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For the better part of five years, plenty of experts on Catholic liturgy have been waiting for the "real" agenda of Pope Benedict XVI, known as a traditionalist on matters of worship, to emerge from beneath a façade of patience seemingly built on dropping hints rather than imposing sweeping new rules. Now, however, the pope's own liturgist insists that the patient façade is actually the agenda. One month ago, that papal liturgist, Msgr. Guido Marini, sparked wide debate with his public call for a "reform of the reform," suggesting to some a desire to roll back the clock on liturgical reforms associated with the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). However, Marini insists that no such rollback is underway, and no dramatic new rules are in the works.
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In a series of responses to questions from a Polish diocese, the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has ruled that parishes may replace a normal Sunday Mass with one celebrated in the 'Extraordinary' or Tridentine form. The questions from the diocese of Rzeszow, Poland concerned the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, New Liturgical Movement reports. The answers, however, are applicable generally, NLM says.
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To mark the fifth anniversary of the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI, a traditional Latin Mass will be celebrated at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. The Pontifical Solemn High Mass will be celebrated on April 24 at 1 p.m. by Cardinal Dar'o Castrill-n Hoyos of Colombia. The cardinal is president emeritus of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which facilitates the use of the Mass in the "Extraordinary Form." The Mass is sponsored by the Washington, D.C.-based Paulus Institute for "the unity of the entire Catholic community." According to the Paulus Institute, the Tridentine Mass will be the first such Mass said at the Shrine's High Altar in nearly 45 years.
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During the debates of the Second Vatican Council one prelate after another addressed the Fathers of the Council in fluent Latin. That they did so is hardly surprising, for Latin remained the living language of the Roman Catholic Church. What may be surprising, however, is their collective level of fluency. The European prelates in particular displayed in their speeches and lively discussions a near-native mastery of Latin that would have been the envy of Renaissance humanists living five hundred years previously. Among the issues the Council Fathers debated in Latin was the introduction of vernacular languages into the Mass. When they ultimately decided to endorse the use of the vernacular in the Mass it doubtless never occurred to them that the facility in Latin that they took for granted-Latin, after all, was an integral part of their own intellectual patrimony and would remain the official language of the Church-would largely disappear within half a century.
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The Rev. Arnaud Devillers believes there are probably still some Catholics in Quincy who are unfamiliar with what is going on at St. Rose of Lima Church since it reopened last November. St. Rose, which was closed for two years as a part of local Catholic downsizing, is where the traditional Latin Mass has been celebrated since its reopening. Sunday will mark the one-year anniversary of the return of the Tridentine Mass to the city. "This is not something outside of the church," Devillers said. "Everyone is welcome. No special permission is needed. We work closely with all of the other (local Catholic) pastors." Devillers said a congregation of about 200 gathers at either 8 a.m. or 11 a.m. on Sundays and about 40 at 12:10 p.m. each weekday at 12:10 p.m. for the Latin Mass. He estimates about 80 percent are from Quincy-area parishes and the rest mostly from Northeast Missouri, with a handful of regulars from Jacksonville and sometimes St. Louis.
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In an interview with the Chilean daily, "El Mercurio," the Superior General of the Society of St. Pius X, Bernard Fellay, acknowledged that the Vatican is considering the possibility of converting the Lefebvrist group into a personal prelature as part of the discussions aimed at bringing about reconciliation. Fellay, who visited members of the SSPX movement in Chile, is one of four bishops whose excommunication was lifted by Pope Benedict XVI last January. Asked about the speculation that the Society of Pius X could be made into a personal prelature similar to Opus Dei, Fellay responded, "There is a lot of truth to that. I think the Vatican is moving towards that kind of canonical solution."
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The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which was recently incorporated into the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, has announced the publication of two DVDs to help "priests and the community" celebrate Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Latin Rite. The two DVDs include an entire Mass celebrated by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos-until recently the president of the Commission-at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in 2003. The discs also feature segments explaining in detail the "gestures and rubrics, from the preparatio ad missam (preparation before Mass) to the act of thanksgiving in the sacristy."
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Pope Benedict XVI has placed the commission responsible for relations with traditionalist Catholics under the authority of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. With a brief apostolic letter issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative), Pope Benedict said he wanted to "demonstrate paternal care toward the Society of St. Pius X," founded by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, so members could return to full communion with the church. The apostolic letter, dated July 2 and published July 8, was titled "Ecclesiae Unitatem" ("The Unity of the Church"). In a brief note published separately, Pope Benedict accepted the resignation of 80-year-old Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos as president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei," which since 1988 has been charged with outreach to the Society of St. Pius X and assistance to Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II liturgy.
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Early on a Saturday morning under the watchful gaze of archangels and the Gospel writers in a darkened church, a voice intones Hail Marys and Our Fathers with measured responses from a smattering across the church. Worshipers cross themselves with holy water and gather missals while some women pluck mantillas - lace head scarves - from a box sitting on a radiator. Altar servers, dressed in black cassocks and white surplices, ready the altar, pausing to genuflect ramrod-straight each time they pass in front of the tabernacle. At precisely 7 a.m., the lights burst on at Blessed Sacrament, the bells chime and the Rev. Arnaud Devillers, flanked by the servers, comes out and heads immediately to the back altar near the tabernacle. Kneeling, with his back toward the congregation, he begins: "In nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen."
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The hum of low-pitched voices is soothing. "Me ma ma ooh moo" sounds come from voices warming up. A Gregorian chant choir practices in the choir loft of Holy Cross Catholic Church every Monday night. The chanting, in Latin without musical accompaniment, began with monks. Songs were learned orally to accompany Catholic Masses and other ritualistic Christian services in the western world. It first was notated in the 10th century. "I do this because of the beauty of it," says Nicholas Haggin, the director who started the local choir called Schola Cantorum in fall 2005. "I know that the same music I am singing was sung generations before and generations before that back in the 9th century."
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As I reported last night, the Latin Mass Society has been forced by the Cardinal to rescind its invitation to Archbishop Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura and one of Benedict XVI's right-hand men, to celebrate its annual Mass. A spokesman has just told me: "In accordance with Canon 838, it is the Cardinal who lays down in the church entrusted to his care the liturgical regulations which are binding on all." Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor was keen to have one of his own auxiliaries say the Mass, and Bishop John Arnold will now do so, he added. Archbishop Burke "is welcome to attend", but "it wasn't really the position of the Latin Mass Society to invite him in the first place".
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Fr. Joseph R Valentine FSSP and Chaplain for the Latin Mass Community of the Catholic Diocese of Joliet IL has launched a new web site with Mass schedules. At the invitation of Bishop J. Peter Sartain, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will coordinate the efforts of traditional Catholics in the Joliet Diocese who prefer the Tridentine Latin Mass. Daily Masses are offered at Sts. Peter and Paul parish in downtown Naperville, Illinois, and a Sunday noon Mass is offered at St. Bernard's in Joliet, IL. For information, see the LMCJ website at www.jolietlatin.org
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"Based in the faculty expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present Decree, I remit to Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of latae sententiae excommunication declared by this Congregation on July 1, 1988, while I declare deprived of any juridical effect, from the present date, the Decree emanated at that date." (CCI NOTES: For those of you who are following the discussions between the Vatican and SSPX, this recent development is of enormous consequence to Catholics who support the Tridentine Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Mass.)
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Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday warned of the danger of a growing split among Catholics over the use of the old, traditional form of Latin Mass. He told French bishops that faithful should be made to feel at home in their Church, whether they yearn for a return of the ancient tongue or want to stick to modern languages at religious ceremonies. The controversy is a particularly sensitive one for the Church in France, where there is a strong following for the late French churchman Marcel Lefebvre, a renegade archbishop who rebelled against Vatican modernizing reforms of the 1960s, including replacing Latin with local languages at Mass. (9/15/08)
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EN ROUTE TO PARIS, SEPT. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- An allowance for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal is in no way a return to the past, but rather an expression of pastoral concern, says Benedict XVI. 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.
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I'm at the summer school of the Latin Mass Society which - to the delight of the conservative Pope Benedict XVI and the dismay of trendy British bishops - is teaching priests how to say the Tridentine mass. The last time Merton chapel regularly witnessed this sort of complex liturgy was in the 1540s, before the Protestant reformers pulled out much of the stained glass and toppled the statues of saints. The organi-sers of the summer school are reformers, too, but their aim is precisely the opposite: to restore Latin services and rich furnishings to their own Catholic parish churches, many of which were stripped bare by modernisers after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s. What makes this summer school rather controversial is that most of the bishops of England and Wales disapprove of the return of the Latin mass, regarding its sonorous Latin prayers and intricate gestures as a relic of the Middle Ages.
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"If you go back and read Summorum Pontificum, I don't think it was the intention of the Holy Father nor was it spelled out as to the meaning of mutual enrichment in either of the rites. I think we also could to some extent be slipping into a "spirit of Summorum Pontificum" similar to "the spirit of Vatican II" by taking liberties and making certain changes with regard to the rubrics in one direction or the other as something that was allowed or was intended or even the "vision" of the Holy Father. Some liturgical "experts" like to think that this whole thing is ultimately about creating one rite way down the road. But I think that if you understand that one of the primary principles of the liturgy is to be subservient to the liturgy-not that it is something that is your own, but you being obedient to the liturgy and to the prayer of the Church, not your individual prayers, but the prayer of the Church. What that involves is following the rubrics and the guidelines as they are written."
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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. In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT, he spoke about new interest in the traditional Latin Mass and various concerns raised regarding "Summorum Pontificum."
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Has the Society of Saint Pius X really refused Rome's invitation to return to full communion with the Church? Last month, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Ecclesia Dei commission, the Vatican office that that oversees the reintroduction of the Latin Mass, sent a letter to Bishop Bernard Fellay, head of the Society of Saint Pius X, laying out five conditions the society had to meet before it could resume communion with Rome. In a homily given June 20, Fellay seemed to say that the society had rejected those conditions.
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The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said it met the Vatican's deadline to respond to a memo outlining preliminary conditions for full reconciliation with the rest of the Catholic Church. However, a statement released by the Swiss-based society July 1 implied that the traditionalist group did not accept all the conditions set out in the letter, and it appealed to Pope Benedict XVI to lift the 1988 decree of excommunication against the society's bishops who were ordained without papal permission. The Vatican press office said July 3 that it did not plan to comment on the statement.
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The traditionalist Society of St. Pius X said it met the Vatican's deadline to respond to a memo outlining preliminary conditions for full reconciliation with the rest of the Catholic Church. However, a statement released by the Swiss-based society July 1 implied that the traditionalist group did not accept all the conditions set out in the letter, and it appealed to Pope Benedict XVI to lift the 1988 decree of excommunication against the society's bishops who were ordained without papal permission. The Vatican press office said July 3 that it did not plan to comment on the statement.
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It has just been released in the media that on June 4, 2008, the Vatican's Cardinal Castrill-n Hoyos issued what has been called an "ultimatum" to the Society of St. Pius X regarding regularization. The Cardinal's letter listed five points that the Vatican expects the SSPX to accept, which are quoted below verbatim...
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The saying of Mass in Latin has been promoted by the current Pope The Roman Catholic Church, for centuries a bastion of Latin usage, has given the ancient tongue a 21st Century boost by launching a website in Latin. The Vatican website now has a section - Sancta Sedes (Holy See) - with Latin papal texts and religious works. Pope Benedict XVI is an advocate of Latin, allowing Mass in the language. But when a papal decree was issued only in Latin by mistake last June, there was confusion until the Vatican press office put out an Italian version.
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In a stunning press conference given in England during his visit to that country, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, said that, according to the Telegraph, all seminaries must teach priests to say the Mass according to the Extraordinary Form. Additionally, he said that this Mass will return to every parish.
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Hailing from all over the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Lithuania, Italy, and the Philippines, the participating priests and seminarians stayed at the campus of Mundelein Seminary to attend a hands-on workshop on the celebration of the extraordinary form of the Mass of the Roman rite held at the Cardinal Stritch Retreat House. In a letter to those who attended the event, Cardinal George said: "Charged with proclaiming Christ's universal call to holiness, the Church wishes to foster a love for the sacred whenever her people gather to worship God as he wants to be worshiped. In order to better serve Catholics who wish to worship according to the 'forma extraordinaria,' ample and ongoing catechesis in this form of the Mass must be available. This can only be achieved if, first of all, priest and seminarians are prepared to serve this need."
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Pope Benedict XVI's outreach to traditionalist Catholics by liberalizing the use of the Tridentine Mass already is bearing fruit, said Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos. The cardinal, president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei," which coordinates care for traditionalist Catholics, said that thanks to the pope's action "not a few have asked to return to full communion, and some already have returned." In an interview published in the March 28 edition of L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, Cardinal Castrillon said the Oasis of Jesus the Priest monastery of 30 cloistered nuns in Spain "has already been recognized and regularized" by his office and "there are cases of American, German and French groups" who have begun the process.
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The permission to celebrate the Mass of Blessed John XXIII without any restrictions is a celebrated reality in the Catholic Church. Since Benedict XVI announced the unfettered permission for the restored celebration of this liturgy as the Extraordinary form for the celebration of the Eucharist there has been no celebration of this form by the Holy Father at Saint Peters in Vatican City. There are always media reports about how well this permission has been received by Catholics throughout the world. Many consider this movement as one that restores a sense of Catholic identity and unity throughout the world. Well, with that being said: Holy Father celebrate this rite at the Papal Altar in Saint Peters. There can be no better illustration of the continuity of the sacred liturgy than to have the Bishop of Rome celebrate the Mass of Blessed John XXIII within the center of Catholic worship and government.
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With World Youth Day 2008 approaching fast, many Catholic youth groups are gearing up for the trip to Australia and the chance to meet other young Catholics from all over the world - as well as the Holy Father. The International Juventutem Federation is among those going to Sydney, and has planned an extensive two-week program showcasing the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (also known as the "Latin" or "Tridentine" Mass). In 2007, Pope Benedict issued a new document that liberalized the use of this rite in the Church, entitled "Summorum Pontificum." The Juventutem pilgrims are eager to show their appreciation for this momentous pronouncement through their program at WYD 2008. Juventutem is comprised of young Catholics from all over the world who have found the rich traditions of the Church to be a source of joy and grace in their lives.
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The Parish Priest of Saint-Eugène, one of the few Parishes in which the Traditional Mass is celebrated in the Archdiocese of Paris, announced today at the end of the Solemn Easter Mass that the Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Vingt-Trois, has already decided to hold a Solemn Mass in the Ancient Use of the Roman Rite in one of the greatest buildings in Christendom, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of Paris (Notre-Dame de Paris). The Mass will be celebrated in June, in a specific day to be defined soon. This turn of events seemed very unlikely, if not impossible, one year ago, before the publication of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum: thank you, o God, cuius antiqua miracula etiam nostris saeculis coruscare sentimus!
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Since Benedict XVI has said that the Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII should be available to those who prefer it, seminarians should be taught to say it, says Cardinal Justin Rigali. The Pope clarified in his apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum" that there are two forms of the liturgy in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church: ordinary and extraordinary. To learn what some bishops are doing to implement the document in seminaries, ZENIT spoke with Cardinal Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia, about his plans to introduce seminarians at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary to the extraordinary form of the Mass.
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Recently Sister Marcella, MC, the Regional Superior of the Missionaries of Charity in the North America, asked the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius to provide instruction in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite for the superiors of the houses of the Missionaries of Charity in the United States. On March 12, 2008, these sisters visited the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius for a day of lectures and discussion. Fr. Scott Haynes, SJC, gave various talks throughout the day on the history, spirituality and mystical theology of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form.
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In an article in the Washington Post (Nov. 24, 2007) titled "Latin Makes a Comeback: Young Catholics Are Leading a Resurgence of the Traditional Mass," Jacqueline L. Salmon writes that the Tridentine Latin Mass is "catching on among young Catholics.... it is a hit with younger priests and their parishioners." Salmon quotes Ken Wolfe, 34 years of age: "It's the opposite of the cacophony that comes with the [modern] Mass. There's no guitars and handshaking and breaks in the Mass where people talk to each other. [The Tridentine Mass] is a very serious liturgy." Salmon writes: "Attendance at the Sunday noon Mass at St. John the Beloved in McLean [Va.] has doubled to 400 people since it began celebrating in Latin. Most of the worshipers are under 40, said the Rev. Franklyn McAfee. Younger parishioners 'are more reflective,' McAfee said. 'They want something uplifting when they go to church. They don't want something they can get outside.'"
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These few considerations already can help to reveal the wisdom of the Vicar of Christ on Earth in his recent initiative to enhance the liturgical life of Holy Mother Church. There is nothing dusty or retrograde about it at all. On the contrary, the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum has given us yet another possibility to follow the great Saints and to become immersed in the streams of grace flowing from the heart of our Redeemer through the Liturgy that His mystical Spouse celebrates daily for the greater glory of the Triune God.
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When Pope Benedict XVI loosened restrictions on celebration of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass last July, Notre Dame University's campus ministry immediately began planning how to implement the change. Notre Dame is just one of a number of Catholic colleges and universities that viewed the Pope's July 7, 2007, Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum as a signal that the form of the Mass dating to 1570 should be available on their campuses. Others, such as Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York, began offering the Mass of Blessed John XXIII at the behest of students. "It's actually been a lot of fun to work with," said Brett Perkins, Notre Dame's campus ministry coordinator of the Mass of Blessed John XXIII, as the older liturgy is now also known. Campus ministry staff spent the summer ordering English-Latin missalettes, buying vestments, and training priests in the rubrics and language of the traditional Mass.
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A former Vatican official will ordain four traditionalist priests in a Tridentine Mass celebrated in the cathedral of Rome, church officials said. The Feb. 23 ordination Mass in the Basilica of St. John Lateran will be the most prominent celebration of the old rite in Rome since Pope Benedict XVI relaxed restrictions on its use last year. The Mass, to be celebrated by Archbishop Luigi De Magistris, will follow the 1962 Roman Missal, known commonly as the Tridentine rite. In July 2007 the pope issued new rules, saying the old rite could be used much more freely than before.
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Pope Benedict celebrated parts of Sunday's Mass with his back turned on the congregation, re-introducing an old ritual that had not been used in decades. The Pope used the Sistine Chapel's ancient altar set right against the wall under Michelangelo's dramatic depiction of the Last Judgment, instead of the altar placed on a mobile platform that allowed his predecessor John Paul II to face the faithful. A statement by the Vatican's office for liturgical celebrations said it had been decided to use the old altar, where ballots are placed during papal elections, to respect "the beauty and the harmony of this architectonic jewel."
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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.
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A youth movement for Catholics devoted to the classical form of the Roman liturgy is planning to attend World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. Juventutem derives its name from a Latin word for "youth" and is a multi-national organization dedicated to the daily sanctification of young Catholics through traditional devotions and liturgy. Pope Benedict has recently advocated a wider use of the Latin Mass in the Church in his papal letter "Summorum Pontificum," and devotion to this "extraordinary rite" of the Roman liturgy is growing. One of the most surprising news stories to come out of World Youth Day 2005 in Cologne, Germany was the presence there of a group of young Catholics, numbering some 1000-strong, who were worshipping God using some of the oldest rites in the Catholic Church -- including the Tridentine (or "Latin") Mass.
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The Vatican has begun drafting a document to elaborate on Pope Benedict's recent liberalization of the old Latin Mass because some bishops are either ignoring his move or misinterpreting it, Vatican officials said. The Vatican's No. 2, Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, said in comments published Thursday that the Vatican would be issuing an "instruction" on how to put the Pope's document into practice, since there had been what he called some "uneven" reactions to it since it went into effect last year.
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On Saturday, December 29th, 2007, His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, visited the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest in Chicago to crown the statue of the Divine Infant King in a solemn ceremony. He then assisted and preached at a Solemn High Mass celebrated by Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. The event took place in the church building, which was beautifully prepared for the occasion, though its interior still must be restored. Local faithful and pilgrims from near and far, such as Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Florida, California, New Jersey, and other areas, filled the church to capacity.
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When Pope Benedict XVI eased rules earlier this year to allow wider use of the Latin mass, Rev. Anthony Brankin of St. Odilo Roman Catholic Church in Berwyn felt compelled to bring the tradition back. Before becoming pastor of St. Odilo in March 2006, Brankin said the old Tridentine mass at St. Thomas More Church in Chicago for 15 years, drawing older parishioners and also some young fans who described the service as "awesome." In the Tridentine mass, the prayers are chanted in Latin and the priest faces the altar, with his back to the congregation. But would they come to Latin mass at St. Odilo? Brankin wasn't sure.
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In a recent address to the bishops and priests of St. Peter's, Pope Benedict called for a greater "continuity with tradition" in the music of the Church, and spoke of the value of the Church's older musical traditions, among them the baroque sacred music of the 17th and 18th centuries and Gregorian Chant. The address followed the pope's issuance, in July, of an Apostolic Letter (accompanying letter in English here) in which he permitted broader use of the Latin Mass, the "Tridentine" rite authorized by the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century and promulgated most recently by John XXIII in 1962. The pope's pronouncements were received with skepticism by those who regard his views on sacred music, like his sympathy for the Latin Mass, as so much reactionary old-fogeyism. But neither the pope's critics nor even many of his supporters appear to have grasped what His Holiness is up to.
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It occurred to me that the (Latin Mass) magazine might very well consider publishing a continuing feature in every issue, listing those dioceses and parishes where the Tridentine Mass may be heard in the U.S. It would also be interesting to read more about those "forces of opposition," particularly episcopal, who see fit to resist a "Latin Mass restoration" within their own jurisdiction.
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Gregorian chant has persisted for more than a thousand years, but some fear the haunting melodies are in danger of fading away. That is, unless Stanford Professor William Mahrt has a voice in the matter. For the past 44 years, this musician and scholar has directed a choir to keep alive the medieval Catholic tradition he believes is a pathway to the sacred and divine. "When you sing it beautifully and when it really works, there's an absolute still in the church," he said. "That's the kind of silence that's fruitful and it represents a kind of self-awareness that is also aware of the wider realities, and that kind of silence is where you have your best opportunity to speak to God and to listen to God."
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When the Archdiocese of Chicago announced a few years ago that St.Gelasius Church in the Woodlawn neighborhood was being demolished, many people fought back -- neighbors, preservationists and even the mayor. The stone edifice was spared. The parish no longer exists but the building is slowly being resurrected as a Catholic shrine. Historic St. Gelasius Roman Catholic Church is one of the Woodlawn areas most prominent structures. Designed by the famous religious architect Henry J. Schlacks a disciple of master architect Louis Sullivan. It's also the American headquarters of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a community of priests and brothers dedicated to the Tridentine Latin mass.
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"I suppose I would put it this way: Pope Benedict just wrote to us bishops a letter not long ago about the permission for the Traditional Latin Mass. He said, 'I know some of you bishops have agonized year after year about whether or not to permit this,' and I've been one of those. I was the only bishop in Wisconsin who did not permit the Traditional Latin Mass for what I thought were good reasons. And the Pope wrote and said, 'I want to relieve you of the responsibility of all of that prudential pondering, so I'm making the decision.' He saw that as a service, and I accepted it as a service. I was the only bishop in Wisconsin not to permit the Traditional Latin Mass, and now, in obedience, I will be the first bishop in Wisconsin to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass."
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Catholic Citizens of Illinois invites you to join us for a timely and informative discussion by Msgr. Schmitz of the Institute of Christ the King . CCI's monthly luncheon forums are held on the second Friday of every month, from 11:45 AM To 01:30 PM, at a new location, the Union League Club 65 W Jackson Blvd, Chicago, 60604 - (312) 427-7800. Ticket price includes for a full course meal, and are $30.00. Reservations required. Call Maureen at 708-352-5834. The public is welcome.
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Since 1970 groups of the faithful in many dioceses have asked the Bishop for a regular Latin Mass and have been denied. In 1984 and then again in 1988 Pope John Paul II tried to solve the problem and asked the Bishops to be "generous" in granting permission for the use of the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII. Some Bishops did grant permission, but is was often restricted to once a month or in a remote part of the diocese that was difficult to reach. In San Diego it was relegated to a Mausoleum. The new legislation restores the traditional Latin Mass to the status it had for 1500 years. It is now on the same level as the Novus Ordo liturgy. Benedict XVI has decreed that there is one Latin Rite with two forms -- Ordinary and Extraordinary. What many call the English Mass is now the Ordinary form of the Latin Rite, and the traditional Latin Mass is the Extraordinary form. Every priest can use either form and from now on does not need the Bishop's permission.
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On Thursday, November 29th, an awed group of pilgrims from the United States, joined by a contingent of Mexicans from different parts of their country, assisted at an event of deep significance. On that day, at 8:00 am, a High Mass in the Classical Latin form was offered at the High Altar of the impressive 17th-century Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City. Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King, celebrated the votive High Mass to Christ the King, assisted by members of the group from America, who had come on a pilgrimage led by the Institute of Christ the King to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Music for the High Mass was supplied by the organist of the cathedral who aptly accompanied the liturgy from the massive Spanish-style organ, even while this was his first experience of the Mass of Ages. The event was facilitated by members of Una Voce Mexico, the dean of the cathedral, Father Ruben Avila. Following the Mass, the major sacristan, Father Francisco Becerra, commented that the Traditional Latin Mass could now possibly be offered on a weekly basis at the cathedral.
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Before writing a letter, take some time to find out who in your parish may be interested in attending the traditional Latin Mass. Additionally, you should talk to any priest you may know who is interested in celebrating the Tridentine Mass. Depending on the situation, you could talk with your pastor directly and offer an informal request for the celebration of the Tridentine Mass in your parish. This could avoid the need to write any letters. A friendly dialogue with your pastor is preferred to a formal letter writing campaign. If your pastor will respond better to a more formal approach you should write first to your pastor, not to your bishop. Write to the pastor of the parish where you are registered. If you are not registered at a parish, I suggest you register at the parish in whose territory you live, before writing to him. Registering at a parish does not obligate you to attend there every week.
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We are often told that the Church has to modernise, because the young, especially, can no longer relate to its teachings. It is sometimes even suggested that we should be grateful for a decline in vocations to priesthood: could this not be a sign from the Holy Spirit that the age of the laity is finally dawning? This eagerness to make a virtue out of a necessity finds its most radical conclusion in a booklet entitled Church and Ministry published in the Netherlands by a group of Dominican academics. One of them, Fr Andre Lascaris, recently explained his thesis in the Tablet. Numbers of vocations to the priesthood in Holland are plummeting, and according to Fr Lascaris there is "no hope of a remedy for this situation". Apart from his own remedy, of course. His proposal is clear and simple: "In the absence of ordained priests, lay persons should be allowed to celebrate the Eucharist." He adds: "Whether they be men or women, homo or heterosexual, married or unmarried, is irrelevant."
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IT SHOULD BE CLEARLY UNDERSTOOD BY ALL THAT THE EDITION OF THE 1962 MISSAL PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1964 IS IDENTICAL TO THE EDITIO TYPICA OF THE MISSAL PUBLISHED IN 1962 IN EVERY RESPECT EXCEPT THAT THE PARTS OF THE MASS ENUMERATED ABOVE a) THROUGH g) ARE IN ENGLISH INSTEAD OF LATIN. ALL RUBRICS, ALL PRAYERS, ALL OTHER TEXTS ARE IDENTICAL IN BOTH THE 1962 AND THE 1964 EDITIONS OF THE MISSAL OF BLESSED POPE JOHN XXIII. The use of the vernacular (English) in the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass is therefore legitimate and is clearly in keeping with the mind of the Second Vatican Council and Pope Benedict XVI.
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liturgy, something is afoot in the life of the Church. By the second year of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate, that's exactly what happened. The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, U.S. News and World Report -- the subject was everywhere. The reason for all this attention was the pope's long-awaited motu proprio that would make the traditional Latin Mass of the pre-conciliar Church (or the 1962 Missal) more widely available. That used to be considered a dangerous idea. It's now mainstream. The consensus today -- which echoes the conclusion of a blue-ribbon commission of cardinals in 1986 -- is that although Pope Paul VI had devoutly wished that the new missal would supplant the old, no action officially suppressing the traditional liturgy was ever taken, and thus the old missal, even if largely eclipsed in practice, has continued to be a living part of the Church these past four decades.
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Your Excellency, how has Benedict XVI´s motu proprio which liberalized the Holy Mass according to the Tridentine Rite been received? Some, in the bosom of the Church itself, have turned their noses... "There have been positive reactions and, it is useless to deny it, criticisms and opposition , even from theologians, liturgists, priests, Bishops, and even Cardinals. I frankly do not understand these rifts, and, why not [say it], rebellion towards the Pope. I invite all, particularly the Shepherds, to obey the Pope, who is the Successor of Peter. The Bishops, in particular, have sworn fidelity to the Pontiff: may they be coherent and faithful to their commitment."
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Cardinal George Pell will be the first archbishop in the Sydney Archdiocese in 40 years to celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, reports the Oriens Foundation. The archbishop of Sydney will preside Saturday at a Mass said in the extraordinary form at St. Mary's Cathedral. The event is a celebration on the occasion of Benedict XVI's apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum," published in July. The letter, issued "motu proprio," on one's own initiative, explained new norms allowing for the use of the 1962 missal as an extraordinary form of the liturgical celebration. The norms took effect Sept. 14.
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"People go to the old Mass to pray to God," says the Rev. James Fryar, after the recently added Latin Mass at St. Agnes Chapel in Naples. "People go to the new Mass with more of an orientation on a 'myself' sort of thing. 'What I understand, what I get out of Mass, how I can participate more.' There is a certain amount of participation in the old Mass as well. ... But it's more oriented towards God." Treacy Gibbens switched from attending Sunday Mass at St. Williams Parish in Naples to the Latin liturgy this summer. "There are fewer distractions," he says. "You can really pray. I love it." Born in 1923, Gibbens grew up with this Mass. As the director of the local chapter of Una Voce, an organization devoted to the promulgation of the Latin Mass, he is pleased with its addition to the schedule at St. Agnes.
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For those of you interested in the monkey-business of the left-of-center American Church, Father Z's blog is a source encouragement and astounding information. FZ reports "a well-substantiated rumor has it that a petition for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum bearing 155 names of students and faculty has been denied by the plenary council of T.O.R friars on the grounds that the motu proprio does not apply to Catholic universities. You can certainly see what the implications are. Keep this one on your radar; it's going to be huge." Huge indeed.
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A triduum of Solemn High Requiem Masses will be celebrated for the Souls in Purgatory in the Extraordinary Form (Latin Traditional) at St. Odilo Parish, the National Shrine of the Poor Souls, 2244 East Avenue, Berwyn Illinois. These Tridentine Masses will be celebrated at 7 pm the first three Tuesdays in November, November 6th, 13th, 20th. Fr. Anthony Brankin, Pastor of St. Odilo Parish, will be the Celebrant of these Solemn High Masses. He will be joined by the Frs. Ryszard Gron and Adam Galek.
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When the priest goes to the foot of the Altar Jesus enters the garden: O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, Who wast pleased voluntarily to endure mortal terror and anguish at the view of Thine approaching passion, give me grace henceforth to consecrate all my sorrows to Thee. O God of my heart! Assist me to support my trials in union with Thine agony, that through the merits of Thy Passion they may become profitable to my soul.
