1. The duty to safeguard the unity of the Church, with the solicitude to offer everyone help in responding appropriately to this vocation and divine grace, is the particular responsibility of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, who is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity of both bishops and faithful. The supreme and fundamental priority of the Church in all times – to lead mankind to the meeting with God – must be supported by the commitment to achieve a shared witness of faith among all Christians.

2. Faithful to this mandate, following the act of 30 June 1988 by which Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre illicitly conferred episcopal ordination upon four priests, on 2 July 1988 Pope John Paul II of venerable memory established the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” whose task it is “to collaborate with the bishops, with the departments of the Roman Curia and with the circles concerned, for the purpose of facilitating full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, religious communities or individuals until now linked in various ways to the Society founded by Msgr. Lefebvre, who may wish to remain united to the Successor Peter in the Catholic Church, while preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions, in the light of the Protocol signed on 5 May last by Cardinal Ratzinger and Msgr. Lefebvre”.

3. In keeping with this, faithfully adhering to that duty to serve the universal communion of the Church, also in her visible manifestation, and making every effort to ensure that those who truly desire unity have the possibility to remain in it or to rediscover it, I decided, with the Motu Proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, to expand and update through more precise and detailed norms the general indications already contained in the Motu Proprio “Ecclesia Dei” concerning the possibility of using the 1962″Missale Romanum”.

4. In the same spirit, and with the same commitment to favouring the repair of all fractures and divisions within the Church, and to healing a wound that is ever more painfully felt within the ecclesiastical structure, I decided to remit the excommunication of the four bishops illicitly ordained by Msgr. Lefebvre. In making that decision my intention was to remove an impediment that could hinder the opening of a door to dialogue and thus invite the four bishops and the Society of Saint Pius X to rediscover the path to full communion with the Church. As I explained in my Letter to Catholic bishops of 10 March this year, the remission of the excommunication was a measure taken in the field of ecclesiastical discipline, to free individuals from the burden of conscience constituted by the most serious of ecclesiastical penalties. However it is clear that the doctrinal questions remain, and until they are clarified the Society has no canonical status in the Church, and its ministers cannot legitimately exercise any ministry in the Church.

5. Precisely because the problems that now have to be examined with the Society are essentially doctrinal in nature, I have decided – twenty-one years after the Motu Proprio “Ecclesia Dei” and in keeping with what I had intended to do – to reconsider the structure of the Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, joining it closely to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

6. The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” will, then, have the following configuration:

(a) The president of the Commission is the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

(b) The Commission has its own staff, composed of the secretary and officials.

(c) It will be the task of the president, with the assistance of the secretary, to submit the principal cases and questions of a doctrinal nature for study and discernment according to the ordinary requirements of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and to submit the results thereof to the superior dispositions of the Supreme Pontiff.

7. With this decision I wish in particular to show paternal solicitude towards the Society of Saint Pius X, with the aim of rediscovering the full communion of the Church.

To everyone I address a pressing invitation to pray ceaselessly to the Lord, by the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “ut unum sint”.

From Rome, at St. Peter’s, 2 July 2009, fifth year of Our Pontificate.

The Pope explained this today when he addressed French bishops gathered with him in Lourdes to mark the 150th anniversary of the Virgin Mary’s apparitions.

In his address, the Holy Father touched on themes ranging from the need to promote vocations to the priesthood and safeguard the formation of priests, to the importance of catechesis, evangelizing the family, and the situation of the role of the Church and state in France.

He also mentioned his 2007 letter “Summorum Pontificum,” saying that in it he “was led to set out the conditions in which [the bishops' duty to sanctify the faithful] is to be exercised, with regard to the possibility of using the missal of Blessed John XXIII — 1962 — in addition to that of Pope Paul VI — 1970.”

“Some fruits of these new arrangements have already been seen, and I hope that, thanks be to God, the necessary pacification of spirits is already taking place,” the Holy Father continued. “I am aware of your difficulties, but I do not doubt that, within a reasonable time, you can find solutions satisfactory for all, lest the seamless tunic of Christ be further torn.”

