Latin Mass 'Indult' Leaked

Whispers in the Loggia has the Latin text of the Motu Proprio and has published an analysis. Christopher Gillibrand has translated the first two paragraphs for readers of this blog. There will be much rejoicing in traditionalist circles over this. Expect the Lefebvrists to be welcomed back into the fold soon. B16 - a man who knows how to do unity. We Anglicans could learn a thing or two I fear. Read the opening pars of the indult below.

Incidentally, the second par skates close to opposition to para 37 on the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of Vatican II which gave dioceses powers to regulate liturgy unless it is qualified by subsequent text.

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae.

The concern of the Supreme Pontiffs, up to the present and always, was that the Church of Christ offer the Divine Majesty a worthy worship "for the praise and glory of His name" and "for the utility of all His holy Church."

Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquaeque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiae lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet.

Since time immemorial as also in the future, the principle is to be observed "according to which each particular Church must be in accordance with the universal Church not only with respect to the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also regarding usages universally accepted from apostolic and continuous tradition, which are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided, but also to hand down the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of belief..."

Christopher has been working through the night, bless this extraordinary man, and I hope to bring you the rest soon! Meanwhile, here is a little more commentary from him, interspersed with what Whispers are saying.

Whispers starts
Entrusting his pontificate’s most significant text to the bishops of the world, Benedict XVI observed that the run-up to Summorum Pontificum was marked by “news reports and judgments made without sufficient information [which] have created no little confusion.”

It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.”
The reality is, in the modern world, if you change your cotta and cassock in Rome, the whole world can be chatting about it in twenty minutes, probably with photos.  It is thanks to the publicity the Motu Proprio received, not least in The Times that it was not killed behind the scenes, in a move led by the French bishops.    The Pope is to be believed when he earlier said that he would not be swayed one way or the other by petitions and press stories.  It would be concerning if the contents had been changed in one way or another by confusing press reports. There is a possibility that the requirements for the Easter Triduum (see below) were added as a result of pressure in the media from Jewish organizations.

One wonders just exactly who has been confused- clerics or the Faithful or both

Whispers continues
Well, the cycle of speculation is now past, replaced at long last (after years of consultations, delays and divisions in the Roman Curia) by the definitive text – an impeccably constructed and painstakingly finessed package of what is, at its core, a decisive compromise on the part of the liturgically-attuned pontiff.

Chiding both sides in the furious debate over the wider availability of the 1962 Missal for voicing “very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown,” according to an advance copy of the documents obtained exclusively by Whispers, Benedict yields a clear verdict as the “fruit of much reflection, numerous consultations and prayer.”

However, the verdict -- dated for its official release on Saturday -- is not without its caveats.

Chris adds
By co-incidence, the Motu Proprio will be issued on the Feast of Blessed Benedict XI of the Order of Preachers.   The final verdict will depend on the precise details released of the text released on Saturday.   Curiously, there doesn’t seem to be anything here about priests of religious orders, who in one sense have more freedom to celebrate the EF if they are protected by their order and less if their superior will not allow it.

Whispers continues
Specifically stating that its books were “never abrogated,” according to the text the pre-Conciliar form will exist as an “extraordinary” use of “the one Roman Rite.”

Chris adds
If this had been understood by many in the 1970s, the EF would have remained in much more widespread use.     An apology to traditionalists and indeed to the Faithful is in order but will not be forthcoming.

Some history of the debate on whether the Latin Mass was ever abrogated can be found here.
http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2007/06/for-record-tornielli-benedict-xvi-has.html

The then Cardinal Ratzinger was convinced years ago that it wasn’t but did not have sufficient power to do anything about it.

The date of 7th July indicates that it is the version handed out at the prelates meeting, Wednesday before last, when the Motu Proprio was presented to a group of selected Bishops.  Someone said at the time that there would be some touching here and there and I think that includes the date.  Two of the Bishops from Latin America made their excuses for not attending the meeting- that is not a good omen for the future interest of the Bishops.

Whispers continues
While “a priest does not require any permission” to celebrate the 1962 form “without the people,” the faithful “who spontaneously request” its celebration “may be admitted” to said Masses, but no such "private" liturgies may be performed during the Paschal Triduum. (Contrary to reports elsewhere, no numerical quota is given for the faithful making the request.)

