CHINA - VATICAN
Cardinal Zen:
'No hidden politics in Papal Letter;
Beijing's reaction cause for hope'


Hong Kong, July 4 (AsiaNews) - The Papal Letter to the Chinese Church, 'a marvellous equilibrium between clarity of principles and courtesy of expression', has no hidden political agenda. And this is why, "with the strength of the Holy Spirit, it should be welcomed by the faithful and by the Chinese authorities as an invitation to normalize the situation of the Church, the only path towards the improvement of society."

This is the view of the bishop of Hong Kong, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, shared with AsiaNews, about the Letter written by the Pope to bishops, priests, to consecrated people and to the lay faithful of the Catholic Church of the People's Republic of China, published on 30 June.

The cardinal emphasized his admiration for the letter, a "marvellous equilibrium between clarity of principles and courtesy of expression. The Holy Father has truly produced a masterpiece: the entire address is pervaded by a lofty tone of religious discourse, practically a theological contemplation. No one should suspect that there are hidden political motives: it is purely a very dignified depiction of the traditional doctrine of the Church, accepted and lived throughout the world."

The call to unity of the Chinese Church contained in the letter is "necessary and well explained. If unity means a nearness of hearts and union of spirits, this has already been going on for some time. Certainly, now it may be seen that there is much more understanding and mutual respect between the two parts of the Church [the official one, recognized by the government and by the Patriotic Association, and the unofficial one, which refuses to adhere to governmental religious institutions]."

This is because "on the one hand, the people of the official Church understand more and more that the position of the so-called clandestine Church is the objectively right one, and on the other hand, those of the clandestine Church know that nearly all the official bishops are in communion with the Pope. Thus, they know they should reciprocally respect and love each other."

Certainly, now "it is difficult to foresee what the reaction of China will be. I am not a prophet, but I have strong hopes about the reactions of the government and the official Church, not least because the initial signals appeared to augur well for the future. The document was delivered to the Chinese authorities beforehand, and so their reaction was a considered and not an unprepared one. From my point of view, Beijing reacted in a composed and moderate way, which is a positive sign."

As for the Patriotic Association of Chinese Catholics, considered by many to be the real obstacle in the way of Sino-Vatican dialogue, Cardinal Zen stressed that it "must understand that the present is an abnormal situation. They must accept to return within the parameters of normality, otherwise the whole world will know that the Chinese Church is not a free one."

The concluding message of the bishop of Hong Kong was positive: "We believers are unrepentant optimists, and so we hope that the right time for change has come. We know that after many years, it is difficult to change: this is why much courage and the strength of the Holy Spirit are needed, both for the bishops and priests as well as for the leaders of the Chinese state. Everyone must make an effort to reach normality, and thus to do good. That under way now is a battle which leads to a waste of energy, which could instead be used for the improvement of society. We must change things."

A translation of the Holy Father's catechesis today on St. Basil has been posted in AUDIENCE AND ANGELUS TEXTS, along with the English appeal he delivered in preparation for World Youth Day 2008, which he will be attending in Sydney one year from now.






The following account is based on the AsiaNews report:

'Spread love to contribute
to a more just and fraternal world'


"Each of us, by spreading divine charity, should contribute to building a world that is more just and fraternal," Benedict XVI said today at the weekly general audience, citing the example of St Basil, bishop, "a luminary of the Church, who was admired by both the Churches of the East and the West."

Again, because of the summer heat, the audience was held indoors and was held in two parts. The Pope first went to St. Peter's Basilica to greet the overflow crowd who could not be accommodated at Aula Paolo VI.

The Pope continued with the catechetical cycle on the Fathers of the Church by speaking of St. Basil, who was a Bishop of Cappadocia (present-day Turkey) in the late 4th century, stressing the 'excellence' of both is life and his doctrine.

"He was a man of love for his neighbour and a man full of hope, joy and faith: he shows us how to be truly Christian" as well as a defender of the faith who, "with wisdom and courage, knew how to oppose heretics", and was "one of the great fathers who founded the doctrine of the Trinity."

He described how Basil "With wise equilibrium, (he) knew how to join the service to souls with dedication to prayer and meditation in solitude". Bishop and pastor, "he was constantly concerned about the difficult material conditions of his faithful, he committed himself to the poor and marginalized, even lobbying with the authorities to alleviate the suffering of the people" while and looking after the "freedom of the Church, opposing the powerful to affirm the right to proclaim one's faith."

At the end, the Pope had a special message for those now preparing for the next World Youth Day in Sydney, which he called "not just an event, but a time of profound spiritual renewal, which will be of benefit to all society".

He added: "I have noted that against the wave of secularism, many young people are rediscovering the satisfying quest for authentic beauty, goodness and truth. Through your testimony, help them in their search for the Spirit of God. Be courageous in this witness; commit yourselves to spreading the light of Christ, who makes an invitation for all of life, making it possible for each one to have permanent joy and happiness."

The Italian papers today all note from yesterday's preliminary 2006 financial report for the Vatican that worldwide contributions to the Pope's charities in 2006 doubled compared to 2005 and the last full year of John Paul's Pontificate. Here is the report in La Repubblica:


Boom in contributions
for Papal charities

ROME - In Papa Ratzinger's Pontificate, the contributions to Peter's Pence have doubled. Donations in 2006 reached $109,900,000 for the fund which the Pope uses at his discretion in the service of the Universal Church. In 2005, the sum collected was $59,441,000, which was a slight increase of $7,731,000 from collections in 2004, the last full year of John Paul's Pontificate.

Peter's Pence is the total of all worldwide contributions made specifically for the Pope's apostolic and charitable missions.

I am replacing the previous report from PETRUS posted here with a translation of the original story on which it was based - a report in Il Giornale today.

New cardinals for Papa Ratzinger
By Andrea Tornielli


Benedict XVI is said to have decided to call the second consistory of his Pontificate at the end of November, on the eve of the Feast of Christ the King.

But before then, the Pope will be announcing other nominations, two of them involving changes in his immediate staff - Archbishop Piero Marini, liturgical master of ceremonies, and Mons. Miecyslaw Mokrzycki (Mietek), the Pope's second private secretary.

Marini, who was named to his current position by John Paul II, will be named president of the Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, replacing Cardinal Tomko. Marini's position in the Papal staff will reportedly be filled by his current deputy, Mons. Enrico Vigano.

Mietek, whom Benedict XVI retained from similar service with John Paul II, will be named coadjutor to the Polish Cardinal Marian Jaworski, Archbishop of Lviv, giving him right to succession. In which case, both secretaries of John Paul II will once again be close by - Cardinal Stanislaw Dsizwisz in Cracow, and Mietek in Lviv.

The next consistory would be on November 23, when Cardinal Angelo Sodano turns 80. [Will he then be replaced as Dean of the College of Cardinals???] On that day, there will be 17 'vacancies' available among the cardinal electors to reach the maximum of 120 maximum decreed by Paul VI by decree (although exceeded several times by John Paul II). The vacancies represent the number of cardinals who have turned 80 since Benedict's first consistory.

The list of new cardinals is expected to include: Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, newly named Prefect of the Congregation of Oriental Churches; Giovanni Lajolo, Governor of Vatican State; Angelo Comastri, arch-priest of St. Peter's Basilica; Raffaele Farina, newly named Librarian-Archivist of the Holy Roman Church; John Patrick Foley, newly named pro-Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher; Angelo Bagnasco, archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian bishops conference; Paolo Romeo, archbishop of Palermo; and the archbishops of Paris, Sao Paolo, Warsaw and Washington, D.C.


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GOOD NEWS -
CHINESE CAN ACCESS THE VATICAN SITE
THROUGH ANY LINK PROVIDED ON ANY SITE OR POST!

P.S. About the report that the Chinese government has blocked access to the Vatican site from inside China, Sandro Magister reports in his blog that one of his readers in China has informed him he was able to get to the Vatican site through the link in Magister's post about the letter.

It's a good thing most Catholic sites and blogs usually post the link to the Vatican site, so Beijing may have only caused a minor inconvenience, thank God. (Even if I still don't underrstand how they could block direct access to a site). The net isn't a 'net' for nothing!!!

From Lella's blog, we have an Apcom item about a report by the French online news agency I.Media, which has accurately reported on all things concerning the Mass MP in the past. Here is a translation:


'SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM':
Motu Proprio out on Saturday


ROME, July 4 (Apcom) - The authoritative French online news agency I.media confirmed today that the long-awaited Papal Motu Proprio liberalizing the use of the pre-Conciliar Mass will be released on Saturday, July 7, and is entitled 'Summorum Pontificum' (Of the Supreme Pontiffs).

The report then goes on to say that Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio starts with the words "Summorum Pontificum cura.." [In the absence of other qualifying words, one could translate it as 'A concern of the Supreme Pontiffs' - let's see what a Latinist like Fr. Z will say. Also I don't understand why the whole phrase can't be used instead of just the first two words.]

The report further confirms that the MP will refer to a 'single Roman rite' with an ordinary form (the Novus Ordo or Paul VI Mass dating from 1967) and an extraordinary form (the Pius V Mass as updated by John XXIII in 1962).

The report contains other details, including some previously divulged:

- A group of parishioners wishing to attend the extraordinary form need no longer seek authorization from the local bishop, but simply request it from the parish priest.

- However, only one 'extraordinary' Mass may be celebrated in the parish on Sundays or religious holidays. [Presumably, more than one Mass a day may be allowed on other days? But more than one Mass on a regular weekday may not be necessary at all!]

- The MP also reportedly encourages the formation of 'personal parishes' [where membership is based on shared practice, not geographical location] for those who wish to use the traditional form only.

- The Pope's explanatory letter with the MP reportedly makes clear that his decision is not a 'return to the past' but a gesture to make available to the faithful the spiritual, cultural and esthetic treasures of Catholic tradition.

- Besides the Mass, the MP will also spell out provisions for the use of pre-Conciliar rites for baptism, confirmation, extreme unction and funerals.

- Although Latin will be used for the bulk of the pre-conciliar Mass, Scriptural readings may be done in the vernacular. [This is not very clear. An earlier report said users of the traditional Mass may choose to use the yearly lectionary as it was in 1962 or adopt the three-year-cycle lectionary of the Novus Ordo, which is also available in Latin, the language of the so-called 'typical version' of the Roman Missal, traditional or new.]

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.
Anyway, it's only three days till Saturday, 7/7/07, by which time we will all know what's really what.



P.S. I see Fr. Z is also stumped if we only have two words to work with. Here's how he put it on his blog just now:

---

So we know the title.

Summorum Pontificum

... (Something or other) of the Supreme Pontiffs (something or other)...

Anyone care to speculate about the way the rest of the sentence continues?

---

Too bad he did not get the 3-word phrase, with the word 'cura' - which could mean care, concern, worry, attention, responsibility, management, charge - in the nominative form or the ablative (used with a preposition)...

From Curt Jester, this item from FIDES - belated post but welcome nevertheless, and news not available elsewhere.

Beijing, July 2 (Agenzia Fides) - No less than 262 catechumens received the sacraments of Baptism, first Holy Communion and Confirmation at Immaculate Conception parish in Beijing on Sunday 1 July the day after the Papal Letter addressed by Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholic of China was made public.

Local sources told Fides, "It was a moving event. The 262 new members of the Catholic family were welcomed by all the parishioners on the most important day of their lives. Some were young workers, others adult intellectuals, whole families including parents and grandparents&. The Mass lasted several hours and despite the heat everyone was attentive and took an active part in the celebration. The people who came for the next Mass at 11am, celebrated in English, had to wait for a long time but they participated in the spiritual rejoicing".

The newly baptised were overjoyed at becoming members of the Catholic family the day after the publication of Pope Benedict XVI Papal Letter to the bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in China, a most important event in the history of the Church in China and in the spiritual journey of each individual Chinese Catholic. (NZ) (Agenzia Fides 02/7/2007)

--------------------------------------------------------------------

It would be nice to be able to post items regularly from FIDES, which is the news service of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. But I have been unable to because the site requires one to be a subscriber to see its items! Why can't it be open as AsiaNews is - which is a service of the Pontifical Council for Foreign Missions?

By the way, the Yahoo newsphoto service has pictures of Cardinal Zen giving a news conference in Hongkong today, but I have not yet seen an accompanying story.

Here's a translation of an item from the French service of Agence France Presse. The news is not that the MP will come out Saturday as everyone knows by now - but that the president of the French bishops conference, which has been the most militant opponent of the Pope's decision, announced it at a major event....Plus, look at the next-to-the-last sentence of the report....

Papal decree on the mass
to be issued Saturday


PARIS, July 4 (AFP) - The Papal decree (motu proprio) liberalizing the use of the traditional Mass in Latin will be published Saturday,
the president of the French episcopal conference (CEF from the French acronym), Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard annnounced Wednesday at the inauguration of the new CEF headquarters in the Invalides section of Paris.


St. Francis de Sales chapel,
new CEF house. Photo from
Le Forum Catholique

He said bishops around the world would now be receiving the text, accompanied by an explanatory letter by Pope Benedict XVI, so that in turn they will inform the priests of heir diocese.

Cardinal Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux, said that the Pope gives his reasons for his decision in the explanatory letter: on the one hand, he asks Catholics who have followed the changes initiated by the Second Vatican Council to 'understand' a faithfulness to the traditional rite; on the other hand, he asks the traditionalists to acknowledge and accept the evolutions in the Church, including ecumenism and inter-religious dialog.

The Motu proprio would allow parish priests,rather than the local bishop, to authorize the traditional Mass. However, several bishops at the inauguration said they would continue to be in charge themselves. [Already defying the MP????]

On this occasion, the French minister in charge of religious groups, Michele Alliott-Marie, said she wished to pursue the matter of relations between religions and the state and will be submitting her proposals to the Prime Minister.

Today, at least two of the Italian national dailies - Il Giornale and Corriere della Sera - saw fit to react to a scurrilous and totally misinformed report that came out in the British newspaper Independent yesterday. Here first is the story from Il Giornale, because it is more thorough in its explanation than Luigi Accatoli's in Corsera.


The 'perfidious' English crusade
against Papa Ratzinger's Mass
By Andrea Tornielli


Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio liberalizing the use of the Tridentine Mass in the latest version approved before Vatican-II will be published Saturday and will allow a 'stable group' of faithful (no number specified) to request the celebration of the old rite - which was never officially abolished - directly from the parish priest.

But even before the text has been released and its actual details known, criticism has started. The British newspaper Independent claimed yesterday that Catholics in the United Kingdom are objecting because they fear negative repercussions on the dialog with the Jewish community by restoring a liturgy that refers to Jews as 'perfidious.'

Actually, the Mass version to be liberalized by Pope Benedict is that of 1962, as promulgated by John XXIII, who took out the prayer «pro perfidis judaeis» that was part of the Good Friday liturgy. Therefore, it will never be heard again in Catholic churches.
[This is a fact that any newspaper could have easily researched, but obviously the Independent chose not to. One cannot blame them if even the primate of the English Catholic Church, Cardinal Murphy O'Connor did not know enough - or probably preferred not to - to explain this to the Jews who had complained to him about it. Instead of which, like Cardinal Lehmann of Germany (inexlicably), he chose to use it as a basis for objecting to the MP. Did they really think Ratzinger would have been oblivious of this issue???]

But a further explanation is necessary. The term 'perfidis' in liturgical Latin had the etymological meaning of 'lacking in faith' or 'non-believer' to refer to those who do not accept the Christian faith. With the introduction of missals for Catholics wishing to follow the Mass, and therefore containing a translation of the Latin into the local language, the term 'perfidis' was translated in Italian and most other languages as 'perfidious' (i.e., treacherous).

Therefore, from being a simple statement of fact - that Jews belong among the 'non-believers' - it was transformed into a moral condemnation.

Shortly after the Second World War, the former chief rabbi of Rome, Eugenio Zolli - who had converted to Catholicism, taking the baptismal name of Pius XII - requested the Pope to annul the expression. Papa Pacelli explained to him that the Latin word implied no moral judgment. So he had the Sacred Congregation of Rites publish a note on June 10, 1948, explaining that 'perfidis judaeis' only meant non-believing, not perfidious.

John XXIII took out the expression altogether in 1959.