The Society of St. Pius X, one of the groups attached to the Mass as it was celebrated before Vatican II, and currently not in full communion with the Church, was founded by French bishop Marcel Lefebvre.

In the accompanying statement to Benedict XVI’s letter on the liturgy, which established that the 1962 Missal could be used as the “extraordinary form” of the Roman Rite, the Pope explained that he was making “every effort” to enable those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew.

He gave the same message to the French bishops today. “Everyone has a place in the Church,” the Pontiff affirmed. “Every person, without exception, should be able to feel at home, and never rejected. God, who loves all men and women and wishes none to be lost, entrusts us with this mission by appointing us shepherds of his sheep.

“We can only thank him for the honor and the trust that he has placed in us. Let us therefore strive always to be servants of unity.”

The Pope affirmed this today en route to France; he gave a brief press conference on the plane, answering four questions previously submitted by the journalists selected to be in the press corps accompanying the Holy Father.

The Pontiff said it is “groundless” to fear that “Summorum Pontificum” — which opened the way for a wider celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal — is a regression.

“This ‘motu proprio’ is simply an act of tolerance, with a pastoral objective, for people who have been formed in this liturgy, who love it, know it and want to live with this liturgy,” he said. “It is a small group, given that it presupposes a formation in Latin, a formation in a certain culture. But it seems to me a normal demand of faith and pastoral concern for a bishop of our Church to have love and tolerance for these people and permit them to live with this liturgy.”

“There is no opposition whatsoever between the liturgy renewed by the Second Vatican Council and this liturgy,” Benedict XVI continued. “Each day, the Council fathers celebrated Mass according to this old rite and, at the same time, have conceived a natural development for the liturgy in all of this century, since the liturgy is a living reality that develops and that conserves its identity in its development.”

“Therefore, there are certainly distinct accents, but a fundamental identity that excludes a contradiction, an opposition between the renewed liturgy and the preceding liturgy,” the Pope affirmed. “I think that there is the possibility of mutual enrichment. It’s clear that the renewed liturgy is the ordinary liturgy of our times.”

Encountering the Mother

Previously, the Holy Father answered a question about secularism and the lay state.

“It seems evident to me that laicism is not in contradiction with the faith,” the Pontiff said. “I would even say that it is a fruit of the faith, since the Christian faith was, from the beginning, a universal religion and therefore, did not identify itself with a state but was present in all states.

“Politics, the state, were not a religion, but a profane reality with a specific mission, and both should be mutually open.”

Another question gave Benedict XVI the chance to confess his love for France: “I love France, the great French culture, and above all, clearly, the great cathedrals, as well as the great French art, great theology.”

Lastly, the Pope spoke of the principal motive for his visit: the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes.

He noted that the liturgical feast of the visionary, St. Bernadette, is also his birthday. “For this reason, I feel very close to this little saint, this little child, pure, humble, who spoke with the Virgin,” he said. “To encounter this reality, this presence of the Virgin in our era, to see the footsteps of this little youth who was a friend of the Virgin, and on the other hand, to encounter the Virgin, her mother, is on the other hand a very important event for me.

“Naturally, we’re not going to find miracles. I am going to encounter the love of the Mother, which is the true healing for all sorrows and to be in solidarity with those who suffer, in the love of the Mother.”

Upon his arrival to Paris, Benedict XVI was greeted by the pealing of the bells of the churches. A smiling President Nicolas Sarkozy received him at the airport, introducing the Pope to members of his family; the two also exchanged gifts.

This was followed by the Pope’s address in the Elysee’s great hall of celebrations to members of the government, parliamentarians and bishops.

By Annamarie Adkins

Benedict XVI’s letter “Summorum Pontificum” on the traditional form of the Mass has sparked an increased interest in the Latin-language liturgy, especially among priests, says an expert on liturgical translations.

