Inside the Vatican magazine September-October 2021

INSIDE THE

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 $5 / EUR 5 / £3.30

VATICAN

GRZEGORZ GALAZKA PHOTO

BIMONTHLY of RELIGION-FAITH-ECONOMY-HISTORY-DEBATES-NEWS...

REQUIEM FOR A LITURGY POPE FRANCIS, IN AN UNEXPECTED MOTU PROPRIO, SEEKS TO PUT AN END TO “LITURGICAL DIVERSITY,” SEEN AS “DIVISIVE,”

BY SEVERELY RESTRICTING THE OLD MASS INSIDE: THE KEY TEXTS AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Magisterial Works “Continental Achievement is itself a glorious achievement! Starr’s narrative turns the early years of Catholicism in the USA into a riveting story of rivalry, piety, and ambition.”

— John T. McGreevy Professor of History University of Notre Dame

on the

Founding OF America

◆ CONTINENTAL ACHIEVEMENT Kevin Starr

The sequel to Continental Ambitions, Starr’s magisterial work on Catholics who explored, evangelized, and settled the North American continent. This work focuses on the participation of Catholics, alongside their Protestant and Jewish fellow citizens, in the Revolutionary War and the creation and development of the early Republic.

With the same panoramic view and cinematic style of Starr’s celebrated Americans and the California Dream series, Continental Achievement documents how the American Revolution allowed Roman Catholics of the English colonies to earn a new and better place for themselves in the emergent Republic.

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◆ AMERICA ON TRIAL Robert Reilly The Founding of America is on trial.

Critics say it was a poison pill with a time-release formula, and that its principles are responsible for the country's moral disintegration.

In this well-researched book, Reilly strives to prove this thesis is false by tracing the lineage of the ideas that made the USA, and its ordered liberty, possible. He argues that the bedrock of America’s founding are the beliefs in the Judaic oneness of God; the Greek rational order of the world based upon the Reason behind it; and the Christian arrival of that Reason (Logos) incarnate in Christ.

AOTH . . . Sewn Hardcover, $27.95

"Reilly’s argument is unanswerable, the documentation massive, and the issue prophetic in import."

— Peter Kreeft, Ph.D. Professor of Philosophy Boston College

“Starr’s magisterial narration of European Catholic presence in North America—the Norse, the Spanish, the French, the English, and others—is a contribution of the first order to our understanding of the whole foundation of this land of the free."

— James V. Schall, S.J. Professor Emeritus, Georgetown University

◆ CONTINENTAL AMBITIONS — Kevin Starr A fast-paced evocation of three Roman Catholic civilizations—Spain, France, and Recusant England—as they explored, evangelized, and settled the North American continent.

The first time this story has been told in one volume, with Starr’s narrative verve, this riveting history will appeal to a wide readership.

Starr dramatizes the representative personalities and events that illustrate the triumphs and the tragedies, the achievements and the failures, of each of these societies in their explorations and translations of religious and social values to new and challenging environments. His history is notable for its honesty and synoptic success in comparing and contrasting three disparate civilizations with three differing approaches to expansion in the New World.

CAMH . . . 7 x 10, Sewn Hardcover, $34.95

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EDITORIAL

by Robert Moynihan

The Faith Must Be Proclaimed

Our age is an age which wishes to “eliminate God, not only from the present and the future, but also from the past,” writes Archbishop Viganò. This is why we must stay in print! An editorial which is also an appeal

“It is the end of an age that has rebelled against the first principle of the universe, against the nature of things, against the ultimate goal of man. An age that has rebelled against God, that has presumed to be able to overrule and overthrow Him... to eliminate Him, not only from the present and the future, but also from the past.”

—Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, July 17, 2021 August 30, 2021 Dear Friends, I write to you today for help, just as the news has arrived that, after 160 years the venerable daily Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, is considering no longer appearing in print . This is the newspaper that for a century and a half has published every papal encyclical, every major Vatican pronouncement, together with news and commentary, for Catholics everywhere — indeed, for all the world. The high costs of printing are now leading the Vatican to seriously consider ceasing print publication.

Some may take it to be yet another sign of the challenges that face the Catholic Church right now. It seems that every vestige of the Church’s traditions, some originating not decades or centuries, but even millennia ago, are being wiped out.

Progress marches on, we are told; modern man no longer needs these things, whether they be 1,000-year liturgical traditions or simply a newspaper that tells the world each day what is happening at the Vatican.

Today’s belief: “Man no longer needs God” Pope John Paul II, in his 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, calls the modern world “a world which has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself.” In fact, says that world, modern man does not need religion at all; certainly not the Catholic Church, a “relic of a fading past.” But is this true?

To answer this question, we must ask another, central one, the anthropological one: What is man? Is man a being in time without an eternal horizon? Are human persons “in the image and likeness of God,” or casual, inconsequential, meaningless?

And the central answer Christianity proposes is that man — every man, each man and each woman, each human person — is in the image and likeness of God, and, in existing, is meant, as St. Irenaeus tells us, to give glory to God — the ultimate reality — by becoming fully alive through the vision of God, through seeking after and finally seeing God, through the vision of the ultimate, “than which there is nothing greater.”

What does this mean? It means that any humanism, any de facto deification of man… any worship of man, not God… will not lead the human person to true happiness or true life but, on the contrary, will lead to a dead end and misery. That is the essence of the matter, for the Catholic faith.

We become ourselves by becoming more like Him We have a calling, a vocation, each one of us, every one of us.

We are called to undertake a pilgrimage in this life, to set our sights on our true destiny, our true home, and journey toward that destiny, that home, in the face of every temptation, every proposed alternative destiny, focusing on that final goal alone.

The goal is to encounter the Logos, Christ, our brother, firstborn of many, and by meeting Him, knowing Him, following Him, to journey home. And by making this journey, to fulfill ourselves. To fulfill the deepest longings of our hearts, to become ourselves, by becoming like Him. “Man bears within him a thirst for the infinite, a longing for eternity, a quest for beauty, a desire for love...man bears within him the desire for God,” Pope Benedict XVI said in his General Audience of May 11, 2011. This is the message of Christianity, and it is the message that is behind all of the Church’s elaborate structures, all of the teachings, doctrines, commandments, counsels, laws, sacraments, rituals and charitable initiatives.

This is the true heart of the Church, and the true purpose of the Holy See, the true center of the Vatican — Inside the Vatican, to use the title of the magazine we have published for almost 30 years — even if all the insufficiencies and failings of men have made it difficult to see that true center. And now, more than ever, it appears, Inside the Vatican fulfills a role that nobody else is filling — to help people to see that true center.

Calmness, reason and balance Frankly, it was a bit of a shock to hear that L’Osservatore Romano may fold up its tent (it will apparently continue to have some sort of internet presence, behind a paywall) — after 160 years, it has come to be regarded as an “institution,” almost as solid and venerable as the Vatican itself.

But these are strange times. They are also difficult times financially, and we are trying to answer a call that seems to grow louder with each passing day... but also requires us to ask for financial support from our friends.

And so we are asking you, today, to send us an amount that you can afford, to help us carry on, to bring the Truth that was bequeathed to Peter and his successors, to the Church that Jesus Christ gave us, the Church of which He said, “The gates of Hell shall never prevail against her.”

We would be grateful if you could send us $15 or $25; $50 or $100 would be even more effective; $250 or $1,000 would help ensure that Inside the Vatican does not go the way L’Osservatore Romano seems to be going. In fact, now it is more important than ever that somebody is reporting on what happens in Rome — and around the universal Church — with calmness, reason and balance. It is, we believe, a rare combination, and why we are convinced that we are needed now more than ever. If you agree, please help us now. Call 800-789-9494, or visit our website: InsidetheVatican.com.

Thank you, and God bless you! m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

3

CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

Year 29, #5

LEAD STORY Using technology to track priests: Is it acceptable? Will it encourage... blackmail?

by Robert Moynihan and ITV staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 SCRIPTURE/“To God, who gives joy to my youth”

by Prof. Anthony Esolen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 Year 29, #5

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Robert Moynihan ASSOCIATE EDITOR: George “Pat” Morse (+ 2013) ASSISTANT EDITOR: Christina Deardurff CULTURE EDITOR: Lucy Gordan CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Giuseppe Rusconi WRITERS: Anna Artymiak, Alberto Carosa, William D. Doino, Jr., David Quinn, Andrew Rabel, Vladimiro Redzioch, Serena Sartini, Father Vincent Twomey PHOTOS: Grzegorz Galazka LAYOUT: Giuseppe Sabatelli ILLUSTRATIONS: Stefano Navarrini CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Deborah B. Tomlinson ADVERTISING: Cynthia Sauer Tel: 202-864-4261 csauer@insidethevatican.com

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EDITORIAL OFFICES FOR MAIL: US: 14 West Main St. Front Royal, VA 22630 USA Tel. 202-536-4555 Rome: Inside the Vatican via delle Mura Aurelie 7c, Rome 00165, Italy Tel: 39-06-3938-7471 Fax: 39-06-638-1316 POSTMASTER: send address changes to Inside the Vatican c/o St. Martin de Porres Lay Dominican Community PO Box 57 New Hope, KY 40052 USA Tel: 800-789-9494 Fax: 270-325-3091 Subscriptions (USA): Inside the Vatican PO Box 57 New Hope, KY 40052 USA www.insidethevatican.com Tel: 800-789-9494

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INSIDE THE VATICAN (ISSN 1068-8579, 1 yr subscription: $ 49.95; 2 yrs, $94.95; 3 yrs, $129.95), provides a comprehensive, independent report on Vatican affairs published bimonthly (6 times per year) with occasional special supplements.

Inside the Vatican is published by Urbi et Orbi Communications, PO Box 57, New Hope, Kentucky, 40052, USA, pursuant to a License Agreement with Robert Moynihan, the owner of the Copyright. Inside the Vatican, Inc., maintains editorial offices in Rome, Italy.

Periodicals Postage PAID at New Haven, Kentucky, USA and additional mailing offices.

Copyright 2021 Robert Moynihan

4 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

DOSSIER THE OLD MASS/Pope Francis issues a decree greatly restricting the old Latin Mass

by Inside the Vatican staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

CULTURE LITURGY/“The Liturgist Stands Beside Christ”

by Prof. David Fagerberg, Ph.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 LATIN/The value of using a sacred, unchanging ancient language

by John Byron Kuhner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

URBI ET ORBI: CATHOLICISM AND ORTHODOXY The Message of the Icon/Mary is from “the Root of Jesse”

by Robert Wiesner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 East-West Watch/Serbian Patriarch: “Dulling blades is the duty of all people”

by Peter Anderson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 News from the East/In Russia, a new book: The Gospel According to Dostoevsky

by Becky Derks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50

FEATURES Art/The artist Piranesi and the Knights of Malta

by Lucy Gordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 THE ICON OF OUR LADY OF KAZAN/The long-lost icon has a new home!

by Peter Anderson, expert on events in the Orthodox world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Vatican Watch/A day-by-day chronicle of Vatican events: June, July, August

by Becky Derks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 People/Franciscans elect 121st successor to St. Francis: Fr. Massimo Fusarelli

by Becky Derks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 Food for Thought/Cooking with the saints: their favorite foods

by Mother Martha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62

How to Truly Live the Good Life! ◆ THE ART OF LIVING

The Cardinal Virtues and the Freedom to Love Edward Sri

B

estselling author and theologian Ed Sri reveals the strong connection between growing in the virtues and growing in friendship and community with others. A consummate teacher, Dr. Sri leads us through the virtues with engaging examples and an uncanny ability to anticipate and answer our most pressing questions. He shows us in his inimitable, easy-to-read style, that the virtues are the basic life skills we must have to give the best of ourselves to God, and to the people in our lives. In short, the practice of the virtues gives us the freedom to love.

“Amid the moral confusion of our age, Sri’s careful exposition of the cardinal virtues is a welcome anchor of sanity. It will lead you to richer friendships, with men and women—and with God.” — John Cuddeback, Ph.D., Author TRUE FRIENDSHIP: Where Virtue Becomes Happiness “Sri’s clear transmission of St. Thomas’ brilliance and its application to modern life makes the virtuous life attractive and attainable.

If you want to live the good life, this book is for you.”

— Suzie Andres, Author BEING CATHOLIC: What Every Catholic Should Know

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LOVE UNVEILED: The Catholic Faith Explained Sri shows how all the pieces of the Catholic faith, including the most baffling ones, fit together to make one beautiful mosaic of God's love for us and our own participation in that all-encompassing love.

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WHO AM I TO JUDGE? INTO HIS LIKENESS Provides an approachable but in-depth exploration of how to live as a disciple and experience the transformation Jesus wants to work in our lives. Learn to intentionally encounter Jesus anew each day.

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RETHINKING MARY IN THE NEW TESTAMENT Sri deftly leads us through a detailed study of Scripture, making insightful connections to deepen our understanding of Jesus’s Mother. Readable and compelling, this book will renew your vision of Mary.

Using engaging stories and personal experience, Sri helps us understand the classical view of morality and equips us to engage relativism, appealing to the head and the heart. Learn how Catholic morality is all about love, and why making judgments is not judging a person's soul.

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(800) 651-1531

Italy: Journey to the Face of Christ May 28 - June 7, 2022 From the ancient rooms where St. Peter lived for seven years, to the bishop’s residence in Assisi; from the treasure trove of art and faith at the Vatican Museum, to the Benedictine monastery of Norcia; we will encounter some of the “living stones” of our Church, as we journey toward the Face of Christ – both spiritually and physically in the form of the miraculous Face of Manoppello.

Visit us online to learn more!

Virtual Pilgrimages Join us live and enjoy the discussion after the pilgrimage! Or, if you are unable to join us live, you can view all of our Virtual Pilgrimages on the Inside the Vatican Pilgrimages YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe and stay informed about any upcoming Virtual Pilgrimages and other original content!

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Signature England: In the Footsteps of Saints Thomas More and John Henry Newman – June 18 - 26, 2023

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July 22 - August 2, 2023

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Classic ITALY: Annual ITV Mag Pilgrimage Inside the Vatican Magazine 30th Anniversary – October 4 - 14, 2023

Our Signature Pilgrimages (intimate, limited to 15 pilgrims) are impossible to mass-produce. Like the products of an artisan, they are works of painstaking preparation that reflect our unswerving commitment to create something of great and unique beauty.

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR INSIDE THE VATICAN welcomes letters but cannot reply to all. Each is read and considered carefully. Printed letters may be edited for clarity. You may email us at editor@insidethevatican.com

MARRIED FOR 70 YEARS Gilbert and I have read Inside the Vatican for many years. Gilbert died in January at 94.

We were married for 70 years. He would want me to continue to read it!

Margaret Carnovale Wading River, New York, USA

We get requests like these everyday.

Dear Friends: I’ve just received your latest issue, and even a cursory perusal reveals your usual incisive and relevant articles and stellar photography.

I also noticed, however, that it was marked “last issue” of my subscription. If possible, may I request another year’s extension?

In this prison—deep in rural Georgia—there is no Catholic ministry, ergo, no sacraments; Inside the Vatican is therefore a vital part of my communion with the Church—second, of course, to prayer, in which I always include you and your staff.

I appreciate your kindness.

With love in Christ, Richard J. T. Clark, T.O.M.

Help us, help them.

Many prisoners—as well as religious—have requested, but are unable to afford, subscriptions. Please donate to the ITV Scholarship Fund and provide B GVMM ZFBS of Inside the Vatican magazine for only $39.95/year.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

THE NEW WORLD ORDER Please send me three May/June issues “Francis and Capitalists, New Friends?”

This will lead to the New World Order.

I believe we will be at war soon. Pope Benedict is my Pope. Keep writing about the Orthodox. They will get rid of the Novus Ordo Mass, which was made by six Protestants.

Therese Gamache Chepachet, Rhode Island, USA

VIGANÒ’S INSIGHTS Thank you so much for passing on the amazingly insightful commentaries written

by Archbishop Viganò. Please keep up this important practice.

This is a tiny point, but in your initial bold quote from the Archbishop (Moynihan Letter #42, “Viganò”), you end it “worship of idols and demons,” whereas the Archbishop ended the sentence “worship of idols and demons, beginning with the filthy Pachamama.”

I know there is a longstanding school of editorial thought that permits shortening a quote with a period, but here I would have preferred to see an ellipsis, for obvious reasons.

Thanks again for all of your outstanding work, so important to our Church and our world.

Ned Jacobs Christiansted, Virgin Islands The Editor replies: Thank you, Ned, for this thoughtful letter. I do appreciate your close reading of our publication. It is very much appreciated.

I would like to note that we still have copies of my book, Finding Viganò, for sale. You may order on our website, or by calling 1-800-789-9494.

HERETICAL DENIAL

@

In your July-August, 2021 issue, your last sentence on page 14 reads: “Instead, what we are witnessing (in Germany) is the heretical denial of the Catholic faith in the sacrament of marriage and the denial of the anthropological truth that the difference between men and women expresses God’s will in creation.”

Amen. This denial of the faith been going on for more than 50 years.

The logical reality is that the acceptance of marital contraception entails the logical premise that modern men and women can take apart what God Himself has put together in the marriage act.

Once that principle is accepted there is no logical stopping point, and morality becomes a matter of personal preference.

In his Sex: The Radical View of a Catholic Theologian, Michael Valente made a case for bestiality.

Note the wording of Pope Paul VI’s Humanae Vitae (1968), Par. 14: “Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with procreative acts of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater evil or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it [18] — in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently, it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberately contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong.”

The rationale comes at least in part from Germany, because the German scholar Fr. Jozef Fuchs, S.J., was a leading theologian

on the Papal Birth Control Commission.

The proposal is that immoral actions take their morality from moral actions. That is, of course, a principle that cannot be limited just to marital contraception. It is a principle of radical subjectivism that cannot say “no” to any imaginable sexual behavior. In fact, it has been used to justify even bestiality.

PETA (the group “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals”) might object, but this “theology” can’t say “no.”

It’s time for the German theologians to get their act together.

John F. Kippley (of German heritage) Natural Family Planning International Cincinnati, Ohio, USA jfkippley@fuse.net

FASCINATING REPORTING Absolutely fascinating reporting in your Letter #92, 2021, Monday, August 23: Calabrò, in which you discuss Italian reports that Pope Francis may soon resign.

I guess we can all hope for perhaps a Pope Erdo vis-a-vis a Pope Zuppi. With the Church on the “brink” in so many areas, one must wonder if the Church can endure/survive another Pope who will not speak the Gospel and the Word of God clearly: first to the Church, then to the World.

With vocations, church attendance, and Catholic education in free fall, as well as the lightning speed loss of its physical structures (churches, monasteries, convents, education buildings), an uncertain papacy has led to some irreversible losses. These physical structures are simply lost, sold, gone. God will always preserve the Church from total extinction (Matthew 16:17-19) but in what remaining remnant form will it survive?

The Pope is not the Church, yet he can

exert a singular influence on its vitality, message, and attraction to the faithful and the lost. Francis has seemingly accelerated the downward spiral of the trajectory of the Church and Her mission. May God be preparing the cardinals for a future conclave, and for the next successor to the shoes of the Fisherman. May the Word of God go forth, save souls and refresh and renew the faithful. And above all, may Jesus Christ be lifted up to the world as its only Hope, as the only Name given under Heaven by which humanity can be saved, and as the Great Shepherd and Lover of our souls.

It is sad that in a world lost and careening towards hell, that the Holy See would spend its time and efforts on suppression of the legitimate exercise of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Like so many areas of direction of this unfortunate pontificate, it has lost the priorities of the Apostolic Church and of her God and Savior, Jesus Christ. May the Holy Spirit right the barque of Peter, and bring us to a real and sustained evangelization and a true proclamation to the world of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’

And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” (Revelation 22:17, 20-21) Jack Carter jbcarter7@aol.com

HELP FOR PALESTINIAN CHRISTIANS You are one of my three “Go-To” sources whenever I am trying to determine what in the dickens is going on, especially any-

thing Catholic.

I love your “Friends of Lebanon” project. I was just wondering if you might also consider a sister outreach for “Friends of Palestine”? The ongoing Palestinian/Israeli situation does not seem to be getting any better, and the Palestinian Christians desperately need help!

Charlene Shoen cjshoen@gmail.com

THE EUCHARIST In your editorial “An Appeal to Pope Francis” (July/Aug 2021) on the issue of President Joe Biden receiving the Eucharist despite his public support for abortion, I disagree with what the Vatican wrote to the US Bishops in saying “the Eucharist… must remain an available remedy bringing spiritual healing to all who approach the altar,” because if anyone receives in mortal sin, they go contrary to the warnings of Scripture. St. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 11:27-33: “Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord...

That is why many among you are sick and infirm, and why so many are dying.” This, and the evil of abortion, should be preached from the pulpit.

Also, in the article on Eucharistic concelebration, Bishop Schneider explains how Jesus is higher and the apostles lower and how we deviate from this symbolism in concelebrations. He says, “Since then, every authentic concelebration of the Holy Mass possessed this structure.”

I was alarmed by the word “authentic,” but he did not use the word “valid.” But does Bishop Schneider mean these are invalid Masses? I would just think some leeway is important.

M. Gail Royal Carlsbad, California, USA

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INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR THE HAIL MARY AT MASS I hope Pope Francis agrees that the Hail Mary prayer should be said at all the Masses after the Our Father. I have wondered about this for a long time, as Jesus would want His mother so honored. The Our Father and Hail Mary are two prayers said most in the world; and they are most powerful. It will add but a small amount of time to the Mass and add to Rosaries said daily for peace.

Barbara Snow Bronson, Florida, USA

ABORTION-TAINTED VACCINES I read with great interest the interview with Bishop Athanasius Schneider in your July-August issue, in which he presented his understanding of the Catholic view of accepting abortion-tainted vaccination.

I reacted with absolute horror on reading the CDF document published last year on the morality of COVID-19 vaccines.

We were advised that a Catholic could in clear conscience take such a vaccine if others were unavailable (paragraphs 2 and 3 of the document).

This was the exact opposite of what I expected the guidance to say, which was that under no circumstances whatsoever could a Catholic take such a vaccine, produced in direct cooperation with abortion.

The fact that Pope Francis himself authorized this guidance was a great shock. He is undoubtedly a good man doing his best in very difficult circumstances, but I was taken aback. I am very perturbed by this very clear concession on what I regard as something that can never be compromised on, and also which I believe is not the prerogative of this, or any other Pope, to make.

Francis McCann Belfast, Ireland

FRANCIS ABROGATES SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM It is now clear, the official gauntlet has been thrown down! What we’ve known to have existed since the Council has just been officially validated. Two things now must be pursued most stridently: (1) Although the Pope’s demands regarding the validity and legitimacy of Vatican Council II cannot be argued, problematic sections of Council documents must be revisited and errors corrected or clarified; and, (2) Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre’s excommunication must be rescinded 10

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

(though not necessarily in that order).

Short and most sweet.

Tim Bratt thughbratt@gmail.com I cannot believe that Francis did this [overturned Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum of 2007] while Benedict is still alive — a massive act of disrespect to his predecessor no matter how Francis dresses up his reasoning. Given that people like Antonio Spadaro are his most important advisors, the information Francis gets is likely filtered and put in questionable contexts. I believe an important question of Church governance is put front and center by this motu proprio. To wit, does the Pope actually have the authority to “rule in or out” the Tridentine form? Even Pope St. Paul VI did not go that far.

I am not someone who chooses the “Extraordinary Rite,” but it is obvious that younger Catholics are flocking to it, meaning that Francis is cutting off a vibrant part of the Church to protect the “ideological” concerns of older Catholic “leaders” who still look to use Vatican II to remake the Church despite their failures so far.

