Brian Mershon
Despite dwindling priestly vocations, French clerics in public uproar on Latin Mass freedom
By Brian Mershon
Thirty priests and at least five bishops from dioceses throughout France have expressed their public dissent against the reported soon-to-be released motu proprio that will ease restrictions for all Latin rite priests to offer the Traditional Latin rite of Mass, as well as their displeasure with the recent erection of the Institute of Good Shepherd, made up of five former priests of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and several seminarians. Reportedly, another ten priests, many from South America, have expressed serious interest in joining this newly founded traditionalist institute in Bordeaux, France.
Thirty French priests wrote an open letter recommending that the Pope and priests attached to the Church's 1,600-year liturgical traditions "work in the world as it is...rather than plunge us back into the liturgical life of another age." Also, the Catholic newspaper, La Croix, quoted Toulouse Bishop Robert Le Gall as saying, "This could create grave difficulties, especially for those who have remained loyal to Vatican II."
Perhaps this was a last-ditch effort to attempt to derail a document that is reportedly in its final stages before promulgation. Indeed, Institute of Good Shepherd Superior General Philippe Laguérie expressed his sincere hope that the motu proprio would be promulgated prior to the next meeting of the French Episcopal Conference, scheduled on November 7.
Cardinal Ricard Audience with Pope
As this story went to press, the Vatican Information Service announced that Pope Benedict XVI had held an audience with Jean-Pierre Cardinal Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux, France, October 26. While no details of the topic or results of this meeting were announced, it is not unreasonable to suspect that this recent public and open dissent against the Holy Father's plans may have been a primary topic of conversation. Cardinal Ricard also serves on the Ecclesia Dei Commission, responsible for relations with traditionalist Catholics worldwide.
Two other bishops were quoted in the French media this week expressing their misgivings about the Pope's alleged imminent plans. "We can be charitable and welcoming but we also have to be honest," Besançon Bishop André Lacrampe told the daily L'Est Republicain. "I'm not ready to receive them because one cannot erase Vatican II with a stroke of a pen." Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council's document on the sacred liturgy, emphasized the need for retaining Latin in the sacred liturgy, and said that Gregorian chant should be given "pride of place" in the sacred liturgy — in other words, before all else. Both of these criteria are solid fixtures in the Traditional Latin rite.
"There are very deep and painful theological reasons behind this schism," Angoulême Bishop Claude Dagens told the Catholic weekly La Vie. "You can't pretend that Archbishop Lefebvre's break with the Church was only caused by the liturgy."
The SSPX has repeatedly stressed this point as well, but perhaps what is unknown to these dissenting bishops and priests is that the traditionalist priests of St. John Marie Vianney of Campos, Brazil, and the Institute of Good Shepherd, have both reportedly accepted a theological understanding of the Second Vatican Council being a valid council of the Church, with an understanding of its documents "in light of Tradition."
This is identical in fact to the formula initially agreed upon between the Holy See and the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, shortly before he reneged on this agreement and ordained four bishops without Pope John Paul II's permission.
Dr. David Allen White, a professor at the U.S. Naval Institute and author of a mosaic on the life of Archbishop Lefebvre, said he believed the looming motu proprio would effect positive change in the Church and possibly with relations with the SSPX.
"It's never a bad thing to have more Traditional Latin Masses being said," White said. "If this step by Rome causes more priests to be able to say the Traditional Mass, that's good."
Priestly Slide A Vatican Concern
Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, Una Voce consultant based in Rome, said that perhaps it is time for the Holy See to recognize the need to do something to stem the slide in priestly vocations in France. In fact, during John Paul II's pontificate, the documents from the last synod on Europe described the state of European Catholicism generally as being one of "apostasy."
"Most certainly, serious Church authorities have to see the dwindling numbers of vocations in the West as a clear sign of the terrible crisis that is affecting the Church after the last Council," Msgr. Barreiro said. "At the same time the growing number of young men that wish to offer the Traditional liturgy should given them some additional matter for reflection that all is not well with the reformed liturgy."
