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Pope Francis Drops a Bomb on the Church
Friday, Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter “Motu Proprio” entitled, Traditionis Custodes.(TC)
This letter severely restricts the use of the traditional Latin Mass (TLM), effectively throwing Benedict XVI and his issuance of Summorum Pontificum (SP), under the bus. Pope Benedict XVI issued SP in order to help those faithful who “continued to be attached with such love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms which had deeply shaped their culture and spirit.” Apparently, Pope Francis doesn’t think that’s necessary anymore.
It will no longer be possible for any priest to pray the TLM at any time, but will now be dependent on having a benevolent bishop who will allow the TLM. Article 3 of TC is where we get gutted:
Art. 3. The bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970:
§ 1. is to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs;
§ 2. is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes);
§ 3. to establish at the designated locations the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962. [7] In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences;
§ 4. to appoint a priest who, as delegate of the bishop, is entrusted with these celebrations and with the pastoral care of these groups of the faithful. This priest should be suited for this responsibility, skilled in the use of the Missale Romanum antecedent to the reform of 1970, possess a knowledge of the Latin language sufficient for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts, and be animated by a lively pastoral charity and by a sense of ecclesial communion. This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful;
§ 5. to proceed suitably to verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them;
§ 6. to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.
Pope Francis loves hanging out with Muslims and Lutherans and Pachamama but seems to hate those of us who love the traditional Latin Mass. One of the great injustices of this action is that there has been great growth in the TLM in diocesan parishes. The alleged ‘Pope of accompaniment and those on the margins’ has dumped us and sent us to the margins.
This is a big deal. There is a quote attributed to Pope Francis that he was not to be excluded that he will enter history as the one who split the Catholic Church. This makes it look like he is trying to do exactly this.
I am trying to find out if the TLM that I attend will still be offered this Sunday, and if so, where will it be held. Because apparently, according to TC 3.2, it can’t be held in the parish church.
Published in Religion & Philosophy
There’s really not that much difference between the two missals, and in my opinion there’s nothing wrong with the new one.
There’s also nothing preventing any parish priest from celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin, with Gregorian chant, wearing the same vestments he wore for the TLM, using incense, and all the other trappings that attract people who love tradition (including me) to the TLM in the first place. In fact in doing so, he’d be implementing the actual recommendations of Vatican II’s Sancrosanctum Concilium.
That is absolutely false, Joseph – there are major differences. To say this is misleading and ignorant.
Ah yes, the unicorn NO. I would guess the NO is rarely celebrated this way.
I’m not impatient, I am furious. Francis calls the NO the UNIQUE expression of the Roman rite. Are you kidding me? Something invented out of whole cloth by a freemasonic heretic, Bugnini, is the unique expression of the mass?Give me a break.
I would love to know and hear what B16 thinks about this vindictive move made by Francis.
My parish celebrates the NO Mass with incense (one on Sundays so as to allow the allergic and asthmatic to attend others), sung prayers and responses and antiphons, and clergy turning ad orientem when praying to God. We also have attracted a lot of young people and many large (and growing), young families. You see a lot of these women in skirts and mantillas. Unfortunately, you also see a lot of shorts and sandals this time of year, too (don’t they know they’re attending the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, and they’re the bride??) Our pastor is mid-thirties and orthodox. And our parish is not the most conservative in town. So, I think your disdain for the NO Mass is mistaken.
However, I agree that Francis’s decision is hostile to all the wrong people. Again. I do hope most bishops inclined to allow the TLM ignore him on this. Unfortunately, our bishop is brand spanking new and, I imagine, disinclined to test the waters even though I believe him to be faithful and orthodox. We shall see.
It is not good that the priest faces the faithful during the consecration. It is not less edifying – it makes it about the priest and not a sacrifice to God. The mass is a sacrifice offered to God, not to the people. When the priest is in ad orientem posture, he is facing liturgical east, from where Christ will come. We should all be facing God when at the mass. When the priest makes himself the center of attention so that all can look at him, this invites all kinds of trouble. Just one small example – at the elevation – I don’t think I’ve ever seen two NO exclusive priests use the same posture – they all do it differently in a look at me type of way.
I suspect most Catholics think as you that it is good the the priest faces the people and I would suspect that most wouldn’t know why he does this. I found this letter on ad orientem worship to be quite good.
It explains beautifully what we lose with the versus populum celebration.
