“Pope Francis has nothing against the Old Rite or
the lay groups and associations that follow it,” Cardinal Darío
Castrillón Hoyos told Vatican Insider.
The cardinal was formerly
Prefect of the Clergy and President of the Commission that deals with
the Catholic Church’s relations with the Lefebvrians and groups that
celebrate the pre-conciliar Rite.
The cardinal had spoken about this in an
off-the-cuff statement to members of Una Voce International, one of the
associations that promote the so-called “Old Mass” celebrated according
to the Roman Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962, the last
missal introduced before the post-Conciliar liturgical reform.
“In the
recent audience the Pope conceded to me, he told me he had nothing
against the Extraordinary Roman Rite or those who celebrate it and
spread knowledge of it, according to the spirit of Benedict XVI’s Motu
Proprio "Summorum Pontificum".
Castrillón also spoke about the issue surrounding
the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate who were placed under the
supervision of an external Commissioner. This triggered a great deal of
controversy among “traditionalist” circles.
“I would like to point out
that I did not speak about this case during my meeting with Pope
Francis. I have other sources but I think it’s safe to say that the
insistence on the importance of celebrating the New Rite and the need
for superiors to authorise the celebration of the Old Rite in this
Franciscan community was in response to internal tensions within the
order of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, and not due to any
negative judgement of the traditional liturgy.”
On the subject of Rome’s relations with the
traditionalist world, it is worth noting that Pope Francis recently sent
his blessing to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its foundation.
The fraternity currently has 400 members across
the world (244 priests and 153 seminarists) and was founded in 1988 to
welcome those who wanted to go on celebrating the Old Rite but no longer
wished to follow Bishop Marcel Lefebvre after he disobeyed the Pope and
ordained four new bishops without the Pope’s consensus.
Last 28
October, Francis sent his blessing, pointing out that “celebrating the
holy mysteries according to the Extraordinary form of the Roman Rite…
contributes to a better understanding and implementation of the
principles of the Second Vatican Council, remaining faithful to the
living tradition of the Church.”
This is according to a communiqué sent
by the Apostolic Nuncio to Paris, Luigi Ventura, to the Abbot Vincent
Ribeton, Superior of the French district.
The Pope urged members of the Fraternity of St.
Peter “to actively take part in the Church’s global mission, using their
personal charisma, living a holy life, a certain faith giving in a
creative and generous way.”