Church Authority "Welcomes" Traditional Liturgy Says Cardinal Estévez

Cardinal Medina Estévez, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship andthe Sacraments, one of the newly appointed cardinals, made a very positivestatement in an interview with the Chilean journal El Mercurio of 25 January 1998.

He was asked what his reaction was to the claim that theliturgy has not been modernized sufficiently. His Eminence rejected thisassertion forcefully, and cited the example of the Orthodox Churches whichhave not changed their liturgies in any way, and yet their liturgy remainsa spiritual force absolutely central to the life of these churches.

The next question put to him was: "Others think that the decrease of faithis due precisely to the contrary, that the changes promoted (promovidos) bythe Second Vatican Council alienated the faithful from going to church andfrom doctrine."

The Cardinal's response reads:

"There are persons who have a very great sensibility (sensibilidad) towardsthe liturgy as it was celebrated before the Second Vatican Council. Churchauthority understands this sensibility and welcomed (acoge) the desires ofthose persons and groups and authorizes them to celebrate the divine cult(concediendoles celebrar el culto de Dios) in accordance with the ritewhich existed before the aforementioned council, with the permission of thebishop of the diocese. In the Church there have always coexisted and coexist different liturgical families, all of them being wholly Catholic"