Chris adds
This seems to solve the problem for priests of having to beg for an altar to say the Latin Mass  as they travel around.  Permission should normally now be granted in most Churches.   May be some Bishops will try to strangle supply by refusing publicity to Masses.   So far, there is nothing specific here to prevent priests who want to say the EF being victimised by the Bishops. 

The numerical quota was dropped probably because of the difficulties of counting who was eligible, including double, and multiple counting.    The Paschal Tridium requirement side-steps the Good Friday prayer issue neatly (there have been accusations of anti-semitism by Jewish groups who claim that granting wider permission for the Latin Mass would spoil the work following the Declarations of Nostra Aetate- the Declaration on non-Christian religions at the Second Vatican Council)

Potentially however this could reduce the number of priests available for EF Triduums.  However, realistically in a parish, the last demand would be for the EF Triduum.

Whispers continues
In parishes where an affinity for the extraordinary form “exists stably,” pastors are exhorted to “willingly” allow formal Masses with the people, but no more than one per Sundays and feasts; pastors may also permit weddings, funerals “or occasional celebrations” in the prior use, likewise being able to allow "as the good of souls may suggest" the 1962 forms of baptism, penance and the anointing of the sick.
There will be a great drive from the Latin Mass Society and other such bodies to promote the Latin Mass to the Faithful, to build up stable groups in the parishes.  Parish priests who previously have kept their head down will be able to encourage the development of these stable groupings. 

Whispers continues
The post-Concilar Lectionary -- "even in the vernacular" -- is permitted as an option for Pian-Johannine liturgies.

Chris adds
No-one will use it, apart from it situations where a parish priest is trying to move a parish towards acceptance of the EF.    There are problems both with the OF calendar and readings. The OF collects are abysmal in form and content. (I intend to write a full critique over this summer).

Whispers continues
And, most crucially, while bishops are “earnestly requested to grant [the] desire” for public celebrations expressed by the extraordinary use's devotees, recourse to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is foreseen in cases of “a Bishop who desires to make provision for requests of lay faithful of this kind, but is for various reasons prevented from doing so.” The indult-overseeing body is to respond with its “advice and help.”

Chris adds
One wonders what “rules of engagement” have been/ will be given to ED.    This could be the prelude to an Apostolic Administration for traditionalist orders and some parishes which would put them beyond the reach of the Bishop.  Opus Dei has a similar arrangement and have been very active in Rome trying to prevent it being extended to traditionalists.   

Whispers continues
Also “lawful,” according to the normative text – which, like its cover letter, comes in at four pages – are the erection of “personal parishes” for the celebration of the 1962 rites or the appointment of a “rector or chaplain” designated for the task, and the unimpeded use by clerics of the Roman Breviary as likewise promulgated by Bl. John XXIII.

Chris adds
Such personal parishes give great stability.   Again, there will be a great push by the traditionalists to show how successful they can be.  There would be revolution if they were forced to use the new Triduum however.  Before a Church is closed, traditionalists should be offered the chance of forming a personal parish.  Too often, the Bishops have preferred to see closure rather than a Latin Mass.

Whispers continues
Citing numerous concerns that the Roman decree would inhibit the authority of diocesan bishops as the chief stewards of divine worship in their local churches, the Pope said in his explanatory note that “nothing is taken away” from that aspect.

Chris adds
See my comment below about the opening para.

Whispers continues
The bishop’s “role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity,” Benedict writes. However, “should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local Ordinary will always be able to intervene” – but only “in full harmony… with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio.”

“Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows,” the pontiff says to the bishops. Yet at the same time, according to the text, only the diocesan bishop is granted the faculty to administer Confirmation according to the pre-Conciliar Roman Pontifical.

Chris adds
The ordinary minister of confirmation is a Bishop. A priest can also validly confer this sacrament if he has the faculty to do so, either from the general law or by way of a special grant from the competent authority.  This could create a problem if a Bishop is prevented from visiting a Diocese to administer confirmation.

Whispers continues
Citing the “evident” reality that “the Latin Liturgy in its various forms has stimulated in the spiritual life very many Saints in every century of the Christian age and strengthened in the virtue of religion so many peoples and made fertile their piety,” Benedict reiterates in the motu proprio itself that while the Second Vatican Council “expressed the desire that with due respect and reverence for divine worship it be restored and adapted to the needs of our age,” the ensuing years have yielded “not a small number of the faithful [who] have been and remain attached with such great love and affection to the previous liturgical forms.”

