'Church unity endangered'

The full text of the statement is as follows:— "The unity of the Church is endangered if the rules laid down by the Holy See for the celebration of Mass are not observed. Unfortunately there are some few who ignore the liturgical laws and continue to experiment in many different ways.
"The Holy See has declared that experimentation is no longer permissible and that the norms laid down in the new Missal Romanum must be faithfully observed. This means that the rubrics, now reduced to a minimum, and inserted, as they are, to safeguard reverence, must always be followed, "The right kind of living liturgy is to he achieved by the variation of choice available in the definitive text (eg regarding the penitential rites, canons etc) and not by making up our own liturgies.
"Some priests neglect to follow the rubrics, to wear sacred vestments, or to recite authorised prayers. Great harm is done to souls by priests who virtually make up their own Mass. No blessing will fall on those taking part in Masses celebrated in defiance of the instructions of the Church.
"At the other extreme are those who reject all the liturgical reforms. In both cases it is a question of loyalty and obedience to the Holy See.
"Catholics are wrongly said to he under no obligation to accept the reformed liturgy. It is alleged that the rite of the Mass as reformed by Pope Pius may still be lawfully offered in place of the rite approved by Pope Paul.
"The bishops by this statement wish to make clear that the Missal of Pope Paul VI has now replaced all other missals in the Roman rite. This is a law of the Church and must be obeyed.
"Exceptions to the law have been authorised only for old or sick priests who may celebrate the old rite privately.
"An indult was granted to the Bishops of England and Wales to give permission to particular groups on special occasions to use the old rite as reformed in 1967.
"This permission was given on the strict condition that all danger of division would be avoided. For devotional reasons a group may be given leave to have a Mass in this rite. At all parish and community masses, however, the new rite is obligatory, whether it is in Latin or English.
"Some have been misled by propaganda which attacked Pope Paul's Missal and even accused the Holy Father of fostering heresy in the new Eucharistic prayers. The bishops deplore such calumnies and call for obedience to the Holy See. In company with the bishops of the whole Church the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales declares its loyalty to the successor of St Peter and trusts that this statement will make it clear to priests and people that Holy Mass must be celebrated according to the rite of the Roman Missal of Pope Paul