Charles Cornelio ccornelio4696@gmail.com

“BEAUTIFUL INTERVIEW” What a beautiful interview with Robert Moynihan by Lifesitenews on July 23, titled, “Will the Attack on the Latin Mass Backfire?” It was packed with much valuable information, done with discretion, tenderness and wisdom. May the Lord bless and continue to use you in these difficult times for the encouragement of His Mystical Body the Church. To God be the Glory.

Joseph & Margaret Porto portoshaven@yahoo.ca Kingville, Canada

JESUS PRAYED IN...

Jesus taught and prayed in the vernacular, just so ought our Mass be prayed.

Latin, overall, is not taught today. Arguments over having a “sacred” language are unnecessary, as the hearts of the people are what make prayers sacred.

As for the celebrant facing the people, that stance is much more inclusive. It is good for us to see the actions of the ministerial priesthood being performed. In the old days, our eyes were on the printed page of missals more often than the altar.

Our hearts are to God. As for women as lectors and Eucharistic ministers, is it so hard to see Mother Mary offering the Body and Blood of her own Son to us? That action in no way takes from the Consecration, which only the celebrant can perform.

As for receiving Jesus’ Body in the hand, that is as it should be. We all know that we are unworthy... yet Jesus did say, “Take and eat .... take and drink…,” so “in the hand” makes total sense. Lastly, God confirmed St. Peter the first Pope, and his wife was living still (1 Corinthians 9). And yes, the Greek word can be translated either “woman” or “wife.” So, if one is looking not only to Tradition, but also to our Father’s will, closing the door to women is not how He would have it be.

Claudia Person personcm@comcast.net

THE DEVIL HATES LATIN An exorcist named Fr. Gary Thomas states, “The devil hates Latin, I am convinced of it.” Here is the comment in full: “He gave another reason why he was so strongly in favor of the use of Latin in the Rite of Exorcism: ‘The Devil hates Latin, it is the universal language of the Church.’ I asked him about this afterwards, and he repeated it, saying that his personal experiences as an exorcist who has performed many, many exorcisms have convinced him of this. He told me he had heard from exorcists who did exorcisms in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese (the only approved vernaculars for this Rite) that Latin was the most effective language.” (“The Devil Hates Latin,” by David Clayton, Feb. 16, 2016) That should sum it up right there as the main reason to keep the Latin Mass(!) and the Old Rites available to all.

Linda Smith writenow1983@gmail.com I wonder what the Eucharistic Liturgy was like during the lives of Prosper of Aquitaine, Augustine, and Pope Leo the Great... I did a quick search, and there is a lot written about Augustin’s theology of Eucharist, but I did not find the liturgy / rubrics, etc. In all this discussion about the pre- and post-Vatican II Liturgy, it seems to me that there are other liturgical forms before the Tridentine reforms that may be of interest in the western Church.

Bob Graf robertgraf@aol.com

“MAJESTY, ANTIQUITY” You write: “And that truth will show that the Second Vatican Council did not intend the ‘new Mass’ promulgated by Paul VI, and that Paul VI and John Paul I and John Paul II and Benedict did not intend the suppression of the old Mass, and that Francis was not well-advised on all of this history, and wrote this decree without having full knowledge of these facts.” (Moynihan Letter #80, Monday, August 2, 2021, Feast of Our Lady of the Angels of the Portiuncula) I agree entirely, but once momentum began and it became institutionalized, they either resigned themselves to it or were afraid to challenge a fait accompli.

Born in 1958, I do not remember the Old Mass, but when I returned to church in the early 80s, I had a sense something was lacking in the Mass. It seemed shallow, too focused on priest and congregation, way too talkative; I experienced no sense of its majesty, antiquity (i.e. participating in something of the ages), or transcendence. I found it bland and boring; something to suffer out of a sense of faith — not something to be proud of or wanting to show others its richness and beauty (because in most cases there was little to none).

And yet I constantly heard how great

were the new liturgy and the reforms attributed to Vatican II. I guess repeating such things often enough becomes like a mantra that convinces one through repetition. It was the triumph of an idea over the reality.

Fr. Lindsay Harrison lindsay_harrison@hotmail.com I’m 88, was an altar boy for eight years, and I still remember the Latin responses from the traditional Latin Mass. It is a relic and should be treated as such; perhaps relegated to monasteries for safe-keeping where it could be understood and appreciated. Back then, some attendees used missals, many said the Rosary and most just observed. The ringing of the bells at the Sanctus, and the elevation of the Eucharist, got everyone’s attention. If anything, the Latin Mass drew more reverence from the prishioners than the current Mass does. The “smells and the bells” lent an aura to the Mass, devotions, processions, etc. The vernacular Mass is a positive in understanding what one is participating in.

Allowing the Latin Mass other than as indicated by the Pope could lead to a cult following. While living in Texas in the 1980s I attended a Latin Mass with others and the consensus was that while interesting,

it would not be acceptable generally.

Peter J. Brock Sun City Center, Florida, USA I attend the new Mass on a regular basis.

I grew up with the old Mass and served it as an altar boy. I remember feeling it was very holy as I would get closer to it at the altar.

Then came life with the sixties and seventies. I got married and returned to the Church with gusto. (I still attend the new Mass every day.) Then, slowly, the old Mass started to come back. I observed that the Latin Mass was still very interior and deep.

But it seemed to collect only individual souls — not a fisherman’s net.

I have heard condemnations of Vatican II — even objection to the Luminous Mysteries because they were given to the Church after Vatican II — something that struck me as unreasonable and stupid: reason was getting mixed up with animus and rebellion.

So I have to sympathize with Pope Francis because if this stupidity is becoming widespread, then his action of returning the jurisdiction and supervision of the Latin Mass back to our Bishops is very appropriate. And necessary!

Thomas Patrick Greerty tgreerty@aim.com

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

11

LEAD STORY

using technology to track priests Questions: is it a legitimate tool to root out moral corruption? could it encourage blackmail? n BY ROBERT MOYNIHAN, ITV EDITOR Two American journalists — J.D. Flynn and Ed Condon (photos below), who have founded a news agency called The Pillar — have warned the Vatican that governments (perhaps that of China) might obtain compromising information about Vatican officials which could potentially lead to blackmail. The case exploded when the two journalists revealed their concerns to the world.

Opposite, Chinese bishops at the October 2018 Synod of Bishops (CNS photo / Alessandro Di Meo, EPA)

T

his story sets before us allegations about the sexual activities of a priest, first reported July 20 by a relatively new Catholic news agency, The Pillar, founded earlier this year by two former editors at Catholic News Agency (owned by EWTN), JD Flynn and Ed Condon, from which both resigned at the very end of 2020.

A sad enough story, but not the first time such a story has been told. We live in a fallen world, and we know the devil prowls about, seeking the ruin of souls. The Church seeks to save those souls, wrenching them back out of the devil’s grasp through the grace of God. The priest in question abruptly resigned his post with the US bishops’ conference. So with that decision the story took on a certain seriousness.

REMOTE TRACKING Then emerged something new: the

12

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

way the evidence in this case had been gathered.

The evidence of the alleged sexual activity had been gathered — the news agency itself revealed — by remote tracking of the priest’s phone.

In other words, everywhere the priest went with his phone, reports of his location were being sent in to a central database, and a way to access that database had been made available to the news agency, The Pillar.

The news agency concluded that the priest had been in places where various liaisons of a sexual nature were quite “likely” to have occurred.

No evidence of an actual occurrence has been produced.

So the priest in this case had no privacy. The record of his movements was an open book.

Well, an open book to those who have access to the database… But who has access to such a database?

TECHNOLOGY OFFERED TO OTHERS EARLIER Then, remarkably, the editors of another Catholic news agency (named Catholic News Agency, CNA) published their own startling report about The Pillar’s report, revealing that they themselves had been offered this very same location-tracking program three years ago, in 2018 — and had refused to use the program to track the movements of priests.

“The issue was first raised in 2018, when a person concerned with reforming the Catholic clergy approached some Church individuals and organizations, including Catholic News Agency,” CNA reported.

“A Catholic tech expert who also spoke to CNA said the technology is so precise that it can provide the names and addresses of the targeted clergy and also tell what other app users he might spend time with and where their meetings take place,” CNA said.

WHO ELSE HAS THIS SOFTWARE? This bit of news sheds a new light on the case.

A tracking software that can be used to track priests had been offered (by someone) to more than one Catholic news agency.

One agency has used the software and exposed the activities of a priest.

Another agency has, evidently, not used the software. But… were there other news agencies that had been offered this software? Was anyone else using this software?

(Note: Inside the Vatican has never been offered this software by anybody.)

As a matter of speculation, if this software was available two years ago, might it not be that there are many news agencies, many news organizations, and of course many investigation agencies, that also have this software, and are already using it to track the movements of priests everywhere, and not only of priests, but also of… bishops… and of cardinals… and (why not?) of ministers, rabbis, imams… and of all sorts of other leaders, inside and outside of organized religion? ...AND WHOM ELSE MIGHT IT BE USED TO TRACK? Then, raising the bar to another level in a final twist, one reader wrote to me, asking this question: “If we link the idea of surveillance of priests to determine if they are engaging in various types of sexual misconduct to the idea of the other story we have been following in recent days, the story of the suppression of the old liturgy, do we not come spontaneously to this question: Might it not be possible that every priest who celebrates the old Latin Mass could be placed under this type of surveillance, so that all movements of such priests could be tracked, and the locations of all such Masses determined by it?”

This question led me to think of St. Edmund Campion, who was arrested

in England in 1581 for celebrating Mass in private homes when the Catholic Mass had been made illegal by the authorities of the time...

BLACKMAIL A new element of the situation was then revealed on July 27, when the edi-

tors at The Pillar published a follow-up story, quickly picked up and reported on by news outlet Breitbart, suggesting that the compromising use of “hookup” apps by people who work in the Vatican could be creating a vulnerability to blackmail.

Further, it raises the question of whether such blackmail could be a possible explanation for the behavior of the Vatican toward Communist China.

The article suggests that the Vatican’s September 2018 agreement with China (the contents of which have never been made public) — an agreement which was recently renewed — may have been entered into, or abided by, in part due to threats from China to expose certain activities in the Vatican to global view.

The (possible) blackmail is occurring, perhaps (the article is proposing a hypothesis) because — as The Pillar article reports — a number of people, from “non-public areas” inside Vatican City, in 2018 used their cell phones to connect to “location-based homosexual and heterosexual hookup apps” which

facilitate the possibility of sexual encounters between homosexuals and between heterosexuals.

Still, the article does not identify who might have been using such “hook-up apps” — whether Vatican monsignors, or lay workers, or even guests in Vatican City (every October in Rome there are international meetings hosted by the Vatican which are attended by people from all over the world).

So this article is a construction of suppositions based on data that does not seem to conclusively identify a single person yet — unless such identification has not been made public.

APPS’ DATA ACCESSIBLE TO THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT According to The Pillar, “Use of the Grindr app among Vatican residents and officials and within the non-public areas of Vatican City State could present a particular diplomatic security risk for the Holy See in its dealings with China.”

The Pillar notes that “the company was launched in California, but acquired by the Chinese gaming firm Beijing Kunlun Tech in 2016 for $93 million. While it was under Chinese ownership, the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) deemed the app’s ownership a national security risk, over concerns that data from the app’s some 27 million users could be accessed by the Chinese government and used for blackmail. The app was sold in 2020 to a company based in the United States for a reported $608 million, at the demand of the U.S. government.”

The Pillar adds: “While it was still under Chinese ownership, Grindr allowed third-party engineers access to the personal data of millions of U.S.based users, including their personal details and HIV status, according to media reports last year.”

The Pillar concludes: “Because Chinese law requires tech companies to provide access to national intelligenceSEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

13

LEAD STORY USING TECHNOLOGY TO TRACK PRIESTS

USCCB official resigns amid misconduct suspicions

M

sgr. Jeffrey Burrill, the general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, resigned from his post ahead of a media report alleging that he frequented gay bars and private residences while using a popular “hookup” app on his mobile device.

The report, published the afternoon of July 20 by The Pillar, a Catholic news site, is based on what it described as an analysis of commercially available app data correlated to Burrill’s mobile device. The analysis shows that Burrill used the app Grindr on a near-daily basis during parts of 2018, 2019 and 2020, according to the report.

CNA reported the previous day that Church officials were bracing for information derived from this type of digital technology to become public.

gathering agencies, app data could be available to the Chinese government.

Under intelligence and cybersecurity laws, Kunlun Tech could have been compelled to turn over the data from company servers to the Chinese government for any reason pertaining to ‘national security,’ experts have warned.”

“NEGOTIATIONS” WITH VATICAN’S SECRETARY OF STATE Another element of great interest in this account is a brief narrative of what seems to have been a sort of “journalistic negotiation” between the editors of The Pillar and… the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Here is that part of the story, with my own comments in italics in brackets: “The Pillar met for more than 90 minutes with both Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, along with Dr. Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Vatican’s dicastery for communications, to present its findings July 17.

The meeting’s discussion was agreed by all parties to be mutually confidential, but the fact of the meeting was not 14

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

Grindr is an app that describes itself as “the largest app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people.”

USCCB President Archbishop Jose Gomez announced Burrill’s resignation in a memo sent to all U.S. bishops the day the report appeared. The existence of the memo regarding the resignation was first reported by the National Catholic Reporter shortly after 10 a.m. EST that day, roughly two hours before The Pillar published its investigation. According to Gomez, Burrill was not accused of misconduct with minors, but resigned immediately “to avoid becoming a distraction to the operations and ongoing work of the Conference... The Conference takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and will pursue all appropriate steps to address them,” said Gomez.

itself off-the-record.”

[Note: A personal meeting between a journalist — referred to as “The Pillar,” – and Cardinal Parolin is not unheard of, but… it is really not common. In fact, a meeting with the Secretary of State, the second man in the Vatican after the Pope, lasting for 90 minutes, is extraordinary.

The meeting was “to present its (The Pillar’s) findings.”

This is what seems to have taken nearly 90 minutes: informing the cardinal that such information might have fallen into the hands of the Chinese government, and so, might have exposed him and the Pope to a type of “geopolitical blackmail.”]

“After the meeting’s conclusion, Ruffini requested questions from The Pillar, which he said he would submit to Parolin for a response, and asked for a week for the formulation of a response, to which The Pillar agreed.

[Note: This detail seems unusual.

Usually a journalist comes to a Vatican meeting with questions in hand. In this case, the meeting occurs, lasting 90 minutes, and then the Vatican officials

ask for questions to be submitted. So it does appear that there was not a normal interview, with questions during the interview, but rather a long presentation.

But then, after such a lengthy presentation, why would there have been any need for the journalist to present any questions?]

“On July 18 [Sunday], the day after its meeting with Parolin and Ruffini, The Pillar was informed that a meeting with senior USCCB officials scheduled for Monday, July 19, had been cancelled. The Pillar was asked to submit written questions instead. Overnight between Sunday and Monday, one Catholic media outlet reported the possibility of forthcoming media reports on the issue of app signal data.”

[Note: So here we learn that things were happening that seem to have had the character of negotiations on both sides of the Atlantic. A meeting in Rome on July 17 with Parolin; a scheduled meeting in Washington on July 19 with the USCC leadership, canceled on the 18th. Then the leak by another news agency (CNA, the old agency of Flynn and Condon) early

Burrill was elected to the post of general secretary at the November 2020 assembly of the USCCB. Prior to his term as general secretary, Burrill had served as Associate General Secretary for the USCCB since 2016. He is a priest of the Diocese of La Crosse and had previously served as a formator at the Pontifical North American College.

The conference general secretary oversees USCCB staff, projects, and committees, and facilitates dialogue between U.S. bishops and offices of the Vatican Curia. In 2021, Grindr was fined about $11.7 million by the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, after the organization said the app “transmitted users’ precise locations, user-tracking codes and the app’s name to at least five advertising companies” without the consent of the users. However, Jeff Bonforte, the CEO of Grindr, claimed in a blog on July 29 that “Grindr does not sell its data about users to anyone.” He went on to theo-

rize that the data was acquired through some kind of third party but, even after an internal investigation, could only speculate on what means were actually used.

Earlier this year, the American seminary in Rome — the Pontifical North American College (NAC), where Msgr. Burrill was previously a formator — said it will defend itself “vigorously” against a lawsuit filed by a former student, Anthony J. Gorgia, who says he was blocked from continuing his studies there after he had witnessed inappropriate homosexual contact on the part of the vice rector. Gorgia, a former seminarian for the Archdiocese of New York, began studies at the NAC in the summer of 2017. In the 58-page lawsuit, he claims to have been discrimated against because of his heterosexual orientation and the defendants’ desire “to protect themselves from exposure of their predatory homosexuality.” (from CNA)

on the morning of Monday, initial Monday deadline for a July 19. response until the following day.”

This report, by Alejandro The leaders of the USCC, it Bermudez, was released at 3 appears, were being asked by The a.m. on the 19th. The first senPillar to answer certain questions tence reads: “The prospect of before Tuesday, “or else”... eviprivate parties using national dently, the publication of the security-style surveillance investigation.]

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, blesses a technology to track the move- classroom during the dedication of new building at the Pontifical “On Tuesday [July 20], ments and activities of bish- North American College in Rome January 6, 2015 (CNS photo). USCCB officials offered to ops, priests, and other Church schedule a meeting with The PilOpposite, from the top: Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, former general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; USCCB personnel is raising concerns lar in the afternoon, to which The President Archbishop Josè Gomez; and Dr. Paolo Ruffini, prefect about civil liberties, privacy Pillar agreed. En route to that of the Vatican’s dicastery for communications rights and what means are meeting, The Pillar learned from ethical to use in Church reform requesting that the information not media reports that USCCB General be published immediately, or that it Secretary Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill had efforts.”

So it was now in the public be published only on certain condi- resigned in response to “impending domain that The Pillar was (in all tions, or that it never be published… media reports alleging possible “Late Sunday night [July 18], The improper behavior.” likelihood) going to publish its information on the Grindr app use — and Pillar submitted written questions to the [Note: The Pillar published its that this information had been gath- USCCB at the conference’s request, report on Monsignor Burrill’s use of the ered using what someone thought and was then asked to extend an initial Grindr app on July 20.] was “national security-style surveil- Monday deadline for response until the On July 23, the Vatican communicafollowing day, which it did.” lance technology.” tions head, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, told The [Note: “Late Sunday night”? This Pillar: “We have examined the quesAll this suggests that what was occurring in these meetings may detail is odd. Who at the bishops’ con- tions you have posed to His Eminence have had some of the characteristics ference was working “late Sunday the Secretary of State following on your of a negotiation, with one side night” to receive the questions, which meeting of 17 July. At this point, also in proposing options regarding the tim- evidently were expected to be answered the light of what happened in recent ing of the publication of the informa- immediately on Monday morning? The days, I can say that no statement will be tion, and the other side, perhaps, bishops asked The Pillar “to extend an provided.”m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

15

SCRIPTURE

“To god, The joy of my youTh” The Lord cheers The hearT of my youTh, noT jusT in age, buT in spiriT

n BY ANTHONY ESOLEN The Anointing of David by Samuel, by Félix Joseph Barrias, Musée de la Ville de Paris

“Then I shall go in unto the altar of God, of God, who gives joy to my youth” (Ps. 42:4).

T

he first time I read those words after a hiatus of forty years, I believe my heart skipped a beat, as they are so beautiful and so fitting where and when and by whom they were commonly spoken.

But I must explain. I had of course read the psalms all my life long.

But the verse above does not appear in the version of the psalms which Pius XII approved for liturgical use within the Mass. It is a translation of Saint Jerome’s Latin: Introibo ad altare Dei, ad Deum qui laetificat iuventutem meam. And for that verse, Jerome follows closely the Greek Septuagint, that famous translation of the Old Testament by Greekspeaking Jews in Alexandria.

It is a part of the psalm that the priest and the altar boy would recite antiphonally at the very beginning of Mass, in the old rite. Think of the power of it, then. The priest said, in Latin, “I will go in to the altar of God,” and the altar boy responded, “To God, the joy of my youth.”

That is what they said before they began the psalm, and what they said after the psalm, just before they prayed the Confiteor, first the priest in his person, and then the altar boy in his. Within the psalm itself, the altar boy speaks the whole verse. It thus acquires a profoundly embodied and personal force. The priest was once young, too, and he hears from the server a voice of youth, the voice of a lad who may by the grace of God someday become a priest in his turn and lead the prayer for another youth, saying, Introibo ad altare Dei. The Greek is glorious in its own right. The psalmist says that he will enter unto the thysiasterion of God — the altar, but literally, the place firmly fixed where sacrifice is made, specifically where the smoke goes up, and we may think of the censer and the intensity of the aromatic spices, gently burning. God gives good cheer to my phren, 16

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

the heart, the breast as the seat of passion and will, the place of understanding and loving what is good. He cheers the heart of my neotes, my youth, not just youth in age but in spirit — my youthfulness — and thus can even an old man like me pray the prayer in earnest.

The word is affectionate in force. In this regard it resembles the Hebrew na’ar, youth, sometimes servant, but often lad: used of the boy Isaac as he climbs the mountain with his father Abraham, of the young Benjamin whom his elder brother Joseph longs to see, and of David, when the prophet Samuel anoints him to be king of Israel.

Here is the psalm-prayer in its entirety, as divided between the priest and the server. I give the translation from the old Saint Joseph Missal: P. I will go in to the altar of God. S. To God, the joy of my youth.

P. Give judgment for me, O God, and decide my cause against an unholy people: from unjust and deceitful men deliver me.

S. For Thou, O God, art my strength; why hast Thou forsaken me? And why do I go about in sadness, while the enemy afflicts me?

P. Send forth Thy light and Thy truth; for they have led me and brought me to Thy holy hill and Thy dwelling place.

S. And I will go in unto the altar of God, to God, the joy of my youth.

P. I shall yet praise Thee upon the harp, O God, my God. Why art thou sad, my soul, and why dost thou trouble me?

S. Trust in God, for I shall yet praise Him, the salvation of my countenance, and my God. P. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.

S. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

The Celestial Jerusalem and the Lamb, miniature in the Biblioteca Nazionale of Paris, France

P. I will go in to the altar of God. S. To God, the joy of my youth.

When I go to Mass, I try to say those opening prayers silently, while people are filing in, and (if I am in an unfamiliar church) while the officials of the proceedings get ready to issue a welcome and announce their names to all and some. The psalm helps me to remember why I am there. The psalmist longs to go to the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem. I have a higher ambition. I long to go to the new Jerusalem, where the saints and angels make an eternal sacrifice of praise to God, to God who has made all things new, who gives joy to their youth.

What happens on earth is a participation in what happens in that twelvegated city above. I can say, with all the greater confidence, “I shall go in unto the altar of God,” because Jesus, the Lamb of God, has sacrificed himself on the altar of the cross for my sins, and thus prepared a place for us there.

One more point – a crucial one, I think. Often when you go to Mass, you are not feeling joyful at all. There is trouble at work. Your child has disappointed you. You

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have done wrong, and you know it. Nor do you feel like pretending that all is well. That kind of pretense is exhausting, and after you have tried to keep a frozen smile on your face, the disillusionment comes, and you say, “Maybe I do not belong here after all.” For joy cannot be forced. You can be wangled into a good mood, but not into joy, that quiet, soaring fullness of life.

Hence it is fitting that the opening psalm for Mass should embrace the trouble, the doubts, the cry of the anguished heart, “Why have you forsaken me?” But the psalmist also recalls the light of God, the light that has now and in the past led him to the holy mountain. He begs that God may shine forth that light once more, and then he ends with praise, tenderly rebuking his own heart for its sadness, and affirming his trust in the God of his salvation.

