Monsignor Andrea Giusto is the Diocesan Administrator of the Diocese of Savona Noli (a suffragan of Genova, in the region of Liguria), while the see is vacant. He has settled the "problem" created by the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum in his diocese: all Masses are henceforth forbidden, as this communiqué in the official website of the Diocese makes clear (link / PDF)
Don Giusto: "Stop to the Masses of Saint Pius V"
Published Monday, November 26, 2007
Stop, until further rules, to Masses celebrated according to the rite of Saint Pius V. After recent episodes which took place in the oratory of Saint Michael, at Celle Ligure, the diocesan administrator, Monsignor Andrea Giusto, takes a stand: "In the absence of the bishop - he affirms - and not being still sufficiently clarified the conditions which would render licit the celebration according to the Missal of Saint Pius V, I firmly ask the priests of the diocese not to give permission to groups that ask for the celebration and to ensure that in no church in the diocesan territory Masses according to the pre-Conciliar rite are celebrated."
[Rorate note: the first paragraph is then repeated]
"The conditions for this kind of celebration - explains Savonese liturgist Andrea Grillo - are the presence of a stably constituted group and their active participation in the rite. This means that a solid liturgical formation and a knowledge of the Latin language are needed, and that these Masses cannot be organized 'by invitation', almost as if they were a show or a private event."
The decision of the diocesan administrator will have as its consequence that, until new rules which will depend on the future Bishop, Masses according to the ritual of Saint Pius V may not be celebrated in Celle or elsewhere [in the Diocese].
The transcript will remain here in case the original content suddenly "disappears". (Tip: reader)
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So what were the "episodes" in Celle Ligure that moved the Diocesan Administrator to issue his (absolutely illegal) edict? A simple Traditional Mass - seemingly, with no scandal involved.
Il Giornale (regional section Liguria Cronaca) reported yesterday:
Il Giornale (regional section Liguria Cronaca) reported yesterday:
...at Celle Ligure, in the Parish of Saint Michael the Archangel, the first Mass in the ancient rite in the diocese of Savona took place. A celebration followed by 150-200 faithful, but criticized by the parish priest.
...[T]he Latin Mass [in Celle] was organized in the oratory neighboring the church of the Genoese "Una Voce" Association. The parish priest, don Piero Giacosa, was not opposed to the celebration, which he now criticizes harshly, however. "Why did I authorize it? I told the organizers that the matter did not interest me - he explains - I thought it was enough to dissuade them."
The Mass nonetheless took place, with the readings in Latin, the priest (an Italian-Brazilian from Verona) who turned his back to the assembly, and a homily in Italian. "I fear that Italy, the garden of the Catholic Church, may become the garden of pagans, of Muslims. - the celebrant said - Benedict XVI has liberalized this rite to make us remember that Mass is not a theater, but a place for prayer." Those who were present appreciated "the return to the past, to serious things". Gianno Romollotti says: "I saw people of a certain age, moved. There were also young men, new faces. It was not hard to follow the Mass, in the booklet there was an Italian translation. The criticisms? It is jealousy, we will repeat it on December 8."
If the Curia allows. "The stop is fair - don Giacosa replies - The Latin Mass was a concession by the Pope, it is supposed to unite, it cannot become a way to do proselytisms or to please the nostalgics, mostly [from] outside the Parish."
