On July 16th, 2021, the Memorial of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, our Holy Father Pope Francis issued a motu proprio addressing the practice of celebrating Mass according to the Roman Missal edited by Pope Saint John XXIII in 1962. It is a liturgical practice that has steadily grown throughout certain parts of the Universal Church and in our Diocese. For my part, I believe that it is important that we retain the celebration of the Mass according to the Missal of 1962 in our Diocese, provided that our future practice is in conformity with the norms of Traditionis Custodes.
As you know, the norms contained in the new motu proprio significantly restrict the use of the Roman Missal of 1962. I will need time to consult, draft and promulgate permanent diocesan norms that will address both the pastoral needs of those who have received spiritual nourishment from attending such celebrations of the Mass, while at the same time remaining obedient to the requirements of the law and the wishes of our Holy Father.
The purpose of this memo is to provide you interim guidance regarding the first steps by which our Diocese will begin implementation of Traditionis Custodes.
More specifically, the procedure outlined at the end of this memo to request permission for the celebration of Mass according to the Roman Missal of 1962 applies to all such celebrations scheduled from Wednesday, July 21, 2021 until the Feast of the Archangels, September 29, 2021. It is my expectation that permanent norms will be ready for diocesan-wide implementation by the end of September 2021.
As we reflect upon how best to implement the motu proprio, it is important to consider key principles that are articulated in the document and must serve as guideposts for discerning an authentic manner by which its norms can be implemented. More specifically:
1. We remain committed to offer genuine pastoral service to the people entrusted to our care, allowing them a variety of legitimate liturgical expressions from which they can grow in their love of the Lord through right worship of Him.
2. We must try to implement the provisions of the new motu proprio in ways that will avoid exacerbating divisions that may already exist in our diocesan Church, all the while remaining obedient to what the document requires.
3. While the vast majority of those who attend the celebration of Mass according to the Missal of 1962 are committed to the Church and are faithful to all its teachings, there are very few strident voices, both inside and outside of our Diocese, that have called into question the legitimacy of the Second Vatican Council, the legitimacy of the liturgical reform promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI and the universal ecclesial authority of Pope Francis. Such positions must be refuted and corrected on every level of our ecclesial life.
