Benedict XVI: Remission of excommunication an act of mercy

Translated Version:

Decree Lifting Traditionalist Bishops’ Excommunication

Decree Lifting Traditionalist Bishops’ Excommunication

“A Sign for the Promotion of Unity in Charity”

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the decree released Saturday by the Congregation for Bishops, advising of the lifting of excommunication of the four bishops ordained without papal permission by Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.

* * *

With a letter of Dec. 15, 2008, sent to His Eminence Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, Monsignor Bernard Fellay, in his name and in that of the other bishops consecrated June 30, 1988, again requested the lifting of the excommunication latae sententiae formally declared by decree of the prefect of this Congregation for Bishops on July 1, 1988.

In the mentioned letter, Monsignor Fellay affirms, among other things:

“We are always fervently determined in the will to be and to remain Catholics and to place all of our strength at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept all of her teachings with a filial spirit. We firmly believe in the primacy of Peter and in his prerogatives and because of this, the present situation makes us suffer so much.”

His Holiness Benedict XVI, paternally sensitive to the spiritual unrest manifested by the interested parties because of the sanction of excommunication, and trusting in the commitment expressed by them in the cited letter to spare no effort in going deeper in the necessary conversations with the authorities of the Holy See in matters still unresolved, and to be able to thus arrive quickly to a full and satisfactory solution of the problem existing from the beginning, has decided to reconsider the canonical situation of the bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta, which arose with their episcopal consecration.

With this act it is desired to consolidate the mutual relations of trust, [and] to intensify and make more stable the relationship of the Fraternity of St. Pius X with the Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the celebrations of Christmas, also aims to be a sign for the promotion of unity in charity of the universal Church, and with this means, come to remove the scandal of division.

It is desired that this step be followed by the solicitous fulfillment of full communion with the Church of the Society of St. Pius X, thereby witnessing to authentic fidelity and a true recognition of the magisterium and the authority of the Pope, with the proof of visible unity.

In virtue of the faculties that have been expressly conceded to me by the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, in virtue of the present decree, I lift from Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta the censure of excommunication latae sententiae declared by this congregation on July 1, 1988, and declare void of juridical effects beginning today the decree published then.

Rome, Congregation for the Bishops,

Jan. 21, 2009
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re
Prefect of the Congregation for Bishop

Diocese of Lafayette Congratulates Father Christopher Roberts

by Brian Poe

Congratulations to Father Christopher Roberts for singing his 1st Sung Traditional Latin Mass at Saint Elizabeth Seton on 1/18/09. Father Robert’s continuing devotion and spiritual dedication is to honor the wishes of the Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio. This Motu Proprio is the idea to bring back the many traditions of the Catholic Church in the form of the Traditional Latin Mass. Father Roberts also says the English Mass as well at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Indiana and is well respected among all his parishioners and fellow priests.

While working together with His Excellency, Bishop William L. Higi, Father Theodore Rothrock, and Father Roberts, the St. John Bosco’s Latin Mass Community was formed and members were elected to serve our Lafayette Diocese in the Carmel Deanery.  Since this time, over 40 Traditional Masses have been held on Sunday and the community is rapidly growing in numbers. Many youths as well as elders are coming forward with this new interest within the Church and are now serving Mass.

Who is Father Christopher Roberts?

He is young.  Too young to remember when the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite was only known as ‘Mass’ to Catholics and non-Catholics alike. But then, most of the congregation that attends Mass each Sunday afternoon in the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton’s day chapel is young.  Father Christopher Roberts, of the diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana, has been saying Mass in the extraordinary form since last June for the very grateful members of the St. John Bosco Latin Mass community.  Since then, it has grown with over 100 participants at each Sunday Mass.  Extra folding chairs have to be brought in for those wishing to experience ‘the most beautiful sight this side of heaven’.

We recently posed some questions to Fr. Roberts so that all of us could better understand what drives this over-worked, over-burdened, server of souls, to strive to learn and say the extraordinary form for the edification of those seeking it. Father was born in Logansport, Indiana, the youngest in a Catholic family. He lived the American dream childhood of academic and athletic star as captain of the football team, debate team, and playing the saxophone.  He went on to Harvard where he graduated magna cum laude with degrees in history and world religions. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Italian, and now a little Latin too.

