The Right to Know – Folha de S. Paulo, January 25, 1970

by Plinio Corrêa de Oliveira

Repeated contact with the public in Western European countries has convinced me that few people follow international events as closely as we do.

For example, I am convinced that Brazilians with an average education know significantly more details about the strikes shaking Italy and its growing ministerial crisis than the French or Austrians of the same background. Do not think this is because of our press’s abundant international news coverage, which is usually superior to European newspapers. The opposite is true. Our media reports on it so extensively because Brazilians are deeply interested in what is happening worldwide. It is said that newspapers shape the public. But it is even more true that the public shapes newspapers.

It is an understatement to say that Brazilians consume a lot of international news. They think about it, discuss it, and draw insights from it to solve local issues. In other words, Brazilians have a sense of the universal. This is one of our spiritual strengths. I praise our press for consistently reflecting this global perspective, which sets us apart.

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Because of this, limiting national opinion to controlled information that leaves out an important part of what is happening abroad appears to weaken one of the most admirable qualities of the Brazilian spirit.

Now, it so happens that many parts of Europe are receiving the new text of the Mass—the new “Ordo Missae,” if we want to use the correct term. It seems to me that our public is very poorly informed about it, so I plan to help address this gap with some typical news items, which I will now list. I am not afraid of the subject’s sensitivity, precisely because I disagree with the idea that an intelligent public such as ours—and one with such great faith—should be kept from sensitive news.

In today’s article, I will focus solely on reporting the news, which — I repeat — fulfills both a right of the public and my duty as a journalist.

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As everyone knows, the Mass is the most solemn act of Catholic worship because it renews the Sacrifice of Calvary in a non-bloody way. Therefore, everything related to the Mass involves what is most noble, sensitive, and vital in religion. Pope Paul VI recently introduced an “Ordo Missae” that differs from the previous “Ordo” established by St. Pius V in the 16th century in several essential aspects. Consequently, it is not surprising that all theologians have concentrated on the new text.

Now, while the new “Ordo” has been warmly praised in some circles and met with confident indifference in others, two cardinals close to Paul VI did not hesitate to write him a letter expressing deep concern and serious reservations about the new liturgy. Furthermore, the two cardinals believed they should publish their letter to the sovereign pontiff.

The reader should not see this episode as a theatrical act of protest, like those that have become common in the Church’s troubled history. It is not a loud outcry in the style of Cardinal Suenens, nor an act of defiance like Cardinal Alfrink’s. This time, the two cardinals are known specifically for their discipline toward the Papacy. They are the well-known Cardinal Alfredo Ottaviani, secretary emeritus of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the respected Latinist Cardinal Antonio Bacci. Notably, it was from them that this strong yet careful and respectful warning about the new Mass text came.

The news agencies reported on this letter some time ago. Since I lack space to copy it, I will only say that the two cardinals state that the new “Ordo” does not present the Mass as a sacrifice in accordance with Catholic doctrine but as a supper. They highlight that this is similar to the Protestant view. I believe it is unnecessary to say more so that the reader can understand the seriousness of the two cardinals’ statements.

I read in the Courrier de Rome (July 25) a statement from a completely different source that reaches the same conclusion as the two cardinals. The Taizé monastery in France is one of today’s most well-known Protestant institutions. In an article published in the Parisian Catholic daily La Croix, “Brother” Thurian of Taizé wrote: “The liturgical reform has taken (with the new Ordo) a remarkable step in the field of ecumenism. It has drawn closer to the liturgical forms of the Lutheran Church.”

This might explain why a sizable part of the French clergy still celebrates Mass using the text of St. Pius V. I received a mimeographed list from Paris showing an “incomplete” roster of churches where Mass is celebrated “in the old style,” along with their schedules. There are at least 19 churches and chapels in Paris and 102 in 36 provincial cities.

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Perhaps even more surprising to the reader is that a more remarkable attitude has emerged from super Catholic Spain. In the Madrid magazine Que Pasa? (No. 315, dated the 10th of this month), I read that the Association of Priests and Religious of St. Anthony Mary Claret, whose ranks include at least 6,000 priests, has sent a letter to Fr. A. Bugnini, secretary of the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, reputed to be the author of the new “Ordo.” In it, we read: “We, Catholic priests, cannot celebrate a Mass that Mr. Thurian of Taizé has declared he could celebrate without ceasing to be a Protestant. Heresy can never be imposed on us by obedience.” Thus, for this prestigious priestly association, it is an imperative of conscience not to celebrate Mass according to the new text.

Returning to France, I want to share another piece of news with readers, though only tangentially related to the main topic. La Pensée Catholique, published in Paris by Abbé Luc Lefevre, is one of the most influential outlets of contemporary religious culture. In issue no. 122 (1969, pp. 53-54) of this magazine, I read that progressive priests in many churches exert intense moral pressure on everyone present to receive Communion. The sacred host is received in the hand and no longer on the tongue. Many people who feel unable to receive Communion take the hosts back to their seats and leave them there. As a result, after Mass, hosts are found thrown on the pews or even rolling on the floor. This is no longer uncommon in certain churches.

The host is the very body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ!

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Sadly enough, isn’t it true that our audience has the right to know about these things?

Brazil has the world’s largest Catholic population. They are clear-minded, intelligent, and have a sense of the universal; they cannot remain unaware of the controversy caused by the text of the new Mass.

Furthermore, because they are genuinely pious, they cannot help but be interested in what La Pensée Catholique reports. It’s not a debate, but a disgrace.