URGENT: An International Appeal in Defense of Summorum Pontificum

A wide scale international appeal to the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has been organized to defend the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum against those who would want to restrict its application.

MOTU PROPRIO APPEAL

READ, SIGN, SHARE AND MAKE IT KNOWN

Pro Defunctis

Mass on All Souls Day in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite celebrated by Rev. Father Michell Joe Zerrudo at the Parish of the Lord of the Divine Mercy, Sikatuna Village Quezon City.

Prayer Crusade led by the SSPX

On October 10, 2010, eve of the traditional feast of Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Society of Pius X (SSPX) led a prayer crusade against the passing of the RH Bill in Congress at the Our Lady of Victories Church in New Manila Quezon City. The prayer crusade started with the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament exactly at 12pm and a recitation of the Holy Rosary. At 2pm, the Blessed Sacrament was reposed as a Solemn High Mass, Votive Mass of our Lady of Mediatrix, was about to begin. (The Mass was suppose to be at the presence of the Blessed Sacrament but due to the complexity of the rubrics, the priests opted to repose the Blessed Sacrament at the duration of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass). At the end of the Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was once again exposed. The Van De Steen Choir with the choir of the Our Lady of Victories sung the hymns.

We should commend the SSPX for taking the initiative of organizing the prayer crusade despite the fact that their regularization within the Church is still in the process.

Important Clarifications from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei

From the New Liturgical Movement:

The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has recently answered some important questions regarding the application of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum submitted by the moderator for the faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the diocese of Rzeszów, Poland. The answers, however, are applicable generally. The original questions (in German) and answers (in Italian), published by Nowy Ruch Liturgiczny are reproduced below. Here is an NLM summary; questions 2 and 3 have easily the biggest impact:

1. If there is no other possibility, because for instance in all churches of a diocese the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum are already being celebrated in the Ordinary Form, the liturgies of the Sacred Triduum may, in the same church in which they are already celebrated in the Ordinary Form, be additionally celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, if the local ordinary allows.

2. A Mass in the usus antiquior may replace a regularly scheduled Mass in the Ordinary Form. The question contextualizes that in many churches Sunday Masses are more or less scheduled continually, leaving free only very incovenient mid afternoon slots, but this is merely context, the question posed being general. The answer leaves the matter to the prudent judgement of the parish priest, and emphasises the right of a stable group to assist at Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

3. A parish priest may schedule a public Mass in the Extraordinary Form on his own accord (i.e. without the request of a group of faithful) for the benefit of the faithful including those unfamiliar with the usus antiquior. The response of the Commission here is identical to no. 2.

4. The calendar, readings or prefaces of the 1970 Missale Romanum may not be substituted for those of the 1962 Missale Romanum in Masses in the Extraordinary Form.

5. While the liturgical readings (Epistle and Gospel) themselves have to be read by
the priest (or deacon/subdeacon) as foreseen by the rubrics, a translation to the vernacular may afterwards be read also by a layman.

Care of Supreme Pontiffs: Stability of Roman Liturgy as God's Gift

By the late Msgr. Moises Andrade, Jr. H.P., at the University of Santo Tomas last January 7, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI offered his care for the Roman Liturgy in his motu proprio letter of July 7, 2007. Here, he conveyed his support for the maintenance of sacredness, reverence for God's presence, and the participant's awareness of sinfulness during the celebration of the Roman Liturgy.

1. Awareness of Sinfulness.

Keeping the hands joined, kneeled and bowing low in prayer, and the striking of the breast are bodily gestures expressing fidelity to God's gift of Sacred Liturgy. They are occuring in various moments of the Holy Mass primarily. They instill to every officiating priest and all participants in Sacred Liturgy the readiness to welcome God's gift of forgiveness and remission of sins.

2. Reverence for God's Presence.

The Divine Presence in the Word of God and in the Mystery of the Eucharist are experienced in the epistles and gospels of a one year cycle of the 1570 Roman Missal and in the Roman Canon, conveniently articulated by the rubrics, when faithfully implemented. Rather than require the ability of so many trained ministers, servers, singers and other assistants, the availability of at least one ordained priest and his acolyte always makes accessible the sacraments in their solemn prayerfulness.

