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Here is the statement on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum from the Bishop of Brooklyn, His Excellency Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio. 

My emphases and comments.

Put Out Into the Deep
Bishop DiMarzio’s weekly column

THE TABLET August 11, 2007
The Mass in Latin

Pope Benedict XVI issued an apostolic letter on July 7  on the use of the Roman Liturgy prior to the Reform of 1970.  This commonly has been known as the permission to celebrate the Mass in Latin as it was celebrated since the Council of Trent.  The current Latin Missal was approved in 1962 and is the Missal to be used when Mass is celebrated in Latin.  It is also possible to celebrate the Mass of the Second Vatican Council in Latin, but its form is the same as the Mass we now know in the vernacular.

Certain confusion has been caused by reports on the letter, issued “motu proprio” (on the Holy Father’s own initiative). The instruction states clearly that the ordinary form of the Latin Rite is the use of the Missal approved by the Second Vatican Council and that the extraordinary celebration of Mass in the Latin Rite is the use of the Missal of 1962.  The Holy Father in his instruction makes it clear that those who wish to use the prior Missal must not in any way reject the authority of the Second Vatican Council to replace that Missal with the Missal presently in use.  Unfortunately, this is what is held by many so-called traditionalist Catholics led by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, now deceased.  His followers continue to maintain that the Second Vatican Council had no authority to change the traditional Latin Mass.

The Holy Father in his instruction uses two Latin phrases that characterized the life of the Church for many centuries, “lex credendi” and “lex orandi.” Simply stated, this means that the laws of worship follow the laws of belief.  It is hoped that the ability for greater use of the prior Missal to celebrate Mass in Latin will express a common belief, although the language of prayer may be different.  This certainly is a concern to many, in particular in parishes where some feel confusion can result over the use of the two Missals.

However, it has been our experience since the Second Vatican Council that those who prefer the use of the prior Missal in the celebration of Mass are certainly fewer than those who prefer the new Missal.  In many ways it is a matter of preference, because the liturgy is meant to enhance and support our belief and give us the way of expressing that belief in prayer.            

The use of the vernacular in the liturgy has been a great asset in proclaiming sacred Scripture as well as in intensifying  the understanding believers have of the liturgy in which they participate.  Some people still question the use of multiple languages in one country for the celebration of liturgy.  The Diocese of Brooklyn often receives requests that Mass only be celebrated in English, however, in a Diocese where Mass is celebrated in 26 different languages each Sunday, this is hardly possible or advisable.  [You would think Latin could be useful!]

Language is an expression of one’s culture and manner of thinking.  People usually pray in the language they first learned, the language in which prayer was taught to them.  This certainly is the case with many immigrants whose first language is other than English.  For them to adapt to another language of prayer in their liturgical life would be a great burden and in many ways would diminish their participation in liturgy. [Or… enhance it?]  In some ways this is applicable to those who prefer Mass in Latin, prior to 1968 when the Mass was almost only in Latin.  [I don’t accept that "particiation" in the liiturgy before the Council was difficult on account of the Latin language.]

We all have our fond memories of the liturgy that nourished us and brought us to new insights of the Second Vatican Council.  I myself am trained to celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Missal, but I never had the opportunity to do so since when I was ordained in 1970 the popular use of that Missal was not encouraged.  All the priests who celebrated Mass in Latin for many years have their own memories, some fond and others not so admirable, since the Mass was difficult to celebrate.  Since the rubrics (the instructions) of how the Mass was to be celebrated were detailed and sometimes difficult to follow, distractions were also numerous. Although many could pronounce Latin, the meaning of certain texts was not always understood.

The Church in its wisdom allows many different forms of worship within the one Catholic Church.  For example, we have many different rites in which Mass is celebrated in a completely different way than the Roman Rite, with the use of different languages.   Now within the Roman Rite there are two ways of celebrating that rite, the ordinary with the Missal of the Second Vatican Council and the extraordinary using the Missal of 1962.

There are certain advantages and disadvantages to each method of celebration.  The major advantage of the newer rite is that much more of sacred Scripture from the Old and New Testaments is used over the three-year cycle of readings.  In the older liturgy, only small portions of Scripture were liturgically proclaimed.  On the other hand, Mass in Latin from the prior Missal did have a certain reverence and attention to the mystery of the Eucharist that was celebrated.  Certainly, the music of the Latin chants was also an essential experience which added to the solemnity of the liturgy.  Periods of silence also added to a prayerful atmosphere. Of course, all these elements of the older celebration can be included in the newer.  Perhaps these fewer than 40 years have not given us sufficient time to recoup the advantages of the past and place them into the present.  [HUH?]

