Priests respond to Pope Francis’ restrictions

Four priests spoke after the Vatican published the Motu Proprio customs guards (Guardians of the tradition) with which Pope Francis establishes a series of restrictions on the celebration of Mass according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, also known as the Traditional Mass in Latin or the Tridentine Mass.

Among the provisions of the pontifical document published on July 16, the Pope establishes that it will be the bishop who will authorize the priests who want to celebrate Mass in this way, as well as where and when these celebrations can take place; and that the groups of faithful who participate will have a delegate priest who will accompany them pastorally.

“I think the smart thing to do now is calmly and calmly defend the truth against the evil laws. The Pope cannot change Tradition by decree and cannot say that the liturgy after Vatican II is the only expression of the law of prayer in the Roman rite ”, he writes in Twitter P. Francisco José Delgado, diocesan priest with a degree in philosophy and theology, parish priest of Lominchar and Palomeque in Toledo (Spain).

“As this is false, the legislation which derives from this principle is invalid and, according to Catholic morality, it should not be observed, which does not imply disobedience. It would be enough to just ignore it, but I think in this case it is not enough, ”said the priest.

What Fr. Delgado says refers to article 1 of the Motu Proprio which states: “the liturgical books promulgated by the Saints Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in accordance with the decrees of the Second Vatican Council, are the only expression of the the law of prayer of the Roman Rite ”. Lex orandi can be translated as “law of prayer”.

Father Delgado also wrote that “it is our duty, as faithful priests, to exercise the moral obligation to defend the truth publicly and ostensibly, in the face of possible consequences. And so I invite all my faithful brothers to do so ”.

“Until today, I have not felt the need to celebrate the traditional mass. Yes, I attended and prayed the breviary before the reform, but because of my parish work, it did not seem essential to me. But that, thanks to Francisco, changes from today ”.

The priest explained that his goal now is to “start celebrating traditional mass in private as soon as possible. Obviously I cannot impose it on my faithful, but I can do it when it does not interfere with my parish obligations ”.

“In addition, I consider it necessary to make this fact public in one way or another. I’m doing it here, but it seems to me that it would be very practical to organize some type of initiative that would give notoriety to those of us who made this gesture, ”he said.

Alfredo Hher, LC, a Mexican priest serving in Guadalajara, shared his twitter account, who requested the formal authorization of the local archdiocese “to continue to celebrate the Eucharist in the two forms of the Roman rite”.

In his request, Fr. Hher writes that for him “the celebration of the traditional Holy Mass is a source of spirituality and priestly fervor; and I consider that for the faithful it is also a richness and a source of spirituality ”, something that he does“ always taking care of beauty, dignity and fidelity to the rubrics and to the liturgical norms ”.

The priest also comments that although “there are exalted, sedevacantists and schismatics” this does not mean that “the traditional liturgy is such a wealth of priestly and Christian spirituality that I neither want to lose nor stop sharing “.

In another tweet that he posted on his account, Fr. Hher specifies: “I specify and confirm: I am with Pedro. In his boat commanded by his successor. The above even though I don’t understand, like, share or am personally against some of their decisions. Where the captain reigns ”.

Father Gabriel María Abascal, Mexican priest and author of the book “De Mí Depende”, indicated on your Twitter account that “if we were fully consistent with Tradition as some understand it, we should celebrate the Eucharist in exactly the same way that Jesus did. And it does not happen like 1900 years ago ”.

“I can admire the Tridentine Mass and it seems beautiful to me, but defending it as the only way to bring Christ down to Earth shows a lack of ecclesiological formation. The Church encompasses all of history: the present, the past and the future, ”he said.

Father Abascal also declared that “the Church, sustained by the Holy Spirit, nourishes her people as she sees fit at each moment and stage of history”.

Therefore, “the Church is not a company that decides strategies to satisfy its members. Let us understand her rather as a Mother, as the owner and mistress of the sacraments, who administers them as Christ himself would at every moment of history ”.

In this sense, “if Christ came in 2021, it is very likely that we would see him celebrate his own Eucharist as it is done in the parish of your neighborhood (this is where the clothes are torn)”, declared the Mexican priest.

The priest later recalled that “a mass can have more beautiful forms than others, but it is the same Christ who is present” in both “and that is enough for us because he is everything and we have no no need for more “.

Father Eduardo Hayen Cuarón, director of the weekly Presencia of the Diocese of Ciudad Juárez (Mexico), He also spoke on Twitter that “with the decree”Guardians of tradition ‘, the Pope restricts the celebration of Mass to the old rite (in Latin) and asks us to celebrate with the new rite of Saint John Paul II ”.

“He invites us priests to celebrate the Eucharist with decorum and dignity, without liturgical abuse,” he added.