Posted on 11/08/2007 6:41:53 AM PST by NYer
VATICAN CITY (CNS) - The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments criticized bishops and priests who have given a narrow interpretation to Pope Benedict XVI's permission for the wider celebration of the Tridentine Mass.
Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don told an Italian Internet news site that he found it difficult to understand the action "and even rebellion" of churchmen who have tried to limit access to the older Mass.
"On the part of some dioceses, there have been interpretive documents that inexplicably aim to limit the 'motu proprio' of the pope," he told the Web site Petrus Nov. 5.
Pope Benedict's apostolic letter, published in early July, eased restrictions on the use of the 1962 Roman Missal, which governed the liturgy before the new Order of the Mass was introduced in 1970.
The papal document said the Latin-language Tridentine Mass should be available when a group of the faithful requests it and should be celebrated by qualified priests. However, differences exist over what the precise characteristics of the group should be and over what specific knowledge and training a priest must have before he can celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 missal.
Behind the attempts to define the terms in a way that limits the availability of the Tridentine Mass, "there hide, on the one hand, ideological prejudices and, on the other hand, pride, which is one of the most serious sins," the archbishop said.
"I repeat: I invite everyone to obey the pope. If the Holy Father thought it was his obligation to issue the 'motu proprio,' he had his reasons and I share them fully," he said.
"The bishops, in particular, have sworn fidelity to the pontiff; may they be coherent and faithful to their commitment," he said.
Archbishop Patabendige Don often is rumored to be in line to succeed Cardinal Francis Arinze as prefect of the congregation; on Nov. 1 the cardinal turned 75, the normal retirement age for bishops and Vatican officials.
"The Tridentine rite," the archbishop said, "belongs to the tradition of the church. The pope has duly explained the reasons for his provision, which is an act of freedom and justice toward the traditionalists."
The archbishop's comments to Petrus were published about a month after he strongly criticized church members, including bishops, who publicly disagree with papal decisions.
Speaking to a Latin liturgy association in the Netherlands, he said, the church needs members who are obedient to God's will, "which is manifested in a special way through the church and its visible head, the Roman pontiff."
While discussion and debate can be appropriate, he said, "if it does not in the end lead to a spirit of obedience in the service of unity then it divides and can only be interpreted as a manifestation of the intent of the evil one to disturb and retard the noble mission of Christ. Even those wearing ecclesiastical purple or red are not exempt from the tempter's enchantments."
Ping!
It’s good to see the Vatican slowly ratcheting up Church discipline. I hope that Pope Benedict is around for a long time.
We of the Tomas Torquemada Gentlemen’s Club stand ready as always to render such services as His Holiness deems necessary.
I’m kind of surprised CNS ran it. Isn’t CNS an arm of the USCCB?
the current time there is no scheduled Latin Mass, but we are working toward the introduction of one, two or three of them in the very near future.
The problem has been finding the priests who are eager to celebrate the Mass.
Thank you for your interest.
Sincerely,
+Patrick R. Cooney
Bishop of Gaylord
And here's our diocese stats:
The 11,171 square miles of the diocese is comprised of territory which had previously been a part of the Saginaw and Grand Rapids dioceses. The area includes the 21 most northern counties of Michigan's lower peninsula, which are mostly rural in nature. Total population of the area exceeds 514,000, of which more than 70,327 are Catholics.
Within its boundaries there are 81 parishes, 17 Catholic schools and many closely related institutions.
I know that quite a few of our parishes are 3-fers (1 priest to 3 churches) but I really find it hard to believe that there are no priests in all of northern MI who want to say a latin Mass! I think maybe tomorrow is a good day to make some phone calls!
..... but not 1 priest interested in saying the Latin Mass.
When they say Latin Mass, are they talking about the Tridentine or the Novus Ordo in Latin?
I think we’ve only had one celebrated in my diocese, and we had to drive over an hour on a Saturday night.
One thing might enter into this, and that is that quite a few priests do not speak Latin. We have three priests in our parish, and only Monsigneur, the senior priest, speaks Latin.
He is willing to do a Latin Mass if there is enough interest in the parish, but most of those who live in our parish who might be interested have already commited to attending another church which has a weekly Latin mass, and they have essentially joined that parish.
I doubt we will see one here any time soon, as we already have 4 English masses on Sunday morning as well as the vigil mass Saturday night, plus the Spanish mass Sunday afternoon and an English mass Sunday evening. All of those masses are heavily attended, and he is reluctant to substitute the Latin mass for one of those, since all have regular attendees and those folks would have to accomodate the change.