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"In the beauty of the liturgy, [...] wherever we join in singing, praising, exalting and worshipping God, a little bit of heaven will become present on earth. Truly it would not be presumptuous to say that, in a liturgy completely centred on God, we can see, in its rituals and chant, an image of eternity. [...] In all our efforts on behalf of the liturgy, the determining factor must always be our looking to God. We stand before God - he speaks to us and we speak to him. Whenever in our thinking we are only concerned about making the liturgy attractive, interesting and beautiful, the battle is already lost. Either it is Opus Dei, with God as its specific subject, or it is not. In the light of this, I ask you to celebrate the sacred liturgy with your gaze fixed on God within the communion of saints, the living Church of every time and place, so that it will truly be an expression of the sublime beauty of the God who has called men and women to be his friends."
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On Wednesday, September 26th, at 8:00 pm ET (1:00 am GMT, September 27th) Msgr. R. Michael Schmitz, Vicar General of the Institute of Christ the King, and classical architect William Heyer will be on EWTN Live discussing the restoration of the Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a historic landmark entrusted by the Archdiocese of Chicago to the care of the Institute of Christ the King. EWTN, the Global Catholic Network, can be viewed online at www.ewtn.com in streaming video.
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It is September 14, 2007, 0000 Rome time (midnight), as the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum gradually goes into effect around the world. Cardinal Castrill-n Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", has some words on the main document of the current pontificate in an interview to Radio Vaticana (Zenit translation, adapted) on the true meaning of the pontifical document...
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Recently it was reported on the NLM that Holy Apostles Seminary has introduced a weekly Mass in accordance with the usus antiquior. In addition to that seminary, Kenrick Seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Louis is also offering Holy Mass in Latin weekly, alternating between the Missal of Pope Paul VI and the Missal of Blessed John XXIII. (Mass is also celebrated in Spanish weekly to prepare the seminarians to meet the needs of the growing number of Hispanic faithful.) In light of the recent Motu Proprio, the seminary desided to expand the its use of liturgical Latin and to integrate the classical liturgy in the liturgical life of the seminary.
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On Friday, September 14th, at 8:00 PM, The World Over Live program will have host Raymond Arroyo talking with the Most Rev. Raymond L. Burke of St. Louis, Missouri about the Motu Proprio issued by Pope Benedict XVI. Archbishop Burke was one of two American Bishops personally invited to Rome by Pope Benedict XVI for a briefing on the Motu Proprio before its release. He will share his thoughts on that meeting and take questions from EWTN viewers.
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According to Blaise Schweitzer of The Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY - July 20, 2007), Doubleday Publications has offered a proposal to Pope Benedict XVI to co-author a book with Rabbi Jacob Neusner, author of the 1993 book, A Rabbi Talks with Jesus: Rabbi Jacob Neusner of Rhinebeck has been an internationally sought news source lately, mostly because of the attention paid to him in Pope Benedict XVI's current book, "Jesus of Nazareth." By extensively weighing and debating Neusner's analysis of Jesus' life in the book, the pope triggered a flurry of interview requests and additional writing assignments for Neusner.
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By the time you read this, my wife and I will be in England on one of our twice-yearly visits. We look forward to Sundays in London, because it's when we worship at the Brompton Oratory, a vast baroque basilica built by John Henry Newman, the Victorian Anglican priest convert who became a Catholic cardinal. Considering that the Younts are Quakers rather than Catholics, what is it that attracts us? It is the Oratory's Sunday 11 o'clock Solemn High Mass, featuring three priests, a choir singing Mozart, a brilliant sermon, plus the "smells and bells" associated with traditional worship. Mass is conducted in Latin. We are not alone in being attracted. The church is always packed to overflowing with domestic Roman Catholics, not just curious tourists like ourselves. In passing, it's worth noting that England still has an established church of which the monarch is head. The monarch is neither permitted to be a Catholic nor to marry one. The recently-retired prime minister, Tony Blair, respected this prohibition while in office, although (as a crypto-Catholic) he attended Mass with his Catholic wife and sent his children to Catholic schools.
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With his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has reminded Catholics that the treasures found in the older form of the liturgy are open to all to know and cherish. The Shrine of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will be holding a "Forty Hours' Devotion" in thanksgiving for this great grace that the Holy Father has given us, beginning on the date in which the motu proprio will come into effect, September 14th. The triduum of Masses and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament will take place inside the historic landmark building -- formerly St. Clara/St. Gelasius Church -- which is currently in restoration. The three-day period in which the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for Adoration at the Shrine will be a time of special prayers for Holy Mother Church, Pope Benedict XVI, and all the clergy and religious.
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Most of today's priests are well-versed in languages, especially Spanish. Most, however, are not schooled in Latin. In fact, most don't know Latin nor have they been properly trained in the rubrics of the Tridentine Mass. In studies of the priesthood, priests have told us that the celebration of Mass is at the heart of their life. As true as this is, celebrating Mass or, as is often the case today, several Masses in a day taxes a priest's ability to be reverent, one in thought with the words he is reciting. Even when you are speaking in your mother tongue, it is easy to just mouth the words and go through the motions. What concerns me is a younger generation that is not Latinized enough to make the Tridentine Mass truly reverent and meaningful. Most have not endured the rigors of learning Latin, speaking and studying in it. The language and culture of Cicero and the early church are foreign to them.
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In thanksgiving for Our Holy Father's recent Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, we are pleased to have the opportunity to train priests to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. We hope that this tutorial, which provides a study of the the rubrics in a multimedia format, will assist priests in praying the Mass of the Ages with deeper reverence and love, so that the faithful attracted to this venerable rite might more profoundly enter into the Eucharistic Sacrifice. Those devoted to the study of the rubrics of the 1962 Missale Romanum will notice that, according to local custom, there are some variances in the expression of the rubrics. In this tutorial you will see the Tridentine Latin Mass offered according to the customs of the Archdiocese of Chicago as practiced in 1962. As other dioceses or religious communities may have other customs, I hope that these differences will not cloud the purpose of guiding priests in praying the Traditional Latin Mass.
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The Tridentine Mass, the Latin-only rite both loved and hated by many Catholics for its medieval qualities, is roaring back into use after a July 7 papal decree loosened the rules on celebrating it. Two traditional priestly societies dedicated to the rite report that priests from all over the country are signing up in droves for weeklong classes to learn the rituals and language of the Mass, named after the 16th-century Council of Trent. Monsignor Michael Schmitz, vicar-general of the Florence, Italy-based Institute of Christ the King, said he has received hundreds of calls from interested clergy. "This is a nationwide phenomenon," he said. "Many more parish priests and younger priests are interested in learning to celebrate the Latin Mass.
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As a 31-year-old practicing Catholic who attends the Latin Mass some of the time, I am pleased Pope Benedict XVI has loosened restrictions on it. I find it almost humorous that certain critics are concerned the pope's decision somehow is a way to reinterpret Vatican II. Actually, it's the modernists -- not the pope or the assenting Catholics -- who have been "reinterpreting" (read: misrepresenting) the teachings of Vatican II for the past few decades. Not to mention the post-Vatican II era in the Catholic Church hasn't exactly been rosy. In 2003, researcher Kenneth C. Jones published a collection of statistics that he titled "Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church Since Vatican II." Among his findings...
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Catholic World News reported today that Pope Benedict XVI prefers the Tridentine rite of the Catholic Mass for his private Mass. The source of this information is said to be "informed sources at the Vatican," who claim that the Holy Father regularly celebrates Mass using the 1962 Roman Missal. The Pope drew enormous attention with he issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in which he claims that the Tridentine Mass practiced universally prior to Vatican II was never abrogated. Catholic World News further reported, "Since becoming Roman Pontiff, Benedict XVI has always used the new ritual-- which he identifies in Summorum Pontificum as the "ordinary form" of the Roman rite-- for public celebrations of the Eucharistic liturgy. However few people have witnessed the Pope celebrating his private daily Mass.
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Elevated to the papacy at 78, Benedict XVI will take no action greater in significance for the Catholic Church than his motu proprio [English | Latin] declaring that the Latin Mass must be said in every diocese-on the request of the faithful. Dissenting bishops must comply. "What earlier generations held as sacred remains sacred and great for us, too," said the Holy Father in his apostolic letter, as he authorized the universal use of the sole official version of the mass allowed in the four centuries between the Council of Trent and Vatican II. To which many Catholics will respond: "Alleluia! Alleluia!"
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CCI NOTES: Bishop Bernard Fellay's letter to Inside the Vatican is important because the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) has been at odds with the post-Vatican II Catholic Church over the Tridentine Mass. In the interest of reconciling SSPX to the Church, Fellay's comments are worth noting. "The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of July 7, 2007 re-establishes the Tridentine Mass in its legal right. In the text it is clearly acknowledged that it was never abrogated. And so fidelity to this Mass -- for the sake of which so many priests and lay people have been persecuted, or even severely punished, for almost forty years -- this fidelity was never disobedience," said Fellay.
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Pope Benedict has permanently changed the terms of debate in the Catholic Church. And he is giving a wonderful gift to millions of Catholics around the world who have spent the past 40 years as the one interest group their bishops have generally shown no interest in appeasing. Champagne bottles were excitedly opened all over the Catholic world this weekend. Forget the media spin: This is a great and generous act of liberalization. When people cherish something so beautiful and hallowed by tradition, ruthlessly denying it to them is the attitude of a fanatic. Granting it to them is a matter of justice and common sense - all the more so when the thing being granted is a priceless jewel of Western civilization.
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It is hoped that the two forms of the Roman Rite will influence each other in positive ways. Indeed, some parishes have already incorporated Latin within the Novus Ordo and it is expected that the Tridentine Mass will use the vernacular in its readings. Both will enable more awe, reverence and wonder; those qualities of a child which our Lord enjoins on us in order to gain the Kingdom of God. Are there divisions in the Church? There are now and have been, even when the Apostles walked the earth. Were there not, St. Paul wouldn't have written most of his beautiful letters to those pesky presbyters in the nascent Church. Indeed, schisms and heresies have often lead to the Church defining or redefining its teachings for the sake of unity, and the Motu Proprio may be a prime example of that.
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The universal permission to celebrate the Classical Roman rite as envisioned by the Holy Father in his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum will help to re-establish a balanced view of the Church's wonderful treasury of liturgical wisdom, which is not, and cannot be limited to one specific period of time only. As in her doctrine, the Church draws from a Divine Source when it comes to the expression of her sacramental life, whose richness has been developed with the assistance of the Holy Spirit over the ages. For priests and laity alike, it will be an enormous gift to have access to this wealth without pressures or tensions.
