The University of Notre Dame has issued an iverly long statement about the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.
My emphases and comments.
Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI
Introductory Remarks
Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of Pope Benedict XVI Introductory Remarks On July 7, 2007, the Vatican released a motu proprio 1 of Pope Benedict XVI entitled Summorum Pontificum. The effective date for its implementation is September 14, 2007. The document states that the celebration of the “Tridentine Mass,” that is, the Roman Missal published by Blessed John XXIII in 1962, becomes optional but not mandatory as of that date.
Pope Benedict XVI explains that over the course of the years, “it has been the constant concern of supreme pontiffs [sic] to ensure that the Church of Christ offers a worthy ritual to the Divine Majesty, ‘to the praise and glory of His name,’ and ‘to the benefit of all His Holy Church.”
The Holy Father continues stating that “Since time immemorial it has been necessary – as it is also for the future – to maintain the principle according to which ‘each particular Church must concur with the Universal Church, [Watch for this point later.] not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church’s law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith.’” 2
In this way, the first words of the motu proprio describe Our Holy Father’s intention in issuing this document. He traces the work of Saint Gregory the Great who insured that “the new peoples of Europe received both the Catholic faith and the treasures of worship and culture that had been accumulated by the Romans in the preceding centuries.” 3
[Now we start getting a little pedantic.] Pope Benedict XVI points out that of special importance was the work of Saint Pius V who “sustained by great pastoral zeal and following the exhortations of the Council of Trent, renewed the entire liturgy of the Church, oversaw the publication of liturgical books amended and ‘renewed in accordance with the norms of the Fathers,’ and provided them for the use of the Latin Church.
“One of the liturgical books of the Roman rite is the Roman Missal, which developed in the city of Rome and, with the passing of the centuries, little by little took forms very similar to that it has had in recent times.” 4
The revised edition of the Roman Missal was reissued by Blessed John XXIII and is the Mass in Latin that is the object of the motu proprio and which “is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of ‘Lex orandi,’ and must be given due honor for its venerable and ancient usage.” 5
The Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite
Hence, the Holy Father writes that “following the insistent prayers of the faithful, long deliberated upon by our predecessor John Paul II, and after having listened to the views of the Cardinal Fathers of the Consistory of 22 March 2006, having reflected deeply upon all aspects of the question, invoked the Holy Spirit and trusting in the help of God” established these changes. 6
Through the motu proprio, Pope Benedict XVI creates new law which supersedes provisions in earlier documents with regard to the form of Mass in the Roman Rite. He recognizes the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970 as the ordinary form of the Roman Rite but indicates that the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII is the extraordinary expression of the same law of prayer of the Mass since it had never been abrogated. 7
Other Provisions of Summorum Pontificum
All priests may celebrate the ordinary form of the Roman Rite (promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970) or the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite (the Roman Missal promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962) without people present, without seeking permission from Rome or his bishop. The Holy Father goes on to state that the celebration of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII on a regular basis in oratories with the authorization of Major Superiors and attended by people who wish to be present is also a possibility. Our understanding of Article 2 in our particular situation is that this celebration of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII without people present would not be a regularly scheduled liturgy.
Furthermore, the motu proprio provides for the celebration of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII when approved by pastors in parishes where a stable group of faithful request it, under the guidance of the bishop, with provisions for the celebration of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII only by priests qualified to do so through their knowledge of Latin and rubrics.
Of special interest to celebrations of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII on the campus of the University of Notre Dame is Article 5, Number 5, which states “In churches that are not parish or conventual churches, it is the duty of the Rector of the church to grant the above permission.” In our specific situation at Notre Dame, this reference would be to the rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, who would receive petitions from “a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition” 8
Pastoral Practices for the University of Notre Dame Derived from the Motu Proprio
According to the new rules, therefore, Pope Benedict XVI states that the current form of the Mass, as it has been celebrated on our campus and throughout the world for nearly four decades now, [Compared to the 5 or so centuries of use of the older Mass… just to add some perspective….] that is, since the reform of Pope Paul VI in 1970, is the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, that is, the way in which the Mass will continue to be celebrated with a few possible exceptions. The extraordinary form will be celebrated from time to time and under special circumstances. [Doesn’t sound very promising, does it?]
