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The Latin Mass Society of New Zealand
The Latin Mass Society of New Zealand
Una Voce Bulletin, No. 7: No new restrictions so far, but petitions in support of the TLM
16th July passes, no document emerges From the President: no new restrictions so far, but several petitions in support of the TLM. The supposedly fateful date of 16th July has come, and, unlike the Ides of March for Julius Caesar, it has gone, without incident. This was the date specified in one version of the rumour predicting new restrictions on the Traditional Mass.
As far as I know none of the rumours that went into any detail suggested that there would be a complete ban. Rather, the idea seems to have been that restrictions would be tightened on the celebration of the Traditional Mass in parish churches, or by diocesan priests. These have been the focus of previous documents, and it would be surprising if proposals along these lines were not being discussed in the Holy See. It remains to be seen if any such new document will see the light of day.
Apart from the reality that nothing normally happens in Rome in the month of August, we are no further forward in relation to these rumours than before, except in one respect: the date of 16th July stimulated a whole series of appeals to the Holy See not to take this step.
Last year I published a book on past petitions, such as the one in 1971 which apparently stimulated the English Indult the same year, which was the first opening for the licit celebration of the Traditional Mass for the benefit of the Faithful—that is, not just in private by infirm priests. It is always difficult to know if an intervention of this kind has made a difference, but perhaps it did in 1971, and it may be playing a role today.
The impression given by the petitions from Britain, America, and Mexico, is that if you ask prominent lay Catholics, and non-Catholics who take an interest in these things, what they think about the Traditional Mass, if they think about it at all, they view it in a positive way. They know it is culturally significant, a great work of art, and they probably know that it has been spiritually significant for people they know—perhaps even for themselves. They find the idea that it must be restricted to safeguard the unity of the Church baffling.
This is not surprising, but these petitions make the issue very clear. Those who are pushing for more restrictions on the Traditional Mass in Rome are not indifferent to the views of film-makers, politicians, millionaires, artists, and musicians. The Church’s apostolic work depends on their good will, and prelates meet them constantly in different contexts: when raising money, organising events, restoring churches, and so on. Prelates’ feeling that their rank makes them part of an international elite is one of the few temporal perks of the role. Sometimes, mixing with these sorts of people may tempt them to play down the hard sayings of the Gospel. On this occasion, the elite is pushing them in a much more positive direction.
The danger that there will be new restrictions on the ancient Mass has not necessarily passed. Please maintain your prayers and offerings for this intention. Indeed, it is not enough not to have more bad documents. The current legal regime is causing unnecessary suffering and division, and we will need a new document at some point to make a positive change. I have complete confidence that common sense will prevail in the longer term, but it is impossible to know what difficulties will have to be overcome first.
A young Catholic at the doorway of the Birmingham Oratory, during Mass for SS Peter & Paul celebrated in association with the Latin Mass Society’s Annual General Meeting. |
Dear FIUV Members and Friends: the Summer 2024 edition of Gregorius Magnus has been published! |
See the full publication here:
https://lms.org.uk/sites/default/files/resource_documents/gregmag/summer2024web.pdf
As President of the International Una Voce Federation I hereby give notice for the
XXIV STATUTORY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
to be held at
Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, Via Paolo VI, 21, 00193 Rome
on Saturday 28th October at 3pm
Participation by Zoom will also be possible.
Delegation and Procuration
All Member Associations should be represented by a delegate, who may be accompanied by up to three other members of his member association in the General Assembly (Statutes, 6.4). The delegate shall exercise his Member Association’s vote. Any Member Association unable to send a delegate is requested to arrange for another Member Association to exercise its vote by procuration (proxy) (Statutes, 6.5).
International Federation Una Voce (with One Voice!) has published the latest issue of Gregorius MagnusDear FIUV Members and Friends: |
From the FIUV President, Joseph ShawGregorius Magnus 15 is published!Gregorius Magnus 15, Summer 2023, is now available as a PDF. *and on ISSUU*, optimised for mobile devices. Would you like to print copies to distribute locally? You can download a print-quality pdf here. Would you like to advertise? Or to contribute to future editions? Click on the links. |
Past issuesOn ISSUU, which optimises viewing for mobile devices, the most recent editions are available here. PDF downloads: For more issues see here. |
FIUV General Assembly, 2023Advance notice for member associations: this will take place on Saturday 28th July at 3pm, at Istituto Maria Santissima Bambina, Via Paolo VI, 21, 00193 Rome. |
Support the FIUV by becoming a FriendThe Friends of the FIUV support the Federation with a regular donation. They are added to the Gregorius Magnus mailing list and we arrange regular Masses for their intentions. See more about the Friends here. |
Support the FIUV by becoming a Friend.
LATIN MASS SOCIETY OF NEW ZEALAND |
26 July 2021
The Latin Mass Society of New Zealand, an affiliate of the International Federation Una Voce established in 1965 (FIUV), the world-wide organisation of lay faithful attached to the Traditional Latin Mass hereby endorses their statement released on 19 July 2021.
We share the disappointment expressed in that statement regarding new restrictions on the celebration and promotion of the Traditional Latin Mass as stated in the moto proprio of Pope Francis, Traditionis Custodes:
“…as sons and daughters of the Church we wish to express our sadness over the restrictions on our ability to continue to nourish our spiritual lives using parish churches, as any Catholic would like to do. If there is one thing we fervently desire, it is to be able to live a normal life without being forced to use hidden or inaccessible spaces.
We believe that the beautiful spiritual fruits of this Missal should be shared, and we pray that we can be instruments of God inside and outside the Church.
The International Federation is deeply grateful to each of the Bishops who are generously providing for the faithful attached to the ancient Mass In their dioceses and to the Priests entrusted with the care of their souls.
Una Voce groups all over the world are united in prayer, as always, with their bishops and with the Pope…”
Felipe Alanis Suarez
President
18 of July 2021
Neil A Coup
Chairman
Melda F Townsley
National Secretary
In 2020 the Federation presented this report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to complement reports sent by bishops around the world on the same subject, which had been requested by the CDF at the request of Pope Francis.
The Federation’s Report will not be published in full but a good deal of material from it will be published in different places, and this page will be updated with links to these materials.
Gregorius Magnus 10 has an account of the motivation, methodology, results, and conclusions of the reports. More is included Gregorius Magnus 11(Spring 2021)
On the demographic profile of EF congregations, you can download a table of statistics here.
Rorate Caeli has an article about Latin America drawing on the Report. (In Spanish, here.)
The Homiletic and Pastoral Review has a piece about the demographic profile of EF attendees, here. There is a brief notice and response to the article on the website of the German Bishops’ Conference (in German) here.
The Una Voce Federation [of whom we are a member] has taken out an advert in the mass-circulation Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica, appearing today, Sunday 4th July.The English text is as following (for other languages see here):
The International Federation Una Voce (FIUV), founded in 1965, brings together associations of the lay faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite (the Traditional Latin Mass).
In 2007, the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum recognised the vitality of the traditional liturgy, the freedom of priests to celebrate it, and of the faithful to request it. This has led to an ongoing increase in the number of celebrations of the ancient Latin Mass, and of its spiritual fruits.
During 2020 the FIUV conducted a worldwide survey of the faithful on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. From this survey, which included results from 364 dioceses in 52 countries, we found:
• The ancient Latin Mass is deeply appreciated by groups of faithful of all ages, especially families with children, young people and converts, found in all social and cultural environments, on all continents and in an ever increasing number of countries.
• In many areas the increased availability of this Mass has favoured the normalisation of relations between the faithful attached to it and their bishops, relations increasingly characterised by mutual understanding and respect.
Nevertheless, we have noticed that, contrary to the previous policy of the Holy See, there are still people within the Church, including some bishops, who would like to see the Extraordinary Form of the Roman rite explicitly suppressed, or subject to further restrictions. For this reason, the FIUV, in view of the faithful who adhere to the Latin Mass, feels the duty to express its opinion, encouraged by Pope Francis’ exhortations to the members of the Church to use parrhesia with the necessary humility.
The growth of interest in the traditional liturgy is not due to nostalgia for a time we do not remember, or a desire for rigidity: it is rather a matter of opening ourselves to the value of something that for most of us is new, and inspires hope. Pope Francis has characterised the ancient liturgy in terms of a “sense of adoration” (Press conference of 28 July 2013), we can also apply his words to it: a “living history that welcomes us and pushes us forward” (Evangelii Gaudium 13).
Today we only wish to be part of that “great orchestra” of “unity in variety” which, as Pope Francis said (General Audience of 9 October 2013), reflects the true catholicity of the Church. The Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum continues to transform the conflicts of the past into harmony: long may it to continue to do so.
Felipe Alanis Suarez, President www.fiuv.org
Ends
Some details from the international survey are set out in here.
http://issuu.com/gregoriusmagnus/docs/gregorius_magnus_11_spring_2021
The latest edition of Gregorius Magnus is now available, for Spring 2021.
It includes a report on the events in Rome last October, in place of the usual Summorum Pontificum Pilgrimage.
It also includes a key passage from the French Bishops’ summary report to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the implementation of Summorum Pontificum, in an English translation published for the first time.
As usual it also includes translations of articles from the quarterly magazines of Una Voce France and Pro Missa Tridentina of Germany, as well as an article from the Latin Mass Society’s Mass of Ages, and news and reflections first published here, from Croatia, Romania, and Poland.
It is free to download as a pdf, or to view on the ISSUU website and app for mobile devices.
with thanks to the International Una Voce Federation
A press release from the FIUV. PDF version here.
Foederatio Internationalis
Una Voce
Quae patronum invocat sanctum Gregorium Magnum Papam.
Press Release: Communion on the Tongue and Epidemic
In light of the recent statement (and here) by Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi of Mobile, Alabama, in the United States of America, on social distancing during the reception of Holy Communion, and related issues surrounding the reception of Holy Communion around the world in the context of the Coronavirus epidemic, the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce (FIUV) would like to make the following observations.
