Crackup or meltdown? and more from Brian St. Paul.

Mr. St. Paul is the Editor of Crisis Magazine.

Things are not going well in the Episcopal Church. You've probably already heard about some of the internal rifts they've been having over same-sex marriage and the consecration of gay bishops.

As a result, some parishes have broken away from the U.S. hierarchy. According to the Washington Post, this past Sunday seven Episcopal parishes in Virginia announced their withdrawal from the Episcopal Church. This number includes Truro Church and the Falls Church -- two of the denomination's most historic parishes. (Interestingly enough, the breakaway churches are aligning themselves with the Church of Nigeria -- possibly the most conservative branch of the Anglican Communion.)

This does not bode well for the Episcopal Church in the U.S. Several other parishes (including two in Virginia) are also heading out the door, and the bleeding shows no signs of slowing.

Understandably, this has been a painful time for everyone involved -- most of those leaving have been life-long Episcopalians. But the simple fact is, when a church either corrupts the gospel or stops preaching it altogether, the faithful will depart.

I don't know how long the American Episcopal Church will last. Their numbers drop every year, and it looks like a mass collapse is just around the corner. Let this be a lesson to our Catholic bishops: Orthodoxy leads to growth; dissent leads to extinction.

And of course, I do hope that many of those leaving the Episcopal Church will eventually find their home in Catholicism. It isn't perfect, but it is Christ's Church.

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Pray hard for your bishop, kiddies. I have a feeling the availability of the Tridentine Mass in your diocese will be left up to him...

A quick item: Several reports from Church circles in Europe say that the pope's new policy on the Tridentine Mass will be released in the next few weeks. According to those familiar with it, the Motu Proprio ("of his own accord," meaning that the directive comes from the pope himself) will make the Tridentine liturgy more widely available to the faithful.

The details are still fuzzy...different sources are saying different things. However, if the reports are correct, we shall know all by the end of January.

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How cool is this next one? How about a friendly with the Archbishop of Canterbury's side?

I can't resist mentioning one relatively unimportant but thoroughly entertaining news bite from a couple days ago...

Apparently, the Vatican is considering forming a soccer team. This comes from Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone -- a fanatical soccer fan and the Vatican's Secretary of State.

I'm not sure what I think about this. On the one hand, it's kind of a neat idea and might actually have an evangelical component. On the other, I don't really like soccer. No offense to those who play, but I gravitate more toward the combat sports (maybe it's my Irish blood).

Either way, I'll be interested in how things turn out. And if they do have a team, there are some great possibilities for team names. Since the "Saints" is already taken, I'm leaning toward the "Papabili."

Here's the story: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/12/18/061218172447.hr28syck.html