Father Roberts said he was first drawn to the priesthood because of his love of the study of theology, but later discerned a vocation to be a ‘pastor of souls’.  His formation in the seminary did little to prepare him for this current ministry of the extraordinary form.  He studied Latin for two years and sang some Gregorian chant in the choir.  The rest of his preparation he did on his own with study materials and with the priests of The Institute of Christ the Sovreign King in Chicago. Currently, there are only two priests in the diocese who are capable to saying the extraordinary form, but Fr. Roberts says many seminaries are teaching it so there will be more priests in the near future.

Below are the questions I asked Father and here are his responses:

Why did you decide to pursue this ministry?

I decided to perform this ministry out of a desire to honor the wishes of Pope Benedict’s Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum. My interest in Church history made me very sympathetic to this form of the Mass, as the Extraordinary Form is more or less exactly what the Latin Church used from the early Middle Ages down to the 1960s.

What have been the rewards of this ministry thus far?

Celebrating this form of the Mass has helped me to appreciate the sacrificial character of the Mass and given me a more clear understanding of the uniqueness of my vocation to the ordained priesthood.

“Lex orandi lex credendi” (We pray as we believe). Do you believe this has any merit when comparing the ordinary and extraordinary forms?

The theology that is behind the prayers of the Extraordinary Form, as well as its gestures and ritual, represent the fruit of a centuries long development. Without a doubt, there is a richness and beauty that is present in the older form of the Missal that surpasses the newer Missal. This form of the Mass is aggressively and unapologetically Catholic. Moreover, the lack of ritual options does a great deal to safeguard the sacredness of the rite. The spiritual treasures of the older rite are truly inexhaustible. There is a considerable challenge, however, entailed in initiating one into the older rite. This was a significant pastoral problem even when the Traditional Latin Mass was the only option before the liturgical changes of the 1960s. Against this backdrop, the desire for flexibility and adaptation that brought us where we are today is quite understandable. Unfortunately, the wideness of scope has oftentimes obscured the continuity between the two forms, which, in my own experience, led was a catechetical and pastoral disaster. In a Church that reverences tradition, disparaging the past is never a healthy thing. We have gotten to the point in the celebration of the Missal of Paul VI in many parts of the Church where the use of Gregorian Chant and Latin is considered the only unacceptable option. I believe, the opportunity posed by the liberalization of the older form of the Missale Romanum of 1962 goes far beyond promotion of the this Missal; it principally lies in the chance to reclaim parts of our Catholic patrimony that have fallen into disuse and nearly have been forgotten.

Do you think future priests in our diocese will embrace the extraordinary form?

Are there currently other priests studying this form in the diocese? I am certain that the Extraordinary Form will become more common in the Diocese of Lafayette in the coming years. Whether that will be in many parishes or only a handful is hard to say. There are currently two priests who are competent in celebrating the Extraordinary Form. Since many seminaries are teaching it, I imagine this number will grow.

How have you found the reception of the extraordinary form among your parishioners at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel?

My experience is that there is great interest, especially among the young and those parishioners who are hungry to go deeper in the spiritual life. Some are genuinely confused, a very few are disappointed.

In what way would you like to see the St. John Bosco Latin Mass community grow?

I think we are getting to the point where need to have more space! We definitely need to find a site that can provide us enough seating for those who are coming. Qualitatively, I’d like to see us move toward having weekly Sung Masses, which will come as the members of our choir continue to improve in their mastery of Gregorian Chant. I hope that the congregation will grow in confidence when they are singing the ordinary of the Mass. I’m also looking forward to developing programs that go beyond the Mass, especially adult book studies. I have no idea where this will lead long term. The important thing that we discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us and take things one step at a time.

About the Author:  The beautiful gradines and canopy on the altar in the above pictures were designed and built by Mr. Brian Poe and Tito Cano.  Brian’s garage at times has been an ecclesiastical workshop, those only found at Vatican City.  When Brian isn’t building altars he’s a husband and father to three children.  Besides being one of two world reknown experts on building gradines, he is a manufacturing engineer with a major automotive manufacturer here in Indiana.  We at Una Voce Carmel think this guy is Leonardo DeVinci and all you Boilermaker fans have been done proud! 

