On September 14, this Friday, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio on the Missal of 1962 will take effect. It will be an interesting day, and I’m fully confident that the world will be standing after a few more Masses according to this Missal are celebrated.
Yes, everything will be okay.
If you haven’t, you might want to take a look at the text of the MP and the Pope’s accompanying letter. The interesting thing about this is that neither have been officially translated – into any language. The only texts of both on the Vatican website are still in Latin. I have no idea why – if it is symbolic or if some hostile to this MP are holding up translations, making the text less accessible than it would be otherwise.
But anyway, take a look at both. First, the decree itself:
(This is going to be a long post, so we’ll split up the text)
Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters we establish the following:
Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the ‘Lex orandi’ (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same ‘Lex orandi,’ and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church’s ‘Lex credendi’ (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.
It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents ‘Quattuor abhinc annis’ and ‘Ecclesia Dei,’ are substituted as follows:
Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.
Art. 3. Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or “community” celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statues.
Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may – observing all the norms of law – also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.
Art. 5. § 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.
§ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held.
§ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.
§ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded.
§ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.
Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.
Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 õ 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”.
Art. 8. A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission “Ecclesia Dei” to obtain counsel and assistance.
Art. 9. § 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it.
§ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it.
§ 3 Clerics ordained “in sacris constitutis” may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.
Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.
Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, erected by John Paul II in 1988 (5), continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.
Art. 12. This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.
We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as “established and decreed”, and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.
From Rome, at St. Peter’s, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate.
Now, I will get to more of this a little later, but note the essence: all priests may celebrate the 62 Missal privately. No permission required. And if other people want to show up, great.
Note also the weight of the decision-making in most of these articles – it is priests and pastors. Bishops are, it goes without saying or specifying, charged with supervising the liturgy of their diocese, but this document is clearly directed at the rights, first of all, of priests, and then the rights and responsibilities of pastors.
Now, Pope Benedict’s letter accompanying the MP:
I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. 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. 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 unable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. I think of a sentence in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul writes: “Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return … widen your hearts also!” (2 Cor 6:11-13). Paul was certainly speaking in another context, but his exhortation can and must touch us too, precisely on this subject. Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.
There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. 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. 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. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.
In conclusion, dear Brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful. Each Bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own Diocese (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22: “Sacrae Liturgiae moderatio ab Ecclesiae auctoritate unice pendet quae quidem est apud Apostolicam Sedem et, ad normam iuris, apud Episcopum”).
Nothing is taken away, then, from the authority of the Bishop, whose role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity. Should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local Ordinary will always be able to intervene, in full harmony, however, with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio.
As we’ve mentioned before, there is a question of justice and historical continuity at the heart of this decision. Justice, in terms of simply clarifying the status of the 62 Missal, and historical continuity in terms of bringing back an ancient liturgy which nourished Catholics for hundreds of years – what sense does it make to say that this liturgy no longer has value? Or that its time has passed?
Now. Let’s move beyond July 7.
In the months since the release of this MP, various bishops – although not all – have released statements about the “implementation” of the MP, a move which some question because this policy from Rome will be implemented by Rome on September 14. More than a few of the episcopal statements that have come out have laid interpretations on aspects of the MP that essentially function as fairly severe obstacles.
Fr. Z has been rather tirelessly going through many of these statements, and many are listed on the Summorum Pontificum blog. For the purpose of comparing and contrasting, I think it’s most useful to take two – that from Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk of Cincinnati and Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh.
Now, the first thing to note is the message sent by this: the Cincinnati statements are not on the websites. There is nothing from the Communications Office, nothin on the Worshop office page about the MP at all. While in Raleigh, the initial link is on the first page of the website, leading to links to the bishop’s two communications on the subject.
So, for Cincinnati, I’ll have to rely (unless someone can dig it up elsewhere) on the text at Fr. Z’s site, which contains his comments and annotations. The essence of the Cincinnati statement is that priests who wish to celebrate according to the 62 Missal – even privately – must demonstrate their competence before a committee of three other priests. The Archbishop also declares that the “stable group” mentioned in the MP must be “sizeable.” Archbishop Pilarczyk’s letter to priests accompanying his directive:
Dear Father,
I am certain that you have heard or read about the Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, recently promulgated by the Holy Father, allowing for the more general celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal. Previously, permission was required by the diocesan bishop for the celebration of the preconciliar liturgy. Now, priests, after meeting certain requirements and certain conditions, may celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Missal without the permission of the local ordinary.
As the chief liturgist of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, it is my responsibility to ensure that fidelity to the liturgical rites of the Church is maintained. Therefore, I am attaching norms for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal. It is imperative that priests understand that this form of celebration is the extraordinary form and should not be construed as an option equal to the ordinary form of Mass according to the Roman Missal in use since 1970 (current Missal). After meeting the conditions outlined in the attached document, priests may privately celebrate the extraordinary form, and under certain pastoral situations, publicly celebrate it; however, the ordinary form of the Mass is the primary and normal way of celebrating Mass.
It is my expectation that the attached norms be diligently followed. The Worship Office will assist priests in their understanding of the norms and provide further information as needed. While the effective date for the Motu Proprio is Sept. 14, 2007, the conditions set by the Holy Father and by me, as Archbishop, are to be met prior to any celebration of the extraordinary form of Mass. If you are already receiving requests for the preconciliar liturgy, know that there are two parishes, Sacred Heart, Cincinnati and Our Lady of the Rosary, Dayton, that already celebrate Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal.
The gist: even though the document says no permission is needed, priest of the Archdiocese must meet certain requirements and conditions. Sounds a lot like requiring permission to me!
There is no offer to assist priests, to offer training, to fund training. It is all about the obstacles, disguised as concern for proper attention to liturgical correctness.
On the surface, it might be difficult to argue with this. After all, seminarians are trained to say Mass in school, must pass tests of some sort. It makes sense to want to ensure that priests celebrated the 62 Missal understand what they are doing, do it properly, and can speak the Latin correctly and understand it.
But if you look at the specifics here, you will see odd things. As Fr. Z notes, the priests named to this committee by the Archbishop do not, themselves, celebrate the Mass according to the ’62 Missal. In addition, as others, including Rich have noted, at least one of the priests presides at Masses in which liturgical norms for the Novus Ordo are violated. More discussions of this at Rich’s place here and here.
Which brings us to an essential point. With the release of the MP, a surprising number of bishops have discovered the importance of liturgical norms. They are very very concerned about rubrics. They are even very very concerned that their priests not be put in positions in which they violate canonical norms on the number of Masses which they celebrate each day. They are very very concerned that priests understand the language which they are speaking and are understood.
And perhaps this is one of the things Pope Benedict meant when he said he hoped the celebration of Mass according to one missal would affect the other.
But forgive us if we’re underwhelmed by this newly-discovered passion for observance of liturgical norms. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for it – but the double standard is striking. But perhaps, in a few years, the irony will have struck more than a few observers and a greater understanding for doing things by the book – which, in case you think is all about simple legalism, is really about giving the Roman Catholics who come to worship what is their right – the liturgy Rome gives, without the imposition of egotistical, idiocyncratic liturgical stylings – perhaps this understanding and concern will have permeated into more celebrations of the later Missal as well.
Now, take a look at Bishop Burbidge’s statement:
In his Christmas address to the members of the Roman Curia on December 22, 2005, His Holiness Benedict XVI, shared his vision of shepherding the Church on a path of greater unity, continuity, reform, and renewal. As an essential part of this vision, on July 7, 2007, the Holy Father released his Apostolic Letter, Summorum Pontificum, clarifying the status and usage of the Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII, published in 1962, prior to the liturgical reforms of 1970. The document also governs the use of other ritual books in use prior to these reforms.
Accompanying the Apostolic Letter, the Holy Father also wrote an explanatory letter to all the Bishops of the world providing the context in which the faithful should understand the objectives of the document. The Holy Father explains that the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council found in the 1970 Missal, with its two subsequent revisions, remain as the Forma ordinaria or normal form of celebration of the Mass. The use of the 1962 Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII is to be used as the Forma extraordinaria or extraordinary form of celebration of the Mass. Most notably, the Holy Father states that these two forms are not to be seen as two separate Rites of the Mass, but rather two forms of celebration within the one Roman Rite. The Holy Father clarifies this two-fold reality when he stated, “There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy, there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us, too….”
Therefore, to implement Summorum Pontificum in every way possible in the Diocese of Raleigh, it is my intention to maintain the Forma ordinaria as normative for celebrations of the Mass, but also to make the Forma extraordinaria form of the Mass more available to the faithful. To this end, resources will be provided to those priests who are able and choose to study how to properly celebrate the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass so that both he and the people of God will best be served. There are many resources available to priests to aid them in this pursuit and so I direct those priests seeking formation to consult with the Vicar General, the Very Reverend David D. Brockman, for which formation program will be the most effective.
Our Diocese is blessed that we already have priests exercising an effective apostolate offering the Mass and other sacraments using the Forma extraordinaria. I am grateful to these priests for their generosity to assist any priest seeking liturgical formation in the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass. In particular, I wish to recognize the Reverend Paul M. Parkerson, Pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Dunn, for his leadership in this regard. I also express my gratitude to those in liturgical leadership at Sacred Heart, Dunn for offering liturgical formation in the ministry of altar server for the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass.
While Summorum Pontificum does not impose a minimum number of the faithful who may rightfully request the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass from their pastor, the priests of the Diocese of Raleigh, and I, as Bishop, will do everything possible to respond appropriately and generously to the requests for this form with the resources we have. Our Diocesan website will soon convey more information on parish celebrations of the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass in our Diocese.
In recognition of the effective date of Summorum Pontificum on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross on September 14, 2007, I invite the faithful of our Diocese to join me at Sacred Heart, Dunn, for a special solemn celebration of the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass. I will be the homilist for the Mass and Fr. Parkerson will offer the Mass as the celebrant.