And what a bold choice it is, to bracket the prayer with that beautiful verse. We begin and we end with the affirmation. Think of the words of Jesus: “In the world you shall have trouble, but fear not, for I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33).m

THE DEEP CHURCH REVEALED An Enemy Within

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T

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17

DOSSIER LITURGY

A NEW PAPAL DOCUMENT PROVOKES CONTROVERSY n BY ITV STAFF

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INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

The predecessors of Francis: John XXIII who summoned Vatican II (but also favored studying Latin); Paul VI, who led the Council to its closing; John Paul II who implemented the Council; and Benedict XVI, who sought a compromise solution for the liturgy

B

y now, gallons of ink have been spilled in an effort to come to grips with Pope Francis’ July 2021 motu proprio (“on his own initiative”) letter to the world’s bishops placing new and dramatic restrictions on the celebration of the pre-1970 Mass (variously called the “Traditional Latin Mass” — TLM, or the “Extraordinary Rite” as it was christened by Benedict, or the “usus antiquor” — UA).

Many progressive commentators have hailed the Pope’s act as a welcome corrective to what they see as pernicious divisiveness in the Church, fueled by attendance at the Traditional Latin Mass.

Many others have vigorously criticized the move, saying that the reasons the Pope puts forth for curtailing the traditional Mass are woefully inadequate compared to the harms of depriving a growing body of TLM adherents of the Mass they have come to love. (The majority of those who attend the TLM are no longer older people who grew up with the rite, as was the situation under John Paul II when he first expanded its availability.)

Some also point out that making the Traditional Mass disappear altogether — taken, by friend and foe alike, as the apparent goal of the Pope’s instruction — would harm the Church herself.

Severing the patrimony of the Church’s liturgy of at least a thousand years, probably much longer, in one fell swoop — as if the Church’s relevant liturgical history only began in 1970 — is hard for many Catholics, lay and religious, to swallow.

Pope Francis, perhaps acting on the basis of information that may or may not be accurate, seems to lay a large amount of blame for traditional-vs.-progressive conflict at the feet of those who worship at the TLM, accusing them of, in the main, “rejecting Vatican Council II.” It is a blanket accusation that many find puzzling, even incomprehensible.

Vatican II, a pastoral, rather than doctrinal council, happened — and its goal of re-presenting Cathlic doctrine to the world in terms modern man could understand may or may not have been

FRANCIS’ TRADITIONIS CUSTODES, SUPPRESSING THE OLD MASS, OVERTURNS THE DECISIONS OF HIS PREDECESSORS, AND IS MEETING WITH POINTED OPPOSITION

successful. There are some who argue that there were documents crafted during the Council that were ill-advised, and/or poorly worded. But the word “accept” seems misplaced here; there were no new teachings that required the religious assent of the faithful, no declarations of belief that were not already believed before the Council.

And far from being hotbeds of antiVatican II sentiment, many Traditional Mass communities would only be thrilled to see the actual liturgical directives in the Council documents followed (for example, the Council document Sacrosanctum Concilium, No. 36, gave pride of place to Latin in liturgical celebrations, saying, “Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites” (§ 1).

The sad fact is, many who became interested in the traditional Mass did so because of abuses that crept into their local liturgical celebrations, (falsely) defended on the basis of “following Vatican II” (or its “spirit”). Pope Francis himself laments these liturgical abuses in his motu proprio. In a letter to the world’s bishops accompanying Traditionis custodes, Pope Francis said that he was “saddened by abuses in the celebration of the liturgy on all sides.”

“In common with Benedict XVI, I deplore the fact that ‘in many places the prescriptions of the new Missal are not observed in celebration, but indeed come to be interpreted as an authorization for or even a requirement of creativity, which leads to almost unbearable distortions,’” the Pope wrote.

Many Catholics are now waiting to see if Pope Francis will attack progressive liturgical abuses — arguably more numerous and more entrenched over the past five decades since Vatican II than any abuses by the minority of traditionally-minded Catholics could ever be — with the same vigor with which he is reprimanding those who choose to attend the Traditional Latin Mass.

In the following pages, we sample some of the reactions to Pope Francis’ Traditionis custodes that have appeared since its July 16, 2021 publication.m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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“THIS MISSAL WAS NEVER JURIDICALLY ABROGATED” EXCERPTS FROM THE JULY 2007 LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS ON THE PUBLICATION OF THE “MOTU PROPRIO ” SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970 A gathering of traditionalist Catholics with Joseph Ratzinger in Wigratzbad, Bavaria, where the Fraternity of St. Peter’s seminary is located.

Bottom, the 1988 episcopal consecrations which Pope John Paul did not approve, but which Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre performed that year, giving additional bishops to his Society of St. Pius X (SSPX)

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

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

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

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

It is not appropriate to speak of

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these two versions of the Roman Missal as if they were “two Rites.” Rather, it is a matter of a twofold use of one and the same rite.

As for the use of the 1962 Missal as a Forma extraordinaria of the liturgy of the Mass, I would like to draw attention to the fact that this Missal was never juridically abrogated and, consequently, in principle, was always permitted. At the time of the introduction of the new Missal, it did not seem necessary to issue specific norms for the possible use of the earlier Missal. Probably it was thought that it would be a matter of a few individual cases which would be resolved, case by case, on the local level. Afterwards, however, it soon became apparent that a good number of people remained strongly attached to this usage of the Roman Rite, which had been familiar to them from childhood.

This was especially the case in countries where the liturgical movement had provided many people with a notable liturgical formation and a deep, personal familiarity with the earlier Form of the liturgical celebration. We all know that, in the movement led

by Archbishop Lefebvre, fidelity to the old Missal became an external mark of identity; the reasons for the break which arose over this, however, were at a deeper

We reproduce here the first three articles which put forth the main instructions of Benedict’s 2007 motu proprio on the celebration of the Traditional Mass, which he here calls the Extraordinary Rite.

The document contains 12 articles and 8 sub-articles in all.

Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi (rule of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. The Roman Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V and revised by Blessed John XXIII is nonetheless to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honoured for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s lex orandi will in no way lead to a division in the Church’s lex credendi (rule of faith); for they are two usages of the one Roman rite.

It is therefore permitted to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal, which was promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Church’s Liturgy.

The conditions for the use of this Missal laid down by the previous documents Quattuor Abhinc

level. Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear... [...]

I now come to the positive reason which motivated my decision to issue this Motu Proprio updating that of 1988. It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church’s leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden.

This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew. I think of a sentence in the Second Letter to the Corinthians, where Paul writes: “Our mouth is open to you, Corinthians; our heart is wide. You are not

Annos and Ecclesia Dei are now replaced as follows: Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without a congregation, any Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use either the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII or the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and may do so on any day, with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such a celebration with either Missal, the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary.

Art. 3. If communities of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, wish to celebrate the conventual or community Mass in their own oratories according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, they are permitted to do so. [...]

restricted by us, but you are restricted in your own affections. In return … widen your hearts also!” (2 Cor 6:11-13)... Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.

There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture. What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place. Needless to say, in order to experience full communion, the priests of the communities adhering to the former usage cannot, as a matter of principle, exclude celebrating according to the new books. The total exclusion of the new rite would not in fact be consistent with the recognition of its value and holiness.

In conclusion, dear Brothers, I very much wish to stress that these new norms do not in any way lessen your own authority and responsibility, either for the liturgy or for the pastoral care of your faithful. Each Bishop, in fact, is the moderator of the liturgy in his own Diocese (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22: “Sacrae Liturgiae moderatio ab Ecclesiae auctoritate unice pendet quae quidem est apud Apostolicam Sedem et, ad normam iuris, apud Episcopum”). [...]m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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TRADITIONIS CUSTODES APOSTOLIC LETTER ISSUED “MOTU PROPRIO” BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF FRANCIS ON THE USE OF THE ROMAN LITURGY PRIOR TO THE REFORM OF 1970

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uardians of the tradition, the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome constitute the visible principle and foundation of the unity of their particular Churches. [1] Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel and by means of the celebration of the Eucharist, they govern the particular Churches entrusted to them. [2] In order to promote the concord and unity of the Church, with paternal solicitude towards those who in any region adhere to liturgical forms antecedent to the reform willed by the Vatican Council II, my Venerable Predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, granted and regulated the faculty to use the Roman Missal edited by John XXIII in 1962. [3] In this way they intended “to facilitate the ecclesial communion of those Catholics who feel attached to some earlier liturgical forms” and not to others. [4] In line with the initiative of my Venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI to invite the bishops to assess the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum three years after its publication, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith carried out a detailed consultation of the bishops in 2020. The results have been carefully considered in the light of experience that has matured during these years.

At this time, having considered the wishes expressed by the episcopate and having heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I now desire, with this Apostolic Letter, to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion.

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Therefore, I have considered it appropriate to establish the following: Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.

Art. 2. It belongs to the diocesan bishop, as moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole liturgical life of the particular Church entrusted to him, [5] to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese. [6] Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese, according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See. Art. 3. The bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970: § 1. is to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs; § 2. is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes); § 3. to establish at the designated locations the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962. [7] In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations

Opposite, Francis during a celebration in the Sistine Chapel. Below, November 22, 2007, in the Church of Sant'Ivo alla Sapienza in Rome, the late Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, then-Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, celebrates Mass in the old Roman rite for the Feast of St. Cecilia

of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences; § 4. to appoint a priest who, as delegate of the bishop, is entrusted with these celebrations and with the pastoral care of these groups of the faithful. This priest should be suited for this responsibility, skilled in the use of the Missale Romanum antecedent to the reform of 1970, possess a knowledge of the Latin language sufficient for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts, and be animated by a lively pastoral charity and by a sense of ecclesial communion. This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful; § 5. to proceed suitably to verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them; § 6. to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.

Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.

Art. 5. Priests who already celebrate according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 should request from the diocesan Bishop the authorization to continue to enjoy this faculty.

Art. 6. Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life, erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, fall under the competence of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life.

Art. 7. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for matters of their particular competence, exercise the authority of the Holy See with respect to the observance of these provisions.

Art. 8. Previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu Proprio are abrogated.

Everything that I have declared in this Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, anything else to the contrary notwithstanding, even if worthy of particular mention, and I establish that it be promulgated by way of publication in L’Osservatore Romano, entering immediately in force and, subsequently, that it be published in the official Commentary of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

Given at Rome, at Saint John Lateran, on 16 July 2021, the liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in the ninth year of Our Pontificate.

FRANCIS Copyright © Dicastero per la Comunicazione Libreria Editrice Vaticanam

NOTES [1] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 23 AAS 57 (1965) 27.

[2] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 27: AAS 57 (1965) 32; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree concerning the pastoral office of bishops in the Church “ Christus Dominus”, 28 october 1965, n. 11: AAS 58 (1966) 677-678; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 833.

[3] Cfr John Paul II, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Ecclesia Dei”, 2 july 1988:

AAS 80 (1988) 1495-1498; Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Summorum Pontificum”, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 777-781; Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Ecclesiae unitatem”, 2 july 2009: AAS 101 (2009) 710-711.

[4] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Ecclesia Dei”, 2 july 1988, n.

5: AAS 80 (1988) 1498.

[5] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 41: AAS 56 (1964) 111; Caeremoniale Episcoporum, n. 9; Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the

Sacrament, Instruction on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist “ Redemptionis Sacramentum”, 25 march 2004, nn. 19-25: AAS 96 (2004) 555-557.

[6] Cfr CIC, can. 375, § 1; can. 392.

[7] Cfr Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Decree “ Quo magis” approving seven Eucharistic Prefaces for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, 22 february 2020, and Decree “ Cum sanctissima” on the liturgical celebration in honour of Saints in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, 22 february 2020: L’Osservatore Romano, 26 march 2020, p. 6.n SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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LETTER OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS TO THE BISHOPS OF THE WHOLE WORLD, ACCOMPANYING THE APOSTOLIC LETTER MOTU PROPRIO DATA TRADITIONIS CUSTODES ROME, 16 JULY 2021 DEAR BROTHERS ment was not foreseeable in IN THE EPISCOPATE, 1988, the Motu proprio SummoJust as my Predecessor Benerum Pontificum of 2007 intended dict XVI did with Summorum to introduce “a clearer juridical Pontificum, I wish to accompany regulation” in this area. [4] In the Motu proprio Traditionis cusorder to allow access to those, todes with a letter explaining the including young people, who motives that prompted my deciwhen “they discover this liturgision. I turn to you with trust and cal form, feel attracted to it and parresia, in the name of that find in it a form, particularly suitshared “solicitude for the whole ed to them, to encounter the mysChurch, that contributes tery of the most holy Eucharist,” supremely to the good of the Uni[5] Benedict XVI declared “the versal Church” as Vatican CounMissal promulgated by St. Pius V cil II reminds us. [1] and newly edited by Blessed Most people understand the John XXIII, as a extraordinary motives that prompted St. John expression of the same lex oranPaul II and Benedict XVI to allow di,” granting a “more ample posthe use of the Roman Missal, prosibility for the use of the 1962 mulgated by St. Pius V and edited Missal.” [6]

by St. John XXIII in 1962, for the In making their decision they Eucharistic Sacrifice. The faculty were confident that such a provi— granted by the indult of the sion would not place in doubt one Congregation for Divine Worship of the key measures of Vatican in 1984 [2] and confirmed by St. Council II or minimize in this John Paul II in the Motu Proprio way its authority: the Motu pro“I AM NONETHELESS SADDENED Ecclesia Dei in 1988 [3] — was prio recognized that, in its own THAT THE INSTRUMENTAL USE above all motivated by the desire right, “the Missal promulgated to foster the healing of the schism

by Paul VI is the ordinary OF THE MISSALE ROMANUM OF 1962 with the movement of Mons. expression of the lex orandi of IS OFTEN CHARACTERIZED Lefebvre. With the ecclesial the Catholic Church of the Latin

BY A REJECTION NOT ONLY OF THE intention of restoring the unity of rite.” [7] The recognition of the LITURGICAL REFORM, BUT OF the Church, the Bishops were Missal promulgated by St. Pius thus asked to accept with genV “as an extraordinary expresVATICAN COUNCIL II ITSELF” erosity the “just aspirations” of sion of the same lex orandi” did the faithful who requested the use of that Missal. not in any way underrate the liturgical reform, but was Many in the Church came to regard this faculty as an decreed with the desire to acknowledge the “insistent opportunity to adopt freely the Roman Missal promulgatprayers of these faithful,” allowing them “to celebrate the ed by St. Pius V and use it in a manner parallel to the Sacrifice of the Mass according to the editio typica of the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Paul VI. In order to Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in regulate this situation at the distance of many years, 1962 and never abrogated, as the extraordinary form of Benedict XVI intervened to address this state of affairs in the Liturgy of the Church.” [8] It comforted Benedict the Church. Many priests and communities had “used XVI in his discernment that many desired “to find the with gratitude the possibility offered by the Motu proform of the sacred Liturgy dear to them,” “clearly acceptprio” of St. John Paul II. Underscoring that this developed the binding character of Vatican Council II and were 24

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faithful to the Pope and to the Bishops.” [9] What is more, ican Council II itself, claiming, with unfounded and he declared to be unfounded the fear of division in parish unsustainable assertions, that it betrayed the Tradition communities, because “the two forms of the use of the and the “true Church”. The path of the Church must be Roman Rite would enrich one another.” [10] Thus, he seen within the dynamic of Tradition “which originates invited the Bishops to set aside their doubts and fears, and from the Apostles and progresses in the Church with the to welcome the norms, “attentive that everything would assistance of the Holy Spirit” (DV 8). A recent stage of proceed in peace and serenity,” with the promise that “it this dynamic was constituted by Vatican Council II where would be possible to find resoluthe Catholic episcopate came tions” in the event that “serious together to listen and to discern difficulties came to light” in the the path for the Church indicated implementation of the norms by the Holy Spirit. To doubt the “once the Motu proprio came Council is to doubt the intentions into effect”. [11] of those very Fathers who exerWith the passage of thirteen cised their collegial power in a years, I instructed the Congregasolemn manner cum Petro et sub tion for the Doctrine of the Faith Petro in an ecumenical council, to circulate a questionnaire to the [14] and, in the final analysis, to Bishops regarding the impledoubt the Holy Spirit himself mentation of the Motu proprio who guides the Church.

Summorum Pontificum. The The objective of the modifiresponses reveal a situation that cation of the permission granted preoccupies and saddens me, and by my Predecessors is highlightpersuades me of the need to intered by the Second Vatican Counvene. Regrettably, the pastoral cil itself. From the vota submitobjective of my Predecessors, ted by the Bishops there who had intended “to do everyemerged a great insistence on the thing possible to ensure that all full, conscious and active particthose who truly possessed the ipation of the whole People of desire for unity would find it posGod in the liturgy, [15] along sible to remain in this unity or to lines already indicated by Pius rediscover it anew”, [12] has XII in the encyclical Mediator often been seriously disregarded.

Dei on the renewal of the liturgy.

An opportunity offered by St. [16] The constitution SacroJohn Paul II and, with even greater sanctum Concilium confirmed “THE PATH OF THE CHURCH magnanimity, by Benedict XVI, this appeal, by seeking “the MUST BE SEEN WITHIN THE DYNAMIC intended to recover the unity of an renewal and advancement of the OF TRADITION WHICH ORIGINATES ecclesial body with diverse liturliturgy”, [17] and by indicating gical sensibilities, was exploited the principles that should guide FROM THE APOSTLES to widen the gaps, reinforce the the reform. [18] In particular, it AND PROGRESSES IN THE CHURCH divergences, and encourage disestablished that these principles WITH THE ASSISTANCE agreements that injure the concerned the Roman Rite, and OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” Church, block her path, and other legitimate rites where expose her to the peril of division. applicable, and asked that “the At the same time, I am saddened by abuses in the celrites be revised carefully in the light of sound tradition, ebration of the liturgy on all sides. In common with and that they be given new vigor to meet present-day cirBenedict XVI, I deplore the fact that “in many places the cumstances and needs”. [19] On the basis of these principrescriptions of the new Missal are not observed in celeples a reform of the liturgy was undertaken, with its highbration, but indeed come to be interpreted as an authoest expression in the Roman Missal, published in editio rization for or even a requirement of creativity, which typica by St. Paul VI [20] and revised by St. John Paul II. leads to almost unbearable distortions”. [13] But I am [21] It must therefore be maintained that the Roman Rite, nonetheless saddened that the instrumental use of adapted many times over the course of the centuries Missale Romanum of 1962 is often characterized by a according to the needs of the day, not only be preserved rejection not only of the liturgical reform, but of the Vatbut renewed “in faithful observance of the Tradition”.

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[22] Whoever wishes to celebrate with devotion accordto abrogate all the norms, instructions, permissions and ing to earlier forms of the liturgy can find in the reformed customs that precede the present Motu proprio, and Roman Missal according to Vatican Council II all the eledeclare that the liturgical books promulgated by the saintments of the Roman Rite, in particular the Roman Canon ly Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in conformity with which constitutes one of its more distinctive elements. the decrees of Vatican Council II, constitute the unique A final reason for my decision is this: ever more plain expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite. I take in the words and attitudes of many is the close connection comfort in this decision from the fact that, after the Counbetween the choice of celebrations according to the liturcil of Trent, St. Pius V also abrogated all the rites that gical books prior to Vatican could not claim a proven antiquity, establishing for the Council II and the rejection of whole Latin Church a single A portrait of Pius V, and The Opening of the Council of Trent the Church and her instituMissale Romanum. For four cen(1711), tions in the name of what is turies this Missale Romanum, proby Niccolò Dorigatti called the “true Church.” mulgated by St. Pius V was thus the One is dealing here with principal expression of the lex orancomportment that contradicts di of the Roman Rite, and funccommunion and nurtures the tioned to maintain the unity of the divisive tendency — “I belong to Church. Without denying the digniPaul; I belong instead to Apollo; I ty and grandeur of this Rite, the belong to Cephas; I belong to Christ” Bishops gathered in ecumenical — against which the Apostle Paul so council asked that it be reformed; vigorously reacted. [23] In defense their intention was that “the faithful of the unity of the Body of Christ, I would not assist as strangers and am constrained to revoke the faculty silent spectators in the mystery of granted by my Predecessors. The faith, but, with a full understanding distorted use that has been made of of the rites and prayers, would parthis faculty is contrary to the intenticipate in the sacred action contions that led to granting the freedom sciously, piously, and actively”. [28] to celebrate the Mass with the St. Paul VI, recalling that the work Missale Romanum of 1962. Because of adaptation of the Roman Missal “liturgical celebrations are not pri- “I TAKE COMFORT IN THIS DECISION had already been initiated by Pius vate actions, but celebrations of the XII, declared that the revision of the FROM THE FACT THAT, AFTER Church, which is the sacrament of Roman Missal, carried out in the THE COUNCIL OF TRENT, unity”, [24] they must be carried out light of ancient liturgical sources, ST. PIUS V ALSO ABROGATED ALL had the goal of permitting the in communion with the Church. Vatican Council II, while it reaffirmed THE RITES THAT COULD NOT CLAIM A Church to raise up, in the variety of the external bonds of incorporation PROVEN ANTIQUITY, ESTABLISHING languages, “a single and identical in the Church — the profession of prayer,” that expressed her unity.

FOR THE WHOLE LATIN CHURCH faith, the sacraments, of communion [29]This unity I intend to re-estabA SINGLE MISSALE ROMANUM” — affirmed with St. Augustine that lish throughout the Church of the to remain in the Church not only “with the body” but also Roman Rite. “with the heart” is a condition for salvation. [25] Vatican Council II, when it described the catholicity of Dear brothers in the Episcopate, Sacrosanctum Conthe People of God, recalled that “within the ecclesial cilium explained that the Church, the “sacrament of communion” there exist the particular Churches which unity,” is such because it is “the holy People gathered and enjoy their proper traditions, without prejudice to the prigoverned under the authority of the Bishops”. [26] Lumen macy of the Chair of Peter who presides over the univergentium, while recalling that the Bishop of Rome is “the sal communion of charity, guarantees the legitimate permanent and visible principle and foundation of the diversity and together ensures that the particular not only unity both of the bishops and of the multitude of the faithdoes not injure the universal but above all serves it”. ful,” states that you the Bishops are “the visible principle [30]While, in the exercise of my ministry in service of and foundation of the unity of your local Churches, in unity, I take the decision to suspend the faculty granted by which and through which exists the one and only Catholic my Predecessors, I ask you to share with me this burden Church”. [27] as a form of participation in the solicitude for the whole Responding to your requests, I take the firm decision Church proper to the Bishops. In the Motu proprio I have 26

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desired to affirm that it is up to the Bishop, as moderator, promoter, and guardian of the liturgical life of the Church of which he is the principle of unity, to regulate the liturgical celebrations. It is up to you to authorize in your Churches, as local Ordinaries, the use of the Missale Romanum of 1962, applying the norms of the present Motu proprio. It is up to you to proceed in such a way as to return to a unitary form of celebration, and to determine case by case the reality of the groups which celebrate with this Missale Romanum.