I don’t think disdain is the right word. Dissappintment and frustration are better words. We’ve lost a lot of the riches of the faith with the NO – the fruits are there to see.
That is precisely the sort of comment that might give one the impression that “use of Missale Romanum of 1962 is often characterized by a rejection… of the liturgical reform.”
They added a third reading, and expanded to a 3-year lectionary cycle. They added the Prayers of the Faithful and Sign of Peace. They removed the reading of the Last Gospel. They added additional Eucharistic Prayer options, and inserted an Acclamation in the middle of it. They removed some other prayers, mostly ones the priest said silently.
I’m aware of the differences. I’m not a big fan of the Sign of Peace, but otherwise I generally prefer the new missal.
As I have written in another post if the instruction of SC been followed, we might have a nice mass. But Bugnini did his own thing – there is a historical record here. Paul VI banished Bugnini to Iran after he realized what had come to fruition. We should all reject what Bugnini did – hence the “reform of the reform” that just never seems to reform.
I share this not against the vetus ordo but as fresh food for thought. Again, I hope we return to the shared ground of Pope Benedict XVI’s provision for both. From Ronald Conte:
I always advise my fellow Catholics against parish shopping. The glory of the Mass should be witnessed in any faithful form. Christ speaks through every ordained minister, whether by conviction or by challenge. We must learn to see Christ in difficult communities as we learn to see Him in difficult individuals. One’s parish is beside one’s home, like one’s family is given for one to honor even without merit.
Selecting a parish to call home, rather than being selected by way of geography, can be okay. But it can tempt one to vanity. God is witnessed both in awe and in poverty, in the excellent and in the simple, in the old and in the new. We must seek Him everywhere to know Him everywhere. There is universality in the Mass, but He expresses His love in varied forms.
The Mass began in dirty ghettos, in homes, in catacombs, and on wild roads; not in majestic cathedrals. We should love the Mass in many settings, with many peoples, and by many ways that rightly express the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Amen. I figure the hours I’ve spent listening to insipid modern hymns should at least shorten my stay in purgatory.
But Pachamama told him it was so.
Thanks for sharing – I found it ridiculous and full of straw men. The use of “some” when describing the TLM schismatics is his main straw man. Another is that beauty can distract. Wow.
I think you are giving bad advice.
Cardinal Zen is very familiar with being thrown under the bus.
We are the Church Militant. Let’s keep fighting together.
There’s a sign on the way out of my parish’s parking lot. It reads, “now entering mission territory.” My fellow Catholics whose faith I admire most are the ones who take that to heart, but also evangelize in the parish hall after Mass. They’re heavily involved in the pro-life movement and now the anti-porn efforts among the laity. But, they also teach Theology of the Body to teens at the parish, and send their kids to dance parties in the parish hall. They join (or lead) the Bible studies and the mom’s summer book club at church. And this all happens in NO parishes. Right worship is essential. But so is taking Jesus to others wherever you go — wherever you’re led.
How do you know you’re not called to be a faithful witness in a NO parish? Are you seeking out Masses that satisfy you or those that help you meet your obligations to discipleship? As St. Theresa of Calcutta is reputed to have said: “do what’s in front of you.” Maybe “what’s in front of you” is the NO parish next door. Maybe you’re called to advocate for the TLM there, or at least to provide an example of true Christian charity and piety. That’s what I try to do at my NO parish, but there are others there who are much, much better at it.
Wow. Card. Zen is NOT happy. I appreciate his forthrightness. Don’t get that much in the Church.
I think it all boils down to Vatican II:
Part of the problem is that it is the trads that believe that the Roman Catholic Church is the one true church established by Jesus Christ and once led by Saint Peter. The other side believes a broad diversity of things incompatible with that church and the deposit of faith, but available in the vast marketplace of heterodoxies outside. Which side will evaporate first?
It is a possible position that neither is entirely correct.
But at any rate, it seems plain from the fact that a Trinitarian, Nicene, Bible-believing church is the sort that G-d will preserve as well as from 4,000 years of the history of G-d’s people that the side that will first evaporate is not the Trinitarian, Nicene, Bible-believing church.
Entirely correct seems as high a bar in this life as it is low in the next. Though it is painfully clear that a church where a bishop can proudly and boldly announce that he has baptized none of his charges while cavorting with demon idols in Vatican City with total impunity is not burdened with inerrancy. It is not a surprise to find it suppressing the Pope Leo Prayers. But the church of the Christ that casts out demons and protects children is in evidence as the target of the suppression.