7/19/2023 0 Comments Latin mass finderBut it’s notable that in his decree Francis emphasized that bishops must determine that groups that continue to celebrate the old Mass “do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs.” (In asking Gregory to reconsider the cancellation of the Mass planned for August 14, the Paulus Institute said: “None of the allegations of disunity and division presented in Traditionis Custodes and in the accompanying letter to bishops can rightfully be said to apply to this pontifical Mass.”)Ĭriticism of post-Vatican II changes often has focused on cringe-inducing folk Masses celebrated by priests who aspired to grooviness rather than gravitas, or who engaged in annoying improvisation. Not all critics of the new Mass go that far. The organizers of the Mass considered the new rite to be invalid and reflective of Protestant theology. In 1972, as a cub reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, I reported on a somewhat ragtag traditional Latin Mass celebrated in a downtown hotel without the approval of local Catholic authorities. Resistance to the new Mass isn’t new it began soon after Pope Paul VI approved new liturgical books in 1970. Another leading expert on the liturgy, Thomas O’Loughlin, professor emeritus of historical theology at the University of Nottingham in England, said that the old rite was defective in text, in practice, and in theology. Baldovin, a Jesuit priest and professor of historical and liturgical theology at the Boston College School of Theology and Ministry has written: “The reformed liturgy does represent a radical shift in Catholic piety and theology” (but not, he added, a departure from orthodox Catholic doctrine). ![]() The important debate is about theology.Īs John F. The pope’s dramatic reversal of a ruling by a still-living predecessor has itself divided Catholics-including, inevitably, on Twitter ( #TraditionisCustodes )-and it’s good copy even for secular journalists fascinated by conflict and power plays. But the controversy shouldn’t be framed as a debate about Latin (the post-1970 ne w Mass can be celebrated in that language), aesthetics or a Catholic generation gap. ![]() In a letter to the world’s Catholic bishops, Francis said that concessions by Benedict and Pope John Paul II to supporters of the old rite had been “exploited to widen the gaps, reinforce the divergences, and encourage disagreements that injure the Church, block her path and expose her to the peril of division.” The pope said he acted on the basis of responses to a questionnaire sent to the world’s bishops. The document also said that priests ordained after its publication would have to seek permission to celebrate the old Mass from their bishops, who would then have to consult with Rome. Archbishop Thomas Gullickson, an American prelate and retired Vatican diplomat, would celebrate a pontifical solemn Mass in the traditional Roman Rite at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the eve of the feast day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rite would have been televised by the EWTN network.īut according to the Paulus Institute, the group that organized the event, Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, withdrew permission for the rite in light of a July 16 directive by Pope Francis placing limits on the old Mass. (The archdiocese’s communications staff didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment.)įrancis’ apostolic letter “ Traditionis Custodes” reversed a 2007 directive by Pope Benedict XVI that allowed priests to celebrate the pre-1970 Latin Mass even without the approval of a local bishop. ![]() August 14 was to have been a memorable occasion for Catholics in the Washington, D.C., area who are devoted to the Latin Mass as it was celebrated before liturgical reforms that grew out of the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s.
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