Indications about how to proceed in your dioceses are chiefly dictated by two principles: on the one hand, to provide for the good of those who are rooted in the previous form of celebration and need to return in due time to the Roman Rite promulgated by Saints Paul VI and John Paul II, and, on the other hand, to discontinue the erection of new personal parishes tied more to the desire

and wishes of individual priests than to the real need of the “holy People of God.” At the same time, I ask you to be vigilant in ensuring that every liturgy be celebrated with decorum and fidelity to the liturgical books promulgated after Vatican Council II, without the eccentricities that can easily degenerate into abuses. Seminarians and new priests should be formed in the faithful observance of the prescriptions of the Missal and liturgical books, in which is reflected the liturgical reform willed

by Vatican Council II. Upon you I invoke the Spirit of the risen Lord, that he may make you strong and firm in your service to the People of God entrusted to you by the Lord, so that your care and vigilance express communion even in the unity of one, single Rite, in which is preserved the great richness of the Roman liturgical tradition. I pray for you. You pray for me.m

NOTES [1] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 23 AAS 57 (1965) 27.

[2] Cfr. Congregation for Divine Worship, Letter to the Presidents of the Conferences of Bishops “Quattuor abhinc annos”, 3 october 1984: AAS 76 (1984) 1088-1089 [3] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Ecclesia Dei”, 2 july 1988: AAS 80 (1998) 1495-1498.

[4] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 796.

[5] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 796.

[6] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 797.

[7] Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Summorum Pontificum”, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 779.

[8] Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “ Summorum Pontificum”, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 779.

[9] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 796.

[10] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apos-

tolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 797.

[11] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 798.

[12] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 797-798.

[13] Benedict XVI, Letter to the Bishops on the occasion of the publication of the Apostolic Letter “Motu proprio data” Summorum Pontificum on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 796.

[14] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 23: AAS 57 (1965) 27.

[15] Cfr. Acta et Documenta Concilio Oecumenico Vaticano II apparando, Series I, Volumen II, 1960.

[16] Pius XII, Encyclical on the sacred liturgy “ Mediator Dei”, 20 november 1947: AAS 39 (1949) 521-595.

[17] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, nn. 1, 14: AAS 56 (1964) 97.104.

[18] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 3: AAS 56 (1964) 98.

[19] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963,

n. 4: AAS 56 (1964) 98.

[20] Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum, editio typica, 1970.

[21] Missale Romanum ex decreto Sacrosancti Oecumenici Concilii Vaticani II instauratum auctoritate Pauli PP. VI promulgatum Ioannis Pauli PP. II cura recognitum, editio typica altera, 1975; editio typica tertia, 2002; (reimpressio emendata 2008) [22] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 3: AAS 56 (1964) 98.

[23] 1 Cor 1,12-13.

[24] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 26: AAS 56 (1964) 107.

[25] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 14: AAS 57 (1965) 19.

[26] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 6: AAS 56 (1964) 100.

[28] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 23: AAS 57 (1965) 27.

[28] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “ Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 48: AAS 56 (1964) 113.

[29] Paul VI, Apostolic Constitution “Missale Romanum” on new Roman Missal, 3 april 1969, AAS 61 (1969) 222.

[30] Cfr. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “ Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 13: AAS 57 (1965) 18.

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carDinal gerharD müller Former PreFect oF the congregation For the Doctrine oF the Faith

Hitting the sheep hard with the shepherd’s crook October 29, 2016 — Rome, Italy. Solemn procession in Via della Conciliazione with many young seminarians toward the Holy Soor of the Basilica of St. Peter.

The pilgrimage was organized by Coetus Internationalis Summorum Pontificum which is an umbrella group of traditionalist Catholics organizations

T

he pope’s intention with his motu proprio, Traditionis Custodes, is to secure or restore the unity of the Church. The proposed means for this is the total unification of the Roman Rite in the form of the Missal of Paul VI (including its subsequent variations). Therefore, the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, as introduced by Pope Benedict XVI with Summorum pontificum (2007) on the basis of the Missal that existed from Pius V (1570) to John XXIII (1962), has been drastically restricted. The clear intent is to condemn the Extraordinary Form to extinction in the long run.

In his “Letter to the Bishops of the Whole World,” which accompanies the motu proprio, Pope Francis tries to explain the motives that have caused him, as the bearer of the supreme authority of the Church, to limit the liturgy in the extraordinary form. Beyond the presentation of his subjective reactions, however, a stringent and logically comprehensible theological argumentation would also have been appropriate. For papal authority does not consist in superficially demanding from the faithful mere obedience, i.e., a formal submission of the will, but, much more essentially, in enabling the faithful also to be convinced with consent of the mind. [...] As welcome as the references to Vatican II may be, care must be taken to ensure that the Council’s statements are used precisely and in context. The quotation from St. Augustine about membership in the Church “according to the body” and “according to the heart” (Lumen Gentium 14) refers to the full Church membership of the Catholic

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faith. It consists in the visible incorporation into the body of Christ (creedal, sacramental, ecclesiastical-hierarchical communion) as well as in the union of the heart, i.e. in the Holy Spirit. What this means, however, is not obedience to the pope and the bishops in the discipline of the sacraments, but sanctifying grace, which fully involves us in the invisible Church as communion with the Triune God. For the unity in the confession of the revealed faith and the celebration of the mysteries of grace in the seven sacraments by no means requires sterile uniformity in the external liturgical form, as if the Church were like one of the international hotel chains with their homogenous design.

The unity of believers with one another is rooted in unity in God through faith, hope, and love and has nothing to do with uniformity in appearance, the lockstep of a military formation, or the groupthink of the big-tech age. [...]

The key to a Catholic understanding of the liturgy lies in the insight that the substance of the sacraments is given to the Church as a visible sign and means of the invisible grace by virtue of divine law, but that it is up to the Apostolic See and, in accordance with the law, to the bishops to order the external form of the liturgy (insofar as it has not already existed since apostolic times). (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22 § 1) The provisions of Traditionis Custodes are of a disciplinary, not dogmatic nature and can be modified again by any future Pope. Naturally, the Pope, in his concern for the unity of the Church in the revealed faith, is to be fully sup-

ported when the celebration of disciplining of the old ritual Holy Mass according to the fr. pAul d. scAliA minority, the image of the misMissal of 1962 is an expression Author, speAker And diocesAn VicAr for guided fire brigade comes to of resistance to the authority of clergy in the diocese of Arlington, VirginiA mind, which — instead of saving Vatican II, which is to say, when the blazing house — instead first the doctrine of the faith and the Loaves, Fish, and Shepherds saves the small barn next to it.

Church’s ethics are relativized or Without the slightest empat is an apostolic duty to gather up what Christ even denied in the liturgical and thy, one ignores the religious has given — so that it can be handed down to pastoral order. feelings of the (often young) par[...] ticipants in the Masses accordothers. This is the grave obligation the ShepIn Traditionis Custodes, the herds have to Tradition. They have authority ing to the Missal John XXIII. pope rightly insists on the uncon- precisely so that they can gather up and hand (1962) Instead of appreciating ditional recognition of Vatican II. down the Church’s liturgical and doctrinal patthe smell of the sheep, the shepNobody can call himself a rimony. Failure to do so detaches their authority herd here hits them hard with his Catholic who either wants to go crook. It also seems simply back behind Vatican II (or any from Tradition and thus distorts it. Without the unjust to abolish celebrations of other council recognized by the content of the Tradition, without a reference to the “old” rite just because it pope) as the time of the “true” generations past and future, authority becomes attracts some problematic peojust an exercise of power here and now.

It leads Church or wants to leave that ple: abusus non tollit usum.

Church behind as an intermedi- to a magisterial positivism that values Church What deserves special attenate step towards a “new Church.” authority... simply because it has the power to tion in Traditionis Custodes is One may measure Pope Francis’ compel. the use of the axiom lex orandiwill to return to unity the lex credendi (“Rule of prayer — An excerpt from Thecatholicthing.comn deplored so-called “traditionalrule of faith”). This phrase ists” (i.e., those opposed to the appears first in the anti-Pelagian Missal of Paul VI) against the degree of his determination Indiculus (“Against superstitions and paganism”) which to put an end to the innumerable “progressivist” abuses of spoke about “the sacraments of priestly prayers, handed the liturgy (renewed in accordance with Vatican II) that are down by the apostles to be celebrated uniformly all over the tantamount to blasphemy. [...] world and in the entire Catholic Church, so that the rule of [...] prayer is the rule of faith.” (Denzinger Hünermann, The teachings of Vatican II on the uniqueness of Enchiridion symbolorum 3) This refers to the substance of redemption in Christ, the full realization of the Church of the sacraments (in signs and words) but not the liturgical Christ in the Catholic Church, the inner essence of the rite, of which there were several (with different variants) in Catholic liturgy as adoration of God and mediation of the patristic era. One cannot simply declare the latest grace, Revelation and its presence in Scripture and Aposmissal to be the only valid norm of the Catholic faith withtolic Tradition, the infallibility of the magisterium, the priout distinguishing between the “part that is unchangeable macy of the pope, the sacramentality of the Church, the by virtue of divine institution and the parts that are subject dignity of the priesthood, the holiness and indissolubility to change.” (Sacrosanctum Concilium 21). The changing of marriage — all these are being heretically denied in open liturgical rites do not represent a different faith, but rather contradiction to Vatican II by a majority of German bishops testify to the one and the same Apostolic Faith of the and lay functionaries (even if disguised under pastoral Church in its different expressions. phrases). [...]

And despite all the apparent enthusiasm they express for Let us hope that the Congregations for Religious and for Pope Francis, they are flatly denying the authority conDivine Worship, with their new authority, do not become ferred on him by Christ as the successor of Peter. The Coninebriated by power and think they have to wage a camgregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document about paign of destruction against the communities of the old rite the impossibility of legitimizing same-sex and extramarital — in the foolish belief that by doing so they are rendering sexual contacts through a blessing is ridiculed by German a service to the Church and promoting Vatican II. (and not only German) bishops, priests, and theologians as If Traditionis Custodes is to serve the unity of the merely the opinion of under-qualified curial officials. Here church, that can only mean a unity in faith, which enables we have a threat to the unity of the Church in revealed faith, us to “come to the perfect knowledge of the Son of God,” reminiscent of the size of the Protestant secession from which is to say unity in truth and love. (cf. Eph 4, 12-15).

Rome in the sixteenth century. Given the disproportion Excerpted from his essay which appeared between the relatively modest response to the massive on Thecatholicthing.org on July 19, 2021. attacks on the unity of the Church in the German “Synodal Translated from the German by Robert Royal with Way” (as well as in other pseudo-reforms) and the harsh Msgr. Hans Feichtinger.m

I

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caRdinal WalteR kaspeR RetiRed fRom seRving as pResident of the pontifical council foR pRomoting chRistian unity in 2010 but has been a key theological adviseR foR much of pope fRancis’ pontificate.

“They use this position in order to reject the Second Vatican Council” The European Fraternity of St. Peter diaconal ordinations in Lindau, Germany, some years ago, conferred by Abp. Guido Pozzo, of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

“I

grew up and was ordained long before the Second Vatican Council, but I never found a rupture between the post-Trent liturgy and the post-Vatican II liturgy. As a student in the earlier 1950s I read J.A. Jungman’s “Missarum Sollemnia” (The Mass of the Roman Rite: Its Origins and Development) and found that Vatican II brought a reform of the Latin rite in the same way that Trent had done. The continuity becomes clear when one sees that every priest is free to use the first Eucharistic prayer (the old “Roman Canon”) — as I do sometimes, and as Pope Francis often does when he celebrates in St. Peter’s. So, the heart of the so called ‘old Mass’ is preserved also in the so-called ‘new Mass.’

“You say that there is a growing number of faithful who want the ‘old rite,’ but it’s my experience that the overwhelming majority of the faithful are firmly against it. I know many people are scandalized when they come to St. Peter’s in Rome early in the morning and see that on many altars priests celebrating the “old Mass” without any altar boy and no participation of the faithful. They turn to the empty basilica and say: ‘Dominus vobiscum’, ‘Orate fratres’ etc. Some young priests come and want to celebrate the ‘Latin Mass,”‘but they don’t know Latin, whereas the great majority of their parishioners prefer to have the Mass in their vernacular language, so this brings division and quarrels in the parish and people leave. I don’t know the results of the survey [nine questions sent by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2020 ask30

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ing for bishops’ views on the application of Summorum Pontificum], but it seems that Pope Francis received this kind of information, especially information that some people are of the opinion that only the ‘old Latin Mass’ is really Catholic and orthodox. And they use this position in order to reject the Second Vatican Council more or less in its entirety. In this way, the good intention of Benedict XVI becomes turned to its contrary. What was intended to contribute to reconciliation is turned into division, which refers to the very heart of the unity of the Church, and many Catholics are scandalized about this.

“I know that there are also dangers for the unity of the Church coming from the contrary side. As you know, I am no friend of some intentions of the German Synodal Way. But the Roman Curia (which implies the Pope) has already been very clear about some erroneous positions (celibacy, female priesthood, intercommunion, same-sex blessings etc.). About other positions, we only have heard some extreme public voices, but until now no synodal decision exists. As far as I know, none of the bishops wants any schismatic act and there is a slowly growing number in the bishops’ conference who are resistant. So, there are fears and suspicions but also still hope for reasonable solutions and reforms, which are possible only on the basis of Catholic faith witnessed especially by the Second Vatican Council.”

Cardinal Kasper’s commentary originally appeared in The National Catholic Register.m

RITA fERRONE AUTHOR Of SEvERAl BOOKS ABOUT lITURgy, AND A CONTRIBUTINg wRITER TO Commonweal mAgAzINE

A Living Catholic Tradition — Pope Francis unifies the Roman Rite

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his puts an end to the bifurcation of the Roman Rite that Pope Benedict endorsed when he wrote Summorum pontificum. He invented the term “Extraordinary Form” to refer to the older rites, and called the reformed rites the “Ordinary Form.” The Roman Rite had never existed in two forms at the same time, yet that is what he envisioned. He urged the bishops to trust that these “two forms” of the Roman Rite would peacefully coexist and enrich one another. After thirteen years however, it became evident that this dream was not going to materialize.

Clearly, some individuals find serene enjoyment in attending Mass according to the older rites and have no other agenda. But, overall, opening up more space for the older rites has deepened conflict in the Church and led to politicization of the Eucharist. This was always a danger.

Traditionalist movements—both those that went into schism, as did the followers of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and those who remained in communion with Rome— have long been associated with hard-right and authoritarian political regimes. Everything from the effort to restore the monarchy in France (a hopeless cause), to suppression of the indigenous peoples of Brazil (an ongoing problem), has flown under the flag of Catholic traditionalism. Pope Benedict did not believe the danger was there, but it was.

Opposition to Pope Francis has also found a base in traditionalist communities. His teaching on marriage and family, his call for pastoral accompaniment, and especially his commitment to ecological responsibility and economic justice, have been virulently opposed in such circles. It is no accident that the American Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the pope’s most public antagonists, is a worldwide chaplain to Catholic traditionalist communities, or that the Austrian who threw the Pachamama statue into the Tiber during the Amazon Synod was a traditionalist, or that the disgruntled former Vatican diplomat, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, tried to unseat the Pope.

Even beyond the scandal of a series of attacks on a reigning pope, a political struggle over the enduring legacy of an ecumenical council has been hanging in the balance. Vatican II’s opening to the world—its commitment to ecumenism, interfaith dialogue, and discerning the signs of the times—has been sharply criticized and rejected by advocates for the older rites. [...]

Opening up more space for the older rites has deepened conflict in the Church and led to politicization of the Eucharist.

Excerpt from Commonweal magazine.m

BISHOP ATHANASIUS SCHNEIDER - AUxIlIARy BISHOP Of ASTANA, KAzAKHSTAN

“The Church is not just now; the Church is of all times”

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n this case, I think that you, the faithful and the priests, have the right to a liturgy that is the liturgy of all the saints, almost of all times. So in this case the Holy See does not have the right to suppress a heritage of the whole Church. That would be an abuse, even on the part of a bishop. In this case, you can continue to celebrate the Mass, formally in disobedience, but you will be in obedi-

ence to the Church of all times, to all the popes who have celebrated this Mass.

And continue with respect to pray for this bishop or for the pope. But find some forms perhaps of catacomb Masses, of clandestine Masses.

But always with the spirit “sentire cum Ecclesia,” with a love for the Church and for souls. So it would be a service to the whole Church. n SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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Bishop roB MutsAerts AuxiliAry Bishop of ‘s-hertogenBosch, netherlAnds

“An Evil Edict from Pope Francis” May 24, 2003. Rome, Basilica of St. Mary Major.

The Holy Rosary prior to the celebration of Mass according to the old rite by the late Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos

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ope Francis promotes synodality: everyone should be able to talk, everyone should be heard. This was hardly the case with his recently published motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, an ukase [imperial edict] that must put an immediate termination on the traditional Latin Mass.

In so doing, Francis puts a big bold line through Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict’s motu proprio that gave ample scope to the old Mass.

The fact that Francis here uses the word of power without any consultation indicates that he is losing authority.

This was already evident earlier when the German Bishops’ Conference took no notice of the Pope’s advice regarding the synodality process.

The same occurred in the United States when Pope Francis called on the Bishops’ Conference not to prepare a document on worthy Communion.

The Pope must have thought that it would be better [in this case] not to give advice any more, but rather a writ of execution, now that we’re talking about the traditional Mass! *** The language used looks very much like a declaration of war.

Every Pope since Paul VI has always left openings for the old Mass.

If any changes were made [in that opening], they were minor revisions—see, for example, the indults of 1984 and 1989.

John Paul II firmly believed that bishops should be generous in allowing the Tridentine Mass.

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Benedict opened the door wide with Summorum Pontificum: “What was sacred then is sacred now.”

Francis slams the door hard through Traditionis Custodes.

It feels like a betrayal and is a slap in the face to his predecessors. *** By the way, the Church has never abolished liturgies.

Not even Trent [did so].

Francis breaks completely with this tradition.

The motu proprio contains, briefly and powerfully, some propositions and commands.

Things are explained in more detail by means of an accompanying longer statement. *** This statement contains quite a few factual errors.

One of them is the claim that what Paul VI did after Vatican II is the same as what Pius V did after Trent.

This is completely far from the truth.

Remember that before that time [of Trent] there were various transcribed manuscripts in circulation and local liturgies had sprung up here and there. The situation was a mess.

Trent wanted to restore the liturgies, remove inaccuracies, and check for orthodoxy. Trent was not concerned with rewriting the liturgy, nor with new additions, new Eucharistic prayers, a new lectionary, or a new calendar. It was all about ensuring uninterrupted organic continuity.

The missal of 1570 harks back to the missal of 1474 and so on back to the fourth century. There was continuity from the fourth century onwards.

After the fifteenth century, there are four more centuries of continuity. From time to time, there were at most a few minor changes—an addition of commemoration, or rubric.

In the conciliar document Sacrosanctum Concilium, Vatican II asked for liturgical reforms.

All things considered, this was a conservative document.

Latin was maintained, Gregorian chants retained their legitimate place in the liturgy.

However, the developments that followed Vatican II are far removed from the council documents.

The infamous “Spirit of the Council” is nowhere to be found in the Council texts themselves.

Only 17% of the orations of the old missal of Trent can be found [intact] in the new missal of Paul VI. You can hardly speak of continuity, of an organic development.

Benedict recognized this, and for that reason gave ample space to the Old Mass.

He even said that no one needed his permission (“what was sacred then is still sacred now”). *** Pope Francis is now pretending that his motu proprio belongs to the organic development of the Church, which utterly contradicts the reality.

By making the Latin Mass practically impossible, he finally breaks with the age-old liturgical tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. *** Liturgy is not a toy of Popes; it is the heritage of the Church.

The Old Mass is not about nostalgia or taste.

The Pope should be the guardian of Tradition; the Pope is a gardener, not a manufacturer.

Canon law is not merely a matter of positive law; there is also such a thing as natural law and divine law, and, moreover, there is such a thing as Tradition that cannot simply be brushed aside. *** What Pope Francis is doing here has nothing to do with evangelization and even less to do with mercy.

It is more like ideology.

Go to any parish where the Old Mass is celebrated. What do you find there?

People who just want to be Catholic.

These are generally not people who engage in theological disputes, nor are they against Vatican II (though they are against the way it was implemented).

They love the Latin Mass for its sacredness, its transcendence, the salvation of souls that is central to it, the dignity of the liturgy.

You encounter large families; people feel welcome.

It is only celebrated in a small number of places.

Why does the Pope want to deny people this?

I come back to what I said earlier: it is ideology.

It is either Vatican II—including its implementation, with all its aberrations—or nothing!

The relatively small number of believers (a number growing, by the way, as the Novus Ordo is collapsing) who feel at home with the traditional Mass must and will be eradicated.

That is ideology and evil. *** If you really want to evangelize, to be truly merciful, to support Catholic families, then you hold the Tridentine Mass in honor.

As of the date of the motu proprio, the Old Mass may not be celebrated in parish churches (where then?); you need explicit permission from your bishop, who may only allow it on certain days; for those who will be ordained in the future and want to celebrate the Old Mass, the bishop must seek advice from Rome.

How dictatorial, how unpastoral, how unmerciful do you want to be! *** Francis, in Article 1 of his motu proprio, calls the Novus Ordo (the present Mass) “the unique expression of the Lex Orandi of the Roman Rite.”

He therefore no longer distinguishes between the Ordinary Form (Paul VI) and the Extraordinary Form (Tridentine Mass).

It has always been said that both are expressions of the Lex Orandi, not just the Novus Ordo.

Again, the Old Mass was never abolished!

I never hear from Bergoglio about the many liturgical abuses that exist here and there in countless parishes.

In parishes everything is possible—except the Tridentine Mass.

All weapons are thrown into the fray to eradicate the Old Mass. *** Why? For God’s sake, why?

What is this obsession of Francis to want to erase* that small group of traditionalists?

The Pope should be the guardian of tradition, not the jailer of tradition.

While Amoris Laetitia excelled in vagueness, Traditionis Custodes is a perfectly clear declaration of war. *** I suspect that Francis is shooting himself in the foot with this motu proprio.

For the Society of St. Pius X, it will prove to be good news.

They will never be able to guess how indebted they’ll be to Pope Francis….

(Published in Dutch on July 22 on the bishop’s blog) [* The bishop here uses the loaded German word ausradieren, which was used by Hitler when he was speaking of erasing cities off the map: “Wir werden ihre Städte ausradieren.”m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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cardinal Walter Brandmüller German Former president oF the pontiFical committee For the historical sciences

“A law must be accepted to be valid”

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ith his motu proprio As an example of a lex mere Traditionis custodes, ecclesiastica [“a merely ecclePope Francis has pracsiastical law”] consider the tically unleashed a hurricane apostolic constitution Veterum that has upset those Catholics sapientia [“the wisdom of the who feel attached to the “Triancients”] of Pope John XXIII dentine” rite of Mass revived by of February 22, 1962, in which Benedict XVI’s Summorum the Pope prescribed Latin for Pontificum.[...] university teaching, among If the discussion about Traother things. ditionis custodes has so far conYoung scholar that I was, I cerned the legislative content of reacted only by shaking my the motu proprio, here the text head... the history of the will be considered from a forChurch, even of modern times, mal point of view as a legal text. (taught) in Latin? With all the First of all, it should be noted love professed for the Roman that a law does not require spelanguage — how could it THE GREAT AUGUSTINE REMINDED US: cial acceptance by the interestwork?

“SECURUS IUDICAT ORBIS TERRARUM.” ed parties to acquire binding And so it remained. Veterum force. sapientia was hardly printed (“THE VERDICT OF THE WORLD IS CONCLUSIVE”) However, it must be received before it was soon forgotten. by them. [...]

Reception means affirmative acceptance of the law in The thing is done, therefore, friends, and now, patience. the sense of “making it your own.”

