What About Anglicanorum Coetibus?

Yesterday I said that, although Anglicanorum coetibus so far doesn't seem to have been affected by Traditionis Custodes, maybe it should be. Although it was originally intended to appeal to disgruntled high-church Anglicans, very few of these came in (I think this reflected a profound misunderstanding of Anglicanism). Instead, such appeal as it's had has been largely among the same traditionalist faction of cradle Catholics that Pope Francis intends to bring to heel with Traditionis Custodes.

I observed this movement for almost ten years in the old blog. Even before Anglicanorum coetibus, the most successful Anglican Use Pastoral Provision parish, Our Lady of the Atonement, wound up appealing largely to traditionialist Catholics as well, but its separatist posture resulted in financial as well as sexual abuses.

Media commentators over the weekend across the board haven't mentioned the essentially separatist nature of both Latin mass and Divine Worship parish culture. That the intent of Traditiones Custodes is to take the Extraordinary Form out of the parish environment -- allowing its celebration only outside parishes and forbidding new parishes centered on the Latin Roman Canon -- suggests to me that Francis in fact understands where the problem lies.

I think it's significant that, although Latin Mass apologists say it attracts younger and more generous Catholic families, Traditiones Custodes will have absolutely nil effect on our highly successful novus ordo parish, which fully met its fundraising goal for a building program despite being closed or with restricted worship during the pandemic. In fact, it also conducted a separate drive to renovate the adoration chapel, using the lockdown as an opportunity to do it -- this was fully funded as well. I doubt if Latin mass will be mentioned at all in today's masses.

Visitors have suggested to me that so far, it doesn't look like Traditionis Custodes will have any effect on the ordinariates, at least one of which, in Australia, is on life support without its help. A visitor who follows ordinariate Facebook groups says,

The consensus seems to be that Divine Worship is safe for now, having been established pursuant to an apostolic constitution rather than the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. And of course its similarity to the OF—-its lectionary, choices of Offertory prayers and Canons of the Mass—-are in other contexts subjects of frequent complaint. It is certainly not “the EF in English“ that many would prefer. Christian Campbell, the SSPX attendee, points this out regularly. But those who are saying “Nothing to see here” are failing to look at the larger picture, it seems to me, which is the Pope’s agenda in suppressing Summorum Pontificum. If he is looking to root out hotbeds of “traditionalist” resistance then the ordinariates should be next in line. I’m sure there are ways around Anglicanorum Coetibus.

Nevertheless, the visitor points out,

As we recall, Msgr Steenson closed the door on Extraordinary Form celebrations in North American ordinariate communities. This led to some negative comments in the blogosphere, although as far as I know only Fr Catania, then still at Mt Calvary, Baltimore was offering the EF. Luke Reese of course offered DW, OF, and EF as PV at Holy Rosary, Indianapolis when it hosted the St Joseph of Arimathea ordinariate community, but that seemed to be okay.

Bp Lopes seems to have lifted that prohibition, and the EF is offered at some North Anerican communities on one or two weekdays. Several communities are hosted by churches that are also TLM parishes, suggesting a certain sympathetic mindset. We recall that Msgr Reid had great difficulty finding a host parish in Victoria, BC after the ordinariate group was asked to leave Our Lady of Fatima. They were finally taken in by the local TLM parish despite having to be wedged in an afternoon time slot.

Now Bp Lopes will have to “go on the record” with the Vatican if he wishes the existing EF masses to continue —- with possible repercussions for his future career — they will have to be offered by ordinariate Pastors/PAs, and it looks as if the concept of a “TLM parish” is being rethought, which may mean that communities have to look for new locations. There have already been several instances of new diocesan pastors being appointed and suddenly the ordinariate group’s finding itself no longer welcome.

An intriguing issue is that, as in fact was done at Our Lady of the Atonement, there doesn't seem to be any prohibition on celebrating the Ordinary Form mass in Latin. The issue is focused on the Roman Canon in Latin, not Latin per se, which again suggests to me that Francis is fully aware of the particular form of EF's totemic status among dissident Catholics. But I think Traditionis Custodes prevents ordinariate parishes just as much as diocesan from celebrating the EF mass in the parish.

Again, as far as I'm aware, there's no single manifesto from traditionalists on why they insist on a pre-Conciliar Roman Canon, but it appears to be at the center of their so far inchoate doctrine. In recent days, several of Fr Hunwicke's posts have hovered around this point. Most recently, he says Francis doesn't have the authority to abrogate Summorum Pontificum, while Hunwicke presumably has the authority to rule on this. Well, he has his following.

But if the ordinaries want to stay out of the crosshairs, not just from Francis but from their brother bishops, they should really shut Hunwicke down.