The bishops reaffirm their commitment to the ecumenical journey with the Anglican bishops and communities of Australia. They express their gratitude to the Anglican bishops who have similarly reaffirmed their commitment to ecumenical relationships with the Catholic Church at this time.
From the Briar Patch Dictionary:
From today’s New York Times:
[blockquote] The next pope, John XXIII, named Bugnini secretary to the Preparatory Commission for the Liturgy of Vatican II, in which position he worked with Catholic clergymen and, surprisingly, some Protestant ministers on liturgical reforms. In 1962 he wrote what would eventually become the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, the document that gave the form of the new Mass.
Many of Bugnini’s reforms were aimed at appeasing non-Catholics, and changes emulating Protestant services were made, including placing altars to face the people instead of a sacrifice toward the liturgical east. As he put it, “We must strip from our … Catholic liturgy everything which can be the shadow of a stumbling block for our separated brethren, that is, for the Protestants.†(Paradoxically, the Anglicans who will join the Catholic Church as a result of the current pope’s outreach will use a liturgy that often features the priest facing in the same direction as the congregation.)
[/blockquote]
Thanks for that, Catholic Mom. I was unaware of those motivations and thought that the changes in Roman liturgical practices were internally driven.
I would point out that, however laudatory these changes may be, for this particular Protestant they are adiaphora. I do notice that there forces inside the Roman church that are still resisting these changes.
I think the lesson to be drawn is that having a variety of worship forms will provide homes for the maximum number of potential believers, and is thus an evangelical tactic rather than an ecumenical tactic, and is to be commended to both sides.
There is an old speculation which I have voiced–which I cannot support scripturally, that if there were only one correct form for worshiping God, He would not have needed six billion people on the planet.
With regard to Catholic Mom’s insert from the New York Times:
As is quite usual with the secular, corporate media, the article is both a misunderstanding and misjudgment of the liturgical reforms of Vatican II. The purpose of the liturgical reform was internal to the Catholic church. It was not a compromise or concession to any outside entity no matter what shape it took.