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After three years, the congregation's much-loved, Latin-speaking priest, the Rev. James Seculoff, is being reassigned without a clear sign that his replacement will be able to give the same service. This is the only one of its kind in South Bend -- and St. Joseph County -- and church members fear the change will permanently displace their Latin-Mass community. "(It feels like) they're closing your parish, but we're not given anywhere to go," Werling said. "We're just kind of nervous about what the future is going to hold." The local dilemma at St. John the Baptist comes at the heels of a recent move by Pope Benedict XVI's to allow more churches to use the old Latin Mass.
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Pope Benedict's decision to promote the old Latin mass is a dream come true for delighted Roman Catholic traditionalists and a looming headache for the harried priests now expected to celebrate it. By issuing his decree on Saturday, Benedict aimed to end a 40-year "culture war" between the overwhelming majority of his 1.1-billion strong Church and a small minority that never accepted the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council.His solution was to allow the long-sidelined traditionalists to ask their local priests to offer the 16th-century liturgy and protest all the way to the Vatican if they don't comply...Many mainstream clergy are also worried by the tenacity of the traditionalists, who have spent decades bucking the trend and are expected to promote the Latin mass with renewed vigor.
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"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."
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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.
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Father Fessio discusses the long awaited papal directives regarding the Tridentine Mass. To view the video, CLICK HERE
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The long-awaited motu proprio in which Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) liberalizes access to the traditional Latin Mass will be released on July 7, according to the German-language Kath.net news service. Kath.net reports that Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (bio - news), the Vatican Secretary of State, introduced the text of the motu proprio to a group of 30 bishops at the Vatican on June 27. Pope Benedict made a brief appearance at the meeting, the Kath.net story indicates.
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In Rome in mid-June, the release of Pope Benedict's motu proprio allowing wider celebration of the "old Mass" was reportedly "imminent," expected in any case "during the first days of July, before the Pope goes on his summer vacation," Vatican officials close to the Pope said. (And yet, the document has been delayed before.) So what do we know already about this matter? Several things: 1) that the Pope has wished to publish the motu proprio for about a year; 2) that he has been advised by many bishops, who evidently fear it will cause divisions in the Church, not to publish it; 3) that he has therefore taken his time, consulting many advisors, and has written a prefatory letter to explain what the motu proprio means.
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The Latin Mass Society is organising a residential training conference at Merton College, Oxford from Tuesday 28 - Thursday 30 August 2007 for priests ordained within the last ten years to learn the Traditional Latin Rite. Information packs have already been sent to over 400 priests... The conference has been designed for priests who have little or no previous experience of the Traditional Rite, and a knowledge of Latin is not essential. Most of the tuition will focus on celebrating the Low Mass. It is planned that a follow up conference in 2008 will focus on the High Mass. The conference will conclude with a magnificent Pontifical High Mass celebrated by a visiting bishop.
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The church's windows are broken, its beige bricks are sooty, its paint is chipped. The 300-foot steeple, a hallmark of the St. Louis skyline, is pulling away from its foundation. One day it could tumble into traffic on Gravois Avenue. St. Francis de Sales church, often called the Cathedral of South St. Louis, is an ideal home for a group of Roman Catholic priests devoted to restoration. But restoring this 19th-century neo-Gothic church to its former glory is only one reason St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke assigned the priests to oversee St. Francis de Sales. The real mission of the group, called the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, is the restoration of the traditional Latin Mass.
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"A senior Vatican official has confirmed that sometime soon Pope Benedict XVI will expand permission" for use of the Tridentine Latin Mass, wrote John L. Allen Jr. in the May 30 New York Times. Allen's "senior Vatican official" is, presumably, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy See's secretary of state. "One shouldn't have to wait long to see it published," said Bertone in a June interview published by the Italian newspaper, Avvenire of the motu proprio that would grant wider permission for celebration of the Tridentine Mass. Bertone, however, had said the same thing on March 31.
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A SENIOR Vatican official has confirmed that sometime soon Pope Benedict XVI will expand permission for use of what's popularly known as the Latin Mass, the service that was standard before the Second Vatican Council. Though some details remain vague, one point seems all too clear: When the decision officially comes down, its importance will be hyped beyond all recognition, because doing so serves the purposes of both conservatives and liberals within the church, as well as the press. Pope Benedict's intent, according to Vatican authorities, is to make the pre-1960s Mass optional, leaving Catholics free to choose which Mass they want to attend. Because the older Tridentine Mass, named for the 16th-century Council of Trent, has come to symbolize deep tensions in Catholicism, the pope's decision is sure to trigger an avalanche of commentary.
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For decades, the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Mass could only be celebrated by a priest with permission from his bishop. But a Vatican official, Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, confirmed earlier this month that Pope Benedict XVI would soon relax the restrictions on celebrating the Tridentine Mass because of a "new and renewed interest" in the celebration - especially among younger Catholics. That ruling would make access universal: Any priest can choose to celebrate it. Traditional Catholics hungry for the age-old and familiar Latin Mass of their youth, hope this means the elaborate rite will be restored and inspire new generations of Catholics with a liturgy four centuries old and laden with formal beauty.
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Twice in recent months Vatican officials have confirmed that Pope Benedict plans to loosen restrictions on celebrating the old Latin mass, reviving a rite that was essentially swept away by the revolutionary reforms of the Second Vatican Council. Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos told a meeting of Latin American bishops in Brazil earlier this month that Benedict wanted to give all Roman Catholics greater access to the so-called Tridentine Mass because of a "new and renewed interest'' in the rite. Benedict is also acting in a bid to reach out to an ultraconservative schismatic group, the Society of St. Pius X, and bring it back into the Vatican's fold, Castrillon Hoyos said, according to a copy of his speech posted on the meeting's website.
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"I cannot end the interview without asking your reaction to a well-worn canard. There are those critics of the ancient Latin Mass who point out that the crisis in the Church developed at a time when the Mass was offered throughout the world. Why should we then think a revival is intrinsic to the solution? The devil hates the ancient Mass. He hates it because it is the most perfect reformulation of all the teachings of the Church. It was my husband who gave me this insight about the Mass. The problem that ushered in the present crisis was not the traditional Mass. The problem was that the priests who offered it had already lost the sense of the supernatural and the transcendent. They rushed through the prayers, they mumbled and didn't enunciate them. That is a sign that they had brought to the Mass their growing secularism. The ancient Mass does not abide irreverence, and that was why so many priests were just as happy to see it go."
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The Pope's reported plan to make the old Latin mass more accessible to Catholics everywhere is encouraging news to a Brockville priest who has been celebrating the older rite for a quarter century. Father Brian Price, pastor at St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, told The Recorder and Times the Latin mass is a "beautiful" tradition worth preserving. "I think that's a good thing," he said Saturday of the Pope's plan. "You can't just jettison your own history."
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"The Holy Father has the intention of extending to the entire Latin Church the possibility of celebrating Holy Mass and the Sacraments according to the liturgical books promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962. There is today a new and renewed interest for this liturgy, which has never been abolished and which, as we have said, is considered a treasure, and also for this reason [the interest] the Holy Father believes that the time has come to ease, as the first Cardinalatial Commission of 1986 had wished to do, the access to this liturgy, making it an extraordinary form of the one Roman Rite."
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Catholic traditionalists say they've abided a biblical amount of time hoping the Vatican will permit widespread celebration of the "Latin Mass," and a few more days, months, or even years won't dim their desire. "We've been waiting for this for 40 years," said Britt Wheeler, co-chairman of the Saint Gregory Society, a New Haven, Conn.-based group dedicated to preserving traditional liturgy. "Hope springs eternal." Wheeler and other traditionalists say recent indications from the Vatican hint that permission may be imminent, and they're making all the necessary preparations.
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CCI NOTES: For many Catholics who prefer the Tridentine Mass, finding one close to home is nearly impossible due to the wide variance among Catholic Bishops, some allowing, others disallowing the Latin Mass in their Dioceses. In light of the recent media attention surrounding speculation that Pope Benedict will issue a global indult to all priests allowing for the celebration of the Tridentine Rite, Cardinal Castrillon's recent comments are relevant to all Catholics who are praying for the reconciliation of the Vatican and SSPX.
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From the tiny church of San Gregorio dei Muratori in downtown Rome, just across the river from the Vatican, the sound of Latin prayers spilled into the empty street on a Sunday morning. Inside, a priest assisted by two others celebrated Mass facing the high altar, his back to the congregation. The pews were filled to capacity with about 40 people -- an international group of young and old, men and women -- who followed along in their missals. It was Palm Sunday April 1, and not far away Pope Benedict XVI was celebrating Mass for some 40,000 people in St. Peter's Square. But most of the Catholics who filled the church of San Gregorio consider the pope's "new Mass" less satisfactory, and prefer to worship according to the rite used before the Second Vatican Council.
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Sometime soon, Pope Benedict XVI is expected to broaden permission to use the Tridentine Mass, a long-standing request of traditionalists who favor the rite used before the Second Vatican Council. The move is aimed at ending a liturgical dispute which has simmered for more than 20 years. In the process, it could clarify how the pope intends to implement what he once described as a "liturgical reconciliation" in the modern church. The pope will enunciate the new policy in a document to be released after more than a year of debate and discussion at the Vatican. The Roman Curia had mixed views on expanding the use of the Tridentine rite, and so did the world's cardinals and bishops -- all of which has lent a certain drama to the outcome.
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Una Voce America is pleased to announce a collaborative program with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) designed to provide training for any priest interested in learning how to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass. "This program may be the most important effort we've undertaken," said UVA director Jason King recently. "We're grateful to the Fraternity for its generous support of this project." Training will take place in June 2007 at Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary in Denton, Nebraska, which is located in the diocese of Lincoln. The workshop will last for one week and will be repeated three times (the first, second and fourth weeks of June). Each session will begin on a Monday at noon and end Friday at noon of that week. A priest need only attend one of the three sessions, as the same material will be covered in each one.
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In a statement the LMS particularly welcomed the Exhortation's call for 1) a re-emphasis on silent prayer, dignity and decorum in new rite celebrations 2) the reintroduction of Latin, particularly in international celebrations and in seminary training of new priests 3) the call for the laity to pray or sing the common prayers in Latin and for Gregorian Chant to be used wherever possible 4) the emphasis on a central or prominent position for the tabernacle which should not be obscured by the celebrant's chair 5) the renewed call for Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Eucharistic Adoration, including perpetual adoration. All these proposals are designed to reconnect the Church to its centuries-old liturgical tradition.
