There's been more than a little discussion of "varia" permissions for the Extraordinary Form (Old Rite) Mass on one blogsite. Seems that some Orders of priests are using the 'confession before communion,' which was removed from the Rite in 1961.
Here's the language from the Pope's Motu Proprio on the topic. See if you find any "wiggle room."
1. We command that, beginning on the first day of January of next year, 1961, all those who follow the Roman rite shall observe the new code of rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal arranged under three headings – “General Rubrics,” “General Rubrics of the Roman Breviary,” and “General Rubrics of the Roman Missal” – to be published shortly by our Sacred Congregation of Rites. As for those who observe some other Latin rite, they are bound to conform as soon as possible both to the new code of rubrics and to the calendar, in all those things which are not strictly proper to their own rite.
2. On the same day, January 1, 1961, the “General Rubrics” of the Roman breviary and missal, as well as the “Additions and Variations” to the rubrics of the Roman breviary and missal according to the bull Divino afflatu of our predecessor St. Pius X, which have hitherto been prefixed to these books, shall become inoperative. As the provisions of the decree, The Reduction of the Rubrics to a Simpler Form , dated March 23, 1955, have been incorporated into this new edition of the rubrics, this general decree of the Sacred Congregation of Rites shall likewise become inoperative. Finally, any decrees and replies on doubtful points issued by the same Congregation which do not agree with this new form of rubrics shall be abrograted.
3. Likewise, statues, priveleges, indults, and customs of any kind whatsoever, including those that are centenary and immemorial, even if they are worthy of special and individual mention, shall be revoked if they are opposed to these rubrics.
There are some who state that they have 'special permission' to utilize that which has (plainly) been obrogated. Documentation is lacking, however, at the Extraordinary Form's sub-congregation, the Ecclesia Dei commission--and Rome does NOTHING without documentation.
Blame it on Bugnini. The ubertrads who pick through the law to find or fabricate a loophole, hold as suspect anything that occurred to change the Roman Liturgy from the time he was appointed to the Curia in 1948. While he was the architect of post-conciliar liturgical reform, his influence before the Council is a matter of some conjecture. We're talking about a liturgical movement that had been underway for decades, mostly through the influence of Dom Casal and Maria Laach and other great liturgical centers. Bugnini, on the other hand, was ordained a priest shortly before WWII, and was a parish priest outside the city until after the War, serving as a professor of liturgy for a few measly years before joining the Sacred Congregation of Rites.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a powerhouse of influence, at least at first. And not exactly an excuse to ignore the legislator. But alas, conspiracy theories can take on a life of their own. And what should be a time of rejoicing for recovering Catholic tradition, becomes a p***ing contest over whose love of tradition is greater. Oy vey...