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Motu Proprio Obstruction


Saint Therese

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Saint Therese

Is Pope Benedict losing the confidence of the Latin Mass faithful?
Posted By: Damian Thompson at Oct 8, 2008 at 12:55:51 [General]
Posted in: Religion
Tags:Magic Circle , Pope Benedict XVI , Summorum Pontificum

Just over a year ago, Pope Benedict's decree liberating the traditional Latin Mass came into effect. But it contained so many loopholes that liberal bishops have been able to sabotage it - and a much-needed clarification from Rome has still not appeared.



Pope Benedict XVI has an intense vision of liturgical reform

The mood among traditionalist commentators is gloomy - much gloomier than they are prepared to admit on their blogs. Meanwhile, Latin Mass enthusiasts in England and Wales are bewildered that the number of weekly Sunday Masses in the Old Rite has barely increased since before Summorum Pontificum.

The bishops of England and Wales, three quarters of whom regard the Motu Proprio as a mistake, are playing a clever game. Yes, they are more willing to give permission for weekday Tridentine Masses, or Sunday Masses once a month. But (a) they are still firmly in control of Latin Mass provision, which was not the Pope's intention; and (b) outside London, the number of weekly Sunday Masses in the Old Rite is tiny.

Take a look at the website of the Latin Mass Society. Its list of regular traditional Masses tells a sad story. Arundel & Brighton, East Anglia, Lancaster, Menevia, Middlesbrough, Wrexham - there is not one weekly traditional Sunday Mass in these dioceses, according to the LMS.

Other dioceses offer perhaps one or two, some predating Summorum Pontificum. Funnily enough, one bishop who has instituted a Sunday Tridentine Mass is dear old Arthur Roche - the key word being "instituted", meaning that it is very much his decision, under his control.

No cathedral in England and Wales offers a weekly Sunday Mass in the Old Rite, so far as I can tell, which is a disgrace. And no Latin Mass communities have been set up in England and Wales, in sharp contrast to the situation in the United States. "There's no demand for them," say the bishops. But the point is that the admittedly limited demand for the traditional services is NOT being met - and the Pope's wish that a new generation of Catholics be introduced to the treasures of the old liturgy is just a pipe dream.

But if the bishops of England and Wales (and of many other countries) are playing fast and loose with Summorum Pontificum, that's because Pope Benedict XVI is allowing them to.

The original document was not tightly drafted: it left plenty of room for confusion about what constituted a "stable group" of the faithful who were entitled to demand access to the older form of Mass. Did the group have to be rooted in one parish, or predate the papal decree? Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, has indicated that the answer is "no" and that the Pope wishes people in every parish to have access (of some sort) to the 1962 Missal.

But these were off-the cuff remarks made in response to a question I asked him at a press conference before the big Westminster Mass boycotted by the local bishops: they have not been clarified or amplified by Ecclesia Dei. Why not?

Meanwhile, although the Pope is slowly changing the style of his own liturgical celebrations to bring them more into line with the historic practices of the Church - to de-Bugninify them, if you like - there is still not the slightest indication that His Holiness will celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form publicly. Why? No one knows the answer.

Let us be blunt about this. If the Pope were to die tomorrow, he would be remembered for many fine achievements, most of all his encyclicals, but his liturgical reforms would peter out. Summorum Pontificum would remain on the statute book, but the Magic Circle in England and its powerful allies in the Vatican and Europe would quietly suffocate the work of Ecclesia Dei.

My guess is that the next Pope will be as theologically conservative as Benedict, but is unlikely to possess his blindingly intense vision of a liturgical reform in which the pre- and post-Vatican II liturgies revive each other. That reform is not yet properly under way, and the Pope is in his 80s. No wonder traditionalists are alarmed.

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I think there is probably a very good reason why Pope Benedict wrote the way he did. It's not like he doesn't know how to write something definitive and forceful. It's probably for the same reason that he hasn't done a public Latin mass. I suspect that he is well aware of the separation in his life between the desires of the man, and the responsibilities of the office he has been entrusted with.

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Saint Therese

I'm actually sorry I posted this. Apparently I didn't read it carefully enough.
I would never want to post someting that would seem critical of the HOly Father.
:sadder:

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Don't be sorry. We gotta be critical of everyone, sometimes. Papa Bene is a sinner, despite the fact we tend to not think so. Anywho, I trust in what he has written. And I trust that God will keep Him around long enough to turn the Church back to the right course. He is pretty much the last who sees the real vision of V2 (despite some unpopular belief around some circles... cue the radtrads). God will not leave us on a cliffhanger. The Pope will be inspired in ways which will keep the course.

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There's a difference between questioning and criticizing. It is a very legitimate to ask why he hasn't done a public Latin mass yet.

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The Holy Father likely doesn't want to give ammunition to those who use the Extraordinary Form as a triumphalist political weapon, or to undercut the status of the Ordinary Form.

His actions, as the Successor of Peter, are neccessarily constrained by what is best for the good order and discipline of the Church.

