A disappointing response

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship, is clearly furious at the response of certain bishops to Benedict XVI's recent Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, which removed restrictions on the traditional Mass. He said that a number of shepherds of the Church had reacted to the Motu Proprio with "pride, one of the gravest sins" and displayed "prejudices of an ideological kind".
Archbishop Ranjith's words may seem like an overreaction, yet there can be no doubt that in some quarters the Motu Proprio has been bluntly ignored or dismissed. In many parts of the world bishops have greeted the Pope's instructions with a striking froideur.
It is uncertain whether Benedict XVI shares Archbishop Ranjith's sense of frustration at this lacklustre episcopal response to an important liturgical reform. Yet the Pope took great care to ensure that the document conveyed the pressing need to set free the traditional Mass while not upsetting bishops who are deeply — and rightly — attached to the liturgical heritage of Vatican II. He could be forgiven, therefore. for feeling disappointed that some have not responded to him with the same goodwill and generosity that he showed towards them.