Motu Proprio Tip Sheet

What is a Motu Proprio?

Motu Proprio is Latin for "by his own accord."

It is a specific kind of papal decree issued by the Pope at his own initiative without, if he chooses, consultation with cardinals or other members of the Curial Household.

(It is important to note that press reports over the past six months have indicated that the Pope has, indeed, consulted extensively on this decree, listening to the concerns, it's been said, of the French bishops, for example.)

From the old 1912 Catholic Encyclopedia:

The words signify that the provisions of the rescript were decided on by the pope personally, that is, not on the advice of the cardinals or others, but for reasons which he himself deemed sufficient. The document has generally the form of a decree: in style it resembles a Brief rather than a Bull, but differs from both especially in not being sealed or countersigned. It issues from the Dataria Apostolica, and is usually written in Italian or Latin. It begins by stating the reason inducing the sovereign pontiff to act, after which is stated the law or regulation made, or the favour granted, It is signed, personally by the pope, his name and the date being always in Latin. A Motu Proprio was first issued by Innocent VIII in 1484. It was always unpopular in France, where it was regarded as an infringement of Gallican liberties, for it implied that the sovereign pontiff had an immediate jurisdiction in the affairs of the French Church. The best-known recent example of a Motu Proprio is the instructions issued by Pius X on 22 November, 1903, for the reform of church music.

This is Benedict XVI's third Motu Proprio. The first two, found here at the Vatican Webiste, concerned the release of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and certain administrative issues related to the Roman basilica, St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls.

Pope John Paul issued several Motu Proprio decrees including one, Ecclesia Dei, which also dealt with issues related to the 1962 Missal.

What this Motu Proprio is NOT

Before understanding what the content and implications of this decree, it is important to remember what it is not. Misunderstandings about the post-Vatican II liturgy abound, and it is vital to avoid these in reporting this:

1. The Motu Proprio does not "bring back the Latin Mass."

Why?

Because the "Latin Mass" never went away.

Many believe that the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) "abolished" the Latin Mass and required use of the vernacular in the Mass. This is just not true.

The root liturgical books of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church are still in Latin. It is called the Missale Romanum. When people pray the Mass in the vernacular they are praying a translation (approved by their national bishops' conference) of the Missale Romanum.

Any priest may celebrate Mass in Latin. In many parishes in the United States, you will find Masses in which parts are recited or chanted in Latin and even some in which the entire Mass is still celebrated in Latin, with Gregorian Chant.

In fact, the Bishops of the Second Vatican Council expected that Latin and Chant would still be used in the Mass, even if the rite ended up being revised (which it was.). The document related to the liturgy produced from the Second Vatican Council  - Sancrosanctum Concilium - expresses this expectation in several places:

36. 1. Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites.

2. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass, the administration of the sacraments, or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended. This will apply in the first place to the readings and directives, and to some of the prayers and chants, according to the regulations on this matter to be laid down separately in subsequent chapters.

and

54. In Masses which are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. This is to apply in the first place to the readings and "the common prayer," but also, as local conditions may warrant, to those parts which pertain to the people, according to tho norm laid down in Art. 36 of this Constitution.

Nevertheless steps should be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or to sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.

and

116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.

But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action, as laid down in Art. 30.

Things changed very rapidly over the subsequent ten years as the new rite was formulated, but it is clear that the expectations of the Second Vatican Council were that any revisions would retain Latin, not only in the root books, but in common usage, even in Masses that included much of the "mother tongue" of the congregation, and that Gregorian Chant would be the first choice for music used during Masses.  They did not, on the whole, forsee a future in which both Latin and chant would disappear from ordinary parish Masses. To speak of the "liturgical spirit of Vatican II" as identified with unfettered creativity untethered from almost 2000-years of tradition is simply inaccurate.

2. This Motu Proprio does not impose the 1962 Missal on the present.

No priest will be required to celebrate the Mass from the 1962 Missal. The Mass of Paul VI, the fruit of the reforms called for by the Second Vatican Council, will still be the Mass most Catholics experience.

What does the Motu Proprio Say?

Why did Benedict issue this decree?

The best answer lies in the document itself, and that is the place reporting on this decree should start. Theologians and liturgical experts may have their opinions, but when analyzing the "Why?" it is only fair to start with the Pope's own words and his own reasoning.

Liturgy has been central to Pope Benedict's concerns for a long time. One of his best-known books is The Spirit of the Liturgy and another is Sing a New Song to the Lord, summarized and reviewed here. He was present as a peritus , or expert, at the Second Vatican Council himself, but early on became concerned with the directions liturgical reforms were taking. The recent Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist is also a good place to gauge his views.

