Liturgical diversity is not inconsistent with the unity of the Catholic faith. This has been clear through the centuries in the diversity of rites, East and West. And it is clear with special relevance to your priestly fraternity in Summorum Pontificum. It is also the same principal that is operative in the new Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, establishing Ordinariates for former Anglicans who desire full communion with the Catholic Church, whilst at the same time preserving some of the richness of their liturgical and spiritual patrimony.It occurred today (3/3/10) at the dedication of the FSSP seminary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in Lincoln Nebraska.
listen to full homily here
What we have here is the unveiling of the pope's two prong approach to liturgical reform. On the one hand, the Holy Father has liberated the Usus Antiquior (Traditional Latin Mass) for the restoration and renewal of tradition in the Catholic Church. In doing this, the Holy Father is not attempting to take the Church back to the pre-conciliar time, but rather pick up where the Church left off after the council, but before the implementation of the Missal of Pope Paul VI in 1970. (Remember, there was a five year window after the council when the Usus Antiquior was still the one and only mass in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.) On the other hand, the Holy Father has now brought back into the fold of the Catholic Church, those Protestants who long to be Catholic, and have a fervent love of Catholic tradition. Having already been snubbed by many Catholic bishops throughout the world, these tradition seeking Protestants have now been given their own "ordinariates" with their own bishops, who will see to it that they are given free reign to return to the Catholic Church unhindered, and bring their love for tradition with them.
So now we see the unveiling of the pope's master plan to restore liturgical order to the Catholic Church, and here we begin to see the beginning of the end for the Novus Ordo culture. However, I have a feeling the Holy Father is not done yet. There is but another shoe to drop.
7 comments; post here:
Anglicanorum coetibus liberates the Anglican Use like Summorum Pontificum did for the Latin Mass
Knight,
I would like you to check out the Protestant fanatic show entitled, "Tommorow's World" which airs to a national audience on ION television, provided to me by Dishnetwork.
I recently emailed ION television requesting this programming be removed. It is totally offensive to Roman Catholics. It reports as fact that the Catholic Church is the "harlot" mentioned in Revelation, and the Pope is the "antichrist". Please let your loyal readers know to get involved about pressuring ION television to remove this heretical filth from the airwaves. Thanks
No doubt what is left of the "ANglican Communion" will disolve either into some ultra form of liberalism (Unitarians in vestments, as I like to call them), or moving over to some anti-catholic fundamentalist sect. Pete Frey
Sir Knight, I am not thrilled about this decision at all. I must say I am no fan of ecumenism. Personally, I believe there should be no provisions made to bring whole congregations of Protestants into the Church. It seems to me that this could set a very confusing precident and the door could soon be open to the married priesthood. Individuals of these churches, including the ministers, should personally reject the heresy and come individually into the Church. Why that's not happening puzzles me. My jury is still out on Pope Benedict the Great....
Anonymous, I think you're missing a few important things.
First, ecumenism is not ecumenism at all unless it is grounded in orthodoxy. The problem with the modern ecumenical movement is that it is run by Protestants who have no orthodox foundation, which is why it's an utter failure, and only the Liberals thrive under it. What Pope Benedict XVI is doing is not part of the modern ecumenical movement. His ecumenism is on his own terms, and those terms include absolute fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church. It is orthodox ecumenism, because it is grounded in orthodoxy, and those who accept the pope's offer of ordinariates for Anglicans must do so by professing faith in the ENTIRE Catechism of the Catholic Church. That is a precondition for entry into the ordinariates. So you see this is different than what the Protestants call "ecumenism" because the Holy Father has made it clear that in order to be brought into the Church, either individually or collectively, acceptance of the Catechism is necessary.
