News about the Traditional Latin Mass survey: “The old Mass is not in danger.”

Last night I was on with Raymond Arroyo of EWTN to talk about the “survey” to be sent out to the world’s bishops about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum in their dioceses.   One point I made is that a survey is nothing new.  It was done in 2010.   It seems to me that 10 years later is another good milestone to check.

That said, the questions in English, probably not written by a native speaker of English but rather by someone with strong English skills – I don’t know – had a certain slant to them that suggested answers.  Perhaps I’m over reading them.  I know a lot of people have.

There are a pair of questions, however which popped out at me.

For example,

“6. For the celebrations of the Mass, do you  use the Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962?”

See what I mean about the awkward wording?  Put that side by side with…

“9.  Thirteen years after the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, what is your advice about the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite?”

Think about this for a moment.  If a bishop doesn’t know how to celebrate the Extraordinary Form, how can he give useful advice about the Extraordinary Form?

Another point before launching into the new bit of news.

Had there been discussion about eliminating the use of the 1962 Missale Romanum, the decrees would not have been issued whereby the calendar was made flexible for the celebration of recently canonized saints and for new Prefaces.  It doesn’t make sense.

That said, at the German site Die Tagespost there is an article about this survey.  Here it is with computer assisted translation that I touched up.

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith launches survey on “old Mass”

No “ban” to be feared: the canonist Markus Graulich sizes up the process for the “Tagespost”.

The Roman canon lawyer Markus Graulich rejects speculation that the “old mass” could be abolished. “In my opinion, it’s about taking stock, nothing more and nothing less,” Graulich told the “Tagespost” today. On behalf of the Pope, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is supposed to raise the current situation of the “extraordinary form” of the Roman rite 13 years after Summorum Pontificum.

Contrary to various speculations in traditionalist circles, which feared a further restriction of the “old Mass”, the responsible section of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith had in no way been overlooked, said Graulich, the under-secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legal Texts. Graulich suggests that the groups that maintain the traditional liturgy should help the bishops answer the survey. They should provide information that the bishops would need to respond to in the questionnaire.

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was commissioned by Pope Francis to conduct a worldwide survey on the implementation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. As early as 2010, the effects of the re-admission of the pre-conciliar liturgical books as an extraordinary form had been surveyed by the then Commission “Ecclesia Dei”. Now the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, responsible today, asks the bishops worldwide, among other things, about the situation in the dioceses, the observance of the applicable liturgical books and the effects on the renewed liturgy.

Markus Graulich makes it clear: The old Mass is not in danger.

It seems to me that we can calm down.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

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8 Comments

  1. exNOAAman says:

    I never expected to see the Z-man on EWTN. (Maybe I’m just unaware. I don’t watch TV.) I thought it went very well. Raymond didn’t have to say much, did he? (Heh)

  2. Fr. Reader says:

    “They take it as an implicit criticism…”
    Interesting.

  3. Fr. Reader says:

    “I do not like saying Latin Mass…”
    Thank you very much for that.

  4. Fr PJM says:

    WDFZRR
    What Does Fr Z REALLY Read?
    Especially for a those with a higher res screen.
    A stack of books can be seen behind Father during this interview, and a partial view of a second stack. Can we identify the books?

  5. Fr PJM says:

    I don’t like calling the vetus ordo or the Extraordinary Form the “Latin Mass”, since the Novus ordo can be celebrated entirely in Latin.
    I’m pretty sure Fr Z likes to say, offer, celebrate the Tridentine Mass.

  6. Before I read your post, the following blogpost made me think maybe the survey was due to the Pope thinking of the 1962 Mass as a more sanitary option: https://amywelborn.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/wait-but-isnt-that/

    That would be a good reason to promote wider adoption of the Tridentine Mass.

  7. Pingback: MONDAY EDITION – Big Pulpit

  8. I just looked up Amy Welborn’s article. My first reaction was, “that’s not the Amy Welborn I remember from Our Sunday Visitor.” My second reaction is, “maybe I’m part of a trend, because it has taken a long time for the extraordinary form to grow on me too.” I think at this point the EF has too much momentum, and I think that after a few more people get angry about recent events, even more will see the failure of the current mainstream course and will look to tradition as a way to double down and nurture more priests with spines so that they will be ready to steer the Church in the right direction when their time as bishops comes. To be sure, those who are leading the failure will resist as much as they can, but in another ten or fifteen years traditional-minded, orthodox bishops are going to be the only choices available when ternas are created.

    Apart from that, I recall reading an interesting piece recently that argued that Pope Francis is “one pope of two Churches.” This survey is how the Pope is addressing the needs of one of the two Churches he is leading. Not changing much of anything after the results come back will be how he deals with the needs of the other Church. I’m not particularly concerned about the survey, but I do encourage those who have hard data available to share it with the local bishop and the Vatican in a calm, cool way.

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