By Verghese V Joseph –
Vatican: To promote the harmony and unity of the Church, with paternal solicitude towards those who in some regions adhered to the liturgical forms prior to the reform desired by the Second Vatican Council, His Holiness Pope Francis granted the decision to allow the use of 1962 missal to the local bishops.
After consulting the bishops throughout the world, Pope Francis has decided to modify the norms regulating the use of the 1962 missal granted 14 years ago by his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, as the “extraordinary form of the Roman Rite”. The Pope has published the Motu proprio Traditionis custodes, dated 16 July 2021, regarding the use of the Roman liturgy prior to 1970.
His predecessors, St John Paul II and Benedict XVI, had granted and regulated the faculty to use the Roman Missal published by St. John XXIII in the year 1962. In this way they intended “to facilitate ecclesial communion to those Catholics who feel bound to some previous liturgical forms” and not to others.
In the wake of the initiative of Benedict XVI who had invited the bishops to verify the application of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, three years after its publication, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith carried out a widespread consultation of the bishops in 2020 , the results of which have been carefully considered in the light of the experience gained in recent years.
Stressing its importance further, Pope Francis stated, “Now, having considered the wishes formulated by the episcopate and having listened to the opinion of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, I wish, with this Apostolic Letter, to continue even more in the constant search for ecclesial communion. Therefore, I found it appropriate to establish the following:”
Art. 1. The liturgical books promulgated by the Holy Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in conformity with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, are the only expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite.
Art. 2. The diocesan bishop, as moderator, promoter and custodian of the whole liturgical life in the particular Church entrusted to him, [5] is responsible for regulating liturgical celebrations in his own diocese. [6] Therefore, it is his exclusive competence to authorize the use of the Missale Romanum of 1962 in the diocese, following the guidelines of the Apostolic See.
Art. 3. The bishop, in dioceses in which up to now there is the presence of one or more groups celebrating according to the Missal prior to the 1970 reform:
§ 1. is to ensure that such groups do not exclude the validity and legitimacy of the liturgical reform, of the dictates of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium of the Supreme Pontiffs;
§ 2. indicates one or more places where the faithful adhering to these groups can gather for the Eucharistic celebration (but not in parish churches and without erecting new personal parishes);
§ 3. establish in the place indicated the days on which Eucharistic celebrations are permitted with the use of the Roman Missal promulgated by Saint John XXIII in 1962. [7] In these celebrations the readings are to be proclaimed in the vernacular, using the translations of the sacred Scripture for liturgical use, approved by the respective Episcopal Conferences;
§ 4. appoint a priest who, as the bishop’s delegate, is in charge of the celebrations and pastoral care of such groups of the faithful. The priest is suitable for this office, is competent in order to use the Missale Romanum prior to the 1970 reform, has a knowledge of the Latin language that allows him to fully understand the rubrics and liturgical texts, is animated by a lively pastoral charity , and a sense of ecclesial communion. It is in fact necessary that the priest in charge has at heart not only the dignified celebration of the liturgy, but the pastoral and spiritual care of the faithful.
§ 5. in personal parishes canonically erected for the benefit of these faithful, he is to carry out an appropriate assessment of their actual usefulness for spiritual growth, and evaluate whether to maintain them or not.
§ 6. will take care not to authorize the constitution of new groups.
Art. 4. Priests ordained after the publication of this Motu proprio, who intend to celebrate with the Missale Romanum of 1962, must submit a formal request to the diocesan Bishop who will consult the Apostolic See before granting the authorization.
Art. 5. Priests who already celebrate according to the Missale Romanum of 1962 will ask the diocesan bishop for authorization to continue making use of the faculty.
Art. 6. The Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, erected at the time by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei come under the competence of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of 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 the matters within their competence, will exercise the authority of the Holy See, supervising observance of these provisions.
Art. 8. The preceding norms, instructions, concessions and customs that do not comply with the provisions of this Motu Proprio are repealed.
“All that I have deliberated with this Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio, I order that it be observed in all its parts, despite anything to the contrary, even if worthy of particular mention, and I establish that it be promulgated through publication in the newspaper “L’Osservatore Romano”, immediately entering into force and subsequently published in the Official Commentary of the Holy See, Acta Apostolicae Sedis,” the Holy Father added.