The Archbishop of Westminster and President of the English Bishops’ Conference, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, has said that from now on it will no longer be permitted to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation according to the traditional rite in the Archdiocese he directs.
The Latin Mass Society had written a letter to the prelate on December 14 to ask him questions about this. The Archbishop replied on January 20: “I apologize for this delay, but I wanted to study the implications of the ‘Responsa ad dubia’ published by the Congregation for Divine Worship.”
“One of the questions put to the Congregation concerned the celebrations of the sacraments according to the forms prior to the Second Vatican Council,” continues the archbishop. “The response given by the Congregation was negative.”
“Indeed, any use of the pre-conciliar pontifical is now prohibited. This means that confirmations must be celebrated according to the form approved for the whole Latin Church on August 15, 1971.” In practice, this means the disappearance of the traditional liturgy, except for the celebration of the Mass.
The cardinal, however, left a door open to future changes: “we will of course continue to reflect on the provisions established by the Holy See in this matter and on the importance of the liturgical renewal to which we are called, as well as on the needed pastoral care of the faithful.”
For nearly 20 years, the Latin Mass Society has held annual confirmation celebrations in the traditional rite at St James’s Church in central London, given by an auxiliary bishop sent by the Archdiocese of Westminster.
The society’s president, Joseph Shaw, said that “the cessation of these celebrations means the loss of much of what the bishops of England and Wales have sought and achieved in establishing a serene coexistence between new and old liturgical forms.”
In Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, the right of all priests to celebrate the traditional Mass was recognized, without having to seek permission to do so from their bishop. By this measure, the pope had sought to facilitate the existence and application of the two liturgical forms in order to achieve a “mutual enrichment.”
On July 16, 2021, the document Traditionis custodes of Pope Francis came into effect, which states that it is the “exclusive competence” of the diocesan bishop to authorize traditional masses in his diocese and establishes many other restrictions for the traditional liturgy, with the aim of gradually eliminating it.
On January 15, the Courrier de Rome congress was held in Paris, which focused precisely on this subject: “How to Keep Tradition After Traditionis Custodes.” The question is pressing, especially for parents who have children of confirmation age, and for ordinands who expect to receive the priesthood according to the traditional rite.
In 1971, England and Wales were the first countries to request the possibility of celebrating according to the traditional liturgical form after the first modifications of the Tridentine Mass – in 1965 and 1967 – through the famous “Agatha Christie indult.” Today, coexistence – at least for the Sacrament of Confirmation – is over.
