The Bishop's Weekly Column from the Parish Bulletin

OUR LADY OF FATIMA

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One Step Forward - Two Steps Back
Confusion Reigns in Rome

November 5, 2005

Cardinal Arinze

In a column last month we commented on the confusing statement by Cardinal Arinze (current Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship) during the Synod in Rome in which he said the following:

"No synodal father has mentioned this point," (...) "If there are groups that desire the Tridentine Mass, this is already provided for. Bishops may allow it for groups."

"It is not a priority for the synod, as no one has spoken about it," (...) "The problem we have discussed is that many people don't go to Mass, and those that come don't understand -- they go to Communion but not to confession, as if they were immaculate."

Days later the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy (also the head of the Ecclesia Dei commission) Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos responded:

"A rather deafening silence at the Synod of Bishops about the pre-Vatican II Mass was broken on Saturday, when Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos proposed that the bishops' final message contain an opening to Catholics attached to the old Mass, perhaps treating it as one among several approved rites in the Catholic church. (...)

Sources told NCR that Castrillón Hoyos did not specifically mention the idea of a "universal indult," meaning permission for priests to celebrate the old Mass whenever they like, but that his remarks "could be read in that way." During discussion Saturday morning, Castrillón Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy as well as president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission, created in 1988 to meet the pastoral needs of Catholics attached to the pre-Vatican II Mass, proposed inserting language that would essentially treat the old Mass as a legitimate rite of the church, comparable, for example, to the various Eastern rites that already exist."

(Extracted from National Catholic Reporter's John Allen's column)

Now rumors have surfaced in an Italian newspaper Il Giornale that a liberalization of the Tridentine liturgy is not possible since it was abolished by Paul VI with the issuance of the Novus Ordo. In an apparently leaked memo the same Cardinal Arinze has addressed this issue in a document forwarded to Pope Benedict XVI. The newspaper article appears below (a translation accompanies it):

In un documento segreto il «no» al messale tradizionalista

In a Secret Document: The "No" to the Traditional Missal

C'è un documento riservato di sette cartelle che potrebbe rallentare o persino bloccare una concessione più generosa dell'uso del messale preconciliare, come richiesto dai tradizionalisti e dai lefebvriani. È un testo preparato dalla Congregazione del culto divino lo scorso agosto e firmato dal Prefetto, il cardinale Francis Arinze, e dal suo numero due, l'arcivescovo Domenico Sorrentino. Nel memorandum, che non rappresenta un atto ufficiale del dicastero, ma ha il valore di un parere ed è stato consegnato al Papa, si afferma che non è possibile alcuna liberalizzazione del vecchio messale in quanto quest'ultimo è stato abolito. Era stato proprio il cardinale Arinze, lo scorso 12 ottobre, durante una conferenza stampa, ad affermare che «nessun padre sinodale» aveva avanzato la richiesta che venga prevista la Messa secondo il rito di San Pio V.

There is a secret seven page document that has the power to loosen or restrict a more generous concession of the use of the pre-conciliar Missal, as requested by Traditionalists and Lefebvrists . It is a text prepared by the Congregation of the Divine Worship last August, and was signed by its prefect, Cardinal Francis Arinze, and by his number two, Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino. In the memorandum, which does not represent an official act of the dicastry, but has the value of an opinion and has been submitted to the Pope, it affirms that no liberalization of the old Missal is possible, since the latter has been abolished. And it was Cardinal Arinze, last October 12, during a closed conference, who affirmed that "no Synod father" had advanced the request (a thing which had been expected) for the Mass according to the rite of St. Pius V.

In realtà, appena tre giorni dopo, in aula, questo tema è stato affrontato nell'intervento del cardinale Darío Castrillón Hoyos, prefetto della Congregazione del clero, il quale ha proposto che nel messaggio finale del Sinodo fosse contenuto qualche segnale di apertura verso quei cattolici affezionati alla vecchia Messa con l'auspicio che il rito preconciliare venga considerato uno dei diversi riti approvati nella Chiesa cattolica. Il cardinale non aveva parlato esplicitamente di una vera e propria liberalizzazione dell'uso del vecchio messale, come richiesto dai lefebvriani, ma le sue parole potevano essere intese in questo senso.
Ora, il testo firmato da Arinze e Sorrentino pone un ostacolo alla concessione più facile del rito di San Pio V, sulla quale lo stesso Ratzinger, da cardinale, si era sempre detto possibilista. Attualmente, i gruppi di fedeli legati alla Messa preconciliare devono presentare una richiesta al vescovo, il quale decide se permetterla. Anche se Giovanni Paolo II, nel concedere l'indulto, aveva chiesto ai vescovi di essere generosi, in molti casi i tradizionalisti si sentono opporre dei rifiuti, magari da quegli stessi presuli che offrono le chiese per le divine liturgie ortodosse o tollerano che nelle loro diocesi vengano celebrate Messe che degenerano in show.