The President and Officers of the Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce, 8th June 2020
———–
ABOUT THE FOEDERATIO INTERNATIONALIS UNA VOCE (FIUV)
The FIUV represents the needs and concerns of the world-wide laity attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition, the Extraordinary Form. It has more than 45 member associations from Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia.
The Federation has a biennial General Assembly in Rome, and publishes a magazine twice a year, Gregorius Magnus.
CONTACT DETAILS
Website: www.fiuv.org
President, Felipe Alanís Suarez: president@fiuv.org
Secretary, Dr Joseph Shaw: secretary@fiuv.org
Treasurer, Monika Rheinschmitt: treasurer@fiuv.org
Support the Latin Mass Society
Posted by Joseph Shaw at 5:40 pm
The latest edition of Gregorius Magnus is available for download:
Gregorius Magnus is published by the Foederatio Internationalis Una
Voce. The FIUV is a lay movement within the Catholic Church, founded in Rome in 1965 and erected formally in Zürich in January 1967. The principal aims of the FIUV are to ensure that the Missale Romanum promulgated by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962 is maintained in the Church as one of the forms of liturgical celebration, to obtain freedom of use for all other Roman liturgical books enshrining “previous liturgical and disciplinary forms of the Latin tradition” and to safeguard and promote the use of Latin, Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.
____________________________________________________________________
There is an interesting article on page 3:
THE LITURGICAL AFTERMATH OF THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL
The Right Honorable Lord Gill
I Introduction
It is an honour to be invited to give this talk to the Historical Association. My subject is
the liturgical aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. I begin by making it clear that I am
neither a historian nor a theologian nor a liturgist. The only qualifications that I have to
speak on the subject are that I am one of the dwindling band of Catholics who have lived
in two eras of the Catholic Church and that I have been personally involved in some of the
history that I will describe, as a Patron and life member of the Latin Mass Society, as the
Honorary President of Una Voce Scotland and as a former Counsellor of the International
Federation Una Voce.
First of all, what is this talk all about? It is not a piece of advocacy for or against the old rite or
the new rite of the Catholic Mass. The scheme of this talk is as follows:
I shall describe the introduction of the new rite and the profound changes that it caused. Then
I shall relate the history of the suppression of the old rite in the immediate aftermath of the
new rite. Then I shall describe the history that culminated in 2007 in the restoration of the old rite to parity with the new. Lastly, I shall review some of the consequences of the restoration in the life
of the Church. In doing so, I shall try to answer questions that may be of interest to historians: for example, why did Pope Paul VI and his bishops consider it expedient to suppress the old rite? What
strategic errors were made on both sides of the controversy? Was it inevitable that in the end the the rite would be restored? And if so, what circumstances made it so?
Continue at: http://www.fiuv.org/2019/10/gregorius-magnus-7-available.html
In response to the Bishops of England and Wales decision to petition the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei for a change to the Good Friday Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews used in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass – as reported in the Catholic Herald:
The International Una Voce Federation (of which Ecclesia Dei Society of New Zealand is a member) has released the following press release:
The Prayer for the Jews used in the Extraordinary Form Good Friday Liturgy continues to be a source of comment and misunderstanding, and the FIUV wishes to respond as follows.
Statement by the President of the FIUV, Felipe Alanís Suárez
It was to avoid misunderstandings of the Prayer for the Jews that Pope Benedict XVI composed the 2008 version of the prayer, which is clearly based on what is essential to Christianity: the acceptance of Christ as the saviour of the whole world, and the desire that all persons be saved. Jews are mentioned because of their special role in the history of salvation, and the special concern we must have for our ‘elder brothers’ (as Pope St John Paul II called them). The prayer looks forward to the incorporation of the Jewish people, of which Our Lord Jesus Christ and His first disciples were all members, in the salvation won for the human race by Christ on the Cross, a reconciliation which, as St Paul teaches, will be fulfilled only towards the end of history.
The FIUV is convinced that any possible continuing misunderstanding regarding the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews can be resolved in the context of the Magisterium of the Church, without veiling the treasures of our Faith.
We, as faithful attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, acknowledge that to ask of our Lord for the grace of sharing with all our brothers the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ, is an act of humility and selfless love, and a spiritual work of mercy.
The FIUV entirely rejects all hatred and hostility towards the Jewish people, and all forms of unjust discrimination.
Further observations
A sincere dialogue between Jews and Christians, …is possible only, on the one hand, on the basis of a shared faith in one God, creator of heaven and earth, and in the promises made to Abraham and to the Fathers; and on the other, in the awareness and respect of the fundamental difference that consists in faith in Jesus as Christ and Redeemer of all men. (L’Osservatore Romano 10th April 2008)[2]
Background
Let us also pray for the Jews: that our God and Lord may illuminate their hearts, that they acknowledge Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all men.
[1] The full text of the article can be seen in English here:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/193041?eng=y
[2] The full text can be found in English here:
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/197381?eng=y
[3] The different versions of the Good Friday Prayer for the Jews can be found on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Friday_prayer_for_the_Jews
[4] Romans 11:29: ‘For the gifts and the calling of God are without repentance.’ Quoted by Nostra aetate 4, and Pope St Jophn Paul II in his Address to the Jewish Community of Berlin on 17th November 1980.