As you can see, there is more involved in some parishes than a simple refusal to institute the Latin mass.
The biggest problem for those seeking a traditional Latin Mass is usually the bishop — some of them (like mine) are actively opposing it and doing their best to squelch it, even where there’s a willing pastor, a willing and qualified priest, and people who want it. It sounds as if your bishop and your pastor are both reasonable about it.
The Latin thing irks me though. AFAIK Canon Law has never ceased to require that priests be trained in Latin — but many dioceses have chosen to ignore it. And the priest doesn’t have to be able to speak it — there’s no room for ad libbing in the traditional Mass. He just has to be able to read it and pronounce the words. There’s not even a foreign accent to master, and in the Ordinary of the Mass, probably 70%-80% of the words are recognizably close to English words of similar meaning (since English borrowed so much from Latin). A few prayers have to be memorized, but most of the Mass is read.
Folks, according to the Catholic News Service, Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don (pictured right), secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, criticized bishops and priests who have given a narrow interpretation to Pope Benedict XVI's permission for the wider celebration of the Tridentine Mass. "On the part of some dioceses, there have been interpretive documents that inexplicably aim to limit the 'motu proprio' of the pope," he told the Web site Petrus Nov. 5. He also said:
Behind the attempts to define the terms in a way that limits the availability of the Tridentine Mass, "there hide, on the one hand, ideological prejudices and, on the other hand, pride, which is one of the most serious sins," the archbishop said.Read the entire piece here."I repeat: I invite everyone to obey the pope. If the Holy Father thought it was his obligation to issue the 'motu proprio,' he had his reasons and I share them fully," he said.
"The bishops, in particular, have sworn fidelity to the pontiff; may they be coherent and faithful to their commitment," he said.
Commentary. Folks, I've explained elsewhere my stance regarding the Tridentine Mass, most recently on this blog post, so I am not going to repeat what I said then. You all know I prefer the Novus Ordo. But I am not blind to the requirements of justice. The Holy Father wishes to expand the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, yet it is clear that some bishops "out there" are intent upon frustrating the wishes of the Holy Father. As the words of Archbishop Patabendige Don (I hope those are his surnames) demonstrate, the Holy See seems to be keenly aware of the steps those bishops are taking and are also very clear as to the root of their opposition: pride, prejudice and disobedience.
It is not my habit to challenge bishops directly or call them to task. My oh my, that's not my calling. Nevertheless, I can't help to suffer along with my brethren who prefer this mode of Catholic worship and whose clear pastoral needs have been ignored for so long. They don't deserve to be treated as second-class Catholics. There should not be second-class Catholics anywhere in the Church.
The rest of us have a RIGHT to the fullness of Catholic Tradition, TO ALL OF IT. Tridentine-skeptical bishops have the obligation to explain to the Catholic faithful entrusted to them why are they intent in blocking access to a part of the Tradition or, as the motu proprio provides for, they should be ready to explain their reasons for blocking the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass to the Holy See.
My prayers are with my brethren and with the bishops, and of course, with the entire Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit will have the last word, as He always does, of course.
The Tridentine Mass is beautiful and if we are allowed to experience it it will make a great comeback.
I purchased a 1962 Missal on amazon that is leather bound for about $50 and it has so much information in it about Catholic teaching and prayer that one could literally spend a lifetime with it.
I don't either! I had four years of Latin in high school and one in college, and the late Latin of the Mass (and the Vulgate) is much simpler than that of the great classical writers. To hear some bishops, you'd think the priest had to be able to converse with Cicero in order to say the old Mass!
Glad you have access to -- and appreciate -- the old Mass. Hope we all will!
I am pleasantly surprised by the bluntness of the Archbishop when assessing the resistance by bishops to the Extraordinary Form. I can only surmise he speaks with the Pope’s concurrence.
On a previous thread, I described Benedict XVI as “The Commando Pope” for his quiet, under-the-radar approach. Now I can also appreciate a “Teddy Roosevelt” approach: he he speaks softly and carries a big stick.
I also had some latin in school, starting in 7th grade, and it was a public school. I could never speak latin since we never really did in class but I think that it brings us all back closer to Christ. I have a Douay/Rheims translation of the Bible which is from the Vulgate by St Jerome which is the translation n the 1962 missal.
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