A kind reader has provided a transcript of a radio interview with the Bishop of St. Augustine, Florida, His Excellency Most Reverend Victor Galeone. You might remember that his statement about Summorum Pontificum was very severe. I wrote about it here.
His Excellency is described on this blog by people in that diocese as "a very solid bishop", "orthodox bishop" who "wrote a pastoral letter strongly endorsing Humanae Vitae". Another commenter wrote: "Bishop Galeone is very strong on marriage, family life, sexual morality, and other topics".
So, let’s give this fellow his due about those things.
It remains that his statement on the Motu Proprio was pretty harsh. Also, it has influenced other bishops!
Let’s hear what he said on the radio now that some time has gone by since his Memorandum was examined.
His Excellency was on the radio live on WQOP on 31 August. He took questions from callers. A reader here transcribed the entire conversationHe also has the audio. It is also posted on the transcriber’s blog who has adopted a rather familiar looking method of commenting. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, I hear! o{];¬)
I have removed the transcriber’s comments from this text, below.
In what is below, the emphases and comments are mine.
Announcer: You are listening to WQOP AM1600 in Atlantic Beach Queen of Peace Radio and this is Chris Williams, President of the Board of Queen of Peace Radio and we have
Bishop Victor Galeone from the Diocese of St. Augustine our very beloved bishop here in the studio with us…And on the phone now we have Jay. Jay can you hear us?
Caller: Yes, I can hear you.
Announcer: Jay, go ahead. You’re with Bishop Galeone.
Caller: Your Excellency, thank you so much for taking my call.
Bishop Galeone: Hey, you’re more than welcome Jay. What’s your question please?
Caller: My question is about the implementation of the pope’s motu proprio Summorum Pontificum allowing for the use, the wider use of the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite. I wanted to ask you what sort of requirements you would expect the clergy to demonstrate before they can offer the rites according to the extraordinary form. And would you, yourself be willing or available to offer the traditional rites yourself? [Two good questions. Bishop Galeone had said that he would reserve to himself the right to determine if a priest evidenced "ability" with the Latin language. That statement said the priest had to know what the texts meant rather than just be able to pronounce the words. That seems to go beyond the meaning of idoneus in the Motu Proprio.]
Bishop Galeone: OK, very good question Jay. Jay, first I would like to say that I am very loyal and obedient to whatever directives come from Rome. So, we’re going to implement this just as our Holy Father intended. So, so far as the norms, or guidelines that we’ll establish- they’ll be the guides, the norms of the motu proprio itself. [Okay… are they norms? guides? Are these suggestions? wishes? dreams? What are they? They sure sounded official in the Memorandum (pp. 1 and 2).] Interesting, we’re going to discuss this at our Priest’s Council meeting this coming Wednesday. This is one of the agenda items. We sent confidential notice [hmmm…] to the priests in advance letting them know that this does not become effective until actually September 14. It’s not in effect yet, but we would be implementing it here.
The Holy Father mentioned, for example there, that the priest would have to have sufficient command of Latin to more or less realize what they would be praying. [I would like to see a quote for that. I don’t think he said that was a requirement.] They cannot [I could agree with "ought not", but… "cannot"?] just be mouthing syllables or words that they don’t have any understanding of that. [Let’s have a little exam of priests saying the Novus Ordo, in various languages, even their mother tongue, and find out if they understand what they are saying.] And there’s another document that the Church has given that when priests are concelebrating the Church says it’s… This comes from Redemptionis Sacramentum, No. 113. It says that, "If a priest is concelebrating at an altar where the language being used for the celebration of the Mass is not only not his native language but he knows nothing at all about it he is not to concelebrate that Mass. He is to excuse himself and celebrate Mass with someone or by himself elsewhere." [In the CDW’s Redemptionis Sacramentum 113 we read that in the case Bishop Galeone mentions the priest should "attend the celebration in choral dress in accordance with the norms".]
So that’s taken a given that the priest must more or less understand in general. Now, I’m not saying every single word or syllable of what he is saying. Also he must know the rubrics, as we call them to celebrate that Mass properly and whatever else. The private Masses, all of that will be granted here. I’m not going to stand in anyone’s way that wants to do that. [What did that Memorandum with the diocesan prescriptions really say? "2. Only priests who are qualified may celebrate the extraordinary form of the Mass and the sacraments, even privately." So, perhaps the bishop’s "norms…guidelines…guides… norms" will be revised a bit in light of His Excellency’s clarification.]
