Seminarians to train for Extraordinary Form...

[Nick Baty]

.... according to tomorrow's edition of The Tablet:

The Vatican will soon direct bishops around the world to ensure that all seminarians are taught Latin and, even more importantly, that they are trained to celebrate the Tridentine Mass.

According to Andrea Tornielli, of the conservative Italian daily Il Giornale the new instruction will remind bishops that “the motu proprio [Summorum Pontificum] is the universal law of the Church and that they are all held to apply it and guarantee that it is applied”. It has long been known that the president and secretary of the Ecclesia Dei Commission – Cardinal William Levada and Mgr Guido Pozzo – were preparing guidelines on implementing Summorum Pontificum. But, up to now, no details have emerged.

[nazard]

I am pleased to see that seminarians will be expected to study latin. We seem to be incapable of translating documents, so it would be just as well for priests to be able to read the originals. Are greek and hebrew on the menu too?

Of course, Blessed John XXIII ordered the same. The instruction was called something like Venterum Sapientis. It seems to have been mainly honoured in the breach...

Learning to say the Tridentine Mas is another matter. I am greatly heartened by the return of the Tridentine Mass, and its growing congregations. However, I think that it is important that it is kept entirely voluntary. Seminarians and priests should have an outline knowledge of the Tridentine Mass so that if they choose to turn their backs on it they are not doing so from ignorance. We should avoid the position of offending those attached to the new mass.

[alan29]

Well that will save the local parish who offer it the bother of importing a priest from the continent to do the biz. However the dozen or so elderly people who attend may not still be around when that cohort are eventually ordained.

[JW]

I wonder what will be omitted in seminarians' training to provide the time to teach the Tridentine liturgies, or will seminarians' courses simply be extended by a week or so?

[NorthernTenor]

Perhaps this will further the process of mutual enrichment.