The University of Notre Dame as such is not a parish, although there is a territorial parish which includes the university campus among other geographical areas. Sacred Heart Parish celebrates its liturgies in the Crypt of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart.
The Office of Campus Ministry and the Rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, as well as the rectors of the residence halls, will continue to schedule regular Masses in the ordinary form for those persons for whom they have responsibility. This will include Masses celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart as well as Masses celebrated in the residence halls.
After September 14, 2007, and as soon as it is possible to fulfill the requirements of Article 5, Number 4, which addresses the need for celebrants of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite to be familiar with the Latin language and the rubrics [Why should it be so hard at a University such as Notre Dame, which puts on airs about its excellence and the qualification of its clerical faculty, to find priests who know Latin or who are smart enough to learn rubrics?] of the Roman Missal of Blessed John XXIII, a recited Mass in the extraordinary form will be celebrated on Sunday mornings at 8:00 a.m. in the chapel of Alumni Hall. [This is pretty good, all in all. Though I hope this is not perceived as being too much on the margin of daily life. This is an alumni chapel, after all, and probably not the usual place students go. Perhaps the alumni chapel was not wreckovated?] Celebrants for these liturgies will be appointed by the Director of Campus Ministry or the Rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart who each hold jurisdiction with regard to the celebration of some of the sacraments on campus. Beginning in the second semester, celebrations of the extraordinary form of the Mass may occur on one or two occasions each semester with the participation of Basilica choirs. [Isn’t that a bit stingy? Consider how grand and resourceful this University has considered itself to be for so long. This is the best they can muster?]
The Celebration of Marriages and Baptisms on Campus
According to the law of the Church, pastors are the only ones permitted to approve of baptisms or marriages for members of their parishes in the parish church. Their permission is required for these sacraments to be administered outside the parish. The celebration of baptisms and marriages in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and in the Log Chapel, the only two places approved for these celebrations by our local bishop, are therefore a privilege and not a right. Those who seek this privilege will be advised that the sacraments of baptism and marriage on the campus in the locations indicated above will be celebrated according to the 1970 Missal. The same is true with regard to “Notre Dame funerals.” [Not very promising.]
Final Considerations
Any priest in good standing on campus is to first contact and seek permission from the Director of Campus Ministry or the Rector of the Sacred Heart if he wishes to celebrate the extraordinary form. [Ehem… for public celebration or for private? He doesn’t need permission if it is private, even if some people want to attend.]
Public Celebrations of the Liturgy of the Hours in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart will be according to the revised breviary.
While liturgies celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart and other public liturgies will continue to welcome members of the campus community as well as others, celebrations in the residence halls, whether in the ordinary or extraordinary form, will normally be available only to residents on the campus of the University of Notre Dame and those who are associated with the University as members of the faculty, staff and student body.
In a letter which the Holy Father sent to the bishops on the occasion of the publication of the motu proprio, he states, “In the second place, the fear was expressed in discussions about the awaited motu proprio, that the possibility of a wider use of the 1962 Missal would lead to disarray or even divisions within parish communities. This fear also strikes me as quite unfounded. The use of the old Missal presupposes a certain degree of liturgical formation and some knowledge of the Latin language; neither of these is found very often. (emphasis added) Already from these concrete presuppositions, it is clearly seen that the new Missal will certainly remain the ordinary form of the Roman Rite, not only on account of the juridical norms, but also because of the actual situation of the communities of the faithful.” 9 [This is may he case now. But will it be in a couple years? I bet not.]
