The Massacre this morning in Washington, DC, has led to a news article in the Washington Post, complete with a photo of a smug Cardinal Gregory.
One can assume the cardinal did not expect this issue to land in the Post twice in the last three weeks.
Catholics Archdiocese of Washington to ban Latin Mass in parishes
As a result, hundreds of Catholics who attend the Latin Mass at roughly six parishes in one of the nation’s most visible archdioceses will be forced to either worship differently or find a new place to do so.
The change follows a ruling last year in which Pope Francis severely limited the use of the old rite in a move he said was meant to increase global unity among the faithful. He suggested then that those who preferred the Latin Mass were using it to reinforce ideological divisions within the Church.
Gregory said Friday that he had not found that to be the case in the Washington region.
“I have discovered that the majority of the faithful who participate in these liturgical celebrations in the Archdiocese of Washington are sincere, faith-filled and well-meaning,” he wrote. “Likewise, the majority of priests who celebrate these liturgies are doing their very best to respond pastorally to the needs of the faithful.”
The new guidelines are an attempt to abide by Francis’s ruling while continuing to provide for Catholics who find beauty and tradition in the old form of the Mass, Gregory said.
Many of those Catholics, however, view the decision as a slap in the face. Kenneth Wolfe, who has attended the Latin Mass in Washington for more than two decades, said Gregory’s decision does nothing to bring together the region’s faithful.
“There can be no unity when the cardinal fires the first shot and everybody then is expected to drive from wherever they were, at a parish, to a location that’s nowhere near them,” he said before the decree was released. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Under the new rules, the Latin Mass can be celebrated only at the Chapel at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Forest Glen, Md., the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America in Northeast Washington and St. Dominic Mission Church in Aquasco, Md.
Masses on Christmas and Easter, as well as sacraments including weddings and baptisms, must also use the modern form. The new rules will be reevaluated in three years, Gregory wrot
Most Catholics attend the modern form of the Mass, which is celebrated in the local language. But a small number of traditionalists are intensely devoted to the Latin Mass, which was dominant before the 1960s.
For some, celebrating the old rite is a form of protesting what they see as the Church’s liberalization since the Second Vatican Council and particularly during Francis’s papacy. Others say they find the Latin Mass rich and are drawn to its history over more than a millennium.
Gregory said he listened to the concerns of Catholics who attend the Latin Mass during listening sessions for the Church’s worldwide synod over the past several months and has asked archdiocesan offices to provide pastoral outreach to them. He noted that those Catholics can attend Masses in the modern rite that incorporate elements common to the Latin Mass, including Gregorian chant, incense and long periods of silence.
