Retirement of Francis Cardinal Arinze

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Well the invetable happened today. Zenit reports that the Holy Father has accepted the retirement of Francis Cardinal Arinze, prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and has appointed his successor, Antonio Cardinal Canizales Llovera.

According to Zenit:
Nigerian-born Cardinal Arinze, 76, has led the congregation since 2002. The Vatican press office announced today his retirement and the appointment of Cardinal Cañizares, 63.
Antonio Cañizares was born in Spain on Oct. 15, 1945. He did his seminary studies for the Diocese of Valencia and at the Pontifical University of Salamanca, where he obtained a doctorate in theology. He was ordained in 1970.
Father Cañizares spent much time as a professor, imparting courses in the theology of the Word and fundamental theology. He was named bishop of Avila in 1992 and five years later, was moved to the Diocese of Granada. In 2002, he was named archbishop of Toledo and he was made a cardinal by Benedict XVI in 2006.
He has served in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.
Francis Arinze was born in 1932 and ordained a priest in 1958. He served as the archbishop of Onitsha, Nigeria. He was called to Rome to work first on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, serving as president of that council from 1985-2002, before he was named to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Some online bloggers, while lamenting Cadinal Arinze’s departure, have welcomed this appointment, especially since the new prefect is know as “the little Ratzinger.” From Free Republic comes this report (and commentary):
As has been expected for several months, what could be called the ultimate “lex orandi est lex credendi” appointment has formally, finally, come to pass: the Pope has named the primate of Spain, Cardinal Antonio Cañizares Llovera of Toledo, as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
Dubbed the “Ratzingerino” – the “Little Ratzinger” – as a collaborator of the then-prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the 63 year-old prelate succeeds Cardinal Francis Arinze, who reached the retirement age of 75 in November 2007.
Cardinal Arinze has been a bright spot in the area of the reform of the reform. It was under his administration that Redemptionis Sacramentum was issued and he was a strong defender of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Let us hope that the new Prefect will continue to cultivate the seeds of liturgical stewardship that Cardinal Arinze sowed. From reading the blurb in Free Press, I think we have a winner.👍
 
Maybe the lay blessings will discontinue now? It would make my life easier.
 
Lay blessings will never go away. Never.
What makes you so sure? The new prefect seems to be a very strong proponent of celebrating the Holy Sacrament the way it was supposed to be.

Besides, I think that we might well see the beginning of the end of such things as “lay blessings” and other strange activity.
 
Improper blessings or attempts by lay people serving as emsHc during the Communion Procession will never go away. I do not think the is enough obedience left in the Church to eradicate the abuses we gripe about on a regular basis here. If they could not be crushed during Ratzinger and Arinze’s watches as the reformers of the reform, they will forever remain.
 
To get back on topic- I’m just glad to know that Cardinal Arinze’s retirement was just due to his age and not because of any serious health issue.
 
Improper blessings or attempts by lay people serving as emsHc during the Communion Procession will never go away. I do not think the is enough obedience left in the Church to eradicate the abuses we gripe about on a regular basis here. If they could not be crushed during Ratzinger and Arinze’s watches as the reformers of the reform, they will forever remain.
The issue is the bishops who filed to enforce the rules, and the priests who followed their lead.

As the “Spirit of Vatican II” Bishops are replaced, we should see more and more enforcement of the rules as written.
 
Improper blessings or attempts by lay people serving as emsHc during the Communion Procession will never go away. I do not think the is enough obedience left in the Church to eradicate the abuses we gripe about on a regular basis here. If they could not be crushed during Ratzinger and Arinze’s watches as the reformers of the reform, they will forever remain.
Abuses have always been and always will be - St Bernardine of Siena back about five or six centuries ago had lots to say about poorly educated priests who abused the Mass (not even saying the words of consecration, mind you - which rarely if ever happens in the OF at least) in his day.

It comes and goes in cycles, we’ve been caught up in a bad part of the cycle these last few decades. In Church time, as in God’s, a few decades here or there doesn’t mean a lot in the eternal scheme of things.
 
Just a reminder of what the topic is: Retirement of Francis Cardinal Arinze
 
To get back on topic- I’m just glad to know that Cardinal Arinze’s retirement was just due to his age and not because of any serious health issue.
Me, too. The media didn’t say what he was going to do, whether he was going back to Africa or not. It’s kind of funny. The former Cardinal Ratzinger was very open about what he wanted to do after he retired from the CDF: move back to Germany and write more books. But, we all know what happened. 😃
 
Thanks, Benedictgal! It will be interesting to see how things progress once Cardinal Canizales is fully installed.
 
What do y’all think his greatest legacy will be? I thihk that he took the ball that Cardinal Medina (his predecessor) passed on to him and ran with it for several touchdowns. He kept Medina’s momentum on the English translation of the Roman Missal and was adamant about fidelity to the rubrics. He also worked together with the former Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger on Redemptionis Sacramentum and issued pronouncements reaffirming the right of the faithful to kneel in order to receive Holy Communion (something that his predecessor had also clearly defined).

He was also a huge proponent of lex creendi , lex orandi and really made a push to promote this. He was also very no-nonsense on the matter of liturgical abuses, defining what creativity actually meant and the fact that liberty in the liturgy doesn’t mean having carte blanche.

Now his successor will have to run wih the ball. If he lives up to his reputation as the “little Ratzinger”, then, I think that the reform of the reform will move a lot faster.👍
 
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