More On OF In Latin

My regular correspondent notes,

Since the Latin OF is the basic text of the current Latin Rite liturgy, the politics of celebrating it are much less fraught than those of the EF. It doesn't imply the same rejection of Vatican II. It has been offered at the Oratory in Toronto for decades, and draws many ex-members of local Anglo-Catholic parishes.

Another visitor wrote,

To answer your question on the Latin OF, there are very few places in the world where it is offered outside of the Vatican. It is, quite simply, the OF that we attend week in and week out, but in Latin, like you stated "the master version." It can be offered ad orientem or versus populum, whichever is preferred, just like a vernacular OF. St. Michael's Norbertine Abbey in Silverado, CA offers it versus populum while St. John Cantius in Chicago, IL offers it ad orientem. Here is a listing of Latin OF's in the USA, but I'm not entirely sure that it is up to date. The Latin text of the OF has not changed since its inception on the first Sunday of Advent 1969.

Communion standing and in the hand is always accepted at the OF. Regarding extraordinary minsters of Holy Communion, they were never really intended for the roles in which they serve most parishes in dioceses throughout the USA. They were intended to be truly extraordinary and certainly not used solely for the purpose of distrubiting the Precious Blood. In fact the USCCB states:

In practice, the need to avoid obscuring the role of the Priest and the Deacon as the ordinary ministers of Holy Communion by an excessive use of extraordinary minister might in some circumstances constitute a reason either for limiting the distribution of Holy Communion under both species or for using intinction instead of distributing the Precious Blood from the chalice.

Their use has become quite perverted throughout the USA.

He later added,

Another thought that just came to mind, I attended the 8:00 AM sung Mass at OLW on the 4th Sunday of Advent last year. It was at least 50% in Latin. All of the Propers for the day, the Kyrie, Gloria, Creed, Sanctus, Our Father, and Agnus Dei were all in Latin. Due to his cradle Catholic upbringing and strong ties to Rome, I'm not so sure that Bishop Lopes is as diametrically opposed to Latin as Msgr. Steenson was.

As I've noted, our diocesan parish, which I would characterize as middle-of-the-road liturgically and quite successful (building projects are ongoing), the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, memorial acclamation, and Agnus Dei are in Greek/Latin during Advent and Lent, and on other special feasts. But of course, it is aimed at cradle Catholics.

A regular visitor with an interest in canon law notes,

When Pope Paul VI first promulgated the revised order of mass in two volumes (“Sacramentary” and “Lectionary”) and authorized celebration in the vernacular, taking effect on the First Sunday of Advent, 1969, the Latin text remained the official (“typical”) edition, authorized for use everywhere throughout the world. Contrary to popular misconception, Pope Paul VI never forbade the celebration of the mass in Latin. Rather, he only required that celebration of mass use the revised missal rather than the Tridentine missal, regardless of whether it was in Latin or in the vernacular.

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The celebration of the Tridentine form of the mass remained forbidden until the schism of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). . . on 30 June 1988. Pope John Paul II responded to this schism by promulgating the motu proprio Ecclesia dei on the next day. Ecclesia dei dealt primarily with the nature of the schism, but also sought to provide an alternative for those who had been adhering to the SSPX. Thus, the pope authorized bishops to permit celebration of mass according to the Tridentine missal, as most recently revised by Pope John XXIII in 1962 (“the 1962 missal”) for faithful who requested it and, soon afterward, recognized the canonical erection of the Fraternal Society of St. Peter (FSSP) for former members of the SSPX who wished to remain in full communion with the Catholic Church. The same document also created a pontifical commission by the same title tasked with facilitating the return to full ecclesial communion for those connected with the schism.

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I think that Msgr. Steenson’s policy was basically correct. The Tridentine form of the liturgy, celebrated in Latin, most assuredly is NOT the patrimony of the majority of those who qualify for membership in the personal ordinariates erected under the apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus. Thus, it simply is not appropriate for the ordinariates to celebrate the liturgy according to the Tridentine form. Rather, this is properly left to the administration of the local diocesan bishop. However, there’s nothing wrong with ordinariate clergy learning to celebrate the liturgy according to the Tridentine form so they can assist the local diocese in this way. And, for that matter, an ordinariate parish that has its own church most assuredly could host such celebrations by agreement between the diocesan bishop and the ordinary. Nevertheless, such celebrations should fall under the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop rather than the ordinary.

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As to distribution of communion, one follows the norms of the liturgical rite and the place where the celebration takes place. The choice of language has no bearing whatsoever on the manner of distribution of communion in a mass celebrated according to the ordinary form. The norms for distribution of communion under both elements, for communion in the hand, and use of extraordinary ministers of communion to facilitate distribution of communion during mass, adopted by the former National Conference of Catholic Bishops (subsequently reconstituted as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) for the dioceses of the United States and ratified by the Vatican, theoretically have the same canonical force in masses celebrated according to the Tridentine missal, though my guess is that most celebrations according to the Tridentine form probably follow the practice the time of the Second Vatican Council, whereby only the clergy distributed communion and communicants knelt and received only the host, with or without intinction, on the tongue.