It seems to us that this is the situation on our campus as well as in the great majority of places [Remember what I said above? Watch for this point? I think this is a way of showing that this University perceives itself to be liturgically in synch with the "Universal" Church. But is that what the issue of the Universal Church meant? I am not sure. Universality and majority are really different ideas. To my reading, this seems to be merely a way of saying "we are doing what most everyone else does" without considering deeper issues of what ought to be done. Perhaps, however, I am being too picky.] where the Holy Eucharist is celebrated around the world.
During the first semester, Campus Ministry will provide a catechesis on the Eucharist [Who will not say that this is a good idea… if it is good catechesis.] which will be prepared in such a way as to further deepen the knowledge and appreciation of the Eucharist on the part of our students, further explore the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the celebration of the Roman Rite, and promote faithful adherence to the new law of the Church promulgated by Our Holy Father while promoting at the same time unity among the worshiping community which has always been the case at Notre Dame. [Always? I wonder if they are following Ex corde Ecclesiae with "faithful adherence"?]
Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C.
Vice President for Student AffairsRev. Richard V. Warner, C.S.C.
Director, Campus MinistryAugust 22, 2007
Feast of the Queenship of MaryNOTES:
1 A motu proprio is an instruction which means “of his own accord.”
2 The first two paragraphs of Summorum Pontificum citing the general instruction of the Roman Missal, 3 rd ed., 2002, no. 397. Summorum Pontificum, par. 7
3 Summorum Pontificum par. 3
4 Summorum Pontificum par. 5
5 Summorum Pontificum Article 1
6 Summorum Pontificum par. 9
7 Summorum Pontificum as positive law, replaces the faculties and indults granted by Quattuor Abhinc Annos (1984) and Ecclesia Dei (1988)
8 Summorum Pontificum Article 5, Number 1
9 Letter from the Holy Father to the Bishops on Summorum Pontificum dated July 7, 2007, par. 9
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Though I am not a student at Notre Dame, I do take a personal interest in this matter as both Notre Dame and I call the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend home. I don’t think Alumni Hall is actually a hall for alumni, but rather a hall named after alumni, but I could be wrong on that point. Regardless, this is the first Extraordinary Form Mass to be added in our diocese without the direct involvement of the bishop, so I take it as a great step forward, especially with the status of the indult Mass in South Bend being a little shaky right now after the transfer of their priest. I’d be interested to know if people from South Bend start going to this Mass at Notre Dame.
Additionally, the bishop of the diocese has yet to issue any real statement on the matter (not that he needs to) but he did indicate in a letter to the faithful acknowledging Summorum Pontificum that he intended to do so after meeting with the diocesan clergy.
Is the Alumni Hall chapel a residency chapel? If so, the TLM at Notre Dame will be off limites to to the people of South Bend who recently lost their Traditional Latin Mass at St. John the Baptist in South Bend. Thank you, Father, for your treatment.
As a follow-up, on a second reading it appears to me that people of the diocese will not be allowed to attend the Extraordinary Form, as it will be held in a residence hall chapel (after a quick check of the ND website I’ve verified that’s what Alumni Hall is). It’s interesting that this is not made explicit in the letter, but rather implicit. I’d be interested to know the rational behind the decision. Certainly it would be undesirable to have community members traipsing in and out of a dormitory, but I don’t see why the university and the diocese couldn’t work together to provide the old rite for those who desire it.
My understanding is that Alumni Hall is located in a very prominent part of the campus, and also that the High Altar there remains intact.
As far as the choir singing once or twice per semester, as I musician I would like to offer for your consideration the possibility that this is for practical reasons. The music rules for the Traditional Rite are much more specific than what most university choirs would be accustomed to at this time. Moreoever, there are rubrical differences with which the musical leadership will be required to become accustomed. Then there is the question of repertoire, which is tied in with the other considerations I’ve mentioned. This has little if anything to do with competence, resources, etc.; everyone needs time to learn.
For myself–although I don’t live anywhere near South Bend (unfortunately)–I would much rather hear the choir sing well twice than to struggle on a more regular basis for want of more thorough preparation.
