Instructions to Summurum Pontificum

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(1) On the non-Roman Latin Rites, there will be an explicit explanation that Summorum Pontificum does not apply to them (however, see 3, below).
(2) The instruction will maintain the prohibition, mentioned in an earlier draft, of the ordination according to the Pontificale Romanum, of seminarians who are not part of societies dedicated to the Extraordinary Form - although the local ordinary can refer the matter to the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei for permission for such ordinations.
(3) The Traditional rites and uses of the religious orders can be celebrated freely by their respective priests, in the cases of Art. 2 and Art. 4 of Summorum Pontificum; the authorisation of a superior would be necessary only in “public” (see Art. 5) Masses.
(4) The celebration of the Triduum Paschale according to the Extraordinary Form will be possible, which an erroneous reading of Art. 2 of Summorum Pontificum had made some reluctant to admit.

(5) No specific definition of a “stable group” will be given: a minimum number will not be established; it will, however, be confirmed that it is not necessary for the group to have existed before the publication of Summorum Pontificum.

(6) The powers of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in cases of episcopal resistance to the application of Summorum Pontificum will be enhanced - though the exact text of the instruction on the matter is unknown.

In an account of the instruction recently published, the Vatican observer Andrea Tornielli mentions that it will make it clear that “bishops cannot and must not publish rules which limit the faculties granted by the Motu Proprio, or change its conditions”, but “are, rather, called to apply it”. That is, the instruction will make clear that all such diocesan instructions and regulations regarding Summorum Pontificum are null and void.

(7) As reported since the first rumours of the instruction appeared as long ago as 2007, it is expressly foreseen that the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite should be taught in seminaries of the Latin Church - as well as the Latin language. However, the exact wording of the instruction on this matter is also unknown.

All signs seems to point to the publication of the instruction, which has apparently already been signed, before Easter.

lms.org.uk/news-and-events/news-blog#press-release-icksp-bp-davies

(page down to the 8 March entry)
 
Sounds like a good turn of events helpful to priests who wish to offer the Mass in the Extraordinary form. There is nothing wrong with having both forms of Mass.
 
laszlo said:
(3) The Traditional rites and uses of the religious orders can be celebrated freely by their respective priests, in the cases of Art. 2 and Art. 4 of Summorum Pon(ttificum; the authorisation of a superior would be necessary only in “public” (see Art. 5) Masses.
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This is the one that I find most promising.

In the 1970’s our Prior General (Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (Carmelites)) surrendered our Carmelite Rite to Rome. I know that there are some out there that would dispute this but this is what I have been taught within the Order.

This appears to be returning our Rite to us.
 
laszlo said:
(3) The Traditional rites and uses of the religious orders can be celebrated freely by their respective priests, in the cases of Art. 2 and Art. 4 of Summorum Pontificum; the authorisation of a superior would be necessary only in “public” (see Art. 5) Masses.
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There is a misunderstanding here, among the lay faithful, regarding clerics who belong to religious orders or to religious congregations.

The Major Superior has to be consulted. This is true.

SP also indicates that the decision of the Major Superior is based on the Ordinary Law of the religious institute. The Ordinary Law of a religious institute are spelled out in one or more of the following documents.
  1. The Rule, if the institute has one. Not all religious communities have a rule (i.e. Redemptorists do not have a rule, Jesuits do not have a rule, Salesians do not have a rule, etc). Some institutes use the rule of another institute and have to abide by that (i.e. Dominicans follow the Rule of St. Augustine).
  2. The Statutes, if the institute has them. Some institutes do not have statutes that govern them Others have statutes and no rule (i.e. Jesuits and Carthusians).
  3. The Consitutions, every religious institute, whether it’s an order or a congregation has constitutions.
  4. The Chapter, every institute has a General Chapter and those that are international also have a Provincial Chapter. The Chapter has the power to enact regulations that are not in conflict with the Rule, statutes, constitutions or the mind of the founder.
  5. Legislative writings by the founders. Some founders wrote additional legislation that is not part of the rule, but is legally binding on the institute. (i.e. Francis of Assisi wrote a Final Testament). These testaments serve as addendums to the original rule. Other founders wrote their wishes in letters and other formal documents. These can be binding, if they are accepted as such by the Holy See.
  6. The authority of the Major Superior. The founders give their successors certain powers to make decision on issues that may arise, but are not addressed in the original rule, constitution or statutes. The Major Superior need not receive permission from the Chapter or the Holy See to apply these decisions. The members of the institute are bound to obey him. (i.e. A Major superior can prohibit the celebration of “private masses.” For example, in the Rule of St. Francis there is no allowance for private masses. If there is more than one priest in a house, only one can celebrate the mass. The other priests may not celebrate a private mass. They are to attend the mass like any other non-ordianed brother. The exception to this is when mass intentions have been paid for. The superior can and usually does authorize the celebration of private masses to fulfill this obligation.)
  7. It is not a given that a priest in a religious community can celebrate a private mass. This depends on the superior and the rules of the institute. In some communities, the superior has the authority to forbid the celebration of private masses. This is more common in large houses where there is no need for more than one mass.
  8. If the Superior General has surrendered the rite of his order, SP does not gurarrantee that the order will recover it. SP is about the use of the Tridentine Form, not about specific rites: Carmelite, Carthusian, Dominican, Ambrosian, and other rites within the Roman Church. Those rites that have been surrendered must be requested by the General Chapter, approved by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and by the Sacred Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
  9. If the Ordinary Law of the institute allows it, the Major Superior can authorize the use of the EF. Most religious communities of men have left the decision to the local house. This means that when religious are transferred from one house to another, the house must hold a chapter to determine whether or not it wants to continue to use the EF as its conventual form. A Major Superior can prohibit the use of the EF. He cannot impose its use.
  10. The formation of priests in the EF and in Latin is meant for seculars, not for consecrated religious. The reason is that consecrated religious follow their own formation program, because their formation is does not focus exclusively on preparation for the priesthood. In fact, preparation for the priesthood is contained within the overall formation for the consecrated life, which supercedes the formation to the priesthood. In other words, formation to the priesthood is a vocation within a vocation, not the othe way around. You’re not a priest who happens to be a religious. It’s the other way around. You’re a religious who happens to be a priest, just as someone else may be a religious who happens to be a teacher and so forth.
I realize that this can be confusing to the man on street, because the average layperson has no need to know all of these technicalities. They don’t affect him. They only affect the form of the mass that he attends when a particular religious celebrates it.

