Pope to authorise Roman Latin mass in coming days
Pastor Dale Morgan
Thursday June 28, 11:51 PM Reuters
*Pope to authorise Roman Latin mass in coming days*
By Stephen Brown
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict will tell Roman Catholic priests
in coming days that they can say mass in Latin as a concession to
traditionalists.
However, the move has raised concern about reviving parts of the old
liturgy that Jews consider anti-Semitic.
The Latin liturgy was sidelined by the Second Vatican Council in the
1960s in favour of local languages in an attempt to make worship more
accessible to the bulk of churchgoers.
After months of speculation that the old rite, known as the Tridentine
mass, could return, the Vatican said on Thursday the Pope had met senior
clerics a day earlier to discuss "the content and the spirit" of a papal
document on the matter.
"The publication of this document, to be accompanied by a full personal
letter from the Holy Father to individual bishops, is foreseen within a
few days," a Vatican statement said.
The document is known as a 'motu propio' and will be issued in Latin,
still the official language of the Vatican.
Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone told reporters that the
document would authorise the mass under the Tridentine rite "in coming
days".
He said the Pope would explain "the reason for reviving and reactivating
the pre-Council version of the liturgy, which is a great treasure".
Traditionalists can now say mass in Latin only with prior permission
from a bishop, and the liturgy is heard only rarely.
French Catholic daily La Croix said the decision had met reservations in
France and the United States, where some bishops feared their authority
would be undermined if priests could decide alone whether to return to
the old Latin rite.
Patrizia Parker, attending a Latin service in Rome at the Church of San
Gregorio dei Muratori, said she found the old liturgy more profound.
"It gives me a more sacred feeling and allows me to enter into the
mystery of the mass," she said. "It's not because of its historic roots,
but it is a profound feeling within my heart."
However, there are concerns that a revival of the Latin words could undo
the effect of the 1960s reforms in removing sources of strain between
Catholics and Jews.
The Council sought to eliminate prejudices blaming Jews for the death of
Jesus by highlighting Christianity's ancient Jewish roots and affirming
God's love for other faiths.
Church sources deny that a return of Latin liturgies would invalidate
these reforms, though it is not yet clear whether the prayers in
question, used in Good Friday services, would be retained or amended.
Pope Benedict stirred inter-faith tensions with the Muslim world last
year by making a speech in Germany including a medieval quote about
Islam being spread by violence.
(Additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino)