Reactions to the Motu Proprio (2)

As promised, I will share reactions to the MP following these Sunday Masses.

It has not been discussed - at all.

The local catholic press have given it very little airplay, but at least it did get on the front page of the Catholic Leader. However the journalistic flavour is a dead give away:

POPE REAFFIRMS LATIN.....but its not for the masses.

The article then gave the viewpoint of the National Liturgical Office executive director Fr Peter Williams (whom I do not know at all) which gave the usual guff about how it is just reaffirming that the previous edition of the Missal was never legally abrogated, and it is already allowed in many places. It then gives the viewpoint of Mrs Elizabeth Harrington of the Brisbane Liturgy Commission who I must admit gave a pretty fair assessment about it and the hope that it will bring the liturgy wars (some of which she started) to an end. However, I felt that the article was very fuzzy and not particularly positive. The emphasis seems to be on damage control, and giving the liturgical elites comfort that nothing is going to change. At face value, the headline, gives the view that yeah there is an MP but access to the 1962 Missal is going to be pretty limited and we are making sure that this happens no matter what the Pope might say.

The writeup in the Catholic Weekly was far more positive. The cover feature was the arrival of the WYD Cross and Icon in Sydney. However in the main part of the Weekly, the headlines trumpeted the return of the Tridentine Mass. Apart from the main news story there was also a one and a half page FAQs on the Missal of John XXIII and how it could be used in a pastoral sense. The coverage was far more comprehensive and balanced than the Catholic Leader.

This assessment was made after a quick look over the papers in the cathedral after Mass. Tomorrow I will get the papers and have a better look (didnt have any change on me today).

If the Catholic Leader claims to be the mouthpiece of the Brisbane Archdiocese, I am very disappointed at the attitude.