Father John Zuhlsdorf, a former employee of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, is a noted authority on both liturgical translations and the 1962 Missal. He also writes the “What Does the Prayer Really Say?” column in the Wanderer newspaper, and is the author of a popular blog by the same name.

Q: Has there been much of a demand for the traditional Latin Mass since the release of “Summorum Pontificum”?

Father Zuhlsdorf: No and yes. We have not seen hordes of the faithful hammering on rectory doors to demand the older Mass. But there has been a steady increase of parishes where the traditional Latin Mass is now celebrated regularly.

The trickle is becoming a stream.

Initially, there were unrealistic expectations. Many who favor the older Mass were overly optimistic that the floodgates would crash open. The naysayers, often in positions of power, tried to stem the tide by speaking very negatively, not only about the older Mass, but also about the people who desire it.

Many diocesan bishops, incredibly, threw up unreasonable obstacles to the good provisions the Holy Father generously promulgated. That resistance is now crumbling under the scrutiny of the blogosphere and pressure from the Holy See.

The other factor is that very many young priests want to learn the traditional Latin Mass. For example, I hear that over 1,000 priests have requested the new training DVD that the Fraternity of St. Peter made together with EWTN.

Scores of priests are attending training workshops in Chicago and Nebraska, in Oxford, England, and elsewhere, whenever they are offered. As priests learn this form of the Mass, they will begin implementing it in parishes.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, Benedict XVI’s point man in these matters, stated that the Holy Father hopes this Mass will be offered widely, even if it has not been requested by the faithful.

University chaplaincies are being pushed by students to make the traditional Latin Mass available. This trend will only increase on an upward curve.

Q: The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei is reportedly preparing a document to clarify some ambiguities related to implementing “Summorum Pontificum.” What have been the main difficulties thus far that such a document should address?

Father Zuhlsdorf: The document will probably clarify some terms in the “motu proprio” that have been used by some diocesan bishops and priests to block what the Holy Father is trying to accomplish.

For example, “Summorum Pontificum” says priests must be idoneus, “capable, competent” to say Mass with the older book. Idoneus, a technical term, refers to the minimum requirements for competence, not to expertise.

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York, a distinguished canonist in his day, correctly stated that idoneus, as far as the Latin language is concerned, means that the priest must be able to pronounce the words properly. That is the minimum.

Of course we hope for far more than that. But some bishops are subjecting priests to exams in Latin before they determine whether he can exercise his right to say Mass using the 1962 Missale Romanum, or even in Latin with the Novus Ordo, that is to say, Mass in his own rite, as a priest of the Latin Church.

Another issue is how large a group, a coetus, making a request for the older Mass must be before the parish priest is required to act in their favor. Those and other questions pertain to the interpretation of the “motu proprio.”

Practical questions have arisen as well. For example, the Holy See should give direction about the relationship of the two liturgical calendars. I think the Holy See should issue an “ordo” for the traditional Mass, a yearly booklet indicating which Mass must be said each day.

Clarifications about the style of vestments that may be used, or the sort of music, could be useful. There are questions about Communion in the hand or altar girls, how those fit with the spirit and the rubrics of the pre-conciliar Mass.

Smaller details, for example about the so-called second Confiteor before Communion, or some traditions people desire from before the 1962 Missal should be made clear.

This upcoming document, and its particular authoritative responses, will help make the implementation of “Summorum Pontificum” orderly and serene.

Q: You have argued that “Summorum Pontificum” is the centerpiece of Benedict XVI’s “Marshall Plan” for the Church. But the term “Marshall Plan” implies rebuilding from the ground up. Can you describe this plan and the role you believe the traditional Latin Mass fits within it?

Father Zuhlsdorf: Useful as they are, analogies limp. After World War II the United States rebuilt war-ravaged Europe both for humanitarian reasons, and also to help create trading partners and a prosperous bulwark against Communism.

