The policy has always been there. Unfortunately, certain bishops winked, nodded and simply ignored it in order to pursue their own personal agendas. This pope, in his previous position, was privy to the thousands of letters from worldwide catholics complaining about the problem but was unable to act.
In March of this year, on Good Friday, with JPII too ill to lead the Stations of the Cross at the Colisseum, the task fell to Cardinal Ratzinger. The MSM paid it little heed ... until ... the 9th Station - "Jesus Falls for the Third Time". After reading from the Book of Lamentations, (then) Cardinal Ratzinger offered his personal commentary, which follows.
MEDITATION
What can the third fall of Jesus under the Cross say to us? We have considered the fall of man in general, and the falling of many Christians away from Christ and into a godless secularism. Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in his own Church? How often is the holy sacrament of his Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that he is there! How often is his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise us up whenever we fall! All this is present in his Passion. His betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart. We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison – Lord, save us (cf. Mt 8: 25).
Always on the lookout for some fresh new tidbit, the MSM grabbed this commentary and splashed it across their worldwide newspapers.
In the short time since assuming the role of pontiff, Pope Benedict has made short shrift of this task. He began by establishing a team to visit the US Seminaries (still ongoing), and followed that with a fresh 'reminder' in the Instruction published in late November. Some bishops are challenging it. Good! I think they underestimate the power of this pope. In October, he took the bishop that oversees the Franciscans in Assisi to task, removed him from those responsibilities and re-assigned him to one of the smallest dioceses in Italy (only 40,000). The Bishop was replaced by a "like minded" individual to the Holy Father. No doubt he intended this move to serve as a lesson for those who would question, much less challenge, his authority.
Pray for Benedict XVI! The enemy list is growing (not that he cares).
Just to clarify what you said here, the previous bishop who oversaw the Franciscans in Assisi had tendered his resignation which was accepted by Benedict XVI. The former Secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship, Abp. Sorrentino, was assigned to the diocese that includes Assisi. His replacement at CDW is a "like-minded individual to the Holy Father."
I hope they still have that bulletproof Popemobile...
and a taster for his hot chocolate.
But, seriously, I like this new Pope and everything he has done so far.