed it was never made official by the Church.  I will give a somewhat modern example.  My home state of Ohio was officially admitted into the union in 1803. However when Ohio was ready to celebrate its sesquicentennial, in 1953 it was learned that Congress never officially approved statehood for the buckeye state.   Yet, no one said Ohio wasn’t officially a state. It was just chalked up to early paperwork problems in the brand new town called Washington DC.  Why doesn’t the Church get the same break from skeptics?

In some ways, I wish the Street Preachers protested more Catholic events. I can’t tell you how many people have e-mailed me or checked into my websites archives to learn more about the faith. I think Catholic Answers must also have received more visits since last year’s melee.  Hearing the shouts of someone questioning your faith and salvation while at a historic religious event does make one ask more questions about what it is they believe.

The Chaldeans I spoke with were more than a little amused that some of them escaped Saddam and Al Qaeda only to come to a Catholic event in America and have their faith questioned by a bunch of fundamentalists. This coupled with the fact that the Chaldean’s faith was brought to their land by the Apostles and these fundamentalists were inspired by the likes of 19th and 20^th century prophets of anger, John Darby and Ian Paisley. Carey Police Chief Dennis Yingling seemed pleased by the peaceful events.  "I am pretty happy so far. We had a lot of help from the Buckeye State Sheriff's Association.  These men volunteered their own time.  When groups like the Street Preachers show up, you have to do your homework.  I would advise any town, large or small to research all the possibilities."  The procession attendees seemed to go out of their way to thank the assembled law enforcement community for their help.

As the procession got under way, the street preachers left which let everyone concentrate on the beauty of the procession and the Blessed Mother.  As I left, I couldn’t help but think of what a beautiful mosaic I had witnessed.  There were Chaldeans (Iraqi-Americans) Latinos, Italians, Slavs and other Americans whose ancestors have been here since the 1700s or 1800s, processing by candlelight through the streets. They were all thanking God for his wonderful gifts and a most special gift, that of the Mother of Jesus being bodily assumed into heaven.   What a difference a year makes.  My only wish for next year is that not only will Catholics better understand this special day but those of other faiths as well.  Comments Click Here