Now, the second part of your question. Would I be willing to celebrate the Mass? Jay, I love Latin. [Here it comes…] Before I answer your question I want to preface it with this; I love Latin. I studied six years of Latin in the seminary. I did all my philosophy, theology, all the classes were in Latin. All the exams, oral and written were in Latin. To this very day I read an article (to…) St. Thomas Aquinas in the original Latin before I turn the light out any night. On the third part of the Summa. I go through it just regularly. I sing the antiphons at the end of Mass in my bishop’s chapel there at the residence concluding Night Prayers. I pray it in Spanish normally but the antiphons to Our Lady I sing the old ones at the season in Latin. [Ehem… the older form of Mass is not principally about the Latin language and those "old ones" are still in the newer books… But let’s go on.] My first ten years were celebrating the Rite of… Well first, before 1962 the Missal of basically John XXIII, which Benedict says is going to be the Missal followed by the Tridentine Rite, until 1970. To this day I still say the prayers to myself as I am vesting in Latin. So I have nothing against Latin. [BUT…]
However, Jay, and please do not misunderstand me, in my opinion it’s been a blessing to have the liturgy in the vernacular for our people. I’d like to quote, if I may an article I wrote in our St. Augustine Catholic Magazine of the June 2006 issue. I’m going to quote just a few sentences here [I guess he came prepared for this question!] "Periodically parishioners write to me requesting a Latin Mass in their parish. [That’s nice, no? It is nice to be invited, no?] They’re well aware that a Latin Mass is celebrated at Immaculate Conception every Sunday but they would like one closer to home. [Reasonable.] I am convinced that what these parishioners truly desire is not so much Latin in the Mass, as a spirit of reverence. [Okay, Your Excellency, sure. I agree. But you are starting with the wrong premise. It is not about Latin alone. There is far more to this issue than Latin. If that were the case, the Novus Ordo in Latin would be enough.] A sense that they have been in contact with the sacred while worshiping with their fellow parishioners."
And then I went on to quote in that same article an excerpt from a columnist back in the 1970’s. Actually it’s from Progressive Catholic Monthly. [?!? There is such a magazine? O LORD! Can you imagine?] A critic it was called. And Dan Herr was rather forward-thinking. [?!] I used to… I had to get a subscription to that. [I sure can’t say the same.] I didn’t subscribe to that on my own but I did read it and… But anyway, Dan in this column says, "How wonderful it is supposed to be once Latin is gone, the celebrant about-face, laymen permitted to make themselves hear from the sanctuary, choirs disband in favor of community singing. My God it was beautiful! Or at least it would be as soon as a few problems were worked out." Then it goes on to say, "Someone may ask what can be done about the lack-luster liturgies that we have." I’m quoting now, "Bring back the Latin Mass!" he says. "However I realize that we can never go back. But truly something can be done to recover some small part of the enchantment that is so patently missing from the Mass today." End of quote. [Am I missing something about the relevance of this quote?]
As early as 1974, that was when that article appeared, four years after the new rite went, in the progressives, this is a progressive journal I’m quoting from said something is missing in the new liturgy. Well, unfortunately Jay it’s still missing in the way many priests celebrate the Mass. So would I celebrate the Mass? I could do it, yes but I would rather not. I have nothing against Latin, [It’s not about the Latin!] it’s just that I can pray [But, with due respect, it isn’t just about how we as celebrants can pray but also how the people can pray. Isn’t that the sense of Sacrosanctum Concilium?] so much better at a public Mass now, praying in my native tongue or in Spanish, which I understand perfectly. I could do it in Latin but I’d rather not because the people don’t understand Latin. [Don’t they really? They have translations in their hands, which they follow. The ordinary of Mass isn’t all that mysterious, after all. It isn’t as if most of these folks have never been to Mass before. Many of them will understand quite well what is being said. As a matter of fact, people are put off when the priest’s Latin is poor, which suggests they understand more than one might think. And… again… "understanding" what is going on is on many levels, as is "participation". This is always going to remain a mystery.]
I don’t know if that answered your question or not but I hope that I made my… I explained myself properly. [I don’t think he did. He said he would prefer not to. He didn’t say that he would not do it. We will have to wait and see. From what I read in comments people made about this bishop, it strikes me that he would eventually be willing, if approached properly, to celebrate the older form of Mass himself. Shepherds with big hearts will do even these things, I think.]
Announcer: Thank you Jay. Does that… Does that answer your question for you?Caller: Thank you very much. Yes.
Announcer: You’re welcome Jay.
Okay, that is what I have of the transcript that pertains to Bishop Galeone’s responses about the older form of Mass.
In the balance, I think this is what we see.
- First, His Excellency has modified the position that was set out in his Memorandum in regard to priest’s being qualified to say the older form of Mass. He is adjusting his view.
- Second, there is a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Memorandum.
- Third, the bishop seems stuck in the view that this is all about the Latin language. I don’t think that most people who go to the older Mass will say that the issue with them is mainly Latin. Latin is part of it, because it is hard to separate it from the Rite. And we do belong to the Latin Rite…right? The bishop is reducing this to an issue of Latin, and therefore comprehension of Latin on the part of those involved.
- Fourth, there seems to be yet a double-standard stemming from the issue of "understanding" the texts of Mass. I suspect that His Excellency would be very much against quizzing his priests about the meaning of this or that vernacular Mass text. And the priests would be pretty angry about that, too! But somehow he thinks that it is fair to do this in respect to the Latin texts of the older Missal. This seems like a double standard.
Would it not be more helpful, rather than to focus on the inability of people and priests to understand Latin well, to focus more on helping priests understand the Latin and rubrics, etc. better? Rather than present the negative view full of obstacles, why not say "Sure, Latin is going to be a problem right now. But I will personally help or find help for every priest who wants to use this Missal to learn Latin and the rubrics well enough so that he can do it properly."
Would that not be a better approach?
