Pope Benedict XVI is expected in a directive today to encourage priests to use the traditional Latin mass, even though its Holy Week liturgy includes prayers for the "faithless Jews," Protestants and "heathens."The move has left some critics speculating the Vatican is backsliding from reforms instituted in the 1980s.
In Ottawa, Rabbi Reuven Bulka, co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, was taken aback by the news.
"It almost amounts to a call to convert (Jews)," he said. Since it is unlikely that the Catholic church could overlook the implications of such wording, "they must be singularly aware of it. It's a massive step backwards. It stuns me. That's not the image I had of this pope."
Cristina Borges, development director for the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, a society of priests, says the Latin missal, or Catholic book of worship, includes a Good Friday service with prayers for: "the Church, for the Pope, for Clergy and People ... for those afflicted and in danger; for the Heretics (Protestants) and Schismatics (Eastern Orthodox), for the Jews, for the Heathen. ...
"Let us pray also for the faithless Jews, that our God and Lord would withdraw the veil from their hearts that they also may acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ.
"Almighty and eternal God, who drivest not away from Thy mercy even the faithless Jews, hear our prayers, which we offer for the blindness of that people, that acknowledging the light of Thy truth, which is Christ, they may be delivered from their darkness ...."
Borges said this is just one prayer in the entire year. The idea of bringing back the Latin mass was not intended to offend anyone.
Since the 1960s, the Catholic mass has been rewritten into modern languages and substantially reworked, most notably, turning the priest around at the altar to face the people, rather than the main cross representing God.
In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II allowed priests to say a traditional mass with permission from their bishops. Often, their bishops said no. It had become something of a flashpoint between Catholics who felt their tradition had been abandoned, and others who saw the pomp as too triumphal and theatrical.
Pope Benedict's directive would put the onus on the bishops to explain why the mass should not be said, rather than making the priest justify why it should be.
Sean Cardinal O'Malley of Boston spoke on his blog about a recent visit to Rome where the pope spoke about the directive. "(He) was very clear that the ordinary form of celebrating the mass will be the new rite, the Norvus Ordo.
But by making the Latin mass more available, the Holy Father is hoping to convince those disaffected Catholics that it is time for them to return to full union with the Catholic Church. ...
The Motu Propio is his latest attempt at reconciliation.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce