A cryptic communiqué issued by the office of Dom Eamon Fitzgerald, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order of the Strict Observance (the Trappists), regarding Mariawald. Full text:
Mariawald
Some monasteries have learned through the media that the Abbot of Mariawald requested the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to grant to his community the privilege of “returning to the old liturgy as well as to the former usages of the Trappists (the ‘Usus’ di Monte Cistello – Rome 1964)”. This privilege was granted and communicated to Dom Josef Vollberg by the President of the Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei”, Dario Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos.
In a letter of November 20th the Cardinal informed the Abbot General of this decision. On December 20th , the Abbot General wrote to the Cardinal requesting some clarifications.
