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English columnist sees Pope planning 'blend' of old and new liturgies

CWN - May 20, 2011

William Oddie, the former editor of the Catholic Herald, argues that Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging the use of the traditional Latin Mass as part of a long-term plan to produce a new form for the Latin liturgy, blending the extraordinary form with the Novus Ordo.

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  • Posted by: Salome - May. 21, 2011 10:02 PM ET USA

    'Extraordinary' means 'outside the ordinary'--in Latin or English, it means therefore the one you shouldn't usually expect. I can see that infusion of the extraordinary form into the ordinary would constitute an enrichment, but any intrusion of the ordinary into the extraordinary would be an impoverishment, and there is a risk that down the track we could be left with a compromise rite that's neither the one nor the other.

  • Posted by: Justin8110 - May. 21, 2011 8:15 PM ET USA

    I certainly don't question the validity of the Novus Ordo but I do question what it could possibly offer to the traditional Latin Mass. If the Holy Father really goes for this hybrid Rite I hope he lets those of us that simply want to stick with the old Latin Mass to do so. Please, no more innovations. I'll stick to my FSSP parish thank you very much.

  • Posted by: marttywinston6762 - May. 20, 2011 6:13 PM ET USA

    William Oddie thinks the term "extraordinary form" has a negative connotation. I agree. Could it be a translation problem? Or is the nuance also in the Latin? I don't know.

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