Never has unenlightened zeal served peace, or the common Only then does the law acquire confirmation and permagood. It was St. John Henry Newman who, quoting the nence, as the “father” of canon law, Gratian († 1140), taught great Augustine, reminded us: “Securus iudicat orbis terin his famous Decretum. Here is the original text: rarum.” [“The verdict of the world is conclusive.”]

“Leges instituuntur cum promulgantur. Firmantur cum In the meantime, let’s pay close attention to our lanmoribus utentium approbantur. Sicut enim moribus utenguage. “Verbal disarmament” has already been called that. tium in contrariem nonnullae leges hodie abrogatae sunt, In more pious words: no violation of brotherly (and ita moribus utentium leges confirmantur ”(c. 3 D. 4). recently sisterly) love!

[Our translation: “Laws are established when they are Now — seriously again: what a grotesque idea that the promulgated. They are confirmed when they are approved mystery of love itself [that is, the Mass, the Eucharist, the by the behavior of those who use them. For as due to the holy sacrifice of Christ] should become a bone of conbehaviors of users in an opposing direction quite a few laws tention. today have been abrogated, so through the behaviors of the Again, we quote Saint Augustine, who called the Holy users the laws are confirmed.” -Ed.] Eucharist the bond of love and peace that encloses the head This means, however, that for a law to be valid and bindand the members of the Church. ing, it must be approved by those to whom it is addressed.

No greater triumph of hell could be imagined that if this Thus, on the other hand, some laws today are abolished by bond were broken again, as has happened many times in the non-compliance, just as, on the contrary, the laws are conpast. firmed by the fact that those concerned observe them.

Then the onlooking world would grin: “Look how they [...] love each other!”

This — and this must be strongly emphasized — natuCardinal Brandmüller originally posted his essay rally applies only to purely ecclesiastical laws, but in no July 29, 2021 on the German Catholic website Kath.net. case to those based on divine or natural law.

(Trans. Robert Moynihan)m

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aRchbishop caRlo MaRia Viganò apostolic nuncio to the united states fRoM octobeR 2011 to apRil 2016

“A disturbing operation of cancel culture”

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exhort my Brothers in the Episcopate, Priests, and laity to strenuously defend their right to the Catholic liturgy solemnly sanctioned by Saint Pius V’s Bull Quo Primum, and by means of it to defend the Holy Church and the Papacy, which have both been exposed to discredit and ridicule by the Pastors themselves.

The question of the Motu Proprio is not in the least negotiable, because it reaffirms the legitimacy of a rite that has never been abrogated nor is able to be abrogated. Furthermore, in addition to the certain damage that airing these novelties will cause to souls and to the certain advantage that will come from them to the Devil and his servants, there is also added the indecorous rudeness displayed to Benedict XVI, who is still living,

by Bergoglio, who ought to know that the authority the Roman Pontiff exercises over the Church is vicarious and that the power which he holds comes to him from Our Lord Jesus Christ, the One Head of the Mystical Body. Abusing the Apostolic authority and the power of the Holy Keys for a purpose opposed to that for which they were instituted by the Lord represents an unheardof offense against the Majesty of God, a dishonor for the Church, and a sin for which he will have to answer to the One whose Vicar he is. And whoever refuses the title of Vicar of Christ knows that by doing so the legitimacy of his authority also fails.

It is not acceptable for the supreme authority of the Church to allow itself to cancel, in a disturbing operation of cancel culture in a religious key, the inheritance it has received from its Fathers; nor is it permissible to consider as being outside of the Church those who are not prepared to accept the privation of the Mass and the Sacraments celebrated in the form that has molded almost two thousand years of Saints.

The Church is not an agency in which the marketing office decides to cancel old products from the catalog and propose new ones in their stead according to customer requests. Imposing the liturgical revolution with force on priests and the faithful in the name of obedience to the Council, stripping away from them the very soul of the Christian life and replacing it with a rite that the Freemason Bugnini copied from Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer, was already painful. That abuse, partially healed by Benedict XVI with the Motu Proprio, cannot be repeated in any way now in the presence of elements that are all largely in favor of the liberalization of the ancient liturgy. If one really wanted to help the people of God in this crisis, the reformed liturgy should have been abolished, which in fifty years has caused more damage than Calvinism has done.

—An excerpt from the essay “Considerations on the feared modification of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum”m

RobeRt Mickens - editoR-in-chief of the catholic Magazine La Croix

It’s Not About Latin

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he difference between the Old Rite and the Reformed Rite boils down to the ancient Christian dictum — lex orandi, lex credendi. Our worship reflects what we actually believe. Our liturgy reflects our theology and ecclesiology.

Most Catholics — including Pope Francis — believe that the Second Vatican Council was a watershed moment in the life of the Church which, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, helped us gain new understandings and develop new formulations of our faith Tradition. Because of what happened at Vatican II, the Roman Church today is emerging as a key player in the ecumenical movement and is actively involved in interreligious dialogue. It is a champion of religious freedom (not just for Catholics!)

and has abandoned the Tridentine era idea that error has no rights.

It is struggling (finally) to eliminate the cancer of clericalism and find more active roles for the non-ordained, especially women, even in our liturgical celebrations. It believes that all of us in the Church, and not just the “sacred ministers” or the “consecrated virgins”, have a vocation to holiness.

And there have been other changes in the way we understand and express our faith since — and because of — Vatican Council II. The reformed rite of Mass reflects that. The Tridentine Rite does not. And it could not. Even if — horror of horrors — it could actually be celebrated in English.n SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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Cardinal raymond burke Canon lawyer, is a former PrefeCt of the suPreme tribunal of the aPostoliC signatura. Currently he is the Patron of the sovereign military order of malta

Extraordinary Form as incitement to disobedience and disunity?

Priests and deacons lie prostrate in front of Bishop Bernard Fellay, superior of the Society of St. Pius X, during an ordination ceremony in Econe, Switzerland, June 29, 2012. The Swiss-based organization rejects some of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council.

(CNS photo/Denis Balibouse, Reuters) Below, Pope Benedict greets Bishop Fellay in 2017

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egarding the perceived grave evil constituted by the UA [usus antiquor, the Traditional Mass] I have a wide experience over many years and in many different places with the faithful who regularly worship God according to the UA. In all honesty, I must say that these faithful, in no way, reject “the Church and her institutions in the name of what is called the ‘true Church’.” Neither have I found them out of communion with the Church or divisive within the Church. On the contrary, they love the Roman Pontiff, their Bishops and priests, and, when others have made the choice of schism, they have wanted always to remain in full communion with the Church, faithful to the Roman Pontiff, often at the cost of great suffering. They, in no way, ascribe to a schismatic or sedevacantist ideology.

The Letter accompanying the Motu Proprio states that the UA was permitted by Pope Saint John Paul II and later regulated by Pope Benedict XVI with “the desire to foster the healing of the schism with the movement of Mons. Lefebvre.” The movement in question is the Society of Saint Pius X. While both Roman Pontiffs desired the healing of the schism in question, as should all good Catholics, they also desired to maintain in continuance the UA for those who remained in the full communion of the Church and did not become schismatic. Pope Saint John Paul II showed pastoral charity, in various important ways, to faithful Catholics attached to the UA, for example, granting the indult for the UA but also establishing the Priestly Fraternity of 36

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Saint Peter, a society of apostolic life for priests attached to the UA. In the book Last Testament in His Own Words, Pope Benedict XVI responded to the affirmation, “The reauthorization of the Tridentine Mass is often interpreted primarily as a concession to the Society of Saint Pius X,” with these clear and strong words: “This is just absolutely false! It was important for me that the Church is one with herself inwardly, with her own past; that what was previously holy to her is not somehow wrong now” (pp. 201-202). In fact, many who presently desire to worship according to the UA have no experience and perhaps no knowledge of the history and present situation of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X. They are simply attracted to the holiness of the UA. Yes, there are individuals and even certain groups which espouse radical positions, even as is the case in other sectors of Church life, but they are, in no way, characteristic of the greater and ever increasing number of faithful who desire to worship God according to the UA. The Sacred Liturgy is not a matter of so-called “Church politics” but the fullest and most perfect encounter with Christ for us in this world. The faithful in question, among whom are numerous young adults and young married couples with children, encounter Christ, through the UA, Who draws them ever closer to Himself through the reform of their lives and cooperation with the divine grace which flows from His glorious pierced Heart into their hearts. They have no need

to make a judgment regarding those who worship God according to the Usus Recentior (the More Recent Usage, what Pope Benedict XVI called the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite) [UR], first promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI. As one priest, member of an institute of the consecrated life which serves these faithful, remarked to me: I regularly confess to a priest, according to the UR, and participate, on special occasions, in the Holy Mass according to the UR. He concluded: Why would anyone accuse me of not accepting its validity?

If there are situations of an attitude or practice contrary to the sound doctrine and discipline of the Church, justice demands that they be addressed individually by the pastors of the Church, the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops in communion with him. Justice is the minimum and irreplaceable condition of charity. Pastoral charity cannot be served, if the requirements of justice are not observed.

A schismatic spirit or actual schism are always gravely evil, but there is nothing about the UA which fosters schism. For those of us who knew the UA in the past, like myself, it is a question of an act of worship marked by a centuries-old goodness, truth and beauty.

I knew its attraction from my childhood and indeed became very attached to it. Having been privileged to assist the priest as a Mass Server from the time when I was ten years old, I can testify that the UA was a major inspiration of my priestly vocation. For those who have come to the UA for the first time, its rich beauty, especially as it manifests the action of Christ renewing sacramentally His Sacrifice on Calvary through the priest who acts in His person, has drawn them closer to Christ. I know many faithful for whom the experience of Divine Worship according to the UA has strongly inspired their conversion to the Faith or their seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. Also, numerous priests who have returned to the celebration of the UA or who have learned it for the first time have told me how deeply it has enriched their priestly spirituality. This is not to mention the saints all along the Christian centuries for whom the UA nourished an heroic practice of the virtues. Some have given their lives to defend the offering of this very form of divine worship.

Excerpt from Statement on the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes.m

Jean-françois chiron Presbyter in the Diocese of chambéry, france anD Professor of theology at the catholic University of lyon

The Church is not an archipelago

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here is nothing more bitter than liturgical controversies.

Liturgy reveals the community’s relationship with God, just as it reveals the type of Church the community wants to embody and how that Church relates to the world.

In all this, more than anything else, the liturgy is symbolic.

Let us add that it is, by definition, visible, and that it concerns the whole person, in his or her body and in his or her history: the relationship with oneself is involved.

With just the slightest bit of irrationality things can go to extremes.

We can see this clearly with the reactions to Pope Francis’ new “motu proprio” Traditionis custodes.

It is not scandalous that a pope wishes to express himself on problems of an undeniable gravity.

It is not for nothing that Francis begins his latest document with words that designate the bishops as guardians of tradition.

Benedict XVI’s document Summorum Pontificum

(2007) stripped the bishops (and parish priests) of all authority in this matter: they were obliged to comply with requests addressed to them.

This was an unprecedented state of affairs in the Catholic tradition. Francis has re-established the bishops’ rightful authority to regulate the liturgy in their dioceses.

We must also be aware of the unprecedented nature of Benedict XVI’s provisions.

For the first time in history, the choice of a rite was left to the subjectivity of believers, priests and faithful.

Paradoxically, it was in the name of tradition that individualistic and liberal modernity annexed a new field, according to the laws of supply and demand.

By changing the rules of the game, Francis intends to limit the proliferation of celebrations that do not comply with the post-Vatican II liturgical reform.

This, too, is unpleasant and shows the extent to which some people are in a militant, if not proselytizing, frame of mind.m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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Professor MassiMo viglione Historian, writer and lecturer on tHe traditional values of western civilization

The hermeneutic of Cain’s envy against Abel “They will throw you out of the synagogues” (Jn 16:2)

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here have been many comments, one after the other, in these days following the official declaration of war — made by Francis himself — of the ecclesiastical hierarchy against the Holy Mass of all time.

And more than one comment has revealed the not-at-all concealed contempt and the simultaneous absolute clarity of content and form that marks the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, written in a style and formality that is political more than theological or spiritual.

It is in effect a declaration of war. [,,,] The Lex Orandi of the Church, in fact, is not a “precept” of positive law voted on by a parliament or prescribed by a sovereign, which can always be retracted, changed, replaced, improved, or worsened.

The Lex Orandi of the Church, furthermore, is not a specific and determined “thing” in time and space, as much as it is the collective whole of theological and spiritual norms and liturgical and pastoral practices of the entire history of the Church, from evangelical times — and specifically from Pentecost — up to today.

Although it obviously lives in the present, it is however rooted in the entire past of the Church. Therefore, we are not talking here about something human — exclusively human — that the latest boss can change at his pleasure.

The Lex Orandi comprises all twenty centuries of the history of the Church, and there is no man or group of men in the world who can change this twenty-century-old deposit.

There is no Pope, council, or episcopate that can change the Gospel, the Depositum Fidei, or the universal Magisterium of the Church.

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Nor can the Liturgy of all time be changed. [...]

The Montinian reform broke all this apart, improvisedly inventing a new rite adapted to the needs of the modern world and transforming the sacred Catholic Liturgy from being theocentric to being anthropocentric.

From the Holy Sacrifice of the Cross repeated in an unbloody manner through the action of the sacerdos, we transitioned to the assembly of the faithful led by its “presider.”

From a salvific and even exorcistic instrument, we passed to a horizontal populist gathering, susceptible to continual autocephalous and relativistic changes and adaptations that are more or less “festive” and whose supposed “value” is based on winning mass consensus, as if it were a political instrument aimed at the audience, an audience however that is progressively completely disappearing. [...]

The “new Mass” has lost in the face of history and the evidence of the facts.

The churches are empty, ever more empty; the religious orders — even, and perhaps above all, the most ancient and glorious ones — are disappearing; monasteries and convents are deserted, inhabited only by religious who are now very advanced in years, and upon whose death the doors will be shuttered; vocations are reduced to nothing; even the “otto per mille” [Italian church tax] has been cut in half, despite the obsessive cloying and pathetic third-worldesque publicity it receives; priestly vocations are scarce — everywhere we see pastors with three, four, or at times even five parishes to run.

The mathematics of the Council and the “new Mass” is the most merciless thing that can exist.

[...] hatred of fidelity, of seriousness, of the thirst for the sacred.

THE HERMENEUTIC OF HATRED It is hatred of an entire world, ever more numerous, Where did the hermeneutic of continuity shipthat has not fallen — or no longer falls — into the wreck? humanistic and globalist trap of the “New Pentecost.”

It shipwrecked, along with “Mercy,” in the At its root, that mad shooting is nothing other than a Hermeneutic of Hatred. new murder of Abel by an envious Cain.

The Mass of all time, on the other hand, is the exact And in fact, in the new Rite what is offered to God antithesis of all this. is “the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands It is disruptive in its propagation, despite all of the (Cain), while in the Rite of all time what is offered is constant hostility and episcopal censorship; it is sanc“hanc immaculatam Ostiam” tifying in its perfection; it is (the firstborn Lamb of Abel: engaging precisely because it is Gen 4:2-4). the expression of the Eternal [...] and Unchanging, of the Church All this will be confirmed of all time, of the theology and above all by an aspect that up spirituality of all time, of the until now no one has highliturgy of all time, of the morallighted: the true goal of this ity of all time. multi-decade war against the It is loved because it is Sacred Catholic Liturgy, divine, sacred, and hierarchiwhich then is the true goal of cally ordered, not human, the creation of the New Rite ex “democratic” or liberal-egalinihilo (better to say, improvistarian. edly) is the dissolution of the It is both divine and human Catholic Liturgy in itself, of together, like its Founder on the IT IS HATRED OF KNEELING GIRLS WEARING every form of the Holy Sacriday of the Last Supper. fice, of doctrine itself, of the It is loved above all by WHITE VEILS, HATRED OF LADIES WITH Church herself in the great young people, both the laity MANY CHILDREN WEARING BLACK VEILS; globalist current of the univerwho frequent it as well as HATRED OF MEN KNEELING IN PRAYER sal religion of the New World among those are approaching Order.

AND RECOLLECTION, PERHAPS WITH the priesthood: while the semiAnd, in this perspective, the naries of the new rite (the Lex THE ROSARY IN THEIR HANDS Mass of all time is the first eleOrandi of Bergoglio) are dens ment that must disappear, since it is the absolute bulof heresy and apostasy (and it is better to be silent about wark of all that they want to make disappear: it is the what else…), the seminaries and novitiates of the first obstacle to every form of ecumenism. world of Tradition overflow with vocations, both male [...] and female, in an unstoppable stream.

We are in the most decisive days of human history The explanation of this incontrovertible fact is and also of the history of the Church. found in the one Lex Orandi of the Catholic Church, All of the authors who have commented in these which is the one willed by God Himself and from days invite their readers to prayer and hope. which no rebel may escape.

We will obviously do this too, in the full conviction HERE IS THE ROOT OF THE HATRED that everything that is happening in these days and, It is the worldwide and multi-generational consenmore generally, since February 2020, is the unequivosus against the enemy who must die, in the face of the cal sign that the times are drawing near in which God failure of that which was supposed to bring new life will intervene to save His Mystical Body and humaniand instead is withered and dying, because the ty, as well as the order that He Himself has given to crelifeblood of Grace is missing. ation and to human coexistence, in the measure He It is hatred of kneeling girls wearing white veils, wishes to give it, in the way and time of His choosing. hatred of ladies with many children wearing black Let us pray; let us hope; let us keep vigil, and let us veils; hatred of men kneeling in prayer and recollecchoose to be on the right side. The enemy helps us in tion, perhaps with the rosary in their hands; hatred of the choice: in fact, he is always the same everywhere. priests in cassocks who are faithful to the doctrine and First published at Duc in altum spirituality of all time; hatred of families that are large (“Set out into the deep”) on July 22, 2021.m and peaceful despite the difficulties of this society; SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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fr. claude BartHe He was tHe main cHaplain for tHe “summorum pontificum pilgrimages” promoting tHe traditional latin mass at st. peter’s Basilica

Italians were “the moving force” behind Traditionis custodes

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he following interview conducted by French journalist Anne Le Pape first appeared in the French Catholic newspaper Présent and on the website Paix Liturgique on July 28, three weeks after Pope Francis issued his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes severely limiting the Traditional Latin Mass.

Fr. Claude Barthe, who lives in Paris, was the main chaplain for the “Summorum Pontificum pilgrimages” promoting the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome that were attended by thousands in the past decade.

The website Rorate Caeli, which published Fr. Barthe’s interview in English on July 30, called Fr. Barthe “a seasoned veteran of the pre-Summorum ‘liturgical wars.’”

Anne Le Pape: Father, rumors about this motu proprio, which practically cancels Benedict XVI’s motu proprio of July 7, 2007, have been floating around for some time. Did you expect it to be published so soon, on July 16?

Fr. Claude Barthe: None of us were quite sure. There had been various rumors. In Rome there was talk of an August publication, while others warned of an imminent publication. The latter version turned out to be true. The Secretariat of State, which led all this, was extremely discreet, it must be admitted.

Recent events seemed to point towards the possibility of an appeasement — such as the words of Cardinal Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, who appealed to Summorum Pontificum in a recent interview on Vatican News. Were these hopes unfounded?

I don’t know what Cardinal Gambetti did or said to the Pope, but it is certain that requests were made to postpone this document so as not to start a new liturgical war in the Church. Notably, some say that Cardinal 40

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Ladaria, president of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, held it back as long as he could, as did others. In the end, the decision was made by the Pope and by those who lobbied him to take it, especially the Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, the substitute, Archbishop Peña Parra, Cardinal Versaldi, and others who were involved, that is, who participated in these inter-dicastery meetings (meetings between the prefects of the congregations concerned: Divine Worship, Clergy, Bishops, and the Secretariat of State) and who have been working on this document for a long time.

How did the supporters of Francis’ motu proprio prevail?

It was enough to convince the Pope! He has the power to go against anyone… In this case, the major lobby group in the Italian bishops’ conference was set against Summorum Pontificum, mainly because in Italy, rather later than in France, young priests were beginning to celebrate the traditional Mass and to adopt more traditional ideas. They noticed a “traditionalization” of the seminaries, which worried them greatly. In the Curia as well, people like Cardinal Parolin, Cardinal Stella in the Congregation for Clergy, etc., were also very concerned.

What are their arguments for questioning Benedict XVI’s document?

They are laid out clearly in the accompanying letter. They can also be found on the blog of Andrea Grillo, a lay professor of liturgy at St. Anselm’s who has been extremely hostile to Summorum Pontificum. His idea, taken up by the Pope and the crafters of the recent motu proprio, is that the traditional Mass represents a state of doctrine prior to Vatican II while the new Mass represents the doctrine of Vatican II — something we all already knew. Therefore, it was no longer necessary for the traditional Mass to be a right, but only a tolerance, and even then a tolerance

Opposite, center, Fr. Claude Barthe leading a pilgrimage of Associations, Groups and Movements pro Summorum Pontificum of Benedict XVI. Below, a poster for the event

only granted to faithful and priests to help them gradually to celebrate marriages and funerals in parishes? Isn’t transition to the new Mass. there a contradiction there?

So the main reason is doctrinal?

That hasn’t changed! Yes, there is a contradiction there…

Yes, and it is very important to say this and to be aware But will they still have the right to celebrate publicly in a of it because, paradoxically, this is all very providential. It parish? I repeat: it is better not to dig too deep for the is of course very painful. It will hinder the diffusion of the moment. Each should interpret himself or leave it to the traditional Mass. It will start new persecutions. But, on the bishop to interpret, rather than getting into details. other hand, it puts the finger on what hurts, namely the doc(...) trinal status of Vatican II, which has never been settled.

How do you imagine the French bishops will react?

How does this motu proprio affect Their reactions will vary. Some will the Ecclesia Dei communities — if we use the Pope’s text to repress as much as can still call them that? possible. Others will simply be realistic, It will affect them. They are also in the they will not want to light fires in their crosshairs, that’s for sure. The document own homes. (...) The bishop still has to says it clearly; the Pope’s letter indicates want to act. Now, contrary to what we are it in a cynical way. It is a question of told about synodality, it really only works destroying the traditional celebration of one way, in favor of bishops who think the Mass by ensuring there will be no like the pope. But when this is not the Cardinal Gambetti and Cardinal Ladaria more priests to celebrate it. These commucase… I’m reminded of the words of were unfavorable to the Pope’s decree.

Below, favorable, the Secretary of State, nities are particularly targeted because Archbishop Roche, the new prefect of the Parolin, and the substitute, they are “factories” for such priests, as is Cardinal Pietro Congregation for Divine Worship, who Archbishop Peña Parra the Society of St. Pius X, which was alone recently said expressly — with a laugh: at the beginning. Henceforth, these insti“We are going to destroy Summorum tutes are no longer under the jurisdiction Pontificum. Liturgical power will be of Ecclesia Dei, which no longer exists, given to the bishops… but not to the connor under the Congregation of the Faith, servative bishops!” which is relatively protective, but under St. Pius V specifying that this Mass the jurisdiction of the Congregation for cannot be abrogated, Paul VI forbidReligious. They’ve been reduced from ding it, Benedict XVI re-establishing it, their status of pontifical right.

Francis again seeking to make it disapThe Congregation for Religious, presided by Cardinal pear: how can the Church’s decisions be taken seriously Braz de Aviz, is very much aligned with Francis and is going under these conditions? to get to work to put things in order. For example, they will You are right. We must review the text of Quo Primum make canonical visits to the seminaries to verify that the and what exactly St. Pius V says: he is saying that no one teaching given there is in conformity with Vatican II, and to can prevent a priest from celebrating this Mass, no matter ensure they study and celebrate the new liturgy there. (...) where he is in the Church, in order to oblige him to say it in So for them, the good of souls is of little importance? one of the particular rites (Lyon, etc.)…

In fact, yes. For them, the good of souls is Vatican II. Aren’t we there in a certain way?

They prefer not to have priests than to have those they think In a certain way, we are there, indeed. The Mass of Saint are bad priests. It’s appalling — even diabolical. It has to be Pius V, when it was abrogated by Paul VI (because it was said: this pontificate is attacking every place where there is abrogated, it must be said, Jean Madiran rightly pointed it priestly renewal. The Franciscans of the Immaculate was out), was identical, almost in detail, to what it was in the one example, but there are many others.

11th century. Benedict XVI, in Summorum Pontificum, said In fact, Benedict XVI’s motu proprio was never fully that it had never been abrogated. Then Francis again abroapplied, but it did permit the application of John Paul gates it… That doesn’t sound very serious. Everything is II’s 1988 motu proprio. With Francis, are we now returnallowed, any heresy can be professed by men of the Church, ing to the situation of the 1970s, the period right after the who still get to keep their Catholic “identity card” — except Council? those who celebrate or attend the traditional Mass. No, they We have forgotten how terrible those times were to live are accused by the Pope himself of tearing apart the unity of through. It is different in the sense that 50 years have passed the Church. and the persecutors are much less strong than they were at So, the bottom line is that this hatred of the traditionthat time. The conciliar Church is very sick, in some places al Mass has a doctrinal basis? it is dying, like in many French dioceses. It has no more Absolutely. It is the hatred of the Tridentine ecclesiology, troops, especially no more priests. (...) of all that this Mass represents from the point of view of What will become of the authorization granted by Eucharistic doctrine as well as the doctrine of the Church.

Francis himself to the priests of the Society of St. Pius X [English translation by Zachary Thomas.]m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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the liturgiSt StandS beSide ChriSt ChriSt iS the arrival oF the Kingdom oF god in perSon. he iS the neW temple and the neW altar, the neW prieSt and the Final SaCriFiCe... n BY DAVID FAGERBERG, PH.D. Adoration of the Trinity (Landauer Altar)

by Albrecht Dürer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Austria Opposite page, Miraculous Mass, Cappella di San Martino, Lower Church, Assisi, Italy

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here is a line of demarcaIt has the goal of attaining tion, supernatural and contact with God, but Christ is mystical in nature, that the arrival of the Kingdom of separates the holy activities of God in person. He is the new the Church from any secular temple and new altar, the new analogues. This sacred cirpriest and the final sacrifice, cumference reminds us that the word of life and the icon of the mystical body of Christ is the Father. not the same as a religious The ancient world knew a Jesus club, that the priestly instruplethora of cultic religions, says St. John ChrySoStom ment Christ uses is not the same as Alexander Schmemann, but the “Strange! What FriendShip! For he a counseling therapist, and that Christian cult is leitourgia, which sacraments communicating divine transcends the categories of cult as tellS uS hiS SeCretS; the mySterieS oF life are not the same as teaching aids such. Christian liturgy is not one of hiS Will… thiS he deSired, thiS he for a philosophy of life. I think we the cults of Adam, it is the cult of the travailed For, aS one might Say, that could call this perimeter sacramenNew Adam perpetuated in his body, he might be able to reveal to uS the tal in the sense that God gives a the Church. Liturgy is not the religion human activity a power beyond of Christians, liturgy is the religion of myStery. What myStery? that he what it could possess in itself. Water Christ perpetuated in Christians.

Would have man Seated up on high” is poured, bread is broken, oil is Christ is unique (the hypostatic union applied; at the same time, regeneration occurs, a subof divine and human natures), the Church is unique (the stance is converted, and a sick person is united to the pasmystical body of Christ), so the liturgy is a unique activity sion of Christ. It is a human activity, but a divine work. (it is the Church in motion).

This may be equally applied to the whole liturgy. LiturThe origin and terminus of liturgy is the Trinity. gy is the work of God and the activity of men. Liturgy is So said Pius XII: “The sacred liturgy is the public wornot a human product, even if it is a human activity. All ship which our Redeemer as Head of the Church renders things must pass through the hypostatic union before they to the Father, as well as the worship which the community are of any use in liturgy. All religions have a temple and of the faithful renders to its Founder, and through Him to altar, a priesthood and sacrifice, sacred books and sacred the heavenly Father” (Mediator Dei, 20). art, but in Christian liturgy this religious paraphernalia So said Virgil Michel, who transplanted the liturgical has been taken up by Christ to be wielded by his hand, and movement from Europe to the United States: “The liturgy, not ours. Liturgy is different from religious ritual because reaching from God to man, and connecting man to the religion’s purpose has been drastically modified. fullness of the Godhead, is the action of the Trinity in the

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INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

The liTurgisT sTands beside ChrisT, Church. The Church in her liturgy places. The mystery that unfolded partakes of the life of the divine before The faTher, in The holy spiriT. across historical time now intends society of the three persons in God” to invade our souls, if we will let it.

ThaT is The privileged plaCe given (Liturgy of the Church).

Whenever we think of “liturgiTo all liTurgisTs who are CreaTed This would seem to indicate that cal movement,” we should think of the liturgy originates in a place in The bapTismal fonT, and There is no moving closer to that mystery. where scholars forget to look.

Somehow, I had been given a oTher gps loCaTion like iT Liturgy’s origin is not religious false impression that the objective purity rituals, the human need for was to “move” the liturgy (like the fellowship, Israel’s temple, or ancontest of moving a football up and cient history. It is the Trinity. down the field), instead of moving We join a liturgy already in progourselves nearer the liturgy. But ress, begun for twin purposes althat is how participants in the ready decided in the mind of God, movement originally described it. namely, his glory and our salvation.

“The liturgical movement, as the The tradition has named the twin words indicate, is a movement – a purposes of liturgy as the glorificamovement towards the liturgy;” tion of God and the sanctification of and “We speak of a liturgical moveman. This is the opus Dei, the work ment because for centuries we have God is doing behind and under and been too far removed from this alongside our liturgical activities. divine furnace in all its penetrating Whatever we do must be consacred fire. We have always felt nected to that mystery. some of its heat, but not enough to That mystery has been in the get warm” (The Liturgical Movemind of God from before time, says ment, ed. Virgil Michel, the former Paul in Ephesians 1, Ephesians 3, quote by an anonymous author and and Colossians 1. It is a purpose the latter by Martin Hellriegel).

God set forth in Christ as a plan for We may need to connect liturgy the fullness of time; it is a mystery to life in order for any of this to not made known fully until it was make any sense. The public, cerediscovered to the apostles; and now the plan for all ages monial cult is like the part of the liturgical iceberg that we can be celebrated at a particular hour. can see, but to what is it connected? What is underneath?

What is that plan? John Chrysostom sums it up in his The liturgy celebrated and the liturgy lived must be conhomilies on Ephesians. “Strange! What Friendship! For nected. So must be cult and cosmos, sacred and profane, He tells us His secrets; the mysteries of His will… This Church and world, the sacramental Christ and our spirituHe desired, this He travailed for, as one might say, that He al conversion, the eighth day and our ascetical discipline. might be able to reveal to us the mystery. What mystery?

The visit to heaven dispels the enchantment of worldliThat He would have man seated up on high.” ness, his descent opens our ascent, his kenosis achieves That mystery is Jesus, a man seated up on high. That our prokope (elevation). mystery envelops us, for Jesus carries us with him to the I saw a cloud of incense hovering near the ceiling at the throne of his Father in every liturgy. Christ seems to have end of Mass one day. The coal had burned out, the grain a two-stage career. He who was invisible was made visiof incense was gone, both having fulfilled their purposes. ble in Incarnation; he who was visible as our Redeemer But the cloud remained. So it should be with us. has now passed into the sacraments (St. Leo the Great).

We shall burn out one day. All that matters is the cloud The liturgist stands beside Christ, before the Father, in of glory that remains in praise of God. The glory of God the Holy Spirit. That is the privileged place given to all is all that matters. Liturgy gives us training and practice liturgists who are created in the baptismal font, and there for this beatitude. is no other GPS location like it. For the Christian, the altar is the tree of life for Adam and Eve, the ladder David W. Fagerberg is Professor of Liturgical Thefor Jacob, the burning bush for Moses, the mercy ology at the University of Notre Dame. He has an M.A. seat of the ark of the covenant, the holy of holies in from St. John’s University, Collegeville; an S.T.M. from Solomon’s temple, the still, small voice for Elijah Yale Divinity School; and a Ph.D. from Yale University. and then his fiery chariot, the Jordan for John the ForeBooks include Theologia Prima (2003), On Liturgical runner, the cross and empty tomb for Christ. When we Asceticism (2013), Consecrating the World (2016), Liturgistand before the altar we are standing before all these cal Mysticism (2019) and Liturgical Dogmatics (2021).m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

43

LATIN

the Value of a sacred language Why the use of a single, unchanging ancient language can be beneficial n BY JOHN BYRON KUHNER

L

atin has been back in the news recently, as most Catholics are aware, thanks to Pope Francis’ motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, calling for fairly severe restrictions on the Tridentine Latin Mass. Reaction has been politically divided, about as one would expect. If you get on some Latin Mass Facebook pages, you will find sadness and anger. If you go to Fr. James Martin’s Facebook page, people are celebrating and cheering Francis on.

I will note that I see a point in what Francis is saying. There is division in the Church. In my upstate New York parish, as in many places in America today, we already functionally had two parishes which never came together, divided by the Novus Ordo Mass.

There was the Spanish-speaking parish and the English-speaking parish. Then a new pastor came in who added a Latin Mass. This brought a whole new group of people in, who in general don’t socialize with the English-Mass people or the Spanish-Mass people.

I actually like the diversity of liturgy, but I can see the potential trouble. It would be nice to have a Mass that was the same for everyone.

The odd thing about Traditionis Custodes is that this dream of having a universal Mass was the situation until the Novus Ordo.

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INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

But from comments I’ve been reading, I think it is worth taking some time to think intelligently about how language operates in the liturgy. This whole controversy has raised some interesting questions.

First of all, why wouldn’t we want our prayers and the Mass in our mother tongue? It seems entirely rational to just have our prayers in the language we are most comfortable with. And since just about no one is as comfortable with Latin as they are with their native languages, why not simply get rid of Latin as a liturgical language? This seems rational enough.

But it is not upheld by the actual experience of the majority of human beings. India’s magnificent religious culture is sustained to this day by songs, chants, prayers, and Scriptures written in Sanskrit, a language just as dead as Latin. Tibetan Buddhists like the Dalai Lama pray in classical Tibetan from the 12th century and not modern Tibetan. Muslims pray in 7th century classical Arabic — even though Arabic has changed a great deal in the past 1400 years and the world’s largest Muslim countries (Indonesia, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria) do not speak Arabic at all. The Hebrew language appears to have passed out of daily use sometime before Latin did, but it has remained the language of prayer for all Jews to this day, whatever language they may have first heard from their parents

Pius V (1566-1572) in his decree Quo primum tempore of 1570 (450 years ago) promulgated the Roman Missal or Missale Romanum ex Decreto Sacrosancti Concilii Tridentini restitutum. For this reason it is called the Tridentine Missal or the “Missal of St. Pius V.” This is what we call “the old Mass”

(Hebrew was also successfully resurrected as a spoken language in the 19th century by the remarkable Eliezer Ben-Yahudah). Greek Orthodox Christians still celebrate the Mass in ancient Greek — the same Koine Greek the New Testament was written in.

The idea of preserving prayers in an old language — and not updating them to keep up with the times — is not an eccentricity of Roman Catholicism. It is at the heart of most of the world’s most successful religions. Even in the Protestant world, English speakers have kept the King James Bible to this day, and a whole host of archaic usages; Germans have kept the Luther Bible and its New High German.

Such a widespread phenomenon must mean something. It may seem to go against reason, but the idea of a sacred language different from the language of everyday life appeals to human beings. I can say from my own experience that prayer in Latin and Greek actually does seem to have a different effect on me: it pulls me out of my daily life, places me sub specie aeternitatis, where I have room to reflect on what is most important to me. Joseph Campbell — the furthest thing from a “traddy” Catholic — wrote about this: “There’s been a reduction, a reduction, a reduction of ritual. Even in the Roman Catholic Church, my God, they’ve translated the Mass out of the ritual language into a language that has a lot of domestic associations. Every time I read the Latin of the Mass, I get that pitch again that it’s supposed to give, a language that throws you out of the field of your domesticity...

They’ve forgotten what the function of a ritual is: it’s to pitch you out, not to wrap you back in where you have been all the time.”

Human artifacts and cultural productions point the mind always to the era of their origin. Language acts this way as well. Sometimes this makes sense: the prayers and Scriptures of Islam hearken back to the days of Muhammad, who is considered the perfect embodiment of the Muslim life. The Aramaic of the Syriac Churches, and the Greek of the Orthodox Church, come directly from the times of Christ. When there is no particularly obvious reason for making the language of one era the language of prayer for later eras, people often resort to mythic reasoning: some Hindus maintain that Sanskrit is actually the language

of the gods, just as some Jews maintain that Hebrew was the language spoken by God to Adam and Eve. Latin has seen this mythic reasoning too, that it is the “language of the angels.” And indeed, in Christian terms, Latin’s claim to sacrality is not as great, quantitatively, as Greek or Aramaic, which were likely spoken by Jesus. But Latin has the same type of claim, qualitatively, as Greek and Aramaic: it is one of the languages of the days of Jesus.

The Roman centurion he met spoke it; Pilate spoke it; when Paul had to defend himself in court in Rome, or when Peter heard the crowds in the Eternal City, Latin was the language of the day. And now Latin has been further consecrated by a whole host of saints and believers through the subsequent centuries of what has been called the Latin Rite. The Tridentine Mass makes those people present in the soul of the believer.

The Novus Ordo Mass is, of course, just as much a product of its time as any other cultural product. It is a product of the late 1960s. There is no doubt that this is the single most important period in the recent history of the world, a time when so much of modern life — our language, our architecture, our entertainment, our business habits, our social mores, our sex lives, and our liturgy — developed its current form. This is the strength of the New Mass: it is firmly rooted in a culture which is still very much with us.

But many people want the patina of age on their religions. A friend of mine declared that the older a religion is, the more respectable it is: he was uneasy with the newness of Scientology, the Baha’i, or Mormonism. Many people feel that way. And it is with the older forms of liturgy that Catholics actually get to experience the venerability of their religion.

Like many Catholics, I am not an exclusive adherent of the Tridentine Rite, but I see its beauty and importance. I think that people should pray, often, in the language they are most comfortable with; but I think people should also pray, at least sometimes, in a language removed from daily associations, and know, as most of the world’s believers do, the value of having a sacred language. I think eventually people will consider it odd that for a brief period of time there were many Roman Catholics, and even several Popes, who did not understand this.m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

45

Join the Catholic Counter-Revolution!

Since the 1960s much of Catholicism has veered o昀 in a revolutionary direction — its Marxism deriving as much from Groucho as from Karl — and the results are in: Two out of three Catholics no longer believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Weekly Mass attendance has dropped from 70 percent to 30 percent. The number of priests, brothers, sisters, Catholic schools and parishes, marriages, baptisms, and con昀rmations has declined — dramatically in many cases. According to the Pew Forum, former Catholics outnumber converts by a ratio of nearly 5-1.

The Catholic revolution, like Lenin’s and Castro’s revolutions, has been a monumental 昀op. But the pompous pooh-bahs and radical apparatchiks refuse to recognize the obvious — they think the ’60s never ended. Still trying to be cool cats, they’re so cool they’re frozen in a time warp.

Mercifully, God’s frozen people are thawing out. Where’s the 昀re and dynamism in the Church today? Among orthodox Catholics! Polls show that the Catholics most committed to the Church are orthodox Catholics. The dioceses that have no vocations shortage, the religious orders that are growing, and the seminaries that are packed are predominantly the orthodox ones. The only massive grassroots movement in the Church is the pro-life movement, led by orthodox Catholics. The only signi昀cant Catholic presence on TV and radio is that of orthodox Catholics.

In Catholic journalism, guess what’s coming at you hot o昀 the presses? Orthodoxy! And who blazed that trail? We at the New Oxford Review did.

Founded in 1977 as an Anglo-Catholic magazine, we took our name from the 19th-century Oxford Movement. We immediately championed Pope St. John Paul II when he cracked down on dissenting theologian Hans Küng, although no leading Roman Catholic magazine was willing to do so. The novelty of Anglicans supporting a muscular pope attracted the attention of Newsweek, which predicted that we would, like St. John Henry Newman, become Roman Catholic, which we did in 1983.

And a wave of converts followed.

The converts of today are likewise attracted, not by a capricious cafeteria Catholicism, but by a Catholicism steeped in history and tradition. They relish a religion that’s bold and articulate, one that doesn’t bow down before passing fads. In a word, they want orthodoxy. And that’s where the New Oxford Review comes in.

We don’t shy away from the “hard” teachings of Christ and His Church. We know why we’re Catholic, and we’re not afraid to tell doubters and dissenters alike all about it. We discuss the full range of ideas found at the intersection of faith and culture, and we address all the challenges facing the Church today, both internal and external. And we do so with “attitude,” says Karl Keating, founder of Catholic Answers.

The Catholic counter-revolution is well underway, and the New Oxford Review “belongs in every loyal Catholic’s arsenal,” says Fr. Joseph Fessio, founder of Ignatius Press. Rediscover the romance of orthodoxy by subscribing today!

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Robert Moynihan’s dramatic new book — with special discounts for ITV readers!

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By Dr. Robert Moynihan, In Search of the Man Whose Testimony Shook the Church and the World

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LAUDED FOR HIS COURAGE AND ALSO DENOUNCED FOR HIS “BETRAYAL,” VIGANÒ THE MAN, HAS ELUDED MANY – UNTIL NOW.

2018: The Church is convulsed by revelations — a powerful cardinal falls — an archbishop calls on the Pope to resign.

2021: Three years have passed and today we ask: What was it all for? The answer, says Robert Moynihan, author of FINDING VIGANÒ, is a spiritual one:

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“Repentance for sins, healing for spiritual wounds, comfort for tormented souls.”

In all human affairs, understanding the man is crucial to understanding his message.

FINDING VIGANÒ brings us new understanding of how a life-long, obedient “civil servant” of the Church became, almost overnight, a controversial “whistleblower” with a global audience.

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C AT H O L I C I S M A N D O R T H O D O X Y E D I T E D B Y: C H R I S T I N A D E A R D U R F F

The Message of the Icon

BY ROBERT WIESNER

A

THE ROOT OF JESSE

s the second chapter of Genesis makes clear, the human race is deeply rooted in the earth.

Without regard to the various scientific theories as to the origin of species, even the meanest understanding of nature comprehends that every man, woman and child is composed of elements drawn from the earth. All food, quite literally, has its roots in the earth, even if it does pass through a transitional state of cow or chicken. Our present icon recognizes this basic fact of life and highlights a very important theological lesson to be embraced.

One of the more interesting titles for our patron saints is “The Holy and Righteous Ancestors of God.” The icon shows Joachim and Anna drawing their daughter forth from a tree, which itself grows from her ancestry through Jesse; Jesse is depicted nestled in the roots, long since gone to his rest in the earth.

His DNA clearly runs in her veins, along with that of David, Solomon, and, traveling further back in time, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah, and all the rest back to the very dawn of history.

Something rather peculiar is being formed by this human past: God Himself, in His inscrutable and inimitable fashion, is setting up a background for the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, even though Divine Nature has an existence quite outside time!

A Being, eternally existent by nature, is preparing to take on an existence in the created temporal realm!

This is obviously one of those great theological mysteries lying quite outside mere human comprehension; the limited intellects of even the greatest theologians have never been able to quite fathom the conundrum. The timeless Origin of all that exists somehow will take up another form of existence in a

specific location in time, itself a creation by God. The unlimited God will voluntarily take on the limits naturally imposed by Him on His creatures. The best that theologians can say is simply to admit that God is God and there are things He does which only He can do.

When God wishes to do peculiar things, we certainly are not empowered to gainsay His activity. There is no sense in arguing against the divine decision to take on a human ancestry; heretics have attempted this useless exercise and have come to great grief on that account. We can only marvel at the phenomenon and offer our sincere gratitude at the loving condescension of God. We cannot understand all the ways of divinity, as Job learned so emphatically through his tribulations.

Every family tree has its share of rotten fruit, of course. There is no family ancestry in history without its fair share of bad actors. Even the ancestry of God is sprinkled with objectionable characteristics. David, the noble king, was yet an adulterer and a murderer. Solomon the Wise rather unwisely introduced idolatry into Israel at the behest of his pagan wives.

Sarah had the temerity to laugh at God; much better, one thinks, to chuckle with God, since He always has the last laugh! Thievery, jealousy, the drunken behavior of Noah, untruthfulness, the deception of Rebekah, seeing to it that Jacob rather than Esau received the blessing of Isaac, and even harlotry, as shown by Rahab of the great heart, all form part of the mosaic making up the backstory of God Himself.

In short, the very worst of human behavior went into the makeup of the Messiah. He did indeed take on the burden of sin in every imaginable form, all to be put to redemptive death on the cross.m

In July 2018, INSIDE THE VATICAN made a special pilgrimage to Russia, as well as to Rome, to take part in the 100th anniversary commemoration of the murder of Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra and their five children in 1918. Contact us at insidethevaticanpilgrimages.com for information about joining us for upcoming special pilgrimages like this one. page 48

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East-West Watch

BY PETER ANDERSON

DULLING BLADES

O

n November 20, 2020, Patriarch Irinej (Gavrihe became highly respected there. He in turn developed lović), who had been the primate of the Serbian a love for the people of those countries. After his elecOrthodox Church since 2010, died from COVID-19 tion as patriarch, the major Zagreb newspaper Večernji in a hospital in Belgrade. Approximately 85 percent of List stated: “Metropolitan Porfirije was the population of Serbia belongs to this Church, and the builder of bridges, and it will certhe Church also represents most of the Orthodox in tainly be so for Patriarch Porfirije.

Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia and Bosnia–HerzegovHe is, above all, a man of deep and ina. Although the Serbian Orthodox Church is an autotrue faith, before whom both nacephalous church, it has had a tional and denominational Church close relationship with the Mobarriers fall.” scow Patriarchate, stemming in Patriarch Porfirije stated on his part from the close historical reenthronement: “In July 2014, I lationship between the nations of said in Zagreb, and I do not give Serbia and Russia. up, that with all my being, modest The internal governance of strength, but with the strength and the Serbian Church has been power of God’s grace, I will work quite democratic, and this was on connecting people, building reflected in the election of a new bridges and establishing dialogue patriarch which occurred on with everyone. Through that diaFebruary 18, 2021. The election logue in Zagreb and elsewhere, I was conducted by the Church’s gained friends, and I am deeply Assembly, consisting of the acconvinced that the Serbian The new primate of the Serbian Orthodox tive diocesan bishops and vicar Church and the Serbian people Church, Metropolitan Porfirije (Perić) of bishops. The election procedure gained them.

I will try to be worZagreb and Ljubljana.

