German Bishops on the Motu Proprio

German Bishops' Conference

Questions about the implementation of the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for the Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite (taken from the press release of their Beginning of the Year Plenary)

On 14 September 2007, the provisions for the Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman entered into legal force. Pope Benedict XVI issued the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum together with a letter to the bishops on 7 July 2007.

We have again discussed at the General Assembly the implementation of the provisions in the German dioceses. The guidelines, which we adopted at the Autumn General Assembly on 26 in September 2007, have now been put into force by all diocesan bishops and published in the official journals. From the point of view of the number of applications and approvals for the celebration of Mass in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, no significant increase can be reported. The General Assembly confirmed once again that application for and approval of Mass celebrations in the extraordinary form is regulated directly by the faithful and their pastors. If believers come from several parishes, the diocesan bishop however is responsible. Initiatives to promote Mass celebrations in the extraordinary form need no broker or lawyer's role in the diocesan approval procedures.

We expect that a number of outstanding issues (for example, concerning the calendar of readings) will be clarified in the implementing provisions of the Commission Ecclesia Dei, the publication of which has already been announced.

To ensure the comparability of the reports to the Holy See by the diocesan bishops three years after the enactment of the Motu proprio, the secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference will circulate, at the appropriate time, a survey. What planet are the Bishops' living on?- the number of extra locations this year- shown in yellow.Doubled in two years, despite the very best efforts of the German bishops to keep the lid on the kettle.