Interesting changes in the Curia

From the Bollettino today. The Holy Father…

– Accepted the resignation from the office of Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, presented by Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, upon having reached the age limit.

– Appointed Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy.

– Accepted the resignation from the office of archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, presented by Cardinal Francesco Marchisano. He is succeeded by his coadjutor, Archbishop Angelo Comastri, prelate emeritus of Loreto, Italy, vicar general for Vatican City State, president of the Fabric of St Peter’s.

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos will remain President of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei". You can bet that he will apply proportionately more of his energy to the mandate remaining to him.

Do you remember that these two Cardinals were involved in a matter of the old Mass in the Basilica of St. Peter?

Back in 2003, His Eminence Darío Card. Castrillon Hoyos, then Prefect of the Congregation for Clergy and President of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, took some care about using the 1962 Missale Romanum in St. Peter’s.

In the past let’s just say that men who wanted to use the older Missale were treated with something less than courtesy in the sacristy, whether they had the proper "celebret" or not. Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos wrote to the Pope about this and got a "Rescript" back from him saying that priests with faculties must be allowed to say the old Mass in the Basilica. The Archpriest, then Archbishop Francesco Marchisano, "obeyed" but restricted use of the 1962 Missale to one of the several chapels in the crypt of the Basilica, the “Hungarian Chapel”, and only there. You had to produce a "celebret" from Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei” and only from there (not many of those, I can tell you). That chapel was often reserved and therefore "unavailable". It did not have an ad orientem altar. There were no books.  Etc. Etc.

So, a new Pharoah will enter the Sacristy of the Basilica and Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos is still President of "Ecclesia Dei" in very interesting times.

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21 Comments

  1. Joe says:

    Fr. Thanks for the update. There is also something about this on Rorate Caeli (http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/) where there seem to be some concerns (i) about the suitability of Cardinal Hummes for the new post and (ii), more importantly, about Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos who, it is claimed, has upset the pope over the setting up of the Good Shepherd Institue. I can’t belive that myself, but just wondered if you had any thoughts/insights?

  2. The Pope shows himself once again to be the sort of leader who wants various points of view. Also, this show his continuing concern for S. America, especially Brasil where, as Cardinal Hummes told me once is bleeding Catholics to sects at a rate of more than 1% each year.

  3. Jon says:

    Father,

    Can you tell us anything about Archbishop Comastri’s feelings toward the ’62?

  4. Christopher says:

    Dear Father,

    I have heard that things have improved somewhat for the ’62 Missal at St. Peter’s,
    but perhaps it’s only rumor. I even heard that they allowed an SSPX priest to
    say Mass at the Altar of Saint Pius X! Again, perhaps only rumor.

    At any rate, thanks for all your work on this site; I’ve begun to visit it daily.

  5. Sidney says:

    Good news to Brazil, the biggest Catholic Country in the world!

  6. Sidney says:

    … but Cardinal Hummes is a big friend of Brazil’s Republic President, Lula who is a comunist and friend of Fidel Castro…

  7. RBrown says:

    … but Cardinal Hummes is a big friend of Brazil’s Republic President, Lula who is a comunist and friend of Fidel Castro…

    ****

    Are you saying that Christ shouldn’t have eaten with sinners?

  8. tim says:

    Father, can you help this confused traditionalist? Is there something good happening or not? Is my current suffering going to help take away some time in Purgatory?

  9. I believe every time you attend a “Mass of Creation”, a lot of Purgatory time is shaved off ;)

  10. John says:

    RBRown,

    There is a difference between eating with the sinners vs. helping the sinners to sin….

  11. Henry Edwards says:

    Father Z: Could you tell us whether Archbishop Comastri’s enthusiasm for the traditional Latin Mass matches that of his predecessor as archpriest of St. Peter’s?

  12. Frank Sheed says:

    This is interesting:

    http://213.92.11.85:8888/news/prod/bolletti/persmese/2005/march2005.htm

    The good Bishop also wrote the famous meditation on the Stations of the Cross for then Cardinal Ratzinger as a Google search will reveal.

  13. Sidney says:

    And communism is a heresy, Castro was excommunicated bya John XXIII…
    (Thank you John!)

  14. Bob Diorio says:

    Actually, the Google search reveals that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote Cardinal
    Ratzinger’s famous meditation (in 2005). Monsignor Comastri wrote the
    meditations Pope Benedict used this year (2005).

  15. Bob Diorio says:

    Sorry, this year is 2006.

  16. RBrown says:

    There is a difference between eating with the sinners vs. helping the sinners to sin….

    ***

    In what way did the Cardinal help him to sin?

  17. RBrown says:

    And communism is a heresy, Castro was excommunicated bya John XXIII…
    (Thank you John!)

    ***

    And Leo XIII condemned Americanism, but many bishops have been steeped in it, among whom was JBernardin, who was made a Cardinal by JPII.

    And Cardinal Ratzinger was known to have friends who were Protestants (heresy).

  18. RBrown says:

    Further, JPII was good friends with Gorbachev, who was a communist and atheist.

  19. Mila says:

    And further still, I’m Cuban, and I don’t recall Castro being excommunicated, let alone by John XXIII.

  20. Pingback: Vigilate et Orate :: Eine interessante Zeit :: November :: 2006

  21. Oh, and by the way. . .

    Ratzinger, John Paul II, and Stalin — all human.

    I mean . . . there it is. The conspiracy just goes so deep.

    P.S. Tom Cruise too.

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