Edited by MichaelF
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puellapaschalis

I think (and I believe Fr. Z.'s blogged similarly) that many who are attached to the EF and who desire to see it more widely available simply need to practice more patience. The Moto Proprio on its own, whilst magnificent and very generous, cannot undo the accumulated mindset of the past few decades in one fell swoop. It needs patience, gentleness and prayer - as much if not more from our part (gosh, am I counting myself as one of them? I suppose I am) as from the Pope's.

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[quote name='Saint Therese' post='1675357' date='Oct 12 2008, 05:20 AM']No cathedral in England and Wales offers a weekly Sunday Mass in the Old Rite, so far as I can tell, which is a disgrace.[/quote]

I'd question whether it's a disgrace or not. There are quite a few church services where Latin is used sparingly, usually in a choral setting (like having a sung sanctus&benedictus, or some hymns) but they tend to be Anglican and the law states there has to be an English translation beside it. Catholics here tend to like English.

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puellapaschalis

[quote name='RandomProddy' post='1675505' date='Oct 12 2008, 01:56 PM']Catholics here tend to like English.[/quote]

It's not so much about what people like as what the Church states should be included in Catholic worship. By the by, I know my fair share of British Catholics and whilst they all "like" English they'd love some more Latin.

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Unfortunately until we have a generation change, I don't see an explosion of orthodoxy in the Church. The Holy Spirit is safeguarding the Magisterium with pope's like Benedict XVI, but there is too much resistance to anything connected to the word "tradition" among our elders who saw Vatican II as the council of free love and liberation from "the man" - that is why they think that women are going to be ordained and homosexuals are going to be married and the hierarchy will be eliminated "with a little more time". There hasn't been one single solitary change regarding Latin Masses in our diocese and 99% of church goers couldn't even tell you that the pope released this document. I still have to drive more than an 1 1/2 to get to a Latin Mass.

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Archaeology cat

I know our diocese is working on it. They had plans to dedicate one of the parishes to the TLM, and then it would be under the direction of the Cathedral, but that parish didn't one to do that. I mean, they didn't mind having the TLM there, just that they didn't want to stop being their own parish. We don't have the TLM at our Cathedral, but we do have the Latin NO, and it's done really well. It would be nice if more NO Masses were celebrated like that, really.

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VeniteAdoremus

The Motu Proprio has had no. impact. at. all in my country. That is, we do have a bunch of FSSP priests who are now getting a personal parish, but in the "normal" parish and diocese life, nobody is interested.

Yes, having a TLM at our Cathedral would be beyond cool.

But you know what would also be cool?

Daily Mass.

Which we don't have. There's a 9AM Mass Tuesday through Friday, a vigil mass at 7PM on Saturday, and Sunday Mass at 10AM. That's it.

I personally think the TLM is more pleasant to attend than the ordinary rite, but when it comes down to it, Mass = Mass. I'd love to see a bit more of that, OR or ER.

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[quote name='Brother Adam' post='1675512' date='Oct 12 2008, 08:32 AM']Unfortunately until we have a generation change, I don't see an explosion of orthodoxy in the Church. The Holy Spirit is safeguarding the Magisterium with pope's like Benedict XVI, but there is too much resistance to anything connected to the word "tradition" among our elders who saw Vatican II as the council of free love and liberation from "the man" - that is why they think that women are going to be ordained and homosexuals are going to be married and the hierarchy will be eliminated "with a little more time". There hasn't been one single solitary change regarding Latin Masses in our diocese and 99% of church goers couldn't even tell you that the pope released this document. I still have to drive more than an 1 1/2 to get to a Latin Mass.[/quote]
I wasn't alive in the 1970s, but I imagine that those who were alive will tell you that things have changed quite a bit. It won't be long before most Priests were born in the 1980s and 1990s, and have no recollection of the 1970s. As Pope John Paul II always reminded us, the Church is young. How many Priests in your diocese know the rubrics of the 1962 Missal? That may be one practical reason why you cannot easily find an Extraordinary Form Mass. In the future, new Priests will probably be trained in Seminary to offer both forms of Mass. It seems that young men in Seminary today tend to be very orthodox. The Holy Spirit is not merely holding together the Magisterium. He is also renewing the face of the Church with lay people. There are so many orthodox movements and organizations in the Church that are helping to form the laity. I am convinced that the 1970s were just a passing moment in the history of the Church. The Lord founded the Church with 12 men who took the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Look at World Youth Day. We certainly have more than 12 men who are rebuilding the Church today. Be not afraid. :)

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What you have said is as correct and true as what I have said. Those renewing the face of the earth are still in a minority in church leadership, and especially, educational leadership today. And those who want to see a revision of the post-VII liturgical reform are, as you said, young, and as I said, we need a generation change. There are few priests in our diocese who know how to say the TLM Mass, but not because they can't learn - they have no desire to learn - the education is available locally for anyone who wants to learn. The over 40's generation of Catholics today have been taught a version of Catholicism that cannot reproduce itself and as we both said, is going to die out quickly, because it is a Catholicism that attacks itself in a hermeneutic of doubt. I see in all of our young people that they have no interest in that kind of Catholicism, and want an authentic faith rooted in scripture and tradition. I have great hope, the seeds of a new evangelization have been planted, but it will continue to take time.

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puellapaschalis

As much as it gets slated, believe it or not the current (not solely liturgical) Catholic situation here in the Netherlands is much, much better than twenty years ago.

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