3. Maintenance of Sacredness

Focus on the salvific grace of Christ's holy cross through ritual gestures and its sacred image at the central place at the altar will yield the harvest of piety and clear signal of the role of the priest - not so much as presider, but as a servant to facilitate the encounter of the living God with the praying people including the priest as well.

Conclusion

The awareness of the Roman Liturgy's sacredness, reverence of God's presence, and the consciousness of human sinfulness yet graced by God's self-giving are constantly transmitted through the various historical periods of the Church's liturgy and are especially expected through the exposure of the faithful to the ritual celebration elaborated extraordinarily in the 1962 Roman Missal (the 7th retouching of the 1570 mass book) and ordinarily, in the 1970 Roman Missal (the 8th retouching of tthe roman liturgical text).

An Interview with Mons. Domenico Bartolucci on the liturgical reforms and the reform of the reform.

Mons. Domenico Bartolucci, Maestro Perpetuo of the Sistine Chapel under five Popes.

Was the reform not done by people who were conscious of what they were doing and well educated in the teachings of the Roman Church?

I beg your pardon, but the reform was done by arid people, arid, arid, I repeat it. And I knew them. As for the doctrine, Cardinal Ferdinando Antonelli himself, once said, I remember it well: “How come that we make liturgists who know nothing about theology?”

(....)

But how could it have come to this twisting of the liturgy?

It became a kind of fashion. Everybody talked about it, everybody “was renewing”, everybody was trying to be like popes (tutti pontificavano) in the wake of sentimentalism, of eagerness to reform. And the voices that raised themselves to defend the two thousand year old Tradition of the Church, were cleverly hushed. There was the invention of a kind of “people’s liturgy” … when I heard these refrains, it came into my mind something which my professor at the Seminary used to say: “the liturgy is something given by the clerics to the people” (“la liturgia è del clero per il popolo”). It descends from God and does not come up from the bottom. I have to admit, however, that this foul-smelling appearances have made themselves a bit more rare. The young generations of priests are maybe better than those who came before them, they do not have the ideological fury of an iconoclastic ideology, they are full of good feelings, however they lack in education.

My dear Monsignor, the influence of these kind of liturgists is very strong in the Philippines. i.e. they advocate people-centric and/or inculturated liturgies, who think that the only way for people to actively participate is to celebrate the mass as reformed in 1970's in a very different way from how the church celebrated in the past 2000 years and they even hold key positions in the dioceses.

Complete Interview here at Rorate-Caeli: A bombshell of an interview. Mons. Domenico Bartolucci on the liturgical reforms and the reform of the reform.

Summorum Pontificum

Thank you your dear Holiness for unlocking the chest containing this great treasure of our Holy Mother the Church. I pray that this new year of motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, the Year for Priests, more priests would begin to see the immense value and appreciate what the Holy Father's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum has given for the whole Church.

Pray for the Christ's Vicar

The author of this blog joins the call of Michael Sternbeck and the whole Rorate-Caeli team in praying for Pope Benedict XVI specially during these times. May the angels of our Lord under the leadership of St. Michael the Archangel protect our beloved Pope.

Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in praelio.

Contra nequitiam et insidias

diaboli esto praesidium.

Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur.

Tuque princeps militiae caelestis,

Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos,

qui ad perditionem animarum

pervagantur in mundo divina virtute in

infernum detrude. Amen.

Photo Credits: Pope 2008.com

A Canonistic Notes on Summorum Pontificum

From the New Liturgical Movement

The first 2008 issue of Liturgisches Jahrbuch ("Liturgical Yearbook") contains some very clear and sound notes from a canonist's perspective on the implications of Summorum Pontificum. This is all the more surprising and gratifying as Liturgisches Jahrbuch is a quarterly edited by the German Liturgical Institute (Deutsches Liturgisches Institut), the centre of German liturgical "officialdom" maintained by the German Bishops' Conference. The article (Liturgisches Jahrbuch 1/2008, p. 3 ff.) is written by Prof. Norbert Lüdecke who teaches Canon Law at the University of Bonn. A summary of the article is given in the current issue of Una Voce Korrespondenz, the quarterly of the German Una Voce association (4/2008, p. 371 ff.), of which a summary appeared, on December 1st, 2008, on the website kath-info.de, which we present to you here in an NLM translation:

1. The bishops may issue "annotations and instructions for the implementation" of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, but they may not add "new mandatory content" (cf. the analysis of the "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference by Prof. Georg Muschalek).