So, the Tridentine Missal that will be liberalized no longer has the phrase objected to. In place of the original Good Friday prayer for the Jews, the prayer now asks God to "lift the veil that covers the hearts" of Jews "so that they may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ" - which makes it clear that the original sense of the word 'perfidis' was that of 'lacking the faith.'

The confusion, of course, fed by available versions of the old Missals for the faithful. For instance, it was reported yesterday that a traditionalist group in Verona has just published the old Missal containing the old abolished version - which it makes clear can no longer be used - as well as all the changes that had been introduced up to 1962.

The publishers of the missal, called 'Messale Festivo Tradizionale Latino e Italiano' said they included both versions "for historical reasons - to allow an understanding of why the text was changed."

However, the Missal published by Fraternity of St. Pius V (the Lefebvrians) contains only the John XXIII version of the Good Friday prayer for the Jews which does not contain the contested phrase.

Il Giornale, 5 luglio 2007



The British say
Ratzinger's Mass is anti-Semitic!
The Vatican answers
By Luigi Accattoli


VATICAN CITY - When the Old Missal rite is 'restored', will the Good Friday prayer for 'perfidious Jews'? The question was posed rather sensationally by the British newspaper Independent yesterday, but the immediate answer at the Vatican states two things:

1) The Missal to be liberalized by Pope Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio is the 1962 version which no longer contains the phrase; and 2) the liberalized use of the rite covers the entire liturgical year "with the exception of the Paschal Triduum", namely, the rites of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Saturday in Holy Week.

The Independent headline read: "Church split feared as Pope backs return of 'anti-Semitic' Latin Mass". The news item described a rift between obedient Catholics and critical ones - who are said to have the support of the Primate of England, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor - who 'fear' an anti-Semitic resurgence because of a return to the old Mass.

According to a report yesterday by the French news agency I-media, the Motu Proprio would authorize only one pre-Conciliar Mass in a parish on Sundays and religious solemnities, with the explicit exclusion of the Paschal Triduum rites.

Journalists asking for a response from official Vatican sources who said they could not comment on it because the Papal text has not yet been officially released. But there was no pre-publication reticence about the statement that the rite to be 'liberalized' (in the sense of no longer being allowed only at the discretion of the local bishop) is the Missal as published by John XXIII in 1962, which no longer contains the adjective 'perfidious.'

However, the revised prayer for the Jews by the 'good Pope' may still be found objectionable by Jews - it was still entitled 'Prayer for the conversion of the Jews' and asks that they be relieved of their 'blindness' and 'be led out of the shadows'.

[There's a factual difference in Accattoli's report here, from what Tornielli says about the 1962 version of this prayer which appears in the new Verona edition of the Old Missal:"So, the Tridentine Missal that will be liberalized no longer has the phrase objected to. In place of the original Good Friday prayer for the Jews, the prayer now asks God to "lift the veil that covers the hearts" of Jews "so that they may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ" - which makes it clear that the original sense of the word 'perfidis' was that of 'lacking the faith.'"]

Paul VI's Missal in 1969 that made the latest change. The prayer is simply entitled "For the Jews" and asks the Lord to "help them progress in love in your name and in faith to your alliance."



Corriere della sera, 5 luglio 2007


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THE 'INDEPENDENT' SHOULD AT LEAST
HAVE CHECKED ITS OWN ARCHIVES:
Was the 'anti-Semitic' charge
ever raised before?

In any case, an appropriate footnote to the Independent news item is this item from British Catholic traditionalists who circulated this through UNA VOCE, an international foundation founded in 1964 for the promotion and support of "the Tridentine/Gregorian Rite Mass within the Church, in union with the Holy See and the bishops united with the Supreme Pontiff of the Church as permitted through the 1988 indult, Ecclesia Dei adflicta.



January 2007
Catholics in the U.K. Appeal
to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
in Support of the Traditional Latin Mass

There has been much speculation in the media in recent months about the expectation from Rome of a document that will grant greater freedom for the celebration of the traditional ('Tridentine') Roman rite of Mass.

There have been some highly critical comments from certain quarters, especially from the French and German bishops, who do not agree with the prospect of loosening the very tight restrictions imposed by most bishops around the world.

It is a fact, for whatever reason, that these bishops oppose greater freedom for the celebration of the traditional Mass and have no interest in the opinions of the laity or even of many of their own priests who long to celebrate this ancient rite; a rite that has never been abolished and is still valid.

In an effort to counter the negative and uninformed attitudes of the bishops a number of public manifestos have been published by lay people in France, Italy, Poland, Germany, and including one from English-speaking people from around the world. A number of people in the UK wish to publicly declare their support for Pope Benedict XVI and his intention to grant greater freedom for the celebration of the ancient classical Roman rite of Mass.

Leo Darroch
Secretary, Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce

This the text of the appeal:

In 1971 many leading British and international figures, among whose number were Yehudi Menuhin, Agatha Christie, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Nancy Mitford, Graham Greene, Joan Sutherland, and Ralph Richardson, presented a petition to His Holiness Pope Paul VI asking for the survival of the traditional Roman Catholic Mass on the grounds that it would be a serious loss to western culture. The then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Heenan, himself appealed to Pope Paul for the continued celebration of the traditional Mass. The full text of this appeal in 1971 was:

---

If some senseless decree were to order the total or partial destruction of basilicas or cathedrals, then obviously it would be the educated - whatever their personal beliefs - who would rise up in horror to oppose such a possibility.

Now the fact is that basilicas and cathedrals were built so as to celebrate a rite which, until a few months ago, constituted a living tradition. We are referring to the Roman Catholic Mass. Yet, according to the latest information in Rome, there is a plan to obliterate that Mass by the end of the current year.

One of the axioms of contemporary publicity, religious as well as secular, is that modern man in general, and intellectuals in particular, have become intolerant of all forms of tradition and are anxious to suppress them and put something else in their place. But, like many other affirmations of our publicity machines, this axiom is false.

Today, as in times gone by, educated people are in the vanguard where recognition of the value of tradition in concerned, and are the first to raise the alarm when it is threatened. We are not at this moment considering the religious or spiritual experience of millions of individuals.

The rite in question, in its magnificent Latin text, has also inspired a host of priceless achievements in the arts - not only mystical works, but works by poets, philosophers, musicians, architects, painters and sculptors in all countries and epochs.
Thus, it belongs to universal culture as well as to churchmen and formal Christians.

In the materialistic and technocratic civilisation that is increasingly threatening the life of mind and spirit in its original creative expression - the word - it seems particularly inhuman to deprive man of word-forms in one of their most grandiose manifestations.

The signatories of this appeal, which is entirely ecumenical and non-political, have been drawn from every branch of modern culture in Europe and elsewhere.

They wish to call to the attention of the Holy See, the appalling responsibility it would incur in the history of the human spirit were it to refuse to allow the Traditional Mass to survive, even though this survival took place side by side with other liturgical reforms.

---

This appeal in 1971 came at a crucial time in the history of civilisation when the future of the traditional Latin 'Tridentine' Mass was in jeopardy. Pope Paul VI graciously acknowledged this appeal and the traditional Mass was saved, at least in England and Wales.

Since this momentous appeal in 1971 the traditional Latin Mass has prospered once again among the faithful worldwide and is now celebrated in almost every country in the world.

Now, in 2007, there is great hope and expectation that this treasure of civilisation will be freed from its current restrictions. We, the signatories of this petition, wish to associate ourselves to the sentiments expressed in the petition of 1971 which, perhaps, are even more valid today, and appeal to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 to allow the free celebration of the traditional Roman rite of Mass, the Mass of Ages, the Mass of Antiquity, on the altars of the Church.

Signed:
Rt. Hon. Michael Ancram, QC MP.
Miss Madeleine Beard, M.Litt. (Cantab).
Dr. Mary Berry CBE, Founder of the Schola Gregoriana in Cambridge.
James Bogle, TD, MA, ACIarb, Barrister, Chairman of the Catholic Union of Great Britain.
Count Neri Capponi, Judge of the Tuscan Ecclesiastical Matrimonial Court.
Fr. Antony F.M. Conlon, Chaplain to the Latin Mass Society.
Julian Chadwick, Chairman  The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales.
Rev. Fr. Ronald Creighton-Jobe, The Oratory, London.
Fra Fredrik Crichton-Stuart, Chairman CIEL UK.
Leo Darroch, Secretary  International Federation Una Voce.
Adrian Davies, Barrister.
R.P. Davis, B.Phil., M.A., D.Phil (Oxon), retired senior lecturer in Ancient History, Queen's University of Belfast; translator/commentator on the Liber Pontificalis of the Roman Church.
John Eidinow, Bodley Fellow and Dean, Merton College, Oxford.
Jonathan Evans MEP, Vice Chairman Catholic Union of Great Britain.
Fra' Matthew Festing, OBE, TD, DL. Grand Prior of England, Sovereign Order of the Knights of Malta.
The Right Honourable Lord Gill, Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland.
Dr. Sheridan Gilley, Emeritus Reader, University of Durham.
Dr. Christopher Gillibrand, MA (Oxon).
Rev. Dr. Laurence Paul Hemming, Heythrop College, University of London.
Stephen Hough, Concert Pianist and Composer.
Neville Kyrke-Smith, National Director, Aid to the Church in Need UK
Prince Rupert zu Loewenstein, President of the British Association of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. KCSG.
James MacMillan, CBE, Composer and Conductor.
Anthony McCarthy, Research Fellow, Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics.
Mrs. Daphne McLeod, Chairman, Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice.
Anthony Ozimic, MA (bioethics).
Dr. Susan Frank Parsons, President, Society for the Study of Christian Ethics (UK) and Co-Founder of the Society of St. Catherine of Siena.
Dr. Catherine Pickstock, Lecturer in Philosophy and Religion; Fellow  Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
Dr. Thomas Pink, Reader in Philosophy and Director of Philosophical Studies, Kings College, London.
Piers Paul Read, Novelist and Playwright; Vice-President of the Catholic Writers' Guild of England and Wales.
The Rev. Dr. Alcuin Reid, Liturgical Scholar and Author.
Nicholas Richardson, Warden of Greyfriars Hall, Oxford.
Prof. Jonathan Riley-Smith, retired Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History, Cambridge University.
Fr. John Saward, Lisieux Senior Research Fellow in Theology, Greyfriars, Oxford University.
Dr. Joseph Shaw. Tutorial Fellow in Philosophy, St. Benets Hall, Oxford University.
Damien Thompson, Editor-in-Chief, The Catholic Herald.

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By way of 'bona fides', UNA VOCE's site carries this quotation from Cardinal Ratzinger:

"The International Una Voce Federation has played an important role in supporting the use of the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal in obedience to the directives of the Holy See. For this valuable service I express my gratitude to the members of the Federation and extend my blessing."

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, speaking to the Una Voce Federation,
25 July 1996

Lella on her blog has just posted this ASCA item on the Mass MP. Here is a translation. NB: As the basic background facts on the Mass and the MP are now pretty well-memorized by everyone interested, I will no longer repeat them in subsequent translations of reports pertaining to the Mass MP.


THREE-YEAR TRYOUT
FOR PRE-CONCILIAR MASS


VATICAN CITY, July 5 (ASCA) - The Vatican will publish Saturday the terms under which Benedict XVI is liberalizing the pre-conciliar Mass, allowing those who wish to do so, the possibility of attending a Tridentine rite in their parishes at least for the next three years.

....

It might seem like a nostalgic return to the past, but a complete assessment of the Pope's decision will be possible only with a complete text of the Motu Proprio and the Pope's accompanying explanatory letter that have been sent to bishops around the world.

Vatican sources say that the Pope's letter is no less important than the decree itself because he explains the pastoral reasons for a decision on a matter which has always been hotly disputed between 'conservative' and 'progressive' Catholic circles.

ASCA has ascertained that the Pope will clearly state his aim is not at all 'a return to the past' but simply to resolve an open issue that has been rankling some Catholics regarding an essential component of Catholic faith: the liturgy.

The Pope will reportedly make clear his decision does not weaken or undermine Vatican-II reforms. His letter is addressed to both sides of the dispute, calling on the faithful to accept both forms of the Mass without demonizing one or the other, in order to create the conditions for complete greater ecclesial reconciliation between those linked to the old rite and those who prefer the 'modern sensibility.'

In fact, the Pope does not replace the new Mass introduced by Paul VI in 1969 which "is and will continue to be" the 'typical rite' of the Church. The old Mass will be an 'extraordinary' rite allowed for those who prefer it, and all Catholics will be enjoined to be respectful of it.

The letter reportedly makes clear that the decision is not directed principally at the followers of the late Mons. Marcel Lefebvre, who have more fundamental reasons for their schism than objecting to the New Mass. The condition for their re-acceptance into the Roman church remains the same: a full acceptance of the teachings and changes resulting from Vatican-II, including the new Mass.

Just as the Pope calls on the 'conciliar' Catholics to respect the old Mass, the Lefebvrians are called on to renounce their hostility and accusations of heresy with respect to Vatican-II.

Even as theologian, bishop and cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger always supported the liturgical reform intended by Vatican-II but was vocal in objecting to what came to be the general interpretation of such reform as an overnight denial of the validity of the liturgical tradition which for centuries expressed the central tenets of the Catholic faith.

Now he is trying to repair the rupture, without conceding anything to those who reject Vatican-II fully. And he has done everything to show that he did not wish to decide unilaterally even on a subject that was always dear to him.

Months of listening to objections from various bishops preceded the decision to publish the Motu Proprio. And on June 27, the Pope himself attended a meeting to which some 15 key bishops were invited in order to present the Motu Proprio and his explanatory letter personally to them.

Sources said that no major objections were raised by the bishops [which included the heads of the episcopal conferences of France, Germany and the United Kingdom - said to have been the most militant among the opponents of the MP].

However, they reiterated their concern about possibly upsetting a 'fragile balance' in their parishes regarding the use of the old rite. [What 'fragile balance', if they all claim that 'very few' are really interested in the old Mass?]

They may have been reassured by the supposed provision whereby the liberalization would have a three-year tryout, at the end of which the Pope would make a final definitive decision.

As the French philosopher-sociologist Rene Girard wrote in an essay for La Repubblica last weekend [translated in full earlier on this page of this thread]: "... the Pope's restoration of the traditional Mass should not be seen as evidence of his 'traditionalism.' His supposed 'conservatism' is an exaggeration, a grotesque stereotype. What has Ratzinger done that is 'conservative' since he became Pope? Nothing! All he has shown so far is lucidity, wisdom and mental agility in lightening up many of the problems that afflict the Church..."

Very likely, the texts we shall see on Saturday will confirm Papa Ratzinger's style, a serene strength anchored with certainty on Catholic tradition but unequivocally in keeping with Vatican-II decrees as well as the decisions of the preceding Popes in applying it.


=====================================================================

I must mention here that writer and Church historian Alberto Melloni, foremost claimant to representing the 'true spirit of Vatican-II', could not contain his obvious hostility to Benedict XVI to wait until the actual MP and the explanatory letter come out, and wrote a screed published today in Corriere della Sera accusing the Pope, among other things, of issuing the Mass MP 'at the expense of his two predecessors" (Paul VI and John Paul II). I will translate if I find the time - obviously, I will give priority to articles that are not as disgusting (not principally because of their hostility to the Pope, which is an opinion and to which, as such, they have a right, but because of their objective dishonesty).

Melloni is one of those 'intellectuals' whose reason is so blinded by ideology that they prefer to ignore facts in order to twist matters according to their way of thinking. I am pretty sure there are a score of more briliant and far more objective Catholic intellectuals out there who will be answering him shortly in the Italian media.

Besides, if the ASCA article is right, the Pope's letter will definitely pull the rug out from under Melloni's feet! If only he had waited two more days, he might appear less of an a******!

Pope says he plans to attend World Youth Day 2008 in Australia

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI announced that he planned to attend World Youth Day celebrations in Australia in July 2008, and he encouraged young people to prepare for "this marvelous celebration of the faith."

Speaking at the end of his general audience July 4, the pope confirmed hopes that he would make the 10,000-mile journey from Rome to Sydney for the international assembly with hundreds of thousands of youths.

"One year from now we will meet at World Youth Day in Sydney!" the pope told a group of young people in Rome for a planning session. The pope tentatively was scheduled to arrive in Sydney July 17, 2008, for four days of ceremonies.

"For many of us, this will be a long journey. Yet Australia and its people evoke images of a warm welcome and wondrous beauty, of an ancient aboriginal history, and a multitude of vibrant cities and communities," he said.

