New Head of Christian Unity Says Good Things

Rorate Caeli has published this from Gaudium Press, which is a statement from the new head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, holding forth on things liturgical, not explicitly ecumenical (although they are related as we shall see in the interview), necessarily from the Vatican Council in the interview, here at Gaudium Press.

Of course, the Archbishop acknowledges a fundamental truth that the Council was made to do things which were never explicitly mandated, or even implicitly. Whatever else is going on here one thing is certain, this is not something Cardinal Kasper would have said. The former head of Christan Unity would never have said anything like this, in fact, he was at often at pains to say anything that wasn't offensive to pious ears.

One commenter at Rorate identifies how the addle-headed idea of facing versus populum (like your ordinary USA Novus Ordo Mass was originated from a man Paul VI believed to be a Freemason, Archbishop Annibale Bugnini and the German liturgist, Pius Parsch.

The Archbishop's statement is surprising for a man who is otherwise accused of being for Women's Ordination and generally opposed to Benedict XVI and Father Fessio's "reform of the reform"; he certainly oppposed the Bishop of Chur years ago in his attempt at reform.

We see this as an auspicious and surprising beginning. Perhaps now we could have the Archbishop repudiate his position on Women's Ordination too?

Gaudium Press - These two views [of the Church as People of God and as Mystery] also influence one's position on the liturgy. How should the liturgy be understood today?

All those things that some people say that was new after the Second Vatican Council were not a theme of the Constitution on the Liturgy [Sacrosanctum Concilium]. For instance, celebrating the Eucharist facing the faithful was never an object of Tradition. The Tradition had always meant celebrating facing East, because that was the position of the resurrection. In Saint Peter's Basilica, the celebration took place facing the people for a long time because that was the direction facing East. The second thing was the vernacular language. The Council wished that Latin remain the language of the liturgy.

Yet all those very deep, fundamental, things of the liturgical Constitution, are still ignored by many. For instance, the entire liturgy and the Paschal liturgy. The Easter of mystery, of death, and of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. One cannot celebrate the Paschal [mystery] without sacrifice, and that is the theme that is mentioned in theology. Because the Constitution on Revelation [Dei Verbum] is not yet known in the Church either. We still have much to do in order to receive the Council.



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