The Motu Proprio is Here!

After years of waiting, the Motu Proprio is finally here! Today marks the historic issuance of Pope Benedict’s apostolic letter on the use of the Roman Missal of 1962. The much talked about letter gives every priest the right to celebrate the Mass using the 1962 Missal, and instructs pastors to "willingly accept" requests from the faithful for access to the older liturgical form.

Pope Benedict emphasizes that there are not two different rites, but two different forms of the Roman rite: the ordinary form, according to the current Roman Missal, and the extraordinary form, which uses the Missal that was in universal use prior to the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council.

The document begins with the Pope giving a history of the use of the Roman Missal, and then, among other things, also provides an explanation of the purpose of this Motu Proprio.

Pope Benedict has written an official letter to the Bishops on the topic of this motu proprio. The full text of Summorum Pontificum can be found in the original Latin on the Vatican web site. An unofficial English translation is also available. The document will go into effect on September 14, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

From Catholic World News:

In his explanatory letter the Holy Father acknowledges that some bishops expressed strong opposition to the release of the motu proprio. Their opposition, he writes in his explanatory letter, was based on fears that the wider use of the pre-conciliar liturgy could appear to undermine the authority of Vatican II, and/or cause divisions with the Catholic Church. These fears will prove unfounded, Pope Benedict says, if the faithful recognize the two forms of the Roman rite as equally valid forms of the same universal liturgy.

The Pope also acknowledges that some Catholics find a greater sense of reverence in the older liturgy-- in what will now be known as the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. He voices the hope that "the two forms of the usage of the Roman rite can be mutually enriching," suggesting that the simultaneous existence of the two different forms will encourage an organic development of new liturgical practices, stimulating "the reform of the reform."

Comments

Blog Archive

Show more

Popular posts from this blog

The Spirituality and Miracles of St. Clare of Assisi

Saint Michael de Sanctis: Patron of Cancer Patients

Saint Gerard of Brogne: Patron of Abbots