The pope encouraged young people to prepare for World Youth Day by entering fully into the life of their local parishes. The more they participate enthusiastically in local church events, he said, the more they will approach the megagathering in Sydney with "awe and eager anticipation."

"World Youth Day is much more than an event. It is a time of deep spiritual renewal, the fruits of which benefit the whole of society," he said.

The pope underlined the importance of the theme of World Youth Day: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth." Receiving the power of the spirit, he said, helps transform uncertainty, fear and division into purpose, hope and communion.

He told the young people that today's world needs their faith, energy and love. Against a "tide of secularism," he said, many young people are rediscovering the quest for authentic beauty, goodness and truth.

"Some of you have friends with little real purpose in their lives, perhaps caught up in a futile search for endless new experiences. Bring them to World Youth Day, too!" the pope said.

Young Catholics should be courageous in witnessing to the Gospel and spreading "Christ's guiding light, which gives purpose to all life," he said.

In his regular audience talk, the pope recalled the figure of St. Basil the Great, a fourth-century bishop and doctor of the church. The pope held him out as a model of faith in action and a man who helped turn monastic life into the nucleus of the local church community.

The pope focused on St. Basil's special concern for the poor and needy. As bishop, he pressed governing authorities to do more to help those who suffered, and he made sure the local church built schools, hospitals and charitable institutions, the pope said.

The saint's pastoral activity, the pope said, flowed from his deep devotion to the sacred liturgy, and the church still possesses a eucharistic prayer bearing his name.

"We find in Basil an outstanding model of free, total and uncompromising service to the church. May God give us the courage to imitate him," he said.

As the current page of this thread just changed, I would like to call attention to the earlier July 5 items posted in the previous page, as noted in the SECTION UPDATE thread:


Big mass baptism of babies in Beijing church the day after the Pope's letter - Belated post of a July 2 report from FIDES news agency...and News alert about a press conference in Hongkong by Cardinal Zen.

Head of French bishops' conference announces coming MP at opening of new bishops' headquarters in Paris - But some bishops say they will still decide on the Mass regardless of what the MP says. Translated from an AFP report.

Another translation problem! - Il Giornale and Corriere della Sera answer back a British newspaper item claiming that the Pope's liberalization of the Old Mass will fan anti-Semitism. The canard is based on a Good Friday prayer for the Jews with the prase 'perfidious Jews' erroneously transliterated from the original Latin, and amended by John XXIII in 1962 in response to Jewish objections. Translated.... Substantial footnote: January 2007 appeal by British traditionalists for liberalization of the Mass, citing a 1971 appeal - reproduced in full - sent to Paul VI in 1971 by leading figures of the British cultural establishment protesting the dis-use of the traditional Mass....

Three-year tryout for the Mass liberalization? - The Italian news agency ASCA reports this is provided for in the Mass MP.

The CNS item on Sydney was referenced in the report yesterday, also on the previous page, about the July 4 Angelus; and the Pope's full statement on Sydney WYD is in AUDIENCE AND ANGELUS TEXTS.

And on IN HIS OWN WORDS
freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=354533&p=2
I have posted some selected texts of what Cardinal Ratzinger has previously said about the Mass.

It is interesting to see how three different news services reported on the Pope's address:




First, Osservatore Romano today:

'An irrenunciable task: to guard the stability
and the material and spiritual development
of the family! - from the Holy Father's words
to Dominican Republic bishops yesterday


Here's ZENIT:

Family Needs State Support, Says Pontiff
Encourages Prelates From Dominican Republic


VATICAN CITY, JULY 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says he hopes that the family can be supported both by the Church and by state assistance.

The Pope said this today when he received bishops from the Dominican Republic, who were ending their five-yearly visit.

The Holy Father said he unites himself to the concerns of the prelates, who witnessed to a "living, dynamic and active" Church, but lamented "symptoms of a process of secularization in which, for many people, God does not represent the source, the goal or the ultimate meaning of life."

The Dominican people "have a profoundly Christian soul," the Pontiff affirmed. On this foundation, the Church can begin again to achieve the primary goal of proclaiming the truth about Christ and about the person to every creature, he said.

Benedict XVI urged support for the family, the domestic church, so that "they are not alone as they face the great challenges before them," but instead are sustained by the ecclesial community in their Christian life, so often the object of attack.

He mentioned "the drama of divorce and pressures to legalize abortion, as well as the spread of unions not in accordance with the Creator's design for marriage."

"The family has the right to the state's assistance to fully realize its mission," the Pope said.

And he asked for the collaboration of public institutions "to protect the stability of the family and favor its spiritual and material progress, in order to bring back a better formation of children."


And finally, VIS:

VATICAN CITY, JUL 5, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received prelates from the Conference of the Dominican Episcopate, who today completed their "ad limina" visit.

"The fundamental aim of your pastoral ministry," the Pope told the bishops, "must be to ensure that the truth about Christ and the truth about man penetrate still more deeply into the various levels of Dominican society."

This task, said Benedict XVI, "not without difficulties, takes place among a people whose spirit is open and sensitive to the Good News." Despite the fact that in the Dominican Republic there are evident "symptoms of a process of secularization in which, for many people, God does not represent the source, the goal, or the ultimate meaning of life, in the end, as you well know, this people has a profoundly Christian soul."

"Another of the fundamental objectives of new evangelization," he continued, "is the family." In this context, he gave assurances that the Church supports families against "the great challenges they have to face," and "encourages them in their faith, safeguarding their perseverance in a Christian project for life, often subject to so many vicissitudes and dangers."

The Holy Father highlighted how the Church seeks to ensure that "the family remains a real environment in which a person is born, grows up and is educated for life, and in which parents, in their tender love for their children, prepare them for healthy interpersonal relationships that incarnate human and moral values in the midst of a society so marked by hedonism and religious indifference."

After stressing the need for the State authorities "to collaborate still more in the indispensable task of working in favor of families," the Pope affirmed that he was not unaware of "the difficulties facing the institution of the family in the country, especially with the drama of divorce and pressures to legalize abortion, as well as the spread of unions not in accordance with the Creator's design for marriage."

Promoting priestly and religious vocations, said Benedict XVI, "must be a priority for bishops and a commitment for all the faithful. ... In addition to integral formation, profound discernment of the human and Christian suitability of seminarians is required, so as to as to give the best possible guarantee of the dignified practice of their future ministry."

The Pope noted how in the field of migration the bishops dedicate "much energy to caring for groups of Dominicans abroad," and he called upon them "to accompany with great charity, as you do already, Haitian immigrants who have left their country seeking better living conditions for themselves and their families."

On the subject of the evangelization of culture, the Holy Father pointed out that "in this task we cannot overlook the social communications media: radio, television productions, videos and computer networks can be very useful for a wider diffusion of the Gospel. This task devolves particularly upon the laity."

Benedict XVI underlined the need to ensure that lay people receive "adequate religious formation, so as to enable them to face the numerous challenges of modern society. It is their task to promote human and Christian values that illuminate the political, economic and cultural life of the country, with the aim of instituting a more just and more equitable social order, in accordance with the Social Doctrine of the Church."

"At the same time, in accordance with ethical and moral norms, [the laity] must provide an example of honesty and transparency in the management of public affairs, in the face of the unseen and widespread blight of corruption, which at times even touches areas of political and economic power, as well as other spheres of public and social life."

=====================================================================

7/6/07
I've transferred the small item on Cardinal Zen's news conference yesterday to NEWS ABOUT THE CHURCH, where Benefan has posted a story about it.

Ready to welcome the Pope

LORENZAGO, July 5 (ASCA) - Everything is ready in Lorenzago di Cadore - including fresh snow on the Dolomite peaks - to welcome the Pope who will be on vacation here from July 9-27.

He will be arriving by helicopter around noon Monday, July 8, from the airport at Treviso, with one of his hosts, Mons. Andrea Mazzocato, Bishop of Treviso.

The Pope will be staying at a Treviso diocesan villa constructed in 1958 - recently restored - and named Castello Mirabello after the historic site where it is located.

The villa, in a wooded setting, has a sizable garden with paths leading to the surrounding conifer forest of firs and larches.

The ground floor has a hallway, a parlor, the kitchen and dining room and some spare rooms. The second floor has five rooms, a study and a private chapel.

Staying with the Pope will be his private secretary, his valet and two lay sisters in charge of his household. The rest of his entourage, including security, will be housed in the old castle manor, which has hosted guests in the past like the poet Carducci.

From the first floor terrace of the villa, the Pope will have a great view of Dolomite peaks, like the Marmarole of the Cridola range, and the Tudaio which still holds some fortifications from the First World War.

The Vatican has said that Benedict XVI's vacation will mostly be for rest and study. In contrast, John Paul II, who spent six vacations in Lorenzago, used to go out for a daily excursion, once climbing Mt. Peralba.

Papa Ratzinger's only announced public events in Lorenzago so far are the Angelus prayers on July 15 and July 22. But it is also very likely he will meet the priests of Treviso and Belluno at a local church, or even at the John Paul I Center in Canale d'Agordo, the late Pope's hometown in Belluno province, where Lorenzago is located.

The state's forest rangers have prepared some mountain paths leading to the peaks. They will not disclose which, but they could be those that were used by John Paul II, including one leading to the plateau of Razzo; Comelico, overlooking Val Pusteria [that's the region where the Pope's mother comes from - and I thought the choice of Lorenzago had something to do with that!], and even one that leads to Ampezzano [Lorenzago is not far from Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy's most fashionable ski resort].

For reasons of security, the Pope is not expected to venture far from the villa more than 5 or 6 times. The villa itself has been surrounded by a 2-meter high wiremesh fence covered by green plastic.
Checkpoints will be instituted at the two access roads, both about one hour's walk down from Mirabello.

Houses in Lorenzago are already decorated with the flags of the Vatican and Italy. Many have flowerboxes with white and yellow flowers.

The same mayor, Mario Tremonti, who first welcomed Papa Wojtyla in 1987, will welcome Benedict XVI.

The parish has had a program of spiritual preparation consisting of weekly prayer meetings, in addition to cultural events scheduled during the visit. They plan a candlelight procession through the streets of Lorenzago on the eve of the Pope's arrival.

Mons. Giuseppe Andrich, Bishop of Belluno, has invited the Pope to an organ concert on July 11.

Flags and posters welcoming the Pope have also appeared in neighboring towns from Lorenzago. In Vigo, a group of volunteers are planning to ring the church bells every evening at Angelus time for 15 minutes while the Pope is visiting.

"It will be our daily greeting to him, since he can hear the bells from his villa," said one of the volunteers.

HALLELUJAH!!!! Sihaya has acted 'SOFORT' at my request for help and converted this thread into a sticky. Now it will always be at the bottom of the English section message board!!!

The Vatican correspondent of Il Riformista gives us an overview of the past several days preceding the Pope's summer vacation and what comes after. Here is a translation, from the item posted in Lella's blog:


Papa Ratzinger creates
the mosaic of his Papacy
By Paolo Rodari

These are important days across the Tiber [Roman idiom for the Vatican].Days of a return to the essence of Christianity, with the announcement of the release on Saturday of the Pope's Motu Proprio liberalizing the use of the mass of Pius V in the form as amended by John XXIII in 1962.

Days which also mark an end - thanks to the Pope's letter to the Catholics of China with its many openings to dialog with Beijing - to 'political Catholicism' of Manzonian memory [referring to Alessandro Manzoni's classic 19th-century Italian novel I Promessi Sposi].

Days that show a good sense of timing with the publication last week of the earlier Motu Proprio on a key Conclave rule.

A return to the basics, which Pope Benedict XVI is putting in place for these specific cases, before he leaves for his annual summer vacation on Monday.

He will be going to Lorenzago with his private sectretary, Mons. Gaenswein, and a few of his personal staff. The Pope will be taking a few cases of books and other references for his draft on the second volume of JESUS OF NAZARETH about the infancy of Jesus and the Paschal Mystery.

Gaenswein will take his own annual vacation with his family in Germany starting July 27 when the Pope leaves Lorenzago to be in Castel Gandolfo for the rest of the summer.

The other private secretary, Mons. Mietek Mokyrcski, will be at Castel Gandolfo [a report has it he will soon be named bishop coadjutor of Lviv in his native Poland].

The summer may also see some secondary-level curial nominations, such as the secretary for the Congregation on Catholic Education, which, among other things, lays down the curriculum guidelines for seminaries.

The Pope's summer will end with a two-day visit to Loreto, for the Agora of Italian Youth on Sept 1-2, followed by his visit to Austria on September 7-9.

He will be visiting Naples on October 21 at the invitation of Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, Archbishop of Naples. There is no confirmation yet that he will attend the annual World Day of Prayer for Peace sponsored by the Sant'Egidio Community, which has scheduled a three-day event in Naples on June 21-23.

If the Pope participates, it would be the first public recognition of the Sant'Egidio community in Benedict's Pontificate. [But Sant'Egidio's founder and president, Andrea Riccardi, is a frequent contributor to L'Osservatore Romano, writing front-page commentary and editorials.]

Il Riformista, 4 luglio 2007

This isn't news or new`- it was written in April - but I can't fit it into any of the other threads. And anyway, as an assessment of Benedict XVI at around the two-year mark of his Pontificate, it is timeless. It comes from the British magazine The Spectator, and like the JON book review that I posted in the BOOKS... thread, I can't find a byline anywhere to put with the article. I'll have to e-mail the magazine. But for now, read and enjoy.

I didn't think I'd find, on the same day, two British articles more-than-favorable to Benedict, but they're out there, apparently, beyond the dailies. And I will confess that when I saw the title alone on my Search Results page, I thought, Uh-oh, this could be one of those cruelly sardonic things... Deo gratias, it is not!


And another thing:
Thank God for a wise, truth-telling Pope


I like the new Pope, Benedict XVI. I have not yet met him, but hope to do so soon. It is always fun to judge leaders from afar. David Cameron, another fellow I've not yet met, though he is a neighbour, looks fine when I see him striding around Notting Hill. And he went to a good school. But whenever he opens his mouth he says something silly. By contrast, whenever Pope Benedict opens his mouth he says something wise.

I have known seven popes a bit and covered the conclaves which elected five of them. Pius XII was vain, too pro-German for my taste, and talked a lot, though he never listened.

John XXIII was a good egg who relished a joke. When he was nuncio in Paris he told me, "When I attend a big dinner, and one of the women guests is too décolletée, which sometimes happens in this wicked city, you'd think the male guests would look at the woman - Mais non, ils regardent le Nonce." He said, "My weakness is spending too much time in the kitchens, gossiping."

Paul VI was a Hamlet-figure without the glamour of poetry. He hated splendour and deprived the cardinals of their wonderful red hats. But he kept his own tiara.

There was a brief sad pope whom I didn't meet. [Mais non, Papa Luciani was no sad Pope!]

Then the great John Paul II, surely a saint. He radiated spiritual power and glory. You really thought, "This is the vicar of Christ." He loved every aspect of spiritual life and all important aspects of political life on earth.

So he was an important historical figure and the leader of the trinity who destroyed the Soviet Empire and world communism (the other two were Thatcher and Reagan). But John Paul was not much interested in aesthetics and all that side of God's wonders.

By contrast, Benedict is a cultural figure of considerable importance. He is a fine musician. His elder brother was Kappelmeister at Regensburg Cathedral, the parish church of the Habsburg family. This is one of the most important musical jobs in the German-speaking world.

While not quite up to professional standard perhaps, Benedict himself is a fine pianist whose custom it is to play a sonata by Schubert, Schumann or Brahms (or Haydn for that matter) every day, to relax himself after work, being an exceptionally hard and intensive worker. He loves all the arts and is knowledgeable about them.

Since he became Pope he has transformed the private apartments in the Vatican. He went down into the vast papal cellars, which stretch for miles under St Peter's and the palace. They are an Aladdin's cave of treasures, gifts to the Holy Father from people all over the world for centuries. Some are still in their packing-cases: precious porcelain and silver, tapestries, pictures, illuminated books encrusted with precious stones, carpets, furniture, statues, lace and fabrics, tiles and oriental rugs, ornaments of every conceivable kind.

