Peoria

From the Catholic Post

Tridentine Mass ruling: diocese expects little change

Very little is expected to change in parishes throughout the Diocese of Peoria as a result of Pope Benedict XVI’s decision to allow the Tridentine rite of the Mass to be offered on a regular basis to those who desire it.

"For any Catholic who is afraid that suddenly their average Sunday Mass is going to change, it’s not," said Father Stanley Deptula, director of the diocesan Office of Divine Worship. "This is not going to affect our average priest or our average parishioner."

He explained that the pope’s apostolic letter, "Summorum Pontificum," simply provides a greater opportunity to seek out this form of liturgical spirituality for those who do hunger for it.

"Where there has been interest in the ‘extraordinary form’ of the Roman Rite, the mandate to celebrate Mass according to the 1962 missal had been generously granted and will continue to be encouraged," Father Deptula said in a statement released to the clergy of the diocese this week.

He urged them to avoid a "sensational interpretation" of this issue, since major changes are not foreseen in the parishes of central Illinois. Further comment and instructions from Bishop Daniel R. Jenky are expected in the coming weeks.

In the Diocese of Peoria, Masses celebrated with the 1962 missal are already being offered on Sunday at 11 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church in Fairbury, and on Sunday at 7:30 a.m. at St. Mary of the Woods Church in Princeville.

"If there are Catholics who want to know more about this Mass, I would encourage them to seek out those two parishes that regularly offer it," Father Deptula said.