    

Vatican’s Cardinal Francis Arinz: Explanation and History of the Traditional Latin Mass

 

 

 1. Advantages of Latin in the Roman Liturgy

 As was mentioned above, by the fourth century, Latin had replaced Greek as the official language of the Church of Rome. Prominent among the Latin Fathers of the Church who wrote extensively and beautifully in Latin were St Ambrose (339-397), St Augustine of Hippo (354-430), St Leo the Great († 461) and Pope Gregory the Great (540-604). Pope Gregory, in particular, brought Latin to a great height in the sacred liturgy, in his sermons and in general Church use.

The Roman Rite Church showed extraordinary missionary dynamism. This explains why a greater part of the world has been evangelized by heralds of the Latin Rite. Many European languages which we regard as modern today have roots in Latin, some more than others. Examples are Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Portuguese and French. But even English and German do borrow from Latin.
The Popes and the Roman Church have found Latin very suitable for many reasons. It fits a Church which is universal, a Church in which all peoples, languages and cultures should feel at home and no one is regarded as a stranger.

Moreover, the Latin language has a certain stability which daily spoken languages, where words change often in shades of meaning, cannot have. An example is the translation of the Latin “propagare”. The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples when it was founded in 1627 was called “Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide”. But at the time of the Second Vatican Council many modern languages use the word “propaganda” in the sense in which we say “political propaganda”. Therefore, there is a preference in the Church today to avoid the expression “de propaganda Fide”, in favour of “the Evangelization of Peoples”.

Latin has the characteristic of words and expressions retaining their meaning generation after generation. This is an advantage when it comes to the articulation of our Catholic faith and the preparation of Papal and other Church Documents. Even the modern universities appreciate this point and have some of their solemn titles in Latin.

Blessed Pope John XXIII in his Apostolic Constitution, Veterum Sapientia, issued on 22 February 1962, gives these two reasons and adds a third. The Latin language has a nobility and dignity which are not negligible (cf. Veterum Sapientia, nn. 5, 6, 7). We can add that Latin is concise, precise and poetically measured.

Is it not admirable that people, especially well-trained clerics, can meet in international gatherings and be able to communicate at least in Latin? More importantly, is it a small matter that 1 million young people could meet in the World Youth Day Convention in Rome in 2000, in Toronto in 2002 and in Cologne in 2005, and be able to sing parts of the Mass, and especially the Credo, in Latin? Theologians can study the original writings of the early Latin Fathers and of the Scholastics without tears because these were written in Latin.

It is true that there is a tendency, both in the Church and in the world at large, to give more attention today to modern languages, like English, French and Spanish, which can help one secure a job quicker in the modern employment market or in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their country.
But the exhortation of Pope Benedict XVI to the students of the Faculty of Christian and Classical Letters of the Pontifical Salesian University of Rome, at the end of the Wednesday General Audience of 22 February 2006, retains its validity and relevance. And he pronounced it in Latin! Here is my free English translation: “Quite rightly our Predecessors have urged the study of the great Latin language so that one may learn better the saving doctrine that is found in ecclesiastical and humanistic disciplines. In the same way we urge you to cultivate this activity so that as many as possible may have access to this treasure and appreciate its importance” (in L’Osservatore Romano, 45, 23 February 2006, p. 5).

2. Gregorian Chant

“Liturgical action is given a more noble form when sacred rites are solemnized in song” (SC, n. 113). There is an ancient saying: bis orat qui bene cantat, that is, “the person who sings well prays twice”. This is so because the intensity that prayer acquires from being sung, increases its ardour and multiplies its efficacy (cf. Paul VI: Address to Italian Schola Cantorum, 25 September 1977, in Notitiae 136, November 1977, p. 475).

Good music helps to promote prayer, to raise the minds of people to God and to give people a taste of the goodness of God.

In the Latin Rite what has come to be known as the Gregorian Chant has been traditional. A distinctive liturgical chant existed indeed in Rome before St Gregory the Great (+604). But it was this great Pontiff who gave it the greatest prominence.

After St Gregory this tradition of chant continued to develop and be enriched until the upheavals that brought an end to the Middle Ages. The monasteries, especially those of the Benedictine Order, have done much to preserve this heritage.

Gregorian Chant is marked by a moving meditative cadence. It touches the depths of the soul. It shows joy, sorrow, repentance, petition, hope, praise or thanksgiving, as the particular feast, part of the Mass or other prayer may indicate. It makes the Psalms come alive. It has a universal appeal which makes it suitable for all cultures and peoples. It is appreciated in Rome, Solesmes, Lagos, Toronto and Caracas. Cathedrals, monasteries, seminaries, sanctuaries, pilgrimage centres and traditional parishes resound with it.

