Knoxville bishop hopes restrictions on Masses at St Peter’s Basilica will be reversed
“I am sad to read about the restrictions now in effect at St. Peter’s Basilica. I treasure all times that I was able to celebrate Mass at the revered place …”
An empty St. Peter's Basilica. (Credit: Vatican Media)
Knoxville, Tenn., Mar 23, 2021 / 04:01 pm (CNA).- Bishop Richard Stika of Knoxville expressed his sadness Monday over the restrictions on private Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica, and his hope that they will be removed.
“I am sad to read about the restrictions now in effect at St. Peter’s Basilica. I treasure all times that I was able to celebrate Mass at the revered place … to bring pilgrims to the Mass from my diocese and, in the past, my parishioners in St. Louis was so very special. I hope this is reversed,” Bishop Stika tweeted March 22.
He noted in particular his appreciation of having been able to say Mass “at the tombs of Pope St. John XXIII and Pope St. John Paul II and especially at the Clementine Chapel, which is directly above the tomb of Peter.”
The bishop later tweeted that he was reminded of the perennial joke about the difference between a liturgist and a terrorist — one can negotiate with a terrorist — upon reading “the reasons for the limits of celebrating Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.”
The decree which prohibited private Masses says the changes are intended to ensure that “the Holy Masses in St. Peter’s Basilica take place in a climate of recollection and liturgical decency.”
A decree of the Secretariat of State prohibited private Masses at the side altars of St. Peter’s Basilica beginning March 22, instead inviting priests to take part in several concelebrated Masses held each day at the basilica.
Under the new protocols, groups of pilgrims, accompanied by a bishop or priest who has booked an altar, will be permitted to celebrate private Masses in the grottoes beneath the Church.
Mass said in the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite is now limited to the Clementine Chapel.
Previously, the 45 altars and 11 chapels in St. Peter’s Basilica had been used every morning by priests to celebrate their daily Mass. Many of them are Vatican officials who would begin their day with the celebration.
When the restrictions were adopted, CNA’s Courtney Mares wrote that “the basilica appeared more like a silent museum where the art above the altars can be viewed, but the altars themselves are left unused for their intended purpose.”
In his homily at a Mass said June 25, 2016 in Gyumri, Armenia, Pope Francis taught that “There is always a danger that can dim the light of faith, and that is the temptation to reduce it to something from the past, something important but belonging to another age, as if the faith were a beautiful illuminated book to be kept in a museum.”
“Once it is locked up in the archives of history, faith loses its power to transform, its living beauty, its positive openness to all. Faith, however, is born and reborn from a life-giving encounter with Jesus, from experiencing how his mercy illumines every situation in our lives. We would do well to renew this living encounter with the Lord each day,” the pope said.
The Code of Canon Law states that priests “are completely free to celebrate the Eucharist individually…but not while a concelebration is taking place in the same church or oratory.”
In Sacrosanctum Concilium, its constitution on the sacred liturgy, the Second Vatican Council said that “each priest shall always retain his right to celebrate Mass individually, though not at the same time in the same church as a concelebrated Mass, nor on Thursday of the Lord’s Supper.”
The Second Vatican Council in fact permitted concelebration in specific cases: on the Thursday of the Lord’s Supper; during councils, bishops’ conferences, and synods; and at the Mass for the blessing of an abbot. With the permission of the ordinary, it permitted concelebration at conventual Mass, at the principle Mass in churches when the needs of the faithful do not require that all priests available should celebrate individually, and at Masses celebrated at any kind of priests’ meetings.
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Fr. Richard Cassidy, professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, dresses in Roman prisoner garb as he holds a copy of his newest book, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians.” Fr. Cassidy’s eighth scholarly work, the book explores the subversive nature of St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, which the apostle wrote from behind bars in a Roman prison cell. / Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
Detroit, Mich., Apr 30, 2022 / 08:00 am (CNA).
It was a tough decision for Rick Cassidy as he began graduate studies at the University of Michigan in mid-1960s. Would he take the course on Imperial Rome, because of his love of history, or the course History of Slavery, because of his deep concern for social justice?
The Dearborn native chose the course on slavery. The insights he acquired have helped to guide Fr. Richard Cassidy’s scholarly work for three decades, including his latest work, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians“ (Herder & Herder, 2020).
Paul’s letter, composed in chains and secreted out of his Roman jail cell, is intentionally “counter-slavery” argues Father Cassidy, professor of Sacred Scripture at Sacred Heart Major Seminary since 2004, as well as “counter-emperor.” At its core, Philippians is an underground epistle that subverts the Roman power structure and the “lordship pretensions of Nero.” Reviewers praise the “distinctive thesis” of Father’s groundbreaking work as “fresh and illuminating,” making for “fascinating reading.”
This is Father Cassidy’s seventh book that examines the influence of Roman rule on the writers of the New Testament, and his eighth book overall. He returned to Ann Arbor on a rainy afternoon in late June to discuss his newest work.
