Cardinal Medina Estevez confirms Curial meeting about traditionalist concerns
May 07, 2006
The Classical Roman rite of Holy Mass "was never abrogated" and "is consequently legitimate," Jorge Cardinal Medina Estevez, former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, told the Italian I Media news agency late last week in the first interview granted by any of the cardinal participants of the April 7 dicastery and March 23 meetings of the College of Cardinals.
(The Wanderer, May 1, 2006) Cardinal Medina Estevez reconfirmed similar statements made previously by Dario Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in interviews from the Italian print and broadcast media in late summer and autumn last year. Cardinal Medina confirmed that restoring normal ties with the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) was also one of the primary topics discussed during the March 23 meeting with the Pope and cardinals.
This recent interview is certain to continue speculation about an upcoming document allegedly in the works that would free the Classical Roman rite of the liturgy. In this recent interview, Cardinal Medina outlined three connected, but separate discussions that have been the topic of many news articles and online media speculation over the past weeks.
The cardinals discussed the possibility of reaffirming traditional Catholics who attend indult Mass centers and those connected with the Ecclesia Dei Commission, of which Cardinal Medina is a member, and Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos is the president. The discussion centered on the Church possibly providing "a generous welcome" to traditional Catholics. Perhaps this welcome may be an official reaffirmation that the Classical Roman rite of the liturgy is still in force and has never been abrogated, which would leave all Latin rite Catholic priests free to offer it without fear of reprisal or penalty.
Doctrinal discussions with bishops of the SSPX will be necessary, especially regarding certain doctrines of the Second Vatican Council they claim conflict with the traditional magisterial doctrine. Cardinal Medina said that "perhaps the majority hope for full communion with the Holy See," referring presumably to the priests and bishops of the SSPX.
If a full reconciliation with the SSPX is established, then the possibility of a canonical structure similar to the apostolic administration that Bishop Fernando Rifan oversees in Campos, Brazil, might become available for traditionalist Catholics worldwide, Cardinal Medina said.
Cardinal Castrillon's May 2004 celebration of the Classical Roman rite at St. Mary Major in Rome was a visible public statement to the Church at large that this rite of Holy Mass is indeed alive and well and flourishing. During his sermon at this very Mass, Cardinal Castrillon explicitly confirmed the legitimacy of this rite of Holy Mass, as well as the rightful desires of those Catholics attached to the 1962 liturgical books.
Cardinal Medina has regularly celebrated the Traditional liturgy in recent years, most recently as the Holy Father's special envoy at the dedication of the Nuns' Abbey church in Barroux in May 2005, according to Dr. Alcuin Reid, a London-based author. Dr. Reid's most recent work, The Organic Development of the Liturgy (Ignatius Press 2005) contains a glowing preface written by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger.
Commenting upon Cardinal Medina's I Media interview, Dr. Reid said, "Clearly, they are of one mind in this area."
Dr. Reid has written and spoken regularly on liturgical topics, and has edited and published a number of books on the Sacred Liturgy including a new edition of the standard manual for the celebration of the Classical Roman rite, The Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described.
And what is this "one mind" of which Dr. Reid speaks about both Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Medina? "It is clear from his recent interview, and from his actions, that he is a friend of those who desire the free celebration of the Traditional liturgy," Dr. Reid said.
Cardinal Medina Estevez confirms Curial meeting about traditionalist concerns