It is best to try to avoid simplistic notions like "He is trying to turn back Vatican II." This isn't true, first, because the Second Vatican Council in itself did not call for a radical rejection of Catholic tradition, including use of Latin and Chant. Secondly, if you read what Benedict himself has written, it is clear this is not his agenda. His purpose is to help all of us focus on Christ in our prayer, including our prayer at Mass. That is the scope of his liturgical "agenda."

Additional material awaits release of the document.

Deep Background

In reporting this story, it is important to have a grasp of some basics and the history of the Mass, especially its recent history.

The liturgical history of the Roman Catholic Church is more complicated than many realize. It is simply not the case that "up until Vatican II, the Mass was the same, everywhere, and it was in Latin."

First, please remember that there are 22 "rites" within the Roman Catholic Church. A "rite" is a specific type of worship and theological sensibility rooted in geographical or ethnic identity. Here is a list of rites within the Roman Catholic Church. These diverse rites all exist under the authority of the Pope.

The particular issue here is with the "Latin Rite" - the largest rite, of course, with its root in Rome, Western Europe and the Latin language.

The Mass in the Latin Rite developed over the centuries, always retaining the same essential structure, a core of prayers dating from the 6th-10th centuries, the Latin language and the celebrant facing east.

There were always variations and, as noted, developments. For two examples among many, the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) and the Creed found their ways into the Mass between the 6th and 11th centuries.

In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation rocked Europe and challenged the Roman Catholic Church. In response, the Church embarked upon an ambitious and serious program of reform (called the "Counter-Reformation" or "Catholic Reformation."). The training of priests was enhanced, religious orders reformed, education was improved and the celebration of the sacraments was reformed.

Central to this was the reform of the Mass. This reform was needed, it was felt, in order to clarify what authentic Catholic worship was, the truth of the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, to eliminate abuses and more dramatic discrepancies, and all of this in response to the Protestant Reformers.

The result was the Missal of Pius V, promulgated in 1570. It is what is most commonly referred to today as the "Tridentine Mass," "Traditional Mass." or "Classical Roman Rite" This Mass was not a new rite at all. It was a regularization and standardization of the rite that had been most commonly used for centuries. Many of the prayers, for example, in the Missal of Pius V were already almost a thousand years old by 1570.

There were other rites used in the Latin rite - local rites (such as the Ambrosian, used in Milan, Italy) and those used by religious orders (the Domincans, for example). The Council of Trent permitted the retention of rites that were more than two hundred years old.

The Missal of Pius V was, then, for the most part, the Missal that was used in the Latin Rite through 1965 in most places, although it is essential to note that changes and reforms were made to this missal through the centuries, even in the years directly after its original promulgation (1604, 1634) and then, skipping forward,  preceding the Second Vatican Council. For example, in 1951, Pope Pius XII reformed the celebrations of Easter, and in 1955 issued reforms for the celebration of Holy Week. In 1962, Pope John XXIII issued a slightly revised "typical" edition of the Missal, the last one before the revised rite, issued in 1970.

It is this 1962 Missal which is the subject of the Motu Proprio.

But by the time of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) , there was a general sense that the liturgy needed to be reformed, but, as Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Vatican II document stated, there was a clear purpose and limit:

21. In order that the Christian people may more certainly derive an abundance of graces from the sacred liturgy, holy Mother Church desires to undertake with great care a general restoration of the liturgy itself. For the liturgy is made up of immutable elements divinely instituted, and of elements subject to change. These not only may but ought to be changed with the passage of time if they have suffered from the intrusion of anything out of harmony with the inner nature of the liturgy or have become unsuited to it.

In this restoration, both texts and rites should be drawn up so that they express more clearly the holy things which they signify; the Christian people, so far as possible, should be enabled to understand them with ease and to take part in them fully, actively, and as befits a community.

This document called for what it called a "restoration" of the liturgy - a process in which elements of the rituals that had become obstacles, instead of guides to understanding, would be re-examined, with the hope that the restored liturgy would be one in which all Catholics could more deeply experience the Reality and Graces present. There was great concern among many theologicans and pastors in the decades preceding the Second Vatican Council that the laity's understanding of what was happening at Mass be deepened.

The subsequent process went very quickly.

A useful timeline is here. It is important to note that every liturgical rite of the Church ended up being reformed. Every sacrament, plus the Liturgy of the Hours (the prayers, centered on the psalms, that priests and religion pray throughout the day, every day).

All within a span of about 15 years.

The Mass of Paul VI, which is the Mass most commonly used in Catholic parishes today, usually in a vernacular translation, was published in 1970.  (or 1969?)

It is not as if the reform "started" in 1962. The Liturgical Movement - scholars who studied liturgy and advocated for various reforms - had been around since the 19th century. Serious efforts to revive and encourage the use of Gregorian Chant began in the Benedictine monastery of Solesmes in the 19th century and spread throughout the world in subsequent decades.  Throughout the 20th century, various experiments - Mass in the vernacular, for example  - were carried out in many places.  A commission advising the Pope on liturgical reform was active from 1948-1960. No one was starting from scratch. But in three respects, this was a quick process:

1) From the standpoint of reforming the entire 2,000 year liturgica life of the Church in a couple of decades.