Chris adds
Remain attached- sadly the idea recurs again that it is just for those that just cannot move on from the Latin Mass.

Whispers continues
While the main text employs the papal “We,” Benedict’s tone and form turn to a more personal “I” in his missive to the bishops.

Noting that “this document was most directly opposed on account of two fears,” he deems the first – that it “detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions – the liturgical reform – is being called into question” – as “unfounded.”

Chris adds
The next Pope will not quite have this reverence for the Council, as he won’t have been there!   The Council can only seem to be a continuity because the sources of the problems predate the Council.  This touches on the other desiderata of the Society of Saint Pius X, the lifting of the excommunications of the bishops and a theological discourse on the status of the  Second Vatican Council.

Whispers continues
“It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were ‘two Rites,’” the Pope says.

“Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.”

Chris adds
Politically, this has advantages for traditionalists, returning the Latin Mass to the centre of the liturgical life of the Church   But it remains difficult to describe the diversity of form and content in various celebrations of the OF as a rite.

Whispers continues
However, such was the excessive drive on the part of some to implement the Vatican II reforms as a rupture with the past that the 1962 form became an emblematic longing for those who, he writes, though “faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them.”

Where said implementation of the new norms “was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity,” the pontiff says, in the package's strongest language, that the result “frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.”

“I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion,” he wrote. “And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.”

Chris adds
One can expect a document on liturgical abuses down the line.   When depends on how quicly this document has an effect and on how well the Bishops behave when implementing it.

Cardinal Ratzinger in 1997
"For some time now, in various quarters and for different reasons, the possibility of a revision of the Missa] promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970 has been a topic of discussion. If such a revision were contemplated, the criterion to be followed should be that of maximum fidel¬ity to the indications of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium. (of the Second Vatican Council) Conse¬quently, such a revision should make evident the continuity and identity of the Roman rite before and after the reform. It is clear that the proposal of a 're¬form of the reform' refers to the Missal of T970 and not to that of 1962, even if the ultimate aim of this reform would be a liturgical reconciliation" {The Latin Mass, Spring 1997, p. 8)

Whispers continues
“[Q]uite unfounded” in Benedict’s view was the second objection to a wider celebration of the 1962 form – that its wider availability “would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities.”

“The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language,” he says, noting that “neither of these is found very often.” In light of “these concrete presuppositions,” he continues, “it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.”

The “fears” aside, the “positive reason” he cites behind the document’s release derives from those for whom liturgy was the touchstone of a break with Rome. According to Benedict, his initiative “is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church,” and the theme of unity – of the liturgy, of the faith, among the faithful – runs through both texts as their defining thread.

Chris adds
“Quite unfounded” places the burden of proof on the Bishops.    The Roman liturgy used to be the expression of unity.  The next stage will be to start pruning the diversity in the OF which I complained about above. 

Just when will the Pope be setting an example and saying the EF in public – although even as I write there is a French website carrying a rumour that he has

Whispers continues
“Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity,” the Pope writes, alluding in the present to the Society of St Pius X, whose leaders were excommunicated in 1988.

Chris adds
The splits in the Church always start as battles between the clergy, for the most part.   The Church has always tried far harder than it did with the SSPX in the 1970s and 80s.  Although, the Pope, I think did send a car just in case Archbishop Lefebrve did not go ahead with the ordinations!

Pope John Paul II left so much undone because of his lack of grip on the reigns of power, even when he was healthier.  He could not have issued this document and in any case was not motivated by any deep concern for the Latin Mass.

Whispers continues
“One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to make it possible for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew.”

But that desire to give the entirety of the church’s liturgical heritage its proper place does not signal a total victory for its traditionalist wing, which has battled long and hard for the new morning that’ll dawn on 7.7.07.

“[A]s a matter of principle,” Benedict tells the bishops, even those priests ordained for 1962-exclusive communities “cannot… exclude celebrating according to the new books.” Said “exclusion of the new rite,” he says, “would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.”

Chris adds
This could be dangerous to the liturgical peace that the Pope so earnestly desires if Bishops try to force priests to use the new books.  Some priests already  do use both books, such as the biritual orders like the Servants of Jesus and Mary
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Servi_Jesu_et_Mariae

Whispers continues
At the same time, the Pope says he finds it “true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition.” However, even in this the onus is placed on the prelates, whose “charity and pastoral prudence will,” he expects, “be an incentive and guide for improving these.”