2. The "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference of 27 September 2007 are not binding upon the individual diocesan bishop.

3. The celebration of the Missa sine populo is, except in the case of insurmountable obstacles, to be allowed "at any legitimate place". "Restrictions of the usus antiquior to certain places or times by particular law are (...) inadmissible."

4. In a Missa sine populo (literally translated: "Mass without people") the faithful may participate sua sponte (i.e. without compulsion). They may also advert other faithful to this Holy Mass.

5. For a group, which according to the Motu proprio is a prerequisite for the celebration of a Holy Mass with the people, the number of three persons is sufficient. The diocesan bishop cannot establish a higher minimum number.

6. The parish priest must not discriminate against Masses according to the old use "by keeping them secret or scheduling them at times difficultly accessible".

7. "The Pope has not ordered that the parish priest could meet the request of interested faithful. He has mandated that the parish priest must do so"(Lüdecke).

8. Faithful whose right to Holy Mass in the older use is being denied by the parish priest do not only have the possibility, but the duty to inform the diocesan bishop about this.

9. "Applications" for the traditional liturgy are "not petitions of grace or favour." "Parish priests as well as diocesan bishops are legally held to meet this request" (Lüdecke).

10. The consent of the bishop to a Holy Mass according to the old use instituted by a parish priest according to the desire of faithful is not required.

11. Laypeople as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and women as altar servers are not allowed in the traditional liturgy.

....

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos on the TLM Instructional DVD

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei provided an introduction to the new FSSP training DVD. In the introduction, he explains what the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum is and what the Pope wants to accomplish in promulgating, of his own will, spontaneously, the universal law, the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

The significance of Pope Benedict XVI's Ad Orientem Mass

Today we witnessed the reorientation of the Mass in the pontificate of Benedict XVI. The Vicar of Christ, during the most sacred part of the Holy Mass, and the entire congregation, "turned towards the Lord," and faced not each other.

It is the most significant step in reorienting the ordinary liturgy, that by this reorientation, our minds, our hearts and our souls will be reoriented back to Christ as we, His faithful together with the priest celebrant, fix our gaze upon Him who suffered and died for us.

Pope Benedict's signal to all Catholics (cardinals, bishops, priests, canon lawyers, liturgists, and the laity) is clear: Celebrating the Mass ad orientem or versus Deum per Iesum Christum (using the Missal of Pope Paul VI and in this case, facing the "liturgical east" or the symbolic east of the liturgy) was never abolished and the Holy Mass can be celebrated as such even with a congregation (men, women, and yes even children!), and that it was perfectly normal for catholics of the Roman Rite of the Church to worship and celebrate Mass oriented in such a way that it had celebrated Mass for centuries (at least before Vatican II for most catholics and even now through the extraordinary form). The language being in Italian also has a significant meaning: it means that celebrating the Mass in such manner, facing the liturgical east, can be done in local churches of the Roman Rite, the church in the Philippines included!

As the Pope, the Supreme Pontiff, mended and created a bridge between the old and the new through his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum given motu proprio we are to see more development in the ordinary liturgy: organic reorientation of the ordinary form. The ordinary form of the Roman Rite will soon be absorbed by the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, reform of the reform fully achieved, spearheaded by no less than the current Vicar of Christ, Pope Benedict XVI.

Above photos from Hallowed Ground

Above photo from NLM

Older Post:
Summorum Pontificum and the Hermeneutic of Continuity

Summorum Pontificum and Hermeneutic of Continuity

Disclaimer: I am not an expert, nor do i have credentials to make a scholarly opinion, I just would like to share my views.

The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum given motu proprio generated mixed reactions from the faithful, some welcomed the motu proprio with great joy while others dismissed it as something unimportant or irrelevant. I see that the opposition to the Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII will be in existence for many years in much the same way as those who are opposed to the Missal of Pope Paul VI no matter how it is celebrated, may it be in line with tradition or not.