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A special Vatican commission, appointed to examine the demands of traditionalists, met in December to help draft the decree. Today, celebration of the Tridentine rite is limited. Bishops can allow it, but only on the condition that the celebration is deemed a sign of "affection for the ancient tradition" and not a criticism of the reforms. Benedict wrote in his memoirs, My Life: Memories 1927-1977, published when he was still a cardinal: "I was stunned by the ban on the ancient missal."
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Speculation continues as to whether Benedict XVI will issue a document on a possible reform of the liturgy. The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, spoke with Inside the Vatican magazine about rumors of a papal document that would loosen restrictions on the Tridentine Mass. If he were to issue a document "motu proprio" (on his own initiative), Archbishop Ranjith said that the Holy Father will "decide what is best for the Church." "The Tridentine Mass is not something that belongs to the followers of Archbishop Lefebvre only," he said. "It is part of our own heritage as members of the Catholic Church."
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Dozens of people gather every Sunday morning in the Gothic sanctuary of St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church to pray for the future of a tradition that's deeply rooted in the past. Before the Latin prayers begin, they seek God's intercession for the future of the Tridentine Mass - a form of liturgy established in the 16th century but now celebrated only in churches with special permission. If the speculation around the Vatican is right, their prayers might be answered. Rumors have swirled for months that Pope Benedict XVI will formally grant permission to all Catholic churches to perform what's commonly - though incorrectly - known as the Latin Mass. For Catholics who are dedicated to the handful of local services, such a declaration would be about time. "I don't see the purpose in outlawing a Mass," says Elise Phair, 21, who has attended the Tridentine service at the church on Saratoga Street for about a decade.
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"We also have the serious question of the diminishing number of faithful in some of the churches in the Western world. We have to ask ourselves what happened in these churches and then take corrective steps as may be necessary. I do not think that this situation is attributable to secularization only. A deep crisis of faith coupled with a drive for meaningless liturgical experimentation and novelty have had their own impact in this matter. There is much formalism and insipidity visible at times. Thus, we need to recover a true sense of the sacred and mystical in worship."
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"In my opinion, our actual problem in Europe is that the Faithful find today's Masses often banal with little mystery and at times also with arbitrary additions to the Rite. Christians with a sense of aesthetics wish for a more classical form and mystery. Behind this is probably also a longing for European language which links all together in a common culture. At that stage, one knew that a Catholic Mass in Lisbon was the same as the one celebrated in St Petersburg. One was spared any surprises. But let's admit it, at that time millions took part in the Mass diligently and faithfully but have not understood anything and only prayed the Rosary. The German hand Missal, Schott was only known to German intellectuals because in other countries it did not exist (untrue!). The desire to assist at the Mass, actively and with understanding is good and very important. It is my opinion therefore that in todays world we priests should learn again to celebrate the mystery so that Faith, heart and reason are in used to equal measure. If we look at the growing Churches in Africa and Asia, the celebration of the correct Rite is a mere trifle. I can hardly imagine that anyone in these young Churches will want the old Rite."
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Steve and Aimee Miller of Spartanburg said they try to take their family to a Latin service at least once a month. "It's such a beautiful Mass," Aimee said. She said she is amazed by "the reverence of it." The priest faces the Crucifix and the Tabernacle. "He's facing God," she said. "We are all offering ourselves, with the priest, to God." During the Latin Mass, Aimee said, "the prayers are so engaging, you feel a strong spiritual connection to God in heaven." while the priest says the prayers in Latin, the Millers can follow along in their missal in English. During the consecration, those prayers are said quietly by the priest, and the atmosphere becomes solemn, holy.
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After a plenary meeting of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei (PCED) December 12, 2006, Jorge Cardinal Medina told reporters that the Commission had discussed two documents for a total of four hours. The first was the long-awaited, and reportedly much edited, motu proprio expected to be forthcoming that will ease restrictions to offer the Traditional Roman rite of Holy Mass. The second document that was discussed, according to Cardinal Medina, was a canonical structure for the eventual reintegration of the Society of St. Pius X, whose four bishops, along with Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre and Bishop Antộnio de Castro Mayer, incurred latae sententiae excommunications according to the motu proprio Ecclesia Dei Adflicta, issued July 2, 1988 by Pope John Paul II. Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was at the heart of the discussions with the late Archbishop Lefebvre, and now as Pope, is intimately familiar with the case and the historical circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident.
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POPE BENEDICT XVI has spoken by telephone to a number of French bishops to persuade them to accept a wider use of the Tridentine Mass, it has been claimed. The Pontiff brought French bishops who oppose the Tridentine Mass "to a reluctant but decisive change of view", according to the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (FSSP), an organisation of Old Rite priests that the Pope strongly supports. It is widely expected that a papal document will soon be released to allow priests to celebrate the Tridentine Mass - using the pre-Vatican II 1962 Latin Missal - without the explicit permission of the local bishop, though probably only in the low-key setting of a "private" celebration. The document, which will be released motu proprio, or on the Pope's own initiative, has caused concern among bishops in France, where traditionalist groups are particularly active.
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We, Catholic laity and clergy, predominantly of various English-speaking lands, express our hope and desire to see the form of liturgy used prior to and during the Second Vatican Council given, again, greater freedom of use in the life of the Catholic Church and we express our enthusiastic support for any papal initiative to the same end. We join in spirit as well with those figures of yesteryear who, in 1971, successfully petitioned the Holy See for the continued use of the classical Roman liturgy, deemed by them and by us as a spiritual and cultural treasure of inestimable value. Today in a similar spirit of love for the Church and her rich liturgical tradition, we unite our own voices with those heard in the recent past: with those of Agatha Christie, Cyril Connolly, Kenneth Clark, Graham Greene, Cecil Day Lewis, Malcolm Muggeridge and Iris Murdoch. Moreover, we join with the likes of such esteemed individuals as Evelyn Waugh in expressing our profound attachment to this liturgical treasure of Church.
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Sources close to the Vatican have told Catholic News Agency that the Motu Propio by which Pope Benedict XVI would allow for the universal use of the Missal of St. Pius V may be published after Christmas, while the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist could come in mid-January 2007. Sources confirmed the recent statements to reporters by Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, who told them after participating in a meeting of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, where the text of the Motu Propio was reviewed, that the document would come soon.
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While some are nostalgic for the Mass of their youth, "others are caught up in the mysteriousness of the Latin Mass, the language they don't quite understand," said the Rev. Thomas Skindeleski, pastor of St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church in Delray Beach and the diocese's director of spiritual life. "They aren't distracted by guitars or drums or the handshake of peace." The church is encouraging more use of Latin hymns and Gregorian chant in the Pauline Mass, he said, to maintain a connection with the church's universal tongue.
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While the contents of what Pope Benedict XVI may eventually say about the pre-Vatican II "Latin Mass" remain a tightly guarded mystery, that vacuum hasn't stopped Vatican officials, bishops and liturgists from pondering the possible fallout - from the political to the eminently practical. In the Vatican, one concern is that such a move would be seen as an ideological statement about the general direction of the church, and especially its commitment to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). They insist that Benedict XVI's motives are actually pastoral rather than ideological.
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Bishop Bernard Fellay, the Superior General for the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Reuters and the French Le Figaro reported that Bishop Fellay said the expected motu proprio easing current restrictions on the celebration of the Classical Roman rite of Holy Mass (Traditional Latin Mass) would fulfill one of the two criteria established by the SSPX in 2001 for continuing discussions on the path to possible full canonical regularization. In fact, Bishop Fellay called the expected document "a grand gesture" on the part of the Church. "Things are going in the right direction," Bishop Fellay said. "I think we'll get an agreement," he said according to the Reuters account. "Things could speed up and come faster than expected," he said. Bishop Fellay was not available for a follow-up interview for The Wanderer by deadline, but the SSPX news service, DICI, said he would be available as soon as the expected document is promulgated by the Pope.
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Rev. Venette attended seminary in New York state after Vatican II, and for 20 years said the modern mass. But he joined a religious order, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, where he was trained in the old rites. "My response to the changes? Joy. The church has truly been deprived of this since the Second Vatican Council. But I also respond with a note of caution. I don't want it to suffer the difficulties of the new rite. I don't want it to become commonplace or celebrated without a sense of solemnity."
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The 1962 Missal issued by Pope John XXIII was the last of several revisions of the 1570 Missal of Pius V. In a lecture in 2001, Cardinal Ratzinger said that it would be "fatal" for the Missal to be "placed in a deep-freeze, left like a national park, a park protected for the sake of a certain kind of people, for whom one leaves available these relics of the past". Daphne McLeod, chairman of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, a UK umbrella group that campaigns for the restoration of traditional orthodoxy, said: "A lot of young priests are teaching themselves the Tridentine Mass because it is so beautiful and has prayers that go back to the Early Church."
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THE Pope is taking steps to revive the ancient tradition of the Latin Tridentine Mass in Catholic churches worldwide, according to sources in Rome. Pope Benedict XVI is understood to have signed a universal indult - or permission - for priests to celebrate again the Mass used throughout the Church for nearly 1,500 years. The indult could be published in the next few weeks, sources told The Times. Use of the Tridentine Mass, parts of which date from the time of St Gregory in the 6th century and which takes its name from the 16th-century Council of Trent, was restricted by most bishops after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).
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There is a slow but steady increase in appreciation for the Church's ancient liturgy. Requests for the Traditional Latin Mass continue to grow and, much to the delight of Latin Mass devotees, some bishops now are establishing Latin Mass parishes in their dioceses. St. Gianna's Latin Mass Community in Tucson is a stellar example. Fascinatingly, the bulk of the interest comes from young Catholics. Who would have diivined this development 35 years ago when the "old Mass" seemed destined to become passe? Recently, I received a surprising request from an unlikely place: Arizona State Prison.
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"Dominus vobiscum." That sentence, which means "The Lord be with you," is one of the few phrases most Catholics remember from the Latin Mass. But for the members of the Latin Liturgy Association, "Dominus vobiscum" is just the beginning. The association, which promotes the use of Latin in all approved rites of the Roman Catholic Church, held its 10th national convention last weekend in St. Louis. More than 100 people turned out for events July 14-16 that included church tours, speakers and Latin Masses - Tridentine and Novus Ordo, Low Mass and High Mass.
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Last weekend the first of the weekly Tridentine Masses was celebrated at St. Lawrence Church in Alexandria. In March, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde granted permission to two parishes to celebrate the pre-Vatican II form of Mass. The Mass was offered on the feast of Pope St. Pius V.
