Baseball Confirmation of Phoenix, Arizona in 1998

The Baseball Confirmation of Phoenix, Arizona, 1998.

The following true account is "compiled from various sources". Let the reader be aware that some of these sources were Diocesan magazines up and down the USA, who reported the incident with approval. In June 1998 the bishop in Phoenix, Arizona had all of that year's candidates for confirmation come to the new baseball stadium to all be confirmed on the same day. He gave every priest in the diocese faculties to confirm during the service. He invited all attendees (including a special invitation to non-Catholics) to come to the ballpark wearing red shirts for the Holy Spirit. They then sang a song to the Holy Spirit to the tune of "Take me out to the Ballpark," an American folksong sung by Barney the dinosaur to name one advocate of the song. During the Mass, many people were seen drinking from "Super Big Gulp" cola bottles, eating hot dogs and popcorn. The candidates for confirmation poured out of the bleacher seats to any priest anywhere and were confirmed. No ID was required from candidates to ascertain who was eligible for confirmation or to receive the Eucharist.

After the Confirmation, two boxes arrived at the rectory of a local church to a truly devout priest. A delivery man plopped the boxes on the counter and said, "These are for you. They are the consecrated hosts that weren't used at the ballpark." He opened the boxes and to his horror he found two large food service containers, generally used to hold about 10 gallons of ice cream, filled with consecrated hosts. The second box didn't even have these. It was lined with butcher paper and thousands of consecrated hosts were tossed into the box. He immediately took the boxes to the sacristy and started to reserve the Blessed Sacrament in every ciborium and chalice he could find. He then scoured each container and box for Crumbs to consume. He counted 5000 hosts. Did the celebrants over-consecrate 5000 hosts? Or was it more? Did another parish receive a similar shipment?

The faithful of Arizona had two choices in 1998. They could take their child to the SSPX chapel where he would be confirmed according to the rites of the Catholic Church, specifically and infallibly ‘canonised’ at the Council of Trent and by Pope S. Pius V in perpetuity. Or they could take them to the Ballpark.

As Cdls Ottaviani and Bacci noted to Pope Paul VI in the document generally known as 'The Ottaviani Intervention' in 1969 (http://www.fisheaters.com/ottavianiintervention.html,) the situation arising since the close of the Second Vatican Council (whose validity they never questioned) was giving rise to 'an agonising crisis of conscience'.