St Pope Pius X extolled the Gregorian Chant in 1904 (cf. Tra le Sollecitudini, n. 3). The Second Vatican Council praised it in 1963: “The Church acknowledges Gregorian Chant as proper to the Roman liturgy:  therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services” (SC, n. 116).

The Servant of God, Pope John Paul II, repeated this praise in 2003 (cf. Chirograph for the Centenary of Tra Le Sollecitudini, nn. 4-7; in Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments: Spiritus et Sponsa, 2003, p. 130).

Pope Benedict XVI encouraged the International Association of Pueri Cantores when they met in Rome at the end of 2005. They give a privileged place to the Gregorian Chant. In Rome and throughout the world the Church is blessed with many fine choirs, both professional and amateur, that render the chant beautifully, and communicate their enthusiasm for it.

It is not true that the lay faithful do not want to sing the Gregorian Chant. What they are asking for are priests and monks and nuns who will share this treasure with them.

The CDs produced by the Benedictine monks of Silos, their motherhouse at Solesmes, and numerous other communities sell among young people. Monasteries are visited by people who want to sing Lauds and especially Vespers.

In an ordination ceremony of 11 priests which I celebrated in Nigeria last July, about 150 priests sang the First Eucharistic Prayer in Latin. It was beautiful. The people, although no Latin scholars, loved it. It should be just normal that parish churches where there are four or five Masses on Sunday should have one of these Masses sung in Latin.

3. Did Vatican II discourage Latin?

Some people think, or have the perception, that the Second Vatican Council discouraged the use of Latin in the liturgy. This is not the case.

Just before he opened the Council, Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962 issued an Apostolic Constitution to insist on the use of Latin in the Church. The Second Vatican Council, although it admitted some introduction of the vernacular, insisted on the place of Latin: “Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites” (SC, n. 36).

The Council also required that seminarians “should acquire a command of Latin which will enable them to understand and use the source material of so many sciences and the documents of the Church as well” (Optatam Totius, n. 13). The Code of Canon Law published in 1983 enacts that “the Eucharistic celebration is to be carried out either in the Latin language or in another language, provided the liturgical texts have been lawfully approved” (can. 928).

Those, therefore, who want to give the impression that the Church has put Latin away from her liturgy are mistaken. A manifestation of people’s acceptance of Latin liturgy well celebrated was had at the world level in April 2005, when millions followed the burial rites of Pope John Paul II and then, two weeks later, the inauguration Mass of Pope Benedict XVI over the television. It is remarkable that young people welcome the Mass celebrated in Latin.

 

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Carmel, Indiana: Latin Mass surges in the Diocese

Similar results were achieved in 2007 at St. Boniface in Lafayette with attendance over 600.  The Christmas and NewYears Masses at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel the attendance surged around 300 souls per Mass.  Many of these souls came to experience the extraordinary Latin Rite out of interest and curiosity for the first time.  However, many souls are part of our growing St. John Bosco’s Latin Community that are attending this traditional (extraordinary) rite every Sunday at St. Elizabeth Seton 3pm. 

We are urging all attending the Latin Mass to write a “Thank-you” letter to the Holy Father.  This letter will help our Holy Father know how much each of us appreciates the opportunity to know this ancient rite which forged the holy souls in our Communion of Saints.

If you have any questions or would like to become part of our apostolate of promoting the Latin Mass, please contact Fr. Roberts at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel via email at robertsc@olmc1.org.

Did you know?:  The Traditional Latin Mass is known as the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite, since Pope Benedict XVI issued the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum.

Fr Z on H.E. Cardinal Hoyos’ Comments

Father Z at lunch in Rome                                                        on Friday September 19, 2008

Below, find the link to Fr Z on H.E. Cardinal Hoyos’ comments.

http://wdtprs.com/blog/2008/09/reflecting-on-card-castrillons-remarks-the-other-day/

Pope to the Bishops of France

Strong words on Summorum Pontificum

It is never too often said that the priesthood is indispensable to the Church, in the very own interest of the lay faithful. Priests are a gift from God to the Church. Priests must never delegate to the faithful [those] functions which are related to their own mission.Dear Brothers in the episcopacy, I ask you to remain desirous to help your priests live in intimate union with Christ. Their spiritual life is the foundation of their apostolic life. You shall exhort them gently to daily prayer and to a dignified celebration of the Sacraments, particularly of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation, as Saint Francis de Sales did with his priests. Every priest should be able to feel glad to serve the Church. At the school of the Curé d’Ars, son of your land and patron of all priests of the world, do not cease to repeat that a man can do no greater deed than to give the Body and the Blood of Christ to the faithful, and to forgive sins.

Liturgical worship is the supreme expression of priestly and episcopal life, and also of catechetical teaching. Your mission of sanctification of the faithful people, dear Brothers, is indispensable for the growth of the Church. I was prompted to detail, in the Motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, the conditions for the accomplishment of this mission, in that which relates to the possibility of using both the missal of Blessed John XXIII (1962) and that of Pope Paul VI (1970). The fruits of these new dispositions have already seen [the light of] day, and I hope that the indispensable pacification of the spirits is being accomplished, thank God.

I comprehend your difficulties, but I do not doubt that you will be able to reach, within reasonable time, solutions which are satisfactory to all, so that the seamless robe of Christ is not torn anymore. No one is excessive within the Church. Everyone, without exception, must be able to feel at home, and never rejected. God, who loves all men and wills that no one be lost, entrusts us with this mission of Pastors, making us Shepherds of His sheep. We can only give Him thanks for the honor and the confidence He places upon us. Let us endeavor to always be servants of unity.

Benedict XVI
Meeting with the Cardinals and Bishops of France,
Hémicycle Saint Bernadette, Lourdes
September 14, 2008

Pontiff Denies Claim 1962 Missal Is a Regression

Calls Liturgy a Living, Developing Reality

EN ROUTE TO PARIS, SEPT. 12, 2008 (Zenit.org).- An allowance for the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal is in no way a return to the past, but rather an expression of pastoral concern, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this today en route to France; he gave a brief press conference on the plane, answering four questions previously submitted by the journalists selected to be in the press corps accompanying the Holy Father.

The Pontiff said it is “groundless” to fear that “Summorum Pontificum” — which opened the way for a wider celebration of the Mass according to the 1962 Missal — is a regression.

“This ‘motu proprio’ is simply an act of tolerance, with a pastoral objective, for people who have been formed in this liturgy, who love it, know it and want to live with this liturgy,” he said. “It is a small group, given that it presupposes a formation in Latin, a formation in a certain culture. But it seems to me a normal demand of faith and pastoral concern for a bishop of our Church to have love and tolerance for these people and permit them to live with this liturgy.”

“There is no opposition whatsoever between the liturgy renewed by the Second Vatican Council and this liturgy,” Benedict XVI continued. “Each day, the Council fathers celebrated Mass according to this old rite and, at the same time, have conceived a natural development for the liturgy in all of this century, since the liturgy is a living reality that develops and that conserves its identity in its development.”

“Therefore, there are certainly distinct accents, but a fundamental identity that excludes a contradiction, an opposition between the renewed liturgy and the preceding liturgy,” the Pope affirmed. “I think that there is the possibility of mutual enrichment. It’s clear that the renewed liturgy is the ordinary liturgy of our times.”

Encountering the Mother

Previously, the Holy Father answered a question about secularism and the lay state.

“It seems evident to me that laicism is not in contradiction with the faith,” the Pontiff said. “I would even say that it is a fruit of the faith, since the Christian faith was, from the beginning, a universal religion and therefore, did not identify itself with a state but was present in all states.

“Politics, the state, were not a religion, but a profane reality with a specific mission, and both should be mutually open.”

Another question gave Benedict XVI the chance to confess his love for France: “I love France, the great French culture, and above all, clearly, the great cathedrals, as well as the great French art, great theology.”

Lastly, the Pope spoke of the principal motive for his visit: the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Lourdes.

He noted that the liturgical feast of the visionary, St. Bernadette, is also his birthday. “For this reason, I feel very close to this little saint, this little child, pure, humble, who spoke with the Virgin,” he said. “To encounter this reality, this presence of the Virgin in our era, to see the footsteps of this little youth who was a friend of the Virgin, and on the other hand, to encounter the Virgin, her mother, is on the other hand a very important event for me.

 

“Naturally, we’re not going to find miracles. I am going to encounter the love of the Mother, which is the true healing for all sorrows and to be in solidarity with those who suffer, in the love of the Mother.”

