For the First Time, Francis Contradicts Benedict

IMPORTANT: Pope Francis severely restricts the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate from celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass, imposes the Novus Ordo on all their priests

Sandro Magister's latest column (For the First Time, Francis Contradicts Benedict) has the details. The emphases in the quote below are by Rorate.

The importance of this decree -- exquisitely dated July 11, the feast of St. Benedict in the calendar of the Novus Ordo -- is difficult to overstate. In the aftermath of Summorum Pontificum the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate -- the largest "strict observance" movement to be established in the Franciscan family of religious Orders and congregations after the general relaxation of observance in the post Conciliar era -- became far and away the largest religious congregation to adopt the Traditional Latin Mass as their favored form of the Roman Rite, albeit without completely abandoning the Novus Ordo. The FFI soon came to occupy an important place in the "canonically regular" Traditionalist Catholic world, being involved in numerous important conferences promoting Tradition and playing an important part in organizing many Pontifical Masses especially in Rome.

Many Traditional Latin Mass sites are open only because of the ministry of FFI priests; it remains to be seen how many of these Masses will have to be ended because of this decree. As of today we have already been informed that some of nuns under the spiritual care of the FFI are looking for priests to continue celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass for them after the August 11 ban comes into force.

In addition, the decree virtually ousts from his position the founder and superior of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, Fr. Stefano Manelli FFI, who is in his eighties, whose writings are known for their intense Marian devotion and fidelity to the traditions of Catholic asceticism and mysticism, and who is venerated by not a few as a living model of holiness.

The decree bears the date of July 11, 2013, the protocol number 52741/2012, and the signatures of the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz, a focolarino, and of the secretary of the same congregation, Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo, a Franciscan.

Braz de Aviz is the only high-ranking official in the curia of Brazilian nationality, and because of this he has accompanied Francis on his voyage to Rio de Janeiro. He has a reputation as a progressive, although that of a scatterbrain fits him better. And he will probably be one of the first to go when the reform of the curia announced by Francis takes shape.

Rodríguez Carballo instead enjoys the pope's complete trust. His promotion as second-in-command of the congregation was backed by Francis himself at the beginning of his pontificate.

It is difficult, therefore, to think that pope Bergoglio was unaware of what he was approving when he was presented with the decree before its publication.

The decree installs an apostolic commissioner - in the person of the Capuchin Fidenzio Volpi - at the head of all the communities of the congregation of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate.

And this in itself is cause for astonishment. Because the Franciscans of the Immaculate are one of the most flourishing religious communities born in the Catholic Church in recent decades, with male and female branches, with many young vocations, spread over several continents and with a mission in Argentina as well.

They want to be faithful to tradition, in full respect for the magisterium of the Church. So much so that in their communities they celebrate Masses both in the ancient rite and in the modern rite, as moreover do hundreds of religious communities around the world - the Benedictines of Norcia, to give just one example - applying the spirit and the letter of the motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum" of Benedict XVI.

But precisely this was contested by a core group of internal dissidents, who appealed to the Vatican authorities complaining of the excessive propensity of their congregation to celebrate the Mass in the ancient rite, with the effect of creating exclusion and opposition within the communities, of undermining internal unity and, worse, of weakening the more general "sentire cum Ecclesia."

The Vatican authorities responded by sending an apostolic visitor one year ago. And now comes the appointment of the commissioner.

But what is most astonishing are the last five lines of the decree of July 11:

"In addition to the above, the Holy Father Francis has directed that every religious of the congregation of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is required to celebrate the liturgy according to the ordinary rite and that, if the occasion should arise, the use of the extraordinary form (Vetus Ordo) must be explicitly authorized by the competent authorities, for every religious and/or community that makes the request.”

The astonishment stems from the fact that what is decreed contradicts the dispositions given by Benedict XVI, which for the celebration of the Mass in the ancient rite “sine populo" demand no previous request for authorization whatsoever:

"Ad talem celebrationem secundum unum alterumve Missale, sacerdos nulla eget licentia, nec Sedis Apostolicae nec Ordinarii sui" (1).