In the circle, Patriarch Irinej (Gavrilović), who used is highly unusual. Voting is thy of those people in Zagreb, conducted by secret ballot until had been the primate of the Serbian Orthodox Ljubljana and other cities of the Church since 2010 one of the bishops receives a maDiocese of Zagreb-Ljubljana, who jority of the votes. This bishop becomes Candidate No. were close to me…” As a further sign of his affection 1. Voting is then conducted again until a second bishop for those Catholic countries, his metropolitan position receives a majority. This bishop becomes Candidate covering these two countries was left vacant after his No. 2. Another final round of voting is conducted until election. Thus, as patriarch he will continue to have dia third bishop receives a majority, and he becomes Canrect responsibility for Croatia and Slovenia. didate No. 3. The three names are then placed in sepaIn a recent interview, Patriarch Porfirije stated: rate envelopes and inserted in a book of the Gospels. A “Dulling blades is the duty of all people.” very respected monk then selects one of the envelopes.

The phrase “dulling blades” best exemplifies his When the envelope was drawn on February 18, it constyle — to avoid harsh judgments and to quietly seek tained the name of Metropolitan Porfirije (Perić) of Zareconciliation between peoples. greb and Ljubljana.

With this style, he could perform a valuable role of Porfirije, age 59, is a very popular bishop and actumediator in lessening the current tensions between the ally received the votes of over 75 percent of the bishops Moscow Patriarchate and the Ecumenical Patriarchate. in the first round of voting. Since 2014, he had been reHe could also improve relations between the Serbian sponsible for the Orthodox in Croatia and Slovenia, and Catholic Churches, making possible the first meetboth predominantly Catholic countries. Although he ing in history between a Serbian patriarch and a Pope. was the head of a minority religion in those countries, The election of Porfirije brings much hope.m www.InsideTheVatican.com t Urbi et Orbi Foundation is a project of Urbi et Orbi Communications t 202-536-4555

page 49

C AT H O L I C I S M A N D O R T H O D O X Y

NEWS from the EAST

BY BECKY DERKS

IMAM, RABBI, AND ORTHODOX PATRIARCH WISH POPE FRANCIS A SWIFT RECOVERY Religious and political leaders around the world have expressed their well-wishes and prayers for Pope Francis as he recovers in hospital from an intestinal surgery.

“I wish my dear brother, Pope Francis, a speedy recovery to continue his dedication to humanity,” Ahmad al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of alAzhar in Cairo, Egypt, wrote on Twitter on July 5.

The Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople also expressed his “fraternal wishes for a quick convalescence” in a message to the 84-year-old Pope, according to Vatican News. Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Eastern Orthodox Christians, assured the Pope of his prayers and his hope that they would continue to “carry out together the indispensable mission of unity, to which Christ calls us.” (CNA) THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO DOSTOEVSKY PRESENTED IN MOSCOW On June 22, 2021, the release of the book The Gospel According to Dostoevsky by Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations and Rector of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Institute of Post-Graduate Studies, took place at the central building of the Vladimir Dal Museum of the History of Russian Literature.

The presentation was opened by Mr. D. Bak. He congratulated Metropolitan Hilarion on being given the State Award of the Russian Federation “for his contribution to the development of Russian culture and educational work.” Mr. Bak called the publication of his new book one of the important recent events in the world of literature.

Then a short fragment from Metropolitan Hilarion’s docu-series The Gospel According to Dostoevsky was screened to mark the writer’s 200th birthday.

The next speaker was Mr. Fokin, who said in particular, “It is extremely important that Dostoevsky is spoken about by one of our most authoritative theologians and hierarchs of the Church,” and pointed to the uniqueness of Metropolitan Hilarion’s new book as it page 50

slightly opens the secret of the spiritual world and outlook of the great Russian writer.

In acknowledgment of Metropolitan Hilarion’s contribution to the study and popularization of Dostoevsky’s creative legacy, to the Russian culture, preservation of the Russian language and charitable work, Mr. Fokin presented Metropolitan Hilarion with the public award of the Kemerovo Region — the Order of Dostoevsky, which was established in Kuzbass in the year of the writer’s 200th birthday.

Then the president of the International Dostoevsky Society Prof V. Sakharov, Ph.D., addressed the participants and guests. He The Gospel According to Dostoevsky by thanked Metropolitan Hilarfor Russian Orthodox the presented book and spoke in Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk particular about his studies of Dostoevsky’s literary heritage, the Gospel according to Dostoevsky and Christian aspects of the writer’s creative work. (mospat.ru) THE DELEGATION OF THE ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE AT THE PATRONAL FEAST OF THE CHURCH OF ROME The Delegation of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, consisting of Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Metropolitan Iosif of Buenos Aires, and the Reverend Patriarchal Deacon Varnavas Grigoriadis, traveled to Rome to participate in the Thronal Feast of the Church of Rome. On 28 June, they took part in the conversations with the members of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during which they discussed current issues of the two Churches. They were received by Pope Francis in a private audience, in the presence of Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, His Excellency Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the Pontifical Council, and Monsignor Andrea Palmieri, Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council.

At the audience, Elder Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon read the letter from the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, addressed to Pope Francis. Pope Francis responded with his address. The delegation was then received for lunch by Pope Francis. On 29 June, the members of the delegation attended the

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Solemn Mass for the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul at Saint Peter’s Basilica. (Ecupatria) RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH SPOKESMAN SAYS REFUSAL TO BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19 IS A “SIN” A spokesman for the Russian Orthodox Church warned that those who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are committing a sin.

Speaking in June to TV channel Russia-24, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church’s Department for External Church Relations, Metropolitan Hilarion, explained that his parishioners regularly repent to him for not being vaccinated. “They come and say, ‘How am I supposed to live with this now?’

And it’s hard for even me to say how to live with it,” he explained. “All your life, you have to make up for the sin you committed.”

Metropolitan Hilarion has regularly spoken on TV urging people to follow the measures against COVID-19 and to take precautions to avoid infection. In June, the cleric revealed his “positive attitude” towards the government initiative to impose compulsory vaccination on those working in the service sector.

“The sin is thinking about yourself instead of thinking about other people,” the Metropolitan said. “We are responsible — each of us — not only for ourselves and not only for our loved ones, but also for all those who come into contact with us.”

“Of course, it is desirable to observe the principle of voluntariness in relation to vaccinations — the principle that was stated from the very beginning,” he explained. “But there is also the principle of people’s responsibility for the lives of others.” [Note: Russia has developed its own vaccine not based on new MRNA technology.](Greek City Times)

GREEK SYNOD CALLS ON HIERARCHS TO APOLOGIZE FOR OPPOSING PANDEMIC MEASURES ON PASCHA Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira and Metropolitan Kosmas of Aetolia are expected to appear before the Permanent Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church to address the charge of insubordination against them concerning the Church’s Paschaltide pandemic measures.

The Greek Synod decided at its May session to investigate Metropolitans Seraphim and Kosmas after they publicly disagreed with the Synod’s decision to celebrate Pascha several hours early on Saturday evening to accommodate the state-mandated COVID curfew.

Soon after the Synod’s session on April 20, the Metropolitans sent a joint letter protesting the decision to celebrate Pascha at 9:00 PM on Holy Saturday, characterizing it as a transgression against Church Tradition.

There can be no economia in this matter, the hierarchs wrote.

Metropolitan Seraphim has expressed his displeasure with the state’s and Synod’s decisions throughout the pandemic. In March 2020, he was arrested for defying the state’s order and continuing to celebrate the Divine services. In January of this year, it was reported that he was under investigation for his statements against COVID vaccines, and he has said several times that closing churches only worsens the pandemic.

Metropolitan Kosmas has also spoken out. In September, OrthoChristian reported on his statement against wearing masks in church. “God does not allow you to be infected in church. God does not infect! Let us understand… It is a holy place. ‘The church is Heaven,’ says St. Kosmas of Aetolia. The altar is of God,” Metropolitan Kosmas emphasized.

(OrthoChristian)m

All Christians, all the disciples of Christ, should be united. Pope John Paul II once said, “The Church must breathe with Her two lungs!” Unfortunately, the Churches are not united. This is a great scandal, an impediment to evangelization.

This unity was desired by Christ Himself. We must therefore work to end disunity and accomplish the will of the Lord.

WE INVITE YOU TO BECOME A PARTNER IN THE WORK FOR UNITY! Make all checks payable to: Urbi et Orbi Communications and send to: 14 West Main Street, Front Royal, VA 22630 URBI ET ORBI COMMUNICATIONS IS A U.S. 501(C) 3 NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATION. ALL DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE.

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page 51

Of Books, Art and People

PIRANESI ANd thE

KNIGhtS OF MALtA n BY LUCY GORDAN

In the circle, a portrait of the Italian artist and architect Piranesi. Below, Piazza Cavalieri di Malta and, on the side, the famous keyhole with the view of St. Peter's Dome a mile away

A

t the top of Rome’s Aventine Hill is the ornatelywalled square, the Piazza dei Cavalieri di Malta.

Commissioned by the Venetian Cardinal Giovanni Battista Rezzonico, nephew of Pope Clement XIII (1758-69) to spruce up the area, it was designed by his fellow Venetian classical archeologist, architect, and engraver Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778) in 1765. Picturesque, it’s decorated with alternating obelisks and stelae, made of marble and stucco. The stelae’s decorations feature shields and swords from the Rezzonico family’s coat-of-arms, and lyres, cameos, cornucopias, serpents, bird wings, and Pan pipes, based on Piranesi’s favorite archeological symbols. For Piranesi liked to think of himself as an architect, but he was also a most distinguished archeologist of many ancient Mediterranean cultures: Egypt, Greek, Etruscan, and Roman.

Off the beaten track, on one side of the square is Rome’s international Benedictine seminary and Church of Sant’Anselmo, where the monks sing Mass in Gregorian chant on Sundays starting at 9:30 AM. Across is a massive, mysterious wooden door with peeling green paint set in a monumental entrance, also by Piranesi, with additional classical decorations. Its large bronze keyhole is one of Rome’s intriguing 52 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

tourist sights. When you look through it, in the distance you see a unique miniature view of St. Peter’s dome framed by a cypress-lined avenue.

Behind the door, almost always shut, in a magnificent manicured garden of clipped hedges and rose bushes is the Villa del Priorato di Malta with a distinctive tower. The site, which overlooks the Tiber, was already a fortified Benedictine monastery in the 10th century. Later it belonged to the Templars, descendants of the Crusaders, but after Pope Clement V disbanded their Order in 1312, its ownership passed to the Knights Hospitallers, the predecessors of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), its owners since the 14th century.

Today the villa is one of the two institutional seats of the Government of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. The other is located at Via Condotti 68 near Piazza di Spagna.

Along with the Magistral Palace, Italy granted the villa extraterritorial rights in 1869. It hosts the Grand Priory of Rome and the embassy of the Sovereign Order of Malta to Italy.

The Order’s motto is Tuitio fidei et obsequium pauperum (“defense of the faith and assistance to the poor”). Venerating the Virgin Mary as its patroness and St. John the Baptist as its

Left and right, the Church of St. Mary of the Priory, Piranesi’s only architectural work.

The interior of the church contains a statue of Piranesi above his tomb.

Below, Piranesi’s splendid engraving of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina

patron, the Order’s role is focused on providing humanitarian assistance internationally. For this reason it has had observer status at the United Nations General Assembly since 1994.

Founded in Jerusalem in 1113 by merchants from Amalfi to care for pilgrims of any religious faith or race, the Order transferred its seat to Cyprus in 1291, to Rhodes in 1310, to Malta in 1530, and finally to Rome in 1834. Today the Order is a Catholic religious lay order. The oldest surviving Chivalric order, it counts 13,500 Knights, Dames, and auxiliary members, all of whom must be Roman Catholic, and a few dozen (c. 50) of whom are professed religious. Membership is by invitation and some (30%) are women. The Order, led by a Prince and Grand Master elected for life (always a professed religious), is an apolitical worldwide relief corps, with an annual budget of some 1.5 billion euros, which is largely funded by European governments, the European Union, the UN, foundations, and private donations. It employs some 40,000 doctors, nurses, auxiliaries, and paramedics, who are assisted by 80,000 volunteers in some 1,500 hospitals in more than 120 countries, mostly in Europe and Africa. It intervenes in war zones and after natural disasters: earthquakes, typhoons, floods, famines and epidemics, including the COVID pandemic. Without ethnic or religious discrimination it distributes more than 5,000,000 meals a year, accompanies the sick on pilgrimages especially to Lourdes (COVID permitting), cares for children, the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly and terminally ill, refugees, the socially discriminated, ethnic minorities, and lepers around the world.

It’s a sovereign entity of international law and maintains diplomatic relations with many countries. It has its own national anthem (Ave Crux Alba or “Hail, Thou White Cross”), flag (red with an eight-pointed cross), coat of arms, currency called the scudo, and stamps, but only three male citizens: the

Grand Master, the Lieutenant Grand Master, and the Chancellor.

In the USA with offices in New York (since 1927), Washington D.C. (since 1973), and San Francisco (since 1952), the Order counts some 3,000 members who make home visits to the sick and organize shelter for single mothers and women who have suffered domestic violence. They also run food banks and soup kitchens for the poor and homeless and have programs for street children and convicts.

To return to Rome, the Order’s capital, besides the Grand Priory, the garden also houses the Church of St. Mary of the Priory. In the same year he designed the square outside, Rezzonico commissioned Piranesi to restore the small Church of St. Mary of the Priory. It is Piranesi’s only architectural work.

The first church, which gets its name from an icon of the Madonna found on the site, dates to 969 AD. Over the centuries the church had undergone very few renovations before Piranesi’s. Like is outer walls and entrance way Piranesi’s renovations represent the glories of the Order (serpents, the symbol of Asclepius, the god of medicine, to commemorate the Order’s welfare and hospitaller tradition as well as the eight-pointed cross, emblem of the eight beatitudes) and those of the Rezzonico family: towers and doubleheaded eagles from their coat of arms. Flanked by two sphinxes, his façade of glistening white marble with fluted pilasters implies an ancient Greek temple façade.

Piranesi’s interior, a single nave with four pairs of niches, is also totally white. His decoration for the ceiling vault again is a wealth of ancient and Christian symbols, which celebrate the Order’s naval and military feats together with the accomplishments of his patrons. A bas-relief depicts St. John the Baptist with the Agnus Dei: in its center is a Greek cross supported by putti; at its top are the tunic of humility worn by the SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN 53

Of Books, Art and People Knights of Malta, the papal tiara and crossed keys. The altar depicts the Apotheosis of St. Basil with Seraphim and Cherubim raising him to heaven. In the foreground is the Virgin and in the lower part a burial niche connected to the crypt below, which contains the coffins of the 20th-century Grand Masters.

A word about Piranesi: his tomb is in the second niche on the right of the nave. A statue by little-known Giuseppe Angelini (1735-1811) shows Piranesi wearing a toga. A roll under his arm bears the plan of the Temple of Poseidon in Paestum, Piranesi’s final archeological campaign because on his journey back from Paestum to Rome he died of malaria.

It cannot be overlooked that this versatile artist also designed chimneypieces and furniture, and restored ancient works of art. However, he is certainly best known for using his architectural skills and knowledge of archeology to create from 1748-1774 numerous detailed engravings of Rome’s (and elsewhere’s) ancient monuments and views of the Eternal City with some personal imaginative variations. In addition are his 16 prints called Carceri d’invenzione or “Imaginative Prisons” of enormous subterranean vaults with stairs and mighty machines (1745-61). For Piranesi’s complete story: J. Wilton-Ely’s detailed biography (1978): The Mind and Art of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, London, Thames & Hudson, is an irreplaceable source.

Between 2015-2018 the church underwent another extensive restoration. Members of the foreign press were invited last year to admire this recent accomplishment and celebrate Piranesi’s 300th birthday, but our visit had to be postponed until June 23, 2021, appropriately the feast day of St. John, because of COVID. To visit the gardens and church (the Grand Priory is not open to the public): contact the Order’s Rome office at 011-39-06 675811 or info@orderofmalta.int or the guide Valérie Guillot at v.guillot@orderofmalta.int. Guided tours usually take place on Friday mornings from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM and twice a month on Saturday mornings from September 15th to June 15th. Lasting approximately one hour, each tour should have a minimum of 10 participants and a maximum of 20. The entrance fee is 5 euros per person; children under 12 don’t pay, and students over age 12 pay 3 euros. The guide is compulsory. An Italianspeaking guide costs 80 euros; instead, English-, German-, French- and Spanish-speaking guides cost 100 euros. If the group is under 10 people the entrance fee is 50 euros for the whole group plus 100 euros for an Englishspeaking guide. If a person comes alone or as a couple and there is room, it’s possible to join an already-organized tour. The entrance and guide fees are paid in cash on the day of the visit.m

*Offer may not be combined with other offers, applied to previous purchases, or applied to wholesale orders.

Offer valid through midnight EST on October 31, 2021.

54 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

The Icon of our Lady of Kazan

a final home!

The Kazan icon of ST. John Paul ii and iTS long Journey To Kazan’S new caThedral n BY PETER ANDERSON

I

n 1579 a 10-year-old Russian girl named Matrona was covered with costly gems including a nimbus of very had visions of the Mother of God, who told her to large emeralds. Some experts believed that it was the dig in the ground at a cerfamous Kazan icon which had tain place to find an icon. She been kept in the Kazan Cathedral did so, and found at a depth of on Red Square in Moscow and approximately three feet a which had mysteriously disapbeautiful icon which was perpeared in September 1918. After fectly preserved.

This the purchase, the Blue Army occurred in the city of Kazan, placed its icon in the Blue located on the Volga River Army’s Byzantine chapel in approximately 500 miles east Fatima, Portugal, and the icon of Moscow. The icon had the was subsequently venerated by unusual characteristic of the the faithful at Fatima for 23 Christ Child standing, not sityears. ting, next to the Mother of In 1993 the icon was secretGod. When the discovered ly transferred to Pope John icon was being carried to the Paul II, who hoped to return the local cathedral, two blind men icon personally to the Orthostanding by the procession had dox Church in Russia. After the their sight immediately Pope received the Blue Army’s restored. Soon, additional miracles were attributed to Kazan icon, secret negotiations commenced between the icon. the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican’s PontifWhen news of this reached Tsar Ivan IV (“the Terical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, with the rible”), he ordered that a church and a monastery goal of having the Pope personally bring the icon to should be erected at the exact site where Russia. The head of the Russian the icon was unearthed. The monastery, When the discovered icon Was Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexy II, named after the Mother of God, became had previously expressed his great being carried to the local a major pilgrimage destination in Rusinterest in having the icon returned to cathedral, tWo blind men sia. The Kazan icon became perhaps the Russia. However, he was not interstanding by the procession most venerated icon in Russia, with ested in having the Pope come to copies found in almost all Russian Russia, due primarily to the antihad their sight Orthodox churches and in many homes Catholic mentality of many conservimmediately restored in Russia. ative Orthodox believers in Russia.

However, the 20th century brought As a result, no progress was made in two major tragedies to the Mother of God Monastery. the secret negotiations, which continued for years.

In 1904, thieves stole the original Kazan icon for the In the meantime, the Pope developed a great devotion jewels with which it was decorated. There was testiand love for the Blue Army’s Kazan icon. He kept the icon mony that the wooden icon itself was burnt by the in his personal chapel or by his work desk. When he went thieves to destroy evidence of the theft. In any event, to Castel Gandolfo during the summers, he brought the the original icon has never reappeared. In 1932, the icon with him. He prayed before the icon each day. Some Communists, eager to eradicate religion, blew up the say that the icon became his most precious possession. cathedral church of the monastery and its 180-feet high In the late 1990s, rumors concerning the Pope’s Kazan bell tower. Later, a tobacco factory was constructed to icon reached the president of Tatarstan, Mintimer cover the spot where the icon had been discovered.

Shaimiev. Tatarstan, of which Kazan is the capital, is a In 1970 the Blue Army, a Catholic lay organization state within the Russian Federation. Approximately 54 devoted to spreading the message of Our Lady of Fatipercent of the population of Tatarstan is Muslim, with ma, purchased for a large sum of money an ancient Russian Orthodox constituting most of the remainder. icon of Our Lady of Kazan. It came from Russia and Although Shaimiev and many of the political leaders are SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

55

The Icon of our Lady of Kazan a fInaL home!

On nOvembeR 5, 2003, pResident vlAdimiR putin Of RussiA met with the pOpe At the vAticAn. duRing the meeting, the pOpe tOOK the extRAORdinARy step Of hAving his

KAzAn icOn

bROught tO the meeting

Muslim, Tatarstan has a long history of religious harmony and cooperation between Muslims and Christians. On October 26, 2000, the mayor of Kazan, Kamil Iskhakov, met with Pope John Paul II and requested that his Kazan icon be given to the city of Kazan, which would be celebrating the millennium of its founding in 2005. In response, the Holy Father expressed his long-held hope of bringing the icon to Russia himself.

In December 2000, Inside the Vatican published an article on the Kazan icon by Marguerite Peeters, who had been an assistant to the personal secretary for Alexander Solzhenitsyn when he was in the United States. The article focused on the history of the Kazan icon generally and in particular on the Kazan icon in the papal apartments.

In February 2001, Dr. Robert Moynihan, editor and publisher of Inside the Vatican, was able to personally view the icon in the papal apartments.

In July 2001, Robert Moynihan traveled to Kazan, where he met Dmitry Khafizov.

Khafizov was an historian and journalist whom Kazan Mayor Kamil Iskhakov had hired to obtain all possible information concerning the Holy Father’s icon. Moynihan and

On August 28, 2004, the feAst Of the AssumptiOn in the RussiAn cAlendAR, cARdinAl KAspeR pResented the icOn tO

pAtRiARch Alexy ii At the AssumptiOn cAthedRAl in mOscOw’s KRemlin 56

INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

Khafizov became life-long friends.

(Tragically, Khafizov died from Covid-19 on April 21, 2021.) KhafiCNS photo zov’s personal research was subsequently published in three installments in the December 2001, January 2002, and February 2002 issues of Inside the Vatican magazine.

On November 5, 2003, President Vladimir Putin of Russia met with the Pope at the Vatican. During the meeting, the Pope took the extraordinary step of having his Kazan icon brought to the meeting so that the icon was positioned only a few feet away from the two men and faced them during their entire meeting. As the months went by, it became apparent that the Russian Orthodox Church would remain adamant in its opposition to a papal visit to Russia. With the Pope’s increasing physical frailty, the only viable option was to have a Vatican delegation travel to Moscow to present the icon to Patriarch Alexy as a gift from the Pope.

The Holy Father’s entire weekly audience on August 25, 2004, was devoted to a formal ceremony in which the Pope’s Kazan icon was presented to Cardinal Walter CNS photo

Kasper, who would lead the Vatican’s delegation to Moscow. On August 28, the feast of the Assumption on the Russian Orthodox calendar, Cardinal Kasper presented the icon to Patriarch Alexy in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The gift of the icon greatly improved the previously strained relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican.

The following year, Patriarch Alexy traveled to Kazan for the celebration of the millennium of the city’s founding. He brought with him the Pope’s Kazan icon and gave it to the Orthodox diocese in Kazan. At that time there was only one intact building on the grounds of the Mother of

given by now-Saint John Paul II, to its new home in the reconstructed cathedral. The icon was placed behind special protective glass in the center of the iconostasis of the right altar, where it can be venerated by the faithful. The icon thus has become the replacement for the original Kazan icon found by Matrona in 1579. The Holy Father’s icon is also located over the spot where the original icon was unearthed by Matrona. There could not be a greater honor than this for the Kazan icon which was kept in the papal apartment for 11 years and which the Holy Father loved so much.

The new permanent home of the icon also has sym-

a large procession

Kazan icon, given by now-st. John paul ii, to its new home

brought the

in the reconstructed cathedral

God Monastery. This building had previously been the “gate church” of the Monastery, but the Communists had used it to house the philology department of a local university. To provide a suitable location for the icon, the City converted the building back into a church, which was named for the Exaltation of the Cross. A community of monks was also established at the Monastery. At this new location, the icon was visited by many, including President Putin, and soon developed a reputation among the local Orthodox as being a “miracle-working icon.”

