7th July 2007. 7/7/07.
On that date, Pope Benedict XVI’s Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum was written. The document loosened many, but not all, of restrictions on the provision of the Latin Mass and what has followed has been a decade and a half of remarkable growth for the Traditionalist movement, often countered with resentment and jealousy from others.
Benedict XVI’s letter stated the following:
Art 1. The Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the lex orandi (rule of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. The Roman Missal promulgated by Saint Pius V and revised by Blessed John XXIII is nonetheless to be considered an extraordinary expression of the same lex orandi of the Church and duly honoured for its venerable and ancient usage. These two expressions of the Church’s lex orandi will in no way lead to a division in the Church’s lex credendi (rule of faith); for they are two usages of the one Roman rite.
It is therefore permitted to celebrate the Sacrifice of the Mass following the typical edition of the Roman Missal, which was promulgated by Blessed John XXIII in 1962 and never abrogated, as an extraordinary form of the Church’s Liturgy. The conditions for the use of this Missal laid down by the previous documents Quattuor Abhinc Annos and Ecclesia Dei are now replaced as follows:
Art. 2. In Masses celebrated without a congregation, any Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use either the Roman Missal published in 1962 by Blessed Pope John XXIII or the Roman Missal promulgated in 1970 by Pope Paul VI, and may do so on any day, with the exception of the Easter Triduum. For such a celebration with either Missal, the priest needs no permission from the Apostolic See or from his own Ordinary.
Art. 3. If communities of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, whether of pontifical or diocesan right, wish to celebrate the conventual or community Mass in their own oratories according to the 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, they are permitted to do so. If an individual community or an entire Institute or Society wishes to have such celebrations frequently, habitually or permanently, the matter is to be decided by the Major Superiors according to the norm of law and their particular laws and statutes.Art. 4. The celebrations of Holy Mass mentioned above in Art. 2 may be attended also by members of the lay faithful who spontaneously request to do so, with respect for the requirements of law.
Art. 5, §1 In parishes where a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition stably exists, the parish priest should willingly accede to their requests to celebrate Holy Mass according to the rite of the 1962 Roman Missal. He should ensure that the good of these members of the faithful is harmonized with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the bishop in accordance with Canon 392, avoiding discord and favouring the unity of the whole Church.
§2 Celebration according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII can take place on weekdays; on Sundays and feast days, however, such a celebration may also take place.
§3 For those faithful or priests who request it, the pastor should allow celebrations in this extraordinary form also in special circumstances such as marriages, funerals or occasional celebrations, e.g. pilgrimages.
§4 Priests using the Missal of Blessed John XXIII must be qualified (idonei) and not prevented by law.
§5 In churches other than parish or conventual churches, it is for the rector of the church to grant the above permission.
Art. 6. In Masses with a congregation celebrated according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII, the readings may be proclaimed also in the vernacular, using editions approved by the Apostolic See.
Art. 7. If a group of the lay faithful, as mentioned in Art. 5, §1, has not been granted its requests by the parish priest, it should inform the diocesan bishop. The bishop is earnestly requested to satisfy their desire. If he does not wish to provide for such celebration, the matter should be referred to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.
Art. 8. A bishop who wishes to provide for such requests of the lay faithful, but is prevented by various reasons from doing so, can refer the matter to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, which will offer him counsel and assistance.
Art. 9, §1 The parish priest, after careful consideration, can also grant permission to use the older ritual in the administration of the sacraments of Baptism, Marriage, Penance and Anointing of the Sick, if advantageous for the good of souls.
§2 Ordinaries are granted the faculty of celebrating the sacrament of Confirmation using the old Roman Pontifical, if advantageous for the good of souls.
§3 Ordained clerics may also use the Roman Breviary promulgated in 1962 by Blessed John XXIII.
Art. 10. The local Ordinary, should he judge it opportune, may erect a personal parish in accordance with the norm of Canon 518 for celebrations according to the older form of the Roman rite, or appoint a rector or chaplain, with respect for the requirements of law.
Art. 11. The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II [5], continues to exercise its function. The Commission is to have the form, duties and regulations that the Roman Pontiff will choose to assign to it.
Art. 12. The same Commission, in addition to the faculties which it presently enjoys, will exercise the authority of the Holy See in ensuring the observance and application of these norms.
We order that all that we have decreed in this Apostolic Letter given Motu Proprio take effect and be observed from the fourteenth day of September, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, in the present year, all things to the contrary notwithstanding.
Where once the Traditional Latin Mass was denied by bishops and priests, it was now relatively free to be allowed into the open, with no legitimacy rendered to those who claimed that the church had ‘moved on’, since the rite had not been abrogated.
Since then, Latin Mass groups such as the FSSP and Institute of Christ the King have grown exponentially. Many Diocesan priests now learn both forms of the Mass also. In France, it has been estimated that newly ordained priests saying the Latin Mass will be in the majority by decade’s end.
The document also vastly improved relations between the Holy See and the Society of Saint Pius X, accompanied by Benedict’s 2009 lifting of the excommunications incurred by the ordinations at Econe in 1988. In 2016, Pope Francis established then extended his recognition of the validity and licit nature of having one’s confessions heard by the SSPX.
Summorum Pontificum was the first that many young people had heard about such things as reception of the Eucharist on the tongue, the requirement for reverence at Mass and the importance of beautiful architecture and sacred music to accompany the liturgy. Some might object to that on the assumption that that is an indictment of the inherent nature of the Ordinary Form, but rather they should take stock and acknowledge that it is a recognition of the failure to convey the most simple beliefs of our faith to several generations. Post Summorum, many Ordinary Form parishes are returning to altar rails, undoing the late 20th Century iconoclasm that destroyed altars and sacred architecture (some would say this was a post Vatican II phenomenon but the iconoclasm was well under way before then) and being more open to those who wish to receive Communion on the tongue than before.
The Latin Mass is not without its enemies, inside the church and outside. The outside ones are the most desperate. When Benedict’s document was released, the international media reported it as an Anti Semitic decision by the pope. No, really.
The Guardian ran with the headline ‘Pope's move on Latin mass 'a blow to Jews’. The USA based Anti Defamation League were quoted:
Yesterday the Anti-Defamation League, the American-based Jewish advocacy group, called the papal decision a 'body blow to Catholic-Jewish relations'.
'We are extremely disappointed and deeply offended that nearly 40 years after the Vatican rightly removed insulting anti-Jewish language from the Good Friday mass, it would now permit Catholics to utter such hurtful and insulting words by praying for Jews to be converted,' said Abraham Foxman, the group's national director, in Rome. 'It is the wrong decision at the wrong time. It appears the Vatican has chosen to satisfy a right-wing faction in the church that rejects change and reconciliation.'
It was one of many complete slanders that were levelled at Pope Benedict XVI, perhaps those who criticise his resignation 6 years later would do well to recall the fact that those of us in the church did not do enough to pray for him or to defend him when he faced these barrages of criticism.
Some are claiming that the Latin Mass is now under threat from suppression, with a recent controversy in Dijon highlighting the issue. Yet for the most part, the Extraordinary Form is such a life force within the church now that it is hard to see any potential limiting or suppression lasting for long.
While many choose to focus on the disagreements and so forth, today is a day for gratitude. Gratitude to Pope Benedict XVI but most of all, to Our Lord Jesus Christ, for the many blessings and graces that have been poured forth to millions of Catholics since 7/7/07.
The Extraordinary Form offers the mystery, humility and above all, peace, that our world is now missing.
Seosamh O’Caoimh