Posted on 06/18/2004 12:26:59 PM PDT by Tantumergo
THE VATICAN is preparing to relax the rules on the provision of the Tridentine rite, a senior cardinal has disclosed.
Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, told The Lat in Mass, America’s leading traditionalist magazine, that the Vatican was preparing to issue a “juridical guarantee” in favour of the Tridentine rite, which was the Church’s official rite from the 16th century until 1962.
Cardinal Hoyos’ remarks are a clear indication that Rome wants to embrace traditionalists by ensuring that they can attend old rite Masses if they so wish. The cardinal praised the Tridentine rite, and acknowledged the growing numbers of traditionalist Catholics, before giving cause to hope that restrictions on the old rite might be lifted.
Priests are allowed to celebrate the Tridentine rite, as long as they obtain permission from their local bishop. Pope John Paul established this privilege in 1988, when he excommunicated Swiss Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and his ultra-traditionalist followers. The Vatican hoped that the indult contained in the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei would mean that opponents of liturgical reforms could remain in communion with the Church, and not be drawn into schismatic groups such as the Society of St Pius X. Traditionalists complain, however, that many bishops are not generous in the provision of the Tridentine rite.
Furthermore, controversy over the new rite has increased rather than subsided, with many Catholics demoralised by liturgical abuses that have occurred since the old rite was replaced in the 1960s.
Any further reform would highlight the paradox running through liturgical debate in the Church: traditionalists are now the ones clamouring for change, while liberals are defending the status quo.
Cardinal Hoyos said: “The idea is constantly growing that it has become necessary to provide for the concession of the indult in a broader fashion that would correspond more with the reality of the situation. “It is thought that the times are mature for a new and clearer form of juridical guarantee of that right, which has already been recognised by the Holy Father with the 1988 indult.”
He explained that the cardinals, and the bishops of Ecclesia Dei, a pontifical commission set up to oversee the implementation of the indult, have all studied the matter carefully, and are trying to thrash out the best possible solution.
John Medlin, development manager for the Latin Mass Society, said he was excited by the cardinal’s comments. “Rome is signaling that it is prepared to use the transcendent nature of the traditional Mass as a standard to rein in the abuse in the new rite,” he said. “We are beginning to hear the death knell of liberalism in the Church and not before time.”
Mr Medlin added that one of the most obvious solutions would be to allow priests to decide whether they want to celebrate the Tridentine Mass publicly or not, regardless of diocesan consent, “What might happen is that you get a situation where instead of a tradi- tional Catholic having to prove that he or she must have the traditional Mass, the local bishop will have to explain to Rome why he or she should not.”
Cardinal Hoyos did not say what the juridical guarantee would entail. The “dream scenario” for traditionalists would be if the Holy See created a world-wide apostolic administration for the celebration of the old rite, similar to what has happened on a local scale in Campos, Brazil. But the cardinal stressed that the Campos example was not a sign of things to come, but a “consequence of specific local conditions.”
Bishop Mark Jabale of Menevia, chairman of the Department of Christian Life and Worship of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, said there was “very close cooperation” between the bishops and the Vatican on the subject of liturgy.
“The bishops of England and Wales have, whenever asked, agreed to provide adequate, and in many cases generous provision,” he said. “Advice has been sought from Cardinal Francis Arinze [prefect for the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments], and Cardinal Hoyos, and they have confirmed that ample provision is available.”
Mr Medlin did not agree. “Some bishops are generous,” he said. “Other bishops are stingy.”
Let the TLM flourish, then there will be two Churches. One for single soccer moms and their kids and old blue-headed women. The other for families(including men).
"Where's the punishment? Perhaps you can point it out - there's no "punishment" of the indult movement recorded in that article."
What article were you reading? The one I posted clearly shows a heavy-handed interference by the Vatican in the internal affairs of the Franternity, at the instigation of 16 rebel priests in France, who could not accept the results of the Fraternity's general election.
Having the gall the send their own letter to Rome behind their superiors' back, they got everything they wanted, and more:
A severe shake-up of the leadership of the Fraternity, the Vatican's abrupt cancellation of their general chapter, and the infamous Protocol 1411, which completely goes against the charism of the Fraternity and the reason for its existence, and leaves the door wide open for bishops to obligate FSSP priests in their dioceses to offer the Novus Ordo.
I'd call that punishment.
You've been a Catholic for what? The day before yesterday?
And now you're making distinctions about transubstantiation?
What do you mean?
I just love fishing for flounder.
;-}
You've found the right fishing hole.
That's against canon law. Cardinal Hoyos says in his letter to the General Chapter:
On the other hand, it is clear that no priest is obliged to make use of this right. In this way, an atmosphere of freedom and trust can arise in this area, which stands in opposition to every exclusivity and every liturgical extremism. The "Fraternity of St. Peter", as its name already says, can only be a family of brethren, who mutually accept each other with fraternal love, and who are united wholly into the great family of the Roman Catholic Church, where there is a legitimate place for Catholics with a traditional sensibility, which I will defend with all my power.