In November 2015, the government of Tatarstan decided to undertake two major cultural projects — one for Muslims and one for Orthodox. The Orthodox project was to rebuild the historic Cathedral of the Mother of God Monastery, destroyed by the Communists in 1932. The project was financed by Tatarstan’s Renaissance Fund, headed by Mintimer Shaimiev, who had retired as president of Tatarstan in 2010, but who was still considered the father of modern Tatarstan. In the reconstruction work, great efforts were made to replicate exactly the design and artwork of the original cathedral.

On July 21, 2021, the magnificent reconstructed cathedral was consecrated by Patriarch Kirill, the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. Prior to the consecration, a large procession brought the Kazan icon,

bolic meaning. Having been at Fatima for 23 years, the icon links the Catholic Marian shrine of Fatima with the Orthodox Marian shrine of Kazan. Fatima is located at the western extreme of Europe, while Kazan, located near the Ural Mountains, is at the eastern extreme. The two shrines bracket all of Europe within their protection.

The new cathedral also exemplifies cooperation between Muslims and Christians. The person most responsible for Kazan receiving the icon and for the construction of the cathedral is Mintimer Shaimiev, a Muslim. This fraternal cooperation was expressly noted

by Patriarch Kirill during the consecration ceremony.

Many Muslims, who greatly honor Mary, have also come to pray before the Holy Father’s Kazan icon.

What are the future plans of Our Lady for her Marian shrine in Kazan? It would be wonderful if it now became a major pilgrimage destination not only for Orthodox but for Catholics as well. It could also be a place exemplifying peace and cooperation between Orthodox, Catholics, and Muslims.m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

57

VATICAN WATCH

By Becky Derks with CNA Reports - Grzegorz Galazka and CNA photos

MAY MONDAY 24 POPE CALLS ON DOMINICANS TO BE AT FOREFRONT OF RENEWED PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL In a May 24 letter to the Master General of the Dominican Order on the 800th anniversary of their founder’s death, Pope Francis emphasized that St. Dominic embraced a “renewed and vibrant preaching of the Gospel” and offered a “convincing witness to its summons to holiness” in the communion of the Church.

St. Dominic’s great call, he says, “was to preach the Gospel of God’s merciful love in all its saving truth and redemptive power,” showing the “inseparability of faith and charity.”

In his letter, Pope Francis says, “The Gospel message of our inalienable human dignity as children of God and members of the one human family challenges the Church in our own day.” And he calls on Dominicans to be “at the forefront of a renewed proclamation of the Gospel.”

(Vatican News)

JUNE TUESDAY 1 POPE REFORMS PENAL SANCTIONS IN THE CHURCH: MERCY REQUIRES CORRECTION “Tend the flock of God, guarding it not by constraint but willingly, as it pleases God” (cf. 1 Pet 5:2). The Apostolic Constitution Pascite Gregem Dei, with which Pope Francis reforms Book VI of the Code of Canon Law on penal sanctions in the Church, begins with these words of the Apostle Peter. The new text, presented on June 1 in the Holy See Press Office, enters into force on December 8.

“In order to respond adequately to the needs of the Church throughout the world,” explains Pope Francis, “it appeared evident that the penal discipline promulgated by St. John Paul II on January 25, 1983 in the Code of Canon Law needed to be revised, and that it required modification in such a way as to allow Pastors to employ it as a more agile salvific and corrective tool, to be applied promptly and with pastoral charity to avoid more serious evils and to soothe the wounds caused by human weakness.”

The Pope recalls that Benedict XVI launched this revision in 2007, a process which engaged, “in a spirit of collegiality and cooperation,” with Canon Law experts from around the world, as well as with Bishops’ Conferences, major superiors of religious institutes, and Dicasteries of the Roman Curia. The resulting intense and complex text was submitted to the Pope in February 2020. (Vatican News) 58 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

THURSDAY 10 VATICAN SUPPRESSES CATHOLIC MOVEMENT, SAYS FOUNDER’S “REVELATIONS” NOT SUPERNATURAL The Vatican has suppressed two Catholic associations based in southern Italy after determining that their founder’s alleged supernatural revelations were inauthentic.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) ordered an apostolic visitation of the Movimento Apostolico and Maria Madre della Redenzione last year after receiving numerous complaints about governance issues and “profound divisions” between members.

The CDF, together with the Congregation for Clergy and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life, suppressed the two Catholic associations with a June 10 decree approved by Pope Francis.

The Movimento Apostolico was founded in the Archdiocese of Catanzaro-Squillace in 1979, based on purported supernatural revelations given to Maria Marino.

THURSDAY 1 VATICAN INTERVENES IN PROPOSED “ANTI-HOMOPHOBIA” LAW IN ITALY The Vatican intervened with the Italian state in a proposed “anti-homophobia” law, saying that the legislation as written violates freedoms of the Catholic Church in Italy.

According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s secretary for relations with states, gave a formal diplomatic note to the Italian embassy to the Holy See on June 17, expressing concern about the text under debate.

Local media have called the Vatican’s action “unprecedented” in the history of the relationship between the two states.

The “anti-homophobia” bill, known by the name “Ddl Zan,” is being examined by the justice commission of the Italian Senate, after the text received initial approval from the House last November.

The bill seeks to prevent and oppose “discrimination and violence for reasons based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.”

Corriere della Sera reported that the Vatican note said that parts of the legislation reduce the freedom guaranteed to the Catholic Church by Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 3 of the Agreement for the revision of the Pact.

In 1984, Italy and the Holy See signed an agreement amending the Lateran Pacts of 1929. The agreement guarantees that the Italian Republic recognizes “the full freedom of the Catholic Church to carry out its pastoral, educational and charitable mission, of evangelization and sanctification.”

Opposite, Pope Francis meets the Master of the Order of Preachers (Dominincans), and University of Santo Tomas Chancellor, Very Rev. Fr. Gerard Francisco P. Timoner, III, O.P. Below, Pope Francis visits children during his July stay at the Gemelli Clinic in Rome. Francis spent July 4 to 14 in the Rome hospital

THURSDAY 1 POPE FRANCIS: “STOP USING LEBANON AND THE MIDDLE EAST FOR OUTSIDE INTERESTS AND PROFITS” Hosting a day of prayer for Lebanon with Catholic and Orthodox leaders, Pope Francis said that the country should no longer be used to serve “unscrupulous interests.”

“Stop using Lebanon and the Middle East for outside interests and profits,” the Pope said July 1.

“The Lebanese people must be given the opportunity to be the architects of a better future in their land, without undue interference.”

Christian leaders from Lebanon spent the day at the Vatican in private roundtable discussions about the future of their country, which is facing a severe economic crisis.

Representatives from Lebanon’s Maronite, Melkite, Greek Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Chaldean, Syrian Catholic, and evangelical community came to the Vatican for the day of prayer.

TUESDAY 6 POPE FRANCIS URGES INDIAN CATHOLICS TO COMMIT TO UNIFORM SYRO-MALABAR LITURGY Pope Francis has written a letter to leaders of the SyroMalabar Catholic Church urging the implementation of a more uniform offering of their liturgy.

More than 20 years after the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church agreed unanimously to standardize their Eucharistic liturgy, called the Holy Qurbana, the Eastern Church has continued to face division and conflict.

In the letter published by the Vatican on July 6, Pope Francis exhorted “all the clergy, religious and lay faithful to proceed to a prompt implementation of the uniform mode of celebrating the Holy Qurbana, for the greater good and unity of your Church.”

“I strongly urge the Syro-Malabar Bishops to persevere, and I confirm their ecclesial ‘walking together’ with God’s people, trusting that ‘time is greater than space’ and that ‘unity prevails over conflict,’” Francis wrote in the letter dated July 3, the day before he underwent surgery at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital.

SUNDAY 4 POPE FRANCIS WILL VISIT THIS PILGRIMAGE DESTINATION OF SAINTS IN SLOVAKIA Pope Francis travels to the Catholicmajority country of Slovakia on September 12-15, stopping at four different locations.

He announced his travel plans on July 4 to a crowd at St. Peter’s.

One of these is Šaštín, one of Slovakia’s newest towns, where there is an image of the Virgin Mary that has attracted pilgrim visitors such as Mother Teresa and St. John Paul II. The image is of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, a figure so important to the people of Slovakia that Pope Pius XI declared her the country’s patroness in 1927.

Even when the country was absorbed into the Communist Bloc, the Slovakian people managed to be present at the Basilica of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in Šaštín for her September 15 feast day.

SUNDAY 11 SEA SUNDAY 2021: VATICAN CALLS FOR DIGNIFIED CONDITIONS FOR MARITIME WORKERS In a message for Sea Sunday, July 11, a Vatican cardinal appealed to the international community to ensure that those who work at sea are treated with full human dignity.

Cardinal Peter Turkson, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, said that since September 2020, an estimated 400,000 seafarers have been stranded at sea because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also said that the coronavirus had worsened working and living conditions for thousands who have been forced to work for months longer than usual while separated for long periods from their families.

“We appeal to ship owners, management companies, agents, and recruiters to regard crew members as more than ‘labor force’ and remember that they are human beings,” he said.

MONDAY 5 POPE FRANCIS AND CHILDREN IN HOSPITAL EXCHANGE GREETINGS During his hospitalization from July 5 to July 14, Pope Francis exchanged affectionate messages with the young patients in the nearby pediatric oncology and children’s neurosurgery wards, according to the Vatican.

The Pope, who recovered from intestinal surgery in Gemelli University Hospital in mid-July, also received handwritten get well cards from children staying in other hospitals in Rome.

“Dear Pope Francis, [I hope you] feel my prayer like I felt yours when I was sick,” wrote a girl named Giulia, who has undergone treatment at the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital.

MONDAY 12 POPE FRANCIS TO VISIT SCOTLAND “FOR A VERY SHORT TIME” IN NOVEMBER Pope Francis will visit Scotland “for a very short time” in November, a spokesperson for the country’s bishops’ conference announced.

The Pope is expected to attend the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place in Glasgow on November 1-12.

“The Pope will be in Scotland for a very short time, most of which will be spent participating in the COP26 conference,” the Bishops’ Conference of Scotland spokesperson said July 12.

“While many pastoral, ecumenical, and interfaith gatherings would be desirable while he is with us, time constraints sadly mean such a full program will not be possible.”n

JULY

SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN

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BECKY DERKS with G. Galazka, CNA and CNS photos

n VATICAN FOUNDATION HONORS ABU DHABI CROWN PRINCE WITH “MAN OF HUMANITY” AWARD A Vatican foundation in July honored Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with its “Man of Humanity” award.

Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Education, traveled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to present the award at a ceremony held at Emirates Palace on the evening of July 6.

The crown prince and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces was honored for his contributions to education and humanitarian initiatives by the Pontifical Foundation Gravissimum Educationis, according to local media.

Sheikh Mohammed, 60, is believed to have served as the day-to-day ruler of the UAE since his brother suffered a stroke in 2014. He has led the country’s foreign policy, which has included deploying warplanes in Libya in 2017 and joining the Saudi-led coalition in the war in Yemen. (CNA) n THIS SONG WILL DEBUT AT THE UPCOMING ST. JOSEPH SUMMIT The upcoming Saint Joseph Summit will feature the debut of the “Song of Saint Joseph,” a new original song

by Catholic musician Donna Lee. “It’s not just a song, it’s a prayer,” said Lee in a press release announcing the recording. “My hope for this song, not just being the theme song for the Saint Joseph Summit, is that when people hear 60 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

FATHER STAN SWAMY’S TRAGIC DEATH CHALLENGES CHURCH’S SILENCE The tragic death in India of Father Stan Swamy, 84, has triggered an unprecedented outburst of grief and fury against a system that unleashed a reign of cruelty that let an innocent champion of the poor die so miserably.

Father Stan was a Jesuit missionary who stood with India’s tribal people to oppose state policies that they thought went against their constitutional rights as tribal people and Indian citizens. The state wanted to silence him, remove him from the leadership of tribal people and intimidate others from taking up such positions. Father Stan’s nine months of incarceration without trial, including five weeks in a hospital, and repeated denial of bails are utterly deplorable. But his suffering and humiliation have shed light on the incredible service people like Father Stan have been rendering amid threats of intimidation, persecution and even death. Indeed, with his death, this 84-year-old priest has become a global icon of justice and human rights. Many Catholics see in him an Indian Jesuit saint. (UCA News)

it they will be inspired to learn more about Saint Joseph.”

The song will be scored in a manner that makes it suitable for choir directors to use in ministry settings, according to the press release. The song lyrics include the novena prayers and litany to St. Joseph.

The virtual summit “Our Spiritual Father: Pilgrimage to the Heart of Saint Joseph” will be held from September 30 through October 3, 2021.

Deacon Steve Greco, the president of Spirit-Filled Hearts Ministry, will host the summit, and his ministry will partner with Cardinal Studios to broadcast the summit online. (CNA) n FILIPINO BISHOPS ELECT GOVERNMENT CRITIC AS CONFERENCE PRESIDENT The Filipino bishops’ conference elected Bishop Pablo Virgilio Siongco David of Kalookan, a staunch critic of the government’s war on drugs, as its president.

The conference elected Bishop David July 8 during its biannual plenary

assembly. He had been vice president of the conference since 2017.

Since taking office on June 30, 2016, Philippine President Duterte has carried out a war on drugs that has resulted in the deaths of close to 30,000 suspected drug users and peddlers, according to Human Rights Watch.

Filipino authorities, however, said only 5,903 individuals were killed in police anti-drug operations from July 1, 2016 to September 30, 2020.

Human Rights Watch maintained that the number did not include the deaths of those killed by unidentified gunmen who are believed to operate in cooperation with local police and officials.

Kilusang Mayo Uno, a trade union center, lauded the election of Bishop David, saying that he has “always sided with the poor and the oppressed, particularly the victims of extrajudicial killings.” (CNA) n POLISH CATHOLIC ARCHBISHOP SANCTIONED BY VATICAN DEFENDS ELECTION AS MAYOR A Polish Catholic archbishop sanctioned by the Vatican has defended his

election as a village mayor.

Archbishop Sławoj Leszek Głódź told Radio Zet on June 29 that his role as mayor of Piaski, in northeastern Poland, did not conflict with canon law.

Canon 285 of the Code of Canon Law says that “clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power.”

But Głódź, who holds a doctorate in Eastern Catholic canon law, insisted that the canon did not apply to his new role.

(CNA) n VATICAN CONFIRMS PROBE OF NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS AGAINST POLISH CARDINAL DZIWISZ The apostolic nunciature in Poland confirmed that the Vatican sent Italian Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco to investigate negligence claims against Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.

The nunciature made the announcement June 26 following a report in the Polish and Italian

media about a Vatican probe concerning the former aide to St. John Paul II. It said: “Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, the retired Archbishop of Genoa, visited Poland on June 17-26 at the request of the Holy See.” The purpose of the visit was to verify claims of negligence against Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz during his term as metropolitan archbishop of Kraków (2005-2016).

“Cardinal Bagnasco familiarized himself with the documents and held a number of meetings, and will present an account of the visit to the Holy See.” Dziwisz, 82, served as personal secretary to John Paul II until the Polish pope’s death in 2005. He was then appointed archbishop of Kraków, retiring in 2016. (CNA) n THE CHURCH ACCOMPANIES THE PEOPLE IN THEIR LEGITIMATE CLAIMS, PRIEST SAYS OF CUBA PROTESTS The Church is accompanying those protesting Cuba’s Communist government, said a priest of the Archdiocese of Camagüey this summer.

“I will speak about the part of the Church that I know, the one that touches

FRANCISCANS ELECT ITALIAN AS 121ST SUCCESSOR TO ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI The general chapter of the Order of Friars Minor in July elected Rome-born Father Massimo Fusarelli as the new minister general of the worldwide Franciscan order. The July 3-18 chapter brought together 116 Franciscans representing 13,000 friars worldwide. The election of the new head of the order took place July 13.

Pope Francis congratulated Father Fusarelli and assured him of his prayers in a telegram sent shortly after the election. “May the seraphic father, St. Francis, be an encouragement for you in leading your brothers,” the Pope wrote.

Father Fusarelli, 58, succeeds U.S. Franciscan Father Michael Perry, who was elected minister general in 2013 to finish the term of Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo when he was named secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. Father Perry was elected to a six-year term in 2015. (CNS)

VIETNAMESE CATHOLICS GET CREATIVE TO HELP COVID-19 VICTIMS Father Joachim Le Hau Han, 52, of Vinh Hoa Parish has noticed that residents in a street isolated due to COVI D -19 are feeling a g rowing sense of alarm even though his parish has given them basic food several times. The street is in his parish with 3,500 members based in Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam.

After wondering what he could do to console those quarantined people, Father Han on July 6, accompanied by a doctor, in full protective gear, paid an hour-long unexpected visit to local families.

Following health authorities’ measures against the coronavirus, he stopped in front of each house, giving sound advice and encouragement as well as gifts.

“I come to visit you. Please stay indoors,” he told family members as he blessed them. (UCA News)

me closely in this effort to accompany the people in their legitimate claims,” Fr. Fernando Luis Gálvez, pastor of San José de Lugareño parish in Camagüey, told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language news partner, July 22.

“Above all,” he said, “we are welcoming. People can speak to us without fear, dream of the future, think and imagine the Cuba they want.

“We commit ourselves to everyone in these works and we try to guide them from Gospel criteria,” he said. “So that the Cuba that is reborn is in accordance with God. A Cuba that promotes the fullness of the human being that Christ revealed to us,” Fr. Gálvez, 33. Demonstrations began July 11 across Cuba. (CNA)m SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021 INSIDE THE VATICAN 61

Food FoR THoUGHT

Stefano Navarrini illustration

n BY MOTHER MARTHA

A

ccording to its mission stateFrancis of Assisi, St. Patrick, and St. ment, “Sophia Institute is a Ignatius Loyola are well known uninon-profit institution that versally, others only locally. Only two seeks to nurture the spiritual, moral, saints: St. John Neumann (January 5) and cultural life of souls and to spread and St. Katherine Drexel (March 3) the Gospel of Christ in conformity with the are American. Italy has the largest number authentic teaching of the Roman Catholic with nine: St. Thomas Aquinas (January 28), Church. It fulfills this mission by offering St. Apollonius (April 18), St. Anselm of Cantranslations, reprints, and new publications terbury (April 21), St. Catherine of Siena that afford readers a rich source of the endur(April 29), St. Aloysius Gonzaga (June 21), ing wisdom of mankind.”

St. Padre Pio (September 23), St. Francis of Thus, last fall, when Sarah Lemieux, the Assisi (October 4), St. Charles Borromeo Associate Director of Publicity at Sophia In(November 4) and St. Ambrose (December stitute Press, sent me a review copy of the Vat7). ican Christmas Cookbook, she included in the The first chapter is “Sacred Days.” It expackage also a copy of Cooking with the plains the Six Holy Days of Obligation for Saints (2019, Hardcover: $21.24). Its authors American Catholics: The Solemnity of Mary are Alexandra “Sandy” Greeley, a profeson January 1, Ascension Thursday (40 days sional chef and author of 35 cookbooks, and after Easter), the Assumption of the Blessed Fernando Flores, “a tireless world traveler and an advoVirgin Mary on August 15, All Saints Day on November 1, cate of all things relating to food and faith.”

The Immaculate Conception on December 8, and ChristIn the Foreword, the Very Reverend Edward C. Hathmas, and then the “Other Holy Days”: Epiphany, Christ’s away, former pastor of St. Veronica Catholic Church in ChanBaptism, Candlemas (also known as the Feast of the Pretilly, Virginia, a Washington D.C. suburb, now the Rector of sentation), Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria, Virginia, explains: “I Good Friday, Easter, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pentecost, was fortunate to play a small role in the launching and growth Most Holy Trinity, Corpus Christi, and All Souls’ Day. of Cooking with Our (not The) Saints, a vibrant parish-based The next 12 chapters are organized by month, from Janapostolate. Since its inception in 2010, Cooking with Our uary through December, each with an opening page listing Saints has continued to grow in popularity and has nourished the month’s highlighted saints, each with his or her dish, the bodies, souls, and minds of many people of all ages.” plus an additional full menu, called “The Saintly Meal” Cooking with Our Saints began as cooking lessons based dedicated to that month’s most important saint. Each entry on the lives of Catholic saints in the Parish of St. Veronica. opens with a short biography of the saint followed by a Since people from every part of the recipe. “The Saintly “Meals” include a world live in the Washington D.C. metshopping list of all the recipes’ necesropolitan area, St. Veronica’s parishsary ingredients, and ends with a quoioners were very international. At first tation from the saint. Every dish is the classes were open to parishioners beautifully photographed. For examonly, but eventually opened to anyone ple, January’s saints are Basil, John who had an interest. For a minimal fee Neumann, Francis of Sales, and the students learned how to cook dishes Thomas Aquinas. The “Saintly Meal” from different cultures and then sat is dedicated to St. Anthony the Abbot. down with their classmates to eat them.

The final chapter, “The History of At the end of each class the students Celebratory Cookies,” contains recipes took home a packet of recipes, a short for 16 sweets enjoyed on Feast Days. biography of the saint of that day, and a The best known are boat-shaped prayer written by that saint. navettes to honor Our Lady’s arrival Although the Catholic Church has (February 2) in Marseilles and Madmore than 10,000 recognized saints, eleines for St. Mary Magdalene (July this 311-page volume opens with a list 22), who is said to have accompanied COOKING WITH THE SAINTS of some 70 saints chosen by the auOur Lady to France. The madeleine, ALEXANDRA GREELEY AND FERNANADO FLORES thors. They come from all over the French for Magdalene, is the unofficial SOPHIA INSTITUTE PRESS - 2019 world; some, like St. Veronica, St. Hardcover: $21.24 national cookie of France.m 62 INSIDE THE VATICAN SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2021

COOKING WITH THE SAINTS

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This pendant is dedicated to those brave men that not only receive the call but to those who answer the call like Aarons cry “Here I am Lord”. With a highly polished 昀nish, one side features the hands of a priest elevating the Sacred Host over the Chalice, reminding you to bring Christ each day into this world and make Him present on all the altars and in all the tabernacles around the world through the power of your priesthood. The reverse side is the image of St. John Vianney, patron saint of the parish priest, to give you the strength to carry out the of昀ce of your priesthood. Let this medal be a reminder of the Eternal Royal Priesthood.

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Classic USA: California Missions March 16 - 24, 2020 • Visit eight missions in eight days and seven nights • Attend the Return of the Swallows to the San Juan Capistrano Mission on March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph • Spend 2 nights in San Diego’s Little Italy to include St. Patrick’s Day • Celebrate ITV magazine’s 27th Anniversary with 2 special dinners as we journey up the coastline • Spend 2 nights in the center of historic Santa Barbara with only a 5 minute walk to the beach • Enjoy wine tasting and lunch at one of the most beautiful vineyards with French Courtyards and stone barrelaging caves • Discuss the Church today with Dr. Robert Moynihan and why the Church is more important than ever • Spiritual encounters along the way

Ireland: Saints & Scholars – July 16 - 27, 2022 Pilgrimage with Dr. Robert Moynihan to where it all began on the Hill of Slane, where in 433 St. Patrick lit a paschal fire against the orders of Ireland’s pagan king. The sparks of this fire were never to die. From those flames, the Catholic faith found its way from Ireland to new lands as Irish monks, scholars and pilgrims went out sowing in tears so that you could return to sing eternal Psalms.

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