Posted on 07/16/2021 4:02:05 AM PDT by sockmonkey
APOSTOLIC LETTER
ISSUED "MOTU PROPRIO"
BY THE SUPREME PONTIFF
FRANCIS
“TRADITIONIS CUSTODES”
On the Use of the Roman Liturgy
Prior to the Reform of 1970
Guardians of the tradition, the bishops in communion with the Bishop of Rome constitute the visible principle and foundation of the unity of their particular Churches.[1] Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel and by means of the celebration of the Eucharist, they govern the particular Churches entrusted to them.[2]
In order to promote the concord and unity of the Church, with paternal solicitude towards those who in any region adhere to liturgical forms antecedent to the reform willed by the Vatican Council II, my Venerable Predecessors, Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, granted and regulated the faculty to use the Roman Missal edited by John XXIII in 1962.[3] In this way they intended “to facilitate the ecclesial communion of those Catholics who feel attached to some earlier liturgical forms” and not to others.[4]
In line with the initiative of my Venerable Predecessor Benedict XVI to invite the bishops to assess the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum three years after its publication, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith carried out a detailed consultation of the bishops in 2020. The results have been carefully considered in the light of experience that has matured during these years.
At this time, having considered the wishes expressed by the episcopate and having heard the opinion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I now desire, with this Apostolic Letter, to press on ever more in the constant search for ecclesial communion. Therefore, I have considered it appropriate to establish the following:
Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of Vatican Council II, are the unique expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.
Art. 2. It belongs to the diocesan bishop, as moderator, promoter, and guardian of the whole liturgical life of the particular Church entrusted to him,[5] to regulate the liturgical celebrations of his diocese.[6] Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the 1962 Roman Missal in his diocese, according to the guidelines of the Apostolic See.
Art. 3. The bishop of the diocese in which until now there exist one or more groups that celebrate according to the Missal antecedent to the reform of 1970:
§ 1. is to determine that these groups do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform, dictated by Vatican Council II and the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs;
§ 2. is to designate one or more locations where the faithful adherents of these groups may gather for the eucharistic celebration (not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes);
§ 3. to establish at the designated locations the days on which eucharistic celebrations are permitted using the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962.[7] In these celebrations the readings are proclaimed in the vernacular language, using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the respective Episcopal Conferences;
§ 4. to appoint a priest who, as delegate of the bishop, is entrusted with these celebrations and with the pastoral care of these groups of the faithful. This priest should be suited for this responsibility, skilled in the use of the Missale Romanum antecedent to the reform of 1970, possess a knowledge of the Latin language sufficient for a thorough comprehension of the rubrics and liturgical texts, and be animated by a lively pastoral charity and by a sense of ecclesial communion. This priest should have at heart not only the correct celebration of the liturgy, but also the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful;
§ 5. to proceed suitably to verify that the parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful are effective for their spiritual growth, and to determine whether or not to retain them;
§ 6. to take care not to authorize the establishment of new groups.
Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of the present Motu Proprio, who wish to celebrate using the Missale Romanum of 1962, should submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who shall consult the Apostolic See before granting this authorization.
Art. 5. Priests who already celebrate according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 should request from the diocesan Bishop the authorization to continue to enjoy this faculty.
Art. 6. Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life, erected by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, fall under the competence of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies for Apostolic Life.
Art. 7. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for matters of their particular competence, exercise the authority of the Holy See with respect to the observance of these provisions.
Art. 8. Previous norms, instructions, permissions, and customs that do not conform to the provisions of the present Motu Proprio are abrogated.
Everything that I have declared in this Apostolic Letter in the form of Motu Proprio, I order to be observed in all its parts, anything else to the contrary notwithstanding, even if worthy of particular mention, and I establish that it be promulgated by way of publication in “L’Osservatore Romano”, entering immediately in force and, subsequently, that it be published in the official Commentary of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
Given at Rome, at Saint John Lateran, on 16 July 2021, the liturgical Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in the ninth year of Our Pontificate.
FRANCIS
[1] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 23 AAS 57 (1965) 27.
[2] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church “Lumen Gentium”, 21 november 1964, n. 27: AAS 57 (1965) 32; Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree concerning the pastoral office of bishops in the Church “Christus Dominus”, 28 october 1965, n. 11: AAS 58 (1966) 677-678; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 833.