Considering that the progressive icon, Fr. Richard McBrien, (who is, as far as any reading of his works will make clear, a manifest heretic from defined teachings of the Catholic faith) teaches there, it should be clear how faithful Notre Dame adheres to Ex Corde Ecclesiae. At a pro-life summit at Notre Dame, years ago, Dr. Charles Rice told me there was one professor in Notre Dame you could take and make it out of the theology program okay. It should tell you something!
Excellent points as always father.
Well, the solution to this is for the faithful to pack this Mass, making the chapel in Alumni Hall too small for the overflow crowd, necessitating a move to the Basilica.
I may be out of touch here but isn’t 8:00 AM a bit early or is Saturday night no longer a “late night” for students.
As for the concerns of Michael Lawrence, he shouldn’t compare the Liturgy with a concert which might be put on once or twice a year. In pre-Vatican II days virtually every parish church in the world managed to do a sung Liturgy every Sunday. If the parish put a decent effort into having a good choir the music was good. If it didn’t (as sadly was often the case) the music was not great and wouldn’t have been even if the sung liturgy was done only once or twice a year.
And even more, most parishes had a Missa Cantata every day of the week for Special intentions (nowadays these are called “announced Masses” and are just said. The stipend is higher so you get less for more.). In most parishes the music for weekday Masses may have just been a few school girls singing the inevitable Missa de Angelis but the Mass was sung. And that’s not counting extra Masses such as funerals which were always sung. Westminster Cathedral in London used to have Solemn High Mass every day and Solemn Vespers as well, both set to polyphonic settings. In England, the Anglican Cathedrals and College Chapels still have Choral Evensong every day of a calibre worthy of many CD’s. Granted this is well beyond the capabilities of most parish churches but one establishes the principle and then accommodates to circumstances.
Perhaps the first step would be to see what went on at Sacred Heart Basilica in pre-Vatican II times. No doubt there was Solemn High Mass every Sunday. With the resources of a great Universtiy like Notre Dame there is no reason why there couldn’t be a Solemn High Mass worth bragging about every Sunday now as well.
There’s a nice picture of the altar in the Notre Dame Alumni Hall chapel here. It wasn’t “wreckovated.”
“This is pretty good, all in all. Though I hope this is not perceived as being too much on the margin of daily life. This is an alumni chapel, after all, and probably not the usual place students go. Perhaps the alumni chapel was not wreckovated?”
As Royce notes above, the chapel in Alumni Hall is not an “alumni chapel.” Alumni Hall is one of the 27 residence halls where most undergraduates live. As such, it is the normal Sunday Mass venue for Alumni Hall residents, and at any given Mass, Sunday or otherwise, it will number residents of other residence halls and assorted guests in its worshiping congregation. It is easily one of the aesthetically finer residence hall chapels. The New Liturgical Movement has this post with image:
http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/2007/08/notre-dame-motu-proprio-update.html
As an alumnus of Notre Dame, I must concur with Fr. Z’s general sentiment that the University is behaving somewhat stingily. I personally know both priests whose names adorn the document, and all in all, I find myself both unsurprised and slightly astonished at the text they have released: unsurprised at their niggardly stance, and slightly astonished that they would yield any ground at all such as a regular Mass in the extraordinary form. My impression is that the presence of the extraordinary form at Notre Dame cannot fail to grow with the passage of time, as there has always been a dedicated cadre of priests, faculty, and students who are committed to the totality of the Catholic faith in both its doctrines and its practices. And fortunately, barring the Parousia, time is precisely that resource of which there is an indefinite abundance. Please pray for Notre Dame.
By the way, that chapel looks SMALL.
David,
I have a feeling that perhaps you’ve misunderstood what I’m trying to say. It’s not that the Mass is in any way compared with a concert. Rather, because of the solemn and sacred nature of the Mass, we are required to be certain that the music that is used is worthy from both a standpoint of preparedness as well as from the standpoint of which specific compositions are used.
