By Veronica A. Arntz
For the Kingdom of
God:
Some Thoughts on Pope
Francis’s Recent Interview and Traditional Catholics
With Pope Francis’s most recent interview with Fr. Antonio
Spadaro, SI, there has been much discontent, especially among traditional Catholics.
In just a few sentences, Pope Francis seemingly denied the validity and
importance of everything they hold dear: traditional liturgy, adhering to the
traditions of the Church, and even the essential role of Summorum Pontificum. He has even alluded to the belief that young
people who are interested in traditional liturgy are too “rigid” (more on that
later).
Displeasure at these remarks is a natural response, yet they
should not really surprise us. Pope Francis has already disregarded
Cardinal Sarah’s remarks on the importance of ad orientem worship (which he reiterates in this interview), and he
has swept
clean the Office of Divine Worship of its more traditional cardinals, who
supported movements such as ad orientem worship.
We should not be surprised that this pope, who has already disregarded liturgical
tradition in many instances, should say these things about those who are
interested in traditional liturgy.
The more difficult part about these statements, however, is
that they could not be further from the truth. Whether he is simply ignorant,
has little regard for traditional Catholics, or truly means these things, it is
difficult to reconcile them with the reality of traditional Catholicism.
In the translation
of this interview provided by Rorate
Caeli, we read, “Pope Benedict accomplished a just and magnanimous gesture
[Summorum Pontificum] to reach out to
a certain mindset of some groups and persons who felt nostalgia and were
distancing themselves. But it is an exception.” One can hardly read this
sentence without picturing a large, important man patting a small, innocent
girl on the head as he hands her a lollipop. That Benedict’s Summorum
Pontificum made an “exception” for a small group of people interested
in pre-conciliar liturgy is a vast understatement.
In Benedict’s letter
on the publication of Summorum, we
read that the positive reason for the Motu Propio “is a matter of coming to an
interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church…Let us generously open our
hearts and make room for everything that the faith itself allows.”
Benedict’s Motuo Proprio, which permits the celebration of
the 1962 Missal, is hardly allowing just one small group of people the liturgy
for which they are nostalgic. Rather, he is bringing union where there was
division, for the 1962 Missal “was never juridically abrogated and,
consequently, in principle, was always permitted.” Benedict brought unity to
the broken Church following the Second Vatican Council.
For so many long years, the “experts” denied that the
liturgy of the 1962 Missal could be celebrated: Vatican II (supposedly) had spoken,
and we now only celebrate the Missal of Paul VI. We cannot return to that old
liturgy, which did not allow for active participation and was only for towering
intellects with knowledge of Latin. The participation of the people is more
important than the tradition of 1500 years (see Pope Paul VI’s “eulogy” of the
Traditional Latin Mass); we are modern people now, and we need a Mass that fits
who we are.
So they said at the time.
But Benedict XVI saw things differently. He saw that, while
both forms are valid, as he himself affirms, the Church was suffering from the
lack of the 1962 Missal. The Church had (perhaps unknowingly, in some respects)
distanced herself from the tradition that rightfully belonged to her, and
should rightfully be given to the people. And not just one small group was
suffering, but the entire, universal Church.
Indeed, this healing began with Pope John Paul II in his 1988
Motu Proprio, Ecclesia
Dei, when he provided guidelines for the use of the 1962 Missal. Benedict
sought to bring even further healing by allowing celebration of the 1962 Missal
for the whole Church. While many had accepted the liturgical changes of Paul VI
out of obedience, they could see that “in many places celebrations were not
faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was
understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to
deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear” (Letter of Benedict XVI).
Thus, with the introduction of the 1962 Missal, Benedict
sought to give back to the Church a mode of celebrating the liturgy that would
be reverent and faithful to tradition. In this way, Benedict saw that both the
Tridentine Rite and the Novus Ordo could inform each other: perhaps the 1962
Missal would influence a more reverent celebration of the Novus Ordo, which had
become subject to abuse since Vatican II.
While the “reform of the reform” movement has its flaws, it
is certainly better than leaving the Novus Ordo as it has been celebrated since
the Second Vatican Council. But, as Francis states, “Vatican II and Sacrosanctum Concilium must go on as
they are. To speak of a ‘reform of the reform’ is an error.” While there is a
small hint of truth in that, as Sacrosanctum
Concilium called for certain things in the celebration of sacred liturgy
that were subsequently ignored after the Council, it seems that Francis is
speaking of how the Church has celebrated the Novus Ordo since the time of
Vatican II. This form of celebration has become irreverent to the mysteries
within the liturgy, novel in its liturgical form, and divorced from tradition.
It seems he is saying that there is no need to change
anything with the way that our liturgies are celebrated, that everything is
perfectly fine. This is a further retraction of what Benedict XVI attempted to
do in his pontificate, for alongside Summorum,
he was continually advocating for properly celebrated liturgy.
