SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM cura ad
hoc tempus usque semper fuit, ut Christi Ecclesia Divinæ Maiestati cultum
dignum offerret «ad laudem et gloriam nominis Sui» et «ad utilitatem totius Ecclesiæ Suæ sanctæ.»
The concern of the Supreme Pontiffs, up to the present and always, was that the Church of Christ offer the Divine Majesty a worthy worship ‘for the praise and glory of His name’ and ‘for the utility of all His holy Church’.
Ab immemorabili tempore sicut etiam in futurum, principium servandum est «iuxta quod unaquæque Ecclesia particularis concordare debet cum universali Ecclesia non solum quoad fidei doctrinam et signa sacramentalia, sed etiam quoad usus universaliter acceptos ab apostolica et continua traditione, qui servandi sunt non solum ut errores vitentur, verum etiam ad fidei integritatem tradendam, quia Ecclesiæ lex orandi eius legi credendi respondet.»
Since time immemorial as also in the future, the principle is to be observed ‘according to which each particular Church must be in accordance with the universal Church not only with respect to the doctrine of the faith and sacramental signs, but also regarding usages universally accepted from apostolic and continuous tradition, which are to be observed not only so that errors may be avoided, but also to hand down the integrity of the faith, because the Church’s law of prayer corresponds to her law of belief...’
It goes into effect on the 14th September, the feast of the Holy Cross.
Traditionalists were right: the old books were ‘never abrogated’.
Also "lawful," according to
the normative text – which, like its cover letter, comes in at four pages
– are the erection of "personal parishes" for the celebration of the 1962
rites or the appointment of a "rector or chaplain" designated for the
task.
A priest ‘does
not require any permission’ to celebrate
the traditional Mass for
himself, says the Pope, and lay people can attend such semi-private
Masses.
The Novus Ordo is
still the norm. I expected that
(whatever really happens they’d say that to save face) and am fine with
calling the NO and the Tridentine ‘uses’ of the one Roman Rite (as is
the RC Anglican
Use, NO spliced with the
US 1979 Book of Common
Prayer). They are! The new officialese is the Tridentine is the
extraordinary use and the NO the
ordinary. (Let’s hope this
extraordinary practice becomes as ordinary as westward celebration and
extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist did 35 years ago. I can hear Cardinal
Mahony screaming all the way from LA. Goody.)
The readings may be done in the vernacular.
Unconfirmed: The new three-year lectionary may be
used, and in the vernacular, with the 1962 Missal. Like
the Revd Chris Tessone I didn’t see that
coming! The rules until now banned mixing up the two Masses. But will all those
readings match the propers? And as
Fr Peter Robinson
says the traditional one-year kind (which
the Orthodox and
the BCP have) is better
because with the three-year ones the people
hear three times as much scripture but know it only a third as well,
which also undermines what Derek
Olsen might call the authentically
‘folk’ aspect of the liturgy, like a ‘folk office’ such as
the little hours or the Little Office people can memorise. (I know you’re
on board with the three-year lectionary, Derek.) The people over time really
get to know those readings. Update: An explanatory note from the Vatican seems to uphold the current rules forbidding mixing the two versions of the Roman Rite: the 1962 Missal is ‘integral’ with its own readings.
The motu also seems to allow the possibility of new saints’ days and prefaces written specially for this missal.
Apparently there’s no permission to do the
rest of this Mass in the vernacular.
Already true of religious orders
that use the 1962 books exclusively, the Roman
Breviary is again an official prayer of
the church, like the Missal available for use without having to ask
permission. Lovely and very doable following the 1960 rubrics. Though I
understand in the good old days many priests didn’t like the breviary I
still hope there’s enough interest in this to do what the legitimate
liturgical movement wanted, getting the whole ‘people of God’ praying
the other official, liturgical prayer
of the church (instead of having Mass for everything)... including at services!
How about Sunday Vespers and Benediction again? I wonder if the old rule that
it had to be in Latin to count for one’s obligation (if one is canonically
bound to read it) still holds. If not, the Anglican Breviary is yours to
use!
There is to be just one
traditional Mass per Sunday where there is interest in having it. Much
like my long-standing suggestion of the Anglican way of making the early (eight
o’clock) service the traditional one. I’d like to think the Holy
Father or one of his people reads this blog but shan’t flatter
myself.
On the matter of Jews possibly being offended, the approved books are from 1962: ‘the Missal of Blessed John XXIII’ etc. In 1959 that Pope took out the word ‘perfidious’ from the Good Friday services.
The Pope seems to renege on those orders like the Fraternity of
St Peter (the rump of the Society of St Pius X that accepted the 1988 agreement
with the Pope that Archbishop Lefebvre backed out on) that are
‘1962-exclusive’ saying those
priests can’t absolutely rule out using
the new Mass.
Welcome Back to Long-Lost Sister: We welcome
back our Sister Liturgy, the Rite of Rome often referred to as the Tridentine,
or Rite of St Pius V...
...taking its rightful place
alongside the Orthodox and other Eastern rites.
In fact the few
Orthodox who use Western rites use either a modified (catholicised) BCP/American Missal (BCP
fitted with propers and ceremonial like the Tridentine Mass)... many/most
Western Rite Orthodox are former Anglicans...
...or a modified
(slightly byzantinised: no filioque,
epiclesis added to the Canon)
version of... the Tridentine
Mass!
[digression] Interestingly and ironically there are about
four times as many WRO as there are
Anglican Use RCs even though the Pope is the Anglicans’ patriarch — until
the unpleasantness under the Tudors they were Roman Catholics. Unlike Rome, which
simply takes in and re-ordains ex-Anglican priests (but it does train new
priests to do the Tridentine Mass), the Antiochian Orthodox train ordinands to
do these services as needed. WRO has a future. [/digression]
‘Oi’ll give it a foive.’ Not bad really.
If
the Pope actually makes the new Mass more traditional as well, all the
better. (I still think the
1965 Missal would be a good default for the Roman Rite. But nobody asked
me.) Better than what went before with the indults. Like I said
I’ll believe it when I see it implemented
everywhere.
I may be wrong, but I think that even just a partial setting free of the traditional Mass would be a great step forward for the universal Church.
There will be much rejoicing in traditionalist circles over this. Expect the Lefebvrists to be welcomed back into the fold soon. B16 — a man who knows how to do unity. We Anglicans could learn a thing or two I fear.
All civilized people can rejoice at this, in the spirit of Agatha Christie and the other non- [Roman] Catholics who petitioned the Holy See for the old liturgy's retention in 1971.
P.S. It’s not
about Latin but orthodoxy, objectivity and Godwardness.
P.P.S. I was born in 1966 but Anglican so I got the last of the old religion there. So when I discovered the Tridentine as a teen-ager I immediately took to it. By then I had learnt Spanish so I even understood the Latin!
The Novus Ordo is
still the norm. I expected that
(whatever really happens they’d say that to save face) and am fine with
calling the NO and the Tridentine ‘uses’ of the one Roman Rite (as is
the RC Anglican
Use, NO spliced with the
US 1979 Book of Common
Prayer). They are! The new officialese is the Tridentine is the
extraordinary use and the NO the
ordinary. (Let’s hope this
extraordinary practice becomes as ordinary as westward celebration and
extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist did 35 years ago. I can hear Cardinal
Mahony screaming all the way from LA. Goody.)