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The motu proprio, Summorum
Pontificum, has changed the juridical situation of the Mass. Until recently,
the traditional Mass was presented as being prohibited and allowed only under an
indult, that is, a special, exceptional permission joined with special
conditions. The conditions attached to the celebration of the traditional Mass
under the Indult were two-fold: the recognition of the orthodoxy and legitimacy
of the New Mass and the acceptance of the Second Vatican Council's decisions and
reforms.
Pope Benedict XVI has changed the
juridical situation of the Mass stating that the traditional Mass has never been
abrogated. Thanks to this statement, the Mass has been reestablished as a
universal law of the Church and can no longer be considered as prohibited or
even as an exception. Unfortunately, the expression “extraordinary form” used in
the motu propio is misleading.
Nevertheless, the practical
situation of the Mass, due to the attitude of the majority of the bishops has
hardly changed from the previous state. Practically speaking, the bishops
continue to limit the celebration of the traditional Mass by seeking to grant a
permission which is no longer necessary, oftentimes in addition to other
arbitrary conditions.
In other words, for the time
being, there is in general hardly a difference from the previous situation with
the Indult Mass, though in certain particular places there might be a better
treatment for the Mass, the priests and the faithful. This obliges us to invite
the
faithful to the same prudence as before about attending the Indult Mass.
We hope that this situation will
gradually change and that the reasons which oblige us today to be very
restrictive will little by little disappear, in a process of gradually
recovering the reality of the sacrifice, the reality of the priesthood and the
whole Christian spirit. But for now this is only a wish and a dream, apart from
some exceptions.
Here is a summary of the dangers
to which the faithful might easily be exposed by imprudently attending the
traditional Mass celebrated today under said circumstances:
-
the teaching of the Faith can
still be defective,
-
the priest might be
ill-prepared for the pre-conciliar liturgy,
-
the risk of a mixing of the new
and old rite remains,
-
and there is the danger of a
confusion which could be very misleading.
In doubt, the faithful should ask
their pastors for advice. |
