Online Edition:
October 2013
Vol. XIX, No. 7
News & Views
Statement on 50th Anniversary of Liturgy Constitution | Pope Begins Major Changes in Vatican Government | Mass for "Ordinariate Use" Introduced | Sacred Architecture YouTube Videos | St. Louis: Exploring Sacred Music Seminar
Statement on 50th Anniversary of Liturgy Constitution
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Divine Worship (BCDW) has issued “Stewards of the Tradition: Fifty Years after Sacrosanctum Concilium,” a statement on the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, which was dated December 4, 1963.
The statement, approved by the USCCB Administrative Committee, was announced September 26, and a copy posted on the USCCB website.
Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, chairman of the BCDW, expressed gratitude for “all who are involved in liturgical ministry and liturgical leadership in the United States,” as reported by a news release by the Catholic News Service.
“Stewards of the Tradition” offers reflections in five areas: 1) liturgical reform and the renewal of the Church; 2) rereading Sacrosanctum Concilium in its historical context; 3) fundamental and foundational principles; 4) liturgy as an art and a craft; and 5) living what we celebrate.
The BCDW Newsletter (August-September 2013) explained that “the last two sections provide an opportunity to look at concerns for the ongoing renewal of the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy. These might frame discussions in dioceses and parishes looking to assess and improve upon their liturgical practices.”
The Introduction expresses the main purposes of the statement:
Grateful for the catechetical work the Church in the English-speaking world has successfully undertaken for the implementation of the Roman Missal, Third Edition, we also wish to offer words of encouragement for the ongoing work of implementation and liturgical catechesis that lies ahead, especially as the Church calls for the reverent and proper celebration of the Sacred Liturgy as an intrinsic part of the New Evangelization.
Complete statement on the USCCB website: usccb.org/about/divine-worship/stewards-of-the-tradition.cfm.
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Pope Begins Major Changes in Vatican Government
Significant changes in the governance of the Vatican began in September with Pope Francis’s appointment or reappointment of several key Vatican officials. He had temporarily confirmed existing Vatican officials in their positions in April.
The new curial appointments were announced shortly before the pope’s first formal meeting — held October 1-3 — with the group of eight cardinals who are his advisers on Vatican governance. This advisory group is an innovation of Pope Francis. (See “Council of Cardinals” story on page 4).
On August 31, it was announced that Archbishop Pietro Parolin, currently nuncio to Venezuela, will succeed Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone as Secretary of State on October 15.
On September 21, Pope Francis confirmed German Archbishop Gerhard Müller as prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), and titular Archbishop Luis Francisco Ladaria Ferrer as secretary. Archbishop Augustine Di Noia, an American Dominican, will become adjunct secretary of the CDF. He had served as undersecretary of the CDF from 2002-2009, when Pope Benedict appointed him secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Since 2012 he has been vice-president of the Ecclesia Dei commission, which is supervised by the CDF.
Also confirmed in their present positions were Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and the secretaries of the Congregation.
New appointments were also announced on September 21:
— Archbishop Beniamino Stella will replace Italian Cardinal Mauro Piacenza as prefect of the Congregation for Clergy. Cardinal Piacenza will become penitentiary major of the Apostolic Penitentiary, replacing Cardinal Manuel Monteiro de Castro, who is retiring.
— Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, former secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, will become secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, replacing Archbishop Nikola Eterovic´, who will become nuncio to Germany.
— Bishop Giuseppe Sciacca, who has served for the past two years as secretary of the Governatorate of the Holy See, will return to the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura as adjunct secretary.
— Archbishop Giampiero Gloder, appointed president of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, a college for training priests as diplomats, will also have special responsibilities in the Secretariat of State.
On September 24, Pope Francis confirmed more officials in their present positions:
At the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko will remain president and Bishop Josef Clemens as secretary for the current five-year period. All members and consultors of this dicastery have been confirmed until December 31, 2013.
At the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Peter Turkson continues as president and all members and consultors were confirmed for the current five-year period.
More changes are expected after Pope Francis’s consultations with the Council of Cardinals to plan the reorganization and restructuring of the Vatican offices.
Stay tuned…
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Mass for “Ordinariate Use” Introduced
The Anglican Ordinariate introduced a new text for the Mass on October 10 at the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Gregory, Warwick Street, Soho (London), reported by the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in England. The new text is intended for use by ordinariates throughout the English-speaking world, the report said. It will retain aspects of Anglican liturgical traditions, which Pope Benedict XVI described as “precious gifts” and “treasures to be shared.”
The new liturgy — the work of a special commission established by the Vatican — includes material from the Anglican Book of Common Prayer (1662) as well as the current Roman Rite.
The introductory Mass in Soho was celebrated by the Ordinary, Monsignor Keith Newton, and Monsignor Andrew Burnham, a member of the commission that produced the new Ordinary Use text.
“For some time, the Ordinariate has had its own [approved] liturgy … for marriages and funerals, and the Customary of Our Lady of Walsingham already provides a daily office in the Anglican tradition,” Monsignor Burnham said. The new text is important “because it means that we now have our own distinctive liturgy for the Mass which brings to the Roman rite beautiful Anglican words which have been hallowed for generations,” he explained.
Ordinariate priests may use the Roman Rite in both its ordinary and extraordinary forms; however, all clergy will be expected to know the Ordinariate Use.
For more information on the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham: friendsoftheordinariate.org.uk.
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Sacred Architecture YouTube Videos
Dr. Denis McNamara of the Liturgical Institute in Mundelein (Chicago) now appears on YouTube with 10 brief videos on sacred art and architecture. As reported in the Liturgical Institute’s newsletter The Tidings, each of the five to six minute videos covers a topic related to the theory and design of Catholic churches, drawing from Dr. McNamara’s recent book Catholic Church Architecture and the Spirit of the Liturgy.
The first video introduces the topic of “architectural theology” and others feature discussions of the theology of beauty, the nature of the classical tradition, the theological meanings of ornament and decoration, and the biblical foundations of church architecture.
The videos have been used as educational tools by parish building committees, and have received more than 20,000 views from across the world.
To access the videos, go to youtube.com/liturgicalinstitute.
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St. Louis: Exploring Sacred Music Seminar
St. Louis Cathedral Concerts sponsored a series of four lectures at the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica September 19-October 10.
This year’s seminar, “The Sacred Music of the Americas,” explored the music of some of the main Christian faith traditions. The lectures, presented by experts in their field, focus on Anglican and Episcopal church music, Presbyterian and Methodist music, and the American Baptist musical tradition. The final lecture, Catholic Music in the New World, was by Dr. Horst Buchholz, music director of the Archdiocese of St. Louis and the Cathedral Basilica, and artistic director of the St. Louis Cathedral Concerts.
Visit the Cathedral Concerts website for schedule and ticket information for the new 2013-14 musical season:
stlcathedralconcerts-commerce.org.
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