Personally, I don't see why the Pope didn't release the Motu Proprio on Easter Sunday '06 (which was the rumor at this time last year), and many other dates (including, most recently, Feb. 22) have come and gone, etc.

The state of the Church is the same as it was in 2006. Why the change?

But just like the fundamentalist Protestants, who keep postponing the "last day" as predicted dates come and go, so also the Motu Proprio rumor just doesn't want to die...


http://eccequitollit.blogspot.com/2007/03/more-on-motu-proprio.html

Saturday, March 03, 2007
More On The Motu Proprio

http://bp3.blogger.com/_2CP23LpIo9U/RenV1aJHX9I/AAAAAAAAAKk/s-ObfrjUM7A/s400/Host-elev.jpg

Dear friends, Some members of the "Committee for Liturgical Peace of Rheims [a French diocese]were in Rome this week. They showed their fidelity to the Church once again and prayed in the Basilica of St. Peter so that peace will finally prevail in the diocese of Reims. This trip to the seat of Christendom was not all for pleasure since we had to meet on March 1st with Msgr. Camillo Perl, Secretary of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei. In effect, Msgr. Perl, the direct co-worker with Cardinal Castrillon-Hoyos and close to Pope Benedict XVI, had proposed the meeting with us.

We submitted your petitions to the commission Ecclesia Dei as promised. [The diocese of Rheims still lacks an episcopally approved Tridentine Mass]. They were well received! Dear friends, this meeting of longer than one hour was of a great depth and an immense comfort. We outline here some points to you which were touched on:1. Rome is very well informed of the situation in the diocese of Rheims and strongly regrets the refusal repeated of Msgr. Jordan to grant the Mass in the "old form of the Roman rite". Monseigneur Perl declared us, in the form of a joke: when a bishop wants to refuse the request of his faithful, he will always find arguments."2. Msgr. Perl repeated to us several times that he understood our dissatisfaction, but that he is happy to note our constant fidelity to the Church.3. At no moment did Msgr. Perl show the least reservation against our action, our forms, its duration and publicity that some of us make to the lay faithful of several parishes of Reims.4. Lastly, Msgr. Perl promised to us soon liturgical peace in the diocese of Rheims! Let's re-examine this last point to announce a great item of news to you!

THE MOTU PROPRIO LIBERALIZING THE MASS KNOWN AS THAT OF ST. PIUS V, SO MUCH AWAITED, WILL BE PUBLISHED BEFORE EASTER SUNDAY.


Our Holy Father is holding fast to this [decision]. Another bit of excellent news, [concerning which] we had been mistaken!IN EFFECT, THE MOTU PROPRIO WILL HAVE THE FORCE OF LAW. Pope Benedict XVI considers it regrettable that [the Motu Proprio] of July 1988 did nothing but invite the bishops to accomodate the faithful attached to the Tridentine Rite. The Motu Proprio will not be satisfied by this simple invitation. It will be obligatory!What will we find in this text?


1. Any priest wishing to say the Tridentine Mass will be able to do so privately.


2. Any group of faithful attached to the Rite of Saint Pie V will be able to go to see the pastor of his parish or a priest of his town to request this Rite of him. The priest will be able to accept [the request to celebrate] without referring to his bishop about it.


3. If the priest and other diocesan priests, do not want to celebrate in "the old rite", they will be able to accomodate any priest from a [traditional] community [of religious, e.g., FSSP]wishing to do so.


4. If a group of faithful requests the Rite of rite known as of saint Pie V, but cannot find any priest, nor a place, nor a [member of a religious] community, being able to respond to their wishes; this group will be able to write to the Commission Ecclesia Dei which will work to find a solution, a priest, or a community [member].[The article ends by commenting that if their local bishop is ignoring them, at least the Holy Father is doing something about it].


Deo Gratias!

Posted by SyrianCatholic at 3:05 PM