After Vatican II, many spheres of the Church were devastated, ravaged by internal dissent, a loss of continuity with our tradition, and from erosion by the secularism and relativism of the prevailing modern world.

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had been concerned for years about the loss of Christian identity, which is at the heart of Western Civilization. Now Papa Ratzinger, I believe, is working to reinvigorate our Catholic identity, within the Church herself among her members and spheres of life, so that we can resist the negative influences of secularism and relativism.

Only with a solid identity can we, as Catholics, have something positive and healthy to offer to the world at large, a clear voice offering important contributions in the public square.

Our identity as Catholics is inextricably bound together with the way we pray as a Church.

To give shape and strength to our Catholic identity in these difficult times, we need an authentic liturgical renewal, a renewal that reintegrates us with our tradition, brings us into continuity with the deep roots of our Catholic Christian experience of two millennia.

Contrary to the notions of most progressivists, “the Catholic thing” did not begin in the 1960s.

Benedict XVI is guiding us to a healthier vision of the Church’s doctrine, history, public worship and our very identity as Catholics. There can be no authentic change for a better future without continuity with our past. Liturgy is the tip of the spear.

Q: Benedict XVI stated in the letter accompanying “Summorum Pontificum” that he hoped each form of the Mass — ordinary and extraordinary — would mutually enrich the other. In particular, he desired that the extraordinary form would restore a sense of the sacred to the ordinary form, or Novus Ordo. One year after “Summorum Pontificum,” have you seen the extraordinary form exercise any “gravitational pull” on the Novus Ordo?

Father Zuhlsdorf: Yes, we can see this “pull” at work in some places, but there is a long way to go. Gravity exerts a steady pull, but inertia, especially momentum in the wrong direction, must still be overcome.

It has only been one year since the letter was issued, and only since September that it has been in force. Initially there were flurries of enthusiasm and vituperation, crowing and panic.

The text had to be read and absorbed. The Holy See had to clarify the authentic wording. Problems and questions are still being identified. A document with clarifications obviously remains on the drafting desk.

But the mere awareness of the provisions of “Summorum Pontificum” has made an impact. “Personal parishes” are being established for use of the older Mass and rites of sacraments. Books and training materials had to be created. They are now starting to be published. All this takes time.

Also, the Holy Father changed the conversation about liturgy and certain post-Conciliar practices by celebrating the Novus Ordo in a more traditional way, by using historic vestments, by returning to distributing Communion on the tongue to people kneeling, and so forth.

But the real pull of the older Mass and Benedict XVI’s efforts toward continuity with the Novus Ordo will be felt in the future.

For example, time and time again younger priests tell me that after learning the traditional Latin Mass they never say Holy Mass in the Novus Ordo the same way. There are things you learn about priesthood and Holy Mass from the traditional Latin Mass that you simply don’t pick up from the Novus Ordo, especially as it is usually celebrated in so many of our parishes and chapels.

How a priest says Mass affects a parish profoundly, at the level of reverence, vocations, everything.

Even though Rome wasn’t destroyed in a day, neither will it be quickly rebuilt. We have suffered a disastrous loss of basic priestly formation in Latin and theology and the culture that goes with them. This will take time to recover.

Seminaries need time to ramp up to meet the new needs the letter calls forth. Seminarians are eager to learn. Who will do the teaching?

In parishes young people more and more desire a greater continuity with the past. They are discovering their Catholic heritage and that they have been robbed. Eventually they will hold the positions of influence in parishes and Catholic schools.

On a concrete level, some bishops, priests, liturgists and musicians are rethinking the value of some common post-conciliar practices.

For example, a few days after Benedict XVI started to distribute Communion on the tongue to people kneeling, a bishop in the United States did precisely the same thing for Corpus Christi.

They are reassessing the great advantages of Mass celebrated “ad orientem,” everyone facing the same direction toward the altar and the Crucifix. Latin is being reappraised. Musicians are dusting off the treasury of sacred liturgical music that has been hidden for decades.

