At an important congress on the liturgy held at the Benedictine monastery at Fontgombault in France, Cardinal Ratzinger spelt out his view that the so-called "reform of the reform" means a reform of the new Mass.

Christ is the subject of the Liturgy, not the community: this was the outstanding theme of an important liturgical congress that took place at the Benedictine monastery of Notre Dame, Fontgombault, in France.

The congress also proved important for the way in which the chief guest speaker, Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, dealt in passing with the question of the so-called "reform of the reform".

The liturgical conference, which was held over 22 to 24 July 2001, was convened under the patronage of the Abbey of Fontgombault and was chaired by the Abbot of Triors, Dom Hervé Courau.

Who’s Who 

About 50 people attended the event including bishops, abbots, superiors and members of various religious communities (some attached to the liturgical books of 1962 and others who use the new liturgy); and there were diocesan priests and laymen. Among those present were: 

• Mons André-Mutien Léonard, Bishop of Namur (Belgium); 
• Mons Eric Aumonier, Bishop of Versailles; 
• Dom Antione Forgeot, Abbot of Fontgombault; 
• Dom Eric Robert le Gall, Abbot of Kergonan (recently appointed Bishop of Mende) 
• Dom Gérard Calvet, Abbot of Le Barroux; 
• Mons Camille Perl, Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei; 
• Mons Josef Clemens, Secretary to Cardinal Ratzinger; 
• Fr Arnoud Devillers, Superior of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter; 
• Dom Cassian Folsom, Prior of the recently re-founded Monastery "San Bendetto" in Norcia (Italy); 
• Professor Robert Spaemann of Germany; and 
• Mr Statford Caldecott from the Centre for Faith and Culture at Oxford University.

Other religious communities represented at the conference included the Society of St John; the Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest; the Fraternity of St Vincent Ferrer, the Canon Regular of the mother of God, and the Legionaries of Christ.

Oddly, neither the International Federation of Una Voce not the German organization Pro Missa Tridentina were invited to send a delegate. However, one of the guest speakers, was Professor Robert Spaemann, a former President of Pro Missa Tridentina and another, was Professor Roberto de Mattei from Italy, a member of Una Voce.

The purpose of the conference was to promote, in the words of one participant, "a sort of ecumenism within the Church": to bring together Catholics from different liturgical orientations to discuss basic questions about the liturgy.

Despite much off-stage, and extravagant, controversy among people who were not represented at the congress about its purpose, the conference was never intended to be an exclusively ‘traditionalist’ affair. Nor was the meeting about how to effect a so-called "Reform of the Reform" or about how to manoeuvre communities which use the classical liturgy into changes to the traditional books and the manner of using them. Rather, the conference was about the liturgy in general and the problems confronting it today: "an attempt", as our observer put it, "to return to the good beginnings of the [pre-conciliar] liturgical movement".

Some of the key papers delivered at the congress were: 

• Theology of the Liturgy, by Cardinal Ratzinger; 
• The Roman Rite or Roman Rites, by Dom Cassian Folsom; 
• Liturgy and Trinity: towards an anthropology of the liturgy, by Mr Stratford Caldecott; 
• Reflections on the Liturgical Reform, by Professor Roberto de Mattei, author of a recently published biography of Pope Pius IX; and 
• Professor Robert Spaemann presented a comparative study of the certain aspects of the classical and the new rites.

Liturgy a revelation 

The most important paper, from the perspective of understanding the theology of the Mass was Cardinal Ratzinger’s, a very rich and dense document. One statement among his many great observations stood out: 

The liturgy derives its greatness from what it is, not from what we make of it. Our participation is, of course, necessary, but as a means of inserting ourselves humbly into the spirit of the liturgy, and of serving Him Who is the true subject of the liturgy: Jesus Christ. The liturgy is not an expression of the consciousness of a community which, moreover is diffuse and changing. It is revelation received in faith and prayer, and its measure is consequently the faith of the Church, in which revelation is received.”

None of the conference papers directly addressed questions such as the so-called "Reform of the Reform" or explored ways of incorporating changes or developments into the classical liturgy. However, the papers delivered by Dom Cassian Folsom and Professor Robert Spaemann had implications for both issues.