Msgr. Barreiro also pointed to some sobering statistics regarding the Church in France. In 1996, there were 720 diocesan priests residing in the Paris Archdiocese, while in 2006, there were only 583 diocesan priests in that same archdiocese for nearly 1.58 million Catholics.
"A serious and honest analysis of the statistical figures of the Catholic Church in France serve as an eloquent testimony that the pastoral reforms implemented after the Second Vatican Council were not very successful," he said.
Msgr. Barreiro also indicated that these facts should raise serious questions in people's minds regarding the "value and the wisdom of the complaints of the Gallic bishops against the Traditional liturgy of the Church."
Msgr. Barreiro said there was only one priestly Ordination in the Archdiocese of Bordeaux last year, the new home of the Institute of Good Shepherd. In fact, the decline in priests, both diocesan and religious, mirrors that of Paris. "Keep in mind that the Archdiocese of Bordeaux is a rapidly shrinking archdiocese, like it happens in most of France, and the median age of those priests is growing rapidly," he said.
For instance, Bordeaux had 290 diocesan priests in 1996, and was down almost a third to 208 in 2006. In 1996, Bordeaux had 97 religious priests active in the archdiocese, and in 2006 it has only 80.
Kenneth Jones, an attorney and the author of Index of Leading Catholic Indicators, a book that painstakingly documents the drastic statistical decline of nearly every area of Catholic life in the U.S. since 1965, essentially echoes Msgr. Barreiro's comments.
During an October 2003 International Una Voce Federation (FIUV) meeting with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the late Michael Davies, teacher, author, and president of FIUV, gave him a copy of Jones' book. "Michael Davies told me that he gave my book to then-Cardinal Ratzinger and actually sat down with him and went through it," Jones said. Davies told Jones that Cardinal Ratzinger "was genuinely interested and concerned about the numbers."
"I think we have a Pope who is cognizant of the crisis and who senses, at least to some degree, that the way we have been doing things for the last 40 years isn't working," Jones said. "Maybe that's one reason he established the Institute of the Good Shepherd."
Vocations Explosion in Traditionalist Orders
And in the midst of this sharp decline in France and throughout the West, an ever-growing number of young men are joining traditionalist priestly societies like the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest.
Fr. Armand de Malleray, the new secretary-general of the FSSP, told the Agence France-Presse that the reported document on the Traditional Latin Mass "corresponds to a true need." He outlined the worldwide growth of the FSSP, established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. "We have contracts with 86 dioceses on four continents and accompanied a thousand young people to the World Youth Day of Cologne, in 2005," he said.
"In 18 years, we have grown from 12 to 330 members, including 14 priests ordained each year, for seven years."
Fr. de Malleray also expressed the FSSP's satisfaction with the full canonical regularization of the new Institute of Good Shepherd. "The reconciliation of these brethren fills us with joy," he said.
Both societies offer the Traditional Roman rite of Mass and understand and receive the Second Vatican Council in light of Tradition, and the Holy See has asked for collaboration by "a positive attitude of study and dialogue on the difficult points."
Reform of The Reform In St. Peter's
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger set the stage for the attention he would give the liturgy when he offered the requiem Mass of Pope John Paul II almost entirely in Latin, with Gregorian chant given pride of place in the liturgy, and with some vernacular, primarily in the Liturgy of the Word. Two Roman sources have reported what until now has been an almost undetected and unreported shift in the manner in which the Sacred Liturgy is offered publicly in St. Peter's Basilica.
According to more than one source, all of the public Masses celebrated currently in St. Peter's Basilica are being offered primarily in Latin, with vernacular reserved for the readings and the sermon. According to these sources, small booklets are handed out to all attendees with Latin in one column, and various vernacular languages such as French, Italian, and English in the other columns.