While for Masses "cum populo" they set out a few conditions, but always guaranteeing the freedom to celebrate.

In general, against a decree of a Vatican congregation it is possible to have recourse to the supreme tribunal of the apostolic signatura, today headed by a cardinal, the American Raymond Leo Burke, considered a friend by the traditionalists.

But if the decree is the object of approval in a specific form on the part of the pope, as it seems to be in this case, recourse is not admitted.

The Franciscans of the Immaculate will have to comply with the prohibition on celebrating the Mass in the ancient rite beginning Sunday, August 11.

And now what will happen, not only among them but in the whole Church?

Rorate has learned from its own sources that the "internal dissidents" were led by an American member of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate who was notable for his opposition and hostility to the any criticism of Vatican II, in direct contrast to the Italian friars of the FFI, many of whom adhered to the "Gherardini line" of loyal but unflinching criticism of at least some elements of the Conciliar documents.

We were both working on posting this apparently.

OK. I’m glad to see yours was posted. Doesn’t look good, does it?

Summarize this for me. I love the Latin Mass...is it really DEAD now?

No, it just limits one very orthodox, zealous, prominent and faithful Franciscan order devoted to the Traditional Latin Mass and coerces them to offer the Novus Ordo mass.

Not a good development for those of us who love the Traditional Latin Mass in general, however.

No -— this applies to only one group of consecrated religious, the Franciscans of the Immaculate. It was not promulgated to the whole Church.

No -— this applies to only one group of consecrated religious, the Franciscans of the Immaculate. It was not promulgated to the whole Church.

But it may well be a timid first step...or toe in the water. I don't like this at all.

I was actually able to post on yours, but I see that your version was deleted. That said, IMO this is the key section:

...what is most astonishing are the last five lines of the decree of July 11: "In addition to the above, the Holy Father Francis has directed that every religious of the congregation of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate is required to celebrate the liturgy according to the ordinary rite and that, if the occasion should arise, the use of the extraordinary form (Vetus Ordo) must be explicitly authorized by the competent authorities, for every religious and/or community that makes the request.” The astonishment stems from the fact that what is decreed contradicts the dispositions given by Benedict XVI, which for the celebration of the Mass in the ancient rite “sine populo" demand no previous request for authorization whatsoever:

In his address to the SA bishops, the pope comments:

The Pelagian solution. This basically appears as a form of restorationism. In dealing with the Church’s problems, a purely disciplinary solution is sought, through the restoration of outdated manners and forms which, even on the cultural level, are no longer meaningful. In Latin America it is usually to be found in small groups, in some new religious congregations, in tendencies to doctrinal or disciplinary “safety”. Basically it is static, although it is capable of inversion, in a process of regression. It seeks to “recover” the lost past.

BOMBSHELL SPEECH TO BISHOPS OF LATIN AMERICA FROM POPE FRANCIS

The presumption was one of an address to this specific group of prelates.

Pope Francis against the "Pelagianism" of "restorationism": this time, it's official.

When the Pope's private remarks to the presiding board of the Confederación Latinoamericana y Caribeña de Religiosos y Religiosas about the "pelagianism" of "restorationist" groups were first reported here on Rorate and some other blogs and websites, one of the reactions, especially from some of those who adhere to the new orthodoxy that little or nothing has changed since March 13 of this year, was that the remarks were probably fabricated in the imagination of the CLAR presiding board members.

Today, after the Mass at Copacobana, Pope Francis gave a speech to the leadership of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean or CELAM. In the course of his speech he spoke of three temptations against "missionary discipleship", one of which is that of "making the Gospel message an ideology". He then mentions four ways by which the Gospel message is made an ideology, one of which is -- "The Pelagian solution".