"Anyone to the left of Tomas Torquemada is a liberal around this place."
How would you know? You can't see over Weakland's shoulder to see what might be over there to the right.
I also believe the recent canonizations are suspect. But I have never read this by Williamson, so I'm glad to see it. Have you a source for this? And I totally agree with Fr. Scott about the Pope's protestantization of the Rosary--designed to once again trash a Catholic devotion. I also agree the Pope has been at the very least a material heretic at Assisi I and II--though this would not make him illegitimate since his heresies have been accepted by the hierarchy itself. I also agree that it is the traditional movement that embodies the Catholic faith in the present crisis--not the conciliar Church's form of bogus Catholicism. At the present time the Apostolic See is not fully Catholic, having in its midst a coterie of public apostates. This pope does not seem to mind the situation. That makes him suspect, in my opinion.
The SSPX has never rejected this Pontiff--never. It was he who was all too eager to pretend it did. Had he investigated his own canon laws fairly and objectively, he would have recognized the right of the bishops and Archbishop to disobey under the circumstances. It was rejecting his aggressive policies of crushing traditional Catholicism any way he could. He is still doing this. Disobedience was therefore legitimate on the Society's part. It has never been a doctrine of the Church that any Catholic must obey a Pope who intends to harm the Church. And if you don't think this Pontiff is harming the Church--take another look at his record--which was already pretty damaging to his reputation even back then.
As for this comment by you: "In case you haven't noticed, the 1962 Missal is a 'special charism' in the Catholic Church today"--here is the answer you deserve: that is so much b.s. A tradition is whatever has been handed-down. These priests only think and pray and act and teach what they have been given from the Church itself. The conciliar Church and this Pope HAVE NO OTHER TRADITION. THERE IS NO OTHER TRADITION IN THE WEST OTHER THAN THE ONE THESE PRIESTS OBSERVE. If theirs is not the Pope's tradition--then HE HAS NONE. Because the Novus Ordo is not a tradition. Kissing Korans is not a tradition. Praying in synagogues is not a tradition. Hugging Buddhists is not a tradition. Canonizing saints by the cartload is not a tradition. Elevating heretics is not a tradition. The only tradition the Church ever had before Vatican II was that which is practiced by those traditional Catholic priests today--and it is the Pope's tradition as well as theirs.
You have no idea how dumb this sounds. If priests before VII knew nothing else, they knew their Latin. The usual preparation for the priesthood included years and years of Latin courses. The words used in the ancient text, moreover, are common enought for even a dunce to understand. The Confiteor is mastered by small altar boys routinely. And this idea you have that since some priests said the Mass rapidly, this meant a lack of comprehension is another dumb idea. The brain is always quicker than the tongue.
"There were bishops who did not attend Vatican II because they couldn't understand what was being said. It was conducted, as you know, in Latin."
This is an altogether different capability. Colloquial Latin requires a different mode of recognizing meanings. A familiar liturgical text would have been mastered easily, especially since it loomed so importantly in priestly lives. Heck, many ordinary Catholics who never took a course in high school Latin routinely learned to recite the Pater Noster and the Salve Regina and the Ave Maria without any difficulty. Even when I write these titles down--most people know immediately what prayers I am referring to.
"would have been mastered easily, especially since it loomed so importantly in priestly lives. Heck, many ordinary Catholics who never took a course in high school Latin routinely learned to recite the Pater Noster and the Salve Regina and the Ave Maria without any difficulty."
Yo!
Every day. Except when I fall into the sin of sloth.
This is more bull. I know the situation well. The FSSP are being strong-armed to concelebrate--"to show unity with their fellow priests" in the Novus Ordo. In other words, they are being forced to accept the Novus Ordo--which most feel is deleterious to the faith, just as the Archbishop said. Now they are caught in a bind. They felt they had an agreement with Rome. It was the reason they accepted the Pope's offer. But no sooner had they expanded and achieved a great success than Rome came down on them like a ton of bricks. They were NOT SUPPOSED TO SUCCEED!
This was precisely the sort of maneuver the Archbishop suspected might happen. He mistrusted Rome--since he knew it has never disguised its intention to kill the traditional Mass. There is no interest in the Tridentine on the part of this Pope, none whatsoever. He couldn't care less if it achieves success. He wants a different Church--one that precludes co-existence with Tradition. For a modernist--as for a traditionalist--the two versions of Catholicism are incompatible. One is ancient and traditional and believes itself to be the one true faith, the other is newly invented and has as its lodestar an ecumenical "unity in diversity." The two can never be reconciled. They are different religions.
ping.
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