During the course of one of his interviews, Pope Francis said:
HEN THERE ARE particular issues, like the liturgy according to the Vetus Ordo. I think the decision of Pope Benedict was prudent and motivated by the desire to help people who have this sensitivity. What is worrying, though, is the risk of the ideologization of the Vetus Ordo, its exploitation.
Some have admitted to being confused by the word “exploitation,” which is understandable when we consider the important role played by the Vetus Ordo in the spiritual lives of so many great saints. I have my own ideas about what Pope Francis meant in the paragraph. (He was speaking “off the cuff,” by the way.) However, I will not speculate, because I am adamantly opposed to the rampant and unrestrained bloviation by unqualified people that seems to be so much in vogue these days. I don’t wish to add to such irresponsible bloviation.
Speaking of “exploitation,” here’s a quote by Fr. Godfrey Diekmann:
E COULD CITE no papal encouragement for the view that liturgy is “the life of the Church,” the normal “school of piety,” apart from St. Pius X’s declaration that “the first and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit is active and intelligent participation in the public worship of the Church” (Motu Proprio on Sacred Music). And how we clung to that statement, cited it times without number, and tried to “exploit” it in terms of its pastoral implications!
—Martin Hellriegel and Godfrey Diekmann, “Perspectives on
American Liturgical Renewal,” Aids in Ministry (AIM), 1979
I don’t want to nitpick, but I do wonder if Diekmann got the translation right. What Pope Pius X actually said was:
ILLED AS WE ARE with a most ardent desire to see the true Christian spirit flourish in every respect and be preserved by all the faithful, We deem it necessary to provide before anything else for the sanctity and dignity of the temple, in which the faithful assemble for no other object than that of acquiring this spirit from its foremost and indispensable font, which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer of the Church. [source]
Diekmann wrote: “the first and indispensable source of the true Christian spirit is active and intelligent participation in the public worship of the Church.” Is that fully correct? For instance, where does he get the word “intelligent”? Perhaps someone can look at the original language of the Motu Proprio and clue me in … By the way, look at this 1937 advertisement for Orate Fratres.
AN OLD MAXIM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH says: Lex orandi, lex credendi, which means “The law of prayer is the law of belief.” Another way to think of this would be, “We pray as we believe,” or even, “We believe as we pray.”
Fr. Godfrey Diekmann was highly influential in the reforms following the Second Vatican Council. In particular, he was a major supporter of the “Hootenanny Mass.” Fr. Diekmann held many beliefs contrary to Catholic teaching. For example, he was a supporter of women’s ordination to the priesthood. Bearing in mind Lex orandi, lex credendi, what effects did these beliefs of his have on the liturgical reforms? It’s an interesting and important question.
By the way, I have to admit being disturbed after reading this story, wherein Fr. Diekmann is unable to hide his true feelings toward Pope John Paul II. I suppose it’s not all that surprising, since Pope John Paul II was firm in stating that women cannot be ordained as Catholic priests.
