Texte original publié sur le site Una Voce
[This statement was read by Msgr. Camille Perl of the Ecclesia Dei
Commission at the Una Voce International meeting held in Rome this
past week.
Msgr. Perl read this message and then refused to answer any questions
or
receive any comments from the Una Voce delegates. He bluntly
left the
forum after being asked to "clarify his clarification".
Msgr. Perl speaks of "questionable information" published on the
internet.
This document is authentic and comes from a page distributed at
the meeting.
One might say that Msgr. Perl's statement itself is yet another
example of
"questionable information".
The Una Voce delegates were unanimous in their response to this
statement.
Bill Basile]
Clarification
Recently the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" has been
the object of
attacks on the part of certain traditionalist circles, due on the
one hand
to ignorance of the facts and, on the other, to questionable information
published without authorization on the internet. In order
to re-establish
the truth, the Commission judges it opportune to publish the present
clarification.
1. The Pontifical Commission was instituted in 1988
by the Holy Father
with "the task of collaborating with the bishops, the Departments
of the
Roman Curia and with the circles concerned, for the purpose of facilitating
full ecclesial communion of priests, seminarians, etc. ...
who wish to
remain united to the Successor of Peter in the Catholic Church,
while
preserving their spiritual and liturgical traditions" (Motu Proprio
"Ecclesia Dei", n° 6 a). In order to accomplish this task,
the Commission
must collaborate with the bishops, without whom this ecclesial union
is
unthinkable. It is then out of the question to criticize the
Commission
for this collaboration.
2. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter was erected
in 1988 by the
Pontifical Commission with special faculties from the Supreme Pontiff.
At
no time has the Commission had the intention of changing its
statutes. Unfortunately, there have been some internal disagreements
in
recent months within this religious family. Some documents
pertaining to
these matters, which should have remained protected by strict
confidentiality, have been published. This the Commission
can only
regret. Those responsible for this publication have done great
harm to the
Fraternity of Saint Peter. One may ask, moreover, by what
right lay
associations have become heavily involved in lobbying with regard
to a
matter which pertains solely to a religious institute.
3. Several priests of the Fraternity of Saint Peter
addressed a complaint
to the Pontifical Commission. The signatories were making
use of their
right to appeal to the Holy See -- a right which every faithful
Catholic
possesses. The Commission has the duty to receive such a recourse
and to
propose a way to resolve the problems: to this end it took
some
conservative measures in order to prepare for a serene discussion
of the
problems by all the members of the Fraternity, while protecting
the
signatories of the recourse from possible reassignments.
Those who maintain that this is an abuse of power do not understand
the
true juridical situation: that the Commission exercises the
full authority
of the Holy See over the aforementioned Fraternity. To state
that there is
an intention to modify the traditional orientation of the Fraternity
is not
only absurd, but it gravely offends against the truth and the members
of
the Pontifical Commission.
4. At the heart of this crisis is the problem of the
concelebration of
priests who are attached to certain forms of the Latin liturgical
tradition
at a Mass celebrated according to the rite presently in force.
This
possibility has been requested and occasionally carried out by some
priests
in Masses with the diocesan bishop, but categorically refused by
the
majority. The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline
of the
Sacraments, after having consulted the Pontifical Council for the
Interpretation of Legislative Texts and requested the advice of
the
Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei", has published "Official Responses"
pertaining to this matter in Notitiæ, and has explained its
reasons to the
superiors of the institutes concerned. These responses constitute
a
statement on the juridical level: those who have the privilege
of
celebrating according to the liturgical books in use prior to the
reform of
Paul VI do not lose for that reason the right to celebrate according
to the
Missal of Paul VI - a right which belongs to every priest of the
Roman
rite. It is nowhere stated that these priests are obliged
to do this, but
that they have the right, and that no superior can forbid them from
doing
what the general law of the Church allows them to do. "An
exclusive right"
to celebrate according to the 1962 books does not exist and has
never
existed, and no official text makes such a mention. The texts
of the
Congregation for Divine Worship are very clear and leave no room
for doubt
on this point. It is then utterly false to talk about taking
away from the
Fraternity its exclusive right, because such a right never existed.
On the
other hand, it should be underscored that there is no intention
of taking
away the privileges conceded to the priests and to the institutes
attached
to the Latin liturgical tradition.
5. Concelebration is a manifestation of the communion
which exists
between the bishop and the priests who have a pastoral mission in
his
diocese. This sign of communion, reintroduced in the Church
by the Second
Vatican Council, plays an important role today as an expression
of
communion between priests - even traditionalists - and the bishops,
in the
dioceses in which they work. One cannot refuse this liturgical
sign
without giving the impression that one refuses communion itself.
This is
why the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei" exhorts these priests
to
accept concelebration with their bishop since its task is precisely
to
facilitate this ecclesial communion of priests and faithful while
guaranteeing the respect for their spiritual and liturgical traditions.
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