In present Vatican celebrations (with the new Master of Ceremonies, Fr. Guido Marini), we can see a glimpse of what is to come, little by little, slowly but surely...the normative liturgy being celebrated in much the same way as the extraordinary liturgy is celebrated. Those things that makes the extraordinary liturgy beautiful and spiritually edifying carried over to the normative liturgy. After all, this is the dream and vision of the current Vicar of Christ: hermeneutic of continuity.

I see that (again just from my own point of view) the position of the Supreme Pontiff is mainly focused on the deformations of the normative liturgy as it is currently celebrated and he wishes us, all Roman Catholics, to learn and grow through the extraordinary form since he said that liturgy should not be frozen in time but should be allowed to grow. I believe that this is one of the many reasons why the extraordinary form should be generously celebrated all over the world. It is just logical: how can we learn from it if we do not practice or experience it.

In this way we will see the normative liturgy sprouting forth from the extraordinary liturgy. The normative will no longer be described as fabricated but truly a continuity of the extraordinary.

Within the context of the Mass, Catholics with traditional views will see it as the new edition of the Roman Missal of Pope St. Pius V, while ordinary Catholics will see it as a new edition of the Mass of Pope Paul VI celebrated with traditional elements.

Document clarifying the terms of Summorum Pontificum: Soon

Vatican, Dec. 31, 2007 (CWNews.com) - The Vatican will soon issue a new document clarifying the terms of Summum Pontificum, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone (bio - news) has revealed.

Confirming reports that have circulated around Rome in recent weeks, the Vatican Secretary of State told the Italian weekly Famiglia Cristiana that the Ecclesia Dei commission will issue instructions to "clarify the criteria for the application of the motu proprio" in which Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) broadened access to the traditional Latin Mass.

Cardinal Bertone said that the new document was needed because there have been some "confused reactions" to the motu proprio. In fact some Vatican officials-- most notably Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship-- have energetically criticized bishops who have failed to accept the papal directive.

Cardinal Bertone took a more conciliatory approach to the disputes that have arisen in the aftermath of the Pope's move to restore the traditional Mass. The Italian prelate told Famiglia Cristiana that had been widely misinterpreted, and the new instruction from the Ecclesia Dei commission would attempt to clear up misconceptions.

"Some people have charged that the Pope was rejecting the Council's [Vatican II] teaching," Cardinal Bertone told the Italian magazine, emphasizing that this interpretation is completely unfounded. At the same time, he also dismissed the theory that Pope Benedict hopes to replace the Novus Ordo Mass, making the "extraordinary form" the single liturgical usage of the future. That is equally inaccurate, the cardinal said.

Cardinal Bertone did not indicate when the new liturgical directive would appear. Some Vatican-watchers believe that the instruction from Ecclesia Dei will appear within a matter of days; others have said that it could be several weeks before it is published.

Archbishop Ranjith on ongoing Episcopal "Rebellion"

I really find it strange why some openly disobey the Pope with regards to the Traditional Mass. Some even add or remove words from the Holy Father's mouth just to down play his intentions with regards to the Traditional Mass or add or remove words to focus on an entirely different and irrelevant issues. Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, the Secretary of the Congregation of Divine Worship has this to say from an interview in papal news website Petrus:

[Translation taken from Rorate-Caeli website:]

Your Excellency, how has Benedict XVI´s motu proprio which liberalized the Holy Mass according to the Tridentine Rite been received? Some, in the bosom of the Church itself, have turned their noses...

"There have been positive reactions and, it is useless to deny it, criticisms and opposition , even from theologians, liturgists, priests, Bishops, and even Cardinals. I frankly do not understand these rifts, and, why not [say it], rebellion towards the Pope. I invite all, particularly the Shepherds, to obey the Pope, who is the Successor of Peter. The Bishops, in particular, have sworn fidelity to the Pontiff: may they be coherent and faithful to their commitment."

In your opinion, what causes these displays against the Motu Proprio?

"You know that there have been, by some dioceses, even interpretative documents which inexplainably intend to limit the Pope's Motu Proprio. These actions mask behind them, on one hand, prejudices of an ideological kind and, on the other, pride, one of the gravest sins. I repeat: I call all to obey the Pope. If the Holy father decided to promulgate the Motu Proprio, he had his reasons, which I fully share."

