Pope Francis said Tuesday that inculturated liturgy can teach Catholics to better appreciate the diverse gifts of the Holy Spirit.
In a preface to a new book, Pope Francis said “this process of liturgical inculturation in Congo is an invitation to value the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are a treasure for all humanity.”
A year ago, Pope Francis offered Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for Congolese immigrants, marking the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Congolese Catholic Chaplaincy of Rome.
The inculturated Mass included traditional Congolese music and the Zaire Use of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
The Zaire Use is an inculturated Mass formally approved in 1988 for the dioceses of what was then known as the Republic of Zaire, now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in central Africa.
The only inculturated Eucharistic celebration approved after the Second Vatican Council, it was developed following a call for adaptation of the liturgy in “Sacrosanctum concilium,” Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy.
“One of the main contributions of the Second Vatican Council was precisely that of proposing norms for adapting to the disposition and traditions of various peoples,” the pope said in a video message published Dec. 1.
“The experience of the Congolese rite of the celebration of Mass can serve as an example and model for other cultures,” the pope said.
He urged the bishops of Congo, as St. Pope John Paul II did during the bishops’ visit to Rome in 1988, to complete the rite by also adapting the other sacraments and sacramentals.
The above comes from a Dec. 1 story on the site of the Catholic News Agency.
As a duly authorized rite, what’s the problem? A much bigger problem is Pope Francis’ support for adulterous unions, same-sex unions, and Communion for those not in full communion with the Church.
As an Eastern Catholic, I’m rather familiar with the various rites of the Church, both the Latin (Roman rite) Church and the Eastern Churches. The article seems to address a “Use” of the Roman Rite, as in the “Use” or form of the Roman Rite used by the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter. That said, I thought all Rites had to be ancient and that no new Rites are permitted. If the Pope really said, ““The experience of the Congolese rite of the celebration of Mass can serve as an example and model for other cultures,” that seems incorrect. Did he mean “use?” I realize that’s an English translation and that he probably spoke in Italian. As with other things Pope Francis has said, some follow-up clarification seems necessary to avoid confusion.
I’ve observed that the Eastern rites, typically in the vernacular, over the course of history resulted in dozens of national or ethnic churches — an overall lack of Christian unity. Contrariwise, the Old Rite of Mass — in its common latin tongue — resulted in western Christian civilization and a common faith that spanned dozens of politcal and ethnic boundaries.
Since 1970, the novus ordo missae has balkanized most Roman Catholic parishes, with some sporting as many as four different ethnic masses (!!), leading to disunity at the parish level. Most commonly in America, for example, Spanish and English speaking parishioners seldom worship together, let alone see or interact with each other. One group’s births, deaths, marriages, or prayer intentions are never seen or heard by the other group… and vice-versa. What a terrible loss!
These “inculturated” liturgies can only further balkanize an already fractured Church.
MrBill, you are free to have your observations. In the earliest days of the Church, as the Apostles spread the Faith, slightly different forms of the Mass developed in different parts of the world. You’ll have to take that up with the Holy Spirit. The Latin Church had, and still has, more than the one Roman Rite. The Council of Trent made the Mass largely uniform throughout the West, the Latin Church, as well as instituted other needed reforms in the Church. Thanks be to God for that Council. You’re accurate that there is the problem of national or ethnic Churches in the East. (Yet, the Roman Church had, and still has some, “national parishes.”) All of that said, Eastern Catholic Divine Liturgies (Masses) have changed very little since the 6th century (with the possible exception of being celebrated in the vernacular rather than the original Greek). “Inculturation” can mean many things and is not the same as an ancient Rite. The important issues are orthodoxy or heterodoxy, heresy or schism.
Click the link. It clarifies some of what you are asking.
I read the entire story before posting. If the translation into English of what the Pope said is accurate, it is not clear.
Nigerian Catholics have observed that “inculuration” is an imported Western concept, a kind of colonialization. The Latin Mass was already an inculturated vehicle, having much texture from the Roman empire-wide experience woven into it. Is there any evidence that an African grassroots demand ever asked for it? Africans with Vatican Ii formation in Rome and Paris, as well as foreign missionaries, imported the concept and applied it from above, blending in with the political liberation movements of 60s Africa that sought to express native identity rediscovery.
Whenever two or more of you gather in my name, here too shall I be.
That doesn’t mean the sacraments will be there.