BRIEF HISTORY OF THE "USUS ANTIQUIOR" IN WOLLONGONG (PART I)

A brief history of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in the Diocese of Wollongong since 1970.

Wollongongensis understands that the TLM has had a presence in the Diocese of Wollongong (DOW) for a number of years. We are uncertain exactly when, and under what provisions the first TLM was offered, but certainly not under the limited provisions of Quattor abhinc annos in 1984. It is more likely that because of the lack of response to the previously named document and indeed the excommunication of Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, the TLM probably re-emerged in the diocese, after an absence of nearly twenty years or so, under the provisions of the decree Ecclesia Dei adflicta issued in 1988.

Rebuild build my church
Shortly after the decree Eccelsia Dei in the late 1980's the new parish church of St Francis of Assisi at Warrawong was built. Its design had taken into account the possibility of ad orientem celebrations at the behest of the young Conventual Franciscan friar Fr. Terence Mary Naughtin. Within weeks of its opening a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated according to the 1962 Missal. The TLM was then offered at regular intervals under a celebret which the young priest had received from the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome, the terms of which did not require permission from either local ordinary or superior. Needless to say the young priest was subjected to considerable pressure not to celebrate the TLM, particularly within his own Order.

Lion of the tribe of Judah
With Fr Terrence's departure in the early 1990's, Fr Leo Stevens celebrated the TLM at Villa Maria and then latter in Bulli, attracting up to a hundred people. It seems that Fr Stevens was a willing celebrant but plagued with ill health. The masses were not publicly advertised, and certainly not encouraged at a diocesan level and they were frequently cancelled at short notice due to illness. After his death there was a hiaties, and indeed a type of despair must fallen upon those who preferred the TLM.

In Exitu Israel...The wandering tribe
The DOW made no provision for what was effectively a stable community. A number were courted by the Society of St Pius X, and where indeed lost to them. Others travelled to attend approved masses in Sydney both at St Michael's College, Chapel of the Resurrection in Darlington and the Chapel of the Maternal Heart at Lewisham.

Benedictus qui venit...
With the coming of the new pope, Benedict the XVI and his desire to re-establish a "hermeneutic of continuity" the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" has given both to the clergy and the laity the opportunity to request and celebrate the TLM with impunity. Due, perhaps to episcopal obfuscation, in regard the previous provisions, reference to the local ordinary is no longer necessary, and organisation may occur at a grass roots level.

BISHOP OF WOLLONGONG, PASTORAL REFLECTION ON SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

The pastoral letter below is an extaordinary document, which clearly states the way in which the Bishop of Wollongong has read not only 'Summorum Pontificum" but the adjoining document which was sent to all bishops. It ignores many of the points which the Pope has clearly made in both documents. It also explains why to date the diocese has not made adequate pastoral provision for those who wish to attend the usus antiquior exclusively.

_______________________

DIOCESE OF WOLLONGONG

DIOCESAN CURIA

Catholic Church Offices

PO Box 1239

Wollongong NSW 2500

Australia86-88

Market Street

Tel: +61 2 4253 0900

Fax: + 61 2 4253 0977

BISHOP PETER'S PASTORAL REFLECTION ON POPE BENEDICT'S APOSTOLIC LETTER MOTU PROPRIO "SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM"

Pope Benedict's motu proprio of 7 July 2007, which allows a freer use of what he rightly calls the "extraordinary" form of the liturgy according to the Missal of St Pius V reformed by Bl. John XXIII 1962, comes into force today, 14 September 2007.

"The "ordinary" form of the Mass embodies the reform of the Second Vatican Council in the 1970 Missal of Pope Paul VI. This remains the usual liturgical expression for the celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice and may be celebrated in English or Latin.

Both these expressions of the Latin Rite are united as one, because which ever form of the liturgy i being used, the same mystery is being celebrated. So, speaking, writing or thinking in terms of two rites (Tridentine and Post Vatican II) should be avoided.

The Mass in the sacrament of our unity in Christ and must not provoke division.The Tridentine expression of the Mass nurtured my young faith until after I was ordained, as it nurtured the faith of countless millions.Yet the Second Vatican Council in fact crystallised and made official the rich fruit of the biblical, theological and liturgical development of doctrine in the decades that preceded the Council.