Benedict XVI´s decision to liberalize the Tridentine Rite seems as a just remedy to the so many liturgical abuses sadly registered after the Second Vatican Council with the 'Novus Ordo'...

"See, I do not wish to criticize the 'Novus Ordo'. But I laugh when I hear it said, even by friends, that in a [certain] parish, a priest is 'a Saint' due to his homily or to how he speaks. The Holy Mass is sacrifice, gift, mystery, independently of the celebrating priest. It is important, fundamental even, that the priest be put aside: the protagonist of the Mass is Christ. I do not understand, thus, the Eucharistic celebrations transformed in shows with dances, songs, and applause, as it frequently happens with the Novus Ordo."

Monsignor Patabendige, your Congregation has repeatedly denounced these liturgical abuses...

"True. There are so many documents, which have nonetheless painfully remained dead letter, [which] have ended up on dusty shelves or, even worse, in wastebaskets."

Another point: one often hears very long homilies...

"This also is an abuse. I am opposed to dances and applause in the middle of the Masses, which are not a circus or a stadium. As for the homilies, they must relate, as the Pope has underlined, exclusively to the catechetical aspect, avoiding sociologisms and useless chatter. For example, priests often veer towards politics because they have not prepared well the homily, which must, instead, be scrupulously studied. An excessively long homily is synonymous with a scarce preparation: the correct time for a sermon must be of 10 minutes, 15 at most. It must be acknowledged that the culminating moment of the celebration is the Eucharistic mystery, which does not mean downplaying the Liturgy of the Word, but clarifying how a correct liturgy must be applied."

Returning to the Motu Proprio: some criticize the use of Latin during Mass...

"The Tridentine Rite is part of the tradition of the Church. The Pope has duly explained the motives for his measure, an act of liberty and justice towards Traditionalists. As for Latin, I wish to underline that it has never been abolished and, what is more, it guarantees the universality of the Church. But I repeat: I invite priests, Bishops, and Cardinals to obedience, setting aside every kind of pride and prejudice."

Bishops who void Summorum Pontificum: Do not allow yourselves to be used as INSTRUMENTS OF THE DEVIL

There are several statements from bishop's conferences and individual bishops giving their own interpretation of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum that are very restrictive to the point of voiding the Holy Father's motu proprio. Read on what Archbishop Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline, has to say:

[From Fr.Z's wdtprs.com]

A kind reader sent me this fascinating excerpt from a talk given by His Excellency Most Rev. Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments.

the talk was entitled “Faith, Obedience and Theology” and was delivered at the annual meeting of the Dutch Latin Liturgy Association (Vereniging voor Latijnse Liturgie) in ’s-Hertogenbosch (The Netherlands) on 6 October 2007.

He gave the talk in English, but the person who sent it to me translated it from Dutch. So, it probably varies a little from the original English, which perhaps someone out there can dig up for us.

Read this, with my emphases.

“The motu proprio Summorum Pontificum on the Latin Liturgy of July 7th 2007 is the fruit of a deep reflection by our Pope on the mission of the Church. It is not up to us, who wear ecclesiastical purple and red, to draw this into question, to be disobedient and make the motu proprio void by our own little, tittle rules. Even not if they were made by a bishops conference. Even bishops do not have this right. What the Holy Fathers says, has to be obeyed in the Church. If we do not follow this principle, we will allow ourselves to be used as instruments of the devil, and nobody else. This will lead to discord in the Church, and slows down her mission. We do not have the time to waste on this. Else we behave like emperor Nero, fiddling on his violin while Rome was burning. The churches are emptying, there are no vocations, the seminaries are empty. Priests become older and older, and young priests are scarce.”

NB: His Excellency has made a connection between Pope Benedict’s decision to promulgate Summorum Pontificum and a remedy for ills in the Church, namely, empty churches and empty seminaries.

Thus, this the Pope’s provisions are willed by God, for they comes from Peter as something for the good of the Church. They seek the defend the Church and build her up at critical points of attack by the devil, namely, what happens in a church (worship of God and sanctification through the sacraments, especially Holy Mass) and what happens in a seminary (men are formed to be alter Christus).

