Posted on 10/10/2006 5:35:42 PM PDT by Petrosius
THE Pope is taking steps to revive the ancient tradition of the Latin Tridentine Mass in Catholic churches worldwide, according to sources in Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI is understood to have signed a universal indult — or permission — for priests to celebrate again the Mass used throughout the Church for nearly 1,500 years. The indult could be published in the next few weeks, sources told The Times.
This led to the introduction of the new Mass in the vernacular to make it more accessible to contemporary audiences. By bringing back Mass in Latin, Pope Benedict is signalling that his sympathies lie with conservatives in the Catholic Church.
One of the most celebrated rebels against its suppression was Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who broke with Rome in 1988 over this and other reforms. He was excommunicated after he consecrated four bishops, one of them British, without permission from the Pope.
Some Lefebvrists, including those in Brazil, have already been readmitted. An indult permitting the celebration of the Tridentine Mass could help to bring remaining Lefebvrists and many other traditional Catholics back to the fold.
The priests of England and Wales are among those sometimes given permission to celebrate the Old Mass according to the 1962 Missal. Tridentine Masses are said regularly at the Oratory and St James’s Spanish Place in London, but are harder to find outside the capital.
The new indult would permit any priest to introduce the Tridentine Mass to his church, anywhere in the world, unless his bishop has explicitly forbidden it in writing.
Catholic bloggers have been anticipating the indult for months. The Cornell Society blog says that Father Martin Edwards, a London priest, was told by Cardinal Joseph Zen, of Hong Kong, that the indult had been signed. Cardinal Zen is alleged to have had this information from the Pope himself in a private meeting.
“There have been false alarms before, not least because within the Curia there are those genuinely well-disposed to the Latin Mass, those who are against and those who like to move groups within the Church like pieces on a chessboard,” a source told The Times. “But hopes have been raised with the new pope. It would fit with what he has said and done on the subject. He celebrated in the old rite, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.”
The 1962 Missal issued by Pope John XXIII was the last of several revisions of the 1570 Missal of Pius V. In a lecture in 2001, Cardinal Ratzinger said that it would be “fatal” for the Missal to be “placed in a deep-freeze, left like a national park, a park protected for the sake of a certain kind of people, for whom one leaves available these relics of the past”.
Daphne McLeod, chairman of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, a UK umbrella group that campaigns for the restoration of traditional orthodoxy, said: “A lot of young priests are teaching themselves the Tridentine Mass because it is so beautiful and has prayers that go back to the Early Church.”
TRADITIONAL SERVICE
By bringing back Mass in Latin, Pope Benedict is signalling that his sympathies lie with conservatives in the Catholic Church.
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I love this Pope!!!
Mo, You will be pleasantly surprised on just how much the Traditional Mass is enriched, when compared to the current one. You will not regret it one bit, and tell yourself "wow, I've really been missing out." You'll be able to easily follow the Mass as you read along in English. Later on, you will understand the Latin because it will become familiar.
Btw, I'm a "post vatII baby too :o). I've been attending the Traditional Rite for over two years now, and have never looked back.
Do yourself a big favor and pick up a Latin-English Missal, and read it. You'll see what I'm talking about. You can get them fairly cheap on eBay, or in an inexpensive booklet format here.
I'm a Vatican II baby and don't know a word of Latin
&&
I our old Missals the Mass was laid out with Latin on the left page and the English translation on the facing page. Just about anyone could manage it.
Hi ya, K!
Thanks for the link.
I love the Latin Mass. Mo will too.
Oh no, the Pope is schismatic!
As long as I can remember .. ours were only in english
I've see Latin Masses on TV and enjoy them .. just don't have a clue of what they are saying
>>I'm a Vatican II baby and don't know a word of Latin<<
Actually, you know tons.
I teach my kids from "English from the Roots Up"
You would be surprised how much you know.
Most medical and biological terms are Latin.
Great news. Thanks for the ping.
OK - I read the article. Where does she explain how the Latin mass divided the Church!?
I went to a Catholic school as a child. Never heard any Latin. (Shows my youth I guess).
I think we learned the Hail Mary in French one year...
I just realized I posted a link for the Requiem Mass...one thing at a time here, lol! Latin Mass Missal
Viva Il Papa!!
I'll believe it when I see it.
Thanks for the link!
Good point! It was the Novus Ordo that divided the Church. Before that we were pretty united.
What's this, about the umpteenth story in the same vein we've seen in the last year or so?
Meanwhile, the Americans are dragging their feet on implementing the more accurate English translation of the Missal.
A wide implementation of the Tridentine Rite seems like an awfully long way to go from where we are today.
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