It may be of interest to our readers, especially those conversant with the history of the debates over the Council Documents, that the only passage from Vatican Council II that is cited here is the opening sentence of Gaudium et Spes, a passage that Pope Francis describes in this address as "the basis (of the Church's) dialogue with the contemporary world".

It cannot be denied that some passages in this speech will also make liberals uncomfortable. Our concern here, in this Traditional Catholic blog, is on what might adversely impact Traditional Catholicism, especially in Latin America where it is far more beleaguered and persecuted than in many other parts of the Catholic Church.

From the Vatican Radio translation of the full text of the prepared address: Pope Francis: address to CELAM leadership. There were many off-the-cuff remarks which Radio Vaticana has promised to also post soon. (He did pronounce the passage on Pelagianism as already prepared, with the addition of exageradas before a la “seguridad” doctrinal o disciplinaria.)

Some temptations against missionary discipleship

The decision for missionary discipleship will encounter temptation. It is important to know where the evil spirit is afoot in order to aid our discernment. It is not a matter of chasing after demons, but simply one of clear-sightedness and evangelical astuteness. I will mention only a few attitudes which are evidence of a Church which is “tempted”. It has to do with recognizing certain contemporary proposals which can parody the process of missionary discipleship and hold back, even bring to a halt, the process of Pastoral Conversion.

1. Making the Gospel message an ideology. This is a temptation which has been present in the Church from the beginning: the attempt to interpret the Gospel apart from the Gospel itself and apart from the Church. An example: Aparecida, at one particular moment, felt this temptation. It employed, and rightly so, the method of “see, judge and act” (cf. No. 19). The temptation, though, was to opt for a way of “seeing” which was completely “antiseptic”, detached and unengaged, which is impossible. The way we “see” is always affected by the way we direct our gaze. There is no such thing as an “antiseptic” hermeneutics. The question was, rather: How are we going to look at reality in order to see it? Aparecida replied: With the eyes of discipleship. This is the way Nos. 20-32 are to be understood. There are other ways of making the message an ideology, and at present proposals of this sort are appearing in Latin America and the Caribbean. I mention only a few:

a) Sociological reductionism. This is the most readily available means of making the message an ideology. At certain times it has proved extremely influential. It involves an interpretative claim based on a hermeneutics drawn from the social sciences. It extends to the most varied fields, from market liberalism to Marxist categorization.

b) Psychologizing. Here we have to do with an elitist hermeneutics which ultimately reduces the “encounter with Jesus Christ” and its development to a process of growing self- awareness. It is ordinarily to be found in spirituality courses, spiritual retreats, etc. It ends up being an immanent, self-centred approach. It has nothing to do with transcendence and consequently, with missionary spirit.

c) The Gnostic solution. Closely linked to the previous temptation, it is ordinarily found in elite groups offering a higher spirituality, generally disembodied, which ends up in a preoccupation with certain pastoral “quaestiones disputatae”. It was the first deviation in the early community and it reappears throughout the Church’s history in ever new and revised versions. Generally its adherents are known as “enlightened Catholics” (since they are in fact rooted in the culture of the Enlightenment).

d) The Pelagian solution. This basically appears as a form of restorationism. In dealing with the Church’s problems, a purely disciplinary solution is sought, through the restoration of outdated manners and forms which, even on the cultural level, are no longer meaningful. In Latin America it is usually to be found in small groups, in some new religious congregations, in (exaggerated) tendencies to doctrinal or disciplinary “safety”. Basically it is static, although it is capable of inversion, in a process of regression. It seeks to “recover” the lost past.

(Rorate: The original Spanish text of this paragraph is: d) La propuesta pelagiana. Aparece fundamentalmente bajo la forma de restauracionismo. Ante los males de la Iglesia se busca una solución sólo en la disciplina, en la restauración de conductas y formas superadas que, incluso culturalmente, no tienen capacidad significativa. En América Latina suele darse en pequeños grupos, en algunas nuevas Congregaciones Religiosas, en tendencias exageradas a la “seguridad” doctrinal o disciplinaria. Fundamentalmente es estática, si bien puede prometerse una dinámica hacia adentro: involuciona. Busca “recuperar” el pasado perdido. The Pope added "exageradas" during actual delivery.)