In reality, scarcely three days later, in the assembly, this theme was raised, with the intervention of Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation of the Clergy, who proposed that the final message of the Synod include some sign of an opening for those Catholics attached to the Old Mass, with the hope that the Rite of the preconciliar Mass might be considered one of the diverse rites approved by the Catholic Church.. The Cardinal did not explicitly speak of a true and proper liberalization of the use of the old Missal, as the Lefebvrists requested, but his words could have been understood in the that sense. Now, the text signed by Arinze and Sorrentino poses an obstacle to the freer concession of the Rite of Saint Pius V, which Ratzinger, as a Cardinal, always stated was possible. At present, the group of Faithful who are attached to the Old Mass, must submit a request to the bishop, who decides if he will permit it. Also, if Pope John Paul II, in conceding the indult, asked that bishops be generous, in many cases traditionalists find themselves opposed by refusals, from those who also offer the Churches for the Orthodox Divine Liturgies or tolerate the celebration of Masses in their Diocese that degenerate into a Show.

«Purtroppo da noi – aveva scritto il cardinale Ratzinger – c'è una tolleranza quasi illimitata per le modifiche spettacolari e avventurose, mentre praticamente non ce n'è per l'antica liturgia. Così siamo sicuramente su una strada sbagliata». Il futuro Benedetto XVI più volte aveva affrontato la questione dicendosi colpito per il modo in cui vengono trattati i fedeli tradizionalisti: «Personalmente ritengo che si dovrebbe essere più generosi – aveva detto Ratzinger – nel consentire l'antico rito a coloro che lo desiderano. Non si vede proprio che cosa debba esserci di pericoloso o inaccettabile. Una comunità mette in questione se stessa, quando considera improvvisamente proibito quello che fino a poco tempo prima le appariva sacro e quando ne fa sentire riprovevole il desiderio. Perché le si dovrebbe credere ancora? Non vieterà forse domani, ciò che oggi prescrive?».

"Unfortunately for us", wrote Cardinal Ratzinger, "There is a nearly limitless tolerance for showy and adventurous modifications, while we practically have none for the old liturgy. In this manner, we are surely on the wrong road. The future Benedict XVI had many times faced the question accepting the blame for the way in which the traditionalist faithful are treated: “Personally I maintain that we must be more generous" said Cardinal Ratzinger, "in consenting to allow the old rite to all those desiring it. It is hard to imagine how this could result in dangerous or unacceptable things. A community puts it’s own self in question, when an improvised prohibition is placed on that which a short time earlier appeared sacred, and when the desire for it is held as reprehensible. Why would they still believe in it ? Will what is prescribed today be forbidden tomorrow ?"

Il futuro Papa aveva inoltre fatto notare che nella Chiesa la pluralità dei riti non aveva mai messo in discussione la sua cattolicità, un concetto che troviamo esposto anche nel libro «Nobilis Pulchritudo», appena pubblicato dal maestro delle cerimonie pontificie, l'arcivescovo Piero Marini, certamente non sospettabile di simpatie tradizionaliste. Il dibattito sul messale di San Pio V e sulla sua abolizione è tuttora aperto. E c'è attesa di sapere che cosa deciderà in merito Benedetto XVI.

The future Pope had moreover pointed out that in the Church the plurality of rites never put into discussion its catholicity, a concept that is covered in the just published book "Nobilis Pulchritudo", by the master of pontifical ceremonies, archbishop Piero Marini, who certainly couldn’t be suspected of traditionalist sympathies. (You're telling me ! +TF) The debate surrounding the Mass of Saint Pius V and its abolition is wide open. And, it remains to be known what decision Benedict XVI will reach on its merit.

Semper Idem

What on earth is Arinze thinking of ? The old rite abolished ? To think that this man was spoken of as being papabile before the recent conclave ! Doesn't he know that the man who will receive this report sat on the commission convened by John Paul II in 1986 to examine whether Paul VI had abolished the old rite ? The 9 cardinal panel (Ratzinger was one of them) concluded he had not ! If Paul VI did abolish the old missal, then what on earth are these men doing below ?


Alfons Maria Cardinal Stickler	Pope Benedict XVI	Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos	Jorge Arturo Cardinal Medina Estevez

Apparently these men were not celebrating a valid Mass - it was "abrogated" don't you know ! Will someone please let the head of the liturgy department know that Ecclesia Dei was promulgated in 1988 !

+TF