U.S. bishops say pope affirming importance of Mass in both its forms

Published: 2007-07-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- U.S. church leaders cautioned against what one called "early and false conclusions" about Pope Benedict XVI's July 7 document expanding the use of the Tridentine Mass and said it should be seen primarily as an affirmation of the importance of reverential participation in the Mass, whether in its ordinary or extraordinary form. Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit said the apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum" showed the pope's "pastoral care for those members of the faithful who desire to worship God" with the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine rite. But he said Pope Benedict's decision to allow priests to celebrate the earlier form of the Mass without their bishop's prior permission should not be seen "as calling into question the abiding significance of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council" but as a continuation of Pope John Paul II's efforts to reach out "to those who felt alienated from the church because of the exclusive use of the postconciliar ritual." Bishop David A. Zubik of Green Bay, Wis., said in separate letters to priests and the faithful in the diocese July 7 that they must "be careful not to arrive at early and false conclusions" about the apostolic letter. "Most importantly, I wish to state emphatically that the Mass is not changing," he wrote in both letters.

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