In the wake of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter that places new restrictions on the celebration of the Latin Mass, Bishop Alberto Rojas issued a decree ensuring that the Latin Mass will continue to be offered on its present schedule and locations in the Diocese.
“[The Latin Mass in our Diocese] will contribute to the spiritual good of the faithful,” Bishop Rojas wrote in his decree, explaining that he will grant a dispensation from one article in the Holy Father’s Motu Proprio, Traditionis custodes, which states the Latin Mass cannot be offered as a regular parish Mass.
Issued on July 16, Traditionis custodes made sweeping changes to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum, which acknowledged the right of all priests to say Mass using the Roman Missal of 1962.
In an accompanying letter to bishops explaining his decision, Pope Francis wrote: “In defense of the unity of the Body of Christ, I am constrained to revoke the faculty granted by my Predecessors. The distorted use that has been made of this faculty is contrary to the intentions that led to granting the freedom to celebrate the Mass with the Missale Romanum [Roman Missal] of 1962.”
The document contains eight articles that place greater jurisdiction over the celebration of the Latin Mass in the hands of the Ordinary Bishop. Any priest wishing to celebrate the Latin Mass must first obtain faculties to do so from the diocesan bishop.
In a statement accompanying his decree, Bishop Rojas echoed the Holy Father’s call for unity among the faithful in the celebration of the Eucharist.
“Let us remember that we are one in the celebration of the Eucharist, as we receive essential nourishment by partaking in the real presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “All the different rites of the Mass have this common purpose and gift to us.”
In his letter to bishops, Pope Francis explained the reasons behind his decision to limit access to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
He said that the responses to a survey of bishops conducted by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2020 “reveal a situation that preoccupies and saddens me, and persuades me of the need to intervene.”
Pope Francis said that when his predecessors allowed the celebration of the Mass according to the form used before the reforms of Vatican II, they wanted to encourage unity within the Church.
The pope said he was saddened that the celebration of the Extraordinary Form was now characterized by a rejection of the Second Vatican Council and its liturgical reforms. To doubt the Council, he said, is “to doubt the Holy Spirit himself who guides the Church.”
The above comes from a recent story by the Inland Catholic Byte.
Well more and more Bishops are choosing to ignore the Pope’s new moto propio, many of them are very surprising as well not all are TLM friendly, all good news for the Traditional Latin Mass.
Romulus is wrong. These bishops are not “choosing to ignore the Pope’s motu proprio” They are actually implementing it, because the Pope has written to the bishops that they ought “to provide for the good of those who are rooted in the previous form.” But at the same time to initiate bringing them back in due time to the Mass of Paul VI. The Pope has given the bishops the authority on how to proceed and to implement the motu propio. This Bishop has chosen to do it this way. So be it. But do not delude yourself into thinking that the Bishop of San Bernardino is choosing to “ignore” or disobey the Pope. You’re wrong there.
jon— has Bishop Rojas told you directly what motivations prompted his statement? no, he didn’t. are you clairvoyant [a mind reader]? no, you’re not. maybe it’s best to avoid proclaiming as facts things for which you have no factual support; stating things as your opinion is fine, if you label them as such.
i’m just guessing here, but I think that what irritates others about your posts is your presumed infallibility about your own opinions/guesses.
Dear Seeing: you need not be a clairvoyant nor a mind-reader to know the Bishop’s intent here. You only have to read the Pope’s letter accompanying Traditionis custodes which, if you had, will inform you that the Holy Father left a lot of the decision-making up to the bishops. Plus you also only have to read this Bishop’s own statement. He echoes the Pope’s call to unity; nowhere did he write, “I am disobeying the Pope by doing this.” Therefore the factual supports I have are their respective letters. Plus, using one’s common sense helps, which admittedly doesn’t seem to be common among the commentariat here. Common sense says that no bishop willfully disobeys the man who entrusted to him his office.
Here is a link to Bishop Rojas’ actual decree. It could become a model for other dioceses:
https://www.sbdiocese.org/docs/2021/Decree%20Implementing%20the%20Motu%20Proprio%20on%20Latin%20Mass.pdf
“Let us remember that we are one in the celebration of the Eucharist, as we receive essential nourishment by partaking in the real presence of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “All the different rites of the Mass have this common purpose and gift to us.”
Sorry to inform you, Bishop, that although you can dispense territorial parishes for a time if it serves genuine need, you must not consider doing so a long-term strategy to circumvent implementing Traditionis Custodes’ provisions that the use of the 1962 Missal be curtailed and the diocese move towards liturgical unity in celebrating the Novus Ordo Mass. Deceitfully using Canon Law as an attempt to provide permanent loophole for the 1962 Missal would be sinful.
God bless Bishop Rojas. Many other bishops are doing likewise.
Bishop Rojas, in approving the Latin masses to continue in 2 parish churches, apparently overlooked Article 2, Section 3 of the motu proprio which says bishops are to designate “locations” “not however in parish churches.” He may also have overlooked the fact that his decision needs approval from Rome.
God Bless Bishop Rojas, one of the good ones.
Bishop Rojas signed the global-homo “anti-bullying” statement. Why?
According to Andrew above, because Bishop Rojas is one of the good ones.
See, people, how trads just agree with whomever or whatever makes them feel good or does what they want them to do? I’m sure if this article were about Bishop Rojas signing the statement, Andrew would have called him a wolf in sheep’s clothing or a hireling.
Is Guasti still on?
It’s hilarious that trads are now demanding that Cafeteria Catholicism be reopened for them. I’ve read on this site and others the following:
1. Pope Francis doesn’t have the authority to restrict the 1962 Missal.
2. Bishops should use Canon Law to provide permanent dispensations from TC.
3. If TC isn’t received by trads, then it’s not a binding law.
4. My conscience tells me I can go to the TLM even if it’s prohibited.
And so on…
It is not the Latin Mass. it is the Mass in Latin.