The “motu proprio” is pulling, but there is still resistance, and laziness. Time, patience and open minds are needed to get things moving. The law of inertia in physics is that bodies in motion or at rest stay that way until another force works on them. The “motu proprio” is such a force.

Q: What have been some noteworthy, or perhaps unexpected, developments in the Church related to “Summorum Pontificum” since its release?

Father Zuhlsdorf: A noteworthy result must be the shift in attitude of and about people who desire traditional liturgy.

For so long the ecclesiastical establishment looked down on and marginalized more traditional Catholics, shoving them to the back of the bus because of their attachment to our tradition. Some of the more benign saw them as being like our family’s nutty but harmless aunt up in the attic.

On the other hand, many traditionalists, perhaps out of the deep hurts and disillusionment they felt after all the changes in the Church, the silly season of illicit innovations, the ash-canning of our beautiful churches, music, vestments, statues, devotions, you name it, wound up with an enormous chip on their collective shoulder.

As time went by, many of them knew no other way to “negotiate” with bishops and priests but simply to get in their face, make pushy demands, and arrogantly tell them what to do. It got to a point where even clerics who were open and sympathetic started to wince and back away whenever traditionalists approached. And so the waters of good relations froze.

Now, because some of the pain and alienation is starting to melt away in the hearts of many traditionalists, now that they can simply have what they should have been able to have all along, now that a little warm sunshine is being beamed in their direction by the Holy Father and others who share his vision, pastors of souls are starting to unclench as well.

The ice is breaking up and the water is flowing again. This was not an unexpected development. I fully believed this would happen because traditionalists are mostly good people who love Holy Church and want the best for their families, priests and bishops.

Bishops and priests, even when they are not personally inclined to traditional things, are mostly good men who love their flocks and sincerely desire their good. They all share common ground in what really matters. What I am surprised by is that the breaking of the ice dam — though there is a long way to go yet — is happening so quickly.

I underestimated the warmth of the sunlight and the openness of hearts, especially on the part of some bishops who, as a body, have not shown themselves in the past to be very friendly to traditional liturgy. This has made me rethink my own attitudes.
Courtesy Zenit.org 

The motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which acknowledged that the Tridentine Mass was never abrogated, raises a certain number of questions concerning the future of the relations of the Society of St. Pius X with Rome. Several persons in conservative circles and in Rome itself have made themselves heard, arguing that, since the Sovereign Pontiff had acted so generously and thus given a clear sign of his good will towards us, there would be nothing left for the Society to do but to “sign an agreement with Rome.” Unfortunately, a few of our friends were deceived by such an illusion. We would like to take the opportunity of this Eastertide letter to review once again the principles governing our actions in these troubled times and point out a few recent events which clearly indicate that, basically, nothing has reallychanged except for the motu proprio’s liturgical overture, so as to draw from all this the necessary conclusions.

The fundamental principle that dictates our action is the safeguard of the faith, without which no one can be saved, no one can receive grace, no one can be pleasing to God, as the First Vatican Council states. The liturgical question is not paramount; it only becomes such inasmuch as it is the manifestation of an alteration of the faith and, consequently, of the worship due to God.

A notable change of orientation took place at Vatican II with regard to the Church’s outlook, especially on the world, other religions, the State, and even itself. These changes have been acknowledged by all, yet not all judged them in the same way. Until now, they were presented as being very profound, even revolutionary. One cardinal at the Council could even speak of “the 1789 Revolution in the Church.”

