VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Pope Francis has confirmed that members of the Society of Saint Peter can continue to celebrate Mass, the Sacraments and the Liturgy of the Hours using the pre-Vatican II texts and forms, the Vatican said. fraternity.
The brotherhood, founded in 1988 by traditionalist priests eager to maintain ancient rites while remaining in full communion with the pope, posted a copy of the pope’s decree on its website on February 21.
In an accompanying statement, the fraternity said Fr. Benoit Paul-Joseph, District Superior of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, Germany, met with Pope Francis on April 4. February and discussed the apostolic letter “Traditionis Custodes” (Guardians of Tradition), which limited the celebrations of the Mass according to the rite in force before the Second Vatican Council.
“…The pope has clarified that institutes such as the Fraternity of St. Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the motu proprio ‘Traditionis Custodes.'”
“During the audience, the pope clarified that institutes such as the Fraternity of Saint Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the motu proprio ‘Traditionis Custodes’, since the use of the ancient liturgical books was the basis .the origin of their existence and is provided for in their constitutions,” the fraternity said.
The decree signed by the pope and published on the fraternity’s website states that Pope Francis “grants each member” of the fraternity “the faculty to celebrate the sacrifice of the mass and to perform the sacraments and other sacred rites, as well as to perform the Divine Office, according to the typical editions of the liturgical books, namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary, in force in 1962”.
“They can use this faculty in their own churches or oratories”, specifies the decree. “Otherwise, it may only be used with the consent of the local ordinary, except for the celebration of private masses.”
“Traditionis Custodis” affirmed the duty of bishops to regulate the times and places of Mass celebrations using the pre-Vatican II liturgy, ensuring that the faithful who attend these liturgies “do not deny the validity and the legitimacy of the liturgical reform” of the Second Vatican Council.
The fraternity’s website says it has more than 300 priests and 150 seminarians from 30 countries and serves in more than 130 dioceses around the world.
