Pope relaxes restrictions on use of Tridentine Mass
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(A translation of the papal document Summorum Pontificum was scheduled to be posted on the Catholic San Francisco Web page: catholic-sf.org.)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In a longawaited overture to disaffected Catholic traditionalists, Pope Benedict XVI has relaxed restrictions on the use of the Tridentine Mass, the Latin-language liturgy that predates the Second Vatican Council. The pope said Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine rite, should be made available in every parish where groups of the faithful desire it. While the new Roman Missal, introduced in 1970, remains the ordinary way of Catholic worship, he said, the 1962 missal should be considered “the extraordinary expression of the same law of prayer.” The pope’s directive came July 7 in a four-page apostolic letter titled Summorum Pontificum. The new norms will take effect Sept. 14. An accompanying letter from the pontiff to the world’s bishops dismissed fears the decree would foment Church divisions or be seen as a retreat from Vatican II. The pope said the new Mass rite would remain the Church’s predominant form of worship. San Francisco Archbishop George H. Niederauer underscored that point. “The pope sees this decision as helpful toward unity within the Catholic Church,” he told Catholic San Francisco. “ At the same time, the Holy Father makes it very clear that the Mass as presently celebrated according to the 1970 Missal remains, and will remain, the ordinary celebration in the Church, with the 1962 rite as the extraordinary celebration.” Patrick Vallez-Kelly, director of the Archdiocese of San Francisco’s Office of Worship, said he felt “the impact on the Archdiocese will be moderate to small.” The papal instruction “makes it clear that the ordinary form of the Mass remains that which is in our current Sacramentary,” Vallez-Kelly said. “I believe the apostolic letter is intended primarily as a gesture for reconciliation and to maintain unity, and those for whom the order of Mass has been a cause to separate themselves from the Church are a relatively small number. If anything, I hope that in all parishes we will continue to celebrate the Eucharist in the ordinary form to which we are accustomed in reverent, beautiful, joyful and hospitable ways that will draw more people together in Christ rather than cause division.” A handful of parishes in the Archdiocese offer Masses in Latin according to the Novus Ordo of Pope Paul VI, but there are no currently authorized, congregational Masses celebrated in the Tridentine rite.
(CNS PHOTO/NANCY WIECHEC)
By John Thavis
Shown is a page from a 1996 reproduction of the 1962 Roman Missal. Commonly known as the Tridentine Mass, the Mass of this missal is entirely in Latin. The Tridentine Mass was promulgated in 1570 by Pope Pius V following the Council of Trent. It was used throughout the years with only minor changes until 1970 following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. The pope expressed sympathy with Catholics attached to the Tridentine rite and uncomfortable with the new Mass. In the post-Vatican II period, he said, excessive liturgical creativity often led to “deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear.” “I am speaking from experience, since I, too, lived through that period with all its hopes and confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church,” he said. The pope said it is clear that, in addition to Catholics from that era, young people are also being attracted by the older form of the liturgy. The Tridentine Mass has been allowed as a liturgical exception since 1984, but Catholics had to request permission from local bishops. The new decree significantly altered the bishop’s role, maintaining his general oversight on liturgy but removing him from initial decisions on Tridentine Masses. The document said a priest who wishes to celebrate the Tridentine Mass alone “does not require any permission,” and lay Catholics who wish to attend such semi-private Masses may do so. Local pastors are to handle more formal requests for scheduled Masses, the document said. The text does not require TRIDENTINE MASS, page 6
Vatican document clarifies teaching on nature of Church (The text of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith’s document “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church” is available on the Vatican Web site: www.vatican.va.)
By Dan Morris-Young SAN FRANCISCO – The recent Vatican document calling for clear understanding that only the Catholic Church possesses the “fullness” of the means for salvation was created primarily as an instructional tool for Catholics and should not be read as a diminishing of other faith communities, according to the churchman who signed it. On the contrary, said Cardinal William J. Levada, who heads the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith which issued the document July 10, the narrative points
Cardinal William J. Levada out that “outside the Catholic Church elements of holiness and truth do exist and that the Holy Spirit is working in those other communities and churches as well.” During a July 17 interview while visiting the Bay Area, Cardinal Levada said he was “somewhat surprised” at the amount of “ecumenical commentary” the document had NATURE OF CHURCH, page 11
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