The Pope has made a small but judicious selection of this treasure and had it carted upstairs where it now adorns the rooms where he receives special visitors. They have to be very special too, for unlike John Paul, who loved to see and converse with people, Benedict is a hands-on pontiff-sovereign who likes to rule his enormous Church with close attention to detail, reading all the key papers carefully and writing detailed instructions to his cardinals and bishops. He has no time for chat.

Like John Paul, Benedict is a philosopher, but whereas his predecessor was a phenomenologist in the (to me) cloudy and labyrinthine school of Husserl, Heidegger and other central European world-crashers, the new Pope is closer to the mainstream European tradition of Augustine, Aquinas and Kant.

He might be defined as a strictly spiritual rationalist. He believes, as I do, that true religion is the exploration of metaphysics by the power of reason. His thinking is elaborate, refined, confident and energetic, yet also questioning, humble and, where appropriate, tentative. He makes the Oxford chemistry professor who recently attacked religion as 'the crack-alley of the intellect' seem like a savage. [Take that, Richard Dawkins!]

He sees faith and reason going together, hand in hand, one supporting and illuminating the other, each indispensable. This is the approach of Aquinas and, for that matter, Duns Scotus. It is also akin to the best Judaic thinking, in for instance Maimonides. But Islam is different, owing to its closing down of intellectual examination after the age of Averoes and Avicenna.

Hence the passage in Benedict's brilliant lecture delivered last year at Regensburg University.

Of course the Muslim fundamentalists who came out on to the streets foaming at the mouth, shouting and screaming abuse, and who in Africa murdered a harmless and innocent nun, did not read the lecture or have the faintest idea what it was all about. Nor did Western journalist critics who joined in the abuse in such pseudo-intellectual exhibits as the Guardian (nobody on this paper seems to read anything except other newspapers). [Love that remark!]

In fact the lecture is a cool, calm, well-documented and penetrating presentation of the case for reason occupying the centre of religious life, which argues that its absence, as in Islam, is a false weakness. No educated and sensible person who reads it could possibly complain that it is polemical, bigoted or emotionally hostile to Islam. Indeed the murder of the poor nun exactly proves the Pope's point about what is wrong with Islam.

Pope Benedict was also right to mark the 50th anniversary of '[Europe' by pointing out that this bureaucratic concept, with its repudiation of the Continent's Christian and cultural origins, is shallow and materialistic, doomed to oblivion, a point undermined by the terrifyingly low birth rates of its peoples.

Had he been a less circumspect and charitable man, he might have added, as I now do, that Brussels-Europe combines all the worst characteristics of its components: French arrogance, Italian corruption, German tunnel-vision, Spanish bloodymindedness, Dutch obstinacy, Belgian cowardice, Austrian anti-Semitism, Portuguese evasiveness and Danish cop-outing, not to speak of the new Slav contributions, Polish irrealism, Czech confusion, Slovak evasion, all topped up by Hungarian deviousness.

'Europe' is the worst thing to happen to Europe since the two world wars it started, and the dire consequences are only just beginning to manifest themselves. What will it be like by mid-century? Is this pathetic continent heading for a species of historical hell?

As it happens, the Pope followed up his 'Europe heading for oblivion' remarks by reminding us all that hell is not a figure of speech but an actual state, though he did not elaborate on what precisely it means, how we go there or why God created it.

It is good to have on the throne of St Peter a man prepared to tell unwelcome truths and to insist that it is not material knowledge but the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom.

Did I just say two more-than-favorable British articles on Benedict? Make that three! I still can't believe it, but I am giddy about this triple-header from The Spectator. Here's a March 22 article reacting to Sacramentum caritatis! To think all this began because I was looking up some material on Cardinal Murphy O'Connor - about whom I did find surprising info in The Spectator, which I will share later. And now I have three missing bylines to research!


'The Pope's anti-liberal revolution


The election of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005 caused dismay among liberal Catholics throughout the world. As Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Ratzinger had enforced a conservative line on almost every issue - the ordination of women, intercommunion, birth control, gay sex, Liberation Theology. He was a scourge of moral relativism and seemed sceptical about uniting the Catholic and Protestant churches, describing the Church of England as not a Church 'in the proper sense'. [Has Ratzinger/Benedict ever been coy or falsely tactful when it comes to standing up for the 'unam, sanctam...'?]

As time passed, however, these bien-pensant, Tablet-reading Catholics warmed to the new Pope. The stern, moralising Prefect seemed to have been transformed by his elevation into an amiable, non-judgmental pontiff who liked cats and played the piano. There were some changes in the Curia but none suggested a new hard line.

Pope Benedict's first Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God is Love), seemed to confirm this metamorphosis. Here at last was a Pope who gave erotic love its due. ""Love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined ...would seem to be the very epitome of love." Some commentators glossed over the Pope's use of the word 'seem' and his reference to 'a man and a woman': an articulate priest in a west London parish told his congregation that the Encyclical could be said to establish a theological framework for civil partnerships. [No! He affirms the divine origin of the institution of marriage!]

Now it was the turn of traditional Catholics to be dismayed. Had Pope Benedict forgotten what he had said in his address at the funeral of his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, about the danger posed by moral relativism? Surely a Pope of his age, whose reign could not be long, should act with more urgency? Was their Rottweiler now an old spaniel, happy to doze in front of the fire?

Or was Pope Benedict biding his time? Last week he published an Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist, Sacramentum Caritatis - The Sacrament of Love. In part it is a summary of the conclusions of the Synod of Catholic Bishops held in Rome in October 2005 - the start of the liturgical Year of the Eucharist promulgated by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II - and as such carries the authority of the whole Church. But it is also a theological tour de force showing the clarity and cogency that are particular to the writings of Joseph Ratzinger.

Sacramentum Caritatis opens with a lucid exposition of the Catholic belief on the Eucharist. The priest's words of consecration during the Mass turn bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ - a transformation Pope Benedict describes as "a sort of 'nuclear fission' which penetrates to the heart of all being, a change meant to set off a process which transforms reality, a process leading ultimately to the transfiguration of the entire world".

This belief, with its connotations of cannibalism and human sacrifice, has always been hard to take. Even in Christ's lifetime, many of his disciples, according to Saint John, regarded the idea as "intolerable ...and stopped going with him".

It was a defining bone of contention between Catholics at the time of the Reformation. Luther downgraded the change from transubstantiation (the bread and wine become the flesh and blood of Christ) to consubstantiation (bread and wine remain bread and wine but co-exist with the flesh and blood of Christ), and Calvin disbelieved it altogether.

Thus the first of the threefold challenges posed by the Eucharist, Pope Benedict writes, is belief in this mystery of faith. The second is to celebrate the sacrament with the dignity and beauty it merits: "everything related to the Eucharist should be marked by beauty". And finally, the Eucharist must be an inspiration to those who partake in it to a commitment to the betterment of mankind. [What a great precis of SacCar!]

On the face of it, these would seem to be things upon which all Catholics would agree. However, in his exhortation Pope Benedict rejects most of the items on the liberals' wish-list.

Conjugal acts must be open to the transmission of human life; marriage and the family must be defended 'from every possible misrepresentation of their true nature' (i.e. civil partnerships). Non-Catholics may not partake of the Eucharist; nor divorced and remarried Catholics unless they promise to live together as brother and sister.

He calls for the Mass to be said in Latin at all international celebrations, forbids banal ditties and recommends Gregorian chant. If, as expected, Pope Benedict is to allow the saying of the Mass in the Tridentine rite, one can envisage a revival of a liturgy not seen since Vatican II.

This revival of Latin and the return of the Tridentine rite, together with unambiguous restatement of traditional Catholic teaching on contentious issues, will no doubt dismay not just liberal Catholics but many of the Catholic bishops of England and Wales: certainly the muted response by the Bishops' Conference to the Sacramentum Caritatis has caused indignation in some Catholic circles.

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor has devoted his life to the reunification of the Church of England and the Church of Rome; yet in this document Pope Benedict talks of transubstantiation and indulgences - both anathema to the Protestant Reformers. Priestly ordination is necessary for the celebration of the Eucharist but Anglican orders remain invalid: therefore, by implication, the Anglican Eucharist is no more than a facsimile of the real thing.

The Orthodox Churches are a different matter. "The Eucharist," the Pope writes, "objectively creates a powerful bond of unity between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches, which have preserved the authentic and integral nature of the eucharistic mystery."

There is a sense in which Sacramentum Caritatis can be read as an apology to the Orthodox for the liturgical excesses that followed Vatican II, and a promise that they will not recur.

Two further straws in the wind. At the retreat preached before the Pope and top Vatican officials shortly before the publication of Sacramentum Caritatis, Cardinal Biffi, the former Archbishop of Bologna, repeated the apocalyptic prophecies of the Russian Orthodox theologian Vladimir Sergeevich Soloviev at the end of the 19th century. When the Antichrist appears, he warned, it would be as a pacifist, ecologist and ecumenist promoting the shared ethical values of all the world's religions at the expense of the person and sacrifice of Christ. [Ratzinger/Benedict has quoted Soloviev on the Anti-Christ on several occasions and does so again in JESUS OF NAZARETH.]

Also last week, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, now headed by the former archbishop of San Francisco, Cardinal Levada, censured two books by the popular Liberation Theologian Jon Sobrino - not for what they said about Liberation Theology but for suggesting that neither the Evangelists nor Christ himself believed in Christ's divinity; and that his death on the Cross should be seen as a moral example rather than a sacrifice for the salvation of mankind.

None of this amounts to a repudiation of Vatican II: there are many laudatory references to it in Sacramentum Caritatis. But it is clear that Pope Benedict XVI will be even more insistent than his predecessor Pope John Paul II on a conservative interpretation of its decrees. It will not lead to a return to the status quo ante, but clearly the Church of the future will be more like the Church of the past than many had feared.

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Point of argument in the last paragraph - two actually.

"None of this amounts to a repudiation of Vatican II". What was the occasion for such a statement - except, of course, as a riposte to the remonstrations of the self-styled spirits-of-Vat-II [hmmm- that makes them sound like fermenting alcohol!].

And "the Church of the future will be more like the Church of the past..." I think Benedict XVI does not think of the Church in such temporally relational terms, but rather as a Church of continuity, which keeps what is worth keeping and makes practical changes that do not have to do with doctrine when it must.

Bruno Volpe writes in PETRUS today that Corriere della Sera will run an exclusive interview with the head of the Lefebvrian schismatics in its Sunday issue, together with the publication of the Mass MP which will be made public tomorrow. Here is a translation:

VATICAN CITY - An exclusive interview by Vittorio Messori with Mons. Bernard Fellay, superior general of the Fraternity of St. Pius X, will be published in the Sunday issue of Corriere della Sera, following release tomorrow of the Pope's Motu Proprio liberalizing the use of the traditional Mass, also called the Mass of St. Pius V.

PETRUS has learned that Fellay, who succeeded the late Mons. Marcel Lefebvre as head of the FSSP, expressed a favorable opinion about the MP from the liturgical point of view, but made it clear there remains a lot to do before the Lefebvrian schism with the Church can be repaired.

Fellay pointed out once again his group's objection to the acts of the Second Vatican Council, particularly with regard to ecumenism and inter-religious dialog.

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Several weeks ago, we posted on this thread a translation of an interview given by Fellay's #2 man who denounced all of Vatican II as a heresy! It will be interesting to see what Fellay says in the Messori interview.

Much of it simply recycles familiar half-informed MSM stereotypes, but here is AP's situationer today pre-publication of the MP, for the record only, not as a genuine situationer.

Pope to issue decree on Latin Mass
By NICOLE WINFIELD

VATICAN CITY, July 6 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI is to issue a decree Saturday allowing greater use of the traditional Latin Mass, part of his efforts to reconcile with followers of an ultratraditional excommunicated bishop and bring them back into the Vatican's fold.

The document is expected to be accompanied by a letter from Benedict to bishops explaining his reasons for relaxing restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass, Vatican officials said Thursday.

Traditional Catholics have rejoiced over the pending release, but more liberal clergy have voiced concern that it represented a rollback of one of the key liberalizing reforms that emerged from the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council: the New Mass, celebrated in the language of the country.

Jewish groups have also expressed concern over a prayer in the Tridentine rite for the conversion of Jews. It is not clear how Benedict will address that issue in his document.

While the old Latin Mass was never abolished, its use became restricted after the New Mass was introduced. Local bishops had to authorize it, and many did not  either because they did not want to or thought there was not the demand, or because they did not have priests who knew how to celebrate it.

In 1969, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre founded a group, the Society of St. Pius X, that insisted on celebrating the old rite because he was opposed to the New Mass and other Vatican II reforms.

The Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre in 1988 after he consecrated four bishops without Rome's consent  a move that then-Pope John Paul II called a "schismatic act." The bishops were excommunicated as well.

Benedict has been eager to reconcile with the group, which has demanded freer use of the old Mass as a precondition for normalizing relations. The other precondition has been the removal of the excommunication orders.

"By making the Latin Mass more available, the Holy Father is hoping to convince those disaffected Catholics that it is time for them to return to full union with the Catholic Church," wrote Cardinal Sean O'Malley, archbishop of Boston, after attending a meeting at the Vatican with the pope last week in which cardinals were briefed on the pending document.

However, even with Saturday's document, there was no indication reconciliation is near.

The society's current leader, Bishop Bernard Fellay, has said the situation "will be practically unchanged" unless the return to the old Mass is accompanied by an "in-depth discussion" with the Vatican on key doctrinal issues that also emerged from Vatican II.

"Ecumenism, religious liberty and collegiality remain the points of contention over which we will not budge," Fellay wrote earlier this year.

Fellay has said the current "crisis" in the Catholic Church  low Mass attendance, low vocations and other spiritually rooted problems  is largely due to what he calls the loss of Catholic tradition that the New Mass and Vatican II represented.

Currently, the society has six seminaries with 160 seminarians. It boasts four bishops and 463 priests.

Traditional Catholics who remain in good standing with Rome but simply prefer the Tridentine rite have long demanded freer access to it. And they have been rejoicing in recent weeks as Vatican officials confirmed the document was nearing completion and would soon be issued.

The Vatican Press Office formally announced today the publication tomorrow of the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter 'motu proprio' SUMMUM PONTIFICUM on the use of the Roman liturgy anterior to the reform of 1970, along with an Explanatory Letter from the Pope. Both texts will be available to journalists starting 9 a.m. under embargo till noon.

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Rorate caeli reminds us today
of Pope Benedict's appeal
in his inaugural homily:


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Two more bits about the MP learned today from the French I-media news agency, via APCOM:

- The MP will take effect September 14, to give the bishops enough time to adapt and conform.
- The Pope invites the bishops to submit an account of their experience with the execution of the MP after three years. [Earlier, this had been reported as a 'three-year provisional period' after which the Pope would make a final decision.]

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Last night, Rocco Palmo anticipated Saturday's release, having apparently received copies of the two texts, of which he quotes the
opening paragraphs of the MP itself in Latin, and proceeds to summarize highlights of its provisions and quotations from the accompanying Explanatory Letter.

His highlights appear to include what previous news articles, notably Andre Tornielli's, have reported. The new interesting disclosures are from the Explanatory letter.


SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae».

Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquaeque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiae lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet»....

[Father Z will presumably come up with a translation soon]
* * *


The Motu Proprio: Benedict's Decisive Compromise

Entrusting his pontificate's most significant text to the bishops of the world, Benedict XVI observed that the run-up to Summorum Pontificum was marked by "news reports and judgments made without sufficient information [which] have created no little confusion."

Well, the cycle of speculation is now past, replaced at long last (after years of consultations, delays and divisions in the Roman Curia) by the definitive text - an impeccably constructed and painstakingly finessed package of what is, at its core, a decisive compromise on the part of the liturgically-attuned pontiff.

Chiding both sides in the furious debate over the wider availability of the 1962 Missal for voicing "very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown," according to an advance copy of the documents obtained exclusively by Whispers, Benedict yields a clear verdict as the "fruit of much reflection, numerous consultations and prayer".

However, the verdict - dated for its official release on Saturday - is not without its caveats.

- Specifically stating that its books were 'never abrogated', according to the text the pre-Conciliar form will exist as an 'extraordinary' use of 'the one Roman Rite'.

- While 'a priest does not require any permission' to celebrate the 1962 form 'without the people', the faithful "who spontaneously request" its celebration "may be admitted" to said Masses, but no such "private" liturgies may be performed during the Paschal Triduum. (Contrary to reports elsewhere, no numerical quota is given for the faithful making the request.)

