The side altars of St. Peter’s basilica were almost all devoid of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass this morning as a Vatican directive suppressing individual Masses being celebrated in the upper part of the basilica came into force.
From today, priests can only concelebrate the Masses in the main body of the basilica in the morning between 7am and 9:30am Rome time — a break with the usual custom of allowing individual priests to freely celebrate their daily Mass at the basilica’s many altars.
The five-point directive was imposed in a “top-down” fashion without any consultation, according to an informed Vatican source who asked to remain anonymous.
Initialed by Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the deputy Secretary of State, the instruction stated that, in order to ensure “an atmosphere of recollection and liturgical decorum,” individual celebrations would be “suppressed” at the side altars of St. Peter’s beginning March 22.
In a March 13 statement, Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect emeritus of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s highest court, said the directive was in “direct violation of universal Church law,” that it breached the standard methods for making changes to the Sacred Liturgy, and should therefore be “rescinded immediately.”
He and others critical of the directive say it unjustly conditions priests to concelebrate Masses in violation of their freedom to offer the Mass individually. Faithful from around the world coming to the basilica will also now almost always be restricted to taking part in Masses in Italian.
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who remarked on EWTN’s The World Over last week that the Secretariat of State had neither the legal nor theological competence to make such a decision, told the Register March 22 that it will have the effect of making clergy working in the Vatican “more like functionaries and with less priestly identity.”
The directive, which he said was a “merciless, authoritarian document, imposed without consultation or synodality,” represents a “secularized understanding” of the Mass as religious entertainment, disregards “the Catholic spiritual tradition of the priesthood to celebrate the Mass every day,” and is further proof of the “self-secularization of the Church.”
Cardinal Müller said the directive’s authors “want to have this ‘recollection and decorum’ but it’s not the reality.” He added that he hopes it will not make the basilica “more and more like a museum.”
It is still not clear who was behind the directive which has been discussed for many years but has coincided with the departure in February of the previous archpriest, Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who was known to be resistant to such a change. Reliable sources have told the Register Pope Francis authorized it himself with the help of one of his close confidants, Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, and a number of other cardinals close to the Holy Father.
Full story at National Catholic Register.
Nothing to see here people. It was discussed and expected for years, finally the guy who was preventing it left his position. Now it’s been enacted. Maybe stop visiting Vatican City. Lack of tourism dollars might hurt.
And so what if this directive is now in place? It surely must now have the approval of the competent ecclesial authority as it is now in full effect. Even a pastor in a parish has the final say on whether or not a particular priest may celebrate the sacraments in his own parish church. So why can’t the Pope through any of his chosen delegates have the same say? No one’s freedom is being curtailed here, so folks should cool it. Rather, having this directive in place is beneficial. It will now be near impossible for a priest who is not in good standing, a renegade priest, a priest disobedient towards the Second Vatican Council, and a schismatic priest such as the beloved SSPX to just walk in and celebrate Mass at the hallowed enclosure of St. Peter’s; and even more impossible for such a priest to later say, photo in hand, “but I am still allowed to offer Mass at St. Peter’s.”
Only people like the self appointed Dr. of the Church would see this ruling as beneficial….
“a schismatic priest such as the beloved SSPX”?
But, jon, what about your beloved Fratelli Tutti? Where’s the love?
Again with “beloved” SSPX. It’s personal with you for some reason. You really hate tradition.
I would look to Cardinal Raymond Burke’s opinion on this, good , sound, reasonable , intelligent analysis of this issue. A shepherd that we are blessed to have to guide us.
This is a genuine question. How many parishes, cathedrals, basilicas allow any priest to freely say Mass? My understanding is that in any parish or diocese the ordinary has jurisdiction to allow or disallow Mass being said. Is the very post-modern and popular concept of entitlement at work here?
This is a sincere question. Is freedom for any priest to say Mass normal in a Basilica or Cathedral? My understanding is the local Ordinary has jurisdiction in a parish or diocese to allow or disallow a Mass. Is the post-modern and popular concept of entitlement at work here?