Summorum Pontificum

Contents

Summorum Pontificum was a 2007 motu proprio issued by Pope Benedict XVI that revised norms for the celebration of the 1962 Roman Missal, affecting liturgy across the Catholic Church, the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and diocesan structures. The document engaged historical currents involving Pope John Paul II, Second Vatican Council, Pope Pius V, Pope Paul VI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and movements such as the Society of Saint Pius X and the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter. It generated responses from episcopal conferences like the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Congregation for Bishops, and national churches including England and Wales, France, Italy, and Germany.

Background and Context

The motu proprio arose amid debates after the Second Vatican Council over the Roman Rite, Missale Romanum (1969), liturgical reform championed by Annibale Bugnini, tensions involving the Society of Saint Pius X founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, and initiatives by Pope John Paul II such as the 1988 decree aligning with Ecclesia Dei. Prior developments included directives from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, interventions by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and pastoral efforts in contexts like Lourdes, Fátima, Rome, and the Vatican City State.

Summorum Pontificum established norms distinguishing the 1962 Roman Missal as an "extraordinary form" and the postconciliar rite as the "ordinary form", using terminology resonant with debates involving Liturgical Movement, Pope Pius XII, and texts such as the Tridentine Mass and the Missal of Pius V. It specified conditions for parish priests, chaplains, and bishops in matters of celebrations, private masses, and parish requests, creating procedures that implicated the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Episcopal Conference, and canonical instruments like the Code of Canon Law and canonical offices in Diocese of Rome and other sees such as Archdiocese of Paris, Archdiocese of Westminster, Archdiocese of Milan, and Archdiocese of New York. The document referenced prior papal acts by Pope Paul VI and norms related to indult practice and canonical precedent from the Council of Trent.

Implementation involved diocesan bishops, parish priests, religious institutes including Dominican Order, Jesuits, Benedictines, and societies like the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. Reception varied across geographic regions including United States, France, Italy, Poland, Spain, and Argentina, and institutions including Vatican Museums, Pontifical Gregorian University, and seminaries such as Pontifical Lateran University. Academic commentary emerged from theologians at University of Notre Dame, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Regensburg University, and journals like L'Osservatore Romano, The Tablet, and National Catholic Reporter.

Legally, the motu proprio interacted with canonical structures such as the Code of Canon Law and decisions by the Roman Rota, affecting faculties, canonical status of chapels, and the jurisdiction of bishops versus the Holy See. Ecclesially, it influenced relations between Rome and traditionalist groups including the Society of Saint Pius X, ecumenical dialogues with World Council of Churches partners, and internal formations at institutions like the Vatican Library, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and seminaries under the oversight of Congregation for Catholic Education.

Controversy centered on pastoral prudence, authority of bishops, liturgical theology, and reconciliation efforts with the Society of Saint Pius X, touching figures such as Cardinal Walter Kasper, Ratzinger, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Bishop Bernard Fellay, and commentators from The New York Times, The Guardian, and La Croix. Debates invoked comparisons to earlier reforms by Pope Gregory XIII, conflicts in dioceses like Dublin, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, and episodes involving permissions, canonical appeals to the Apostolic Signatura, and responses from episcopal conferences including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Subsequent developments included later motu proprios such as Traditionis custodes issued by Pope Francis and administrative actions by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The motu proprio contributed to the modern stream of papal instruments alongside documents by Pope Pius XII, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Paul VI, and shaped liturgical practice in institutions like the Vatican Museums, parish communities in Rome, seminaries at the Pontifical North American College, and movements connected to the Liturgical Movement.

Category:Papal documents Category:Liturgy of the Catholic Church Category:Pope Benedict XVI