Basilica di San Pietro, Città del Vaticano (Simone Savoldi @simonesavoldi | Unsplash.com)
At the conclusion of World Youth Day in 2013, Pope Francis urged the young people in Rio de Janeiro,
“¡Hagan lio!” We apparently have another fulfillment of that wish with the latest decree emanating from the SS (that’s shorthand in “Vaticanese” for “Secretariat of State”).
On March 12, an unsigned document from the SS was sent to Archbishop Giovanni Giordano, responsible for the physical maintenance of St. Peter’s Basilica, and to the canons of the Basilica, indicating that “individual celebrations” (or, inaccurately so-called “private” Masses) would no longer be allowed, as of March 22. There are many oddities connected with the document, which I wish to address presently, and then proceed to deal with the substance. Suffice it to say for now, that this decree has raised a firestorm among priests from around the world.