Friday, October 12, 2007

Abp Ranjith to Bishops & Cardinals: Do not be instruments of the Devil in resisting Summorum Pontificum

Wow! Strong language coming from the Secretary of the CDW (essentially, Cardinal Arinze's right hand man). Keep in mind that resistance is often not blatant, but comes in subtle forms where a bishop attempts to lay down so many restrictions on priests and people that it becomes painful to follow through with what is right and just, in this case freely celebrating the TLM.

Fr. Z explains:

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.”


See additional comments on this by Fr. Z

Just below that post, Fr. Z examines a set of "norms" put out by Bp Trautman of Erie, Pennsylvania, for the Tridentine. As Father suggests, have a calming cup of tea (and I recommend with a touch of whiskey) before reading it.

Bp. Trautman issues his own norms for the older form of Mass

If you really want daily news on Summorum Pontificum and how it is being received, visit the home page of Fr. Zuhlsdorf:

What does the prayer really say?

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