While still a cardinal, Benedict XVI phrased it thus: “The challenge of the sixties was to assimilate the best values expressed in two centuries of ‘liberal’ culture. These are values which, even if they originate outside the Church, can find a place, once purified and corrected, in her vision of the world. This is what was done.”1 In the name of this assimilation, a new vision of the world and its components was imposed: a fundamentally positive vision, which dictated not only a new liturgical rite, but also a new mode of presence of the Church in the world: much more horizontal, and more concerned about social and temporal problems than those of a supernatural and eternal character…

At the same time, the Church’s relationship with the other religions underwent a transformation. Since Vatican II, Rome has avoided any negative or depreciatory observations about other religions. For example, the classic term of “false religions” has completely disappeared from ecclesiastical vocabulary. The words “heretic” and “schismatic,” which used

to designate the religions closer to the Catholic Church, have also disappeared, except when they are occasionally employed, especially the term “schismatic,” to label us. The same holds true for the term “excommunication.” The new approach is called ecumenism, and contrary to what everyone used to think, it does not mean a return to Catholic unity, but rather the establishment of a new kind of unity that no longer requires conversion.

Christian denominations are considered under a new light, and this is especially clear for the Orthodox. In the Balamand Declaration, the Catholic Church officially pledged herself to not convert the Orthodox and to collaborate with them. The dogma “outside the Church there is no salvation,” recalled in the document Dominus Jesus, underwent a reinterpretation for the sake of the new vision of things. They could not keep this dogma without broadening the limits of the Church, and this was accomplished by the new definition of the Church given in Lumen Gentium. The Church of Christ is no longer the Catholic Church, it subsists in her. They may say that it subsists only in her, but the fact remains that they claim that the Holy Ghost and this “Church of Christ” act outside the Catholic Church. The other religions are not without elements of salvation… The “Orthodox Churches” become authentic particular churches in which “the Church of Christ” is built.

Obviously, these new views completely disrupted the Church’s relations with the other religions. It is impossible to speak of a superficial change; for what they want to impose on the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ is a new and very profound mutation. John Paul II consequently was able to speak of a “new ecclesiology,” admitting an essential change in the part of the theology that treats of the Church. We simply cannot understand how they can claim that this new understanding of the Church is still in harmony with the traditional definition of the Church. It is new; it is radically different and obliges the Catholic to observe a fundamentally different behavior towards the heretics and schismatics, who have tragically abandoned the Church and scorned the faith of their baptism. From now on they are no longer “separated brethren,” but brothers who “are not in full communion”… and we are “deeply united” by baptism in Christ in an “inamissible”2 union. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s latest clarification of the word “subsistit” is very revealing on this point. Even as it states that the Church cannot teach novelty, it confirms the novelty introduced at the Council…Likewise for evangelization: the sacred duty of every Christian to respond to our Lord Jesus Christ’s command is at first upheld: “

He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned” (Mk. 16:15-16). But then it is alleged that this evangelization only concerns the pagans, so that neither Christians nor Jews need be bothered. Very recently Cardinals Kasper and Bertone, addressing the controversy over the new prayer for the Jews, stated that the Church has no intention of converting them. Add to this the pope’s positions on religious liberty, and we can easily conclude that the combat for the faith has not slackened over these last few years. The motu proprio that introduces the hope of a change for the better in matters liturgical is not accompanied by the logically related measures that should follow in other domains of the Church’s life. All the changes introduced at the Council and in the post-conciliar reforms, which we denounce precisely because the Church had already condemned them, have been upheld. The only difference is that now they claim at the same time that the Church does not change… which amounts to saying that these changes are perfectly in line with Catholic Tradition. This confusion of terminology combined with the assertion that the Church must remain faithful to her Tradition might well be troubling to more than a few. So long as facts do not corroborate this new assertion, we must conclude that nothing has changed in Rome’s intention to pursue the conciliar course despite forty years of crisis, despite vacant convents, abandoned rectories, and empty churches. Catholic universities persist in their divagations, and the teaching of the catechism is uncertain while Catholic schools are no longer specifically Catholic: they have become an extinct species…

For these reasons the Priestly Society of St. Pius X cannot sign an “agreement.” It definitely rejoices at the pope’s desire to reintroduce the ancient and venerable rite of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, yet it also observes the opposition— sometimes very tenacious—of entire bishops’ conferences. Without giving up hope and without impatience, we can see that the time for an agreement has not yet come. This does not prevent us from continuing to hope, nor from following the line of conduct defined in the year 2000. We are still asking the Holy Father to annul the 1988 decree of excommunication because we are convinced that this would be a boon for the Church, and we encourage you to pray for this to happen. But it would be very imprudent and hasty to dash off ill-advisedly in pursuit of a practical agreement that would not be based on the Church’s fundamental principles, and especially the faith.

