Liturgy News Winter 2020

13 Winter 2020 LITURGY NEWS SEAL OF CONFESSION In mid-May, legislation was imminent in Western Australia that would impose mandatory reporting of child sexual abuse on priests who received information under the seal of confession. The WA Minister for Child Protection, Simone McGurk, issued a direct challenge to Archbishop Timothy Costelloe: The extension of mandatory reporting to ministers of religion signals very clearly that child safety is the number one priority. I call on the Archbishop to make that statement by supporting this legislation in full. The archbishop responded with a powerful pastoral letter pointing out that the alternatives given (child protection or church teaching) are not mutually exclusive. He pointed out that for him to make such a statement would put him outside the Church. It is disingenuous for the Minister to call on me to do something which she knows, or should know, is simply not open to me… The implication of these remarks is that if I do not support the legislation I am guilty of not making child safety the number one priority. I do not accept this assertion and regard it as a slur on my own character, and also on the commitment of all those people in the Archdiocese of Perth who have worked with me… The archbishop then goes on to give a clear outline of the theology of Penance and the beliefs and practices associated with the sacrament. NEW LITURGICAL BOOKS An Australian edition of The Order of Baptism of Children has been prepared and approved by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. It has now been sent to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments for approval. One of the main innovations is the inclusion of the full rite when baptism (whether for one or several children) is celebrated during Mass. This is intended to make the ritual book more pastorally useful. The bishops also agreed to seek approval for a new Lectionary for Mass using the Revised New Jerusalem Bible. This would keep some of the familiar phraseology from the current Jerusalem Bible, but the translation is more up to date, and closer to the original Hebrew and Greek. It has been specially revised with a view to use in the liturgy. FIRST PARISH PRIEST It is the 200 th anniversary of the arrival of the first officially appointed Catholic chaplains in Australia: John Joseph Therry who remained in Sydney and built the first St Mary’s, and Philip Connolly who went to Tasmania. The Australian bishops have used the example of their dedication, pastoral creativity and missionary spirit to write a letter to priests encouraging them in their ministry. This is truly a noble vocation! The letter ends: On this 200 th birthday of the Australian priesthood, we send you our thanks and blessings. QUOTE Bishop Derio Olivero from the small Italian diocese of Pinerolo near Turin contracted C OVID -19 but recovered. He wrote a beautiful pastoral letter on 18 May about what the Church might be like after the pandemic. Not communities that are closed in on themselves and their own organisation, but communities that are open, humble, full of hope; communities infectious with passion and trust. Not a Church that goes to church, but a Church that goes to everyone. Full of enthusiasm, passion, hope, love. Believers like this will regain their desire to go to church, to go to Mass, to be fed. We remember that FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE was born 200 years ago this year. We acknowledge with gratitude nurses today who have been at the forefront of caring for those who contracted the coronavirus C OVID -19. On 12 May, World Nurses Day, Pope Francis said, Every day we witness the testimony of courage and sacrifice of healthcare workers, and nurses in particular, who, with professionalism, self-sacrifice, and a sense of responsibility and love for neighbour, assist people affected by the virus, even to the point of putting their own health at risk. 12 LITURGY NEWS Winter 2020 OPENING UP THE LOCKDOWN In general there is agreement across countries on measures to ensure a safe return to church: maintain social distancing, no choirs, no sign of peace, no holy water, no collection baskets, no shared missals or hymnals, no communion from the cup, communion only in the hand, hand sanitiser at the door. Some countries have measures which correspond to the severity of the pandemic: Italy requires masks for all participants and the priest wears gloves and a mask when distributing communion. Germany also has this arrangement for communion, adding that neither the priest or communicant will speak; Germany has aisles and doors marked ‘one way’ and has no offertory procession. The USA bishops adopt most of these provisions, but have some truly outlandish suggestions. They disseminated lengthy guidelines prepared by the Thomistic Institute at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington DC which recommend holding drive-in Masses where people remain in their cars, placing the people’s hosts at the end of the altar away from the priest’s host during the Eucharistic Prayer, and alternative possibilities for giving communion – including having no distribution of communion for people at all, or having communion after Mass. Ideas such as these do violence to the most basic of liturgical structures. There is a much more sensible template prepared by the US Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions (fdlc.org/covid ). It affirms the basics: The Communion Rite is an essential and unmoveable element of the Order of Mass. STREAMING LICENCE When parishes began live-streaming Masses, One Licence wasted no time in informing them that a special additional streaming licence was required to cover the use of copyright music. After a brief grace period, churches are expected to have this cover. For more information see https://onelicense.net . THE VATICAN EASTER DIRECTIVES The Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments authorised the private celebration of the Easter Triduum liturgies, somewhat abbreviated, without the presence of the people . The Congregation merely noted that the faithful should be informed of the beginning times of the celebrations so that they can prayerfully unite themselves in their homes. At a stroke of the pen, the presence of the liturgical assembly is deemed to be marginal to the liturgical action. EXTRAORDINARY FORM Thirteen years ago when Pope Benedict XVI allowed priests to celebrate liturgy in the extraordinary form according to the Roman Missal of 1962, he first consulted the bishops of the world. There was little enthusiasm on their part, but it went ahead anyway. Now the Holy See has sent a questionnaire to bishops conferences asking them to evaluate the current application of Benedict’s decree. The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith wants to take stock of where we are. What are the positive or negative aspects of the use of this rite, and does it respond to a true pastoral need or arise from the ideological stance of an individual priest? How has it affected the life of seminaries? Pope Francis is totally committed to the liturgical reform of Vatican II but there is no suggestion that the extraordinary form will be withdrawn. MUSIC APPOINTMENT The Cathedral of St Stephen in Brisbane has welcomed Christopher Trikilis as its new Director of Music. Recognised as one of Australia’s leading organists, he has significant experience as Director of Music first at Our Lady of Victories Basilica in Camberwell (3 years) and then at St Patrick’s Church in Mentone (10 years). Through this time he was also an organist at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne. He sees the organ both leading worship and also accompanying and supporting the singing and the congregation. Preparing the music for Sundays, feasts and other liturgical celebrations shapes his own faith. As a church organist, he said, you live the life of the Church year. PAUL TURNER AT LITURGY MEETING Rev Dr Paul Turner, pastor at the cathedral in Kansas City, was the guest speaker at the well-attended National Biennial Liturgy Conference held in Parramatta in mid-March 2020. The gathering took place just before coronavirus restrictions were introduced. Paul had planned to give liturgical seminars in dioceses between Brisbane and Perth, but had to cut his trip short and return to the USA where, after a fortnights quarantine, he was able to return to his roles in his diocese.