Once again, we know that what Francis has said could hardly
be further from reality. The fact is that the Church, the people of God, the
faithful members of the Body of Christ, are thirsting for something that banal,
anthropocentric liturgy cannot give them. They are searching for true beauty,
for beauty that has been handed down through tradition. They are searching for
a liturgy that does not change at random, that is not merely about the
creativity or personality of the priest, that does not treat them like ignorant
children. Their souls are longing to be filled with sacred music, accompanying
the most sacred act of the Church, that of making present the Body and Blood,
Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ on the altar.
The whole Church is groaning for a liturgy that puts Christ,
not man, at its center. And while the Novus Ordo can be celebrated reverently
and beautifully if the time and consideration is taken, it is just as true (or
even more true) that the Tridentine Rite satisfies, even if only in a small
way, the deepest desires of Christ’s faithful while we are here on earth. The
rich prayers, passed down through tradition, satisfy the faithful’s desire for
transcendence. While we will not be completely at rest until Heaven, the liturgy
of 1962 begins that rest here on earth. In this liturgy, we find the deepest
springs of God’s love for us; we truly feel as if we have tasted Heaven,
because we are not worried about the priest’s personality, or what will happen
next, or what we should say. Our focus is entirely on Christ and the mystery of
his presence.
This desire for beautiful, sacred liturgy could not be more
evident among young people. Young people truly want beautiful liturgy; they
find that it is truly attractive, not
just attractive at the surface level. They recognize in the Tridentine Rite
something that is wholly different from their everyday experience. Unlike the
Novus Ordo, which can sometimes almost cater to everyday experience, the
Tridentine Rite is entirely other. It
is mysterious and truly points beyond human reality. While Pope Francis’s
syntax is difficult (it could be read in a few ways), it would seem that he is
condemning young people who love the Tridentine Rite as being too “rigid.” The
full text is reproduced below, from the Rorate
Caeli translation:
“I always
try to understand what is behind those individuals who are too young to have
lived the pre-Conciliar liturgy, and who want it nonetheless. I have at times
found myself in front of people who are too rigid, an attitude of rigidity. And
I ask myself: how come so much rigidity? You dig, you dig, this rigidity always
hides something: insecurity, at times perhaps something else…[sic]. The
rigidity is defensive. True love is not rigid.”
Perhaps the Pontiff has not experienced young people who
love the Tridentine rite, but the last word to describe them would be “rigid.”
Young people who experience and love the Tridentine rite
have a deep desire to preserve the tradition of the Church; they have a deep
love for God, and a deep love for the liturgy. Women wear chapel veils as a
sign of reverence and respect for the presence of our Lord. They ardently
desire to become saints and to imitate them in their own lives. They willingly
attend the sacrament of Penance, they love the universal Church, and they have
a profound respect for the Holy Father and his office. They respond openly to
God’s call: Many become priests and religious, and others have beautiful, fruitful
marriages with many children. Perhaps some consider them “rigid” because of
their very desire to preserve tradition and what the Church has always taught.
Being a young person who loves the Tridentine rite, I can
say that young people are not rigid when it comes to the celebration of liturgy
or the tradition of the faith. The Tridentine rite has transformed my spiritual
life in innumerable ways, and I think I can say the same for many other young
people who love the Old Rite. When I participate in the Tridentine Rite, I feel
as if I have been transported to Heaven. The liturgy is not about me, and that
is precisely the point. The liturgy has its entire focus on Christ, present in
the sacrament—and if I choose to turn to myself, it is only because of my
fallen free will, and not anything within the liturgy itself.
The Tridentine Rite speaks to the desires of a young
person’s heart, for a young person truly wants to go beyond him or herself to
experience the transcendental and the sacred. At this point in his or her life,
a (catechized and informed) young person is realizing that life is about so
much more than what the world has to offer. Such a person does not want a
liturgy that looks just like the rest of the world. Rather, he or she desires a
profound and beautiful liturgy, a liturgy that brings him or her closer to God
and closer to the universal Church. In short, we as young people do not want
the rigidity of a liturgy that caters
to the purely human level; young people do not want to attend a liturgy with sappy
music or jokes from the priest to make the time pass. Young people want so much
more—and this is something that Benedict XVI sought to give them by bringing
about a renewal of the ancient liturgy of the Church.
While Pope Francis’s comments are disheartening and
confusing, we know that they are simply not the reality of traditional
Catholicism. His comments are non-magisterial, which means that we can continue
as we have been, with the blessing of Pope Benedict’s Summorum Pontificum. We ought to continue in our celebration and
promotion of beautiful and sacred liturgy. The next generation is so desperately
in need of liturgy entirely focused on Christ, and we must be ready to pass
that down to them. We know what is true about the sacred liturgy, and we have
the tradition.
Let us continue to stand firm and not be discouraged. Let us
not be shaken like a reed in the wind; rather, let us be willing to re-double
our efforts for the greater glory of God and for the work of his kingdom. There
is much work to be done in the Kingdom of God—through the grace of Christ, let
us carry on.