The Church is a living organism open to change and renewal.  Sometimes renewal must look at the past in order to reach the present. [Yes!]  The celebration of the Mass in Latin with the 1962 Missal may give us some understanding of how we must continue to improve our attention to the liturgy, [Very well put.] for, in fact, it is the sum and source of our life as Catholic Christians, and anything we can do to make our celebrations more faith filled and more reverent must be used.

Diocesan norms [?] based on the Holy Father’s instruction will be forthcoming and will give some understanding of how we can implement the instruction in our Diocese. Several weeks ago,  The Tablet announced that the Latin Mass [oopps] is regularly celebrated at two locations, each Sunday at 10 a.m. in Our Lady of Peace Church in Park Slope, and on the second and fourth Sundays of the month at 9 a.m. in St. John’s Cemetery Chapel in Middle Village. I hope these opportunities will be sufficient [? This sounds to me as if he hopes it won’t be any place else.  Or am I missing something?] for the faithful to fulfill the desire to experience the Latin Mass, but if they are not we will take into consideration other requests that may come from parishes.  [ehem… the PASTOR will take them into consideration, if I read the Motu Proprio correctly.]  There are always the difficulties of scheduling and having priests appropriately trained in language and liturgy to celebrate Mass in Latin.  [idoneus not not mean "expert".]

Any new innovation [as opposed to an "old innovation"?  Which is probably what the older Mass would be in some places?] certainly is an exercise of “putting out into the deep.” Certainly, the Holy Father’s instruction, which is meant to foster an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church, will give the Church an opportunity, as he said, “to generously open our hearts and make room for everything that faith itself allows.”

Join me in praying for good celebrations of the Eucharist in our Diocese, where the proclamation of the Word and homily are clear and where the celebration of the Eucharistic rite is reverent and according to liturgical norms. [Well put!] Good celebrations foster faith, while poor celebrations can destroy faith.  [VERY well put!]  My hope is that the celebration of the Eucharist in whatever form in our Diocese will inspire us to deeper faith and concrete action.

While correct, I find this statement very guarded.  It is not a warm welcome for the Motu Proprio, but it is not a straight arm.

A biretta tip   o{]:¬)   though a sad one, goes to Thrown Back for news of a liturgical decree from the Bishop of Gaylord, Michigan, His Excellency Most Reverend Patrick Cooney.

This is what we read from Fr. Johansen
 

At a gathering of priests of the Gaylord Diocese in late June (on the eve of the MP’s release), the bishop of Gaylord, Patrick Cooney, issued a directive stating:

Until other law is promulgated, all liturgies in the Diocese of Gaylord are to be celebrated entirely in English by the presiding celebrant.

The use of other languages in songs and hymns…can be used occasionally, but must never overshadow the use of English.

Any variance from this policy must be requested on an individual basis from the Bishop of the Diocese of Gaylord using the form that can be obtained from the Secretariat for Worship & Liturgical Formation or the Office of the Bishop.

This Policy takes effect immediately. [Bold text in original.]

The form mentioned above asks the person making such a request to explain the "reason for requesting this variance from Diocesan Policy on the Use of the Vernacular when Celebrating Liturgy."

.... What the….. #&*$! ....

This is AMAZING.

His Excellency is effectively forbidding the use of Latin.  No Latin, even for the Novus Ordo. 

You have to ask PERMISSION to use Latin.

What would that mean for implementation of Summorum Pontificum I wonder?

With all due respect to His Excellency, I think any preist punished by the bishop for using Latin would receive a very sympathetic hearing in Rome.

The language of the Latin Church is… Latin.  Canon Law states that Mass is to be celebrated in Latin (first) and other approved languages (secondarily).  The normative edition of the Missale Romanum is in Latin… even the readings.  The Second Vatican Council mandated that Latin be the language of the liturgy and that the vernacular could be used when appropriate, not must be used all the time.  The same Council mandated that pastors of souls teach their flocks to sing and speak the parts pertaining to them in Latin and in their native tongue.

All of the above notwithstanding, His Excellency is requiring priests to fill out a form requesting permission to vary from using English!  On the request form you can see also

And then a space for "Comments from the Bishop"

But wait… there is even more!

It is now the official policy of the Bishop of Gaylord that… well read it yourself:  My emphasis, but the italics are in the original.  The error in grammar is in the original.

To enhance the active participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic celebration, Communion under both species is to be offered to the faithful at each and every celebration that takes place in our parish churches.  Certain, appropriate preparation should be given to those congregations that have not yet had this experienced. [sic]  Such preparation is presumed.  (Revision effective June, 2007)

In the Colorado Catholic Herald, His Excellency Most Reverend Michael J Sheridan, Bishop of Colorado Springs, speaks his piece about the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

My emphases and comments.

