Vatican cardinal urges respect for people's right to Tridentine Mass

Published: 2007-09-14

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As Pope Benedict XVI's decree on the Tridentine Mass went into effect, a Vatican cardinal called on bishops and pastors to respect the "right of the faithful" to have the liturgy offered in the 1962 rite. "Let's give thanks that the Holy Father has recovered this treasure for the church," Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, head of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei," told Vatican Radio Sept. 13. In July, a papal document said Mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal, commonly known as the Tridentine Mass, should be made available in every parish where groups of the faithful desire it. It also said any priest could freely celebrate the rite. The decree went into effect Sept. 14. Cardinal Castrillon said the relaxation of restrictions was not "a step backward," but a move to give greater liturgical freedom to priests and the faithful. "Nothing is being imposed on anyone. The pope imposes no obligation; but the pope does impose that this possibility be offered where the faithful ask for it," the cardinal said.

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