The Catholic Weekly 1 August 2021

catholicweekly.com.au 3 1, August, 2021 ARCHBISHOP ANTHONY Fisher OP of Sydney, Austral- ia, extended permission on a temporary basis to Latin Mass communities in his Archdio- cese to continue celebrating the old form of the Mass in Latin while he considers ad- vice on the implementation of Pope Francis’s motu proprio. Pope Francis shocked Lat- in mass communities around the world on 16 July when he issued the motu proprio – a papal document issued on his authority as Pope – severely restricting celebrations of the Mass according to the Missal issued in 1962 by Pope St John XXIII. Since Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum in 2007, the cele- bration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal has been known as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In a letter to clergy dated 21 July, Archbishop Fisher said he was granting the permis- sion while he takes advice on both the motu proprio, Tra- ditionis Custodes (Guardians of the Tradition) and the ac- companying letter from Pope Francis, which discussed the reasons for his decision to limit the celebration of the older form of the Mass. “These two documents deserve careful theological, liturgical, pastoral and canon- ical study, as well as prayerful discernment and reception,” Archbishop Fisher said in the letter to clergy. The Archbishop said he was granting permission “to those priests competent in offering Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal to contin- ue to do so, either privately or in those places that already have an Extraordinary Form Mass on their schedule, sub- Archbishop permits LatinMass, indicating careful study, discernment of papal directive required ¾ Peter Rosengren Unity in Diversity ject to COVID-19 restrictions and until further instructions are forthcoming fromme”. He asked clergy celebrat- ing (or attending) Mass in the Extraordinary Form to advise their congregations that it would continue to be availa- Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP’s note to clergy granted permission to celebrate the Latin Mass while Pope Francis’s motu proprio Tradi- tionis Custodes is unpacked. PHOTO: PATRICK J LEE ble in the Archdiocese “in re- sponse to the legitimate needs and desires of the faithful and within the appropriate canon- ical norms.” He also asked priests “to consider carefully and re- spectfully the reasoning and instructions of the Holy Fa- ther, to help in promoting unity and good order in the Church, to continue to foster a fruitful devotion to the Mass, and to give priority to serving the pastoral needs of God’s people.” There are several centres of the Extraordinary Form’s cel- ebration in the Archdiocese, with it being celebrated on Sundays in St Mary’s Cathe- dral and in St Andrew’s parish, Belfield. Apersonal parish,Maternal Heart of Mary in Lewisham is also a major centre of its cel- These two documents deserve care- ful theological, liturgical, pastoral and canonical study, as well as prayerful discernment and reception.” Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP ebration and is administered by priests of the Fraternity of St Peter, a congregation that celebrates the Extraordinary Form exclusively. Meanwhile, it is also cel- ebrated at St Jerome’s Par- ish in Punchbowl on the last Saturday of the month and at St Dominic’s in Flemington every Saturday morning. In his letter, Archbishop Fisher pointed out that there are 24 Catholic churches throughout the world in full communion with the Pope; between them, they celebrate six different liturgical tradi- tions. In the Latin Rite, which makes up the overwhelm- ing number of Catholics at a global level, there are several liturgical traditions, including that of the Ordinariate creat- ed by Pope Benedict XVI for former Anglicans and which celebrates a liturgy preserving much of the distinctive Angli- can heritage. A number of major reli- gious orders also preserve unique liturgical traditions which, on occasion, are still used, he said. “So, while we share one rite, Western Catholics are also ritually diverse,” he said. Meanwhile, “the sacrifice of the Mass is a miracle cel- ebrated according to any of these rites: a “sacred banquet” and “wondrous sacrament”, in which Christ becomes really present, by which Christ is re- ceived in Holy Communion, at which we engage in our highest form of worship, and through which we have our most intimate experience of God in this life,” Archbishop Fisher wrote. He said a key challenge facing the upcoming Plenary Council of Australia would “surely be how to better cat- echise people about the real presence, foster Eucharistic devotion and ensure wide- spread availability of the Mass and Holy Communion.” The Archbishop said that the Mass is a celebration of communion in another sense, “the unity of faith and life be- tween Catholic Christians and with God and His saints. “The Liturgy must never be politicised or weaponised as an ideological tool by any- one, whatever their liturgical preferences: that would be to factionalise the Church and undermine communion in this sense,” he wrote. ANNA KROHN P12 FROM PAGE 1 In recent weeks, attention of the state’s health authorities has focussed on south-west- ern and western parts of Syd- ney with messaging about close-knit extended families in those regions transmitting the disease between house- holds. Bishop Tarabay urged people not to visit loved ones, including grandpar- ents, living in other house- holds. “I felt it important to ac- knowledge people’s fears Protests threatened us all Maronite Eparch Antoine-Charbel Tarabay blasted anti-lockdown protests in Sydney as a risk to health and the common good. and stresses and remind the flock that as Christians true freedom is found in Christ and in doing our part to en- sure we keep those around us safe,” he later told The Catholic Weekly. “I also wanted to acknowl- edge the anxiety felt by so many of those Maronites af- fected in particular in west- ern and south western Syd- ney. “Freedom comes with re- sponsibility to choose what is right for the common good. “I also wanted to reinforce my confidence in Maronites to do what is right and work together in hope to get out of lockdown safely. I know peo- ple are strong and resilient. “I know that in our Ma- ronite Community there is an eagerness to return to Mass and the Eucharist, so let us use this time to focus on our spiritual as well as physical and mental health, so we can ensure we do not remain dis- tanced from one another af- ter this pandemic is over.” Bishop Tarabay said re- sponse to his homily had been “overwhelmingly posi- tive and supportive”. Freedom comes with responsibility to choose what is right for the common good.” Bishop Charbel-Antoine Tarabay Looking for a new job? www.catholicjobsonline.com.au | NEWS