Thus, anyone who resists the provisions of the Motu Proprio, aimed at healing these problems of the Church, actually aids the Enemy of the soul and becomes the devil’s pawns.


We don’t have time to waste.

Archdiocese of Jaro to Celebrate Summorum Pontificum

In addition to the earlier post, the Archdiocese of Jaro, Iloilo will also offer a Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite.

At the Nuestra Senora Dela Candelaria Metropolitan Cathedral of Jaro, Iloilo (located in the Island of Panay, one of the Visayas Islands located in the middle of the Philippines), Fr. Melvin Castro, Chancellor of the Diocese of Tarlac, will celebrate a Traditional Latin Missa Cantata at the main altar of the Cathedral on September 14, Friday, 6:00 PM.

The Cubao and Jaro Masses on September 14, 2007 will be both held at 6:00 PM. There is a symbolic significance to this. In the Philippines, daily mass-going is alive and well, and daily masses are often scheduled around 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM. The 6:00 (or 6:30) PM mass often attracts larger crowds than the morning mass, because it is the mass that is most convenient for working people. Celebrating the TLM on such an hour, therefore, signifies the full integration of this rite of the Mass into the liturgical life of the churches concerned. It also allows the TLM to be introduced to more people who, perhaps, have never seen it before.

Thanks to Carlos for the news.

Summorum Pontificum Thanksgiving Mass

Updated...

The Latin Mass community in Metro Manila Philippines will have a thanksgiving Mass (Missa Cantata) in the extraordinary form on July 14th, Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross, at 6:00pm in celebration of the implementation of the apostolic letter given motu proprio Summorum Pontificum of his holiness Pope Benedict XVI. A Low Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, September 15th at 3:00pm. On Sunday, September 16th, after the 1:30pm Mass (Missa Cantata), there will be procession in honor of the Holy Cross and Mother of Sorrows. Everyone is invited to come and join us in prayer and thanksgiving.

Kindly refer to the map for directions on how to get to the Lord of the Divine Mercy parish church.

Public celebration of the Traditional Mass by the Pope

The first public Traditional Latin Mass of the Pope after his motu proprio Summorum Pontificum could happen this first Sunday of Advent according to Vatican sources.

Source: Italy Global Nation

CBCP's response to the Motu Proprio

From the CBCP Website:

CBCP welcomes Pope’s Letter on Latin Mass

MANILA, 09 July 2007— “We fully welcome with respect and appreciation the recent Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI on the “Tridentine” Mass. It clarifies for us the status of the Tridentine Mass in the Latin language,” said CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo in a statement released today.

Pope Benedict XVI issued Saturday a motu proprio Pastoral Letter entitled “Summorum Pontificum" saying that Tridentine Mass approved by Pope John XXII in 1962 “continues to be permissible as an extraordinary form” of celebrating the Mass.

In the same statement, Lagdameo said that the mass being practiced today by Catholics throughout the world is the “new mass” which was introduced after the Second Vatican Council and approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970, which has become the ordinary form of the mass and more popular among the people because it allows the use of some approved adaptations, including the use of popular languages and dialects.

Supporting the Pope’ Pastoral Letter, Lagdameo stressed that the Tridentine mass has never been forbidden and abrogated but should be celebrated by priests of the Latin Rite only in private masses, in conventual or community celebrations, or in parishes when requested by the faithful but under the guidance of the local bishop.

Lagdameo further said that permission by Pope Benedict to celebrate the Tridentine mass is given on condition that it should follow the formula of the Council of Trent.

But news priests, he said, will require formation before celebrating the Latin mass. (Roy Lagarde)

Disinformation Campaign against the Traditional Mass

[This post has been recently updated]

Now that the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum has been made public, the disinformation campaign will start. One of the most subtle poisons being disseminated is that the priest faces away from the congregation. How often does one read this in the newspapers or from other sources? It is being spread and constantly repeated as if to brainwash the people.

No. That is an illogical perspective.

The logical perspective is this: he does so, so that he would face, with that same congregation, the Lord on the cross and lead them to prayer.

Would you rather let the priest turn his back against the Lord so that he could turn to you instead? I hope we'd rather let the priest face the Lord and give the Lord reverence due Him.