2. Functionalism. Its effect on the Church is paralyzing. More than being interested in the road itself, it is concerned with fixing holes in the road. A functionalist approach has no room for mystery; it aims at efficiency. It reduces the reality of the Church to the structure of an NGO. What counts are quantifiable results and statistics. The Church ends up being run like any other business organization. It applies a sort of “theology of prosperity” to the organization of pastoral work.

3. Clericalism is also a temptation very present in Latin America. Curiously, in the majority of cases, it has to do with a sinful complicity: the priest clericalizes the lay person and the lay person kindly asks to be clericalized, because deep down it is easier. The phenomenon of clericalism explains, in great part, the lack of maturity and Christian freedom in a good part of the Latin American laity. Either they simply do not grow (the majority), or else they take refuge in forms of ideology like those we have just seen, or in partial and limited ways of belonging. Yet in our countries there does exist a form of freedom of the laity which finds expression in communal experiences: Catholic as community. Here one sees a greater autonomy, which on the whole is a healthy thing, basically expressed through popular piety. The chapter of the Aparecida document on popular piety describes this dimension in detail. The spread of bible study groups, of ecclesial basic communities and of Pastoral Councils is in fact helping to overcome clericalism and to increase lay responsibility.

We could continue by describing other temptations against missionary discipleship, but I consider these to be the most important and influential at present for Latin America and the Caribbean.

But why pick on them?

No I don’t like it, either. From the little I know (and I am conscious of my limitations) it seems conspicuously bad, and inexplicable.

I don’t like it either. I think revising our mass/church to appeal to modern culture is/was a big error. I think these trends demean the sense of the spiritual. I am so disappointed and have been since Vatican II.

Here we go - again. Progressives in the Church, as everywhere else, but no more pronounced than in American politics, are not satisfied until everything is their way or the highway.

Unless and until there comes a pope who will adhere to the dogmatic pronouncement of Pope St. Pius V that the Mass would be said in perpetuity, confusion and division will rule.

And to the NSA trolls, FU.

ping

I don’t think the Pope is planning his remarks all the time based on how they might be perceived by people who are opposed to Catholicism anyway. My impression is that he starts with the assumption of goodwill, and if he’s heard by people lacking goodwill ... well, like he needs their support anyway.

I don’t think Pope Francis is going to resign and become an actuary, no matter how many people believe *they* would do a better job of being Pope, and no matter how many people believe there shouldn’t even be a Pope. Personally, I like having a Pope who isn’t going to be managed by his enemies.

*raucous round of applause for the entire WYD event*

I don’t like it either. I think revising our mass/church to appeal to modern culture is/was a big error. I think these trends demean the sense of the spiritual. I am so disappointed and have been since Vatican II.

Ditto. I hate to say it, but it's becoming pretty clear that the 'modernists' have regained the upper hand. Looking back, the forces of modernism achieved their greatest successes during the pontificate of Paul VI. JP2 pretty much held the line against the modernists. And B16 even pushed the line back a bit. Now, it's starting to look like 1969 all over again. :(

There's a difference, though. New communications technologies exist, and the traditionalist camp is informed and energized and isn't necessarily going to go down without a fight.

For the First Time, Francis Contradicts Benedict

The Roman Catholic Church: A 2000 year tradition of Contradiction, Waffling and Confusing All Things Spiritual.

Well this is certainly good news for the over tolerant, Dolanite, notice-me daddy, Father Showtunes clergy infesting our Church...

...an another set back for the God-fearers in the Church.

And so it goes, with assistance from our underachieving but entitled socialist president the divinely inspired prophetised apocalypse advances closer.

Tick tock.

To all those that will lose a traditional mass don’t forget to vote with your pocketbook while our currency still counts for something.

Liturgy is a matter of discipline, not Faith and Morals. But that distinction is lost on Church haters.