This would be an interesting development in the Catholic Church -- but is it nearly the calamity that liberals think it is?

It was one of the most radical reforms to emerge from the Second Vatican Council. The Mass, root of Roman Catholic worship, would be celebrated in the local language and not in Latin.

Now, little more than a generation later, Pope Benedict XVI is poised to revive the 16th-century Tridentine Mass.

But wait -- it is not an abandonment of the post-Vatican II liturgical reforms. Rather, it is simply the grant of greater freedom to use the Tridentine Missal -- revised and updated to eliminate any hint of anti-Semitism in light of Vatican II reforms -- where there are a sufficient number of people to warrant it.

And there is a pastoral need, both among Catholics who have remained loyal to the Vatican and schismatic groups that Benedict seeks to bring back into the fold. While I never found the Tridentine Rite to be particularly moving, I understand that there are those whose spirituality does benefit from the older form. Ultimately, it is the meeting of those spiritual needs that is central to the Pope's decision, which is appropriate given his role as the universal pastor of the Catholic Church.

UPDATE: Looks like the Pope has signed off on this and will shortly be passing the word to the faithful through the bishops.

Pope Benedict XVI has approved a document that relaxes restrictions on celebrating the Latin Mass used by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries until the modernizing reforms of the 1960s, the Vatican said Thursday.

Benedict discussed the decision with top officials in a meeting on Wednesday and the document will be published in the next few days, the statement said. The meeting was called to ''illustrate the content and the spirit'' of the document, which will be sent to all bishops accompanied by a personal letter from the pope.

Now there are a variety of objections from the usual suspects to allowing this change -- including objections from Jewish groups to Good Friday prayers for the conversion of the Jews. However, given the Great Commission to go forth in the world and make all its inhabitants disciples, I don't see where that should carry any weight with those who still believe that Scripture means what it says and says what it means.

Posted by: Greg at 03:21 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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