Clarification, and Reform2 Too

Some clarification from the Vatican on Cardinal Sarah. Translation from the Italian is here. From the press release:

There are not, therefore, any new liturgical directives beginning next Advent as some have wrongly inferred from the words of Cardinal Sarah, and it is best to avoid using the expression “reform of the reform”, referring to the liturgy, as sometimes it has been a source of misunderstanding. This was the agreed view expressed during a recent audience granted by the Pope to the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation of Divine Worship.

A few things on this …

First, I think the meaning of the term hasn’t been that much of a misunderstanding. I think the term is wrong-headed in that it removes “reformability” from the liturgy as a whole and into an aspect of liturgy that is deemed changeable. It’s also a flag on a hill, part of a worldview that sets elements of the Church in opposition to one another.

Mainly, I think this is less an opportunity to gloat. Perhaps the more gullible among us can exhale in relief. I didn’t think a conference speaker making a suggestion to a sympathetic audience elevated this recommendation beyond the four walls of the room in which it was given. The celebration of this point of view was premature. Let it be.