...Benedict XVI's work to restore vitality and dignity to the Catholic liturgy seems better understood and applied on the "outskirts" of the Church than in its European center of gravity.
It is no secret, for example, that Gregorian chant is today more vibrant and widespread in some countries of Africa and Asia than it is in Europe.
Among the guidelines given by Archbishop Ranjith for the Eucharistic year in the diocese of Colombo is, in fact, that of teaching the faithful to chant in Latin, at the Mass, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, the Agnus Dei.
In the same way, Benedict XVI's decision to liberalize the use of the ancient missal alongside the modern one – for a mutual enrichment of the two forms of celebration – seems to be understood and applied in Africa and Asia better than in some regions of Europe.
*
Another proof of this concerns the way in which communion is given to the faithful: in the hand or on the tongue, standing or kneeling.
The example given by Benedict XVI – on the tongue, and kneeling – finds very few imitators above all in Europe, in Italy, and even in Rome...
Read the entire article on Chiesa. I believe we can also add amongst his best pupils a handful of American bishops as well.