Trust me, this is confusing to those of us in religious life too. It takes many years of formation to get this clear or as I say, to wrap your head around it all. 😛

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
JReducation said:
  1. If the Superior General has surrendered the rite of his order, SP does not gurarrantee that the order will recover it. SP is about the use of the Tridentine Form, not about specific rites: Carmelite, Carthusian, Dominican, Ambrosian, and other rites within the Roman Church. Those rites that have been surrendered must be requested by the General Chapter, approved by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship and by the Sacred Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
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:crying: Well there goes my hope. :crying:

I thought I was getting a very special birthday present.
 
ByzCath said:
:crying: Well there goes my hope. :crying:

I thought I was getting a very special birthday present.
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You may still get that present. It really depends on the actual text of the instruction, even in the rather unique case of the O.Carm.

First, we have that the traditional Rite has been restored to a limited degree among certain O.Carm communities. Now, if, as the article, supposes, the forthcoming instruction contains the cited item (3), case closed, provided (a) the religious superiors permit so-called “private” celebration and (b) a priest is familiar with the traditional Rite and is able to celebrate it.

It seems likely that the Ambrosiani won’t be happy, but I happen to agree with Fr Z that there may well be something separate in the offing to deal with that particular situation.

All together, it still looks like we’ll just have to wait-and-see how the instruction is written.
 
ByzCath said:
:crying: Well there goes my hope. :crying:

I thought I was getting a very special birthday present.
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I doubt it will be denied if the Prior General requests it, provided that the constitutions of the O’Carm allow him to make such a request. If it’s not in the constitutions, then the friars can authorize the Prior General to make the request.

The point is that I doubt that the Holy See would deny the request as long as the constitutions are followed.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
malphono said:
You may still get that present. It really depends on the actual text of the instruction, even in the rather unique case of the O.Carm.

First, we have that the traditional Rite has been restored to a limited degree among certain O.Carm communities. Now, if, as the article, supposes, the forthcoming instruction contains the cited item (3), case closed, provided (a) the religious superiors permit so-called “private” celebration and (b) a priest is familiar with the traditional Rite and is able to celebrate it.

It seems likely that the Ambrosiani won’t be happy, but I happen to agree with Fr Z that there may well be something separate in the offing to deal with that particular situation.

All together, it still looks like we’ll just have to wait-and-see how the instruction is written.
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The point here is that the instructions cannot overrule the constitutions of a religious community. The constitutions are Ordinary Law. They always take precedence. Over them are the Rule, if the religious community has a rule. Above the Rule is the founder, if the community has a founder.

The Church never makes laws that trump this chain of command. The instructions will probably say something such as “according to the Ordinary Law.” That will bind the religious to their chain of command and their internal rules and internal authorities.

If the instructions overrules the Ordinary Law, in essence, it is suppressing a part of the laws of an institute. Although the Holy Father can do this, because he is the highest ranking superior of religious institutes, it’s not done unless there is grave danger to souls. Just look at the situation with the Legionaires. Pope Benedict refused to overrule their constitutions and refused to suppress any part of it unless their was a danger to souls. Upon finding that no danger existed, the constitutions of the Legionaires were left standing just as their founder had written them, despite his tragic personal history.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF 🙂
 
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