Cardinal seeks Sunday Latin Mass in every parish
By Simon Caldwell
16 May 2008

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos celebrates Mass

Parishes should have Sunday Masses in the Extraordinary Form, the Vatican cardinal in charge of implementing the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum has said.

Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Ecclesia Dei commission, said in an interview with the Italian magazine Jesus that the 1962 version of the Roman Rite should be celebrated on every Sabbath day.

Discussing the difficulties that have arisen or might arise with the re-institution of the traditional Latin Mass the cardinal said that the shortage of priests should not pose a problem to the use of the older form of the rite.

He said: "If in a diocese priests are lacking and only three or four faithful request the extraordinary rite, it's a matter of common sense to think that it is difficult to satisfy this request.

"However, since it is the Pope's intention ... to grant this treasure for the good of the Church, in a place where there are no priests the best option would be to offer a celebration according to the Extraordinary Form in one of the parish Sunday Masses.

"It would be a Mass for everyone, and everyone, including younger generations, would benefit from the riches of the extraordinary rite, for example, those moments of contemplation that have disappeared in the Novus Ordo."

He also confirmed that he foresees at least one Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary Form per parish in the future even if there isn't the "consistent and stable group" described in article five of the Motu Proprio, demanding the traditional Latin Mass.

A number of traditionalists who welcomed the Pope's liberalisation of the 1962 rite last year have complained that their requests for Extraordinary Form Masses are obstructed by their bishops, or held only on weekdays or on Sundays at unusual times. So the cardinal's comments are likely to be welcomed by traditionalists.

Last week Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos said that the Extraordinary Form should be available to all, but did not specify whether this included Sunday Masses. In the Jesus magazine interview the cardinal also clarified what was meant by a "stable group", the definition of which has been a sticking point for bishops, who have said that demand is too low for there to be a provision for the older form of the Mass.

He said: "This is a matter of common sense: why create problems if the people who ask for the rite come from different parishes? If they get together and request a Mass, they become a stable group even if they did not know each other before. Also the number [of the group] is a question of goodwill. In some parishes, especially in the countryside, on weekdays the people who come to the ordinary Mass are three or four, and the same occurs in not a few religious houses. Why, if those same three people request the old Mass, would it be pastorally necessary to refuse it?"

The cardinal addressed the question of whether "separate and different celebrations can create separate communities", one of the criticisms that has met the Motu Proprio, He said: "It is a diversity which enriches, it is a wider cultural freedom that the Pope is introducing in a daring way. Moreover, in parishes there are many differences in the manner of celebrations, and let's not even talk about the abuses, because abuses are not the principal reason for the Motu Proprio."

The liberalisation of the Traditional Latin Mass was widely seen as an invitation for traditionalist groups, which are outside the Church to return to full communion with Rome. In recent months, it has seemed as though the leaders of the largest traditionalist group outside the Church, the Society of St Pius X, were rejecting the overtures from Rome.

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos however was positive about reconciliation between the Vatican and the Society of Pius X in the interview. He said that he felt that the uninterrupted dialogue with the head of the SSPX was a good sign.

The interview was translated by Fr John Zuhlsdorf and appeared on his blog.