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The Classical Roman rite of Holy Mass "was never abrogated" and "is consequently legitimate," Jorge Cardinal Medina Estevez, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, told the Italian I Media news agency late last week in the first interview granted by any of the cardinal participants of the April 7 dicastery and March 23 meetings of the College of Cardinals.
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"Gimme that old-time religion it was good enough for Grandpa, and it's good enough for me." People aren't just whistling Dixie when they sing the familiar words to that old Southern song. When tradition comes up against change in the church, it can be a holy mess.
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A three-day conference next month will discuss issues related to the traditional Latin Mass under the papacy of Benedict XVI. The conference is organized by Una Voce America, an international organization dedicated to promoting the return of the traditional Latin mass in parishes worldwide. There are 70 chapters of Una Voce in the United States. The conference, entitled Tradition in the 21st Century: The Mission of Una Voce in the Papacy of Benedict XVI, will be held in Providence, R.I., Nov. 18-20, and will feature Bishop Fernando Rifan of Campos, Brazil, as the guest of honor.
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CCI NOTES: Six diocese across the country have announced they will begin regular Tridentine Masses. Newly installed Pope Benedict the XVI has commently favorably on what has been known as the "Latin Mass" which has been repressed in the US since the Sixties in spite of John Paul II's request for "wide and generous" access to the ancient traditional rite.
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Mary Kraychy, director of the Coalition in Support of Ecclesia Dei (CSED), has been named Vice President of Una Voce America (UVA), according to an announcement by the UVA board of directors today. The CSED is one of several organizations that are affiliated with Una Voce, a lay movement within the Catholic Church that seeks to preserve and extend the traditional Latin Mass and Gregorian chant. Una Voce was begun in Europe in 1964, and currently has 29 member associations in 26 countries around the world, including the United States.
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CCI NOTES: The Institute of Christ the King, based in Wisconsin, has recently taken over the administration of St. Gelasius in Chicago, effectively saving a landmark structure from destruction. Msg. Schmitz was recently our guest at the CCI luncheon forum, and in this enlightening interview he discusses the historical development of the faith as well as the challenges of rebuilding Catholic communities in urban areas.
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In May, Una Voce Columbus conducted a series of interviews with leaders of the Traditional Movement around the country. We could have interviewed leaders in the traditionalist press, writers, academics, but we wanted to go right to those who are working in the trenches every day to restore Traditional Catholicism in America. These people are working in our seminaries, churches, towns, cities, and among parishioners, friends, priests, and superiors. They constantly struggle and endure the hardships necessary for Tradition to survive in the Post-Vatican II milieu.
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"We will not wade into the murky waters of interpreting Vatican-II. We will not fat-headedly offer up our own brand of Magisterium for the benefit of our readers. We will not appoint ourselves lay-inquisitors and hurl accusations of heresy or schism. We believe that the Church will one day determine exactly what place the pastoral pronouncements of the Second Vatican Council ought to have for the Church of future generations. Meanwhile, we see that faithful Catholics since the Second Vatican Council have become bitterly divided, and it must be said that these divisions are growing daily."
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Throughout the world, you can hear the roar of approval from millions of Catholics overjoyed and grateful to hear that the new Pope is committed to Tradition. Tradition is the body of beliefs, writings, devotions, rituals, gestures all things Roman Catholic that has been passed down from generation to generation from the time of the Apostles until now. Amongst those cheering most loudly for Holy Father Benedictus XVI is Una Voce America.
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The following interview with the archbishop was to have been published in 1978 by a leading American Catholic publication. However, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops threatened the publication's publisher with excommunication and decreed virtual extinction for the publication itself if the interview were run. In fact, the bishops ordered that no Catholic publication could run this interview with Archbishop Lefebvre. An edited version of the interview was finally published in The Spotlight, a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C., in its issue of July 18, 1988. The complete and unedited interview is transcribed below. The Spotlight makes no case for or against the doctrinal positions of Archbishop Lefebvre. We printed the interview for we find his statements of 14 years ago, if read in the light of current events, to be extremely timely.
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The following interview with the archbishop was to have been published in 1978 by a leading American Catholic publication. However, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops threatened the publication's publisher with excommunication and decreed virtual extinction for the publication itself if the interview were run. In fact, the bishops ordered that no Catholic publication could run this interview with Archbishop Lefebvre. An edited version of the interview was finally published in The Spotlight, a weekly newspaper in Washington, D.C., in its issue of July 18, 1988. The complete and unedited interview is transcribed below. The Spotlight makes no case for or against the doctrinal positions of Archbishop Lefebvre. We printed the interview for we find his statements of 14 years ago, if read in the light of current events, to be extremely timely.
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St. Stephen, a new church in a struggling neighborhood off Fruitridge Road, officially opened in December and already has about 700 members. They come from all over Northern California to worship because this church, which celebrates the Latin Mass and promotes traditional church teachings, gives them what they want. St. Stephen is the only diocesan-approved church in Northern California - some say in the state - that celebrates only the Latin Mass, sometimes called a Tridentine Mass. Other churches may offer the Mass, but St. Stephen is devoted to it. Each worship service is a Latin Mass.
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St. Gelasius Roman Catholic Church is a neo-Renaissance shell that was saved from the wrecking ball by the surrounding community that remembered it as a vibrant institution in its heyday. The 81-year-old structure, closed in 2002 because of a lack of parishioners, is now full of activity as masons repair its stone facing and painters work to revive its interior. The work is being sponsored by a religious order devoted to the Latin mass. The order also wishes to establish a congregation using that liturgy.
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While an unsparing critic of the liturgical abuses that became part and parcel of the Mass of Pope Paul VI in the years after the council, and an advocate for the superiority of the Latin Mass in promoting Catholic values, Davies was equally firm in recognizing the authority and legitimacy of the Holy See. This excerpt from one of his "Letters from London," which he wrote for The Remnant, illustrates the point...
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With the aroma of incense hovering, the Rev. Eduardo Garcia lifts the communion wafer toward heaven, reciting, "Hoc est enim corpus meum." As the prayer echoes through St. Peter's Catholic Church in Volo, 15-year-old Beth Gammel says this is the moment she feels closest to God. She doesn't understand Latin, but the book she holds translates Garcia's prayer: "For this is my body." For Gammel and a growing number of young people, the once traditional Latin Mass provides a connection to the divine unmatched by any contemporary service.
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The Institute of Christ the King from Wisconsin has assumed responsibility for St. Gelasius on Chicago's south side, effectively saving the landmark church from the wrecking ball. Now the Institute needs your help. Any and all able bodied Catholics are invited to join in the effort to rehab and restore this Chicago treasure...
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Traditionalist Catholicism grew from opposition to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council Actor-director Mel Gibson is among. Latin is a dead language, but for traditionalist Catholics like Mel Gibson, it's alive and well in their churches. Traditionalists are a small minority compared to the world's 1 billion mainstream Catholics. Their numbers are difficult to compile because many groups operate underground or practise their faith privately in the belief that there are no priests left who administer the sacraments properly. Estimates vary from 250,000 to 7 million worldwide.
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It's an old world service and a new world mission. On Saturday morning, the Rev. Bernard Harrington, bishop of the Diocese of Winona, ordained one of Winona's own, the Rev. John Brancich, using a Latin Mass that most likely had not been heard at St. Stanislaus Kostka for almost four decades. Brancich, who graduated from Winona Senior High in 1988, completed the seven-year study for the priesthood at the Seminary of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Denton, Neb., this spring. He was ordained for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, which seeks to provide Mass and services using the traditional Latin rites to members of the Roman Catholic Church who feel attachment to the older forms of worship in use before the sweeping changes of the Second Vatican Council in 1960s.
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THE VATICAN is preparing to relax the rules on the provision of the Tridentine rite, a senior cardinal has disclosed. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos. prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, told The Lat in Mass, America's leading traditionalist magazine, that the Vatican was preparing to issue a "juridical guarantee" in favour of the Tridentine rite, which was the Church's official rite from the 16th century until 1962. Cardinal Hoyos' remarks are a clear indication that Rome wants to embrace traditionalists by ensuring that they can attend old rite Masses if they so wish. The cardinal praised the Tridentine rite, and acknowledged the growing numbers of traditionalist Catholics, before giving cause to hope that restrictions on the old rite might be lifted.
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What has been the upshot of this "innovation" in the Archdiocese of Chicago? For one thing, about two hundred former families of the Society of St. Pius X and other independent chapels were brought into the parish and into full communnion with the Catholic Church. For another, many young families, including home-schooled families, come to the Tridentine Mass from all over the Chicagoland area, including parts of Indiana. But it should be noted that the Tridentine Mass has not decimated the attendance at the Novus Ordo Masses. In fact, the Mass on Sundays having the greatest attendance is the 11 a.m. Novus Ordo Mass said in Latin.
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So let us read the sign of the times and restore the liturgy of the ages, the liturgy of Gregory the Great and St. Augustine of England, of Boniface and Bernard, of Francis and Clare, of Aquinas and Bonaventure, of Ignatius and Bellarmine, of Newman and Chesterton, and our own parents and grandparents. Let us preserve from oblivion the beautiful and holy liturgy which we inherited from our forefathers, that our posterity may thank us for having the courage to do what is fitting and just in an age of iron and lead.
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At Holy Trinity, the Massgoers cite the (traditional) style of worship as their reason for attendance. "I grew up with the acoustic guitars and that whole thing, and it just made it more difficult to take seriously what it is that Catholics believe happens at Mass -- that bread and wine truly is transformed into the body and blood of Christ," said Francis X. Altiere, 22, a Harvard University history student from Kimberton, Pa. "In the traditional Mass, this is made much more obvious. It's a more perfect expression of the Catholic faith."
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Conservatively dressed Roman Catholics packed into a tiny wooden church a few blocks from the sand in Huntington Beach on Sunday to pray and chant in Latin, and to celebrate the priest who delivered them from all that they believe is lax, laid-back and touchy-feely in their religion. They came to say goodbye to Father Daniel Johnson, the 75-year-old retiring priest who tripled the membership of this parish with his emphasis on the church's centuries-old traditions. Chief among them was introduction of the Latin Tridentine Mass, the ancient, highly choreographed rite that for hundreds of years was the only Mass celebrated by Catholics worldwide.
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"...it's not just old-timers wanting to cling to pre-Vatican II ways who are coming to the liturgies at Prince of Peace. People in their 20s and 30s are filling many of the pews, finding serenity and a sense of awe in the solemn rituals. "I think it's a good experience to come at least once a month or so and get a clear view of what they did back then," said William Foreman, a twentysomething worshipper at a recent Latin Mass.