Dom Cassian argued that there was room within the Roman Rite for a legitimate diversity of different liturgical usages. Professor Spaemann argued that the traditional Roman liturgy was a different liturgy from that of Paul VI: the 1969 Missal differed far more from the traditional Missal than, for example, the old Domincan rite differed from the classical Roman rite.

As to the "Reform of the Reform", Cardinal Ratzinger himself raised it during some concluding remarks which he addressed to the conference guests about their discussions. Responding to themes in the Folsom and Spaemann papers, Cardinal Ratzinger emphasized that a "Reform of the Reform" means a reform of the new Missal.

In other words, the starting point for a "Reform of the Reform" is the new liturgy as it actually stands in the Church today. The Cardinal seems to have ruled out, by implication, the view advocated by some conservative liturgists that a "Reform of Reform" means going back to the 1962 Missal and starting all over again in the light of what Vatican II, supposedly, was really all about.

The objectives of a "Reform of the Reform", the Cardinal proposed, were to effect a liturgical reconciliation within the Church. To achieve this would require an end to a certain kind of liturgical creativity; better translations; a restoration of at least some Latin to the liturgy as a link to the tradition of the universal Church, and a renewed focus on the altar, representing Our Lord, as the physical point of reference of the liturgy.

The Future

As for the future of the classical liturgy, the Cardinal had a good deal to say. So it is worth quoting extensively: 

"I am very much aware of the feelings of the faithful who love this liturgy; moreover, it is my own sentiment. And accordingly, I fully understand what Professor Spaemann asserted: if one does not understand the meaning of change, however miniscule it might appear, and if one is to assume that it is only a stage toward a more complete revolution, that worries the faithful. Accordingly, one should be very prudent regarding any eventual changes. However, he also said, and I underline it: it would be fatal if the old liturgy found itself in a refrigerator, rather like a national park, protected for a certain species of persons, to whom one would leave these relics of the past. This could be considered, as stated by Professor de Mattei, as a type of inculturation: ‘There are also the conservatives, allow this group their inculturation.’ With such a reduction of the past, one would not conserve this treasure for the Church of today and tomorrow. This [the classical liturgy] should also be a liturgy of the Church, and under the authority of the Church. And only in this ecclesiology, in this fundamental link with the authority of the Church, can it offer all it has to offer.

"Naturally, one can say we no longer have trust in the authority of the Church after all we have seen during the these past thirty years. It is nevertheless a fundamental Catholic principle to have trust in the authority of the Church. It is true that she can make mistakes, but obedience toward authority is a guarantee of being obedient to Our Lord. There we certainly have a very strong warning for those who exert this authority to avoid doing so as if it were a power. Authority in the Church is an exercise of obedience.

"In concrete terms I will do nothing in this domain for the time being, that is clear. But in the future, we need to think, it seems to me, about enriching the missal of 1962 by introducing new saints. There are now important new figures: I think, for example, of Saints Maximilian Kolbe, Edith Stein, the Spanish Martyrs, the Ukrainian Martyrs and many others. There are many truly beautiful figures that are necessary for us. Therefore opening the calendar of the old Missal for the new saints, in making a well thought out choice, seems to me an opportune thing that would not destroy the makeup of the liturgy. One could also think of the prefaces that come from the treasure of the Fathers of the Church, for example, for Advent, and others: why not insert these prefaces in the old missal?

"Therefore, with the greatest feeling, great understanding for the preoccupations and fears, in union with those responsible, one should understand that this missal is also a missal of the Church, under the authority of the Church; that it is not something of the past to be protected, but a living reality of the Church, much respected in its identity and in its historical greatness. All the liturgy of the Church is always a living thing, a reality which is above us, not subject to our wills or arbitrary wishes.”

The acta of this liturgical congress – the Journees liturgique de Fontgombault – have been published in French by the community at Fontgombault and can be ordered by writing to Père Eric Cevreau, Secrétaire, Abbaye Notre Dame, F-36220 Fontgombault, France. The cost is 90 FF (plus postage).

For the better information of our readers, Oriens begins in this edition to publish some of the key contributions to the "Liturgical Days at Fontgombault". We begin with Cardinal Ratzinger’s own contribution (see Oriens Library 1)

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