Despite having rapidly declining numbers of faithful, with many defecting to Evangelical churches instead, the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica has made the shocking dictatorial decision to outright BAN the Traditional Latin Mass within their country. Seminarians are not allowed to learn it, priests are not allowed to say it.
Some of the important parts of the document:
‘‘There is no objective justification for the use among us of the liturgy prior to the 1970 reform."
"Those who express affinity for ancient forms do not always express their appreciation of the "validity and legitimacy of the liturgical reform, of the dictates of the Second Vatican Council and of the Magisterium of the Holy Pontiffs’’.
"With sometimes discreet statements or directly offensive comments they question the "sanctity of the new rite" (Summorum Pontificum). They do not seek the synergy that would give theological-pastoral validity to their ritual preferences,’’.
"Since the previous rules, instructions, concessions and customs have been "abrogated", the use of the Missale Romanum of 1962 or any other of the expressions of the pre-1970 liturgy is not authorized from now on. No priest is authorized to continue celebrating according to the ancient liturgy."
"According to these provisions, "the seminarians shall be educated and the new priests." Their formation should be clearly aimed at the appreciation and practice of the liturgy re-christianized by the Second Vatican Council, which is "the only expression of the lex orandi of the Roman Rite’’.
"In addition, the Episcopal Conference of Costa Rica joins the pain and reprobation that were once expressed by Benedict XVI and are now replicated by Pope Francis: it is necessary to celebrate according to the indications given by the different liturgical books, so that the sacred and cultural character is maintained, the absence of which some rightly claim. It is clear that the liturgy reformed by the Second Vatican Council has all the conditions to uplift the human being and strengthen his spiritual life, while responding in a balanced way to the authentic anthropological and cultural needs of the praying man of our times. It is only necessary an adequate application of the norms, orientations and possibilities that give the liturgical books".
"In particular, today we must remember that our liturgy, celebrated according to the books promulgated by Saints Paul VI and John Paul II, must be preserved from any element from the ancient forms. Prayers, vestments or rites that were typical of the liturgy prior to the 1970 reformation should not be introduced into our celebrations’’.
Although many expect the Motu Proprio to be mostly ignored by bishops across the world, there will be a select few dioceses who will use it to spitefully hurt and bully Traditionalists, or in this case, an entire country.
Translation: Costa Rican Bishops Ban Traditional Mass Throughout The Country (infovaticana.com)