- In parishes where an affinity for the extraordinary form 'exists stably', pastors are exhorted to 'willingly' allow formal Masses with the people, but no more than one per Sundays and feasts; pastors may also permit weddings, funerals 'or occasional celebrations' in the prior use, likewise being able to allow "as the good of souls may suggest" the 1962 forms of baptism, penance and the anointing of the sick.

- The post-Concilar Lectionary - "even in the vernacular" - is permitted as an option for Pian-Johannine liturgies.

- And, most crucially, while bishops are "earnestly requested to grant [the] desire" for public celebrations expressed by the extraordinary use's devotees, recourse to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is foreseen in cases of "a Bishop who desires to make provision for requests of lay faithful of this kind, but is for various reasons prevented from doing so." The indult-overseeing body is to respond with its 'advice and help'. [This is a new disclosure.]

Also 'lawful', according to the normative text - which, like its cover letter, comes in at four pages - are the erection of 'personal parishes' for the celebration of the 1962 rites or the appointment of a 'rector or chaplain' designated for the task, and the unimpeded use by clerics of the Roman Breviary as likewise promulgated by Bl. John XXIII.

Citing numerous concerns that the Roman decree would inhibit the authority of diocesan bishops as the chief stewards of divine worship in their local churches, the Pope said in his explanatory note that 'nothing is taken away' from that aspect.

The bishop's "role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity," Benedict writes. However, "should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local Ordinary will always be able to intervene" - but only "in full harmony... with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio."

"Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows," the pontiff says to the bishops. Yet at the same time, according to the text, only the diocesan bishop is granted the faculty to administer Confirmation according to the pre-Conciliar Roman Pontifical.

Citing the 'evident' reality that "the Latin Liturgy in its various forms has stimulated in the spiritual life very many Saints in every century of the Christian age and strengthened in the virtue of religion so many peoples and made fertile their piety," Benedict reiterates in the motu proprio itself that while the Second Vatican Council "expressed the desire that with due respect and reverence for divine worship it be restored and adapted to the needs of our age," the ensuing years have yielded "not a small number of the faithful [who] have been and remain attached with such great love and affection to the previous liturgical forms."

While the main text employs the papal We, Benedict's tone and form turn to a more personal 'I' in his missive to the bishops.

Noting that "this document was most directly opposed on account of two fears," he deems the first - that it "detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions - the liturgical reform - is being called into question" as 'unfounded'.

"It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were 'two Rites,'" the Pope says.

"Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite."

However, such was the excessive drive on the part of some to implement the Vatican II reforms as a rupture with the past that the 1962 form became an emblematic longing for those who, he writes, though "faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them."

Where said implementation of the new norms 'was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity," the pontiff says, in the package's strongest language, that the result "frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear."

"I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion," he wrote. "And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church."

"Quite unfounded' in Benedict's view was the second objection to a wider celebration of the 1962 form - that its wider availability "would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities."

"The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language," he says, noting that "neither of these is found very often."

In light of 'these concrete presuppositions', he continues, "it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful."

The 'fears' aside, the 'positive reason' he cites behind the document's release derives from those for whom liturgy was the touchstone of a break with Rome. According to Benedict, his initiative "is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church," and the theme of unity - of the liturgy, of the faith, among the faithful - runs through both texts as their defining thread.

"Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity," the Pope writes, alluding in the present to the Society of St Pius X, whose leaders were excommunicated in 1988.

"One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to make it possible for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew."

But that desire to give the entirety of the church's liturgical heritage its proper place does not signal a total victory for its traditionalist wing, which has battled long and hard for the new morning that'll dawn on 7.7.07.

"As a matter of principle," Benedict tells the bishops, even those priests ordained for 1962-exclusive communities "cannot... exclude celebrating according to the new books."

Said 'exclusion of the new rite', he says, "would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness."

At the same time, the Pope says he finds it "true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition."

However, even in this the onus is placed on the prelates, whose "charity and pastoral prudence will," he expects, "be an incentive and guide for improving these."

In the pontiff's mind, "the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching," offering his wish that "new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal."

And, conversely, "celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage. The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal."

"There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal," Benedict says. "In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place."


* * *


On a final note, in keeping with the firm policy of these pages and this narrator, let me state unequivocally that no embargoes were broken from this end in the obtaining of this text - precisely because none was ever imposed.

...at least, not on me.

As with all the best of stories, "the goods" were yet again passed along completely out of the blue, thanks to the motu proprio of a source, with no strings attached...

The lines you see above in definitive form for the first time are the product of a lengthy process, one which hasn't been greeted in all quarters with the greatest enthusiasm - or, alternatively, equanimity.

Not everyone may be happy with its end result, but that doesn't change the reality: the competent authority of the church has spoken, and the evenhandedness exhibited in his words reflects by example the serenity with which they should be received... and not just on their official arrival, either.

The logic of these texts speaks loudly and clearly of communion - a unity of rites, eras, of the faith and those who profess it, whatever their personal preferences.

More than whatever prayers are said or whichever Missal used, that shared faith, manifested in a constant spirit of fraternal love and common accord, even amidst disagreements, is the message of this document which everyone, whether supportive of, opposed or indifferent to its specifics, is charitably reminded to heed.

Suffice it to say, that message in itself is a gift the whole church would be wise to reclaim in the sight of a world which benefits beyond measure from our ceaseless renewal and recommitment to that witness born from a faith whose pillars are joy, hope and love.

In necessariis unitas, in dubiis libertas, in omnibus caritas.

As for the buzzed-over review period, the Pope says to the bishops: "I invite you, dear Brothers, to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect. If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought."

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I note Rocco does not say anything about the disputed prayer for the Jews! So we have at least one surprise to look forward to!

Was it right for Rocco to publish what he had despite the embargo? It's a matter of opinion. And am I participating in something wrong by posting his information here? If what he did is wrong, then yes.

As a newsman, if I received an advance copy of the apparently authentic texts as he did, would I have held off because of the embargo?

Under the circumstances, NO: 1) Much of the actual provisions had already been leaked and reported on widely. 2) The July 7 release date was determined to give enough time after June 27 to make sure all bishops around the world received their copies - it was mainly for their sake that the embargo was placed, so they did not have to read about it in the media. But they would have read enough by now, anyway. 3) Unlike a speech text that has yet to be delivered, the texts have been sent out to the bishops, so we know there will be no text changes between now and the actual release tomorrow.

The milk has been spilt. But it's not spoilt. 'Breaking the embargo' in this case is resulting in nothing harmful to anyone. Hence, my decision to run this post.

And we thought the Mass MP would be the climax of these days preceding the Holy Father's summer vacation! Get set for Dominus Iesus redux!


'The Church of Jesus is the Catholic Church'
By Andrea Tornielli

The Church of Christ is not distinct or other than the Catholic Church, which is the only one which has "all the elements of the Church instituted by Jesus."

This will be reaffirmed in a doctrinal statement to be released on Tuesday by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in response to 'doubts' raised in recent years.

The CDF statement, expected to stir up new polemics, will be accompanied by an authoritative theological comment to be published in Osservatore Romano.

The center of discussion is once more the meaning of the verb 'subsist' used in the conciliar Constitution Lumen gentium, which states that the only Church of Christ "subsists in the Catholic Church" (in latin, 'subsistit in..']

[The Austrian news agency KATHNET reports it this way in a brief item:
This document will state the unique character of the Catholic Church and that Protestant churches are not churches in the narrow sense. The topic will be the sentence "Ecclesia subsistit in Ecclesia catholica" (The Church of Christ subsists in/is realized in the Catholic Church) from the Vatican II document Lumen gentium.]

These are words around which have received various interpretations through the years, including that which maintains that Jesus really never thought of founding a Church, and if he had done so, it would have been subsequently divided into numerous churches and ecclesiastical communities. But in the orthodox catholic view, without that initial unity, then the true Church of Christ would not exist, but only pieces of it.

The unorthodox view has been rejected several times by Popes recently: in 1973, with Paul VI's declaration Mysterium Ecclesiae; in 1985, with the notification by the CDF regarding a book by Leonardo Boff; in 1992, with John Paul II's letter Communionis notio to all bishops; and in 2000, during Jubilee Year, by the declaration Dominus Iesus released by the CDF with John Paul II's approval.

But the question has been cyclically raised - and just as in many circles, all religions are considered to be equally valid for salvation, even some Christian circles tend to believe that all Christian confessions are equivalent, an attitude defined seven years ago by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as 'ecclesiastical relativism.'

In fact, with the verb 'to subsist', Vatican-II intended to express the singularity, not the multiplicability, of the Catholic Church, namely, that the Church exists as a historical subject.

Ratzinger explained then that the significance was exactly the contrary of the relativistic interpretation, in that 'to subsist' meant 'to exist in reality.'

The CDF statement on Tuesday, which will be brief, has been the product of long and careful consideration, and will reaffirm that the Church of Christ 'exists in reality' in the Catholic Church and that all the elements of the Church instituted by Christ are found in the Catholic Church and only in it.

By the same token, according to Catholic Magisterium, the Church of Christ does not 'subsist' in other churches and ecclesiastical communities outside the Catholic Church.

This does not mean, however, in the explanation of the Vatican Council document itself, that the Oriental and Orthodox Churches which have kept the apostolic succession as well as the communities that split off (those born with the Protestant Reformation) do not have a role in the story of salvation.

Vatican-II states in the decree Unitatis redintegratio that although such churches and communities are 'deficient', they nevertheless are not 'lacking in value' because the Spirit of Christ "does not reject them as instruments of salvation whose power comes from the same fullness of grace and truth that has been given to the Catholic Church."

But it goes on to say that "only through the Catholic Church of Christ, which is the general means to salvation, can one obtain the fullness of all the means to salvation."


Il Giornale, 6 luglio 2007


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The 'authoritative theological comment' is certainly going to be useful for those who want to argue the point.

As a Catholic who has never had any doubts about the 'one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church', I would not even quibble about fine theological points for which I am not qualified.

I think the Pope's methodical and prudent approach to coming out with the Mass MP pretty much put out most of the fires that could have followed its release. But perhaps this new statement will set ablaze new ones!

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Meanwhile, a sidebar on Andrea Tornielli, from Bruno Volpe of PETRUS who visited him this week in Milan. That sets me straight - Il Giornale, Tornielli's newspaper, is headquartered in Milan, not Turin. Here's an all-too-brief interview Volpe had with him, translated:


Interview with Tornielli


MILAN - I had a noon appointment with a man who is without a shadow of doubt one of the most reputable and appreciated Italian Vaticanisti today, at the offices of Il Giornale in via Negri, not far from the Milan stock market.

We exchanged greetings and went up to his office. He works at a black horseshoe-shaped desk in a coccoon-like environment that feels more like a convent cell than a newsman's office.

Tornielli is not just a veteran newsman - he is also recognized as the author of excellent books about religion and the Church, and an authoritative researcher on these subjects.

What do you think of the coming MP about the Mass?
It's a decision that must be read in historical perspective, because never before in the history of the Church had an orthodox centuries-old rite been virtually prohibited!

But the old Missal was never really abolished!
That's true. But [in view of what happened in the past 40 years] I would say that Benedict XVI wished to complete something that the Servant of God John Paul II had wanted, and had in fact given an indult, calling on all bishops to be generous with the traditionalists. But that generosity never came about because of hostility from many bishops.

So what happens with this Motu Proprio?
It's a liberating act which will make traditionalists feel at home in the Church again. You see, it was almost paradoxical that in some dioceses, the Bishops allowed the orthodox Christians to celebrate their rites in their churches but refused permission for the old Catholic Mass!

What do you think of Benedict XVI's popularity?
Without a doubt, Benedict XVI is getting special attention, despite the fact that his style is measured compared to his predecessor. But it also shows that the faithful need the Pope, not just a particular Pope.

What did you think of the Motu Proprio amending a key Conclave rule?
I find it absolutely consistent with everything Joseph Ratzinger said as Cardinal. Also, it is not true - and I don't believe - the claim in some quarters that the two-thirds rule will help so-called 'progressives' in any Conclave.

Trust someone like Father Z to point it out:

Some time ago it was reported that the Congregation for Causes of Saints sent to the Holy Father its decision about the heroic virtue of Servant of God Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII. When the Congregation sends up their Decretum super virtutibus, it requires the approval of the Holy Father.

I see in the VIS that the Holy Father approved some decrees, but not that of Pius XII. I dont think we should read too much into this, but it is interesting.

DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

VATICAN CITY, JUL 6, 2007 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received in private audience Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins C.M.F., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and authorized the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

MIRACLES

 Blessed Gaetano Errico, Italian priest and founder of the Congregation of the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (1791-1860).
 Blessed Maria Bernarda Butler (nee Verena), Swiss foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Franciscan Sisters of Mary Help of Christians (1848-1924).
 Servant of God Maria Rosa Flesch (ne Margherita), German foundress of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Mary of the Angels (1826-1906).
 Servant of God Candelaria de San Jose (nee Susana Paz Castillo Ramirez), Venezuelan religious and foundress of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Third Regular Order of Venezuela (1863-1940).
 Servant of God Marta Maria Wiecka, Polish professed sister of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (1874-1904).
 Servant of God Giuseppina Nicoli, Italian sister of the Society of the Daughters of Charity (1863-1924).
 Servant of God Ceferino Namuncura, Argentinean layman, student of the Soceity of St. Francis of Sales (1886-1905).

MARTYRDOM

 Blessed Antonio Primaldo and lay companions*, killed in hatred of the faith at Otranto, Italy on August 13, 1480.
*Some 800 persons, apparently.

HEROIC VIRTUES

 Servant of God Marco Antonio Barbarigo, Italian cardinal of Holy Roman Church and bishop of Montefiascone and Corneto (1640-1706).
 Servant of God Luca Prassi, Italian diocesan priest and founder of the Institute of Sisters of St. Dorothy (1789-1866).
 Servant of God Ignacia of the Holy Spirit, Filipino foundress of the Congregation of Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1663-1748).
 Servant of God Maria Leopoldina Naudet, Italian foundress of the Congregation of Sisters of the Holy Family of Verona (1773-1834).
 Servant of God Santina di Gesu Scribano (nee Emanuela Giovanna), Italian professed religious of the Institute of Sisters of the Sacred Heart (1917-1968).
 Servant of God Emilia Schneider (nee Julia) German professed sister of the Congregation of Sisters of the Holy Cross (1820-1859).
 Servant of God Jerome Le Royer de la Dauversiere, French layman and founder of the Institute of the Daughters of St. Joseph of La Fleche, now the Hospitaller Sisters of St. Joseph (1597-1659).  Servant of God Hildegard Burjan, German laywoman and foundress of the Sisters of Social Charity (1883-1933).

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I really need to check out the various steps in the sainthood process. I believe the 'heroic virtue' of John Paul-II has been declared, that is why Pope Benedict now always prefixes his name with "the Servant of God". [Interesting - as Pope, he was the 'Servant of the Servants of God']

Whenever one reads these lists, one is overwhelmed with the sheer prodigiousness of Christian lives led in exemplary testimony to the Word of God - and these are only those 'recognized'! How vast is the communion of saints - including all those who led equally saintly lives that have not come to public light - and what an example they set for all of us! Reminders that human beings in every time and place are capable of saintliness, and that with all our personal failings, each of us can only try every day to be a little closer to God's standards. AD MAJOREM DEI GLORIAM!

The Ratzinger Effect: more money, more pilgrims  and lots more Latin


Richard Owen in Rome
From The Times Online
July 7, 2007

With donations to the Church from around the world almost doubling and pilgrims pouring into Rome in ever-greater numbers, Vatican watchers are beginning to reassess the two-year-old pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and noting a positive Ratzinger effect.

Today the Vatican will publish the Popes motu proprio decree allowing broader use by Roman Catholics of the Latin Tridentine Mass  the pontiffs last act before leaving for his traditional summer holiday.

The move, which amends the Second Vatican Councils decision in the 1960s that worship should be in the vernacular, is regarded as yet another sign of Benedicts conservative attachment to tradition and doctrine. Some senior Catholics in Britain have accused him of encouraging those who want to turn the clock back and say that they fear the rite will revive preVatican II prayers for the conversion of the perfidious Jews.