Personally I have always felt that Pope Pius XII was quite prophetic with his encyclicals in the 1940s on the Mystical Body of Christ (Mystici Corporis), Scripture (Divino Afflante Spiritu) and the Liturgy (Mediator Dei). The seeds of Vatican II are there. It is also worth remembering that it was Pius XII in the 1950s who effected changes in the Missal of St Pius V by restoring the Holy Week Rites, especially the Triduum, including their proper hours of celebration: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper; the Good Friday afternoon celebration of the Passion; and the Easter Vigil being a Holy Saturday night celebration.

The very first document the Vatican Council promulgated was on the Sacred Liturgy. This expressed in our liturgical celebrations, the central axiom that underpinned the major new emphasis of Vatican II: to mirror the full and active participation in the governance and pastoral life of the Church, at a diocesan and parish level, through finance and pastoral councils and the laity's witness to Christ in secular society.

Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing. I have personally felt that if the freedom to celebrate the Tridentine form of Mass had not been proscribed in 1970, and the clergy and faithful had been better educated to understand the theology of Vatican II, possibly the Missal of Pope Paul VI may have been more reverently and adequately accepted, appreciated and celebrated. This may have lessened resistance to misunderstood change which, in some cases, resulted in a hardening of attitudes.

The intention of Pope Benedict's motu proprio is to facilitate reconciliation for people who felt ostracised or marginalised or had joined schismatic groups in response to the Missal of Pope Paul VI.

The Holy Father is seeking to restore unity within the Church. He wants to assist those still attached to the Tridentine expression of Mass. I do not see that the Pope is intending his legislation to attract new recruits to what he now calls the "extraordinary" form of the Mass.

The "extraordinary" form of the Mass cannot be imposed on a congregation by a celebrant. In Art 5§1 the Pope sets out the limits for its celebration.

In the Diocese of Wollongong, for some years now, the Tridentine "extraordinary" form of the Latin Rite has been celebrated. It is currently celebrated by Fr John Stork at St Brigid's, Gwynneville at 3.00pm on alternate Sundays of the month. It would be good to advertise this in your parish bulletin. Please contact the Cathedral Parish Office for dates.

I also believe there is still much more work to be done at parish level on the "ordinary" form of Mass to improve the sense of reverence for the mystery being celebrated with the full and active participation of the faithful and to bring out the spiritual richness and theological depth of the Missal of Pope Paul VI.

The Vatican Council restored to our 1970 Liturgy of the Mass treasures from more ancient sources for Catholic worship that had been lost over the centuries; eg, a wider inclusion of Scripture, the general intercessions, greeting of peace.

With one legislative act, Pope Benedict has now shown that to reject our liturgical inheritance is an unacceptable as to deny the possibility of liturgical development.The Pope imposes tolerance on all of us. There is only one Latin Rite and the 1970 and 1962 Roman Missals are both expressions of it in an "ordinary" and "extraordinary" form.

The Pope has laid to rest any kind o suggestion that the 1970 Missal of Pope Paul VI is not a valid expression of the Liturgy of the Mass. By honouring the past, Pope Benedict seeks to achieve healing now and maintain unity in the future by making the extraordinary expression of the Mass available to those who have traditionally used it.

In his letter to Bishops that accompanied his motu proprio Benedict XVI explains the positive reason that motivated his decision.

"It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew."

Whether we pray the Mass according to either the "ordinary" form or the "extraordinary" form, we all are confronted with this same prayer before Communion:

"Lord Jesus, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of you Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever."

"St Augustine said:
In what is essential, let there be unity,
In what is non-essential,
let there be freedom;
But in all things, let there be charity."

+ Most Rev Peter W Ingham DD
BISHOP OF WOLLONGONG
14 September 2007

PWI:lt/125

Canonical Guide to Summorum Pontificum - Germany

The NLM features an "official " canonical opinion on Summorum Pontificum in the official year book of the German Catholic Church. Gregor Kollmorgen repeated here:

The first 2008 issue of Liturgisches Jahrbuch ("Liturgical Yearbook") contains some very clear and sound notes from a canonist's perspective on the implications of Summorum Pontificum. This is all the more surprising and gratifying as Liturgisches Jahrbuch is a quarterly edited by the German Liturgical Institute (Deutsches Liturgisches Institut), the centre of German liturgical "officialdom" maintained by the German Bishops' Conference. The article (Liturgisches Jahrbuch 1/2008, p. 3 ff.) is written by Prof. Norbert Lüdecke who teaches Canon Law at the University of Bonn. A summary of the article is given in the current issue of Una Voce Korrespondenz, the quarterly of the German Una Voce association (4/2008, p. 371 ff.), of which a summary appeared, on December 1st, 2008, on the website kath-info.de, which we present to you here in an NLM translation:

1. The bishops may issue "annotations and instructions for the implementation" of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, but they may not add "new mandatory content" (cf. the analysis of the "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference by Prof. Georg Muschalek).