The richness of the Sacred Liturgy is the heart of our Catholic faith. Both the Forma ordinaria and the Forma extraordinaria of the Mass have been the source of holiness for countless saints throughout history. May the richness of our Catholic liturgical prayer, now made more available to the entire Church, continue to lead us all to that same goal. In the words of our Holy Father, “Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith, itself, allows.”
You know what? I really don’t think I need to offer any more comment on that, or can I. Bishop Burbidge speaks for himself, quite well – the spirit of cooperation with the Holy Father’s clear intentions and wishes is very strong.
It is the difference between fear and openness to the Spirit. Truly.
Look. The Catholic Church has many problems. Priests are generally the most overworked people on your block. But honestly, what priest who isn’t committed to doing the rite correctly is even going to bother with it? Yes there are poorly said TLMs. There have been, past and present. But this implication that you get from some of these bishop’s statements is that there are loads of priests out there chomping at the bit for 9/14 so they can replace all their parish’s Masses with the TLM against their parishioners’ wills, Masses which they just learned how to say yesterday and don’t understand – is just ludicrous.
Nor do I think it likely that parishoners will approach priests who are already overwhelmed, have expressed no interest in the TLM and have no competence in it DEMANDING THEIR MASS. Well, anything is possible, but I don’t think that’s likely. It is true that certain elements of adherents of the TLM have sown divisiveness in parishes, even within indult parishes themselves. Some, frankly, do not believe Mass said according to the 1970 Mass is valid, and make this sentiment known in various ways. A problem. But so is the insistence that the “old Mass” is a relic of a bygone, less enlightened time and that Real Catholics Live in the Now.
As I see it, the primary caution expressed in the MP is the importance for bishops to make sure that the priests celebrating the TLM are juridically in good standing and not some renegade sedevacanist who gathers up a bunch of the like-minded from various spots in the city and then demands to be able to celebrate the TLM with the full approval of the bishop.
Bishops need to – as this excellent piece from the Vicar General of the Indianapolis Archdiocese says – wake up and smell the incense. There is a great and growing interest in the TLM and (this is important) the issues it raises in terms of the Novus Ordo (yeah, I’m using the old terminology. It’s shorter. So sue me.) – believe me, the conversations about chant, about ad orientem about what full, active and conscious participation really means, about reverence, about what it means to pray the Mass, about the sung Mass – that are taking place in the open, all over the place – would have been unheard of ten years ago. Those who are interested in that little galaxy of issues are not sentimentalists or cranks whom the Holy Father is patting on the head with this MP and saying, “there, there. Have your little Mass if you must.” This is a big deal, expressive of the Pope’s wise desire that Catholics see and experience their faith as it has been lived across time and space, not just in the ever-changing, soon-to-be dated now. There are elements to the TLM – the emphasis on sacrifice – that are minimized in the 1970 Missal. Perhaps it is time to look at all of that again and let the celebration of both of these forms enrich each other.
The reporting on this TLM in the secular press is actually getting better and better. This article in the Tampa Tribune by Michelle Bearden is a good example. In fact, the secular reporting on this is, I’m finding, better than the reporting in the diocesan organs, mostly because the good religion reporters have no need to play politics or orders to minimize the issue.
(A few weeks ago, for example, I heard of one diocese in which the bishop had yes, allowed an Indult Mass, but at an incovenient time during the week and had forbidden the diocesan paper from running any notices that the Mass existed. That’s what we’re talking about.)
There are going to be many Masses celebrating the implementation of the MP this weekend, from Friday through Monday. There’s a commentor-generated list here at Fr. Z’s.
Finally, there’s this page at EWTN which has all sorts of related resources, including a booklet in pdf form that you can print out to use while watching their broadcast of Solemn High Mass, “staffed” by priests and seminarians of the FSSP, to be celebrated at the Shrine in Hanceville on September 14.
EWTN is doing a lot of MP-related programming this week, which might strike some as an “of course” moment, but it is interesting to note that EWTN has not been a place to see celebrations of the TLM. As far as I know, this might be one of the first, if not the first celebrations of the TLM to be aired on the network (correct me if I’m wrong.)
Interesting times. Interesting times.
One final note:
For those out there who feel frustrated or feel that their bishop or other diocesan officials are misinterpreting the Motu Proprio, it is important to communicate those concerns directly to the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome, and to do so charitably and knowledgeably with clear and specific questions. The most obvious questions at the moment seem to be this business of qualifications as well as the “stable” group issue, and I imagine these are being discussed right now, anyway.
You can find the address, telephone number and fax number of the Commission here.
I would also say that in any diocese, especially in those that seem hostile to this, it would make sense to abide by the norms exactly, no matter how out of whack they seem, to fulfill every single requirement a bishop lays out – giving him no room to deny reality, knowing that, according to the MP itself, (article 7) the faithful have access to the Commission themselves to air their concerns.
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