The Vatican denies this, however, and points instead to the huge appeal of the Latin Mass  and Gregorian chant  not only for disaffected right-wing Catholics but also for many ordinary believers who value the sheer beauty of the ancient liturgy. This is a Pope who  contrary to conventional wisdom  is in tune with the faithful, one Vatican source said.

The unassuming and scholarly Benedict does not have the star appeal of John Paul II. At 80, he does not travel as much as the Pilgrim Pope or write as many documents.

Andrea Tornielli, the biographer of several popes including Benedict, said that when crowds packed into St Peters Square to hear Benedict in the early days of his pontificate, many people attributed this to the John Paul effect, or the global media coverage of the late Popes courage in the face of illness and death.

It was increasingly clear that although Benedict  formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, John Pauls long-serving doctrinal adviser  lacked the showmanship and charisma of his predecessor, his simple and direct assertion of values struck a chord with believers, Mr Tornielli said.

The distinction between the good and progressive John Paul and the bad conservative Benedict was a false one, Mr Tornielli told The Times. Ratzinger was John Pauls closest adviser for over two decades, and many of his initiatives as Pope  including the Tridentine Mass  are developments of John Pauls own ideas.

While less theatrical than his predecessor, Benedict makes no secret of enjoying the dressing up side of the job, reviving ermine-trimmed robes, elaborate headgear and dainty satin shoes. He has grown more adept and relaxed at greeting people.

Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, head of economic affairs at the Holy See, said that the remarkable increase in both donations and numbers of pilgrims showed that there was a symbiosis, a mutual sympathy between this Pope and Christian people everywhere.

Presenting the Holy Sees annual budget yesterday, Cardinal Sebastiani noted that not only had it closed last year with a surplus of ¬2.4 million, partly thanks to diocesan donations, there had also been a huge jump in Peters Pence, the annual church collections given directly to the Pope to use for charity, from $60 million (£30 million) in 2005 to $102 million. The days when people talked of papal bankruptcy are past, said Marco Tosatti, Vatican correspondent of La Stampa.

John Paul, who is on the road to sainthood, continues to be an attraction: with up to 35,000 pilgrims filing past his tomb in the crypt of St Peters every day, the Vatican is considering moving the tomb into the Basilica.

Record numbers attend Benedicts weekly audiences, and seven million people a year now visit St Peters, a rise of 20 per cent. Similar increases are recorded for pilgrimages to Catholic shrines at Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima in Portugal and Madonna di Guadalupe in Mexico. This is a Ratzinger phenomenon, reported La Repubblica.

For some he remains Gods Rottweiler or the Panzerkardinal. He has disappointed liberals who hoped that he would relax rules on priestly celibacy or the use of condoms to help to fight Aids in Africa. Next week the Vatican is due to issue a document reasserting that only the Catholic Church is the Church of Christ, a move that risks offending Anglican and Orthodox Christians.

Benedicts statements on issues from the Latin Mass to dialogue with China were promised imminently, then delayed, and Curia department heads long past retirement age have not been replaced. Running the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is not the same as running the world-wide Church, one insider said. Benedict tends to appoint men he knows and trusts  regardless of whether they are right for the job. Above all, he does not delegate as the ailing John Paul II did, and such is his reputation as a theologian that no one dares to offer him advice.

This has led to a series of avoidable public relations disasters, most notably his speech on faith and reason at Regensburg University last year, when he inflamed Muslim opinion by appearing to suggest that Islam was inherently violent.

In Brazil in May he angered indigenous populations by asserting that the arrival of Christianity in the New World did not amount to the imposition of a foreign culture on native peoples, and his off-the-cuff assertion that Catholic legislators who voted for easier abortion in Mexico should be excommunicated had to be hastily clarified by Father Federico Lombardi, his spokesman.

More recently the Vatican was dismayed when a reference to a frank exchange of views on delicate questions after Tony Blairs farewell meeting with the Pope was taken to mean the two men had had a row. Such lapses, says John Allen, another of his biographers, make him appear tone deaf. For those who know Benedicts mind, it can be painful to watch his carefully reasoned reflections become capsized in the court of public opinion by a stray phrase thats obviously open to misinterpretation.

Traditional strength

- On his election, Benedict XVI replaced the crown on the papal arms with a mitre, indicating a rejection of political power

- He has maintained the Churchs position on artificial birth control, abortion and homosexuality, areas that reformers had hoped would change

- Deus Est Caritas, Benedicts first encyclical, argued that the concept of Eros, or sexual love, now signified simply sex. Its warmth and insight surprised commentators

- In March, the Pope affirmed the Catholic doctrine that Hell exists and is eternal for those who shut their hearts to [Gods] love. The move caused controversy amongst liberal theologians

For Christmas 2006, the Pope, who has described rock music as Satans work, abandoned the annual Vatican pop concert established by John Paul II. The move was seen as a refreshingly honest refusal to compromise spiritual values for popularity.

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All I have to do is see Richard Owen's name - and my teeth are set on edge, and I brace myself for a stroke! This man is a prime example of biased, irresponsible and unreliable journalism - and an occasion of sin! His sins of omission and commission bring out my most uncharitable thoughts!

I won't waste my time disputing the ridiculous statements he makes in this report - where he has no choice but to acknowledge 'the Ratzinger effect" . But his idea of being 'balanced' is to counter each positive statement with a below-the-belt blow like the absolutely and deliberately malicious statement "Benedict makes no secret of enjoying the 'dressing up' side of the job, reviving ermine-trimmed robes, elaborate headgear and dainty satin shoes" - he might as well have said 'he's a flaming queer'! Robes? - it's one mozzetta that's seen in all papal portraits over the centuries. Elaborate? The camauro and the saturno???? Dainty satin shoes????

Let me remind you all this is the same reporter who last April lifted a story from one of the Italian newspapers and made it appear that the quotes in it from some Vatican officials were made to him!
I feel so uncharitable about him that if I met him face to face, I would spit on him!!!!....I told you people like him are occasions of sin!!!!

LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS OF THE WORLD
TO PRESENT THE 'MOTU PROPRIO'
ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY
ANTERIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970




My dear Brother Bishops,

With great trust and hope, I am consigning to you as Pastors the text of a new Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. The document is the fruit of much reflection, numerous consultations and prayer.

News reports and judgments made without sufficient information have created no little confusion. There have been very divergent reactions ranging from joyful acceptance to harsh opposition, about a plan whose contents were in reality unknown.

This document was most directly opposed on account of two fears, which I would like to address somewhat more closely in this letter.

In the first place, there is the fear that the document detracts from the authority of the Second Vatican Council, one of whose essential decisions - the liturgical reform - is being called into question. This fear is unfounded.

In this regard, it must first be said that the Missal published by Paul VI and then republished in two subsequent editions by John Paul II, obviously is and continues to be the normal Form - the Forma ordinaria - of the Eucharistic Liturgy. The last version of the Missale Romanum prior to the Council, which was published with the authority of Pope John XXIII in 1962 and used during the Council, will now be able to be used as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgical celebration.

It is not appropriate to speak of these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were "two Rites". Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.

As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted.

At the time of the introduction of the new Missal, it did not seem necessary to issue specific norms for the possible use of the earlier Missal. Probably it was thought that it would be a matter of a few individual cases which would be resolved, case by case, on the local level.

Afterwards, however, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood. This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep, personal familiarity with the earlier Form of the liturgical celebration.

We all know that, in the movement led by Archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level.

Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them.

This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.

I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church.

Pope John Paul II thus felt obliged to provide, in his Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei (2 July 1988), guidelines for the use of the 1962 Missal; that document, however, did not contain detailed prescriptions but appealed in a general way to the generous response of Bishops towards the "legitimate aspirations" of those members of the faithful who requested this usage of the Roman Rite.

At the time, the Pope primarily wanted to assist the Society of Saint Pius X to recover full unity with the Successor of Peter, and sought to heal a wound experienced ever more painfully. Unfortunately this reconciliation has not yet come about. Nonetheless, a number of communities have gratefully made use of the possibilities provided by the Motu Proprio.

On the other hand, difficulties remain concerning the use of the 1962 Missal outside of these groups, because of the lack of precise juridical norms, particularly because Bishops, in such cases, frequently feared that the authority of the Council would be called into question.

Immediately after the Second Vatican Council it was presumed that requests for the use of the 1962 Missal would be limited to the older generation which had grown up with it, but in the meantime it has clearly been demonstrated that young persons too have discovered this liturgical form, felt its attraction and found in it a form of encounter with the Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist, particularly suited to them. Thus the need has arisen for a clearer juridical regulation which had not been foreseen at the time of the 1988 Motu Proprio.

The present Norms are also meant to free Bishops from constantly having to evaluate anew how they are to respond to various situations.

In the second place, the fear was expressed in discussions about the awaited Motu Proprio, that the possibility of a wider use of the 1962 Missal would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities. This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded.

The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often. Already from these concrete presuppositions, it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.

It is true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition. Your charity and pastoral prudence will be an incentive and guide for improving these.

For that matter, the two Forms of the usage of the Roman Rite can be mutually enriching: new Saints and some of the new Prefaces can and should be inserted in the old Missal. The "Ecclesia Dei" Commission, in contact with various bodies devoted to the usus antiquior, will study the practical possibilities in this regard.

The celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of Paul VI will be able to demonstrate, more powerfully than has been the case hitherto, the sacrality which attracts many people to the former usage.

The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal.

I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church.

Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden.

This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to unable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew.

I think of a sentence in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul writes: "Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return ... widen your hearts also!" (2 Cor 6:11-13). Paul was certainly speaking in another context, but his exhortation can and must touch us too, precisely on this subject. Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.

There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture.

What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church's faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.

Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.

In conclusion, dear Brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful.
Each Bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own Diocese (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22: "Sacrae Liturgiae moderatio ab Ecclesiae auctoritate unice pendet quae quidem est apud Apostolicam Sedem et, ad normam iuris, apud Episcopum").

Nothing is taken away, then, from the authority of the Bishop, whose role remains that of being watchful that all is done in peace and serenity. Should some problem arise which the parish priest cannot resolve, the local Ordinary will always be able to intervene, in full harmony, however, with all that has been laid down by the new norms of the Motu Proprio.

Furthermore, I invite you, dear Brothers, to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect. If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought.

Dear Brothers, with gratitude and trust, I entrust to your hearts as Pastors these pages and the norms of the Motu Proprio. Let us always be mindful of the words of the Apostle Paul addressed to the presbyters of Ephesus: "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the Church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son" (Acts 20:28).

I entrust these norms to the powerful intercession of Mary, Mother of the Church, and I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, dear Brothers, to the parish priests of your dioceses, and to all the priests, your co-workers, as well as to all your faithful.

Given at Saint Peter's, 7 July 2007


BENEDICTUS PP XVI

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The text of the Motu Proprio follows, with, so far, an English translation of the dispositive part (second half).

LITTERAE APOSTOLICAE
MOTU PROPRIO DATAE
BENEDICTUS XVI

Summorum Pontificum cura ad hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinae Maiestati cultum dignum offerret, «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiae Suae sanctae».

Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquaeque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiae lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet»1.

Inter Pontífices qui talem debitam curam adhibuerunt, nomen excellit sancti Gregorii Magni, qui tam fidem catholicam quam thesauros cultus ac culturae a Romanis in saeculis praecedentibus cumulatos novis Europae populis transmittendos curavit. Sacrae Liturgiae tam Missae Sacrificii quam Officii Divini formam, uti in Urbe celebrabatur, definiri conservarique iussit. Monachos quoque et moniales maxime fovit, qui sub Regula sancti Benedicti militantes, ubique simul cum Evangelii annuntiatione illam quoque saluberrimam Regulae sententiam vita sua illustrarunt, «ut operi Dei nihil praeponatur» (cap. 43). Tali modo sacra liturgia secundum morem Romanum non solum fidem et pietatem sed et culturam multarum gentium fecundavit. Constat utique liturgiam latinam variis suis formis Ecclesiae in omnibus aetatis christianae saeculis permultos Sanctos in vita spirituali stimulasse atque tot populos in religionis virtute roborasse ac eorundem pietatem fecundasse.

Ut autem Sacra Liturgia hoc munus efficacius expleret, plures alii Romani Pontifices decursu saeculorum peculiarem sollicitudinem impenderunt, inter quos eminet Sanctus Pius V, qui magno cum studio pastorali, Concilio Tridentino exhortante, totum Ecclesiae cultum innovavit, librorum liturgicorum emendatorum et «ad normam Patrum instauratorum» editionem curavit eosque Ecclesiae latinae usui dedit.

Inter Ritus romani libros liturgicos patet eminere Missale Romanum, quod in romana urbe succrevit, atque succedentibus saeculis gradatim formas assumpsit, quae cum illa in generationibus recentioribus vigente magnam habent similitudinem.

«Quod idem omnino propositum tempore progrediente Pontifices Romani sunt persecuti, cum novas ad aetates accommodaverunt aut ritus librosque liturgicos determinaverunt, ac deinde cum ineunte hoc nostro saeculo ampliorem iam complexi sunt redintegrationem»2. Sic vero egerunt Decessores nostri Clemens VIII, Urbanus VIII, sanctus Pius X3, Benedictus XV, Pius XII et beatus Ioannes XXIII.

Recentioribus autem temporibus, Concilium Vaticanum II desiderium expressit, ut debita observantia et reverentia erga cultum divinum denuo instauraretur ac necessitatibus nostrae aetatis aptaretur. Quo desiderio motus, Decessor noster Summus Pontifex Paulus VI libros liturgicos instauratos et partim innovatos anno 1970 Ecclesiae latinae approbavit; qui ubique terrarum permultas in linguas vulgares conversi, ab Episcopis atque a sacerdotibus et fidelibus libenter recepti sunt. Ioannes Paulus II, tertiam editionem typicam Missalis Romani recognovit. Sic Romani Pontifices operati sunt ut «hoc quasi aedificium liturgicum [...] rursus, dignitate splendidum et concinnitate» appareret4.

Aliquibus autem in regionibus haud pauci fideles antecedentibus formis liturgicis, quae eorum culturam et spiritum tam profunde imbuerant, tanto amore et affectu adhaeserunt et adhaerere pergunt, ut Summus Pontifex Ioannes Paulus II, horum fidelium pastorali cura motus, anno 1984 speciali Indulto "Quattuor abhinc annos", a Congregatione pro Cultu Divino exarato, facultatem concessit utendi Missali Romano a Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito; anno autem 1988 Ioannes Paulus II iterum, litteris Apostolicis "Ecclesia Dei" Motu proprio datis, Episcopos exhortatus est ut talem facultatem late et generose in favorem omnium fidelium id petentium adhiberent.

Instantibus precibus horum fidelium iam a Praedecessore Nostro Ioanne Paulo II diu perpensis, auditis etiam a Nobis Patribus Cardinalibus in Concistorio die XXIII mensis martii anni 2006 habito, omnibus mature perpensis, invocato Spiritu Sancto et Dei freti auxilio, praesentibus Litteris Apostolicis DECERNIMUS quae sequuntur:

Art. 1. Missale Romanum a Paulo VI promulgatum ordinaria expressio "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae catholicae ritus latini est. Missale autem Romanum a S. Pio V promulgatum et a B. Ioanne XXIII denuo editum habeatur uti extraordinaria expressio eiusdem "Legis orandi" Ecclesiae et ob venerabilem et antiquum eius usum debito gaudeat honore. Hae duae expressiones "legis orandi" Ecclesiae, minime vero inducent in divisionem "legis credendi" Ecclesiae; sunt enim duo usus unici ritus romani.

Proinde Missae Sacrificium, iuxta editionem typicam Missalis Romani a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgatam et numquam abrogatam, uti formam extraordinariam Liturgiae Ecclesiae, celebrare licet. Conditiones vero a documentis antecedentibus "Quattuor abhinc annos" et "Ecclesia Dei" pro usu huius Missalis statutae, substituuntur ut sequitur:

Art. 2. In Missis sine populo celebratis, quilibet sacerdos catholicus ritus latini, sive saecularis sive religiosus, uti potest aut Missali Romano a beato Papa Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 edito, aut Missali Romano a Summo Pontifice Paulo VI anno 1970 promulgato, et quidem qualibet die, excepto Triduo Sacro. Ad talem celebrationem secundum unum alterumve Missale, sacerdos nulla eget licentia, nec Sedis Apostolicae nec Ordinarii sui.

