What Does The Prayer Really Say?
W D T P R S

The sharped-eyed folks at Rorate Coeli continue to serve us well in their postings. This time they found the text of the speech given by H.E. Jean-Pierre Card. Ricard of Bordeaux in his capacity as president at the meeting of the French bishops in Lourdes, today Saturday 4 November. His Eminence speaks about the possible "Tridentine" Motu proprio.

The Cardinal says, and we must take this as authoritative, that the Pope has not yet signed the Motu Proprio and it is still an object of study. He identifies the Pope’s desire to heal the schism of the SSPX as the chief motive for the M.P. He explains that in the history of schisms, there were moments that could have been used to heal the rift with those of good will.

The speech was designed to calm down the French bishops who have been sending spittle flecked missives to the Holy See, worried that Pope Benedict XVI was about to abolish the Second Vatican Council… or something.

In any event, I take this as Benedict’s and Ricard’s way of getting them ready for the bad news. So the M.P. isn’t signed yet. So it needs to be studied more. Okay…. fine. We have waited. However, I cannot fathom that Card. Ricard would make such an address if it was not going to happen, and fairly soon at that. His speech seemed all about getting them ready for the moment with the other chaussure drops.

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ADDENDUM: Check out "Diogenes" over at Off The Record. This is hilarious:

Today the French bishops opened a meeting at Lourdes, and in his capacity as president of the episcopal conference, Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard made the opening speech.

In the course of his address, Cardinal Ricard used the word peur (fear) 11 times, and confiance (confidence, trust) 15 times. He was urging his brother bishops not to panic.

Why would the French bishops be inclined toward panic?

– Because their parish churches are empty, their seminaries emptier, and Catholic parents aren’t bothering to bring their children for Baptism? No.

– Because divorce, abortion, fornication, and sodomy are rife; and momentum is building toward general social acceptance of euthanasia and human cloning? No.

– Because Islam now has more practical impact on public policy than Catholicism, in the country once proud to be known as the "eldest daughter of the Church?" No.

– Because the Holy Father might sign a document allowing priests to celebrate Mass using the Tridentine rite? Yup, that’s it.

If you don’t subscribe to CWN you ought to… now back to our regularly scheduled entry:
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Rorate Coeli has Ricard in an English translation.

Here is the text in French (in a pdf format here) of the relative part which came toward the very end of his long speech (my emphasis):

Revenant à notre sujet, je voudrais faire trois remarques :

1. La décision de libéraliser pour les prêtres la possibilité de dire la messe selon le
missel de 1962 n’a pas encore été prise. Le Motu proprio annoncé n’a pas été
signé. Son projet va faire l’objet de consultations diverses. Nous pouvons faire
part, dès maintenant, de nos craintes et de nos souhaits.

2. Ce projet ne s’inscrit pas dans une volonté de critiquer le missel dit de « Paul VI »
ni de procéder à une réforme de la réforme liturgique. Les livres liturgiques
rédigés et promulgués à la suite du Concile sont la forme ordinaire et donc
habituelle du rite romain. Ce projet s’origine plutôt dans le désir de Benoît XVI de
faire tout ce qui est en son pouvoir pour mettre fin au schisme lefevbriste. Il sait
que plus les années passent, plus les relations se distendent et les positions se
durcissent. Devant l’histoire des grands schismes, on peut toujours se demander
s’il n’y a pas eu des occasions manquées de rapprochement. Le Pape souhaite faire
son possible pour que la main soit tendue et qu’un accueil soit manifesté, au moins
à ceux qui sont de bonne volonté et qui manifestent un profond désir de
communion. C’est dans cet esprit qu’il faut comprendre ce projet de Motu proprio.

3. L’accueil de quelques-uns dans la communion ecclésiale ne saurait remettre en
question le travail pastoral de l’ensemble. Non, l’Eglise ne change pas de cap.
Contrairement aux intentions que certains lui prêtent, le pape Benoît XVI n’entend
pas revenir sur le cap que le Concile Vatican II a donné à l’Eglise. Il s’y est engagé
solennellement.

Dès son élection, il affirmait : « A juste titre, le Pape Jean-Paul II a indiqué le
Concile Vatican II comme une "boussole" selon laquelle nous pouvons nous
orienter dans le vaste océan du troisième Millénaire (cf. Lettre apostolique Novo
millennio ineunte, 57-58). Et il notait aussi dans son Testament spirituel : "Je suis
convaincu que longtemps encore il sera donné aux nouvelles générations de puiser
dans les richesses que ce Concile du XXe siècle nous a prodiguées" (17 mars
2000). Par conséquent, moi aussi, tandis que je me prépare à accomplir le service
qui est celui du Successeur de Pierre, je veux affirmer avec force ma très ferme
volonté de poursuivre la tâche de la mise en oeuvre du Concile Vatican II, sur la
trace de mes Prédécesseurs et dans une fidèle continuité avec la Tradition
bimillénaire de l’Eglise » (Message à l’issue de la messe à la chapelle Sixtine, 20
avril 2005, DC n° 2337, p. 539).