© Brian Mershon
Thirty priests and at least five bishops from dioceses throughout France have expressed their public dissent against the reported soon-to-be released motu proprio that will ease restrictions for all Latin rite priests to offer the Traditional Latin rite of Mass, as well as their displeasure with the recent erection of the Institute of Good Shepherd, made up of five former priests of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) and several seminarians. Reportedly, another ten priests, many from South America, have expressed serious interest in joining this newly founded traditionalist institute in Bordeaux, France.
Thirty French priests wrote an open letter recommending that the Pope and priests attached to the Church's 1,600-year liturgical traditions "work in the world as it is...rather than plunge us back into the liturgical life of another age." Also, the Catholic newspaper, La Croix, quoted Toulouse Bishop Robert Le Gall as saying, "This could create grave difficulties, especially for those who have remained loyal to Vatican II."
Perhaps this was a last-ditch effort to attempt to derail a document that is reportedly in its final stages before promulgation. Indeed, Institute of Good Shepherd Superior General Philippe Laguérie expressed his sincere hope that the motu proprio would be promulgated prior to the next meeting of the French Episcopal Conference, scheduled on November 7.
Cardinal Ricard Audience with Pope
As this story went to press, the Vatican Information Service announced that Pope Benedict XVI had held an audience with Jean-Pierre Cardinal Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux, France, October 26. While no details of the topic or results of this meeting were announced, it is not unreasonable to suspect that this recent public and open dissent against the Holy Father's plans may have been a primary topic of conversation. Cardinal Ricard also serves on the Ecclesia Dei Commission, responsible for relations with traditionalist Catholics worldwide.
Two other bishops were quoted in the French media this week expressing their misgivings about the Pope's alleged imminent plans. "We can be charitable and welcoming but we also have to be honest," Besançon Bishop André Lacrampe told the daily L'Est Republicain. "I'm not ready to receive them because one cannot erase Vatican II with a stroke of a pen." Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council's document on the sacred liturgy, emphasized the need for retaining Latin in the sacred liturgy, and said that Gregorian chant should be given "pride of place" in the sacred liturgy — in other words, before all else. Both of these criteria are solid fixtures in the Traditional Latin rite.
"There are very deep and painful theological reasons behind this schism," Angoulême Bishop Claude Dagens told the Catholic weekly La Vie. "You can't pretend that Archbishop Lefebvre's break with the Church was only caused by the liturgy."
The SSPX has repeatedly stressed this point as well, but perhaps what is unknown to these dissenting bishops and priests is that the traditionalist priests of St. John Marie Vianney of Campos, Brazil, and the Institute of Good Shepherd, have both reportedly accepted a theological understanding of the Second Vatican Council being a valid council of the Church, with an understanding of its documents "in light of Tradition."
This is identical in fact to the formula initially agreed upon between the Holy See and the late French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988, shortly before he reneged on this agreement and ordained four bishops without Pope John Paul II's permission.
Dr. David Allen White, a professor at the U.S. Naval Institute and author of a mosaic on the life of Archbishop Lefebvre, said he believed the looming motu proprio would effect positive change in the Church and possibly with relations with the SSPX.
"It's never a bad thing to have more Traditional Latin Masses being said," White said. "If this step by Rome causes more priests to be able to say the Traditional Mass, that's good."
Priestly Slide A Vatican Concern
Msgr. Ignacio Barreiro, Una Voce consultant based in Rome, said that perhaps it is time for the Holy See to recognize the need to do something to stem the slide in priestly vocations in France. In fact, during John Paul II's pontificate, the documents from the last synod on Europe described the state of European Catholicism generally as being one of "apostasy."
"Most certainly, serious Church authorities have to see the dwindling numbers of vocations in the West as a clear sign of the terrible crisis that is affecting the Church after the last Council," Msgr. Barreiro said. "At the same time the growing number of young men that wish to offer the Traditional liturgy should given them some additional matter for reflection that all is not well with the reformed liturgy."
