Posted on 11/28/2007 8:43:14 AM PST by maryz
Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith
Secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, has been keeping a high profile lately, speaking out in a number of interviews about the rebellion of some bishops against Summorum Pontificum and the continued need to reign in the abuses that have taken place in the Novus Ordo liturgy. A recent interview with the Agenzia Fides may give us a clue to what could be next on the horizon(?)--an end to Holy Communion in the hand. In the excerpt translated into English below, note that Archbishop Ranjith does not condemn the New Mass (a common accusation made by "progressives") but is concerned about the loss of faith that certain abuses have caused:
Let us distinguish carefully. The post-conciliar reform was not entirely negative; on the contrary, there are many positive aspects in what has been realised. But there are also changes introduced without authorisation which continue to be carried forward despite their harmful effects on the faith and liturgical life of the Church.I speak for example of a change that was brought about in the reform which was not proposed either by the Council Fathers or by Sacrosanctum Concilium, that is, communion in the hand. This contributed in a way to a certain loss of faith in the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. This practice, and the abolition of the altar rails, of kneelers in churches, and the introduction of practices which obliged the faithful to remain seated or standing during the elevation of the Most Holy Sacrament reduced the genuine meaning of the Eucharist and the sense of profound adoration which the Church should direct towards the Lord, the Only-begotten Son of God.
Note that he stresses that the Vatican II document on liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, did not call for Holy Communion in the hand. The Council Fathers did not seek or envision Holy Communion in the hand. Holy Communion in the hand is not a result of Vatican II, but another "innovation" forced upon us in the ever-changing "Spirit of Vatican II".
There also seems to be a popular misunderstanding that the "modern popes" approved of Holy Communion in the hand. That is simply NOT TRUE. Pope Paul VI reluctantly gave approval to requests from bishops' conferences for particular indults (special permission) to grant Holy Communion in the hand, and most of those indults were obtained dishonestly.
Here's what our "modern popes" actually had to say about Holy Communion in the hand:
POPE PAUL VI (1963-1978). "This method [on the tongue] must be retained." (Apostolic Epistle Memoriale Domini)POPE JOHN PAUL II (1978-). "To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained. (Dominicae Cenae, sec. 11)
"It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice, still less that they should hand them from one to another." (Inaestimabile Donum, April 17, 1980, sec. 9)
Anybody know what he means by this? I wish he had expanded on it!
He means that the indults were claimed on the basis that the practice of communion in the hand had sprung up spontaneously among the faithful and clergy of certain areas of the Low Countries, and that rooting it out would scandalize the consciences of the faithful - so therefore it would wiser for the ordinaries to legitimate and regulate its use rather than allow the noncanonical situation to continue.
In reality, there was a concerted campaign by radical clergy to introduce the practice as a "fruit" of Vatican II to their congregations, who by that time were accustomed to all kinds of innovations.
I don’t know. I believe that in many cases, permission was asked to do this for a special event or something that wasn’t supposed to become general, and then they simply took advantage of this to make it standard practice.
Thanks! Yep — it just showed up out of nowhere, like the flowers that bloom in the spring!
Similar to the way altar girls were installed, in other words?
Pretty much.
rooting it out would scandalize the consciences of the faithful
Riiight -- the bishops were concerned about scandalizing the faithful. Too bad they didn't think of that in their enabling phase!
POPE JOHN PAUL II (1978-). "To touch the sacred species and to distribute them with their own hands is a privilege of the ordained. (Dominicae Cenae, sec. 11)
"It is not permitted that the faithful should themselves pick up the consecrated bread and the sacred chalice, still less that they should hand them from one to another." (Inaestimabile Donum, April 17, 1980, sec. 9)
** the bishops were concerned about scandalizing the faithful. Too bad they didn’t think of that in their enabling phase!**
One of my favorite quotes (attributed to several saints:
“The walls of hell are lined with the skulls of bishops.”
Saint John of the Cross
“The floor of hell is paved with the skulls of bishops.”
Attributed to St. Athanasius, St. John Chrysostom, and St. John Eudes. Probably all three said it, but I like to give credit to Athanasius because he was the earliest.
And by now, lots more people have said it! It does sort of just roll off the tongue, doesn't it? ;-)
I would say that in essence, the Archbishop is announcing not too discreetly that there is “a new Sheriff in town” and he has levers he is not averse to pulling. These levers are by virtue of his complete accord with his Supreme Pontiff who is a holy man not afraid to bear the cross of Christ to martyrdom if needs be.
Francis
I was a little surprised to see that they're even thinking of going after Communion in the hand! (I bet the same ones opposed to the TLM will go ballistic!)
Side note: There's a typo in the title -- I abbreviated "Archbishop" as "Apb" instead of "Abp". I noticed after I posted but didn't think it was worth bothering the Religion Mod about. Then too I thought, given the content, that "APB" was entirely appropriate -- ("All Points Bulletin" for those who don't watch enough police shows on TV or read police procedurals!). ;-)
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