I was not around before Vatican II, but the evidence I’ve seen suggests that sung Mass got short shrift in many places. Sometimes, it simply wasn’t done very much. Other times, what was done was done poorly. Indeed, there seems to be danger of some of this recurring today, as many seem to take the attitude that “if the music is in Latin, it’s automatically good.” Not so, I’m afraid.
The Psalmist, when talking about singing (or, rather, singing about singing), mentions the sacrifice of jubilation that is music. I think we would all be in agreement that any sacrifice, including a musical one, should be the absolute best we can muster. In order to do this, time is needed for education and preparation. That’s what I’m trying to say.
Alumni Hall is one of the male dorms. It has nothing to do with “alumni” except the name. It is centrally located and has a nice chapel where they often hold Mass after football games. The trad kids I know seem very happy with it.
There are several additional pictures of that chapel here:
http://orlh.nd.edu/halls/alumni/chapel.htm
Notre Dame . . .
As long as the likes of Richard P. McBrien roam about the campus seeking the ruin of souls, not much good will come out of Notre Dame.
The Adoration of Academic Freedom on that sad campus is too ingrained. Thanks to Hesburg and the pontiffs there who followed him, it will take a long process to rebuild.
The TLM will be treated with neglect and the diversity-here-all-are-welcome-gang will do all it can to make sure that the Extraordinary form stays on its tiny reservation and that it will never be welcome.
What are you afraid of, ND?
I am a student at Notre Dame, and I can tell you that we traditional-Mass-loving students are ABSOLUTELY AND UTTERLY ECSTATIC about this new development. This is a GREAT thing, WAY better than our previous (pre-Summorum Pontificum) situation, where there was not even a hint of any sort of inkling for MAYBE having a Tridentine Mass. Alumni Hall is just one of the many residence halls on campus, and it has THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CHAPEL of all of the residence halls at Notre Dame, including an intact ad orientem altar. It’s also a decently-sized chapel. The University (i.e. Campus Ministry), surprisingly, was very much behind the idea of having the Tridentine Mass, and are the ones pushing it the most (Yes, I KNOW Fr. McBrien is here and I KNOW we don’t follow Ex Corde Ecclesiae, but not EVERYTHING Notre Dame does is necessarily and inherently evil or tainted. We also have a good circle of very GOOD professors, a lot more than your average Jesuit school has. Cut us a bit of slack; we’re not at the Jesuit level of wackiness.). I foresee, due to the amount of interest in the Older Use from students, faculty, and the local community, that the Latin Mass might very well be moved into the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the main church at Notre Dame. Furthermore, while this Mass is intended primarily for the University community, I hardly think they’ll be checking for student ID’s, and I think that this will be not too inconvenient for the South Bend people. I also am pretty sure that the educational material campus ministry will provide will be good.
Again, it’s easy to take potshots, but let’s try to keep this in perspective.
Mater Adflicta presents an entirely too pessimistic picture of Catholic life at Notre Dame. As a graduate student in theology at Our Lady’s University, I can assure readers of this blog that good things are happening here, both in my department and in the university more broadly. The influence of Fr. McBrien and those of his persuation is certainly declining. The younger generation of theology professors here, especially in the area of historical theology, are, for the most part, orthodox Catholic scholars committed to explicating the richness, truth, and beauty of the Church’s theological and liturgical tradition. As one of many young, devout, and traditional Catholic students here, I welcome this announcement from Campus Ministry and I hope that all supporters of the extraordinary form of the Roman rite will warmly receive this decision. I know that it must have been in some ways a difficult decision for the Campus Ministry to make, and I think we should all give thanks to God for their courageous and generous obedience to the Holy Father’s express wishes.
On music, I would point out that a sung mass requires more than the Ordinary (Kyrie etc) – it also requires the propers to be sung. While they can if necessary be psalm toned, singing the chant settings is challenging indeed, and definitely requires considerable practice. My own choir started with doing occasional sung masses for special occasions, built up to every second week, and only after several years attempted to sing every week. While I agree sung masses are certainly preferable, buttaking small steps is sensible.
Each dorm at ND has it’s own chapel. Alumni Hall is an older male dorm on the South Quad. Back in the late 1980’s we had attemtped to use the chapel for a traditional latin Mass. Fort Wayne-South Bend Bishop D’Arcy had given his permission and we had a priest ready to say that mass but Campus Ministry had lodged a complaint with the Bishop. We ended up doing a novus ordo Latin mass that was said ad orientem.
This is a small chapel, as all of the dorm chapels are. It probably holds around 200 people but it is a beautiful chapel.
I’m sure that this Mass will attract students and others from the community.
During the first semester, Campus Ministry will provide a catechesis on the Eucharist which will be prepared in such a way as to further … explore the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the celebration of the Roman Rite
To this effort I might offer the one-page Old Mass/New Mass comparison guide
http://www.knoxlatinmass.net/OldNewMass.pdf
that I used when asked to provide such catechesis to Catholics familiar with the new Mass who wished to participate in the old Mass. It seemed that, with this introduction to the old Mass based on their familiarity with the new Mass, such Catholics needed nothing else other than a Latin-English hand missal (or the ubiquitous red missalette and weekly propers insert) to immediately begin praying the traditional Mass.
Henry:
You should send that directly to the ND campus ministry – they have email links. They might find it helpful!!
“others from the community” will not be able to attend. I think this is intentional, as the Bishop is probably trying to establish a TLM back at St. John the Baptist. At least we can hope.
I am getting really, really fed up with folks who trash specific elements of Notre Dame when they are about 15 years behind in how things are actually going (if they have even been to the campus at all). Thank you, Johnny Domer and Nomen for providing informed voices to this discussion.
As a recently graduated student myself, I think all this nitpicking and complaining about the _possible_ holes in the motu proprio offering being made available by Campus Ministry is absurd. Give this time, and good will come of it. The current CM at ND is not bad at all. They respond to positive reactions to new initiatives by increasing availability accordingly. Just two examples include the exponentially increased offering of and emphasis on Adoration over the last few years, as well as the wholehearted adoption of the now-annual Eucharistic procession in the Spring, which had been a staple of the University’s historic past – lost until 2 years ago.
Patronus: the exponentially increased offering of and emphasis on Adoration over the last few years, as well as the wholehearted adoption of the now-annual Eucharistic procession in the Spring, which had been a staple of the University’s historic past – lost until 2 years ago.
These are very good reminders. It is good to put this in context.
Patronus et al., as a graduate student at Boston College (philosophy, not theology), I can sympathize with the orthodoxy bashing. There are plenty of great professors and students here, though there are many you must watch out for. The truth is that Boston College is perhaps the only thing that’s keeping Boston Catholic. Students at other colleges in the Boston area see BC as being “too conservative.”
Too often orthodox Catholics enjoy unjustly bashing ND or BC. I think all that does is drive orthodox students away. If good students attend these schools and take their theology and philosophy classes from the good professors, that will start sending a message to the administration on who makes up their base of students, and what sort of professors they need to hire.
I don’t think it’s 15 years behind to remark on Notre Dame’s dissident proclivities. When I converted some 20 years ago or so, I used to drive there for the occasional mass and reading materials. Quite a drive, but we had nothing here in the way of a bookstore at that time. I had to stop that perhaps 10-12 years ago because there was nothing much worth reading available–they massively scaled down the religious section in the bookstore–and I kept running into liturgical/sacramental disasters.
I hope it’s turning around. I don’t spend much time around there anymore but in what little bit of time I’ve been around there, I haven’t seen so much improvement. But then again, I’m not a student there.
Another interesting question: what do you think will happen at the Windmore House?
one or two occasions each semester with the participation of Basilica choirs. [Isn’t that a bit stingy? Consider how grand and resourceful this University has considered itself to be for so long. This is the best they can muster?]
