Universal Indult rumours

Church historian sees end to restrictions on Latin Mass

Dublin, Sep. 15 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI will take action soon to allow all Catholic priests to celebrate the Latin Mass, a Cambridge historian has predicted.

Speaking to a conference of priests in Ireland earlier this week, Eamonn Duffy said that it was "extremely likely that Pope Benedict will lift the restrictions on the celebration of the Tridentine liturgy," the Irish Independent reported.

The Tridentine ritual, which was the universal form of the Mass prior to Vatican II, is now celebrated only with the explicit permission, or "indult," of the diocesan bishop. Some Vatican-watchers speculate that Pope Benedict will announce a "universal indult," giving blanket permission for all Catholic priests to use the old ritual.

In remarks to the National Conference of Priests of Ireland, Eamonn Duffy said that he thought the Pope would make the policy change in October, during the meeting of the Synod of Bishops. The topic for Synod discussions is the Eucharist.

[Comment: Will it happen? Hard to say. And I'm not certain what "in" Eamon Duffy has in making this prediction, or if he is merely conjecturing like anyone of us as to what might happen under Pope Benedict. I must say though, my attitude tends to be "I'll believe it when I see it." For my part, I hope he is right in his prediction, though I must confess that what needs to really happen is a move which will help the Tridentine rite religious orders operate in a way where whether a local bishop is friendly to them or not is as irrelevant as it is to a Byzantine Catholic. -- SRT]