Art. 3. Si communitates Institutorum vitae consecratae atque Societatum vitae apostolicae iuris sive pontificii sive dioecesani quae in celebratione conventuali seu "communitatis" in oratoriis propriis celebrationem sanctae Missae iuxta editionem Missalis Romani anno 1962 promulgatam habere cupiunt, id eis licet. Si singula communitas aut totum Institutum vel Societas tales celebrationes saepe vel plerumque vel permanenter perficere vult, res a Superioribus maioribus ad normam iuris et secundum leges et statuta particularia decernatur.

Art. 4. Ad celebrationes sanctae Missae de quibus supra in art. 2 admitti possunt, servatis de iure servandis, etiam christifideles qui sua sponte id petunt.

Art. 5, § 1. In paroeciis, ubi coetus fidelium traditioni liturgicae antecedenti adhaerentium continenter exsistit, parochus eorum petitiones ad celebrandam sanctam Missam iuxta ritum Missalis Romani anno 1962 editi, libenter suscipiat. Ipse videat ut harmonice concordetur bonum horum fidelium cum ordinaria paroeciae pastorali cura, sub Episcopi regimine ad normam canonis 392, discordiam vitando et totius Ecclesiae unitatem fovendo.

§ 2. Celebratio secundum Missale B. Ioannis XXIII locum habere potest diebus ferialibus; dominicis autem et festis una etiam celebratio huiusmodi fieri potest.

§ 3. Fidelibus seu sacerdotibus id petentibus, parochus celebrationes, hac in forma extraordinaria, permittat etiam in adiunctis peculiaribus, uti sunt matrimonia, exsequiae aut celebrationes occasionales, verbi gratia peregrinationes.

§ 4. Sacerdotes Missali B. Ioannis XXIII utentes, idonei esse debent ac iure non impediti.

§ 5. In ecclesiis, quae non sunt nec paroeciales nec conventuales, Rectoris ecclesiae est concedere licentiam de qua supra.

Art. 6. In Missis iuxta Missale B. Ioannis XXIII celebratis cum populo, Lectiones proclamari possunt etiam lingua vernacula, utendo editionibus ab Apostolica Sede recognitis.

Art. 7. Ubi aliquis coetus fidelium laicorum, de quo in art. 5 § 1 petita a parocho non obtinuerit, de re certiorem faciat Episcopum dioecesanum. Episcopus enixe rogatur ut eorum optatum exaudiat. Si ille ad huiusmodi celebrationem providere non potest res ad Pontificiam Commissionem "Ecclesia Dei" referatur.

Art. 8. Episcopus, qui vult providere huiusmodi petitionibus christifidelium laicorum, sed ob varias causas impeditur, rem Pontificiae Commissioni "Ecclesia Dei" committere potest, quae ei consilium et auxilium dabit.

Art. 9, § 1. Parochus item, omnibus bene perpensis, licentiam concedere potest utendi rituali antiquiore in administrandis sacramentis Baptismatis, Matrimonii, Poenitentiae et Unctionis Infirmorum, bono animarum id suadente.

§ 2. Ordinariis autem facultas conceditur celebrandi Confirmationis sacramentum utendo Pontificali Romano antiquo, bono animarum id suadente.

§ 3. Fas est clericis in sacris constitutis uti etiam Breviario Romano a B. Ioanne XXIII anno 1962 promulgato.

Art 10. Fas est Ordinario loci, si opportunum iudicaverit, paroeciam personalem ad normam canonis 518 pro celebrationibus iuxta formam antiquiorem ritus romani erigere aut rectorem vel cappellanum nominare, servatis de iure servandis.

Art. 11. Pontificia Commissio "Ecclesia Dei" a Ioanne Paulo II anno 1988 erecta5, munus suum adimplere pergit.

Quae Commissio formam, officia et normas agendi habeat, quae Romanus Pontifex ipsi attribuere voluerit.

Art. 12. Eadem Commissio, ultra facultates quibus iam gaudet, auctoritatem Sanctae Sedis exercebit, vigilando de observantia et applicatione harum dispositionum.

Quaecumque vero a Nobis hisce Litteris Apostolicis Motu proprio datis decreta sunt, ea omnia firma ac rata esse et a die decima quarta Septembris huius anni, in festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis, servari iubemus, contrariis quibuslibet rebus non obstantibus.

Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, die septima mensis Iulii, anno Domini MMVII, Pontificatus Nostri tertio.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

______________________

1 Institutio generalis Missalis Romani, Editio tertia, 2002, 397

2 Ioannes Paulus Pp. II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

3 Ibid.

4 Pius Pp. X, Litt. Ap. Motu proprio datae Abhinc duos annos (23 Octobris 1913): AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cfr Ioannes Paulus II, Litt. ap. Vicesimus quintus annus (4 Decembris 1988), 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.

5 Cfr Ioannes Paulus Pp. II, Litt. ap. Motu proprio datae Ecclesia Dei (2 iulii 1988), 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.

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There are now two full translations in English, both unofficial. One is from Vatican Information Services, the other from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. I have posted both together in the last post on this page. I will post the official Vatican translation here as soon as it is available.

Father John Zuhlsdorf
www.wdtprs.com/blog/
comments on several practical points about which questions may be raised while reading the MP and its explanatory letter.

What this Motu Proprio does

Effectively it levels the playing field for people who want to use the older liturgical forms.
Remember: the MP applies to all the sacraments as they were before the Council, not just Holy Mass. It concerns the liturgy, not just Holy Mass.

Thus clerics (bishops, priests, deacons), who are obliged to recite the Liturgy of the Hours can use the older Breviarium Romanum as it was in 1962. Benedict is establishing the older form of liturgy, as in was in 1962, as an extraordinary form (forma extraordinaria). The Novus Ordo of the Roman Missal and all other liturgical books remain the ordinary way of celebrating the liturgy.

'Extraordinary', here, does NOT mean rare or unusual or special. It simply means 'out of the common order'. If we turn to how the Church uses Latin in, for example, a pretty good Latinist, St. Jerome, the adverb extraordinarie means 'with excessive frequency' (cf. On Ephesians 1 ad. 2, 13).

It cannot be argued legitimately from the word 'extraordinary' that use of the older forms must necessarily be 'rare'. It can be quite regular, depending on the circumstances, while in the larger scheme of things the Novus Ordo remains now the usual way things are done.

The Motu Proprio responds to THREE GROUPS of people:

1) Followers of the SSPX, for whom this form of Mass is a 'mark of identity', even though there are also deeper theological reasons for that break.

2) There are many lay people who also remember the older form of Mass from before the changes. And you don't have to be to 80 to remember those days. There are people in the 40s and 50s who remember living with the old Mass. They have always remained attached to the old Mass or have regained a longing for it.

3) There are those who were neither in a separated group nor remember the pre-Conciliar Mass. These are younger people who have discovered the older form.

As a result, it is unacceptable to suggest that these provisions were made merely to accomodate a bunch of nostalgic old foggies who cant get with the program. The provisions were made with anyone in mind who wants older forms, for any decent reason.

People who want to avail of this extraordinary use are not second-rate citizens. They may not be treated any longer like the nutty aunt in the attic.

There are a few things to dispel.

First, in the explanatory letter the Pope invites bishops - "I invite you, dear Brothers, to send to the Holy See an account of your experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect. If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought." This does NOT impose an expiration date.

What it does is ask for information about what is going on. If, in light of experience, the provisions need to be changed, they can be changed based on experience. However, I hasten to point out to the whiners who will say this weakens the Motu Proprio, that this invitation is NOT in the Motu Proprio itself.

I will remind those who see the glass always as half empty that if the experiences are POSITIVE, the provisions could be adjusted positively. So, in a way, it is up to you. Open hearts. Work together. Save the Liturgy - Save the World, as we say around this blog.

Second, the bishops retain authority in their dioceses. Can it be any other way? This is entirely normal, good and proper. However, the Pope has with this Motu Proprio made many things that were once rather vague far more concrete and clear. Remember, bishops can be allies. You must approach them properly, which is only common sense. It may be that Fr. Guido O'Brien at St. Ipsydipsy doesn't want to or in incapable of celebrating Mass in the old way. In that case, the bishop could be helpful in resolving the dilemma.

Third, private Masses/liturgies in the old form can't be celebrated in private in the Triduum. That is normal and reasonable. that is the way it is in the Novus Ordo.

In places where the older form is established in a parish for the older use, the Triduum CAN be celebrated with the older books. However, in parishes where the newer forms are the usual fare, and there is a regularly scheduled Mass with the older form, when the Triduum arrives, the older, extraordinary liturgy must give way to the ordinary. That is logical.

In the Novus Ordo, as in the older days, there cannot be two Masses of the Last Supper on Holy Thursday, two Good Friday liturgies, or two Vigils. So, in this case, the ordinary takes precedence.

Fourth, the issue of the Triduum and this reasonable restriction has nothing to do with the prayer about the Jews on Good Friday. This is simply a matter of what the Churchs logical practice is based on the sacred nature of those Triduum liturgies. The Jews were not part of the equation.

Remember also that the 1962 Missale Romanum is used for the Triduum in those places where it will be permitted to use the older form at that time. The 1962 edition and not some earlier edition before the changes to those Good Friday petitions.

Fifth, as stated above, the 1962 Missale, the Missal of Bl. John XXIII is to be used, and NOT some earlier edition. Priests who are not adhering to the 1962 rubrics should be now ready and willing to adjust what they are doing. Lay people must be ready and willing to adjust their expectations.

Pope relaxes restrictions for Latin Mass
By NICOLE WINFIELD



VATICAN CITY, July 7 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI removed restrictions on celebrating the old form of the Latin Mass on Saturday in a concession to traditional Catholics, but he stressed that he was in no way rolling back the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

Benedict issued a document authorizing parish priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass if a "stable group of faithful" request it. Currently, the local bishop must approve such requests  an obstacle that fans of the rite say has greatly limited its availability.

"What earlier generations held as sacred remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful," Benedict wrote.

The Tridentine rite contains a prayer on Good Friday of Easter Week calling for the conversion of Jews, and the Anti-Defamation League criticized Benedict's decision as "body blow to Catholic Jewish relations," the Jewish news agency JTA reported.

[This is just maddeningly obtuse and deliberately playing ignorant! This point has been discussed for days in the Italian press, and the actual MP today makes it clear that only the Paschal Triduum rites, which includes Good Friday, according to the 1970 Missal, will be used.]

In addition to Jewish concerns, some bishops in France and liberal-minded clergy and faithful elsewhere had expressed concerns that allowing freer use of the Tridentine liturgy would imply a negation of Vatican II, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the Roman Catholic Church. They also feared it could create divisions in parishes since two different liturgies would be celebrated.

"This fear is unfounded," Benedict wrote in a letter to bishops accompanying the Latin text.

He said the New Mass celebrated in the vernacular that emerged after Vatican II remained the "normal" form of Mass while the Tridentine version was an "extraordinary" one that would probably only be sought by relatively few Catholics.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Benedict was not refuting Vatican II.

The document, he said, "doesn't impose any return to the past, it doesn't mean any weakening of the authority of the council nor the authority and responsibility of bishops."

The decision was an effort to reach out to the followers of an excommunicated ultratraditionalist, the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who split with the Vatican over the introduction of the New Mass and other Vatican II reforms.

The Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre in 1988 after he consecrated four bishops without Rome's consent. The bishops were excommunicated as well.

Benedict has been eager to reconcile with Lefebvre's group, the Society of St. Pius X, which has demanded freer use of the old Mass as a precondition for normalizing relations. The other precondition is the removal of the excommunication decrees.

The current head of the society, Bishop Bernard Fellay, welcomed the document. He said he hoped the "that the favorable climate established by the new dispositions of the Holy See" would eventually allow other doctrinal disputes to be discussed, including ecumenism, religious liberty and the sharing of power with bishops.

Benedict said his overall goal was to unify the church. In the past, he wrote, "at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity."

The document was sure to be welcomed by traditional Catholics, who remained in good standing with Rome but simply preferred the Tridentine liturgy and have long complained that bishops had been stingy in allowing it.

Some elements in the document may fall short of their demands: Benedict said the Biblical readings could be delivered in the vernacular, as opposed to Latin, and suggested that some amendments should be made to the old Mass.

"There will always be some people that will see this as a threat," said the Rev. John Zuhlsdorf, a columnist for the Catholic weekly The Wanderer, who celebrates the old rite as well as the New Mass.

====================================================================

Pope brings back Latin mass
by Martine Nouaille


VATICAN CITY, July 7 (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI gave the go-ahead Saturday for the greater use of the old Latin mass, signalling a bid to heal a decades-old split in the Roman Catholic Church.

But the move, which also applies to other religious rituals, is controversial and some leading figures have already expressed misgivings.

Under the papal decree issued Saturday priests are now to meet requests by the faithful to hold mass in the traditional Church language, which had widely been dropped after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

"In parishes where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their request to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962...," said the decree.

"The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it," it added.

The decree was released "motu proprio", Latin for "of one's own accord", meaning the pope did not take counsel from others.

The virtual abandonment of the Tridentine mass after the Second Vatican Council in 1965 was one of the causes of a breakaway led by French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970.

The move was to encourage the greater use of the mass in local languages, one of a series of reforms made by the council in a bid to modernise the Church.

Traditionalists say the Tridentine mass, named after the town of Trento, now in northern Italy, is more spiritual and historically authentic than the modern version. But under the current rules a bishop had to give approval for its use.

Traditionalists want to celebrate the Tridentine mass according to a 16th-century ritual with the priest facing away from the congregation.

Benedict has been working on the decree since last year. He discussed its contents with a select group of bishops and cardinals at a Vatican meeting last week.

French bishops secretly approached the pope late last year to voice their concerns about his then apparent readiness to revive the Tridentine mass.

Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, chairman of the French bishops' conference, said in November that differences with followers of Lefebvre were not only liturgical, but also theological, dealing with religious freedom, ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue and politics.

He warned Saturday that the pope's "real motivations may not be well understood" by the public and the priests. [What is there not to be well understood, Your Eminence? This not rocket science!]

The pope opened a dialogue with Lefebvre's followers in August 2005, four months after he was elected as head of the Roman Catholic Church, by receiving the leader of the dissident church, Bernard Fellay.

Prior to his death in April 2005, Benedict's predecessor John Paul II sought to bring traditionalists back into the Roman Catholic fold, allowing the celebration of the Tridentine mass so long as it was conducted only by bishops.

His successor, who likes the ancient liturgy and frowns upon what he considers the abuses of its modern-day counterpart, has now gone further, allowing freer celebration of ancient masses if priests and worshippers wish.

In a separate letter to the bishops, Benedict said his move was motivated by a need to reconcile worshippers as it had become "apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite which had been familiar to them from childhood.

"This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep personal familiarity with the earlier form of the liturgical celebration.

"We all know that, in the movement led by archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper level."

The pope asked bishops to "send to the Holy See an account of (their) experiences, three years after this Motu Proprio has taken effect.

"If truly serious difficulties come to light, ways to remedy them can be sought," he said.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi insisted Saturday that the choice given to priests did not mean that the Church was taking a step back.

"Benedict XVI does not mean to revolutionise today's liturgy which was updated by the Second Vatican Council, as it will continue to be followed by a large majority of worshippers," he said.

"He does not impose a step back, he wants no weakening of the Council authority or of the authority and responsibility of bishops."

====================================================================

Just look at the ways MSM is trying to fan this non-issue about the Jews:

This comes from a CAPTION TO A REUTERS PHOTO!!!!

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Reuters - Fri Jul 6, 11:13 AM ET Pope Benedict waves as he arrives to celebrate his weekly general audience at the Paul VI hall at the Vatican July 4, 2007. A prayer for the conversion of Jews sidelined from Roman Catholic liturgy in the 1960s may stage a surprise comeback on Saturday, when the Pope is expected to allow broader use of the old Latin Mass.

---

When all the excitement dies down, and the Holy Father is really on vacation [I already anticipate a new furor when the CDF statement comes on on Tuesday] - writing Part 2 of JON, playing the piano, and enjoying the air and scenery of the Dolomites - I should get down to a careful look at Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Vatican-II decree on liturgy, and compare what it actually says to what Benedict XVI has now done, and just put it all down for the record and easy reference.

