In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, the head of the Ecclesia Dei commission has indicated that priests do not require permission from their bishops in order to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Latin liturgy.Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos told L'Osservatore Romano that "all can celebrate" the traditional Latin Mass.
While the "ordinary form"-- the Novus Ordo-- remains "the Mass that normally all priests say," the cardinal said that Pope Benedict, in his motu proprio broadening access to the traditional liturgy, authorized all priests to use the older liturgy.
"Some ask permission, as if this were some sort of concession or exception," Cardinal Castrillon said.
"But there is no need for that."
The Colombian cardinal, whose Ecclesia Dei commission supervises the implementation of the motu proprio, said that "some practical difficulties" have delayed the worldwide acceptance of the motu proprio.
But when questioned about the criticisms of that document expressed by some bishops, the cardinal said that it was "a controversy born from a lack of understanding."
He said that the Ecclesia Dei commission plans new efforts to educate the clergy about the liturgical norms in order to eliminate those misunderstandings.
When asked how the wider use of the older liturgy might affect relations with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), Cardinal Castrillon said that Summorum Pontificum could help to pave the way for a restoration of the traditionalist group to full communion with the Church.
However, the cardinal took pains to say that members of the SSPX are not separated from the Catholic Church.
"The excommunication applied only to the four bishops," he said.
While the Mass celebrated at SSPX chapels is not licit, he said, it is unquestionably valid.
"Certainly neither the priests nor the faithful are excommunicated," he added.
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