Upon his arrival to Paris, Benedict XVI was greeted by the pealing of the bells of the churches. A smiling President Nicolas Sarkozy received him at the airport, introducing the Pope to members of his family; the two also exchanged gifts.

This was followed by the Pope’s address in the Elysee’s great hall of celebrations to members of the government, parliamentarians and bishops.

Biden avoids confrontation with his new bishop

  

Wilmington, Sep. 9, 2008 (CWNews.com) – Sen. Joseph Biden did not attend the September 8 installation Mass of Bishop W. Francis Malooly, the new leader of the Wilmington, Delaware diocese where the Democratic vice-presidential candidate lives.

Biden was in Wilmington on Monday morning, but left later in the day for a campaign appearance in Wisconsin, thus avoiding a potential showdown with his new bishop. There was no indication– either from the senator or from the diocese– whether Biden had originally planned to attend the afternoon installation.

In his homily the new bishop did not directly address the nationwide furor roused by Biden’s public statements on abortion. But Bishop Malooly did make an indirect reference to the issue, saying:

 

We will continue to stress the constant teaching of the Church that each person must respect every life from conception to natural death. And we will continue to seek the intercession of Saint Thomas More for Statesmen, Politicians, Supreme Court Justices, Judges and Lawyers—that they may be courageous and effective in defending and promoting the sanctity of human life, the foundation of every human right, the foundation of our love for the poor.

A much stronger response to Biden’s comments came from the Denver archdiocese, where Archbishop Charles Chaput and his auxiliary, Bishop James Conley, issued a new statement entitled Public Servants and Moral Reasoning. “Sen. Biden is a man of distinguished public service. That doesn’t excuse poor logic or bad facts,” they wrote. They continued:

If we claim to be Catholic, then American Catholics, including public officials who describe themselves as Catholic, need to act accordingly.

Father Jonathan Romanowski, FSSP to offer Solemn High Mass in Carmel, IN

CARMEL, INDIANA  June 19,  2008 – The first Solemn High Mass in forty years within the Carmel Deanery will be held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton on Sunday, June 22nd at 2:00 PM.  A potluck will follow the Mass. Please bring a dish and your appetite.

 

This ancient Mass of St. Gregory the Great also called the Gregorian Mass, Traditional Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass will be offered by the newly ordained Father Jonathan Romanowski, FSSP.  Father Romanowski was ordained on May 30th by Darío Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos who is the president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei.  Father Romanowski is a fine product of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Denton, Nebraska.

St. Gregory the Great (540 AD – 604 AD) is also known as Gregory the Dialogist (Gregorios Dialogos) and Saint Pope Gregory in Eastern Orthodoxy because of the Dialogues he wrote.  He was the first of the Popes from a monastic background. Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the four great Latin Fathers of the Church (the others being Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome).  Of all popes, Gregory I had the most influence on the early medieval church.

                                         His Excellency, Bishop William Leo Higi

Under the continuing support of His Excellency, WIlliam Leo Higi, the Carmel Deanery lead by Father Theodore Rothrock and Una Voce Carmel has developed St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Carmel, Indiana to be the focal point for the Traditional Latin Masses in the deanery.   The Carmel Deanery has ten parishes in two counties which are the northern suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana.  The deanery is comprised of 13,800 families.

 Father Christopher Roberts

The diocese through the deanery has supported our very own Father Christopher Roberts in his endeavor to master the Traditional Latin Mass.  Father Roberts attended the workshop at St. John Cantius in May and offered his first Mass at St. Ellizabeth Ann Seton in the deanery on June 1st.  

Father Roberts is offering semi-public Masses at Our Lady of Mt Carmel in Carmel, Indiana:

• Friday, June 20th at 7am
• Monday, June 23rd at 7am
• Tuesday, June 24 at 7am
• Tuesday, July 1 at 7am.

 Father Theodore Rothrock

Father Rothrock has provided three unique means of Catholic worship at the chapel in St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish for the entire Carmel Deanery.  On every weekday, one can attend the Mass as per the 1970 Roman Missal.  Since May, 2005, on some Saturday late afternnons, one can attend the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom made possible by Father Sid Sidor from the Byzantine Rite parish, St. Athanasius in Indianapolis.  And on every Sunday late afternoon, one can assist Mass as per the 1962 Roman Missal offered by priests from The Institute of Christ the King, The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter and Father Roberts from the deanery.