Dan Gallio: St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians is most known for its soaring declaration of the divinity Christ, before whom one day “every knee must bend,” and “every tongue proclaim” his universal lordship (2:6-11).
Your new book presents a unique argument: Paul’s letter is primarily a “subversive” document of resistance against the Roman Empire—particularly against emperor worship and slavery. How did you arrive at this against-the-grain interpretation?
“A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians” (Herder & Herder, 2020) is Fr. Cassidy’s eighth book and a follow-up on his 2001 work, “Paul in Chains: Roman Imprisonment and the Letters of St. Paul”. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
Father Cassidy: These insights were the result of long hours with the text, spending a lot of prayer time for guidance, as to Paul’s situation.
The issue of slavery came into play strongly. I now saw that Jesus was executed as a violator of Roman sovereignty, condemned by Pilate, executed under Emperor Tiberius—and that this was the slave’s form of death. This is a crucial point.
In regards to the two topics you mention, I had the intuition that the Letter to the Philippians was “counter-emperor cult” and “counter-slavery.” First, the self emptying of Christ from on high—descending downward into human form, downward, downward to the point of the slave’s death on a Roman cross—and then you have St. Paul’s wonderful words in chapter 2, verses 9-11.
My insight was that there is going to be a redressing of what has happened. Because of the great faithfulness of Jesus Christ, the Father intervenes and begins the lifting up, the ascending of Christ, where the Father exalts Jesus and bestows upon him “the name above every other name.”
So I can now speak about this famous passage in terms of a kind of “drama”: four scenes that represent the descent of Jesus, and four scenes that represent his ascent, akin to a medieval passion play. The Father intervenes on Christ’s behalf, conferring upon him the name of “Lord.” Now all of creation, including the emperor, the governor, the imperial personnel, are all subject to Jesus. They have to prostrate themselves before the name of Jesus.
DG: So, essentially, Philippians is subversive because it makes a political statement as much as a theological one.
FC: Yes, but for some, it is a great privilege to genuflect at the name of Jesus. This includes slaves! Paul had integrated slaves into his community in Philippi. They were empowered now to proclaim the name of Jesus, standing alongside free men and women. They are standing alongside the Roman imperial power structure, all involved in the same process of bowing before Christ and proclaiming his name.
A security guard at Sacred Heart Major Seminary helps Fr. Cassidy don his “prisoner’s clothing” for a photo shoot promoting Fr. Cassidy’s latest book, “A Roman Commentary on St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians,” which details Paul’s experience behind bars and the conditions under which he wrote his Letter to the Philippians. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
And that name is “Lord.” Jesus is being acclaimed as Lord, and not the emperor, to the glory of God the Father. This is the decisive element of Philippians 2:6-11, blended together in this one passage.
DG: You provide a forty-four-page introduction to the social situation of the Roman colony of Philippi. Why did you feel such an informative but lengthy introduction was necessary to support your thesis?
FC: I had to establish that conditions at Philippi mirror conditions at Rome. This is important. Philippi was like “Little Rome.” When Paul is speaking of conditions at Philippi, his is also experiencing the same oppressive conditions at Rome as a chained prisoner. I had to establish that emperor worship was everywhere, in Philippi’s renowned amphitheater, in the streets, in public artifacts. That is why I had to go into an extensive introduction to set the stage of what Paul is doing in his letter.
DG: Your appendices are extensive, too, like bookends to the introduction, driving the thesis home again using illustrations.
FC: There is one illustration of a monument where slaves are chained, and a slave trader is proclaiming his prowess as a slave trader. This monument to the degradation of slavery was at a city adjacent to Philippi. Paul almost certainly passed by it on his way to and from Philippi. It was discovered back in the 1930s and almost destroyed in the war by Nazi bombings.
DG: Paul is sometimes criticized by revisionist commentators for not rejecting the institution of slavery in his letters. Is your book an answer to these critics?
FC: Paul’s approach to slavery is complicated. There are some letters where he seems to envision the imminent return of Christ. Possibly he minimized the importance of slaves being freed in these letters. However, in Philippians, his final letter before his death, he addresses the issue definitively. It is very undermining of slavery.
I intended to de-establish the idea that Paul acquiesced to slavery. He did not acquiesce. The laudatory prepublication comments by scholars make me think the book will have a decisive role in re-imaging Paul.
Against a prevailing notion that St. Paul “acquiesced” to the idea of slavery in his writings, Fr. Cassidy’s book aims to counter the idea by showing how St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians actually served a subversive purpose in a Roman empire dominated by emperor worship and tight controls. Valaurian Waller | Detroit Catholic
DG: Back to Philippians 2:6-11. Why do you maintain this passage is not a hymn or baptismal catechesis, as is customarily believed, but is an original composition of Paul? Is this position another example of your counter exegesis?
