From the (London) Times:
With donations to the Church from around the world almost doubling and pilgrims pouring into Rome in ever-greater numbers, Vatican watchers are beginning to reassess the two-year-old pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI and noting a positive “Ratzinger effect”.
Today the Vatican will publish the Pope’s “motu proprio” decree allowing broader use by Roman Catholics of the Latin Tridentine Mass ”” the pontiff’s last act before leaving for his traditional summer holiday.
The move, which amends the Second Vatican Council’s decision in the 1960s that worship should be in the vernacular, is regarded as yet another sign of Benedict’s conservative attachment to tradition and doctrine. Some senior Catholics in Britain have accused him of “encouraging those who want to turn the clock back” and say that they fear the rite will revive preVatican II prayers for the conversion of “the perfidious Jews”.
The Vatican denies this, however, and points instead to the huge appeal of the Latin Mass ”” and Gregorian chant ”” not only for disaffected right-wing Catholics but also for many ordinary believers who value “the sheer beauty” of the ancient liturgy. “This is a Pope who ”” contrary to conventional wisdom ”” is in tune with the faithful,” one Vatican source said.
Question: did the Second Vatican Council really decide “that worship should be in the vernacular” (emphasis mine)? I remember from reading the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctam consilium) that it was more an issue of the Council allowing it, nor ordering it, which is a bit of a difference, and suggests that much of the worry about whether this motu proprio somehow trumps Vatican II has more to do with how Vatican II was received than what it actually said. But I could be completely wrong–I certainly haven’t studied all the Council’s documents in detail.
Conservative pope/more money/more pilgrims. Must be a coincidence.
Sam Keyes is right. [i]Sacrosanctum Concilium[/i] (this is the correct spelling) in s. 36 provides that Latin must be preserved but that more use of the vernacular is permissible in certain parts of the liturgy.
The only people that are surprised at the popularity of and devotion to this Pope, I’m convinced, are the ones that haven’t read his books, or heard his sermons.
#4 trooper: well said. I am most impressed with Jesus of Nazareth. It is wonderful.
Perhaps it’s not just this pope’s books that they have not read. With the shock that (oh my!) this pope has retained church teaching on issues like contraception and sexuality, one sees a basic lack of familiarity with any catholic literature of substance.
[blockquote] It was increasingly clear that although Benedict — formerly Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, John Paul’s long-serving doctrinal adviser — lacked the showmanship and charisma of his predecessor, his “simple and direct†assertion of values struck a chord with believers, Mr Tornielli said. [/blockquote]
Simple and direct assertion of values trumps showmanship and charisma?
Time to re-think the Clown Eucharist?