The Bishop's Weekly Column from the Parish Bulletin

OUR LADY OF FATIMA

CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Synod of Bishops in Rome and the Tridentine Mass

October 17, 2005

Francis Cardinal Arinze at the Press Conference

In the middle of last week, Nigerian born Cardinal Arinze (current Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship) spoke somewhat disparagingly of the Tridentine Mass at a daily Press briefing discussing some of the issues being raised behind the closed doors of the synod. He said in part:

"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."

And then the confusing intervention of Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos a few days later:

"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)

Rumors have surfaced that an announcement may be made in November to the effect that the provisions of St Pius V's Quo Primum are still in full force. Given the revelation from Bishop Fellay that the German bishops are up in arms at such a prospect and threatening schism, and that the French bishops said the same to John Paul II several years ago: how does the insertion of "language" into the final document of the synod pave the way for a universal indult ?

We have already seen moves by Rome to update the 62 missal to the 65 or 67 version amongst some Indult communities and Cardinal Medina has several times spoken about the inclusion of Tridentine elements in the Novus Ordo Missal. It seems clear Rome's intention is to introduce a hybrid missal within the near future and impose it upon the entire Latin Rite as a means of obtaining liturgical uniformity. Unfortunately, though, if so many options remain in the re-interpreted Missal, liturgical uniformity and homogeneity will not be achieved since not every priest will be celebrating exactly the same Mass as another. What would be needed for such a "reform" to take root, would be a document like Quo Primum insisting upon the use of only one Missal from now on. The days of that kind of papacy are long gone in this era of collegiality - the old boys would never go for such a thing !

If Rome does come out with a hybrid missal - whom would it please ? Not the Trads who already have their Mass, nor yet the neo-mods who are happy interpolating their own-crafted "liturgies", nor yet the neo-cons who have embraced the Novus Ordo already: ("why do we need another one ?" I hear them sigh).

All in all, the euphoria of the honeymoon is over. The stark reality is the Pope is between a rock and a hard place but the days of the Indult are certainly doomed !

The Return to "Traditional" Liturgy
looks as "secure" as ever

+TF