Msgr. Hans Feichtinger: Liturgical Terrorism

“What is the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist? You can negotiate with a terrorist.” This slightly nasty joke exists in many languages, an indication of how the underlying issues are not limited to isolated pockets of the global Catholic Church. Similar jibes exist in other churches, mostly those affected by liturgical reforms comparable to the one put in motion after Vatican II for the Latin Rite, to what Pope Benedict termed its “ordinary form.” But let’s be clear, liturgical obsession is alive also among reform-resistant groups and practitioners of the “extraordinary form.”

The assembly of cardinals recently convoked by Pope Leo (aka “consistory”) opted not to put liturgy on its agenda, which may have been a wise decision considering the fact that liturgical negotiations are impossible, or at least difficult. So, let’s not start with that! Yet, at the end of the meeting, a brief text was distributed to the cardinals which, of course, quickly became public knowledge. I believe that its author, the English Cardinal Arthur Roche, knew this would happen. …

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