Universae Ecclesia--The Instruction

This is a a "no-hitter" in baseball terms as Father Z recently described. It is a great day for the restoration of the liturgy and it is justification for all who suffered for this day. It is a firm and clear Instruction from a Vatican dicastry and it is unambiguous as to their authority to act in this regard. It is a clarion call for all Catholics and a warning to all in the Episcopacy and their underlings to obey.

If Summorum Pontificum (The Supreme Pontiff) of the Universae Ecclesiae (Universal Church) are not appropriate enough names of these documents to gain the attention of the episcopacy, then I don't know what would.

It is going to be hated by the National Catholic Fishwrap and the hippie crowd. It will be detested by those who have for almost half a century undermined the Church through a debasement of Her liturgy. It is a smack-down to those talking-head, media clerics who opine about "affectations" and other such nonsense. It states that those who think that Summorum Pontificum was only about the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X are wrong and any priest who thinks otherwise, is simply wrong.

• No Altar Girls!



• No Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion!



• No Communion in the hand (not even during H1N1)!!!



• No vernacular music (except in the appropriate Missa Lecta et Musica permissions from 1957).



• No Communion under both species (obviously the Precious Blood is available due to allergies of gluten).



• No standing for Holy Communion (unless impeded due to health, age).



• No Lay proclaiming scriptures (some provision for the Epistle in a Missa Solemis for a "straw-man" Subdeacon and there may be some permission for a "commentator" outside the sanctuary as was permitted prior to 1962.



• No Concelebration (except under the usual Ordination pattern).



• Triduum may be celebrated, even in the same parish as the Triduum in the Ordinary Form.



• Any priest is qualified in Latin if he is by law permitted to celebrate the Holy Eucharist.



• No bishop can prevent a priest from celebrating the EF!!!!!



• No minimum number on a "stable group"!!!!!!!



• A priest in your parish must allow another priest and laypeople access to the parish church for a Mass in the EF if he can not/will not provide it.

• In a Missa Lecta (Low Mass) the Epistle and Gospel may be read in the vernacular languages without first reading them in Latin. In a Missa Cantata or Missa Solemnis they can be read in the vernacular only after being sung in Latin.

• New Saints and Prefaces can be added and will be upon a future Instruction.
  

• More, you're a grown up Catholic and you can read it all by yourself. You don't need any media cleric or chancery official or professional Catholic to tell you anymore. You have rights, God has given them to you, Christ has ordered it, Mary has guided it and the Vicar of Christ has ensured it.

Now, note this:

"8. The Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum constitutes an important expression of the Magisterium of the Roman Pontiff and of his munus of regulating and ordering the Church’s Sacred Liturgy.3 The Motu Proprio manifests his solicitude as Vicar of Christ and Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church...."

Bishops, priests, professional Catholics, talking-head media types; Let me tell you what this means in language you can understand; Benedict XVI, Papa Ratzinger, is THE BOSS AND HE MEANS WHAT HE SAYS. Can you understand that now?

Laudeter Jesus Christus et hoc usque in saeculum!

Vivat Jesus!

Long live the Pope!

INSTRUCTION UNIVERSAE ECCLESIAE OF THE PONTIFICAL COMMISSION ECCLESIA DEI On the application of the Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, of HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI, given motu proprio

There is no better analyst and commenter in this matter than Father John Zuhlsdorf. This link will take you to a location on his blog where all his posts on this topic are summarised.

Go; get educated.