Dans son discours à la Curie romaine où il critique un faux « esprit du Concile »,
le Pape déclare : « Quarante ans après le Concile, nous pouvons souligner que le
positif est plus grand et plus vivant que ce qu’il paraissait dans l’agitation des
années 1968. Nous voyons aujourd’hui que la bonne semence, tout en se
développant lentement, grandit cependant, et ainsi grandit aussi notre profonde
gratitude pour l’oeuvre accomplie par le Concile » (DC n° 2350, p. 60). Ces
paroles méritent d’être entendues.

Je crois qu’il ne faut pas être habité aujourd’hui par la crainte et la peur. Là aussi, vivons
la confiance. Pourquoi les événements récents ne seraient-ils pas l’occasion, pour nous en
France, de faire une relecture paisible de notre réception du Concile, d’en relire les grands
textes fondateurs, d’en saisir à nouveaux frais les grandes intuitions et d’en repérer les
points qui méritent encore d’être pris en compte ? Ce n’est pas à une lecture idéologique
de Vatican II que nous sommes appelés mais bien à une relecture spirituelle, dans l’action
de grâce de ce que le Seigneur nous a donné de vivre et dans une disponibilité renouvelée
pour la mission.

Entrons donc maintenant dans notre travail d’Assemblée en nous laissant guider par le
Seigneur. Appuyons-nous sur celui qui vient vers les siens et leur dit : « Confiance ! C’est
moi, n’ayez pas peur ! » (Mt 14, 27).

Cardinal Jean-Pierre RICARD
Archevêque de Bordeaux
Président de la Conférence des évêques de France

Aad but seriously annoying is the abysmal lack of understanding on the part of some that the language of the Mass of the Latin Church is Latin. 

On the left and on the right, many say "Latin Mass" as if to indicate some Mass of antiquity, of by gone days, yadda yadda, or , on the other hand, to designate "the most beautiful thing this side of heaven" blah blah.  GRRRRRRR

Example: A commentor on an entry over at the page of John L. Allen, Jr., the obiquitous fair-minded correspondent (with whom I frequently have friendly meals when we are both in Rome) for the lefties at the National Catholic Reporter, there is a perfect example of the ignorance I am talking about and, in this case, biased ignorance.  

In quite a lengthy article (worthy reading) on many other topics, Mr. Allen makes a spare mention that Pope Benedict signals "greater openness to use of the pre-Vatican II Latin Mass".   Here is the comment after the article… written by someone who ought to know better.

If people think that
Submitted by yngadltmnstry on November 3, 2006 – 1:05pm.

If people think that Benedict is going to restore the Latin mass they’re nuts. He might give permission for people to celebrate it more freely than in the past but I doubt that we get the order from on high that we MUST have mass in Latin.

BTW—my response to the latter if it should happen would be "Yeah, that’s why no young people are here. We’re just not speaking their language. Please."

Mike Hayes
Associate Director, Paulist Young Adult Ministries
Managing Editor, BustedHalo.com
President, National Catholic Young Adult Ministry Association

You can feel the panic streaming directly from his foam flecked keyboard onto your screen, can’t you.

Of course this fellow is talking about the freeing-up of the so-called "Tridentine" Mass, Mass celebrated according to the 1962 editio typica of the Missale Romanum, which was in Latin.  For him, clearly, "Latin" equals "bad" or "outdated" or some such other rubbish.  The funny thing about this is that the places where Mass is celebrated in Latin, either with the Novus Ordo or with the older Missale, the congregations tends to be young.  You see quite a few young families with more than 1.3 children. 

In any event, the language the Latin Rite is Latin.  The official books are in Latin.  According to Canon Law every priest can say Mass in Latin at any time.  The Second Vatican Council required that Latin be maintained and that, for some good reasons the vernacular would be permitted occasionally. 

"Latin Mass" is merely "Mass in the Latin language".  "Latin Mass" is NOT automatically the equivalent of the so-called "Tridentine" Mass. 

To be clear: Mr. Allen doesn’t make the mistake.  He is too smart and well informed. The commentor on his page does.

Since this is a month dedicated to prayer for the dead and given the proximity of the Holy Father’s visit to Turkey I share with you here the image on a folding card printed by the Ponitifico Seminario Romano Maggiore in memory of the late Fr. Andrea Santoro, who was shot to death in Trabzon in Turkey on 3 May 2006. 

Be sure to pray for Fr. Santoro and perhaps even pray to Fr. Santoro, whom many think suffered the death of a martyr, for his assassin seems to have killed him out of hatred for Christ. 

Pray as well for a success outcome to the Holy Father’s visit to Turkey.