Msgr. Barreiro also pointed to some sobering statistics regarding the Church in France. In 1996, there were 720 diocesan priests residing in the Paris Archdiocese, while in 2006, there were only 583 diocesan priests in that same archdiocese for nearly 1.58 million Catholics.
"A serious and honest analysis of the statistical figures of the Catholic Church in France serve as an eloquent testimony that the pastoral reforms implemented after the Second Vatican Council were not very successful," he said.
Msgr. Barreiro also indicated that these facts should raise serious questions in people's minds regarding the "value and the wisdom of the complaints of the Gallic bishops against the Traditional liturgy of the Church."
Msgr. Barreiro said there was only one priestly Ordination in the Archdiocese of Bordeaux last year, the new home of the Institute of Good Shepherd. In fact, the decline in priests, both diocesan and religious, mirrors that of Paris. "Keep in mind that the Archdiocese of Bordeaux is a rapidly shrinking archdiocese, like it happens in most of France, and the median age of those priests is growing rapidly," he said.
For instance, Bordeaux had 290 diocesan priests in 1996, and was down almost a third to 208 in 2006. In 1996, Bordeaux had 97 religious priests active in the archdiocese, and in 2006 it has only 80.
Kenneth Jones, an attorney and the author of Index of Leading Catholic Indicators, a book that painstakingly documents the drastic statistical decline of nearly every area of Catholic life in the U.S. since 1965, essentially echoes Msgr. Barreiro's comments.
During an October 2003 International Una Voce Federation (FIUV) meeting with Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the late Michael Davies, teacher, author, and president of FIUV, gave him a copy of Jones' book. "Michael Davies told me that he gave my book to then-Cardinal Ratzinger and actually sat down with him and went through it," Jones said. Davies told Jones that Cardinal Ratzinger "was genuinely interested and concerned about the numbers."
"I think we have a Pope who is cognizant of the crisis and who senses, at least to some degree, that the way we have been doing things for the last 40 years isn't working," Jones said. "Maybe that's one reason he established the Institute of the Good Shepherd."
Vocations Explosion in Traditionalist Orders
And in the midst of this sharp decline in France and throughout the West, an ever-growing number of young men are joining traditionalist priestly societies like the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest.
Fr. Armand de Malleray, the new secretary-general of the FSSP, told the Agence France-Presse that the reported document on the Traditional Latin Mass "corresponds to a true need." He outlined the worldwide growth of the FSSP, established in 1988 by Pope John Paul II. "We have contracts with 86 dioceses on four continents and accompanied a thousand young people to the World Youth Day of Cologne, in 2005," he said.
"In 18 years, we have grown from 12 to 330 members, including 14 priests ordained each year, for seven years."
Fr. de Malleray also expressed the FSSP's satisfaction with the full canonical regularization of the new Institute of Good Shepherd. "The reconciliation of these brethren fills us with joy," he said.
Both societies offer the Traditional Roman rite of Mass and understand and receive the Second Vatican Council in light of Tradition, and the Holy See has asked for collaboration by "a positive attitude of study and dialogue on the difficult points."
Reform of The Reform In St. Peter's
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger set the stage for the attention he would give the liturgy when he offered the requiem Mass of Pope John Paul II almost entirely in Latin, with Gregorian chant given pride of place in the liturgy, and with some vernacular, primarily in the Liturgy of the Word. Two Roman sources have reported what until now has been an almost undetected and unreported shift in the manner in which the Sacred Liturgy is offered publicly in St. Peter's Basilica.
According to more than one source, all of the public Masses celebrated currently in St. Peter's Basilica are being offered primarily in Latin, with vernacular reserved for the readings and the sermon. According to these sources, small booklets are handed out to all attendees with Latin in one column, and various vernacular languages such as French, Italian, and English in the other columns.
© Brian Mershon
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