July 16, 2021
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
May you know the love and peace of the Lord! The center of our Catholic Faith is the Most Holy Eucharist, the source and summit of our life in Christ. In the Mass, we hear God’s Word, share in the paschal sacrifice of the Son to the Father, and receive the Sacred Body of Christ. The Eucharist both forms and feeds the Church.
In light of today’s announcement from the Holy Father regarding changes and restrictions in the celebration of the Tridentine Mass, I want to assure all the priests and faithful of our diocese, especially those who may feel disheartened or discouraged by today’s developments, of my gratitude and support for your love for the Lord and the Church, your fidelity to the Gospel and the magisterium, your deep desire for holiness and your rich spirituality. I love all of you as your shepherd and spiritual father.
The nuances and implications of the Holy Father’s motu proprio need some clarification, and I will seek to understand fully what the Holy See is decreeing before making any definitive decisions. Although I do not celebrate the Tridentine Mass myself, I have great esteem for its form and its antiquity, knowing that many Catholics in our diocese draw tremendous graces and blessings by participating in it. This appreciation will certainly guide me in any decisions needed to be made.
While I work towards faithfully implementing the motu proprio in a way that best serves the needs of the faithful, of parishes, and of the diocese as a whole, there are a few points of the new norms that require more immediate attention. With the requirements implemented by Pope Francis in mind:
Priests of the diocese and other priests ministering stably in the diocese who wish to celebrate according to the 1962 Roman Missal can presume my authorization to do so for now, in fidelity to all relevant liturgical and disciplinary norms, but they should anticipate in the near future that I will ask them to contact me to request continued authorization.
Until further provision is made regarding the designation of times and places for the public celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form, Masses can continue to be celebrated at the times and places in which they have regularly been celebrated throughout the diocese, including in parish churches.
At these celebrations, the readings are to be proclaimed in the vernacular using translations of the Sacred Scripture approved for liturgical use by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
May all of us, whether we worship at the Novus Ordo Mass or the Tridentine Mass, find our unity in the Eucharist, the Living Bread of God who died and rose from the dead, so that we could be saved and live forever with the Lord.
Gratefully in Christ,
+Donald J. Hying
Bishop of Madison