Chris adds.
It is perfectly true that traditionalists tend  not to be socialist voters, if it’s the politics he is referring to and the strength of political opinion varies like in any group.  Most want to get on with praying.  The political aspects of traditionalism are almost uniquely a French problem.

Whispers continues
In the pontiff’s mind, “the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching,” offering his wish that “new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal.” And, conversely, “celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.”

“There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal,” Benedict says. “In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture.

Chris adds
What is the Missal of Pope Paul VI but a rupture?  Growth and progress! Not an organic development, it was written by committee.

Whispers continues
What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.

Chris adds
But it was- see comments above.   The old Breviary was swept away by Pope Paul VI at the stroke of a pen without him even reading what was being proposed.

Whispers continues
Cardinal Browne at the Second Vatican Council warned that Latin could disappear as a liturgical language in ten years.   He was laughed to scorn.   The Council Fathers would wail in sorrow were they alive today when they beheld the liturgical wasteland that was meant to be the crowning achievement of the work of the Council.

Chris adds
Yes, and why did the Catholic Church have to wait almost forty years to restore them?  It is time that the Mass was again a pignus futurae gloriae – a pledge of future glory. Cardinal Browne at the Second Vatican Council warned that Latin could disappear as a liturgical language in ten years.   He was laughed to scorn.   The Council Fathers would wail in sorrow were they alive today when they beheld the liturgical wasteland that was meant to be the crowning achievement of the work of the Council. 

Comments

[Martin]

"The political aspects of traditionalism are almost uniquely a French problem."

I hardly think monarchism and Legitimism, which are common amongst French Lefebvrists, can be seen to be a "problem". Would that more people adhered to them.

[The young fogey]

Gaudent angeli.

[Long-Skirts]

Martin said...

"they want the idea of "error has no rights" to be reinstated, and mistrust the ecumenical initiatives of Vatican II - a point of view with which I have substantial sympathy."

ONLY A SAINT

Only a Saint
Could preserve so much
Only a Saint
Whom God would touch.

Only a Saint
So hated by Hell
Only a Saint
Mere man, Marcel.

Merci, Marcel, for all the Seminaries, Schools, High Schools, Convents, Colleges, Retreat Houses, Monasteries and the DAILY Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - Deo Gratias!!

[Michael Procter]

How splendid for those of us devoted to Latin sacred music, who have kept the flame alight for decades without seeing much hope of the great treasury of church music ever again fitting into the liturgy for which it was conceived.

[Martin]

Whilst the Lefebvrists have got some things that they wanted out of this document - freer usage of the classical rite, acknowledgment that it was never abrogated - there are many more things that they want that they have not got.

For a start, they want the idea of "error has no rights" to be reinstated, and mistrust the ecumenical initiatives of Vatican II - a point of view with which I have substantial sympathy.

Further, they do not want to have to celebrate according to the Novus ordo, so the prohibition upon celebrating in the classical rite alone even if you are a priest of an institute set up for that purpose will irk them.

Also, it still leaves some discretion with the bishops, and permits them to allow or prohibit public celebrations of the classical rite, in theory at least. This will be unacceptable to Lefebvrists.

Private celebrations are not to be held during the Triduum - this, again, will not be acceptable.

This is a good start, certainly, and it may encourage the Lefebvrists to talk to the Vatican, but it will not go far enough to bring them back within the fold.

[Martin]

Why do you think this will be enough for the Lefebvrists? Whilst I would like it to be, I do not think it will be. (rg writes: Maybe I was writing from hope over experience. Your view might well be the right one.)

[Martin]

Marvellous, marvellous, marvellous! and "personal parishes" for the celebration of the traditional rite are also mentioned!

[Chris Gillibrand]

Thank you for your kind words. The second paragraph does appear from the commentary on Whispers in the Loggia to have been qualified by subsequent text. However, the sub-text of this document is that the liturgy is being restored to its former position, as the litmus of unity with the Holy See. As the Catholic Church claims that in Her, unity and truth are met together, this is of vital importance. Pope Benedict wants to put an end to the "liturgy wars" or the "clash of rites" but this will require considerable openess of mind from the Bishops, and there has been little evidence of this in the run-up to the Motu Proprio.