2. The "guidelines" of the German Bishops' Conference of 27 September 2007 are not binding upon the individual diocesan bishop.

3. The celebration of the Missa sine populo is, except in the case of insurmountable obstacles, to be allowed "at any legitimate place". "Restrictions of the usus antiquior to certain places or times by particular law are (...) inadmissible."

4. In a Missa sine populo (literally translated: "Mass without people") the faithful may participate sua sponte (i.e. without compulsion). They may also advert other faithful to this Holy Mass.

5. For a group, which according to the Motu proprio is a prerequisite for the celebration of a Holy Mass with the people, the number of three persons is sufficient. The diocesan bishop cannot establish a higher minimum number.

6. The parish priest must not discriminate against Masses according to the old use "by keeping them secret or scheduling them at times difficultly accessible".

7. "The Pope has not ordered that the parish priest could meet the request of interested faithful. He has mandated that the parish priest must do so"(Lüdecke).

8. Faithful whose right to Holy Mass in the older use is being denied by the parish priest do not only have the possibility, but the duty to inform the diocesan bishop about this.

9. "Applications" for the traditional liturgy are "not petitions of grace or favour." "Parish priests as well as diocesan bishops are legally held to meet this request" (Lüdecke).

10. The consent of the bishop to a Holy Mass according to the old use instituted by a parish priest according to the desire of faithful is not required.

11. Laypeople as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion and women as altar servers are not allowed in the traditional liturgy.

Again, this is as excellent as it is unexpected, and its importance is not to be underestimated. The only caveat I would add refers to no. 5: I think it is an overly restrictive interpretation of Summorum Pontificum to say that a request by a group of faithful is "a prerequisite for the celebration of a Holy Mass with the people". It is a prerequisite for the faithful having a right to this Mass, not for a public celebration of the usus antiquior itself - or, as Fr Tim Finigan calls his apposite post on this question, If... but not "only if".

NOTICE: TRIDENTINE MASS - WOLLONGONG

Fourth Sunday of Advent

A Missa Cantata will be offered on the 4th Sunday of Advent at St Bridget's Church at Gwynnville, in the Wollongong area.

The Mass is celebrated with the support of the Bishop of Wollongong and needs your support.

Please support this Mass with your attendance.

Proclamation of the Word?

Recently in relation to the Synod on Scripture held in Rome, Bishop Peter Ingham of Wollongong made the following coment.

"My experience for over 40 years is that the standard of proclaiming the Scripture by laity and even by some clergy is patchy and so often quite poor. Proclaiming the Word in the Assembly needs to be greatly improved otherwise the Word of God will not have the impact “of God speaking to us” (GIRM 29), which the Church envisages and which we all desire."

Interesting comments from the Bishop, I wonder though whether it is really an issue of as much as concern to him as it would appear? Why you well might ask, based on what I witnessed in St Francis Xaviers Cathedral a year or so ago, where on Palm Sunday the Bishop presiding recited the Passion, himself as the "Christ" with children on either side of the sanctuary as Narrator and Crowd. The children where ill equiped for the task and, obviously by their manner they did not understand what they were reading! Appart from the liturgical inapproriateness of having children read the Gospel at any time let alone Holy Week it is astonishing astonishing that this could have been permitted even by the Bishop himself.

I wonder whether the issue of singing the sacred scripture came up? I suspect not. It should be pointed out that singing is the traditional means of proclaiming the word of God, and this by those who have holy orders Priests, Deacons, Subdeacons and Lectors; not laypeople out of the pews (an option which should only be used in extraordinary circumstances).

The reality which unfortunately is the norm is the extraordinary circumstance; It is in fact an abuse. Yet when you read the Bishop's comments he seems to accept this abuse as the norm and starting point for improvement rather than establishing the Church's norm. How about we train our Seminarians how to sing the Gospel, train up people for the office of Lector (a three year course might do the job) including training in how to sing the scriptures. Keep dreaming....