[3] Cfr John Paul II, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “Ecclesia Dei”, 2 july 1988: AAS 80 (1988) 1495-1498; Benedict XVI, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “Summorum Pontificum”, 7 july 2007: AAS 99 (2007) 777-781; Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “Ecclesiae unitatem”, 2 july 2009: AAS 101 (2009) 710-711.
[4] John Paul II, Apostolic Letter given Motu proprio “Ecclesia Dei”, 2 july 1988, n. 5: AAS 80 (1988) 1498.
[5] Cfr Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Costitution on the sacred liturgy “Sacrosanctum Concilium”, 4 december 1963, n. 41: AAS 56 (1964) 111; Caeremoniale Episcoporum, n. 9; Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacrament, Instruction on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist “Redemptionis Sacramentum”, 25 march 2004, nn. 19-25: AAS 96 (2004) 555-557.
[6] Cfr CIC, can. 375, § 1; can. 392.
[7] Cfr Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Decree “Quo magis” approving seven Eucharistic Prefaces for the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, 22 february 2020, and Decree “Cum sanctissima” on the liturgical celebration in honour of Saints in the forma extraordinaria of the Roman Rite, 22 february 2020: L’Osservatore Romano, 26 march 2020, p. 6.
Well thats the end then. It’s basically a complete roll back. If you Bishop hates TLM he won’t see it in his diocese.
Oddly enough, this particular bishop was a radical leftist and had no interest in traditional Catholicism. He allowed it for two simple reasons:
1. Vocations had dried up and he desperately needed ANY kind of priest to carry out regular duties like hospital sick calls.
2. A group of influential people in one of the wealthiest parishes in the country basically told him they'd only support the bishop's annual fundraising appeal if he approved it.
And so it was done. That's probably going to continue well into the future.
Our bishop doesn’t really encourage the TLM, but we do have a few in the diocese, which are said in regular parish churches but of course at some weird hour. I think he’d be willing to let them continue, although it sounds as if even the bishop can’t authorize new ones.
Also, notice that in #2 of Art. 3, it sounds as if these groups can no longer have their masses in parish churches. So that’s going to be a problem.
On top of that, our bishop is technically already retired and we don’t know who’s going to replace him...so the new bishop, who will be a Bergoglio appointment, can easily end the TLM here.
So weird...such a spiteful, vindictive little man sits in the Chair of Peter.
I suspect most bishops would be more than happy to sell off those parish churches to these traditional groups that want to run their affairs autonomously.
I'm no fan of the SSPX, but they were very smart about how they went about insulating themselves from the whims of the local bishops. In my experience, the most successful apostolates of groups like the FSSP and the Institute of Christ the King are those that do not operate in parish churches where the title to the property is held by the bishop.
That's sure what it looks like to me. Unbelievable.
And the pedophiles and sodomites are treated with kid gloves. *spit*
How long, O Lord? How long?
(not however in the parochial churches and without the erection of new personal parishes);
Yes, not in Parish Churches and the second part is ambiguous. If I remove the first part, the second reads a new Parish cannot be built to celebrate the TLM.
(But I guess a Pachama monstrance would be welcomed) /S
Hosting a Traditional Latin Mass apostolate in a parish church was always going to be a challenge. As one FSSP priest who was assigned to an apostolate that operated this way once told me: “I can deal with the odd arrangement as a priest, but anyone who looks at it objectively can’t possibly believe that the people coming to the TLM and the people coming to the Novus Ordo belong in the same church.”
This is the opportunity for the TLM to stand on its own and demonstrate that it is the real Church. And I'm sure it will rise to the challenge. Heck -- it already has. These groups are turning away vocations because of capacity limitations in their seminaries, while many Catholic parishes across the U.S. and Europe are fading into history.
I saw it right here in my local diocese. The bishop announced more than a month that he was ending the temporary suspension of the Sunday Mass obligation that had been put in place last year due to the COVID fiasco. I only found out about it here on FR because people have been filling my TLM church on a weekly basis regardless of what the bishop said about Mass obligations.
That’s how I’m reading it too - essentially, the way to get rid of the TLM is just to make it impossible to meet the conditions for celebrating it, starting with getting a space.
Bergoglio gives very specific directions to the bishops.
I wonder if this is going to stand.
Ping
You may well be right. Leave the rotting corpses to decay, while the healthy part of the Church goes on.
I feel better about this now after the initial anger is subsiding. Thanks.
SSPX is saying, “See — we told you so!”
“SSPX is saying, “See — we told you so!”
Yep.
Yep. If the FSSP and ICK get kicked out of places, they will likely be smart enough to move right in.
TLM bump
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