Andrea Tornielli, Messa in Latino and Rorate Caeli all report that the latest draft of the Instructions to Summorum Pontificum (“SP”) alleviates the concerns of the Traditional community. Only the two restrictive points previously mentioned (limiting the ordination of priests in the Traditional rite and clarifying that SP does not apply to the Ambrosian rite) remain. And as to the latter, Tornielli feels that the Milan diocese will in the course of time apply the principles of SP to the Ambrosian rite, following past precedents and given the clear, reaffirmed will of the Pope.
On the other hand, there is welcome clarification that seminarians should have available training in the Traditional liturgy. The instructions are said to restrain local bishops from restricting SP through restrictive regulations and interpretations. Finally, the commission Ecclesia Dei seems to receive a firmer legal status. All this is welcome news.
Did the petition and other manifestations of Traditionalist concern have any role in this? Was there once again a last minute change of course? We may never know. But believe me; the seemingly modest number of 12,000 signatures did attract attention. If the noted Vatican reporter Paolo Rodari felt compelled to mention it, you can be sure that others noticed it too.
The unfortunate fact is that these discussions regarding the Instructions have revealed the extent of the distrust the Traditional community currently feels for the Vatican. Over the last three and a half years they have seen SP implemented fully in a few places, restricted or rendered a dead letter in many more. And even in those locations where the Traditional liturgy has had access to the benefits of SP, it more often than not continues to encounter suspicion and hostility from bishops, pastors and university chaplains. To be a Traditionalist in the Church of today is still a highly political and sensitive thing. And, as a rule, during this period Pope Benedict and the Vatican have been silent regarding this situation. While the issuance of the instructions to SP, announced early on, dragged on interminably, Traditionalists were registering developments as diverse as the new Assisi conference, further approbations of the Neocatechumenal Way, the rise of Ravasi and Fisichiella – and the continued role of Schönborn (to name just a few concerns). If the Instructions indeed resemble what has been reported today, one major source of anxiety and distrust will have been removed.
All these sources now predict publication of the Instructions before Easter.
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