by Fred Moleck
Latin-Rite Mass 2006
Last Wednesday, a strong rumble was felt in the universal church, caused by a news leak that Pope Benedict XVI is about to sign a document that would affect the celebration of the Latin Mass. There is not enough information, so far, to determine if any priest can celebrate the Latin Mass at any time without the permission of the bishop.Nevertheless, the hundreds of agencies, societies, lobby groups, and individual Catholics who have been lobbying for years for the return of the Latin Mass are more than joyful with the news.
From Una Voce to the EWTN motherhouse, the shouts of glee are already heard worldwide even before the Vatican Information Service has reported anything.
It comes as no surprise, considering the penchant for the Latin high Mass Pope Benedict has presided over in the past several years.
An aristocrat in liturgical music tastes, he can be seen as the restorer of the Latin rite whose worship comes from an understanding of church that predates the eighteenth-century Enlightenment.
At this writing there are no details on how extensive or restrictive the document will be. Speculative questions, however, are cropping up.
Some examples:
If a priest chooses to celebrate Mass in the old Latin rite, will he face the people or have his back to the people? Will the readings be in Latin? Will the readings be audible?
Will the homily be omitted? Will the prayers for the conversion of Russia be recited after low Mass?
And, perhaps the most crucial question to many of the restorationists:
Where can birettas and fiddleback chasubles be purchased?
Other questions, which impact on the rubrics:
Can a priest choose the Latin rite ten minutes before the scheduled Mass, creating surprises in the pews? Do the faithful stand and then kneel until the Gospel? Do they receive Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling at the altar rail, which could very well not be there?
Other questions, which fall under parish administration:
May the bishop—for within his own diocese—reinstitute the stipend schedule for low and high Masses?
Will the organist sing the Mass at the daily Masses to fulfill (in justice) the requirement for a high Mass?
How much of the stipend will the organist be paid?
Will the propers in a high Mass be sung as well as the Ordinary both at the daily Masses and the Sunday High Mass?
Will there be a repertory list of approved Latin music? Who chooses the items that appear on the list?
Can a parish opt to have all the Masses in Latin, creating a Latin-rite parish?
Can a bishop mandate such a parish—or all the parishes in his diocese, creating a full Latin-rite diocese?
What recourse does a Vatican II Catholic have should the diocese turn into a full Latin-rite diocese?
Will there be an underground listing of parishes and priests who remain faithful to Vatican II reforms? Will there be any excommunications?
Doesn’t it sound all too familiar of the scene during the first years after the implementation of Vatican II’s reforms? From that came only one excommunication, and that was for uber-Latinist Bishop Lefebvre.
As always, the more things change, the more they remain the same—other than the names and geographies.
Who will be the new Vatican II remnant Bishop Lefebvre?
You can reach Fred Moleck via email at fmoleck@earthlink.net