So then they are giving TLM at least an equal opportunity to match those other occasions of certain “questionable” skits that they actually argued for with great enthusiasm?
There isn’t another major university in America that has daily Mass at a chapel where the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in *each* and *every* residence hall on campus (of which Alumni Hall is one of the nicest). And that’s not to mention the largest Basilica in the State of Indiana, a replica of Lourdes Grotto known throughout the world, and a Golden Statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that can be seen from miles away. I find it most peculiar that it is usually people with only a “newspaper” knowledge of Notre Dame that are so quick to criticize the university. As an alum, I take exception to that. Is there another major Catholic university that I’m aware of that has been so quick to try and integrate the motu proprio into its campus ministry?
David,
The current plan, as Msgr. D’Arcy explained it to me recently, is (pending FSSP’s nearly inevitable acceptance of His Excellency’s invitation to the Diocese) to have one priest celebrate Mass in Fort Wayne and South Bend. I have no clue how things have progressed since I spoke with His Excellency back in June, other than he formally announced that he has invited the FSSP into the Diocese. I also have no idea whether this will be acceptable to the Fraternity or not.
I agree that the ND bashing seems a bit harsh, though I don’t expect His Excellency’s yearly pastoral letters on the Vagina Monologues to cease any time soon.
-Royce
We are looking at an FSSP priest in Ft. Wayne-South Bend maybe by next Summer, and perhapss an additional FSSP priest in South Bend in about 2 to 3 years, if the community in South Bend stays strong. In the interim, it is our understanding that Fr. Schulte, the vicar general, is looking for a replacemnt for Fr. Seculoff at St. John the Baptist who is willing to offer the TLM.
Royce and David:
Do you know if the FSSP priest who might come to Fort Wayne (if he comes to FW!) would serve at Sacred Heart, the site of the indult Mass now? Or might Bishop D’Arcy and the pastors consider letting one of the more architecturally suitable churches – St. Patrick’s, St. Peter’s or the Cathedral – be the place?
Mrs. Welborn,
I’m not sure. We have spoken to Fr. Gabet (sp?) and he gave no specifics other than it will not be a new priest, understandably so.
St. John the Baptist here in South Bend was actually the school gym, and became the permanent church only after funds failed to materialize for the building of the church proper. (Standard practice for back when the American Church put more importance in getting the Catholic school built than in building the actual churches, or in providing adults with an understanding of the adult religion that Christianity is… sigh). Anyway despite the fact that St. John’s isn’t the most beautiful church in the area, we came to love it because of the immortal Mass that was offered there. After visiting and speaking with the people at Sacred Heart, I think they would say the same… not that I wouldn’t mind moving over to St. Patrick’s church in downtown South Bend .
David and Amy:
All I know is the little I gleaned from the bishop when I approached him about the matter at a retreat back in June. This was before he had officially announced the invitation to the Fraternity.
My current prayer intentions include the moving of the Fort Wayne indult Mass. I know of no word more appropriate for Sacred Heart than ‘dumpy.’ St. Patrick’s doesn’t seem too likely, given its Mass schedule is rather full with Masses in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. On the other hand, St. Peter’s has only one Mass on Sunday (at 9:15) and has been almost completely untouched by renovation. It also has a pastor and congregation who are Tradition-friendly (no altar girls, no Marty Haugen songs, etc.) I would be every so happy if the indult Mass was moved there. When I’m in town I float between Sacred Heart, St. Peter’s, and my parents’ parish.
If any of you would like to contact me my email is (gregersr at wabash dot edu). I’ll be home from Argentina in December.
From this week’s issue of the diocesan newspaper …
Rev. Charles Herman has been transferred from associate pastor
of Holy Family Parish, South Bend, to pastor of St. John the Baptist
Parish, South Bend. The effective date of this appointment will be
Sept. 14, 2007. Father Herman will continue to reside at Holy Family
Parish, South Bend, but his pastoral office will be at St. John the
Baptist Parish, South Bend.
Hmmm, perhaps the date is telling on this one?