At last ....

So the much talked-of and speculated about motu proprio is finally going to see the light of day! I'm not following one of the usual rumour mills on this; instead I'm going by this which is the news service of this. So it is official, and from the horse's mouth! An English translation of the Italian text linked above can be found here courtesy of Rocco Palmo, an American journalist.

My only regret (now that it is officially here-ish) is that it wasn't released on time for Pentecost and the 25th Walking Pilgrimage from Paris to Chartres. The usual Irish contingent was there, although we were sorely tried by what our Paris fixer so eloquently called the plague of rain and mud! (For those who want to see more of le Pelèrinage 2007 there are photos here and here and here. The pictures in the first album belong to Ciarán MacGuill de Clichy and in the last to Jean-Peter Adams.)

So if all goes well, we should have a new juridical situation for the Traditional Mass, sooner rather than later. I'm going to follow Fr John Zuhlsdorf's Five Rules for When the Motu Proprio comes and will encourage everyone else to do likewise. Other than that we should thank firstly God, and then our Most Holy Lord, Benedict XVI by the grace of God, Pope and Servant of the Servants of God.