Pope set to bring back Latin Mass that divided the Church

The Times Online ^ | October 11, 2006 | Ruth Gledhill

[Petrosius]

THE Pope is taking steps to revive the ancient tradition of the Latin Tridentine Mass in Catholic churches worldwide, according to sources in Rome.

Pope Benedict XVI is understood to have signed a universal indult — or permission — for priests to celebrate again the Mass used throughout the Church for nearly 1,500 years. The indult could be published in the next few weeks, sources told The Times.

Use of the Tridentine Mass, parts of which date from the time of St Gregory in the 6th century and which takes its name from the 16th-century Council of Trent, was restricted by most bishops after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

This led to the introduction of the new Mass in the vernacular to make it more accessible to contemporary audiences. By bringing back Mass in Latin, Pope Benedict is signalling that his sympathies lie with conservatives in the Catholic Church.

One of the most celebrated rebels against its suppression was Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who broke with Rome in 1988 over this and other reforms. He was excommunicated after he consecrated four bishops, one of them British, without permission from the Pope.

Some Lefebvrists, including those in Brazil, have already been readmitted. An indult permitting the celebration of the Tridentine Mass could help to bring remaining Lefebvrists and many other traditional Catholics back to the fold.

The priests of England and Wales are among those sometimes given permission to celebrate the Old Mass according to the 1962 Missal. Tridentine Masses are said regularly at the Oratory and St James’s Spanish Place in London, but are harder to find outside the capital.

The new indult would permit any priest to introduce the Tridentine Mass to his church, anywhere in the world, unless his bishop has explicitly forbidden it in writing.

Catholic bloggers have been anticipating the indult for months. The Cornell Society blog says that Father Martin Edwards, a London priest, was told by Cardinal Joseph Zen, of Hong Kong, that the indult had been signed. Cardinal Zen is alleged to have had this information from the Pope himself in a private meeting.

“There have been false alarms before, not least because within the Curia there are those genuinely well-disposed to the Latin Mass, those who are against and those who like to move groups within the Church like pieces on a chessboard,” a source told The Times. “But hopes have been raised with the new pope. It would fit with what he has said and done on the subject. He celebrated in the old rite, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.”

The 1962 Missal issued by Pope John XXIII was the last of several revisions of the 1570 Missal of Pius V. In a lecture in 2001, Cardinal Ratzinger said that it would be “fatal” for the Missal to be “placed in a deep-freeze, left like a national park, a park protected for the sake of a certain kind of people, for whom one leaves available these relics of the past”.

Daphne McLeod, chairman of Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice, a UK umbrella group that campaigns for the restoration of traditional orthodoxy, said: “A lot of young priests are teaching themselves the Tridentine Mass because it is so beautiful and has prayers that go back to the Early Church.”

TRADITIONAL SERVICE

• The Tridentine Mass is celebrated entirely in Latin, except for a few words and phrases in Greek and Hebrew. There are long periods of silence and the priest has his back to the congregation

• In 1570, Pope St Pius V said that priests could use the Tridentine rite forever, “without scruple of conscience or fear of penalty”

• Since the Second Vatican Council, the Tridentine Mass has been almost entirely superseded by the Mass of Pope Paul VI

• Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, who took the lead in opposing the reforms, continued to celebrate the old Mass at his seminary in Ecône, Switzerland, and formed a dissident group. He was excommunicated in 1988

• The advantages of the Mass, according to the faithful, are in its uniformity and the fact that movements and gestures are prescribed, so that there is no room for “personalisation”

[stop_fascism]

I agree. In fact, when the Roman Rite was first adopted, Latin was the vernacular language of the day. I'm sure lots of people at the time were complaining about the loss of Greek.

That being said, there are advantages in both rites. The trident is much more eucharist-centric, and the music is generally much better. On the other hand, the Novo adds an OT reading, a psalm, and the peace. Then, of course, there are all the Eastern Rites, which are stunning. No reason they all can't co-exist.

I don't see this indult having much effect. It's a little stronger statement to the bishops than the current indult. However, I don't believe there are thousands of priests aching to celebrate the Trident. For that matter, I don't think most modern catholics have the patience for the adulation of the host in the Trident.

[Wonder Warthog]

"That one thing may not be adequate, but there are many other reasons which, taken together, do add up to adequacy."

