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Saturday, July 24, 2021

FROM THE MOST REV. STEPHEN D. PARKES, BISHOP OF SAVANNAH

 


 July 22, 2021
Feast of St. Mary Magdalene

Dear Friends in Christ,

On Friday, July 16, Pope Francis issued the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes, in which he established new guidelines for the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass (also known as the Extraordinary Form*) for the worldwide Church. I encourage you to read the document and the letter to the Bishops of the world that accompanied it in their entirety.

I was introduced to the Mass in the Extraordinary Form after my Ordination as your Bishop, and I found great reverence and mystery there. In every celebration of the Mass – regardless of the Missal being used – it is my prayer that we are all drawn into the gift and mystery of the Real Presence of Christ.

Please join me in asking for the care of the Blessed Mother and the wisdom of St. Joseph while I, as your shepherd, discern the spirit of what Pope Francis is asking of us and determine the proper implementation of these guidelines across our Diocese. Until these decisions are made, Priests in the parishes already scheduled to offer Mass in the Extraordinary Form have permission to do so.

On this feast of St. Mary Magdalene, I am reminded of her words at the tomb: “They have taken my Lord away, and I do not know where they have put him.” Her confusion and despair soon gave way to great joy…rejoicing in the presence of the resurrected Lord. We place our trust and confidence in the Holy Spirit guiding our Church and her leaders to peace and joy.

Please be assured of my daily prayers for you, your loved ones and your intentions. May we meet each day in our prayers and Rejoice in the Lord always!

Most Reverend Stephen D. Parkes
Bishop of Savannah

*For those who are unfamiliar, the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form was introduced by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007, and is based on the 1962 Missal promulgated by Pope St. John XXIII. It is called the “Extraordinary Form” to distinguish it from the “Ordinary Form” of the Roman Rite, which uses the Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI following the reforms of 1970. This Missal is also called the Novus Ordo Missae and is the Missal we use today.

7 comments:

Pierre said...

Father McDonald,

You are blessed to have such a pastoral and truly liberal pastor. I was surprised that even the bishops of France are maintaining the status quo.

rcg said...

The point of the MP was that EF congregations and pastors are cabals of insurrection, not that they were abusing the Mass or preaching contrary to Church teachings. So it is logical that the bishop would allow the EF Masses to continue pending review of the holilies, the only part of Mass the EF might present contrary to Vatican standards.

Mark Thomas said...

Joseph Shaw, Chairman, Latin Mass Society:

"To summarise, Traditiones Custodes is concerned to maintain the pastoral care of officially constituted ‘groups’ attached to the ancient Mass, for example in personal parishes, but wishes to emphasise the authority of the bishop to regulate where, when, and by whom, their Masses are celebrated.

"At the same time, it does not prevent priests in general celebrating the older Mass, even in public, but it wishes to emphasises the authority of the bishop to give permission for this."

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Mark Thomas said...

Joseph Shaw, Chairman, Latin Mass Society:

"The decision of many bishops in the immediate aftermath of the publication of Traditionis
Custodes, to give blanket permissions for existing arrangements to continue, is a perfectly
reasonable exercise of their prerogatives under the Apostolic Letter."

Pax.

Mark Thomas

Pierre said...

Mark Thomas,

LOL - there are already bishops which have crushed the TLM in their dioceses. Wake up and smell the coffee. Happy talk will not cut it. Your Pope of "Mercy" is unmerciful and vindictive

Pierre said...

Mark Thomas,

If you read what people actually write, Father McDonald is not pleased with the Motu Proprio, because unlike the Pope, he is not surrounded by leftwing toadies, egging him on to give in to his worse impulses.

Also, when are you going to apologize to Father Fox? A gentlemen would.

Anonymous said...

This is a good Bishop and I trust he will do what he can for us. He is not our enemy.