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"'There is only one Roman Rite', underlined the Cardinal verbally, 'and this Roman Rite has different forms.' So, according to him, the Ancient Rite is not a rite in its own right, but the Ancient Rite and the Novus Ordo are two forms of one and the same rite. In the same time, the Cardinal said that The Holy See is still looking for a solution for the easier application of the indult without granting us a proper jurisdiction, keeping in mind the above-mentioned opinion."
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Vatican, Feb. 26 (CWNews.com) - A new document on the use of Latin in the Church, and the teaching of Latin in seminaries, is expected sometime this year. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, the prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, has confirmed that he hopes the document being prepared by that Congregation will be published in 2004.
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It appears that some priests in charge of the sacristy of St. Peter are far from happy about the Pope's intervention, and are creating some bureaucratic difficulties. They are claiming that they do not have the 1962 missal, in spite of the fact that the edition published by Roman Catholic Books is available in four bookstores in Rome. A member of the Curia is donating four copies of the 1962 missal to the Sacristy of St. Peter, so that the priests that are responsible for the sacristy will not have that excuse. If a priest brings his own missal they try to verify that it is the 1962 edition. They are also requesting from all priests who wish to offer Mass according to the 1962 Missal to produce a celebret which is issued by the Ecclesia Dei Commission. While the Commission has the authority to issue celebrets without authorisation by a diocesan bishop, it has issued few if any since 1989.
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Every now and then, a religion story will generate an almost overwhelming response from readers. This happened Jan. 26 with a York Daily Record story about the traditionalists of Saints Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Mission - a "new kind" of Catholic group for York. Thanks to the power of the Internet and http://www.ydr.com, we are still receiving mail from readers all over the world. Some of the mail found its way to our Letters to the Editor pages Feb. 5.
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Many of the young newcomers were restless Catholics who have found in the Latin Mass something tried and proven. “There’s a sense that the whole has been refined over centuries,” said 36-year-old Ron Weber, a Chesapeake resident who grew up going to English-only Masses. “It gives you the sense that God is always the same.” Compared to the old rite, some younger members said, the contemporary Mass is too unpredictable and too much like Protestant services... (and) younger Catholics are less likely to be biased against traditional practices they haven’t experienced than some older Catholics who remain glad to be rid of ways that they found stifling or outmoded.
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st. Mary's faces another threat, one arising from the good intentions of some of those who fought to save the church. As part of the battle against her fellow county-board members, Mary Ann Aiello filed for local historic-preservation status for St. Mary's, hoping to make it harder for the county to touch it. Now that the threat has passed, however, the Diocese of Rockford opposes historic-preservation status, which it regards as an unconstitutional infringement on the rights of the Church. (The Institute of Christ the King, which administers St. Mary's, also opposes the designation.) Indeed, Bishop Thomas Doran has stated that, if the city of Rockford designates St. Mary's an historic landmark, he will have no choice but to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court, and, in the meantime, he will close St. Mary's. He has unequivocally stated, however, that, if he has to close St. Mary's, the Latin Mass will continue in Rockford at a different location.
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"What father does not want to see his whole family gathered around the same table? That has always been my goal," he said. "I want to see our whole parish there, from the first-generation immigrants who only speak Spanish to the native Dallasites who only speak English. I don't want the language to divide us. I want it to unite us." Fr. Paul Weinberger was drummed out for defending the universal Latin Mass leads in Dallas
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"The 16th General Assembly of the International Una Voce Federation (FIUV) took place in Rome on 11th/12th October 2003. Delegates representing the majority of the thirty national associations were present and all agreed that the Assembly was not only a highly successful but even an historic event in the history of the Federation. It has provided the necessary foundation for an increasing membership and increasing effectiveness in securing the aims of the Federation in the new millennium. During the procedings, President Michael Davies praised the St. John Cantius in Chicago where over a thousand faithful assist at the two traditional Masses celebrated there each Sunday.
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"Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the congregation which handles liturgical matters, told me that a document on the Mass that his office, along with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is now preparing, will not call for wider use of the Tridentine rite, but only for more use of Latin in celebrations of the new rite. He said I had misunderstood him when I reported after talking with him in May that the new document would call for wider use of the Tridentine rite. Because of my report, many people would be disappointed when the new document comes out and does not address the Tridentine rite at all, but only the more solemn celebration of the new rite, he said. (The document is now expected sometime this winter.)"
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"Cardinal Francis George of Chicago has given his clear support for the use of the Tridentine-rite liturgy. In a preface written for a collection produced by the International Committee for Liturgical Studies (CIEL), Cardinal George has referred to the Missal of St. Pius V as "a precious source of liturgical understanding for all other rites," and said that the pre-conciliar liturgy should be "better accepted." The work by CIEL, a Versailles-based organization faithful to the traditional liturgy, was published in France." Chicago Tridentine Mass going Catholics benefit from Cardinal George's generous indult whereby Latin Masses are offered in several parishes in Chicago every Sunday. The Cardinal has also been supportive of the Society of St. John Cantius, a new order of priests dedicated to preserving traditional rites such as the Tridentine Mass.
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Ronald Columbo notes that the Tridentine Catholic Mass is an entry way into a much more broad practice of the Catholic faith, and proposes a new global traditionalist con-fraternity to tie together Tridentine mass supporting Catholic communities worldwide."Fixed, mandatory disciplinary guidelines, as were historically promulgated by the Church, lent themselves to a culture of discipline and fostered a respect for Church authority. Contrary to what many progressives in the Church had taught, lowering the disciplinary bar does not increase discipline, but diminishes it. Thus, modern mainstream Catholicism, which is marked by a wholesale abdication of Church authority, suffers a decline of discipline (among both the clergy and the laity). In sum, authority not exercised leads to authority not recognized, and a community lacking recognized authority soon finds itself lacking in discipline. Without a central, fixed arbiter of rules concerning traditional customs and practices, is this same specter of anarchy what the future holds for traditional Catholicism?"
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Author Martin Mosebach acknowledges that the Roman Rite today is very much a marginalized, disfavored and minority phenomenon. It inhabits isolated chapels and shabby parishes supported by those without wealth or influence in Church or society. Humanly speaking, it would seem that it should disappear with the last generation to have lived it as the sole form of worship in the Western Church. Yet Mosebach's last message to us is one of hope. He understands that the present ("modern") age is but a second in relation to eternity, and that the last word has by no means been spoken regarding that form of worship that uniquely corresponds to the religious nature of man. Mosebach's convictions would seem to lead to another unstated yet inevitable conclusion: the renaissance of the Roman Rite ultimately can only be as a law for the Church, not as a concession to an eccentric minority. These reflections of the author on the future of the Roman Rite, informed by bitter realism yet calmly trusting in Divine providence, are yet another of many virtues which make Haeresie der Formlosigkeit such a rare work.
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"One may hope Davies' book will convince Catholics still clinging to the (Novus Ordo) Mass of Paul VI to understand its danger by comprehending its origins. Almost no well-meaning Catholics would - barring insanity - yield control of the liturgy to the wrecking-crew of modernists who abused it after the council. Fewer still the number who would seek the most moderate reforms of the traditional Roman missal by such open-ended directives as fill the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.""No "reform of the reform" short of the full-blown Novus Ordo justifies departure from the traditional Mass, and the thought of "returning to the council" is nothing if not chimerical. "Surveying the modern Church's liturgical wasteland and its origins in Vatican II and Annibale Bugnini, it becomes difficult to postulate any other solution than that of the late French archbishop. To rephrase Edward Schillebeeckx, it is the Old Mass, and nothing else, which is 'an admirable' - even perfect - 'piece of work.' "
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Those who know the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) know Fr. Paul Aulagnier: He was among Archbishop Lefebvre's first class of SSPX seminarians, the first French seminarian to be ordained into the SSPX, and one of the SSPX's strongest proponents of the episcopal consecrations in 1988. As a former assistant to the superior general, Fr. Aulagnier and Archbishop Lefebvre remained close until the archbishop's death.Recently, Fr. Aulagnier has spoken in favor of a SSPX reconciliation with Rome. Luc Gagnon, a correspondent from Quebec, interviewed Fr. Aulagnier for The Wanderer. The Wanderer noted, "While some major differences remain over some of our positions at The Wanderer and those of Fr. Aulagnier, we are nevertheless encouraged by Fr. Aulagnier's honesty and good faith in seeking a resolution to the current division between the SSPX and Rome. Along with Fr. Aulagnier, we invite our readers to pray for an end to this division." Indeed, many pray that the Rome gets serious about indults, and wide, generous access to the holy, timeless, and powerful Tridentine Mass, as SSPX has.
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"The restoration of the sacred at St. John's has been accompanied by--perhaps helped spur--a restoration of the area. Where once it was chancy to walk around after dark, luxury apartments are being built, bringing back a small geographical parish community. Still, St. John's has become a center for the Latin Mass and traditional Catholic life, and though only a four-minute subway ride from the downtown Loop, many people drive from up to two hours away. They come for Mass and stay for classes in doctrine, Latin and Greek, sodalities, browsing in Seat of Wisdom Library or simply socializing in a cafe downstairs."
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"Changes are coming in the way Catholics celebrate Eucharist, but if an informal survey of suburban parishes is any indication, few know they're on the way. Eucharist, or Holy Communion, is the Christian rite in which bread and wine are consecrated and received as the body and blood of Jesus. All parishes must make the changes by Dec. 1. The Vatican issued the new liturgical instructions in 2000. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last year finished translating the instructions from Latin to English."
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"This is not a new way of saying mass," said Rev. Anthony Brankin, pastor of St. Thomas More Catholic Church, 2825 W. 81st St. "It's a fine-tuning for things that might have become inexact. I think their worry is that parishes are going too far afield." Brankin expects very little change at his church, which adheres to tradition, he said. Each Sunday, St. Thomas More's Sunday noon mass in Latin draws hundreds attracted by the "very ceremonial, formal and elegant" old rite used in Catholic churches before 1962, he said.
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"Tucked away in the hills of Los Gatos, Calif., is a conservative Catholic retreat where much of modernity is rejected: Priests wear ankle-length black cassocks, children's play structures look like ancient castles, and Mass is celebrated in Latin."
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"According to the magazine Inside the Vatican, Rome is also planning to issue a major disciplinary document, ending liturgical experimentation. The document "already in draft form" is expected to encourage wider use of the Tridentine Mass, possibly on a weekly basis, in every parish. Fr. Paddy Jones, director of the National Centre for Liturgy at Maynooth, said the new document was signalled in the Pope's recent encyclical on the Eucharist."
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