"Nothing unites like language. The power inherent in Latin scholarship around the world is incalculable."

More "magick Latin" malarkey. The "power inherent in Latin scholarship around the world" is no different from the "power inherent in Greek scholarship around the world"---or the "power of (insert name of your favorite dead language here) scholarship around the world".

Look, Latin is NOT "magick". The re-institution of the "traditional Latin mass" will NOT "magickally" bring absent Catholics back to the pews in droves (which seems to be the "core belief" of supporters of "TLM").

[Wonder Warthog]

"The trident is much more eucharist-centric, and the music is generally much better. On the other hand, the Novo adds an OT reading, a psalm, and the peace. Then, of course, there are all the Eastern Rites, which are stunning. No reason they all can't co-exist."

Ah, a voice of sanity. Admittedly, I'd like to see the NO language "tweaked" to be a bit less insipid (steal the old "Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer" language, file off the serial numbers, fix any "non-Roman doctrine" errors, and plug it in).

[Talking_Mouse]

Please accept that while you love the TLM, not all faithful Catholics do. I understand what is going on, and appreciate it intellectually, think the pageantry is beautiful (but still dislike bordering on hate organ music), but I am still find myself mouthing phrase in a language not my own. My soul soars when I hear the words, in English, "this is My Body".

[ichabod1]

The Tridentine Mass is celebrated entirely in Latin, except for a few words and phrases in Greek and Hebrew.

There is no Hebrew, and the Greek is limited to three words in two phrases:

Kyrie Eleison
Christe Eleison
Kyrie Eleison

[DTwistedSisterS]

Anyone with a year long memory will brush this crap aside.

Last year, at this EXACT time (middle of October), rumors were flying about the TLM being brought back out to public through the usage of a Universal Indult. (I remember this because I told a friend before I volunteered to go on the Confirmation retreat, which my parish holds in november).

Until I see a statement from a Vatican source, or the Pope and His Promulgation, then there is no credibility in this.

[DTwistedSisterS]

Ok. I might retract that statement.

Yahoo news is running the story on their front page.

Nifty.

[rogator]

"There is no Hebrew," amen, alleluia.

[murphE]

There is no Hebrew

Yes there is. Amen?

[ArrogantBustard]

"There is no Hebrew," amen, alleluia.

Sabaoth

[ArrogantBustard]

Hosannah

[stop_fascism]

Yes, I believe that is what B XVI would like as well (not sure about the BCP though). Unfortunately, one of the first examples of this tweaking is changing that wonderful statement of faith, "I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I shall be healed" to a mundane, "I am not worthy to have you under my roof, etc." So, I'm not exactly hopeful.

[Claud]

Admittedly, I'd like to see the NO language "tweaked" to be a bit less insipid (steal the old "Episcopalian Book of Common Prayer" language, file off the serial numbers, fix any "non-Roman doctrine" errors, and plug it in).

You mean something like this?

:)

[ichabod1]

No bishop that ever wants to be a Cardinal would be smart to go agains His Holiness in this. The ones that are already Cardinals can play that if they want, but he has other ways of dealing with them. They'd be best to just let it go.

[rogator]

Eli, eli, lama sabachtani.

[Mrs. Don-o]

That's a good point: those who have a whole lifetime of familiarity with the Mass in English, will be able to pray through a Latin Mass without too much page-flipping distraction.

And as for Fr. Off-the-Cuff: well, he could probably continue to ad-lib lines, but it would be more jarring and discordant, and maybe he'd stop from plain embarrassment.

Oremus.

[ichabod1]

That was then. Now, English is the most widely spoken language on the planet.

WRONG, friend. Spanish is the most spoken language on the planet.

[ArrogantBustard]

Is that in the order of the Mass?

[ichabod1]

Ours says something about the "Friendship of the Holy Spirit", then he says "Good Morning everyone" and we say "Good Morning, Father."

It's weird. I don't like Good Mornings in the Mass. It's not morning, it's Sunday. If he wants to stop for an announcement break, that's ok, but not during the Mass itself. Then they have the announcements after Ita, Missa Est, which I think is bizarre, but that's just because of my upbringing.

[ichabod1]

Where is that in the Mass? And isn't that Aramaic?

And re Hosanna and Amen, they're in the English mass, you don't hear people saying the vernacular mass is a mixture of English, Greek, and Hebrew.