2) From the pastoral standpoint - could adequate preparation and education for the people in the pew really take place this fast?

3) Finally - and this is important - never before had the liturgies and rites of the Church been so deeply reformed from the top down before. This was unprecedented, and those who operate with the misconception that Roman Catholic practice is all about leadership imposing practices on the laity need to understand this. The rosary, for example, was not invented by bishops and then systematically taught to the laity. It was a devotion that developed over hundreds of years, took many forms and was ultimately formalized, in a way that seemed to encapsulate the most powerful and popular aspects of the devotion, in the 16th century.

The sacraments and rites of Roman Catholicism had certainly developed and, in their externals, changed over the centuries, but this change was almost always "organic,' bubbling up from the level of ordinary useage, up to official acceptance (or rejection) in Rome or by bishops' councils and synods. Many, in retrospect, have viewed the rapid, top-down reform of the liturgy after Vatican II as a serious deviation from the normal process of liturgical development in the Church. Joseph Ratzinger has been one of these.

The responses to these changes varied, as did their implementation and the understanding of what exactly these changes required.

Some resisted the changes in dramatic ways. There is a contigent within Roman Catholicism that views the liturgical (and other) changes brought on by the Second Vatican Council as destructive to faith and a clear break with the broader tradition of Catholicism. Members of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) fall into this category. They are a group that uses the 1962 Missal for all sacraments. The founder of this group, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, was excommunicated in 1988 for consecrating four bishops. The present canonical status of the SSPX  as a group and of those individuals who attend Mass at its chapels is unclear. Whatever that precise definition is, it is not really accurate to say that all members of this group or the group in general is "in schism." There are other breakaway groups, as well -for example, the Society of Pius V, which broke away from the SSPX because they believed the 1962 MIssal, with Pius XII's reforms of Holy Week, should not be used.

So, in short:

1570: Pope Pius V reform and regularization of the Roman Missal: the "Tridentine Mass."

1962: Pope John XXIII issues last typical edition of the Pius V Missal

1965-8: Portions of the Pius V Missal are translated into the vernacular and used around the world in a patchwork manner.

1970: (or 1969?) A totally reformed MIssal is promulgated by Pope Paul VI. This (with some subsequent revisions) is the root liturgical book used today in the Roman Catholic Church. It is the "ordinary rite" of the Mass in the Latin Rite. The text is in Latin, but most Catholics experience a vernacular translation.

The 1984 Indult

In 1984, after 14 years of the Mass of Paul VI, the strong desires of some to still celebrate the Mass (and other sacraments) according to the 1962 Missal had not declined. Some had broken away in the SSPX and other groups.

So in that year, the Congregation for Divine Worship extended permission to bishops to allow the celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal. Conditions must be met, the most important of which was that those seeking this permission must affirm the validity of the 1970 Missal. In 1988, the year of the SSPX excommunications, a Pontifical Commission called Ecclesia Dei was set up to supervise and administer this process.

This was important because some figures in the anti-Paul VI MIssal movement believe, because of changes in wording to the prayers, that the 1970 Mass is not "valid" - the bread and wine do not become the Body and Blood of Christ. There are some that also believe that priestly and episcopal ordinations according to the post-Vatican II rite are not valid. Most in this movment do not share these views, but there were obviously enough to cause some bishops concern.

In the years since, several religious orders have been founded which exclusively use, with the permission of Rome, the 1962 Missal. Some are linked on the sidebar and here is an extensive list. Within the diocese of Campos, Brazil, a "Personal Apostolic Administration" (sort of a diocese within a diocese) exists - its origins are in bishops and priests who aligned themselves with the SSPX, but in 2001 reconciled with Rome.

Masses celebrated according to the 1962 Missal under this provision are commonly called "Indult Masses"

In your community there might be several parishes and groups that do celebrate Mass according to the 1962 MIssal. It is important to distinguish between those that are in full communion with Rome and those (SSPX and SSPV chapels) that are not. It would be interesting to ask members of the latter what they think of the Motu Proprio.

The reconciliation of the SSPX to Rome is related to the Motu Proprio, but a separate issue.

The excellent question arises: If the Indult was granted in 1984, why did Benedict deem this Motu Proprio necessary?

The permission to celebrate the 1962 Missal must be extended by a bishop if he deems there is a need or demand in his diocese. It is a system that has seemed to be flawed, as priests who would like to celebrate according to the 1962 Missal are denied permission, and groups of laity who request this Mass are either denied or given space at out-of-the-way parishes at inconvenient times.

This Motu Proprio establishes [To be inserted!]....