An Archbishop appears to be asking Priests to violate Canon Law...
...in the spirit of Traditionis Custodes!
In a letter put out in force and approved by Archbishop Weisenburger (Ref. AOD Letter) he has not only enforced the now very “popular” Motu Proprio “Traditionis Custodes” put out by the late Pope Francis (as well as the dubia response), but added some of his own flair and flavor to it.
UPDATE: It appears that the AOD Letter (referenced at the beginning of this article) is once again being limited from public viewership online.
UPDATE 2: The FULL CONTENTS of the AOD Letter are now attached at the bottom of this article.
Within his letter is the following…
<Below is an excerpt of the letter from the Archbishop of Detroit>
For Priests wanting to celebrate daily Mass using the 1962 Missale Romanum:
B. Pursuant to TC article 5, any priest authorized for ministry in the Archdiocese of Detroit may submit a letter to request permission from the Archbishop of Detroit to use the 1962 Missale Romanum. The letter of request must include:
i. evidence that the priest who is requesting permission is both linguistically and rubrically prepared and competent to use the 1962 Missale Romanum.
ii. a testamentary written statement that the priest fully accepts the teaching and validity of the sacred liturgy promulgated and implemented in accord with the Second Vatican Council as the ordinary and proper means of worship for the Latin Church sui iuris.
iii. written agreement by the priest that he will use the 1962 Missale Romanum
only on a weekday;
when none of the faithful are able to be present (emphasis added)
not when the Mass would constitute bination on said weekday; and in a non-parish church, oratory, or private chapel (not withstanding the requirement of 1.iii.b)
The permission outlined in section B will be given for one year or through June 30, whichever date occurs sooner following the granting of permission (the same applies to the deacon noted below). Not more than two months and not less than one month before the expiry of that time, the priest or deacon must renew their request for the permission outlined in this section. No provision is made for automatic renewal.
<End excerpt of the letter from the Archbishop of Detroit>
There is a clear contradiction with Canon Law in this letter from the Archbishop of Detroit. If the Archbishop grants permission for any Priest to use the 1962 Missale Romanum for “private celebration of Mass”, there is technically no such thing as a private Mass in Canon Law.
Thus, Canon 906 would apply to such a Mass being said by a Priest:
Can. 906 Except for a just and reasonable cause, a priest is not to celebrate the eucharistic sacrifice without the participation of at least some member of the faithful.
There is no just or reasonable cause that a Bishop could give to NOT allow the faithful to attend a Mass said by a Priest simply due to whether the Priest is celebrating the ‘Ordinary’ or ‘Extraordinary’ form of the Liturgy.
Additionally a Priest cannot bar someone from attending such a Mass per Canon 912.
Can. 912 Any baptized person not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to holy communion.
Essentially the Archbishop is asking his Priests to limit who can be present for a celebration of the Mass using the 1962 Missale Romanum with no just or reasonable cause, violating Canon 906.
If that wasn’t enough, the Archbishop of Detroit has chosen to cite Canon 846 in order to implement the banning of Ad Orientem celebration of the Novus Ordo Missae. This is a direct contradiction to what he is proposing:
Can. 846 §1. In celebrating the sacraments the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one’s own authority.
§2. The minister is to celebrate the sacraments according to the minister’s own rite.
Per Canon 846, the liturgical books / requirements approved by competent authority permit Ad Orientem, which is in direct contradiction with the Archbishop attempting to ban this practice altogether. This seems to suggest that the Archbishop lacks competency in regards to Canon Law and thus his authority will be questioned on this matter by parishioners in the Archdiocese of Detroit.
I cannot believe that this Archbishop is acting in good faith with these kinds of decrees and this style of authoritarian modernist ideology and decision-making.
If you are a Canon Lawyer, I am requesting further investigation into this document.
Sincerely,
Your Brother in Spirit, Frater Spiritus
Follow me on Twitter / X: @FraterSpiritus
For further information, check out Dr. Kwasniewski’s article here:
https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2023/01/can-bishop-restrict-private-mass-in.html?m=1
Or his Substack article here:
FULL LETTER FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF DETROIT BELOW:
That’s not the Roman Catholic Church. How did we get to the point where an ostensibly “Catholic” bishop can issue a letter instructing priests and parishioners to stop being Catholic? If the domain were nationality or political affiliation instead of religion, such a letter would be recognized even by outsiders as the dictate of a monstrous usurping tyrant.
they already violate Canon law when they denied people to Eucharist while kneeling. The GIRM says you can deny the Eucharist to somebody that’s kneeling. And you cannot deny the Eucharist to somebody who wants to receive on the tongue.