John Nolan, indeed. Here is a statement from an auxiliary bishop in the Netherlands on the Pope of "Mercy:" I wonder if he will be sacked?
But the reports from Rome don't cheer me up either. The Vatican had a curious Christmas gift in store for us. The answers of the Congregation for Divine Worship to the questions about the practical interpretation of the motu proprio "Traditionis custodes" hardened the front between the Vatican and traditionalists. A barely concealed impatience to finally draw a line under the subject of the "ancient Mass" shines forth from the entire style of the text. The highly aggressive text is not only a break from Pope Benedict XVI's intended "reform of the reform" but also a pastoral faux pas. The "pope of mercy" shows little mercy for those who embrace the Traditional Latin Mass. The loss of confidence not only affects the traditionalists themselves, but also increases the uncertainty of the faithful. If what was recommended yesterday no longer applies today, nothing is certain.
What this means for the Fraternity of St. Peter, for example, is unclear. The curious consequence of the papal injunction is that communities associated with Rome that celebrate the ancient Mass would no longer be allowed to administer the sacrament of confession, but the faithful can validly receive it from the Society of St. Pius X. The same applies to the sacrament of marriage. And why must one explicitly endorse the documents of Vatican II if one is still allowed to celebrate the ancient Mass in exceptional cases? Surely those who celebrate the Novus Ordo - I am one of them - are not asked to accept the Council of Trent. Or is everything from before Vatican II scrapped? If the Vatican requires an inspection for celebrants of the old Mass, in fairness it should also be required for freelance-celebrants of the new Mass who are all doing their own thing.
In short, that promises something for the coming year. My motto is: just stay Catholic. We proceed from the law of nature, from an order of creation, from common sense.
Happy New Year!
+Rob Mutsaerts
[Bishop Mutsaerts is an Auxiliary Bishop of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands
The desk with the pile of flowers on the floor before it returns at a lower level to what has again become a chair platform. Look down and be inspired!
3 comments:
It was Guido Marini who discontinued the use of the moveable altar in the Sistine chapel, for aesthetic rather than ideological reasons.
Now he's gone, and PF is back in his comfort zone.
John Nolan, indeed. Here is a statement from an auxiliary bishop in the Netherlands on the Pope of "Mercy:" I wonder if he will be sacked?
But the reports from Rome don't cheer me up either. The Vatican had a curious Christmas gift in store for us. The answers of the Congregation for Divine Worship to the questions about the practical interpretation of the motu proprio "Traditionis custodes" hardened the front between the Vatican and traditionalists. A barely concealed impatience to finally draw a line under the subject of the "ancient Mass" shines forth from the entire style of the text. The highly aggressive text is not only a break from Pope Benedict XVI's intended "reform of the reform" but also a pastoral faux pas. The "pope of mercy" shows little mercy for those who embrace the Traditional Latin Mass. The loss of confidence not only affects the traditionalists themselves, but also increases the uncertainty of the faithful. If what was recommended yesterday no longer applies today, nothing is certain.
What this means for the Fraternity of St. Peter, for example, is unclear. The curious consequence of the papal injunction is that communities associated with Rome that celebrate the ancient Mass would no longer be allowed to administer the sacrament of confession, but the faithful can validly receive it from the Society of St. Pius X. The same applies to the sacrament of marriage. And why must one explicitly endorse the documents of Vatican II if one is still allowed to celebrate the ancient Mass in exceptional cases? Surely those who celebrate the Novus Ordo - I am one of them - are not asked to accept the Council of Trent. Or is everything from before Vatican II scrapped? If the Vatican requires an inspection for celebrants of the old Mass, in fairness it should also be required for freelance-celebrants of the new Mass who are all doing their own thing.
In short, that promises something for the coming year. My motto is: just stay Catholic. We proceed from the law of nature, from an order of creation, from common sense.
Happy New Year!
+Rob Mutsaerts
[Bishop Mutsaerts is an Auxiliary Bishop of ‘s-Hertogenbosch, in the Netherlands
The desk with the pile of flowers on the floor before it returns at a lower level to what has again become a chair platform. Look down and be inspired!
Post a Comment