FC: This is not some other preexisting hymn. No! This is fresh imaging. Visceral imaging. This is intensity from identifying with Christ as the “slave crucified.” No one else could have composed this passage. And Paul could not have composed this passage until he was in Roman chains and could see the threat posed against Jesus by the counterfeit claims that Emperor Nero is Lord.
DG: It’s almost like the passage is “supra-inspired,” that he would get such an original insight while in such dreadful circumstances.
FC: Correct. And there is a real question as to how this letter could be transmitted from prison, with the security and censorship. In garments? In pottery? It is possible the original written letter was confiscated. So how is Paul is getting his subversive thoughts past the Roman guards?
I suggest in my book that Paul was drilling his associates, Timothy and Epaphroditus, to memorize his letter, given the role of memory in early Christian life.
DG: With your busy teaching and pastoral duties, where to you find the motivation and energy to produce such a thoroughly researched, and beautifully written, work of scholarship?
FC: It’s Spirit driven!
DG: Is the Spirit driving you to another book?
FC: I would say so. After a book comes to publication, there is always a kind of mellowing period. So right now I have not identified the next project. I am appreciating the graces I have received from this book, and trusting that the same Spirit who has shepherded me through this sequence will still stand by me, guiding me forward.
Not merely one bureaucrat. Desacralizing the Catholic faith has only been going on for 55 years, a dedicated activity, almost a kind of religion, performed by millions.
I am no sedevacantist but this issue clearly illustrates that we do not have a pope. Certainly not a functional one. Why is this unqualified, dubious edict allowed to stand unchallenged or unexplained? Where is the leadership from the pope? Think about it; if the Chair of Peter were empty how would this issue look any differently? Where is the pope?
I deplore what Francis is quoted as saying in this article, “and the temptation to reduce it to something of the past, something belonging to another age…” His Church is dying, the one from the past is making a comeback, it’s a living Church. Francis has done all in his power to destroy the Church. Francis has obviously lost the hearts of all the faithful, he does not inspire, does not comfort souls, does not lead souls to God…Like a Pope should. Pope Francis the Iscariot l, needs to resign. I hope the next Pope is chosen from among the Traditionalists so that the new springtime promised by St. Pope John XXlll is finally realized. We must pray to St. Pope John XXlll for the grand restoration of Christ Church. St. Pope John XXlll, St. Pope John Paul ll Ora Pro Nobis!
It is not Francis’s church. GOD will not allow anyone to destroy his gift to us. Unfortunately we have a lot of people who think they can corrupt what GOD has decreed. It is up to us follow his instructions for a good life.
Yes, as the article quotes from Sacrosanctum Concillium, individual Masses are not allowed on Thursday of the Lord’s Supper. Ironically, the Decret from 2020 which again in force this Holy Week 2021 states clearly that because of the pandemic priests are permitted to celebrate Mass on this day without people. Apparently thoughout the world but not at St. Peter’s Basilica!
FOR SHAME! These restrictions on Mass at St. Peter’s – nonsense and foolishness.
Obviously some faceless bureaucrat tied to some desk at the Vatican wants to feel important with these decrees.
Our Blessed Lord needs his 2nd coming and hand whip these days to cleanse the Vatican of its unfaithful.
Not merely one bureaucrat. Desacralizing the Catholic faith has only been going on for 55 years, a dedicated activity, almost a kind of religion, performed by millions.
A “faceless bureaucrat” may have authored the decree, but it wouldn’t have been put into effect without the approval of Bergoglio.
I am no sedevacantist but this issue clearly illustrates that we do not have a pope. Certainly not a functional one. Why is this unqualified, dubious edict allowed to stand unchallenged or unexplained? Where is the leadership from the pope? Think about it; if the Chair of Peter were empty how would this issue look any differently? Where is the pope?
I deplore what Francis is quoted as saying in this article, “and the temptation to reduce it to something of the past, something belonging to another age…” His Church is dying, the one from the past is making a comeback, it’s a living Church. Francis has done all in his power to destroy the Church. Francis has obviously lost the hearts of all the faithful, he does not inspire, does not comfort souls, does not lead souls to God…Like a Pope should. Pope Francis the Iscariot l, needs to resign. I hope the next Pope is chosen from among the Traditionalists so that the new springtime promised by St. Pope John XXlll is finally realized. We must pray to St. Pope John XXlll for the grand restoration of Christ Church. St. Pope John XXlll, St. Pope John Paul ll Ora Pro Nobis!
Amen.
It is not Francis’s church. GOD will not allow anyone to destroy his gift to us. Unfortunately we have a lot of people who think they can corrupt what GOD has decreed. It is up to us follow his instructions for a good life.
Yes, as the article quotes from Sacrosanctum Concillium, individual Masses are not allowed on Thursday of the Lord’s Supper. Ironically, the Decret from 2020 which again in force this Holy Week 2021 states clearly that because of the pandemic priests are permitted to celebrate Mass on this day without people. Apparently thoughout the world but not at St. Peter’s Basilica!