The Bishop’s Voice

Aug. 10, 2007 Summorum Pontificum
Bishop Michael J. Sheridan, S.T.D.

Pope Benedict XVI’s long-anticipated apostolic letter (Summorum Pontificum), allowing for wider use of the 1962 Mass of Blessed Pope John XXIII, has been greeted by some as a greater opportunity to worship in the manner to which they were accustomed in the years of their formation in the faith; and greeted, predictably, by others as virtually the beginning of the end of Catholicism as we know it — or have known it for the past 35 years. [ROFL!!  I love this.  Immediately he pops the balloon of hysteria.  POP!] A brief review of the letter may be a help in understanding just what the Holy Father is trying to accomplish by liberalizing the permission to offer the "old Mass."

What exactly is now being permitted?

Put briefly, the pope has given permission for the Tridentine Mass (so called because, [GREAT!  He makes distinctions.] with only minor revisions, it has been the form of the Mass in use since it was promulgated after the Council of Trent in 1570 until 1969) to be celebrated "privately" by any priest who wishes to do so; and publicly in those parish churches and oratories where a group of the faithful requests it and where there is a priest who is capable of celebrating Mass in the older form. [Notice that he doesn’t put lots of qualifiers on this.  He just restates the provisions.]

Will this new permission decrease the availability of the Mass of Pope Paul VI, currently in use?

No. The Holy Father has made it clear that our current liturgy (called the Novus Ordo Missae) will continue to be the ordinary expression of the Latin rite liturgy, while the 1962 Mass will be the extraordinary expression. In fact, only one 1962 Mass is permitted in a parish on a Sunday or holy day, unless the parish as a whole has been dedicated to the exclusive use of the old Mass. We have such a parish in our diocese — Immaculate Conception Parish in Security.

Why has the pope decided to extend the possibility of the use of the old Mass?

In his letter to the bishops of the world, which accompanied the apostolic letter, the Holy Father noted several things which moved him to grant permission for wider use of the 1962 Mass. b, a good number of people who had been raised in and formed by the Tridentine Mass were expressing their desire to continue to worship in that form. In addition, more than a few younger Catholics have been attracted [Excellent! He doesn’t limit this to old foggeys who can’t get with modern times.] by the Mass of Trent. Since the 1962 Mass had never been abrogated (i.e., officially suppressed) it was not a difficult thing to accede to the wishes of these people.

Second, because in so many places the celebration of the "new Mass" was done without faithful adherence to the prescriptions of the new Missal and with so many unauthorized innovations, many of the faithful found it very difficult to worship. They longed for a return of the liturgy that preserved the dignity and solemnity proper to the worship of God. The pope makes mention of his own experience of those years following Vatican II in his letter to the bishops: "And I have seen how arbitrary deformation of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church."

Third, the pope is sincerely seeking an "interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church." The reform of the liturgy after the Second Vatican Council was the occasion for deep divisions in the church, some leading to defection from the faith. It is Benedict’s hope that the more liberal access to the old Mass will invite those who have separated themselves to return to full communion with the church.

What will Pope Benedict’s new permissions mean for the Diocese of Colorado Springs?

It is difficult to answer this question so soon after the publication of the apostolic letter. Because any Catholic has access to the 1962 Mass at the Immaculate Conception Parish, we have made the first step in the implementation of the provisions of the apostolic letter. I do not have any idea at this point how many more Catholics will ask for the old Mass. Several priests in the diocese have indicated to me that they would like to learn to offer Mass in the Tridentine form. I will certainly provide them with that opportunity, [Excellent!] and so there will be more priests available to accommodate the faithful. The Holy Father has not called for the promotion of the old Mass — simply that it be more readily available for those who find this form of worship especially meaningful.  [Right!]

Might these new permissions cause some confusion and problems as they are implemented?

Possibly. That’s why the Holy Father has asked the bishops to report on the implementation after three years. If there are serious difficulties, remedies will be sought.

Pope Benedict has made it very clear that these two expressions of the Latin Rite Mass — the ordinary and the extraordinary — do not in any way contradict one another. Both are part of the rich heritage of our church and both are perfectly legitimate forms of eucharistic worship. In a time when "diversity" appears to be the newest virtue, it is just a bit ironic that some of the loudest protests against the pope’s apostolic letter are coming from those who have embraced every other kind of liturgical diversity — and anomaly.   [POP!   Another balloon bursts.  Wonderful!]

I make the same plea to all of you as does our Holy Father in his letter to the bishops: "Let us generously open our hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows."

What a great article!  Kudos, Your Excellency!