Drew at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping has been doing somehting similar pre-MP, and here is what he had on Friday, 7/6/07:


Having established that there is a variance between the implementation of Vatican II and what the text of the documents demanded, we take advantage of the opportunity to re-consider the way we celebrate liturgy which Benedict XVI's motu proprio is meant to provide us.

---

Sacrosanctum Concilium, para. 3-4

3. Wherefore the sacred Council judges that the following principles concerning the promotion and reform of the liturgy should be called to mind, and that practical norms should be established.

Among these principles and norms there are some which can and should be applied both to the Roman rite and also to all the other rites. The practical norms which follow, however, should be taken as applying only to the Roman rite, except for those which, in the very nature of things, affect other rites as well.

4. Lastly, in faithful obedience to tradition, the sacred Council declares that holy Mother Church holds all lawfully acknowledged rites to be of equal right and dignity; that she wishes to preserve them in the future and to foster them in every way. The Council also desires that, where necessary, the rites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, and that they be given new vigor to meet the circumstances and needs of modern times.

---

How could it be clearer, and how could the Church have countenanced the open defiance and contradiction of a decree provision in which the letter cannot be other than the spirit, because there is nothing to 'interpret' in such straightforward statements?

Apostolic Letter
In the form of 'Motu Proprio'
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
BENEDICT XVI


VATICAN CITY, JUL 7, 2007 (VIS) - Given below is a non-official English- language translation of the Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data" of Pope Benedict XVI, "Summorum Pontificum," concerning the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970. The original text is written in Latin.

"Up to our own times, it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, 'to the praise and glory of His name,' and 'to the benefit of all His Holy Church.'

"Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which 'each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.' (1)

"Among the pontiffs who showed that requisite concern, particularly outstanding is the name of St. Gregory the Great, who made every effort to ensure that the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He commanded that the form of the sacred liturgy as celebrated in Rome (concerning both the Sacrifice of Mass and the Divine Office) be conserved. He took great concern to ensure the dissemination of monks and nuns who, following the Rule of St. Benedict, together with the announcement of the Gospel illustrated with their lives the wise provision of their Rule that 'nothing should be placed before the work of God.' In this way the sacred liturgy, celebrated according to the Roman use, enriched not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. It is known, in fact, that the Latin liturgy of the Church in its various forms, in each century of the Christian era, has been a spur to the spiritual life of many saints, has reinforced many peoples in the virtue of religion and fecundated their piety.

"Many other Roman pontiffs, in the course of the centuries, showed particular solicitude in ensuring that the sacred liturgy accomplished this task more effectively. Outstanding among them is St. Pius V who, sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and 'renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,' and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.

"One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.

"'It was towards this same goal that succeeding Roman Pontiffs directed their energies during the subsequent centuries in order to ensure that the rites and liturgical books were brought up to date and when necessary clarified. From the beginning of this century they undertook a more general reform.' (2) Thus our predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St. Pius X (3), Benedict XV, Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII all played a part.

"In more recent times, Vatican Council II expressed a desire that the respectful reverence due to divine worship should be renewed and adapted to the needs of our time. Moved by this desire our predecessor, the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI, approved, in 1970, reformed and partly renewed liturgical books for the Latin Church. These, translated into the various languages of the world, were willingly accepted by bishops, priests and faithful. John Paul II amended the third typical edition of the Roman Missal. Thus Roman pontiffs have operated to ensure that 'this kind of liturgical edifice ... should again appear resplendent for its dignity and harmony.' (4)

"But in some regions, no small numbers of faithful adhered and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms. These had so deeply marked their culture and their spirit that in 1984 the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, moved by a concern for the pastoral care of these faithful, with the special indult 'Quattuor abhinc anno," issued by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted permission to use the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in the year 1962. Later, in the year 1988, John Paul II with the Apostolic Letter given as Motu Proprio, 'Ecclesia Dei,' exhorted bishops to make generous use of this power in favor of all the faithful who so desired.

"Following the insistent prayers of these faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God, with these Apostolic Letters we establish the following:

"Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church's Lex orandi will in no any way lead to a division in the Church's 'Lex credendi' (Law of belief). They are, in fact two usages of the one Roman rite.

"It is, therefore, permissible to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions for the use of this Missal as laid down by earlier documents 'Quattuor abhinc annis' and 'Ecclesia Dei,' are substituted as follows:

"Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such celebrations, with either one Missal or the other, the priest has no need for permission from the Apostolic See or from his Ordinary.

"Art. 3. Communities of Institutes of consecrated life and of Societies of apostolic life, of either pontifical or diocesan right, wishing to celebrate Mass in accordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962, for conventual or "community" celebration in their oratories, may do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to undertake such celebrations often, habitually or permanently, the decision must be taken by the Superiors Major, in accordance with the law and following their own specific decrees and statues.

"Art. 4. Celebrations of Mass as mentioned above in art. 2 may - observing all the norms of law - also be attended by faithful who, of their own free will, ask to be admitted.

"Art. 5. õ 1 In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962, and ensure that the welfare of these faithful harmonises with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the guidance of the bishop in accordance with canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church. õ 2 Celebration in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII may take place on working days; while on Sundays and feast days one such celebration may also be held. õ 3 For faithful and priests who request it, the pastor should also allow celebrations in this extraordinary form for special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages. õ 4 Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so and not juridically impeded. õ 5 In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.

Art. 6. In Masses celebrated in the presence of the people in accordance with the Missal of Bl. John XXIII, the readings may be given in the vernacular, using editions recognised by the Apostolic See.

"Art. 7. If a group of lay faithful, as mentioned in art. 5 õ 1, has not obtained satisfaction to their requests from the pastor, they should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is strongly requested to satisfy their wishes. If he cannot arrange for such celebration to take place, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei".

"Art. 8. A bishop who, desirous of satisfying such requests, but who for various reasons is unable to do so, may refer the problem to the Commission "Ecclesia Dei" to obtain counsel and assistance.

"Art. 9. õ 1 The pastor, having attentively examined all aspects, may also grant permission to use the earlier ritual for the administration of the Sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance, and the Anointing of the Sick, if the good of souls would seem to require it. õ 2 Ordinaries are given the right to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation using the earlier Roman Pontifical, if the good of souls would seem to require it. õ 2 Clerics ordained "in sacris constitutis" may use the Roman Breviary promulgated by Bl. John XXIII in 1962.

"Art. 10. The ordinary of a particular place, if he feels it appropriate, may erect a personal parish in accordance with can. 518 for celebrations following the ancient form of the Roman rite, or appoint a chaplain, while observing all the norms of law.

"Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", erected by John Paul II in 1988 (5), continues to exercise its function. Said Commission will have the form, duties and norms that the Roman Pontiff wishes to assign it.

"Art. 12. This Commission, apart from the powers it enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising the observance and application of these dispositions.

"We order that everything We have established with these Apostolic Letters issued as Motu Proprio be considered as "established and decreed", and to be observed from 14 September of this year, Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, whatever there may be to the contrary.

" From Rome, at St. Peter's, 7 July 2007, third year of Our Pontificate."

BENEDICTUS PP XVI

(1) General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 3rd ed., 2002, no. 397.
(2) John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," 4 December 1988, 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
(3) Ibid.
(4) St. Pius X, Apostolic Letter Motu propio data, "Abhinc duos annos," 23 October 1913: AAS 5 (1913), 449-450; cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter "Vicesimus quintus annus," no. 3: AAS 81 (1989), 899.
(5) Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Motu proprio data "Ecclesia Dei," 2 July 1988, 6: AAS 80 (1988), 1498.


And here's the one provided by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops:


Apostolic Letter
In the form of 'Motu Proprio'
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
BENEDICT XVI

It has always been the care of the Supreme Pontiffs until the present time, that the Church of Christ offer worthy worship to the Divine Majesty 'for the praise and glory of his name' and 'for the good of all his Holy Church.'

As from time immemorial so in the future the principle shall be respected "according to which each particular Church must be in accord with the universal Church not only regarding the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also as to the usages universally handed down by apostolic and unbroken tradition. These are to be maintained not only so that errors may be avoided, but also so that the faith may be passed on in its integrity, since the Churchs rule of prayer (lex orandi) corresponds to her rule of belief (lex credendi)". (1)

Among Pontiffs who have displayed such care there excels the name of Saint Gregory the Great, who saw to the transmission to the new peoples of Europe both of the Catholic faith and of the treasures of worship and culture accumulated by the Romans in preceding centuries. He gave instructions for the form of the Sacred Liturgy of both the Sacrifice of the Mass and of the Divine Office as was celebrated in the City. He made the greatest efforts to foster monks and nuns, who progressing under the Rule of St Benedict, in every place along with the proclamation of the Gospel by their life likewise exemplified that most salutary expression of the Rule "let nothing be given precedence over the work of God" (chapter 43).

In this way the sacred liturgy according to the Roman manner made fertile not only the faith and piety but also the culture of many peoples. Moreover it is evident that the Latin Liturgy in its various forms has stimulated in the spiritual life very many Saints in every century of the Christian age and strengthened in the virtue of religion so many peoples and made fertile their piety.

However, in order that the Sacred Liturgy might more efficaciously absolve its task, several others among the Roman Pontiffs in the course of the centuries have brought to bear particular concern, among whom Saint Pius V is eminent, who with great pastoral zeal, at the exhortation of the Council of Trent, renewed the worship of the whole Church, ensuring the publishing of liturgical books amended and "restored according to the norm of the Fathers" and put them into use in the Latin Church.

It is clear that among the liturgical books of the Roman Rite the Roman Missal is eminent. It grew in the city of Rome and gradually down through the centuries took on forms which are very similar to those in vigor in recent generations.

"It was this same goal that as time passed the Roman Pontiffs pursued, adapting or establishing liturgical rites and books to new ages and then at the start of the present century undertaking a more ample restoration." (2)

It was in this manner that our Predecessors Clement VIII, Urban VIII, St Pius X3, Benedict XV, Pius XII and the Blessed John XXIII acted.

In more recent time, however, the Second Vatican Council expressed the desire that with due respect and reverence for divine worship it be restored and adapted to the needs of our age. Prompted by this desire, our Predecessor the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI in 1970 approved for the Latin Church liturgical books restored and partly renewed, and that throughout the world translated into many vernacular languages, have been welcomed by the Bishops and by the priests and faithful. John Paul II revised the third typical edition of the Roman Missal.

Thus the Roman Pontiffs have acted so that "this liturgical edifice, so to speak, might once again appear splendid in its dignity and harmony." (4)

However in some regions not a small number of the faithful have been and remain attached with such great love and affection to the previous liturgical forms, which had profoundly imbued their culture and spirit, that the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II, prompted by pastoral concern for these faithful, in 1984 by means of a special Indult Quattuor abhinc annos, drawn up by the Congregation for Divine Worship, granted the faculty to use the Roman Missal published by John XXIII in 1962; while in 1988 John Paul II once again, by means of the Motu Proprio Ecclesia Dei, exhorted the Bishops to make wide and generous use of this faculty in favor of all the faithful requesting it.

Having pondered at length the pressing requests of these faithful to our Predecessor John Paul II, having also heard the Fathers of the Consistory of Cardinals held on 23 March 2006, having pondered all things, invoked the Holy Spirit and placed our confidence in the help of God, by this present Apostolic Letter we DECREE the following:


Art. 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is to be regarded as the ordinary expression of the law of prayer (lex orandi) of the Catholic Church of Latin Rite, while the Roman Missal promulgated by St Pius V and published again by Blessed John XXIII as the extraordinary expression of the law of prayer (lex orandi) and on account of its venerable and ancient use let it enjoy due honor.

These two expressions of the law of prayer (lex orandi) of the Church in no way lead to a division in the law of prayer (lex orandi) of the Church, for they are two uses of the one Roman Rite.

Hence it is licit to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass in accordance with the typical edition of the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as the extraordinary form of the Liturgy of the Church. The conditions laid down by the previous documents Quattuor abhinc annos and Ecclesia Dei for the use of this Missal are replaced by what follows:

Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without the people, any priest of Latin rite, whether secular or religious, can use the Roman Missal published by Pope Blessed John XXIII in 1962 or the Roman Missal promulgated by the Supreme Pontiff Paul VI in 1970, on any day except in the Sacred Triduum. For celebration in accordance with one or the other Missal, a priest does not require any permission, neither from the Apostolic See nor his own Ordinary.

Art. 3. If Communities or Institutes of Consecrated Life or Societies of Apostolic Life of either pontifical or diocesan rite desire to have a celebration of Holy Mass in ccordance with the edition of the Roman Missal promulgated in 1962 in the conventual or community celebration in their own oratories, this is allowed. If an individual community or the entire Institute or Society wants to have such celebrations often or habitually or permanently, the matter is to be decided by the Major Superiors according to the norm of law and the particular laws and statutes.

Art. 4. With due observance of law, even Christs faithful who spontaneously request it, may be admitted to celebrations of Holy Mass mentioned in art. 2 above.

Art. 5, § 1. In parishes where a group of faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition exists stably, let the pastor willingly accede to their requests for the celebration of the Holy Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962. Let him see to it that the good of these faithful be harmoniously
reconciled with ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the Bishop according to canon 392, avoiding discord and fostering the unity of the whole Church.

§ 2. Celebration according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII can take place on weekdays, while on Sundays and on feast days there may be one such celebration.

§ 3. Let the pastor permit celebrations in this extraordinary form for faithful or priests who request it, even in particular circumstances such as weddings, funerals or occasional celebrations,
for example pilgrimages.

§ 4. Priests using the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be worthy and not impeded by law.

§ 5. In churches, which are neither parochial nor conventual, it is the Rector of the church who grants the above-mentioned permission.

Art. 6. In Masses celebrated with the people according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII, the Readings can be proclaimed even in the vernacular, using editions that have received the recognitio of the Apostolic See.

Art. 7. Where some group of lay faithful, mentioned in art. 5§1 does not obtain what it requests from the pastor, it should inform the diocesan Bishop of the fact. The Bishop is earnestly requested to grant their desire. If he cannot provide for this kind of celebration, let the matter be referred to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.

Art. 8. A Bishop who desires to make provision for requests of lay faithful of this kind, but is for various reasons prevented from doing so, may refer the matter to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which should give him advice and help.

Art. 9, § 1. Likewise a pastor may, all things duly considered, grant permission to use the older ritual in administering the Sacraments of Baptism, Matrimony, Penance and the Anointing of the Sick, as the good of souls may suggest.

§ 2. Ordinaries are granted the faculty to celebrate the sacrament of Confirmation using the former Roman Pontifical, as the good of souls may suggest.

§ 3. It is lawful for clerics in holy orders to use even the Roman Breviary promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962.

Art 10. It is lawful for the local Ordinary, if he judges it opportune, to erect a personal parish according to the norm of canon 518 for celebrations according to the older form of the Roman rite or appoint a rector or chaplain, with due observance of the requirements of law.

Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, erected in 1988 by John Paul II,5 continues to carry out its function. This Commission is to have the form, duties and norm for action that the Roman Pontiff may wish to assign to it.

Art. 12. The same Commission, in addition to the faculties it already enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See by maintaining vigilance over the observance and application of these dispositions.

Whatever is decreed by Us by means of this Motu Proprio, we order to be firm and ratified and to be observed as of 14 September this year, the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, all things to the contrary notwithstanding.

Given at Rome, at St Peter's, on 7 July in the Year of Our Lord 2007, the Third of Our Pontificate.

BENEDICT XVI

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NB: The USCCB has also published "Twenty Questions on the Motu Proprio" and "Ten Questions on the Ordinary and EXtrardinary Forms of the Roman Rite" on PDF.

I have posted these in REFLECTIONS ON OUR FAITH...

BUT CAVEAT FROM FATHER Z:

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In the meantime, the USCCB's unofficial English version of the whole MP does not match the English on the Vatican website.

The problem is that the USCCB's Liturgy Office, under His Excellency Donald W. Trautman, published guidelines about the MP& based on the unofficial USCCB translation.

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I think those guidelines are the 'Questions...' referred to above. There's reason to be wary if Bishop Trautman is involved! The fact that the two translations don't much is a question of the translator's skill and style, so we can only compare if they are saying the same thing substantially, and look out for subtle or obvious 'nuancing'....I've just printed both translations out so I can look at them side by side...