Thursday, June 28, 2007

How will the Chapels of Ave Maria Incorporate the Motu Proprio?

Here is latest from the Vatican Press Office on the much-discussed and highly-anticipated motu proprio regarding the 1962 Mass:

Si è svolta ieri pomeriggio in Vaticano una riunione, presieduta dal Cardinale Segretario di Stato, in cui è stato illustrato ai rappresentanti di diverse conferenze episcopali il contenuto e lo spirito dell’annunciato "Motu proprio" del Santo Padre sull’uso del Messale promulgato da Giovanni XXIII nel 1962. Il Santo Padre si è recato a salutare i presenti e si è intrattenuto con loro in un’approfondita conversazione per circa un’ora. La pubblicazione del documento – che sarà accompagnato da un’ampia lettera personale del Santo Padre ai singoli Vescovi - è prevista entro alcuni giorni, quando il documento stesso sarà stato inviato a tutti i Vescovi con la indicazione della sua successiva entrata in vigore.
One attempt (not mine) at a translation:

A meeting took place yesterday afternoon at the Vatican, presided by the Cardinal Secretary of State, in which the content and the spirit of the expected "Motu proprio" of the Holy Father on the use of the Missal promulgated by John XXIII in 1962 were explained to the representatives of several episcopal conferences. The Holy Father came to salute those who were present and maintained a deep discussion with them for about one hour. The publication of the document - which will be accompanied by a thorough personal letter of the Holy Father to the singular Bishops - is predicted for within a few days, when the document itself will be sent to all Bishops with the indication of its successive coming into effect.
The many chapels of Ave Maria will certainly be worth watching as they rise to the occasion.

UPDATE: The NYT has reported the following quote from AMU's Father Fessio:

The Rev. Joseph Fessio, an American Jesuit priest who has published the pope’s books, said: “Because he is such a deliberate person, it is hard for me to think that he will have done all these drafts and spent all this time and not publish it. If he really believes it would help the church and doesn’t do it because some bishops complain, then all he does is strengthen the position of those bishops who want to oppose him.”
UPDATE 2: A WaPo article on this new motu proprio quotes an Ave Maria Law alum, the erudite and charming Mary Anne Zivnuska. Both the WaPo and NYT quote people with Ave Maria bona fides in their reporting on the motu proprio; the nation's papers of record know where they can find no-nonsense Catholics, no?