Second, you are worried about a married priesthood. Guess what! We already have it. We've had it for centuries. It's called the Byzantine Rite, and other Eastern Rites, all of them under the umbrella of The Catholic Church and in full communion with the pope. You see, the celibacy discipline is just that - a discipline. It is not a doctrine. It never has been a doctrine, and it never will be a doctrine. The celibacy discipline is a characteristic uniquely of the Roman Rite exclusively. Outside of the Roman Rite married men have always been allowed to become priests. The same will be true of the Anglican ordinariates, as they are currently a subset of the Roman Rite, but are slowly developing into their own rite. This is how rites were historically created. They grew out of older rites. So the Anglican Use (as it is currently called) is in keeping with the ancient Christian custom that allowed for married priests, and is still practiced by non-Roman Catholics (in full communion with the pope) all over the world.
Third and last, as I said above, those entering the ordinariates must reject Protestant heresies and embrace the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a prerequisite. However, the Catholic Church has always allowed people to enter the Church as groups, and has never limited it to individuals alone. So long as those groups accept the full Catholic faith that is. Nothing about this has changed with these emerging ordinariates.
Sir Knight,
With all due respect, I would like to make some observations and explain my uncertainity. I am no Church historian and my study of the Rites of the Catholic Church is very limited. But I do understand certain items. There are 7 Rites of the Universal Church. Each one of these has its foundation from the liturgical practices that originated in Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria. The Council of Trent decreed that from that time forward on the Roman liturgy could be use unless the liturgical practice of the area was then at least 200 years old. There are some small rites that date back pretty far and are limited to specific areas like Portugal and their are liturgies that are specific to their orders such as the Carmelites. After the Roman Rite, the Byzantine is largest. I have attended this Rite on occasion and its very similiar, to my understanding, of the Orthodox Church. Since their history is closely associated with Greek influence, this is expected. After the Great Schism in 1054 many churches began returning to the Universal Church but have been allowed to maintain their liturgies. Of the other rites, all are associated in some way with the Apostles or Saints. Some fell into heresy but have returned due to missionary work. Some of the early Rites never fell into heresy. These Rites are ancient and have their origins in the True Church. The Anglican Church, however is different. Yes, they were are mission Church, evangelized by St. Augustine at the insistence of Pope Gregory to battle the Celtic influence. However, here's where it gets tricky. In response to the Protestant Reformation heresy, the Church of England became a mish mash of both worlds. The Council of Trent, which convened in 1563, decreed once and for all that Protestantism was heresy. Rather than reject Protestant influence, the Anglicans, at the time of this Council, embraced it. The Anglican Church has always considered itself to be Reformed Catholic. Yes, there is Apostolic succession, but there is also a rejection of the Universal Church in favor of the Protestant heresies. In my humble opinion, what is happening with the Anglican "Rite" is at best confusing. By definition, Anglican theology is diverse. There are plenty of obvious problems with Anglicanism and just because it is similiar in appearance to Traditional Roman Catholic practice doesn't mean a thing. It seems to me that the Anglican Church as a whole has a lot to overcome and address doctrinally. Therefore, I don't believe, as a whole, they can return to the fold, so to speak, en mass. However, since the Catholic Church has adopted many of the "reformed" Catholic traditions, I can see how it's any easy fit.
Thank you anonymous for that explanation. However, I notice that your main point of concern seems to be about doctrine. Once again I must reiterate that no Anglican will be admitted to the Catholic Church without first attesting to the whole Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Let me make this perfectly clear. The pope is NOT allowing the entire Anglican Communion to reconcile en masse. He is simply responding to the requests of a small slinter group of traditional Anglicans that left the Anglican Communion over 30 years ago, and have since adopted the entire theology of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. They subscribe to the beliefs and practices of Catholicism 100%. They are already more "catholic" than the average Catholic and this is reflected not only in their beliefs, but also in their liturgical practices and customs. These are the people the pope is allowing to convert en masse, all 400,000 of them, along with anyone else who is interested in joining their ranks.
Now in my own personal experience, I have found that converts from conservative Protestantism tend to make for the best Catholics, having been on the other side of the tracks already, they understand the futility of the trends defining the Novus Ordo establishment. They tend to be the most conservative Catholics and are very friendly to Tradition. Such was the case with me - a convert from conservative Evangelicalism via Traditional Anglicanism.
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