The new Rosary Crusade we have invited you to join, to pray that the Church recover and resume her bimillennial Tradition, calls for some clarification. This is how we envision it: let everyone pledge to recite daily a rosary at a fairly fixed time of day. Given the number of our faithful and their distribution throughout the whole world, we can be assured that at every hour of the day and night prayerful voices will be ascending to heaven, voices earnestly praying for the triumph of their heavenly Mother and the coming of the reign of our Lord “on earth as it is in heaven.”

+ Bernard Fellay

Superior General

April 14, 2008

Footnotes

1 Interview, Jesus, November 1984, p. 72.

2 [Theological term meaning “that cannot be lost”—Translator’s note.]

On a spiritual level, the blessings from God to His children through the Mass are immeasurable. On a temporal level, the humanity altering results of the Mass cannot be denied nor overstated. Without its catalytic influence civilization of the world as we know it would not have been possible. It has seeded the conversion of countless souls to Christianity and has spawned literally every modern Christian service in existance. Its mystery and beauty has been the inspiration of artists, leaders, and saints great and small alike.

The Traditional Latin Mass of today is the traditional Latin Mass of yesterday. It has remained mostly unchanged since the Council of Trent five centuries ago and it is rich with history and culture. Certain elements are derived from Jewish customs dating back to before our Lord walked the earth. Other parts are the result of works of the Church fathers, saints and popes – such as Saint Gregory who insituted the Kyrie Eleison and the sacred chant during his papacy. The vestments, (the clothing the priest wears) have changed little since they were developed – mostly during Roman empire.

What has been described as “the most beautiful thing this side of heaven” continues as it always has. May God’s great blessings be with you and yours always.

“Some ask permission, as if this were some sort of concession or exception,” Cardinal Castrillon said. “But there is no need for that.”

The Colombian cardinal, whose Ecclesia Dei commission supervises the implementation of the motu proprio, said that “some practical difficulties” have delayed the worldwide acceptance of the motu proprio. But when questioned about the criticisms of that document expressed by some bishops, the cardinal said that it was “a controversy born from a lack of understanding.” He said that the Ecclesia Dei commission plans new efforts to educate the clergy about the liturgical norms in order to eliminate those misunderstandings.

When asked how the wider use of the older liturgy might affect relations with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Castrillon said that Summorum Pontificum could help to pave the way for a restoration of the traditionalist group to full communion with the Church.

However, the cardinal took pains to say that members of the SSPX are not separated from the Catholic Church. “The excommunication applied only to the four bishops,” he said. While the Mass celebrated at SSPX chapels is not licit, he said, it is unquestionably valid. “Certainly neither the priests nor the faithful are excommunicated,” he added. CWN

By Mary Shovlain

Six months after Benedict XVI issued an apostolic letter on the extended use of the 1962 missal, the Vatican says it is seeing fruits of reconciliation with Catholics who objected to the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

“Summorum Pontificum,” allows for more availability of the Latin-language Mass, a rite the document dubs the “extraordinary form.” The letter, issued “motu proprio” (on his own initiative), brought attention to the situation of schismatic groups such as the Society of St. Pius X, that refuse to celebrate the “Novus Ordo” Mass established by Vatican II.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos told ZENIT that after the June 7 document, one group has already asked to return to full communion with the Church.

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos, as the president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesiae Dei, is the Vatican official in charge of facilitating the return to full ecclesial communion of people linked to the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

“We have already received responses [to the letter],” Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos said. “Here in Rome we have a community that has asked to return and we have already begun mediating their full return.”

Requests, he continued, are coming in from around the world: “Many of the faithful have contacted us, written and called, to say they want full communion.”

Sewing unity

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos clarified the current status of members of the Society of St. Pius X due to excommunications issued by the Vatican to group members in 1988, in the wake of the schismatic gesture by Lefebvre of ordaining four bishops illicitly.

He explained: “The excommunications for the consecration done without the Pope’s permission affects only those bishops who carried out the consecration, and those bishops who received episcopal ordination in this illicit form in the Church, but it does not affect the priests or the faithful. Only those bishops are excommunicated.”

According to the Vatican prelate, what is needed now is “to sew back together the ecclesial fabric, because our brothers — I know them, I know some of the bishops even better — are all people of good will, people who want to be disciples of Jesus.”

“In this moment,” he continued, “with a little humility, with a little generosity, we can return to full communion, and the faithful want this because they do not want to participate in the rites when the priest is under suspension because the Church does not permit them to say Mass and absolve sins — so the faithful want this full return.”

Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos said he hoped that everyone involved will continue “to work with the Holy Father to sew back together this unity so that these good people can have the fullness of holiness that comes from union with the only Church of Christ, founded upon Peter and his Successors.”

Courtesy Zenit.org

       Phil. 4,4

Rejoice in the Lord always, 
Again I say, rejoice

       We are pleased to announce that Mass will be offered according to the rite of the Missale Romanum 1962 every third Sunday of the month at 3 o’clock in the afternoon at St. Margaret Mary Church, 35 Arch Street, Keene NH (near Keene High School) beginning December 16^th. There have been a good number of requests. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, issued a Motu Proprio in July that makes it possible for the celebration of the Mass in the extraordinary form. This in no way diminishes the celebration of the ordinary form in the vernacular. Both expressions of the liturgy have their beauty and spiritual value. Masses in the vernacular will continue as usual. Pope Benedict mentions the positive reason that motivated his decision: “It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the church.”

    He says in Motu Proprio…”In some regions no small numbers of the faithful adhered to and continue to adhere with great love and affection to the earlier liturgical forms.” It is difficult to know how many people will choose to attend the Mass. There are presently forty to fifty people very desirous of having the Mass according to the Missale Romanum. Now that plans are in place more people may express an interest.

   The reason for choosing St. Margaret Mary as the location for the Mass is that the high altar is still in place as it was prior to 1962 and the sanctuary floor where communicants will kneel is covered with carpeting. Some paperback missals will be provided so that those attending may follow the Mass, which will be celebrated entirely in Latin with the priest offering the prayers on behalf of the people while he faces the altar. Most of the prayers will be inaudible so the faithful are encouraged to follow with a missal.

There are certain disciplines on behalf of the people that are observed in

following the Mass according to the Missale Romanum:

• In the church proper silence is observed at all times before, during and after the Mass. There will be a reception downstairs in the parish hall following the Mass so that people can meet one another and visit over refreshments.
• It is expected that upon entering and leaving pews the faithful genuflect.
• There will be indications in the missal when to stand, sit or kneel.
• While in church, women wear a hat or veil. Men remove their hats.
• Only the servers make responses to the audible words of the priest.
• There is no clapping or other demonstrative expression.
• The entrance and recessional hymns are sung by the people (English or Latin).
• Holy Communion is received on the tongue while kneeling. The communicant does not answer the priest’s words to the communicant.
• The epistle and Gospel will be read in English after having been proclaimed by the priest in Latin. A homily will be delivered in English.
• The only time a microphone will be used is when the priest is in the pulpit. Therefore it is very helpful for the faithful to follow with their own missal or the paperback missal provided.

   Again, Mass according to the rite of the Missale Romanum 1962 will be offered on Gaudete Sunday, December 16, 2007 at 3:00 PM.

Very Rev. Daniel O. Lamothe

St. Bernard Parish
161 Main Street
Keene NH 03431