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As everyone now knows, Archbishop Georg Gänswein has written a book entitled "Nient' altro che la verità: La mia vita al fianco di Benedetto XVI" (Nothing but the truth: My life beside Pope Benedict XVI) (Piemme, 2023). So far, no English translation has been announced. Rorate has access to this book and is pleased to present the following section, "Interrupted pacification" (pp. 288-291), in English for the first time.
On July 16, 2021, Benedict XVI discovered, leafing through that afternoon's L'Osservatore Romano, that Pope Francis had released the motu proprio Traditionis custodes on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the 1970 reform. The subject matter was identical to that of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which he had promulgated on July 7, 2007, and the mode of communication was also the same, through the accompaniment of a letter to illustrate the contents of the new text. Therefore, the Pope Emeritus read the document carefully, to understand its motivation and the details of the changes.
When I asked him for his opinion, he reiterated that the reigning Pontiff has the responsibility for decisions such as this and must act according to what he considers to be the good of the Church. But on a personal level, he found a definite change of course and considered it a mistake, as it jeopardized the attempt at pacification that had been made fourteen years earlier. Benedict in particular felt it was wrong to prohibit the celebration of Mass in the ancient rite in parish churches, as it is always dangerous to corner a group of faithful so as to make them feel persecuted and to inspire in them a sense of having to safeguard their identity at all costs in the face of the "enemy."
After a couple of months, reading what Pope Francis had said on Sept. 12, 2021 during a conversation with Slovak Jesuits in Bratislava, the Pope Emeritus furrowed his brow at a statement of the pope's: "Now I hope that with the decision to stop the automatism of the ancient rite we can return to the true intentions of Benedict XVI and John Paul II. My decision is the result of a consultation with all the bishops of the world made last year."
And even less appreciation was garnered in him by the anecdote told soon afterwards by the Pontiff: "A cardinal told me that two newly ordained priests came to him asking to study Latin in order to celebrate well. He, who has a sense of humor, replied, 'But there are so many Hispanics in the diocese! Study Spanish to be able to preach. Then, when you have studied Spanish, come back to me and I will tell you how many Vietnamese there are in the diocese, and I will ask you to study Vietnamese. Then, when you have learned Vietnamese, I will give you permission to study Latin as well." So he 'grounded them,' brought them back to earth."
As an expert on Vatican II, Benedict remembered well how the Council had instead insisted that "the use of the Latin language, except for particular rights, should be preserved in the Latin rites" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36) and that all seminarians should acquire "that knowledge of the Latin language which is necessary for understanding and using the sources of so many sciences and the documents of the Church" (Optatam totius 13). Not for nothing, Benedict had noted in the motu proprio Latina lingua, "are the liturgical books of the Roman rite, the most important documents of the Pontifical Magisterium, and the most solemn official acts of the Roman Pontiffs written in that language in their official form, precisely in order to highlight the universal character of the Church."
Continued below.
rorate-caeli.blogspot.com
On July 16, 2021, Benedict XVI discovered, leafing through that afternoon's L'Osservatore Romano, that Pope Francis had released the motu proprio Traditionis custodes on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the 1970 reform. The subject matter was identical to that of the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, which he had promulgated on July 7, 2007, and the mode of communication was also the same, through the accompaniment of a letter to illustrate the contents of the new text. Therefore, the Pope Emeritus read the document carefully, to understand its motivation and the details of the changes.
When I asked him for his opinion, he reiterated that the reigning Pontiff has the responsibility for decisions such as this and must act according to what he considers to be the good of the Church. But on a personal level, he found a definite change of course and considered it a mistake, as it jeopardized the attempt at pacification that had been made fourteen years earlier. Benedict in particular felt it was wrong to prohibit the celebration of Mass in the ancient rite in parish churches, as it is always dangerous to corner a group of faithful so as to make them feel persecuted and to inspire in them a sense of having to safeguard their identity at all costs in the face of the "enemy."
After a couple of months, reading what Pope Francis had said on Sept. 12, 2021 during a conversation with Slovak Jesuits in Bratislava, the Pope Emeritus furrowed his brow at a statement of the pope's: "Now I hope that with the decision to stop the automatism of the ancient rite we can return to the true intentions of Benedict XVI and John Paul II. My decision is the result of a consultation with all the bishops of the world made last year."
And even less appreciation was garnered in him by the anecdote told soon afterwards by the Pontiff: "A cardinal told me that two newly ordained priests came to him asking to study Latin in order to celebrate well. He, who has a sense of humor, replied, 'But there are so many Hispanics in the diocese! Study Spanish to be able to preach. Then, when you have studied Spanish, come back to me and I will tell you how many Vietnamese there are in the diocese, and I will ask you to study Vietnamese. Then, when you have learned Vietnamese, I will give you permission to study Latin as well." So he 'grounded them,' brought them back to earth."
As an expert on Vatican II, Benedict remembered well how the Council had instead insisted that "the use of the Latin language, except for particular rights, should be preserved in the Latin rites" (Sacrosanctum Concilium 36) and that all seminarians should acquire "that knowledge of the Latin language which is necessary for understanding and using the sources of so many sciences and the documents of the Church" (Optatam totius 13). Not for nothing, Benedict had noted in the motu proprio Latina lingua, "are the liturgical books of the Roman rite, the most important documents of the Pontifical Magisterium, and the most solemn official acts of the Roman Pontiffs written in that language in their official form, precisely in order to highlight the universal character of the Church."
Continued below.
RORATE EXCLUSIVE: First translation of pages on 'Traditionis Custodes' from Gänswein's new book
As everyone now knows, Archbishop Georg Gänswein has written a book entitled "Nient' altro che la verità: La mia vita al fianco di Benedetto...
rorate-caeli.blogspot.com
